Bang bang, you're dead by Evan Baldock #bookreview @BaldockEvan@RedDogTweets #ebook #bloggersbuybooks

 

Bang Bang, You're Dead by Evan Baldock

Published by Red Dog Press

Publication Date 18th August 2020

Genre: Crime, Mystery & Thriller

Book Description:

WHEN IT COMES TO VENGEANCE, AGE IS JUST A NUMBER.
Gloria Jones has had enough. She’s sixty-five, approaching retirement, and nearing the end of her tether. If she gets abused in the street by another toerag, someone’s going to swing.
When Gloria collects a gun she saw being thrown into her local park, her decision to turn it in is quickly scuppered after she’s attacked on her way to the police station. Using the gun to make her attackers back off, she accidentally pulls the trigger, and ends up killing them both. In that moment, her life changes forever.
As she struggles to come to terms with what she’s done, Gloria begins to realise there is injustice all around and finds herself transforming from a shy, peaceful woman into a confident and ruthless vigilante, determined to help victims of crime unable to defend themselves. And so begins a three-month campaign, taking revenge against violent criminals up and down the country, helping those who can’t help themselves.
After all, who’s going to question a little old lady just going about her business? Turns out, quite a few people, on both sides of the law, and one in particular seems to know exactly what she’s been up to.

My Thoughts:

I picked this up as a kindle bargain for just 99p, and it's the best money I have spent on a book in ages.

The concept of a little old lady turning vigilante made me smile in the first instance but as I very quickly get drawn into the book I realised that Gloria Jones has very serious opinions about crime in the community.  

Despite Gloria kind of  'accidentally' getting drawn into a far worse crime scenario than perhaps those she was fighting against, it didn't take her long to get quite well organised considering she had never broken the law before in her life.  But at 65 years of age and not a seasoned criminal it was only a matter of time before the cracks start to appear and it became obvious that someone knew what was going on - some more influential than others.  I loved the descriptions of how Gloria went from riding high on adrenalin after each shooting to the stomach churning dread of getting caught kicked in and had her jumping at shadows. Some of the scenes are slightly unbelievable for a pensioner to be getting involved in, but at the end of the day this is a fictional world and I do love a bit of  'artistic licence' - I mean, we have seen worse scenes in the movies for years and not let it spoil our entertainment.

The opinion polls suggested in the book regarding public opinion on Gloria's actions I feel are absolutely representative of how society feels about the issues which prompt her to turn vigilante, and it's spot on that while people don't like to think that they would be supporting a serial killer they can however understand exactly how a person can crack after a long period of witnessing crime and even personal assaults.

I flew through the pages of this book and couldn't wait to return to the story after having to break off to attend to my real life. I can't recommend this book enough; it's a refreshing change from the usual crime novels and even has a kind of light hearted feel to it - I shall never look at my cornflakes box in the same light again!

About the Author:

Evan was born in Pembury, Kent in 1956 and attended grammar school in Tunbridge Wells.

He left the Metropolitan Police after 30 years service in 2011, serving as one of the countries first Football Intelligence Officers until 1996, then transferring to West End Central, where for 15 years he worked in Soho.

For several years Evan helped run the Soho Unit, specialising in combating drug dealing in the West End. During his career he frequently ran test purchase and buy-bust operations against drug dealers, resulting in the seizure of large amounts of drugs, and the successful prosecution of over 200 dealers, many of whom received lengthy prison sentences.

After retiring from the Metropolitan police, Evan opened 'Sweet Expectations' in Rochester, Kent, the UK's first vegetarian sweet shop.

In 2016 he sold the shop business and retired, before taking up writing in January 2019.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle #book #review #InFiveYears @RebeccaASerle @QuercusBooks

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Published by Quercus

Publication Date:10th March 2020 (ebook/hardback), 1st October 2020 (paperback)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

I purchased this book in kindle format from Amazon. All thoughts and opinions are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, this heart-breaking story of love, loss and life will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about destiny...

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.
That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It's the same night - December 15th - but 2025, five years in the future.
It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real... Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.
That is, until four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream...

My Thoughts:

From the description of this book I thought I knew what to expect - and to a point I was right. But then by the time I put it down I kind of wasn't right. Basically the jury is still out as to whether I actually enjoyed this or not. I think that's more about how this book has been marketed rather than the book itself.  I was kind of expecting a Miranda Dickinson style book both from its cover and its description, but that definitely isn't where this book is at.

I have to admit to having got rather emotional at some points - and that has nothing to do with hearts and flowers.  This is a much more down to earth and in some parts emotionally hard-hitting storyline than the one I thought I was going to get. Basically hot-shot corporate lawyer Dannie has a life plan - she literally has her entire life planned out from when she's at school to when she retires. All goes according to plan when she meets David at law school and they move in together, get jobs all as per the plan. But then she has a dream which completely rocks the foundation of who she believes herself to be. It's so realistic that she cannot shake it off - especially when the guy in the dream literally comes to life in the form of her best friend Bella's new boyfriend. This is the point the plan gets shredded, piece by piece and put unceremoniously in the bin. 

Fate and 'life being a bitch' go hand in hand together, leaving Dannie very much alone in the world and floundering for a lifeline. I was left wondering "Is Dannie a selfish control freak or is she just like the rest of us underneath, just winging her way through life riding the waves, only to come crashing on to the shore of reality in a huge puddle of tears?"

The writing style is very flowing in this book and I did find myself wanting to pick it up to find out what happened next. If I could have sat and read this from cover to cover in one sitting I would have liked to, purely to wrap myself in the characters lives more than I was able to and I think I would have felt more connected to the characters that way.

My advice - give it a go, but make sure you have a box of tissues handy to wipe your tears. You're going to need it!

About the Author:

One In Three by Tess Stimson #NetGalley @tessjstimson #OneInThree #book #review @AvonBooksUK

One In Three by Tess Stimson

Published by Avon 

Publication Date: 9th July 2020 (ebook), 20th August 2020 (paperback)

Genre: Thriller

My thanks to the publisher Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read and review this title via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

Both of them loved him. One of them killed him . . .

Louise has had to watch her husband, Andrew, start a new family in the four years since he left her. The ‘other woman’ is now his wife – but Louise isn’t ready to let Caz enjoy the life that was once hers, or to let go of the man she still loves.

As Louise starts to dig into Caz’s past, the two women’s pretence of civility starts to slip. But in trying to undermine each other, they discover more about the man they both married.

And when Andrew is murdered at a family party, both women are found standing over the body.

It’s always the wife. But which one?

My Thoughts:

On first impressions from the description this story seems to be the classic love triangle - husband Andrew has cheated on wife Louise, she can't quite get over him despite the fact he has married the woman he left her for, Caz. And admittedly for much of the book this is very much what comes across, especially as Louise's mum still insists on including Andrew in family events and ensures he's very much in the children's lives. Louise seems a bit of a pushover and can't seem to get past that last hurdle of letting go completely. Until she starts to toughen up...but will this show of strength be her ultimate downfall? Well, that you will have to find out for yourself as I don't do spoilers. 

We find out very early on that things don't go well for Andrew, but with both Louise and Caz very much in the frame for his demise which of them could want him dead the most? Louise because if she can't have him, nobody will or has Caz had the scales fall from her eyes and seen his faults in glorious technicolour? To be quite honest with the constant rivalry between the two women I was amazed it wasn't one, if not both of them who came a cropper. But as we find out there's always more than one side to the story.

The characters were annoying enough and frustrating enough to be very well written, as in they were credible enough for me to want to plan each of their demise myself, and the overall storyline I felt worked very well with enough twists and turns to keep me hooked into the plot.
Whodunit? Grab yourself a copy and find out!!

About the Author:

Tess Stimson is the author of eleven novels, including top ten bestseller The Adultery Club, and two non-fiction books, which between them have been translated into dozens of languages.
A former journalist and reporter, Stimson was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Florida in 2002 and moved to the US. She now lives and works in Vermont with her husband Erik, their three children, and (at the last count) two cats, three fish, one gerbil and a large number of bats in the attic.
The Mother (previously published as Picture of Innocence) is her first foray into psychological thrillers. Her next, One In Three, will be published in August 2020.
For more information, visit www.tesstimson.com or follow Tess on Twitter and Facebook.

Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald #BlogTour #Giveaway @FitzHelen @annecater @OrendaBooks #AshMountain

 

Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald

Published by Orenda Books

Out now in ebook, Paperback due out 20th August 2020

Book Description:

Fran hates her hometown, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway. She returns home to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer. As past friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants… Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that you will never forget…

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For the opportunity to bag yourself a copy of Ash Mountain, comment on this blog post below - the publishers have kindly put a copy aside for just one lucky international winner! 

**** giveaway  now closed ****

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About the Author:

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in both The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.

‘Helen Fitzgerald’s sublime Worst Case Scenario, a foul-mouthed, satirical revenge thriller in which Glasgow probation officer Mary Shields battles career burnout and the menopause’ 

The Guardian 

‘ The plotting is intricate and beautifully handled, and the narrative pace is absolutely breakneck … a wonderful, energetic, hard-hitting and deeply funny novel’ 

The Big Issue 

‘Shocking, gripping and laugh-out-loud hilarious’ 

Erin Kelly 

‘ The main character is one of the most extraordinary you’ll meet between the pages of a book’ 

Ian Rankin 

‘A dark, comic masterpiece which manages to be both excruciatingly tense and laugh out loud funny at the same time’ 

Mark Edwards 

‘Outrageous, extremely funny and ultimately devastating ’ 

Ambrose Parry 

‘Fabulously transgressive and completely unique’ 

Mark Billingham 

‘ The classic thriller gets a hell of a twist ’ 

Heat 

‘FitzGerald writes like a more focused Irvine Welsh or a less misogynist Philip Roth’ 

Daily Telegraph

About The Publisher:

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell. www.orendabooks.co.uk @OrendaBooks

Midsummer Dream by Ian Riddle #BookBlitz #LoveBooksTours @riddleian @MTP_Agency @LoveBooksGroup #MidsummerDream

 

Midsummer Dreams by Ian Riddle

Published by Michael Terence Publishing

Publication Date: 19th March 2020

With many of us unable to get away even for a staycation with the threat of the coronavirus pandemic still very much making headlines, here's a way to get your fix of coastal life from author Ian Riddle.

Book Description:

Midsummer Dreams is a lyrical history of the lives, loves and, in particular, the dreams of several of the inhabitants of the small village of Treddoch Harbour. Treddoch, as it’s referred to locally, is a fictional, atypical, once fishing, now touristy, community situated on Cornwall’s southern coast. Everybody has their dreams, though none more so than the inhabitants of Treddoch. In their case, and this is where they differ from the mainstream, as well as having their own, personal dreams, the residents of Treddoch Harbour also have the one dream, the overarching dream, that singular dream that binds them as a community. This is the dream of having a ‘good Season’. For many of them, who rely on the tourists for their income, their money’s only to be made in the summer, when the tourists are abroad. Winter months can be dire.

The action is set on the one day, Midsummer’s Day, starting at dawn and ending with dusk. The story’s told through the voice of a tour guide as he takes the reader around the village, introducing the characters one by one, starting with the late Butcher and his Wife, now interred in the local cemetery!

“Polperro very much inspired this novel,” admits the author. “I wanted to take people beyond the daytrips they experience in these villages, to really get to know the people and what they strive for – which is a strong summer season that allows them to keep their families buoyant all year. There’s a massive collective spirit among the locals, that outsiders seldom see.”

Continuing, “I’m so thrilled that many people have likened the book to Thomas’ ‘Under Milk Wood’. It’s a story that will capture the hearts of people from all walks of life, with its innocent undertones and deep longing for stability among forces the locals can’t control.”

With the volume in high demand, interested readers are urged to secure their copies without delay.

About the Author:

I was born a long time ago now and like both Mary Wesley and Sir Christopher Bland have taken to writing rather late in life.

Following graduation from the University of East Anglia (UEA), which has subsequently become something of a literary mecca since my days there, I worked, briefly, as an Economist in London but soon moved to Cornwall, where, together with my wife, I ran my own business for many years. We lived in the small Cornish fishing village of Polperro which has provided a rich source of material for my first novel, Midsummer Dreams, due to be published Spring 2019.

I began work on the novel last January and eight months later had a rough draft ready but feeling the need of a break from it I put the manuscript to one side and thought to write just a couple of short stories. Twelve months and fifteen stories later it became clear that it was time to put this volume, Collected Writings to bed and return to where I left off, one year past, especially as I can already feel a second volume of shorts tugging at my sleeve.

After over forty years in Cornwall I crossed the Tamar and moved back to England (!) a short while ago, although only as far as Devon, where I still maintain a 'day job'. How much longer this will last though, I'm not sure. Writing can become a seductive and powerful mistress for which one can easily develop an all consuming passion.

Playing Nice by JP Delaney #NetGalley #PlayingNice @QuercusBooks

Playing Nice by JP Delaney

Published by Quercus Books

Publication Date 6th August 2020 (hardback), 28th July 2020 (ebook)

Genre: Legal Thriller

Book Description:

Pete Riley answers the door one morning to a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, who breaks the devastating news that Pete's two-year-old, Theo, isn't Pete's real son - their babies got mixed up at birth.

The two families - Pete, his partner Maddie, and Miles and his wife Lucy - agree that, rather than swap the boys back, they'll try to find a more flexible way to share their children's lives. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an investigation that unearths disturbing questions about just what happened the day the babies were switched.

And when Theo is thrown out of nursery for hitting other children, Maddie and Pete have to ask themselves: how far do they want this arrangement to go? What secrets lie hidden behind the Lamberts' smart front door? How much can they trust the real parents of their child - or even each other?

An addictive psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door.

My Thoughts:

The thing I love about JP Delaney's books is that the plots are so different to everything else on the shelves at the time they're published.  Then there's the unique style of writing which just flows from the page and has you reading on and on far later into the night than you planned to.
In Playing Nice we are introduced to Maddie and Pete and their whirlwind son Theo who came bursting into the world far sooner than planned, plunging Maddie into a dark world of post partum psychosis. These events lead to Pete taking the role of stay at home dad while Maddie returned to work as the main breadwinner. It's on his return from taking Theo to his nursery placement that Pete and Maddie's world is turned upside down and well and truly shaken. Answering a knock at the door Pete is met by two men, one a private detective and the other his client Miles Lambert. They drop the bombshell that a DNA test has proven that Theo and another baby from the neonatal unit were switched not long after birth some 2 years earlier and it's time to try and rectify the situation somehow.  Discussions start off extremely amicably but it's not long before we start to feel the mood change between the two couples.
The author has clearly done a lot of background research into how a switch might be possible at the hospital and the legalities of correcting such a traumatic event. The emotions felt by the parents, the practicalities of taking a toddler's best interests to heart, the whole situation is dealt with confidently and sensitively by the author and I was swept along as events took more and more sinister turns along the way.
Every single character was created with depth from the arrogant, pushy Miles to the officious social services staff who made me want to slap them with their box-ticking exercises and insinuations.
I find this author so easy to read despite some very tricky subject matter. I thoroughly enjoyed The Girl Before but feel that this is on another level again. You will want to put the Do Not Disturb sign up and lose yourself among the pages - and probably lynch Miles Lambert while you're at it!!

About the Author:

JP Delaney is a pseudonym for a British writer of psychological suspense who has previously written best-selling fiction under other names. THE GIRL BEFORE was an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller and was published in over 40 countries. The follow-up, BELIEVE ME, was also an international bestseller. THE PERFECT WIFE will be published summer 2019. For more information, go to www.jpdelaney.co.uk or follow @jpdelaneywriter on Facebook.

The New Girlfriend by Sheryl Browne @bookouture @SherylBrowne #NetGalley #BlogTour #TheNewGirlfriend

The New Girlfriend by Sheryl Browne

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date 3rd August 2020

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

My thanks to Sarah Hardy for the opportunity to be part of the promotional blog tour for this excellent book - my thoughts and opinions here are entirely my own and are unbiased. I had the pleasure of meeting Sheryl at a crime thriller author event at my local library last year and have been avidly soaking up her books ever since. This latest book has been my personal favourite so far.

Book Description:

Some secrets are more dangerous than others.

Cassie once did something so bad she’s never spoken about it since.

When her beloved son, Josh, dies suddenly in a tragic accident, Cassie is overcome with grief. And, as she cries on her husband’s shoulder, her phone lights up with a message that terrifies her.

I know what you did and I’m going to make you pay.

Somebody from Cassie’s past has found her and they want everyone to know just what kind of a woman she is.

As Cassie struggles to keep the message from her husband, someone knocks on the door of their perfect family home and Cassie discovers she isn’t the only person keeping secrets. Before her stands her son’s girlfriend – a girlfriend Cassie didn’t know about.

And when Cassie closes the door behind the new girlfriend, she has no idea who she has just let into her life. Her biggest secret is about to be revealed. And you won’t believe what Cassie does next…

A truly gripping page-turner that will keep you reading well into the night, The New Girlfriend is perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, My Lovely Wife and Gone Girl.  

My Thoughts:

As I said in my introduction, I have been working my way through Sheryl's backlist of books since meeting her at a crime thriller night at my local library so was keen to check out this, her latest novel. I mean, that cover - you can't gloss over that on the shelf of your library/bookstore can you? It leaps off the shelf with it's vibrant colours and catchy tagline for a start: Your Secrets Her Lies. (Can you tell I am a girl who is taken in by a pretty cover design? I know...I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but hey...).

The book begins in a far less pretty manner, the prologue describing what turns out to be Josh's final few minutes of life. Maybe there could be a trigger warning for this opening chapter as it's quite an upsetting narration of how, whilst under the influence of a heavy night's drinking, Josh falls on to the train tracks and killed. It is told from his point of view, his thoughts of the evening's events and a vague background of how he came to be so inebriated. But there's always the feeling that we're missing something in his telling of what is going on - which all adds to the intrigue for the remainder of the book.

The main heart of the book is told by those left behind, the people Josh loved the most. And a couple of others. The author has done so well to weave her story so that we don't know how each of these characters figured in the months leading up to Josh's death. There's a massive rift between him and his mother Cassie, a situation his stepfather seems to have been keen to rectify right up to the end. The torment he puts himself through as he tries to come to terms with losing Josh is heartbreaking - I have to admit that Adam was the only character I really warmed to all through the book and he certainly had my heart strings pulling more than anyone else.  Then there is Kim, a young woman who arrives on Josh's parents doorstep after his funeral complete with young baby in tow, who she claims belongs to Josh. Cassie and Adam have to decide whether she is telling the truth or not, a decision process which could mean they lose touch with their possible grandchild if they handle it all wrong.

I really flew through the pages as the plot meandered its way back and forth from the present day with Cassie and Kim's points of view taking the stage to months earlier when we get glimpses of life from Josh's view point. I frantically tried to work out who was telling the truth regarding the relationship between Kim and Josh - and indeed Josh and his parents - but while some aspects of the story were fairly straightforward to work out, others burst in and stole the show. It's hard to say much more than that without spoilers but OMG! that ending! I love it when an author manages to hide the biggest reveal right until the bitter end and Sheryl has done so BIG STYLE in this novel. It was one of those moments where I actually leapt from my chair on uncovering the final bombshell - one I certainly didn't see coming. As much as I loved this whole book, the conclusion is amongst some of my favourite reading of the year so far. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I would love to hear whether it blows you away too. Personally I thought it was absolutely blummin brilliant.

Buy your copy here:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/2WYANud

Apple: https://apple.co/36E3tfL

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3cd5CzZ

Google: https://bit.ly/36FBL1V

 

About the Author:

Sheryl Browne writes psychological thriller and edgy contemporary fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and awarded a Red Ribbon by The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies, where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. 

To find out more about Sheryl's novels, go to www.facebook.com/SherylBrowne.Author/ or follow @SherylBrowne on Twitter. To find out more about Sheryl, go to www.sherylbrowne.com