Him – Clare Empson Genre: Contemporary Romance Published: 4th April 2019, Orion Fiction Swathi’s Rating: 4/5 Verdict: Authentic, multi-layered, character driven masterpiece Plot: ‘You’re stuck there, aren’t you? Right at the end. And I wonder if it might help to go back to the beginning, to put everything in some kind of order.’ Catherine has witnessed something so traumatic that she can’t speak. Or won’t speak.The doctors say the only way forward is to look into her past. Catherine needs to start with HIM . Fifteen years ago she met Lucian at university and fell into a passionate love affair. They were meant to be together forever. But something happened. Something…
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Book Review – Dignity – Alys Conran
DIGNITY is the story of three women – Evelyn, Magda and Susheela – each of a different generation searching for a place to call home, and struggling against a legacy of resentment, guilt and blood. But it is also a powerful novel about race, the dying days of the Raj, the legacy of the British Empire and the future of a small seaside town in contemporary Britain.
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Book Review – Nobody’s Wife – Laura Pearson
‘Of the four of them, only three remained. And there was no going backwards from there.’Emily and Josephine have always shared everything. They’re sisters, flatmates, and best friends. It’s the two of them against the world.When Emily has the perfect wedding, and Josephine finds the perfect man, they know things will change forever. But nothing can prepare them for what, or who, one of them is willing to give up for love.Four people. Three couples. Two sisters. One unforgiveable betrayal.
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Book Review – The Last Act – Brad Parks
The Last Act – Brad Parks Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense Published: March 14, 2019; Faber and Faber Swathi’s Rating: 4.5/5 Verdict: An utterly thrilling experience recommended for all crime fiction lovers! So guys, today is my spot on the tour of this bloody brilliant book by Brad Parks which is now out in the US and UK (releasing today!). As soon as I read the blurb, I knew I had to read it and I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed it!! Brad Parks is one author whose books can be picked up blindly just looking at his name on the book. If you haven’t read any…
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Book Review – Poetic Justice – RC Bridgestock – The Dome Press
When Detective Jack Dylan heads home to his wife after a residential course, he has no idea that an extraordinary succession of events is about to turn his life upside down. A vicious, unprovoked personal attack is just the start. The discovery of his wife’s death in a road accident also reveals her affair, and his step-daughter is being expelled from university for drug use. Professionally, two teenagers have gone missing and one is soon found dead.An ordinary man might break under the strain, but Dylan is no ordinary man. He knows that his survival depends on him carrying-on regardless, burying himself in his work, relieved by the distraction of…
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Our Writer’s Toolbox – Guest Post by Authors RC Bridgestock
OUR WRITER’S TOOLBOX “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham Lincoln. I’ve heard it often said, that you’re only as good as your tools. Bob would say: “Detective or writer, I guess that’s the coffee then!” That and his other love (jelly sweets) keep him going… He also uses an old adage to the detective’s bible – The 5 WH (Who, What, Where, When, Why) – to help him write the crime storyline in the books. That, and the tried and tested method of investigating real crime, of course! The first step is to ‘clear…
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#BlogTour – Read an EXCLUSIVE chapter extracted from ‘The Courier’ – Kjell Ola Dahl
In Oslo in 1942, Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In great haste, she escapes to Sweden whilst the rest of her family is deported to Auschwitz.In Stockholm, Ester meets the resistance hero, Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and allegations that he murdered his wife, Åse, Ester ’s childhood best friend. A relationship develops between them, but ends abruptly when Falkum dies in a fire.And yet, twenty-five years later, Falkum shows up in Oslo. He wants to reconnect with his daughter Turid. But where has he been, and what is the real reason for his return? Ester…
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Book Review – Bollywood Wives – Alex Khan
The biggest scandals happen off-camera… Zara Das is Bollywood’s hottest property, her every move watched by the eyes of the press. Riding high from the success of a string of blockbusters, she has the world at her feet, but the scandal from her latest film threatens to dethrone her as Bollywood’s reigning queen. So when superstar director Raj Dillon stages a lavish retelling of Pride and Prejudice, moving the shoot from Mumbai’s soundstages to London, Zara knows this is the role that could put her back on top. Coming with them are the Bollywood Wives - Jackie, Sasha, and Rani - bringing their own off-screen drama. But behind the diamonds, designer clothes and seven-star hotels lies…
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Book Review – Smooth Talking Cowboy – Maisey Yates
Welcome to Gold Valley, Oregon, where a rough-and-tumble rancher and the girl next door are about to learn that opposites attract Olivia Logan has a plan: win back her ex by making him see what he’s missing. But first she needs to find a man who’s willing to play along. With his laid-back cowboy charm and knack for getting under her skin, Luke Hollister is an unlikely hero—but he wants her help convincing her father to sell him land, which means he needs her as much as she needs him. Luke likes his life—and his women—uncomplicated. So why does good girl Olivia heat his blood like no one else? She’s…
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Book Review – Flowers Over The Inferno – Ilaria Tuti
In a quiet village surrounded by centuries-old woods and the imposing Italian Alps, a series of violent assaults take place. Police inspector and profiler Teresa Battaglia is called back from the city when the first body is found in the woods, a naked man whose face has been disfigured and eyes gouged out. Teresa quickly realises that the killer intends to strike again, and soon more victims are found - all having been subjected to horrendous mutilations. When a new-born baby is kidnapped, Teresa's investigation becomes a race against the clock... But Teresa is also fighting a different kind of battle: a battle against her own body, weighed down by…
