Jennie Ensor's Blog, page 2

Pub week whirlwind… and those reviews!

Suffice to say, this week has been AWESOME.

My book was published this Tuesday, a deliciously hectic day trying to keep up with social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It turned out to be one of my most enjoyable publication days ever (am I finally learning to chill and embrace uncertainty??) and culminated in a Zoom launch for Silenced and The Dark Side of Christmas – Hobeck Books’ seasonal anthology (royalties going to the Scottish charity Streetreads, which helps homeless people to start getting their lives back together through the power of reading). I didn’t know how this would go and was quite worried when I couldn’t get into event (I blame two user names on Eventbrite) five minutes after it had started – was panicking, thinking I was going to miss my own party…

But it all went OK in the end. I read out a short chapter, videos were played and questions were asked. I even sipped from a glass of Prosecco while messaging friends who’d joined the event from Scotland and Sydney.

The blog tour started on Monday with the two of the most amazing reviews I’ve ever clapped eyes on, and continued in much the same vein. You’ll have to imagine a string of appropriate gobsmacked emojis, given this is posted from my computer. I’ve listed all the reviews (I hope) from week one of the tour – trad blogs, Instagram and Twitter – on Silenced along with author Liz Mistry’s review in The Crime Warp. Seriously, I deeply appreciate the time and effort that quite a few bloggers have directed towards reading and reviewing my tome of a book (it is 500+ pages). Book bloggers are the best!!

(Please note: Cathy Ryan, Between The Lines, is now at the end of the tour.)

Then on Thursday I had the pleasure (in between anxiety attacks) of chatting on Zoom with Donna Morfett for her fast-becoming-an-institution Facebook author interviews. As I was somewhat nervous, I rambled on rather and hesitated even more than usual.

Maybe I’ll stick to writing

Silenced is £2.99 for the ebook (http://viewbook.at/silenced and £9.29 for the paperback on Bookshop.org/£9.99 on Waterstones.com. Or order at any bookshop (stocked at Highgate Books in London, N6 – they have several copies and one in the window with a local author sticker! – and some Waterstones branches).

Reading from Silenced💀

At long last I can post videos again (pricier WordPress plan).

Here’s a couple of clips of me reading from my new book at the Brixton Book Jam on 22 November, a laid-back literary event held quarterly at a pub in south London.

It was the first bookish thing I’d been to for yonks – I had a lovely evening listening and chatting to fellow authors including Anna Mazzola, Rosie Wilby, James Benmore and Venetia Welby. My friend had a great time (much laughter at some performers’ humorous anecdotes) and my thanks to Mr E for his superlative camera skills.

The start of the opening section (a second or two after)

The first and second clips are both from the opening section of Silenced (with some page turn faffing removed).

The end of the opening section

Below is what I meant to put up before – the trailer created by Rebecca Collins at Hobeck Books. I love its chilling feel, which may well reflect certain aspects of the book.

Trailer for Silenced

If you’d like to find out more about the book, please see my previous posts and my Silenced page. Also (video clip to come!) the Silenced blog tour starts on 6 December, the day before publication. Looking forward to that, mostly.

Gang novel coming soon. Life has got crazy again…

There’s been a lull in my mailing list and website activity over the summer, owing to me being away supposedly having a break but actually getting on with a flurry of book-related tasks in between occasional hikes and lake swims. But I’m back now!

Such a lot is going on with this new book, my debut ‘proper’ crime novel, I don’t really know where to start. The cover might be as good a place as any – here it is:

Cover of SILENCED

I know, it is quite attention grabbing! Thanks to designer Jayne Mapp for the cover. Fire is one of the themes in the book, which I describe as an emotionally-charged crime thriller, part police procedural and part psychological thriller. But you will have to read it to get the full picture.

Here’s the blurb:

A teenage girl murdered on her way home from school, stabbed through the heart. Her North London community is shocked, but no-one has the courage to help the police, not even her mother.

It’s DI Callum Waverley’s first major case as senior investigating officer – can he break the code of silence that shrouds the case?

This is a world where the notorious Skull Crew rules through fear. Everyone knows you keep your mouth shut or you’ll be silenced – permanently.

This is Luke’s world. Reeling from the loss of his mother to cancer, his step-father distant at best, violent at worst, he slides into the Skull Crew’s grip.

This is Jez’s world too. Her alcoholic mother neither knows nor cares that her 16-year-old daughter is being exploited by V, all-powerful leader of the gang.

Luke and Jez form a bond. Is it friendship, love or fear that brings them together? Can Callum win their trust, or will his own demons sabotage his investigation? And can anyone stop the Skull Crew ensuring all witnesses are silenced?

Oh yes, I should mention that publication date is 7 December 2021 and you will be able to pre-order the ebook on Amazon from a few weeks before. A paperback will be on sale through Amazon plus the Hobeck Books site.

My publisher asked me to write a prequel, one of the things I was doing over the summer. Saviour, the resulting longish short story, is an introduction to the world of SILENCED, where an ultra-violent and highly exploitative gang rules the surrounding neighborhood through fear. The tagline Would you save yourself – or your family? pretty much sums up the choice that has to be made by a young gang member. Anyone who subscribes to Hobeck Books can read Saviour at no cost. (Also, I should mention here that all who subscribe before 31 October 2021 will automatically be entered into Hobeck’s competition and have a chance to win a Paperwhite Kindle loaded up with books from all of the Hobeck authors, plus some very tasty goodies.)

Saviour’s cover:

Saviour’s cover

One of the other things I did on my extended visit to France (with husband and dog to our mountain retreat from civilisation) was helping to organise auditions for the audiobook’s narrators. I don’t think I mentioned it, but there will be an audiobook!! Listening to some of the audition recordings has been such thrill, and at times has brought tears to my eyes (in a good way).

Right now I’m madly sending off advance reader copies. It’s a tense time, awaiting early readers’ verdicts on my ‘gang novel’. It took me a long time to get this one right – four rewrites at least, so there’s more at stake somehow. I’m trying not to get too stressed just yet (anyone who knows how to avoid that, please let me know )

Soon I’ll be able to unveil the SILENCED video trailer, which is something else! Also there’s a blog tour video, can’t wait to share that too. In the meantime, here’s the blog tour poster:

SILENECD blog tour

Thanks to all the bloggers who have agreed to take part.

There’s probably something else that I need to say but can’t remember what… so for now I will shut up and let you get on with whatever you should be doing.

Postcard from France 🇫🇷

Al fresco dining

Hello there, greetings from the south-western corner of France! I’ve been here in the mountains since July with husband and Hogy, our terrier, our longest ever stay. After two years of not being able to visit, the house and garden needed a lot of attention but we got there in the end!

Right now am lying in bed listening to the occasional chirps of a magpie watching the clouds lift from the mountains, which surround the house. All three of us are recovering from a gruelling walk yesterday – it was cloudy so couldn’t get into the high mountains but even so got to around 3000 feet.

View from garden

I have been working hard on a short story prequel to Silenced – just finished (it will be available shortly, details soon). I’ve also been busy writing the first draft of Book 5 and replying to emails from Hobeck Books about the Silenced audiobook, video trailer, book cover and so on – somewhat complicated by the fact that there’s no WiFi in the house (no service available anymore) so I have to take my laptop into the nearby town to send an email.

I’m enjoying the peace and beauty of this place very much, especially when the sun appears and you can see the distant mountain peaks. The slower pace of life also seems to be helping my sleep – for a change I have no problem getting enough despite the two sets of church bells.

The only thing to distinguish one day from the next is the Saturday market – everyone is very COVID aware, wearing masks even outside. (There have been very few cases here apparently.)

One of our local walks

We have no tv and useless radio reception due to the nearby mountain so my husband et moi et chien often spend the evenings listening to an Ian Rankin crime novel In the House of Lies in our converted barn – great acoustics and a different (mostly very enjoyable unless they fall asleep) experience listening to an audiobook with someone else.

We’ve had a soirée with our new neighbours in their garden and Mr E has been getting reacquainted with the villagers (he knows almost everyone it seems). My French has been improving too though is still lacking in many ways… 15 August was the fete national fireworks (on Sunday night at 11pm just as we were falling asleep ). Cinema tonight, a rare treat!

View from an upstairs room

Better get up, more cleaning to do and the sun is coming out again…

A bientot

July news, coping with change, and the end of lockdown

A recap of my big news…

After four drafts, my novel – now titled ‘Silenced’, a crime novel with elements of a psychological thriller – has found a home with Hobeck Books. Hobeck is a newish publisher focusing on crime, suspense and thrillers. Their website’s tag line ‘Indie spirit, traditional values’ immediately appealed to me – fortunately, my novel appealed to them!

I was lucky to get through the door, though. Adrian Hobart and Rebecca Collins had built up a team of 15 authors in their first year and weren’t taking further submissions when I asked them if they had read my manuscript yet. (See blog post about the book on the Hobeck Books site – you’ll see why I was so flabbergasted by their reaction to my novel!)

Silenced is due for publication on 7 December 2021 this year. Just writing that gives me a tingle of excitement! In the meantime there are a few things I need to do, such as writing a prequel and getting on with my village-in-lockdown crime novel.

My book picks for July

Among the books I’ve read recently-ish – mostly crime and thrillers – I would recommend An Eye For an Eye by Carol Wyer. This is a terrific portrayal of the impact of grief and trauma on a female detective, very cleverly written and plotted. She is forced her to take leave when she develops PTSD after responding to a horrific crime aboard a train, then is asked by her boss to return to work to investigate a murder. But she finds sinister links to the crime which took her off work in the first place, and she’s not sure if she can trust her bosses anymore… Beware, there is one rather hard-to-read scene involving an apple! However, the violence in the book is in general not graphic or gratuitous.

Other books I’ve enjoyed very much include the masterful My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithewaite and Daria’s Daughter by Linda Huber (published by Hobeck Books earlier this year). Among audiobooks, I have been engrossed by The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor (teenage and adult protagonists, and spooky goings on between murders) and The Lake House by Kate Morton, a historical mystery. 

AN EYE FOR AN EYEDARIA’S DAUGHTERGetting through the lockdowns

Though the replacement of face-to-face human contact with Zoom has been extremely frustrating at times, for me at least, online interaction has been a lifeline. At one time I was doing about four zoom sessions a week – writing groups, yoga, choir rehearsals and ballet class along with occasional cocktails with friends. One of the online things I started is kundalini, a slightly weird form of yoga involving mediation and movement, hoping it would help me with sleeping and relaxation.

Sleeping at night has been a challenge for years – I’m prone to worrying and existential angst – a significant birthday this year isn’t helping! I’ve found that regular yoga and meditation make sleeping easier, and also helps one to relax and unwind no matter what stressful incidents might pop up. (Getting a contract negotiated and signed has been a little stressful at times!) On a practical note, if you also find nodding off at night difficult, I recommend the Hello Sleep! audiobook on Audible (guided mediations based on mindfulness) and yoga nidra (a traditional form of meditative yoga – there are loads of free downloads on the internet).

Other news

Having republished Not Having It All back in January (ebook and paperback), in May I decided to also republish the ebook of my debut, Blind Side (it had come to the end of its licence with Unbound). Both titles are available on Amazon.

The village of Shieldaig in the remote Scottish HighlandsScotland

I’ll finish this with some photos from a trip to Scotland I made with my Significant Other in late May, just as everything was opening up. The week we stayed in a cottage overlooking a sea loch in the remote Highlands was a highlight – there were plenty of peaceful moments to relax and unwind, helped by glorious views over the water. I’ll never forget the magical evening just before going to bed when I listened to Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass (the choral work I was meant to be practising) while watching watery reflections slowly fade in the long, early-summer twilight.

Evenings beside the loch…

I hope you’re enjoying whatever you’re doing and the summer weather is not too unkind (for those in the northern hemisphere). The rain here seems relentless! But change must come, sooner or later… 

Until next time,

Jennie

My news!! Hobeck Books to publish my crime thriller

Can at last reveal my news! I’ve been bubbling over with excitement after signing a contract last week with a new publisher, Hobeck Books (new for me plus they are new on the publishing scene but growing rapidly). My latest novel, SILENCED (a psychological thriller-crime thriller set in the murky world of police corruption and violent drug gangs) will be published this December

From the Hobeck Books website

I’m so relieved to have found such a wonderful home for my novel. Especially when I read the Hobeck blog post how they nearly passed over my MS as there was no more room at the inn!! Thanking my lucky stars they didn’t… More info on the signing https://www.hobeck.net/latest-news and https://www.hobeck.net/post/when-the-drawbridge-just-has-to-be-lowered-for-one-more

Now to crack open a few beers!

Win a book token, chocs & a signed copy of NOT HAVING IT ALL

Prize draw 6pm GMT 23 February

To celebrate my relaunch of my relationship comedy Not Having It All, here’s something to tempt book lovers and chocolate lovers. This is my first independently published book, and the whole process is more than a little scary to be honest. I recently got the rights back from my publisher and now am going it alone (cue ominous background music…)

But I’ve had a surge of support from friends on social media and am hoping that once I’ve brushed up my ad skills and wotnot, my book will reach some new readers. Also, I’ve had support from some ace bloggers who have kindly agreed to take part in a spate of blog posts from 18th February. Thanks to all of you guys!

Now, about this giveaway.

First prize: £20 National Book Tokens gift card (if winner lives in the UK) or a $25 Amazon.com eGift Card (if outside the UK) plus a signed paperback copy of Not Having It All plus a box of Guylian Finest Belgian Chocolates with Hazelnut Praliné Filling to enhance your reading experience

Runner-up prize: A signed paperback copy of NHIA plus a bar of Green & Blacks dark mint chocolate.

To enter, you need to be signed up to my newsletter (here on this website and super easy). Everyone eligible will have their email address entered into my hat for random plucking. If my hair’s OK & anyone happens to be lurking, I might even do the draw live. (That will also be a first.)

The names of the winner and runner up will be announced on my author Facebook page ASAP after the draw. 

I’m looking forward to this already – and it’ll be an excuse to get my hair done (By myself, that is.) Better put the date in my diary before I forget, and remind myself to get the chocolates!

My top 10 reads of 2020

A little news…

2020 has been a terrible year for many of us due to Covid-19 wreaking havoc on the world and taking away so much of what we took for granted. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to keep on writing and working from home without too much interruption (my husband is in the house too now but he wisely keeps his distance while I’m in my office). With far less time spent hanging out in cafes and seeing people in the outside world, my year has been bleak at times but highly productive.

On Christmas eve I finished (thank goodness!!) writing, redrafting and editing my ‘debut’ crime novel – the first to focus on a police investigation. I got the first draft done in April and revised it a couple of times. Then in September I realised I needed to significantly rewrite the novel that I’d thought was finished, adding other elements that on reflection had been missing. (Thanks to the tough critics in my writing group.) In the process, I turned my gang thriller into a crime novel blended with a psychological thriller, inspired in part by TV’s Line of Duty and The Sinner.

Finally, the novel is what I wanted to write in the first place but shied away from, thinking it would be too much of a challenge. (Yeah, I should have been braver in the first place…) Finishing is an intense relief after nearly 400 pages! Whatever happens, I have a feeling that this one is going to be special.

Back to the reason for this post. Before the year ends, I want to share my favourite books out of those I managed to ‘read’ in 2020 – or listen to, in many cases, while out walking. You’ll notice a leaning towards crime and thrillers. They were mostly published in 2019 or a bit before.

My top ten books1 Breakers by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

A vulnerable youth and his sister who live with their pretty useless addict mother in a desolate high-rise tower on the wrong side of town are coerced into robbing the house of an underworld king – who’s not best pleased.

My take:

This is my first Doug Johstone book but I doubt it will be my last. Gritty, atmospheric and tense, this is a powerful story set in Scotland told with spare, compelling prose. I really cared about the main characters and what might happen to them.

2 The Women by SE Lynes (Bookouture, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

With the help of two attendees on her creative writing course, a young woman with a small child starts to see the true, chilling nature of the narcissistic older man who swept her off her feet…

My take:

The Women is beautifully observed. The central character’s situation pulled me in, along with the journey she goes on (though she is not the most astute of women at the start). The theme of women standing up to male dominance and oppression resonated with me as I’m sure it has for many women. I found the ending both startling and satisfying.

3 Unquiet Souls (a DI Gus McGuire case) by Liz Mistry (Bloodhound Books, 2016)

Plot in a sentence:

An injured, traumatised detective desperate to get back to work finds himself hunting a powerful, super-secret ring of child traffickers in West Yorkshire (northern England) who are set on avenging the woman who betrayed them, years before – then starts to suspect a colleague may be involved.

I admit I had one or two difficult moments as a reader – (brief) descriptions of neglected/trafficked children and cruelty to a child – and it took me a while to get into the book’s structure (past/future strands and various points of view). But I was won over by dreadlocks-swinging DI McGuire with his mental and physical infirmities, and by halfway was eager to read on.

Unquiet Souls, despite its subject matter and references to chilling crimes, is sensitively written with plenty of gritty, realistic observations of police work and the impact of crime on victim’s lives. I especially liked the interplay and humour between the police characters and the building intrigue as to the ringmaster’s (“The Matchmaker”) identity. The ending is tense, to say the least! If you can cope with some nasty – though not at all gratuitous – moments, I’d highly recommend this first police procedural in a series involving this detective. I’m going to be checking out what Gus is up to in Liz Mistry’s next book, for sure.

4 Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce (Wildfire, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

Criminal barrister with a serious alcohol problem who’s having issues with her husband embarks on the defence of a woman who’s accused of murdering her husband, unleashing a series of disturbing parallels between the two women…

Blood Orange is another book that I finally got around to listening to this year. An excellent portrayal of a woman pushed to the brink, struggling to cope with her family, marriage and a demanding career, and who’s hooked on grim encounters with a selfish guy (her colleague) and unable to discern the truth under her nose. In the first half I found myself getting frustrated with her for her repeated self-destructive behaviour (getting drunk and having humiliating encounters/illicit liaisons). Psychological suspense with strong shades of Apple Tree Yard, as is mentioned in the book’s blurb – clever, absorbing, memorable, dark, witty and twisty – highly recommended.

5 Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes (Simon & Schuster UK, 2018)

Plot in a sentence:

A detective (and his dog) arrives on a small island in the Scilly Isles to take a break after the death of his police partner – but after a young woman is found dead on the rocks he decides to help the useless local police and gets drawn into the tightly-knit community, one of whom is the girl’s killer…

A great sense of mood and place, well drawn characters, plenty of mystery with an edge of menace – Hell Bay has a lot going for it. The story is centred on a guilt-ridden detective who’s pulled between his role as SIO and his role as a friend and returning member of the community. He’s not resistant to the lure of a mysterious pretty woman, in between taking his independent-minded hound on windswept walks to smugglers’ haunts… As far as the ending goes, all I will say is bravo Fido

6 In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne (Tinder Press, 2018)

Plot in a sentence:

Three teenage boys of diverse cultures and ethnicities living on a north London council estate are forced to choose where their loyalties lie after the riots and radicalism are unleashed by the killing of a British solider.

Though it took me a while to settle into IOMAFC due to the past/present threads and a fair few characters – both teenagers and their parents, adult immigrants living in London – it got me by the (dramatic) end! I was wowed by the sense of place and the teen voices, the author’s bold representation of their speech and use of urban slang. For example, at random –

Bruv. I knew you could spit but I never knew you could spit like that-yuno)

Despite the ugliness and the neglect of the places described, and the harsh realities of life for the characters, a love for the city and the spirit of its people shines through.

7 The Chalk Man by CJ Taylor

Plot in a sentence:

A 12-year-old boy tells the story of the events that shaped him – leading up to a mysterious murder in a smallish community. His account is intertwined with that of his adult self, decades later when faced with the reverberations of those events.

Finally, I’ve got around to reading this one! I found it beautifully written, mysterious, atmospheric, suspenseful and often chilling… I particularly enjoyed the psychological elements of The Chalk Man (fear of what lies within, fear of self-disintegration, loss of identity) and loved the vivid portrayal of Eddie as a boy and his changing friendships and family relationships.

8 Gallowstree Lane by Kate London (Corvus, 2019)

A police procedural about how the fatal stabbing of a gang-involved teenage boy leads to conflict between two rival gangs – and two rival police operations. (Gallowstree Lane is the location of the road where the stabbing happen, and a lot of other bad stuff.)

I took a while to get into this very well written but somewhat complex novel, where the investigation into the boy’s murder infringes on an undercover op about to yield results after two years. It is the third book in a series, which I didn’t realise at first. It took me a while to pick up on what was going on between the police characters. They grew on me though as I learned more about them and their interrelated lives. The joining of the narrators’ stories later created tension and drama. Ryan, the friend of the murdered teenager, has an especially strong voice. The policing and gang details felt totally authentic – as you’d expect given the author was a homicide squad detective in the Met – and the book certainly gives an insight into the realities of the modern policing of street gangs and drug crime.

9 Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Plot in a sentence:

A female US army officer, traumatised by an incident which led to her leaving the military, is shocked when her recently murdered husband inexplicably appears on her nanny-cam. Or something like that. Given the significant twist at the end it is quite hard to summarise the plot without giving anything away.

This was an immersive read thanks to the attention to detail, the building sense of mystery and the depth and complexity of the main character. She’s a capable, gun-toting army veteran who has become highly vulnerable due to PTSD, grief and fear/near paranoia. The ending came as an shock and made me examine all my assumptions about the character and set-up.

10 Their Last Breath by Sibel Hodge (Thomas & Mercer, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

DI Warren Carter, who harbour his own dark secrets, is asked to join Hertfordshire anti-corruption unit’s investigation when the warrant card of an officer from the Force is found in a burned-out building containing a room with six women chained to the wall.

After a dramatic if gruesome start, this book evolves into a taut, suspenseful tale of two detectives hunting for the killers and a rogue cop. The plot also involves a reporter working on a story about illicit goings-on in a refugee camp and a trafficked woman.

Wishing everyone a hugely better 2021

My top reads of 2020

A little news…

While this year of enforced isolation has been dreadful in many respects, it has been a highly productive one for me. Until last week I’ve been spending nearly all of my time redrafting and editing my debut crime novel (the first to focus on a police investigation).

That, thank goodness is now done. During the summer I realised I needed to significantly rewrite the novel I’d thought was finished. In the process I turned my gang crime thriller into a psychological thriller blended with a police procedural, unashamedly influenced by TV’s Line of Duty and The Sinner. Finally, the novel is (I hope) what I wanted to write in the first place – a crime novel that includes many elements of a psychological thriller – but shied away from, thinking it would be too much of a challenge. This is an intense relief after the pain of indecision, and nearly 400 pages! I have a feeling this one is going to be something special, anyway…

Back to the reason for this post. Before the year ends, I want to share my favourite books out of those I managed to ‘read’ in 2020 – or listen to, in many cases, while out walking. You’ll notice a leaning towards crime and thrillers. They aren’t the newest books, though mostly were published in the past few years.

In a very rough order, here’s my top ten books…

Breakers by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

A vulnerable youth and his sister who live with their pretty useless addict mother in a desolate high-rise tower on the wrong side of town are coerced into robbing the house of an underworld king – who’s not best pleased.

My take:

This is my first Doug Johstone book but I doubt it will be my last. Gritty, atmospheric and tense, this is a powerful story set in Scotland told with spare, compelling prose. I cared about the main characters and what might happen to them.

The Women by SE Lynes (Bookouture, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

With the help of two attendees on her creative writing course, a young woman with a small child starts to see the true, chilling nature of the narcissistic older man who swept her off her feet…

My take:

The Women is beautifully observed, the settings were spot on. The central character’s situation pulled me in, along with the journey she goes on (though she is not the most astute of women at the start). The theme of women standing up to male dominance and oppression resonated with me as I’m sure it has for many women. I found the ending both startling and satisfying.

Unquiet Souls (a DI Gus McGuire case) by Liz Mistry (Bloodhound Books, 2016)

Plot in a sentence:

An injured, traumatised detective desperate to get back to work finds himself hunting a powerful, super-secret ring of child traffickers in West Yorkshire (northern England) who are set on avenging the woman who betrayed them, years before – then starts to suspect a colleague may somehow be involved.

My take:

I admit I had one or two difficult moments as a reader – (brief) descriptions of neglected/trafficked children and cruelty to a child – and it took me a while to get into the swing of the structure (past/future strands and various points of view). But I was won over by dreadlocks-swinging DI McGuire his mental and physical infirmities, and by halfway was eager to read on.

Unquiet Souls, despite its subject matter and references to chilling crimes, is sensitively written with plenty of gritty, realistic observations of police work and the impact of crime on victim’s lives. I especially liked the interplay and humour between the police characters and the building intrigue as to the ringmaster’s (The Matchmaker) identity. The ending is tense, to say the least! If you can cope with some nasty though not at all gratuitous moments, I’d highly recommend this first police procedural in a series involving this detective. I’m going to be checking out what Gus is up to in Liz Mistry’s next book, for sure.

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce (Wildfire, 2019)

Plot in a sentence:

Criminal barrister with a serious alcohol problem who’s having issues with her husband embarks on the defence of a woman who’s accused of murdering her husband, unleashing a series of disturbing parallels between the two women…

My take:

Blood Orange is another book that I finally got around to listening to this year. An excellent portrayal of a woman pushed to the brink, struggling to cope with her family, marriage and a demanding career, and who’s hooked on grim encounters with a selfish guy (her colleague) and unable to discern the truth under her nose.

In the first half I found myself quite frustrated with her for her repeated self-destructive behaviour (basically getting drunk and having humiliating encounters/illicit liaisons) which perhaps could have been made more understandable to the reader. Psychological suspense with strong shades of Apple Tree Yard, as is mentioned in the blurb – clever, absorbing, memorable, dark, witty and twisty – highly recommended.

Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes (Simon & Schuster UK, 2018)

Plot in a sentence:

A detective (and his dog) arrives on a small island in the Scilly Isles to take a break after the death of his police partner – but after a young woman is found dead on the rocks he decides to help the useless local police and gets drawn into the tightly-knit community, one of whom is the girl’s killer…

Strong writing, a great sense of mood and place, well drawn characters, plenty of mystery with an edge of menace – Hell Bay has a lot going for it. The story is centred on a guilt-ridden detective who’s pulled between his role as SIO and his role as a friend and returning member of the community. He’s not resistant to the lure of a mysterious pretty woman, in between taking his independent-minded hound on long windswept walks to smugglers’ haunts… As far as the ending goes, all I will say is bravo Fido

Lockdown Prize – my entry 2nd in ‘Breakout’ category

A weird thing happened to me this week. I got an email from Fish Publishing saying my entry had got second place in the Pocket Prose category of the Lockdown Prize, an international writing competition on the theme of the Coronavirus-induced lockdown. Then I got another email saying it was actually second in another category, Breakout, for entries over the 100 word limit.

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Whatever they want to call it, I was proud, excited and in a state of disbelief that my poem/prose poem/breakout flash thingie had done so well. I’ve been chipping away at the art of poetry for years, in between writing novels and short stories. While I’ve had some poems published, none of them have ever been placed in a competition. So this result means a lot to me.

My piece is called ‘Lost Connection’. I wrote it early (for me that is) one morning in the kitchen while sunlight dappled the kitchen walls and the huge horse chestnut at the end of our garden was coming into bloom. I’ve been known to complain about the tree’s copious leaves when sweeping them up for months every autumn, but now I can give thanks to it for providing inspiration!

I think I’m allowed to copy my entry here. Check out the Best Poems and Pocket Prose page of the Fish Publishing website for the rest of it, and many other varied poems and short prose responding to ‘lockdown’ around the world.

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One of my favourites is ‘Lockdown’, a rap-style poem by Geoff Burnes – I hope he doesn’t mind me showing some of it here.

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The prize raised over 4k Euros for Oxfam’s Cornonavirus appeal.

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The only thing I’m sad about is not being able to go to the West Cork Literary Festival to read the poem. It’s been cancelled this year, of course due to lockdown rules – in a ‘normal’ year all those writers placed in Fish Publishing competitions would have been invited. That would have been so special, given my family connection to the area – my mother was born in County Cork and my grandfather lived in Cobh.

So, let’s all keep on keeping on. Even if you’re feeling despondent and nothing seems to be happening, you never know what’s around the corner…