Veronika Jordan's Blog, page 106

Say No More (The Sacramento Series #2) by Karen Rose

If they ever catch you, say nothing. Admit nothing. Never tell. Mercy Callahan never thought she’d be able to talk about her past. When she arrives in Sacramento to make peace with her brother Gideon, and to help find the brutal cult that took away her childhood, she is finally ready to talk. But when Ephraim Burton – the man who made her life a living hell – follows her there, she realises she might never be safe.

#SayNoMore @KarenRoseBooks @headlinepg @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

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Rafe Sokolov would do anything to have Mercy back in his life and would go to any length to protect her. But when it becomes apparent that Ephraim is more determined than ever to get Mercy back, even Rafe might not be able to stop the trail of destruction he leaves in his wake. As Ephraim draws near, it’s clear it’s not just Mercy who is in danger; those closest to her are firmly in his sights.

Will Mercy sacrifice herself to help bring Ephraim down? Or will he finally get what he’s always wanted…

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My Review

I hadn’t read the first book in the series but a lot of what you need to know is mentioned so it didn’t really detract from the enjoyment of the book. The story opens with Mercy and her mother trying to escape the cult known as Eden, where they’ve lived since Mercy was a toddler. She is now thirteen and was ‘married’ off to Ephraim Burton when she was twelve.

We then jump seventeen years to Mercy as an adult trying to rebuild her life and her relationship with her brother Gideon who escaped before she did. Gideon is now a police officer. His best friend is Rafe Sokolof (also a police officer who is Mercy’s love interest). In book one in the series Mercy ran away when she realised her feelings for Rafe were developing, but she was too scared to enter into a meaningful relationship.

This book does not hold back, so if you are squeamish about any of the subjects covered here then I suggest you find something easier to read. We are talking about child rape and abduction, murder (lots of it – the body count rises with almost every chapter), underage sex, brainwashing – all the usual suspects in a book about a cult. Even the consensual sex scenes are quite, shall we say, descriptive and I am not easily shocked!

But let’s get back to the story. Mercy hasn’t seen Ephraim since she escaped. In fact everyone thinks she is dead. One of the charming things the cult does when someone successfully escapes is to kill some random person, maul their body, bring them back for ‘identification’ and say they were too badly mauled by wild animals to be recognisable. No-one ever goes outside because of the ‘wild animals’. Bears and wolves I guess. No phones, no internet, no TV, so no-one can ever check the truth. Each time there is a problem with discovery by outsiders, Eden moves somewhere else – always somewhere really remote.

This is a gritty story, not for the faint-hearted, but there is also a lot of love, family bonding and true friendship. The Sokolovs are a warm, close-knit family who treat their friends with the same love. This includes Mercy and her best friend Farrah who accompanies her on this trip. Mother Irina cooks all the time and shows her love through food.  When Ephraim comes after Mercy, they are all ready to protect her, especially Rafe, who is falling in love with her more every day.

This is a tale of murder, kidnapping and child abuse, but also of love and friendship in a family where nothing, not even Ephraim Burton, can tear them apart.

Many thanks to @damppebbles for inviting me to part of #damppebblesblogtours

About the Author

Karen Rose was introduced to suspense and horror at the tender age of eight when she accidentally read Poe’s The Pit and The Pendulum and was afraid to go to sleep for years. She now enjoys writing books that make other people afraid to go to sleep. Karen lives in Florida with her family, their cat, Bella, and two dogs, Loki and Freya. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, and her new hobby – knitting.

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Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenRoseBooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenRoseBooks/

Website: http://www.karenrosebooks.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenrosebooks/

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/39sS03O

Waterstones: https://bit.ly/3g2Qs3b

Book Depository: https://bit.ly/2WX26VO

Google Books: https://bit.ly/32VguBC

Hive.co.uk: https://bit.ly/3f2Akxp

Published in hardcover, audio and digital formats by Headline on 6th August 2020

 

The Pupil by Ros Carne

She wants to learn everything – about you.

Mel has practised law for twenty years. She is well-regarded by her peers. Her clients are happy. But behind the scenes her life is disordered. Her son grows increasingly distant from her. The married man she is sleeping with fails to give her what she needs.

#ThePupil #RosCarne @canelo_co and @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours Facebook @damppebblesblogtours

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When a trainee lawyer is allocated to Mel it is poor timing. The last thing she wants is a pupil watching her every move. And Natasha does watch. She sees each detail – and every mistake. Mel cannot shake the feeling that Natasha isn’t just learning the job. She is learning Mel.

Natasha is good at getting what she wants, and now Mel has the power to give her all she desires. But when Mel chooses not to, Natasha knows just what Mel’s vulnerabilities are – and how to turn them against her. Mel’s secrets could ruin her. But who will be believed?

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My Review

The Pupil is a first rate psychological thriller with a believable cast of characters, all of whom are hiding secrets – just some are more deadly than others.

Mel has been a barrister for 20 years. She is clever and successful but her private life is a bit of a mess. Divorced from Claude, the father of her moody 16-year old son Jacob, she feels she is drifting away from him and doesn’t know how to put it right. She is also having an affair with lecturer Paul Freedman but she knows he is never going to leave his wife so is on a hiding to nowhere.

Then along comes Natasha. Mel takes her on as her ‘pupil’ but has no idea what trouble it’s going to cause. Natasha is a complex character and a not very likeable one. At 30 years old she is more mature than the usual pupils taken on at Chambers and confidently barges ahead, often upsetting Mel who thinks she is being too forward and disrespectful of her position. Natasha lives with Luke who adores her (not sure why), but her behaviour is very erratic. She has an interesting hobby but it’s not knitting or salsa dancing – it’s shoplifting. She got caught once and promised Luke she wouldn’t do it again, but she does, regularly.

She has another secret hobby and this one is really creepy. She has an alter-ego – Lola – who decides to stalk Mel’s son Jacob by pretending to be 20 years old and becoming friends on Facebook. Jacob has no idea who she is and things get a bit, shall we say, hot. It’s a secret Jacob has to keep from his mum as it’s all rather inappropriate and seedy.

Next on Natasha’s hit list is Mel’s glamorous mum Isabel, who used to be in a famous TV show and was quite the style icon. Natasha just happens to have been her biggest fan.

I think the worst thing about Natasha is that she doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong. I think for her everyone is fair game and that’s what it is really – just a game. But we know things are going to turn sour and start to get really nasty. It’s often a slow burn but you will be hooked from page one.

Many thanks to @damppebbles for inviting me to part of #damppebblesblogtours

Published in digital format by Canelo on 6th August 2020

About the Author

Ros Carne was born in London, and following university she worked in magazine and newspaper journalism including as a theatre critic on the Guardian. She later retrained as a barrister, practising for 13 years before moving to a university teaching job. She has two adult sons and enjoys playing the violin. Ros now lives in Somerset where she writes full time.

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Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/301kaQl

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3g3eFGq

Google Books: https://bit.ly/32VCc8L

Nook: https://bit.ly/3eVdJ5K

Found Her by NJ Mackay

Belle Moriarty was there one moment and gone the next. Her older sister Eve was walking her home from school when she disappeared, ten years ago. Eve has never recovered from the guilt of turning her back. But then she receives a phone call that changes everything. Belle has been found – alive. But who took her? Why did they keep her alive all these years? And now that Belle has escaped, will they try to silence her for good?

With Belle in a coma and Eve receiving increasingly terrifying threats, she must discover the kidnapper’s identity before they return to finish what they started…

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My Review

I really enjoyed this book. I know there were issues (mentioned by my fellow Pigeonhole readers) with the way the therapist behaved and particularly DI Locke who seemed a bit too involved with Eve but it is fiction after all. The depictions of the broken characters were excellent and engaging and I could really empathise with Eve (just about) even though her behaviour was shocking at times. She blames herself for her sister Belle having been taken and is intent on punishing herself for the rest of her life. If the smoking and drinking don’t kill her first that is.

The most evil character in the book is just awful – sadistic and horrible in every way but you’ll have to read it to find out more. So well written. Sometimes you forget they are not real!

It’s a highly entertaining psychological thriller which I read in 10 staves (one per day for 10 days) and I have to say that when I reached the end of Stave 9 I couldn’t wait to read the final part. Gutted I had to wait till lunchtime!

An excellent read and many thanks to the author, The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

About the Author

NJ Mackay is a writer and a bookworm. She studied Performing Arts at the BRIT School. “It turned out I wasn’t very good at acting”, she says, “but quite liked writing scripts”. She went on to take a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Drama and later won a full scholarship for an MA in Journalism.

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Vintage Crime by Martin Edwards (Editor)

Vintage Crimes is a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years. The book gathers stories from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers. The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

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This new edition includes an array of incredible and award-winning authors:

Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Lesley Grant-Adamson, H RF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons and Andrew Taylor.

@annecater #RandomThingsTours @RandomTTours

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My Review

As soon as I saw Andrew Taylor’s name on the list I just knew I had to read this anthology. His short story The Woman Who Loved Elizabeth David is as good as I would expect from one of my favourite all time writers. Because he is quite local to me I get all excited when he mentions Cheltenham and The Everyman Theatre!

However my favourite story has to be The Nuggy Bar by Simon Brett. I love the pedantry of the main character as he plots to kill his step-daughter in order to claim her inheritance after her mum dies. He treats her murder like managing and marketing a new product at work, but with added dark humour and repetition eg GLISS HANDY MOPPITS (IDEAL FOR THE KITCHEN, NURSERY OR HANDBAG) which is repeated in full over and over.  It reminds me of a short story I wrote about 10 years ago called Double Bill (I’m not boasting here though it is available on Kindle!!) – it just uses the same device of repeating things for effect. I kept thinking ‘did I write this?’ Ha ha I wish.

Some of the stories such as Inspector Ghote and the Noted British Author by HRF Keating are quite strange. It was written in 1985. I would have guessed it was much earlier. But I do like the one about the painting of a murder – Interior with Corpse by Peter Lovesey – and the references to Walter Sickert who was once thought to be Jack the Ripper as he painted exact scenes from the gory murders of prostitutes. I also loved Top Deck by Kate Ellis in which budding policeman Keith thinks he sees a murder from the top deck of the bus. Cold and Deep by Frances Fyfield is very sinister, while Melusine by Martin Edwards gripped me to the end, but was also very unnerving and the descriptions of the foot and mouth incident brought back horrible memories and scenes of burning dead cows on TV.

These are just a few of the 22 stories. They are not necessarily the best. Just my own personal favourites (or not in the case of Inspector Ghote …). Many are very different from the murder mysteries and psychological thrillers we are so obsessed with today and move at a slower pace. No instant gratification in the fifties and sixties. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Sleep well and don’t have nightmares!

Many thanks to @annecater for letting me be part of #RandomThingsTours and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author

Martin Edwards is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics series, and has written sixteen contemporary whodunits, including The Coffin Trail, which was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Prize for best crime novel of the year. His genre study The Golden Age of Murder won the Edgar, Agatha, H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards, while The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books has been nominated for two awards in the UK and three in the US. Editor of 38 anthologies, he has also won the CWA Short Story Dagger and the CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and been nominated for an Anthony, the CWA Dagger in the Library, the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger, and a CWA Gold Dagger. He is President of the Detection Club and Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, and Archivist of both organisations. He has received the Red Herring award for services to the CWA, and the Poirot award for his outstanding contribution to the crime genre.

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The CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) was founded in 1953 by John Creasey, and organises the prestigious CWA Dagger Awards which celebrate the best in crime writing. The CWA is a pro-active, thriving and ever-expanding community of writers based in the UK but with a reach that extends worldwide.

Keep Her Quiet by Emma Curtis

Jenny has just given birth to the baby she’s always wanted. She’s never been this happy. Her husband, Leo, knows this baby girl can’t be his. He’s never felt so betrayed.

The same night, a vulnerable young woman, Hannah, wakes to find her newborn lifeless beside her. She’s crazed with grief. When chance throws Hannah into Leo’s path, they make a plan that will have shattering consequences for all of them.

Years later, a sixteen-year-old girl reads an article in a newspaper, and embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about herself. But what she learns will put everything she has ever known – and her own life – in grave danger. Because some people will go to desperate lengths to protect the secrets their lives are built on . . .

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My Review

I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t wait to read the next stave (I was reading with The Pigeonhole online book club and received a new stave every day for ten days). So why only four stars on Amazon and Goodreads? I’ll try to explain without any spoilers.

Leo is a budding writer. Nothing will stand in the way of his ambition. His father wanted to be a writer but gave it up for family and ended up committing suicide. Leo is never going to let that happen. Jenny, luckily for him, has a high powered job which earns them enough for him to give up work and concentrate on his writing. So far so good. Well for Leo anyway. He’s a selfish so-and-so but this is just the beginning.

Jenny, however, desperately wants a baby. Fed up with Leo’s behaviour she has a one night stand while away on a conference. A few weeks later she realises she is pregnant. It must be Leo’s she thinks. It was only one stupid mistake. Naive or what? Unbeknown to Jenny, Leo has had a vasectomy and DIDN’T TELL HER. Alarm bells! Leo knows the baby is not his but doesn’t say a word.

Then along comes Hannah, pregnant at 17 by one of the Elders at her Church but no-one believes her. She is disgraced and thrown out by her family. She tries to manage but her baby dies and she is bereft. It is at this point that she meets Leo by chance and both their lives spin out of control. Fantastic premise, but the whole while I kept thinking this is all a bit far-fetched. Leo’s ‘punishment’ of Jenny, what Hannah does, the fact that Jenny still loves him and then what Leo does when he finds out about the child. No-one seems to think things through and I wanted to shake Jenny when Leo kept telling her that her baby is gone and she should move on. But then I guess we knew the truth and she didn’t. Well not in that sand she stuck her head under for 16 years.

An excellent read and many thanks to The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

About the Author

Emma Curtis was born in Brighton and brought up in London. Her fascination with the darker side of domestic life inspired her to write One Little Mistake, her first psychological suspense. She has two children and lives in Richmond with her husband.

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Written in Blood by Chris Carter

A serial killer will stop at nothing…

His most valuable possession has been stolen. Now he must retrieve it, at any cost.

#WritteninBlood  @simonschusteruk  Facebook @carterchris

Instagram @chriscarterbooksofficial @AnneCater #RandomThingsTours

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Angela Wood wanted to teach the man a lesson. It was a bag, just like all the others. But when she opens it, the worst nightmare of her life begins.

A journal ends up at Robert Hunter’s desk. It soon becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose. And if he can’t stop him in time, more people will die. If you have read it. You must die….

Los Angeles, December 4th – exactly three weeks until Christmas day.  Angela Wood, a master in the art of the pickpocket, has just finished for the day – six hundred and eighty-seven dollars – not bad for less than fifteen minutes work.

 

As she celebrates her profitable day with a cocktail, one of the patrons in the lounge she’s in catches her attention by being rude to an old man.  Angela decides to teach him a lesson, and steals the man’s expensive-looking leather bag.

Inside is no money … no laptop computer … nothing of any value … at least not to Angela. Just a black, leather-bound book, surprisingly heavy.  Curiosity takes over and in the comfort of her apartment, Angela quickly leafs through the pages.

 

That is when the worst nightmare of her life begins. This is no ordinary book. Read it at your own peril.

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My Review

I wouldn’t normally give 5 stars to a police drama about a serial killer as there are so many out there, but this was better than most of the ones I have ever read. Up there with Silence of the Lambs and Seven, this is outstanding story telling and excitement, though as someone already said it’s ‘not for the squeamish’.

The action never stops. The police characters are well rounded and mostly likeable, especially Robert Hunter and his sidekick Carlos Garcia. And I adored the feisty pickpocket Angela with her put downs and one liners. She’s a badass with a softer side and a traumatic incident from her childhood that shapes everything she does.

The serial killer is maybe a little over-the-top but then so was Hannibal Lecter, and that didn’t stop him becoming the most famous serial killer of the eighties and nineties. ‘I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti‘ anyone?

The killer hears ‘voices’ that tell him what crimes to commit, who to pick as his victims (it’s all in his journal and sometimes the instructions are very specific – height, age, ethnicity etc) and Hunter and co need to work out exactly what these ‘voices’ mean. Also why the journal is so important. Is it just his record of the murder and torture of his victims or is it something more? Who is this person and why is he doing it? There always needs to be a good reason to make the story work. It’s not enough for him to be a nutcase.

Written in Blood is the work of an experienced and accomplished writer with a background in criminal psychology and this is evident in his work. It’s what makes the killer more realistic and terrifying. Have the team finally met their match? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Born in Brazil of Italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and criminal behaviour at the University of Michigan. As a member of the Michigan State District Attorney’s Criminal Psychology team, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions. He now lives in London. Visit his website www.chriscarterbooks.com

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Her Last Words by Kim Kelly

Thisbe Chisholm wants to be a writer. It’s 2007, a time of digital revolution and skyrocketing property prices, but she’s an old-fashioned girl. She doesn’t even own a mobile phone. She has no stars-in-her-eyes desire for fame, to see her name on the cover of a book, either. She longs only to tell of the stories written on her heart.

While her best friends, Penny and Jane, and her darling boyfriend, John, seem set for stellar careers in their chosen fields, Thisbe works nights as a hostess at a glitzy harbourside Sydney club – a job she despises but it’s paid the rent for the last three years since university graduation.

Just as she completes her novel, though, she is brutally killed at the end of John’s street. Who murdered Thisbe? What will become of her novel?

From the gritty glamour of Bondi Beach to the cold streets of London, here is a tale of tragedy and literary betrayal, of a publishing industry grappling with change and a great love drowning in guilt-wracked grief. Haunting, whimsical and sharply observed, Her Last Words lays bare the truth that, while some crimes might go unpunished among the privileged, words themselves have a way of enduring – and exacting a justice all their own.

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My Review 

There is something very personal about Her Last Words. It feels as though the author has lived it and suffered it in some shape or form. Penny Katchinski, for instance is a Catholic Jew (as am I), and I don’t believe it’s incidental. I can’t imagine your hero would have that background unless you had a reason. I may be wrong of course, but it resonated with me in such a personal way.

Penny and Thisbe’s former partner – soap star actor John Jacobson – are inextricably linked, but John is still in love with Thisbe and cannot move on, and by default neither can Penny. They are trapped in a relationship that was never meant to be. Their love is based on a promise to take care of each other and neither can let go. John has spiralled into depression and cannot lift himself out. Something I am lucky enough never to have experienced, I initially missed how personal this part was to the author and will no doubt resonate with many of this beautiful book’s readers.

Over in the Bookish bookshop, Rich O’Driscoll finds a bag which contains a manuscript called Darling Boy together with other personal items, but he has no idea who any of it belongs to. He puts it away and forgets about it for seven years. We know whose bag it is of course, but that’s part of the unfolding story. The first time Rich meets Penny, she is distraught and hysterical but he falls in love with her there and then.

Back in Bondi John has had enough. Miserable and stuck in a rut, his acting career totally down the pan, he wants a way out. Thanks to a series of accidents he meets Dr Viviane Yu but is it all too late? I adore Viviane. She is clever and funny and eccentric but all in a good way.

In addition to our four main protagonists, we have a side plot. Aspiring author Jane Furlow first read Darling Boy when Thisbe was alive. She had an electronic copy. She said it was a ‘bit shit’ but then once Thisbe was out of the way she decided to publish it as her own work under the name of The Wakening Maid. Asking for trouble? Dear God Jane, your attempts at plagiarism are a ‘bit shit’ aren’t they? Did it never occur to you that there might be another copy floating around somewhere.

This book is so beautifully written and poetic and full of emotion, sadness, happiness, laughter and tears. I didn’t want it to end. The characters are wonderful (apart from Jane) though there are times you will want to scream at them and times you will want to lie next to them and offer comfort. They are so real. They have become like old friends and I shall miss them dreadfully.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

About the Author

Kim Kelly is the author of ten novels, including the acclaimed Wild Chicory and bestselling The Blue Mile. Her historical fictions are compelling and whimsical, and driven by strong characters of all kinds. With warmth and lyrical charm, she leads her readers into some rocky emotional and political terrain but each of her words shines with hope, wisdom, and occasionally a little magic. Her Last Words is her latest novel.

A widely respected book editor and literary consultant by trade, stories fill her everyday – most nights, too – and it’s love that fuels her intellectual engine. Love between lovers, friends, strangers; love of country; love of story. In fact, she takes love so seriously she once donated a kidney to her husband to prove it, and also to save his life.

Originally from Sydney, today Kim lives on a small rural property in central New South Wales just outside the tiny gold-rush village of Millthorpe, where the ghosts are mostly friendly and her grown sons regularly come home to graze.

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The Cry of the Lake by Charlie Tyler

A gruesome discovery unravels a dark trail of murder and madness.

@CharlieTyler17 #CryOfTheLake  #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours

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A six-year-old girl sneaks out of bed to capture a mermaid but instead discovers a dead body. Terrified and unable to make sense of what she sees, she locks the vision deep inside her mind.

Ten years later, Lily is introduced to the charismatic Flo and they become best friends. But Lily is guilt-ridden – she is hiding a terrible secret which has the power to destroy both their lives.

When Flo’s father is accused of killing a schoolgirl, the horrors of Lily’s past come bubbling to the surface. Lily knows that, whatever the consequences, she has to make things right. She must go back to the events of her childhood and face what happened at the boat house all those years ago.

Can Lily and Flo discover what is hiding in the murky waters of the lake before the killer strikes again?

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My Review

This book is absolutely stunning. I can’t praise it enough. I have a feeling this will be in my Top Eight Books of 2020 Part Two. I read about 70% of the book in one sitting.

The story is intricately woven and at first I couldn’t quite work out what was going on, but then it just got better and better. The plot involves teenager Lily (who can’t speak or won’t speak) and her older sister Grace. Grace is out for revenge and we know the girls have taken on new identities, but what have they fled from and why.

The author uses a clever device to reveal the past by having the characters of Grace and Lily ‘remember’ certain occasions in order to reveal what happened. In fact the whole story alternates between the voices of Lily, Grace and Lily’s friend Flo.

The characters are so beautifully drawn – we know we can never feel sympathy for Grace, however bad her childhood had been. Everything about her is cold and murderous. She is one of the most chilling characters I have come across in a book.

I really don’t know how the author managed to keep track of all that was going on and tie up the loose ends so neatly.  My only question is….who got to keep Tiggy?

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the author

Charlie has been writing for years but it was taking a creative writing course in 2018 which gave her the gentle kick she needed to finish her debut novel.

Charlie is very much a morning person and likes nothing more than committing a fictional murder before her first coffee of the day. She studied Theology at Worcester College, Oxford and now lives in a Leicestershire village with her husband, three teenagers and golden retriever.

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Family Business by Mark Eklid

Family historian Graham Hasselhoff thought there were no skeletons in his cupboard. That is, until the day he met the son he never knew he had.

@MarkEklid #FamilyBusiness #BlogTour #RandomThingsTours @AnneCater @RandomTTours

[image error] Getting to know Andreas, who is now the boss of a road haulage firm, soon leads him to a trail of arson, beatings, mysterious warnings – and murder.

Can his son really be behind this deadly business? Graham has to quickly work out if Andreas is an impetuous eccentric – or a dangerously ruthless criminal.

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My Review

When Graham discovers he has a son from a drunken liaison at University, he and his long-suffering wife Janet are drawn into a web of lies, crime and deceit that they had only ever read about in books or seen on TV.

Graham is a librarian, with a special interest in family history, until he is made redundant and forced to take the only job he can find – in a DIY store. He hates the job with a vengeance (that’s probably too strong a word for mild-mannered Graham) so when Andreas pays him a visit and announces that he is the son he never knew he had and offers to bring him and Janet into the family business, it’s an offer too good to refuse. It even comes with a free cottage. Unfortunately it also means leaving their beloved Derby behind and moving to Sheffield. Ever cautious, they keep the house in Derby until they are settled, in case it turns out to be a huge mistake. Well so would I, let’s face it. As they say ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.’

Now our hero Graham is no adventurer, but he is a natural born historian and researcher, so I did question at this point why he and Andreas didn’t take a DNA test. After all, Andreas could have been anyone, though he has nothing to gain as he is rich and Graham and Janet are what you could only describe as fairly comfortably off.

On their first night in the cottage the police ram the door down, looking for someone they have never heard of and I’m afraid that from then on things just go from bad to worse. Poor Graham and Janet! If only they knew. You have to love them though (apart from Janet calling him Duck and Duckie). They are so nice. The kind of neighbours who would water your plants and feed the cat while you were on holiday. They are just not prepared for any of this.

I loved this book and read it in two sittings. I also found a lot of dark humour in places it was unexpected. It’s fabulously well written and totally original. Our hapless hero, his strong, steady wife, his not very likeable son, the Rottweiler (that’s the office manager by the way), and a host of other ghastly characters. And it’s all set in a haulage company – some of us old enough will remember The Brothers on TV in the seventies, probably the only series ever set in ‘logistics’ as I think they call it now. It was definitely of its time but I loved that show!

But this is very different. So put your feet up and enjoy a ride like no other.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

“I am a career journalist, joining the South Yorkshire Times as a trainee reporter in 1984 and moving on three years later to the sports desk of the Derby Telegraph, where I have been ever since.

Most of that time in Derby has been as the newspaper’s cricket writer and my coverage of Derbyshire CCC earned national recognition in 2013, when I won the England and Wales Cricket Board Regional Newspaper of the Year award. I have been a contributor for the last nine years to the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack and have had many articles published in national magazines, annuals and newspapers.

Writing as a profession meant writing for pleasure was largely left on the back burner but changed priorities at work made it a priority to pick up the threads of one of the many half-formed novels in my computer files and, this time, see it through to publication. Sunbeam is the result.”

Mark was born in Sheffield, the city he used as the backdrop for Sunbeam, and he has lived in Derby since 1988 with his partner, Sue. They have two sons. Family Business is his second novel.

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Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce

“The differences between them – all those things she’d once found so infuriating – she now accepted. Being Enid’s friend meant there were always going to be surprises. However close they were it didn’t entitle her to Enid’s memories and neither did it allow her to be part of Enid’s life before they met. Being a friend meant accepting those unknowable things. It was by placing herself side by side with Enid that Margery had finally begun to see the true outline of herself. And she knew it now: Enid was her friend.”

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#MissBensonsBeetle @annecater #RandomThingsTours #RachelJoyce@GoldsboroBooks

It is 1950. In a devastating moment of clarity, Margery Benson abandons her dead-end job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition. She is going to travel to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist.

Enid Pretty, in her unlikely pink travel suit, is not the companion Margery had in mind. And yet together they will be drawn into an adventure that will exceed every expectation. They will risk everything, break all the rules, and at the top of a red mountain, discover their best selves.

This is a story that is less about what can be found than the belief it might be found; it is an intoxicating adventure story but it is also about what it means to be a woman and a tender exploration of a friendship that defies all boundaries.

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My Review

I finished this book while in the car on the way to The Vyne (a National Trust place near Basingstoke) to see my 19-month old granddaughter Clara for the first time since February – and before you comment I wasn’t driving. Needless to say I was already feeling emotional.  By the end – of the book that is – I was in tears. The journey wasn’t that bad.

I have already decided that Miss Benson’s Beetle will be in my Top 8 books of 2020 Part Two. It is simply stunning. Unlike my usual feast of psychological thrillers and police procedurals, this book will make you laugh and cry in equal measures, though towards the end you will probably cry and cry like I did.

Margery Benson and Enid Pretty are two most unlikely travelling companions. They have nothing in common. In fact Margery really doesn’t want Enid – she doesn’t even like her –  but it’s all she has left after the other applicants for the job of entomologist’s assistant were a disaster. So now she is stuck with her.

Margery is middle-aged, staid to the point of uptight and with no experience of a true loving relationship. Enid, on the other hand, has had plenty. Relationships – though not always loving – apart from Perce. And she is young enough to be Margery’s daughter – just about. Enid irritates Margery no end with her silly pink travel suit, her yellow hair and her pom pom sandals. Then there are the numerous suitcases Enid brings with her. But mysterious of all is the red valise that she never lets out of her sight. It carries her past and her most treasured secrets, but these are none of Margery’s business.

This will turn out to be an adventure like no other. They will travel by ship to Australia, board a flying boat to New Caledonia and then embark on a treacherous overland journey to Poum in a stolen land rover. Then finally they will discover the ramshackle bungalow that will become their home until they find the mysterious gold beetle – that may or may not exist.  

The two women will argue and cry and hug and then argue again. They will bond and bicker and disagree until they find a common goal and then they will become the closest of friends on a journey of discovery that will unite them forever.  

This story will stay with me for a very long time. It’s warm and funny and sad and evokes every emotion you can think of. I loved it.

Many thanks to @annecater for letting me be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her books have been translated into thirty -six languages and two are in development for film.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2012 and shortlisted for the ‘UK Author of the Year’ 2014. Rachel was a Costa prize judge and University Big Read author in 2019.

She has also written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. She moved to writing after a long career as an actor, performing leading roles for the RSC, the National Theatre and Cheek by Jowl. She lives with her family in Gloucestershire.

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