Tag Archives: Book Review

The Accomplice By Steve Cavanagh Book Review

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I love Eddie Flynn and The Accomplice is the best Eddie Flynn novel yet. Yes, I know I say that every time, but this time it is true. Steve Cavanagh is one of the best crime writers of our times. Full stop. It left me terrified, excited and completely engrossed. The hardest thing about this book is not reading it all in one sitting. Clear a day in your diary and ignore everything else.
The Accomplice doesn’t take the easy, obvious path. It is full of surprises. It will break your heart and thrill you all at once. Brilliant.

steve cavanagh the accomplice

THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA

The Sandman killings have been solved. Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband’s crimes.

THE LAWYER

Eddie Flynn won’t take a case unless his client is innocent. Now, he has to prove to a jury, and the entire world, that Carrie Miller was just another victim of the Sandman. She didn’t know her husband’s dark side and she had no part in the murders. But so far, Eddie and his team are the only ones who believe her.

THE FORMER FBI AGENT

Gabriel Lake used to be a federal agent, before someone tried to kill him. Now, he’s an investigator with a vendetta against the Sandman. He’s the only one who can catch him, because he believes that everything the FBI knows about serial killers is wrong.

THE KILLER

With his wife on trial, the Sandman is forced to come out of hiding to save her from a life sentence. He will kill to protect her and everyone involved in the case is a target.

Even Eddie Flynn…

The Accomplice is available here.

Other Parents by Sarah Stovell Book Review

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Some books make you think not only while you are reading them, but also long after you have finished. Other Parents is such a book. Other Parents is a multi-layered book that delves deep into people and their motives. I felt every emotion while reading Other Parents. It is a book that opens your mind to how other people live and what might make them act the way they do.

I found myself both respecting Rachel, while being infuriated with her. I was equally infuriated with Laura, but also felt for her. We live in an unequal society and Sarah Stovell is an outstanding talent who has captured the class disparates in our society and laid them bare. Other Parents is a fascinating novel that I did not want to put down for a moment. It is clever and entertaining. With characters who are vivid and real, and a plot that doesn’t let you go. Loved it.

other parents, sarah stovell,

In a small town like West Burntridge, it should be impossible to keep a secret.

Rachel Saunders knows gossip is the price you pay for a rural lifestyle and outstanding schools. The latest town scandal is her divorce – and the fact that her new girlfriend has moved into the family home.

Laura Spence lives in a poky bedsit on the wrong side of town. She and her son Max don’t really belong, and his violent tantrums are threatening to expose the very thing she’s trying to hide.

When the local school introduces a new inclusive curriculum, Rachel and Laura find themselves on opposite sides of a fearsome debate.

But the problem with having your nose in everyone else’s business is that you often miss what is happening in your own home.

Other Parents is available here.

 

 

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

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the attic child lola jaye

Here’s the book for the weekend – and it’s a long bank holiday so you’ll have plenty of time to indulge yourself and be swept away by the wonderful The Attic Child by Lola Jaye.

This was such a powerful, if at times uncomfortable, read. A dual timeline novel telling the stories of two children trapped in an attic almost one hundred years apart.

From the opening lines, I was desperate to discover what happened to Dikembe, a young African boy who is taken from his family in the Congo at the tender age of ten and travels to England as a companion to explorer, Richard Babbington. Lola Jaye takes you by the hand and leads you on a journey that interweaves the lives of Dikembe and Lowra as they navigate their path through the terrible circumstances in which they find themselves.  It was at times a dark and disturbing read but a story of the redemptive power of friendship.

Lola Jaye’s inspiration for this novel was triggered by a photograph she saw at the National Portrait Gallery – part of an exhibition on Black British Victorians.

One of the photographs was of a young African boy, Ngudu M’hali, pictured alongside the explorer Henry Stanley. The boy had a short and tragic life, taken from his family and either sold or given to Stanley as either a slave, servant or companion. Accounts differ and the truth may never come to light. Ngudu M’hali drowned in a canoeing accident on the River Congo in 1877 when he was twelve years old but The Attic Child explores what might have happened to a boy in similar circumstances had he lived. This is not Ngudu’s story – but inspired by the photograph Lola Jaye began to craft a wonderful tale of one such boy, Dikembe. Oh, my heart broke for that small child, torn from his loving family and thrust into an unfamiliar life in an unfamiliar land.

A timely book and one that has stayed with me long after I reached the final page.

Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a secret.

1907: Twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of his time locked in an attic room of a large house by the sea. Taken from his homeland and treated as an unpaid servant, he dreams of his family in Africa even if, as the years pass, he struggles to remember his mother’s face, and sometimes his real name . . .

Decades later, Lowra, a young orphan girl born into wealth and privilege, will find herself banished to the same attic. Lying under the floorboards of the room is an old porcelain doll, an unusual beaded claw necklace and, most curiously, a sentence etched on the wall behind an old cupboard, written in an unidentifiable language. Artefacts that will offer her a strange kind of comfort, and lead her to believe that she was not the first child to be imprisoned there . . .

 

The Attic Child is published by  Pan and is available from all good bookstores and online retailers.

 

 

 

The Patient by Jane Shemilt Book Review

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I tend to judge the success of a book on how long I remember it after I have finished reading it. I could not stop thinking about The Patient after I read it. I sometimes still do, months later.

Jane Shemilt brings her characters to life so vividly it is hard to believe they are not real. You become so engaged with them they feel like friends, or people you know and do not like. Ha. The Patient is a superb psychological thriller but it is also a beautiful love story. Complex and multi-layered, it will keep you gripped all the way to the end with a twist you won’t see coming. One of my favourite books of the year. A must-read.

When Rachel meets Luc, the attraction is instant.
But she is a doctor, and he is her patient.
She gives him the drugs he needs – but in doing so, risks everything.
And when a secret is exposed, they’re both in the firing line.
Not all patients are telling the truth.

The Storytellers by Caron McKinlay Book Review

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I have reviewed many books in my life but I have struggled to review The Storytellers by Caron McKinlay. This book blew my mind. It is so clever and so essential. Every women should read this book and I hope they do.
I do not want to give too much away, and yet I feel like this book has encapsulated the insecurities we have as women, the problems with the patriarchy, and distilled it into one glorious perfect book.

The Storytellers, caron McKinlay Every character in this book is well-rounded and unique. You cannot help but root for these women. McKinlay is an outstanding writer. Her writing flows perfectly and is so natural. The book is unique and I did not see the twist coming. The Storytellers is not just a fantastic and unique idea; that idea is perfectly executed.

You can tell this book came from McKinlay’s soul and we are all privileged to be able to read it. The Storytellers is a fun, entertaining feminist novel for our time. This is a must read. Preorder it now. Out May 16th.

https://amzn.to/3JC6fDR

Trapped between life and the afterlife, three women meet and share their stories while discovering the truth about the men in their lives—and about themselves.

Suspended in an eerie state of limbo, an entity called the Gatekeeper tells Nikki, Ronnie, and Mrs. Hawthorne they are on the cusp of entering the afterlife—but only if the women can persuade him that in their earthly lives, they knew the meaning of love.

Fragments of their memories return, plunging them back into their pasts, and forcing them to face the desires, disappointments, addictions, lies, and obsessions they battled in life.

But before time runs out, will they find the answer to the ultimate question: what is love?

 

 

Deadly Cure by Mari Cheshire Book Review

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Deadly Cure is Grey’s Anatomy gone very wrong, and that is why this bumper of a book is to be devoured. Who doesn’t love a good friends turn frenemies story? Using her medical knowledge, Dr Mari Cheshire has written a book which takes medicine and rivalry, added in a dollop of a love story, and turned it all into a brilliant book that is impossible to put down. I loved this book and I read it as quickly as I could. I loved the characters. This thriller is pacy and fun. A dazzling and unique debut.

Deadly Cure Mahi Cheshire

THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH: FIRST, DO NO HARM…

Dr Rea Dharmasena is devastated when she loses out on her dream research job to her med-school rival and best friend, Dr Julia Stone.

To add insult to injury, Julia used Rea’s own cutting-edge research to get it.

But just as Rea finds it in her to forgive the betrayal, Julia, after a life-changing medical discovery, is found dead.

Despite finding herself caught up in a murder investigation and a complicated new romance, Rea is finally happy; she has the dream job she’s always wanted.

But at what cost?

Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and The Holiday, this is a heart-stopping thriller of betrayal, secrets and ruthless ambition that will leave you breathless.

Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin Book Review

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rebel skies by Ann sei linn 

Origami comes to life in this stunning teen fantasy novel. With excellent world building and a superb grasp of tension and pace, Rebel Skies grabs you by the throat and does not let go. Rebel Skies is beautifully written and leaves you in completely awe. Ann Sei Linn has an incredible imagination and we are all lucky that she is sharing it with us. Even better, this book is the first in a trilogy. I cannot wait for the others. Adults can love this book too.
The characters are great and there are many funny moments on top of the awesome and exciting world-building. I don’t give stars with reviews but if I did I would give Rebel Skies five stars.

 

A beautifully written and pacy teen fantasy adventure, set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and powerful paper spirits. Inspired by Asian cultures and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami – wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess.

But are these creatures just powerful slaves, or are they beings with their own souls? And can a teenage girl be the one to help them find their voice – and change the course of an empire?

Out May 5th.

Catherine Yardley My Writing Process.

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As a little girl my nose was always in a book. I would even read a book a day when I was ill. I loved Enid Blyton and Judy Blume. I started writing song lyrics because I was in a band when I was younger and then I changed the song lyrics to poems. I sent them off and one of them ended up in an anthology when I was eleven. It was the start of something for me. I also had a very good English teacher who really encouraged me and told me I could be a writer. All a young person needs is for someone to believe in them.

I have been writing since I was in single figures but I let it slide for a few years to go off and work in the film industry. I started again when I had children and I am so glad I did. I got taken on by one of the first agents I contacted and then I got a traditional publishing deal too. All from the first batch of submissions I sent off. I got offered two different publishing contacts for Ember and I decided to go with Pegasus. They have been amazing. I cannot recommend them enough.

What you have written, past and present.

I have written non-fiction in the past, as well as a lot of articles and such. I have been a travel writer, a restaurant critic and a theatre critic. Ember is my debut novel.

Ember, Catherine Yardley, author.

What you are promoting now. 

Ember is a story about a family who’s father left them on Christmas day when they were kids. Thirty years later the younger sister is getting married and that brings their father back into their lives. The story revolves around Dr Natalie Holmes and her boyfriend Rob in the present day, and her parents Tim and Jacqueline in the past.

Natalie goes off the rails when her younger sister gets married and pregnant before her, and her father comes back into their lives. She dumps her boyfriend on the side of the road and drives off in his car. The book is about love and family. A part of the book is about whether or not we should allow family in our lives if they have been left wanting. Can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds? Will Rob and Natalie get back together? Read it and find out!

Here is the blurb:

A family torn apart by their father’s infidelity are forced to confront the past thirty years later. As Natalie’s younger sister, Amanda, prepares for marriage and impending motherhood, her plea for the family to reunite uncovers pent-up tension and animosity. Can they forget the past and become a family again?

Natalie’s life begins to unravel as their father starts to creep back into their lives and family tensions resurface, affecting her relationship with her boyfriend, Rob. Will the couple find their way back to each other, and can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds?

Can you ever walk away from someone you love, or do some fires never die out?

A bit about your process of writing. 

This was my first novel which I wrote simultaneously with another novel. I would wheel my son around in his pram until he fell asleep and then I would write 2000 words on my iPhone. I always try to write the first draft as quick as possible. I like to keep up the momentum and the same energy. I do 2000-3000 words a day. Editing is always tough but I am as relentless as the editing. Ha.

I have three kids so I have to write whenever I can and focus on it. Having kids has trained me to be ruthlessly efficient when I need to.

Do you plan or just write?

I just write. Total panster. You need an idea and a handle on the character. Then just let yourself fly.

What about word count?

I do 2000-3000 words a day.

How do you do your structure?

My agent, Susan, says I have a great sense of structure and it is one of the nicest things anyone has said about me. I think it is because I read so much. I am with Stephen King. To be a good writer you need to both write and read a lot. Reading teaches you to be an excellent writer.

What do you find hard about writing?

Finding the time.

What do you love about writing? 

Everything.

Advice for other writers. 

Get on with it. Don’t give up. Write and then rewrite. Submit endlessly. Don’t let the rejection get you down. You have to be able to take rejection if you want to be a professional writer. Just take the feedback on board, edit and then send away somewhere else. You can do it!

Ember is out on the 31st March and is available from WH Smith, Waterstones, Amazon and The Book Depository.