[Blog Tour] Review - Her Deadly Secret by Chris Curran (jul 26th)

Her Deadly Secret by Chris Curran
Publisher: Harper Collins [Killer Reads]
Release date: 21 July 2017
Rating: ****
Back cover blurb: THE SECRET YOU CAN’T FORGET… A dark and twisty psychological thriller, in which a young girl is abducted and her family is confronted with a horror from deep in their past. Perfect for fans of BA Paris and Sue Fortin. A young girl has been taken. Abducted, never to be seen again. Joe and Hannah, her traumatized parents, are consumed by grief. But all is not as it seems behind the curtains of their suburban home. Loretta, the Family Liaison Officer, is sure Hannah is hiding something – a dark and twisted secret from deep in her past. This terrible memory could be the key to the murder of another girl fifteen years ago. And as links between the two victims emerge, Joe and Hannah learn that in a family built on lies, the truth can destroy everything…

Her Deadly Secret is Chris Curran's latest novel, and it's a cracker of a read!

When Lily goes missing her parents Hannah and Joe are naturally distraught. The Family liaison officer immediately notices something off with Hannah. Does she know more than she's letting on?

Lily tragically is found murdered in woods near to the family home. The suspicion immediately falls to the parents, particularly as Hannah is still behaving oddly.

Loretta, the family liaison officer assigned to the case knows that she is hiding something, but she seems so fragile that she can't bring herself to start questioning Hannah until the case has more investigative depth.

Meanwhile Joe also thinks that his wife is behaving oddly, but puts her behaviour down to the tragic loss of their daughter. And then he discovers that Lily had a boyfriend, a member of the local religious 'cult'.

Joe is familiar with the Children of Light only because he 'rescued' his wife from their clutches. The news that his daughter may gave become acquainted with them is not something he wishes to hear. 

That his daughter had a boyfriend he knew nothing about seems the least of his worries.

He has always known that he wasn't Lily's natural father but that didn't seem important until now. The Police are suddenly very interested in the fact that he isn't Lily's natural father, but why is that?

They can't possibly believe that he is a suspect. But if not him, then who?

Her Deadly Secret is a novel full of questions, that will have you turning its pages, gripped, until you find the answers.

Her Deadly Secret is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour;

Thank You to the author who allowed me to read an advance copy of this novel and invited me to take part in the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

[Blog tour] Review - i am missing by Tim Weaver

i am missing by Tim Weaver
Publisher: Penguin
Release date: 27 July 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: When a young man wakes up bruised, beaten and with no memory of who he is or where he came from, the press immediately dub him 'The Lost Man'. Ten months later, Richard Kite - if that is even his real name - remains as desperate as ever. Despite appeals and the efforts of the police, no one knows this man. Kite's last hope may be private investigator David Raker - a seasoned locator of missing people. But Raker has more questions than answers. Who is Richard Kite? Why does no one know him? And what links him to the body of a woman found beside a London railway line two years ago? I Am Missing is the outstanding new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Tim Weaver. 

i am missing is the first Tim Weaver novel that I've had the pleasure of reading (yes I know, naughty me!!) but I will certainly be reading more.

When Richard Kite enlists the help of private investigator David Raker, it is with the hope that he might go some way to helping Richard remember who he is.

Ten months earlier Richard had woken up bruised, beaten and unable to remember who he was or how he got where he was found. After months of therapy and no returning memory, Richard is desperate and certain David can help him.

David isn't so sure. His work usually sees him looking for people who are still actually missing. 

Richard is definitely not missing anymore, but his memory is.

What David can't get his head around is why no one has come forward to say that they know Richard. 

Surely someone somewhere must be missing him?!

And then there's the professional help that Richard's getting, they claim to be an expert in their field, yet have gotten nowhere with him. 

David Raker's PI radar is alert. Something is off. And until he finds out what that is, he can't help Richard. But Richard definitely needs his help, and fast...

i am missing is a complex tale of murder, betrayal and what happens when you try to keep secrets to protect those that you love or admire.

i am missing is available from 27 July 2017

You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour!

Review - Final Girls by Riley Sager

Final Girls by Riley Sager

Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Release date: 13 July 2017

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: Each girl survived an unthinkable horror. Now someone wants them dead... They were called The Final Girls. Three young women who survived unimaginable horror. Three victims of separate massacres grouped together by the press. Three strangers bound by similar traumas. Lisa. Quincy. Samantha. When something terrible happens to Lisa, put-together Quincy and volatile Sam finally meet. Each one influences the other. Each one has dark secrets. And after the bloodstained fingers of the past reach into the present, each one will never be the same. 

Final Girls is a book that I've had on my virtual shelf for such a long time, waiting for the chance to be read properly - because I'd heard so many good things about it, that I wanted to take the time to read it slowly.

Ha! Impossible...

Final Girls is one of those novels, those page-turners that you just can't get enough of.

It is most definitely not a slow read. It is brilliant.

Quincy Carpenter aka Quinn is a successful baking blogger, living with her partner in a plush apartment that is worlds away from the tragedy of her past.

Quinn is also a 'final girl' - the lone survivor of a brutal murderous attack in which of all her college friends were killed.

So named after the last often lone female standing in horror movies, Quinn shares this accolade with two others, Lisa Milner and Samantha Boyd. She has never met either of them, but has kept tabs on them via the media.

When something terrible is reported to have happened to Lisa Milner, Quinn fears that she and Samantha may be in danger. Samantha turns up at Quinn's unannounced just days later and both of their lives are turned upside down once again.

Final Girls is an unexpected triumph of a novel - not to be missed!

Final Girls 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 - Blood Sisters by Jane Corry

Blood Sisters by Jane Corry

Publisher: Penguin
Release date: 29 June 2017
Rating: **** and a half
Back cover blurb: Three little girls set off to school one sunny May morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead. Fifteen years later, Alison and Kitty are living separate lives. Kitty lives in a care home. She can't speak, and she has no memory of the accident that put her here, or her life before it. Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. When a job in a prison comes up she decides to take it - this is her chance to finally make things right. But someone is watching Kitty and Alison. Someone who wants revenge for what happened that day. And only another life will do...

Blood Sisters is another brilliant novel from Jane Corry, author of My Husband's wife. The focus of this novel is on two sisters who couldn't be more different from each other are tied together by the events of the past.

Art teacher Alison runs a number of successful courses when she sees an advert for a job in a local prison. Although it is severely outside of her comfort zone, she decides to apply for the role anyway. No one is more surprised than Alison herself when she gets the job.

Kitty, lives in a care home, severely brain damaged after a tragic accident. Unable to speak or communicate clearly she regularly takes out her frustration on the other care home residents and staff. She can still think for herself, and is determined that she will one day speak again and tell everyone about the past.

Alison and Kitty couldn't be any more different. This novel is told from both sisters perspectives and I think this is essential in this particular novel for really getting under the characters skin. I'll be honest, neither Alison or Kitty are particularly agreeable - for differing reasons.

I found my loyalties were torn between the two of them as more twists and turns in the plot were unfolded, and by the end of the novel I really didn't like either of them.

Blood Sisters isn't just about Alison and Kitty though. Is it about female relationships, family trust and revenge. If you want something predictable, this isn't the novel for you, there are so many twists and turns and the revelations keep coming right until the final chapters, which is just how I like it!

Blood Sisters is now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who sent me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Blog Tour] Review - Do not become alarmed by Maile Meloy

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy

Publisher: Penguin

Release date: 6 July 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The ship's comforts and possibilities seem infinite. But when they all go ashore in beautiful Central America, a series of minor mishaps lead the families further from the ship's safety. One minute the children are there, and the next they're gone. What follows is a heart-racing story told from the perspectives of the adults and the children, as the distraught parents - now turning on one another and blaming themselves - try to recover their children and their shattered lives.

Do Not Become Alarmed when the last minute shore excursion goes horribly wrong.

I mean, why on earth would you!?

Unless you'd done something to be ashamed of.

Unless you felt that everything that had gone wrong was somehow your fault...

When Liv decides to take her friend and cousin Nora on a luxury cruise with their respective families, she thinks that it will be a welcome holiday for them all. The adults all work hard all year round, and deserve to spend time with their kids.

And what better adventure for the kids than a cruise where they'll get to see so many more sights than a regular holiday. Sure the excusrsions can be a little pricey, but they are worth it, or do the families are led to believe.

Another couples presence at the dinner table one evening leads the mothers and fathers in different directions. The Dad's to play Golf and the Mum's with the kids on a zip wire adventure. It isn't until they go ashore and split that they wonder if it was the right thing to do.

A chain of unexpected events very quickly leads them to realise that it was most certainly the wrong thing to do. But it's too late to lay blame with any of the decision makers when your kids have seemingly vanished into thin air. They should be sticking together to help each other.

But as they begin searching for their children, the guilt and blame take over, and they begin to wonder if they ever really each other at all ...

Do Not Become Alarmed is available from Amazon online and al good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who sent me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Don't forget to follow the rest of the blog tour:

[Blog tour] Review - Ice Lake by John A Lenahan

Ice Lake by John A Lenahan

Publisher: Harper Collins

Release date: 15 June 2017

Rating:

Back cover blurb: An electrifying debut crime novel and the first in the Harry Cull Series, set in the dark woods of North-Eastern Pennsylvania. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham and Peter May. A BODY IN THE WOODS. Deep in the woods of North-Eastern Pennsylvania, the body of a man is found – shot three times, once in the back of the head, dumped under the trees where the local kids will find him. A MAN ON THE CASE. When psychologist Harry Cull arrives in the picturesque town of Ice Lake to help with the murder investigation, he begins to unravel a web of lies and deceit that leads from the close-knit community to the dark heart of the Fracking industry. A KILLER ON THE HUNT. It’s not long before the second corpse turns up, a lawyer left for dead in the forest, and Harry finds himself on the trail of a twisted killer – who will do anything to keep the town’s darkest secrets buried.

Ice Lake is a brilliant debut crime novel and I'm thrilled that it's set to be a series because I'm a little bit in love with Harry Cull. He's just brilliant! 

Harry is a former cop turned psychologist who finds himself in the picturesque town of Ice Lake helping an old friend out "unofficially" with a murder investigation.

Trooper Cirba and Harry met in Vegas years before and struck up an unlikely friendship.

Ice Lake is a close knit community where outsiders are not necessarily made welcome. The murder victim Billy, wasn't exactly a golden child, he was well known to local police, but no one would have wished him dead.

Or so the locals think.

And that's where the mystery begins...

Because someone so obviously did want Billy dead. It seems that just when he might have been trying to educate himself and make a better life for himself, that he was discovering things that perhaps weren't supposed to be discovered.

And that made him a target for those who wanted those secrets to kept forever.

I loved the small town relationships in this novel, the relationships between Trooper Cirba and Harry, between the grumpy store owner Todd and Harry, and in particular the relationship between Harry and MJ, Harry's temporary (and very good looking) ext door neighbour.

Harry's willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if that might be a little unorthodox, really warmed me to him as a character and I can't wait to see what he might get up to next. Roll on book no 2!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour:

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

Thank You to the publisher who sent me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Don't close your eyes by Holy Seddon

Don't Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon

Publisher: Atlantic Books (Corvus)

Release Date: 6 July 2017

Rating: **** and a half

Back cover blurb: Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another. Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't... And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister. But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in motion, leading Robin and Sarah to fight for much more than their relationship...

The title of this novel, is worth heeding. This is novel that you don't want to miss a single second of. It is utterly gripping, twisted and brilliant.

Robin and Sarah are non identical twins whose world is torn apart by their mothers affair with a friend's father. But it appears the twins are the only ones who didn't see it coming, and their father has a rather 'cosy' relationship with the very same friend's mother.

Soon the two families merge and the twins father is more or less blackmailed into letting one of them move away with their mother to the United States of America where her new parter has landed a successful job.

The twins friend, Callum and Robin are to stay in the UK with Robin's father and Callum's mother. Robin is obviously distraught that her sister is leaving, but a little bit secretly pleased that she gets Callum all to herself as a friend, and no longer has to share him with her twin.

Fast forward a decade or so, and as singer, lead guitarist and songwriter in rock band, Working Wife, Robin has it all. Until one day her life crashes down around her ears. Now Robin is agoraphobic and hasn't left her home since abandoning her band in the middle of a tour.

Sarah has the life she's always wanted, a good looking man, beautiful baby. But she can't forget the past. And if the truth be known is a little jealous of her twin sister's success.

Told from both girls' perspectives, in both the present day and through the past, its clear that all is not as it seems for either of them, both growing up and in the present day.

But just how damaged are they by the past?

And can either of them ever truly move on?

Don't Close Your Eye 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.

[Blog tour] Guest Post - 'The Setting' by Matthew Richardson

Today I am delighted to welcome Matthew Richardson to my blog, author of My Name Is Nobody.

In his guest post below Matthew talks about the setting of his novel.







THE SETTING – THE ‘WESTMINSTER VILLAGE’

On first arriving in Westminster there is one thing you notice above all others – the size of it. On the TV screen, it all looks vast and separate: the sweep of the Houses of Parliament, the long procession of Whitehall, and the stateliness of Buckingham Palace. In reality, those separate parts are within touching distance. People often talk about the ‘Westminster village’, except this is a village with a difference.

Within minutes of each other you have: the monarchy (Buckingham Palace), the government (Whitehall), the parliament (Palace of Westminster), the media (Millbank) and the intelligence services (Thames House and Vauxhall Cross).

You can comfortably stroll through the five key centres of power that shape everything in modern Britain – from whether we go to war to the details of our day to day lives. Behind the elegant façade, thousands of people are engaged in the most secretive business in the land. It’s Midsomer with the nuclear codes.

When I set out to write My Name is Nobody, I wanted to capture the intimacy of it all. That meant taking the reader behind the curtain and showing how everything connected: from the elegant rooms inside the Palace of Westminster to the bustling chaos of the Red Lion pub. I now had my canvas.

That, in turn, gave me my story idea. Could you have both the feel of a small-town thriller while setting it at the heart of the world’s most global city? I wanted to show how, at any one time, you are rubbing shoulders with generals, journalists, spies and politicians. And how one event can ricochet through a community, affecting the lives of everyone within reach.

By putting the setting and the story idea together, I had my novel.

My Name Is Nobody is available from 13 July 2017.

You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour - and look out for my review, coming soon!

Review - An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth

An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth
Publisher: Wildfire Books
Release date: 29 June 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: These are the facts I collect. My son Gabriel met a woman called Mariela in a bar. She went home with him where they had sex. They next morning she was found in an allotment. Mariela is dead. Gabriel has been asked to report to Camden Police station in six hours for questioning. Linda Moscow: loving Mother to Gabriel. Linda promised herself years ago that she would never let her son down again.Even if it means going against eveerything she believes in - she will do anything to protect him. She owe him that much. Gabriel Miller: the prodigal son. He only ever wanted his mother's love, but growing up he always seemed to do the wrong thing. If his mother could only see the bad in him - how could he possibly be good?

An Act of Silence is another cracker of a novel from Colette McBeth.

Gabriel Miller is a man on the edge. Mariela, a woman he met in a bar is dead. But Gabriel didn't kill her. The trouble is he doesn't have an alibi, and he isn't sure his mother believes his story. He was always a troubled child. Finding fame as an adult hasn't calmed his demeanour.

His mother hasn't seen him for months when he turns up at her house unannounced, he is due at the police station for questioning in a matter of hours. He doesn't even know why he has turned to his mother for help, she has never really been on his side in the past but he has no idea why.

But he does know that he needs help.

Gabriel's mother is Linda Moscow is a former politician, former Home Secretary who had to leave the government under circumstances beyond her control. She wanted to stay and fight in what she believed in, but her family was much more important to her. Her family now consists of only her and Gabriel and her housekeeper, Anna.

Gabriel doesn't really need her. He has his own house, his own career. He doesn't need his disgraced mother. Besides, Linda has had enough to of lies. It isn't that she doesn't believe or trust her own son, she just doesn't believe in the justice system, doesn't feel the need to get dragged into her son's mess.

Linda knows that some would think her cold hearted. But she knows that she is doing what she believes is best for both her and her son. She'd like to say she doesn't care what other people think. But that would be about as far from the truth as anyone could get.

An Act of Silence is a gripping novel that you won't want to put down.

An Act of Silence is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publisher who sent me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. 

Review - Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds

Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds

Publisher: Wildfire Books

Release date: 27 July 2017

Rating: *****
Back cover blurb: She can't remember the last year. Her husband wants to keep it that way. When Jo Harding falls down the stairs at home, she wakes up in hospital with partial amnesia-she's lost a whole year of memories. A lot can happen in a year. Was Jo having an affair? Lying to her family? Starting a new life? She can't remember what she did-or what happened the night she fell. But she's beginning to realise she might not be as good a wife and mother as she thought.









Jo Harding is a good wife, with a loving husband, Rob and two grown up children, Sash and Fin.

When Jo finds herself at the bottom of the stairs, after a violent fall, the paramedics asking her endless questions, her only thought is that she doesn't want her husband near her. But why? He's trying to help? Isn't he?

The following morning, Jo realises that she has somehow forgotten all that has happened in the past year. Her Son hasn't just left for University, he has in fact left University early. Her Daughter has a boyfriend that the family don't really approve of, but she can't work out why.

Although there is something awfully familiar about him...

And then there's the mystery of her mobile phone. Jo is sure that she didn't break it during her fall. But she has no reason to believe that anything her husband is telling her isn't the truth.

So why does she feel so uneasy around him suddenly?

And why on earth can't she remember volunteering at a drop in centre with a lovely lady called Rose, whose messages she has found, and who seems extremely concerned about Jo.

Jo's only thought seems to constantly be why? And no one is giving her the answers that she so desperately needs.

Close to Me is available from 27 July 2017.

You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

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

Review - Give Me The Child by Mel McGrath

Give Me The Child by Mel McGrath
Publisher: HQ
Release date: 27 July 2017
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: An unexpected visitor. Dr Cat Lupo aches for another child, despite the psychosis which marked her first pregnancy. So when Ruby Winter, a small girl in need of help, arrives in the middle of the night, it seems like fate. A devastating secret. But as the events behind Ruby’s arrival emerge her mother’s death, her connection to Cat Cat questions whether her decision to help Ruby has put her own daughter at risk. Do we get the children we deserve? Cat’s research tells her there’s no such thing as evil. Her history tells her she’s paranoid. But her instincts tell her different. And as the police fight to control a sudden spate of riots raging across the capital, Cat faces a race against time of her own. Compulsive, dark and devastating, Give Me the Child is a uniquely skilful thriller with an unforgettable twist.

When the doorbell rings in the middle of the night, you know that whoever is visiting you won't be bringing good news. Dr Caitlin Lupo's first thought is that it is the Police, bringing some sort of tragic news of her alcoholic father in law.

Her husband, Tom beats her to the door. It is the Police, but they're not reporting news of Tom's Father. In fact they are are delivering news that will rock this happy family to the core. Tom it seems has a love child, Ruby, and her Mother is dead, leaving Ruby to turn to the Father she barely knows.

Tom insists he knows nothing of Ruby. But Cat isn't sure she believes him. She is however in too much shock to question him thoroughly. Instead she thinks only of their daughter togdther, Freya, and how this will affect her.

Cat is a child psychologist and also immediately sees that something about Ruby isn't quite right. Of course the poor child could be in shock after the death of her mother. But Cat's trained eye sees that there is more to it than that. She fears for the family's safety, particular Freya.

Ruby is not a good influence on her daughter, but despite Tom's supposed shock at discovering his daughters exsistence, he is keen to stick up for Ruby at any given opportunity. He thinks that Cat is paranoid, delusional. After all despite her work she herself has has psychological issues, during her pregnancy with Freya.

Cat knows that she isn't crazy, but Tom can be so persuasive. As Ruby integrates more and more into their daily lives, Cat becomes more fearful. The more she tries to voice these fears to her husband the more delusional he tells her she is.

Cat is desperate for someone to believe her, but at what cost?

Give me the child is a gripping psychological thriller that will have you turning pages frantically trying to reach its conclusion, then wishing you hadn't been so nasty when it's all over and you wished you'd savoured it. 

Give Me The Child is available from 27 July 2017.

You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers and lovereading.co.uk who sent me an advanced proof copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.