Two Heads Are Better Than One

by David Koepp

Publication date: 9 June 2022

Publisher: HQ

SYNOPSIS

When the lights go out no one is safe…

A planet without power.
When a solar storm hits the earth, the lights go out across the planet. But this time the blackout won’t be over soon – it could last for years. Aubrey and her stepson now face the biggest challenge of their lives.
 
A society without rules.
Soon they hear rumours of riots, the struggle for food becomes real, and even within their small communities, the rule of law is collapsing. Aubrey’s estranged brother Thom, a self-made billionaire who abandoned her years ago, retreats to a gilded desert bunker where he can ride out the crisis in perfect luxury.
 
A race to build a better world…
But the complicated history between the siblings is far from over, and what feels like the end of the world is just the beginning of a personal reckoning long overdue…

MY REVIEW

I watched an HQ online event a few months ago where I listened to David Koepp discussing this, his new book, and I just had to read it. I am so excited it is going to be turned into a film by Netflix.

Mr Koepp is a celebrated American screenwriter and already has an amazing list of well known films he has worked on including Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Panic Room, War of the Worlds and Mission: Impossible. I was expecting something extraordinary and I was not disappointed!

Although this is a story centred around a (scarily plausible) scenario of a solar event taking out the electricity for most of the planet, Koepp manages to keep the panic to a minimum and centres the story around a strong and level headed mum, Aubrey, and her 15 year old son. She just happens to live down the street from 88 year old Norman, a craggy but loveable ex university lecturer who dedicated his life to the study of the sun and who was one of the first people to know the event was imminent. He is also, it turns out, a pretty good goat herd. Norman is amazing I loved his sense of humour and outlook on life. He was definitely my favourite character.

Aubrey’s estranged brother, Thom, just happens to be a billionaire with a very controlling personality who runs a company based in Silicon Valley. He has been planning for an event like this and whisks his family off to a bunker he has had specially fitted out for such a scenario. There is a devastating secret being kept by the brother and sister, and Thom feels he needs to look after his sister.

As the story unfolds we follow just a handful of people and how they deal with the blackout. We see neighbours come together, as well as the darker side of people turning to crime.

This was absolutely the definition of a page turner and I really found it hard to put down and go to sleep! I was particularly surprised to be in floods of tears at the end. 

A must read!

by Claire Alexander

PUBLICATION DATE: 9/6/22 in Hardback

PUBLISHER: PENGUIN MICHAEL JOSEPH

SYNOPSIS

Meredith Maggs hasn’t left her house in 1,214 days. But she insists she isn’t alone.

She has her cat, Fred. Her friend Sadie visits when she can. There’s her online support group, StrengthInNumbers. She has her jigsaws, favourite recipes, her beloved Emily Dickinson, the internet, the Tesco delivery man and her treacherous memories for company.

But something’s about to change.

First, new friends Tom and Celeste burst into her life. Then an estranged sister she hasn’t spoken to in years.

Suddenly her carefully curated home is no longer a safe place to hide.

Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door . . .

MY REVIEW

This is one of those books everyone will be reading and talking about over the summer. one if the most anticipated reads of 2022. As soon as I heard about it last September I knew I had to read it.

It was a pleasure to get to know Meredith. We join her at the time she has been in her house for 1214 days. She is quite happy pottering around with Fred, her cat, running up and down stairs for her exercise, doing jigsaws, reading her beloved books and baking. Her best and only friend, Sadie, keep a close eye on her and does any running around needed.

Meredith is hiding from the world following a dreadful experience which has made her retreat into her shell and stop seeing her controlling and abusive mother, and her sister with whom she was once very close.

We have plenty of flashbacks where we are taken back to her childhood to understand the way she feels about her mother. The awful experience she encountered is dealt with sensitively by the author.

When the lovely Tom, who has his own sad story, comes into her life from a befriending charity, then she meets Celeste, an internet chat room friend, face to face (in her home of course) she begins to consider it may be possible to leave her house again. Maybe. After all it is Celeste’s 30th birthday party in a few months – and she doesn’t know about Meredith’s problem.

A beautifully written and uplifting story with an unforgettable leading lady. I loved most of the ‘supporting’ characters, which are superbly written’ Meredith clearly has only a handful of close contacts but they are all hugely supportive. 

A story of family – the good and the bad – and friendship, and finding the strength to face our fears and carry on. 

Thank you to Jen at Penguin Michael Joseph for sending me a proof of this phenomenal debut. I’m looking forward to more from this author.

by Jonathan Peace

Published 31/5/22

by Hobeck Books

SYNOPSIS

March 1987

Ossett, West Yorkshire
A town of flower shows, Maypole parades and Sunday football games. Behind all the closed doors and drawn curtains live hidden truths and shameful lies.

A body is found
WDC Louise Miller’s first case as detective in her hometown is hampered by the sexism and misogyny of small-town policing. Her four years on the force in Manchester have prepared her for this. Along with ally WPC Elizabeth Hines, the pair work the case together.

What truths lie hidden?
As their inquiries deepen, the towns secrets reveal even darker truths that could lead to the identity of the killer. But when a second girl goes missing, Louise realises that some secrets should stay hidden.

MY THOUGHTS

I’m delighted to be reviewing this book on the blog tour. 

Louise is out for an early morning jog, thinking about her new job, listening to her cassette, when she stops near a phone box and drawn by the smell she finds the body of a girl squashed into the bottom. Luckily Louise is not your average jogger she is WDC Louise Miller and her new job is with the local police. This is 1987 and the days before everyone carried mobile phones so she secures the scene as much as she can, then calls the police from the phone box. 

Talk about being in at the deep end! So she begins her job before her official start date. This story is set in the time where misogyny was rife and women had to put up with snide remarks on a daily basis by male colleagues who felt they were superior. The local police force is no exception but Louise has the support of Hines, another female police officer. 

As the investigation progresses, a second  schoolgirl goes missing and the hunt for the perpetrator intensifies. 

This is a real page turner of a police procedural. There are plenty of characters in this one to dislike, one particularly nasty wife beater, and it takes me back to memories of the times women were expected to accept being second class citizens. I very much like Louise, she is a strong woman who can hold her own.

I’m so glad this is the start of a series and I’m looking forward to reading more. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jonathan Peace is a husband, cat-dad and author of the WDC Louise Miller novels.

A Yorkshire lad at heart, Jonathan sets his novels in a fictionalised version of his hometown of Ossett, West Yorkshire, during the 1980’s. He now lives and works out of his home in Derbyshire, where he shares his writing office with his author wife, Lucy, and their three cats.

You can find him across the socials at the following:

Website: https://www.jpwritescrime.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jpwritescrime

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

Subscribe to his newsletter for monthly updates at: https://bit.ly/3kJhPD9

by Jackie Kabler

Publication date: 31/5/22

Publisher: One More Chapter

Number of pages: 338

SYNOPSIS

The brand new psychological thriller from the author of Am I Guilty, The Perfect Couple and The Happy Family

When Mary receives a blank diary as a present, she thinks nothing of it. Until she opens the diary, and sees it’s not blank after all…

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

Is this a sick joke? But…it’s the end of January now. And a woman called Lisa was murdered in Oxford on 1st January.

Could there really be a killer out there, planning to commit a new murder each month? And is the Mary due to be killed on 1st April her?

The clock is ticking for Mary to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim on the killer’s list…

MY THOUGHTS

What would you do if you received a diary which included the date you are going to be murdered? Go to the police? Leave the country? Stay and face your fate?

That is exactly the dilemma faced by Mary. She receives the diary thinking it is a Christmas gift but doesn’t open it until January, expecting there to be a card inside but instead there is a chilling list of murders which will be taking place over the next four months, hers being the last on the list.

The storyline progresses with Mary deciding to go to the police and the murders begin. With no leads at all and her date fast approaching, the suspense increases.

You won’t want to put this one down. The story proceeds as you would expect until half way through when it goes off on a tangent I did not expect at all and I was even more glued to the pages. There are so many unexpected twists and turns making this a really cleverly written thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed joining in with a 5 day read along on Instagram.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie Kabler worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She is now a presenter on shopping channel QVC. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.

by Harry Fisher

SYNOPSIS

MY REVIEW

Having read Harry’s first two books, I jumped at the chance to join the blog tour for his third book, and it’s a corker just like the others. 

We meet DS Mel Cooper for the second time. In this outing, she is sent to investigate the death of a lady found dead and hanging from some undergrowth.

The husband, Edwin, is the murderer. We know that right from the beginning. What a creepy bloke. Has been under his wife’s thumb and been put down by her since the day they met. After many years of putting up with it he has had enough and decides to make his fantasy a reality and kill her.  Now this guy loves a puzzle and he thoroughly enjoys planning how he is going to do it. He takes months until he finally believes he has planned every detail to carry out the perfect murder where he is very unlikely to be caught, and puts his plan into action.

All goes well until he gets bored with the acting and makes a huge mistake. Up until then the police have not found a shred of evidence against him. Can DS Cooper keep digging and find the evidence she desperately needs to be able to release the person wrongly charged, and arrest Edwin? I was rooting for her and desperate for him to be found out! 

The same as Harry’s first two books, this is the definition of a page turner which grabs you right from the beginning and doesn’t let you go until literally the final page! My heart was racing towards the end as I was flying through the last chapters. Dinner had to wait until I had finished! 

Harry has clearly done a huge amount of research on police procedures, and it is very interesting to have the detective explain some of the police and court terms as they are mentioned. I like to finish a book and feel I have learnt something new!

If you enjoy exceptionally good crime novels, Harry’s books need to be on your list!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – IN HIS OWN WORDS

I live in Aberdeen with my wife, Shiona and our dog, Harry. And there it is – the lie exposed. Harry Fisher (the writer) is a pseudonym and here’s why. Despite the fact that in my entire life I’ve never met anyone with the same name as me, when I came to self-publish Way Beyond A Lie I discovered a namesake down south who writes crime thrillers. Honestly, what are the chances? (Mutter mutter.)

I’m a native of Edinburgh and that’s where Way Beyond A Lie is (partly) set. Write about what you know, and all that. It’s also set in Prague. We went there for a long weekend in 2000 so you can see a theme developing. We’ve been to Ballachulish a couple of times too but I couldn’t fit it into the story. Sorry about that, folks.

My second book – Be Sure Your Sins – involves six events, suffered by six people, leaving six lives destroyed. It’s not a sequel but Way Beyond A Lie readers said two of the police characters were strong enough to lead in their own series. So DS Mel Cooper is the central character in Be Sure Your Sins, and DC Andrew Young is her sidekick.  It was published in Oct 2021. Here’s the first sentence:

“When Celia Fraser, who only had one arm, had left her Edinburgh home that morning with her granddaughter and her dog, she could never have imagined that only one of the three would return home safely.”

My third book, Yes, I Killed Her, is the next in the DS Mel Cooper series. Here’s the first sentence:

“Philip Walker reckoned he had less than twenty-four hours before the police came to tell him they’d discovered his wife’s body hanging upside down in a dense tangle of undergrowth: better get a move on, he thought.”

Things I’m into apart from walking the canine Harry every day: travel, outdoor stuff, wine and food, and if all four can be combined then so much the better.

If you’d like to keep in touch, my contact details are below.

All the best,

Harry

http://www.harryfisherwriter.com

harry.fisher.writer@gmail.com

Tweets by HFwritesCrime

by Amanda Geard

Published 12 May 2022

by Headline

432 wonderful lose yourself in pages

SYNOPSIS

My Dearest T, Whatever you hear, do not believe it for a moment…

1940: In south-west Ireland, the young and beautiful Lady Charlotte Rathmore is pronounced dead after she mysteriously disappears by the lake of Blackwater Hall. In London, on the brink of the Blitz, Nancy Rathmore is grieving Charlotte’s death when a letter arrives containing a secret that she is sworn to keep – one that will change her life for ever.

2019: Decades later, Ellie Fitzgerald is forced to leave Dublin disgraced and heartbroken. Abandoning journalism, she returns to rural Kerry to weather out the storm. But, when she discovers a faded letter, tucked inside the pages of an old book, she finds herself drawn in by a long-buried secret. And as Ellie begins to unravel the mystery, it becomes clear that the letter might hold the key to more than just Charlotte’s disappearance.

An unforgettable and spellbinding story of secrets, war, love and sacrifice, perfect for readers of Kate Morton, Eve Chase and Louise Douglas.

MY REVIEW

Delighted to be joining the blog tour for this unforgettable debut. It is up there with the best historical fiction I have read, for the story as well at the quality of the writing. Ellie and Charlotte are going to be staying with me for a long time.

Ellie returns home ‘for a bit’ following the end of her relationship and the loss of her job as a newspaper reporter following an exposé she wrote on her personal blog.

She finds a letter in the back of an old book she picks up from a charity shop, written over 80 years ago. She is drawn in to the mystery of what happened to Charlotte, the author of the note, and can’t help wanting to find answers. 

The author takes us on a journey between 1940, 1958 and the present time, and as Ellie’s investigations begin to reveal answers we are taken back to find out what actually happened. There are mysteries to be solved, family secrets galore, and a coffee shop I would love to visit! 

The characters and descriptions are vivid and I was completely engrossed in all three of the storyline and couldn’t wait to pick up the book whenever possible! I was a bit devastated when I reached the end and can’t wait to read more from this very talented author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Australia, Amanda Geard has lived all over the world, from a houseboat in London to a Norwegian Island, before settling in County Kerry in Ireland. Her writing has appeared in The Irish Times, The Journal, writing.ie, Nordic Reach and Vertical Magazine. Her short story Not Yet Recycledwon the New Irish Writing Award in October 2019.

by Beverly Clarke

BLURB
A short story which introduces young readers to the Digital Technologies shaping today’s society. Follow Ava, Chip and their mum as they explore a Smart city. Readers will gain an understanding of technology; the ways in which it is transforming our society, and how we interact with this emerging world.

Number of Pages: 27

MY THOUGHTS

Thank you Hygge Book Tours and Beverly Clarke for having me along on the tour and for my copy of the book.

The first thing I liked about the book was the cartoon artwork which is attractive to young children but not too babyish so older children would also find it enjoyable.

This lovely artwork continues throughout the book as Ava and Chip take a trip to the Smart City with their mother.

The description of the smart technology was child friendly and I’m sure a few adults will also learn a thing or two. I think it will light a spark of interest in technology in many children. There are plenty of discussion points to expand learning on this very important part of how our day to day activities are bring impacted by smart technology and not just in our homes.

I’d love to see this books available in school classrooms.

Book Links

The Digital Adventures of Ava and Chip: Smart City : Clarke, Beverly, Cooper, Terry: Amazon.co.uk: Books

The Digital Adventures of Ava and Chip: Smart City by Beverly Clarke (goodreads.com)

Additional Free resources available from – AvaChipBooks – Children’s Books

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beverly Clarke resides in the UK. Born in Guyana, South America, she did not see a computer until she was twelve, but once she did, she embraced computing and technology and has always been fascinated by the impact that tech has on society.  As a child she was an avid reader, enjoying adventure stories such as Asterix, Tintin, Nancy Drew, Hardy boys, Enid Blyton and many more stories! 

She is a former teacher and works in computing education.  Beverly has previously written for adults on different aspects of computing education.  The Digital Adventures of Ava and Chip – Smart City – is her first children’s book, with the aim of helping to “make kids smarter” in understanding how technology is impacting upon their lives in an easy-to-understand way.  Beverly feels that through an understanding of our fast changing world we will all have brighter futures.

by Jayne Cowie

SYNOPSIS

WELCOME TO A WORLD WHERE WOMEN HOLD THE POWER.

They dominate workplaces, public spaces and government. 

They are no longer afraid to cross a dark car park, catch the last train, or walk home alone.

With the Curfew law in place, all men are electronically tagged and must stay at home after 7pm. 

It changed things for the better. Until now. 

A woman is murdered late at night and evidence suggests she knew her attacker. It couldn’t have been a man because a Curfew tag is a solid alibi … Isn’t it?

MY REVIEW

I am sharing my review today for my stop on the blog tour.

This book is going to be brilliant for book groups. There are a lot of discussion points! 

A dystopian novel, set a few years in the future, at a time when society has had enough of the violent attacks on women, by men, after dark. A law has been passed setting a curfew where men have to stay at home after 7pm, and from the age of 10 all have to wear an electronic tag to monitor them. Anyone breaking curfew gets arrested. Women now feel safe walking the streets after dark. Women are now in all the places of power. Women want baby daughters not sons, and the new pregnancy tests can tell them immediately whether they are having a boy or a girl. 

There is a requirement that any couple wishing to move in together must attend counselling to obtain a Cohab certificate which is meant to identify couples with an increased risk of interpersonal violence and prevent them from living together. It doesn’t mean a couple are perfect for each other. 

Sarah works as a tagger, fitting and checking the men’s tags. Sarah’s 17 year old daughter Cass is a troubled teen who blames her mother for her father being caught outside after curfew snd ending up in jail. Sarah kicked him out of the house, but why? She didn’t tell Cass. Cass is very vocal about being strongly opposed to curfew, especially during school classes teaching the history behind curfew. She doesn’t have many friends, just Billy, a boy she has been friends with for a long time.

During a work experience day at the tagging centre with her mother, Cass finds one of the tag keys, which are rigidly controlled and checked and usually locked away, on the floor and after being shocked and upset seeing her mum taser a man for causing trouble she picks it up and walks out with it.

When her father is released from prison, Cass’s mother doesn’t want anything to do with him now that they have moved into a women’s only safe house, where men are not allowed past the gate, but Cass tracks her father down and meets him. Her mother has tried to protect her by not telling her the whole story about her father.

Helen and Tom have just passed their Cohab certificate and Tom immediately moved in to Helen’s flat. But how well does she really know him? 

Then a woman’s body is found in the park and the police cannot easily identify her as she has been so horrifically mutilated. This can’t have been an attack by a man. Can it?

This was such a gripping book. I was flipping between thinking what a good idea, but then how unfair for the innocent men and boys! I’m so interested to read other peoples thoughts on this one. 

I found it very sad that Sarah and Cass just didn’t talk to each other. Cass felt she had no support and her mother didn’t care about her or her feelings. Sarah is working full time then coming home to a miserable daughter but doing her best to protect her by keeping things from her. If only they would both open up to each other and begin to repair their relationship.

Super highly recommended! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An avid reader and life-long writer, Jayne Cowie also enjoys digging in her garden and makes an excellent devil’s food cake.

She lives near London with her family. You can find her on Instagram as @CowieJayne

by Scott Kershaw

Publication date: 12 May 2022

Publisher: HQ

Print Length: 400 pages 

My Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.

THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.

To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.

IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.

But what is The Game – and why have they been chosen?

There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING.

MY REVIEW

This is a read in one sitting thriller! I was  hooked from the first page and I was taken on an adrenaline fuelled ride which didn’t let me off until the very last word had been consumed. I thoroughly enjoyed every twisted word!

We begin by getting to know five people, who appear to have nothing in common, except for the person they love most has been abducted. And they have each received an anonymous text telling them to play The Game to try and save the life of their loved one. They can’t tell anyone, they must buy a burner phone and destroy their own phone, and they have a deadline to get to a pub on Saddleworth Moor, itself one of the bleakest places you could imagine. Two of the players are in America and one is in France. Can they make it in time?

What will they find when they arrive? Well I’m not going to ruin the storyline by giving out any more details.

This is a must read! You can thank me later! Buy it now!

I would like to thank the publisher, HQ, for my advance copy of the book via NetGalley and also for my place on the blog tour.

About the Author

Scott Kershaw lives in Lincolnshire, in a Victorian cottage that was formerly ruled by mice. He likes the crackle of vinyl, the smell of paperbacks, the taste of a stiff drink and the view from a front row barrier. He’s getting too old and heavy for crowd-surfing, but that rarely stops him from trying. His first real love was cinema. His beagle, Darwin, is the one true king of dogs. As a child, Scott believed in monsters. Sometimes he still does. The Game is his debut thriller.

Eve Chase

Publication date: 28th April 2022

Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph

SYNOPSIS

Lauren, Kat and Flora are half-sisters who share a famous artist father – and a terrible secret.

After years of drifting apart, they are unexpectedly summoned to Rock Point, the cliff house where they once sat for their father’s most celebrated painting, Girls and Birdcage.

Rock Point is a beautiful, windswept place, thick with secrets and electrically charged with the catastrophic events of a summer twenty years before. The day of the total solar eclipse.

It’s the first time they’ve dared return.

When the sisters arrive, it is clear that someone is determined not to let the past lie. Someone who is watching their every move. Who remembers the girls in the painting, and what they did . . .

Set on the rugged Cornish coast, The Birdcage is a twisty, spellbinding novel with unforgettable characters who must piece together their family’s darkest secrets.

MY REVIEW

I am over the moon to be joining the blog tour for this tremendous book! Described as ’Stunning’ and ’Spellbinding’ by the publishers, I would have to agree.

From the first page I was drawn into this story of devastating family secrets, buried for twenty years since the night of the eclipse in 1999.

Lauren, Flora and Kat are half sisters sharing the same father, Charlie, who is a renowned artist and was a bit of a womaniser in his younger days.

The story is told over a dual timeline twenty years apart.

When the girls were young, each summer they would come to their fathers house, Rock Point, high on the cliffs of Cornwall. Each dropped off by their very different mothers. 

Lauren never felt she fitted in, being introduced to the other two after they had already bonded. She was embarrassed about her second hand clothes and was always trying to prove herself. 

The relationship between the sisters was often strained, each trying to find where they fit in. 

When their father invites them back to his home after 20 years for a big announcement, they are initially reluctant to face the house and the memories they have tried to bury. 

The tension in the story builds as the events leading up to that night are revisited, and secrets must be told so the women can try to move forward with their lives.

I was concerned the big reveal of ‘the event’ which the book is written around would be a let down but I was so pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t. It was not out of place and flowed into the story perfectly.

Eve Chase is clearly an exceptional storyteller and author and she is now on my ‘must read everything by this author’ list.

Very highly recommend this book.

Huge thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for sending me a proof, the cover of which is just as stunning as the story it holds.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eve Chase is a star on the rise. Her latest novel The Glass House was a Sunday Times bestseller, Richard and Judy pick and has sold nearly 200,000 copies across all formats. Her novels are perfect for book groups, and The Birdcage is her writing at its best.
With wide-ranging reader appeal, Eve’s books have been reviewed in many publications including Heat, Daily Mail and New York Times. Lisa Jewell has called her ‘one of the most enthralling novelists of the moment’.