BLOG TOUR: Hold my Hand by M.J. Ford

How long do you hunt for the missing?

A horrible vanishing act…

When a young Josie Masters sees a boy wearing a red football shirt, Dylan Jones, being taken by a clown at a carnival, she tries to alert the crowds. But it’s too late. Dylan has disappeared…

Thirty years later, Josie is working as a police officer in Bath. The remains of the body of a child have been found – complete with tatters of a torn red football shirt. Is it the boy she saw vanish in the clutches of the clown? Or is it someone else altogether?

And then another child disappears…

Claire's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Firstly, when this book arrived thanks to Avon books, it arrived in a box that played circus music as you opened and also contained a huge lollipop!

Hold My Hand, starts with an eight-year-old Josie, who visits the circus with her older brother. On a trip to use the toilet, she spots a young boy, in a red shirt being led away by a clown and is the only witness. Years later, she is now a police detective and receives a call when the remains of a child and a red shirt are found.

Wow, this book really sucked me in from the very beginning and kept me hooked page by page. The story is full or lost of twists and turns to keep you guessing. An amazing psychological thriller and quite scary in parts, but I loved it! Fantastical, well-written characters and dialogue and you truly don't want to put the book down until the very end.

An amazing debut and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more books by M.J. Ford.

Excerpt

She dropped Ferman at the pub, turning down his offer to buy her a drink. Not only because drinking on duty was generally frowned upon, but because she still had to pick up a present for Paul.

She found a milliner’s just off Turl Street, and drove right into town before realising she had no cash for the meter. She parked on double yellows a hundred yards from the shop and hurried in. Amelia had texted her Paul’s size, and she selected a brown homburg without properly looking at the price. When the owner told her, she baulked, but paid out of embarrassment. It was a pittance to her brother, but she’d have to cut a corner somewhere else if she was going to make her monthly payments to Bright Futures.

When she got back to the car, a traffic warden was just taking a shot of her number plate.

‘Oh, come on!’ said Jo. ‘I was two minutes!’

The warden shrugged, made a few more notes, and stuck the ticket to her window wordlessly. She’d been in the same situation with Ben once, years ago, and he’d used the badge, but that wasn’t her way. Instead, she tore off the notice and threw it into the car like any other civilian.

Driving back out of the city, she went through some of her options. She knew she was overdrawn, but she still had credit. The immediate problem was this month’s rent though. If she wrote a cheque and the landlord tried to cash it straight away, it would bounce. As for the Bright Futures payments . . .

A bike swerved out in front of her and she slammed the brake and the horn at the same time. The young man riding, wearing a student’s gown, turned and smiled sheepishly.

BLOG TOUR: Love Among the Treetops by Catherine Ferguson

Can love flourish amongst the tree tops?

When pastry chef Twilight Wilson was a young girl, she would hide from school bullies up in the treehouse at the bottom of her garden in her family home in Sussex. It was her special place, and even as an adult she still loves it.

So when her family tell her they can’t afford to live there any more, Twilight is devastated. Not only will they lose their home – but the treehouse too!

She comes up with a plan to save the family home – she’ll start up a cafe in the treehouse! It’s a brilliant idea, and excitement builds as she starts planning the menus, with the help of Theo – a rather attractive man from the gym. But when former school bully Lucy finds out the plan, she starts plotting – and opens her own rival cafe in the village!

Can Twilight save her family home? Will her friendship with Theo ever be anything more? And who will win the cafe wars?

Catherine Ferguson is back in this hilarious, heart-warming read perfect for summer.

Excerpt

At eleven, I switch off the TV and head upstairs to my old room with the single bed and the complete works of J. K. Rowling dominating the bookshelves.

The house phone rings by the bed and I dive on it, knowing who it will be. No one else would call so late and expect me to answer.

It’s my old school friend, Paloma, who’s been in a state of high excitement ever since I phoned to tell her I was coming back to live in Hart’s End. Paloma always cheers me up, and we’ve been the best of friends ever since the day I discovered she was using the same trick as me to get out of PE at school – faking a twisted ankle. We both got away with it and spent the rest of the day trying to outdo each other on the hobbling front and escaping to the loos to squeal with laughter.

‘You’ve arrived!’ she cheers. ‘When can I come round?’

I laugh. ‘Not now. And not because I don’t want to see you, but because I’m planning on being fast asleep in about – ooh – three minutes.’

Paloma is very much a night owl, still full of life in the late evening when most people are drifting off in front of the TV. (Mornings, she resembles a creature from the deep. Silent but scary.)

‘I didn’t mean tonight. You must be absolutely shattered. How was your journey? Boring, I imagine.’

A memory flashes into my head. Theo making his comment about celery being one hundred per cent not pizza and winking at me.

‘Actually, no, it was okay,’ I muse. ‘There was this bloke called Theo who helped me off with my case. Otherwise I’d have missed the stop.’

‘Theo, eh? Tell me more.’

Her tone is loaded with innuendo and heat floods into my cheeks. ‘Nothing to tell. He’s just … um … nice.’

‘Nice? Is that all?’

‘And quirky. He was reading a book about crochet.’

She laughs. ‘He sounds fascinating. And how’s your dad?’

‘Oh, you know. Putting on a brave face, I think. They both are,’ I say, relieved she’s dropped the subject of Theo.

‘Your dad is just the best. Remember he used to cut sticks of rhubarb from the garden and give us a little bag of sugar each to dip it in? We must have been about ten.’ She sighs. ‘Those were the days.’

I laugh. ‘Yeah, and when you crunched it, you felt like you were stripping the enamel off your teeth. And if you ate too much you were awake all night with a sore stomach. Those “good old days” had a lot to answer for!’

Paloma gets quite sentimental over her childhood, but as my own memories tend to feature a lot of Lucy Slater in a starring role, I much prefer to look to the future.

We decide to meet for brunch at eleven, and I switch off the light, feeling so much better for having spoken to her. Coming back to Hart’s End alone, without Paloma in my corner, would have been a whole lot more difficult …

BLOG TOUR: Spring on the Little Cornish Isles by Phillipa Ashley

Spring on the Little Cornish Isles: The Flower Farm

Fans of Jill Mansell and Carole Matthews will love this gorgeous new book from the author of the bestselling Cornish Café series.

Jess has lived at the idyllic flower farm on the Isles of Scilly her whole life, but when her boyfriend Adam leaves without explanation, Jess discovers that even her little slice of Cornish heaven can be lonely.

For the first time in Will’s life, he’s met someone he can’t stop thinking about. But nothing is simple when the woman of your dreams is working for you.

Gaby is running away from painful memories, and where could be more perfect than a remote island off the Cornish coast? But to put the past behind her, she must keep moving … however much she might want to stay.

Nothing is simple, even on paradise. Will love bloom for the residents of the little Cornish Isles?

Amazon UK

Extract

Adam had asked her to go with him to a folk night at the Gannet pub on St Saviour’s at the start of the summer and, since then, Jess didn’t think she’d ever been happier. She helped to run a thriving business and lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Of course, she didn’t need a man to make her life complete, but meeting Adam had unveiled a new layer of joy. It wasn’t easy meeting people in a small, isolated community, and finding someone who she’d clicked with so perfectly was wonderful.

 ‘This is the Oxford Street of Scilly,’ Jess joked to Gaby when the buggy entered the top of Hugh Street, which was lined with shops, cafés, pubs and the isles’ only supermarket.

Gaby checked out the granite cottages and quaint shopfronts. ‘Oh. I see. Is this where I’ll find all the bars and clubs or are they on St Saviour’s?’

Jess exchanged a quick glance with Adam. He was stunned into silence. Jess cleared her throat, wondering how to reply. She turned around, trying to sound calm and positive, while thinking it might be kinder to turn the buggy back now and put Gaby straight on a plane home.

‘Um. There are a couple of pubs here and it can get quite lively during the gig rowing championships or if we have stag parties from Penzance over for the weekend. As for St Saviour’s, that has a pub and a smart hotel and we sometimes have nights out on the other islands, but there aren’t any actual clubs.’

‘Oh. I see …’ Gaby pulled a face. Then suddenly she let out a giggle. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. That was naughty of me. I’m joking. I came here for a quiet life.’

Relief flooded through Jess, combined with surprise at being taken in. Yes, there was definitely a steely side to Gaby Carter.

‘Oh, you’ll get that … after work, anyway. We’ll keep you occupied during the day.’ Very occupied, thought Jess. Late summer through to Christmas and beyond to Easter was by far the busiest time of the year at the flower farm. While frosts and festive mayhem took hold on the mainland, the farm’s packing shed would be also manic as they picked, sorted and sent millions of narcissi to bring golden light into the dark nights of people throughout the rest of Britain

BLOG TOUR: Perfect Death by Helen Fields

PERFECT DEATH

HELEN FIELDS 

The new release you need to read from the 2017 crime thriller bestseller.

‘Without doubt, this is one of the best detective series I have read.’ 

Woman’s Way Magazine

Your new addiction starts here: get hooked on the #1 bestselling series. Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and M.J. Arlidge.

There’s no easy way to die…

Unknown to DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late.

But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task…

Helen Fields is the crime name that EVERYONE needs to know about. 

Helen Fields studied law at the University of East Anglia, then went on to the Inns of Court School of Law in London. After completing her pupillage, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practised criminal and family law for thirteen years.

After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar. Together with her husband David, she runs a film production company, acting as script writer and producer. Perfect Remains is set in Scotland, where Helen feels most at one with the world. Helen and her husband now live in Hampshire with their three children and two dogs.

Extract Thirteen: Chapter 8, pp.47-48

‘Let’s start with this. I’m entirely convinced that George’s cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. There are no injuries or findings inconsistent with that, internal or external. The toxicology samples will be picked up from here tomorrow and sent away for analysis but I’ve done an alcohol test on his blood. He was sober. I don’t just mean below the driving limit. I mean there was no alcohol in his blood at all. When he made the decision to take his life, he did it entirely consciously.’

‘Something must have triggered it,’ Ava said. ‘You found no other signs of illness? Nothing that would cause him to lose hope sufficiently to believe suicide was the only way out?’

‘There are no tumours, his organs – even given his heart condition – are all in reasonable order. I phoned his GP. He’d had a comprehensive check-up recently, blood tests and all. Came back clear. The notes indicate that George was in good spirits, no problems with his mood, sleeping, eating, even his cholesterol was dropping. Apparently, he was planning a surprise holiday for his wife Glynis on their anniversary. The GP has been seeing them both for years. She’s as shocked as we are,’ Ailsa said.

‘So he drove to the coast, hooked a length of hose-pipe up to the back of his car and sat there dying, knowing Glynis was cooking dinner for him. He was stone cold sober, in spite of the empty whisky bottle in his car, with no known problems. For Christ’s sake, Ailsa, it makes no sense,’ Ava said.

‘I’m aware of that,’ Ailsa said. ‘There is the matter of the markings on the inside of his left wrist.’

She clicked the screen and produced a blown-up photo of the area. ‘It’s clearer in this photograph than to the naked eye because we’ve been able to filter out some of the colour. You can see here that the capital N was formed of scratches, making three separate lines. They are quite deep violations of the epidermis, consisting of multiple scratches along each line. The small c is formed of a single curve, repeated several times in the same place.’ She clicked again and the c came up magnified. ‘You can see here that at the top part of the curve, the scratch was so deep that it had begun to draw blood. It would have taken some effort to do that without a tool or implement.’

‘Without a tool?’ Callanach asked. ‘You mean he . . .’

‘He used his right index finger. The scratched off particles of skin were found under the nail, sufficient to see without a microscope. Obviously, we’ve sent that for DNA testing but there’s really no doubt that he did this to himself.’

Claire's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the third installment in the D.I. Callanach series. A serial killer on the loose in Edinburgh, and lots of personal life and work issues that have to be faced by Ava and Luc. I won't go into much detail for fear of adding too many spoilers.

Once again Fields has written an amazing novel that keeps you hooked the whole way through, with amazing writing for the genre and intricate plot development. I have read book two of this series previously but still haven't been able to read book one and I feel I may need to jump back in case there are any parts I have missed, however, you do not need to read previous books to be able to enjoy the story, as the cases are different in each book. I would, however, recommend that the books are read in order to enjoy the back story running through the books.

I have never been the biggest fan of crime novels, but this series has really sucked me in and I cannot wait to see what it next in store of Luc and Ava.

BLOG TOUR: Our Little Secret by Claudia Carroll

A sparkling story about what happens when you let someone into your life… but they turn out to want more than you’d bargained for!

Sarah Dee has the perfect life. A high-flying job in a law firm, a beautiful daughter and a house to die for. So how does she find herself looking in through the kitchen window while another woman enjoys it all?

When Sarah takes pity on a struggling young graduate who can’t get a job, she thinks she’s doing the right thing. She’s being kind, generous and helpful to others, as she always is. But as Sarah allows the younger woman into her home, her law firm and even her family, is there more to this pretty youngster than meets the eye? And could this be a good deed that goes further than expected?

Claudia Carroll does it again with an incredible new novel about what happens when your life becomes up for grabs…

AMAZON UK

Excerpt

Sarah

‘You have very good cuticles. Badly neglected though, I’m afraid. They just need a little bit of work,’ my beauty therapist said, her head of thick, glossy dark hair bend low over the nail station, uttered focused on her work.

‘I’m afraid I don’t get a huge amount of time to take care of myself.’ I smiled politely, flicking though that month’s Vanity Fair with my other hand. There was an article about Kate Middleton’s mother that I remember particularly wanting to read, for no other reason than to valet park my brain for the next half-hour. Exactly what I needed after that morning’s conversation/screaming match with Darcy, my teenage daughter. Not to mention the snippy tone my boss had taken with me in a meeting earlier that day to discuss a legal brief I wasn’t quite up to speed on. At least not yet, I wasn’t.

A little half-hour of pampering on a Friday lunchtime before the weekend, that’s all I was after. Something I hadn’t indulged in for years. In fact I think the last time I spent a bit of non-essential cash on myself was long before Darcy hit secondary school.

‘But it’s so important to make time for personal grooming,’ Lauren, my therapist, gently insisted with a sweet smile. ‘These little things matter. My mother always used to say you can tell anything you want about a person just by looking at the state of their nail bed.’

‘Yes, yes, of course,’ I chimed automatically, completely absorbed by the article in front of me.

Jesus, had Carole Middleton really made £30 million by the time she’d turned forty? And all from flogging little party bags? What was wrong with me anyway? Why couldn’t I come up with a home-based cottage industry like that, which would go on to dominate the Forbes index and put an end to all of my money worries?

‘Will you be taking any holidays soon?’ my therapist asked, interrupting my thoughts yet again.

Oh God, I groaned inwardly. Do we really have to have the holiday chat? Couldn’t this one sense I just wanted to pull a Greta Garbo and be left alone to my thoughts?

‘I wish. I can’t remember the last time I took a proper holiday,’ I replied, flashing her a quick smile.

‘Going out tonight, maybe?’

‘No, just back to the office shortly to catch up with a few things I need to sign off on, I’m afraid.’

‘And any plans for the weekend?’

Not unless you count frantically playing catch-up with work, bickering with Darcy and trying my level best to be civil to Tom when he comes over to collect her later on, then no, I thought.

BLOG TOUR: A Year of New Adventures by Maddie Please

A Year of New Adventures

It’s time for Billie Summers to have an adventure … but it might not be exactly what she expected.

Billie Summers has always been quite content in her little cottage in the Cotswolds, sure half the house hasn’t been renovated, but what’s the point when it’s only her! Working part-time at her uncle’s bookshop and planning 3-4 writer retreats with her best friend allows her to pay the bills. What more could anyone want?

That is until Oliver Forest, the bad boy of the book world, turns up to one of her retreats and points out that Billie hasn’t done anything very adventurous. Couple that with her best friend falling head over heels and beginning to drift away from their Friday night wine and dinner plans, Billie is starting to wonder if it isn’t time she take control of her life.

So she starts a list: get fitted (properly) for a bra, fix up rest of house, find a ‘career’ and well, get a tattoo … Her life might just get the makeover it needs, too bad irritating and far-too-attractive for his own good, Oliver keeps showing up …

Because sometimes you need an adventure!

Amazon UK

Extract

It was the third writers’ retreat Helena and I had run and the previous two had gone like clockwork. There was no reason why this one shouldn’t have been just the same.

And then Oliver Forest turned up.

It was a dark, wet day in February and, believe me, his mood made it seem even bleaker.

It didn’t take long for things to go wrong.

It was ten-fifteen and people had been asked to turn up after eleven, so Helena and I were sitting with our feet up in the gorgeous kitchen of our rental house eating cookies out of the first batch I’d made; some of them had broken when I’d burned myself and dropped the baking tray.

Although she is my best friend, Helena is nothing like me. For example, she believes any meal taking longer than seven minutes in a nine-hundred-watt microwave is a waste of time. I love cooking and have been known to sleepwalk into the kitchen to make an omelette.

She has an immaculate and much-loved pale-blue Morris Minor called William, whereas I have a beaten-up old Land Rover, which isn’t called anything except rude names when it refuses to start. Actually, I’m petrified it needs a new cam belt, something that was mentioned in hushed tones last September when it had an MOT. I hope it wasn’t listening. I didn’t dare ask what a cam belt was, but it sounds expensive doesn’t it?

Even though it might be on its last legs, my car had more space than hers for all our provisions. I had removed the Tesco bag full of muddy shoes, a box of books to take to the local telephone kiosk library, and the cracked first-aid kit that now contained only a triangular bandage and a box of corn plas­ters. Still, if we’d met anyone with a broken arm and bunions on our drive down to the lovely house we’d rented for the retreat, we’d have been ready.

‘So I hope you’re going to tell me you’ve got your money back from Matt?’ Helena asked with an innocent air as I reached for another cookie.

‘Well no, but he promised he would sort it out,’ I said.

This was an ongoing conversation that had started before Christmas when Matt – my now very ex-boyfriend – had gone on our romantic holiday without me.

‘Oh for heaven’s sake, Billie!’ Helena said. ‘When are you going to toughen up with him? He owes you money! He nicked your towels! Why are you letting him get away with it?’

Claire's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the story of Billie Summers who after splitting with her boyfriend, organises a writers retreat with her best friends, and meets Oliver Frost who expects the world to owe him. He is rude and one of the worst people to come on the retreat.

This book was a great easy read, and well written that you will sit down to read a few pages and still be there an hour later. A great summer read with some romance and humour thrown in.

BLOG TOUR: Stand by Me by S.D. Robertson

A heartbreaking tale’ THE SUN

‘Exceptionally beautiful’ MIRANDA DICKINSON

They’ll always have each other…won’t they?

Lisa and Elliot have been best friends ever since the day they met as children. Popular, bright and sporty, Lisa was Elliot’s biggest supporter when the school bullies made his life a misery, and for that, he will always be grateful.

Twenty years later, life has pulled the pair apart and Lisa is struggling. Her marriage is floundering, her teenage kids are being secretive, and she’s so tired she can’t think straight. So when Elliot knocks on the door, looking much better than she remembers, she can’t help but be delighted to see her old friend again.

With Elliot back in their lives, Lisa’s family problems begin to improve – he’s like the fairy godmother she never had. As their bond deepens, she realises how much she’s missed him, and prays that this is one friendship that will last a lifetime. But sometimes, life has other ideas…

A heartwarming story perfect for fans of Keith Stewart and Jojo Moyes, that will leave you with a tear in your eye but hope in your heart.

Extract Two: Chapter 93, pp.392-393

‘Can I ask you a question first?’

‘Of course.’

‘How are things going with my, er . . . body?’

‘Right. The doctors in Sydney have met with your mother and stepfather to discuss turning off the life support machine. They’re still weighing it up. It’s a horrendous decision to have to make, obviously, but having heard the overwhelming evidence that there’s no longer any brain function, I think it’s only a matter of time.’

‘I see.’ Elliot had known this was coming. They’d discussed it in detail last time. But that didn’t make it any easier to hear. It broke his heart to think of the torture his mum must be going through, seeing his battered, life­less body lying on the hospital bed; having to make this terrible decision. He wished from the bottom of his heart that he could be there for her. It felt so cruel that he’d been taken away so abruptly, without any warning and at such a young age, especially after the heartache she’d already experienced when his father died in that motorbike accident so many years earlier. Thank goodness she had Ian.

‘How’s Mum doing?’

Will pursed his lips, creating dimples in his ruddy cheeks. ‘She’s in bits. Ian too, although he’s doing his best to hold things together. They’re both heartbroken.’ His voice seemed to falter as he added: ‘It’s incredibly hard for any parent to have to let a child go.’

Claire's Review ⭐⭐⭐

This is the story of Lisa and Elliot; childhood best friends that life pulled apart. Twenty years later, Elliot returns to Lisa's life at a time when she needs him the most. Struggling with life and with her marriage, Elliot couldn't have returned at a better time.

This was sweet, well written and easy to read. I enjoyed the story, however, I felt it was missing something that I just can't put my finger on. Definitely worth a read, and I think it will be a reread for me in the future to see if I can put my finger on what I have missed.

BLOG TOUR: Bad Sister by Sam Carrington

The gripping psychological thriller everyone is talking about, from the author of Saving Sophie.

Sisters. Allies. Liars.

Stephanie is scared for her life. Her psychologist, Connie Summers, wants to help her face her fears, but Connie will never really understand her. Stephanie’s past has been wiped away for her own protection. Stephanie isn’t even her real name. But then, Dr Summers isn’t Connie’s real name either.

And that’s not all the women have in common. As Stephanie opens up about her troubled relationship with her brother, Connie is forced to confront her own dark family secrets.

When a mutilated body is dumped in plain sight, it will have devastating consequences for both women.

Who is the victim?

Who is to blame?

Who is next?

Gripping, tense and impossible to put down, Bad Sister will have fans of Sue Fortin, B A Paris and Linda Green hooked till the final page.

Excerpt

She fired up her computer and hung her suit jacket over the back of her chair. Steph should be arriving soon, she wanted to run through all the information she held on her first, find out if any of yesterday’s story checked out – the family history, the names. It didn’t. Very strange. She leant back and stared at the screen, then retrieved the paper file from her desk drawer. She frowned. Both said the same: mother in a home, father’s whereabouts unknown – not dead in a fire, as Steph had described – and no siblings. No brother. No one named Brett. How could it be so wrong? It was likely that Steph had lied. But why? What could she gain from making it up? Attention? Continued input from the services she was so afraid would abandon her? It made some sense. In Steph’s mind, if she came up with a story in which she or her child were in danger, then Miles would offer further protection and Connie would offer more sessions. Could that really be what Steph was trying to do here?

The intercom buzzed. Hopefully, she was about to unravel whatever was going on.

‘Morning, Steph.’ Connie opened her door to let Steph in. ‘No Dylan this morning?’

‘I took him to pre-school, I had to. Needed to see you on my own.’ She looked drawn, a deep line ran from one side of her forehead to the other, her lips were tightly closed and her nostrils flared. ‘He’s out.’ She brushed past Connie and sat heavily in the chair.

‘Brett?’

‘Yes, Brett!’

‘How do you know?’

‘Got this.’ Steph held her hand out, in it a piece of folded paper. ‘Another one. This morning.’

Before Connie got into this, she needed to retrace a step, or twelve. She hadn’t found out what the first letter had contained yet.

‘Okay. Try and keep your breathing steady.’ Connie flinched as Steph shot her an angry glare.

‘Are you for real?’

‘I just want to understand what’s going on, Steph. And for that to happen, I think being calm would be best.’

Steph snorted. ‘Fine.’ She took a deep, exaggerated breath in, and slowly out.

‘Can you tell me about the first letter?’

Steph sighed, slumping her shoulders. ‘I wasn’t gonna read it, but somethin’ made me. I had this feelin’ that it was gonna be bad. Bad for me and Dylan.

‘It started off the usual – Dear sis. I need to see you. Why didn’t you write or come see me?’ Steph shook her head gently. ‘But then it changed. His letters usually blamed me for some stuff, like abandoning him when he needed me, being a bad sister, that kind of bull. But this one was different. Seemed even more angry than usual.’

‘Angry in what way?’

‘Like in that he threatened me and Dylan. Said he’d finish what he started.’

‘Oh. He said those exact words? Have you brought the letter?’

‘Oh, right, so you’re questioning me, don’t believe what I’m tellin’ you?’

‘No, it’s not that, Steph. I thought reading it would help me to interpret his words.’

‘What’s to interpret? He’ll finish what he started, Connie. He started the fire, he killed his dad, Mum’s as good as dead, and his big sister is the one that got away. It’s pretty simple, eh? He’s wanting to kill me and Dylan now. Finish whatever weird, psycho fantasy he’s got going.’

Claire's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is told through the eyes of two different characters, psychologist Connie and DC Lindsay Wade. Connie has a patient called Stephanie who is currently under witness protection but is scared she has been found and when a body is discovered Connie and Stephanie have more in common than they thought.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well executed and the characters well developed, the then and now parts of the story kept me hooked wanting to know exactly what had happened to these women and how they were connected. Lots of twists and turns and a very gripping read.

I will definitely be looking for more books by Sam Carrington in the future as I really enjoyed this read.

COVER REVEAL: Sacred by S.L. Scott

TITLE: Sacred

AUTHOR: S.L. Scott

GENRE: Romantic Suspense

RELEASE DATE: October 27, 2017

GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/SacredGR

SYNOPSIS:

The battle was SAVAGE. The king got his queen, but where is my SAVIOR?

When I thought there was no hope, that suffering this lonely life was my destiny, I saw her. The bubblegum pink skirt caught my attention, but her doe eyes captured my heart. That’s the way the world works, right? Beat you down and then give you a glimmer of something else, something that might be real.

With her, I don’t have to hide the demons that haunt me, or to relive my darkest days alone.

With me, she’s free to be whoever she wants to be. She’s amazing.

Together, we’re two people clinging to a ray of sunshine that only the other can see.

I let my guard down. I got too comfortable. I thought the war had been won when, in reality, it had just begun. When old debts accrue, past demons return to collect their dues.

To find the SOLACE these young lovers crave, will they have to sacrifice the one thing they hold most SACRED?

From New York Times bestselling author, S.L. SCOTT, comes a new, emotionally driven, romantic suspense standalone.

BLOG TOUR: Beneath the Skin by Caroline England

Caroline England’s, Beneath The Skin is a tense and compelling read, exploring truth, friendships and betrayal.

No-one remembers your past. But you do.

‘Antonia, Antonia. My name is Antonia.’

It’s been her name for many years. But sometimes, like tonight, she forgets. Antonia has a secret. A secret so dark and so deep that she can barely admit it to herself. Instead, she treats herself to Friday night sessions of self-harm while her husband David is at the pub, and her best friend Sophie is drinking too much wine a few doors down.

Nobody close to her knows the truth about what the teenage Antonia saw all those years ago. No-one, that is, except her mother. But Candy is in a care home now, her mind too addled to remember the truth.

Antonia is safe. Isn’t she? The lies start small. They always do. But when the tightly woven story you’ve told yourself begins to unravel, the truth threatens to come to the surface. And then what’s going to happen?

Blog Tour: Shadows by Paul Finch

SHADOWS

PAUL FINCH

19 October 2017 * £7.99 * Paperback, EB, Audio

‘A born storyteller.’ PETER JAMES

The SUNDAY TIMES bestseller returns with the second book in the PC Lucy Clayburn series - a must for all fans of Happy Valley and M.J. Arlidge.

As a female cop walking the mean streets of Manchester, life can be tough for PC Lucy Clayburn. But when one of the North West’s toughest gangsters is your father, things can be particularly difficult.

When Lucy's patch is gripped by a spate of murder-robberies, the police are quick to action. Yet when it transpires that the targets are Manchester’s criminal underworld, attitudes change.

Lucy is soon faced with one of the toughest cases of her life – and one which will prove once and for all whether blood really is thicker than water…

Paul Finch is a former cop and journalist, now turned full-time writer. He cut his literary teeth penning episodes of the British TV crime drama, The Bill, and has written extensively in the field of children’s animation and for Dr Who. However, he is probably best known for his work in thrillers, crime and horror. His most successful works to date are the six-novel DS Heckenburg crime series, and the new Lucy Clayburn series, the first instalment of which, STALKERS, reached no. 7 in the Sunday Times best-sellers chart.

           

Paul lives in Lancashire, UK, with his wife Cathy and his children, Eleanor and Harry. His website can be found at www.paulfinchauthor.com, his blog at www.paulfinch-writer.blogspot.co.uk, and he can be followed on Twitter as @paulfinchauthor.