Two Heads Are Better Than One

Lisa Timoney

Publication Date: 19th January 2023

Publisher: Avon Books

SYNOPSIS

You can run from a lie, but you can’t hide from the truth…

Bonnie has been running from her tragic past for far too long. Now, years after the events that changed her life for ever, the time has come to face it. Her search for answers takes her to the idyllic town of Hamblin, where she is determined to start over.

Alice’s perfect life is slipping through her fingers. Drowning in debt, she struggles on, working long days alongside her daughter Laura, ever more desperate to hold on to what little remains.

Laura had her future as an artist snatched from her when she had to return home to care for her sickly father. Whilst she tries hard to be content with her life, each day her resentment grows.

When their worlds collide, Laura and Bonnie form an instant bond. But as they grow closer, Alice begins to grow suspicious of Bonnie’s intentions. Why is she so interested in Alice’s daughter? And what devastating truth is she hiding?

A gripping and uplifting page-turner about buried pasts and the price we pay for those we love. Perfect for fans of CLAIRE AMARTI and JODI PICOULT.

MY REVIEW

Gripping storyline, with the three main characters being women with strong personalities.

Alice is trying to keep the family business afloat as her husband recovers from a heart attack. She is keeping their financial problems to herself as she doesn’t want her husband getting stressed.

Laura, Alice’s daughter, has moved back home after her degree to help run the business but she is desperate to spread her wings and follow her dream of becoming an artist. She feels stifled by her life.

Bonnie comes into their lives and starts to work part time as a receptionist to help Laura and Alice. Laura and Bonnie hit it off immediately but Alice believes Bonnie is hiding something. She is also green with envy at the friendship which has quickly formed between Bonnie and Laura.

Bonnie is hiding a huge secret which will shake Alice’s happy little family unit to the core.

I was glued to the pages of this one, desperate to find out how life would turn out for the women. Happy to say I was very satisfied by the conclusion.

A fabulous family drama and I would love to read more from this author in the future.

Thank you Avon books for sending me an advance copy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa is originally from Yorkshire but now live in the London suburbs. She started her career teaching English and Drama and wrote novels about family drama. Her first book, Her Daughter’s Secret, was published by Avon on September 15th 2022 and her next, Her Mother’s Lies, will be out in January 2023.

Murray Bailey

Publication date: October 2022 HB & PB

Publisher: Three Daggers, Heritage Books Publishing

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️/5

SYNOPSIS

Ash Carter is called in to investigate the mysterious death of a commando. Working with Detective Sofia Mackenzie he finds that nothing is quite what it seems and no one is willing to tell the truth.
When another man dies, it appears that the truth lies in the mountains and the mines to be found there.
Threatened and working against the clock, Carter and Mackenzie must solve the case or risk becoming the mountain’s next victims.

Based in Cyprus in 1949, this is the third book of the Near-East series which can be read in any order.

MY REVIEW

I’m always looking forward to the next Ash Carter book.

In this latest instalment of the action packed Near East series, Ash Carter, an investigator for SIB branch, is waiting for his next orders in Cyprus. To fill in the time he is providing help to Detective Sofia Mackenzie who has been alerted to a dead body of a soldier on the Troodos mountains.

The investigation is not straightforward and Ash and Sofia need to untangle a web of mystery and secrets, finding plenty of obstacles, but with gritty determination they carry on, determined to bring the culprits to justice. Ash visits the soldier’s barracks – could another soldier be responsible? Or did he get involved with the dodgy mining company who are doing more than just mining. Could there be gold in the mountains?

When another body turns up their work is really cut out for them. 

Plenty of action, as always, from an Ash Carter novel which kept me turning the pages.

Another 5 star read from Murray and I look forward, as always, to the next book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Murray Bailey Is the author of Amazon bestseller Map of the Dead, the first of the series based on his interest in Egyptology. His main series however is the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s.

Murray is well traveled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray lives on the south coast of England with his family and a dog called Teddy.

Rosie Green

Publication Date: 28 November 2022

SYNOPSIS

The festive season is fast approaching but with the challenges facing Clara, it looks like being anything but the most wonderful time of the year. Can she somehow find the strength to meet those challenges head-on and find her way to the perfect, happy-ever-after Christmas?

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3CdsZKG

MY REVIEW

The perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy.

At the end of book two in the trilogy, I was left on tenterhooks wondering whether Clara would travel to New York, and if she did would she find her gran’s sister. The sisters lost touch when Clara’s gran was a teenager and now she is waiting for a heart operation and Clara is desperate to reunite the sisters.

At the beginning of this book, Clara’s gran has a fall and it looks as if the secret New York trip would need to be postponed, but following the reassurance of one of the nurses Rory books their flights and they are off. Clara has to try to treat Rory as just a friend which is very difficult as she has had a huge crush on him since school. There is no way they can be anything else as he has just been in a relationship with Clara’s sister. Clara would never want to upset her sister, she is such a caring person.

I never reveal spoilers so you will have to read for yourself how the trip goes!

Rosie’s wonderful writing had me glued to the book, just as I was with the first two. I loved her descriptions of New York at Christmas time. 

I can’t wait to read what happens next in the Little Duck Pond series! 

Thank you Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the tour, and to Rosie for my E copy of the book. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

Rosie’s series of novellas is centred around life in a country village cafe. ‘Clara’s
Christmas Magic’ is Book 3 in a trilogy about Clara. It would make for the best reading experience if you caught up with the others first: Book 1, ‘Clara’s Secret Garden’ and Book 2 in the trio, ‘A Winter Wish’.

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green88

The Hobeck Team

Publication date: 29 Nov 2022

Publisher: Hobeck Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

If an army marches on its stomach, what do crime fiction authors do? Here’s your answer, an exclusive collection of recipes from the Hobeck Books authors team served with a dash of brilliant flash fiction too…

If you love a dribble of ketchup or a drizzle of raspberry jus with your fiction, then this is the cookery book for you.
Discover the delights of mouth-watering Maltese rabbit pasta and luscious lamb in coffee. Or dare to sample chicken wings more deadly than a game of chilli roulette.

Then there’s the story of how a midnight cheese, cucumber and salad cream sandwich helped launch Hobeck itself.
This collection guarantees stomach rumbles and belly roils, and all proceeds help others through the Trussell Trust and their network of foodbanks across the UK.

MY REVIEW

I’m delighted to be sharing my review of Hobeck’s third anthology.

All profits will be donated to The Trussell Trust, a charity which supports more than 1200 food bank centres in the UK. 

This brilliantly put together anthology has something for everyone from seven genres including psychological thrillers, crime thrillers to cozy murder mysteries and more.

The eighteen short stories are written by Hobeck’s talented authors, each accompanied by a recipe the author has personally supplied. There are plenty of recipes I’m going to have a go at!

My favourite was the sandwich recipe, written in so much detail it had me laughing out loud! Who would have guessed this sandwich would be the beginning of Hobeck books, bringing together the Ho with the Beck! 

As well as the food recipes, there is a ‘recipe’ at the beginning of each section on how to create a novel in that genre. Again very funny and having read many books I can absolutely see they are correct! 

Highly recommended and perfect for a Christmas gift!

ABOUT HOBECK BOOKS

Hobeck Books is the brainchild of author and broadcaster Adrian Hobart and publisher Rebecca Collins, and is based in a big old barn in the Staffordshire countryside.

Rebecca brings her expertise and know-how from over two decades working in the publishing industry, with clients such as Bloomsbury, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Summersdale Publishers, and is a published non-fiction author and poet.

Adrian has been a broadcaster and journalist with the BBC for twenty-five years, and is an audiobook narrator, filmmaker and a writer. 

They aim to build a family ethos around their authors, combining the best of traditional publishing standards and indie marketing techniques to build an audience and engage with readers.

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Iris Costello

Publication Date: ebook 24/11/22; paperback 8/12/22

Publisher: Penguin Books

SYNOPSIS

Spring 1937: Teresa is evacuated to London in the wake of the Guernica bombing. She thinks she’s found safety in the soothing arms of Mary Davidson and the lofty halls of Rochester Place, but trouble pursues her wherever she goes.

Autumn 2020: Corrine, an emergency dispatcher, receives a call from a distressed woman named Mary. But when the ambulance arrives at the address, Mary is nowhere to be found. Intrigued, Corinne investigates and, in doing so, disturbs secrets that have long-dwelt in Rochester Place’s crumbling walls. Secrets that, once revealed, will change her life for ever . . .

Who is Mary Davidson? And what happened at Rochester Place all those years ago?

Set between the dusty halls of Rochester Place and the bustling streets of modern-day Tooting, this emotive, intricately layered mystery tells the spellbinding story of two people, separated by time, yet mysteriously connected through an enchanting Georgian house and the secrets within its walls. For fans of Sally Page’s The Keeper of Stories.

MY REVIEW

A wonderful dual timeline story, beginning with what appears to be a telephone call from a woman who died in 1940.  Corinne receives the call on her personal mobile when she is on a break during her job as a first responder, answering ‘999’ calls. 

With the help of her uncle who is a well known house historian, she begins to unravel the story of Mary who lived at Rochester Place when it was destroyed by a bomb in 1940.

The historical time line goes back to May 1937 and Teresa, a young girl who is lucky to be alive, is escaping the war in her country by travelling to England by boat to safety. She has been put on the boat by her older sister who has promised to come and find her when it is safe.

As Corinne and her uncle dig deeper into the history, and the mystery of the phone call, they uncover family secrets which have been hidden for years. Secrets kept by their own family.

The novel is well researched, and the author includes folklore stories she has grown up with which is such a special touch.

Tremendous. I enjoyed every page. I didn’t expect the literal cold shivers down my spine when the secrets began to unfold. Or the tears towards the end. It has to be a well written novel to trigger such emotions!

Fans of dual timeline historical fiction novels  centred around family secrets are going to love this. 

Thank you Ellie at Penguin Random House for my stunning proof and my place on the socials tour. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Iris Costello is the pseudonym of Nuala Ellwood, who was born in 1979. She has a BA Hons degree in Sociology from Durham University and a Master’s in Creative Writing from York St John University where she is a visiting lecturer in Creative Writing. The author of six highly acclaimed novels, Nuala has a teenage son, Luke, and is based in York and South London.

Georgina Clarke

Publication Date: 17/22/22

Publisher: Verve Books

SYNOPSIS

A sparkling new historical novel set in the 1920s, inspired by the notorious all-female crime syndicate known as the Forty Thieves who operated out of the slums of south London.

Ruby Mills is ruthlessly ambitious, strikingly beautiful – and one of the Forty Thieves’ most talented members.

Harriet Littlemore writes the women’s section in a local newspaper. She’s from a ‘good’ London family and engaged to an up-and-coming Member of Parliament – but she wants a successful career of her own.

After witnessing Ruby fleeing the scene of a robbery, Harriet develops a fascination with the elusive young thief that extends beyond journalistic interest. As their personal aspirations bring them into closer contact than society’s rules usually allow, Ruby and Harriet’s stories become increasingly intertwined.

Their magnetic dynamic, fraught with envy and desire, tells a compulsive, cinematic story about class, morality and the cost of being an independent woman in 1920s London.

MY REVIEW

Set in 1920, this is the story of Ruby and Harriet, along with a cast of fabulous characters; plenty with ‘love to hate them’ personalities!

Harriet is from a wealthy family, but with controlling parents. Engaged to a wealthy politician and working at a local newspaper, writing the women’s page. She is ambitious. She wants to be taken seriously and write more interesting articles. And she makes the tea for the menfolk. This is 1920!

Ruby’s life can’t be more different. Orphaned when she was young and taken in by a jeweller. She is now one of the most talented members of ‘The Forty Thieves’, a well known organisation operating around London. She has no morals and will steal anything from anyone, with the ambition to one day become Queen of the Forties.

Two young ladies who would be unlikely to cross paths, yet fate has other ideas.

What a fabulous read. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Ruby and Harriet. Two very different women who’s lives cross a number of times until they almost become friends. 

Set just after The Great War, it highlights the issues many people faced, having lost husbands, brothers and sons, and many of those who returned coping with life changing injuries and PTSD. The poor lived in slums. The rich got richer.

Most of the story is based around actual events and real people which I always find so interesting in historical fiction novels. 

Loved it! Highly recommended.

Thank you to Hollie at Oldcastle books for my spot on the tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Georgina Clarke has always been passionate about stories and history. The Lizzie Hardwicke novels give her the opportunity to bring to life her love of the eighteenth century and her determination that a strong, intelligent and unconventional woman should get to solve the crimes – rather than be cast in the role of the side-kick. 

Georgina was born in Wolverhampton, has degrees from Oxford, Cambridge and London, but now lives in Worcester with her husband and son and two lively cats.

Her first two novels, Death and the Harlot and The Corpse Played Dead, are published by Canelo. She is currently cooking up plots for the next novels in the series. 

She is represented by Laura Macdougall, at United Agents. 

If you would like to visit her website, you can find her at: 

http://www.georginaclarkeauthor.com

She is also to be found tweeting (probably far too often than is good for her) at: 

@clarkegeorgina1

She is a chatterbox, and always happy to find new readers to chat with.

James Grady

Publication Date: 16/6/22

Publisher: No Exit Press

SYNOPSIS

The new novel from the acclaimed author of Six Days of the Condor, set on a heart-pounding cross-country train ride.

This Train races us through America’s heartland, carrying secrets. There is treasure in the cargo car, along with an invisible puppeteer. There is a coder named Nora, Mugzy, the yippy dog, and Ross, the too-curious poet. On board, it’s a countdown to murder…

On this train there is a silver madman, a targeted banker, and crises of conscience. This train harbors the “perfect” couple’s conspiracies, the chaos of being a teenager, and parenthood alongside the wows of being nine. There is a widow and a wannabe, and the sleaziest billionaire.

On this train, there is the suicide ticket, the bomb, sex, love, and loneliness. The heist. Revenge. Redemption.

This Train is a ticking clock, roaring through forty-seven fictional hours of non-stop suspense and action, through the challenges of now: Racism. Sexism. Global warming. What it means to be alive.

This train carries all of us. All aboard!

MY REVIEW

All aboard the Empire Builder for a 47 hour train journey from Seattle to Chicago.

On board you will meet an eclectic cast of characters, some with personal struggles and some with dastardly plans. Murder. Robbery. There is a SWAT team on board, guarding something in the baggage car.

We get to know a little about each character. To name a few we have Nora the hacker. Albert the man with the bag. Graham the ‘silver haired werewolf’. Ulysses and his military family; a teenage daughter with teenage angst issues and her 9 year old brother with an active imagination. Ulysses is trying to keep himself together, trying to convince himself he does not have PTSD, with the support of his strong wife. They were my favourite passengers.

We see snippets of the countryside as the train powers along the tracks. 

Clackety-clack.

If you want to read a thriller with a difference, this is for you. It is written in short sharp sentences from a number of narrators. To the point, with not much unnecessary padding. I found it difficult to read at the beginning, then I got into the flow and began to understand the unusual prose. Very cleverly written.

Thank you to Sarah at Oldcastle Books / No Exit Press for inviting me onto the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Grady’s first novel Six Days Of The Condorbecame the classic Robert Redford movie Three Days Of The Condor and the current Max Irons TV series Condor. Grady has received Italy’s Raymond Chandler Medal, France’s Grand Prix Du Roman Noir and Japan’s Baka-Misu literature award, two Regardie’s magazine short story awards, and been a Mystery Writers of America Edgar finalist. He’s published more than a dozen novels and three times that many short stories, been a muckraker journalist and a scriptwriter for film and television. In 2008, London’s Daily Telegraph named Grady as one of “50 crime writers to read before you die.” In 2015, The Washington Post compared his prose to George Orwell and Bob Dylan.

Elle Cook

Publication Date: 24/11/22

Publisher: Penguin

My Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

SYNOPSIS

Two lives are about to be changed by one phone call…

When Davey misdials Hannah’s number, at first they think nothing of it.

After all, Davey lives in Texas and Hannah lives in London.

But when Davey gets a job in London, their paths are sure to cross. As messaging turns to video calling, this feels like the start of something.

Weeks later, Hannah is waiting for Davey at the airport, but he never walks into Arrivals.

When Hannah finds out why, her world is turned on its head. And with their future so uncertain, each must pick up the pieces of their lives.

Will fate intervene once more to bring them together? Or will Davey always be the man that Hannah never met?

MY REVIEW

What an emotive read. Oh my goodness one minute I was laughing and the next tears were streaming down my face! 

I thought this was going to be an easy and light going rom com type read, and it was heading in that direction. Hannah and Davey accidentally ‘meet’ when he dials her number by mistake. They keep in touch and develop a long distance relationship. They begin making plans to meet when he moves to London to start a new job. All nice and happy and going along the trajectory I expected. 

Then something happens to prevent Davy coming to London. 

They go their separate ways and try to carry on with their lives, but think of each other often.

Will fate ever bring them together?

Although I had lots of tears I loved Hannah and Davey’s story. There is also a cast of colourful supporting characters. I enjoyed Hannah and Joan’s coffee mornings over the garden fence in their pyjamas.

Highly recommended.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elle Cook worked as a journalist and in PR before becoming a fulltime novelist. The Man I Never Met is her first contemporary novel. She is also the author of three historical time-slip novels under her real name, Lorna Cook. The Forgotten Village, The Forbidden Promise and The Girl from the Islandhave sold over 200,000 copies combined. 

She lives in coastal Essex with her husband and two daughters.

Robert J Lloyd

Publication Date: 27/10/22

Publisher: Melville House Publishing

SYNOPSIS

1679. A year has passed since the sensational attempt to murder King Charles II. Harry Hunt – estranged from his mentor Robert Hooke and no longer employed by the Royal Society – meets Sir Jonas Moore, the King s Surveyor-General of the Board of Ordnance, in the remote and windswept marshes of Norfolk. There, workers draining the fenland have uncovered a skeleton. Accompanied by his friend Colonel Fields, an old soldier for Parliament, and Hooke’s niece, Grace, Harry confirms Sir Jonas’s suspicion: the body is that of a dwarf, Captain Jeffrey Hudson, once famously given to Queen Henrietta Maria in a pie. 

During the Civil Wars, Hudson accompanied the Queen to France to sell the Royal Jewels to fund her husband’s army. He was sent home in disgrace after shooting a man in a duel. But nobody knew Hudson was dead. Another man, working as a spy, has lived as him since his murder. Now, this imposter has disappeared, taking vital information with him. Sir Jonas orders Harry to find him. Harry’s search takes him to Paris, another city bedevilled by conspiracies and intrigues. He navigates its salons and libraries, and learns of a terrible plot against the current Queen of England, Catherine of Bragança, and her gathering of Catholics in London. Assassins plan to poison them all…

MY REVIEW

Another outstanding historical fiction novel from this extremely talented author who has earned a place on my list of auto read authors.

I have been eagerly awaiting the second instalment to find out what was next in store for Harry Hunt. And here it is! Every bit as good as I hoped it would be.

In this second novel, which can be read as a standalone, we are transported back in time to 1679. Harry tries to impress his peers at the Royal Society for the Improving of Natural Knowledge with his demonstration of creating electricity using a bone. Unfortunately his demonstration doesn’t go at all according to plan and he is ridiculed by his peers.

He decides to leave the Royal Society for a job he has been offered, mainly because of his hurt pride and he feels he will be appreciated, to investigate a murder in Norfolk. The money offered is much more than he is currently earning. When he arrives he finds the body is now just a skeleton and initially looked like it could have been a child, but an inspection of the rags left of the clothes and belongings leads Harry to conclude this is in fact Jeffrey Hudson who was the Queen’s dwarf. The investigation to find the murderer follows a spy who has been impersonating Hudson for years. Hunt follows the trail which takes him to Paris, accompanied by his trusted friend Fields, having also picked up further assignments on the way including a request to find the the Sancy diamond which the dead man supposedly had in his possession.

There is intrigue aplenty, secrets are uncovered and Harry finds who he can trust in this fast moving and gripping novel. There are dangerous assassins, a traumatic spell in prison for Harry, wrongly imprisoned, and a plot to murder the English Queen.

The author’s amazingly descriptive writing immerses the reader right into the centre of the action. I enjoyed the many ‘real’ facts and people woven into the story. 

I highly recommend both of the authors books.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Lloyd, the son of parents who worked in the British Foreign Office, grew up in South London, Innsbruck, and Kinshasa. He studied for a Fine Art degree, starting as a landscape painter, but it was while studying for his MA degree in The History of Ideas that he first read Robert Hooke’s diary, detailing the life and experiments of this extraordinary man. After a 20-year career as a secondary school teacher, he has now returned to painting and writing. He is the author of The Bloodless Boy, which was selected by Publishers Weekly as a Mystery Book of the Year and The New York Times as a Best New Historical Novel of 2021.

Follow Robert on Twitter as @robjlloyd

On Facebook, I’m Robert J Lloyd.

Linda Huber

Publication date: 15/11/22

Publisher: Hobeck Books

SYNOPSIS

For better, for worse

Wildlife vet Holly’s life seems blissful: husband Dylan is the man of her dreams, she has a rewarding career and a lovely home. And yet, a tiny niggle is growing daily. Dylan is becoming increasingly remote – but why? Holly is determined to mend the fissure in their relationship. But a shocking discovery changes everything…  

Family ties

Then there’s Dylan’s family: his wayward twin Seth and their widowed mother Elaine, who is rather fond of a glass or two of sherry. Nothing in Elaine’s life is easy, bringing up teenage granddaughter Megan while the family grieves the loss of Megan’s mother.

Family lies

A tragic event rocks the foundations of the family, and Holly’s life starts to unravel. Dylan drifts ever further away. Megan is left uncertain and alone, while Seth falls deeper into himself.

The bonds that once bound the family together are breaking. Can they ever be repaired?

MY REVIEW

Poor Megan has had a tough life. Her mother died when she was young leaving her grandma to bring her up, then tragically a few years later her beloved grandma dies. Megan is only 16.

Now feeling homeless and with her world changed forever she has to live with her uncle Dylan and his wife Holly. Dylan is a twin, and Megan really doesn’t want to have to live with his brother Seth and his girlfriend. To add to her problems, the boy next door wants more than friendship but Megan isn’t ready for anything more so keeps pushing him away. Then one day he disappears and Megan wonders if it is her fault.

The brothers are devastated at the loss of their mother, and their low mood seeps into their relationships. Dylan becoming increasingly distant from Holly, working away frequently and sleeping in his office when at home.

The story reads like a family saga, until a devastating event turns it much darker. 

We get flashbacks to when the twins were children, and we find out what happened to Megan’s mother and we also find out why the twins are not exactly close.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which is a gripping story of a disfunctional family hiding secrets, which are revealed in a heart racing conclusion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Linda has been writing since she was a child, getting inspiration from everyday events and conversation and always asking: What If? It’s a great question.