Blog tour: the Silent Dead by Claire McGowan

I am delighted today to be hosting a  Q & A with Claire McGowan as part of the official the Silent Dead blog tour..

Victim: Male. Mid-thirties. 5'7". Cause of death: Hanging. Initial impression - murder. ID: Mickey Doyle. Suspected terrorist and member of the Mayday Five. The officers at the crime scene know exactly who the victim is. Doyle was one of five suspected bombers who caused the deaths of sixteen people. The remaining four are also missing and when a second body is found, decapitated, it's clear they are being killed by the same methods their victims suffered. Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire is assigned the case but she is up against the clock - both personally and professionally. With moral boundaries blurred between victim and perpetrator, will be Paula be able to find those responsible? After all, even killers deserve justice, don't they?

 

Did you always want to be an author?

Yes, I started writing my first book when I was nine, though I only got a few pages in. it was always my dream to be a writer.

If so did you always want to write Crime fiction, or did you ever have a different genre in mind?

No – I’m interested in most genres really, and in fact I also write romcoms under another name. But I love the the puzzle element of crime fiction, and the way it reflects our darkest sides.

Writing about bombs, murders, decapitations etc must be gruesome at times? When you are writing something dark or disturbing do you often find the need to escape?

I don’t find the gore upsetting so much as the emotional and sad bits. I’m lucky I also write lighter fiction, so it’s nice to have the contrast between the two if it all gets a bit much. What I also find hard is when I discover real-life stories that are very close to things I’ve written – that really brings it home.

If so what is your favourite way to ‘get away from it all’?

I like going on writing retreats, and having a few days away from emails and chores, just holing up with the book. That really helps me get a clear mind and focus. If I need to get away from writing I’ll do something active, like swing dancing or swimming.

Do you have a favourite author?

My favourite crime author is probably Tana French – she is amazing at both lyrical prose and gripping, twisty plots.

Is there anyone that particularly inspires you – literary or otherwise?

I find the author Lionel Shriver very inspiring. Not only is she brilliant, but she faced a lot of setbacks before her seventh book made it big, and she seems to always have faith in herself and dedication to her work as a writer.

If you could have written any novel what would it be?

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Such a brilliant portrait of people breaking down. I’ve read it about ten times!

Do you have any peculiar writing habits or quirks?

I like to write in bed – it makes me feel somehow cushioned from the world, and I find it easier not to get distracted by the internet for some reason!

What are you reading at the moment?

I sat up too late to finish The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood, a pitch-black and twisty thriller that cuts very close to the bone.

Have you read anything that made you think differently about how you write?

Everything I read gives me a different perspective, particularly on how to do the technical things like viewpoint, plot, and characterisation. That’s why I try to read a wide range of genres and authors too.

Do you prefer an E-book or a physical book?

Both – I read a lot of ebooks as they’re so convenient and easy, but I’ve gone back to paper books for bedtime, as I think the light of my tablet is keeping me awake! And it’s nice to get immersed in the book instead.

Is there another novel on the cards? If so can you give anything away yet?

Yes, I’m 20,000 words into Paula Maguire 5, which is set on a cut-off island, and is so far a lot of fun to write.

A huge thank you to Claire for taking the time to answer my questions.

You can catch up with the rest of the blog tour here:

 

 Read my Review of the Silent Dead here.

 

Thank you to Bookbridgr who organised and allowed me to take part in the blog tour.

Review: the Silent Dead by Claire McGowan

The Silent Dead by Claire McGowan
Publisher: Headline
Release date: 19 November 2015
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: Victim: Male. Mid-thirties. 5'7". Cause of death: Hanging. Initial impression - murder. ID: Mickey Doyle. Suspected terrorist and member of the Mayday Five. The officers at the crime scene know exactly who the victim is. Doyle was one of five suspected bombers who caused the deaths of sixteen people. The remaining four are also missing and when a second body is found, decapitated, it's clear they are being killed by the same methods their victims suffered. Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire is assigned the case but she is up against the clock - both personally and professionally. With moral boundaries blurred between victim and perpetrator, will be Paula be able to find those responsible? After all, even killers deserve justice, don't they?

The Silent Dead is the first of Claire McGowan’s, Paula Maguire series that I have had the pleasure of reading, I would like to go back and read the first two in the series for my own pleasure, but I don’t believe it’s necessary for the enjoyment of this novel.

Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire is among the first on the scene when a member of the so called May Day Five (those responsible for the devastating May Day bombing) is found hung.

The immediate and inevitable conclusion is suicide; however it soon becomes clear that this is anything but. 

A mysterious handwritten note is found upon the body linking the killing to the ‘May Day Trial’ where the bombers were set free, the families and their victims left distraught, wanting answers and possibly revenge.

Clearly the families of the victims are among the first suspects, but something just doesn’t add up...

When a second body is discovered, fears grow for the other members of the organisation. 

No matter what they did, they are still human beings and Maguire is determined to get to the bottom of the case before the others are declared missing or worse still found murdered. 

Her issue is, she is not an official member of the investigation team, and is heavily pregnant, neither of which endear her to the officer in charge of the investigation. But Maguire doesn't much care; neither for protocol, or for what others think of her. She is determined only to do her job.

The Silent Dead is a novel that highlights some of the troubles in Northern Ireland without being too brutal. It is gripping and in parts disturbing, but always enjoyable. I very much look forward to McGowan's next one...

 

The Silent Dead is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

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

Check back tomorrow for my spot on the official blog tour:

 

Review: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

A Spool of Blue Thread
Publisher: Chatto & Windus/Vintage/Random House UK
Release date: 10 February 2015
Rating: ****
Back cover blurb: ‘It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon…’ This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she and Red fell in love that day in July 1959. The whole family on the porch, relaxed, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before.  And yet this gathering is different. Abby and Red are getting older, and decisions must be made about how best to look after them and their beloved family home. They’ve all come, even Denny, who can usually be relied on only to please himself. From that porch we spool back through three generations of the Whitshanks, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define who and what they are. And while all families like to believe they are special, round that kitchen table over all those years we see played out the hopes and fears, the rivalries and tensions of families everywhere – the essential nature of family life.

I’ve been wanting to read this novel for some time now and am kind of glad that I waited until it was winter, as it is a lovely warming novel.

A Spool of Blue Thread is a novel about ordinary family life...

But of course there is nothing ordinary about family life, we are all in some way different from each other and Tyler explores this wonderfully.

A Spool of Blue Thread is the lovingly crafted tale of The Whitshank family.

Set in Baltimore, we are taken through the generations of the family at different stages of their lives, allowing us to see them as a whole picture.

Starting off with Abby and Red taking a call from their son Denny who announces that he is gay, we are then taken on a journey that some authors wouldn’t be able to manage, but Tyler is a master in the art of storytelling.

This novel is a slow burner, but it is beautifully written.

If you like fast paced thrillers (which I also love by the way..) then this may not be for you, but I would urge you to give it a chance.

It is a wonderful novel that deserves every accolade it has been presented with.

A Spool of Blue Thread is available now from 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: After Anna by Alex Lake

After Anna by Alex Lake
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release date: 19 November 2015 
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: A girl is missing. Five years old, taken from outside her school. She has vanished, traceless. The police are at a loss; her parents are beyond grief. Their daughter is lost forever, perhaps dead, perhaps enslaved. But the biggest mystery is yet to come: one week after she was abducted, their daughter is returned. She has no memory of where she has been. And this, for her mother, is just the beginning of the nightmare...

After Anna is a novel that had me gripped from its opening paragraph. It’s not pleasant reading, for it explores the abduction of a Five year old girl from the abductor's point of view, but it certainly had me wanting more.

And so it continues; this novel really deserves the sentence 'unable to put down'.

Five year old Anna is taken from outside her school. Her mother Julia was late picking her up, and unable to call ahead. The school assume Anna has been collected, despite their strict policy.

Julia is devastated, and not only has her own guilt to deal with, but is immediately blamed by her estranged husband, Brian (he’s bitter because Julia initiated a divorce he didn't want) and his mother, Edna.

The Police are clueless, but little girls don't just disappear, and they’re certain she’ll return. After her first night missing, fears for Anna's safety deepen. The families history is delved into, but what the investigation will uncover, no one is certain.

When Anna returns virtually unharmed a week after her disappearance, her parents are overjoyed, but Julia can't help but wonder if this is this end? Now that Anna has returned safely, is there someone out there that wants something?

It doesn't take long to realise her fears are justified, and her worst nightmare has not yet begun...

I’ve no idea who the author is (the novel is written under a pseudonym) but whoever they are they know how to write an excellent novel.

  

After Anna is available from 19 November 2015.

You can pre-order it now from Amazon online and Harper Collins.

     Thank you to lovereading who sent me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline

Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline

Publisher: Headline

Release date: 19 November 2015

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: I plan everything. I set everyone in motion, and when the moment comes, I strike. Psychologist Dr Eric Parrish is unwittingly under threat. Recently separated from his wife, Eric is learning to become a single parent to his seven-year-old daughter, and life is far from straightforward. Now Eric has a new patient who could be a severe danger to others. And he must make a decision that will leave deadly consequences in its wake. The clock is ticking, and someone is hell bent on destroying Eric's practice, his family, his life. But how can you defend yourself against an enemy you don't know? And can you ever win a game you don't even know you are playing?

Every Fifteen Minutes is a scary emotional roller-coaster ride of a novel. And I think Lisa Scottoline's best to date.

Dr Eric Parrish is a renowned and well respected psychologist, recently separated from his wife, his personal life isn't perfect, but his employment almost certainly is. As 'Chief' of a busy psychiatry ward at his local hospital, people look up to and admire Parrish and the work he does.

When he gets involved in the case of a young man caring for his Grandmother who has terminal cancer, Parrish sees only the vulnerability of Max and the closeness of his relationship with his Grandmother, whilst those around him see Max as a potential threat - of what or to who no one seems sure.

When a girl of similar age to Max is murdered, the suspicion immediately falls on him. Particularly as it coincides with the night his Grandmother passes away. But Eric is so certain that Max didn't commit the crime, that he is determined to find out who did against the wishes of the police - who are beginning to think that Eric has manipulated Max, and that he himself is the murderer.

What follows is a gripping yet complex hunt for both Max (who goes missing immediately after his Grandmothers death) and the murderer, assuming of course as Eric does that they are not the same person..

Every Fifteen Minutes is told largely from Eric's point of view, with a chapter every know and then from an unidentified Sociopath. But are they out to get Max, Eric or someone else entirely?

Throughout Every Fifteen Minutes I had my suspicions of who the unidentified Sociopath might be, but then two separate incidents near the novel's end left me shocked, and make the novel even better in my opinion.

Every Fifteen Minutes is one of Scottoline's best, and should not be missed.

Every Fifteen Minutes is available from 19 November 2015.

You can pre-order it now from Amazon online and Headline.

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

Review: the Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

Publisher: Headline Review Release date: 1 June 2015 (10th Anniversary edition) Rating: ****  Back cover blurb: Set in the 1950s, in an England still recovering from the Second World War, this is the enchanting story of Penelope Wallace and her eccentric family at the start of the rock'n'roll era. Penelope longs to be grown-up and fall in love, but various rather inconvenient things keep getting in the way. Like her mother, a stunning but petulant beauty widowed at a tragically young age, her younger brother Inigo, currently incapable of concentrating on anything that isn't Elvis Presley, a vast but crumbling ancestral home, a severe shortage of cash, and her best friend Charlotte's sardonic cousin Harry...              

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is a novel of delightful characters, not all of hem likeable, but all of them believable.

Penelope Wallace is eighteen when she meets Charlotte Ferris, who introduces her to her cousin Harry and 'Aunt' Clare.

Penelope is instantly smitten with this family who seem every bit as eccentric as her own and for once isn't embarrassed to invite them to her crumbling ancestral home, the infamous Milton Magna.

Penelope's mother, the beautiful Talitha is keen to marry her daughter off to a rich eligible batchelor, but her and Charlotte are far more interested in American singer Johnnie Ray.

Still when Harry asks for Penelope's help in trying to win back his ex-girlfriend by making her jealous she is flattered and agrees after a little persuasion.

Penelope has the time of her life with opulent parties, new gowns and more male attention than she ever dared to dream of. But has Penelope gone too far, or is this just the beginning of her new life?

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets captures the era perfectly.

Teenagers such as Inigo, Penelope and Charlotte were just coming into existence and they were obsessed with anything and everything to come from America, not least Johnnie Ray and Elvis Presley.

  The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.       A huge thank you to Bookbridgr who sent me a limited edition 10th Anniversary copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.  

Review: Bloodstream by Luca Veste

Bloodstream by Luca Veste

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release date: 22 October 2015

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: A killer with a message to broadcast. Social Media stars Chloe Morrison and Joe Hooper seemed to have the perfect life. But someone took exception to it. Their violent deaths cause a media scrum to descend on Liverpool, with DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi assigned to the case. Three things soon become clear. This will not be the first murder. The media pressure will only intensify. And the enquiry leads straight to the heart of the police force.

Bloodstream is Luca Veste's third novel, his third in the DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi series, and in my opinion his best novel in the series so far.

It's opening, is brutal, Chloe Morrison watches her boyfriend Joe Hooper die at the hands of an unidentified killer before being murdered herself. The perpetrator we learn is all about exposing the secrets and lies that couples hide from and tell each other.

Although their lives played out on reality TV, away from the cameras Chloe and Joe we no different.

As Murphy and Rossi begin their investigation fears grow for a local missing girl, Amy Maguire. It seems unclear whether any potential suspect would have kidnapped her as they seem to be targeting couples, but the detectives fear for her life nonetheless.

A media frenzy soon surrounds the investigation, for Chloe and Joe were not the perpetrators first victims, and it seems unlikely that they will be his/her last.

As pressure mounts on the case, Murphy encourages Laura to spend some time away from work with her new boyfriend, whilst he remains and tries to think outside the box. What he discovers shocks him to the core and he begins to worry for his colleagues safety.

But should he be worrying for his own safety more? 

Murphy and Rossi must get to the killer before he strikes again, that much is clear, but what if they are already too late?

Bloodstream is a fast-paced thriller which you will not be able to put down!

Bloodstream is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

Review: the Tokyo Express by Una Rose

the Tokyo Express by Una Rose Publisher: Estuary Publishing Release date: 1 March 2013 Rating: **** Back cover blurb: It is March 2011 and the tsunami has struck. As Conor desperately searches for Mimi, his Japanese wife, he realises how his dark and disturbing behaviour driver her to abandon him in Ireland and return to Japan. Over 60 years earlier, in war torn Tokyo, another international relationship is emerging from the rubble. Owen is falling in love with Mariko, a passionate and political local woman, who takes him on a journey. Then family and fate intervene leaving the couple destined to never be together. As prejudices continue to collide within two rapidly changing cultures, is Conor about to repeat his grandfather's mistakes?

The Tokyo Express brings two totally different cultures and time spans beautifully.

Conor Flanaghan living in Tokyo, is devastated by the death of his father so returns with his Japanese wife Mimi to help with the family business that his father has left him, with the intention of returning to Japan.

But his Mother has other ideas.

She believes that Conor must take over the family business with Mimi and stay in Ireland for good. As much as Conor lives his family, his hometown harbours some painful memories for him. When tragedy strikes again soon after his fathers death Conor begins to lose sense of the good in his life and goes off the rails.

Mimi is faced with a dilemma.

Stay and try and help a man who so clearly doesn't want to be helped. Or return to her own family in Japan where she will once again be loved and cared for. With the influence of Conor's grandfather Owen, it becomes an easy decision to make.

Owen knew Japan in some of its darkest days. The aftermath of the Second World War. Working as a young Doctor he met a local girl Mariko.

When bad news from home arrived, Owen had to leave, but he has never forgotten the country that treated him so well and gave him so much.

When a massive earthquake hits Japan Conor comes to his senses and realises that Mimi is all he ever really wanted. But can he find her and bring her home? Or is it already to late?

  The Tokyo Express is available to buy now from Amazon online.     A huge thank you to the author who sent me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Liar Liar by M.J. Arlidge

Liar Liar by M.J. Arlidge

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Penguin UK)
Release date: 10 September 2015
Rating: ****
Back cover blurb: In the dead of night, three raging fires light up the city skies. It's more than a tragic coincidence. For DI Helen Grace the flames announce the arrival of an evil she has never encountered before. Because this is no firestarter seeking sick thrills, but something more chilling: a series of careful, calculating acts of murder. But why were the victims chosen? What's driving the killer? And who will be next? A powder keg of fear, suspicion and dread has been laid. Now all it needs is a spark to set it off... 

Liar Liar is the 4th novel in M.J. Arlidge’s DI Helen Grace series. It could be read as a standalone, but Arlidge’s previous novels are all brilliant, so if you haven’t read them already it’s definitely worth catching up.

Liar Liar opens with Helen being called to investigate what looks like a targeted arson attack on a family home in Southampton, but quickly it becomes apparent that two commercial properties have also been subject to arson.

Are the three fires linked, or is it just a coincidence that the fires are on the same evening?

The following evening three more fires are set in a similar pattern, leaving Helen in no doubt that someone is intent on destroying Southampton’s families and businesses.

But why would anyone want to do such a thing?

Neither of the families have any enemies to speak of, so when the arsonist takes to targeting single mothers the Police are even more perplexed.

Is the arsonist just a glory hunter interested in the press speculation and intrigue, or are they just interested in destruction?

DI Grace and her team must find the answers to these questions, and fast.

Liar Liar is a gripping and intense thriller that really puts the reader at the heart of the action showcasing just how devastating fire can be. It also cleverly explores what can happen when the wrong person is accused of a crime, and what happens when it is the person you least expect.

Liar Liar is available to buy now from 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 Prince George Diaries by Clare Bennett

The Prince George Diaries by Clare Bennett

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Penguin UK)

Release date: 5 November 2015

Rating: *** and a half

Back cover blurb: The Prince George Diaries is an hilarious new comedy about the Royal Family told from the inside out. Great diarists have changed the course of history, charted the swell of revolutions, the rise and fall of empires through the power of their pens. But for the first time ever, the gimlet eye of a tiny literary colossus - small in stature but mighty in influence -unlocks the closely guarded secrets of the British monarchy. How? He's one of them. The Prince George Diaries is a no-holds-barred exclusive never-before-seen fly-on-the-wall, behind the scenes rollercoaster exposé written from the inside. From David Cameron's weekly meetings with the Queen ('I've given up bread, Ma'am - can you tell?') Princess Anne's terrifyingly combative party game tactics ('Who's got the cojones to take me on?') to Prince Harry's lessons on family history ('Did you know Great Grandpop's first pet was a dinosaur and that he invented fire?') - it is all here. And much, much more. As George's position as the world's most influential baby suddenly becomes under threat, following the shocking news that he's going to have a sibling - things get interesting. He knows how to be a media superstar. He doesn't know how to be a brother. What will the future hold now an imposter looms large on the horizon...? 

 

Clearly given its content, this book won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but as a parody it certainly works wonders. 

Told through the eyes of toddler, Prince George, it details some key aspects of the Royals in recent years, not least the arrival of Baby Princess Charlotte or Ringo as she is hilariously referred to prior to her birth.

In fact it is exactly how I imagine the Royals to be, providing that they haven't had a sense of humour failure obviously....

The Queen's exchanges with David Cameron are particularly hilarious, and I do wonder whether this author has considered concentrating on other royals in the future. 

I would certainly be curious to read anything else published - particularly if it were to feature Prince Harry, whose portrayal I personally think is probably quite accurate!

Very funny and brilliantly written, the Prince George diaries is a feel good book that won't disappoint (but maybe not one to read if you don't like satire... or if you're a royalist!)

  The Prince George Diaries is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.       Thank you to the publishers who invited me to read this novel via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Home is Burning by Dan Marshall

Home is Burning: A Memoir by Dan Marshall Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Release date: 20 October 2015 Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: Hilarious, heart-wrenching and brilliantly written account of a twenty something returning home to his large, eccentric, foul mouthed family to care for his beloved, dying father. At twenty-five, Dan left his 'spoiled white asshole' life in Los Angeles to look after his dying parents in Salt Lake City, Utah. His mother, who had already been battling cancer on and off for close to 15 years, had taken a turn for the worse. His father, a devoted marathon runner and adored parent, had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease which was quickly eroding his body. Dan's four siblings were already home, caring for their parents and resenting Dan for not doing the same. Home Is Burning tells the story of Dan's year at home in Salt Lake City, as he reunites with his eclectic family -the only non-Mormon family of seven in the entire town- all of them trying their best to be there for the father who had always been there for them.


Dan Marshall is having the time of his life, he is Twenty-Five years old, has a good job, a decent degree and a cute and loving girlfriend, and he lives in L.A. Okay so his Mother has cancer, but she's been battling it for years. In her family's eyes, she's just 'Mom' - a fighter.

  Everything is wonderful, until Dan's father is diagnosed with ALS. A fit and healthy marathon runner, it comes as a complete shock and turns the family's world upside down. At first none of them are prepared for the aggressive nature of the disease, and Dan is in denial about his fathers deteriorating health.   Then his Mom calls him and begs him to come home, and Dan is forced to face the reality of ALS along with his siblings.   This memoir is probably not for everyone. There is a lot of swearing and crass humour - even the cover has 'home is fucking burning' on it... But for me, the way the memoir is written goes some way to show how this family coped during some of their darkest days.   Their black humour and bad jokes helped them to cope with not one, but two parents dying of a terminal illness. And that's not all that this family have to deal with.    The Marshalls are an incredible bunch, and I thank Dan for writing this memoir which will hopefully raise some awareness for ALS*  

*ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease but more commonly in the UK as Motor Neurone Disease.

  Home is Burning is available to buy now from 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 Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende Publisher: Scribner UK Release date: 5 November 2015 Rating: **** and a half

Back cover blurb: From internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende comes an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from present-day San Francisco to Poland and the United States during WWII. In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis and the world goes to war, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family's Japanese gardener, and between them a tender love blossoms. Following Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart when Ichimei and his family - like thousands of Japanese Americans - are declared enemies by the US government and relocated to internment camps. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love they are forever forced to hide from the world. Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life... contd.

The Japanese Lover is a wonderful novel full of mystery, intrigue, love, forgiveness and complex family history.

Irina Bazili begins work at Lark House where she meets Alma Belasco and her Grandson Seth. Lark House is a nursing home that doesn't restrict its residents and Alma is in a privilege position as she has her own apartment and is able to pretty much come and go as she pleases.

When she asks Irina to work for her there are two things she doesn't bargain for. Her grandson falling in love, and her past being revisited. For Alma's behaviour makes both Seth and Irina suspicious. There are letters that she receives that she won't allow anyone else to look at, mysterious disappearances and weekends away that are never mentioned, and gardenias sent to Alma at regular intervals.

Meanwhile as Seth patiently pursues Irina, he realises that his Grandmother is not the only one hiding something. There must be some reason why she won't let him get close to her even though they get along and appear to be attracted to each other.

It takes faces from Alma and Irina's past to finally allow the beloved females in Seth's life to unburden themselves of their deepest secrets. He learns of love, betrayal, hurt and anger, and that is only the beginning.

I absolutely adored this novel, but was left a little confused by the ending. But maybe I was just hoping for something more- you will understand what I mean when you read it, but of course opinions may differ.

The Japanese Lover is a beautifully written novel that comes highly recommended from me.

The Japanese Lover is available from 5 November 2015.

You can pre-order it now from Amazon online.

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

Review: Landfalls by Naomi Williams

Landfalls by Naomi Williams

Publisher: Little Brown, UK

Release date: 22 October 2015

Rating: *** and a half

Back cover blurb: An epic voyage, undertaken with the grandest of ambitions. When Lapérouse leaves France in the Spring of 1785 with two ships under his command, he knows that he sails with the full backing of the French government. This is to be a voyage of scientific and geographical discovery - but every person on board has their own hopes, ambitions and dreams.  As the ships move across vast distances in their journey of nearly four years, the different characters step forward and invite us into their world. From the remote Alaskan bay where a dreadful tragedy unfolds, to the wild journey Barthélemy de Lessups undertakes from the far east of Russia to St Petersburg, the reader sees the emotional, physical and mental toll exacted by such an endeavour. Landfalls marks the launch of a brilliant new writer, who creates an unforgettable world through a web of voices and narratives.

Landfalls is Naomi Williams' debut, and I have a feeling we will be hearing a lot more from this particular author. 

As any regular reader to my blog will know, I just adore historical fiction, and this novel, whilst a little different from my usual, was still very enjoyable.

The novel, is not all fiction - The Boussole and the Astrolabe were two ships that set sail from Brest in August 1785 upon the orders of Louis XVI with the aim of recording new lands, verifying existing charts and records and making new scientific discoveries.

But the novel itself is a fictionalised account of these ships voyages of discovery.

Told from the perspectives of several onboard both ships, this could easily have been a very confusing novel, but this debut novelist is clearly very talented and keeps the reader captivates throughout.

Clearly thoroughly researched, Landfalls is a wonderful tale of exploration, loyalty, friendship and love. It's a little slow to start, but worth the perseverance.

I look forward to seeing what this author has up her sleeve next!

Landfalls is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.,

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