BLOG TOUR ~ Deep Water by Emma Bamford

 

Hi Everyone,

Today is my stop and which is the final stop on the Blog Tour for Deep Water by Emma Bamford where I have a review of her debut novel. I was thrilled to be asked by Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers who organised this tour in conjunction with Anne Cater of Random Books Through My Letterbox and Harper Fiction to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else has taken part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of this review so without further ado, here it is:

Virgine and Jake are a married couple who have decided to spend all their savings on buying a yacht and set sail for Amarante,  a remote island rumoured to be paradise. But what starts as a dream can quickly descend into a nightmare. And even paradise comes with a price....

When a navy vessel comes across a yacht in distress in the middle of the vast Indian Ocean, Captain Danial Tengku orders his ship to rush to its aid. On board the yacht is a British couple, a horribly injured man, Jake and his traumatised wife, Virginie who breathlessly confesses, "It's all my fault, I killed them".

Trembling with fear, she reveals their shocking story to Danial. Months earlier the couple had spent all their savings on a yacht, full of excitement for exploring the high seas and exotic lands together. Jake and Virginie started at the busy harbours of Malaysia and through word of mouth they learned about a tiny isolated island full of unspoiled beaches. When they arrive, they quickly discover they're not alone and quickly become entangled in a with a motley crew of expat sailors and it's from there that their adventurous dreams turn into a nightmare.

Now, it's up to Danial to determine just how much truth there is to Virginie's alarming story. But when his crew make a shocking discovery, he realises that if he doesn't act soon, they could all fall under the dark spell of the island.

Well, where do I start with this review!?? Well, I didn't just like it, I absolutely LOVED IT. It was absolutely brilliant and I CAN'T recommend Deep Water enough, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end, there were some great twists and turns too. It was cleverly constructed and well put together and I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end, the story flowed really well and at a fast pace too and there were parts in the book I could feel my heart rate raising a little so it's definitely not for the fainthearted. I think she's put me off cruises and sailing to beautiful islands for life too after reading Deep Water (HaHa!). This is Emma's debut book and I am really looking forward to reading more from Emma and I hope it won't be too long before until there's news about a new book upon us.

Deep Water is published and available on Kindle, Audiobooks and from all good bookstores from July 7th 2022.

BLOG TOUR ~ Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

Hi Everyone,

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Dark Objects where I have a review of his latest novel. I was thrilled to be asked by Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers who organised this tour in conjunction with Anne Cater of Random Books Through My Letterbox and Harper Fiction to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else has taken part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of this review so without further ado, here it is:

‘Count to three,’ her mother told her, the last words she would ever speak.

An Impossible Crime Scene

When a wealthy woman is found brutally murdered in the locked fortress of her London mansion. Surrounding her are four mysterious objects, including a book on forensics by Dr Laughton Rees.
 
An Inescapable Past

As a teenager, Laughton’s life was destroyed after witnessing her mother’s brutal murder. Now a mother herself and forensic analyst, she is an expert on how to read crime scenes – but never works live cases.
 
An Uncatchable Killer

Pressured by the lead detective to help with the investigation, Laughton begins to realise that the objects left by the body are not just about the victim, they’re also about her. Her childhood was destroyed by one killer. Now she must catch another before her daughter’s is destroyed too.


Well, where do I start with this review!?? Well, I didn't just like it, I absolutely LOVED IT. It was absolutely brilliant and I CAN'T recommend Dark Objects enough, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end, there were some great twists and turns too which I definitely wasn't expecting especially towards the end and I think when I'd read that part I was left open mouthed. I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end, the story flowed really well and at a fast pace too and there were parts in the book I could feel my heart rate raising a little so it's definitely not for the fainthearted. This is the first book that I've read by Simon and I am really looking forward to reading more of Simon's books and I hope it wont be too long before I get the chance too. He has also written the Sanctus Trilogy and the Solomen Creed Series.

Dark Objects is published and available on Kindle, Audiobooks and from all good bookstores from July 7th 2022.

BLOG TOUR ~ The Siege by John Sutherland

 

Hi Everyone,

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for The Siege by John Sutherland where I have a review from his latest novel. I was thrilled to be asked by Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers who organised this tour in conjunction with Orion Books to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else has taken part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of this review so without further ado, here it is:

Nine hostages. Ten hours. One chance to save them all.

Lee James Connor has found his purpose in life, to follow the teachings of far-right extremist leader, Nicholas Farmer. So when his idol is jailed, he comes up with the perfect plan to take a local immigrant support group hostage until Farmer is released.

 

Grace Wheatley is no stranger to loneliness having weathered the passing of her husband, whilst being left to raise her son alone. The local support group is her only source of comfort. Until the day Lee James Connor walks in and threatens the existence of everything she's ever known. 

 

Superintendent Alex Lewis may be one of the most experienced hostage negotiators on the force, but there's no such thing as a perfect record. Still haunted by his last case, can he connect with Connor - and save his nine hostages - before it's too late?

Well, where do I start with this?? I didn't just like it, I absolutely LOVED it. This book is absolutely brilliant and I CAN'T recommend it enough, it had me gripped from the prologue right through to the end, there were some great twists and turns and even some squirm parts too. I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end, the story flowed really well and at a fast pace too like a rollercoaster ride with some pulse pounding in parts. There were parts in the book I could feel my heart rate rising a little and had to remember to make sure I hadn't  stopped breathing at times from the palpable drama on those pages so it's definitely not for the fainthearted. It's an excellently written story, well thought out and researched. I am really looking forward to John's next book already and hope that it won't be too long until it's upon us.

The Siege is published and available on Kindle, Audiobooks and from all good bookstores from June 23rd 2022.

BLOG TOUR ~ The Island by Adrian McKinty

 

YOUR FAMILY ARE AT RISK.

ONLY YOU CAN SAVE THEM.

Hi Everyone,

Today is my stop on the final day of the Blog Tour for The Island by Adrian McKinty where I have a review from his latest novel. I was thrilled to be asked by Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers who organised this tour in conjunction with Orion Books to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else has taken part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of this review so without further ado, here it is:

Tom is married to Heather who is a step-mom to Olivia and Owen, they are an American family who are in Australia on holiday. They are given a once in  lifetime chance to visit an idyllic island off the coast which is a private oasis where only one family lives and when they are told so much about the island and all the animals they'll visit, especially the 2 kids, they jump at the chance for this adventure.

But while there, their lives will change forever.....

Whilst driving around on the island, they commit a hit and run but in desperation they try to save the persons life but when they fail they instead they try to hide the body. It's not long before the other family on the island discover one of their own is missing and so begins a desperate and scary game of cat and mouse, a hunt for justice and a vicious fight for survival against all the elements and more importantly, each other......

I hadn't picked up a book since July 2020 due to a lot of stuff going on in my life and I just lost interest in it with the pandemic we were dealing with so I asked to take part in this Blog Tour for The Island and I'm so glad that I did as I think it's got me back into reading again after such a long time, so the verdict is I didn't just like it, I absolutely LOVED it, it definitely didn't disappoint. This book is absolutely brilliant and I CAN'T recommend it enough, it had me gripped from the prologue right through to the end, there were some great twists and turns too. I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end, the story flowed really well and at a fast pace too like a rollercoaster ride with some pulse pounding in parts. There were parts in the book I could feel my heart rate rising a little so it's definitely not for the fainthearted. This is the second book by Adrian and I am really looking forward to his next book already but first I'll be going back to read The Chain as it's been sitting in my book pile for a long time.

The Island is published and available on Kindle, Audiobooks and from all good bookstores from May 26th 2022.

BLOG TOUR ~ Below The Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin

Hi Everyone,

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Below The Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin where I have a review from her latest novel. I was thrilled to be asked by Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers who organised this tour in conjunction with Zaffre Books to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else has taken part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of this review so without further ado, here it is:

Sometimes the end is only the beginning....

When forty-year-old Rabbit Hayes dies, she leaves behind a family broken by grief. Her mother Molly is distraught and in danger of losing her faith. Her father Jack spends hour upon hour in the family attic, poring over his old diaries, losing himself in the past.

Rabbit's brother Davey finds himself suddenly guardian to her twelve-year-old daughter Juliet. Juliet might be able to fill a hole in Davey's heart - but how can he help Juliet through her grief when he can barely cope with his own?

Meanwhile, Rabbit's sister Grace is struggling with the knowledge that she carries the same gene that made her sister ill, and Rabbit's best friend Marjorie is lost, struggling to remain a part of a family she has always wished was her own now that her link to them is gone.

But even though the Hayes family are all fighting their own battles, they are drawn together by their love for Rabbit, and their love for each other. In the years that follow her death they find new ways to celebrate and remember her, to find humour and hope in the face of tragedy, and to live life to its fullest, as Rabbit would have wanted.


Well, where do I start with this other than to say what a beautiful, emotional and thought provoking story, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. I read The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes during the first few days of when I was told to start self isolate due to the pandemic we're still in the midst of 5 months on and I was delighted to receive the follow up which I moved straight onto after where I thought I'd been all cried out after finishing the first installment I was in for more tears but a lot of happy tears also along the way too. It is a continuation on from The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes so I would advise you to read this beforehand to get a feel for the story and the characters.

This story had it all from family, love with more sensitive and hard-hitting issues which were dealt with perfectly and it was well researched and written in a very sensitive and compassionate manner. I found I had tears streaming down my face at the end along with shedding a few along the way. I would highly recommend to read Anna if you haven't read any of her books already so grab this book, curl up on the couch with a few tissues and prepare to have a few lump in your throat moments too. I would definitely even say that this is definitely going to huge this year and is already one of my favourite books that I've read so far this year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Below The Big Blue Sky is available from all good bookshops, libraries, audio and on Kindle where it is currently £6.02 at the time of publication of this review.

REVIEW ~ The Dangerous Kind by Deborah O'Connor

With huge thanks to Clare Kelly from Zaffre Books, I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....

What if the people we trust are the ones we should fear?

This book is set in London in the height of a long and dark Winter where unfortunately we know all these kinds of people all too well. Those who exist just on the fringes of society. Who send prickles up the back of our neck. The charmers, the liars, the manipulators. Those who have the potential to go that one step too far. And then take another step.

Jessamine Gooch makes a living from these kinds of people as she is a radio broadcaster and each week she does her show where she looks into the past lives of convicted killers and questioning if there was more that could have been done to prevent their terrible crimes.

But one day she is approached by a woman desperate to find her missing friend, Cassie, fearing her abusive husband may have taken that final deadly step. But as Jessamine delves into the months prior to Cassie's disappearance she fails to realise there is a dark figure closer to home, one that threatens the safety of her own family . . .

Well, where so I start I absolutely LOVED this book and can see why it was the breakout thriller of 2019. After not picking up a book in over a week I picked this out of my TBR pile and I'm so glad that I did, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, it was brilliant, full of twists, turns and explosive storylines, it was such a gripping thriller with a remarkable depiction of the kind of monsters who live among us on a daily basis in our society. I always scrutinise people whom I meet or who I see in the street and question everything about them and I will do this even more now after reading The Dangerous kind.

Deborah, I think you got me out of my reading slump and I thank you for that. I really look forward to reading your other book My Husband's Son and hopefully you're working on your next book but no pressure.

The Dangerous Kind is available in all good bookstores (mainly online, due to the situation we're in with Covid-19), in libraries, audio and on Kindle where it is currently £2.07 at the time of publication of this review do go and get it you definitely won't regret it. I would say that his is one of the best thrillers I've read so far this year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

BLOG TOUR ~ Dead and Gone by Sherryl Clark

Hi everyone,

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Dead and Gone by Sherryl Clark where I've a guest author post from Sherryl on A Quick Guide To Australian Slang For Readers. I was thrilled to be asked by Clare Quinvilan from No Exit Press to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else has taken part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of the review so without further ado, here it is:


A QUICK GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN SLANG FOR READERS by Sherryl Clark


Often when you’re reading novels written by writers in other countries, the local slang can get quite confusing! Even between Australia and New Zealand, we have slang mix-ups. The Kiwis can’t understand why Australians call their footwear thongs. Aren’t thongs a kind of underwear? Kiwis call those jandals (in other places they’re called flip-flops). As for the cooler chests you take to the beach or barbecues, the Kiwis call them chilly bins and the Aussies call them Eskies. (And don’t get me started on bum bags and fanny packs and …)

So here’s a list of some Australian slang you might come across, along with (hopefully) sensible explanations.

Get in a blue – get into a fight (usually at a pub or a party).

Stone the crows! – an expression of astonishment.

Tinny – not a can of beer. It’s what you call a small aluminium dinghy you go out in for fishing. “I’ll put the tinny on the trailer and head out to the coast.”

Go right off – no, not veering around the corner. It’s someone losing their temper.

Pack a sad – sulking. “I told him what I thought and he packed a sad about it.”

Bikies – what Australians call biker gangs, as distinct from bikkies, which is slang for biscuits.

Anzac bikkies – the oat and golden syrup biscuits that are famous for their ability to “keep” (freshness) and were sent to soldiers in WWII.

Have a cold one/a coldie – meaning beer, which needs to be cold and with a decent froth on top.

Aussie salute – we have a certain species of small bush fly here that loves to hang around and land on your face and eyes, so the “salute” is the wave to keep them off.

Ankle biter – small child.

Knee trembler – sex standing up.

Crook – multi-use word for getting angry with someone, or feeling sick, or something dodgy. “I was feeling crook so I stayed home”, “He went crook at me”, “There was something crook about that” or “He’s a crook, steals anything not nailed down”.

Dag – someone who’s a nerd or a geek or funny or just a bit weird (literal meaning is the bits of skin that hang off a sheep’s rear end). “Joe makes me laugh, he’s a real dag.” Most famous rendition is Fred Dagg, famous Kiwi comedian who moved to Australia and then Australia claimed him (common problem, see also Sam Neill, Split Enz, etc).

Daks – trousers of various kinds. Hence underdaks (underpants) and trakkie daks (tracksuit pants).

Dunny – toilet.

Runners – trainers, joggers, sneakers etc.

Stubby – a bottle of beer, usually 375ml. Also in the pub, you’ll find the beer served in various glass measures depending on what state you live in – could be schooners and middys, or pots or pints or … (it’s probably the easy way to tell who’s from out of state).

Slab – a box of 24 stubbies or cans of beer.

Hoon – someone who roars around in their car doing wheelies and doughnuts.

Hard yakka – hard work.

Crikey – expression of surprise. “Crikey, mate, who cut your hair?”

Bail out – to cancel plans. “Bruce bailed out on our fishing trip.”

Cactus – dead or broken. “I tried to fix the car but it was cactus.”

Booze – alcohol. It’s applied in various ways. “He was so boozed he couldn’t walk home.” The police testing unit is called a booze bus. Someone who drinks a lot is a boozer, and some people call the pub a boozer. So you can have a sentence like, “That boozer, Charlie, went down the boozer tonight and got totally boozed and the booze bus caught him on the way home.”

Bugger – often used as an endearing term for older men, such as “That old bugger, Joe”. Also as an expletive. “Bugger, I lost my keys!” Or to describe a person who’s been misbehaving. “He’s a silly bugger.”

Has a kangaroo loose in the top paddock – a bit mad or crazy or not quite with it. Also known as being “a sandwich short of a picnic”.

Budgie smugglers – small swimwear (often Speedos) worn by men that tends to accentuate a certain aspect of their physique. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

Deadset – true. “Deadset, she paid $200 for that haircut!”

Barbie – the barbecue. Australia’s most famous tourism ad had Paul Hogan tell everyone to “put another shrimp on the barbie” (except here they’re prawns at least 4cm long, not little pink things).

Up yourself – someone who has tickets on themselves, or is stuck up. The extreme is someone who is so far up themselves that they’ve completely disappeared.

Woop-woop – a very long way from anywhere, which might also be the outback (out the back of nowhere).

Knock off – another multi-use word. Often used with work, so finishing work (as in “I knocked off early”), or finishing a job (“I knocked off that last bit of painting in half an hour”). Also for something fake (“Her Gucci handbag was actually a knock-off”), reducing (“I’ll knock ten dollars off the price if you pay cash”), or perhaps murder (“They knocked Charlie off for talking to the cops”).

Slang in the teenage world tends to come and go, changing every few years, but many of these have been around in the Australian vernacular for decades, and sometimes old ones get resurrected. If you’re keen to know more, try https://nomadsworld.com/aussie-slang/ or simply Google “Australian slang”.



Sherryl Clark’s new book Dead and Gone is available now from Verve Books – vervebooks.co.uk/dead-and-gone