[Blog tour] Review - Before the rains by Dinah Jefferies

Before the rains by Dinah Jefferies

Publisher: Viking
Release date: 23 February 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: A gripping, heart-wrenching tale of love against the odds from the Number One Sunday Times bestselling author Dinah Jefferies. 1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband's death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza's only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she's determined to make a name for herself. But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince's handsome, brooding younger brother. Brought together by their desire to improve conditions for local people, Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families - and society - think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what's expected, and following their heart. . .

 

Before the rains is yet another beautifully written historical novel by Dinah Jefferies. I really don't know how she does it. Every detail is perfect, you can really immerse yourself into 1930s India and almost believe that you are there.

Eliza Fraser, recently widowed has accepted a British Government assignment to a princely state in India, where she is to photograph the Royal family. Determined to make a name for herself as a photographer, Eliza is nervous as she arrives.

One of the first people she meets, Jay, instantly puts her at ease. But he is a member of the Royal family that she has been sent to capture film, so she realises that she should get close to him. Sadly, this is easier said than done.

Although slow burning, theirs is a mutual attraction, despite their cultural and social differences. As Eliza travels the state photographing both the Royal family and the outside communities she has her eyes opened to a world of colour, and poverty...

Vowing to help improve the conditions for local people, Eliza joins forces with Jay. As they make plans for the future of the local community their attraction to each other becomes undeniable. But Jay's family and Eliza's sponsor in India are against the two becoming close.

Not only would it be unheard of for a member of Indian royalty to court and maybe even marry a Britsh woman, but Eliza is a widow. And in parts of the country they still believe in and practice the illegal custom of widow burning.

Despite every little thing seeming to be against them, Jay and Eliza continue to grow closer. With their attraction to each other intensifying, and the world around them changing, they must decide whether to succumb to tradition or follow their hearts..

Before the rains is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who invited me to view this novel via netgalley in exchange for an honest review (and a spot on the blog tour!)

Blog tour - Micro Thriller Challenge [The Sixth Window by Rachel Abbott]

Today I'm thrilled to be taking part in the micro thriller challenge to celebrate this week's release of Rachel Abbott's latest novel, The Sixth Window.

THE TRUTH HURTS – BUT LIES ARE DEADLY

After eighteen months of grieving for her husband Bernie, killed in a horrific hit and run accident, Natalie Gray has found love with her husband’s best friend - Ed Cooper - and has moved herself and fifteen-year-old daughter, Scarlett, into his home. But Natalie begins to suspect Ed has a dark side - and even darker intentions.

Desperate to get her daughter to a place of safety, she and Scarlett move to a new home that holds secrets of its own. But has removing Scarlett from one potential threat placed her in far greater danger?

DCI Tom Douglas is also chasing the truth, as his investigation into the suicide of a teenage girl draws him ever closer to Natalie and Scarlett. But will he be too late to protect them from the peril they face, or from the truths that will tear their lives apart?

 



  The Sixth Window is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

About Rachel Abbott:

Rachel Abbott, who was born and raised in Manchester, founded her own interactive media company in the 1980s, before selling it and retiring in 2005. She then moved to Italy where she worked on the renovation of a 15th century Italian monastery, and it was here that, one day, she found herself snowed in and decided to begin writing for pleasure. This became her debut novel Only The Innocent, which she went on to publish via Kindle Direct Publishing, topping their chart for 4 weeks. Abbott has since written The Back Road, Sleep Tight, Stranger Child , Kill Me Again and a novella, Nowhere Child. She splits her time between Alderney in the Channel Islands and Italy.

Website:                http://www.rachel-abbott.com

Blog:                       http://rachelabbottwriter.com

Twitter:                  @RachelAbbott

Facebook:             RachelAbbott1Writer

Video:                    https://vimeo.com/202737785 / https://youtu.be/LZlqqhW6gAs

The Sixth Window Blog Tour:

[Blog tour] Review - Ragdoll by Daniel Cole

Ragdoll by Daniel Cole
Publisher: Trapeze
Release date: 23 February 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: The nation is gripped by the infamous 'Ragdoll Killer'. Every news bulletin and headline is obsessed with this story. Your friends, your family and your neighbours are all talking about it. Believe the hype. Sold in over 32 countries and counting, RAGDOLL is the standout thriller of the year. A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the 'ragdoll'. Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William 'Wolf' Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter. The 'Ragdoll Killer' taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them. With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?

Ragdoll is Daniel Cole's debut novel. And wow, what a debut it is... Born from the idea of a tv series/show, this novel showcases Daniel Cole's writing talents from the outset.

4 years before the nation is gripped by the Police pursuit of the so called "Ragdoll killer", Detective William Oliver Layton-Fawkes (Wolf) is restrained and confined to a secure unit after attacking Naguib Khalid (the notorious "Cremation killer") on the final day of his murder trial.

Many think that Wolf shouldn't return to the Met, but his former partner Detective Emily Baxter is delighted to have her old friend and colleague reinstated. It isn't long before they are thrown head first into their first investigation.

A body has been discovered hanging from a ceiling in a macabre display in a building opposite Wolf's flat. But this is not just any old body. This hanging display feature has the dismembered parts of six different victims stitched together to make one 'body'. Earning the killer the "Ragdoll killer" moniker.

If this wasn't bad enough, the press, namely Wolf's ex-wife Andrea, have got themselves a list of six people, supposedly the killer's next victims - Along with the dates that they are to be murdered. The media frenzy that follows the release of the list supposedly is to help support the Met in their quest to catch the killer.

Their efforts to assist are laughable to say the least. Their motives purely selfish. Wolf and Baxter certainly have their work cut out for them and the media scrutiny isn't helping. Their priority to ensure the first person on the list is safe, is equal to that of finding and bringing the killer to justice.

Wolf is not the only detective on his team with a colourful past, and Ragdoll is full of some truly troubled detectives. Although the content is often dark, Ragdoll has some funny moments. But then I would imagine you'd have to have a pretty screwed up sense of humour to get through most days as a detective on this kind of case.

Ragdoll is a pretty perfect debut. My only disappointment was the ending - simply because I didn't want it to end. I really hope there is more to come from Wolf and Baxter.

Ragdoll is available from 23 February 2017.

You can pre-order it now via Amazon online.

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

Review - Blink by K.L. Slater

Blink by K.L. Slater
Publisher: Bookouture
Release date: 16 February 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: What if the person you love most in the world was in terrible danger … because of you? Three years ago, Toni’s five-year-old daughter Evie disappeared after leaving school. The police have never been able to find her. There were no witnesses, no CCTV, no trace. But Toni believes her daughter is alive. And as she begins to silently piece together her memories, the full story of the past begins to reveal itself, and a devastating truth. Toni’s mind is trapped in a world of silence, her only chance to save herself is to manage the impossible. She must find a way to make herself heard. She must find her daughter. A compelling, gripping thriller with a breath-taking twist that will keep you awake until the early hours. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors and The Sister.

This is a really difficult novel to review without giving any of the plot twists away – which by the way are amazing!

Blink is a fast paced psychological thriller (if I hadn’t had to go to work I’d have read it in one sitting) that really grips you from the start.

Toni Cotter has recently moved to Nottingham with her five year old daughter Evie to be nearer her Mother.

Her late husband, Evie’s Father passed away whilst serving in Afghanistan and a fresh start is what both Mother and Daughter so desperately need.

Evie is swiftly enrolled into the local primary school, and Toni finds herself a job at the local Estate agency.

Determined to stand on her own two feet and not rely on her Mother’s help, Toni does struggle, but she believes she knows what’s best for her family.

If Toni thought that she was living in a nightmare when her husband died, she was very much mistaken.

For after a chain of unforeseen circumstances, Toni is late picking up Evie from school, and Evie is nowhere to be found. She has seemingly vanished and Toni’s nightmare has only just begun...

Blink 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 room full of killers by Michael Wood

A room full of Killers by Michael Wood
Publisher: Harper Collins UK/Harper Fiction/Killer Reads
Release date: 17 February 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: The third book in Michael Wood’s darkly compelling crime series featuring DCI Matilda Darke. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham and Val McDermid. Feared by the people of Sheffield, Starling House is home to some of Britain's deadliest teenagers, still too young for prison. Now the building’s latest arrival, Ryan Asher, has been found brutally murdered – stabbed twelve times, left in a pool of blood. When DCI Matilda Darke and her team investigate, they uncover the secrets of a house tainted by evil. Kate Moloney, the prison’s manager, is falling apart, the security system has been sabotaged, and neither the staff nor the inmates can be trusted. There’s only one person Matilda believes is innocent, and he’s facing prison for the rest of his life. With time running out, she must solve the unsolvable to save a young man from his fate. And find a murderer in a house full of killers…

DCI Matilda Darke is a detective that I have somehow not had the pleasure of meeting before. I’m not sure how the first two novels in the series passed me by, but somehow they did and I really need to go back and revisit them. I must stress at this point, that this novel can definitely be read as a standalone, I would just like to read more about Matilda. 

Starling House is home to some of Britain’s deadliest killers, none of them old enough yet to be in an adult prison. When their newest arrival, Ryan Asher is found brutally murdered in a pool of blood, the police are suspicious. Despite the violence of the crime, his body is at odds with the rest of the crime scene, it looks to have been staged. And there are no shortage of suspects.

For those outside Starling House, suspicion would naturally fall on the remaining ‘inmates’, but DCI Matilda Darke and her team focus upon Starling House’s staff. If the house is as secure as everyone says it is, then they can be the only true suspects.

After a trying few days in which very little progress is made, there is a major blip in their investigation, another body is found. This time hanging from a tree. It is another of the boys from the house, and his death also seems staged. Made to look like suicide when it was clearly murder.

DCI Matilda Darke and her team must act quickly to find the perpetrator before they kill again, as they know it is only a matter of time before another victim is killed...

A room full of killers is a very interesting take on the traditional crime novel, with its difficult and controversial subjects, and I loved the ending. I look forward to the next DCI Darke instalment.

 

A room full of killers is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

Thank You to the publishers who invited me to view an advanced copy of this novel via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Review - The Best of Adam Sharp

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 9 February 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb:  Would you risk everything for a second chance at first love?  At forty-nine-going-on-fifty, Adam Sharp likes his life. He works part-time in IT consulting, is a leading member of his local pub-quiz and has a stable relationship with his partner, Claire. But there's something he can't shake: a longing for the life he might have had with smart, strong-willed actress Angelina Brown. Then, out of nowhere, Angelina walks back into his life. All the intensity of their affair twenty years ago resurfaces and Adam must make a decision. Should he let her go again? Or does he dare to live dangerously? The heart warming new novel from Graeme Simsion, the international bestselling author of The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect.





The Best of Adam Sharp is a perfect novel for a music lover like me. A breath of fresh air in between a couple of heavy crime novels. A really lovely story of how music can bring people together, and how a single song or lyric can stir up memories long forgotten.

Adam Sharp is an IT Consultant, forty nine going on fifty, a regular pub quiz goer with a stable long term relationship. He is happy, content, so he is shocked when he receives a message from an ex-girlfriend, Angelina out of the blue.

Adam met Angelina Brown, actually the love of his life, at the age of Twenty Six. He was playing the piano and singing in a bar in Australia whilst travelling and it was love at first sight. She was a goddess.

Sadly their relationship was doomed from the start, she was a famous Australian soap star, and his time in Oz was limited. But that didn't stop them falling head over heels for each other.

Decades later they are both with other people, Adam knows that he shouldn't respond to Angelina. But you never forget your first love...

When Angelina asks him if he dares to live dangerously, Adam sees it a challenge.

But can two people who loved each other more than Twenty Years ago really still have feelings for each other. And if they do, what should they do about it?

The Best of Adam Sharp is a perfect mid life crisis of a novel. I think there's a little of Adam in all of us, and not necessarily the good bits...

The Best of Adam Sharp is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who invited me to view this novel via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.