Courage of the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell #BlogTour #GuestPost @penguinrandom @Rachel90Kennedy

Courage of the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell

Published by Penguin Random House

Publication Date: 21 February 2019

Genre: Romance/Saga

478 pages

This week sees the release of the eagerly awaited 6th book in the Shipyard Girls Saga by Nancy Revell. The blog tour has called at several blog pages so far and you can read what bloggers think of this latest instalment by popping into the pages listed here:

Book Description: 

Polly’s sweetheart Tommy has been declared missing while serving overseas, and although there is no certainty that he is dead, there is no guarantee that he will return home. Now Polly needs her friends more than ever, and the other women welders are ready to rally around her while she waits for news. The only one not showing support is shipyard manager, Helen. But looks can be deceiving, and beneath her cold exterior, Helen is wrestling with demons of her own, including one life-changing decision that could lead to potential ruin.

As the war continues, the shipyard girls must support one another as they bravely soldier on.

About the Author:

Nancy Revell is the pen name of writer and journalist Amanda Revell Walton, who has worked for the national press for the past 25 years, providing them with hard-hitting news stories and in-depth features. She has also worked for just about every woman’s magazine, writing amazing and inspirational true life stories.

Nancy has very kindly given us a taste of what life is like as a best-selling author - and it may not be quite what you're expecting. I must admit it sounds pretty good to me though - especially living just a stone's throw from the beach after a morning in the office!

A Day In My Writing Life by Nancy Revell

"A day in my writing life is actually quite boring! Well, it is for everyone else as I shut myself away in my office, immerse myself in the world of The Shipyard Girls –  and write.

When I’m in the thick of a book I aim to get around 2,000 words down a day, but that time will also be spent proofreading what I wrote the previous day, as well as drafting out what’s going to happen next.

I can sometimes spend too much time researching and have to force myself to be disciplined. I’m always reminding myself that the subject I’m looking into will only form a very small part of the actual book, so as not to get too drawn into a particular subject, no matter how interesting it might be.

I try and start writing as early as I can. Like most people, I’m so much fresher and on the ball in the morning. At around one to two o’clock I usually hit what I call ‘brain drain’.

Then I’ll tend to take the dog out for a walk which wakes me up and gives me some much-needed fresh air. As I live just a few minutes’ walk away from the beach and the North Sea, it is definitely fresh air that I get!

I’ll then go back to my office and do another couple of hours, although this time is generally spent drafting out the next scene and looking further along the storyline. I do have a rough idea of plot when I start a book, but it’s not terribly detailed. I tend to go with the flow. This can, however, be a little nerve-wracking as I’m never entirely sure what’s going to happen next. I suppose, like life, really!

If I’m feeling energetic, I’ll go for a swim. I’ll try and go even if I don’t feel like it, because I know it often pays dividends – not, I hate to admit it, for health and fitness reasons, but because I often get the best story ideas when I’m swimming!

When I get back home, it’s usually time for dinner with hubby, a catch up on the news (as a former journalist I still need my daily fix of current affairs) and then I like to escape into a good film or box set. If anyone thinks the life of a novelist is glamourous, please, take it from me, it isn’t! I’m normally heading for bed at ten." 

My thanks to Nancy for taking the time to share this with us, and to Rachel Kennedy at Penguin RandomHouse for the invitation to take part in the tour.

The Courage of the Shipyard Girls is available to buy now in paperback £7.99 and is also available in ebook format.

Perfect Liars by Rebecca Reid @BeckyShort1 @transworldbooks @rebeccacnreid

Perfect Liars by Rebecca Reid

Published by Transworld/Corgi

Publication Date: 21 February 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

368 pages

Huge thanks to Becky Short at Transworld Books for the review copy of this title.
My review is entirely based on my own thoughts and is unbiased in any way.

Book Description:

They have it all. And they’ll do anything to keep it that way.

For fans of The Girlfriend and Liane Moriarty as well as TV hits Doctor Foster and The Replacement.

Sixteen years ago, best friends Nancy, Georgia and Lila did something unspeakable. Their crime forged an unbreakable bond between them, a bond of silence. But now, one of them wants to talk.

One wrong word and everything could be ruined, their lives, their careers, their relationships. It's up to Georgia to call a crisis dinner. But things do not go as planned.

Three women walk in to the dinner, but only two will leave.

Murder isn't so difficult the second time around...

Gripping and unputdownable, Perfect Liars tells the story of a group of friends bound by their dark pasts and their desperate need to keep their secrets hidden from the world around them. How far would you go to protect the life you’ve built?

My Review:

The book starts at the funeral of an unnamed woman.  We get the vibe that the woman has died under tragic circumstances, but that is as much information we are given.  The rest of the book tells us the detail - but not in a straight forward manner.

The story switches time frames and narrators, but every chapter is headed with who is talking and which time frame so as long as you read the heading it all makes sense.  The main characters are 4 friends from esteemed boarding school Fairbridge Hall. They all have definite roles within the friendship group: Nancy is the leader of the group, she needs to be in control at all times; then we have Georgia the 'middle child' of the group and Nancy's main ally in most of their escapades. As a scholarship student she's aware that the life she's living could all come to an abrupt end if she puts a toe out of line at school; Lila is the loose cannon of the group and the weakest link of the friendship. Nobody quite knows how she's going to react in any given situation which unnerves the others on more than one occasion; lastly we have Heidi - she's not exactly part of the group but was friends with Lila before they arrived at boarding school so believes she should be included. Socially inept, Heidi is an unwanted hanger-on as far as Nancy is concerned but Lila feels torn between the two of them, wanting to be part of the popular group yet feeling a sense of obligation to Heidi due to their shared past. The arrival of a young new teacher at the school with fresh ideas on how to deal with the girls' more challenging behaviour only serves to complicate things for Lila, and Nancy isn't keen on how popular Miss Brandon is among both staff and pupils alike. She doesn't like it one bit.

The friendship between Nancy, Georgia and Lila remains solid over the intervening years since the girls left boarding school and went their separate ways in life. They keep in touch but not in as tight a manner as you would expect.  Then suddenly after 16 years Georgia decides they need to catch up and calls the girls together to a dinner party. Tensions build over the course of the evening and we are fed background chapters from the girls' teenage years as an insight into what has gone before.  Why are the girls so wary of one another? Why is Lila drinking so much? And what is going on with the male contingent of their dinner party? Lila's partner Rupert and Georgia's partner Charlie are sparking off one another all evening, while Nancy's gorgeous new squeeze Brett is young and handsome enough to make the pair of them feel inadequate. Why do the women keep talking in corners and what are they hiding?

This is a great novel exploring the dynamics of a years-old friendship group - especially one which is clearly keeping a huge secret amongst its ranks.  The different time frames are used to great effect to explain all, yet even with all the background information and the layers which get peeled away bit by bit the author still manages to shock the reader with the overall climax to the book.

Complex story telling and characters I felt able to identify with certainly caused the book to make its mark with me.  I also think it would translate well to the screen and would make a riveting TV drama along the lines of the hugely successful Big Little Lies.

About the Author:

Rebecca is a freelance journalist. She is a columnist for the Telegraph Women’s section, works for Metro Online and has written for Marie Claire, the Guardian, the Saturday Telegraph, the Independent, Stylist, Glamour, the iPaper, the Guardian, Indy100, LOOK and the New Statesmen amongst others. Rebecca is a regular contributor to Sky News and ITV’s This Morning as well as appearing on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, LBC, BBC News 24 and the BBC World Service to discuss her work.
She graduated from Royal Holloway’s Creative Writing MA in 2015 and Perfect Liars is her debut novel.
Rebecca lives in North London with her husband. 

Social Media Link: Twitter: @RebeccaCNReid

BLOG TOUR ALERT: The One Who's Not the One by Keris Stainton @Bookouture

From next Tuesday, follow the tour for the funny new novel from Keris Stainton, 

'The One Who's Not The One' 

Coming Soon: The Courage of the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell

The Last Lie by Alex Lake @AlexLakeAuthor @HarperCollinsUK

The Last Lie by Alex Lake

Published by Harper Collins

Publication Date: 27 Dec 2018

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Crime

368 pages

My thanks to HarperCollins UK for providing me with a review copy of this book.
All views and opinions in my review are my own and are completely unbiased.

Book Description:

Everyone lies…but some lies are deadly.

For Claire Daniels, life is good. She has everything she’s ever wanted – a career she loves, friends she can rely on and a husband who dotes on her. All she needs is to start a family of her own and things will be even better than good.

They’ll be perfect.

For Alfie, it couldn’t be more different. His life with Claire is built on a lie. A lot of lies. And she can never find out.

Because Alfie has plans for her. Plans which must never come to light. But lies have a way of taking on a life of their own, and when his do, the consequences threaten to destroy everything.

For him and Claire.

My Review:

There aren't many books which make me really, really angry with one (or more) of their characters but this one...well, I threw the book on to the sofa in temper on more than one occasion with this one! Some people really get under your skin with their duplicity and Alfie is one of those people.
It's hard to go into much detail without spoiling things too badly - that's the last thing I want to do in giving my feedback on any book - but suffice to say things go from feeling that he should really come clean with his wife to utter disbelief in just how premeditated Alfie's actions have been.

All Claire wants, bless her, is a child with the man she believes is the best man on the planet. She would do anything for him. Until the penny drops that all is not as fairytale in her life as she had thought.  That happens during a consultation with a fertility expert and once she realises exactly what has been going on I was delighted with how the author proceeded with Claire's character. It would be easy to have written about a woman falling to pieces once she has the information she is given but I feel Alex Lake has stepped up and written a far better character here.

Alfie has even surpassed his own plans in order to get what he wants from life.  Multiple mobile phones and  a fake identity have led him further down the murky depths of a double life than even he had intended.  Then when those involved in his double life conspire to 'out' him he has  to take extreme action to try and cover his tracks. Someone is already ahead of him though, and it's making him careless. 

This is a great novel telling the story of two individuals in a marriage rather than a couple working together. To coin a cliché, I honestly did not want to put it down and was frustrated when real life demanded I had to do so. I felt totally invested in the lives of Claire and Alfie - the reasons behind why Alfie acted the way he did made me so angry and I'm sure I will have mentioned in previous reviews of other books just how much I love a character who gets an emotional reaction from me, be it good or bad. But especially bad! The medical background facts are well researched and placed in the storyline with precision. The whole book is well-paced and excellently plotted and once again I stand in awe of how easy a good author makes it look to produce a quality product. 

Top notch writing once again from Alex Lake, I look forward to reading his next novel 'Seven Days' which is previewed at the end of this book.

About the Author:

Alex Lake is the pseudonym of a British novelist whose first book was one of Amazon UK's top ten debuts of 2012. Alex was born in the North West of England in the 1970s and now lives in the North East of the US. 

Social Media Link: 

Twitter: @AlexLakeAuthor

Gallowstree Lane by Kate London @Corvus @annecater #BlogTour #Book #Review

Gallowstree Lane by Kate London

Published by Corvus 

Publication Date 7 February 2019

368 pages

Genre: Contemporary Crime

My thanks to Anne Cater and the publisher for the opportunity to read Gallowstree Lane ahead of publication and provide my unbiased review as part of the blog tour.

Book Description:

Please don't let me die. Please don't. The final words of teenager Spencer Cardoso as he bleeds out on a London street, his life cut short in a single moment of rage.

When a teenage boy steps out of the shadows of Gallowstree Lane and asks a passer-by for help, it's already too late. His life is bleeding out on the London street.

The murder threatens to derail Operation Perseus, a cover police investigation into the Eardsley Bluds, an organised criminal network. Detective Kieran Shaw can't and won't allow that to happen. But fifteen-year-old Ryan has other ideas. He's witnessed the death of his best friend, and now he wants someone to pay...

As loyalties collide, a chain of events is triggered that threatens everyone with a connection to Gallowstree Lane.

My Review:

On reading the description of this book I considered it to be a fair representation of the times we live in. Little did I realise just how close to reality it would be as on the weekend I was reading the book a news report came on TV relating how a 14 year old boy had been deliberately knocked off his moped in London and then stabbed to death by the occupant of the car.  This made what I was reading scarily real and made it hit home much harder than I think it would have otherwise.

Spencer Cardoso and Ryan Kennedy are teenagers living in London, mixed up with a network of gang members who are linked to the criminal fraternity in their area. Their involvement with these people leads to Spencer being stabbed and Ryan witnessing the event and not knowing what to do.  A passing off-duty medic does his best to attend to Spencer yet his efforts are in vain.  Ryan is haunted by Spencer's last words: Please don't let me die.  As a young man Ryan does not know how to deal with the feelings the events raise in him, and this comes out in him wanting angry revenge on whoever did this to his best friend.

We are led through both the police investigations into what has happened on that night and events leading up to the stabbing, and those on the other side of the law - the gang members and long standing feuds which bubble under the surface of every day life. As is often the case, the relatively petty crimes which Ryan and Spencer are guilty of overlap into the world of much more serious crime and those who run the gangs.  Those individuals whose lives are ruined by the gang leaders are introduced to us throughout the book - from a young woman who has taken the wrong path in life to drugs and ultimately prostitution in order to pay for her next fix, to the mother of the youngster who has witnessed his friend's demise, desperate to try and keep her son on the straight and narrow but struggling to steer him away from the peer pressure her son is under. My heart broke for Ryan's mother,Loretta and the drug addicted Lexi, who was just trying to get through one day at a time. In a way I felt for Ryan too, trying to keep in with the people he believed would ease his path through life but who sadly led him directly onto the wrong road.

I found it interesting to read the conflicting viewpoints of the police officers involved, as to whose investigation would take priority once the two cases overlapped. The author clearly has a lot of knowledge on how evidence can be shared (or not) between teams and this knowledge comes across strongly throughout to make for a very credible tale. The events in the police officers' private lives clearly had some influence on how they interacted with one another and I would recommend reading the previous books in the series if you want more detail about this side of the story - I wasn't aware at first that this was not a standalone novel, and while I didn't have the background history it did not spoil the book overall.

A shocking contemporary crime novel which gripped me right from the start and shook me to my core as I realised that this is everyday life for some people who have very few options to get away from the crime culture in their area.

About the Author:

Kate London graduated from Cambridge University and moved to Paris where she trained in theatre. In 2006 Kate joined the Metropolitan Police Service. She finished her career working as part of a Major Investigation Team on SC&O1 - the Metropolitan Police Service's Homicide Command. She resigned from the MPS in August 2014. Her debut novel Post Mortem was published by Corvus in 2015.

Follow the Tour:

Praise for Gallowstree Lane

 ‘A stand out brilliant crime novel - sophisticated, authentic and utterly gripping. If you only read one crime novel this year make it this one. Behind the headlines of gangs and knife crime, Kate London's novel is about the real people involved, from the police officers in charge to vulnerable teenagers, all written with complexity, nuance and shot through not only with heart-breaking realism but moments of humour. Only a former police officer could have written a book like this one - authentic, important and pulse-quickeningly good.’

Rosamund Lupton

Praise for Kate London

‘Sensational... A brilliant, high-octane crime novel, ringing with the hard-earned wisdom of a former cop’

Tony Parsons on Death Message

‘A terrific thriller, it pulls off that near-impossible trick of being not just psychologically acute and beautifully written but rivetingly plotted too. Packed with convincing detail and a full cast of excellent characters it is edge of the seat stuff: Prime Suspect rebooted’

Christobel Kent on Death Message

‘An absorbing debut... The author vividly re-creates the everyday experience of uniformed police... The result is a complex novel that offers rare insights into how the police operate’

Sunday Times on Post Mortem

‘Intelligent, atmospheric, captivating - this book draws you in and doesn't let you go. A must read’ Rosamund Lupton on Post Mortem

Tainted by David Evans #WakefieldSeries #BlogTour @OrchardViewBook @DavidEwriter @CarolineBookBit

Tainted by David Evans

Wakefield Series #4

Published by Orchard View Publications

Publication Date: 7th February 2019

Genre: Crime/Police Procedural

316 pages

Having been part of the blog tour promotion of David Evans' previous 3 titles in the Wakefield series back in November last year I was excited to see that the publication of book 4 had soon come around. Fortunately Caroline Vincent of Bits About Books kindly allowed me the privilege of featuring my thoughts about Tainted, the latest outing of DI Colin Strong and his journalist friend and unofficial assistant Bob Souter.

Book Description:

A botched attempt to extort money has tragic consequences.

An embarrassing DNA match to an unsolved rape and murder twenty years before means DI Colin Strong has to use his best diplomatic tactics.

Simultaneously, journalist Bob Souter is tasked with writing about that same case to re-focus public attention. Will the newspaper’s actions help or hinder the police?

Meanwhile, Strong’s team has two separate murder enquiries to run.

With their friendship under duress, will Souter and Strong be able to work together? Find out in TAINTED – book 4 in the acclaimed Wakefield Series!

My Review:

David Evans takes us straight into the action in this latest instalment in the Wakefield series of books.  Marcus Weaver has driven to a remote spot in a deserted car park for an illicit rendez-vous with an unnamed lady when they are disturbed by activity outside their vehicle.  Weaver gets out of the car to investigate, never to return. It's not long before a lone dog walker makes a shocking discovery and DI Strong and his team are on the case.

Meanwhile Bob Souter, journalist, is tasked with doing a memorial piece for the Yorkshire Post regarding the unsolved murder of a 14 year old girl back in 1982. The hope is that the public may be reminded of events back in the day and come forward with new information which didn't seem relevant at the time. 

Another strand of the plot running alongside these events is the apparent kidnap of young woman Felicity Barrett. Nobody has reported her missing, however her husband Andy and stepdad George Brannigan are dealing with a ransom demand in their own way.

There's certainly a lot going on in this book, and I have to say I think I may have struggled to follow who's who and how they connect had I not have read the previous books in the series. It's not impossible to read as a standalone but I think a reader would be get more out of this book if you're more invested in the background of the characters.

There's a great feeling of authenticity regarding how much technology has moved on in helping police being able to solve investigations in the twenty plus years represented in this book - certainly forensic techniques and specifically DNA testing and the knowledge which we now have are so advanced compared to back in the 1980's.  Where we still have the 'old school' officers with their encyclopaedic knowledge of local criminals and their networks, working closely with the tech-savvy youngsters we see the advantages of experience combining with fast moving minds.  This is a great book to reflect on this meeting of policing techniques to get to the truth.

As always the personal lives of the officers and the journalists are ticking along in the background of the crime aspect of the story. It's a great balance as it keeps the characters real without taking over the main theme of the book. The great friendship between Souter, the journalist, and Strong, the detective, has clearly had its tests along the way yet it is obvious how the two still have a great respect for one another personally as well as professionally. Once again their two pronged attack to solve the case is invaluable.

This is a great book to demonstrate the past and the present colliding, with tragic facts being exposed which should have been shared long ago. Time is a healer in some respects yet in other ways we are reminded that the truth will out eventually.

I love that there are still opportunities for this series to continue, yet there aren't any loose ends left dangling frustratingly at the end of the book. I would definitely recommend reading the Wakefield series to any lover of a British police procedural.

Buy Tainted at Amazon UK

The Wakefield Series

#1 TORMENT Getbook.at/Torment

#2 TROPHIES Getbook.at/Trophies

#3 TALISMAN Getbook.at/Talisman

#4 TAINTED   Getbook.at/Tainted-DavidEvans

About The Author

David Evans is a Scots-born writer who found his true love as well as his inspiration for his detective series, in Wakefield. Having written all his life, in 2012 he decided to go for it – successfully as the next year, in 2013, he was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award.

The Wakefield Series became an International Bestseller in June 2017 with success in Canada and Australia as well as the UK.

Early 2018 Disposal was published, the first book in the Tendring Series, a new detective series, set in north Essex in the 1970s.

Now, the first three books in the Wakefield series have been republished by Orchard View Publications with brand new covers – Orchard View Publications also publishes the fourth book in the series, TAINTED.

David Evans on Social Media

Author Website: http://www.davidevanswriter.co.uk/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/DavidEvans Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/davidevanswriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidEwriter

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides #Book #Review @orionbooks @AlexMichaelides @PoppyStimpson

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Published by Orion Books

Publication Date: 7 February 2019

Genre: Crime/Psychological Thriller

352 pages

My thanks to Poppy Stimpson on behalf of Orion Books who allowed me an advance copy of this highly anticipated novel ahead of publication. All views are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

THE MOST ANTICIPATED THRILLER OF 2019

ALICIA
Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

THEO
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

THE SILENT PATIENT is the gripping must-read debut thriller of 2019 - perfect for fans of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn, THIRTEEN by Steve Cavanagh and THE GIRL BEFORE by JP Delaney. Publishing in over 45 countries, and with the film coming from Oscar winning Plan B Productions, THE SILENT PATIENT is the only thriller you need to read in 2019.

My Review:

The book starts with a prologue, a diary entry written by Alice Berenson more than a month before she shot her husband several times and then stopped talking.  The entries from this diary are interspersed with the main story all the way through the book and lead us to understand Alice's state of mind before the event.  Sometimes they help, sometimes they lead the reader on a bit of a detour.

Six years later and Alice is in a secure mental health unit called The Grove where her carers try to work with her to solve the mystery of her silence. She has moments of uncontrollable violence and is therefore dosed to the eyeballs with sedatives.

Theo Faber is a 42 year old psychotherapist working at Broadmoor who has followed Alice's case from the start and believes he is the one to unlock her secrets. Theo applies for a job at The Grove when a vacancy arises and following an interview with Indira Sharma, consultant psychotherapist and a panel of other doctors starts working at the unit. Theo recognises a young man named Christian,  who also previously worked at Broadmoor, who is currently main carer for Alice and we follow Theo's first few months working at the Grove as he gets to know the staff and patients. As time goes by Theo learns that funding for The Grove is under threat and the unit may be at risk of closure.  He feels that if he can crack the mystery of Alice's silence and get her to speak, this will validate the unit's existence and hopefully ensure it stays open.  He works with the others, offering his thoughts on Alice's case to Professor Diomedes - the man in charge - and persuades him that Alice needs to express herself through art. Christian resists Theo's suggestions, but the professor has overall say. Why is Christian reluctant to let Theo near Alice? One of many questions I had along the way.

There is very much a feeling that we are missing a huge piece of the puzzle as regards to why Theo believes so strongly that he can help Alice.  He manages to arrange meetings with Alice's family and friends in order to get background information and I couldn't help but have a bad feeling about his quest for knowledge. Why is he so intent on going above and beyond for Alice? Who or what does he think he will find by talking to these people and why do some of them react so badly when Theo starts sniffing around? The story certainly is a complete enigma for much of the book.

Various characters feature strongly throughout the novel and there were possible scenarios running through my head all the way through as to whether Alice was the person who pulled the trigger at all, if so why and if not who might have done - and why.  Will Theo manage to get inside Alice's head and succeed where everyone else has failed? If so, what will be the key piece of information which unlocks her? I'm certainly not about to spoil this for anyone, so all I will say is keep an open mind and your wits about you as this author is a master at his craft.  It's hard to believe that this is his first novel.

While I really enjoyed this book as it drew me right on in and messed about with my brain cells, I don't think it will be for everyone as it is a proper psychological thriller. In my opinion it will be a 'marmite' book which will divide readers as to its merits. I do recommend you give it a fair trial though, because you really will want to know what happened between Alice and Max Berenson on that fateful August afternoon.

Buying Link: Amazon UK -The Silent Patient

About the Author:

Alex Michaelides was born in Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot father and English mother. He has a MA in English Literature from Cambridge University and a MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient is his first novel.

#Extract Dead Pretty by Candy Denman #BlogTour @annecater @CrimeCandy

Dead Pretty by Candy Denman

Published by Crime Scene Books 

Publication Date: 24 July 2017

Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

328 pages

Today I feel extremely privileged to have an extract from established script writer Candy Denman, and the first book of her crime series set on the south coast of England. Candy has a fine pedigree of writing for TV which is reflected well in the section of the book which she has kindly allowed me to feature on the blog tour today. Have a read, and should you desire follow the link to buy a copy of the e-book for yourself to complete the story. I have already added the second in the series to my ever growing list of books to be read this year.

Book Description: 

The first in a series featuring Jocasta Hughes, part-time GP, in the small English seaside town of Hastings.

Working with the local police as on-call Forensic Medical Practitioner, Jo uncovers the gruesome truth that a serial killer is on the loose in the small seaside town where she works - and that she herself has become a target.

Intelligent, witty, well-plotted crime fiction. More cosy than not.

****

Extract from Dead Pretty by Candy Denman

    The sun was not fully up and the last vestiges of sea mist were still lingering around the sea front kiosks as Jo made her way along the promenade, shivering slightly in the cool morning air. It was normally deserted at this time of day, apart from the seagulls wheeling overhead, but today she could see a small knot of people ahead, waiting for her by the public conveniences. There were two undertakers, lounging against their grey unmarked van, smoking and laughing over some undoubtedly tasteless joke. After all, this was a council pickup job, an unknown corpse for delivery to the hospital mortuary, as opposed to a private call-out by a grieving family. No need to put on a veneer of professional empathy. 

Closer to the modern, squat, concrete building were two PCs, the first to be called out and grateful to be able to move away as she approached. The younger policeman, new to death, looked concerned and faintly green about the gills, but the older one, although still only in his late twenties, had seen it all before and was simply fed up that they were unlikely to get off duty on time. 

Jo paused a moment to take in the scene before she knelt beside the body of the young woman lying slumped against the outer wall of the toilets, next to the drinking fountain. She was careful to keep her distance and not to get too close to the body fluids that had pooled beneath the corpse. She put down her medical bag just within reach, but as far away from the immediate vicinity of the body as possible.

“Who found her?” she asked.

“Cleaner. Unlocks the toilets every morning at five thirty. She’s in the caff over the road, getting tea and sympathy and telling everyone the gory details, no doubt.” It was the older policeman who had answered. 

Jo took her time, she liked to fully assess the situation before touching the body, making sure this was not a crime scene before potentially destroying or altering the evidence. The girl looked scarcely out of her teens, but her ravaged face told Jo a story of drug abuse and addiction. Her short Lycra skirt didn’t cover the essentials, revealing the greying thong she was wearing, suggesting prostitution as a career choice, and lower-end-of-the-market prostitution at that. There were nicotine stains on the first two digits of her right hand and a length of rubber tubing still drawn tight around her left forearm. A small globule of blood had oozed from the needle-hole on the dorsal aspect of her left hand. This addict had already knackered the veins in her antecubital fossa, the veins of choice for a junkie, even if they didn’t know the name for their precise anatomical location.

Buy Your Copy Here:   Amazon UK Dead Pretty by Candy Denman

The series continues with the second book Body Heat, which was published in May 2018:

About the Author:

Candy Denman is a crime and TV script writer of programmes such as The Bill, Heartbeat and Doctors. Author of the Jocasta Hughes crime series set in Hastings.

Social Media Link: Twitter: @CrimeCandy

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