Review - Some Fantastic Place: My life in and out of Squeeze by Chris Difford

Some Fantastic Place: My life in and out of Squeeze by Chris Difford

Publisher: W & N (Orion publishing)
Release date: 31 August 2017

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: Chris Difford is a rare breed. As a member of one of London's best-loved bands, the Squeeze co-founder has made a lasting contribution to English music with hits such as 'Cool For Cats', 'Up The Junction', 'Labelled With Love', 'Hourglass' and 'Tempted'. Even before his first release in 1977, his love of writing lyrics has never wavered. Over the course of a thirteen-album career with Squeeze, it was clear from the very beginning that Difford has few peers when it comes to smart, pithy lyricism. His 'kitchen-sink drama' style has drawn plaudits from fans on both sides of the Atlantic, and his influence is keenly felt today. The likes of Lily Allen. Mark Ronson, Kasabian, Razorlight and many more have recognized the debt they owe to Squeeze's music and to Difford's way with words, while journalists were moved by his winning combination with Glenn Tilbrook to dub the pair 'The New Lennon and McCartney'. In Some Fantastic Place, Chris Difford charts his life from his early days as a dreaming boy in south London with a talent for poetry to becoming a member of one of Britain's greatest bands and beyond. Along the way he reveals the inspiration and stories behind Squeeze's best-known songs, and his greatest highs and lows from over four decades of making music.

 

If I wasn’t enjoying my career quite as much as I do, the one thing I would love to be (other than a novelist) is a song-writer. One of the reasons that I love the music artists that I do, is purely down to their lyrics. I rarely like a band or artist that doesn't have what I consider to be good lyrics.

There is a line in Chris Difford’s autobiography where he's talking about early punk, that sums this up perfectly;

"I was always looking for the lyric and I felt there was no depth to it. The music felt like it was falling down the stairs".

Those not familiar with Chris, should know that not only is he the founding member of Squeeze, but also one of this country’s greatest ever lyricists, having written for Elton John, Jools Holland and Elvis Costello to name but a few.

Some Fantastic Place is the perfect title for Chris’ book. Personal to both him and Glenn, the song of the same name is one of their finest.

If you aren’t familiar with Squeeze (and/or Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford asolo artists) then this account of their musical history should at the very least make you curious to seek out some of their work. From their humble beginnings in local pubs to sell out shows in New York's Madison Square Gardens, Chris weaves a magical tale of life on the road.

But this isn't a book about Squeeze, it is a very personal account of Chris Difford's life from his earliest childhood memories, to finally finding happiness with his beloved wife Louise, via the highs and lows of being in a world famous band whilst battling with addiction, Some Fantastic Place is a real insight into Chris's struggles, talent and personality.

Some Fantastic Place is a fascinating insight into the life and works of one of the most talented artists that we have in Great Britain, and after reading I wanted to give Chris a hug and tell him that everything will be okay. Writing such a personal account must be hard for anyone to do, but for a former addict who has also had problems expressing how he truly feels, it is a masterful achievement.

A must read for anyone who has ever struggled with... Well life in general. This isn't a book just for music lovers, this is for everyone. 

As an aside – I met Chris once after one of the pop up shop tour shows and he was so lovely! He had noticed me and my friend singing along in the front row and commented on this, much to our embarrassment!

Some Fantastic Place is available from 31 August 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 - Here and Gone by Haylen Beck

Here and Gone by Haylen Beck
Publisher: Harvill Secker (Random House UK)
Release date: 10 August 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: Audra has finally left her abusive husband. She’s taken the family car and her young children, Sean and Louise, are buckled up in the back. This is their chance for a fresh start. Audra keeps to the country roads to avoid attention and finds herself on an empty road in Arizona, far from home. She's looking for a safe place to stay for the night when she spots something in her rear-view mirror. A police car is following her and the lights are flickering. Blue and red. As Audra pulls over she is intensely aware of how isolated they are. Her perfect escape is about to turn into a nightmare beyond her imagining… Dark secrets and a heart-pounding race to reveal the truth lie at the heart of this page-turning thriller.

Here and Gone is a very different novel to any I've read recently. It is largely about one woman's fight for survival and her determination to never give up. I loved it's authenticity. Although initially some of its happenings may seem a little hard to believe, that's kind of the whole point and part of Audra's battle is to make someone believe her story.

I digress.

Audra has finally left her abusive husband, her children, Sean and Louise are safe with her on the road. Audra doesn't know exactly where she's going but she does know that it needs to be as far away from her old life as possible.

When she is pulled over at the side of the road by the Cops, she thinks nothing of it. Of course she is going to lie about her reason for travelling in case her husband is searching for the kids, but she doesn't believe she is in any danger.

Sadly for Audra, this is only the beginning of her nightmare, and her life is about to get a whole lot worse than she ever could have imagined.

Without saying too much more, Here and Gone is a terrifying tale of domestic and emotional abuse, the secrets hidden by the dark web and our willingness to accept the word of those in authority, even when something doesn't seem right.

Here and Gone 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 - Did You See Melody? by Sophie Hannah

Did You See Melody? by Sophie Hannah
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release date: 24 August 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: She's the most famous murder victim in the country. What if she's not dead? Did You See Melody? is a different kind of Sophie Hannah novel. It is a stand alone. It is pure psychological suspense, with a chilling hook and a killer central mystery. It combines Sophie’s critically acclaimed writing with a pacy and twisty plot.

When Cara Burrows arrives at the luxury Five Star spa resort in Phoenix, Arizona that she can ill afford, she is bone tired and just wants to sink into what is bound to be the most comfortable bed that she's ever slept in.

Sadly, the receptionist gives her the key to the wrong room, one that's already occupied. Mortified at having disturbed its residents, swiftly apologised to and upgraded to superior accommodation, Cara thinks nothing of it until the following day when she goes to ask the receptionist a question.

She is distracted by an older lady, acting a little crazy and asking 'Did You See Melody?'.

Cara has no idea who Melody is, until through overhearing snippets of conversations and befriending others in the resort, she realises she knows exactly who Melody is. The teenage girl sharing the room of the man she disturbed on her first night in Arizona.

But it's an impossibility. Because Melody Chapa is dead, murdered by her own parents in a case that shocked America. Cara realises that she should forget what she saw. But she can't, and becomes obsessed with the Melody Chapa case, researching old youtube videos, newspaper articles; basically anything she can get her hands on online.

Cara had come away to escape her family life, but finds herself drawn into another. A world of suspicion, paranoia and frustration - as she desperately tries to discover the truth. But at what cost?

Did You See Melody? is a clever novel, as Sophie Hannah's so often are. I can't say too much more without giving anything away, but I will say that it didn't see the ending coming. Pretty much all of the suspicions I had, were way off! In a literary world so full of psychological thrillers, this novel is a breath of fresh air.

Did You See Melody 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 - Soot by Andrew Martin

Soot by Andrew Martin
Publisher: Corsair (Little Brown UK)
Release date: 6 July 2017
Rating: *** and a half

Back cover blurb: York, 1799. In August, an artist is found murdered in his home - stabbed with a pair of scissors. Matthew Harvey's death is much discussed in the city. The scissors are among the tools of his trade - for Harvey is a renowned cutter and painter of shades, or silhouettes, the latest fashion in portraiture. It soon becomes clear that the murderer must be one of the artist's last sitters, and the people depicted in the final six shades made by him become the key suspects. But who are they? And where are they to be found? Later, in November, a clever but impoverished young gentleman called Fletcher Rigge languishes in the debtor's prison, until a letter arrives containing a bizarre proposition from the son of the murdered man. Rigge is to be released for one month, but in that time, he must find the killer. If he fails, he will be incarcerated again, possibly for life. And so, with everything at stake, and equipped only with copies of the distinctive silhouettes, Fletcher Rigge begins his search across the snow-covered city, and enters a world of shadows...

Soot is an intriguing historical crime fiction novel.

Fletcher Rigge is an impoverished sole, languishing in the debtors prison when he is called upon by Matthew Harvey's son.

Matthew Harvey is dead and his son thinks that Fletcher can help him.

Matthew Harvey was a renowned cutter and painter of shades, or silhouettes, the latest must have in the world of portraiture.  When he is found murdered in his home by a pair of scissors, the immediate suspicion falls to whoever last sat for a portrait.

The only trouble is, that theory produces at least six suspects. Fletcher is no detective, but he knows that the silhouettes themselves must hold some clues. He only has one month in which to find the killer before he is locked up again.

Possibly for good this time....

As Fletcher begins his investigative journey he learns that those outside of the prison walls can be just as cunning and deceptive as those inside, and he must learn to decipher the good from the bad in order to reveal who murdered Matthew.

With the clock ticking against him, Fletcher must find the killer before they strike again...

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

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

Review- The House by Simon Lelic

The House by Simon Lelic
Publisher: Penguin
Release date: 17 August 2017
Rating: *** and a half

Back cover blurb: What if your perfect home turned out to be the scene of the perfect crime? Londoners Jack and Syd moved into the house a year ago. It seemed like their dream home: tons of space, the perfect location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it. So when they made a grisly discovery in the attic, Jack and Syd chose to ignore it. That was a mistake. Because someone has just been murdered. Right outside their back door. And now the police are watching them...

So the House is one of those novels that I think may divide opinion slightly. 

I'm still a little bit on the fence about it if I'm honest. The start of the novel gripped me. Then as the story developed I kind of lost my way with it a little, and by the end I was like what the hell just happened?

I suppose I should have seen most of what happened coming, I mean I read a lot of crime/thriller novels. But maybe this was just too different from anything I've read recently for me to get my head around?

The House of the novel's title is London couple Jack and Sydney's first house together. When they go for the initial viewing, Jack isn't keen. But he can't put is finger on why. 

Sydney on the other hand loves it, it is in the perfect location for them too.

Against all odds, their offer on the house is accepted, apparently the owner thought that they were the perfect couple for it to go to. 

But once they have moved in, the pair make a couple of discoveries that lead them to believe that the house might not be for them after all.

I can't really say anymore without giving too much away (it is one of those novels!). 

Let's just say that the gruesome discovery of a body in the alleyway beside their house has nothing to do with them living in a unsavoury neighbourhood, and is all about the house itself....

The House is available via Amazon online and all good book shops.

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

Review - 99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth Carpenter

99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth Carpenter
Publisher: Avon Books UK
Release date: 24 August 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: Two girls go missing, decades apart. What would you do if one was your daughter? Eight-year-old Grace is last seen in a sweetshop. Her mother Emma is living a nightmare. But as her loved ones rally around her, cracks begin to emerge. What are the emails sent between her husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is there more to the disappearance of her daughter than meets the eye? Meanwhile, ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees a familiar face in the newspaper. A face that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl – the first girl who disappeared… This is a gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist that will take your breath away.

You and I in a little toy shop, buy a bag of balloons with... sorry, every time I see the cover of this novel, I can't help singing 99 Red Balloons. Guess I've given away that I am a child of the 1980s now!!

So erm, anyway... back to the novel. What can I say about 99 Red Balloons that won't give too much away? Hmmm. It is one of those novels that is really tricky to review without spoiling things for those who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading, but I will try.

Eight year old Grace is last seen in a sweet shop (that's sweet shop, not toy shop;)) moments before her disappearance. Her Mother Emma, had only just started letting her walk home from school with her friends, but was still keeping a watchful eye on her from a distance-the school only moments from their family home.

Now Stephanie, Emma's sister is trying to keep the family together as the Police begin their search, and their surveillance and scrutiny of the family - always the first to be suspected of wrong doing in such a case.

Meanwhile miles way Maggie Taylor is keeping a keen eye on the news. Poor Grace's disappearance brings back memories of her daughter Sarah's loss of her five year old Zoe, years and years before. There is nothing to link the cases, Zoe is presumed dead, though her body never found. 

As Grace's family begin to fear that the worst had happened to them too, there is a sighting of Grace with a stranger that nobody recognises.... or so they say. 

As the investigation deepens, some of the family members begin acting oddly, and as Stephanie tries to keep everyone sane, she begins to wonder if some people know more than they are letting on.

99 Red Balloons has some brilliant, yet flawed characters. It is a gripping read and comes highly recommended!

99 Red Balloons is available from 24 August 2017.

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 - Hush Little Baby by Joanna Barnard

Hush Little Baby by Joanna Barnard
Publisher: Ebury Press
Release date: 10 August 2017
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: When baby Oliver breaks his arm, no-one can (or will) say how it happened. His mother is exhausted. His father is angry. His older sister is resentful. And they all have something to hide.














Hush Little Baby opens with a new mum terrified that she is going to hurt her baby.

Baby Oliver is left with Father, Richard and older Step-Sister, Martha whilst Mum, Sally goes out for the evening with her old work colleagues. It should be Sally's chance for a night off, a chance to reacquaint herself with her colleagues before contemplating work again.

It turns out to be her biggest mistake.

Sally gets hopelessly drunk, crashes out upon her return home and is only woken in the early hours of the morning by Richard shaking her, and poor baby Oliver screaming in pain. It is clear he has broken his arm, so they rush to A & E.

It is there that the real nightmare begins.

Neither Sally or Richard have any idea how Oliver came about his injuries. The authorities are quick to step in, to place Oliver away from the family, away from 'harm'. The situation as horrible as it may seem, is a perfectly feasible one.

Little ones are so precious, but so fragile, harm can easily come to them, no matter how careful we are to protect them.

I don't want to give anything more away as Hush Little Baby is a novel that you need to read to understand.

Hush Little Baby is full of unreliable narrators-just the way I like my novels! I was surprised by the ending, but can't say it was unexpected, and it finishes the novel perfectly! Highly recommended.

Hush Little Baby is available 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 Marraige Pact by Michelle Richmond

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 25 July 2017 

Rating: *** and a half 

Back cover blurb: Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact. The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense. Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter... Never mention The Pact to anyone. Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples. And then one of them breaks the rules. The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule. For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.

Jake and Alice are newlyweds, a picture perfect successful couple. Alice once a singer in a rock band is now a successful lawyer, whilst Jake is a partner is a successful psychology practice. 

When they receive an intriguing and exotic gift as a wedding present from one of Alice's most high profile clients. In short it is an invitation to join an exclusive group known only as the Pact.

The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. 

Sure, the Pact has rules, but most of these rules make perfect sense to ensuring a happy Marriage; Always answer the phone when your spouse calls, exchange thoughtful gifts monthly, plan a trip together once per quarter. . . . 

And the biggest rule of all;

Never mention the Pact to anyone.

Enticed into the group by its mystery and promise of glamorous gatherings (Alice loves a party!) Jake and Alice are keen to make new friends and embrace their new lives as members of the Pact and very happy newly weds.

Sadly only one of these things can last... Jake and Alice are about to find out that the Pact isn't all it appears to be. Particularly if you break a rule!

The Marriage Pact is a novel that may seem a little far fetched, but although I've not yet researched this online, I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of "cult" like this did in fact exist.

For that reason alone I recommend accepting future gifts with caution. If you're married, then just remember, you don't need anyone except your spouse.....

The Marriage Pact 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 - The Walls by Hollie Overton

The Walls by Hollie Overton

Publisher: Century [Cornerstone/Random House UK]

Release date: 10 August 2017

Rating:  **** and a half 

Back cover blurb: From the author of Sunday Times bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club pick, Baby Doll, comes a riveting thriller with domestic violence, murder and how far one woman will go to protect her family at its core. What if murder was your only way out? Single mom Kristy Tucker works as a press agent for the Texas Department of Corrections handling everything on death row from inmate interviews, to chronicling the last moments during an execution. Her job exposes Kristy to the worst of humanity and it's one that's beginning to take its toll. So when Kristy meets Lance Dobson, her son's martial arts instructor, she believes she's finally found her happy ending. She’s wrong. Kristy soon discovers that Lance is a monster. Forced to endure his verbal and physical abuse, Kristy is serving her own life sentence . . . unless she's willing to take matters into her own hands. Perfectly poised to exploit the criminal justice system she knows so well, Kristy sets out to get rid of Lance - permanently.

Kristy Tucker is Public Information Officer at the Texas Department of Corrections. Liaising with the press and inmates on Texas' death row, Kristy's job is emotionally draining. Her teenage son, Ryan wants her to quit, he worries for his mom's health, and if he's honest, her life.

Living with her Father 'Pops' after her own Mothers untimely death, the three of them enjoy their lives. Kristy believes that she's doing a good job of bringing up Ryan as a single Mom, until the day that Kristy is called into the principals office and Ryan is suspended for fighting.

When Kristy learns that Ryan has been seeing a martial arts tutor without her knowledge she is furious. Her son has always been against violence, so what has changed?

Ryan's martial arts instructor Lance Dobson goes out of his way to help Kristy understand that Judo isn't about violence, it's about self defence and its true meaning from the Japanese is 'Gentle Way'. Something that both Kristy and Ryan are more familiar with.

Having won her over in respect of Ryan, Lance Dobson's next task is to steal Kristy's heart. And although wary at first, she realises that she is ready for love, ready to be loved, by a man who promises her the world. The only thing is, once they are married that world is very different to the one that they inhabited before.

Kristy quickly realises that Lance is a monstrous, manipulative domestic abuser of the very worst kind, the kind that women murder when they see no other escape. When their families have been threatened and they have nowhere to turn. But Kristy isn't a murderer. Is she?

I must admit that I found it hard to believe that Kristy would even contemplate hurting, let alone murdering her husband. However, I do applaud this novel for highlighting that that is exactly what can happen when people are pushed to their limits. Particularly in domestic violence cases.

The Walls is a fascinating insight into the world of death row inmates and domestic violence, family loyalty and how work can consume our lives until something forces that to change. Whether that be good or bad... I look forward to Hollie Overton's next!

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

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

Review - Yesterday by Felicia Yap

Yesterday by Felicia Yap
Publisher: Wildfire [Headline]
Release date: 10 August 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: A brilliant high-concept thriller - a debut with all the intrigue of Gone Girl and the drama of Before I Go To Sleep - just how do you solve a murder when you can only remember yesterday? There are two types of people in the world. Those who can only remember yesterday, and those who can also recall the day before. You have just one lifeline to the past: your diary. Each night, you write down the things that matter. Each morning, your diary tells you where you were, who you loved and what you did. Today, the police are at your door. They say that the body of your husband's mistress has been found in the River Cam. They think your husband killed her two days ago. Can you trust the police? Can you trust your husband? Can you trust yourself?

Yesterday is a very clever novel. Possibly the most intriguing novel that I've read this year so far.
 

Imagine only being able to remember what you did yesterday, and having to diarise everything you did the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that, in order to be able to live your life.

This is the world that we inhabit in Yesterday, and although it's an alternate reality to me it seems plausible. I mean who really remembers every single little thing that they did two days ago, or last week?

There are two "classes" of people in Yesterday, Mono and Duo;

Being a "Mono" means that you can only remember yesterday, and nothing from the day before, or the day before that etc.

 

Being a "Duo" means that you can remember within a 48 hour period, so you have the advantage on a Mono in that you can remember what you did yesterday and the day before...

 

But no one can remember everything. Sophia however believes that she can remember everything. That she is neither Mono or Duo. Those around her say that this is impossible, that Sophia is unhinged. But Sophia can remember, and is determined to get revenge on those she perceives have ruined her life to date.

 

Claire and Mark Evans are in a mixed mono/duo marriage. Happily married for more than twenty years they have no idea that the discovery of a woman's body is about to bring their world crashing down around them.

 

Told from Sophia, Claire, Mark and (investigating murder) Detective Richardson's perspectives in alternate chapters, Yesterday could be hard to follow, but it isn't. It's a delight to read. An amazing debut - I can't wait to read more from this author.

 

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

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

 

[Blog tour] Review - The Watch House by Bernie McGill

The Watch House by Bernie McGill
Publisher: Tinder Press
Release date: 10 August 2017
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: As the twentieth century dawns on the island of Rathlin, a place ravaged by storms and haunted by past tragedies, Nuala Byrne is faced with a difficult decision. Abandoned by her family for the new world, she receives a proposal from the island's aging tailor. For the price of a roof over her head, she accepts. Meanwhile the island is alive with gossip about the strangers who have arrived from the mainland, armed with mysterious equipment which can reportedly steal a person's words and transmit them through thin air. When Nuala is sent to cook for these men - engineers, who have been sent to Rathlin by Marconi to conduct experiments in the use of wireless telegraphy - she encounters an Italian named Gabriel, who offers her the chance to equip herself with new skills and knowledge. As her friendship with Gabriel opens up horizons beyond the rocky and treacherous cliffs of her island home, Nuala begins to realise that her deal with the tailor was a bargain she should never have struck.

The Watch House begins with the birth of a child, a sick mother, and an unknown woman involving herself in a way that you suspect she shouldn't be.

Fionnuala (Nuala) Bryne is about to make a life changing move to Canada, to be with the parents who abandoned her when she was young, when the local Tailor makes his own life changing proposal of Marraige.

Nuala had given up hope of finding someone, knowing realistically that her parents would eventually send for her. But then the news arrives that they don't have the money for her passage and so she accepts the Tailor's offer.

The Tailor is decades older than her and lives with his interfering sister, Ginny. Nuala expected her to be gone when she married and moved in with the Tailor (Ned, but everyone calls him the Tailor) but has no such luck.

Not far from the Tailor's house is a place known as the Watch House, a place where Marconi has sent one of his engineers to carry out some test transmissions with the wireless telegraphy he has developed. Nuala is drawn there by a stranger asking for food in exchange for payment.

Nuala is a good cook, and the Tailor and Ginny are grateful for the extra money. Soon Nuala is swept into a world of codes and secrets, and she realises that there is more to life than a roof over your head and a makeshift family.

The Watch House is a very poetic novel in the language used, and this only makes it all the more captivating. Whilst there's plenty more I could say about it, I won't for fear of giving anything away. Just know that you need to discover this novel for yourself.

The Watch House is out today via Amazon online and all good book shops.

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

Thank You to the publishers who invited me to take part in the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Publisher: Sphere (Little Brown UK)

Release date: 27 July 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: When Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past she feels sick. Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Because Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life knowing herself responsible for Maria's disappearance. But now Maria is back. Or is she? As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress, to try to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. But when another friend's body turns up in the woods outside their old school, Louise realises she can't trust anyone and that she must confront her own awful secret to discover the whole truth of what happened to Maria . . .

A single parent, working from home. A friend request on Facebook. A day like any other...

Until Louise realises that her friend request is from a 'friend' who's been missing presumed dead for more than Twnety Years - Maria Weston.

Suddenly Louise is terrified and not only for herself, but for her son as well.

Because Maria Weston has been haunting Louise in all the time she's been missing. She feels guilty about the last time she saw her, the school leaver's party. What she and a small group of friends did to Maria that night has been eating Louise up inside for years.

Despite her better judgement Louise gets in touch with an old school friend Sophie, who asks her if she's going to the forthcoming school reunion. Louise was undecided, but she thinks it might be a good way to try and find out who's behind Maria Weston's facebook page.

When she arranges to meet up with Sophie before the reunion, Louise gets the sense that she's being watched, followed. But she tells herself not to be stupid, paranoid. Nobody is interested in her. But then she gets a message from 'Maria' and is suddenly more afraid than she's ever been before. 

Friend Request is a frightening reminder of how easily we let people into our lives through social media, we may think we know someone. But in reality, it could be anyone behind a computer screen. And that, is the scariest thing of all...

Friend Request 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 - Little Sister by Isabel Ashdown

Little Sister by Isabel Ashdown

Publisher: Trapeze

Release date: 27 July 2017

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: A compelling, dark and twisty psychological thriller that asks the question: if you can't trust your sister, then who can you trust? Perfect for fans of Adele Parks, C.L. Taylor, and Amanda Prowse. A missing child. A broken mother. A sister who doesn't remember a thing. After sixteen years apart sisters Jessica and Emily are reunited. With the past now behind them, the warmth they once shared quickly returns and before long Jess has moved into Emily's comfortable island home. Life couldn't be better. But when baby Daisy disappears while in Jess's care, the perfect life Emily has so carefully built starts to fall apart. Was Emily right to trust her sister after everything that happened before?

Little Sister is a dark and disturbing debut, twisty and thrilling until its final page.

Jessica and Emily are sisters, reunited after Sixteen years apart. Jess is delighted to become reacquainted with her elder Sister at their Mother's funeral, and the suggestion that she helps out with her sister's baby daugther Daisy just falls from her mouth before she has chance to really consider what she's offering.

Despite initial reservations, Emily is delighted to accept Jess' help, and quickly she is living with the family in their home on the Isle of Wight. The arrangement is working perfectly, until New Year's Eve.

Emily and her husband, James are out for the evening at a party, Emily's step daughter Chloe is at a friends and Jess is left alone with Daisy. By the time the New Year has been celebrated in, Emily and her James are home, Jess is lying barely conscious on the kitchen floor and Daisy is missing.

Was Jess attacked?

Where is Daisy?

These would be the sensible questions to be asking, but all Emily wants to know is why her sister is on the floor...

Little Sister is a book that doesn't allow itself to be put down. Full of suspicion, half truths and concerns about the past. As for the ending - well it may just be perfect. I can't wait for Isabel Ashdown's next!

Little Sister is available now via Amazon online and all good shops.

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