The Summer Holiday by SE Lynes #NetGalley @bookouture #TheSummerHoliday @SELynesAuthor #e-arc

 

The Summer Holiday by SE Lynes

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date: 9th May 2023

Book Description:

One loving couple. One surprise guest. One week to destroy everything…

When the doorbell rings, I take one last look round the villa. The nuts and olives are in bowls; the white wine is chilling in the fridge; everything is ready for my old college friend, the guest I’m dying to impress.

When I open the door, Coco steps from the dusty street into the cool tiled hall, as effortlessly beautiful as ever. But then her face freezes in horror, her mouth falling open. I turn to see my husband Jeff behind me, his eyes wide, his cheeks pale.

After a moment, they both smile, pretending nothing happened at all. But I know what I saw.

This holiday was meant to rescue my marriage, not ruin it.

But the connection between my friend and my husband isn’t what I thought.

All three of us have something to lose, and something to fight for.

And when the truth comes out, not all of us will survive…

My Thoughts:

If ever there's a cautionary tale which reinforces the saying "Be careful what you wish for" this would be it.  With husband Jeff ploughing all his efforts into his career, and wife Kate setting up her own business in catering which she started from home while their daughter was growing up, their marriage has very much taken a backseat over the years. Kate is hoping a fortnight away at the villa they own in Spain will be the chance to press the reset button and get their relationship back on track. The prologue of this book tells us that Kate's hopes probably aren't going to be fulfilled, but which of the women featured in the book will prove to be the one running barefoot down the road remains to be seen.

The setting for this book is stunning, and the photographs featured on the author's social media pages recently really helped me set the scene in my head. The beaches, bars, and cafes are a perfect backdrop for Kate's planned holiday. Then as she strolls along the beach one day, Kate can't quite believe who she's seeing: one of the most popular students in her year group at Leeds University, the sassy Coco Moss, sitting with her family at a bar. Kate always craved to be part of Coco's clique of friends back in the day - maybe she can make that a reality now she and Jeff have a far more desirable lifestyle than they did back in Leeds?

Personally, I wanted to shake Kate as she tried her best to impress Coco. She seemed to revert back to a silly teenager trying to impress the cool kids at school - and Jeff wasn't much better either. Coco represents everything I dislike in people who seem to think they are better than others. They just make me prickle! We quickly see from the chapters written from Coco and Jeff's points of view that there are many layers to be peeled away in order to get to the truth of just who Coco Moss is, and how she coasts through life. I was silently screaming at Kate that she really would be better off in blissful ignorance and not getting involved, but that wouldn't make for the gritty story we are left with once the bomb goes off and all three of them are left picking up the pieces.

Was I happy with the ending? Hell, no! I was not impressed with where everyone ended up but I do love that the author has made me so mad! I'm genuinely looking forward to reading people's opinions on this book and how things pan out for the various characters. This could be an interesting choice for book clubs with its selection of moral dilemmas to discuss.

About the Author:

Formerly a BBC producer, S.E. Lynes turned to writing following the birth of her third child. After completing an MA in Creative Writing, she became a tutor at Richmond Adult Community College, where she taught creative writing for over ten years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing. Her debut, Valentina, was published by Blackbird Digital Books in 2016. Her next book, the dark and twisting best seller, Mother, was published by Bookouture in November 2017 and Susie has gone on to publish gripping psychological thrillers with them ever since.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh @BooksSphere @claremackint0sh #bloggersbuybooks #bookreview #paperbackbooks

 

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

Published by Sphere Books (an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group

Publication Date: 4th August 2022 (hardback)

Book Description:

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.

His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.

But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year's Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.

The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family - and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.

My Thoughts:

I am a big fan of Clare Mackintosh's writing since I read her early book "I Let You Go", but somehow this one managed to wait on my shelf a good six months before I finally managed to get to it (sorry Clare!).  I love the cover design, which is one reason I am so surprised that it took me such a long time to read it - I am a bit of a "cover judge" and will often be swayed to buy/pick up a book purely because of its beauty. I also like when there is a map of the area covered in the book (tick!) and this time I found the author's list of cast members particularly useful. There are quite a few people introduced in a short time and having that list as reference at the start of the book really helped me.

The scene is set around Llyn Drych, a lake on the border of England and Wales and the nearby village of Cwm Coed - don't worry about how to pronounce these Welsh place names, there are handy pronunciation references along the way, and I found that because they're a bit tricky for us English folks it helped reinforce the sense of a divide between the English side of the lake and the Welsh side. Hostilities run deep between some of the locals and the residents of the new resort, named The Shore, which sits on the English bank of the lake.  The fact that the developer happens to be a long-time resident of the Welsh village only helps to underpin the locals' resentment that the resort even came into existence.

Rhys Lloyd grew up in Cwm Coed but shot to fame after being discovered in a local Eistedfodd, or music festival. His fame changed his life completely, although whether this was for the better is debatable after he is found floating in the lake on New Year's Day following the opening party for The Shore. This was the point I first found the cast list useful, as residents and villagers are introduced in quick-fire succession. 

Local detective Ffion Morgan is drafted in from the Welsh constabulary to investigate, and there's only one person as shocked as she is when her English counterpart Leo Brady signs in as the English contingent on the case.  It appears it's not the first time they've met...

With such a large cast and so many secrets held within Cwm Coed over decades, if not centuries, of small-town friendships and gossip, there are lots of opportunities for the author to plant red herrings and to smoke screen who is responsible for maybe having a hand in Rhys's demise, and indeed who could be trying to protect him when he was unable to defend himself. One of the characters points out that you're not considered to be a local until you have at least four generations laid to rest in the local graveyard, so the detectives' job of solving the case was never going to be easy. The simmering relationship between the two detectives is another thread to the storyline and I enjoyed seeing how the two worked around the elephant in the room whilst remaining professional and getting the job done.

There are many layers to this storyline and it's easy to get so engrossed that you lose track of time. The writing flows so easily off the pages. The main characters have plenty of depth to them and I grew to love a few of them as much as I continued to dislike some of the others along the way.

Personally, I give this book a strong 4-star review, the last star missing due to the large cast list which at times made the story feel a little too busy.

About the Author:

Clare Mackintosh is a police officer turned crime writer, and the multi-award-winning author of six Sunday Times bestselling novels. Translated into forty languages, her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide and have spent a combined total of sixty-six weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller chart. Clare lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children. For more information visit Clare’s website http://www.claremackintosh.com or find her at http://www.facebook.com/ClareMackWrites or on Twitter @ClareMackint0sh

The Hike by Lucy Clarke @lucyclarkebooks @HarperCollinsUK #NetGalley #TheHike #bookreview #BookTwitter

 The Hike by Lucy Clarke

Published by HarperCollins UK

Publication Date: 27th April 2023

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.

Book Description:

THE PERFECT DAY FOR A HIKE

Leaving behind their everyday lives, four friends hike out into the beautiful Norwegian wild – nothing between them and the mountain peak but forest, sea and sharp blue sky.

THE PERFECT PLACE TO DISAPPEAR

But there’s a darker side to the wilderness. A woman went missing here one year ago, scarring the mountain with suspicion and unanswered questions.

Now, the friends are hiking into the heart of the mystery. And waiting on the trail is someone who’d do anything to keep their secrets buried – and to stop the group walking away alive. 

My Thoughts:

One of my favourite books ever was written by Lucy Clarke, so to be offered the opportunity to read this new one ahead of publication is absolutely amazing - thank you so much to the team at Harper Collins UK!

The four friends featured in this book go way back to school days and have been a pretty tight group of four ever since. Even though they have very diverse jobs and family situations back home they have kept in close touch and insist on a girls' trip away every year. This year local GP Liz has decided they need something a little more challenging than a week soaking up the sun and has chosen to make a childhood dream come true and come hiking up a mountain in Norway. Not everyone is keen on the idea - in fact Joni hasn't even responded to the suggestion, so it's just the three others who set off on the trip of a lifetime to climb the mountain which featured in their school geography project.

The first part of the book, the preparation for the trip and the travel there, is fairly slow but sets the scene that despite all the ladies being a tight knit group that certainly doesn't mean they don't have secrets from one another - and quite significant ones at that. Once part two kicks in and the mountain starts making its presence felt then the pace ramps up - and, it would seem, the ladies aren't the only ones with secrets. The locals let slip that a woman went missing at the same time the previous year - and some of them are more touchy about it than others. What is it between a small group of them which creates such a bad atmosphere the night before the girls set off on their trek? 

I loved reading about the experiences of the different women on the hike - the fact that Liz was the only one who had done any of the prep work and exercise plan beforehand; Maggie's worries about her daughter and whether she's brave enough to complete the journey and Helena's constant whinging about her blisters right from the get-go. The mood changes as the weather closes in and the plot takes a decidedly sinister turn.  Will any or all of the women get back safely? And who is that who keeps making shadowy appearances along the way?

I was perched on the edge of my seat at one part of the story (and literally yelled "NOOO!" at my kindle at one of the characters for the action they took) and I can say quite assertively that I won't be signing up for a mountain hike in Norway anytime soon, no matter how beautiful the scenery is before the weather takes a turn for the worse!

A great story of friendship and how far we will push ourselves out of our comfort zone for those we love.

About the Author:

Lucy Clarke has a first class degree in English Literature, and is a passionate traveller and diarist. She has worked as a presenter of social enterprise events, a creative writing workshop leader, and she is now a full-time novelist. Lucy is married to James Cox, a professional windsurfer, and together they spend their winters travelling and their summers at their home on the south coast of England.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister @MichaelJBooks @GillianMAuthor #NetGalley #bookreview #WrongPlaceWrongTime

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Published by Penguin Michael Joseph UK

Publication Date: 12th May 2022 (hardback), 2nd March 2023

My thanks to the publisher for allowing me access to this book in order to offer my review.

Book Description:

CAN YOU STOP A MURDER AFTER IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED?

It's late. You're waiting up for your son.

Then you spot him: he's with someone. And - you can't believe what you see - your funny, happy teenage boy stabs this stranger.

You don't know who. You don't know why. You only know your son is charged with murder. His future is lost.

That night you fall asleep in despair. But when you wake . . . it is yesterday. The day before the murder.

Somewhere in the past lie the answers - a reason for this crime.

And your only chance to stop it . . .

My Thoughts:

The first thing to say about this book is: wow! I am blown away with the planning of this book.

Secondly, do not let the whole "time travel" thing put you off. That is the whole reason I left this book on my shelf for SO long, thinking that I wouldn't be in the mood for a book with a sci-fi slant. How wrong was I? Although our main character is indeed stuck in a time loop, it doesn't affect the feel of the book as it is very much a mystery thriller but very cleverly written in reverse. Kind of. I very much wish I had read this book as soon as it landed on my virtual shelf and am SO impressed with Gillian McAllister's ability to write this book, keeping all the facts in order and lined up despite working in the opposite direction to the way this kind of book usually works.

Jen and Kelly have a great relationship. They met when Kelly arrived at Jen's father's law firm, him touting for business as a painter and decorator. Kelly is mega chilled, so laid back he's horizontal, as the saying goes. Jen is the super organised one, the disciplinarian who makes sure their 18 year old son Todd knows right from wrong and is one of the nice guys. It is therefore a major shock when Jen watches as her son comes home from a night out, is approached by an older guy. Todd turns and stabs him to death outside their family home. He's arrested and taken to the police station where he's kept for questioning.  Jen and Kelly have no choice but to return home, shocked and tired, leaving Todd to the consequences of his actions. Or do they?

Jen wakes up the next morning - except it's not the next morning, it's the day before. Once Jen can compute in her mind what's going on, she realises she's been sent back in a time loop in an attempt to put things right for her son and change his future. 

It's a few days since I completed this book and I am still totally overwhelmed at how an author can so accurately write this storyline. Every detail was spot on in how it fitted with other facts in the book later on (or earlier, depending on how you look at it). The characters are fleshed out perfectly at the various ages they would have been given the change in period. It's all just SO DARNED CLEVER and the conclusion to the book was an absolute pleasure after reading the challenges Jen and Kelly had to face along the way. I can honestly say I have never read a book like this before and Gillian has set the bar so high if any other author wants to try a similar theme for their next book.

About the Author:

Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the following novels:

Everything But The Truth (2017)

Anything You Do Say (2018) called The Choice in America

No Further Questions (2018) called The Good Sister in America

The Evidence Against You (2019)

How To Disappear (2020)

That Night (2021)

Wrong Place Wrong Time (2022)

All are standalone and can be read in any order.

The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson @FaberBooks @PeterSwanson3 #bloggersborrowbooks #hardbackbooks #bookreview

The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson

Published by Faber & Faber

Publication Date: 2nd March 2023

Book Description:

TWO'S COMPANY, THREE'S FATAL

'Do you remember me?' she asked, after stepping into my office.

When private detective and former teacher Henry Kimball is hired to investigate an ex-pupil's cheating husband, he senses all is not quite what it seems, and before he knows it he's gotten far too close to the other woman.

As the case gets ever stranger, he turns to the only person he can trust, Lily Kintner, someone with dark secrets of her own...

With its ingenious clockwork-like plot, and twists aplenty, The Kind Worth Saving is a crime novel to savour from a modern master.

My Thoughts:

The impending release of this book was the prompt I needed to get its forerunner, The Kind Worth Killing, off my shelf where it had been sitting for quite some time (it's not alone, I buy way more books than I'll ever get through in 5 lifetimes but hey, that's another issue). My blog post at the end of March will tell you my thoughts on that one, and suffice to say I was straight on my local library website to reserve a copy of The Kind Worth Saving as soon as I knew they'd ordered it in. 

Henry Kimball is back at work, although not in the role we last saw him in at the end of the last book. He's now a private investigator and he's more than a little curious, if not reluctant, when former pupil Joan Whalen (nee Grieve) comes into his office asking to sign him up to prove her husband's infidelity. He agrees to take on the case and despite there being not much to report back to Joan, he does however manage to find himself way too involved with the person I suppose would be classed as the "co-respondent" had there ever been a divorce petition.  

This book, as with its predecessor, isn't what you would call a hotbed of quickfire action; it creeps under your skin and has you reading "just one more chapter" on far too many occasions as you are so invested in what is going on. I actually went to bed early one night to catch up on my sleep but ended up getting back up again an hour later as my brain just kept demanding answers! This author has a very clever knack of linking characters in sinister ways, as you will know if you've read the first book (if not, I cannot stress more that you need to read that one first in order to pick up on the finer points of this book). I'm not sure I quite understand the relationship between Henry and Lily though; as close as they are, I do find that one a little unsettling and I was completely creeped out by quiet guy Richard Seddon - they do say you have to watch the quiet ones! 

With some great characters and intricate networking of people I would strongly recommend both books in the series although I have to say I think the first one still just edges it as my favourite. Don't be put off by the steady pace, you need to take your time to appreciate just how twisted these characters are!

About the Author: 

Peter Swanson's novels include The Girl With a Clock for a Heart (2012), nominated for an LA Times Book Prize. The Kind Worth Killing, a Richard and Judy pick and the iBooks store's thriller of the year in 2015; Rules for Perfect Murders, the 2020 Richard and Judy pick; and, most recently, Nine Lives (2022). He lives with his wife and cat on the north coast of Massachusetts.

I've run out of books...send help!

 

Only joking!

My apologies for not having a review ready for you this week. The dreaded covid has returned to plague me and my brain has struggled to put two words together which make sense. Normal service will hopefully resume next week, I have plenty of wonderful books waiting for me to recommend to you, but for now I'm afraid I can only share the words of Sarah J Maas accompanied by a couple of coffee-drinking gonks from my ever-growing collection.

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson @FaberBooks @PeterSwanson3 #bookreview #TheKindWorthKilling #paperbackbooks

 

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Published by Faber & Faber

Publication Date 3rd September 2015

Book Description:

You should never talk to strangers

With his flight delayed, Ted Severson meets Lily Kintner, a magnetic stranger, in an airport bar. In the netherworld of international travel and too many martinis, he confesses his darkest secrets, about his wife's infidelity and how he wishes her dead. Without missing a beat Lily offers to help him carry out the task.

My Thoughts:

This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite literally years and I am now wondering why on earth did I leave it so long? I was almost disappointed to have read it so quickly and to be honest only picked it up having seen that its sequel has been released recently, a fact which pleases me greatly as it will be top of my To Buy List when I'm next at the bookshop. 

Knowing what I do now I've read the book I love the author's way of opening the story. Ted Severson is waiting to board his flight back to the US from Heathrow airport when an attractive lady approaches him with what seems to him as an overfamiliar "Hello, there". He doesn't recognise her, but the two fall quickly into easy conversation over drinks as they bide their time waiting for their flight - it turns out Lily's waiting for the same one. Their conversation takes a darker turn once they're on the plane though and from there on in life will never be the same for Ted.

The journey the author takes us on demonstrates that the two main characters have crossed paths before, albeit through Ted's beautiful wife Miranda who Lily knows by a different name. Unbeknown to Ted, Lily and Miranda have far more in common than just him and each of the women have reason to keep their shared history under wraps. But which of the ladies has the most to lose if the truth comes out and who can they rely on to keep their secrets?

I rattled through this novel at a decent pace, keen to find out whose mask would be removed first - would the detectives piece everything together or would they put it down as a crime of passion? I still have lots of questions regarding one of the characters - no more detail than that or the ending will become obvious for those of you yet to dive into this book - and I am very keen to see whether Peter Swanson takes certain elements of this book into the sequel. 

Right now, I'm putting my shoes on and am on my way to the bookshop!

About the Author:

Peter Swanson's novels include The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, nominated for an LA Times book award, The Kind Worth Killing, a Richard and Judy pick and the iBooks store’s thriller of the year; Rules for Perfect Murders, the 2020 Richard and Judy Pick and most recently Every Vow You Break. In Spring 2022, Faber published Swanson's eighth novel, Nine Lives. He lives with his wife and cat in Somerville, Massachusetts.