Review - The Mistake by KL Slater

The Mistake by KL Slater

Publisher: Bookouture

Release date: 4 October 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: You think you know the truth about the people you love. But one discovery can change everything… Eight-year-old Billy goes missing one day, out flying his kite with his sister Rose. Two days later, he is found dead. Sixteen years on, Rose still blames herself for Billy’s death. How could she have failed to protect her little brother? Rose has never fully recovered from the trauma, and one of the few people she trusts is her neighbour Ronnie, who she has known all her life. But one day Ronnie falls ill, and Rose goes next door to help him… and what she finds in his attic room turns her world upside down. Rose thought she knew the truth about what happened to Billy. She thought she knew her neighbour. Now the only thing she knows is that she is in danger… 





The Mistake is K.L. Slater 's latest novel, and I'm sure they just get better and better.

When eight year old Billy goes missing, his older sister Rose is a teenager. Sixteen years later she is still blaming herself for his death, even though she knows the real perpetrator is safely behind bars.

Rose is a kind and caring woman, working at the local library, she knows that she could have moved away after her parents died, but despite all that has happened, she feels at home where she lives.

Rose is considerate of others, and is happy to help out elderly neighbour, Ronnie, after the loss of his wife. But Ronnie is still fiercely independent, despite his loss, and when he ends up in hospital is adamant that Rose shouldn't go upstairs.

Rose meaning well, ignores her neighbour. She knows he'll be delighted to come home to a clean and tidy house from the hospital.

But then she makes a discovery that makes her question every single thing she thought she knew about Billy's disappearance and subsequent murder.

Everything she thought she knew has been placed into turmoil, and she realises she doesn't even know if she's safe anymore.

Told in alternating present and flashback chapters, the Mistake is a novel that entices you in slowly, then grabs hold of you tightly. You won't want to put it down!

The Mistake by K.L. Slater is available from 4 October 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 - Shelter by Sarah Franklin

Shelter by Sarah Franklin
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
Release date: 27 July 2017

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: It's 1944 and Connie is a trainee 'lumberjill.' She's been transferred from blitzed Coventry to the Forest of Dean to learn the lumberjack trade as one of the women forming the backbone of Britain's war effort. She's nursing a huge secret and running from her tragic past, and will soon have to make a life-changing decision... Women like Connie are finding opportunity and liberty like never before, but in this explosive moment of history everything is changing for women ... and nothing is changing. Then, as now, is the price Connie must pay for her freedom too great? This is a novel about imprisonment and escape, about what makes a family, about solace in nature as civilisation is ripping itself apart, about renewal after devastation, about searching for safety, about love and about what personal liberty means for a woman.

I must confess to being pretty ignorant about the Forest of Dean's association with the Women's Timber Corps (a separate branch of the Women's Land Army), and in fact the Forest's involvement in World War Two as a whole. I had no idea for instance that there were Prisoner of War camps in the area, pretty shocking as I don't live very far away. But it seems that the Women's Timber Corps or WTC (much like the Forest's involvement in WW2) have sadly been largely forgotten. This is one of the reasons that this book is so special!

The Women's Timber Corps (WTC), was a civilian organisation created during the WW2 to work in Forestry replacing the men who had left to join the armed forces. Women who joined the WTC were commonly known as 'Lumber Jills'.

Constance (Connie) is posted to the Forest of Dean after losing her previous job in a factory following a family tragedy. Connie is alarmed to be chosen to be in the WTC, she struggles in the classroom and is convinced that she will be sent away, jobless and penniless.

But then she goes outside and meets Frank a forester, who is about to show the girls what they have learnt in the classroom. Connie thinks that she won't be able to put in to practice what she couldn't quite grasp in the classroom. Frank however sees that with her first attempt that Connie is a natural and quickly lobbies to keep her in the forest and not have her billeted elsewhere.

Connie knows that after her devastating past she should be grateful to have a roof over her head, but she feels so alone in the strange forest, the other lumber Jill's are friendly enough, but it just isn't the same as home. The secrets she is harbouring just seem to make it all worse. Then Connie meets Seppe, an Italian Prisoner of War who is being held at nearby Camp 61, he too has secrets that he wants to keep to himself. They shouldn't like each other, the brash outspoken Connie, and the shy, retiring Seppe, but they do, almost instantly.

Despite the odds, they start working together, Seppe quickly learns both the skills of the work, and when to keep his mouth shut and not aggravate Connie's moods. But in a world where the changes come at a breathtaking pace, can they really be friends, or even something more?

Shelter is a beautifully written novel, obviously thoroughly researched and I can't wait to hear more from this author.

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

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

Review - The Image of You by Adele Parks

The Image of You by Adele Parks

Publisher: Headline Review

Release date: 21 September 2017 (Ebook only)

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: When all you can see is what they want you to see... Can you ever trust someone you meet online? Anna and Zoe are twins. Identical in appearance, utterly different in personality, they share a bond so close that nothing - or no one - can rip them apart. Until Anna meets charismatic Nick. Anna is trusting, romantic and hopeful; she thinks Nick is perfect. Zoe is daring, dangerous and extreme; she thinks Nick is a liar. Zoe has seen Anna betrayed by men before. She'll stop at nothing to discover if Nick is as good as he seems. The problem is, lies may hurt. But honesty can kill.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved this book! Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a huge fan of Adele's novels, but this, well this one is something else entirely. 

Some might say that Anna Turner is a hopeless romantic, her twin sister Zoe would say she's delusional. Cruel perhaps for someone so close, but then Anna and Zoe don't always see eye to eye. They are identical in every physical way possible, but their personalities couldn't be further apart.

When Anna decides to try herself a potential partner via online dating, Zoe warns her to be careful. Sure, almost every meets that way these days, but Anna is easily sucked in, and not every man is an honest one. As Anna should really know as she has been cheated on time and time again.

Then Anna meets Nick. He is tall, handsome, holds a decent conversation, holds down a successful job and seems genuinely interested in Anna, for herself. Anna is delighted, pretty much head over heels after the first date. Of course Zoe warns Anna to be careful, but Anna can't help but let herself get carried away.

Luckily she has Zoe to look out for her. Zoe has met men like Nick before, she knows the image that he is portraying to her sister isn't his true personality. How can it be when they've known each other for five minutes. It takes time for men to show their true colours, at least in Zoe's experience.

Zoe knows that she can expose Nick to her sister, but should she want to. Or should she let Anna make her own mistakes. Heaven knows they are both old enough to live their own lives. But then there is that unbreakable twin bond, unbreakable even in death.

The Image of You is an absolute triumph of a novel; twisty, deceitful, utterly gripping and very very clever. It's 100% Adele's best yet, and if her novels are going to continue in this direction (contemporary fiction maybe with a little twist or two), I will be one very happy reader.

The Image of You is available now in ebook only.

The Image of You will be available in paperback from 22 February 2018.

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

Review - The Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd

The Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd

Publisher: Vintage

Release date: 24 July 2017

Rating: *** and a half

Back cover blurb: Dan Leno, the great music hall comedian, was known in his lifetime as 'the funniest man on earth'. So how could he have been involved in one of the most curious episodes in London's history when, in a short period during the autumn of 1880, a series of murders was attributed to the mysterious 'Limehouse Golem'?  In Peter Ackroyd's novel the world of late-Victorian music hall and pantomime becomes implicated in a number of sinister scenes and episodes, and the connection between the light and dark sides of nineteenth-century London begins to attract contemporary figures as George Gissing and Karl Marx. But there are also less well-known characters who play a significant role in the narrative. What, for example, is the secret of Elizabeth Cree, about to hang for the murder of her husband?





The Limehouse Golem is my favourite kind of novel, historical fiction with a murderous theme!

London, the early 1880's and Elizabeth Cree is about to hang for the murder of her husband, John Cree. We are quickly introduced to Mrs Cree and her spectacular fall from grace from one of London's brightest theatre/music hall stars, to convicted murder.

But there isn't only one murder in question here. London has been terrified of late by a ripper-esque figure known only as the 'Limehouse Golem'. Brutal murders and dismemberment are the Golem's thing and Detectives are pulling their hair out looking for their perpetrator.

Elizabeth Cree's story is interlinked cleverly with the diaries of her murdered husband, John Cree and they provide a fascinating insight into their lives together and what they do whilst they are apart. But can they be trusted, and is all as it seems?

Alongside newspaper headlines and scenes from the courtroom, the Limehouse Golem sets the scene beautifully for Mrs Cree's demise. Whether she is guilty or not you will need to judge for yourself...

The Limehouse Golem is a dark murderous novel with gothic undertones. It has recently been made into a film, and actually for once, I am quite excited to see how Hollywood have treated this brilliant book!

The Limehouse Golem 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 - Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell

Angels in the Moonlight by Caimh McDonnell

Publisher: McFori Ink

Release date: 26 August 2017

Rating:

Back cover blurb: For Detective Bunny McGarry, life is complicated, and it is about to get more so. It’s 1999 and his hard-won reputation amongst Dublin’s criminal fraternity, for being a massive pain in the backside, is unfortunately shared by his bosses. His partner has a career-threatening gambling problem and, oh yeah, Bunny's finally been given a crack at the big time. He is set the task of bringing down the most skilled and ruthless armed robbers in Irish history. So, the last thing he needs in his life is yet another complication. Her name is Simone. She is smart, funny, talented and, well, complicated. When her shocking past turns up to threaten her and Bunny’s chance at a future, things get very complicated indeed. If the choice is upholding the law or protecting those he loves, which way will the big fella turn? Angels in the Moonlight is the standalone prequel to Caimh McDonnell’s critically acclaimed Dublin Trilogy, and it is complicated. 

Angels in the Moonlight is the prequel in Caimh McDonnell's Dublin trilogy series. As I've not yet read any of the others in the series, this was the perfect place for me to start!

Detective Bunny McGarry is what you might call an unconventional detective. In the first scene of the novel I have to say he didn't endear himself to me at all, but as I read on he definitely grew on me. 

His partner on the force Detective Spain, known to all and sundry as 'Gringo' is (mostly) a positive influence on Bunny. When the two of them are tasked with capturing one of Dublin's most notorious criminals and his gang you'd think they'd be pleased, but both of them have history with the locals, and neither of them are keen on a surveillance operation that they know is unlikely to get them anywhere.

But Bunny and Gringo have been detectives a long time, and for the most part, do as they're told. Outside of work although firm friends, they are two very different people. Bunny is larger than life with a passion for classic cars, Gringo is more reserved with a passion for Jazz clubs - and gambling.

After a night of surveillance Gringo decides to introduce Bunny to the wonders of the Jazz world, and takes him to a club that he'd never normally frequent. Bunny is reluctant, but his mind and mood are changed dramatically when he meets Simone, a bartender and beautiful singer.

Bunny is entranced, some might even say head over heels at first sight. Simone isn't looking for love, or a relationship, and she certainly isn't looking for a detective. In fact, she might even want to get away from the Cops, but Bunny isn't going to give up without a fight...

Angels in the Moonlight is a funny and charming novel that will make you fall a little bit in love with Bunny McGarry. Now, don't mind me, I'm off to find the rest of the books in the series!

Angels in the Moonlight is available via Amazon online and all good book shops.

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

About the Author 

Caimh McDonnell is an award-winning stand-up comedian, author and writer of televisual treats. Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, he has taken the hop across the water and now calls Manchester his home. 

He is a man who wears many hats. As well as being an author, he is an award-winning writer for TV, a stand-up comedian and 'the voice’ of London Irish rugby club. His debut novel, A Man with One of Those Faces was released in 2016 and it is the first book of the Dublin Trilogy series. The follow-up, The Day That Never Come was published in 2017. Both books are fast-paced crime thrillers set in Caimh's home town of Dublin and they are laced with distinctly Irish acerbic wit. 

Caimh’s TV writing credits include The Sarah Millican Television Programme, A League of Their Own, Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You. He also works as a children’s TV writer and was BAFTA nominated for the animated series ‘Pet Squad’ which he created. 

During his time on the British stand-up circuit, Caimh has firmly established himself as the white-haired Irishman whose name nobody can pronounce. He has brought the funny worldwide, doing stand-up tours of the Far East, the Middle East and Near East (Norwich). 

Follow Caimh's witterings on @Caimh 

Facebook: @CaimhMcD

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

Review - The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

The Marsh King by Karen Dionne
Publisher: Sphere (Little Brown UK)
Release date: 29 June 2017
Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: 'I was born two years into my mother's captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I wouldn't have adored my father.' When notorious child abductor - known as the Marsh King - escapes from a maximum security prison, Helena immediately suspects that she and her two young daughters are in danger. No one, not even her husband, knows the truth about Helena's past: they don't know that she was born into captivity, that she had no contact with the outside world before the age of twelve - or that her father raised her to be a killer. And they don't know that the Marsh King can survive and hunt in the wilderness better than anyone... except, perhaps his own daughter.

Helena is deeply disturbed when the news breaks that the notorious child abductor known only as 'the Marsh King' has escaped from the maximum security prison where he supposed to be spending the rest of his life.

Helena knows immediately that she, her husband and two young daughters are in danger. The only trouble is, her family have no idea who she is, and why the Marsh King would be looking for her. But she is the reason that he is in prison, and she knows he won't rest until he finds her.

For The Marsh King is Helena's Father, her Mother his kidnap victim. Kidnapped by Helena's Father as a teenager, her Mother was abused and held captive in the middle of the swamp lands of Michigan, where she went on to give birth to Helena. 

Growing up in 'captivity', Helena didn't recognise her Father as a monster at first. For he was the one person who taught her to how to survive in the swamp. He taught her how to shoot, how to use a knife and perhaps his biggest mistake - he taught Helena how to fend for herself. 

Over time Helena realises that although she loves her Father he is a violent and dangerous man. When the chance presents itself she and her Mother escape with their lives barely intact. Helena soon realises that she is different from other kids her age, and that she can't express herself in the same way that they do.

Eventually though her Father is bought to justice and Helena grows into her life on the outside. When she meets her husband she is determined to leave her old life behind, and not be 'the Marsh King's Daughter' anymore.

Unfortunately it seems like the Marsh King has other ideas, and Helena must use everything he taught her in order to survive.

The Marsh King's Daughter 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 - Copy Cat by Alex Lake

Copy Cat by Alex Lake

Publisher: Harper Collins UK

Release date: 7 August 2017

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: Your stalker is everywhere. Your stalker knows everything. But the real problem is that your stalker is you. Sarah Havenant discovers – when an old friend points it out – that there are two Facebook profiles in her name. One, she recognizes: it is hers. The other, she has never seen. But everything in it is accurate. Recent photos of her and her friends, her and her husband, her and her kids. Even of her new kitchen. A photo taken inside her house. She is bemused, angry, and worried. Who was able to do this? Any why? But this, it soon turns out, is just the beginning. It is only now – almost as though someone has been watching, waiting for her to find the profile – that her problems really start…







When an old high school friend contacts Sarah Havenant via Facebook and asks to meet as she is moving back to their hometown of Barrow, Sarah is only too happy to oblige, but a throwaway comment makes her question her own sanity.

Is this the right account for you or is it the other one? 

Sarah only has one Facebook account. Or so she thought.

Sarah decides to investigate and discovers a duplicate facebook profile in her name. One that she had no hand in setting up.

When she discovers that the owner of the account has posted recent pictures of her and her family, Sarah is rightly, freaked out. Initially dismissive of the account, Sarah's husband thinks she has just forgotten about setting it up.

But Sarah knows that she did no such thing. As she delves deeper into the mystery, determined to find the culprit, things soon escalate out of control; Sarah thinks her family is in danger and her husband thinks she is losing it.

Copycat is one of those novels that I don't want to say too much more about, I think you really need to go Sarah's journey right there alongside her.

Copycat is genuinely terrifying in that I’m not sure you’d have to be as mentally unstable as the perpetrator in this novel to set up a fake social media account and use it against somebody. Sure there are means of reporting these thing, but if you genuinely have no idea who’s behind it, then you have no proof to take to the police should things escalate...

Should you be brave enough, Copycat is a thrilling read with an ending that I never saw coming in a million years!

Copy Cat is available from 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.