#BlogBlitz Fabergé by Jo Fenton

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogBlitz for Fabergé by Jo Fenton.

About the Author

Jo Fenton grew up in Hertfordshire, UK. She devoured books from an early age, particularly enjoying adventure books, school stories and fantasy. She wanted to be a scientist from aged six after being given a wonderful book titled “Science Can Be Fun”. At eleven, she discovered Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, and now has an eclectic and much loved book collection cluttering her home office.

Jo combines an exciting career in Clinical Research with an equally exciting but very different career as a writer of psychological thrillers.

When not working, she runs (very slowly), and chats to lots of people. She lives in Manchester with her husband, youngest son, a Golden Retriever/Husky cross and a tankful of tropical fish. She is an active and enthusiastic member of two writing groups and a reading group. Follow Fenton on @jl_fenton on Twitter, Visit jofenton137.com

About the book

Heist. Abduction. Blackmail. – Manchester detective Becky White and her friends at the White Knight Detective Agency take on a case involving the theft of a multi-million-pound Fabergé egg. 

Events quickly escalate, and they find themselves dealing with unscrupulous villains who will stop at nothing – not even at kidnapping or murder – to achieve their goals. Can Becky solve the mystery before her hidden enemies catch up with her?

Review

This is the third book in the Becky White series, and with this particular set of characters I think there will be plenty more. It can be read as a standalone, although I would suggest reading the previous books to get the gist of the characters and how they have reached this point.

It’s a fast-paced crime read. The author has used multiple storylines to engage and deliver. The egg becomes the distraction, as the rest is of the story is woven around it. Multiple threads with an eye on a variety of people.

The book starts with the theft of an object that is kept under lock and key – a myth of an object, which makes it all the more valuable. The kind of object that is irreplaceable, kept hidden from the world to be revealed by the actions of a clever thief. There is so much action surrounding the egg that one could start to wonder whether it is all a rather well organised ploy to distract from other events and people.

On a side-note: I would probably consider becoming a tealeaf if a genuine Fabergé egg was involved, they are a thing of beauty indeed.

It’s a crime read with a hint of global criminal combined with the cosy vibe of the close-knit characters and their relationships. The amusing, the pleasant and the ruthlessness of greed, vengeance and crime mixed in for good measure. It will be interesting to see where the series goes next.

Buy Fabergé at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Darkstroke books pub date 6 Mar. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

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#Blogtour Murder in the Highlands by Debbie Young

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Murder in the Highlands by Debbie Young. 

About the Author

Debbie Young is the much-loved author of the Sophie Sayers and St Brides cosy crime mysteries. She lives in a Cotswold village where she runs the local literary festival, and has worked at Westonbirt School, both of which provide inspiration for her writing. 

She is bringing both her series to Boldwood in a 13-book contract. They will be publishing several new titles in each series and republishing the backlist, starting in September 2022. Follow @DebbieYoungBN on Twitter

About the book

Sophie and Hector are heading to the Highlands. – For Sophie it’s a trip home and for Hector it’s time to meet Sophie’s parents… Though their trip has village tongues wagging about a stop at Scotland’s notorious elopement spot, Gretna Green.

No matter what, it’ll make a nice break from the murder and mayhem that has been plaguing their beautiful Cotswolds village. But Sophie and Hector are barely on the road before they’re being hassled by reckless drivers and at their first rest stop a body is discovered.

Then comes a series of ‘accidents’ that leave poor Hector a little worse for wear. Is someone after Hector? Who could even know he was in the Highlands? Accidents or not, can they find some way to keep Hector safe?

Review

Sophie and Hector are off on a holiday to the Highlands. The intention is for Hector to get to know Sophie’s parents, although the people around them are convinced the two of them are planning to take their relationship to a new level.

Quite inadvertently the two of them become involved in a crime when a body is found on their travels. A coincidence? Is the death connected the strange series of events connected to Hector, who appears to have become an easy target for road raging bullies and what odd incidents that are making their ‘meet the parents’ trip a little uncomfortable.

It’s a cosy read, a light-hearted mystery with a strong set of relatable characters. The setting of the town/village Sophie and Hector live in is both a driver, and the hive of interpersonal relationships that give the series both a personal touch and its charming moments.

It will be fun to see Sophie and Hector continue with their very particular style of sleuthing, the accidentally falling straight into a mystery kind of read. And of course reading about how their helpful villagers, friends and family further influence their relationship.

Buy Murder in the Highlands at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Boldwood Books.

#Blogtour The Last Tree: A Seed of Hope by Luke Adam Hawker

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Last Tree: A Seed of Hope by Luke Adam Hawker.

About the Author

Luke Adam Hawker worked as an architectural designer before becoming a full-time artist in 2015. He sells his signed and limited-edition prints to fans throughout the UK and the rest of the world. 

He has also been commissioned by brands such as the Soho House Hotel Group and has an artwork hanging in the Parliamentary Art collection. Luke’s first book, Together, was a Sunday Times bestseller. It has sold over 130,000 copies worldwide to date and has been translated into nine languages.

Luke lives with his wife, son and dog Robin in Surrey, England. He has over 298k very engaged Instagram followers @lukeadamhawker or follow on @lukeadamhawker Twitter.

About the book

Imagine a world without trees. A world that is in many ways like our world, but where magnificent canopies, tree climbing and leaves rustling in the breeze are now only distant memories…

Until a young girl comes along, a girl who is brave and spirited and willing to follow where her imagination takes her. Through Olive’s adventures in the world of trees we are reminded of nature’s extraordinary power and beauty, and her actions ultimately sow the seeds of new life in her own world.

From the mind and pen of Luke Adam Hawker, the Sunday Times bestselling author of Together, The Last Tree is a superbly illustrated narrative that is a powerful evocation of the fragility of our natural world and a magnificent celebration of its beauty.

Review

I have to start with how beautiful this hardback is – the illustrations are soothing and stunning, and at to the poignance of the message of the book. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it for myself, friends and family. It’s definitely a beautiful way to plant a seed of hope. 

To help remind us of the fragility of life, of the living things around us. How tenuous our grip on life is – the stability is under constant threat. The tree becomes a metaphor for human life, for life in general, and perhaps most importantly for each living form. A reminder of how fast a species can be eradicated, how vulnerable we are in comparison to the might of nature. 

The story of Olive might seem abstract, but it isn’t. It’s absolutely feasible that future generations will only know the majesty of trees from museums and pictures. Species common half a century ago are now no longer in existence – in fact the number of species that become extinct in just one week is quite frankly frightening. 

Aside from being a beautifully illustrated venture of imagination – it is also a message, a stark reminder and poignant metaphor all wrapped up in the beauty of gorgeous book. 

Buy The Last Tree: A Seed of Hope at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Ilex Press | £16.99 | Hardback – pub date 2nd March 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow.

About the Author

Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Kent, and has extensive personal, professional, and academic experience relating to autism. Like her protagonist, Viktoria is autistic. She has presented her doctoral research internationally, most recently speaking at Harvard College on autism and literary narrative. Viktoria lives on the Margate coast with her husband and children.

About the book

I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it afterwards. – Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of Sicilian folklore. The one thing very much out of her control is Dolly – her clever, headstrong daughter, now on the cusp of leaving home.

Into this carefully ordered world step Vita and Rollo, a couple who move in next door, disarm Sunday with their charm, and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in Sunday’s book. Soon they are in and out of each others’ homes, and Sunday feels loved and accepted like never before. But beneath Vita and Rollo’s polish lies something else, something darker. For Sunday has something that Vita has always wanted for herself: a daughter of her own.

Review

I think my heart broke a little for Sunday. Not sure if that was the intention, because the growth of the character or rather her ability to finally leave the expectations of the demands of society behind her, which is a positive development. Instead the bigger picture of the way Sunday is perceived, misunderstood and treated, is what I found most poignant.

The transition from trying to adapt to societal norms to make everyone else feel more comfortable about her to finally being able to lay that aside and just be Sunday – it’s a powerful message about the way we perceive neurodivergence in our society.

Dolly is unfortunately also part of that unjust scale. Only really experiencing her mother’s traits as inconvenient and perhaps even embarrassing – not really understanding how hard Sunday tries to curb the instinct and overrule the uncomfortable. Indeed her place in society as an adult is tolerated and Sunday is done unto instead of with or for.

Why is the expectation always – without fail I might add – how to conform and both blend and bend to fit in instead of acceptance of what can’t be changed. There is no niche for neuro-divergency, because each person on the spectrum has a combination that is individual to themselves, and the common traits are an assumption of sameness, which means the vast differentiation isn’t seen or catered for the way it should be.

It’s a beautiful work of literary fiction – poignant and memorable, it will certainly leave a lasting impression on readers, regardless of how they experience Sunday’s story. 

Buy All the Little Bird-Hearts at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Tinder Press: pub date 2nd March 2023 | £16.99 | Hardback- also available in Ebook. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Tinder Press. 

#Blogtour The Close by Jane Casey

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Close by Jane Casey. The Close  – The 10th Maeve Kerrigan novel.

About the Author

Jane Casey has written twelve crime novels for adults and three for teenagers. Married to a criminal barrister, she’s got the inside track on some of the country’s most dangerous offenders, giving her writing an unsettlingly realistic feel.

This authenticity has made her novels international bestsellers and critical successes. They have been nominated for several awards and in 2015 Jane won both the Mary Higgins Clark Award and Irish Crime Novel of the Year for The 

Stranger You Know and After the Fire, respectively. In 2019, Cruel Acts was chosen as Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. It was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Dublin, Jane now lives in southwest London with her family. Follow @JaneCaseyAuthor on Twitter

About the book

At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together. But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.

It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.

And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.

Review

When Maeve is called to the scene of an unexplained death it becomes fairly obvious that she is unable to give the investigation her full attention. Distracted and on edge, as she plays a kind of dancing eggshells game with her colleagues, she has to pull herself together to solve a mysterious death. 

The undercover operation to catch a killer appears to be a simple sleuthing task, but there are reminders that someone will do anything to keep their business and their murderous antics a secret forever.

On a last note – Maeve spends far too much time obsessing over the potential love interest. Consumed by it would be the correct word. It’s a massive plot line, but personally I prefer the strong woman figures out she doesn’t necessarily need him as an emotional and love support system. Perhaps in the next book there could be a healthy step away from him.

It’s a dark domestic crime with psychological undertones. A crime read infused with relationship and fractured romance woes. The blurring of professional and personal lines both distracts the police in their endeavour to find the killer, and pushes them beyond the normal perimeters of their investigation.

Definitely an invigorating read with memorable characters the reader simultaneously wants to root for and shake vigorously, and those are always the best kind of reads.

Buy The Close at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HarperCollins │pub date 2nd March 2023│Hardback | Ebook | Audio. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab. 

About the Author

Gabriella Saab graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor of business administration in marketing and now lives in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, where she works as a barre instructor. While researching The Last Checkmate, she travelled to Warsaw and Auschwitz to dig deeper into the setting and the experiences of those who lived there. The Last Checkmate is her first novel. Follow @GabriellaSaab_ on Twitter

About the book

From the acclaimed author of The Last Checkmate comes a brilliant novel spanning from the Russian Revolution to the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union and following two unforgettable women…their fates intertwined by ties of family and interrupted by the tragedy of war. 

Russia 1917: Beautiful, educated Svetlana Petrova defied her stifling aristocratic family to join a revolution promising freedom. Now, released after years of imprisonment, she discovers her socialist party vying for power against the dictatorial Bolsheviks and her beloved uncle, a champion of her cause, was murdered by a mysterious assassin named Orlova. Her signature? Blinding her victims before she kills them. Svetlana resolves to avenge his death by destroying this vicious opponent, even as she longs to reunite with the daughter she has not seen in years.

USSR 1941: Now living in obscurity in a remote village, Svetlana opens her home to Mila Rozovskaya, the eighteen-year-old granddaughter from Leningrad she has never met. She hopes to protect Mila from the oncoming Nazi invasion, but when the enemy occupies the village, Svetlana sees the young woman fall under the spell of the resistance—echoing her once-passionate idealism.

As Mila takes up her fight, dangerous secrets and old enemies soon threaten all Svetlana holds dear. To protect her family, she must confront her long-buried past—yet if the truth emerges victorious, it holds the power to save or shatter them. A risk Svetlana has no choice but to take.

Review

In this fierce, frank and bold venture into historical fiction what connects the two timelines is the relentless determination of the women to fight for what they believe in, against all odds and to the detriment of their own lives.

This author made a memorable entrance with her first novel The Last Checkmate and has followed it up with an excellent second. Well researched historical fiction and strong character building creates an excellent stage for the kind of read you tend to remember and recommend. 

I particularly enjoyed the fact the focus is on two periods in the 20th century and the non-ally, especially the venture into the downfall of the Russian royal family by the Bolshevik revolutionaries. The story goes deeper into the internal politics and the chasm created between the people, especially the already existing divide of which Svetlana is a perfect example. She has to convince her fellow rebels that she isn’t simply a disgruntled bored product of her upbringing.

The second timeline takes place during the approach of the encroaching enemy of the second World War, as we see Mila’s desire to fight against injustice awaken and put herself in danger. A trait she appears to have in common with Svetlana. In fact the two of them stamp their mark on history as they put rebellion and resistance before their own safety and wellbeing.

It’s an excellent read, and I can’t wait to read where the author takes us next.

Buy Daughters of Victory at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎William Morrow Paperbacks pub date 24 Jan. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour One Moment by Becky Hunter

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour One Moment by Becky Hunter.

About the Author

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure. Follow @Bookish_Becky on Twitter

About the book

One moment in time can change everything… The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn’t feel fair that she’ll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she’s still … here – wherever here is – watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend’s death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting 

Evie’s life in directions she’d never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on. If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

Review

I was pleasantly surprised by this book – it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. A serious note on death, sisterhood and friendship. The realisation that our lives can change in the blink of an eye. One choice, one path taken – just one moment in time. In this case Evie makes a choice that leads to her death, and peculiarly she or her soul is left to see the aftermath of her tragic end.

See the reaction of people to her death, which is a bit of an eye-opener at times. In a way she is narrating her own death throughout the book. An unexpected event that opens up Evie, and her way of perceiving the world around her,  and gives her a new perspective. On the life she no longer gets to life, to finish with her goals achieved and her dreams fulfilled.                                                                           

It’s emotional and simultaneously beautiful – it captures the relationship between the two of them perfectly. Evie and Scarlett, best friends and roommates, but even best friends fight. Evie wonders whether she wants to be able to change the status quo if it changes things for the worse for her friend.           

It’s a wonderful read about embracing what we are unable to control, and realising that sometimes some things are meant to be and should be left to evolve or not. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. She has a knack for spinning the kind of yarn readers really want to experience.

Buy One Moment at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher  : ‎Corvus pub date 2 Mar. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Twist of Fate by D.L. Mark

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Twist of Fate by D.L. Mark – a crime steeped in something dark and sinister.

About the Author

D.L. Mark spent more than fifteen years as a journalist, including seven years as a crime reporter with the Yorkshire Post. His writing is heavily influenced by the court cases he covered: the jaded police officers; incompetent investigators; the inertia of the justice system and the grief of those touched by tragedy. He writes psychological suspense thrillers and historical novels, plus the DS McAvoy series (as David Mark). Follow D.L. Mark at @davidmarkwriter and davidmarkwriter.co.uk.

About the book

She says he’s a victim. They say he’s a killer. – When an armed man massacres several people in central London, Claudine witnesses the whole thing. To her horror, one of the victims is her brother, Jethro.

Riven by grief, Claudine retreats to the house in the Fens where she and Jethro grew up. When the police contact her, she is left reeling when they tell her Jethro orchestrated the attack.

Why would a gentle, if troubled, middle-aged man cause such bloodshed – and why would he include himself in the list of victims?

Claudine finds herself down a rabbit hole of mystery, caught up in Jethro’s research on a medieval cult. If she can’t solve the riddle in time, more people will die… and the darkness will claim her too.

Review

How are the vicious events linked to frightening episode a few decades ago? What does a murderous squelching presence have in common with the bloody massacre in central London.

A surprise visit between siblings, albeit an unwilling one from Claudine’s perspective, turns into a nightmare that changes her life forever. Does it make her more open and susceptible to what is out there? When she starts digging into the truth behind the tragic events she finds out things she isn’t ready to take on board and certainly doesn’t comprehend.

It’s dark crime thriller with elements of supernatural and a tinge of horror. The power of self persuasion or something more evil this way comes? A story where innocence is merely a face to wear in public while the voice and atmosphere of evil lurks in plain sight just waiting to emerge the world in darkness.

I recommend also reading books by this author under the slightly changed other name he publishes under – definitely worth a gander. The DS McAvoy series is very good.

Buy Twist of Fate at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Head of Zeus: pub date 02 March 2023 – Paperback * £9.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Love & Care by Shaun Deeney

It’s my turn on the Blogtour Love & Care by Shaun Deeney.

About the Author

Shaun Deeney is a former journalist and Emmy award-winning film and TV producer. He has made current affairs programmes for ITV on social issues, including care. He is also the creator of a podcast on caring for his mother called Love and Care. Shaun has a degree in English and American Literature from Kent at Canterbury. He has two daughters and loves listening to Frank Sinatra. For more information visit shaundeeney.com.

About the book

Shaun is finally free of responsibilities to anyone but himself; single, with two grown up daughters, he is just embarking on a new life in a new country when he gets a call to say his father is dying.

His mother has Parkinson’s Dementia and is in a care home. Shaun faces a stark choice: should he give up his new-found freedom, or turn his back on the woman he’d fought so hard to protect, not least from his own father? Shaun’s mother had loved and cared for her son all her life. Could he now do the same for her?

Review

It’s a peculiar thing to experience, the next stage of life and having to take on certain on certain responsibilities when life comes full circle. The child becomes the carer to the parent. The once strong person in charge becomes vulnerable, frail and needs support.

There is always someone who ends up having to make a choice about stepping in, the question in this case is whether the past can be laid to rest to do so. You have to be able to separate the past and the present.

I think this is a read that will resonate just slightly more with readers who have lived experience of the subject matter. In fact perhaps those who are at different stages of their caring journey will be able to draw from it, both emotionally and practically,

It’s an emotional read, but written with the ability to see the humour in situations that are often fleeting moments, anchors to the past often appearing in the present like small wormholes. The strength needed to be the reverse role, especially when the past still lays on a person like the rubble from a implosion.

The feeling of having a a slipping grasp on what used to be, which is an emotional minefield, is evident throughout the book. Its also what makes the read  frank, poignant and memorable.

Buy Love & Care at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : ‎Endeavour pub date 9 Feb. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Watching the Wheels by Stephen Anthony Brotherton

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Watching the Wheels by Stephen Anthony Brotherton.

About the Author

Stephen Anthony Brotherton now lives in Shropshire but grew up in the West Midlands. A social worker for nearly thirty years, he currently works for the NHS and is a member of the Bridgnorth Writers’ Group and the Shrewsbury Writers’ Lab. His first book, Fractures, Dreams and Second Chances, was released by the Book Guild in 2021. Watching the Wheels is his first collection of short stories.

About the book

A collection of short stories – a killer created from abuse, a teenager in search of answers from his older brother who committed suicide ten years earlier, a woman trapped in a persistent vegetative state, a ghost hunter afraid of ghosts, a bullied police officer, a man in a care home wanting a great adventure, and other fractured human beings looking for answers, trying to survive. What would you do in their place?

Review

This is novella length with a variety of short stories to tempt all kinds of readers.

The stories are gritty, sometimes crude, but designed to capture the moments in life that remain hidden or are overlooked. The short interactions, the briefest of moments that stay with us because they are poignant – they can mean the difference between one or the other taken.

Tales of guilt, questioning choices made, accepting lives lived and coming to terms with the invisibility of age. Each story will evoke a different reaction depending on the reader. I think the first one is a perfect example of that – I can imagine small joys sought will be seen as something slightly salacious.

The stories that speak directly to the vulnerability of age and the lack of support and understanding people in care homes tend to receive, especially when it comes to friends and family who suddenly act as if they can’t make a connection between the person they knew and the person in front of them now.

It’s a read that will give food for thought.

Buy Watching the Wheels at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher‏: ‎The Book Guild pub date 23 Feb. 2023. Buy at Amazon com