Veronika Jordan's Blog, page 68

The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave

How can you catch a killer
When the only evidence is a dream…?

James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.

#ThePainTourist @PaulCleave @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour

But, between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help. Especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town.

My Review

‘Pain tourists – people who revel in the misery of others. And when TV shows and podcasts and books aren’t enough for them, they break into houses to collect souvenirs.’

What a fantastic book – towards the end it was so exciting I was almost holding my breath. But it is quite complicated, so you need to concentrate.

There are numerous storylines going on here. We begin with a terrible murder nine years ago, when 11-year-old James Garrett’s mum and dad were shot to death, execution style. Having witnessed his parents’ deaths, James was shot in the head, which left him in a coma from which no-one expected him to emerge. But he did and Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with finding out who did it. Theodore Tate was the investigating officer at the time but failed to solve the crime. He is no longer a police officer – he now works as a consultant on two TV programmes, one fiction – the other a re-enactment series called New Zealand Crime Busters, a bit like Crimewatch in the UK.

Then we have the ‘Christchurch Carver’, New Zealand’s most notorious serial killer Joe Middleton, caught but now on the run. When more murders take place, it is believed that the perpetrator is a copycat, dubbed Copy Joe. But how is any of this related to a woman falling off a balcony and what has it got to do with James?

Most of the book is told from the points of view of Kent and Tate, but we also hear from James, his sister Hazel and the doctor who has been treating James.

This book is not just a crime thriller – it’s also a study of coma victims and eidetic memory – the latter being the ability to vividly recall an image you are exposed to, but only briefly. I told you it was complicated!

But is James a fraud? Is his alternative life in what he calls ComaWorld just a means of getting attention or did it really happen (in ComaWorld at any rate)? There are those who hope it didn’t, as once he wakes up, what will he remember, not just about that night, but about things he may have heard while in a coma that could incriminate others. And is that even possible?

One of my favourite books of the year so far, it’s just brilliant.

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

About the Author

Paul is an award-winning author who often divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His books have been translated into over twenty languages. He’s won the won the Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur Crime Novel of the Year Award, and Foreword Reviews Thriller of the Year, and has been shortlisted for the Ned Kelly, Edgar and Barry Awards. He’s thrown his Frisbee in over forty countries, plays tennis badly, golf even worse, and has two cats – which is often two too many. The Pain Tourist is his (lucky) thirteenth novel.

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.

The Clinic by Sally Ann Martyn

Would you go to a beauty clinic that promises to transform your life? If you’re prepared to put the work in.
 
It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. An all-inclusive stay at a top-of-the-line wellness retreat for a month of pampering and luxury. Not just anyone gets in. Guests are hand selected.

#TheClinic @sallyannemartyn @JoffeBooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour

They promise big results: a total transformation. All you have to do is take a few pills every day. Join in the activities. Make some new friends.

But then you start to lose track of time. The meals get smaller. Everything is taken away from you. And the guests start disappearing . . . will you be next?

My Review

I really enjoyed this. What an entertaining book! Scary, creepy, spooky, sinister and at times just plain bat-shit crazy – all the ingredients I love in a locked house mystery (if there is such a genre).

The Beautiful You Clinic is supposed to be an exclusive beauty retreat where six eager applicants have been selected to pay a fortune to transform their lives. Lose weight, discover beauty secrets, learn to love themselves. A month of pampering and luxury. Healthy food, no alcohol, plenty of exercise. And lots of pills and injections. Plus a signed contract, no phones or contact with the outside world and never leaving the house or grounds. Sounds good? In theory the results will justify the weirdness. In practice – well we shall soon see.

This month’s intake consists of Amy, who sees herself as fat and frumpy and an underachiever. If she loses the weight, her boyfriend will love her again and she’ll get a fab new job. Her parents are paying. Gaynor with her copper curls and red lipstick is mouthy and seemingly more confident than Amy. They can be friends and you need a ‘friend at times like this’. Caroline and Vicky are already pals. Audrey is older than the others and harbours a terrible secret. Jasmine is already skinny but wants to lose the stubborn few extra pounds that are preventing her from becoming the next supermodel. A perfect group of vulnerable women to fall under the spell of the glamorous Dr Cavendish who runs the clinic.

But the clinic used to be a psychiatric hospital called Pine End Asylum, where Jenny was a patient until it closed three years ago. Bob the builder wanted to knock the place down and put up new houses, but he wasn’t awarded the contract. He wants Jenny to return under cover of darkness and take photos of anything and everything that might incriminate the doctor so she is unable to renew her licence. He’s prepared to pay and Jenny is broke and owes him rent. She lives in one of his houses. It’s a dangerous mission. Is she up to it?

Sometimes The Clinic is far-fetched to the point of being as loony as its previous patients, but the excitement and the action never let up for a moment. In fact I read the last third into the night as I desperately wanted to know what happens to Amy, Jenny and co. A perfect holiday read so long as you aren’t staying in an exclusive wellness retreat.

Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Sally-Anne grew up near Sheffield, in the north of England. She has worked as a writer, film and television extra and formerly as an auxiliary nurse, including a spell working in one of the last Victorian asylums in England.

As a child she loved Hammer House and Tales of the Unexpected, so unsurprisingly her books lean towards the darker side. She writes female led thrillers, inspired by the working-class women she grew up with.

She has written for international print and digital publications and won an ITV initiative for her short film script Freak Show.

Follow her at:
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/sallyannemartyn/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sallyannemartynbooks
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/sallyannemartyn/
Website: https://sallyannemartyn.com/home

Buy Links – https://geni.us/tGOuB0t

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63024779-the-clinic

Daisy and the Dazzling Dachshunds by Janey Clarke

The discovery of a murdered woman with a rescued dog and her puppies on Bodmin Moor, hurtles Daisy, a shy retired librarian and her oddball friends, into another dangerous, yet comical escapade.

Daisy is on a mission to find the murdered woman’s killer, linking events to the puppy farm, and is suddenly thrust into a world of explosions, shootings and kidnappings!

Furthermore, family secrets come to light and Daisy discovers an unexpected revelation that will change her life forever. This newfound knowledge is difficult for Daisy to cope with and somewhat hinders the situation that befalls herself and her friends. And if that isn’t enough, the return of her ex-husband poses even more problems.

#DaisyAndTheDazzlingDachshunds @JaneyClarke @BlossomSpring3 @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour

Daisy enlists the help of Cleo her cat, and Flora her puppy, both rescue animals, in her search for the puppy farm. However, the question remains, even with all the help she has, can Daisy manage to outwit the villains and save herself and the puppies from harm?

My Review

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I love a grisly murder mystery – the grislier the better. However, every now and again I also love a cosy mystery and the ‘Daisy’ stories are definitely more Richard Osman than Chris Carter.

Yes there’s a murder initially, then another body or two, more than one attempt to kill the poor, sweet pensioners ha! and puppy farming. Which means there’s also lots of puppies – and who doesn’t love puppies – and a rescue cat called Cleo who started it all.

Daisy, now separated from her plonker of a husband Nigel (don’t get me started), lives at the Priory (no, not the one where alcoholics go into rehab), where she has become friends with the other residents of the cottages. These include Jim, who was definitely a spy in his younger days, Martin, who’s very introverted, Sheila an octogenarian who definitely isn’t, and the lovely Maggie.

In the previous book they became embroiled in ‘murder, intrigue, and danger’, according to a review on Goodreads. In this book, we can see that their now quiet life is about to be disturbed yet again, when not only does Daisy discover secrets about her past, but Nigel turns up expecting a warm reunion. Sod off Nige! And that’s without the puppy farm ‘mystery’, inasmuch as everyone know it exists, puppies have exchanged hands for money and no papers, but no-one knows where it is.

Daisy and her friends must once again put themselves at risk to find the farm, enlisting the help of their canny canines to rescue the dogs, and unmask the villains. But have they bitten off more than they can chew?

This is a great romp and definitely one for lovers of a cosy mystery with puppies galore to boot.

Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Scottish born, Janey now lives on the Jurassic coast of Dorset with her husband, and Monty their enormous Cavalier. Their two adult children live in Yorkshire and Germany. 

As a lifelong sufferer from E.D.S, she copes with her restricted mobility by reading and writing. She often scribbled stories from childhood, stemming from Scotland, Cornwall, Norfolk, Essex, and the Home Counties. Now a teacher, tutor, and hotelier, she still scribbles with each novel disappearing into a drawer!

Changing primary schools, five in total, meant that she was unable to read until given special lessons. This gave her a deep love of reading, and being an only child, she devoured books. Following this experience, when she became unable to teach because of mobility problems, she became a home tutor. After extra training, she specialised in children with reading difficulties.  Still an avid reader, she loves cosy mysteries, where the murder doesn’t scare her to death!

The Open University helped with her exams, enabling her to continue studying. She had an amanuensis who wrote out her answers.  Of course, she did English and History, her great loves. Creative Writing was difficult as she loves to write amusing and light pieces, and they preferred dark and dismal topics!

She studied botanical art for many years and then got RSI. Determined to carry on with her art and writing, she now paints with her left hand and dictates all her novels. She still paints flowers trying to capture their beauty, it is hard work but so enjoyable. 

Follow her at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneyClarke
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070649724776
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janey.clarke/
Website: https://janeyclarke.com/

Buy Links – https://geni.us/nn3QJz

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61851880-daisy-and-the-dazzling-dachshunds

The Prisoner by BA Paris

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her mother as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London after her father dies.

As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she marries the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne.

But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

My Review

Totally far-fetched with a twist that I (and many of my fellow book club readers) guessed immediately – there are also other twists that we didn’t. However, I still enjoyed it massively though it was a bit of a roller-coaster. When I say that, it goes up and down in levels of excitement, ending with the cart falling off the rails at the end. I’m still waiting to be rescued and told what happened.

The book is narrated from Amelie’s point of view in two timelines. Amelie in the present has been kidnapped and is being held in a dark room with just a mattress and a blanket. However, she is never mistreated and given food at regular intervals. There’s even a nicely equipped bathroom. Her husband Ned has also been taken, but hasn’t fared so well.

In the past timeline, Emily’s mother has died in Paris and she and her father have relocated to Reading in the UK. Then her father also dies and Amelie runs away to London to start a new life. She is befriended by Carolyn, who has recently split from her partner and life seems sunny and good.

But when she meets and marries the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne, things start to go horribly wrong. At this point the roller-coaster dipped as I felt the past was now too slow and convoluted. However, the present lifted it back up again.

Eventually the two threads come together, but that’s when it descended from the sublime (as being locked in a pitch-dark room ever can be) to the ridiculous as the truth unfolds.

I have read three of BA Paris’s other books Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown which I loved, – The Dilemma was not for me – but this was way better and Amelie is a lovely main character, strong and sassy beyond her years.

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

About the Author

B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back and The Dilemma. Having sold over a million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a Sunday Times bestseller. Her books have been translated into 40 languages. Having lived in France for many years, she and her husband recently moved back to the UK.

As The Moon Fell Down by L.B. Stimson

Photographer Ellie Spaulding thought she had found the perfect place – a quaint farmhouse in rural Virginia where time seems to stand still.

There were only two rules to follow…

#AsTheMoonFellDown @stimsonink @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour

Once again, L.B. Stimson brings you along on a ghostly tale inspired by her own haunting experiences. Step back in time as the worlds between the living and the dead merge together.

My Review

This was my first L.B. Stimson book (though I have just finished The Haunting of Noyo Bay since reading this) and it didn’t disappoint. I love a haunted house mystery – the spookier and scarier the better – and As The Moon Fell Down is certainly spooky and scary.

It’s very short at 166 pages, but that’s all the time it needs to build up the suspense with no ‘padding’, just Ellie and her camera, alone in a haunted house. We know Ellie has had a similar experience previously and she likes her photo exhibitions to have depth and a background story.

So basically, Ellie sees an advert for a house-sitter to look after an empty house in rural Virginia. In fact it’s in the middle of nowhere. She thinks it’s the perfect opportunity to take her shots and leave. She doesn’t tell the realtor Sue Christie what her plans are though. She can just move on when the time comes.

Only one other person knows where she is and that’s Jolly Brown, from Brown’s Towing Service, who is contracted to plow the driveway to the road. He’s also responsible for mowing and will stop by the property from time to time at the realtor’s request. He never goes up to the house though and rarely speaks, even to pass the time of day.

As far as the house is concerned there are only two rules to follow. Don’t bring your own personal items with you (apart from clothes, toiletries and food of course) or furniture, and most importantly don’t go up to the third floor. No! No! Don’t go up there Ellie! Like in every good horror film, you can guess what she is going to do.

I have to say that I think Ellie is very brave. I wouldn’t spend one night there alone, with no WiFi or any real contact with the outside world. And that’s before things start happening.

PS I love that Sue Christie has at one point, picked up a book called A Pale Shade Of Winter which she thinks ‘sounded interesting’. It is, of course, a book written by L.B. Stimson herself.

Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

L.B. grew up in a one stop-light town in central Idaho. After earning a Bachelor of Art’s degree in cultural anthropology from California State University-Chico, she uprooted herself to begin a new life in Washington, D.C., where she began a varied career in professional communications in private business and education.

“I’ve always had a passion for photography, travel, writing, and history. I am thrilled to now be creating works of fiction that allow me to share these passions with others. One of my favorite parts of the writing process is the historical research required to bring authenticity to my characters’ lives.”

This is her fifth book and the second in her standalone series: Tales from the Parlor Room–a collection of gothic and ghostly tales. She currently resides in Virginia where she enjoys cemetery walks, visiting abandoned and haunted places and working on more ghostly tales.

Follow her at:
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/LBStimsonAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stimsonink
Website: https://www.lbstimson.com
Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/lbstimson
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lbstimson/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/stimsonink

Buy Links – https://geni.us/V40E

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61276895-as-the-moon-fell-down

Suicide Thursday by Will Carver

If words could kill…
Eli Hagin can’t finish anything.

He hates his job, but can’t seem to quit. He doesn’t want to be with his girlfriend, but doesn’t know how to end things with her, either. Eli wants to write a novel, but he’s never taken a story beyond the first chapter.

#SuicideThursday @Will_Carver @OrendaBooks
#RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour #CarverCult

Eli also has trouble separating reality from fiction. When his best friend kills himself, Eli is motivated, for the first time in his life, to finally end something himself, just as Mike did…

Except sessions with his therapist suggest that Eli’s most recent ‘first chapters’ are not as fictitious as he had intended … and a series of text messages that Mike received before his death point to something much, much darker…

My Review

What can I say! I sometimes wonder if I am clever enough to understand Carver’s more recent books. This one in particular had me in a bit of a tizz. It’s taken me ages to write a review.

Suicide Thursday is written like a diary from a number of the character’s points of view. Eli is the main one, but is he a reliable narrator? I don’t think so. Then there’s Mike – I didn’t really understand him or why he was unhappy enough to take his own life. Or to varnish the floor on the day he does it. Jackie is Eli’s girlfriend, but she is also friends with Mike. It’s a bit of a ménage à trois to be honest. Eli has all sorts of problems with Jackie, though I rather liked her. He wants to get rid of her (not literally though in a Carver novel ANYTHING could happen), but can never find the right time, so he keeps stringing her along. He doesn’t really even find her attractive, though they have great sex.

Eli’s main problem though is the first chapter thing. He has so many ideas for a novel – or novels – even the titles and the names of the characters, but he never gets any further. He has a library of first chapters and considers selling them to budding authors. I think it’s a great idea, a bit like a story prompt but more filled out. I’d probably buy one.

Then there is having characters with the same name. In the last book we had the Daves and this time we have the Teds. Is it a thing? Am I missing something? The significance of more than one person with the same name? I get the Daves, but why the Teds?

It’s a brilliant book, but far removed from the ‘norm’ – whatever that is. So if someone asks you what it’s about, just say, ‘Read the book.’

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

About the Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the
critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series that includes Good
Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death
Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the
mainstream international press. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the
Goldsboro Glass Bell Award 2020 and Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.
Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for Guardian Not the Booker Prize, and was
followed by three standalone literary thrillers, The Beresford, Psychopaths Anonymous
(both optioned for TV) and The Daves Next Door. He lives in Reading with his family.

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.

The Politician by Tim Sullivan The DS Cross Mysteries #4

A smashed window. A ransacked room. A dead body. At first glance, it’s a burglary gone wrong.

First impressions of a crime scene are crucial… but they aren’t always correct. When DS George Cross – Bristol Crime Unit’s most eccentric, dogged and successful detective – starts investigating the death of former mayor Peggy Frampton, he’s convinced that what looks like a bungled burglary is in fact a case of premeditated murder.

After her political career ended, Peggy became a controversial blogger whose forthright opinions attracted a battalion of online trolls. And then there’s her family: an unfaithful husband and a gambling-addicted son. With yet more enemies in her past, the list of suspects seems unending.

Now Cross must unpick this dark web of seedy connections to find her killer – but the sheer number of suspects is clouding his usually impeccable logic. He’s a relentlessly methodical detective, but no case can last forever: can Cross catch the killer before he runs out of time?

My Review

First of all I must just say that I love DS George Cross. But then so did my fellow Pigeons from The Pigeonhole book club. He’s on the spectrum (maybe Aspergers?) and takes everything literally. He doesn’t get jokes or irony which can be very confusing for his colleagues and intimidating for the criminals. They think he is taking the p*ss. His colleague DS Josie Ottey does though – she’s worked with him many times.

We are also introduced to George’s father Raymond, an inveterate hoarder with a penchant for building models – his latest is a model railway round his house. George was brought up by him after his mother left. He hasn’t seen her since he was a child.

But the main subject of The Politician is the killing of the ex-mayor of Bristol, 62-year-old Peggy Frampton, who gave up politics to become a controversial blogger. While everyone else thinks it was a burglary gone wrong, Cross believes it was premeditated murder. But who would want to kill her? Quite a few people it would seem. Her views have attracted an army of online trolls. I’m not sure I blame them to be honest – some of her views are extreme, though her dreadful serially unfaithful husband, barrister Luke, would be more of a target.

Son Justin is addicted to gambling and we all know where that can lead. Daughter Sacha is a GP in Cheltenham (where I live) – she seems quite nice, I’d be happy for her to be my doctor.

We also have a web of other stories that bring Cross into contact with some very seedy characters, including Andi Dragusha who is serving 20 years for seven counts of murder, his son Mikki, and his nephew Clive Bland who works for the architects owned by Adam Chapel. Peggy’s never-ending objections to their latest development almost caused the company to go bust. A motive for murder? I should say so, but would anyone go that far.

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

About the Author

Tim Sullivan is a crime writer, screenwriter and director, whose film credits include A Handful of Dust, Jack and Sarah, and Cold Feet. His crime series featuring the socially awkward but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross has topped the book charts and been widely acclaimed. Tim lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the Emmy Award-winning producer of The Barefoot Contessa and Pioneer Woman. To find out more about the author, please visit TimSullivan.co.uk

Follow him at:
Twitter: @TimJRSullivan
Facebook: Tim Sullivan novels
Instagram: @timsullivannovelist
TikTok: @timsullivanauthor

The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman

Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.

But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.

My Review

I often comment that a book is too long but The Bookstore Sisters is too short! I wanted more – more Isabel and Sophie and Violet and the dog Hank. I wish she had taken the Jack Russell as well as I desperately miss my beloved Pancake whom we lost last year aged almost 17.

Alice Hoffman has been one of my favourite authors – if not THE favourite – ever since I read The Museum of Extraordinary Things a number of years ago and then devoured every one of her books that had been released on Kindle.

In The Bookstore Sisters, younger sister Isobel is living in New York, having divorced her husband. She has a dog walking business, which includes the aforementioned Hank, the Labrador. Her sister Sophie still lives on Brinkley’s Island, Maine, where she runs the bookstore which their father left her to run when he died. Their mother died some years before. Isobel ‘escaped’ the island only returning for a funeral, falling out with Sophie and never returning, until now.

A very quick read but worth every minute and I loved it.

About the Author

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers. Her most recent novel is Magic Lessons. She lives near Boston.

The Haunting of Noyo Bay by L.B. Stimson narrated by Jennifer March

When sixteen-year-old Charlotte Goolsby first encounters the mysterious little boy playing in the cemetery, she assumes he belongs to the minister’s family. However, as sightings of the little boy continue and seemingly go unnoticed by the rest of Keesbury’s residents, Charlotte is forced to confront everything she once believed about life and death.

Charlotte finds herself confiding her fears to her father’s shipwright apprentice, Rees Pendleton, the eldest son of the village’s most prominent family. Whilst Rees’ mother disapproves of their growing relationship, it will be the arrival of the reclusive uncle with his own secrets who may threaten not only the Pendleton’s future but Charlotte’s as well.

Charlotte and Rees will discover that all is not what it may seem in their quiet, seaside village of Keesbury. Some of the residents are keeping secrets – horrific and deadly secrets.

The Haunting of Noyo Bay beckons back to the age of the ever-popular gothic horror and suspense novels of the 1970s. Set in the mid-1800s, against the backdrop of one of northern California’s emerging seaside villages, readers will be transported back in time.

My Review

Can a child really be evil? You may think so after reading The Haunting of Noyo Bay. The minister’s young son often played too near the dangerous cliffs until one day the inevitable happened. The minister is away at the moment, leaving his poor wife to grieve alone. So who is the little boy that hangs around the cemetery? He looks like a ragamuffin, giggling and making rude gestures. Has the minister’s wife taken in an orphan? And why does no-one else ever see him?

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte Goolsby sees him and to be honest, finds his presence unnerving, especially as the minister’s wife claims not to know who he is.

Charlotte confides in her father’s shipwright apprentice, seventeen-year-old Rees Pendleton, the eldest son of Keesbury’s most prominent family. They have become friends, but their growing attachment is bothering Rees’s mother Constance, while being actively encouraged by Charlotte’s mother Caroline. What a catch Rees would be, but others think he should marry within his own class.

There are two stories unfolding here. One is the ghost story, the true horror of which does not really unfold until the end. The other is the relationship between Charlotte and Rees, who to my mind seemed very young to fall so deeply in love. But this was a different era and girls were married off as soon as possible to avoid becoming old spinsters by the age of twenty-one!

This is the first time I have ever listened to a book on Audible and I really enjoyed it. I have had to walk a lot in the past few days, so Charlotte and Rees have kept me company. Of course much of the enjoyment is dependent on who is narrating the book – I have tried a couple of times before but the voice often grates on me and I give up – but this one was perfect, though some of the American pronunciations took some getting used to, like plait being pronounced like plate.

Creepy, spooky and atmospheric, a great book for anyone who enjoys a Gothic horror mystery.

About the Author

L.B. grew up in a one stop-light town in central Idaho. After earning a bachelor of arts degree in cultural anthropology from California State University-Chico, she uprooted herself to begin a new life in Washington, D.C., where she began a varied career in professional communications in private business and education.

“I’ve always had a passion for photography, travel, writing, and history. I am thrilled to now be creating works of fiction that allow me to share these passions with others. One of my favorite parts of the writing process is the historical research required to bring authenticity to my characters’ lives.”

“I drew on my spiritual abilities and true-life paranormal experiences in creating Autumn. While not all spirits are mischievous, some simply have a message of comfort for loved ones, I believe prayer and faith in God will ultimately bring peaceful closure.”

 L.B. converted to Catholicism after accepting the intercession of the Virgin Mary while she was investigating paranormal activities. Having been aware of her ability to sense, see, and hear the spirits of departed souls from an early age, she has fully embraced her God-given gift as a Sensitive. She deeply believes her writing would feel hollow if she didn’t bring aspects of her faith into her characters’ struggles and hopes.

​L.B. currently resides in Virginia, however her heart remains in the West, near the seductive vines of Redwood’s true location.

The Soho Killer by B.L. Pearce

The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Soho. DCI Rob Miller, who’d thought he’d seen it all, is shocked by the violent death.

The victim, dressed in a leather bondage outfit, has whip marks on his back and a ball-gag in his mouth. It looks like he’s been raped and strangled, but whether it was autoerotic or murder, that remains to be seen.

#TheSohoKiller @BibaPearce #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour

Just when Rob’s team is making headway with the investigation, another man is found dead, killed in the same fashion as the first victim. This turns their theory on its head and they are forced to release their suspect and go back to the drawing board. When a third man is murdered, it’s clear someone is sending a message. Criminal profiler Tony Sanderson, a long-standing friend of Rob’s, is called in to consult on the case. Together, they must unravel the killings that have left the local community reeling and bring an increasingly depraved serial killer to justice.

My Review

The Soho Killer is the sixth in the series featuring DCI Rob Miller. I haven’t read any of the others, but I still managed to follow everything that was happening. We are fed information along the way about the previous novels, like the murder of one of his colleagues, human trafficking and a killer in prison.

Rob is married to Jo and they have a 10-month old son called Jack. Jo has returned to work at MI5, albeit a desk job. They share the parenting of Jack where possible with the help of Tanya, who was their babysitter and is now the nanny. They also have a dog called Trigger.

Rob is a seasoned detective, in charge of his team. He’s been involved in many murder cases, but this one is something else. A middle-aged man, dressed in a leather bondage outfit, is found in Soho, with whip marks on his back and a ball-gag in his mouth. He’s been bound, raped and strangled, but whether the cause of death is autoerotic or murder remains to be seen.

There doesn’t seem to be a motive for the killing and the victim’s husband of many years swears that neither of them were into sadomasochism or bondage. But then another body turns up, killed in a very similar manner, yet seemingly unconnected and the team needs to start looking again.

When a third body is discovered, dressed in bondage gear and killed in the same way, it’s obvious a pattern is emerging. So Rob brings in long-term friend, criminal profiler Tony Sanderson to try and help build a picture of the killer.

Not for the faint-hearted, The Soho Killer is pretty grisly in parts and the killings are gruesome and graphic. Just the sort of thing I love! And boy what a twist at the end. I’d never have guessed.

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

About the Author

Biba Pearce is a British crime writer and author of the DCI Rob Miller series. Biba grew up in post-apartheid Southern Africa. As a child, she lived on the wild eastern coast and explored the sub-tropical forests and surfed in shark-infested waters. Now a full-time writer with more than twenty-five novels under her belt, Biba lives in leafy Surrey and when she isn’t writing, can be found walking through the countryside or kayaking on the river Thames. 

Website www.bibapearce.com
Twitter @BibaPearce
Instagram @author_bibapearce