Cover reveal for FOLLOW ME by Angela Clarke

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …

Ebook: 3^rd December, Paperback 31^st December.

BritCrime Festival 11 - 13 July 2015

To celebrate the launch of BritCrime’s first free online crime fiction festival, 11-13 July, I have teamed up with BritCrime authors to give away one fabulous prize.

You could win a gift bundle of ten print books, including new releases by Colette McBeth and Sarah Hilary, and MJ McGrath’s Gold Dagger longlisted White Heat. This giveaway is open internationally. One lucky winner will win all ten books.

Please complete the entries in the Rafflecopter before midnight 10th July for a chance to win.

To learn more about the BritCrime festival, please visit http//britcrime.com and sign up to the newsletter. There will be giveaways and live Q&As with bestselling British crime fiction authors hosted on BritCrime’s Facebook page 11 & 12 July.

The Magpies + What You Wish For by Mark Edwards

No Other Darkness by Sarah Hilary

The Life I Left Behind + Precious Thing by Colette McBeth

White Heat by M J McGrath

Beyond the Rage by Michael J Malone

Follow the Leader + Watching Over You by Mel Sherratt

The Harbour Master by Daniel Pembrey

Good luck!

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This book post made my day.......

Yesterday I received in the post a copy of Kate Rhode's latest book in the Alice Quentin series which is due to be published on 18th June (my birthday!!). So can you imagine how delighted and overwhelmed I was to not only receive a copy hot off the press, but to find out that Kate has mentioned me on page 323 in her acknowledgements!! 

I love Kate Rhode's work and came across her books quite by accident when I was researching about the Crossbones Cemetery in South East London and by Googling the name I saw her first book in the series Crossbones Yard on Amazon and promptly bought it! From then on I have been hooked on her work and always eagerly await her new books. 

I constantly badger her on Twitter, asking when the next instalment is due (sorry Kate!) and have even made a few Twitter friends in the process!! 

Thank you Kate for writing such gripping, spine tingling novels that have me gripped from beginning to end and always leave me wanting more. I love them!

Bride Without A Groom Blog Tour

I am delighted to be hosting this Blog Tour as part of the "Wedding Season" during May and June on my blog. I mentioned to the author Amy Lynch that I wanted to read as many wedding themed books as I could during May and June and she very kindly agreed that I could take part in the blog tour! Thank you Amy!!

About the Author

Amy Lynch is an author of women’s commercial fiction and writing is her passion. She loves to write humorous romantic fiction, but not always with fairy tale endings! She has published fiction in magazines, and has worked in the charity sector for twelve years. She is married with two young children. When she is not writing, Amy can be found juggling school lunches and two Shetland pony-sized rescue dogs. Now, how’s that for multi-tasking? Amy is the author of two novels, Bride Without A Groom and Does My Bump Look Big In This? Her third novel is in progress. 

Sypnosis

Single, coupled-up or married, this laugh-out-loud summer read is the perfect anecdote for the wedding season!

Rebecca has chosen the most luscious, five tiered, wedding cake. The engagement ring that she has selected is celebrity inspired. The wedding singer is on speed dial. He doesn’t usually do Michael Bolton, but as it’s for a first dance he’ll make an exception. Father Maguire is checking dates for the parish church as we speak. The deposit on the white sand honeymoon is paid for in full on Barry’s card. She has fallen for an ivory lace couture gown that is to die for. The down payment may require her to sell a left kidney, but it will be worth it. Isn’t that why you have two?

There’s one teeny tiny problem. It’s nothing, really. No need to panic! It’s just that Barry has yet to propose. Says he’s not ready! He can be a bit of a kill joy that way. It’s time to face the harsh reality – Rebecca is a bride without a groom!

Review

Well, what can I say about Rebecca, other than she would win any award for “Bridezilla of the Year” hands down but surely you should wait until you are asked first!! Although saying that, my husband never proposed to me properly so sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns (so to speak!).

There were some really funny bits in the book and one of my particular favourites was when Rebecca goes to a zumba class with her Mum. I love the way the author tells the story using Irish language and “feck” does pop up now and again and this always makes me laugh!

I did feel the middle of the book sometimes repeated itself but on the whole it was a light hearted, funny look at a woman who is just desperate to get married. Her intended, Barry seemed a bit of a drip, but in the end he did things his way and on his terms, which made Rebecca realise what she was doing and to slow down a bit!

I didn’t warm to Rebecca at all and found her quite irritating and the fact that she is so untidy would drive me mad! 

Even though Rebecca drove me potty sometimes, I did enjoy this book and it had some great laughs in it and would definitely like to read Amy's next book!! Well done Amy and thank you for letting me read it.

****

Welcome to the first stop on The Island Escape by Kerry Fisher Blog Tour.....

I am very honoured to be the first host on The Island Escape Blog Tour. 

About the Author

Kerry was brought up in Peterborough. She now lives in Surrey with a very tolerant husband and two children. She studied at Bath University and speaks fluent Italian, Spanish and French. She also trained as a journalist at City University, then went on to write travel guidebooks for Thomas Cook.

After landing her dream job working on women’s magazines, she discovered that she hated writing about real people in case their families got upset.The Writers’ Program at the University of California helped her move from fact into fiction – the perfect forum for exploring human emotions without worrying about some poor mother weeping over her son’s account of his childhood.

Review

I loved the cover of this book from the very first time I saw it and just knew it would be a book I would enjoy. 

The two main characters are Octavia and Roberta who have been best friends for years and the first part of the book describes their lives both in the past and what they are doing at the present time. Roberta is married to Scott, an Australian who I instantly disliked, but the author made the other characters in the book dislike him, so I wasn't the only one!! They have one daughter Alicia.

Octavia is married to Jonathan and they have 3 children Charlie, Poppy and Immy. Their lives are different to Roberta's as they live a chaotic lifestyle with everything being done in a rush, something Roberta cannot deal with! 

The title is somewhat misleading for a lot of the book because you don't know much about the Island until three quarters of the way through as the author is leading up to how Octavia gets there.

I don't want to give any spoilers away so won't say much more other than I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it is a great summer holiday read. It's very funny in parts, as well as touching on serious subjects. 

It was a lovely, easy read with great characters and would thoroughly recommend this book. I haven't read Kerry's first book The School Gate Survival Guide, but I have it on my TBR pile so will definitely be giving that one a read!! Well done Kerry, I think this is going to be a summer smash!!

*****

Guest Blogger................

I am over the moon that my very good friend and "Book Buddy" Julie Williams has finally given in to my nagging and pleading and written a guest post. I gave her a copy of The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop for Christmas as I know that she likes this author and below is her review. I am ashamed to say I haven't read any of Victoria's books but have had a copy of The Island for years on my bookshelf! I have promised Julie that I will take it on holiday this year! I will hand you over to Julie who I hope will be blogging more regularly from now on!!

The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop

I have known Julie for a few years now and always encouraged her into starting her own Blog page which I am so proud of her for doing this year. As 'payback' she has asked me to write my first guest review. I have chosen The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop as this book was a Christmas gift from Julie.

The book is centred on the island of Cyprus and The Sunrise is a luxurious hotel being built by Savvas Papacosta and his beautiful wife Aphrodite in the then tourist resort of Famagusta.

The story focuses on three families all with links to the hotels but have very different lives. In the beginning the conflict between the Turkish & Greeks is not forefront but this soon changes as the book progresses with heartbreaking consequences.

There is no 'happy ending' as such, how could there be when so many lives were effected during this awful time in Cypriot history.

It seems hard to understand what the people of Cyprus, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots endured but I feel Victoria Hislop depicts it with believable characters and stunning descriptions of the country.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Sunrise and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys history and romance. This is my third book by this author and after The Island it is my next favourite.

As part of "Wedding Season" on my Blog, I am delighted to be a part of Bride Without A Groom Blog Tour. Join me on 21st May for my review.....................

There have been a few clues along the way!!

Will Rachel get her Groom? You'll just have to wait and see.....................

It's my turn to host the Blog Tour for The Lie by C L Taylor PLUS SIGNED CL TAYLOR BOOK GIVEAWAY UK ONLY

Don't forget to enter my first ever book giveaway at the bottom of this post The lucky winner will receive a signed copy of 'The Lie' by CL Taylor. Competition closes 1st May 2015 UK only.

Thank you to Avon Books Uk for asking me to host the blog tour today for Cally Taylor's second thriller The Lie.

The Author

CL Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and young son. Born in Worcester, she studied for a degree in Psychology at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle then moved to London to work in medical publishing. After two years she moved to Brighton where she worked as a graphic designer, web developer and instructional designer over the course of 13 years. She currently works as a Distance Learning Design and Development manager for a London university. She credits Roald Dahl's 'Tales of the Unexpected' for her love of a dark, twisted tale.

The Lie by C L Taylor 

The Review ** NO SPOILERS**

I was lucky enough to be sent a proof copy of this book to read and then asked to become a host on the blog tour. I loved Cally's first thriller The Accident (which was one of my favourite books of 2014). I am also very pleased to say that I was invited to the book launch which was in the new Harper Collins building by London Bridge on 13th April. I had a fabulous evening meeting people from Avon Book UK, some lovely Bloggers' who I finally got to meet in person and the lovely Cally Taylor herself!

This is the story of 4 friends who decide to go on an adventure to Nepal after one of the friends Al's relationship breaks down. The four main characters all have stories of their own to tell and these materialise as the story unfolds. The main character "Jane" is leading a very different life to 5 years ago when the reason starts to unfold why, the story just grips you.

If you think this book is anything like The Accident you will be very much mistaken. The whole story, location and characters are totally different to her first book, which is great as I don't like it when authors write books and you can see similarities.

Cally describes the places in Nepal in great detail and again, she kept me on the edge of my seat and I spent most nights reading into the small hours as I just wanted to read "one more chapter"!! I must admit though, she described Isaac so well that I instantly disliked him and thought he was creepy to say the least! This makes Cally a superb author, because if you can instantly like or dislike a character just by their description, then you have done your job as a writer.

It was an excellent story and a fantastic ending, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would definitely recommend The Lie and it looks like my husband and son will be reading it too and as Cally gave us a sneaky teaser of book 3 at the launch, I am already looking forward to reviewing her next book!!

Well done Cally!! 

*****

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Today I finally got to meet Carole Matthews!!!

The Cake Shop in the Garden is published in paperback today and so I went along to Russell Square in London as Carole Matthews was holding a launch party there........with cake!! I have always wanted to meet Carole since I first read It's A Kind of Magic in 2008 and so cheekily I took my copy along (which is very faded at the edges now!) and she very kindly signed it for me. As soon as Carole saw me she knew who I was from my many comments on Facebook and Twitter over the years and called out to me! 

There was a table full of lovely home made cakes and although I brought some cupcakes, alas I didn't make them as I can't bake for toffee!!

There was a wonderful garden made of "Cake" and this gorgeous flowerpot was made of chocolate and the wall was made of fruit bread and nutella!! very clever.........

And there was even a couple of extra special guests....................

Her Majesty proved to be a very popular guest!!

And then as if the day couldn't get any better.............

Rowan Coleman popped by! and as I am currently reading The Memory Book (I am on the last few pages and wanted to finish it on the way home!) I obviously had it in my bag and so she very kindly signed it for me and by that time I had got a serious case of Fan Girl and became quite emotional!!!

What a wonderful day and certainly one I won't forget in a hurry!!

The Cake Shop in the Garden is available in paperback from today. Go and get your copy NOW!!!

How to be an Older Woman by Susan McPhail ****

The author kindly asked me to read and review this book and finally I got to read it this weekend. She told me there were some funny bits in it and boy were they funny! Let's just say I won't be able to have a bikini wax again without literally laughing out loud!! In between the funny bits there were some serious issues as the main character, Susan was downtrodden, lacking in confidence and on her way to hitting the big 5-0 (aren't we all!!). I did get a bit cross with Susan though, as she let her own Mother wear her down, but even her character was funny. The author described the other characters well and made them believable. Therefore I disliked her sister, brother in law and as for Creepy Colin!!!  

I liked the last paragraph as the author explained what happened to each character in the end and I hope I don't give too much away by saying Susan grew some balls!!! 

****

Welcome to my very first Blog Tour...........

The Author

Marnie Riches grew up on a rough estate in Manchester, aptly within sight of the dreaming spires of Strangeways prison. Able to speak five different languages, she gained a Master’s degree in Modern & Medieval Dutch and German from Cambridge University. She has been a punk, a trainee rock star, a pretend artist, a property developer and professional fundraiser. In her spare time, she likes to run, mainly to offset the wine and fine food she consumes with great enthusiasm. Having authored the first six books of HarperCollins Children’s Time-Hunters series, she now writes crime thrillers for adults and contemporary women’s fiction. The first book in her gripping George McKenzie Series, “The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die” releases in digital format on 2 April 2015. 

The Girl Who Wouldn't Die ****

Review

I was very excited to be asked to host this review on my blog as this is my very first Blog Tour! I wasn't sure if this book was my kind of genre but I do like psychological thrillers so thought I would give it a go! I must admit that there were a lot of characters (some of them with Dutch/German names) and with the places in Holland as well, I did find there were a lot of words I couldn't pronounce and ended up calling them my own version of names! But I soon got to know who the main characters were. I wondered if I was going to get confused with George and Ella and what the link between them was, but was pleasantly surprised with the link between the two and thought it was a very clever twist! I come from South East London originally and where Ella "lived" wasn't a million miles from where I used to live so I could sympathise about her being street wise and the language she used!

Marnie describes places and people brilliantly and in great detail and even I, who likes to think I have a strong stomach, had to wince now and again when she described injuries to victims!

I did sometimes get confused with the names of particular cults/religious groups, but if you stick with it, it is a great story. Apart from the thriller aspect, it tells the story about family and friendships and impending relationships and who you can and cannot trust.

This is the first book in a series about George McKenzie and I must admit, I would really like to read the next instalment to see what happens to George! Let's hope I am lucky enough to be able to review book 2!!

****

The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins ****

The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins ****

About the author

Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since. The Girl on the Train is her first thriller.

Sypnosis

'Gripping, enthralling - a top-notch thriller and a compulsive read' S J WATSON, bestselling author of Before I Go To Sleep

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.

Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.

Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

Review – No spoilers!!

After all the hype about this book I couldn’t wait to start it as have heard nothing but good reviews about it! It started off fine and I quickly got into it and read a quarter of the book in one go! It was after this that I found it to be a bit repetitive . The chapters go from one character to the other (Rachel being the main character, Anna and Megan). The chapters then go to the different characters but tell you the same story, therefore being quite repetitive and I found myself having to look several times to see which character I was reading about.

I found Rachel to be an interesting character. I actually felt sorry for her as she slipped into alcoholism due to the break up of her marriage and the effects this had on her day to day life. It was quite scary reading about how she had bouts of total blackness through drink and it was good how the author wrote about her trying (almost too hard at times) to remember things that had happened in the past.

I actually did read some of this book on the train and found several people looking at me whilst I was reading it! So I am glad I read it and can imagine it being a film (which I would definitely go and see!).

The ending was very good and found myself getting quite anxious to read the very last pages to find out what happened! All in all, a good thriller and would definitely read another book of Paula’s!!

"Daughter" by Jane Shemilt *****

About the Author

While working as a GP, Jane Shemilt completed a postgraduate diploma in Creative Writing at Bristol University and went on to study for the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa, gaining both with distinction. She was shortlisted for the Janklow and Nesbit award and the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize for Daughter, which is her first novel.

She and her husband, a Professor of Neurosurgery, have five children and live in Bristol.

Sypnosis

When a teenage girl goes missing her mother discovers she doesn't know her daughter as well as she thought in Jane Shemilt's haunting debut novel, Daughter.

This is Jane Shemilt’s debut novel and I must admit I do love a thriller and get quite apprehensive reading them sometimes!. My Son read this before Christmas 2014 and kept on at me to read it as we like to talk to each other about the books we have read! So I did as I was told and started reading it.

What I loved about it is that the Mum (Jenny) is a GP and the Dad (Ted) is a Neurosurgeon. Having worked in a hospital for a while and now in a GP surgery for many years I understood the terminology so therefore found it even more interesting! I also loved that it was mainly set in my beloved Dorset, especially Burton Bradstock, where I love to visit every year!

The characters are all very believable and the author describes them very well. Without giving the game away some are more likeable than others!!

Briefly the story is about a family whose daughter disappears and the effects the disappearance and aftermath have on each of them. The chapters flip back to the day she disappeared and a year later. It is very cleverly done and as the chapters are quite short, I kept reading “one more chapter”!

Naomi (daughter) is a very believable and “normal” teenage girl who has secrets from her Mum and it’s not until she disappears and her Mum (Jenny) finds her diary that she starts realising the extent of the secrets.

Jenny finally realises that she doesn’t really know any of her children as well as she thought she did, or her husband come to that!!

The ending is fabulous and keeps you guessing literally until the very last page! Also the ending (without giving too much away) left me with a few questions and it wasn’t until I digested the ending that I thought it was brilliantly clever and fantastically written.

Utterly compelling novel and really can’t wait for her next one, totally worth the 5 stars!