#Blogtour Whispers Through the Canvas by K.J. McGillick

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Whispers Through The Canvas: Murder’s Timeless Echo by K J McGillick.

About the Author

From the bustling courtrooms of Atlanta to the vibrant tapestry of 16th-century England, Kathleen McGillick’s life and career have been a captivating blend of legal expertise, artistic passion, and a thirst for adventure.

Fueled by an undergraduate and graduate degree in nursing, Kathleen built a foundation of compassion and care. This dedication to service later led her to pursue a Juris Doctorate, allowing her to navigate the intricacies of the legal system for nearly three decades. Her courtroom experience now breathes life into the intricate details of her legal thrillers, ensuring every courtroom scene crackles with authenticity.

But Kathleen’s story doesn’t end there. A deep fascination with art history led her to delve into the world of renowned artists and captivating eras. Her particular passion for 16th-century British history allows her to transport readers to richly detailed historical settings, immersing them in the culture, politics, and societal nuances of the time.

Driven by an unwavering dedication to her craft, Kathleen has independently published eleven legal thrillers since 2018. Her commitment extends beyond solo creation, as she actively engages with the writing community, honing her skills through workshops and courses led by renowned authors.

And when she’s not crafting captivating narratives, Kathleen embarks on international journeys, soaking in diverse cultures and experiences that further enrich her writing. This global perspective adds another layer of depth and realism to her stories, allowing readers to connect with characters and settings that transcend geographical boundaries.

To delve deeper into Kathleen’s world and explore her captivating legal thrillers, visit her website at kjmcgillick.com or goodreads.com/author/K_J_McGillick

About the book

Murder… Across The Fractured Corridors of Time.

Plunged into a centuries-old conspiracy, unconventional art historian Rowan Southeil must race against time to stop an ancient evil from rewriting history. When a young artist is murdered in a chilling echo of medieval violence, Rowan finds herself drawn to a seemingly unrelated clue – a 16th-century painting drenched in arcane symbols. Aided by the victim’s haunting presence, Rowan delves into the painting’s mysterious past, uncovering a dark conspiracy that stretches back generations.

Teaming up with the pragmatic Detective Lancaster, the intuitive Rowan follows a daring journey through time, from the storied halls of 16th-century Tudor London to the secretive 17th-century Vatican. As she awakens powerful elemental forces within herself, Rowan must decipher the painting’s secrets – and the connection to the medieval-style murder – before Lev Rubilov, a dark centuries-old occultist, can harness its magic to rewrite history and restore a twisted vision of the past.

For fans of genre-blending thrillers like A Discovery of Witches and Outlander, this captivating novel weaves together mystery, the supernatural, and high-stakes time travel in a race against the clock to stop an ancient evil. Whispers Through The Canvas is a crime story, filled with action and adventure, within a historical fantasy milieu. If you love kick-ass heroines who have a bit of life experience and walk on the wild side of magic, this book is for you.

Review

Rowan is an art historian with an unconventional ability, she sees and senses beyond what is visible to the eye. She feels what is often carried within the creation or perhaps even captured and held hostage in the between the colour, vision, material.

That in itself makes her invaluable to those who believe there is more to the world we live in than preconceived norms. A 16th-century painting takes centre stage in this riveting mystery that forces the reader to see beyond the brushstrokes.

It’s a little weighty in a sense that it appears to be on the cusp of wanting to wander into literary fiction, but being contained to a genre or story which may or may not constrain the tendency to walk beyond the structure of said genre/s. Maybe it’s time to let that instinct determine the path.

It’s a story that weaves in and out of magical realism, supernatural, historical fiction, and a good old mystery at the core of it all. The whole concept of art being the patient zero in a web of conspiracy, betrayal, power and murder, which stretches across centuries – well it has the potential to be a series that keeps on giving. I wonder what Rowan would make of the new royal portrait that was recently unveiled?

Buy Whispers Through the Canvas: Murder’s Timeless Echo at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Sleep Tight by C.S. Green

It’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Sleep Tight by C.S. Green

About the Author

Is a bestselling author of psychological thrillers and an award-winning writer of fiction for young people under the name Caroline Green. Written under the name Cass Green, her first novel for adults, the Woman Next Door, was a No.1 ebook bestseller, while the follow-up, In a Cottage in a Wood, was a USA Today bestseller and a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

She is the writer in residence at East Barnet School and teaches courses for City University and Writers’ and Artist’ Yearbook. She lives in London with her family. Sleep Tight is the start of a new series featuring the UCIT.

Follow @carolinesgreen on Twitter, Visit carolinegreenwriter.co.uk, Buy Sleep Tight

About the book

The nightmare is only just beginning… When DC Rose Gifford is called to investigate the death of a young woman suffocated in her bed, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to the attack than meets the eye.

It looks like a straightforward crime scene – but the police can’t find the killer. Enter DS Moody – an eccentric older detective who runs UCIT, a secret department of the Met set up to solve supernatural crimes. moody wants Rose to help her out – but Rose doesn’t believe in any of that. Does she?

As the killer prepares to strike again, Rose must pick a side  before a second woman dies.

Review

You really expect readers to go to bed and sleep peacefully ever after, especially after this read? More like one eye open at all times from now on. Forget lavender, meditation, yoga and whatever other sleep aids anyone may use. From this point forward it is coffee, caffeine and matchsticks between the eyelids.

Rose is called to the scene of a locked room mystery. A young woman who has been murdered, a woman who screamed very night that someone was out to get her. Nobody believed her, nobody cam to save her – and she isn’t the only one.

What separates Rose from the herd is her intuition and the ability to think beyond the boundaries of what society dictates. Her dead mother, who tends to wander around her house, might not agree with that assessment or anything for that matter. Rose is in tune with some things others can’t connect with and she is unwilling to accept.

Cue the secret department of police who investigate those crimes nobody has an answer for. They might just have the answers Rose is looking for, both in the case she is investigating and her life in general.

This looks like the beginning of an interesting series. Combining crime with the supernatural is one thing, but having a sceptic who sees ghosts and other apparitions, and yet denies that fact completely – well that’s another thing entirely. Looking forward to seeing where this road leads us and how crotchety Moody and insecure sceptical Gifford combine forces in the future.

Buy Sleep Tight at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : HarperCollins pub date 4 Mar. 2021. Buy at Waterstones. Hive. Bookshop org.

#BlogTour Monkey Arkwright by Rob Campbell

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour Monkey Arkwright, Wardens of the Black Heart book 1 by Rob Campbell.About the Author

Rob Campbell was born in the blue half of Manchester. He studied Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Manchester Polytechnic, gaining an honours degree, but the fact that he got a U in his Chemistry O-Level helps to keep him grounded.

Having had a belly full of capacitors and banana plugs, on graduation he transferred his skills to software engineering. He still writes code by day, but now he writes novels by night. Listing his pastimes in no particular order, he loves music, reading and holidays, but he is partial to the words and music of Bruce Springsteen.

His favourite authors are David Morrell, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch & Carlos Ruiz Zafón. He lives in Manchester with his wife and two daughters.

Follow on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Amazon, Visit monkeyarkwright.wordpress.com, Buy Monkey Arkwright

About the book

Budding writer Lorna Bryson is struggling to come to terms with the recent death of her father when she meets Monkey Arkwright, the boy who loves to climb. The two strike up an immediate rapport, and Monkey challenges her to write about him, claiming that he can show her things that are worth writing about.

True to his word, Lorna is catapulted into Monkey’s world of climbing and other adventures in the churches, woodlands and abandoned places in and around their home town of Culverton Beck.

When the two teenagers find an ancient coin in the woods, claims from potential owners soon flood in, including the mysterious Charles Gooch, who is adamant that the coin is his. But this is only the opening act in a much larger mystery that has its roots in some dark deeds that took place more than a century earlier.

Combining their talents, Lorna and Monkey set about fitting the pieces together in a tale of budding friendship, train-obsessed simpletons, the shadow of Napoleon and falling pianos.

Review

Although this is YA I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it both younger and older readers. It has the strange appealing kind of charm associated with stories of such ilk as Stand by Me, perhaps because it has an aura of nostalgia, especially at the beginning of the book.

Lorna and Monkey meet whilst Lorna is visiting the grave of a loved one, and Monkey just happens to be climbing and hanging about in the same place. The teenagers strike up an unusual friendship. One that throws them into an exciting adventure, after Monkey finds an unusual coin, that has them questioning everything they know and believe.

The question of whom the coin belongs to draws the two of them into a bizarre adventure of powerful objects and the men who would like to control or use said power.

It’s interesting how Campbell lets the reader wonder and debate the validity of the premise along with the characters. Is it luck or bad luck? Is there any such thing as luck or just happenchance and the right circumstances. Is there any connection to something more substantial, such as the events these objects determine or sway being influenced by faith, illusion, magic or supernatural forces?

It’s an adventurous story of fate, faith, power, magical realism and ultimately one of friendship.

I think this has the potential to be a really good series, especially the combination of Monkey and Lorna, their friendship, the secret societies battling against each other to acquire the strange powerful objects. There is just so much to be drawn from the characters, their relationships and the mystical mystery connected with an abundance of everyday items and the occasional oddity.

Buy Monkey Arkwright at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

It starts off fairly innocently, funny even. The town seems to treat their very own personal witch a bit like the oddball auntie you want to hide when the new in-laws in spe come to visit.

Then Heuvelt slowly takes the atmosphere from funny to peculiar and then it starts to get creepy. From that point onwards everything is just downhill from a ‘I was expecting a more pleasant experience’ perspective.

The horror aspect takes over in such an insidious way that it seems to slither from the pages into your fingers. I felt like having a shower afterwards to wash off the scent and the touch of the witch.

For me it was the whispering, I swear it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Then on top of that the imagery of the sewn up eyes and mouth. Yeh, that’s one way to keep people awake at night.

I liked the parallels between the hysteria of the witch trials and the reactions of the modern day townspeople. All in the name of the Good Lord and everything goes to hell in handbasket in a matter of days. Educated, sensible and lenient people turn into scavengers braying for blood.

They want their fair share of the supposed justice. Forget about the fact none of them are living in medieval times, and they seem to have become a small country unto themselves. Governed by myths, hearsay, fear and a council full of backwards thinking individuals.

At the very beginning the Delarosa’s make a valid point. The cursed town could try a little harder to keep new people out. Nobody wants to be stuck in the same place forever, subject to the whims of an ancient witch and always on the cusp of death.

Hex seems like your standard horror/supernatural, but Heuvelt doesn’t believe in standard or in happy endings for that matter.

Buy Hex at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Briggs is on top form again with Fire Touched, the 9th book in the Mercy Thompson series. If you are a newbie to the series then this story can be read as a stand-alone, but I would suggest reading the rest of the series, because it really is excellent.

Briggs must have a Phd in Fae politics by now. Talk about making the grey cells buzz with the sheer magnitude of it all. The pack rules are already quite complex, especially now they have added non-wolf members with whom half the pack has issues.

Mercy and Adam offer protection to someone, who at first sight doesn’t really seem like an important person or the catalyst for a potential fae vs human war. Then again some of the baddies still make the mistake of underestimating Mercy too.

Everyone wants a piece of Aiden, and they are willing to take out everyone and anything to get to him. Fortunately for him he has the pack on his side.

Fire Touched is a fast-paced urban fantasy that packs a wicked punch and keeps the reader on their toes. Briggs has infused the action with her very own brand of Fantasy, which often makes it appear as if she really does negotiate with the supernatural in her spare time.

The only thing I think could have been done a tad better was Underhill. I’m all for mysticism and secrecy, but trying to decipher the who and what of Underhill was a bit confusing. Sometimes it was a she, then an it and often a thing. Is it a place, more than one place or just a fae unto itself. I believe the latter was the actual answer, however I do think a better explanation would have simplified the matter.

Saying that I always enjoy the extra supernatural mile Briggs is willing to go for her stories. She has managed to keep the Mercy Thompson series fresh and intriguing, despite this being the ninth book in the series.

As always this was a great read and a highly recommended one.

Buy Fire Touched at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Reap the Wind by Karen Chance

Well this book is certainly a whirlwind, I don’t think the main character managed to stop and have a break for even a minute. It was non-stop fast-paced action.

Faster than Chance’s usual pace that’s for sure. She usually gives us some drawn out moments of passion or touchy feely scenes.

If you have been following the life and troubles of Cassie Palmer since the beginning then you will understand the difference between the two of them when you read this book and this Cassie, as opposed to the Cassie of the first book.

Chance has kicked up the erotic scenes a notch. Easing slowly towards a romantic relationship between Pritkin and Cassie. She spends a lot of time reflecting upon the why of her relationship with Mircea. Is it love, is it lust or is it just compulsion? If so, has she possibly been ignoring a real connection between her and Pritkin all this time?

It seems as if Cassie spends all her time in the buff, in a towel or in general with no clothes in her general vicinity. She also seems to have an unfortunate amount of bathroom, shower and bedroom incidents. Old Cassie used to do all her stunts and crazy missions with clothes on, she also never used to spend half her time playing hole in one with her flavour of the month.

It is almost as if Chance is bowing down to the pressure of appealing to a mass audience and using the quick thrills to keep them captivated, instead of sticking to her unique style of writing and creativity.

In my opinion Chance is still quite underrated as an Urban Fantasy writer. She certainly deserves more recognition than she gets, especially for her Dorina Basarab series. She spins the worlds of vamps, fey, shifters and magic together like a well-constructed spider’s web, and combines all of it with her feisty characters and charming wit.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, courtesy of Penguin Berkley/Signet.

Buy Reap the Wind on Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for Amazon.com or for any other retailer.

Read Ride the Storm by Karen Chance

Shifter: City of Wolves by Avery Burch

It’s supposed to be adult paranormal romance, but I think it is a combination of YA and New Adult with fairly graphic scenes. That is possibly something the author needs to look at more closely.

The age of the main characters and their dialogues does not gel with the more adult content in the book. At times it seemed as if two sub-genres were colliding in a way that suggests the author isn’t quite sure which direction she wants to go in.

Then there is the matter of keeping it realistic, well as realistic as you can get when werewolves are involved. Having your main female character give fellatio to the main male character in the middle of huge fight or slaughter scene, well it just isn’t realistic.

Everyone around you is being killed, weapons are being fired and you fear for your life. So you do what everyone would do in that dire situation you wipe out your boyfriends winkle and blow, suck and lick for what your life is worth.

Sometimes less is more, and in this case the author needs to be more certain and stand behind her storyline instead of resorting to quick erotic thrills to keep the reader reading. Is her storyline strong enough without all the graphic intervals? Yes, I believe it is. Perhaps a little too much on the YA side, but then maybe that is where Birch would be more comfortable.

The other thing I found slightly dodgy was the fascination with incestuous scenarios. I know they are wolves, and animals don’t adhere to higher social standards when it comes to being related, but these are shifters. They are men and women with the possible genetic coding of a shifter. They live as humans, and the elitists abhor the shifters, so why would they entertain incestuous relationships? Surely even by their standards it is going to be seen as legally and morally wrong?

I think when Burch finds a little more of her own voice to make this series as strong as it potentially could be.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Buy  Shifter: City of Wolves by Avery Burch at AmazonUK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Time to Die by Caroline Mitchell

Jennifer Knight is a policewoman with special abilities. The kind of ability that is a little out of the norm. She has a gift, the gift of foresight.

The images come to her via nightmares and sometimes even day-mares. She uses her gift on the job with her similarly gifted colleagues.

The team is called in to deal with an odd suicide. There seems to be some kind of connection to a strange Tarot reader. Little do they know that this odd man is a very dangerous individual. Dark visions and magic mixed with an almost obsessive need to kill.

It was interesting to see a main character with enough baggage to cause OCD. Her need to control leads all the way back to being helpless as a child. The reason for that helplessness turns up again after many years, which angers Jennifer and makes her more anxious than usual.

Perhaps she can deal with her OCD when she finally lets go of all her secrets, and there are quite a few. Even her sister is unaware of just how many secrets Jennifer is keeping to herself.

I liked the concept, although I do think Mitchell needs to give the special police squad a little more attention. Venture out a wee bit more with the other member instead of just focusing solely on Jennifer the entire time. You can give a main character enough space in a story without eclipsing everything else.

Overall this crime with a shot of supernatural has a lot of potential, it just needs a little more polish and structure.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

Monster by C.J. Skuse

I wasn’t expecting it to get so dark, probably because it starts out with a general Enid Blyton boarding school feel to it. The normal toxic relationships between teenage girls living in close vicinity to each other. Away from their parents and siblings, and shut off from the real world, as they go about their daily life in a cold and strict environment.

Skuse lulls the reader into a false sense of security. The focus is on the myth of the monster, the fear of the unknown and the slightly dysfunctional boarding school atmosphere.

Then from out of nowhere the pace, the plot and the genre changes in one foul swoop. I can’t tell you what, why, when or who, because it would spoil the surprise heading your way.

I think it is possible Skuse might return to this particular set of characters, because of the way she left the beast storyline. Something to explore in the future perhaps?

Overall it was a surprising read that will appeal to readers who like some innocence with their gore, a portion of mean with their candy floss sugary sweet and a wee bit of gnarly bloody beast with their murders.

Looking forward to see where this author takes us next with her twisted imagination.

Buy Monster at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read The Deviants by C.J. Skuse or Sweetpea.

Demon Road by Derek Landy

Derek Landy is also the author of the incredibly popular Skulduggery Pleasant series. His stories, and that includes Demon Road, have a subtle layer of wit running throughout them.

In this new venture Landy introduces a tough teenage girl, who is faced with a certain death sentence and changing her already sealed fate.She learns to accept her inner beauty and outer strength.

Poor Amber, imagine finding out you’re not only a monster, but you’re also the next full course meal for your parents and their friends. Luckily for her she has someone on the inside on her side, and that person leads her to Milo. Milo is the dark horse, I hope we get to know him a lot better in a possible sequel. He starts out as the untrustworthy stranger and slowly becomes Amber’s new family.

Everyone seems to spend all their time trying to outsmart the boss demon, which tends to end up complicating matters. Amber seems to be particularly talented at making bad situations even worse.

Will we see Glen again in the next book? There was a slight or suggestion that we might not have seen the last of him. I hope so , because he was quite funny.

It is a fast paced supernatural demonic extravaganza with witty dialogues and strong memorable characters. Oh, and kudos to Landry for making a point of calling out the cat-callers of our society.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Buy Demon Road at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read Desolation (Demon Road #2) here