#TheIsland – Adrian McKinty (@AdrianMcKinty) @OrionBooks @Orion_Crime #review #suspense #TheChain

The brand new unmissable thriller from the award-winning author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Chain.

IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY VACATION.

A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT CHANGED EVERYTHING.

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE CAPABLE OF UNTIL THEY COME FOR YOUR FAMILY.

After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom.

When they discover a remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram.

But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong. Then a shocking accident propels the Baxters from an unsettling situation into an absolute nightmare. 

When Heather and the kids are separated from Tom, they are forced to escape alone, seconds ahead of their pursuers.

Now it’s up to Heather to save herself and the kids, even though they don’t trust her, the harsh bushland is filled with danger, and the locals want her dead.

Heather has been underestimated her entire life, but she knows that only she can bring her family home again and become the mother the children desperately need, even if it means doing the unthinkable to keep them all alive.

*Many thanks to Orion for providing me with an advanced copy of the book. All of my thoughts are written unbiasedly.

TWG’s Thoughts.

Having read and devoured ‘The Chain’ in what felt like seconds, I had extremely high hopes for ‘The Island’ (not that I was putting pressure on the book, or the author, to deliver….much). In my head I was wishing and praying to the book fairies that this book would be just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. Thankfully the fairies must have thought I was a good little bookworm, (either that or Adrian McKinty wasn’t just a one hit wonder), because ‘The Island’ DID deliver in all its glory – I bloomin’ loved it! I feel so bad saying that I enjoyed reading a book that has death at the forefront of its storyline, as though I was revelling in the fact that these characters were no longer breathing; please say that I am not the only one?

Anyway, my morals aside, Adrian McKinty certainly is NOT a one hit wonder! He most definitely knows how to hook his readers, leave them gasping for air, and putting such fear up them that, when they’re so invested in a nitty gritty part of the storyline and their dog suddenly decides to bark, that they ever so nearly (but not quite) defecate ones underwear and jump as though they’re on a trampoline. Speaking from experience with this one! I was HOOKED on what was happening with Heather and the children, hoping their truths would set them free, that I was ignoring the fact that a leaf blew across the other side of the carpark and my dog spotted it from their slumber on the sofa, so much so that they barked and nearly made me cack myself. Hell, I would go as far as saying that that is a compliment to the author. (Just for clarification, I mean their ability to hook their readers, not the fact that I was a wimp and jumped at a ‘little’ noise).

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Heather at first. She seemed quite up herself in all honesty, and it came across as though she was afraid to be true to herself in case it didn’t match up to what Tom and his children wanted. I suppose walking into a ‘ready made’ family, so to speak, must be hard, especially dealing with three different levels of grief. Perhaps that may have been why Heather could have come across a bit guarded.

I took an instant dislike to Tom, I’m not going to lie. He was such a jumped up, arrogant, -insert bad word here-. It was as though he thought that he was better than everyone else, that his word was law. Erm, no, how about looking further than your nose and seeing that, oh I don’t know, other peoples opinions matter too? What a novel idea…..no pun intended.

What started off as such an uncertain tale, ended up becoming such an eye-opening, well rounded, cleverly written novel. It’s not often that I read a book where I feel as though all the loose ends were tidied up, but in this instance that was exactly the case. I would be lying if I said that the storyline wasn’t dark, because it really is, but I thought it added even more character to an already shady novel. I cannot wait to see what Adrian McKinty has up his sleeve for his next novel – one to watch indeed!!

Buy now from Amazon.

#CoverReveal! So, SO excited for this! @LisaStoneBooks @AvonbooksUK

This is extremely exciting -bounces-. When this cover reveal landed in my e-mail inbox yesterday I squealed, bounced up and down and squealed some more. I ADORE this author, her writing is spectacular and I cannot wait to nab a copy of this.

I couldn’t even keep you in suspense! Cathy Glass is incredible and I am sure that ‘The Darkness Within’ will also follow suit. Here is the blurb:

PUBLISHING IN EBOOK & PAPERBACK: 13^TH JULY 2017

 A gripping new crime novel from the global bestseller Cathy Glass writing as Lisa Stone
You know your son better than anyone. Don’t you?

When critically ill Jacob Wilson is given a life-saving heart transplant, his parents are relieved that their loving son has been saved.
However, before long, his family are forced to accept that something has changed in Jacob. Their once loving son is slowly being replaced by a violent man whose mood swings leave them terrified – but is it their fault?
Jacob’s girlfriend, Rosie, is convinced the man she loves is suffering from stress. But when his moods turn on her, she begins to doubt herself – and she can only hide the bruises for so long.
When a terrible crime is committed, Jacob’s family are forced to confront their darkest fears. Has the boy they raised become a monster? Or is someone else to blame?

How fantastic does this sound? Let me know what you think in the comments! Get sharing!

#BlogTour! #Q&A with author of #TheGoodDaughter – @alexandraburt @avonbooksuk

From the #1 ebook and Sunday Times bestseller, comes the tale of a young woman in search of her past, and the mother who will do anything to keep it hidden…

What if you were the worst crime your mother ever committed?

Dahlia Waller’s childhood memories consist of stuffy cars, seedy motels, and a rootless existence traveling the country with her eccentric mother. Now grown, she desperately wants to distance herself from that life. Yet one thing is stopping her from moving forward: she has questions.

In order to understand her past, Dahlia must go back. Back to her mother in the stifling town of Aurora, Texas. Back into the past of a woman on the brink of madness. But after she discovers three grave-like mounds on a neighbouring farm, she’ll learn that in her mother’s world of secrets, not all questions are meant to be answered…

The Good Daughter is a compelling take on a genre that shows no sign of slowing down. The perfect read for fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins.

Buy now from Amazon

It’s my stop on the blog tour for ,The Good Daughter, by Alexandra Burt! I have a mini interview to share with you today, enjoy!

Q&A with author, Alexandra Burt.

1.      Your second novel, just like Little Girl Gone, centers on a mother-daughter- relationship. Was that a conscious choice, did you feel compelled to revisit the relationship?

I am fascinated by mother-daughter relationships. My mother passed away when I was in college and I never got to experience an adult relationship between us. There are so many unanswered questions, so many stories she hadn’t told me yet. Her absence left such a steep abyss, such a cavernous black hole, and the effects were far reaching—I felt grief beyond loss, beyond darkness and despair, her death was the end of nurturing, the end of safety, and the end of who I was. I revisit mother-daughter relationships because it allows me the opportunity to live vicariously through my characters, mothers and daughters, for I am both; a motherless daughter and the mother of a daughter. The word ‘orphan’ has such a dramatic incantation, is reminiscent of Dicken’s Oliver Twist getting by with little food and few comforts, a Victorian vision of what it means to be alone in this world and yet it isn’t so farfetched at all, because here I am, literally, forever holding out the empty bowl asking for some more of my mother’s love. It took decades yet eventually I came to a place of gratitude and appreciation, after all, twenty-one years with her were better than nineteen, or ten. Any amount seemed better than no time at all and I continue to hold on to this gratitude. I sometimes hear her firm voice—she wasn’t stern at all but that’s how I imagine it—saying You get what you get and you don’t complain, her attempt to lessen the blow of her absence, make it less painful, less life-altering, a mere loving scolding.

There were these odd moments that snuck up on me after her death. The first one was in my early forties when I realized I had spent more years without her than with her, like a switch had been flipped. Shortly thereafter I approached the age my mother had passed and I imagined my life being cut short at that moment and I felt this panic inside of me; if I let another year go by my stories will be lost to my daughter like my mother’s stories are lost to me. Let no stories be lost was a mantra I adopted, like a coping mechanism, a motto allowing me to eternalize death which is inevitable. That’s when I began to write about mothers and daughters, and yes, there might just be a theme here I won’t be able to escape from any time soon.

 

2. How did your preparation/research for writing this novel differ from, or perhaps was similar to, your preparation for writing Little Girl Gone?
   

I had personal experience with postpartum depression, a central aspect of Little Girl Gone. I had a lot to draw from, personally and from the mothers I spoke with in preparation for the book. I also consulted maps of New York, had to get it just right because slipups are easy and readers would notice. The setting of Aurora Texas, somewhere East of Dallas, is completely fictional. There are many small towns like Aurora in Texas and all over the country. Childhood is not only a place but also a state of being, something you re-experience once you cross that threshold and returning home to the house you grew up in or lived for the better part of your life can be extremely emotional.

For The Good Daughter I did a lot of research on personality disorders and seizure disorders. The most fascinating theory I came across was a theory called “the doorway effect.” In essence it is the belief that memory is disrupted by switching locations, like walking in another room but forgetting why we went there. It’s not a matter of poor memory at all, but an event that creates a mental boundary, separating episodes, filing them away, in essence compartmentalizing them in order to be able to move on. For The Good Daughter I imagined this “doorway effect” in reverse and on a grander scale: what if we revisit a place where some sort of suffering was inflicted upon us and how that would play out when a character returns to a house where unspeakable acts have taken place. Then I imagined the character unable to leave and forced to confront the past. I was literally stuck in that process of the research, didn’t want it to end, that’s how fascinated I was. Almost as if my mind refused to step out of it, cross over a threshold, anxious if my state of wonder would erase itself, would I too forget how it felt? It’s this obsessive part of a project that allows me to soak up knowledge like a sponge and as I write, I squeeze it and watch it all unfold.

 

3. What were your influences in creating the characters of Dahlia and her mother?

The Good Daughter was inspired by the demise of a marriage I witnessed. I wasn’t at the heart of the story, I was a mere bystander, yet it is safe to say that I got caught up in it. There was a middle-aged couple and their marriage came to an abrupt end. There were no red flags, no infidelity, and no disagreements on financial decisions. I want to believe, like any marriage, it wasn’t perfect but quite average in its trials and tribulations. One day a man finds his house empty, but it’s one thing to be in a deteriorating marriage and ending up separated, it’s another to be the victim of a cloak and dagger operation in the middle of the night. I was left with the premise that we really don’t know the people we live with, regardless how much we want to believe we know everything about them. In the novel I took it a step further; what if your entire life was based on a lie from the day you were born and it was up to you alone to assemble the pieces to uncover the truth. In The Good Daughter, the character Dahlia is a flower and every flower needs water and soil and sunshine and nurturing, like human beings rely on others to sustain them. I realized early readers were quite fascinated with the character of the mother, and I found myself connecting more and more dots and ending up with the character named Memphis who became just as important as Dahlia. Memphis means to endure. It felt fitting, inevitable in a way.

Thank you for stopping by, Alexandra! Also, thank you to Avon Books for having me involved in the tour! This book is on my TBR pile, looking forward to reading it once I get to it!

Here are all the other blogs involved in this tour:

#Tour! #BookReview of The Promise by Casey Kelleher (@caseykelleher) @bookouture

Growing up in squalor with their drug-addicted prostitute mother, sisters Georgie and Marnie Parker have had to endure the very darkest side of life.

When their mother is sentenced for brutally murdering a client, Georgie and Marnie’s already precarious lives are blown apart and they now share a terrible secret. Sent to a children’s home, the sisters hope this might finally be their safe haven after years of neglect. But they soon discover they’re in real danger.

Desperate to find a place of safety, Georgie and Marnie run for their lives, but end up in the hands of Delray Anderton. A violent London gangster and notorious pimp, Delray has big plans for beautiful teenager Georgie, seeing her as a chance to make some serious money.

Fiercely protective of each other, Georgie and Marnie must escape the clutches of a man who will do anything to keep the sisters for himself. And, they must keep the promise they made to each other – no one can ever know the truth.

What does TWG think?

Oh my! Today is the first day of Casey Kelleher’s blog tour for her BRAND NEW BOOK (released today FYI), The Promise. It is SUCH an honour to be kicking off the tour with my review of the book, thank you!

Well the hell do I start with this one?! Georgie and Marnie haven’t exactly had a childhood to be proud of; not that it was their own doing of course. Having heard (and seen) a lot of things that children should most certainly NOT be hearing, the sisters need to find a way protect their sanity, and fast. Unfortunately, due to their mothers extra curricular activities shall we say, Georgie and Marnie’s sanity isn’t the only thing which they need to protect; their lives are now hanging in the balance.

How? What? When? Why? Geeeeeez Casey! ‘The Promise’ had me hooked straight away; the squalor Georgie and Marnie were living in, as well as wondering what the hell their mother was playing at, were two HUGE reasons for me to keep reading. To be honest, I felt weary of stopping the book for even one second, in case I was in danger myself! That’s my excuse to have had the book glued to me the whole time and I’m sticking to it!

I just wanted to reach into the pages and pull Marnie out into safety. My maternal instincts went through the roof for both of the girls of course, but I needed to save Marnie! Poor souls! Their lives were a complete mess and so was their mother to be honest, but oh my goodness the suspense! I didn’t know which character needed more focus, I had no idea where the storyline was heading, nor had I a clue as to who was going to be the next ‘client’ in the door! But I’ll tell you something, I could NOT tear my eyes away from the gritty storyline that was unfolding before my very eyes.

I got about halfway through the book when I had to pause. All of a sudden the storyline became much darker than I ever anticipated, and it became a little hard for me to read. I had to pause, gather my thoughts and then pick up the book again. The intensity of the storyline changed so suddenly, the events that were happening at that moment in time actually made me jump. Casey Kelleher managed to not only hold my attention for a very long time, she also managed to make me forget my surroundings and placed me IN the storyline. Have you ever had that when you’re so invested in a storyline and the slightest thing, like patting your arm whilst reading, will make you jump? It’s as though your own reality is an intruder and the storyline is your current reality.

I’ll admit, yes the storyline at times was a bit difficult to read in places due to the harsh and powerful circumstances within. However, if an author is able to make you feel as though you cannot continue with the book, yet is also able to make you return to the novel as though it’s your addiction; it means that the author is phenomenal at their craft. Yes Casey Kelleher, I’m talking about you! I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, just like you shouldn’t judge people, but Casey, WOW! I had NO IDEA that she had those disturbing, real, gritty and dark situations up her sleeve. It.Blew.My.Mind.

What a completely disturbing, hard-hitting, head funk of a book that will have you hanging off of every single word the author has written. To tear your eyes away from such an intense storyline would be a travesty; for you.
‘The Promise’ is full of gut wrenching, spine tingling and hair-raising moments, enough to keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more (as well as giving your heart a good work out). Casey Kelleher has showcased her true writing ability within this novel and by golly it’s not one to be missed. Shame on you if you do!

Thank you Bookouture!

Buy: Amazon UK // Amazon US.

About the author.

Born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, Casey Kelleher grew up as an avid reader and a huge fan of author Martina Cole.

Whilst working as a beauty therapist and bringing up her three children together with her husband, Casey penned her debut novel Rotten to the Core. Its success meant that she could give up her day job and concentrate on writing full time.

She has since published Rise and Fall, Heartless, Bad Blood, The Taken and her latest release, The Promise.

For all news and updates:

www.caseykelleher.co.uk

www.facebook.com/officialcaseykelleher

http://caseykelleher.wordpress.com

Twitter: @caseykelleher

Make sure you keep following the rest of blog tour!

#BlogTour! #WhatYouDontKnow by @joann_chaney @panmacmillan #TheSeeverEffect

It’s Wednesday 8th February 2017 and TWG is here with some breaking news for you this morning. For the third day running, bloggers across the globe have been involved in the secretive Seever Effect. According to Ms.JoAnn Chaney, #WhatYouDontKnow is….still to be revealed.
NEWS JUST IN: PanMacmillan will be releasing #TheSeeverEffect into the spotlight on 9th February 2017; be on your guard.

GLORIA SEEVER CLAIMS INNOCENCE

By Sammie Peterson

In a Post exclusive, Gloria Seever has finally broken her silence over her husband Jacky’s arrest for serial homicide. They have been married for almost thirty years but since her husband’s arrest in December last year, Gloria Seever has declined to talk to the press.

Police inquiry has found no evidence to implicate Gloria as an accomplice to her husband’s crimes, but questions continue to be raised amongst members of the community as to how someone living in such close proximity to his victims could be oblivious to their existence.

There is, to begin with, the question of the smell some neighbours reported omitting from the house.

“I remember that happening once or twice,” admits Gloria. “On hot days.”

When pressed she explains, “We always had a rodent problem. Jacky would set out the poison, and the mice would crawl up in the walls and die. Having that pond out back attracted all kinds of pests.”

I ask Gloria whether it was her husband that told her about the mice.

“Yes,” she replies instantly. “That’s what Jacky told me. Why wouldn’t I believe him?”

I suggest that Seever’s reliability might be up for debate considering his confession to murdering thirty-one people in her own home.

“The police cleared me as a suspect,” she is quick to state, and while Gloria Seever has been consistently firm on the matter of her innocence, her continued silence on the finer details of her life and marriage to Denver’s most hated man, will do nothing to quash rumours of her complicity.

Buy ‘What You Don’t Know’ from Amazon UK
Buy ‘What You Don’t Know’ from Amazon US

JoAnn Chaney’s dark debut, What You Don’t Know, tells the story of the three victims the murderer didn’t kill but whose lives he ruined all the same . . .

A crime like this isn’t only about the killer. There are others to consider . . .

Seven years ago, Detective Paul Hoskins and his larger-than-life partner solved one of the biggest serial killer cases of the decade. They dug up 31 bodies in a crawlspace belonging to the beloved Jacky Seever, a pillar of the community and a successful businessman. Sammie Peterson was the lead reporter on the case. Her byline was on the front page of the newspaper every day. Seever’s wife, Gloria, claimed to be as surprised as everyone else.

But when you get that close to a killer, can you really just move on?

Today, Hoskins has been banished to the basement of the police station, Sammie is selling make-up at the shopping mall, and Gloria is trying to navigate a world where she can’t escape condemnation.

Then a series of copycat killings take place, with the victims all connected to Seever. While Gloria is determined not to be forced into the spotlight again, Hoskins and Sammie see a chance to get their lives back. But it could mean forfeiting their humanity in the process . . .

It isn’t over. It’ll never be over.

#BlogTour #Review – Don’t Look Behind You by Mel Sherratt (@writermels) @bookouture

Blurb.

She got into bed but sleep didn’t come easily. Every creak in the house made her alert. She was waiting for him to come and get her.

The small city of Stockleigh is in shock as three women are brutally attacked within days of each other. Are they random acts of violence or is there a link between the victims? For Detective Eden Berrisford, it’s her most chilling case yet.

The investigation leads Eden to cross paths with Carla, a woman trying to rebuild her life after her marriage to a cruel and abusive man ended in unimaginable tragedy. Her husband Ryan was imprisoned for his crimes but, now he’s out and coming for her.

As Eden starts to close in on the attacker, she also puts herself in grave danger. Can she stop him before he strikes again? And can Carla, terrified for her life, save herself – before the past wreaks a terrible revenge?

What does TWG think?

Thrilled to be one of the blog stops today for the very talented, Mel Sherratt, and her new release; ‘Don’t Look Behind You’.

Detective Eden Berrisford is back; and boy is she back with a bang! Eden is leading the investigations for three separate, horrific incidents all involving women. If Eden can’t solve the crimes then who can? In Mel’s previous novel ‘The Girl Next Door’, Eden Berrisford showed promise as an influential character, especially given the fact that she is a tough nut! I would dread to be on the wrong side of her and Eden certainly moves her ‘showing promise’ status up a notch in this storyline.

The topics Mel Sherratt covered in the book, for me, were extremely difficult to read as I couldn’t switch off from them being too close to home. Even though the harrowing situations are happening in our world today, I did find it hard to be face to face with my demon. However, due to my own personal experiences with the topics, I was impressed at the attention to detail with those cases, and the careful steps Mel Sherratt took to ensure the situations were written sensitively, but real.

Right from the very beginning the storyline oozed depth and pure grit. It was pretty clear to see that the author wanted the reader to focus solely on the novel as the way she drip fed pieces of information, instead of just going WHAM with it, was enough to keep my curiosity and interest severely peaked. A very, very clever style of writing.

Detective Eden Berrisford is definitely THE heroine to look up to and keep on side. Her character is just phenonmenal and Mel Sherratt has really struck gold by writing such a kick ass detective that us ladies will aspire to become (even adults can have dreams, right?).

Overall, I enjoyed ‘Don’t Look Behind You’ because it was incredibly gripping and oozed power, showcasing Mel Sherratt’s phenomenal writing style. A style you’d need to be insane NOT to like. I did let my own personal demons overshadow my enjoyment of the storyline I admit, but even with that pesky demon, you can’t go wrong with a Mel Sherratt novel AND Detective Eden Berrisford can you?

Thank you Bookouture!

Don’t Look Behind You ~ Amazon Links

UK

US

In case you have missed any of the other bloggers stops on the tour:

#BlogTour! #Extract of #PerfectRemains by @Helen_Fields @AvonBooksUK #FeelingBrave

#FeelingBrave?
For my stop on the blog tour for Perfect Remains by Helen Fields, I have an extract as well as the all important buying link, enjoy!

Blurb.

On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.

In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness…

Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.

It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.

Fans of Angela Marson, Mark Billingham and M. J. Aldridge will be gripped by this chilling journey into the mind of a troubled killer.

Extract:

The woman had given in more easily than he’d imagined. If it had been him, he’d have fought to the last, would have focused every ounce of anger and bile on resisting. She had pleaded, begged and in the end cried feebly and howled. Life was cheap, he thought, because the general populace failed to appreciate its value. He understood. He constantly pushed himself to the limits of his capability, strove to learn, to surpass. He burned with a thirst for knowledge like others craved money, making it hard to find an equal. That was why he’d been forced to kill. Without her sacrifice, he would forever have been surrounded by women unable to satisfy his intellect. 

He listened to a language CD as he drove. He liked to learn a new language each year. This time it was Spanish. Easier than many, he admitted to himself guiltily, but then he had an exhausting amount of other matters on his mind. He couldn’t be expected to pick up anything more complex whilst doing so much research and travelling. 

‘It’s not as if I’ve had any free time.’ A rabbit dashed out from the verge. He slammed on his brakes, less from a desire to avoid it than with the shock of the movement in his periph­eral vision. ‘Damn it!’ He was distracted and he’d been talking to himself again. He only did that when he was overtired. And stressed. He’d stayed up late arguing. Whoever thought it was an easy task persuading an intelligent woman to do what was best for her, was a fool. It was a challenge, even for a man of his faculties. The brighter the woman, the harder it was. But rewarding in the end. 

He pulled over at the outskirts of Edinburgh and drank passably warm coffee from a flask. He couldn’t risk going into a cafe. In spite of the lack of interest he was likely to generate – no one wanted to stare at a middle aged, saggy-bellied man with an unsightly bald patch – it would be stupid to have his likeness caught on CCTV returning to the city along this route. 

The Spanish voice droned in the background until he hit the off switch. It was such a big day, why shouldn’t he take a break for once? A lady was waiting at home, needing substantial care and attention. She wouldn’t be able to talk clearly for a while, in fact she would probably need speech therapy. Luckily for her, he was a gifted tutor in many fields. It would be his pleasure and privilege to assist.

Buy ‘Perfect Remains’ from Amazon – NOW

 

Author guest post! ‘An ode to a love letter’ by @DavidVidecette; author of ‘The Thesus Paradox’.

Ex-detective turned author David Videcette, author of ‘The Thesus Paradox’, is popping his TWG cherry today! -claps-. What better way to spend your first time on TWG blog than sharing a love letter. Oh yes ladies, David finally gave in to my request and returned to his teenage years of writing love letters. Oh, wait…it wasn’t for ME (sniff, sniff, sniff), it was for….oh heck, I shall go sulk, letter includes sheep and stuff! I jest….ish!

TWG is thrilled to welcome Mr David Videcette and his guest post – An Ode to a Love Letter!

 

AN ODE TO A LOVE LETTER 

The lovely Kaisha of The Writing Garnet has (jokingly) asked me to write her a love letter. So here goes…

*Googles how to write a love letter.*  

Yes, here we go: ‘Fifteen tips on how to write a love letter’. That’ll do… 

I’ve suddenly realised that I haven’t written a love letter in many years, not since I was in my teens. Thinking back, it was probably really badly written. The punctuation and spelling were probably awful, the words clumsy and the layout clunky.   

Computers and the internet have made many these things much easier. We can steal ideas and copy good practice from people we’ve never met. I could probably throw a love letter together in less than five minutes from the internet now, instead of it taking the five hours or so that it took me in my teens.

But if I copied it, it wouldn’t be mine, would it? If you knew me, you’d see that the words I’ve used aren’t necessarily how I speak. You’d be disappointed. It wouldn’t be me standing in front of you, pouring my heart out, wanting you to see how I felt. I’d be some faceless, nameless instantly forgettable ‘other’. That’s no good.

That’s both the problem and beauty of the internet. While it gives us almost infinite wisdom of a type, and the opportunity to peek into places that we didn’t even know existed – it also allows people, with very little actual knowledge of a subject, to mimic those that have. It turns people into a herd of sheep, all flocking in the same place, thinking the same thoughts and using the same type of ideas. And I’ve never found sheep very romantic. I’d not want to take one to bed. Cuddly perhaps, but they are not the thing of romance. Who wants a sheep in their love letter?

*Crosses off sheep as a romantic icon and thing of desire.*

TWG: Not this one then David?! 😉

We want passion, excitement, lust – and desire that you can taste, dripping off the pages of a love letter. Those things are not the norm. I’m not going to find them in my internet browser or wandering around in the local Tesco. I need something raw, something real, something wild and untamed. I’m thinking lynx, Siberian tiger, or an all-conquering lion as an icon.  

But if I’m to write about being a creature that can slay all others, I need to feel like the king of all beasts – or at least know what it looks like, up close, and personal, as it snarls in my face, it’s spittle settling onto my skin, as it decides whether I’m worthy of the effort required to kill me.

You want the emotions that raw, don’t you?  

*Wonders if that sounds a bit too scary, and not very romantic?*

I didn’t start out being a writer. I spent twenty years in the police, much of it working in covert or specialist departments. I worked as a detective on some of the biggest and most exciting investigations of our times. Not all of it was easy, some of it was utterly terrifying, some of it was so upsetting it still makes me burst into tears, even to this day, years later. So you can be sure that I’ve seen and experienced every human emotion there is. It’s that experience and emotion you want in my writing isn’t it?

You want to know that I’m real, that I’m not faking it. You want to know that I’d chase you down a train track with a train hurtling at full speed behind me, because I’m full of passion, and that you know I’ve used that passion to catch someone that way before. You want that experience, that energy, drive and tenacity in my writing. You want someone who is never going to give up, someone that knows you’re worth catching, don’t you?

*But the criminal I chased down the train track had just robbed an old lady and beaten her up on her doorstep. And you don’t want me in the same frame of mind, when I catch you. That’s not the right sort of passion!*

No. You want to know about love. 

I have loved before. A few times. But I’ve lost too. Both my parents died within a few months of each other a few years back, it knocked me for six. It made me realise how important family is, something that I’d taken very much for granted before that. Although I’d seen death every single week in my policing career, I’d never really felt it, not like I did in those few months after my parents passed away. I have two daughters who I spend as much time as I can with. But they grow up so fast. It seems like yesterday I was pushing them on swings in the park, now they are talking about music and films I’ve never even heard of.

*That’s the wrong sort of love, you idiot. Get back on track. This is a love letter!* 

I think that the act of writing is the easy bit. Writing things that people enjoy reading, well that’s a tougher objective. Writing a love letter, or a bestseller is like having a relationship. If you neglect it and don’t spend enough time together, it will fail. Nothing will happen. Of course, simply spending time together isn’t enough either, you have to enjoy each other’s company and understand how to make the best of what’s at your disposal.

*She wants to know about commitment and the effort you’re going to put in!*

I cram my writing in, often around other book and media commitments. It can be very difficult. But, much like love and romance, if there is a will, there is a way. Even during the busiest of days, there’s always space to tell someone how special they are; to write a few more lines…

Because, just like a love letter – to hit the spot, your writing should draw on your many years of wisdom, be in your own words, and be from the heart.

I don’t think anyone would complain if that sort of love letter came their way! I’m not going to lie, I chuckled as I read this post the first time, and again the second, yet I found the true emotion within the words. It’s wonderful when you’re able to see a different side to an author, or a person, especially when their straight laced face (see above), doesn’t away much. My first….I mean, TWG’s first love letter! Thank you David for writing such a fantastic post for TWG, hope you can stop by the blog again!

 ‘July 2005: in the midst of Operation Theseus, the largest police investigation that the UK has ever known, Detective Inspector Jake Flannagan begins to ask difficult questions that lead to the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend and his sudden suspension from the Metropolitan Police.

Who masterminded London’s summer of terror?

 Why can’t Flannagan make headway in the sprawling investigation?

 Is Jake’s absent girlfriend really who she claims to be? 

While hunting for the answers to the most complex case in British history, one man will uncover the greatest criminal deception of our time.’

Click The Theseus Paradox on Kindle here

Grab The Theseus Paradox in paperback here

About the author.

David Videcette is a former Scotland Yard investigator and an expert in terrorism and organised crime. David’s bestselling novel, ‘The Theseus Paradox’ is a page-turning, twisty police thriller set against the investigation into London’s 7/7 bombings, a case which he worked on as a detective for five years. The truth behind the fiction was investigated by The Sunday Telegraph, ITV News and Sky News.

How much is real and how much is a story, only YOU can decide…

Chat to David on Twitter, on Facebook or find out more about him via his website.

 

 

 

*Book still on offer* (re-posted). TWG’s Don’t-Snooze-You’ll-Lose Deal Day with……@taralyonsauthor

Welcome to a brand new feature! A lovely author contacted me about her book that is currently on promotion, it prompted me to think of this new feature. I will arrange a post every Tuesday for authors to promote one or two books of theirs that are on offer, just to give a helping hand.
Interested? Read through these guidelines first:
– No more than TWO books to be sent for your promo post per week.
– All book covers, blurbs, buy links and author links MUST be in the e-mail. Anything that isn’t in the e-mail will not get published.
– Promo posts can be selected in advance, as long as all dates are included so I know which Tuesday to post.
– If you’re interested, please send an e-mail to kaishajayneh@gmail.com with the subject ‘Tuesday Promo Post’ as soon as possible to guarantee your slot!

What better way to begin a new feature than with the lovely author that prompted this feature, Tara Lyons!

Tara is the author of the psychological crime thriller ‘In The Shadows’. ‘In The Shadows’ is her debut novel and as of the 17th July, it will have been released four months! To celebrate that, Tara has put the book on promotion at 99p/99c for a limited time only!

‘In the Shadows – a psychological crime thriller from bestselling author Tara Lyons (co-author of Web of Deceit (novella) and The Caller: the Organised Crime series with M.A Comley)

Detective Inspector Denis Hamilton is tasked with apprehending a brutal murderer stalking the streets of London – and leaving not a shred of DNA evidence. As the suspect list mounts, his frustration and pressure from his superiors intensify. 

Grace Murphy, who is dealing with the recent loss of her beloved grandfather, falls deeper into despair when her friends’ bodies are discovered. Fearing she may be the killer’s next target, she begins to question if her horrifying nightmares are the key to unravelling the murderer’s identity. 

How far would you go to uncover the truth? Would you venture into the shadows to unmask a killer?’

5 Star Review snippets of the book so far.

“I have to say that Tara out wit my Miss marple skills just when I thought I knew who the killer was, bang there was another shocker thrown in! Very clever I have to say. This book will have you guessing until the end I can tell you that.”

Shell Baker, Chelles Review blog

 

“Not a big fan of these kind of books but once I started reading this I couldn’t put it down. Very gripping story with a brilliant twist. Can’t wait this to be made into a film.”

Nicholas Barrow

“The story made me think about it when I wasn’t reading.”
Claire Knight

“The pages turned themselves and I read the book really quickly, desperate to discover the truth!”
Kim Nash, Kim the Book Worm blog

“First and foremost, I have to say that for a debut novel ~ this book kicked butt! EEEEEEEEK!!”
Noelle Holten, Crimebookjunkie

“Did NOT see the end coming and though the story was wrapped up nicely there is potential for a sequel, which I hope will be coming soon!”
Jeanette Hewitt, author of Exclusion Zone

“Definitely worthy of being made into a 4 part TV drama! Can’t wait for Tara Lyon’s next book.”
V Knight

Buy from Amazon
Buy from iBooks
Buy from Kobo
Buy from Barnes and Noble

Please note: The promotion of 99p/99c is only for a LIMITED TIME ONLY. If you snooze, you lose, so you need to be quick. I have no idea when the offer will end, only the author knows.

To keep up to date with Tara’s latest work, check out her:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Sign up to her newsletter here.

 

Guess who’s back, back again…TWG is! Review of ‘Saving Sophie’ by Sam Carrington.

Blurb.

A teenage girl is missing. Is your daughter involved, or is she next?
Your daughter is in danger. But can you trust her?
When Karen Finch’s seventeen-year-old daughter Sophie arrives home after a night out, drunk and accompanied by police officers, no one is smiling the morning after. But Sophie remembers nothing about how she got into such a state.
Twelve hours later, Sophie’s friend Amy has still not returned home. Then the body of a young woman is found.
Karen is sure that Sophie knows more than she is letting on. But Karen has her own demons to fight. She struggles to go beyond her own door without a panic attack.
As she becomes convinced that Sophie is not only involved but also in danger, Karen must confront her own anxieties to stop whoever killed one young girl moving on to another – Sophie.

What does TWG think?

Do you remember, last Wednesday, TWG being involved in the cover reveal for ‘Saving Sophie’? Remember me saying that I absolutely could NOT wait to read it? Well, I wasn’t lying. In fact, ‘Saving Sophie’ hopped, skipped, jumped and flew over all of  the other books in my TBR pile. I started reading it last night, and finished it today (thank you to Sam for giving me the ARC).

So what DID I think of the book? One word. WOW. ‘Saving Sophie’ is in the genre of ‘psychological thriller’ which I am sure you guessed by the blurb! Oh my, it definitely fits within that genre no bother!
Sophie went for a night out with her group of friends just like any other seventeen year old I would imagine. A night of fun, laughs and being able to remember everything the next day, you know, good memories…right? WRONG. Sophie arrived home in no fit state accompanied by police officers. Now there is drunk, and then there’s Sophie. Her mum,  Karen, has had her own fair share of issues in the past which have left her with a severe bout of anxiety and then some. The only thing she can rely on to calm her down is her trusty paper bag.
Karen had a feeling, a bad feeling, that there was more to Sophie’s situation than was being let on by her or Sophie’s friends. But what was it? Why did Karen have a sinking feeling about that night Sophie went out? Why couldn’t Sophie remember anything about what happened? If she couldn’t remember anything then she shouldn’t be feeling guilty….or should she?

To be honest, I think Avon Books should package every paperback copy of ‘Saving Sophie’ with its own paper bag. By golly you would need it! Every time Karen went to use her paper bag to calm herself down and regulate her breathing because of her anxiety, in my head I was going ‘SHARE IT!!!!’. But she wouldn’t share her bag :(. I’m pretty sure I spent most of the book feeling as though my heart was pounding out of my chest. I don’t think I even remember breathing much to be honest. I must have done, obviously.

I was absolutely hooked on every single word that was written. The whole book was laced with spine tingling tension which made goose bumps put up tents on my arms. I had no idea what the outcome would be, despite the fact that there were  a lot of situations happening that made me think ‘could it be?’. Sam Carrington has written the book from three characters eyes as it were; Karen’s, Sophie’s and the police. I thought that was a very bold move as sometimes when books go between character views, the storyline can get a bit lost and confusing. Lost and confusing are not the words that I would use to describe what Sam did, no way. Sensationally gripping, are the words that I am going to use. Seeing certain events unfold from a different characters perspective gave the book even more depth and I was able to see the situation from another side. Every story has two sides to it.I took a bit of time gelling with Sophie’s character. I found her to be quite a cold person (at first). It worked though!

At about 80% of the way through (Kindle), it was as if I wasn’t reading. I was moving the pages along on my kindle like you do flicking through an Argos book as a child, at Christmas. Extremely fast. I was in shock, my heart was pounding, I HAD to find out what had happened that night. I couldn’t put the book down, I didn’t WANT to put the book down. I couldn’t believe what was unfolding in front of my very eyes, I was actually shaking as I continued reading. Many times I felt as though Sam had pulled me into the book herself and made me a spectator.

‘Saving Sophie’ is a book that will leave you having to physically compose yourself after reading it. I was exhausted because of the emotions that I had felt whilst reading the book, all down to Sam Carrington’s mind-blowing writing.If you want to read a book that will make you question every little thing, make your mouth incredibly dry after leaving it wide open whilst reading, then this is the book for you. If you want to read a book that makes you sit on the edge of your chair, with arms covered in goosebumps, then this book is for you.

Gripping and chilling from the onset;  ‘Saving Sophie’ will have you anxiously spellbound. An unbelievable debut from Sam Carrington. I most certainly will be sleeping with the light on tonight! Incredible read, here’s to book two (you’ve set the bar high for yourself now Sam!).

‘Saving Sophie’ by Sam Carrington, published by Avon, is released in E-book format on the 12th August 2016 and can be pre-ordered HERE.
The paperback copy is set for release in December 2016 and can be pre-ordered HERE.