Category: Blog Touring

Taking part in sharing the upcoming and newly released

Posted in 12 Words, Author Q&A's, Blog Touring, Guest Posts

#BlogTour Anything For Her, 12 words with G J Minett

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G.J. Minett studied at Cambridge and then spent many years as a teacher of foreign languages. He studied for an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, and won the 2010 Chapter One Prize for unpublished novels with the opening chapter of The Hidden Legacy.

Today, as part of the Anything For Her blog tour, he’s taking on the LifeOfCri.me 12 word challenge.

 

Rules

Answers should be complete sentences, and completed in no more than 12 words (unless otherwise stated)

Contractions count. It’s = 2 words.

 

LOC: What can you tell us about your latest release, Anything for Her?

GJM: When she asks for help, you don’t say no, do you?

LOC: How would you describe your writing process?

GJM: Practically OCD. Planned to the nth degree.

LOC: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt in your writing career so far?

GJM: Just how generous and supportive other writers and bloggers are.

LOC: What words of wisdom do you have for aspiring authors?

GJM: If you don’t believe you’re a writer, why should others?

LOC: Describe your perfect day

GJM: Maggie O’Farrell phones to say she loves the way I write (sigh)

And finally, just for laughs…

LOC: Thanks to the author Paul Finch, you’ve just woken up on stage in front of the judges of a TV talent show with just Aplastic skeleton, a staple gun and a roll of toilet paper. What do you do?

GJM: I cry and tell them my kids are all terminally ill

You’d do anything for the one that got away . . . wouldn’t you?

When Billy Orr returns home to spend time with his dying sister, he bumps into his ex-girlfriend Aimi, the love of his life. He might not have seen her in eleven years, but Billy’s never forgotten her. He’d do anything for her then, and he’d do anything for her now.

When Aimi tells him that she wants to escape her abusive husband, Billy agrees to help her fake her own death. But is she still the Aimi that Billy remembers from all those years ago?

Once Aimi disappears, Billy has to face the possibility that perhaps she had different reasons for disappearing – reasons that might be more dangerous than she’s led him to believe . . .

Posted in Articles, Blog Touring, Guest Posts

A Geraldine Steel Top Ten, Celebrating Ten Geraldine Steels……

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TEN NOVELS SET IN YORKSHIRE THAT GERALDINE HAS READ

The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
 To Catch A Rabbit- Helen Cadbury 
A Kestrel for a Knave – Barry Hines 
Billy Liar – Keith Waterhouse 
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte 
Gallows View – Peter Robinson 
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte 
Nicholas Nickleby- Dickens 
Under World- Reginald Hill 
The Amateur Historian Julian Cole

Detective Geraldine Steel is back in Class Murder – her tenth case!

With so many potential victims to choose from, there would be many deaths. He was spoiled for choice, really, but he was determined to take his time and select his targets carefully. Only by controlling his feelings could he maintain his success. He smiled to himself. If he was clever, he would never have to stop. And he was clever. He was very clever. Far too clever to be caught.

When two people are murdered, their only connection lies buried in the past. As police search for the elusive killer, another body is discovered. Pursuing her first investigation in York, and reunited with her former sergeant Ian Peterson, Geraldine Steel struggles to solve the baffling case. How can she expose the killer, and rescue her shattered reputation, when all the witnesses are being murdered?

 

 

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#Blogtour White Out – Ragnar Jonasson

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Two days before Christmas, a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted village of Kálfshamarvík. Did she jump, or did something more sinister take place beneath the lighthouse and the abandoned old house on the remote rocky outcrop? With winter closing in and the snow falling relentlessly, Ari Thór Arason discovers that the victim’s mother and young sister also lost their lives in this same spot, twenty-five years earlier. As the dark history and secrets of the village are unveiled, and the death toll begins to rise, the Siglufjordur detectives must race against the clock to find the killer, before another tragedy takes place.

Dark, chilling and complex, Whiteout is a haunting, atmospheric and stunningly plotted thriller from one of Iceland’s bestselling crime writers

This is by far my favourite of Ragnar’s Dark Iceland series to date. If you thought Siglufjordur was isolated and claustrophobic you haven’t read everything yet.  In the previously populated small village of Kálfshamarvík, that is now just a tiny hamlet of two houses, on the eve of Christmas Eve, Ari, with his heavily pregnant partner Kristin, and his old boss Tomas (now a Reykjavik murder team officer) are trying to discover the mystery of Asta’s demise, over the cliffs of her childhood home, where both her mother and 7yr old sister met their deaths.

With such a small cast of characters, this is an intense read.  You know it has to be someone, but Jonasson expertly manages to keep you guessing all  the way to the end.  I’m usually someone who can pin a guilty party out by halfway through a book, but with Whiteout I just couldn’t.  I had ideas, but never saw the ending.  The rarity of catching me out is fabulous, and just ensures this book is doubly amazing.

 

 

Siglufjordur © Sigurður Ægisson

If you’ve never been to Iceland but enjoy a fully immersive experience in a novel, then I recommend you google some images of Sigulfjordur and Kálfshamarvík before you start. There is no better way of getting a quick grasp of the dark, yet beautiful isolation of these places, and as we all know imagery will only enhance your reading.

Enjoy…

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

The Dead Whisper – Emma Clapperton

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D.S Preston and D.C Lang are sent to investigate the death of a young girl in an old manor house in Glasgow. But who would want to kill an innocent girl in her own home and why? When they believe their questions have been answered the case is closed.

Meanwhile, Sam Leonard could not be happier – he has a great acting career and a fantastic girlfriend. After being in a previously turbulent relationship, what could go wrong?

For Patrick McLaughlin life is going well. His marriage is stable and with a baby on the way, things can only get better.

But the house that Patrick moves into is not what it seems. With a family burial plot in the gardens, visions and messages from the deceased, and a recent death in the house, will Patrick and Jodie regret their purchase?

In order to lay the ghosts to rest questions will be asked but can the house ever let go of its past? 

If you like your thrillers with a supernatural twist then this is the book for you. I’d never read anything by Emma Clapperton before this, and whilst I know she has other books featuring DS Preston, DS Lang, and Patrick McLaughlin, I never felt the need to have read any of them first, as TDW works great as a standalone novel.

There are great characters, well written to the point I took an instant dislike to one of them, and I always recommend any book that makes me react emotionally to it in that way.

Skilfully plotted, with plenty to keep you involved, it’s easily a one sitting read, but I think it’s better read in chunks to allow you to absorb everything, and see if you can figure out whodunit, (but I bet you won’t)




Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#BlogTour The Man Who Died – Antti Tuomainen

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A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he’s dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists. 



Darkly comic, The Man Who Died is a cracking one sitting read that will have you falling over yourself to decide what emotion you want to feel next…..

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#Blogtour Death In The Stars – Frances Brody

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Yorkshire, 1927. Eclipse fever grips the nation, and when beloved theatre star Selina Fellini approaches trusted sleuth Kate Shackleton to accompany her to a viewing party at Giggleswick School Chapel, Kate suspects an ulterior motive.

During the eclipse, Selina’s friend and co-star Billy Moffatt disappears and is later found dead in the chapel grounds. Kate can’t help but dig deeper and soon learns that two other members of the theatre troupe died in similarly mysterious circumstances in the past year. With the help of Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden, Kate sets about investigating the deaths – and whether there is a murderer in the company.

When Selina’s elusive husband Jarrod, injured in the war and subject to violent mood swings, comes back on the scene, Kate begins to imagine something far deadlier at play, and wonders just who will be next to pay the ultimate price for fame . . .

This may well be the ninth book in Francis Brody’s series featuring Kate Shackleton, but as I have discovered with both Death In The Stars and indeed with each of the previously delightfully written Shackleton mysteries I have read, this is no barrier to picking up this book to read as someone new to the series.

Suspenseful, and living every bit up to the description of ‘mystery’, it keeps you guessing all the way between clues, red herrings, characters complicit in the story and those included to misguide you along the way.

With a background that clearly creates the atmosphere of this twenties tale, this charming read is a great way to while away a pleasant few hours.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

# Blogtour Snare – Lilija Sigurdardottir

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After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland, and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer, whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies. Things become even more complicated when Sonia embarks on a relationship with a woman, Agla. Once a high-level bank executive, Agla is currently being prosecuted in the aftermath of the Icelandic financial crash.

I could explain all the following with many, many words, but as I discovered as I devoured Snare, sometimes, less is more, let’s leave it at this……

Slick. Pacy. Emotional. “Unputdownable” Would You Like To Know More?

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardottir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series, hitting bestseller lists worldwide. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja has a background in education and has worked in evaluation and quality control for preschools in recent years. She lives in Reykjavik with her partner.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#Blogtour The Secrets You Keep – Kate White

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You’ve lost your memory. A woman has been murdered. Your husband is keeping secrets. How do you know who to trust?

Months after a being involved in a terrible car crash, Bryn Harper is physically healed but her emotional scars remain raw. She has no memory of the accident and is plagued with bad dreams.

When Bryn and her husband, Guy, host a dinner party Bryn swears money has been stolen while Guy seems unfazed. Bryn confronts the caterer that night and is horrified to discover the woman’s brutally slain body the next day.
As the case is investigated, Bryn is dragged into a fresh nightmare and learns that Guy is keeping things from her. Another murder occurs and Bryn realises the danger is getting ever closer to home. How well does Bryn really know the man she loves?

Another page turner of a read I’ve picked up in the last week or so.  I’m often confounded by female characters who have whirlwind romances and end up married to someone they don’t truly know, but then their stories often make for compelling reading.

The Secrets You Keep was no exception to this rule. The difference being that in this tale Bryn has not just the mystery of her own husband to unravel, but also the mystery of her missing memory.  Fighting nightmares, trying to make new friendships in her summer home town,  all while discovering the brutally murdered body of her caterer, and trying to get to the bottom of the inconsistencies and concerns she faces in her life.

It’s got a delicious twist on the killer and it was someone I didn’t see coming from a mile away, I had it pegged as a whole different character for most of the book, and if you can get one past me you’re on a major winner. 🙂

Highly recommended.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

Degrees of Darkness – Tony J Forder

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Pre-teen girls are being abducted from their homes and their families murdered. When Frank Rogers, once a DI with the Met and now running his own debt collection agency, is told that his own daughter is missing, his son murdered, he naturally wants to become involved with the case.

Soon Frank’s face is all over the news. In an unexpected turn of events, the killer contacts the police and says he is willing to talk, but only to Frank.

When the body of the first abducted girl is discovered, Frank realises it is a race against time to save his daughter.

In order to solve the case, Frank must work out how the killer is picking his victims.

But how do you catch a murderer who is hiding in plain sight? And can Frank solve the mystery, when he has so much to lose?

This is one of those fabulous books that just worms its way under your skin as you turn the pages.  Aptly titled, it creeps you out by degrees as one of the most heinous of serial killers I’ve read in months and one tenacious ex-cop play cat and mouse as Frank tries to locate his daughter.

Brilliantly written, and superbly paced it carefully takes you down dark corridors in your mind,    as you contemplate the cruelty of the killer.  I absolutely loved this book, and whilst it only took a couple of days to read I savoured every chapter.  In a genre that is currently filled with fast paced, race to the end it was a delight to read something different.  Whilst it is still a race against time thriller, it gives a really genuine feel for the passage of time, building the tension carefully.

It’s not an easy book to read, as it can be quite disturbing in places, but that is what makes it all the more compelling.  Highly recommended as a deeply dark and disturbing read for anyone who loves being entirely absorbed in a difficult world.