Could You Survive Midsomer? - Simon Brew

 

Description

CAN YOU AVOID A BIZARRE DEATH IN ENGLAND’S MOST DANGEROUS COUNTY? 

All is not well in the beautiful county of Midsomer. On the eve of its first Villages In Bloom competition, a man lies slain, smelling of damson jam. Who could have done it? Well, that's where you come in. Step into the shoes of Midsomer CID's newest recruit, choose your own path and decide which way the story goes. Could You Survive Midsomer? sets off on an engaging pick-your-own adventure format to challenge the reader to solve a crime or succumb to the county's suspiciously high death rate. Set in television’s most celebrated and murderous county, the book allows readers to see if they can get to the bottom of the mystery and bring the perpetrator to justice, avoiding an untimely, and possibly bizarre death, along the way. Your task is to make the right choices, solve the case and – most tricky of all – stay alive! 

Review

This book is certainly a very clever concept.

I'm not a big a fan of the TV series Midsomer Murders, I've only seen it a few times. However, I do like a challenge and thought I would be able to pull off solving a murder.

How wrong I was! I failed miserably and my report card was marked as "still alive, not much of an asset" and it didn't read much better further on. 

The book is laid out so that you begin to read and then very quickly have to make a judgement about which course to follow from those suggested to you. A number is allocated to your choice and you find that in the book and carry on until you are told it's the end. You then read your fate at the end of the book, of which there are many and varied.

A real twisty red herring tale that had me guessing until the end. Of course because I didn't solve it I still wanted to know "whodunnit" in which case you can either retrace your steps or a sneaky shortcut can be made.

Hats off to the author for planning all this out, it must have taken a very long time.

I've giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Thing Tours for a copy of the book to review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Simon Brew is the former editor and founder of Den of Geek - the popular culture news and reviews website. He is the author of three books including Movie Geek, TV Geek and The Secret Life of the Movies. Simon is also the founder of the magazine and podcast Film Stories.

Bright Lies - A A Abbott

 

Description

She thought she had the perfect stepfather. So why is she running for her life?

Emily longs to be an artist. So she’s thrilled when her famous and talented stepfather offers to act as her mentor. But when his teachings take a darker turn, she flees his fancy home.


Bad boy Jack has made good as a hot DJ. Then he sees thugs attack a rough sleeper, and shocking memories spur him to her rescue. He doesn’t know she’s only 15 and running from a deadly predator.


Emily’s hopes of safety are crushed when her stepfather hunts her down. Now Jack faces the hardest choice of all. If he protects Emily from the fiend who’s stolen her childhood, he’ll kiss goodbye to his future.


What would you sacrifice to save a life?


If you enjoy nail-biting suspense, slow-burning secrets and dark domestic noir, you’ll love AA Abbott’s chilling psychological thriller.


Read Bright Lies today to join Emily and Jack on their journey!

I'm on the blog tour today with Random Things Tours for this audiobook

Trigger warning :- Paedophilia, grooming, rape

Review

A difficult story but it had me gripped.

Only a few minutes into this audio book and I could sense where this story was heading and I was not comfortable with it. Thankfully the author has treated the subject with sensitivity and I was able to listen on.

The story begins at the end and I was unsure why. However it gave me some reassurance as the awful truth began to dawn on what was to unfold. There was also a twist which I didn't understand until later in the book and then it all became clear.

The tale is narrated first by Emily and she tells us of her new life with her Mother and Stepfather, and all the fabulous wealth he has and spoils on her. He's also an artist and takes a keen interest in mentoring her with her own artwork.

Running alongside this is the story of Jack and his unhappy life. When things get out of hand for Emily with her Stepfather she runs away and meets Jack. Hoping for the story to take a better turn of events I realised too late that this was not going to end well either.

It's certainly a chilling read with totally believable characters, and unfortunately only so easy to imagine happening. It's a book that has haunted my mind since I finished listening to the audio. I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the invite to the audiobook tour.

Author

British crime thriller writer A.A. Abbott (also known as Helen Blenkinsop) loves to escape with an exciting and emotional read, and that’s what she aims to write too. Based in Bristol, she’s also lived and worked in London and Birmingham. All three cities feature in her pacy suspense thrillers. Her latest psychological thriller, ‘Bright Lies’, begins in North Somerset with a posh art exhibition in Bath. Young Emily meets the man who will change her life and cause her to run away to a squat in Birmingham, work in a nightclub and get further entangled in a web of lies.

To write ‘Bright Lies’, Helen has had advice from thirty beta readers on subjects as varied as police procedure, drug abuse, grooming, art, music, DJing and clubbing. She’s grateful to them and to her editor, Katharine D’Souza, for making huge improvements to the story.

Helen’s earlier 5 book Trail series is a lighter read focused on a vodka business. Snow Mountain is a premium vodka made in the former Soviet Union, and its owners have blood on their hands. The saga follows the fortunes of two families running the business and what happens when they fall out with each other and with a London gangster. Glamorous heroine Kat is the girl readers love to hate at the beginning of the series, but by the last book, she has won them over. Book research for the series included prison life, hotel research and vodka. Helen especially enjoyed a tour and tasting with the helpful folk at the Chase Distillery in Herefordshire.

Like 10% of us, many of Helen’s family are dyslexic. While she is not, she wants her books to be enjoyed by readers with dyslexia and visual impairment too. She publishes her thrillers in a Large Print dyslexia-friendly edition as well as the standard paperback and Kindle versions. (You can also adjust the font on your Kindle to suit your needs.) Audiobooks are definitely on the cards – watch this space!

Helen likes speaking to book groups, business networks and social circles, and reading thrillers and short stories at live fiction events and on Zoom. If you're a book blogger, litfest organiser, reviewer or simply adore books, she’d love to hear from you.

Helen is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Bristol Fiction Writers' Group, and Birmingham's New Street Authors.

Find out more and get a free e-book of short stories at https://aaabbott.co.uk

 

London Clay - Tom Chivers

 

I'm just thrilled to be on the Blog Tour today for London Clay with Random Things Tours. Thanks for the invite and for a copy of the book to review.

Description

What secrets lie beneath a city?

Tom Chivers follows hidden pathways, explores lost islands and uncovers the geological mysteries that burst up through the pavement and bubble to the surface of our streets. From Roman ruins to a submerged playhouse, from an abandoned Tube station to underground rivers, Chivers leads us on a journey into the depths of the city he loves.

A lyrical interrogation of a capital city, a landscape and our connection to place, London Clay celebrates urban edgelands: in-between spaces where the natural world and the metropolis collide. Through a combination of historical research, vivid reportage and personal memoir, it will transform how you see London, and cities everywhere.

Review

What an absolutely fascinating book.

I'm interested in the history of places, what stood before, what happened when and this book has this and more. The title I think is a little misleading, making it sound more like a staid geology book than the absolute joy it is. 

Within pages of beginning to read I was off down a rabbit hole of the internet and google maps, my appetite whetted by the history uncovered surrounding Aldgate. This became a pattern throughout the book for me, as I just had to see for myself the places the author visited. At over 400 pages it would have been a weighty tome to fully cover everything about a place. I started to realise I had walked past many of these places but was oblivious to their status.  Other areas further out of the City I had no idea even existed.

Although the author sets off in search of covered waterways, to find them he encounters sites and sights along the way. Observed street life now and from centuries ago brought to life by his beautiful writing. 

Part way through the book I find out that the author is indeed a poet and this shines through in the writing style of the book. This is social history commentary of significant importance for both now and the future. One minute you are reading about Chaucer and the next minute recent history, with the London bombings of 7/7 and even the current pandemic. 

Within the pages the author refers to his Mother who died when he was a teenager. I began to get the sense of a remarkable woman, and this was confirmed at the end of the book when I read of her chosen headstone inscription; and also that she was part of the protests to save the Rose Theatre. 

Because of the varied subjects covered by the book, although linked by the strata of London, it is difficult to place it in any one category. It's like accompanying a very knowledgeable friend, who as you walk along knows so much information about everything you pass. I only wish I could retain all the information myself. I will definitely be dipping into the book again, especially as the book contains many footnotes for further research which are collected at the end of the book.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Five Minds - Guy Morpuss

 

Description

The Earth’s spiralling population has finally been controlled. Lifespans

are limited to eighty years, except for those who make an extreme

choice: to become a commune. Five minds sharing one body, each

living for four hours at a time. But with a combined lifespan of nearly

150 years.

Alex, Kate, Mike, Sierra and Ben have already spent twenty-five years

together in what was once Mike’s body, their frequent personality

clashes leading to endless bickering, countless arguments, and getting

themselves stranded on a Russian arctic freighter. Wanting to buy

upgrades for their next host body, they decide to travel to a Death Park

where games are played and time can be gambled like money. But

things go very wrong when Kate accepts a dangerous offer, and one of

them disappears.

It soon becomes clear that someone is trying to kill off members of

the commune. But why? Is one of them responsible? Or is an outsider

playing a deadly game? It’s hard enough to catch a murderer. It’s

almost impossible when you might be sharing a body with them...

 

Review

Just WOW! and WOW again!

This book had it all for me. Futuristic sci-fi, action, a crime (or two) to solve and an extremely clever plot.

Imagine a future where you have to decide how you wish to live, whether it be in human form as a worker or in an android (andi). Or maybe as a Hed (Hedonist) living a life of luxury but only until you are aged 42. If you want to live for 150 years you can share a body with five other minds and form a commune. 

The book centres around a commune in a host body. They've been together for 25 years when we join them. Already my head was pondering the equity and rationale of occupying one body. Each has a set time of day for four hours that they inhabit the body. Although they can express disapproval (and they do) of  where or how the previous mind left the body, there's not much they can physically do to stop this. They can only communicate with each other through messages. At one point it did get little long winded as each of them had to let the others know what had happened in their time line. As a reader you already knew so you were waiting for them to catch up with you.

Wanting upgrades for their next host body they go to Death Park, and Alton Towers it is not! It reminded me slightly of the Hunger Games as they begin to play the games in the Death Park. I often find that action can be written so descriptively it's hard to know what is happening, or it is too long winded. Not so with this book. The action scenes are succinct and put you right in the moment. I could vividly see it all playing out in my minds eye. 

Not everything is explained at the outset as to how this world works, even the commune aren't sure at times. So just go with it and discover as you read. After all this is an imaginary future world created by the author, and only he knows what is going to happen! 

I think I may have just read the book of the year for me and the future Agatha Christie. This story is certainly going to stay with me.

I'm giving this unique book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the ARC and the invite to the tour.

Author

Guy Morpuss is a London-based barrister and QC, whose cases have featured

drug-taking cyclists, dead Formula 1 champions and aspiring cemetery owners.

He lives in Surrey with his wife and two children.

Find him on Twitter @guymorpuss, or at guymorpuss.com.

Going South - Tom Larsen

So happy to be on the blog tour for this book today.

Description 

Harry wants out. The daily grind has ground him down and his dreams are fading fast. Desperate times call for desperate measures and as a last-ditch resort he fakes his own death to claim on the insurance planning to set himself up on Easy Street.

Wife Lena has her doubts. Harry’s always had a hand in the hustle, but going for broke was never his style. She goes along for the ride just to see how far he’ll take it, down Mexico way, returning “widowed” and soon-to-be wealthy, waits out the weeks till they can reunite.

Only Harry sounds funny on the phone. And she knows how he gets when he’s been drinking.

Then there’s the irreversible nature of death to consider.

Harry’s scheme is seamless but the schemer has a flaw, and instead of getting what he wants might just get what he deserves.

'Going South explores conscience and consequence with a slowly building tension . . . the reader feels like they're hanging on a frayed rope with no idea when it might snap'
-ARC Reviewer

Review

When the book began I found it to be written in such an authentic fast paced American style of dialogue, that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stick with, but I'm so glad I did.

Harry hates his job and his life and he wants to jack it all in and live a life of leisure. Except his wife, Lena, a mental health nurse and he have no other income, so he can't. Harry comes up with a plan to fake his death down in Mexico with the help of his wife. But to do that they need a body...

Lena begins the book with such a wonderful wry sense of humour. I felt I wanted to take notes and be able to recite some of these one liners myself someday. Maybe it comes from working in a mental health hospital that she's got this defence in humour. All I know is it is just genius comedic writing. I say she begins that way, because as the toll of what they've done becomes more and more pressing on her, some of that sassiness that was so great in the beginning is lost.

Told from the perspective of two killers and what the guilt of that can do is the basis of this story. It felt like real life as they go through plan B, D and D (and more) when things don't work out according to their plan. The book has a real raw American dialogue at times and I did have to google a few things which I was not familiar with, others, I just went with them.

The end was not what I expected. I'm not even sure it's what I hoped for because by then I was as wrung out by it all as Harry and Lena were.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the invite to the blog tour and the ARC to review.

Clothes ... - Alexandra Shulman

I'm so thrilled to be on the Blog Tour for this book today.

Description

In Clothes... and other things that matter, Alexandra Shulman delves into her own life to look at the emotions,  ambitions, expectations and meanings behind the way we dress.  

From the bra to the bikini, the trench coat to trainers, the slip dress to the suit, she explores their meaning in women’s  lives and how our wardrobes intersect with the larger world - the career ladder, motherhood, romance, sexual identity,  ambition, failure, body image and celebrity. 

By turns funny, refreshingly self-deprecating and often very moving, this startlingly honest memoir from the ex Editor of British Vogue will encourage women of all ages to consider what their own clothes mean to them, the life  they live in them and the stories they tell. 

Shulman explores the person our clothes allow us to be – and sometimes the person they turn us into. 

‘The pieces I write about have been chosen because they have at some time or other meant something to me. A  few are utterly idiosyncratic, others part of many women’s collections. Ultimately, though, this book is entirely  personal. How much can be traced through the contents of our wardrobes – in my case, 549 pieces? These clothes  are the story of my life and my preoccupations; like everyone’s, they are unique.’

Review

I loved this book so much. I could have read it in one sitting, but instead I rationed myself, as I knew I was going to miss it when it ended.

I was hoping this book would contain some social history around clothes and I wasn't disappointed on that score. What I wasn't expecting was that a former editor of Vogue would be so unassuming. Early in her Vogue career she notes not feeling worthy of a bespoke outfit by Catherine Walker (the stuff of dreams) but later on she overcame that, as bespoke Manolo shoes were regularly made for her!

I found myself nodding along and agreeing with her observations about fashion. life today and when I was younger. So much of the book resonated with me and two words I have not heard since my childhood, namely trews and midi (skirt length) and both got a mention. 

To read these pages was like sitting down with an old friend and reminiscing. The book is not in a chronological order. It is led by the meandering through her wardrobe and the memories that pieces of clothing evoke. Whether that be from years ago or more recently. Her time at Vogue is referenced throughout, but this is not a diary of her time there. 

I found this book to be deliciously absorbing. So many fascinating facts, some I already knew, but others I didn't and this had me researching further myself.  The mention of the pins (brooches)  and memories of wearing them had me breaking off reading to seek out (and buy) the referenced Madeliene Albright book,  I get so excited when one book leads to another. There is also an excellent bibliography at the end of the book which I intend to check out.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and will be re reading it very soon. My thanks to Random Things Tours for a copy of the book to review and for the invite to the tour.

About the author

Masterpiece - Janet Pywell

 

I'm delighted to be on the Blog Tour today for #MASTERPIECE

Description

NOT EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE AT A FORTUNE. BUT SHE'S ONLY ONE BURGLARY AWAY…

Photographer, artist and art forger Mikky dos Santos has had a tough life and now she’s about to steal the world’s most famous stolen painting – Vermeer’s The Concert – worth $200 million.

When Mikky’s flatmate is commissioned to paint one of the world’s most famous divas her life begins to spiral into chaos. An evil investigative journalist and a dangerous businessman are on the hunt to uncover Mikky’s darkest secrets and threaten her detailed plans.

The race is on.

This breathtaking protagonist is exhilarating and has attitude, yet underlying it all, a longing for human connection that makes you love her despite her own best efforts to push you away.

There are rich glimpses into European cities, a savvy feel for the international art world and an electrifying female sleuth who blasts into your life with explosive excitement. This thrilling page-turner will shock you with the stunning twist at the end.

Set in London (England), Mallorca (Spain) and Dresden (Germany) – this international crime thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat until the twist at the very end.

You will be instantly hooked!

Review

I do love a strong female lead in a book, and Mikky is certainly that.

When we first meet Mikky she is concerned about an elderly neighbour and quickly scales a fence to break in and get her help. Hardly the actions of an art thief, but we gain a sense of her values. Yet whilst she waits for the glazier Mikky snoops around her neighbours house, looking for what she knows is hanging there somewhere.

Her flatmate Javier is an artist and has been commissioned by a famous Opera Diva to paint her portrait. Mikky somewhat reluctantly accompanies him to Dresden for the initial meeting with the diva. How is this going to fit with Mikky being an art thief I began to wonder. 

I have a passing interest in art and the details in the book of art and art forgery were really interesting to read. The painting by Vermeer really was stolen in 1990 too and the author has imagined what could have followed. I loved the cat mouse games Mikky played with her different pursuers and certainly didn't see a couple of the twists coming. 

From about 60% into the book until the end was very fast paced and a real page turner. I wanted closure on how this was all going to work out in the end.

I found the character of Mikky likeable and believable. What I think is unusual about the book is the self talk we get from Mikky. At times I felt it wasn't always needed, but it is a slightly different approach to giving a voice to a character. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the invite to the tour and to the author for an ecopy of the book to review.

About the Author

Author Janet Pywell's storytelling is as mesmerizing and complex as her characters.

In her international crime thriller series - art forger, artist and photographer Mikky dos Santos is a uniquely lovable female: a tough, tattooed, yet vulnerable heroine who will steal your heart.

Each book is a stand-alone exciting action-adventure novel, set in three uniquely different countries/ locations.

These books are a must-read for devotees of complex female sleuths - an emotional female James Bond.

Janet has a background in travel and tourism and she writes using her knowledge of foreign places gained from living abroad and travelling extensively.

She draws on all her experiences of people and places to create exciting crime thrillers with great characters and all the plot twists and turns any reader could ask for.

Janet honed her writing skills by studying for a Masters degree at Queen's University, Belfast - one of the Russell Group of universities.

Janet researches meticulously and often takes courses in subjects to ensure that her facts are detailed and accurate and it is this attention to detail that makes her novels so readable, authentic and thrilling.

Subscribe to newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/janetpywell
Blog & website: https://janetpywellauthor.wordpress.com/

Death and Croissants - Ian Moore

 

I'm so pleased to be on the blog tour today.

Description

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE ENTHRALLING FOLLET VALLEY SERIES, BY TV/RADIO REGULAR IAN MOORE

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that’s the way he likes it.

One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens... and you don’t mess with a fellow’s hens!

Unputdownable mystery set in rural France, by TV/radio regular and bestselling author Ian Moore – perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club

Review

It was great to see more mature characters in a book and taking on the world including the mafia.

Richard is a cross between Victor Meldrew and Basil Fawlty. If you don't know who either of those characters are then this is probably not going to be a book for you, as you might not understand a lot of the humour. If you are a certain age then all the references make perfect sense.

The storyline starts simply enough - a bloody handprint is discovered at Richard's B&B and the owner has disappeared. What follows is somewhat akin to a British farce play in fact the late Brian Rix would have been perfect in an adaption of the book . There is a mystery and it hooked me in as I tried to fathom it all out. But like Richard, who stumbles his way through the proceedings, I was a little lost most of the time and read on regardless.

A fun read and brilliantly written. This is the first book in a series.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for a copy of the book to review.

Author biography

Ian Moore is a leading stand-up comedian, known for his sharp, entertaining punditry. A TV/radio regular, he stars in Dave’s satirical TV show Unspun and Channel 5’s topical comedy Big Mouths. He is also the author of two memoirs on life in France. À la Mod and C’est Modnifique. Ian lives in the Loire and commutes back to the UK every week. In his spare time, he makes mean chutneys and jams.

Getaway - Rod Humphris

I'm so pleased to be on the Blog Tour today.

Description

"First you save my life, then you bring me here..."
Suzana Chesterfield, recently rescued from a gang of slave-traders by Simon Ellice, has come sailing with him to try to work out what to do with her life. And perhaps to find out whether the handsome, selfish, bastard should be part of it. They drop anchor in a perfect bay of pink granite rocks, glittering sand and azure water on the island of Cavello, in the Lavezzi Archipellago between Corsica and Sardinia, and are welcomed into to the warm southern hospitality of Andria Acquaviv and his family, who have the villa in the next bay.

Susie's heart is touched by Lesia, the little girl who plays with her dog in the sand and Lucia, her unhappy, widowed mother, who without a husband or a son, is reduced to serving the family. She wants to help them, help the little girl to find a wider world and Lucia to break free from family bonds and find independence. Can she? Dare she interfere? And if she does, will the deceptively relaxed and easy-going man she's with, back her?

Si, who knows exactly what kind of 'businessman' Andria is, is enjoying the company of the men and watching the holiday-makers come and go, and one boat in particular...
... and wondering if what he sees, which no one else sees, means what he thinks it means; that death is coming as swiftly and surely as the sun nears the sea.

Review

It was great to catch up with Si Ellice again and I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had stuck around with Susie who he rescued in Bloodstock. They find themselves in Corsica which is beautifully described and somewhere I long to visit, so this was a nice escape read too. I loved the dialogue between Susie and Si - so easy and uncontrived.

Seems like this time he may have got himself caught up with the Corsican mafia. As with the previous books the action is written smoothly and is easy on the eye to read. Usually I would get a little nervous when the bad guys turn up. But knowing Si of old, I knew he could handle himself whilst remaining a gentleman. So I settled down for how he would go about it and I wasn't disappointed.

Can't wait to read more...

My thanks to the author and publisher Rat's Tales for a copy of the book for review and to Random Things Tours.

AUTHOR Rod Humphris is the author of a number of acclaimed thrillers. He is the happiest and most productive when travelling about in his battered old truck with a canoe in top and a dog in the back. He currently lives in Bath. Rod Humphris is the winner of N. N. Light Best Fiction Award 2016

Sew on the Go - A Maker's Journey - Mary Jane Baxter

 

Thrilled to be on the Blog Tour today...

Description

● Have you ever dreamed of quitting your job and setting off on the open road to pursue your creativity? In 2016, Mary Jane Baxter did exactly that. ● Sew on the Go is an inspiring road trip and a practical guide to crafting wherever you find yourself, and is packed with easy, step-by-step instructions for craft.


● From decorating your own budget conscious bolthole, to achievable projects including clothes and fashion accessories, beautiful gift ideas and child-friendly makes, this book is the ideal companion for those who dream of devoting more time to their craft.

In 2016, Mary Jane Baxter quit her job at the BBC, rented out her flat and headed for the hills. Her home for the next few months was an upcycled 1986 Bedford Bambi campervan with a top speed of 60mph. She raided skips for vintage wallpaper and scoured second-hand emporiums to source stylish vintage accessories, creating her own travelling craft studio, packed with everything necessary for crafting on the road. She then set off around Europe searching for inspiration, travelling from Belgium right down to the Cinque Terre in Italy then around France and up to Scotland. Armed with her trusty hand-cranked Singer, she spent a summer sewing on the go. Like creatives the world over, she decided to see where her travels would lead her and returned with a head full of new projects. Fortunately, there’s no need for you to give up your job, wave goodbye to your family and rent out your house in order to reignite your own creativity; Mary Jane has done all the hard work for you. Sew on the Go is her guide to carving out more creative space in your life.

Review

A travel book combined with instructions for beautiful and different makes - what's not to love!

If like me you sew and also love to read about travelling, then you will be as entranced by this book as I was. When travelling is seen through the eyes of a creative person it tells a whole different tale and one that resonated with me. Whilst a market stall selling old odds and ends and materials may be just that to some, in the pages of this book the descriptive writing had me standing right there looking at all these treasures with envy. Then the suggestions and instruction for making them into something else entirely was just brilliant.

Then there's the milliner's workshop up for sale which the author gets an invite to go and see - reading about it was wonderful, being there must have been heaven. Interwoven into this is an insight into the author's former BBC career (which had nothing to do with crafting) which was so very interesting. The places described from polished floors to art deco features and the treasures found had me thinking all that was missing was to have Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly dressed fabulously there too.

The author undertook her journey through Europe in a wallpapered campervan.  Whilst a lot of the book is very idyllic and waxing lyrical over haberdashery and milliners items, she also lays bares some of the pitfalls of travelling alone and in an ill equipped camper van. No toilet, running water or air conditioning made for some discomfort at times. It's told in such a genial way that it felt like a catch up with an old friend.

The book is also accompanied by some beautiful photographs of the trip and the makes described in the pages of the book. If I had one tiny gripe it would be that I would have preferred them to be interspersed within the book rather than all at the end. Edited to say - I have now received a copy of the book and the photos are indeed within the pages rather than at the end as with the mobile version I reviewed

That doesn't stop me from giving this very unique book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the ARC to review.

The book will be published on 27 May 2021.

About the Author 

Mary Jane Baxter used to work as a BBC news correspondent and producer. In 2016, she set off on a crafting adventure across Europe in a mobile studio. She is the author of Chic on a Shoestring and The Modern Girl’s Guide to Hatmaking, and has presented on fashion and craft for the BBC, most notably bartering her sewing skills for board and lodging in a series of films for Newsnight. She lives in London and is available for interview, events, and to write pieces on commission. @maryjanemakes

Don't Ask - Paul Carroll

 

I'm so pleased to be on the Blog Tour for this book today.

Description

A DNA ancestry test opens up a Pandora’s Box of secrets.

When Elsa Watson uses a DNA ancestry test kit out of idle curiosity, she little imagines the devastating consequences she is about to unleash.

Two families become reluctantly entwined as inconvenient truths and long suppressed memories resurface.

A whodunnit with a difference, Don’t Ask visits the glam rock Seventies, Britpop, Operation Yewtree and #metoo within its alternating past and present chapter structure.

Don’t Ask explores the true meaning of family and the wisdom of raking up the past.

Thinking of taking an ancestry test?   Be careful what you wish for.  

Review

Even before I began to read the book I was attracted to the fabulous artwork on the cover, it really made me want to pick up the book.

This is such a contemporary storyline based upon the use of a DNA ancestry test kit. To describe the action as opening a Pandora's box is just perfect, and the reader gets to see what's inside that box. 

The chapters alternate between the present day and the past. That's not immediately obvious but becomes so.  We see the unfolding of the consequences of the DNA test and what actually happened all those years ago. The consequences of youth, mental health issues, family values it's all laid bare.  It's a look at the past with the modern eyes of the #metoo movement and operation Yewtree. Whilst not comfortable reading in places the subjects are treated with sensitivity in the writing.

I loved the women characters in this book, they all had great voices, the author gave them original thoughts and believable lines. The writing is succinct and very readable and well researched.  Many references in the past were familiar to me, even down to the TV programmes, Jackie magazine and buying cards from Athena. It's little touches like that which gave an authenticity to the past timeline in the story. The present day timeline is also littered with modern and relevant recognisable references. 

It's certainly a thought provoking read and a brilliant subject for a book plot. At times I couldn't turn the pages fast enough as there were so many contra indications, but realising this was not going to be a fast fix I learnt to pace myself!

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours and the author for a copy of this book to review.

PAUL CARROLL – BIO

Paul Carroll has been drawn to ink and the written word since launching a rock fanzine in his late teens.

Born and bred in Leeds, Paul crossed the Pennines in the mid-70s to study English Language and English Literature at the University of Manchester. 

Chasing a job in journalism he stumbled into the world of PR and ten years after starting his career set up his own PR consultancy, Communique PR, in Manchester.

There he worked on many well-known brands including Boddingtons, Heineken, Thorntons Chocolate, Chicago Town Pizza, Big D peanuts, Co-op Funerals and Manchester Airport.

These days, Paul concentrates on his writing.

Paul’s books are full of dark humour and satirical takes.  His writing has been compared to that of Ben Elton, Nick Hornby and Jonathan Coe in tackling serious contemporary issues in a highly engaging and entertaining way.

Don’t Ask (Matador 2021) is Paul Carroll’s fourth novel, following A Matter of Life and Death (Matador, 2012), Written Off (Matador, 2016), and Trouble Brewing (Matador, 2017).