Moving On by Marcie Steele (The Somerley Series Book 4) @marcie_steele @writermels #bookreview

About the book

Welcome to the market town of Somerley, with an emotional, feel-good story about acceptance, family values and the importance of feeling safe and loved.

Maria has a wonderful life. Together with her daughters, Lucy and Clara, she runs a successful estate agency, priding herself in matching the right properties to the right people – even if she has yet to find the ideal home for herself.

But behind the happy exterior, Maria is anxious about her fiftieth birthday coming up. She’s feeling, well, less excited and more than a little terrified about how life is running away from her.

For a birthday treat, Lucy and Clara have planned five ‘nostalgic’ dates for her and their dad, to remind them of when they first fell in love. But Maria barely has time for the here and now, never mind a cringeworthy wistful jump back to the past. All she wants is to find that perfect nest to settle down in, no matter how many moves it takes.

The Wilshaw women are a close-knit family, so when tragedy strikes at the heart of the home, Maria is shocked at how easy the potential to lose everything becomes.

Will Maria realise that perhaps it’s better to accept herself as she is rather than move house again? And in doing so, can she change her outlook on life for good?

While this is the fourth book in The Somerley Series, it can also be enjoyed as a standalone. If you love an uplifting story, then Moving On is the perfect read.

For fans of Milly Johnson, Jill Mansell, Hannah Ellis, Imogen Clark, Rachael Lucas and Susanne O’Leary.

Discover The Somerley Series, full of friendship, family and love – treat yourself today!

Publisher: Blood Red Books

Publication Date: 17^th February 2023

Amazon Link: Moving On

My Thoughts

The fourth instalment of The Somerley Series, it can be read as a standalone.

A feel-good story that I adored.

Marcie Steele has created some lovely characters that you can easily relate to.

A delightful book about the ups and downs, ins and outs of family life. And all set in the lovely town of Somerley, a town that has a village-feel about it. Somerley is a market town full of warm people, loving relationships, and charming friends – well, most of the time. Where the high street shops and businesses are mainstays of the community.

A couple of familiar places if you’ve read the other books in the series. The Coffee Stop cafe. It has a book shop attached and sounds like the perfect place for coffee and cake.

Maria and Jim Wilshaw are childhood sweethearts.

They both have their own successful businesses, Maria an estate agency and Jim a builder’s merchants. They have a close family with two grown up daughters. The book follows the family, but it’s Maria that I really related to. She is approaching fifty and is going through all the hang ups and hormonal changes that I’ve been through, feeling uncomfortable in a changing and ageing mind and body. The ‘nostalgic dates’ birthday gift from the girls throws Maria off, she can’t stop thinking about work and how the dates take up time where she could be working. I think it’s a common problem, and we should be enjoying the moment rather than thinking about what else we could be doing. It was quite an emotional read, especially when something happened that made everyone sit up and realise what they could have lost.

I loved the ‘house move’ chapters, we were able to see how the family progressed.

Marcie Steele has the knack of drawing me in from the first page and I just couldn’t stop reading.

Thank you to Marcie/Mel for the early review copy, it was an honour to read it x

About the author

Marcie Steele is the pen name of Mel Sherratt. For as long as she can remember, she’s been a meddler of words. Born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, she’s a romantic at heart and has always enjoyed writing about characters that fall in and out of love, have good friends to hang around with, and live in communities with great spirit.

She can often be found sitting in her favourite coffee shop, sipping a cappuccino and eating a chocolate chip cookie, either catching up with friends or writing on her laptop. Whether she writes crime or women’s fiction, she loves making up things for a living.

You can find more about Marcie Steele on Mel Sherratt’s social media here:-

Website www.melsherratt.co.uk

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/writermels

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MelSherrattauthor/

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Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza #RavenStreetPublishing #DevilsWay #KateMarshall #Review

Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza

About the book

A Kate Marshall Thriller, Book 4.

THE TRUTH HIDES IN THE DARK

Kate Marshall’s investigation into a young boy’s disappearance sends her down an unexpectedly twisted path in a riveting thriller by multi-million bestselling author, Robert Bryndza.

When Private Investigator Kate Marshall is rushed to hospital after being pulled into a riptide current in the sea, the near-death experience leaves her shaken. During her recovery, she befriends Jean, an elderly lady on the same ward. Jean tells the harrowing story of how her three-year-old grandson, Charlie, went missing eleven years ago during a camping trip on Dartmoor.

By the time Kate is well enough to go home, she’s agreed to take on the case, but when Kate and her trusty sidekick Tristan start to look at the events of that fateful night, they discover that Jean has a dark past that could have put Charlie in jeopardy.

Was Charlie abducted? Or did he fall into Devil’s Way? A rushing river that vanishes into a gorge close to where they were camping.

When Kate and Tristan discover that a social worker who flagged concerns about Jean and her daughter was found brutally murdered shortly after Charlie vanished, it makes them question everything they thought they knew about the family…

Filled with twists and turns, Devil’s Way is the fourth Kate Marshall novel and the most gripping and satisfying yet!

My Thoughts

It’s one of those ‘please just read it’ books.

Robert Bryndza hooks me in straight away, and I just sat, read and indulged myself.

What a fabulous story, so clever. I raced through it.

A great plot, and a thrilling ride. It had me searching Devil’s Way on the internet, and looking for the landmarks mentioned.

The relationship between Kate and Tristan is a special one, and I look forward to more from the intrepid two in the next book. This is the fourth in a series but the author gives enough information of the back story to be read as a stand-alone.

I am a Robert Bryndza addict!

If you’ve never read any books by Robert Bryndza….why not?! You are guaranteed to love them.

I’ve recommended Robert Bryndza’s books to people all over the world and everyone loves them, he’s a global superstar!!

Thanks to Rob, Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy of this this fabulous book in which I give my honest opinion.

Publication Date: 12^th January 2023

Get your copy on the link below:-

Amazon UK: Devil’s Way

Meet the Author

Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over five million copies.

His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).

Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller. Fatal Witness, the seventh Erika Foster novel, has just been published.

Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls.

Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.

Author Social Media Links

Facebook: Robert Bryndza

Twitter: RobertBryndza

Website: https://robertbryndza.com/

Instagram: robertbryndza

The brilliant Picking up the Pieces by Amanda Prowse @MrsAmandaProwse #bookreview #PickingupthePieces @AmazonPub Lake Union Publishing

Picking up the Pieces by Amanda Prowse

About the book

In this heart-warming story from million copy bestselling author Amanda Prowse, Nora has given up on finding happiness. But has it been waiting for her all along?

As Nora and her British Army officer husband, Gordy, pack up yet another home and leave the sun of Cyprus for the drizzle of England, she can’t shake a feeling of regret—at her failure to follow her own dreams, but also, if she’s honest, at having ended up an officer’s wife at all, drifting through a life of temporary homes and temporary relationships.

Since losing her parents at a young age, Nora’s life has been lacking an anchor: someone or something to make her feel secure. Her marriage has been her only permanent relationship, and just as even that appears to be fizzling out, a tragedy forces Nora into the role of legal guardian to her seven-year-old nephew, Ted. Faced suddenly with a responsibility she never dreamed of, how can Nora possibly offer the boy the kind of unconditional love he deserves, when she’s never experienced it for herself?

But as she navigates the precarious and unfamiliar world of parenthood, Nora begins to see herself through Ted’s eyes, as someone worthy of love and even joy. When she’s welcomed into the previously intimidating huddle of mums at the school gate, she has to wonder: is it too late to smash down the other barriers she’s built—and to have a second chance at a happy marriage with Gordy?

Publication date: 10^th Jan 2023

Get your copy here:

Amazon UK: Picking up the Pieces

My Thoughts

A wonderful book. A rollercoaster of emotions, tears for me at times. Just beautifully written, I was carried along with all the characters with their different perspectives of the story. I loved Nora’s relationship with Ted, and how it grew. It was an insight into depression for me, and I feel like I understand it more.

Thank you, Amanda, for the hours where I can just sit and read your fabulous stories.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read an early copy. I give my honest opinions.

I absolutely loved it.

About the author

Amanda Prowse is an international bestselling author of twenty-eight novels published in dozens of languages. Her chart-topping titles What Have I Done?, Perfect Daughter, My Husband’s Wife, The Coordinates of Loss, The Girl in the Corner and The Things I Know have sold millions of copies around the world. Other novels by Amanda Prowse include A Mother’s Story, which won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the Year Award. Perfect Daughter was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016, and The Boy Between (a memoir written with her son, Josiah Hartley) was selected in 2022. She has been described by the Daily Mail as ‘the queen of family drama’.

Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today. Her titles consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres.

A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show, as well as featuring on numerous daytime ITV programmes. She also makes countless guest appearances on national and independent radio stations, including LBC and talkRADIO, where she is well known for her insightful observations and infectious humour.

Amanda’s ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning off the bedside lamp at night, that ensure you walk every step with her great characters, and tales that fill your head so you can’t possibly read another book until the memory fades…

Author links

Website – https://www.amandaprowse.com

Twitter – MrsAmandaProwse

Facebook – AmandaProwseAuthor

Instagram – mrsamandaprowse

YouTube – AmandaProwseAuthor

In Cold Blood by Caroline Mitchell @Caroline_writes @AmazonPub #Thomas&Mercer #InColdBlood #bookreview #MoonlightersReviewClub

In Cold  Blood By Caroline Mitchell

About the Book 

A DI Amy Winter Thriller – Book 5

WHEN THE HUNTER BECOMES THE HUNTED…

DI Amy Winter faces her toughest case yet as a serial killer couple kidnap and hunt their prey. After capture, the victims are released from an unknown location each day. But freedom does not come easily as the victim’s injuries become more severe, and if they haven’t escaped by day four, they won’t live to see the fifth.

At five months pregnant, Amy is feeling backed into a corner as the father of her child, DCI Donovan, urges her to share the news. But Amy doesn’t want to be treated differently by her team, much less lose their respect when they discover she’s in a relationship with her DCI. When a call comes in from the killer asking to meet Amy, Donovan intercepts and sends a decoy in her place. But while officers are concentrating on the decoy, Amy is kidnapped from outside her flat. She is the next victim, and the countdown begins.

After being bundled into the back of a van and driven to a desolate woodland, Amy’s heart sinks in her chest as she realises the killers have no intention of playing fair.

DCI Donovan is distraught as he discovers Amy is missing. When his team receives a taunting video, he is left in no doubt of the danger Amy and his unborn child are in. He must pull himself together to hunt the killer down. But with no clues and no location, there is only one person with intimate knowledge of how a killer’s mind works. Lillian Grimes – Amy’s serial killer mother. But can he persuade her to help him in time? As the days progress, Amy’s injuries grow more severe, and her team are locked in a desperate race against time.

Can be read as a stand-alone.

A compulsive page-turner that will have your heart hammering in your chest and leave you absolutely breathless when you discover the shocking final twist. If you’re a fan of Angela Marsons, Mel Sherratt, LJ Ross, and Rachel McLean, you’ll love In Cold Blood.

My Thoughts

I absolutely adore the Amy Winter Series.

Summing this book up, all I can say is ‘just read the whole series’.

Amy’s team are close-knit and it’s been brilliant getting to know them over time.

When Amy is taken it was quite heart in the mouth stuff at times. A real page turner that I couldn’t put down.

The Grimes family give me the creeps, and it continues to feature in this book. The ongoing saga with her real mother carries on, Lillian is a truly twisted character.

Many thanks to the author for the early copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Publication date: 2^nd December 2022

Buy here your copy from Amazon here:-

UK : In Cold Blood

Meet the Author 

New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post and International #1 Bestselling Author. Shortlisted by the International Thriller Awards for best ebook 2017, the Killer Nashville Best Police Procedural 2018 and the Audie awards 2022. Over 1.5 million books sold.

Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives in a village outside the city of Lincoln. A former police detective, she has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time.

Caroline writes psychological and crime thrillers. Her stand alone thriller Silent Victim reached No.1 in the Amazon charts in the UK, USA and Australia and was the winner of the Reader’s Favourite Awards in the psychological thriller category. It has been described as ‘brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy’.

The first in her Amy Winter series, Truth And Lies, has been optioned for TV.

Author Social Media Links

www.caroline-writes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3076677.Caroline_Mit

www.pinterest.com/Writeparanormal

https://www.facebook.com/CMitchellAuthor/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/IxsTj

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Caroline_writes

In Cases of Murder by Jan Edwards @Jancoledwards #InCasesOfMurder @penkhullpress #bookreview

In Cases of Murder by Jan Edwards

Description

A Bunch Courtney Investigation Book 4

When the body of Laura Jarman is discovered crammed inside a steamer trunk and dumped on a Brighton railway station platform, her wealthy industrialist family is shouting for answers, but their reluctance to co-operate with the investigation arouses suspicion.

Shortly after, a second body – Laura’s flatmate Kitty – is discovered in similar circumstances.

What links Laura and Kitty to the private gentlemen’s parties held in a country house on the edge of sleepy Wyncombe village, and what is Laura’s family so desperate to conceal?

Bunch Courtney and DCI William Wright find themselves racing along a convoluted trail through munitions factories and London clubs to a final shocking end.

My Thoughts

The author’s descriptive writing took me into a world gone by.

Rose (Bunch) Courtney’s childhood home, Perringham House, has been taken over for the war effort. Bunch and her grandmother and staff are still living in the Dower House within the grounds. Her mother is not well and is in a care home. Her father has an important job in the capital.

Bunch is again the amateur sleuth, with her role as Police Consultant, along with Chief Inspector Wright. She is feisty and fearless, which makes for a cracking character. She keeps her eyes open and her ear to the ground, pursuing the locals for any gossip which may shed light on the goings on. And there were plenty of twists and turns in this murder mystery, taking in some dark areas of London, with some dodgy goings on.

I usually read fast-paced crime fiction set in the present day, so this was different for me. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to the author for the digital review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Publication by Penkhull Press on 1^st December 2022

ISBN: 978-1-9162865-3-5

Amazon link: In Cases of Murder

About the author

Jan was born in Sussex, currently living in North Staffordshire. In addition to being a writer she is also a Reiki Master..

Jan is available for interviews and appearances, get in touch at the links below.

Author contact details

Facebook: Janedwardsbooks

Twitter: Jancoledwards

Amazon author page: Jan Edwards

Author blog: janedwardsblog.wordpress.com

Publisher

Twitter: penkhullpress

Penkhull Press at: https://thepenkhullpress.wordpress.com/

The Shadows of Rutherford House by C E Rose @CazEngland @HeraBooks #TheShadowsofRutherfordHouse #bookreview #blogtour

The Shadows of Rutherford House by C E Rose

Blog Tour 27^th November 2022

Many thanks to CE Rose and Hera Books for the invitation to take part, I’m delighted to do so. 

My Thoughts

A twisty, suspenseful page-turner full of mysteries to unravel.

Dark secrets. Family mysteries.

I like the way the book moves between the present day and times in the past, and also the chapters from the viewpoint of the different characters Milly, Duncan and Christie.

It follows the lives of both the Rutherford-Percy clan and their workers across the generations.

The main house, Rutherford House, sounded fantastic though run-down, and I felt a chill sometimes as I read. It was just as if I was living in the story myself. The Ridings, a house within the grounds, housed the gardener and his family.

I loved the slow reveal of the events through each different character, seeing how it fitted together.

It was an intense story and I could not put it down. A clever plot that kept me hooked.

Thanks to the author and Hera Books for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

About the book

Darkness lies at the heart of this family…

In 1959 Milly starts her new life as a housemaid at Rutherford House, working for the aristocratic Rutherford-Percy clan. Entranced by her new mistress, Vivienne, she becomes deeply embroiled in the household and the keeper of dark secrets the family conceals beneath the mansion’s grand exterior.

In the present day, Christie is working as a psychiatric nurse when she meets troubled patient Lillian Percy, Vivienne’s granddaughter and heiress to Rutherford House. They soon bond over the loss of their mothers.

Lillian’s died when she was a child; Christie’s mysteriously disappeared over twenty years ago and Christie finds herself increasingly fascinated by Lillian’s family and their imposing ancestral home.

As Christie learns more about the Rutherford-Percys, she finds a shocking clue that could help her uncover what happened to her own mother. Desperate for answers, Christie puts her job, her family and even her very life on the line. But how much of the truth does she really want to know?

A twisty, chilling and unputdownable page-turner about family secrets, perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Louise Douglas and Harriet Evans.

Publisher: Hera Books

Publication date: 10^th November 2022

Get your copy here:

Amazon UK: The Shadows of Rutherford House

About the Author

CE Rose is the pen name of Caroline England, the CWA Dagger shortlisted author of psychological thrillers Beneath the Skin, My Husband’s Lies, Betray Her, Truth Games and The Sinner.

As CE Rose, Caroline has written gothic-tinged domestic suspense novels, The House of Hidden Secrets and The House on the Water’s Edge. The Shadows of Rutherford House will be released on 10th November 2022.

Caroline likes to write multi-layered, dark and edgy ‘domestic suspense’ stories that delve into complicated relationships, secrets, lies, loves and the moral grey area. Drawing on her days as a divorce and professional indemnity lawyer, she loves to create ordinary, relatable characters who get caught up in extraordinary situations, pressures, dilemmas or crime. She admits to a slight obsession with the human psyche, what goes on behind closed doors and beneath people’s façades. She also enjoys performing a literary sleight of hand and hopefully surprising her readers.

Author Contact Details

Facebook: Caroline England Author

Twitter: CazEngland

Amazon author page: Caroline England

Author website: carolineenglandauthor.co.uk

Publisher

Twitter: @HeraBooks

Check out the other reviews on the blog tour.

Hidden Scars by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @bookouture #booksontour #bookreview #HiddenScars #KimStone

I’m delighted to be part of Bookouture Books-on-Tour for the publication day of Hidden Scars by Angela Marsons.

My Review – All the stars!

The 17th in the D.I. Kim Stone series, and it is brilliant.

Totally unputdownable.

Read the blurb, it explains it better than I could ever do.

I will tell you how it made me feel though!

It made my heart race, it scared me, it educated me.

It’s good to have Kim back after her ordeal in book 16. She’s supposed to be easing herself back in gently, but D.I. Burns who’s standing in for her is an idiot and not using her team to their full potential. He’s looking for a big case, and not properly investigating the current cases.

One such case, Jamie Mills, Kim instinctively feels there is more to it than a suicide. She does a little digging behind the scenes and then there is no more easing herself back in gently. Her team of Bryant, Stacey and Penn kick in instantly. They complement each other perfectly.

The strong character of Kim shines through, even when things must still be tough for her both physically and mentally.

It’s a fascinating storyline.

All books by this author seem to educate me on subjects I’d never even thought about. Conversion therapy, it’s not something I knew about, and now I do.

I love Angie Marsons, she always delivers. I relish the waiting for a new one in the series, and the excitement when I get my hands on it. I read them right away. I just can’t wait.

The plot was fast-paced and I couldn’t put it down, reading at every opportunity. The short chapters are perfect for that. The books are just so effortless to read.

Fabulous as always, I love Kim Stone and her team.

I recommend this book 100%, and all the others in the series.

Go on everybody, read the whole series!

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Publication Date: 9^th November 2022

Get your copy here:

Amazon UK: Hidden Scars

About the book

While Jamie’s cold, lifeless body lay in the morgue, Detective Kim Stone stared at the empty board in the incident room and felt her anger boil. Why were there no photos, details, or lines of enquiry?

When a nineteen-year-old boy, Jamie Mills, is found hanging from a tree in a local park, his death is ruled a suicide. Detective Kim Stone’s instincts tell her something isn’t right – but it’s not her investigation and her temporary replacement is too busy waiting for the next big case to be asking the right questions.

Why would a seemingly healthy boy choose to end his life?

Why does his mother show no sign of emotional distress at the loss of her son?

Still mending her broken mind and body from her last harrowing case, Kim is supposed to be easing back into work gently. But then she finds a crucial, overlooked detail: Jamie had a recent injury that would have made it impossible for him to climb the tree. He must have been murdered.

Quickly taking back charge of her team and the case, Kim visits Jamie’s parents and is shocked to hear that they had sent him to a clinic to ‘cure’ him of his sexuality. According to his mother, Jamie was introverted and prone to mood swings. Yet his friend speaks of a vibrant, outgoing boy.

The clues to smashing open this disturbing case lie behind the old Victorian walls of the clinic, run by the Gardner family. They claim that patients come of their own accord and are free to leave at any time. But why are those that attended the clinic so afraid to speak of what happens there? And where did the faded restraint marks identified on Jamie’s wrists come from?

Then the body of a young woman is found dead by suffocation and Kim makes two chilling discoveries. The victim spent time at the clinic too, and her death was also staged to look like a suicide.

Scarred from an ordeal that nearly took her life, is Kim strong enough to stop a terrifying killer from silencing the clinic’s previous patients one by one?

A compulsive page-turner that will have your heart hammering in your chest and leave you absolutely reeling when you discover the explosive final twist. If you’re a fan of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid, and Robert Dugoni, you’ll love Hidden Scars.

Can be read as a standalone.

About the author

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 5 million in 7 years.

She lives in the Black Country with her partner, and their cheeky Golden Retrievers.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s”.

After years of writing relationship-based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 28 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into more than 27 languages.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone and the translation of Dead Souls, La Verita Sepolte, recently won the prestigious Primo Bancarella award.

Social Media Links

Facebook: AngelaMarsonsAuthor

Twitter: WriteAngie

Amazon: Author page

Website: http://angelamarsons-books.com/

#FacebookLive Tuesday 8.11.22 7pm GMT. Hidden Scars by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @bookouture #HiddenScars #KimStone

Facebook Live on the eve of publication

Tuesday 8th November 7pm GMT.

Please do put the date and time in your diary and join the celebrations.

Come along and celebrate the publication of the 17th book in the Detective Kim Stone series.

HIDDEN SCARS by Angela Marsons (Detective Kim Stone Book 17)

AMZ: geni.us/B0B8DKKQR8social

Apple: ow.ly/s46x50Kbnfs

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Google: ow.ly/pMls50KbnoS

The boy’s dark hair shone in the bright lights. His lips seemed about to speak. But his body was cold and his blue eyes would never open again.

When a nineteen-year-old boy, Jamie Mills, is found hanging from a tree in a local park, his death is ruled a suicide. Detective Kim Stone’s instincts tell her something isn’t right. Why, when his mother is told, does she not break down in tears? And how could Jamie have climbed the tree with a recent injury?

Kim should be easing back into work gently after a harrowing case left her body and mind broken, but quickly taking charge of her team, Kim is shocked to learn that Jamie’s parents had sent him to a clinic to ‘cure’ him of his sexuality.

The clues to smashing open this disturbing case lie behind the old Victorian walls of the clinic, run by the Gardner family. They claim that patients come of their own accord and are free to leave at any time. But why are those who attended the clinic so afraid to speak of what happens there? And where did the faded restraint marks on Jamie’s wrists come from?

Kim makes a further chilling discovery – the head of the clinic, Celia Gardner, was sent there for conversion therapy when she was sixteen.

Then the body of a young woman is found dead by suffocation, her death also staged to look like a suicide.

Scarred from a previous case that nearly took her life, can Kim unearth the dark secrets within the Gardner family and is she strong enough to stop a terrifying killer silencing the clinic’s previous patients one by one?

A compulsive page-turner that will have your heart hammering in your chest and leave you absolutely reeling when you discover the explosive final twist. If you’re a fan of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid, and Robert Dugoni, you’ll love Hidden Scars.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 5 million in 7 years.

She lives in Worcestershire with her partner and their 2 cheeky Golden Retrievers.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s”.

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 28 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into more than 27 languages.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise, Dead Memories and Hidden Scars reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone and the translation of Dead Souls, La Verita Sepolte, recently won the prestigious Primo Bancarella award.

Sign up to Angie’s newsletter to receive a download of ONE HOUR – a FREE and exclusive short story about a life-changing moment for a young Kim Stone.

Twisted Lives by Mel Sherratt @writermels #review #TwistedLives #TeamSherratt #Stoke #Staffordshire

Twisted Lives by Mel Sherratt

My Thoughts

Brilliant!

I love this series. A close-knit team of Allie, Perry, Frankie and Sam set in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent.

I’m from Stoke and the opening scene was right there in my part of the city. It always adds to the excitement of reading a Mel Sherratt book because I know where everywhere is, even though some of the areas have fictional names I can suss them out!

Car Wash City is a chain of local car washes and they have been central to a lot of criminal activity in the other books in the series.

Two bodies are found at a house owned by Kenny Webb, a known criminal with links to Car Wash City. The other occupants in the house, some young girls, are not saying anything.

Allie is so keen to catch Kenny for something this time, and as usual he is a slippery customer.

A story which includes some youngsters at the bottom of the drug supply chain. It’s interesting how they get recruited and coerced into the seedy life. It’s quite worrying too, as it all seems such easy money.

A fast-paced story and I couldn’t put it down, with plenty of twists and turns.

I thoroughly recommend this book.

I love Mel Sherratt’s style of writing, gritty and straight to the point.

Many thanks to the author for the advanced copy. I will always be #TeamSherratt

About the book

A gripping detective crime thriller (Detective Allie Shenton Series Book 6)

Honour among thieves. Keep your enemies close. Loyalty is everything.

When DI Allie Shenton is called out to a murder suicide, it quickly becomes clear that it’s a double slaying, and there is a killer on the loose. The bodies are found in a property owned by local entrepreneur/drug dealer Kenny Webb. Several young women are staying there, they are refusing to talk and one of them is missing.

While she waits on forensic evidence, Allie decides to do what she does best. She takes to the community to see who will talk. Right now, she’s the only one who can get answers. But then a third murder rattles everyone. Another known dealer is taken out.

With lives and lies being twisted, Allie needs to work out how everything is connected. It’s clear someone is out to finish things. Can she and her team rid the streets of Kenny Webb and his gang of merrymen, once and for all? And in doing so, stop the top man, Terry Ryder, from getting out of prison?

Set within the gritty streets of Stoke-on-Trent, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery with an emotional pull.

Twisted Lives is the sixth book in the Allie Shenton series of crime thrillers from the million selling British author, Mel Sherratt, is perfect for fans of Helen Durrant, DS Butler, LJ Ross, Angela Marsons, Joy Ellis, Rachel McClean, Caroline Mitchell and Meg Jolly.

Publisher: Blood Red Books.

Publication Date: 28^th October 2022

Get your copy on Amazon UK here: Twisted Lives

About the author

Mel Sherratt novels take you to the heart of the crime. She writes psychological suspense, police procedurals and crime dramas – fiction with a punch. Shortlisted for the CWA (Crime Writer’s Association) Dagger in the Library Award, she finds inspiration from authors such as Martina Cole, Lisa Jewell, Mandasue Heller and Clare Mackintosh.

To date, she’s sold two million books. All nineteen of her crime novels have been bestsellers, each one climbing into the kindle UK top 20 and several number ones. She’s also had numerous Kindle All-star awards, for best read author and best titles.

Mel lives in Stoke-on-Trent, with her husband and terrier, Dexter, named after the TV serial killer, and makes liberal use of her hometown as a backdrop for some of her books.

Social Media Links

Website www.melsherratt.co.uk

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/writermels

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MelSherrattauthor/

A Girl Walks into a Bar by Mick Williams @mickwilliamsau2 #AGirlWalksintoaBar #pvfc

A Girl Walks into a Bar by Mick Williams

About the book

How many times is too many times when it comes to saving the world?

Two years ago, Paul, Sabrina and their friends stopped The Consortium from inflicting a massive drone strike designed to provoke World War III.

Thinking the bad guys are defeated, they try to relax, but faced with constant home invasions to steal vital information they hold, are forced back into action. Dealing with secret hostels, black ops gangs, and corrupt politicians is never easy – but finding out the original threat was only the beginning, and that the drones are back and deadlier than ever, means they’ll need to regroup and start again.

Can they save the world once more, or will The Consortium finally get the war it wants?

The rag-tag gang returns in this action-packed sequel to A Guy Walks into a Bar.

Publisher: Valiant Publications

Publication date: 22^nd October 2022

Get your copy from Amazon.co.uk here:- A Girl Walks into a Bar

Get your copy from Amazon.com here:- A Girl Walks into a Bar

My thoughts

Brilliant! A thrilling all-action adventure full of secrecy and danger.

After their last run in with the bad guys, Paul and Sabrina are hoping for a quieter life.

Not a chance!

Seemingly tracked at every move by ‘who the hell knows’, they keep moving house and they keep getting found. Cleaning up the dead bad guys is becoming a bit of a chore.

Paul is an ordinary guy with no particular skills, just the desire and determination to stay alive.

Sabrina has some special skills, taking out the bad people with everyday items. Her ‘Amazing Purse of Many Tricks’ is brilliant, housing many useful items including lockpicks.

Monica Bridges and Cal Lennon, from the previous ‘mission’, are the only numbers Paul and Sabrina have programmed into their phones. Should they give them a call?

Paul and Sabrina have to take off across the country, on the run from whoever the secret agency is. A real wild ride at times, with various forms of transport. They try to stay hidden, encountering people on the way, including an interesting receptionist.

There are so many hilarious moments, and the banter between the characters is spot on.

Some brutal scenes and I visualised them very well but always written with that underlying humour that Mick Williams does so well. 

I thoroughly recommend this book. In fact, any book by this author.

He writes many different genres and they are all brilliant. Dark humour, romance and all-action stuff. He’s definitely one of my favourites.

A special note to the author – Many thanks for the touching tribute to my beloved Sandy the Cairn, who sadly died in July. It means more than you’ll ever know x

About the author

Mick Williams moved from Stoke-on-Trent, England to Kentucky, USA. Then, after almost a decade, he moved back. Then, after three years, he moved back again.

This time he’s staying.

In between reading, writing and listening to good music he still watches proper football and, for his sins, follows his local team, Port Vale. He does also still cheer for the Indianapolis Colts.

He was adopted by two cats, Crash and Thud, and resides with his patient wife (who is also tiring of moving!) in Kentucky.

Social media links

Website: mickwilliamsauthor.com

Facebook: Mick Williams Author

Twitter: @mickwilliamsau2

Amazon Author Page: Mick Williams

Goodreads: Mick Williams