What Fell From the TBR mountain in June

I started this month with a book which I hadn't intended to read just yet but am SO pleased I did. The Passengers by John Marrs grabbed my attention and kept me turning pages when I should have been reading for blog tours. I then had to knuckle down and stick to my reading schedule - that was until I received a copy of 'Skint Estate' which demanded I read it straight away purely due to its subject material.  Here's how my month's reading panned out:-

The Passengers by John Marrs

Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies? You decide.

When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.

The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?

The Dream House by Jess Ryder

When I first set eyes on Westhill House with its breath-taking views of the sea I knew Jack and I could make this our forever home.
It may be falling apart with an overgrown garden, but with some tender loving care, we can repair this beautiful building and perhaps our relationship too…
But the more time I spend renovating our new house, the more time Jack is spending at work.
At least Lori is here to keep me company.
She has her own troubles yet she always listens to mine.
She’s helping to restore the house, uncovering its secrets one by one.
Like the children’s drawings under the wallpaper in the back bedroom.
The hidden papers underneath the floorboards in the turret room.
And the fact that Westhill House is a place women used to go to feel safe…
Lori seems to know a lot about Westhill House.
The question is, why?

Don't Ever Tell by Lucy Dawson

Never make a promise you can’t afford to keep… This is a story about Charlotte – a mother and a wife with the perfect job, the perfect life… at least, that’s how it looks from the outside.
But behind closed doors, the marriage is breaking, and Charlotte’s husband Tris doesn’t even know how much. He has no idea what Charlotte has planned for him, who she has found, why she has hired someone to pretend to be her. But he doesn’t have long to wait to find out… 

The Brief by Simon Michael

Guilty until proven innocent… London, 1960

Barrister Charles Holborne is not popular. A Jewish East Ender with a rough past, he is ostracised by his anti-Semitic and class-conscious colleagues who don’t want him in their prestigious Establishment profession.
And the bitterness Charles feels at work is spilling over into his personal life, putting his marriage under strain.
When a high-profile murder case lands on his desk, Charles is hopeful his fortunes will turn around.
But after a shocking crime is committed, he finds himself on the other side of law…
Can he outwit those trying to frame him? Will he manage to unmask the real criminal?

Or will he find himself on trial for murder…?

Skint Estate by Cash Carraway

Single mum. ‘Stain on society’. Caught in a poverty trap. It’s a luxury to afford morals and if you’re Cash Carraway, you do what you can to survive.

Skint Estate is the hard-hitting, blunt, dignified and brutally revealing debut memoir about impoverishment, loneliness and violence in austerity Britain – set against a grim landscape of sink estates, police cells, refuges and peepshows – skilfully woven into a manifesto for change.

The Liars's House by Carla Kovach

Samantha stumbled out of the party and on to a busy street only ten minutes away from her home. But she never made it home… Seven years after Samantha’s disappearance, on what would have been her thirty-fifth birthday, her best friend Diane is shocked to find a letter addressed to Samantha on her doorstep.
Opening the envelope, Diane pulls out a birthday card and a finger nail painted in dusky pink nail polish. The same shade Samantha always wore. The same shade she was wearing the night she went missing.
When police analyse the nail, they don’t get the result they expected. Instead of linking them to Samantha, the nail belongs to another woman, Jade Ashmore. And Jade was murdered the night before the envelope was delivered….

The Divorce by Victoria Jenkins

I thought I knew how to help them. I knew nothing.
When Lydia and Josh Green walk into Karen’s office one rainy February morning, Karen sees a couple under stress, almost at breaking point. But working with struggling couples, finding out more about their problems, helping to save their marriages, is what Karen does.

But as Karen spends more time with Lydia and Josh, her sense of unease grows… 

The Cinderella Plan by Abi Silver

James Salisbury, owner of a British car manufacturer, ploughs his "self-drive'" car into a young family, with deadly consequences. Will the industry, poised to launch these products, close ranks to cover things up? If it is proved that James was driving the car he may go to prison. But if he is found innocent, the business he has spent most of his life building, and his dream of safer transport for all, may collapse. Lawyers Judith Burton and Constance Lamb team up once again, this time to defend a man who may not want to go free.

Don't Ever Tell by Lucy Dawson @Bookouture #Review #NetGalley @lucydawsonbooks

Don't Ever Tell by Lucy Dawson

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date: 25th June 2019

Genre:Psychological Thriller

299 pages

Book Description:

Never make a promise you can’t afford to keep…This is a story about Charlotte – a mother and a wife with the perfect job, the perfect life… at least, that’s how it looks from the outside.

But behind closed doors, the marriage is breaking, and Charlotte’s husband Tris doesn’t even know how much. He has no idea what Charlotte has planned for him, who she has found, why she has hired someone to pretend to be her. But he doesn’t have long to wait to find out…

Don’t Ever Tell will keep you gripped from the very first page and have you guessing until the very last. From the bestselling author of The Daughter and White Lies comes an unputdownable psychological thriller unlike anything you’ve read before! 

My Review:

This is a very finely interwoven story, one where I struggled to work out who exactly knew what about the others in the story and which character was telling the whole truth - if any of them.  The writing is top notch, keeping you guessing right from the start as to why each of the handful of main players is treating their friends/family the way they are.  I am reluctant to give too much detail as the whole story needs to be read from the perspective of 'going in blind' else it just won't work - so if you're one of those folks who likes a sneak peak at the end of the book before you get stuck in proper, then in this case I really recommend that you don't because you will be utterly confused and not enjoy how the end relates to the beginning.

Charlotte and Tris are struggling to keep their marriage going, but things really are not what they seem in the early stages.  There are proper 'O...M...G' moments at various stages through the book and I felt my allegiances shift from one side of the marriage to the other and back again several times.  Neither character is squeaky clean but at the same time the course of action both of them has chosen seemed at least a little harsh on the other - to say the least. And don't get me started on the way Charlotte treats her sister - I don't know how to spell the sound which expresses my exasperation with that relationship!!

The conclusion to the story is shocking and I don't think I came out of the story liking any of the characters very much, although one in particular I felt more aggrieved for than the others - I am really struggling to tell you my thoughts yet not reveal any key points here!!

It's definitely a book I suggest you read for yourself, you will be engrossed in reading just how badly people can behave when a marriage sours and how far they will go to get vengeance.

My thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication.

About the Author:

Lucy has been writing psychological suspense novels since 2008, when her first bestseller – His Other Lover – was published. She writes full time from her home in Devon, where she lives with her husband and children.

Before that, she used to interview the likes of Steps and SClub7 for a living, making absolutely no use whatsoever of her psychology degree from Warwick University, but having a lot of fun. Lucy is published worldwide and her works has been translated into numerous languages.

www.lucydawsonbooks.com

Twitter: @lucydawsonbooks

Skint Estate by Cash Carraway @EburyPublishing @CashCarraway #SkintEstate

Skint Estate by Cash Carraway

Published by Ebury Publishing

Publication date 11th July 2019

Genre: True Life Memoir/Social Biography

368 pages

"THE WORDS WRITTEN ON THESE PAGES WERE NOT INTENDED TO BE READ IN SILENCE. SO PLEASESAY THEM OUT LOUD WHEREVER YOU CAN- PREFERABLY TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT TO HEAR THEM"

Book Description:

“Everyone has their price. It’s just not always monetary. Mine is though. 20 quid.”

Single mum. ‘Stain on society’. Caught in a poverty trap.
It’s a luxury to afford morals and if you’re Cash Carraway, you do what you can to survive.

Skint Estate is the hard-hitting, blunt, dignified and brutally revealing debut memoir about impoverishment, loneliness and violence in austerity Britain – set against a grim landscape of sink estates, police cells, refuges and peepshows – skilfully woven into a manifesto for change.

Alone, pregnant and living in a women’s refuge, Cash Carraway couldn’t vote in the 2010 general election that ushered austerity into Britain. Her voice had been silenced. Years later, she watched Grenfell burn from a women’s refuge around the corner. What had changed? The vulnerable were still at the bottom of the heap, unheard. Without a stable home, without a steady income, without family support – how do you survive?

In Skint Estate, Cash has found her voice – loud, raw and cutting. This is a book born straight from life lived in Britain below the poverty line – a brutal landscape savaged by universal credit, zero-hours contracts, rising rents and public service funding cuts. Told with a dark lick of humour and two-fingers up to the establishment, Cash takes us on her isolated journey from council house childhood to single motherhood, working multiple jobs yet relying on food banks and temporary accommodation, all while skewering stereotypes of what it means to be working class.

Despite being beaten down from all angles, Cash clings to the important things – love for her daughter, community and friendships – and has woven together a highly charged, hilarious and guttural cry for change.


My Review:

I saw this book previewed by a lady on Twitter, and just knew I had to read it.  So rarely do we get to hear from the oppressed, poverty stricken side of society, this is a chance to hear Cash's story. A very real, tell it how it is, blunt, no holds barred memoir of what it's like to be one of the forgotten people in 21st century England.  The ones who fall through the cracks in the so-called benefits system, who "don't fit the criteria" for social housing despite having absolutely nothing or nobody they can call on in times of desperate need. And I don't use the word desperate lightly. This tough, determined lady has experienced some of the most desperate circumstances possible. Evicted by her abusive mother on her 16th birthday and with no other family or support network to defer to Cash tells us the brutal ways she had to resort to just to survive.

Then the man who fathered her child let her down so badly, leaving her to battle alone. But penniless and homeless and now with a baby to support, the system denies her the basic foundation on which she could have had such a different life.  Because she has always been prepared to work, she is denied housing benefit which forces her into the private rental market - which in London and on sporadic wages is a minefield in itself.

The things this lady has put herself through in order to bring up her child had me choked, not just with sympathy for the fact that she was forced to do them but with pride for her, that she would not sit down and become one of the stereotypes that the government and media portrays single mothers to be.  She has not sat and felt sorry for herself, though God knows she has every reason to; she has spoken out, she has voiced her opinions and done her utmost to raise the profile of every other person who has found themselves in the same position.  

I have more respect for this lady than any of the politicians out there who spout their bullshit about caring and providing resources for those in dire need. She is telling it as it is. She is flying the flag for all the women out there desperate to provide for their kids without having to go cap in hand to councils across the land.  These women don't want an easy life. They don't have it easy. They are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their head. All that they need is a level playing field - help when the chips are down so that people stand a chance of keeping their heads above the poverty line.  With a sound foundation they can move on to provide for their families with less assistance and not be the burden on society that certain people see them as. Tt's not a lot to ask for yet in reality it is everything. I hate to say that I don't think it's going to happen in my lifetime, but if we keep chipping away, working for change - giving the people who know what's really happening a voice, then we might just eventually get there.

I am, by my own admission, guilty of judging certain sectors of society - have even used the dreaded phrase which accuses young girls of deliberately getting pregnant in order to get social housing, but in my defence when said young girl's pregnancy announcement on social media amounts to (and I quote) "I am now top of the housing list" I feel I was justified in that individual case.  I do however do my best not to tar every person in that situation with the same brush. Circumstances are different in every case however it seems to be that the more genuine you are, the harder you try to provide for yourself without falling on the system for help, the less you are seemingly entitled to - although I hate to use the word entitled as it seems so massively inappropriate.

I would like every member of parliament to read this book and imagine it to be a member of their family - or even themselves - in that position. Anyone who has any iota of influence of housing, benefits or any decision making process - PLEASE READ THIS BOOK and then tell me it hasn't changed the way you look at your fellow human beings.

About the Author:

Cash Carraway is a playwright, author and spoken word artist from Penge, south-east London.

Her sell-out one-woman spoken word show REFUGE WOMAN, about government cuts to domestic violence services, won 'Editorial Innovation of the Year' at the Drum Online Media Awards in 2019, was shortlisted for 'Innovation of the Year' at the 2018 British Journalism Awards and toured the UK in collaboration with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Battersea Arts Centre.

SKINT ESTATE, her memoir about life in the gutter, is her first book.

Social Media Link: 

Twitter: @CashCarraway

The Dream House by Jess Ryder #BlogTour @Bookouture @jessryderauthor @nholten40

The Guest by Jess Ryder

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date: 21st June 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

338 pages

Book Description:

It’s everything she’s ever wanted…

When I first set eyes on Westhill House with its breath-taking views of the sea I knew Jack and I could make this our forever home.

It may be falling apart with an overgrown garden, but with some tender loving care, we can repair this beautiful building and perhaps our relationship too…

But the more time I spend renovating our new house, the more time Jack is spending at work.

At least Lori is here to keep me company.

She has her own troubles yet she always listens to mine.

She’s helping to restore the house, uncovering its secrets one by one.

Like the children’s drawings under the wallpaper in the back bedroom.

The hidden papers underneath the floorboards in the turret room.

And the fact that Westhill House is a place women used to go to feel safe…

Lori seems to know a lot about Westhill House.

The question is, why?

A gripping, spine-chilling read brimming with secrets and lies. If you loved The Girl on the Train, The Wife Between Us or The Woman in the Window then this dark, twisting psychological thriller from Amazon chart bestseller Jess Ryder is guaranteed to have you gripped. 


Buy your copy here:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B07PY3XWW5Social

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2HU1lWN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2WtdAgZ

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/XpNV30odjF7

My Review:

The first thing to mention about this book is that it contains some trigger factors, the main one being domestic violence which may cause concerns for some readers.

As seems to be a popular style for a lot of books at the moment we have the two time frame thing going on again, the now and the then and the reader's task is to make the connection(s) between the two.  I almost managed to be successful in this case but my thought process lacked the detail involved in the story - unsurprisingly, as the author trickle feeds information to us along the way.

Stella has inherited some money from her parents who were tragically killed together in a hit and run accident. She decides the sensible thing to do with the money would be to invest in property and finds herself strangely drawn to Westhill House in Nevansey, a coastal town which is yet to be up and coming.  Boyfriend Jack tags along, nowhere near as enthusiastic about the project as Stella.

Then one dark night a stranger named Lori comes literally crashing into their lives - and is reluctant to leave.  Jack has his doubts about Lori's story, something doesn't add up.  Stella however has been brought up to help anyone in need and is keen to act in a manner she believes her parents would have done, and goes above and beyond to support Lori in her hour of need.  I have to admit I was on Jack's side on this one, and felt Stella was far too generous with her favours. I felt it was just a matter of time before things went horribly wrong, especially once Lori's story started to get more holes than a colander. There was definitely a lot more going on than we were being allowed to see.

Mixed in with Stella's story we get to know details of another timeline a number of years previously.  Kay has found herself with a young baby following a misjudged fumble with a Spanish waiter on her very first foreign holiday. Fortunately for her, her parents have stood by and helped her through the first few years of her daughter's life but at the first sign of a young man showing honourable intentions they are quick to encourage her to get married and settle down. But how do Stella and Kay's stories connect? There clearly has to be some reason we are being told the two stories - and who on earth is Lori? 

I love the way the house seems to be holding all the cards in this story, as if it needs to reveal the secrets it has held within its walls for decades before it will allow Stella to bring it up to date and move on comfortably with the next stage of its life.  It's as if the house is yet another character in the story and it won't rest until it gets rid of its shady past.  I think the demons of the past were certainly tackled, but I didn't feel like I reached a 100% satisfactory conclusion by the end of the book and it might be an interesting idea to have a follow up book to find out what happened next for Westhill House moreso than the human contingent of the story. There's a thought Ms Ryder....

My thanks to the author, Jess Ryder, and Noelle Holten of Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this engrossing novel which kept me up way past my bedtime in my quest for answers.

About the Author:

J

ess Ryder is the author of three psychological thrillers - 'Lie to Me' (April 2017) and 'The Good Sister' (August 2017), and The Ex-Wife (June 2018) -all published by Bookouture. She also writes books for children, teens and young adults as Jan Page, with many titles published including 'Selina Penaluna'. With many years' experience as a scriptwriter, she loves watching television crime drama. Jess is a passionate reader and particularly enjoys thrillers. She blogs about writing, reviews books and interviews writers at www.jessryder.co.uk and www.janpagewriter.com.

Jess lives with her partner in London, UK and has four grown-up children.

Author Social Media Links:

Website: http://jessryder.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessRyderAuthor/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jessryderauthor

The Brief by Simon Michael @SapereBooks @simonmichaeluk

The Brief by Simon Michael

Charles Holborne Legal Thriller Series #1

Published by Sapere Books

Publication Date: 10 June 2019

369 pages

Book Description:

London, 1960

Barrister Charles Holborne is not popular. A Jewish East Ender with a rough past, he is ostracised by his anti-Semitic and class-conscious colleagues who don’t want him in their prestigious Establishment profession.

And the bitterness Charles feels at work is spilling over into his personal life, putting his marriage under strain.

When a high-profile murder case lands on his desk, Charles is hopeful his fortunes will turn around.

But after a shocking crime is committed, he finds himself on the other side of law…

Can he outwit those trying to frame him? Will he manage to unmask the real criminal?

Or will he find himself on trial for murder…?

THE BRIEF is the first crime novel in an exciting historical series, the Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers — gritty, hard-boiled mysteries set in 1960s London.

My Review:

What a great introduction to a series which looks set to get grittier as it goes along - which isn't to say that this first instalment doesn't have its fair share of grit.  We have a barrister with Jewish ancestry, which in the time frame the book is set is always going to throw up issues. Said character has connections in his formative years with some of the biggest names in English gangland history - but which side of the fence is Charlie on when it comes to the crunch?

With long hours necessary to do his job defending criminals Charlie is away from home and wife Henrietta for long periods. Henrietta gets bored easily and her head is allegedly turned on more than one occasion by 'gentlemen' in the legal profession whose morals are less squeaky clean than her husband's.  

These dalliances lead Henrietta and Charles into a situation where they are both way out of their depth, and it's up to Charles to keep his wits about him to work out what has been going on and stay one step ahead of those who really don't want him to progress his career any further.

But who is Charles up against? There are people on both sides of the law and others very close to his professional home who all have motives to threaten Charles's career prospects in the worst way possible.

This book is quite different to the crime thrillers I usually read, being viewed from the legal team's perspective rather than the police force as is the more regular viewpoint. The author's inside knowledge of how the system works and the buildings used by the barristers is very clear and explained in plain English without feeling patronising in any way and I soon felt quite at home in the chambers.  The time setting is excellently portrayed and in my head I had a film-reel of 1960's cars and dress codes easily come to mind.  

 I found there to be a comfortable amount of legal content which didn't become overwhelming, the range of characters is varied and well described and the plotline is well balanced between the personal and professional sides of the main character Charlie Holborne.  I am intrigued as to where the author is going to take Charlie's character and how his colleagues fit in as a couple of them have some serious explaining to do.

My thanks to Caoimhe at Sapere Books for the opportunity to read and review this excellent thriller -  I have already pre-ordered the next in the series so that I can find out what life holds next for Charlie.

About the Author:

Simon Michael is the author of the best-selling London 1960s noir gangster series featuring his antihero barrister, Charles Holborne. Simon writes from personal experience: a barrister for 37 years, he worked in the Old Bailey and other criminal courts defending and prosecuting a wide selection of murderers, armed robbers, con artists and other assorted villainy. The 1960s was the "Wild West" of British justice, a time when the Krays, Richardsons and other violent gangs fought for control of London's organised crime, and the corrupt Metropolitan Police beat up suspects, twisted evidence and took a share of the criminal proceeds. Simon weaves into his thrillers genuine court documents from cases on which he worked on the big stories of the 1960s.

Simon was published in the UK and the USA in the 1980s and returned to writing when he retired from the law in 2016. The Charles Holborne series, The Brief, An Honest Man, The Lighterman and Corrupted, have all garnered strong reviews for their authenticity and excitement. The fifth in the series, The Waxwork Corpse, will be published by Sapere Books later this year.

Simon's theme is alienation; Holborne, who dabbled in crime and serious violence before becoming a barrister, is an outsider both in the East End where he grew up and in the Temples of the Law where he faces daily class and religious prejudice. He has been compared to Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, honourable men surrounded by corruption and violence, trying to steer an honest course.

Follow Simon on Twitter: @simonmichaeluk