The C Word - An anthology of murder, mystery, death & destruction

 

Great to be on the book tour today for this book today especially as 100% of all royalties from The C Word will be donated to NHS Together Charities.

Description

So, what do writers do during Lockdown? They create murder, mystery, death and destruction of course!

The C Word is a collection of short stories collated during the COVID-19 pandemic to raise money for NHS Charities Together. A plethora of wonderful stories created by a wide variety of writers, each with their own unique style. Some you will know already and some we’ve yet to introduce you to. However, we’re sure you’ll want to hear from each and every one of them again as we leave 2020 behind us.

With contributions from Steve Mosby, Sophie Hannah, Elly Griffiths, Sarah Hilary, Rob Scragg, Trevor Wood and many more.

Review

A great collection of short stories and certainly written for our times.

Some of these stories were a little too dark for my usual reading tastes, but as they were short I stuck with them. There could also be some subject triggers for some people. I pleasantly surprised on more than one occasion, with a subtle twist, what you think you might be reading about can change in an instant.

One of my favourite stories (although spooky) was set in a supermarket during the lockdown period of the covid pandemic. The understanding of the circumstances which the staff would have found themselves in was brilliantly done and made for a great setting for the story.

There is certainly a mix of styles and themes in this book, You never know exactly what is coming next. Definitely a book you can dip in and out of or as a break from your usual read. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Zooloo's booktours for the invite to the tour and and the ARC to review.

Remember 100% of all royalties from The C Word will be donated to NHS Together Charities.
Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Word-some-lockdown-been-murder-ebook/dp/B08RRW8K6P/

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.

Elle's A-Z of Love - Claire Huston

 

Blurb

Haileybrook, a beautiful village in the peaceful Cotswolds countryside, is most people’s idea of heaven on earth. 

Born and raised in this small slice of paradise, Elle Bea can’t wait to leave.

It should be easy, but every time she packs her bags for exotic adventures, old loves and loyalties pull her back. 

Will Elle be forced to forget her dreams of far-flung places and epic romance, or can she grab one last chance to have it all? 

An uplifting, romantic story about friends, family and the relationships that make a place a home.

Review

This is the second novel by Claire that I've read. Although a very different feel from her first book it was equally as enjoyable. You can read my review of Claire's first Book "Art and Soul" here.

The course of true love never did run smooth, came to my mind when I read this book.

It will come as no surprise (as this is billed as a romantic novel) that Elle forms a relationship in this book. What was surprising is that we went on quite a journey with Elle before she finds the one. Along the way we follow Elle and her the unrequited love one, her friend maybe become boyfriend one and the cute guy one she bumps into. So we are left guessing, is this finally going to be the guy? Or is Elle destined to be on her own.

Elle was a little too weak willed for my liking and about 70% into the book I actually shouted at her "not again"!. I'll leave you to read the book to find out why, but she did seem to get on a repeat pattern in her life. With the flashbacks to her early life and her suffering some bullying, in one way it was understandable. That said when she finally did grow a backbone I was rooting for her all the way and could have given her a round of applause. With totally believable characters and events this was a lovely read. I was truly invested in Elle hence my shouting lol!

I'm giving this book four out of five stars. My thanks to the author for the ebook to review.

About the Author

Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire, UK, with her husband and two children. She writes uplifting modern love stories about characters who are meant for each other but need a little help to realise it.

A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul, her first novel, at clairehuston.co.uk along with over 100 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.

Social Media Links

You can also find Claire on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Pinterest: https://linktr.ee/clairehuston_author

WIN a copy of Don't Ask by Paul Carroll

I reviewed this book a few weeks ago here. Now the author Paul Carroll is giving one of my twitter followers a copy of the book. 

#WIN a copy of Don't Ask by Paul Carroll - I loved this book and so @paulcarrollink has kindly agreed to give one of my followers a copy. Just like, follow me @linby and @paulcarrollink and retweet (no quote tweets pse). Competition ends 2 July. pic.twitter.com/LWX1lzXUjv

— Booksinmyopinion (BOOKSIMO) 📚📖🎨🧵🧶 ☕ (@linby) June 28, 2021

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

The '86 Fix - Keith A Pearson

 

Description

The '86 Fix — the bestselling '80s time travel novel from British author, Keith A Pearson

Imagine if you could travel back in time and relive one weekend as your teenage self — would you change anything?

On the way home from school in 1986, Craig Pelling decided to buy a can of Coke. He wasn't to know a seemingly innocuous visit to the local newsagent would dramatically change the course of his life. Consequently, Craig now lives in a loveless marriage and earns a living in a dead-end job as the manager of an electrical store. He could have been so much more. He could have achieved so much more.

But fate hasn't finished with Craig Pelling.

A school reunion proves to be the catalyst for chaos, and decades on from his visit to that newsagent, Craig's mundane life is turned upside down as his past comes back to haunt him. As he plummets towards rock-bottom, all seems lost for Craig until he's thrown a lifeline — the miraculous lifeline of a brief trip back in time to 1986. Will he be able to fix his life? Is it as simple as just reverting one decision he made over thirty years ago?

Craig is about to find out.

Review

I love time travel books and read this book because of that. So, I was a more than a little disappointed when at over halfway through the book no time travel had happened. Instead we got a lot of backstory as to how he ended up in the job he had and how it was playing out today. Once the time travel happened I could understand that the backstory was justified, in that you needed to understand what he wanted to put right once he returned to 1986. It just went on for too long for me.

From a nostalgia point of view I enjoyed the trip to 1986, but not being a 16 year old boy at that time, some of the book was not really for me. Interesting twist when he returns to 2016.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. I read this book as part of my Prime reading subscription.

Remember Me - Amy McLellan

 

Description

How do you find a killer when you can't recognise a face?

Last night my sister was murdered. The police think I killed her.

I was there. I watched the knife go in. I saw the man who did it.

He's someone I know. But he won't be caught.

Because he knows I have prosopagnosia - I can't recognise faces.

But if I don't find him, I'll be found guilty of murder.

Review

A really gripping read.

The book starts out a little slowly with the scene being set of the murder and the subsequent suspicion by the Police that the woman may have murdered her sister. She has prosopagnosia through being in a coma after a car accident many years ago. It means she can't remember faces from one day to the next. So even though she saw the killer she doesn't know who they are...

The woman is so susceptible once her sister is dead that I found I was really concerned for her. I feared for her safety and wondered how she was going to manage all alone. There are a few people who are on hand to help - but can she trust them?

A clever plot revealing little to begin with and then more about the characters and what happened years ago as the book progresses. I did have my own ideas which I changed a number of times but it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book and I was waiting with bated breath to find out who the killer was.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to author for the copy of the book, which I won in a competition on twitter.