Review: Mad Hallelujah And Other Oddities by Owen Morgan

March 28, 2020

Mad Hallelujah by Owen Morgan
Published by Independently Published on September 3, 2019
ISBN: 9781687868091
Genres: Horror, Strange Fiction, Short Stories
Pages: 104
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
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Goodreads
four stars - Review: Mad Hallelujah And Other Oddities by Owen Morgan

four stars - Review: Mad Hallelujah And Other Oddities by Owen Morgan

"Behold, these mad hallelujahs, we scream into the dark"An already cracked marriage is obliterated with a single word...A hiker is compelled to join a strange child, digging in the woods...A clump of hair in the drain turns out to be much more horrible than it appears...An experiment in rubberisation rebounds in violent fashion at a secret research facility... All this and more is held within these pages, waiting for your eyeballs. Mad Hallelujah and other oddities is the debut poetry and short fiction collection from Owen Morgan, featuring 14 tales to make your skin crawl and your bones dance. These stories will take you to some utterly bizarre, crushingly dark and gloriously absurd places......but at least you'll have some fun along the way.

Mad Hallelujah and other Oddities is a work of literary genius. Have you ever wished your spouse away with a single word? How often have you seen a clump of hair stuck in the plug hole and pulled and been surprised by what lays beneath? Or a beautiful rose bush that signifies something far deeper and darker. Owen Morgan has delved feet first into topics that lay dormant in the back of our psyche and he has the key to unlock the cage to our darkest fears. He has made the unthinkable totally and utterly realistic.

My favourite short story within the collection was either; Flower of Flesh and Blood or The Elgin Incident. Let me first examine Flower of Flesh and Blood. It is no secret that I love horror stories that delve into the very scary world of body horror. Haven’t we all wished our bullies should come to some kind of nasty fate? Unfortunately, in this story it is the mother that is the abuser. We have seen how she can inflict damage both mentally and physically upon her son. She is a woman of little conscience. Sam has suspected such evil and brutality from her before but with no proof. He lands himself in hot water with her once again when he destroys her precious rose bushes. The harrowing scene that follows is a difficult pill to swallow. She beats her own son bloody with the deceased remnants of said rose bush. He wishes that she would just go away and leave him. He’s tired of her draconian ways – what follows is one of the best scenes in body horror I have read. Gory and vivid, we see just how Morgan’s imagination can come into the fold.

The Elgin Incident is a brilliant case study of how sometimes an idea should be left well alone. Stuart Elgin is an incredibly intelligent man…too intelligent. The idea of creating a real life flubber in a lab was, well, hilarious. This story was deeply disturbing in its violence, but I couldn’t stop laughing. It truly deserved a Darwin award. What could go wrong when developing the world rubbiest rubber? This is where we see Owen Morgan’s dark and sardonic sense of humour and it is divine!

Mad Hallelujah and Other Oddities is definitely for those that love their horror in bite sized portions. Creepy and marvellous.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Owen is a writer from South Wales in the UK. He specialises in flash fiction and short stories. His first flash fiction/poetry collection The Great Travelling Graveyard and other brief tales was published in October 2019.

He is also the co-owner of The Abominable Book Club Ltd, the UK’s only horror fiction subscription box.

you can follow him on twitter @ON_morgan or on instagram @on_morgan_, where he is liable to talk about horror movies, professional wrestling, and dumb ideas for stories.

The Abominable Book club

Review: Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

March 2, 2020

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
Published by Gollancz on February 28, 2017
ISBN: 9780385743617
Genres: Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Review: Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

Read the final book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Reckoners series by worldwide bestselling author Brandon Sanderson! When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David's fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned Prof, his closest ally, into a dangerous enemy. David knew Prof's secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners' leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He's disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there's no turning back. . . . But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics--Megan proved it. They're not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.
Praise for the Reckoners series:
#1 New York Times Bestselling Series
"Another win for Sanderson . . . he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
"Action-packed." --EW.com
"Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store." --The A.V. Club

Failure is refusing to fight. Failure is remaining quiet and hoping someone else will fix the problem.

Damn the final book in this outstanding series was so perfect for me. I loved every second of the journey. I despaired, I rejoiced, I felt the heartbreak and I laughed. It’s been an original plot with the best characters and Brandon Sanderson’s narrative is addictive. He draws you in with the promise of the tastiest piece of luxurious chocolate…I couldn’t resist! If I thought that the first book couldn’t be topped in the series, I was wrong. Wrong to the power of ten. Calamity was amazing!

Just how do you deal with the fact that one of the good guys has gone bad? The fight against the epic’s rages on and the inner turmoil of having to face a friend, a lover, a leader is weighing heavy on the team’s mind. Is this the point that loyalties become conflict? The gang is back together – David, Megan, Mizzy, Cody and Abraham. Serious squad goals. The mould together like a serious mature cheese – hopefully I’m slightly better than David at the obscure similes. Although life has forever changed as they know it they have the glue sticking them together – they have the will to do what’s right, no matter the cost.

This book really brought David and Megan into their own. Megan accepted David’s feelings for what they were, and David was adorably cute in his silly sayings that actually said so much.

We’re not moments, Megan, you and me. We’re events. You say you might not be the same person you were a year ago? Well, who is? I’m sure not. We change, like swirling clouds around a rising sun.

Calamity is the book that we are introduced to zany founder of the Knighthawk facility. It was perfect. Super intelligent dude…he’s faced such loss but rises when it matters most.

Calamity had a lot to live up to. I had so many questions at the end of Firefight, how on earth would it be possible for Brandon Sanderson to possibly conclude the story and readers be satisfied? Some of these questions included; What would become of Prof? What happened to Tia? What role did Calamity play in the creation of Epics? The further Megan pushed her powers was the relationship between her and David become a ticking timebomb? What really happened to David when Calamity tried to gift him the curse of being an Epic? So yes, I had many, many questions and I needed answers to them all.

Brandon Sanderson is the absolute king of misdirection. He left red herrings along the path to answers and every damn time I slipped on them. His imagination is off the scale amazing. The ending of Calamity, for me was mind-blowing. I did not see it coming and I was left with some extra questions but I’m both happy and sad to leave The Reckoners and The Epics to rest. Gah I did shed a tear, I loved this series soooo much. I can’t wait to discover some of Mr Sanderson’s Adult Fantasy work.

Steelheart Review

Firefight Review

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BrandonGray 776x1024 1 - Review: Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson was born in December 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested for him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This all changed in eighth grade when an astute teacher, Mrs. Reader, gave Brandon Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. Brandon thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went in search of anything similar. He discovered such authors as Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card. Brandon continued to be an avid reader through junior high and high school. He liked epic fantasy so much that he even tried his hand at writing some. His first attempts, he says, were dreadful.

In 1994 Brandon enrolled at Brigham Young University as a biochemistry major. From 1995 to 1997 he took time away from his studies to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brandon often says that it was during this time in Seoul, Korea that he realized that he didn’t miss chemistry one bit, but he did miss writing. Upon his return to BYU, Brandon became an English major, much to the dismay of his mother, who had always hoped he would become a doctor.

Brandon Sanderson Website

Blog Tour: Containment (Sam Shepherd #3) by Vanda Symon

March 1, 2020

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

41Qqg6FKtGL - Blog Tour: Containment (Sam Shepherd #3) by Vanda Symon

Containment by Vanda Symon
Published by Orenda Books Limited on January 5th 2020
ISBN: 9781459621992
Genres: Crime, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural
Pages: 364
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
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four stars - Blog Tour: Containment (Sam Shepherd #3) by Vanda Symon

Vanda Symon's third novel features the feisty young policewoman Sam Shephard who was the central character in her two previous books Overkill and The Ringmaster. In Containment, Sam is training as a detective at Dunedin Central when she is assigned to investigate what seems to be a routine diving accident off the Otago coast. But the forensics reveal that the man didn't die from drowning. And that the body was stuffed in its wetsuit after death. And is there a connection with another incident Sam is involved with, in which the citizens of Dunedin have been pillaging the wreckage of a container ship out at the harbour entrance? As the novel unfolds, our young detective is involved in making sense of a complex web of lies and violence. Who is behind it all? Who are the real criminals?

Just when you felt like the Crime Fiction genre was becoming over populated with not much variation or uniqueness to the storyline…BANG. Containment. Vanda Symon hits you straight between the eyes for a killer blow. It was a refreshing change to be transported some idyllic. You know what they say – a change is as good as a rest. Aramoana Beach. Just uttering those words feels tranquil. Set the scene. Golden sands, turquoise seas, glittering horizons, the sun beating down on your chest, the warmth between your toes. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it? Be prepared to have that dream shattered when a cargo ship blights that landscape. Things get out of control when rational human beings start to loot, start to become violent. Things get out of hand. Oh, but if you try to maintain the law, you get the living crap kicked out of you. Let me introduce to you, Sam Shepherd.

Containment is the building blocks of betrayal and grief. With two deep motivators it is extremely refreshing to have some necessary humour injected into its essence. Sam doesn’t take herself too seriously and I had moments of laughing when I wasn’t sure it was appropriate to do so. The author makes you grapple with the two extremes of devastation and hope.

Sam is a DC with the Dunedin police force. She’s competent, motivated and will do anything to get the job done. She’s a girl after my own heart, she tends to self-sabotage her own life, but the stubbornness is strong in this one. Sometimes all she needs is a good talking to. Brilliant professionally, not so great personally.

The plot was watertight. A body has been discovered off the island, appearances suggests it’s been submerged some time. The body isn’t in good condition and they are going to need some good luck to extract a fingerprint to ID the body. Sam’s ability to rub up her superiors the wrong was as led to this fun excursion. DI Johns is a mean, grumpy old stickler and I’ve found myself growing an ever-increasing distaste of his methods. The troubling relationship was written authentically without forcing the information on the reader.

Containment often felt like a fog descending. The twists kept on creeping up when you least expected it. Little niggles, a finely painted parallel, the author grabs you by the jugular and fights to maintain control. The control the author held over me was immense. A magnet focussed on its target. Try as I may I was never going to put that book down. Containment was an assault on my senses. It was mystifying, and nothing was sugar-coated.

Containment is a lesson in vulnerability and tenacity. Blind alleys to trip you up and a beautiful vista to keep you guessing. Vanda Symon’s prose is to die for!

Thanks to Anne Cater @ Random Things Tours for my spot on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

vs faceless launch 272 - Blog Tour: Containment (Sam Shepherd #3) by Vanda Symon

Vanda’s first novel Overkill, was written while juggling the demands of a 6 month old baby and a two year old. She suspects the prologue to Overkill was written in a state of sleep deprivation induced paranoia brought about by middle of the night feeds and imagining every awful thing that could possibly happen to her family. None of them ever did. Reading that prologue still makes her cry.

A little time has elapsed and the six-month old and two-year old are now teenagers. As well as trying to raise two wonderful human beings, she has added three more Detective Sam Shephard novels to the series and written the stand alone psychological thriller The Faceless.

As well as being a crime writer, she hosts a monthly radio show on Dunedin’s Otago Access Radio called Write On, where she interviews local writers, and catches the odd international super-star if they’re in town.

And just to prove that she is a tiger for punishment, she has recently completed a PhD at the University of Otago looking at the communication of science through crime fiction – the perfect subject for a science loving crime writer. She has an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy and enjoyed a career as a community pharmacist and palliative care pharmacist before concentrating on her writing career.

Vanda has been involved with the New Zealand Society of Authors for many years, having been chair of the Otago Southland Branch. She is currently the Otago Southland regional delegate on the NZSA Board. Vanda was also the Chair of Copyright Licensing New Zealand.

When she isn’t writing, Vanda can be found digging around in her garden in Dunedin, or on the business end of a fencing foil. She has fenced since high school and still competes in national and international competitions. As well as competing she coaches, and because she likes to get involved, boots and all, is the president of Fencing South and on the board of Fencing New Zealand.

Vanda is a founding member of the Dunedin Crime Writers Association, whose raison d’etre is for its members to drink beer or wine and talk crime writing at their favourite pub.

Vanda is thrilled to have been shortlisted for a CWA New Blood Dagger award for her novel, Overkill. A CWA New Blood Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) for first books by previously unpublished writers.

Vanda Symon

Blog Tour: Blood Will Be Born by Gary Donnelly

February 27, 2020

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

blood will be born by gary donnelly - Blog Tour: Blood Will Be Born by Gary Donnelly

Blood Will Be Born by Gary Donnelly
Published by Allison & Busby Ltd on February 20, 2020
ISBN: 9780749025267
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, General, Hard-Boiled, Noir
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Blog Tour: Blood Will Be Born by Gary Donnelly

‘Brilliant. An exciting new voice in Northern Irish noir’ Adrian McKinty, author of The Chain
MURDER. BLACKMAIL. WELCOME TO BELFAST.
DI Owen Sheen vowed never to return to Belfast, but he needs answers about his brother’s death. He is on loan from London’s Met to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, although before he can dig into the past, he must babysit DC Aoife McCusker on her first murder investigation.
As the case slides into chaos, can Sheen put his personal agenda aside? And will McCusker keep her job long enough to ensure that this first case is not her last?
‘A gripping debut thriller. The story thunders to its bloody conclusion’ Stuart Neville, author of Those We Left Behind
'Blood Will Be Born is a rare find - a sucker punch to the gut that will also put a tear in your eye. Unflinching but never cynical, twisty but utterly plausible, and full of heart. I loved it. I only wish it didn't feel so timely' Catriona McPherson, author of Strangers at the Gate

Blood Will Be Born sets its explosive tone in the mind-blowing prologue. Imagine a bullet ricocheting off the walls in a box room. This is exactly how I would describe this cracking debut novel. That bullet is speeding towards its end goal. It’s impossible not to get hit in the wreckage, this is the delightful experience that Blood Will Be Born will engross you in. every twist, every delightful description has you ducking but also in rapturous attention. The story leaves you with a nasty case of whiplash that leaves you pained and distraught. The deep meaning behind the title is pure poetic brilliance.

Bearing in mind that this is a debut, it is seeping in palpating brilliance. Gary is the Irish Noir Fisherman extraordinaire. He’s pulled you in hook, line and sinker. His narrative pulls you in, ties you up and leaves you for dead.

A revisited past. Anger and anguish. A thirst for revenge. Mixed loyalties. It’s a heady mix

The setting gives you the immense feeling of unrest with a bubbling undercurrent of both events gone by but also events being ready to be perpetrated. The troubles are still at the forefront of everyone’s minds. It won’t do any good to forget, but the want and raw need to forget is what drives the people. It’s that human want -peace and quiet. What I loved most about Blood Will Be Born is just how flawed the characters are. John Fryer is a haunted man. Left in an asylum to basically rot. He is consumed by the death (his own doing) of a young man in 1976. He was a tough guy in the IRA but has his time being locked away really changed him?

Christopher Moore. His only motivator is revenge. Revenge for him and his father. His perceived sin has rotted his brain for years. Apparently being born to a protestant father and a catholic mother is akin to pissing on the altar of Jesus. Harsh words spoken and never forgotten and now he’s back, and he’s going to make people pay.

DI Owen Sheen. Belfast was a painful memory. He hasn’t been back since he was a boy. A bomb that killed his brother. They fled to England for their lives. Time moves on as they say, and he is now a detective in Metropolitan Police, murder squad. When the opportunity knocks on his door to take a position on the Historical Crimes Unit he grabs it by the balls. His hunger for revenge is fuelling his decision.

DC Aoife McCusker is flawed but she is determined to prove herself when she lands a promotion in serious crimes in Belfast. She’s a bit miffed when she has to babysit a new DI Joining their team. They head to the crime scene – the murder of an apparent sweet old lady. Does she have a connection to the individuals responsible for Owen Sheen’s nightmares?

Blood Will Be Born is an utter kick to the genitals. Its swift, brutal and it brings you to your knees. Its utterly compelling and deviously plotted. A dark twisted tale that will leave you gripped from start to finish.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

2017 07 26 PHOTO 00000290 800x800 1 - Blog Tour: Blood Will Be Born by Gary Donnelly

Gary Donnelly is a crime and thriller writer from Belfast who lives and works in London. BLOOD WILL BE BORN, the first in the DI Owen Sheen Belfast thriller series, was originally published as an e-book to critical acclaim in 2017 and will be properly relaunched in trade paperback/e-book by Allison and Busby in February 2020 with the sequel, KILLING IN YOUR NAME, to follow in September 2020. Watch Gary speak about his book in this 30 minute televised interview on Novel Ideas for NVTV. The audio book, published by Isis Publishing Ltd, is spoken by Irish actor Stephen Armstrong. Adrian McKinty, the award winning author of The Chain, had this to say about the book: “A twisty, violent, cop thriller set in post conflict Belfast where hard men lurk in pubs and back alleys awaiting their chance to mete out the old kind of justice from the dark days of the Troubles. Brilliant. Gary Donnelly is an exciting new voice in Northern Irish noir.”

Gary attended a state comprehensive school in west Belfast, read History at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and has lived and worked in London since the late 1990s. In his time he has been a Belfast cemetery manager, a business conference organiser in the City, a council gardener in Neasdon, and gained a further degree in Psychology, which he teaches in north London. Gary is married to the lovely Sacha and has two non-returnable children. He can cook up a storm and play a mean guitar (after a few drinks).

Gary has this to say about his writing: “I always wanted to write a novel and after I enrolled on a course at the City Lit two years ago, the initial outline of BLOOD WILL BE BORN emerged from one of the homework exercises. But the story has been incubating for much longer. I left Belfast 20 years ago but you see it never really left me. The course finished, and I kept writing; on my day off, weekends and while travelling into work. I took the first 3000 words to Crimefest 2016’s Pitch an Agent slot and some top flight agents gave the sample and the synopsis and big thumbs up, which was very encouraging. Enough, in fact, to get up at 5am to write before work, and finish the first draft.

Gary Donnelly

The Snakes by Sadie Jones

February 23, 2020

The Snakes by Sadie Jones
Published by Penguin on June 25, 2019
ISBN: 9780062897046
Genres: Fiction, Literary, Thrillers, Suspense, Horror
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
two stars - The Snakes by Sadie Jones

“The Snakes is many things—a parable and an ancient drama where a father’s greed devours his children, a police procedural, an avid take on tabloid venality, and a bitter comedy, superbly observed, where behind a woman’s eyes she is ‘all movement inside herself, like a wasp in a glass.’ I admit that I’m still shaken by parts of this novel. Sadie Jones writes with pitiless aplomb and corrosive intelligence.”—Louise Erdrich
A chilling page-turner and impossible to put down, THE SNAKES is Sadie Jones at her best: breathtakingly powerful, brilliantly incisive, and utterly devastating.
The new novel by Sadie Jones tells the tense and violent story of the Adamsons, a dysfunctional English family, with exceptional wealth, whose darkest secrets come back to bite them. Set mostly in rural France during contemporary times, THE SNAKES is an all-consuming read and a devastating portrait of how money corrupts, and how chance can deal a deadly hand.
THE SNAKES exposes the damage wreaked by parents on children as observed by a new member of the family, Dan, a mixed-race man from Peckham who marries Bea, the daughter who refuses to take any of her father’s filthy money. But when Bea’s brother Alex (who runs a shabby hotel in Paligny, France) dies suddenly in unexplained circumstances, the confusion and suspicion which arise bring other dark family secrets—and violence—to the surface. And none of the family, even the good members, go untouched.

This book turned into a real disappointment. It wasn’t like I struggled to get through the book. From page one I was loving the journey, loving the complexity of every character. Appreciating their role, their intricacies, their pain and the road that each decided to take. The book for me, was a five-star read right up until the last two chapters. The writing was engaging, and it had my attention so rapturously, I felt like I was contained within a vice. It was intense and emotional, and I craved to know what the ending would deliver. It was flat and completely separate from what was building. I was disappointed.

The majority of the book was exceptional. The Snakes is a story about the complexity of money and the power that corrupts within. Families can either be destroyed by it or brought together. This story is unfortunately the former. We get a glimpse of how money and the type of wealth that is astronomical can borne a childhood of at worst abuse and at best indifference.

The Snakes allows us a fly on the wall view of a personal family tragedy. A death that is not completely unexpected but raw and grievous all the same. The family is dysfunctional. Abuse always creeping at the edges of our vision, shocked by the behaviour and the actions of those that are meant to be there to protect no matter what. The language and the tone in which the father, Griff addresses his children is standoffish and brutal like they are mere business transactions. The death is the catalyst to the band aid being truly ripped off. Secrets will finally come to the fore.

The book has a very depressing and melancholy dissonance resonating throughout its pages. It’s thought provoking and makes you think about the fragility of life and the glue that keeps families together. This story really highlights the old adage that money is the root of all evil. This is where Sadie Jones comes into her own. Her characters are so impeccably constructed from the conflict to the love and security. The atmospheric world building was so bang on the nail for creepy, threatening shadow that threatened to engulf them all. The Snakes in the attic seemed like the perfect symbol for dread that the hotel had opened up. Money and secrets a dreadful cocktail to sip from.

And then the impressive build up seemed to evaporate in front of the readers eyes. It took an unsuspected and strange turn. I don’t mean in the form of a shocking twist. I mean that the ending didn’t make any sense. It felt like the author rushed the ending and didn’t listen to her character’s personalities, their inner voices. It was a mess.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sadie Jones is a novelist and screenwriter. Her first novel, The Outcast (‘Devastatingly good’, Daily Mail) won the Costa First Novel Award in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. It was also a Richard and Judy Summer Reads number one bestseller and adapted for BBC Television. Her second novel, Small Wars (‘Outstanding’, The Times; ‘One of the best books about the English at war ever’, Joel Morris), was published in 2009, and longlisted for the Orange Prize. Her third, in 2012, was The Uninvited Guests (‘A shimmering comedy of manners and disturbing commentary on class… a brilliant novel’, Ann Patchett) followed by Fallout in 2014 (‘Intoxicating and immersive’, The Sunday Times).

Sadie Jones

Blog Tour: Beast (Six Stories #4) by Matt Wesolowski

February 18, 2020

Beast by Matt Wesolowski
Published by Orenda Books on February 6, 2020
ISBN: 9781913193133
Genres: Horror, Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Blog Tour: Beast (Six Stories #4) by Matt Wesolowski

Elusive online journalist Scott King examines the chilling case of a young vlogger found frozen to death in the legendary local 'vampire tower', in another explosive episode of Six Stories...
In the wake of the 'Beast from the East' cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old Vlogger, Elizabeth Barton, had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as 'The Vampire Tower', where she was later found frozen to death.
Three young men, part of an alleged 'cult', were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a 'prank gone wrong' However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton's death and whether the three convicted youths were even responsible.
Elusive online journalist Scott King speaks to six witnesses - people who knew both the victim and the three killers - to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the 'Ergarth Vampire...
Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller, and a bleak and distressing look at modern society's desperation for attention, Beast will unveil a darkness from which you may never return...

What an absolute Beast! Fist bumps all round to Matt Wesolowski. The premise of a pod cast that investigates true crime is always going to warm my soul. This is my first rodeo reading this author, but it will not be the last. I’m going to immediately order the six stories series. Rest assured you can read this as a standalone, I did, and I didn’t find myself grappling for more back story information.

This book has everything to get you through the remainder of the cold winter dark nights. Vampires, a grisly murder and a podcast series that will send chills ricocheting down your body.

Horror is right up there in my favourite genres but quite often the stories are regurgitated with samey plotlines, disappointing conclusions and it all just leaves me feeling jaded. The author has created something really quite original, I definitely haven’t read anything like it before. The opening instantly had me licking my lips and fighting a giddy feeling that this was going to rock my damn boat.

Beast is like a vivid nightmare. The sweat beads at your temple, you rock back and forth, you will yourself to wake up but at the same time you really don’t want to. I was transported to Ergath and I was transported to the dark underbelly of poverty, despair and a deep-seated horror that I just couldn’t get enough of!

Podcasts are simply amazing. If I’m not reading a book or listening to an audiobook, then I’m listening to a podcast. They are informative, we have a great selection at the tap of a finger, it has never been easier to be instantly entertained.

The Scott King podcasts are top tier level. Scott King delves into true crime cases that spark his interest, he’s influential and can connect with his interviewees on a personal level. Imagine an empty room – no furniture, blinds drawn, and walls covered floor to ceiling in newspaper clippings, internet printouts, victim and perpetrator photographs. An incident room. He’s immaculate.

It’s split into six episodes/interviews from six people directly involved with the victim of the crime. You get their take on the crime and the victim and perpetrator, you get the whole spectrum, good and bad. Let me make this absolutely clear this is a podcast that yanks at your attention as you weigh up the different points of view. Beast will turn you into just that – a hungering beast clawing at every bit of evidence, every scrap that Scott King will throw at us.

The story is an intriguing one. The beast of the East snow storm of 2018. A dead vlogger. A dangerous following. An old tale of Vampires. Three culprits. A foreboding tower. The darkness this story creates is threatening and ever lingering. It creeps up on you and you don’t notice until it’s too late. Supernatural or something far darker, something more human? Well I guess you’re just going to have to read the book/podcast.

Beast Is a richly immersive and deeply haunting that catapults you into a world of intrigue, fear and terrifying monsters. An avid blend of nightmare and mystery.

Thanks to Anne Cater @ Random Things book tours for my spot on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IMG 1026 copy 2 200x300 1 - Blog Tour: Beast (Six Stories #4) by Matt Wesolowski

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care. Matt started his writing career in horror, and his short horror fiction has been published in numerous UK- an US-based anthologies such as Midnight Movie Creature, Selfies from the End of the World, Cold Iron and many more. His novella, The Black Land, a horror set on the Northumberland coast, was published in 2013. Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in 2015. His debut thriller, Six Stories, was an Amazon bestseller in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, and film rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller. Changeling, book three in the series, was published in 2019 and was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for Capital Crime’s Amazon Publishing Reader Awards in two categories: Best Thriller and Best Independent Voice.

Follow Matt on Twitter @ConcreteKraken and on his website: mjwesolowskiauthor.wordpress.com

Orenda Books

Review|The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

February 10, 2020

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

48408361. SY475 - Review|The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith
Published by titan Books on October 1, 2019
ISBN: 9781984806383
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Contemporary, Humorous
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Review|The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing-- a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.
But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.

What do you get when you have a sassy librarian, a muse, a hero, Arcanist and a demon walk into Valhalla? Well a whole heap of action, hilarity and a story that just wont quit. The story is literally on fire. The pages sear your fingers and your eyes, it’s too hot to handle. With the first chapter you just know you are going to fall in love with the sublime writing style and the characterisation that literally smacks you in the genitals – it is that vivid in its fantastical realism. The story dances in front of your vision threatening to consume itself into your very soul.

I was very excited to discover that this is the first book in a brand-new series. Oh, my giddy aunt, this book is was beyond every expectation. My mind was conjuring up an evil darkness that hell threatens but so absolutely delivers. I could almost feel the heat within the library, getting me hot under the collar, my blood boiling, the sweat dripping down my spine. It’s a heady mix somewhere between the realms of fear and anticipation. This book gave me chills! It was fully immersive, and I loved team HELL!

The library of the Unwritten is immersed in the pits of hell. It contains the unwritten books, the characters of which trapped in their unfinished works. They are desperate to become reconnected with their authors, to the point that they have often tried to escape. In charge of this wing of the library is Claire. The non-stereotypical sexy, prim and proper type. What we have instead is a badass, no bowing down to Lucifer and she is tough as old boots! She has a tragic backstory which made me fall in love with her even more. The POV’s were split into Claire, Leto our friendly demon and Ramiel the fallen angel. Each one offered more emotion, more insight and blasted me with such an extreme sense of urgency that I kept willing myself to read more…I was never fast enough, and my appetite was well and truly whetted.

Now the book of hell is on the loose and it is a race against time to recover it before the fallen angel Ramiel catches up with it and takes it to his divine leader. Will the book take the highway to hell or the stairway to heaven? Only time will tell. The sense of foreboding is magnificent and the trials and tribulations that the team encounter is out of this world. This story was quite simply addictive, I found myself reading the pages faster and faster, nothing was stopping me finding out the ending to this story.

I loved the compassion, the ruthlessness, the take no prisoners aspect of some characters. It all just moulded into a titanium structured plot. I await with baited breath for the next instalment. Ah Angels Vs. Demons the oldest battle of all time. It couldn’t have been sweeter.

The Library of the Unwritten will hook you in with its atmospheric storytelling. The author ratchets up the tension with its palpable heat. A.J. Hackwith writes with great power and the book pumps with a great power force that draws you in, time and time again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image asset - Review|The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

Amanda is a magpie of plots, bad ideas, and spite. She is a queer speculative fiction writer who writes contemporary fantasy as A. J. Hackwith and sci-fi romance as Ada Harper. Her writing has appeared in Uncanny Magazine and various anthologies, and she’s an alumni of Viable Paradise workshop. She’s represented by Caitlin McDonald of Donald Maass Literary Agency.

Amanda lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and her ghosts. She’s a Slytherin girl, a Ravenclaw nerd, and she always takes the renegade interrupts. And really, isn’t that the important things to know?

Subscribe to the quarterly newsletter for book news, sneak peeks, and other updates

A.J. Hackwith Website

Review: All The Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen

February 8, 2020

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

IMG 20200209 082443 - Review: All The Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen

All the Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen
Published by titan Books on February 11, 2020
ISBN: 9781250297396
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Thrillers, Crime, Women Sleuths
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Review: All The Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen

The highly anticipated third novel in the award-winning Ellery Hathaway mystery series.FBI agent Reed Markham is haunted by one painful unsolved mystery: who murdered his mother? Camilla was brutally stabbed to death more than forty years ago while baby Reed lay in his crib mere steps away. The trail went so cold that the Las Vegas Police Department has given up hope of solving the case. But then a shattering family secret changes everything Reed knows about his origins, his murdered mother, and his powerful adoptive father, state senator Angus Markham. Now Reed has to wonder if his mother's killer is uncomfortably close to home.
Unable to trust his family with the details of his personal investigation, Reed enlists his friend, suspended cop Ellery Hathaway, to join his quest in Vegas. Ellery has experience with both troubled families and diabolical murderers, having narrowly escaped from each of them. She's eager to skip town, too, because her own father, who abandoned her years ago, is suddenly desperate to get back in contact. He also has a secret that could change her life forever, if Ellery will let him close enough to hear it.
Far from home and relying only on each other, Reed and Ellery discover young Camilla had snared the attention of dangerous men, any of whom might have wanted to shut her up for good. They start tracing his twisted family history, knowing the path leads back to a vicious killer—one who has been hiding in plain sight for forty years and isn't about to give up now.

All The Best Lies really injects truth into that old saying – Las Vegas is the city that never sleeps! Its seeped in sin, a place where we can forget our old selves, our realities are locked in the back of our minds and we can invent a new identity, a new truth. Well, eventually that truth will rear its ugly head and bite you on your behind. The characters are complex and brought to life in multi-dimensional 4k reality. A crime novel should unseat you, leave you questioning the fragility of the human existence but also be blasted with the fear of how easily psyches can break and commit the most atrocious crimes known to man.

What would you do if you were given the opportunity to reopen a cold case that had such a personal connection? What if it was your mother? This case was truly baffling. Reed Markham is tasked with this exact scenario. He has an outstanding reputation of getting the bad guy and he is determined this is will be like every other case he handles. He doesn’t anticipate the scene of the crime photos showing his mother carved up like a Christmas turkey, however. The further he digs, the more he’s conflicted by family loyalty and unmasking the killer.

Joanna Schaffhausen epitomises the inner turmoil that Reed Markham feels. He’s desperate to find out the who and the why. He needs to feel a sense of closure and putting that chapter in his life to rest but are external forces going to allow him that? The pace of All The Best Lies is akin to rocket force. You feel that countdown and with that your heart, your stomach and your brain begin to go into meltdown. You know when it finally takes off – you will have to hold on for dear life. The descriptions allow us to placed straight into Reeds shoes – we feel every part of his desperation, his pain but also dogged determination to unearth the truth.

With every great detective you need an equally awesome sidekick and there is literally no better than, Ellery Hathaway. A suspended cop that he has known since she was an abused and frightened teen. They are inextricably linked to each other and each has the others back through thick and thin. She’s happy to go along for the tumultuous ride to Las Vegas and is prepared to unearth trouble. I loved these two together – the electricity between them was palpable. The sexual tension in All The Best Lies threatened to burn a hole through me.

Plenty of potential suspects with not one of them being pearly white. We all have a history, and everyone goes through the wringer with Hathaway and Markham. No stone is left unturned. I loved the direction the author took us on. It was unexpected and so very thrilling. As they dig deeper and deeper they find that they could potentially be in danger, do they back off or do they continue with renewed vigour? Everyone is a suspect.

All The Best Lies catapults you into an evocative setting with a sinister undertone simmering about power, politics and family. A plot so tautly constructed you feel the need to hold on for dear life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, skills she developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain―how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked as a scientific editor in the field of drug development. Prior to that, she was an editorial producer for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter

Joanna Schaffhausen

Blog Tour: Little White Lies by Philippa East

February 4, 2020

Little White Lies by Philippa East
Published by HarperCollins UK on February 4, 2020
ISBN: 9780008365400
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Suspense, Psychological, Coming of Age, Domestic, Friendship, General
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Blog Tour: Little White Lies by Philippa East

‘Breathtaking suspense. A phenomenal talent’ HOLLY SEDDON ‘Terrifically engaging’ JO SPAIN ‘Addictive. I couldn’t put it down’ PHOEBE MORGAN ‘A heart-thumping, racing thriller’ CHRISTINA McDONALD
She only looked away for a second...
Anne White only looked away for a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter.
But seven years later, Abigail is found.
And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared...
Addictive, edge-of-your-seat dark women’s fiction perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, BCC drama Thirteen, and Emma Donoghue’s Room.

It’s a known fact that I love Crime Fiction and I have found myself searching for an added element, something that speaks to me, is a calling card left in a deserted room. It leaves clues for me to discover, to strip layer after layer back until I have been exposed to the dark secrets. This is what you can expect from Little White Lies. The writing style, the thrilling voice – this book gives me the Psychological Thriller Fuzies!

Little White Lies will creep up on you, catch you off guard and kick your heart into a galloping crescendo. You know when an opening chapter lays the foundations to be a rollercoaster ride that your attention will be focusing in rapturous enchantment. My attention didn’t wander, it didn’t ebb, instead it transported into the pages and became one with the story.

So, what had my attention so captured, you ask? Multiple layers of deceit. Child abduction that wasn’t as it appeared. An overbearing aunt. A long-buried family secret. A police Officer that sees more than they want.

The narrative blew me away. The research that brought this story to life was skilfully presented to us in the most realistic form. The feeling of a threatening shadow just creeping into the corners of your vision was palpable. What would be revealed? Would it be a bad thing for their daughter to turn up? What would she say, how would she behave? Is ignorance truly bliss?

Your daughter has been missing for seven years. You’ve pretty much lost all hope of her coming home, alive, right? What happens when you receive a phone call saying she had walked into the police station with another little girl…but, not once has she asked to come to you. That fateful day she went missing. The fact that you were meant to protect her against harm. Just what has she seen and experienced? The story is poignant, heart-breaking and I spent periods during reading just imagining how I would feel if it was one of my own boys. It’s really not worth imagining.

Events really take a turn when Abigail finally comes home. Nothing’s the same. No amount of telling her she is safe, family dinners, shopping trips and decorating bedrooms is going to erase the trauma that this girl has suffered. It is at this point that the brain fog lifts and I’m left feeling bereft like Abigail. The pain is apparent, and she truly doesn’t know which way is up.

This book is an uncomfortable read. I struggled to prise it from the death grip I had upon the book. Philippa East knows just how to punch you in the jugular and wreak havoc with your emotions. This book is akin to being dropped into quicksand with an anchor strapped to your ankle – it forces you to swim between one raw emotion to another. Little White Lies deals with difficult themes, but they are handled with extreme delicacy and tact. It was invigorating to read about a child that did finally return home. It dealt with how the parents would have to navigate extremely murky waters. It was a tale of hope and new beginnings but one of immense patience.

Little White Lies was a devastatingly emotional read. The narrative is like a death grip- unyielding and heartfelt. I read it with my heart in my mouth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hello, I am a fiction writer living in Lincolnshire.

I have written short stories for a several years, a number of which have been published in literary magazines including Brittle Star, Fictive Dream, and Shooter Magazine. I’ve also had a few successes in competitions such as The Fiction Desk and Retreat West.

In 2017, I was long listed in Mslexia First Novel award. This year, I secured a publishing deal with HQ/HarperCollins for my debut ‘Little White Lies’. This Book Club read tells the story of a family whose missing child is found alive seven years after her disappearance; it is a book that begins where other stories end.

In the beginning, I graduated with a degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Oxford University. I subsequently trained as a Clinical Psychologist and worked for 12 years in the NHS before establishing my own psychology practice. This background in philosophy and psychology serves as the inspiration for many of my stories.

I now divide my time between clinical work and writing, and I share my love of writing with my members of the Lincolnshire-based writers’ group The Lindum Scribes.

‘Little White Lies’ will be out in early 2020.

Philippa East

Review: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

February 1, 2020

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

a memory called empire by arkady martine - Review: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Published by Tor Publishing on March 26, 2019
ISBN: 9781250186454
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Action & Adventure
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Review: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

A Library Journal Best Book of 2019A Guardian Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2019 and “Not the Booker Prize” NomineeAn NPR Favorite Book of 2019A Polygon Best Book of 2019A Den of Geek Best Book of 2019A Goodreads Biggest SFF Book of 2019 and Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee"A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it."—Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary JusticeAmbassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.
A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure."The most thrilling ride ever. This book has everything I love."—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Memory Called Empire is by far the cleverest and poignant debut I have had the pleasure of reading. It’s the type of read that leaves you trying to find the remnants of your scrambled brain. Your senses are scattered, the books only made it through by the skin of its teeth – you gripped it so hard, it’s in danger of being strangled! In order to love a book, you need something that speaks straight to your heart, it drew out unbreakable connections, the electricity snapping between us. The book feels like a breathing entity, it knows how you tick, how you operate and moulds itself into everything you want, right when you need it.

This is not the kind of book that you can read a few chapters of here and there. Your attention will be rapt and to fight against it is a futile struggle. Space. A murder mystery. Awesome brain modifications. Political action. Galactic relationships. Prose that was like liquid gold, smooth and valuable.

Arkady Martine is an author that is at one with her story. She has brought it to life with such a glorious 4k dimension to it. She has found the secret formula for crafting the perfect Science Fiction and then improving it beyond the realms that anyone thought was possible. My brain wanted to explode- I felt my brain trying to find the smallest crack in my skull. It was expanding, my imagination expanding like the universe. The sublime prose brought the world-building to life. I was living it. I was loving it!

Mahit Dzmare is the newly appointed Ambassador within the Teixcalaanli Empire. Her arrival has ensconced her in intrigue and layer upon layer of deceit. It should have been a straight forward take over, however, her implant should have made everything plain sailing. It should have gave her all the political and cultural insight she needed but Yksander didn’t acclimatise to Mahit’s system correctly. One small problem, the technology has been hidden and developed away from the Teixalaanli prying eyes. Without it, just how will she be able to navigate the extremely murky waters of the political unrest that is on the cusp of blowing.

So much of who we are is what we remember and retell.

Our protagonist has to find ways push forward and deal with the implications and the unrest of civil war and rebellion. The discourse between military, communities and empirical governance play a dramatic role in this space opera. The setting, the opening chapter, the creeping shadow of desolation and me invested immediately. Forget toilet, rest and food breaks…I couldn’t attend to these basic needs until I closed the final page. This is wholeheartedly a race-to-the-finish Sci-Fi masterpiece.

The author has created a perfect cadence of a highly addictive plot that has a plot that punches in you in the throat and leaves you gasping for air. The characters show unbreakable strength and resilience with a hunger to change.

A Memory Called Empire is something entirely new and exciting. The prose deals in laser precision and hits the target every time. It just completely rolls off the pages. This book has irrevocably strengthened the science fiction genre.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arkady Martine is a speculative fiction writer and, as Dr. AnnaLinden Weller, a historian of the Byzantine Empire and a city planner. She is currently a policy advisor for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, where she works on climate change mitigation, energy grid modernization, and resiliency planning. Under both her names she writes about border politics, rhetoric, propaganda, and the edges of the world. Arkady grew up in New York City and, after some time in Turkey, Canada, Sweden, and Baltimore, lives in Santa Fe with her wife, the author Vivian Shaw. Find her online at arkadymartine.net or on Twitter as @ArkadyMartine.

Arkady Martine