ALICE gets off a bus in the middle of a snowstorm in Delphi, NY. She is fleeing an abusive relationship and desperate to protect... OREN, ten years old, a major Star Wars fan and wise beyond his years. Though Alice is wary, Oren bonds nearly instantly with... MATTIE, a social worker in her fifties who lives in an enormous run-down house in the middle of the woods. Mattie lives alone and is always available, and so she is the person the hotline always calls when they need a late-night pickup. And although according to protocol Mattie should take Alice and Oren to a local shelter, instead she brings them home…
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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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#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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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.…
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Author Interview with Michael E. Burge – Author of ‘Melding Spirits’
Michael E. Burge grew up in the Chicago suburbs and a small town on the Wabash River in Southern Illinois. In the late sixties, he left college to serve on a U.S. Navy destroyer out of Norfolk, Virginia. Upon leaving the service, he transitioned to a career in the burgeoning computer industry, positions in product management and marketing. He is now pursuing his lifelong interest in writing, publishing his debut novel, Bryant’s Gap, in 2015 and his second, Melding Spirits, in 2017. Michael also plays piano, paints, and is an avid golfer. He and his family currently live in Illinois.
