Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson

Published: 5th January 2017

Publisher: Corvus

Pages: 336

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

You went to bed at home, just like every other night.
You woke up in the back of a taxi, over 250 miles away.
You have no idea how you got there and no memory of the last ten hours.
You have no phone, no money; just a suicide note in your coat pocket, in your own writing.
You know you weren’t planning to kill yourself.
Your family and friends think you are lying.

Someone knows exactly what happened to you.
But they’re not telling…

Review

After reading Lucy Dawson’s You Sent Me a Letter last year I was expecting Everything You Told Me to have the same epic opening and it sure did. Sally finds herself 400 miles away from home on the edge of a cliff with a suicide note in her pocket and no idea how she got there. After the police return her home Sally and her family struggle to make sense of the previous evenings events and with everyone walking on eggshells, everything everyone says is over analysed. So will we ever work out whose telling the truth and who’s lying?

This is a book which can be read in two ways depending on how much you believe Sally’s story. You can believe Sally has no idea what happened and someone is out to get her or you can believe her family and believe she went off to commit suicide, either way you read it, it’s a fabulous twisty road to the end.

I tended to sympathise with Sally as she seemed exhausted and unhappy but not enough to try and kill herself. She’s struggling to cope with six month old Theo who will not sleep and four year old Chloe and keep the house in order with little help from husband Matthew, so it’s totally understandable that she’s almost at breaking point. If she’d has more support from husband Matthew and mother in law Caroline who lives close by things could have been very different.

This book has masses of different emotions floating round in it and as the tension slowly begins to build I was waiting for everything to boil over and explode. Just when I thought we’d reached that point Lucy Dawson throws in another twist so the intensity just deepens until the very end when we reach a truly shocking ending.

I did really enjoy reading this book but I found that there is a lot of repetition of events as Sally tries to make sense of things in her head and explain them to others and although necessary for the plot I did start to find this annoying.

I had a feeling which character was lying and I was right to an extent, but it wasn’t quite as simple as I thought it would be. I highly recommend you give this a go if you’ve enjoyed any of Lucy’s other books. I’ll also say the less you know beforehand about what actually happens the more you will enjoy the book.

Although I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as You Sent Me a Letter it’s still a great read and Lucy Dawson has a real talent for writing twisty intense psychological thrillers that will get stuck in your head days after you’ve finished them. I’m so looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to the publishers Corvus for sending me this copy to review if I chose.

Blood Lines by Angela Marsons

Blood Lines (D.I. Kim Stone #5) by Angela Marsons

Published: 4th November 2016

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 380

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace?
A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn’t add up.

When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.

Desperate to catch the twisted individual, Kim’s focus on the case is threatened when she receives a chilling letter from Dr Alex Thorne, the sociopath who Kim put behind bars. And this time, Alex is determined to hit where it hurts most, bringing Kim face-to-face with the woman responsible for the death of Kim’s little brother – her own mother.

As the body count increases, Kim and her team unravel a web of dark secrets, bringing them closer to the killer. But one of their own could be in mortal danger. Only this time, Kim might not be strong enough to save them…

Review

Wow, wow, wow my favourite Queen of Crime Angela Marsons has done it again and produced another sublime crime novel with my favourite female crime fighter Detective Inspector Kim Stone. This is a series which just seems to get better and better with each book and Angela has become my most anticipated author to read (hope book six isn’t too far away).

In Blood Lines Kim and her team are given a baffling case. A woman is found dead in her car with one single stab wound, indicating a cold and heartless killing but as usual Kim’s gut is telling her there’s more to this case than the team initially think. As a second body of a young drug dealer is found with an identical wound, Kim knows the two murders are linked but proving it is going to be tricky as nothing seems to link the two victims.

As Kim gets stuck into the case she receives notice that her mother, who is under psychiatric care is due to be released from her care facility. When Kim enquires about why this is happening she is informed it’s due to her encouraging and forgiving letters which she has been sending. Kim knows she would never ever have done such a thing and knows instantly who would be so cruel…Dr Alexandra Thorpe an old advisory of Kim’s who is out for revenge. Can Kim work out what on earth Alex is up to before her mother is released? Even behind bars Alex seems to be able to manipulate Kim but can she be outwitted a second time?

I think the thing I loved most about this book was the return of Dr Alexandra Thorne from the second Kim stone book Evil Games. She’s such an evil and manipulating character that I was just hooked on reading what depths so was going to sink to this time. I think if you haven’t read Evil Games yet then you definitely should so you get the maximum effect of just how bad Alex can be and how easily she is able to push Kim’s buttons which doesn’t seem to happen often.

Another thing I loved about this book was that we gain more insight into some of the background characters which have appeared in previous books. We get to learn a little bit more about Stacey, a character who has seemed a bit of mystery before now, I’d still like more from her in the next book. I also liked that we got to see a softer side to Woody Kim’s boss, which makes him a more likable character to me. We also finally get see Kim face to face with her mother, something which I didn’t think would ever happen and I loved seeing how this encounter affected Kim. The way Angela Marsons is adding more and more details to her main characters as the series continues is just fascinating and has really made the books come alive for me.

The murder plot in this book is yet again another one I couldn’t work out and just when I thought I had it cracked we got given another twist to the tale. Just brilliant, I love Angela’s writing and hope we have many more Kim Stone books to come.

Thank you so much to the publishers Bookouture for this copy to review I adored it and cannot wait for the next one.

The Good Girlfriend's Guide to Getting Even by Anna Bell

The Good Girlfriends Guide to Getting Even by Anna Bell

Published: 26th January 2017

Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

Pages: 432

Available in paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

When Lexi's sport-mad boyfriend Will skips her friend's wedding to watch football - after pretending to have food poisoning - it might just be the final whistle for their relationship.

But fed up of just getting mad, Lexi decides to even the score. And, when a couple of lost tickets and an 'accidentally' broken television lead to them spending extra time together, she's delighted to realise that revenge might be the best thing that's happened to their relationship.

And if her clever acts of sabotage prove to be a popular subject for her blog, what harm can that do? It's not as if he'll ever find out . . .

Review

Having loved Anna’s previous novel The Bucket List to Mend a Broken Heart last year I was really excited to read her new book The Good Girlfriend’s Guide to Getting Even and it did not disappoint, in fact I think it was better than her last book.

Lexi and Will have been together seven years, seven years where Lexi has patiently put up with Will’s extreme love of watching sports, but that’s about to change. On the day of her best friend’s wedding Lexi is optimistic that Will has changed his ways and will go with her without a fuss knowing how special the day is to Lexi. Oh no Will has other ideas, he fakes food poisoning to avoid going to the wedding and instead goes to watch his beloved Southampton play football. When Lexi receives a text showing Will at the game she is furious.

Knowing getting mad with Will will not make her feel better Lexi decides to get even. After a couple of her revenge plans result in bringing her and Will closer together Lexi is over the moon, this is exactly the relationship she wants, so she carries on. When challenged by her writing class Lexi decides there will be no harm in writing about antics in her new blog and loves it when the blog hits keep rising….surely there is no way Will will ever find out right?

The Good Girlfriends Guide to Getting Even may be a book with a very long title but it’s a book I loved. It’s light hearted and full of humour which kept me entertained all the way through.  I loved wondering just what crazy plan Lexi would come up with next and just how far she would push Will to get her revenge.

I liked Lexi as a character as she seemed initially to have good intentions about her plans especially when she got more quality time with Will as a result. I did start to think she was maybe going a little too far and I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Will, he must have been a bit bewildered as to why things kept going wrong with all his sports plans. I enjoyed the rest of the characters in the book which Anna has brought to life so well, my favourite had to be sex-obsessed Cara and her secret slipper wearing boyfriend.

This book was a joy to read and Anna is quickly becoming one of my go to authors when I want a book which will cheer me and leave a smile on my face. If you’re a fan of Sophie Kinsella or Christie Barlow then I’m sure you will enjoy this book.

Thank you so much to the publishers who sent me a copy of this book to review if I chose, it was brilliant.

Blog Tour Review: The Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley

The Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley

Published: 3rd July 2016

Publisher: Anoushka Beazley

Pages: 330

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 3/5

Blurb

Gatlin - a leafy affluent town; Chelsea tractors and ladies who lunch. However, all is not as it seems. Drea, a most unnatural mother, struggles to find private school fees for her step-daughter Ava after her boyfriend leaves her for another woman. Watching the yummy mummies she becomes inspired, hatching a daring and criminal plan...unleashing all hell in the quiet town of Gatlin. Can Drea survive the fallout and the wrath of the PTA? A satirical and hilarious black comedy about love, motherhood and the human condition.

Review

Drea’s long term partner Alex has left her and moved to France to live with his research assistant Penny. Drea is devastated as she has been planning her perfect suicide for a while but now she will have to put her grand plans to the side and care for fourteen year old Ava, Alex’s daughter from his previous marriage. There’s just one small problem Ava goes to the best private school in Gaitlin and with fees of over £17,000 pounds to find now Alex has gone Drea is in trouble. But she does what any mother does makes the most of the resources available to her, only Drea doesn’t have so many skills so carrying out armed robbery on some of Gaitlins richest yummy-mummies seems like the best plan. Until one of the yummy mummies is found murdered. Can Drea find out who the real killer is before the police work out who committed the robberies and pin the murder on her too?

I found Drea a very hard character to connect with emotionally she’s up and down, one minute she’s depressed and on the verge of suicide the next she’s in some angry whirlwind intent on bringing down anyone who gets in her way. Her erratic behaviour mostly just left me confused and this hampered my enjoyment of the story. Her relationships throughout the book were also strange, she seems to have very little contact with her elderly father who lives with her which I just found odd. She has no aspirations to be part of the community around her, particularly to have any involvement with Ava’s school PTA. She does however seem to have a good relationship with Ava who seems closer to Drea than her own father. Drea obviously loves Ava as that seems to be the driving force behind her crazy antics.

Anoushka definitely has a distinct writing style, its fast paced, surprising and in places very funny. This was a book that was full of unexpected twists, some of which were believable and some which were not so. My favourite little twist I think was finding out exactly what Drea’s father had been up to.

This is a book which highlights the extremes mothers will go to, to give their children what they believe is the best. It’s a book about finding our place to belong and making the best of what we’ve got. It’s a book which I enjoyed in parts but there were parts I felt could be better. Anouska has created an interesting collection of characters and her descriptions of the town of Gaitlin really brought it alive for me, I just found that the plot could have been tighter.

Thank you to Anoushka and Neverland Blog Tours for inviting me to be part of this tour.

Giveaway

To win one of 10 copies of The Good Enough Mother please click on the rafflecopter link below

ENTER HERE

Blog Tour: Relativity by Antonia Hayes

Relativity by Antonia Hayes

Published: 19th January 2017 (Paperback)

Publisher: Corsair

Pages: 358

Available in Hardback, Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb
Ethan is an exceptionally gifted young boy, obsessed with physics and astronomy.
His single mother Claire is fiercely protective of her brilliant, vulnerable son. But she can't shield him forever from learning the truth about what happened to him when he was a baby; why Mark had to leave them all those years ago.
Now age twelve, Ethan is increasingly curious about his past, especially his father's absence in his life. When he intercepts a letter to Claire from Mark, he opens a lifetime of feelings that, like gravity, will pull the three together again.
Relativity is a tender and triumphant story about unbreakable bonds, irreversible acts, and testing the limits of love and forgiveness.

Review

Relativity by Antonia Hayes is the story of Ethan, a twelve year old boy who is trying to make sense of the world using the laws of psychics and astronomy. He lives with just his mother Claire and wants to know more about his absent father, who Claire is reluctant to talk about. One day Ethan finds a letter from his father Mark and behind Claire’s back he goes to meet his father. As the three become drawn back together they begin to realise that some things can’t be changed or forgiven and that one small event from the past will have a lasting impact on their future together.

I found this a beautifully written novel full of raw emotions. It’s clear to see how much Claire loves Ethan and is determined to do her best for him, no matter the cost. When Mark turns up you can feel the conflict in her actions as she tries to resist the man she once adored, the same man who shattered her whole life in just a few minutes.

Ethan, loves his mother but knows without his dad he’s different from the other kids. He’s extreme knowledge of physics set him apart from the other and he longs for his dad to return to so he can be a normal kid again. It was hard to read about Ethan’s struggles at school, kids are cruel and always seem to pick on those most vulnerable.

Mark seems to have lived a life full of regret and when these three are reunited I was longing for them to find their happy ever after and just a happy family, but fate doesn’t always give us what we want.

I did find this quite a heavy read with all the emotions flying around and the incredible amount of science talk which is mentioned. The one thing I think which lightened the whole story for me was the introduction of Alison. I just loved her sense of humour and the way she was with Ethan, just two kids being together having fun and mad cap plans.

Relativity is a book which did bring tears to my eyes as there are some powerfully emotive scenes which has made this a book which has stayed with me after I’ve finished reading. It’s a book a highly recommend if you’re looking for a beautiful and emotional story.

Thank you to Corsair for inviting me on the blog tour and for sending me a review copy.

Blog Tour: A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart

A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart

Published: December 29th 2016

Publisher: Sphere

Pages: 387

Available in Hardback, Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating:5/5

Blurb

MEET THIRTY SOMETHING DAD, ALEX… He loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn't understand him. Something has to change. And he needs to start with himself.

MEET EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SAM… To him the world is a puzzle he can't solve on his own.

When Sam starts to play Minecraft, it opens up a place where Alex and Sam begin to rediscover both themselves and each other… When life starts to tear one family apart, can they put themselves back together, one piece at a time?

Review

A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart is an incredibly uplifting novel about learning to see the world around us from a different perspective. It’s a novel which will make you laugh and cry and embrace life in any way you can.

 Alex and Jody have an eight year old son Sam who has recently being diagnosed as autistic. It has been an uphill battle to get this diagnosis and after have caused a strain between Jody and Alex. Alex unable to deal with his son’s random outbursts has hidden himself away using his job as an excuse. Left on her own to try and support Sam as best she can Jody has finally had enough and told Alex he has to leave.

Alex heads to best friend Dan’s house, who without question lets him in and allows Alex to wallow in his own selfish self-pity. It isn’t until Alex loses his job that he finally begins to realise he has to change and has to find a way to connect with Sam. Surprisingly this connection comes in the form of the game Minecraft. As Sam begins to play the game, he finds a world he can relate to and when Alex joins him playing he begins to communicate and form a bond with his son.

As Alex begins to understand more how his son sees the world the also begins to see his own life differently and slowly Alex begins to find his own place in the world that he has been searching for, for almost twenty years.

Alex was not a character I warmed to initially. He seemed quite selfish, if he didn’t want to deal with something he just walked away and let others get on with it, blaming the fact he didn’t understand autism as a get out cause. He seemed like he was lost in his own world, reliving the past over and over and he needed to find something to connect himself to the present and to his family. It wasn’t until a third of the way through the book where Alex becomes more aware of other people’s needs and then as he began to see things more from Sam’s point of view he became quite a nice guy.

A Boy Made of Blocks is a story of family trying to put themselves back together after a breakdown, rather like the Minecraft game, slowly piece by piece they begin to connect together again. It’s a story of learning to trust, to trust each other, to follow our instincts and trust that everything will turn out okay in the end. Most of all it’s a book about accepting who we are and celebrating each and every milestone and achievement no matter how small or difficult, because after all like the book says “Life’s an adventure, not a walk – that’s why it’s difficult”.

Keith Stuart has written an engaging and heartfelt novel which I enjoyed very much. He has truly captured the relationship between Alex and Sam and it was a pleasure to follow along on their journey of self-discovery.

Thank you to Sphere for inviting me on the blog tour and providing me with a review copy.

Blog Tour Review: The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper

Published: 12th January 2017

Publisher: Little Brow,

Available in Hardback and on Kindle

Pre-Order from Amazon now
Rating: 5/5

Blurb

I just can't understand how someone like him could do something like that.

Amid the worst drought to ravage Australia in a century, it hasn't rained in small country town Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the community become unbearable when three members of the Hadler family are brutally murdered. Everyone thinks Luke Hadler, who committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son, is guilty.
Policeman Aaron Falk returns to the town of his youth for the funeral of his childhood best friend, and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As questions mount and suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret, one which Luke's death threatens to unearth. And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, secrets from his past and why he left home bubble to the surface as he questions the truth of his friend's crime.

Review

The Dry by Jane Harper is Little Brown’s lead debut of 2017, quite a statement but one it most definitely is worthy of, the book is nothing short of epic. It’s one of those rare book’s that so completely absorbs you that the only thing that matters is reading the whole thing.

Set in the small county town of Kiewarra, The Dry follows the story of a town on edge after suffering from a two year drought.  Devastation hits the community when the Hadler family are found brutality murdered in their own home.  Tensions run high and the town are convinced Luke Hadler committed suicide after he murdered his wife and young son Billy.

Returning to Kiewarra after twenty years away Aaron Falk comes face to face with the secrets of his past he attends the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke. Aaron was driven out of town as a child after his friend Ellie Deacon was found drown in the river. He’s counting down the hours until he can leave again until Gerry Hadler asks him to check over Luke’s accounts to see if Luke really did snap like the town believe.

As Falk begins to examine the death of his friend, secrets from his past begin to emerge, for Falk and Luke shared a secret. A secret which twenty years ago drove Falk out of town, a secret which has begun to cause trouble again and a secret which could explain why Luke is now dead.

I found The Dry to be a truly fantastic read, everything about it works so well. The setting, the characters, and the plot they all worked seamlessly to create a truly absorbing and at times harrowing read.  The dry arid landscape of Kiewarra perfectly matches the tension and unrest of its habitants as they battle to keep their town alive despite the drought killing off crops and animals, making the lives of the farming folk hard and unforgiving. At times it really felt like I was there in the town breathing the hot dry air and feeling the unease grow.

Harper has created many complex characters, each with their own secrets to hide or burdens to carry and this made them fascinating to read about. I loved the way Harper has included flashbacks to the teenage lives of Aaron, Luke and Ellie so we can really get a picture of who they were. I so wanted Luke to not be responsible for something as horrific as killing his own wife. As despite being fairly self-centred as a child he seemed like he was a valued member of the community.

I loved the way that as Falk uncovers more and more details about the last few hours of the Hadler’s lives various members of the community are under the spotlight as possible killers adding more and more twists to this intense novel. The final twist revealing who the killer was left me in shock as it was a total curveball from what I was expecting, brilliantly done. Finding out what really happened to Ellie all those years ago did leave deeply saddened that she was so close to freedom.

The Dry is a perfectly written novel and one which has been a joy to read. I’m overwhelmed this is Jane Harper’s debut as it’s so good, definitely one of the must-reads of 2017 and I can’t wait to see what this lady writes next.

Thank you to Little Brown for sending me a copy to review and for inviting me on this blog tour.