Review - the Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

The Bookseller of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Publisher: Bookouture

Release date: 5 August 2024

Back cover blurb: Paris, 1940: Madeline tries to scream, but she can’t breathe. A German soldier is working to free her from the rubble – but if he reaches her, he will find the books hidden beneath her clothes… When the Germans seize Paris, its peaceful streets fill with terror overnight, and nowhere is safe. Desperate to help her friends, Parisian bookseller Madeline Valette turns her bookshop into a sanctuary for those in hiding, but she knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s found out. So when she is asked to join the Resistance and smuggle banned books from Berlin, she accepts, desperate to defy the Nazis. And while she wants to save precious books from destruction, she also hopes her trips to Germany might help her find the last living connection she has to her beloved husband… Because Madeline has received a letter from a German woman called Ada, the mother of her husband’s son. Facing persecution, the Jewish boy is in terrible danger. But where are they now, and can Madeline help them before it’s too late? When Madeline finally finds Ada and the child, she realises Ada is at the mercy of a high-ranking Nazi official and both their lives are now at risk. Can Madeline get them to safety? Or will the unthinkable happen to this innocent child?

France, WW2. Madeline Valette is a bookseller in Paris when she discovers that her deceased husband has a child with an ex-wife that Madeline wasn't even aware of. Wanting to find out the truth, but also wanting to help others, Madeline finds herself stumbling in to the resistance movement and risking her own life to save a child.

In more recent times, Olivia is at an auction when she bids for a bundle that she knows is out of her price range, but will potentially make her boss very happy. But she has a strong personal reason for wanting the lot...

She has noticed a photograph amongst the items that she is certain are of her Grandmother, and is determined to find out more about their origin, and how they came to be with the lot. 

Her Grandfather is a cantankerous old man who has no interest in family life. Bought to the UK as an Orphan, he never speaks of the war, or the circumstances that led to him becoming an Orphan.

Olivia is determined not to let her Grandfather's frostiness detract from her detective work and sets about her research. She is disturbed by what she discovers, and determined to dig deeper and uncover the truth about her family's past. 

This is the second in a series of books entitled 'the Paris sisters'. I have not read the first in the series (though I will go back and search it out now), but this didn't have impact on my experience with this novel. 

I look forward to reading the next in the series.

The Bookseller of Paris is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Many thanks to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Review - Spiral by Cameron Ward

Spiral by Cameron Ward

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 1 August 2024

Back cover blurb: You’re on a routine flight from London to LA. Hundreds of people are on board including your estranged son, Theo. Ten hours into the flight, something goes terribly wrong. The engines fail. The plane enters a steep dive. Everything goes black. Then, you wake up. It’s one hour before the crash. You can’t believe it – you’re alive. You, your beloved son, and all the other passengers are safe. Until, terrifyingly, the same chain of events repeats itself. Again, and again, and again. You’re the only one who knows what’s about to happen. The lives of everyone on board depend on you. But how will you stop it, when you’re running out of time?

Firstly this would make an epic movie!  Secondly, I absolutely loved this novel, it is brilliantly written and I look forward to more from this author. 

Charlie has fallen out with her adult son Theo about hiding the truth about his parentage from him. She knows deep down it was for the right reasons, as Theo's Father was not the man she thought he was, and she is grateful he hasn't been in Theo's life.

But Theo feels betrayed by his Mother, and determined to find his Father decides to base himself in the US. As a Commercial Airline Pilot, he is able to move around with ease, and quickly settles himself in the States, making new acquaintances and forging a new life for himself.

Charlie is determined to reconcile with her son, and unbeknownst to him, boards one of his flights from London to L.A. Ten hours in to the flight, something goes terribly wrong. The engines fail, the plane enters a steep dive then everything goes back.

Then Charlie wakes up, and minutes later it happens again, and again, and again.

Charlie has some deeply buried knowledge of time loops, and tries hard to recall anything that could be of use to her situation. She knows that ultimately she must use her power as the only person with the knowledge to stop the plane from crashing and save all of the passengers onboard.

Can she out everything she needs to before her time runs out?

Spiral is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  

Review - Terminally Kill by Steve Jones

Terminally Kill by Steve Jones

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 25 July 2024

Back cover blurb: Ray might be about to die. But he’s sure as hell not going quietly . . . Former policeman Ray ‘Sugar’ Leonard is no stranger to bad breaks. But even Walter White never had to open up and share his feelings with a bunch of misfits like Ray’s chemotherapy group: a giant God-bothering Welsh bouncer, a sharp-suited wannabe Wolf of Wall Street, and a misanthropic, potty-mouthed little old lady. Compared to that lot, getting mugged on his way home from the clinic was almost a relief. But Ray is not your average victim. And when his training kicks in and his would-be attacker winds up dead, he wonders, who else might be equally deserving of such summary justice? After all, he’s got cancer, what’s he got to lose? Then Ray lets slip his new philosophy to the group and it soon becomes clear that he’s not the only one with murder in mind . . .

I've been looking forward to the release of this novel since hearing the author himself talk about it last year at an event publicising his previous novel (Call Time - if you haven't read it yet, please do!). Terminally Kill is a brilliantly funny novel with some dark humour, and really great characters.

Ray 'Sugar' Leonard has cancer. Chemotherapy sessions mandatory. He doesn't want to engage with the others in his sessions at first, just wants to go to the hospital, have the treatment and leave again. But the bunch of misfits that he finds himself with don't exactly understand the art of silence and are keen to make friends.

In the room there's Gog, a scary looking, softly spoken Welsh bouncer, young Luke, sharp suited (and mouthed), who wants to be everyone's best mate, and Rose, a small elderly lady with the pottiest mouth you ever heard!

Ray is slowly won over by their individual 'charm' and starts confiding in them things he's never told anyone else. This is reciprocated by the others. With each of them being sworn to secrecy. A 'what's said in chemo, stays in chemo'... type scenario.

Ray is what you might describe as a seasoned professional. Ex-Military and a retired Police detective, Ray has seen his fair share of violence and unjust behaviour. When he is attacked in an alley, he doesn't hesitate to fight back, not realising he still had it in him.

Ray is dying, and realises he has nothing to lose by teaching his scum bag attacker a lesson. That said, he didn't quite mean to end his life... but he's seen enough crime scenes to know how to cover one up. And begins to wonder if he couldn't use his 'skills' to take a little justice and revenge back for himself, before his life on this earth ends.

I don't want to spoil anything, but I absolutely loved this, and some of the twists towards the end of the novel were so clever! I can't wait to read the next offering from Mr. Jones.

Terminally Kill is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - A Girl's Guide to Winning the War by Annie Lyons

A Girl's Guide to Winning the War 

Publisher: Bookouture

Release date: 25 July 2024

Back cover blurb: Can two young women and one book change the course of war? 1940. Whip-smart librarian Peggy Sparks is determined to make sure that her brother Joe returns from the frontline to their London home, which they share with their beloved mother and grandmother. So when she is offered a once-in-a-lifetime job at the heart of the war effort, Peggy jumps at the prospect of making a real contribution to her country. But when she finds herself working under the fanciful socialite Lady Marigold Cecily, Peggy discovers that those around her are more keen on dancing at the Café de Paris than on ending the war. Writing accounts of her daily life is the only thing keeping Peggy's hopes alive. But when she finds her inner-most thoughts accidentally published by the Ministry of Information, Peggy realises she needs Marigold's help to save her job, and to bring her brother home . . .

Peggy Sparks and Marigold Cecily could not be more different. Thrown together by the war to work at the Ministry of Information, in the publishing department, their backgrounds and personalities are worlds apart. 

Peggy is smart, down to earth and determined to do her bit to bring the war to an end and ensure her Brother Joe returns home in one piece.

Marigold is a Lady, persistently late to work, always has somewhere more important to be, and seems more interested in dancing at Cafe de Paris than doing her bit for the War. 

But she has a keen eye for photography, and after a bit of a shaky start Peggy realises that there is much more to Marigold than meets the eye.

Peggy is kind hearted, but has a determined streak, no doubt inherited from her Grandmother whose sharp tongue and quick wit provides some genuine laugh out loud moments in this novel.

At first, we feel a little detached from the War as reader, which I assume is deliberate as this is how the characters themselves must have felt at times.  

Then the Blitz bombings start, and the novel takes a different direction, as do some of its characters, and we are right there in the heart of it all...

This is a wonderful historical fiction novel, and I look forward to this author's next.

A Girl's Guide to Winning the War is available from 25 July. You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - The Villa by Jess Ryder

The Villa by Jess Ryder

Publisher: Penguin [Random House UK]

Release date: 18 July 2024

Back cover blurb: Three years ago, bride-to-be Aoife died at her own hen party. Now the hens have returned to the villa where that terrible weekend unfolded. They long for closure. But the moment they step back inside, old wounds open and tensions begin to rise. Everyone has a different version of what happened that night. Someone is keeping secrets. How far will they go to keep them hidden?

Dani's best friend Aoife is getting married, and they are off for an unforgettable weekend in Marbella. 

It isn't cheap, but the girls are determined to give her the best send off.

Aoife, the hen has been friends with Tiff and Beth since School, Dani since University and Celine more recently via work.

She will shortly be marrying the man of her dreams, Nathan. The hen is her last chance to let her hair down before she settles into married life and she is determined to make the most of it.

But untold tragedy unfolds when Aoife is tragically killed. 

Her killer isn't caught, and the hens return home devastated, without the bride.

Three years on and Dani is determined to mark the anniversary of Aoife's passing with a small memorial ceremony, and by finding out the truth about what happened.

She leads the others back to Marbs by persuading them that it will be good to celebrate and remember Aoife's life together, misleading them about her true reason for returning.

Seeking the truth...

Because Dani is sure that there is more to that night than she can remember, but she just doesn't realise just how much danger she has put herself and the others in by trying to discover the truth.

The Villa is available from 18 July. You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Review - Message Deleted by K.L. Slater

Message Deleted by K.L. Slater

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 18 July 2024

Back cover blurb: Saffy is waiting to go into a job interview when she receives a text message from her best friend, Leona: Can’t speak . . . don’t text or call . . . please just come. As Saffy struggles to understand what is happening the phone screen changes: This message was deleted. Saffy races to Leona’s house, but when her friend answers the door, she insists everything's fine. She doesn't know anything about the message. Saffy can tell something’s not right, but after looking around the house, she can’t think of anything else she can do. Six hours later, Saffy gets a knock on the door. It's the police. Leona is missing, with her young child. There's blood everywhere. And Saffy was the last one to see them alive . . .

Saffron Morris (Saffy to her friends) is about to go into an important interview when she gets three WhatsApp messages in quick succession from her best friend Leona.

Can’t speak…

Don’t text or call…

Please just come …

But just as quickly as they arrived, the messages are deleted.

Saffy is torn, does she go into the interview? Or should she go straight to Leona and check on her welfare?

Despite her need for the job, she does what any friend would do, calls a cab and goes straight to Leona’s. When she gets there, her friend insists everything is fine. Saffy can’t help but feel something is a little off, though she can’t put her finger on exactly what. 

Hours later she’s at home with her young son Fox and her sister Poppy when there’s a knock at the door. 

It’s the Police..

And they want to speak with Saffy as she was the last person to see Leona. Who is now apparently missing with her husband Ash and young daughter Rosie. 

Saffy is now a 'person of interest' in their investigation. She knows she has done nothing wrong, so why does she feel like they don't believe a single word she says? And where on earth are Leona and her family?

I've not read a K.L. Slater novel in a little while, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this author. This is very clever, with lots of twists to keep you guessing.

Message Deleted is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.