Blog Tour – April 2023 – Dark Mode – Ashley Kalagian Blunt

You’d have to be pretty hard-hearted not to feel sorry for Reagan Carson, the heroine in this novel…

The author really puts her through the mill! This is a wonderfully addictive read from Ashley Kalagian Blunt, a Canadian who’s now living in Sydney – although this is a universal story that could have been set anywhere, with themes that are very current, about internet privacy, and what goes on online, in the deepest darkest corners of the web…

Reagan is the owner of her own small plant and gardening-supply shop, Voodoo Lily…

The plant theme continues throughout the book, as Reagan knows lots of fascinating trivia about unusual plants to be found all over the world. I really enjoyed those quirky bits of knowledge – in fact, I really enjoyed everything about this book!

Reagan’s business is struggling, as she refuses to use the internet except for the most basic things for her business, and doesn’t employ social media to help draw in customers and sell her fantastic range of plants. It’s the sort of business that’s made for social media, but Rae, as she’s called by her best friend Min, doesn’t want to be found – and she has very good reasons for that, going back to her teenage years (no spoilers!)

There’s a murderer on the loose in Sydney, and his victims are all of a similar type to Ashley…

They also resemble the victim in the famous unsolved 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles – better known as the Black Dahlia. Rae’s best – indeed, only – friend, Min is an investigative journalist and author, specialising in true crime – a fascination Rae finds disturbing…

Rae, to her friend’s delight, finally meets a nice man and starts dating him.

She rear-ends Bryce, who luckily turns out to be the understanding sort, and soon he persuades her to use social media to promote Voodoo Lily, which is going to fail if she doesn’t do something drastic. As he’s in digital marketing, he’s the perfect person to advise her what to post and how to use social media to get more customers – and it works!

But then Rae receives emails that make her think she’s been found, and she’s terrified. And as the murders continue, she starts to wonder if she knows who’s responsible…and whether she could be next…

Will she able to rely on Bryce, who she decides to confide in? And will she be able to find out if she’s right about who the murderer is – using Min’s encyclopedic knowledge of true crime, and police contacts?

It’s non-stop action in this book…

I really loved it – it’s a fantastic, original thriller, with a likeable and three-dimensional heroine. There’s some really witty bits in it, too, but most of the time you’ll be chewing your fingernails to the quick as Rae’s world lurches from one nightmare to another.

Blunt looks certain to be a talent to watch, and I hope this book is as big as it deserves to be – and that’s absolutely massive!

An exciting and original thriller with lots of twists, and action galore!

With thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour, and Ultimo Press for the ARC. This has not affected my opinion, and this is an honest review.

Author Ashley Kalagian Blunt

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BLURB: Once you’re online, there’s nowhere to hide.

A riveting psychological thriller drawn from true events, Dark Mode delves into the terrifying reality of the dark web, and the price we pay for surrendering our privacy one click at a time.

Is it paranoia – or is someone watching? For years, Reagan Carsen has kept her life offline. No socials. No internet presence. No photos. Safe. Until the day she stumbles on a shocking murder in a Sydney laneway. The victim looks just like her.

Coincidence? As more murders shake the city and she’s increasingly drawn out from hiding, Reagan is forced to confront her greatest fear.

She’s been found.

Blog Tour – April 2023 – Strangers In The Night – Heather Webb

This is the story of the love affair between two huge stars whose names are still well-known today…

I love Golden Age Hollywood – it was so much more glamorous before we saw pics of movie stars going to the supermarket! This was one of the big romances between megastars – rather like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, or Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. They fall in love and eventually marry despite the fact Frank was Catholic, as was his wife Nancy, who was reluctant to divorce him – and he couldn’t face the thought of leaving his three young children. His mafia friends, too, were of the same opinion – have a bit on the side, but stay with your wife!

This book begins when they first met…

Although at that point in time it was Ava’s good friend Lana Turner who was seeing Frank! She’s just one of the many famous faces who have a cameo role in this book – which only ends with the death of one half of the couple.

Through all these years we see the ups and downs of both of them – Frank’s singing career goes on the slide, just as Ava’s acting career is on the up, eventually seeing her star eclipse his. But Ava goes to bat for Frank in Hollywood, eventually securing him a career-changing role that sees his career gets it’s second act, this time as an Oscar-winning actor.

Then Ava has her struggles…

She always enjoyed a drink, and early in the book Frank notices how much she can put away. But the pressures of making movie after movie, often in six weeks or so, lead to her leaning more and more on alcohol (although many movie stars of that era were famously reliant on drugs to get them up in the morning, and to sleep at night.)

Other women – always Frank’s weakness – get in the way, although the author clearly believes they were each other’s one true loves. She’s clearly a fan of Golden Age Hollywood, as much of the dialogue sounds just like it comes from films of that era! Ava in particular always has a sassy response to anything – she’s very likeable, and I was surprised to learn she came from such humble beginnings.

The book is really well-researched…

It will delight any fans of Frank and Ava, or anyone who loves the romance of Golden Age Hollywood. It seems a much simpler time, with them enjoying music, cycling, swimming, meals out…a fairly uncomplicated life, for people who could have anything!

The power of the studio system, who “owned” stars, and could drop them if they didn’t do as they were told by the big-name studio owners, is particularly well illustrated in this book.

Romance isn’t usually my thing, but who doesn’t enjoy touch of old-school Hollywood glamour? This is a thoroughly enjoyable bit of easy-reading that I loved zooming through!

With thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour, and Harper 360 UK for a copy of the ARC. This has not affected my opinion and this is an honest review.

Author Heather Webb

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BLURB: It was the tumultuous romance that scandalized the world: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner fought, loved, and lived life to the hilt. Now their unbridled story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb, the bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco and The Next Ship Home.

A captivating novel with a star-studded cast spanning continents and decades, Strangers in the Night brings to life the most riveting love story of the twentieth century.

It was the tumultuous romance that scandalized the world: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner fought, loved, and lived life to the hilt. Now their unbridled story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb, the bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco and The Next Ship Home.

In the golden age of Hollywood, two of the brightest stars would define—and defy—an era…

She was the small-town southern beauty transformed into a Hollywood love goddess. He was the legendary crooner whose voice transfixed the world. They were Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. Separately they were irresistible; together they were an explosive combination.

Ava’s star is rising just as Frank’s career—and public image as a family man—is taking a hit. Gone are the days of the screaming bobbysoxers and chart-topping hits. Ava, however, finds herself gracing the front page of every tabloid in America. Jealousy and cheating abound, and when the two succumb to their temperaments and their vices, their happiness is threatened at every turn.

As the pair ride the rollercoaster of success and failure, passion and anger, they both wonder if the next turn will be the end of their careers, and most devastating of all—the end of all they’ve shared.

A captivating novel with a star-studded cast spanning continents and decades, Strangers in the Night brings to life the most riveting love story of the twentieth century.

Blog Tour – April 2023 – Twin Truths – Jacqueline Sutherland

This is the second novel from Jacqueline Sutherland, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed bestseller, The Coffin Club…

I feel as though I’m raving about every book I’ve read the last few months, but it has honestly been a great year for books so far – and looking at some of the titles coming up in the next two or three months, that looks likely to continue! I’m really enjoying reading again!

Anyway, today it’s the turn of Twin Truths. Let’s get straight to the point: this ticked all the boxes for me! Importantly, we have great three-dimensional characters: the whole family were different, but believable: Belle and David Walker – she’s our heroine, he’s her husband, a quiet, but rock-solid teacher and family man; their non-identical twin daughters, Kit and Jess – Kit is loud, impulsive, careless, whereas Jess is the quieter, more considerate twin; and finally Morag – David’s mother, who lives downstairs in a granny flat, and who Belle thinks is disapproving of her, due to her back-handed compliments and apparent dislike of her daughter-in-law’s cooking and housekeeping. She’s a truly great character – we all know someone with a mother-in-law issue! (And can I just add: what a lazy family Belle has! They’re totally spoilt as she uncomplainingly does absolutely everything for them!) We have a great storyline. And we have the constant unpredictability, with more twists and turns than a Formula 1 racetrack! (Which David loves – I can sympathise with Belle!)

So what’s the story?

The twins are returning home from uni for the Christmas break after their first term away from home – and separated from each other too, as they’re studying in different cities. Bella’s looking forward to a family Christmas, and is surprised when Kit rings to ask if she can bring her new boyfriend, Ivo, with her. She feels railroaded into agreeing, and when he arrives he’s popular with everyone: well-mannered, respectful, and Kit clearly adores him…perhaps just a little too much…

However, Belle soon finds him making barbed comments to her when there’s no-one else around. Meanwhile, we take a few short dips into Belle’s past, when she’s married to David but not yet a mother, and finds herself bored and unfulfilled. Yep, you’ve guessed it…she has an affair, but ends it out of guilt before David finds out about it.

So there must be a link between past and present…?

Indeed there is, and Belle sets out to find the truth about this young man, for whom her daughter wants to chuck uni and go travelling. But he’s just holding a grudge against Belle, isn’t he? He isn’t actually a danger to any of them…is he?

Yet another pageturner…?

Absolutely! And just when you think you can predict what’s going to happen, Sutherland pulls the rug from under you. This happens not just once, but time and time again – right up until the final paragraph.

Domestic noir, family-based psychological thrillers, call them what you will, have been flooding into bookshops since Gone Girl and The Girl On The Train grabbed everyone’s imagination, and many recent versions of it have been tired and repetitive. But writers like Jacqueline Sutherland are proving that there’s life in this genre yet – and I can’t wait to read what she does next!

A psychological thriller that’s excellent – and genuinely thrilling!

With thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour, and Point Blank for the ARC. This has not affected my opinion, and this is an honest review.

Author Jacqueline Sutherland

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BLURB: How well do your family really know you?

Belle can’t wait to finally have her twins all to herself after their first term at university. But when Kit unexpectedly brings back her boyfriend Ivo, Belle has to welcome him into their home. Charming and confident, Ivo soon wins over the family, but Belle can’t shake a strange feeling. And when Ivo reveals he knows a lot more about Belle than he first let on, she realises his intrusion into their lives could destroy everything she has built. How far is Belle willing to go to protect her family and herself?

Blog Tour – April 2023 – No Place To Hide – J.S. Monroe

This book is described as “The Secret History meets The Capture” by bestselling author J.P. Delaney…

When it comes to a succint description, that’s about as accuurate as it gets. Dark academia meets the surveillance culture that’s a part of all our lives now, particularly in the UK, where there is one camera for every 13 people – and that’s not counting the new video doorbells, etc.

So how does this translate as a thriller?

Incredibly well! I think anyone would struggle to put this book down…This is, of course, thanks to J.S. Monroe’s skill as both a creator of sympathetic characters, and as a plotter of page-turning thrillers, as we saw in Find Me.

It moves between two timeframes, 24 years apart. The first is when Adam, a working-class Cornish schoolboy who’s bright and ambitious, gets into Cambridge to study medicine. There his life collides, in a student drama performance, with Clio, an attractive French undergraduate he falls for, and Louis, a PhD film student. Flattered by their attentions and enamoured by the fashionable and well-to-do crowd they move in, he agrees to participate in a film project for Louis – with unforeseen and long-reaching consequences.

The part set in the present day sees Adam married to Tania with two children and doing his dream job: a paediatric consultant. Then Clio reappears in his life, having found his young son, who’d allegedly wandered off in the park. But this seems like too much of a coincidence when Adam mulls over it later…

This novel moves like a juggernaut…

The revelations from the past are skilfully doled out bit-by-bit by the author, interspersed with disaster following disaster in Adam’s present-day life. I found myself hungrily turning the pages, desperate to find out what happened next, finishing it in record time (I’m not a fast reader, despite all the practice!)

Both parts are equally compelling – something that isn’t always the case – and the book grips like a vice from the first few pages, not letting up until the terrifying conclusion. Can Adam extricate himself – and his family – from the nightmare scenario that his enemies have planned for him…?

It’s both frightening and thought-provoking…

Impeccably researched, it will make you think about the manifold ways in which useful technology can be abused by those with malicious ideas. It’s a highly pertinent area for a thriller writer, as barely a day goes by without a newspaper story about the dark side of technology.

Make no mistake, this book deserves to be a massive hit – I’ll be surprised to read a better thriller this year!

Deliciously compelling, this will be one of the big reads of the summer.

I would like to thank Sophie Ranson at Ransom PR for the blog tour invitation, and Head of Zeus for the proof copy (as well as a finished hardback.) These have not affected my opinion, and this is an honest review.

Author J.S. Monroe

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BLURB: You might be paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they’re not watching you.

Adam lives a picture-perfect life: happy marriage, two young children, and a flourishing career as a doctor. But Adam also lives with a secret. Hospital CCTV, strangers’ mobile phones, city traffic cameras – he is convinced that they are all watching him, recording his every move. All because of something terrible that happened at a drunken party when he was a medical student.

Only two other people knew what happened that night. Two people he’s long left behind. Until one of them, Clio – Adam’s great unrequited love – turns up on his doorstep, and reignites a sinister pact twenty-four years in the making…

No Place to Hide is a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together the dark web, murder, and blackmail…

Blog Tour – April 2023 – The Perfumist Of Paris – Alka Joshi

So this is the third book in the Jaipur Trilogy?

Yes, although it isn’t essential to have read the first two; I haven’t – it’s pretty easy to pick things up from where we join Radha’s story. However, after reading this I will definitely be investing in the first two books in the trilogy…

But this isn’t crime fiction, is it? That’s unusual!

No, and after I received the book I had a slight crisis of confidence: what if I don’t enjoy this? But, actually, I think it does you good to mix up what you read – in this case, it was certainly hugely enjoyable for me, and I suspect I should be adventurous in my choice of reading matter more frequently!

I was initially attracted because of the setting, or settings – I always like to read about a wide variety of places. The nook begins in Paris in 1974, and Radha is struggling to balance her burgeoning career as a perfumist, and her role as a wife to Pierre and as mother to her two daughters, Shanti and Asha. Pierre seems to feel emasculated by her desire to work, as if it suggests he cannot support the family.

But Radha doesn’t do it for the money – she does it because she feels that this is what she was born to do, ever since she was a young girl growing up in India. And it’s in describing scents and their effect on Radha – indeed, on all of us – that this book really has an impact. It’s incredibly evocative, and the descriptive writing is absolutely fantastic – not just about scents, but food, weather, clothes, Paris itself and it’s many attractions, as well as India, to which Radha travels to source oils for her work, and where she meets with her sister, Lakshmi, who brought her up after their parents died. (These earlier years are covered in The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur.)

But Radha has a secret she’s been keeping from her family…

When she was 13 she was seduced by a smooth-talking teenager from a well-to-do family, and became pregnant. Predictably, he promptly abandoned her upon learning of the pregnancy. Eventually she agreed that to keep him would be impossible, and gave him to her sister’s best friend and her husband to adopt and raise. However, her son, Niki, now 17, has discovered letters containing photographs addressed to Radha in his mother’s room which she returned year-after-year, afraid to be reminded of her lost son. He travels to Paris to ask Radha who she is to him. How will her husband, not to mention her highly conservative mother-in-law, Mathilde, react when they discover Radha gave birth to an illegitimate child…?

What makes this book so enjoyable?

This book takes its time, telling its well-constructed story leisurely, which is perfect to allow the highly talented author to showcase her descriptive skills – but it’s never dull! The characters are also believable and, for the most part, sympathetic, as well as being three-dimensional. By the book’s conclusion you’ll be hoping Radha finds success in her career. You’ll also be praying a happy ending can be found for her, as well as her family – all of them.

A wonderful epic story of fragrance, family, love, and secrets, spanning two continents.

With thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour, and Harper for the book. This has not affected my opinion, and this is an honest review.

Author Alka Joshi

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BLURB: From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick The Henna Artist, the final chapter in Alka Joshi’s New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha’s budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.

Paris, 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion—the treasure trove of scents.

She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her.

Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her—upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.

The Jaipur Trilogy

Book 1: The Henna Artist
Book 2: The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
Book 3: The Perfumist of Paris

Blog Tour – April 2023 – The Acapulco – Simone Buchholz (Translation by Rachel Ward)

I’ve got a bit of catching up to do, with blog tours, due to a really horrible chest infection, which I fully intend to do…

But for my return to reviewing I’m delighted to welcome the return of an old favourite of a character, Chastity Riley…

Fans of this series will be delighted to see this new book out to add to the wonderful series. If, however, you’re not familiar with Chastity Riley, Hamburg State Prosecutor, then this book is a great place to start – it works perfectly as a standalone – but I’d definitely recommend indulging in the rest of the series, too, as they are all wonderful.

So what’s the story in The Acapulco?

The Acapulco is a strip club in Hamburg’s red light district. A serial killer is targeting the dancers of the club, and – ick! – scalping them, replacing their natural hair with brightly coloured synthetic wigs, then leaving them on the waterfront. Also, a small-time pimp has been found beaten to death…is there any connection between the two cases, though?

In her personal life (which is always colourful!) Chastity is getting close to her neighbour, uber-burglar-turned-locksmith, Klatschke (his skills come in rather useful several times in this book!) However, her friend Carla has a new customer in her cafe she thinks would be more suitable for Chastity: a smooth theatre manager, newly arrived in Hamburg. But is he too smooth – and possibly too old! – for Chastity’s taste?

What’s so special about this series?

Well, the character of Chastity, to start with – in every book we learn a little more about her. She’s fallible – she drinks too much, falls into bed with men – but this only serves to make her a realistic, three dimensional character you can’t help loving. She’s surrounded by a similarly great cast of friends and colleagues to whom she’s incredibly loyal, and the fast banter sparks off the page.

Hamburg is also wonderfully depicted, with the author’s love for it shining through, from it’s chilly waterfront winds, colourful red light district, to St Pauli football club, which Chastity follows avidly. (My partner has a t-shirt which says “St Pauli eat Nazis,” and he was delighted to hear his adored Celtic FC got a mention in the book – the two clubs have a strong friendship.)

What about this book – how does it measure up with the rest of the series?

I stayed up ridiculously late to finish this book, simply because the twists and turns at the end were so compelling. What initially looked like a fairly simple catch-and-kill operation developed into something a great deal more…indeed, I defy you to put it down once you get to about three-quarters of the way through the book. I suspect that, like me, you’ll just have to keep reading, and turn a deaf ear to everything else! And the end – well, my jaw dropped…

And I mustn’t forget to mention the flawlessly smooth translation by Rachel Ward.

Another A+ read from Simone Buchholz and Orenda Books!

With thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on this blog tour, and Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books for the ARC. This has not affected my opinion and this is an honest review.

Author Simone Buchholz

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BLURB: A serial killer is on the loose in Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco, a club in the city’s red-light district, taking their scalps as gruesome trophies and replacing them with plastic wigs.

Chastity Riley is the state prosecutor responsible for crimes in the district, and she’s working alongside the police as they investigate. Can she get inside the mind of the killer?

Her strength is thinking like a criminal; her weaknesses are pubs, bars and destructive relationships, but as Chastity searches for love and a flamboyant killer – battling her demons and the dark, foggy Hamburg weather – she hits dead end after dead end.

As panic sets in and the death toll rises, it becomes increasingly clear that it may already be too late. For everyone…