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 – The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley
All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire,…
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Book Review – The Secretary – Renée Knight
From her first day as Personal Assistant to the celebrated Mina Appleton, Christine Butcher understands what is expected of her. Absolute loyalty. Absolute discretion. For twenty years, Christine has been a most devoted servant, a silent witness to everything in Mina’s life. So quiet, you would hardly know she is there.Day after day, year after year, Christine has been there, invisible—watching, listening, absorbing all the secrets floating around her. Keeping them safe.Christine is trusted. But those years of loyalty and discretion come with a high price. And eventually Christina will pay.Yet, it would be a mistake to underestimate such a steadfast woman. Because as everyone is about to discover, there’s…
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Author Talks with Phoebe Morgan – Author of ‘The Girl Next Door’ and ‘The Doll House’
Phoebe Morgan is an author and editor. She studied English at Leeds University after growing up in the Suffolk countryside.She has previously worked as a journalist and now edits crime and women’s fiction for a publishing house during the day, and writes her own books in the evenings. She lives in London and you can follow her on Twitter @Phoebe_A_Morgan.The Doll House is her debut novel and an instant ebook bestseller. The Girl Next Door is her second psychological thriller.
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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…
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Book Review – Gone By Midnight – Candice Fox
Gone By Midnight – Candice Fox Genre: Crime Thriller/ Suspense/ Mystery Published: January 19, Penguin Random House UK Swathi’s Rating: 4.5/5 Hey everyone! Today I am reviewing a very interesting crime thriller that released earlier this month and available for you guys to buy a copy. Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox is the third book in her Queensland based series featuring ex-police detective Ted Conkaffey in the lead. Ted is an ex-police man who was arrested wrongfully for the alleged rape and kidnap of a teenager, which spoiled his reputation to such an extent that he can no longer go out in public without being noticed as a paedophile.…