Two Heads Are Better Than One

Jenni Kerr

Publication Date: 30/9/24

Publisher: Boldwood Books

SYNOPSIS

‘There are a lot of shadows at Ravenswood, so you will need to be strong…’

The year is 1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she’s caught, she’ll be hanged for murder. Moments from a safe haven, she collides with a gruff stranger, falling and breaking her ankle.

To her surprise, the man – Marcus Greybourne – convinces the local constable that she is his reclusive wife of ten years, Luna. He carries her back to the neglected and crumbling Ravenswood Hall, promising if she agrees to maintain this charade, he will keep her safe until her injuries have healed.

But the house is haunted by shadows and secrets. What’s more, the real Luna Greybourne is missing, without trace. Scratches and marks made by her around the house suggest witchcraft; and indeed Luna is known locally as the Ravenswood Witch; her reputation in tatters, like the wallpapers of the padlocked rooms she’d destroyed.

As strange happenings in the house continue, outside the screech of a raven echoes across oppressive woods that seem alive with dark magic. And the woman who is now pretending to be Luna can’t help but fear she’s escaped the noose for a far more terrible fate…

MY REVIEW

I thoroughly enjoyed No 23 Burlington Square so I jumped at the chance to read and review The Ravenswood Witch.

This is a very different theme and I loved it just as much.

A young woman literally falls for Marcus when she is running away from her pursuers, breaking her ankle. He saves her by stating to them that she is his wife. Carrying on with the charade to benefit him, she finds herself morphing into the role of Luna, the wife who has recently disappeared. The house is a mess, with what appears to be devil worship drawings on the walls everywhere. Feeling lonely when Marcus takes a trip, she nurses a half dead raven back to life and it befriends her, and appears to be trying to protect her. 

Is Luna dead? Is she haunting the house? Is Luna the Ravenswood Witch? And what’s the mystery of the Ravenswood wood and the wishing well?

I raced through this in a day.  However, I can’t believe I didn’t tie up the two storylines until quite late in the book! Such an immersive storyline which kept me glued from the first page to the last with quite a shocking revelation.

Highly recommend especially for witchy season!

Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the blog tour. 

BLOG TOUR HOSTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenni Keer is a history graduate who embarked on a career in contract flooring before falling in love and moving to the Suffolk countryside. Her lifelong passion for reading became a passion for writing and she had two contemporary romance novels published in 2019. She has now embraced her love of the past to write twisty, turny historicals, and The Legacy of Halesham Hall was shortlisted for the Romantic Historical Novel of the Year in 2023. Her latest release, At The Stroke of Midnight, has been described as Rebecca meets Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day.

Living with four grown up children and three cats (but just the one husband) she is frustrated by their inability to appreciate that when she’s staring into space, she’s actually working, and that watching television counts as research. Much younger in her head than she is on paper, she adores any excuse for fancy-dress and is part of a disco formation dance team.

The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker 

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows 

The Secrets of Hawthorn Place 

The Legacy of Halesham Hall

No. 23 Burlington Square 

At The Stroke of Midnight 

THE RAVENSWOOD WITCH

Social Media Links –

Facebook: @JenniKeerAuthor

Twitter: @JenniKeer

Instagram: @JenniKeer

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/RavenswoodWitchSocial

C B Everett

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 10/4/25

SYNOPSIS

Ten strangers.
An old dark house.
A killer picking them off one by one.
And a missing girl who’s running out of time . . .

Ten strangers wake up inside an old, locked house. They have no recollection of how they got there.
In order to escape, they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman.
But a killer also stalks the halls of the house, and soon the body count starts to rise.
Who are these strangers? Why were they chosen? Why would someone want to kill them?
And who – or what – is the Beast in the Cellar?
Forget what you think you know.

Because while you can trust yourself, can you really trust THE OTHER PEOPLE?

MY REVIEW

Mind blown.

What a brilliant locked room murder mystery! I couldn’t put it down and had to put my life on hold to finish it as I had no idea how it was going to end! I was not disappointed.

We have an ‘And Then There Were None’ Christie set up. 10 guests, all strangers, waking up in their bedrooms in an old mansion. None have any memory of how they got here. The doors are locked. The windows are shuttered. They are told they must find an abducted girl before she dies and each have a 12 hour countdown timer attached to their wrist. When they find her they will be released.

10 very different personalities. With hidden secrets.

A ‘Beast in the Cellar’ who pops up now and again to discuss the progress and pose questions. 

The book is narrated from the POV’s of each ‘guest’. Very very clever.

And the mention of the Hispaniola! Omg I remember that at Scarborough! 

Fasten your seatbelts for a heck of a ride in April 2025.

Thank you so much to Jamie-Lee Nardone for a super early e-arc to review. 

The Other People is available to pre-order now.

Erin A. Craig

Publication Date: 26/9/24

Publisher: Rock The Boat

SYNOPSIS

From the author of House of Salt and Sorrows comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for

When death calls, she must answer.

Hazel has always known she was different from her siblings. A thirteenth child, she was promised at birth to Merrick, the god of death.

Under his care, Hazel learns the art – and magic – of healing. Word of her extraordinary gift spreads throughout the kingdom. But all gifts come with a price. When Death claims a soul for himself, it is Hazel who must end their suffering… permanently.

Soon, destiny brings her to the royal court where she meets Leopold, an infuriatingly alluring prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. Here, Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet: to carry out her duties or follow the urges of her own heart. Can she go against the will of Death himself to save someone who is marked to die?

MY REVIEW

Just wow. I am absolutely blown away by this utterly fabulous retelling of Godfather Death, a Grimms fairy tale. I hadn’t heard of this one but my daughter quickly filled me in on the basics so I had an idea what to expect. 

Hazel is the thirteenth child of poor parents who are already struggling to feed and keep their existing 12. Before she is even born, her parents accept an offer from The Dreaded End – the God of death himself – to take Hazel away on her birthday. She has to wait 12 years, not knowing when he will claim her, when he eventually takes her on her twelfth birthday.

With a snap of his fingers a pretty house in a valley in ‘the between’ is created just for her with everything she could possibly need. He leaves her and she lives alone for a year studying the books he has left for her so she can fulfil her destiny and become a healer. 

Given the ability to see when a patient should die rather than be healed, she begins to struggle with this responsibility on her shoulders, especially when she is summoned to heal the king and sees he is destined to die. Can she really go against her godfather’s wishes and save the king? Or is it destiny that he should die? Will things be better or worse if he lives? All these questions fighting for an answer in her mind.

There is so much to this story including the excellent world building and the characters. I could visualise the settings and feel the struggles Hazel encountered. I lived the story for a few days, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, and although much of it is dark, there are brighter moments in the form of Prince Leopold. Of course every gothic retelling needs a bit of romance. Not too overly done, thankfully.

I’m going to be reading everything else this author has written and I’m hoping so much this is going to be my next Fairyloot subscription book! 

I have no doubt this is going to be one of my very favourite books of the year. I’m even planning a re-read already, and I never re-read a book!

Hugest thanks to Black Crow PR for kindly sending me a proof. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories.

After getting her B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, in Theatre Design and Production, she stage managed tragic operas with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky.

An avid reader, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, brass figurines, and sparkly shoes, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter. 

To find out more about Erin and the worlds she creates, follow @penchant4words on Instagram and Threads.

Felix Francis

Publication date: 26/9/24

Publisher: Zaffre

SYNOPSIS

WHEN YOU’RE AT THE TOP OF YOUR GAME, ONE PHONE CALL CAN BRING IT ALL CRASHING DOWN . . . 

THE BRAND NEW 2024 NOVEL FROM THE MASTER OF THE RACING THRILLER.
______________________

Chester Newton is a successful racehorse syndicate organiser and his company, Victrix Racing, is having its best year yet. When his prized horse, Potassium, wins the world-famous Epsom Derby, Chester is set to become the next big thing in British horse racing.

But one phone call changes everything.

Someone hiding behind a voice scrambler and an untraceable phone is demanding he fixes a race – and they’re willing to go after Chester’s family if he fails to comply.

Chester’s business is the only thing in his life that isn’t falling apart. With his marriage on the rocks and his children growing increasingly distant, he is not willing to let someone destroy the success he’s spent his life building.

Then his daughter is kidnapped and, very suddenly, it’s not just his livelihood that’s on the line. Now Chester must discover just how far he will go to protect his family . . .

MY REVIEW

This is the second novel I have read by this author, No Reserve being the first, and I have enjoyed both.

In Syndicate we meet Chester Newton, who successfully runs a horse owning / racing syndicate which he set up from scratch. He is married with two grown up children, although the marriage is showing cracks after 25 years.

When one of his horses wins the Epsom Derby, he is at the top of his game. But a phone call and attempted blackmail could be the end of his success. He makes a bad decision for a good reason and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out if he would get found out! He is quite a cool cucumber though, coping with every setback with a cool calm demeanour. At least on the outside.

I enjoyed learning about the background to how horse ownership syndicates work, the types and different distances of horse races and the way the horses and riders are weighed. Even the types of bets, which I have never understood. All very interesting. 

Thanks to Poppy and Sophie at Ransom PR for my early copy of the book. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Felix Francis studied Physics and Electronics at London University and then spent seventeen years teaching Advanced-Level Physics. The younger son of crime writer and Naional Hunt jockey Dick Francis, Felix assisted his father with both the research and writing of his novels in a father-and-son writing partnership. Since Dick’s death, Felix has written ten successful novels

Murray Bailey

Publication Date: 23 August 2024

Publisher: Three Daggers

SYNOPSIS

Independent of the government, Carter is looking for work and thinks the unsolved death of a police officer. Sergeant Cox appears to have been murdered by a skilled assassin. The police have few clues and fewer suspects, but the suggestion that there may be a boxing connection intrigues him.

In this novella, set between Singapore Girl and Singapore Boxer, Carter confronts fighters in the ring and the streets to solve who killed Sergeant Cox and why.

MY REVIEW

Hurrah for a new Ash Carter thriller / mystery. That makes me a very happy book blogger indeed!

Singapore Worlds is the sixth Ash Carter book but this time is a novella which sits between two existing books in the series.

Ash, an ex SIB investigator, is at a loose end when he is asked to investigate the murder of a police officer, as the police force are at a loss. With his usual gusto and focus on the task, he begins to uncover clues which lead him to an unexpected turn of events, including a second murder. He follows a lead into a back street boxing for money set up where anything goes – which is just his thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this new addition to the series. Such a great character and I just can’t get enough of Ash Carter! Hoping for more 🙏

I highly recommend Murray’s books, the Ash Carter series and also the Blackjack series if you enjoy fast paced thrillers. 

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.

Follow Murray on Twitter /X: @MurrayBaileybks

Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor

SYNOPSIS

New Beginnings at The Cosy Cat Café tells the story of Tori who, after being dumped and left stranded by her long-term boyfriend Ryan on a trip of a lifetime to Asia, returns home to the sleepy Sussex village of Blossom Heath with her tail between her legs and her dreams shattered. Donning her frilly apron to help her Mum, Joyce, behind the counter at The Cosy Cup Café, Tori starts to believe – with the help of a hunky fireman and a clowder of rescue cats – that perhaps the secret to her future happiness might lie closer to home than she ever thought possible.

If you love your romance with a side order of cake, cats and cosy community dynamics, this is the purrfect uplifting, feel-good read from the winner of the RNA Katie Fforde Debut Novel of the Year 2023.

MY REVIEW

I can’t thank Sarah -Jade Virtue enough for introducing me to this author by way of winning her giveaway for a copy of the book.

What a gorgeous, emotional, cat filled, feel good story of new beginnings and a supportive community. Just what I needed.

I was fully immersed in Tori’s story and new venture – to update her mum’s successful village café to a cat café. Having just returned from Thailand, minus her boyfriend who dumped her after four years, she brings the idea of the many cat cafés she visited, as well as ideas to add some of the food she enjoyed on her travels into the new menu. If anyone is thinking of opening a cat café, this book has so many ideas! I’m delighted to read there is a real Cosy Cat Café in Kent. 

Of course there is a spanner in the works. Violet has been against the cat café from day one and Tori believes she is running a campaign to put people off visiting the café.

There is a new love interest and none other than Leo, a fireman *swoon*, but is Tori ready to trust her heart to a new relationship after being so badly hurt by her ex?

Delighted to see this is the second book in the Blossom Heath series and I will be reading book one whilst I await book three.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Haworth writes uplifting stories about friendship and community, bursting with romance and charm, from her home in the bustling city of Chelmsford, Essex. Her debut novel, Always By Your Side, won the RNA’s Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award for 2023. Julie is still pinching herself that she’s realised her lifelong dream of becoming a published author!

When she’s not busy writing or running her copywriting business, Julie can mainly be found shopping, drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee and hanging out with her two rescue cats. Julie is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors.

Julie loves to chat with her readers and you can find her on Twitter @jhaworthauthor or over on Instagram @juliehaworthauthor

Peter May

Publication date: 12/9/24

Publisher: riverrun

SYNOPSIS

THE RETURN OF FIN MACLEOD, PETER MAY’S MUCH-LOVED HERO OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING LEWIS TRILOGY.

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh – the Black Loch – on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

MY REVIEW

What a fabulous book! I couldn’t read it quickly enough!

This is the third book I have read by this author. What a talent. I’ll be reading the first three in this series without a doubt as I loved Fin, now ex police, and I want to get to know him as he was in his earlier life as a police officer.

Fin returns to his roots on the Isle of Lewis when his son is arrested for murder. Using his skills as an ex policeman, he begins to investigate the death of Caitlin whose body was found on the beach. Clearly this is a small island where everyone knows everyone else’s business and he reacquaints himself with some of his childhood friends. Not all of them are particularly friendly now and resent his presence as father of the murderer. 

This is a story of secrets, lies, family bonds, friendships, bullying, and of course murder. Everything in the mix to produce an addictive thriller. There is also the addition of environmental issues which Peter has thoroughly researched and which add more depth to this story. He has cleverly woven these into the plotline. There is the heartbreaking beaching of a pod of whales, based on an actual event, and an unsettling delve into the huge business of salmon farming. Having read a few years ago about how bad the conditions are at salmon farms I eat wild salmon now, and so will you after reading this!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the flashbacks to the relevant events in their youth which have have made them the adults they are today. The relationships. The young boys who think they are invincible. The mothers looking back on their lives and wondering what they would have done differently. 

A superb fast paced thriller by a hugely talented man.

Many thanks to Poppy and Sophie at Ransom PR for my spot on the blog tour and my hardback copy of the book. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth” New York Times

Peter May is the multi award-winning author of:

– the Lewis Trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland;

– the China Thrillers, featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell;

– the Enzo Files, featuring Scottish forensic scientist Enzo MacLeod, which is set in France. The sixth and final Enzo book is Cast Iron (January 2017, Riverrun).

He has also written several standalone books:

– I’ll Keep You Safe (January 2018, Riverrun)

– Entry Island (January 2014, Quercus UK)

– Runaway (January 2015, Quercus UK)

– Coffin Road (January 2016, Riverrun)

May had a successful career as a television writer, creator, and producer.

One of Scotland’s most prolific television dramatists, he garnered more than 1000 credits in 15 years as scriptwriter and script editor on prime-time British television drama. He is the creator of three major television drama series and presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland before quitting television to concentrate on his first love, writing novels.

Born and raised in Scotland he lives in France.

His breakthrough as a best-selling author came with The Lewis Trilogy. After being turned down by all the major UK publishers, the first of the The Lewis Trilogy – The Blackhouse – was published in France as L’Ile des Chasseurs d’Oiseaux where it was hailed as “a masterpiece” by the French national newspaper L’Humanité. His novels have a large following in France. The trilogy has won several French literature awards, including one of the world’s largest adjudicated readers awards, the Prix Cezam.

The Blackhouse was published in English by the award-winning Quercus (a relatively young publishing house which did not exist when the book was first presented to British publishers). It went on to become an international best seller, and was shortlisted for both Barry Award and Macavity Award when it was published in the USA.

The Blackhouse won the US Barry Award for Best Mystery Novel at Bouchercon in Albany NY, in 2013.

Find Peter here:

Website : petermay.co.uk

X : @authorpetermay

Facebook : petermayauthor

Richard Sparks

Publication date: 12 December 2023

Publisher: CAEZIK SF & FANTASY

ISBN: 1647100860 / ‎978-1647100865

MY REVIEW

Have you ever wanted to actually be that character you have created in your RPG, and live in that world? Well, in New Rock, New Role you can get an idea of how that would go.

When a trio of gamers, Pilgrimz of Pain – real identities unknown to each other – win an online RPG gaming championship, they find themselves transported into another world. As their avatars.

We only know the real identity of the narrator – ‘Daxx’ – the team’s battlemage-slash-healer. He is an ageing, balding, former teacher and now hardcore gamer who spends all his time gaming, as life in his games is far more exciting than his own life. Be careful what you wish for!

Daxx finds himself in a strange world as his character but with none of his character’s abilities. He must learn those skills from scratch whilst simultaneously hoping to find his two friends, ‘Grell’ who has designed his avatar to be a fighting orc and ‘Qrysta’ a skilled fighter, and working out why and how they are all here.

What a fantastic world Richard Sparks has created! Great characters, some with hilarious (and very adult!) names, great descriptions of the world and plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout this very cleverly plotted fantasy with everything I want in a fantasy novel – including witches and magic. And miniatures dragons. And a wooden staff which can communicate with its holder. And lots more.

There were plenty of fights and battles along the way as our trio develop their crafts and weapons and they are so well described I felt I was there watching. Bit freaked out about those cobwebs and spiders though!

It is an impressive chunk of a book which I got completely engrossed in, and although I couldn’t wait to find out how and why the three players had been transported into this world I also didn’t want it to end. The author simultaneously wrapped it up satisfactorily and left me wanting more! So glad there are three more books to come in this series as I’ll be reading them. 

Passing this on to my daughter who is a gamer and also loves fantasy novels so I know she’s also going to love this.

Book two, New Rock New Realm, is due out in November.

Huge thanks to Richard for sending me a copy of your book which I have reviewed honestly. You have gained a new fan! 

Richard’s debut novel New Rock New Role is available at http://richardsparks.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in England, and a graduate of Oxford University (Exeter College, where, like both JRR Tolkien and Philip Pullman before him, he studied English Language and Literature), Richard started out as a writer of stage plays, comedy revues and TV, for such shows as Not the Nine O’clock News. Rowan Atkinson performed his Schoolmaster sketch in John Cleese’s The Secret Policeman’s Ball. UK TV credits include The Famous Five, The Flying Kiwi, The Optimist, The Worst of Hollywood, and a lot of script editing. On being hired by Columbia Pictures TV, Richard moved with his family to Los Angeles. His lyrics have been recorded by talents as diverse as Dom de Luise, Eric Idle, Vanessa Williams and Plácido Domingo. He has written libretti for several new operas composed by Lee Holdridge (TV’s Beauty and the Beast, et al.), produced by the LA Opera, as well writing new English versions of German and Italian classics. His non-fiction books, Diary of a Mad Poker Player, and its sequel, Getting Lucky, chronicle his adventures in the poker boom of the 2000’s. Along the Cherry Lane is his biography of the music producer, Milt Okun.

“High Adventure Spiced with Low Comedy,” inspired by his love of online role-playing games, New Rock New Role is the first of four volumes Richard has written so far in the New Rock fantasy series, and is his fiction debut.

Christina Courtenay

SYNOPSIS

A bond that even time cannot break
Storm Berger has never forgiven himself for his younger sister Madison’s disappearance. Suspecting she’s travelled back to the ninth century in the footsteps of other family members, Storm can only make sure she’s safe by going after her.

Raised unconventionally as her father’s only child, Freydis has never been content to simply accept her fate. So, when she’s promised in marriage to a tyrant, she’s determined to find a way out of the
arrangement. Help comes in the form of a mysterious and attractive stranger stranded on her island’s shores: Storm.

The only way Freydis can truly be free is for Storm to marry her himself. But that would mean entwining lives that, until now, have been separated by centuries. . .

Purchase Link –
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Legacy-Runes-spellbinding-conclusion-adored/dp/1472293258/
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Runes-spellbinding-conclusion-adored/dp/1472293258/

MY REVIEW

I absolutely adore Christina’s Runes series and am sad that this is the final book. I would love to revisit the family in a few years to see how they are all getting on in the ninth century!

As soon as I started the book I was transported back to the Viking world. 

Storm feels responsible that his younger sister disappeared without trace a few months ago, but the family is known to time travel and he is convinced that is what she has done. Finding his own magical object he travels back to the ninth century to find her and make sure she is ok. 

We travel with Storm as he quickly settles into his new life, saving a girl from marriage to a particularly nasty man, and accidentally finding himself married. 

I just love Christina’s writing which completely absorbs me, and I love reading about life in the ninth century. I enjoyed seeing the dramatic difference with how we live now through the eyes of a woman  Storm brings back to our time too! We take so much for granted.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series and am excited to read what Christina writes next.

Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several
awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. LEGACY OF THE RUNES (time travel historical romance published by Headline Review 15th
August 2024) is her latest novel.

Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Social Media Links –
Website: http://www.christinacourtenay.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaCourtenayAuthor/
Bluesky: https://christinacourtenay@bsky.social

Fiona Barton

Publication Date: 15/8/24

Publisher: Transworld Books

SYNOPSIS

Three women. One Killer.
Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous…

When forty-four-year-old Karen Simmons is found lifeless, abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined to beat every other reporter to the story. 

And she already has a head start. Just days before Karen’s murder, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her about the expensive gifts and the starlit rendezvous. About the scammers and the creeps… 

While police stay focused on local suspects, Kiki starts to write the definitive piece on one woman’s fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly…

MY REVIEW

A brilliantly plotted thriller with so many dodgy characters. Dark and fast paced I couldn’t whiz through those pages quickly enough. It really makes you think of the dangers some people put themselves in when meeting strangers irl after they met through dating apps. Although there are plenty of success stories too – but not in this story.

A woman found murdered in the local woods brings back memories of a child murdered in the same woods 14 years ago. 

The child’s mother is taken back to the murder of her beloved son and feels she must revisit his murder as she has questions which need answers, but what she finds out will change her life.

Kiki the reporter is at her wits end trying to find a story to give her waning career a boost and senses this murder will be a game changer for her, but to get a good story she is going to immerse herself into the dark and sometimes very dangerous world of dating apps. There is a secret group of misogynistic men who share details of their conquests online in their chat group using pseudonyms, and Kiki begins to uncover their real identities.

Elise the DI investigating the murder of the woman is struggling to recover from breast cancer and is feeling lonely and vulnerable. But there is a new neighbour who wants to get to know her better. 

Such a page turner with so many twists and so many suspects I didn’t know who to put my money on! 

Thanks to Poppy and Sophie at Ransom PR for my spot on the blog tour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fiona Barton’s debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in 36 countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in Sussex and south-west France.

Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.

While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most . . .