The Collector's Daughter

by

Gill Paul

BLOG TOUR

An unforgettable discovery In 1922, Lady Evelyn Herbert’s dreams are realised when she is the first to set foot inside the lost tomb of Tutankhamun for over 3,000 years. 

A cursed life But the months after the discovery are marred by tragedy, when Eve’s father dies suddenly and her family is torn in two. Desperate to put the past behind her, Eve retreats into a private life with her new husband. 

A deadly choice But she is harbouring a dark secret about what really happened in Egypt. And when a young woman comes asking questions years later, the happiness Eve has finally found is threatened once more… 

Review

I can't tell you how much I eagerly await Gill Paul's new novels, as I am a huge fan and have read all of her previous books and this one didn't disappoint!

The story starts in 1972 when Evelyn Herbert (Eve) is in hospital having had yet another stroke and she is trying hard to get back on her feet so that she can get home to her loving husband, Brograve. They have been together for many years and are devoted to each other. The strokes have affected her memory somewhat and she has to rely on her husband to help her remember her time in Egypt when she was there at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb.

This is a dual timeline story (which I love) and goes back and forth to the 20's when Eve lived at Highclere Castle (used as the home of the Crawley family in Downton Abbey) with her Father Lord Carnarvon and they start their expedition to the Valley of the Kings in search of finding out more about Tutankhamun and his treasure. 

Eve feels trepidation as she hears about "curses" towards people who interfere with the tombs and when things happen along the way, she wonders if she will suffer the same fate.

This is a fantastically researched book and as always, the author has left me wanting to find out more. After every book I read of Gill's I always have to "Google" and this book is no exception! 

Thank you for yet another fabulous read and one which will be one of my favourite reads of the year for sure!

About the author: 

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty-one languages. The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book-club favourite worldwide. She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects. She lives in London and swims year-round in a wild pond. The Collector’s Daughter is her tenth novel. 

 People of Abandoned Character

by

Clare Whitfield

London, 1888. Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes. His behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets.

Lonely and frustrated, Susannah starts following the gruesome reports of a spate of murders in Whitechapel. But as the killings continue, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time he stays out late, another victim is found dead. Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man the papers call Jack the Ripper?

Review

Susannah doesn't want to end up like her mother, bearing a child out of wedlock and becoming a prostitute to pay the bills, so when she gets the chance to train as a nurse at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, she jumps at the chance.

There she meets a handsome Doctor, Thomas Lancaster. He tries every trick in the book to woo her and it works. They are soon married and move into a grand house in Chelsea with it's own housekeeper, but it doesn't take long before things start deteriorating. Thomas's personality changes overnight and he is violent towards her. 

Things change within the household at the same time as a series of women are murdered in Whitechapel by an unknown assailant. It doesn't take long before they are nicknaming the culprit as "Jack the Ripper". 

When Thomas's behaviour gets so bad and he goes missing for days on end and when he does eventually return, he is covered in blood, it doesn't take Susannah long to put two and two together and begin to dread that her husband could be Jack. The only way to find out is to follow him to see what he gets up to on the days when he goes missing.

This is an absolutely brilliant story of love, loss, death, debauchery and everything in between! I loved it (as I knew I would as soon as I read the blurb). Very well researched 

If you are a fan of reading about old London Town and have a bizarre fascination with Jack the Ripper (as I have - I am even related to one of the victims ancestors by marriage! ), then you will love this book. 

A fabulous debut by Clare Whitfield. She has her second book coming out early next year and I for one, cannot wait to read it.

@whitfield_riley

@HofZ_Books

The Daughter’s Choice

The Daughter’s Choice Is her whole life built on a lie? Rose has always been close to her father. Her mother died soon after she was born, so it’s been just the two of them for as long as she can remember. But a chance encounter days before she's due to get married leaves Rose questioning everything she has ever known. The man she trusts most in the world has been keeping a secret from her. And the truth will leave her with an impossible choice… Purchase Link - smarturl.it/TheDaughtersChoiceEB Author Bio Former journalist S.D. Robertson quit his role as a local newspaper editor to pursue a lifelong ambition of becoming a novelist. He lives in a village near Manchester with his wife and daughter and now writes full-time – and it’s safe to say the career move paid off! Stuart is a USA Today and Kindle Top 100 bestseller. 
Social Media Links – @SDRauthor (Twitter), @sdrobertsonauthor (Instagram), S.D. Robertson/@sdrobertsonauthor (Facebook). @AvonBooksUK (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook).

Review

 This book is like two stories in the one book but with a connection between the two that is revealed towards the end. The Daughter’s Choice explores relationships, love and choices and was a pleasure to read. 

Single Dad Dave to Rose, is an amazing character who is not only a loving Dad to his only daughter but also inspirational and supportive. Rose who is about to be married and is on a relaxation break with her friend Cara which has been arranged by Dave only for Cara to get a phone call which takes her back home leaving Rose on her own. It’s here that Rose meets Cassie, an older lady who is keen to hear Rose’s life story before telling her own.
I thoroughly enjoyed this authors 6th novel as I have all his previous ones.

Author Bio Former journalist S.D. Robertson quit his role as a local newspaper editor to pursue a lifelong ambition of becoming a novelist. He lives in a village near Manchester with his wife and daughter and now writes full-time – and it’s safe to say the career move paid off! Stuart is a USA Today and Kindle Top 100 bestseller.

Social Media Links  @SDRauthor (Twitter), @sdrobertsonauthor (Instagram), S.D. Robertson/@sdrobertsonauthor (Facebook). 

@AvonBooksUK (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook).