Review: Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman

April 5, 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.

snakes and ladders by victoria selman - Review: Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman

Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman
Published by THOMAS & MERCER on December 17, 2019
ISBN: 9781542008792
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Thrillers, Crime, Psychological
Pages: 384
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Review: Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman

Psycho meets The Silence of the Lambs
One killer on the loose. Another setting the rules. A profiler caught in the middle.
A serial killer is terrorising London, removing a body part from each victim and leaving in its place a single pink rose.
Dr Vernon Sange, a multiple murderer awaiting extradition, seems to know the culprit's identity--but he'll only talk to profiler Ziba MacKenzie, the woman responsible for putting him away. Though there's something he wants in return from her. And time is running out.
With one killer whispering in her ear and another running rings around the police, Ziba must play a game in which only her opponent knows the rules, and the forfeit is death.

Wow…Snakes and Ladders was the dog’s testicles for sure! Billed as psycho meets Silence of the lambs, never was I going to refuse a match up like that! Although this book is one that you should go completely blind into. It was very Silence of the lambs, but it far exceeded my expectations. Do you want a book that will give you blunt force trauma by its sheer brilliant narrative and its impending threat that just constantly lurks around every corner. If you only read one crime series this year, make it this one!

Victoria Selman translates such equivocal storytelling onto the page with such ease. She gives the reader a snapshot of her powerful imagination. Snakes and Ladders is essentially a power to be reckoned with. She pushes us to our emotional limits, squeezes us to accept humanities flaws and highlights society’s cracks.

Snakes and Ladders will hook you immediately. The setting, the storytelling and the characterisation will do a blinder on you! I do love a good crime fiction novel but very few have been able to suck me into the storyline quite like this. Add in the intensity of two serial killers and the flawed character of a highly successful criminal profiler and it eagerly ticks all the boxes for a hugely addictive crime novel. All it takes is one taste of the story buried underneath and you will be gone.

Snakes and Ladders is one of those books that are so incredibly difficult to review. The story is so intelligent and compelling, but I don’t want to give anything away that may spoil the story. Ziba Mackenzie is an extremely strong protagonist. I think ultimately this is the reason I loved the story so much. The flowed around her, she strengthened it, but she had her flaws and for that, she was relatable – we can all see parts of ourselves within her character. Her personality felt like an echo resonating out with the pages. Her role within the investigation was as a freelance criminal profiler. I enjoyed this angle and it made an intriguing change from the usual detective or police viewpoint. She delved into the investigation with vigour and I was intrigued about the personal connection she seemed to have with one of the serial killers, Vernon Sange. He’s still behind bars but somehow, he’s still able to pull the shots. He’s intimidating and creepily intelligent. He’s for sure a dead ringer for Hannibal Lector. He gave me chills!

Our other serial killer, The Pink Rose Killer is the focus of this investigation, but it is no less devastating. How does Vernon Sange know so much about him? Are they in contact? Will he give a name? can they stop him before he claims his next victim? We get insight into the killers past with flashback chapters and it really nails home just how much the past can have a firm grip on our present and future.

Snakes and Ladders has cemented Victoria Selman as an exciting crime writer to watch. Twist follows twist at such a breakneck speed. Cancel all your plans. Turn your phone off, lock the doors and get comfy…you won’t be going anywhere until the final page is closed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

victoria selman picture 3 - Review: Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman

Victoria’s first novel, BLOOD FOR BLOOD, was shortlisted for the 2017 Debut Dagger Award and is a Kindle #1 bestseller. Her second novel, NOTHING TO LOSE went straight to #22 on the Kindle Movers & Shakers chart when it was published in March.

She has written for The Daily Express, Ham & High and Independent newspapers and in 2013 she won the Full Stop Short Story Prize.

She also co-hosts the true crime podcast, CRIME GIRL GANG in which three crime writers examine real life cold cases then solve them from a fictional perspective: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/crime-girl-gang/id1447814645?mt=2 …

If you’d like to get in touch please use Twitter @VictoriaSelman

Blog Tour: I am Dust by Louise Beech

April 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.

i am dust by louise beech - Blog Tour: I am Dust by Louise Beech

I Am Dust by Louise Beech
Published by Orenda Books on February 16, 2020
ISBN: 9781913193225
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Crime
Pages: 300
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Blog Tour: I am Dust by Louise Beech

The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for her killer. Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after 20 years. But who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in her dressing room? Theatre usher Chloe Dee is caught up in the spectacle. As the new actors arrive, including an unexpected face from her past, everything changes. Are the eerie sounds and sightings backstage real or just her imagination? Is someone playing games? Is the role of Esme Black cursed? Could witchcraft be at the heart of the tragedy? And are dark deeds from Chloe's past about to catch up with her? Not all the drama takes place onstage. Sometimes murder, magic, obsession and the biggest of betrayals are real life. When you're in the theatre shadows, you see everything. And Chloe has been watching.

You know you are in trouble when your first thought after finishing an epic book is how on earth are you going to review it? How on earth can I do it justice? Never has dust been so visible. I am Dust is outstandingly perfect!

This was an amazing read. This is a book that you don’t want to review straight away. You need to take a breather and relish in the absolute mastery that is I am Dust. It is a story that envelops your soul, becomes at one with your psyche and knows at your senses. This book flows so beautifully that it speaks to you on a raw and deeper level. It reads easily, and you end up being so absorbed in the plot. You are absorbed by the pages until you are living and breathing the story. There isn’t enough stars that I could possibly rate this book at realistically.

The Dean Wilson Theatre has newly opened. The year is 1999, and the first show being shown is Dust. Morgan Miller plays the character Esme Black. The unfortunate event that occurred on the fourth showing as the murder of Morgan Miller. The inevitable action being that the show was cancelled. There was no successful encore, no new roles, just a wasted potential. It has been rumoured that Miller haunts the theatre, in her full Esme Black get up. The case was never solved, and her murderer is still on the loose. The threatening shadows keep you on your toes. You can feel the threat. Louise Beech’s writing is magnificent. My senses were on red alert. I could see the mystery, sense the fear. The story was seeped in coldness. The characters are balancing a sheet of thin ice – one movement could immerse us all.

We are now twenty years in the future and Dust is returning for a comeback show. It splits its audience – some are anticipating great things, and some believe that it should be left well alone. The theatre ultimately hope that this revival will bring a necessary injection of renewed customers. Bringing it back to where it all began could either cure or kill the theatre’s survival. I was enamoured with the plot and couldn’t see the impending threats that slowly began to reveal themselves.

We meet some new characters. Chloe being the one that touched me on a raw and gritty level. For me she is easily led with a resounding need to just fit in. she is a broken character and the emptiness that screams at us from behind her eyes is enough to crack the readers hearts into a thousand pieces. The story has an undercurrent of melancholy and it is very easy to fall into a saddened state while experiencing the characters life. Louise Beech has managed to intertwine two lives that were connected through the ages.

I am Dust is gritty and compelling. It is dead set to be a book that gets everyone talking in 2020. It’s visceral, addictive and Louise Beech’s storytelling is so mind-blowing that she takes it an elusive quality.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2015. Her second book, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for Not the Booker Prize. Both of her previous books Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost were widely reviewed, critically acclaimed and number-one bestsellers on Kindle. The Lion Tamer Who Lost was shortlisted for the RNA Most Popular Romantic Novel Award in 2019. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. Louise lives with her husband on the outskirts of Hull, and loves her job as a Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.

Louise Beech

Blog Tour: Mine by Clare Empson

March 31, 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.

mine by clare empson - Blog Tour: Mine by Clare Empson

Mine by Clare Empson
Published by Orion Publishing Group on August 22, 2019
ISBN: 9781409177777
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Crime, Psychological
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Blog Tour: Mine by Clare Empson

'A beautifully told stroy about the raw pain and ecstasy of motherhood. I loved it.' Jane Corry
'I adored this powerful, emotive and sensitively written story about love and loss/' Louise Jensen
'Haunting and heart-rending ... a beautifully told story' Victoria Selman

'Who am I? Why am I here? Why did my mother give me away?'
On the surface, Luke and his girlfriend Hannah seem to have a perfect life. He's an A&R man, she's an arts correspondent and they are devoted to their new-born son Samuel.
But beneath the gloss Luke has always felt like an outsider. So when he finds his birth mother Alice, the instant connection with her is a little like falling in love.
When Hannah goes back to work, Luke asks Alice to look after their son. But Alice - fuelled with grief from when her baby was taken from her 27 years ago - starts to fall in love with Samuel. And Luke won't settle for his mother pushing him aside once again...
* * * * *
Why real readers love this emotionally gripping story by the author of HIM:

'Read it, read it, read it. One of my books of the year, without a doubt.' Goodreads reviewer
'Beautiful, haunting, emotional, and totally addictive.' Goodreads reviewer
'A realistic, character driven, highly-emotional and addictive read.' Goodreads reviewer
'Be warned: this novel will take over your life while you are reading it.' Goodreads reviewer

Mine deals with sensitive issues and really breathes life into the saying that your past is never really in your past. We are all a result of our upbringings. Memories. The laughter. Endless tears. It is all an echo that rings in the lost memories of our childhood. It is useless to try and outrun the fears that revisiting the past can open back up. You can lace up those trainers and try to get ahead of it, but it’s going to catch up with you eventually.

Mine is the story of Luke and his wife, Hannah. Together they have a son, Samuel. The novel examines the reawakening that occurs in Luke. The birth of his son has brought old scars back into the Frey. His past ghosts now inhabit his consciousness. He believed that he had moved on but now he is wrecked with thoughts about his birth mother. Every shadow and corner brings him back full circle – wondering about where he came from. It makes you wonder about the other side of the coin – how does the parent, especially the mother, move on from such an action? He meets his mother, Alice, now aged 47. A very attractive woman by all means who gave Luke up when he was only a few weeks old. She was an aspiring artist and now paints portraits of pets. Was it really worth it? Luke doesn’t gain much of a reason for why he was given up for adoption.

Mine certainly has a raw undercurrent of a melancholy tune. It is sadness for years lost. For an emptiness. The writing was magnetic. I was pulled towards it from the very first page. It was addictive and squeezed at my heart, especially as a mother. I don’t think I would have every fully moved on from that.

Alice was a deeply frustrating character for me. She was given the opportunity that doesn’t always come knocking for birth parents. He she has her baby boy back in front of her and she doesn’t grasp on to him with both hands. He represents a new life. A renewed future. A second chance. Instead he is greeted with this cold, standoffish persona. She never lets him in and I just want to grab her and shake her, make her realise just what an opportunity she has. As the story progresses we are afforded the details of why and you slowly come around to the idea that yes maybe she had her reasons, maybe even sympathise with her.

The story moves forward with Hannah returning to work. Try as they might, they cannot find a suitable Au Pair to look after their son. After seeing Alice bond with Samuel, it is suggested that this could be a perfect solution. Luke watches and becomes jealous of the relationship between his son and his mother. Can he really trust her with his son? Just how much does he know about her? It is clear to the eye that his issues with abandonment run very deep, he is unsettled but just can’t shake off the feeling.

Mine is successfully layered this novel with the coldness and fear of what abandonment can result in. Clare Empson has created a menacing atmosphere with darkly compelling characters that take up space in your head.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

clare4 - Blog Tour: Mine by Clare Empson

Clare Empson worked as a staff writer on national newspapers covering everything from collapsing merchant banks to tea with the late Barbara Cartland (everything pink including the cakes). Eight years ago, she moved to the West Country and founded the arts and lifestyle blog countrycalling.co.uk.

The idyllic setting inspired her first novel, which reveals the darker side of paradise. Clare lives on the Wiltshire/Dorset border with her husband and three children.

Clare Empson

Review: The Girls in the Lake (Beth Adams #2) by Helen Phifer

March 23, 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.

the girls in the lake by helen phifer - Review: The Girls in the Lake (Beth Adams #2) by Helen Phifer

The Girls in the Lake by Helen Phifer
Published by Bookouture on December 9, 2019
ISBN: 9781786819253
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, General, Thrillers, Medical, Crime, Suspense, Traditional, Women Sleuths, Romance, Psychological, Small Town & Rural, Private Investigators, Hard-Boiled, Noir, Amateur Sleuth
Pages: 291
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

three stars - Review: The Girls in the Lake (Beth Adams #2) by Helen Phifer

Peering over the side of the boat, the glare of early morning sun catches on something pale in the inky water. The boy’s curious fingertips break the surface, pulling up a tangle of long blonde hair from the reeds below…

The discovery of a girl floating face down in Lake Windermere, her naked skin almost translucent in the freezing water, looks like yet another tragic teen suicide. But the victim’s lack of clothes make Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams want to investigate further. Anything to distract her from the arrival of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s body on the mortuary table that morning.

With witnesses keeping tight-lipped and any clues washed away by the tides, it’s up to Beth to find the evidence her team needs. But then another girl is found in the lake, this time still clinging to life. She tells them she was at a party on a boat, and that she was pushed…

As more bodies surface, tiny traces of boat paint lead Beth to a tragic accident involving a group of school children years ago, and the feeling that the killer might be closer than anyone could ever have imaged. But with her personal life spinning out of control, can she persuade her team before another life is lost?

An absolutely unputdownable serial killer thriller that will have you sleeping with the lights on. Fans of Patricia Gibney, LJ Ross and Angela Marsons will have to hold on tight for this nail-biting rollercoaster ride!

Readers love The Girls in the Lake:
‘Brilliant… keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the last chapter...loving this series and the characters in it.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Plenty of twists… I didn’t want to put it down… suspenseful and riveting, you will want time to read it in one sitting.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Hooked from the beginning and it kept me engaged until the very last page.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Full of twists… full of tension… several times I caught myself holding my breath.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Another thrilling, tightly plotted addition to this already fabulous series...I loved this book…fast paced, realistic… plenty of action, mystery and suspects. Definitely comes highly recommended and deserves all of 5 stars.’ Netgalley reviewer, 5 stars

‘I thoroughly enjoyed… an engrossing tale… I don’t know where the time went, one minute I started to read and a few hours later I was finishing.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘A humdinger of a crime thriller that grabs you and draws you in from the brilliantly written and powerful opening scene to the nail-biting, butt-clenching finale.’ Netgalley reviewer, 5 stars

The water is beautiful. The water will also pull you under into its murky depths without a care or a thought about race, gender or social standing. If you don’t grant it the respect it so deserves it will unleash its power and it isn’t a battle you are going to win. The Girls in the Lake is a steady paced police procedural which picks up a few weeks after book 1. I felt that the first half of the novel was slower paced but it took off like a rocket in the second half.

The story is centred around the main character, Dr Beth Adams, a forensic pathologist. She has had an extremely tough life, having been subjected to a traumatic abusive relationship for the past seven years. Fast forward and she has marginally moved forward happy in the knowledge that her ex is in prison but still frozen in the past and being haunted by the effects that relationship has instilled in her. She is now living with DS Josh Walker. Life is good but usually when its that good something comes along and has a habit of turning it on its end. Cue, two dead bodies turning up in lake Windemere and the onslaught of the impending investigation.

Things get even more personal with a third girl being pushed into the water from a troublesome party boat…are the three women connected or was its mere accidents?

I really liked the character of Beth. Although she often participated in the sport of self-depreciation, she was an extremely strong character. She knew her worth and knew what she needed to do to move forward and boy did she go out and do it. She is one hell of a woman! I think to a certain extent she is struggling with the possibility of suffering from PTSD and seeks solace in the bottle more than she should but again we all have our crutches to bear. She navigates the murky waters of following her gut instinct and at points I thought that she was more on the ball as a detective than the actual police were.

The girls in the lake was a haven for geeks like me. I really enjoyed reading about the science behind the pathology of Beth’s work and the other forensic anomalies that popped in her freelance investigating. Call me a weirdo but I love what killed someone and the science that backs it all up even more.

I was mildly frustrated with the avoidable spat that occurred between Beth and Josh. In any relationship, trust and communication is paramount and their issue just seemed like a non-issue. Beth seemed to go a little off the deep end without having any proof and it did feel a little at odds with the character that I had been becoming acquainted to previously. But, overall, The Girls in the Lake was an enjoyable reading experience and I would like to give the first book a go.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

download - Review: The Girls in the Lake (Beth Adams #2) by Helen Phifer

Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham and Lucy Harwin series. Helen lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children. She has lived in the same town since she was born. Surrounded by miles of coastline and not too far away from the beautiful Lake District. She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learnt how to in infant school. loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to go to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.

Her debut novel The Ghost House was released October 2013 and introduced readers to police officer Annie Graham. It went on to be an Amazon #1 bestseller in Canada. It reached #1 on the Amazon Contemporary Horror Charts in both the UK and the US, pushing her idol Stephen King off his #1 spot many times.

She was thrilled when the second book in the series The Secrets of the Shadows managed to push The Ghost House off its #1 spot even if it was a little surreal. This was followed by The Forgotten Cottage, The Lake House, The Girls in the Woods and The Face Behind the Mask.

The Good Sisters is a standalone old, fashioned horror story which Helen admits scared her so much when she was writing it that she couldn’t write once it got dark. Set in an abandoned convent it will definitely give you the chills.

March 2017 saw the publication of Dark House, a gripping psychological thriller which introduced readers to the dangerous world of Detective Inspector Lucy Harwin. Dying Breath and Last Light are books two and three in that series.

The Haunting on West 10th Street is a supernatural thriller set on the streets of New York.

The Girl in the Grave featuring Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams is released 16th July 2019.

Helen Phifer

Blog Tour: Endless Silent Scream (DI Bliss #6) by Tony J. Forder

March 13, 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.

50256734. SY475 - Blog Tour: Endless Silent Scream (DI Bliss #6) by Tony J. Forder

Endless Silent Scream by Tony J. Forder
Published by Spare Nib Books on March 9th 2020
Genres: Crime, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four stars - Blog Tour: Endless Silent Scream (DI Bliss #6) by Tony J. Forder

four stars - Blog Tour: Endless Silent Scream (DI Bliss #6) by Tony J. Forder

He saved her life once. Can he do it again?

When DI Bliss prevents fifteen-year-old Molly from jumping off the roof of a tall building, he has no idea how deeply she will impact on his life. After learning that the girl is a drugs courier, Bliss realises she is in great danger. As he struggles to have Molly relocated, a local drug dealer and an enforcer sent by the supplier, have other plans for her.

After the remains of a freelance journalist are discovered, an old flame comes back into Bliss’s life. With the clock ticking down, he realises it’s only a matter of time before reports emerge linking the murdered journalist with the police, putting added pressure on the Major Crimes team to find the killer – even if it’s one of their own.

With Bliss torn between the two investigations, he becomes increasingly desperate to move Molly to safety before she can be silenced. But with his focus on saving the girl for a second time, Bliss is blinded to other dangers…

I want to make one thing crystal clear…Endless Silent Scream is the very first book that I have read penned by the incredibly talented Tony J. Forder. Upon finishing this one, I immediately added the other five books to my tbr. This book can easily be read as a standalone and I certainly didn’t feel that I missed huge chunks of backstory. This author has a new fan – his writing is akin to being blindfolded and thrown into an icy lake and being left to tread the icy depths alone. It’s in equal measures terrifying but also thrilling and you best be prepared for the ride of your life.

The synopsis instantly drew me in. it was a difficult topic with that was dealt with the utmost dignity and respect. His characters are edgy and relatable and its most definitely inspiration from everyday life. These are people you would meet on the street, they seep in compassion, the indominable urge to do right and they all seem to have a personal history that makes them carry out the job over and above the call of duty. They say that when you join the police force you become married to it, the characters in Endless Silent Scream are no exception.

A girl on a roof threatening to jump. A thrilling starting point to our novel and the first point of contact with DI Bliss. It sets the scene perfectly. The eeriness of someone having reached the end of their rope, someone feeling so bleak that they see no way out, really struck a chord…an emotional one. The descriptions of the grey buildings and the weather matched the mood of the opening chapter resolutely. Stand back and allow the wind and rain to whip through your hair but beware of the precipice you are standing on – one wrong move could end your existence. Tony J. Forder’s unique narrative style ensured that I would stay rooted to the spot and swallowed into his immersive way of storytelling. DI Bliss treats the girl like the daughter he never had…although quite obviously worried about her mental state he tackles it in the best way possible. The only way. Banter. Still giving her anonymity. Her own will. She isn’t railroaded. This event has affected DI Bliss in more ways than he bargained for and he must see it to completion.

One point about this story I loved was the team. The author injected a realistic sense of camaraderie but also with those sticky prickly colleagues. Everywhere has them! The truth of the matter is, when push comes to shove, they all work together bypassing those office politics that I absolutely hate! DI Bliss is our hero and although he was soft to the suicidal girl, he has a tough outer shell when needed. The perfect characteristics for a police officer. His one liners and banter and had audible giggles escaping and that kept him endearing in through-out. I did however, wonder how he got through some events in his past – my eyes were in sharp focus and searching for my own clues!

The speed and pace of this novel was like a bullet. You had to be careful to dodge those speeding impacts, but you still wanted to race to the finish to determine the secrets from the lies and I can hand on heart say that the ending was super satisfying. The emotion broke free from the pages and grabbed me by the throat. A book so incredibly well written.

Endless Silent Scream took me on a twisty and emotional journey that left me vulnerable and wrought – a rare gem that stands out with its beautiful writing and mesmerising narrative. Compelling and utterly immersive.

Thanks to Sarah @ Books On The Brightside for spot on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

cropped 1 - Blog Tour: Endless Silent Scream (DI Bliss #6) by Tony J. Forder

Tony J Forder is the author of the bestselling crime thriller series featuring detectives Jimmy Bliss and Penny Chandler. The first four books, Bad to the Bone, The Scent of Guilt, If Fear Wins, and The Reach of Shadows, were joined by The Death of Justice, on 9 September 2019. Book number six, Endless Silent Scream, will be published on 9 March 2020.

Tony’s dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, featuring ex-detective Frank Rogers, was also published by Bloodhound Books. This is a stand-alone serial-killer novel. Scream Blue Murder, an action-adventure thriller, was published in November 2017, and received praise from many, including fellow authors Mason Cross, Matt Hilton and Anita Waller. The sequel, Cold Winter Sun, was published in November 2018.

Tony lives with his wife in Peterborough, UK, and is now a full-time author. He is currently editing a new novel, and has also started on Bliss #7, Slow Slicing.

Links

Website: https://www.tonyjforder.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyjforder/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyJForder @TonyJForder

Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.co.uk/l/B01N4BPT65

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16166122.Tony_J_Forder

Fantastic Fiction: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/tony-j-forder/

Tony can also be found on Instagram.

Review: Dark Hollows by Steve Frech

March 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.

48414275. SY475 - Review: Dark Hollows by Steve Frech

Dark Hollows by Steve Frech
Published by HarperCollins UK on December 6, 2019
ISBN: 9780008368227
Genres: Fiction, Crime, Thrillers, Psychological, Suspense, Horror, Mystery & Detective, General
Pages: 384
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

three stars - Review: Dark Hollows by Steve Frech

‘Wowzers, what a read... I absolutely LOVED this book... An unputdownable page turner of a read.’ Ginger Book Geek, 5 stars
Jacob Reese enjoys the quiet life, running a coffee shop and renting out his cottage in The Hollows, Vermont.
But the calm is shattered when a woman who looks eerily similar to his ex-girlfriend Laura turns up to stay in the cottage, and leaves a mysterious note in the guest book.
Now Jacob’s seeing Laura everywhere—a glimpse of her face across the street, her music box left outside his house, a gift he gave her years before hanging from the trees.
But it can’t be Laura. Because Laura’s dead.
Someone knows Jacob’s secret—what really happened the night Laura died—and they’re out for revenge...
A gripping and twisted thriller. Fans of Gillian Flynn, Gregg Olsen and Mark Edwards will love Steve Frech.
Readers LOVE Dark Hollows:
‘Wow!... This book just pulls you right in... I couldn’t put it down!’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘One of the best thrillers I’ve read this year.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘Best psychological thriller of 2019.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘Couldn’t put it down... Absolutely fantastic nail-biting novel, so gripping I just could not stop reading.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Exciting and thrilling... Like riding a rollercoaster... Should be on everyone’s reading list.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘I burned through this.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘Once I started I couldn’t put it down!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Wow! I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked from page one.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘Impossible to put down.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘Great book! I could not put it down. Read the book in one day. Had me guessing until the end.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘This one would go down on my list of favorite thrillers this year... I loved this book!’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars

Dark Hollows. The premise of this book instantly grabbed me. A spooky setting, an intriguing backstory, a loveable mutt and shrouded in the cloak of Halloween. The vista was hypnotic. I envisioned myself walking the paths, talking to the characters and being entranced by the quaint little town of The Hollows. Life is finally going the way Jacob Reese wants it to. He’s a respected businessman, a well-liked individual and most importantly he’s put his past to bed. It’s not coming back to haunt him…until of course, he takes that booking from an attractive female. A booking that he decides to forgo his usual booking protocols for.

Jacob Reese inherited money from his parent’s death. They didn’t quite see eye to eye when they were alive but none the less, they left everything to their only child. He put that money to good use and bought his home and a cottage to rent out in The Hollows, Vermont in New England. He topped it off by buying a coffee shop on the main street – life was good. There was an undercurrent of dread palpating through-out Dark Hollows that had my fingers itching ready for the madness that was surely just around the corner.

Things are about to get even better for Jacob, with talks of a company interested in turning his gem of a coffee shop into a franchise he could be looking at a cool couple of million in the bank. He can’t believe his luck! With a hardworking team and a booming business all his dreams could come true – that can happen, right? Can the appearance of a face from his past (or is it?) undo everything he has worked so hard to achieve or is his mind just working overdrive? Red Hair. Those Eyes. That Scar. He’s imagining it, he’s almost sure of it, and yet…

Things kick into overdrive when he wakes up the next morning and finds his house guest gone. The front door is left open, the entire house takes on a creepy edge and he can’t bat away the feeling that something is dreadfully wrong. The dog feels it. He feels it. Has he let something sinister into his house and more importantly, how on earth do they know certain details about his past? Halloween is edging towards them, its meant to be fun but it just adds to the threatening dread that builds in intensity.

At some points I had a hard time connecting with the Jacob we met at the start of the story to the Jacob that we become accustomed to from the middle of the book onwards. We met a kind and generous man with an infinity towards giving back to the community. Whereas we got to meet a man that became consumed by his desire to get to the root of his troubles (not necessarily a bad thing but…) he became, obsessive, taking courses of action that were not only unhinged but could have landed him in even more trouble. Sometimes the character didn’t fully add up.

Dark Hollows is a great read that will give you the creepy feels. It was an immersive examination of how your past is never really in the past. Actions have consequences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Frech lives in Los Angeles. His debut thriller, ‘DARK HOLLOWS’, is available through Harper Collins/HQ Stories. His followup novel, ‘THE NIGHTINGALE HOUSE’, a supernatural thriller, will be available in July of 2020. In addition to writing, his award-nominated podcast, ‘Random Awesomeness’, has been developed for television by the Emmy-winning team at ‘Thank You, Brain! Productions’. He is also the co-creator of ‘Sports? with Jessiemae Peluso’ for Comedy Central. He is a frustrated fan of the Chicago Bears, finds cooking to be very cathartic, and is amazing a pub trivia.

Steve Frech

Blog Tour: The Holdout by Graham Moore

March 5, 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.

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The Holdout by Graham Moore
on February 18, 2020
ISBN: 9780399591785
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Legal, Crime, Psychological
Pages: 336
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Blog Tour: The Holdout by Graham Moore

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One juror changed the verdict. What if she was wrong? From the Academy Award–winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game and bestselling author of The Last Days of Night. . . . “Exhilarating . . . a fiendishly slippery game of cat-and-mouse suspense and a provocative, urgent inquiry into American justice (and injustice) in the twenty-first century.”—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
It’s the most sensational case of the decade. Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar real estate fortune, vanishes on her way home from school, and her teacher, Bobby Nock, a twenty-five-year-old African American man, is the prime suspect. The subsequent trial taps straight into America’s most pressing preoccupations: race, class, sex, law enforcement, and the lurid sins of the rich and famous. It’s an open-and-shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed—until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, convinced of Nock’s innocence, persuades the rest of the jurors to return the verdict of not guilty, a controversial decision that will change all their lives forever.
Flash forward ten years. A true-crime docuseries reassembles the jury, with particular focus on Maya, now a defense attorney herself. When one of the jurors is found dead in Maya’s hotel room, all evidence points to her as the killer. Now, she must prove her own innocence—by getting to the bottom of a case that is far from closed.
As the present-day murder investigation weaves together with the story of what really happened during their deliberation, told by each of the jurors in turn, the secrets they have all been keeping threaten to come out—with drastic consequences for all involved.

Wow. The Holdout is a serious examination of the politics of law, social impact of race and gut instinct. The first chapter was a sucker punch to the gut. The imagery was gruesome but tantalising to the highest degree. I found myself holding my breath waiting for that bomb to drop. I was gripped from its anxiety inducing start to the finale like ending. This was a premise that definitely had me hooked – just how persuasion and obsession can collide.

Ten years ago, Maya Searle was a member of the jury on the case of missing Jessica Silver, daughter of extremely wealthy Lou Silver. Immediately the cogs begin to turn, and you wonder if money talks in this case. Her teacher, Bobby Nock is in the dock charged with her disappearance and possible murder?? The evidence is presented but a lot of it could be deemed as circumstantial…does his race have a bigger picture to play and needing to be seen to prosecuting someone? It’s a picture painted to be one of a moral conundrum. The trial is a complete farce and truly deserved to be thrown out.

The Holdout – Maya Searle is convinced that Bobby Nock is not guilty. She reasons with the other jury members and somehow convinces them all to return a verdict of not guilty. The immediate future having consequences for them all. Was it the right decision? The acquittal of Bobby Nock was highly controversial none the less because of Lou Silver’s standing.

Fast forward ten years…Maya Searle is at the top of her game. A world class criminal lawyer. Her notoriety of being a jury member on the Bobby Nock trial brings her clients swooping in. You might think that this is a case of lessons learned but The Holdout is far more complex than that. An old jury member comes crashing back into her life, albeit it unwanted, that is a chapter of her life that she never wanted to revisit again. He has clung to the hope that his gut instinct was right all along – that Bobby Nock was guilty. He obsessively researched every bit of evidence and now apparently has no evidence to uncover. He will share it with Maya so long as she agrees to take part in a docuseries. I enjoyed the interactions between these two characters…Graham Moore led us down a series of mazes and laid the foundations for the reader deciding just how grey each character was.

Graham Moore has created this story whilst balancing on a knife’s edge. He allows the seeds of doubt to creep into the readers mind. It starts off as an echo, one that you aren’t too sure you heard until it reaches a crescendo, an ear splitting one. He sets a trap and it beautifully captures the reader with no obvious way out. How much of what Maya believed was seen through distorted glasses? Was she right in convincing the other jury members or was she young and naive?

The Holdout makes you rethink what you thought you knew. Compelling characters with a creepy and threatening narrative.

Thanks to Tracy @ Compulsive Readers for my spot on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Graham Moore is a New York Times bestselling novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. His screenplay for THE IMITATION GAME won the Academy Award and WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2015 and was nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. The film, directed by Morten Tyldum and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, received 8 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

Graham’s first novel, THE SHERLOCKIAN (2010), was published in 16 countries and translated into 13 languages. It was called “sublime” and “clever” and “delightful” by the New York Times, “savvy” and “entertaining” by the Los Angeles Times, and lots of other nice things as well. Graham’s second novel, THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT will be published in fall 2016 by Random House.

Graham lives in Los Angeles.

Graham Moore

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
Goodreads

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: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

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.

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The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Published by HarperCollins Publishers on March 19th 2020
ISBN: 9780062978738
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Suspense, Crime, Psychological
Pages: 448
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Blog Tour: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.
The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It's a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride's oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn't wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

The Guest List spins a wonderous tale of the wedding of the year. Set the scene…you’re hearing about the upcoming nuptials everywhere. You know it would do you well to be spotted there – you know it would advance you. Then that invite drops through your door. The marriage of reality TV star Will Slater and the stunning Jules Keegan, a magazine publisher. The event is to take place on the isolated, Cormorant Island situated off the Irish coast. I’m almost at a loss for words to review The Guest List. The reason being? Imagine Einstein wrote a thriller and left clues jotted in code…this taps on just how much of a genius Lucy Foley is.

I’m in love with the way Lucy Foley writes. The multi-perspectives don’t feel confusing, they feel enriching. Her descriptions makes you want to wander off the beaten path. Don’t go alone though because something is likely to snap at heels if you wander too far. The narrative is razor sharp and will cut into your bonds to set you free. The reader is supplied with a heady cocktail mixed with tension, palpating causing fear and cold hard chaos. If you want to have the living daylights scared out of you it has to be Lucy foley. The Psychological Thriller is an uber popular genre these days, but it takes a true genius to juggle so many balls/contextual twists and still be able to keep fresh, raw and unique.

The guests arrive and not for one moment do you not feel the electricity of raw tension running and zapping through every scene. There is the ugly side of the human existence just bubbling at the surface – jealously and secrets. Lucy Foley has hit the nail on the head with her realistic realism being injected here. Not for one moment do I believe this doesn’t go on in everyday weddings, but, we are conditioned to hide it. The ugly parts of our personality shoved deep down.

Can pasts ever be truly forgotten or are the wedding guests walking amongst someone inherently despicable? The vows are said, the rings exchanged and the bemouth of a cake is barely cut when a body is discovered within the marshes. Let me tell you, not many books can transport you into a character’s shoes, but The Guest List does this with such laser precision. This is the exact point when the story shrouds the guests in a blanket of eerie fog. Suspicions turn on each other, they can’t see their true form and the greyness leaves Goosebumps on your flesh.

Panic rises. The guests are trapped on an isolated island being bombarded by gale force winds and storms. There is no escape. Can they work out who the calculated killer is that seems to be hiding in plain sight, do they want to? It’s an ingenious plot that will have you gripped until the grand unveiling. Be prepared to feel the suffocation, the heart in throat pain and storyline that just wont quit. I wanted more and had it delivered to me on a silver platter. Do not ever doubt the depths a human being can slither to.

The Guest List is akin to tiptoeing on a frozen lake, you think you have it in control, and focussed and then Lucy Foley plunges you into its icy depths when you least expect it. I was in the book’s clutches, scrambling to get free but it’s a fruitless endeavour.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lucy Foley studied English Literature at Durham and UCL universities and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry, before leaving to write full-time. The Hunting Party is her debut crime novel, inspired by a particularly remote spot in Scotland that fired her imagination.

Lucy Foley

Blog Tour: Avenge The Dead (Frank Farrell #3) by Jackie Baldwin

February 28, 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.

avenge the dead di frank farrell book 3 by jackie baldwin - Blog Tour: Avenge The Dead (Frank Farrell #3) by Jackie Baldwin

Avenge the Dead (DI Frank Farrell, Book 3) by Jackie Baldwin
Published by One More Chapter on February 28, 2020
ISBN: 9780008383909
Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Christian, Suspense, Action & Adventure, Literary, General, Thrillers
Pages: 410
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Blog Tour: Avenge The Dead (Frank Farrell #3) by Jackie Baldwin

Sometimes murder is the only way to get even...
The gripping new Scottish crime thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Perfect for fans of L J Ross and Val McDermid.
Four friends with dark secrets. One killer out for revenge.
DI Frank Farrell and DS McLeod are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a defence solicitor’s wife in Dumfries.
It’s been over a year since they left the town after an investigation robbed them of a dear friend. But now they’re back and must find a way to move on.
When the son of another defence solicitor is murdered, a strange tattoo etched on his body, the case takes them into darker, more disturbing territory.
It leads them back into the past – to a horrific fire in a cottage that took a woman’s life, to four friends harbouring dark secrets – and finally to a killer waiting patiently for revenge.
Praise for Avenge the Dead
‘Expertly plotted, I was completely engrossed in the investigation and the lives of the characters, there were twists and turns all the way through keeping me on the edge of my seat... definitely a “just one more chapter” kind of read!’ Sharon Bairden, Chapter in My Life
‘Brutal and gritty in parts whilst sensitive and emotional in others, this book had me turning the pages well into the night’ Alison, NetGalley
‘This was another riveting foray into the world of DI Frank Farrell! From the first chapter, I could not put this novel down, staying up late to finish just to see what would come next’ Krystal, NetGalley

Avenge The Dead is an exquisite case study on how the past never truly can stay buried. Life in the spotlight can have dire consequences. The invisible bands that hold together relationships and families can violently tear with no means to be repaired. The story paints a vivid picture of how an action change the landscape of one’s life forever. This gritty police procedural ticked all the boxes. Jackie Baldwin gently coaxed me down an unsuspecting path before setting her trap – I aimlessly walked straight into it and she wasn’t sorry a bit! I greedily lapped it up like there were no tomorrow.

DS Mhairi MacLeod and DI Frank Farrell are pulled in to assist with the murder of a very prominent solicitor in Dumfries. Are things as straightforward as they seem? The husband has an alibi, but it seems weak. Is it always the spouse that’s to blame or is there darker avenues at play?

The investigation has many hurdles, none so prominent as the obvious turmoil that DI Frank Farrell is suffering from. He’s a mess. Can he really be trusted to lead an investigation appropriately and to completion? Drinks a problem. Bottling up his emotions has become a problem. it’s obvious that something needs to be done. This humanity and realistic reaction to trauma was especially well done. Although I wanted him to get better, the depths of my feeling for the situation was one of empathy.

Avenge The Dead tackles some particularly difficult topics. We are fed the idea that the murdered wife was less than faithful to her solicitor husband. An affair with another solicitor. Is it possible that either her husband or her lover could have murdered her? Is she keeping any other secrets in her closet or is the husband? The author led us on a merry trail of betrayal, secrets and brutality. The clue finding was an adventure and I was more than ready. Buckled up and ready to go.

We are catapulted into the fire alongside our detectives once again when it comes to light that another murder has been committed. This time, a son of another solicitor. I know what you’re thinking…what’s the connection between the solicitors? Buy the book to find out, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Some of my estimations were way off the mark, its actually laughable just how wrong I was. The author skilfully pulled the wool over my eyes, I was blind to it. The pace was like a bullet…swift, complete and without mercy.

Avenge The dead is seeping in the need for justice. Clear your schedule because you won’t rest until that last page has been digested. Jackie Baldwin discusses dark themes with compelling authority.

Thanks to Emma@ Damppebbles for my place on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie 02 by Kim Ayres 683x1024 - Blog Tour: Avenge The Dead (Frank Farrell #3) by Jackie Baldwin

Jackie Baldwin is a Scottish crime writer. Her debut crime novel, Dead Man’s Prayer, was published by Killer Reads on 2^nd September 2016. The second in the series, Perfect Dead was published on 15^th June 2018. For most of her working life, she has been a solicitor specialising in Family and Criminal Law. She later retrained as a hypnotherapist. Married with a grown family, she recently moved from Dumfries to East Lothian.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackieMBaldwin1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackieBaldwinAuthor/

Website: http://jackiebaldwin.co.uk/

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