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The Midnight Secret (Wild Isles Book Four) by Karen Swan

 

The Midnight Secret (Wild Isles Book Four) by Karen Swan.

Published 24th April 2025 by Pan Macmillan.

From the cover of the book:

Jayne Ferguson has always been a keeper of secrets, most especially her own . . .

If there’s one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it’s that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda - but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight - but only ever foresees her fellow islanders’ deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.

When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne’s bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there’s no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda’s evacuation.

But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and her closest friends Effie, Mhairi and Flora are each implicated.

On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn’t done with them yet.

The Midnight Secret is the fourth and final book in Karen Swan's sweeping, bestselling Wild Isles series, following on from The Last Summer, The Stolen Hours and The Lost Lover.

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Jayne Ferguson has always been an outsider among the St Kildan community. Cursed with her mother's ability to foresee death, Jayne was astonished to be courted by the island's most handsome man, but Norman Ferguson turned out to be a bully of the worst kind and marriage to him is far from easy.

Transplanted to the mainland, with the rest of the St Kildan community, Jayne's existence is worse than ever. Now forced to endure her husband's open infidelity, and with her friends Effie, Mhairi and Flora scattered to their new lives, Jayne's only solace is an unlikely partner in the grief they share.

But Jayne also holds the key to unravelling the mystery of a past that stalks them all, if she can find the courage to tell what she knows...

And so we have reached the concluding volume of the fabulous Wild Isles series, which has followed Effie, Mhairi and Flora through their emotional trials and tribulations from their home on St Kilda to destinies which have separated them from each other.

The previous books (The Last Summer, The Stolen Hours, and The Lost Lover) have each been told from the perspectives of the central characters Effie, Mhairi and Flora, dovetailing their parallel plotlines together in an absolute masterclass of storytelling as they pursue their hopes and dreams, and negotiate the fallout of the tragic events they left behind on St Kilda. This time, Swan brings everything full circle by taking a little turn via Jayne Ferguson, a character who has always been on the fringe of the stories of her friends, and of the community as a whole - separated by the otherness of her unwanted psychic abilities, and a marriage blighted by domestic violence.

As we get to know more about Jayne, we discover she holds crucial information about what happened on St Kilda. The storyline now splits between Jayne, and the the other girls, with a full quota of additional heartache for Effie, Mhairi and Flora, just when you thought they had each found happiness. Swan has more surprises up her sleeve as she flips back and forth between the girls, and I began to wonder how they would ever get to the places I dearly wanted them to arrive at by the end of the series. But have no fear, though she drags you through the emotional mill, the threads all work out in the most satisfying of endings for them all.

The Wild Isles books have made up one of my favourite series of the last few years, as they are full of vivid characters caught up in compelling adventures, and packed with delicious social history from the 1920s and 30s. I found myself sipping this final story to make the pleasure last as long as possible, and am bereft to be leaving behind Jayne, Effie, Mhairi, and Flora as they embark on their future journeys without me. 

Absolutely cracking writing from Karen Swan in her first series, which I highly recommend you add to your reading piles if top-drawer historical fiction is your bag - make sure you read them in order they are written to avoid major spoliers though!

The Midnight Secret is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous summer titles include The Spanish Promise, The Hidden Beach and The Secret Path and for winter, Christmas at Tiffany’s, The Christmas Secret and Together by Christmas.

Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.

Her historical series called The Wild Isle, is based upon the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.

Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby

 

Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby.

Published 25th September 2025 by Northodox Press.

From the cover of the book:

In 18th century Whitehaven, Kit Ravenglass grows up in a house of secrets. A shameful mystery surrounds his mother’s death, and his formidable, newly rich father is gambling everything on shipping ventures. Kit takes solace in his beloved sister Fliss, and her sumptuous silks, although he knows better than to reveal his delight in feminine fashion. As the family’s debts mount, Kit’s father turns to the transatlantic slave trade – a ruthless and bloody traffic to which more than a fortune might be lost.

Adventures will see Kit turn fugitive and begin living as ‘Stella,’ before being swept into the heady violence of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebellion. Driven by love, revenge and a desire to live truly and freely, Kit must find a way to survive these turbulent times - and to unravel the tragic secrets of the Ravenglass family.

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Kit Ravenglass is brought up in 18th century Whitehaven, in a shipping family with dark secrets no one seems willing to share with him. Unsettled by how little he knows about the circumstances surrounding his mother's disappearance from his life at a young age, Kit has grown close to his older sister, Fliss. Kit's solace does not only come from Fliss' company, for he also loves to be dressed up in her silks and satins, taking on the persona of Stella as part of their games.

As Kit grows, he is torn away from the comfort of his hours with Fliss and forced to face the harsh realities of a family with mounting debts. His father turns to the transatlantic slave trade in an effort to regain his wealth, and as tragedy continues to take its toll on the family, Kit becomes a pawn in his father's ambitions. But Kit has other plans. Taking on the guise of Stella, Kit leaves to pursue his own destiny, which unknowingly drags him into Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebellion.

This sweeping adventure immerses you Kit's life, as he makes an emotional coming of age journey that takes him from Whitehaven to Edinburgh and back again, against a backdrop rife with significant moments in 18th century history. 

Kit's personal quest to live the life he wants drives the heart-rending narrative, particularly when it comes to exploring sex and gender in Georgian Britain. With beautiful prose, emotionally-rich characters, and settings that ooze an atmosphere of time and place so tangible you can almost taste it, Kirby conjures tragedies, trials, and tribulations for Kit as he negotiates the legacy of family secrets, the tug of war between his own desires and expectation, and the fallout of war.

I am so impressed with how much history and social history Kirby packs into this story, and her level of research really tells. She touches on merchant adventurers, sea-faring voyages, the slave trade, the dressmaking and millinery sectors, justice, class, and so many aspects of Georgian society - not to mention getting to grips with the Jacobite Rebellion in such an engaging way. She does not shy away from confronting poverty, violence, callous depravity, and discontent through her characters - but this story has many moments of love, tenderness, and the kindness of strangers too.

Utterly spellbinding, this is one of those books that will linger with you for a long time. I loved it.

Ravenglass is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Northodox Press for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Following careers in social housing and as a teacher, Carolyn Kirby has been a full-time writer for the past ten years. As well as being listed for prizes from the Historical Writers’ Association and the Crimefest/Specsavers Crime Fiction Award, her books have appeared on the Times and Sunday Times lists of Best Novels of the Year. Born in Sunderland, Carolyn studied history at St Hilda’s College, Oxford and she now helps to run Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend, a world-renowned literary festival held in the college every August.

A Lethal Legacy by Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir

 

A Lethal Legacy by Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir.

Translated by Quentin Bates.

Published 20th September 2025 by Corylus Books.

From the cover of the book:

Nothing has changed at Bjargarlækur for as long as anyone can remember – so are moves to bring change to this remote farm in the Icelandic countryside a motive for murder?

Three elderly siblings have lived more or less peacefully in this isolated place their whole lives, until Brynjólfur is found dead in his own bed. Called on to help out at the farm, freelance journalist Alma is far from certain that the old man died a natural death. Determined establish the facts of the matter, she finds herself caught up in a vicious family feud.

Sisters Klara and Thórdís are unable to agree on the future of the farm, just as others with an interest in the place circle hungrily around them. Echoes of missed opportunities, lost love and age-old crimes surface as a reckoning takes a bitter toll on those left behind – and Alma struggles to get to the truth.

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Freelance journalist, Alma Jónsdóttir receives a desperate call for help from her daughter Gunnhildur, who has been caring for three elderly siblings at remote farmstead, Bjargarlækur. The eldest of the siblings, Brynjólfur, has been found dead in his bed, and Gunnhildur is worried she might be accused of wrong doing.

Alma heads to Bjargarlækur where she is immediately suspicious that Brynjólfur has not died a natural death. Brynjólfur and his sisters Klara and Thórdís, who disagreed over his plan to turn their home into a museum, were definitely at odds - not to mention that the family had been caught up in a bitter feud with their tenants Rósa and Thorbjörn. But would any of them stretch to murder?

It is always fascinating to be in at the start of the publication journey of a popular foreign language book series when it appears for the first time in translation, so I was delighted that Corylus books have brought Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir's work to an English speaking audience for the first time with A Lethal Legacy, featuring her well-loved amateur detective, Alma Jónsdóttir. 

The story follows two threads which connect through the very likeable Alma - one in relation to her own family history through a book she has been working on about her grandmother; and the other, a compulsive mystery about distubing happenings at Bjargarlækur. 

Guðlaugsdóttir makes this very much a story about characters whose motives are influenced by sins of the past, and weaves a compelling, many-layered mystery around them. Alma's delving into her own history, in the midst of a murder investigation steeped in shocking family secrets about the elderly siblings, proves to be a great story device when it comes to the themes Guðlaugsdóttir explores too - particularly sexual abuse, guilt, shame, jealousy, legacy, and responsibility.

Christie-esque twists and turns abound, and tenacious Alma drives the story in the role of sleuth. I very much enjoyed being at her side as she ferrets out clues, questions persons of interest under the guise of journalistic intent, and gets to the heart of the matter in a way that reminded my very much of Murder She Wrote by way of dark Icelandic yarn - while the unsettling atmosphere and damaged personalities are authentically Icelandic, Alma certainly has Jessica Fletcher's talent for solving crime and neatly tying up the threads at the conclusion of the book.

At times Guðlaugsdóttir drops in casual references to Alma's own backstory, which make this story feel like it is not the first in the series, so I look forward to more detail here as further books about her appear in English. Alma is a great character, with a quick brain, a firm moral compass, and great compassion. I can see how she how her adventures have spawned such a popular series on her home turf in Iceland, and have no doubt she will win more hearts via Quentin's Bate's excellent translation. More please!

A Lethal Legacy is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Corylus Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and Ewa Sherman for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author: 

With a long career as a journalist behind her, Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir's literary output has been prodigious, having witten biographies, books of interviews, collections of short stories, and a book of verse, as well as the enduringly popular series of novels featuring the exploits of journalist Alma Jónsdóttir.

Guðrún lives in Kópavogur. She has no plans to retire, and is still writing when most people of her age are taking it easy.

London Rain (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book Six) by Nicola Upson

 

London Rain (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book Six) by Nicola Upson.

This edition published 2nd June 2015 by Faber & Faber.

From the cover of the book:

May, 1937. Josephine Tey is in London to oversee a BBC radio production of her play,. Meanwhile, the country is preparing to crown a new king.

At the height of the Coronation celebrations, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose is called in to investigate the murder of one of the BBC's best-known broadcasters. A second victim - his mistress, Queen of Scots and the play's leading actress - suggests that the motive lies close to home, but Josephine suspects that the killings are linked to a decade-old scandal.

With Archie's hands tied by politics, and his attention taken by another, seemingly unrelated death, it is left to Josephine to get to the truth - and to confront at first-hand the deadly consequences of love, deceit and betrayal.

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1937. Josephine Tey is in London to see her play,  Queen of Scots, performed on BBC radio as part of the celebrations to mark the coronation of George VI. Coronation fever is at its height, and Josephine's friend , Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the unenviable task of ensuring events run smoothly. But Archie is given a massive headache when the murder of one of the BBC's most famous radio presenters takes place on coronation day. Events are complicated when the presenter's mistress, who had been cast to star in the production of Queen of Scots, is also found murdered.

Scandal erupts when the wife of the radio presenter is arrested for the murders. Archie is unconvinced by the rushed case being put together against her under pressure from the BBC, but he has been moved sideways to another case. Josephine shares his doubts, and begins to question whether the murders could actually be related to a much older case...

Book six of Nicola Upson's excellent Josephine Tey mysteries opens with Joesphine back in London for the honour of seeing her play adapted for radio, which brings her into contact with many of the characters who become involved in the murders that follow - including one of the victims, and the wife of the other.

Set against a beautifully imagined back-drop that ties the historic coronation of George VI with the early days of the British Broadcasting Corporation (and Radio Times), this mystery has Josephine deliberately getting stuck into the role of unofficial sleuth on one of Archie's cases, with perilous consequences.

As is Upson's forte, the historical detail that anchors the story in time and place is an atmospheric joy, and has a big part to play in the parallel storylines that encompass the murders, and Josephine and Archie's personal lives - with Josephine reaching an emotional water-shed moment in her relationship with Marta, and Archie unaware of a shocking secret related to his re-kindled relationship with Bridget.

The twists are first class in this instalment, with Upson playing a blinder with her final surprise, and as ever, the central roles her female characters have in the story are wonderfully insightful. Complex facets of love, betrayal, and astonishing deceit lay at the heart of this mystery, and, as usual, murky motives make for a thought provoking outcome - with an especially bitter taste when it comes to the scandal avoidant behaviour of the fixers at the BBC, and their authority figure paymasters (nothing changes). 

I enjoyed every moment of this one just as much as I did first time around - via Sandra Duncan's excellent audio book narration. 

My revisit to book seven, Nine Lessons, awaits...

London Rain is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

m

Nicola Upson is the author of four previous Josephine Tey mysteries, including An Expert in Murder, and two works of nonfiction. She has worked in theatre and as a freelance journalist. A recipient of an Escalator Award from the Arts Council England, she splits her time between Cambridge and Cornwall.

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

 

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick.

Published 25th September 2025 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

Now, fame has faded, her marriage is on the rocks, her teenage daughter has become distant, and Greta's once-glittering career feels like a distant memory.

So when Greta stumbles upon a mysterious coffee shop, serving a magical brew, she wishes for the perfect life in those past Maple Gold commercials. Next thing she knows, Greta wakes in the idyllic, make-believe town of Mapleville, where the sun always shines and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and second chances fill the air. Given the opportunity to live the life she dreamed, Greta is determined to rewrite her own script. But can life ever be like a coffee commercial? And what will happen when Greta has to choose - between perfection and real life, with no turning back?

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Greta yearns for the glamour of a past when she, her husband, and her young daughter were the faces of the ad campaign for Maple Gold coffee. Now, her marriage is on the rocks, she feels increasingly disconnected from teenaged Lottie's life, and her acting career is firmly in the doldrums.

Then Greta happens upon a strange little coffee shop, whose proprietor, mysterious Iris, serves a very special kind of brew that grants the drinker some very special wishes. Greta wishes to live in the perfect world of Mapleville, the made up town portrayed in the ad campaign all those years ago, but there are rules she must adhere to...

Unfurling from the perspective of Greta, who is disappointed with the direction of her life, Patrick spins a charming tale of heartache, regret, and yearning for a past that never truly existed. Greta stands at a magical crossroads, given the chance to choose between a perfect version of her life, set in the make-believe world of Mapleville, and the ups and downs of an unknown future.

There is a Sliding Doors feel to this tale, as Gretta moves between a Truman Show- meets-Pleasantville setting in Mapleville, where her family life is perfect and she is a star, and the less than glamourous reality where she and her husband face a decision about their marriage on New Year's Eve. The lure of Mapleville is strong, but Greta gradually realises that perfection is not necessarily all it is cracked up to be.

I really enjoyed the contrasts between the two settings, the magical realism, and the gentle romance in this story - particularly the way Greta learns things about herself and her family along the way. There are some lovely sub-plots in this tale too, about some of the characters that Greta meets in both worlds, which nicely hit the emotional soft-spot.

Charming, with heart-warming threads about family, community, love, loss, and acceptance... with the added sparkle of a sprinkling of magic... this was just right for snuggling up with on the sofa!

The Time Hop Coffee Shop is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Phaedra Patrick has always wanted to write books but came to it the long way around. She originally studied art and marketing and then worked as a stained glass artist, film festival organiser and communications manager. She won several awards for her short stories and has now written six novels, four of which became USA Today bestsellers.

She lives with her family in Saddleworth, UK, where she writes full time.

Her debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, was translated into twenty five languages worldwide and was optioned by a major Hollywood film studio. Her second novel, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (named Wishes Under the Willow Tree in the UK), was made into a Hallmark movie in 2021. Her third novel, inspired by her love of stories, is The Library of Lost and Found. It was selected as ’The Great North West Read,’ to be read across 300 libraries in the UK in 2019. Her fourth is titled The Secrets of Love Story Bridge (The Secrets of Sunshine in the UK) and her fifth, The Messy Lives of Book People (titled The Book Share in the UK) was the Barnes & Noble fiction pick for June 2022 in the USA. Her sixth novel is The Little Italian Hotel, a warm, uplifting escape about the power of love, friendship and following your dreams.

The Winter Warriors by Olivier Norek

 

The Winter Warriors by Olivier Norek.

Published 11th September 2025 by Open Borders Press.

From the cover of the book:

November, 1939. A conscription officer arrives in the peaceful farming village of Rautjärvi. The Soviet Union has invaded, and for the first time in its history as an independent country, Finland is at war.

Setting off into the depths of winter to face the Red Army, the small group of childhood friends recruited from Rautjärvi have no idea whether any of them will ever return home. But their unit has a secret weapon: the young sniper Simo Häyhä, whose lethal skill in the snow-bound forests of the front line will earn him the nickname ‘The White Death’.

Drawing on the real-life figures and battles of the Finnish-Soviet Winter War, The Winter Warriors is a riveting, heart-pounding, utterly epic historical thriller from one of Europe’s most acclaimed crime writers.

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In the winter of 1939, Finland withstood the might of Soviet Russia in a conflict that became known as the Winter War. It is a part of World War II history that has been largely eclipsed by other events, and Olivier Norek's engaging book makes the ideal vehicle to shine a light on what happened and why.

Blending detailed fact and real characters with superbly compelling fiction, Norek begins by exploring the motives and machinations that led to the Winter War, flipping between both sides of the border to show how Stalin's paranoia kicked off the conflict in an act of shocking deception. He continues throughout to examine all aspects of political wrangling, military strategy (and bungling), and the lessons history teaches, from actions on both sides of the conflict, which gives a fascinating glimpse of what it was like to live in Stalin's Russia.

But the meat of the story lies in the Finnish people this book is about - the brave and determined citizens of a newly independent country. Through the eyes of the small group of childhood friends recruited from Rautjärvi, and those they stand shoulder to shoulder with in bitter winter weather, the history really comes alive. These are characters who live moment to moment, knowing they may not make it home to the small towns and villages of their birth as they face the superior military force of the Red Army - amongst them young sniper Simo Häyhä, whose renown earned him the nickname ‘The White Death’.

There is no way to do this story justice in a short review. Norek has clearly researched his subject well. The way he effortlessly pulls you into this incredible story, and the ease with which he stirs your emotions with his words are impressive. I had no idea how significant this conflict was in terms of death toll, legacy, and how it came to shape Finland as a nation, and I was deeply moved by what is, in essence, a tribute to the men and women who lived and died in defence of their sovereignty. 

Ambitious in scale and full of insight, this book pulls no punches when it comes to the human cost of war, but it also celebrates the strength of the human spirit. Nick Caistor's translation is excellent too, maintaining pace and suffusing the text with emotional impact. If you are interested in 20th century world history then I cannot recommend this book highly enough. 

The Winter Warriors is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Open Borders Press HERE

Thank you to Orenda Books/Open Borders Press for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Olivier Norek was born in Toulouse in 1975. After eighteen years in the French police force, where he rose to the rank of capitaine in the Seine-Saint-Denis Police Judiciare, he turned to crime writing. Norek’s books have sold millions of copies and won many prizes. The Winter Warriors is his first historical novel.

The Howling (The Annie Jackson Mysteries Book Three) by Michael J. Malone

 

The Howling (The Annie Jackson Mysteries Book Three) by Michael J. Malone.

Published 11th September 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Two men, centuries apart, dream of being a wolf.

One is burned at the stake.

Another is locked in a psychiatric hospital for most of his life.

And Annie Jackson is about to find out why…

Vowing once again to remove herself from society, Annie is back living alone in her little cottage by the shores of a loch. But when an old enemy – now locked up in a high security hospital – comes calling, begging her to find the son that she was forced to give up at the age of seventeen, Annie is tempted out of seclusion. The missing boy holds the key to ending Annie’s curse, and he may be the only chance that both she and Lewis have of real happiness.

Annie and Lewis begin an investigation that takes them back to the past, a time etched in Scottish folklore, a period of history that may just be repeating itself. And what they uncover could destroy not just some of the most powerful people in the country, who will stop at nothing to protect their wealth and their secrets, but also Annie’s life, and everything she holds dear…

Dark, immersive, and utterly compelling, The Howling is a story of deception, betrayal, and misplaced power, and a reminder that the most public of faces can hide the darkest of hearts…

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After yet another brush with death, Annie is back living alone in her remote cottage on the shores of the loch, but her peaceful seclusion does not last for long. Her twin brother Luke arrives with mixed news - he is overjoyed to tell Annie that his partner is expecting a child, however, this is tinged with an unwelcome request from Sylvia Lowry-Low, the distant cousin who is now locked up in secure hospital.

Reluctantly, Annie must leave her haven and risk experiencing the overwhelming visions of death that plague her once more. She finds herself back in the presence of Sylvia, the woman who tried to sacrifice her to raise a demon, listening to her nemesis beg for help. Sylvia tells Annie about the son who was taken from her at seventeen, and who she has not seen since. She believes he may hold the key to banishing the curse that affects both sides of their family, ensuring Luke's child will not suffer the same fate.

Annie and Luke embark on a new investigation that takes them back into Scotland's past to the time of witches and wolves. Their discoveries threaten to bring down the rich and powerful people behind The Order - people who will stop at nothing to prevent their secrets from getting out.

Annie Jackson is back in a third adventure that beautifully brings together the threads of books one (The Murmers) and two (The Torments), which you should read before you embark on this cracking novel. 

With her twin Luke once again by Annie's side, Malone spins a story that revisits their family history from the 18th century, when jealousy between sisters resulted in the curse that rebounded to afflict females on both sides of the bloodline. Injecting new detail about the rivalry that led to tragic ends, Malone tells of the boy Andra McClean, who bonded with a wolf before he was burned at the stake with his mother and sister, and whose legacy lingers on into the present in new character Drew. Dovetailing into this storyline, Malone also brings back evil Sylvia Lowry-Low whose supernatural ambitions almost brought about the end of Annie and Luke, with more detail about her sinister past with The Order.

With intricate choreography, Malone's literary dance moves back and forth in time, and between the narratives of a number of characters, to create an unsettling performance steeped in mystery, folklore, family ties, and the manipulation of others. Supernatural whispers that ripple through time mix nicely with the grit of a modern day thriller steeped in power hungry greed and depravity, and there is plenty of edge-of-your-seat action Malone-style to keep the tension stakes high.

If well-woven contemporary gothic thrillers, with a touch of cinematic Hammer House of Horror, are your bag then this series needs to be at the top of your reading pile. Perfect for spooky season!

The Howling is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager at Faber & Faber, he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr.

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas Weaver

 

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas Weaver.

Published 14th August 2025 by Bantam.

From the cover of the book:

Who would you trust with the future?

The year is 2050. In the teeth of a climate catastrophe, the world is left with a drastic solution: one global leader to steer it through the coming apocalypse.

The final two candidates are ex-US President Lockwood, and Solomon, the world’s first political artificial intelligence.

As whispers of a global conspiracy emerge, investigative journalist Marcus Tully find himself at the centre of it – when Solomon’s creator turns up murdered.

Overnight, one investigation becomes two, and it’s not just the result of the election that’s at stake but the future of the species. Suddenly humanity must make an impossible choice – between salvation, or freedom.

***********

2050. The world is in the grip of a climate emergency. Drastic measures are called for if the human race is going to survive. In an unprecedented move, nations have come together to cede power to a single 'protector' of the earth - someone who will have ultimate control over what happens next. Candidates from around the world have gradually been discarded in the biggest election run-offs of all time. Only two remain, former US President Lawrence G. Lockwood, and Governor Solomon, the world's first political AI entity.

As the countdown to the final vote gets underway, journalist Marcus Tully receives a tip off that the climate anomaly that took place ten years ago, in Kuwait, might not have been the natural disaster everyone believes it to be. Marcus' pregnant wife died that day, and he cannot rest until the world knows the truth about the political conspiracy that led to the tragedy.

His quest takes him to the floating cities where Solomon's creator, Martha Chandra, lives. When she turns up dead, his investigation suddenly becomes a murder mystery of a different kind... and what he discovers could change the course of the election.

Thomas Weaver's bold and ambitious novel unfurls from the perspectives of Tully, Livia Chandra (sister of Martha, who works for Tully), and Commander October of the floating cities, who become mired in a tangled mess of conspiracy, power games, and violence when Tully is persuaded to follow a tip-off from an anonymous source.

I came to the novel expecting a dystopian thriller with a philosophical core exploring the dilemma of who was best qualifies to save humanity - a human, or an AI. While it is both of these things, the novel mostly takes the form of a murder mystery, developing from Tully's private crusade for vengeance for sins of the past into a here-and-now, fast-paced investigation against the clock to discover how and why Martha Chandra was killed. 

Conspiracy and technology are the names of the game, and the plot twists and turns as Tully, Livia and Orchard burrow into layers of deception hidden beneath cutting-edge virtual reality platforms, password protected safeholds, and skilfully employed propaganda that plays on their expectations and vulnerabilities. Expect your perception about what is really happening in this tale to change radically as the layers are stripped back, and your emotions to be tweaked as Weaver leans heavily into themes of loss and regret.

This is an action-filled book, and I really enjoyed the way Weaver plies his trade as a writer when it comes to the mysteries at the heart of the story. Inevitably, there are no easy solutions to the starkly described situation Weaver's characters face, and he leaves you to make up your own mind about the conclusion to the story. It will certainly leave you with a lot to ponder on when it comes to what the future may look like, and how we save ourselves from a burning world.

Artificial Wisdom is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Bantam for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Thomas R. Weaver writes stories about tomorrow to help make sense of today. His debut novel, Artificial Wisdom, launched as an independently published edition in 2023, and after it took off on social media, was acquired by Penguin Random House, with extended and revised new editions releasing in 2025.

He is also a tech entrepreneur whose last startup was acquired by Just Eat Takeaway.

Clown Town (Slough House Book Nine) by Mick Herron

 

Clown Town (Slough House Book Nine) by Mick Herron.

Published 11th September 2025 by Baskerville.

From the cover of the book:

Spies lie. They betray. It's what they do.

Slow horse River Cartwright is waiting to be passed fit for work. With time to kill, and with his grandfather - a legendary former spy - long dead, River investigates the secrets of the old man's library, and a mysteriously missing book.

Regent's Park's First Desk, Diana Taverner, doesn't appreciate threats. So when those involved in a covert operation during the height of the Troubles threaten to expose the ugly side of state security, Taverner turns blackmail into opportunity.

Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, Catherine Standish just wants everyone to play nice. But as far as Jackson Lamb is concerned, the slow horses should all be at their desks.

Because when Taverner starts plotting mischief people get hurt, and Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions and fool around, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault.

But they're his clowns. And if they don't all come home, there'll be a reckoning.

***********

In a nondescript four-storey block on Aldersgate Street, Finsbury, the slow horses plod along the dead-end career path designated for failed spies. Each one is stuck in their own private hell, characterised by the weight of their misdeeds, biting sarcasm, and laborious paperwork, under the deceptively watchful eye of dishevelled Jackson Lamb.

Waiting to be passed fit for work after a close-call with deadly poison, slow horse River Cartwright has been overseeing the relocation of his grandfather's library to the hallowed halls of Oxford. All is going smoothly, until the archivist in charge contacts him about a book that appears to be missing from the famous spy's collection - one that should not even exist.

Meanwhile, Diana Taverner, devious First Desk over at Regents Park, has received a blackmail message from a former operative involved in a covert mission during the days of the Troubles in Ireland. Taverner does not welcome threats to expose the secrets of the security services, but perhaps she can use this as an opportunity to rid herself of another sticky problem...?

In an absolute baptism of fire, Clown Town is my introduction to the intricate world of Mick Herron's Slough House - a series that has spawned the hit TV drama Slow Horses. The story begins with the slow horses in disarray (a normal state of affairs it seems), with the usual dismal cloud over Slough House for those in residence, and some awaiting clearance to return to work after brutal bumps with death and violence in the course of missions which were not necessarily their responsibility. Presiding over this bunch of loose cannons sits scruffy, sardonic Jackson Lamb, a man with a legendary past in the field, who wishes his slow horses would confine themselves to their allotted tasks - but who knows full well that this is unlikely to happen.

Jackson's nemesis, Diana Taverner has a lot going on as lauded First Desk. She is willing to risk much in pursuit of the nation's security, and even more ensuring her own. When sins of the past rear their ugly heads, she sees it as a chance to rid herself of a thorn in her side, and she does not care about collateral damage, as long as it does not touch her. Suffice to say that the slow horses get mixed up in Diana's Machiavellian schemes through a delicious, round about intertwining of plots around their personal trials and tribulations, yearning to be welcomed back into the MI5 fold, and River's delving into the secrets of his grandfather's career as a spook back in the day. In parallel, Jackson Lamb quietly pursues his own quest for vengeance when his slow horses suffer the consequences of Taverner's ambition.

Full of grit, dripping with lashings of spy-related content (and lingo), and ringing with echoing themes of political jockeying, ambition, deception, and unpalatable truths, the Slough House world is one to immerse yourself in. It is a rare and beautiful thing to find an espionage series that combines such all-consuming storylines with a cast of characters as compelling as Herron's, and he does a superb job of making this novel equal parts plot and character-led. The narrative flows seamlessly between characters, offering parallel perspectives on the storylines, and the slow-beat of a tense chess game heats up with bursts of action that culminate in a cleverly choreographed climax. Herron is a class act.

Coming into a series at book nine is a tricky prospect, and there have been a lot of threads for me to pick up in the midst of this latest instalment of the slow horses' adventures, but I can honestly say that I have loved every second of my time with Clown Town. I am now off to consume every backlist novel in the Slough House series... this is how literary love affairs begin.

Clown Town is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Baskerville for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Mick Herron’s Slough House novels have been shortlisted for eight CWA Daggers, winning twice, and shortlisted for the Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year three times. The first, Slow Horses, was picked as one of the best twenty spy novels of all time by the Daily Telegraph, while the most recent, Joe Country, was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Mick Herron was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now lives in Oxford.