Happy Publication Day, Misha! 🙂

Belvedere Crescent is quite different to anything I have ever read before. I was intrigued from the very beginning and found myself completely captivated until the very end. This is a chilling, but heart-wrenching tale full of suspense.

Misha M Herwin is such a talented writer. I have loved everything I’ve read of hers so far and Belvedere Crescent was no exception.

When we meet twins Thea and Sadie, they have returned to their childhood home to be with their Great-Aunt Jane during her final earthly hours. Great-Aunt Jane brought them up from babies and gave them a home in Belvedere Crescent, but she wasn’t the most loving of guardians and was never very open about how she came to adopt them. Thea and Sadie always had each other though. Their bond is unbreakable, and they may look alike but they are as different as chalk and cheese.

When they inherit the house, their plan is to sell it and move on with their adult lives. Thea is engaged to be married and Sadie is pursuing her acting career. However, there is much more heartache to come.

What follows is a story full of sadness, grief and seemingly unexplained occurrences. My heart went out to Thea and I really feared for her on many occasions. What she experiences must be terrifying and so confusing. I was praying she would find the answers she is looking for and ultimately be able to live a peaceful life.

Belvedere Crescent is a unique, beautifully and intelligently written supernatural story about love, loss and family secrets.

I will happily recommend to all.

Many thanks to Misha Herwin for my ARC.

Out now!

happy reading 🙂

My paperback copy of Death Stalks Kettle Street has been, unread, on my bookshelf for far too long. I finished it this afternoon and it has been well worth the wait!

Greg lives on Kettle Street. He lives alone battling with OCD. He is a fascinating and likeable character, misunderstood by his family. As well as having his OCD to deal with he is still grieving the sudden and devastating death of his mother. Worryingly, I related to him in some ways, particularly his obsession with his front door not being closed correctly. I check mine more than once, especially if I have to leave my dog in the house. Sometimes I will convince myself I have left it wide open and envisage my Bella wandering off and being pinched (she’s a very cute Shih Tzu) or run over. I have had my Mum running up the street to check before now even though I know I’m unlikely to have left the door open. It’s totally irrational, but that feeling of panic is difficult to ignore. It’s awful really.

Anyway, Greg starts to get weird phone calls and random packages, hand delivered, through his letterbox which he doesn’t think much of until his neighbours start dying in seemingly random, tragic accidents. It seems the killer is leaving him clues, but why? To give him the chance to save his neighbours’ lives or to frame him for the murders?

I thought this was a very cleverly written murder mystery which grabbed my attention immediately and kept it until the very last page. It made me pretty much suspect everyone along the way. I only twigged who it might be right before the book revealed the identity of the killer. I had no clue where it might be heading until then. I was shocked and saddened by the truth.

I love that within this story we have the start of a blossoming romance and I also enjoyed the inclusion of the fiction writing workshop at the library, led by a previously best-selling author who wrote his first best seller in the flat Greg now lives in on Kettle Street. Small world!

I felt sad for Greg’s brother who seems to want to help Greg, without really understanding him, and keep the peace between him and their stepfather. Their strained relationship is very believable.

Greg’s therapist is an interesting character also.

Overall, I loved the suspense of this story and I think the characters really bring it to life. The ending put a smile on my face.

I thoroughly enjoyed Death Stalks Kettle Street and I’m more than happy to recommend to you all.

About the author

The House in the Woods is book one in the new Atticus Priest series. Atticus is an ex-police officer turned private detective who seems to have quite the reputation and evidently knows how to get things done. He is very likeable character. I think I might have a little bit of a crush on him, but don’t tell my husband! 😉

LOVE his dog also. He might just be my second favourite character.

I have absolutely loved this book. It is the first I’ve read by Mark Dawson, but it most certainly will not be my last!

This story begins with the shooting of a husband, wife, son and daughter in their large, remote home, on Christmas Eve. DCI Mackenzie Jones (Mack) and her team are called away from their families to the devastating crime scene. The evidence points to the dead son, at first, as he seems to have shot his family before turning the gun on himself, but before long suspicion falls on the surviving son who reported the crime. In his 999 call he claims to be able to see his father on the floor but is unable to access the house. With his whole family gone though, he would become a very wealthy man. Did he stage the murder/suicide in the hope of inheriting it all?

Mack thinks so and needs to prove it. Atticus is hired by the defendant’s wife to prove otherwise as she is convinced of his innocence.

We soon learn that there is history between Mack and Atticus. This adds even more tension to the investigation, especially as Mack is supposed to be staying away from Atticus for the sake of her marriage (and the fact that Atticus is being paid to prove her case is flawed). I enjoyed this aspect of the story and the insight into the personal lives of these professionals. I always think this makes the characters more real and believable. I found them both, and their relationship, quite fascinating.

This book is a murder mystery/police procedural/court drama which ticks all the boxes for me. An excellent plot, full of suspense and intriguing characters. And OH MY, that ending!! I hope I don’t have to wait too long for book two!

My gratitude to Mark Dawson for the pleasure of being able to enjoy an advance copy of this brilliant read. I highly recommend it to you all and I’ll look forward to catching up with Atticus Priest, hopefully, soon.

Pre-order now

About the author

Mark Dawson has worked as a lawyer and in the London film industry. His first books, The Art of Falling Apart and Subpoena Colada, have been published in multiple languages. He is currently writing three series. The John Milton series features a disgruntled assassin who aims to help people make amends for the things that he has done. The Beatrix Rose series features the headlong fight for justice of a wronged mother–who happens to be an assassin–against the six names on her Kill List. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, The Black Mile, deals with the (real-life but little-known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. The Imposter traces the journey of a criminal family through the period; it has been compared to The Sopranos in austerity London. Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.

Mark Dawson’s Amazon Author Page

happy reading 🙂

Today I have the very great pleasure of welcoming Marcie Steele to Chat About Books! 🙂

I have absolutely LOVED every single one of Marcie Steele’s books (and Mel Sherratt’s books for that matter!) If you haven’t read any of them yet then you really are missing out on some cracking reads!

Do you want to get to know the lady herself a little bit more? Or course you do! Read on and enjoy…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I’m Marcie Steele, the pen name of author Mel Sherratt. I write women’s fiction – feel-good books with happy ever after endings about friendship and love, with a community spirit. I have written four books so far, the latest of which is called The Man Across The Street.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Absolutely anywhere. I can hear a song title, I can read a letter in a magazine. I can overhear conversation. Love is all around, as they say! I am never stuck for a book plot.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

No, I have enough voices in my head that I don’t need to do that!

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I have a baby book of names that I skim through. It’s important in my genre to keep the names very stereotypical. For example, Sophie and Beth would be more suited than Mary and Annie. Dan and Ben would be better suited than Craig or Liam. So it very much depends on the genre I am writing in.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Ooh, let me see. I love Tilly Tennant, Beth O Leary, Marian Keyes, Carmel Harrington and Jill Mansell.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Gosh, I have been fortunate to meet SO many over the past few years. I always go to pieces when I meet my favourites so I would actually just like to have a pleasant conversation without feeling like a geek! But I have yet to meet Lisa Jewell – we are like passing ships in the night. I love her lighter and her darker fiction.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I loved Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and The Secret Seven. I would read anything from the library and loved a trip there each Saturday morning.
Is there a book you wish you had written?

Bridget Jones’s Diary. I remember when it came out and thinking it was SUCH a good premise. The diary, to my knowledge, hadn’t been done before and I thought, well, I can’t do that now… To my surprise, lots of authors went on to do the same and did well. So one day I will write a book in the form of a diary.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

The Woman With Too Many Shoes – a little self-explanatory, don’t you think?

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Bridget Jones. I don’t smoke but I would swig wine and swear to my heart’s content with her, discussing everything men, love and gossip.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I am terrified of the dark.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on an idea for a psychological thriller, as Mel Sherratt, while working out the plot and ideas for my next Marcie Steele novel.

Tell us about your last release?

It’s called The Man Across The Street

Maybe I’m scared to be happy…

Meet Hannah – she’s been her mum’s sole carer since she was eighteen. Now alone after Martha’s sudden death, Hannah feels lost in the only place she’s known as home, Hope Street. Coming up to a milestone birthday, she’s wondering what her purpose in life is.

Meet Doug – a workaholic, he’s in the office from dusk ’til dawn, and when he has a heart attack. Now on the mend, he needs to de-stress his life and focus on living it, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Doug moves to Hope Street, number 35. Hannah lives at number 34, directly opposite. From the moment they meet, there’s a spark.

But there are secrets too. Hannah’s mum has been keeping something from her, her sister left over twenty years ago, and there can’t be such a simple reason why Doug has moved to Somerley. Can there?

The book feature a host of characters living on Hope Street in the market town of Somerley, also featured in The Somerley Series.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

It depends where I am, if I’m at home or in London. If I’m at home, I have a lovely leisurely day, thanking people on social media, eating cake, going out for a meal and generally indulging. If I’m in London, it will be more of the same but swapping the social media for travelling, and possibly an event to do in the evening.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m on @marcie_steele on Twitter, at MarcieSteeleAuthor on Facebook and my website is http://www.marciesteele.co.uk All my books are available on Amazon too.

Marcie Steele’s Amazon Author Page

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Marcie 🙂

My pleasure, thank you!

The Man Across the Street

Out now!

happy reading 🙂

ICYMI

The Man Across The Street: An uplifting story of love and hope for 2020 (The Hope Street Series Book 1) by Marcie Steele @marcie_steele #BlogTour #BookReview @BOTBSPublicity

I am absolutely over the moon to welcome Mel Sherratt back to Chat About Books today! 🙂

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I am a huge fan of Mel’s and have LOVED everything she has written to date. I can’t wait to share my review of Liar Liar, as part of the blog tour, on 1st March!

Follow, like and share the book love with these awesome book bloggers…..

In the meantime I have a fabulous interview with the lady herself to share with you today…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I’m Mel Sherratt and I write crime thrillers. I have fourteen out so far with my new one, Liar Liar, which came out on 10th February.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Predominantly, it’s from the newspaper or TV. As I write crime, there are a lot of petty crime stories that start my mind wandering and twisting and twisting to make a plot for a book.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

I hope not as most of them are murderers, crooks, gangland criminals. Occasionally there is a kick-ass female main character, and I suppose she has a few of my traits, if anything.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I have a baby book of names that I skim through. It’s important in my genre to keep the names very stereotypical. For example, Craig and Liam would be better suited than Dan or Ben. Mary and Annie would be more suited than Sophie and Beth. So it very much depends on the genre I am writing in.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

I write each morning for a few hours if I’m drafting a book. If I’m editing, I edit 10% of a book per day. Mostly I work in the mornings when I am fresh. After lunch, I have to catch up with everything else – admin, company business admin, social media, emails, advertising, blog posts etc. There can be a lot!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Ooh, this is hard. I suppose if I had to choose it would be Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers, Lisa Jewell, CL Taylor and Caroline Mitchell.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Gosh, I have been fortunate to meet SO many over the past few years. I always go to pieces when I meet my favourites so I would actually just like to have a pleasant conversation without feeling like a geek!

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I loved Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and The Secret Seven. I would read anything from the library and loved a trip there each Saturday morning. I still like to escape to an imaginary world.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Oh my – controversial! I would have liked to continue Gone Girl. I would have liked one of them to end up dead. Does that make me mean? Having said that, I think Gone Girl had the perfect ending for the characters.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Gone Girl! Seriously, I loved the twist and the whole scheming woman thing. It’s one of the books that I feel was well adapted to the big screen too.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

The Worrier. I worry about anything, far too much of the time. I’m sure I’d worry if I hadn’t got anything to worry about.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I am terrified of the dark.

Tell us about your last release?

Liar – the truth can be a dangerous thing…
When a young boy falls from a balcony in a block of flats, DS Grace Allendale witnesses the shocking aftermath of the tragic event. But strangely, no one will admit to seeing anything – and the parents will only tell the police that it was an accident.

Determined to sort the truth from the lies, Grace is thrown into a case that takes her to the darkest corners of the criminal world – and strikes closer to home than she could have ever imagined…
A gripping and pacey thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the moment you turn the first page. The perfect read for fans of Martina Cole.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Sometimes I’m not at home for publication day. Often I can be in London or taking part in a panel at a literary festival. Most things like that are arranged around the launch of books. However, if I am home, I like nothing more than going to lunch with my best friend and then out for something to eat with my husband during the evening. Then I can also chat with readers online too.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m at @writermels on Twitter, at MelSherrattAuthor on Facebook and my website it http://www.melsherratt.co.uk All my books can be found on Amazon and in bookshops and supermarkets around publication time.

Mel Sherratt Amazon Author Page

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Mel! 🙂

Thank you!

Liar Liar

Out now!

happy reading 🙂

That Special Someone has been, unread, on my bookcase for far too long and I am SO glad that I finally got to read it! I am a big fan of Tanya Bullock’s so why it’s taken me so long to read this is beyond me. Simply too many books and not enough time, unfortunately.

What a beautiful, powerful and emotional story!

That Special Someone centres around single Mum, Izzie, and her 18 year old, learning-disabled, daughter, Jaya. Having never known her father or any grandparents, Jaya has only ever had her mother. They have only ever really had each other.

Izzie is fiercely protective of Jaya and isn’t really prepared for her to become an adult. When Jaya announces that she would like to be married and have babies, Izzie just goes into panic mode. She had thought Jaya would just live with her forever, but she is forced to confront the fact that Jaya is a beautiful young lady with wants and needs of her own.

As a mother I can totally understand how hard it is to let your children grow up, make their own decisions and mistakes and trust that you’ve brought them up well enough to be responsible for themselves (my children are 19 and 18). However, if your child has any kind of disability or difficulty then it must a hundred times harder. Izzie comes across as completely neurotic at times, but I totally got her, and my heart went out to her.

When Jaya falls for her teaching assistant at college the story takes a completely different direction. Jaya is just dreaming of her happy future with the man she loves and doesn’t have any malicious intent in her actions, but clearly doesn’t anticipate the hurt she is about to cause. I could almost physically feel the pain Izzie endures at this time. I can’t even imagine what I would do in the same situation.

I love how this story alternates from the point of view of the different characters, almost like diary entries. Looking at the same situation from the very different perspectives of Izzie and Jaya was captivating. Jaya’s innocence, and naivety, is so beautifully written. It’s so clever how effortlessly this contrast’s to Izzie’s viewpoint as a protective mother, living on her nerves and completely defensive on behalf of her daughter. The bond they share is blatantly unbreakable.

This is such an amazing story full of love and raw emotion, with a beautiful ending. I loved it!

Via Amazon UK

“Like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, this novel informs readers about young people living with disability.” GOODREADS

If you enjoy Mike Leigh films you will love this book.” GOODREADS

“The lightest, most entertaining, of reads on a serious dilemma facing many parents of autistic teens, single parent or not.” GOODREADS

“This is not like any other novel I have ever read – It tackles major taboos head-on, but the author does it in a way which is so sensitive and witty, you wonder why they were ever taboos at all!” GOODREADS

‘A wonderful, poignant and witty story about the life, loves and struggles of a young woman with learning difficulties.’ JILL FRASIER, Founder and Director of healthcare charity, KISSING IT BETTER

“A brilliant debut novel. One regret – it finished too soon! I want to know more!” GOODREADS

Life as the single mum of a learning-disabled teen is tough…

…but it gets so much harder when puberty hits.

To single mum Izzie’s alarm, all her 18 yr old daughter Jaya wants from life is to get married and have babies. This creates a moral dilemma for Izzie. How she can continue to protect her daughter whilst at the same time letting her go?

In the small Midlands town where they live, there is little prospect of meaningful employment or continuing education for Jaya. So, Izzie wonders, would finding a ‘suitable husband’ via an arranged marriage for half-Indian Jaya be so crazy?

But when Jaya falls head over heels for a teaching assistant in her college’s Special Educational Needs department, a disastrous sequence of events are set in motion. Life for Jaya and Izzie is turned around in ways that nobody could ever have foreseen.

“The complex issues surrounding learning disability are addressed in an honest & thought-provoking manner.” GOODREADS

“Debut novel manages to combine a sensitive subject with Black Country Humour”. ‘WATERSTONES LOVES’, WATERSTONES, WALSALL

“Utterly engrossing and innovatively written.” AMAZON READER

“A refreshingly different book – thoroughly recommended!” AMAZON READER

“One of the best autism books out there.” GOODREADS

If you enjoy fiction by Mark Haddon & Jojo Moyes you’ll love this beautifully-written, page-turner of a novel. Download your free sample now…

This book is free in Kindle Unlimited!

About the author

Tanya Bullock is a college lecturer, writer and award-winning filmmaker. She lives in the UK with her husband and two young children. She has a passion for foreign culture and languages (inherited from her French mother) and, in her youth, travelled extensively throughout Australia, America, Asia and Europe. As a filmmaker, she has gained local recognition, including funding and regional television broadcast, through ITV’s First Cut scheme, two nominations for a Royal Television Society Midlands Award, and, in 2010, a Royal Television Society Award in the category of best promotional film. On maternity leave in 2011 and in need of a creative outlet, Tanya began to write That Special Someone, the story of a mother’s quest to help her learning-disabled daughter find love. It was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize and The Beryl Bainbridge First Time Author Award 2016. Her second novel, Homecoming, a love story with an unexpected twist, was published in 2016. The Lonely Hearts Crime Club is Tanya’s third novel. A cozy mystery with a surprising finale, it will be published in the spring of 2019. All Tanya’s novels are published by Blackbird Digital Books.

ICYMI

The Lonely Hearts Crime Club by Tanya Bullock @TanyaBullock15 @Blackbird_Bks #BlogTour #BookReview

Homecoming: Quite Possibly The Strangest Romance Ever Told by Tanya Bullock

happy reading 🙂

Hi, and welcome to my Flashback Friday feature 🙂

On the first Friday of each month I like to have a little look back at what I was reading during the same month in previous years, since starting my blog. 

Feel free to join in! 

Here are my reviews from February 2019 (plus a link to previous FBFs)…..

#TheGoodFriend by Jo Baldwin @jokbaldwin ‏@RedDoorBooks #BlogTour #BookReview

Bridge to Burn (Detective Kay Hunter Book 7) by @RachelAmphlett #BookReview

Gravy Train by Tess Makovesky @tessmakovesky @ADRBooks #BookReview

Leo and the Lightning Dragons by Gill White (Illustrated by Gilli B ) #BlogTour #BookReview #ChildrensBook @leolightdragons ‏@FledglingPress #Lovebooksgrouptours #Charity

The Wife’s Secret by Caroline England @CazEngland #BookReview

#WhatHappensInFrance by Carol E Wyer @carolewyer #BlogTour #BookReview @canelo_co

#FlashbackFriday February 2019 with @LJRoss_author @SDRauthor & @monicajames81 #BookReviews

I finished Immersed in Murder this morning and found it every bit as gripping as all the previous books in the series. This is book six in the DCI Timothy series and I’ve probably said this before, but this series just gets better and better which is quite something because Portal to Murder is a pretty epic debut, in my opinion.

When a family return home from their holiday to find a dead woman, unknown to them, in their bath a new investigation begins. When that woman is eventually linked to a devastating case from thirty years earlier the investigation becomes even more complicated until the hard work and dedication of DCI Timothy and his team starts to unravel the mystery.

This is yet another excellent police procedural, involving both Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent police, which is fast paced and full of suspense. Each chapter ends in a way that makes it very difficult to put down. I had to know where this story was going. The truth is chilling and, in part, quite sad.

I highly recommend to all and I’m very much looking forward to Book 7!

If you haven’t read this series yet, you really should. Why not catch up before book 7 is published??

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alison-Lingwood/e/B00J951G3M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

happy reading 🙂