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 December 2025 Reading Round-Up

Last round-up of the year time! It was a crazy busy month, but I managed to fit in eleven Christmas crackers!

You can find my reviews of these gems by clicking on the pictures below.

The Cat Share by Angela Jariwala

Blackwater by Sarah Sultoon

A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft

The Merge by Grace Walker

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson

Hidden in Snow by Viveca Sten

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson

Tea with Jane Austen and Dinner with Jane Austen
by Pen Vogler 

You Are Elizabeth Bennet
by Emma Campbell Webster

Looking forward to what 2026 holds!

You Are Elizabeth Bennet by Emma Campbell Webster

 

You Are Elizabeth Bennet by Emma Campbell Webster.

Published 9th October 2025 by Faber Books.

From the cover of the book:

Is it a truth universally acknowledged that a young Austen heroine must be in want of a husband?

You are in the world of a Jane Austen novel. As the events of Pride and Prejudice - and Austen's other novels - start to unfold around you, you must choose your own path, avoiding social scandal and unsuitable engagements, and write your own destiny, whether it's to marry a single man in possession of a good fortune or to become a famous author yourself.

A witty and irreverent celebration of Jane Austen and her novels, this literary game will test all your powers of propriety and prudence.

***********

Have you ever wondered how you would have tackled the trials and tribulations Jane Austen threw in the way of Elizabeth Bennet, on her way to matrimonial bliss with Fitzwilliam Darcy? Well, now you can see for yourself where fate might have taken you in her satin-slippered stead, via this hugely enjoyable 'Create your own Jane Austen Adventure' from Emma Campbell Webster!

Your mission, in keeping with all good Austen heroines, is to marry both prudently, and for love - eluding undesirable suitors, and family scandals along the way.

The book launches you into Lizzie Bennet's world, from Austen's original, but at various points in the story you are given options to choose whether you take a familiar path from Pride and Prejudice, or go a different way. 

The first time around, I chose largely as Lizzie did, avoiding the Mr Collins, Wickham, and premature Darcy proposal pitfalls, finding my happy ending in a marriage of minds with Darcy after the Proud and Prejudicial bumps in the road. Hurray!

But then, I decided to check out all the alternatives for Lizzie, which is where the quirky fun lies! By opting to go in different directions, you find yourself straying off the familiar P & P path into previously unknown territory for plucky Miss Bennet. Sometimes this is into dangerous situations in the same story, but mostly it allows you to leap into the pages of Austen's other novels to encounter a surprising array of potential suitors of the eligible and decidedly undesireable sort. Serious plot twists abound!

No spoilers, but I had such a great time running down all the paths in this book to see where Lizzie's mission took her - there is even an unexpected turn more suited to the beloved authoress herself.

Full of wit, humour, and romance, this is an absolute a must-buy for any Janeite, and was the perfect way for me to round off a wonderful year of #JaneAusten250 indulgence! 

You are Elizabeth Bennet is available to buy now in hardcover.

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

About the author:

Emma Campbell Webster studied English Literature at the University of Oxford where she specialized in Austen. She later worked as an actress in theatre and television before going on to write her first book, You Are Elizabeth Bennet. Originally from Norwich, England, she now lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters.

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson

 

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson.

Published 25th September 2025 by Faber and Faber.

From the cover of the book:

Christmas Eve, 1943. Anthony and Elva Pratt arrive in a snowy English village to run a murder mystery game - and instead discover a real murder.

The Pratts had planned for festive cheer, despite the wartime shortages: with Elva's map of the hotel and Anthony's prop weapons to use as clues, the guests in their parlour game would move through the rooms to figure out whodunnit.

But when Anthony discovers the cook's sister Miss Silver beaten to death, they instead find themselves investigating a shockingly real crime. The hotel manager Mr Browning is trying to keep the peace but the guests are agitated, Colonel Colman is about to take over the hotel for the war effort - and the mysterious Mrs Threadgold hasn't been seen at all.

In games, there's only one victim - but this is real life. Can the Pratts puzzle out this Christmas mystery before it's too late?

***********

I have always been a fan of Cluedo, having played it many times with my family when I was a nipper, especially at Christmas time. As it happens, Nicola Upson also has a lot of fond childhood memories of playing the game, and this novella is a beautifully evocative love letter to the couple who created it, Elva and Anthony Pratt.

The story begins at Christmas in 1949, with the couple unwrapping the new game they have produced in partnership with Waddingtons (created by the couple in 1943). They are nervous about how the game will be received by the public, as it unashamedly revolves around the dirty business of murder - but with hindsight, we know they really had nothing to worry about!

The action then moves to Christmas 1943, when Anthony and Elva arrive in snowy Rottingdean, on their way to recreate the murder mystery weekends they loved producing before the war. Festive cheer is in short supply, but they aim to do their best for the guests gathering at the Tudor Close Hotel. Before making their way to the hotel, they visit the village shop and discover the shopkeeper, Mrs Silver, has been bludgeoned to death.

Shaken, they travel on to the hotel, where the murdered woman's sister works as a cook. As they set about putting together a murder mystery game, for the motley collection of guests - some of whom seem to have questionable reasons for being there - they also find themselves investigating the very real murder... with shocking results. Subsequently, the shenanigans at Tudor Court inspire the couple to come up with their own board game, and Cluedo is born.

Although the story is fictional, the mystery that unfolds is a lovely premise for the inspiration behind the game, which was originally called Murder at Tudor Close. The country house at Christmas setting is pure classic crime fodder, with a cast of characters to match, and Upson works magic with the vibes of time and place, as always. You really find yourself getting behind the plucky couple, and the twists and turns are nicely managed - right down to the excellent reckoning scene.

For game that elicits feelings of warm nostalgia, the motives and machinations behind the crime in the story are deeply sinister, which makes this an authentically chilling story. But who does not love a bit dark and gritty crime at Christmas, alongside their cute and cosy reads? I know I do!

The Christmas Clue is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Faber Books for sending me a copy of this novella in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Nicola Upson was born in Suffolk and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. Her debut, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels to feature Josephine Tey – one of Britain’s finest Golden Age crime writers - and was dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Several of Nicola's novels have been listed for the CWA Gold and Historical Daggers, and Sorry for the Dead was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. She is a member of the Detection Club, and in 2024 curated the acclaimed Murder by the Book: a celebration of twentieth century British crime fiction at Cambridge University Library.

She is also the author of Stanley and Elsie, a novel about the painter Stanley Spencer, and lives with her partner in Cambridge and Cornwall.

Nicola's latest novel is The Christmas Clue, a festive mystery starring the real-life couple who invented Cluedo.

Hidden In Snow (The Åre Murders Book One) by Viveca Sten

Hidden In Snow (The Åre Murders Book One) by Viveca Sten.

Translated by Marlaine Delargy.

Published 1st December 2022 by Amazon Crossing.

From the cover of the book:

The splendour of the Swedish mountains becomes the backdrop for a bone-chilling crime.

On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow.

As sub-zero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps toward Åre. Hanna and Daniel’s investigation is getting more desperate by the hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing girl. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna or Daniel imagined. In this devious novel by the bestselling author of the Sandhamn Murders series, discover what it will take to solve a case when the truth can be so easily hidden in the coming storm.

***********

Stockholm police officer Hannah Ahlander has the worst day of her life when her personal and professional lives come crashing down at the same time. She heads for her sister's swanky lodge, in the Swedish ski resort of Åre, to reflect on how her life has become such a train wreck.

Hannah is consumed by her problems, but she gradually becomes aware that Åre itself is also in turmoil, as a local teenager has gone missing on St Lucia's night. Hannah finds herself being drawn into the search for the 18 year old girl, believing her specialist knowledge about domestic violence could help. DI Daniel Lindskog is in charge of the case. Recognising Hannah will be an asset, he arranges for her to join the investigation.

As the weather worsens, Daniel and Hannah set to work on a case that becomes increasingly more sinister...

This is the first book in the Åre Murders series by best-selling Scandinavian author, Viveca Sten. Having seen the gripping tv adaptation of this one (The Åre Murders, on Netflix), I was delighted to find the book series available as KU books, with audio versions too, narrated by Laura Jennings. This is a snowy thriller series right up my street!

With her life in tatters, Hannah arrives in Åre to wallow in her sorrows, but the case of a missing girl pulls her out of herself, and has her regaining confidence in her abilities.

The story flips between the narratives of Hannah, Daniel, and characters related to the investigation, and little pieces of the mystery come together in a delicious slow burn.

Sten delves into the personal lives of Hannah and Daniel in parallel to the case, particularly when it comes to their backgrounds, and the difficulties that come with reconciling their home and professional lives. Hannah's dedication to achieving justice in domestic violence cases is explored in detail. The emotional wrangling of other characters related to the missing girl adds nicely to the story too. And the twists are to die for!

I thoroughly enjoyed this tense, icy thriller, and cannot wait for book 2, Hidden in Shadows!

Hidden in Snow is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Viveca Sten is the author of the #1 internationally bestselling Sandhamn Murders series, which includes Buried in Secret, In Bad Company, In the Name of Truth, In the Shadow of Power, In Harm’s Way, In the Heat of the Moment, Tonight You’re Dead, Guiltless, Closed Circles and Still Waters.

Since 2008, her books have sold more than 7,5 million copiesworl-wide and the tv-adaptation has reached more than 100 million tv-viewers around the globe, establishing her as one of Scandinavia’s most popular authors. 

Her new exciting crime series, The Åre Murders, is set in the Swedish ski resort Åre, where the splendor of the Swedish mountains becomes the backdrop for bone-chilling crimes. Viveca lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children, but she alternates between Sandhamn in the summer and Åre in the winter time.

Nine Lessons (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book Seven) by Nicola Upson

 

Nine Lessons (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book Seven) by Nicola Upson.

This edition published 1st November 2018 by Faber and Faber. Hardback original published 2nd November 2017.

From the cover of the book:

Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John's-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The case leads Archie to Cambridge, where, coincidentally, his old friend Josephine Tey has recently settled.

Before long, another body is discovered. In the shadow of King's College Chapel, Archie uncovers a connection twenty-five years old which haunted both victims - as well as some of their living companions. As Archie and Josephine each grapple with savage malefactors intent on making their victims pay, they must race to stop another attack...

***********

When DCI Archie Penrose is called to a peaceful churchyard in St John's Wood to attend a murder scene, he is shocked to discover that a well-known muscian had been entombed alive. Accompanying the body are some unusual clues, which take Archie to Cambridge. Before long another body is discovered, linked to the first murder via a connection to the choir of King's College Chapel.

Meanwhile, his friend, novelist Josephine Tey is in Cambrridge too in order to supervise the alterations her lover Marta has commisioned for her new home, whilst Marta is in the USA working on a movie project with Alfred Hitchcock. Intending to use her time writing, Josephine is drawn into the hunt for a rapist stalking young women in the city. She is also on hand to assist Archie with his puzzling, and increasingly more bizarre case...

This is the seventh book in the excellent Josephine Tey Mysteries series, and it was such a pleasure to revisit it via the audio book narrated by Sandra Duncan, as it is one of my favourites - even though the story is wreathed in tragedy.

I think possibly for the first time in the series this instalment has Archie and Josephine both taking on sleuthing roles of equal weight, as Josephine is determined to track down a brutal rapist at the same time as Archie puts together the pieces of a very knotty case. Inevitably, them both being in Cambridge means Josephine assists Archie in discovering enlightening clues in his case, and they are able to bounce ideas off each other throughout.

There is a gorgeous slow burn as the separate threads weave together, with a full complement of psychological darkness, shocking sins of the past, and a delicious literary twist around some very famous ghost stories. Time and place thrum with the vibrancy I have come to expect from Upson, and the way events touch on the personal lives of Josephine and Archie is characteristically powerful.

Beautifully evocative, suspenseful, full of echoing themes, and a fabulous read!

Nine Lessons is available to buy now in paperback, ebook, and audio formats.

About the author:

Nicola Upson was born in Suffolk and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. Her debut, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels to feature Josephine Tey – one of Britain’s finest Golden Age crime writers - and was dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Several of Nicola's novels have been listed for the CWA Gold and Historical Daggers, and Sorry for the Dead was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. She is a member of the Detection Club, and in 2024 curated the acclaimed Murder by the Book: a celebration of twentieth century British crime fiction at Cambridge University Library.

She is also the author of Stanley and Elsie, a novel about the painter Stanley Spencer, and lives with her partner in Cambridge and Cornwall.

Nicola's latest novel is The Christmas Clue, a festive mystery starring the real-life couple who invented Cluedo.

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie

 

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 6th November 2025 by Harper Collins. Originally published 1931.

From the cover of the book:

Mystery and suspense surround a seance in a snowbound house on the edge of Dartmoor, where the prediction of a grisly murder is only the precursor to an ingenious deadly crime and one of Agatha Christie’s most gripping thrillers…

In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a small table for a seance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: ‘Captain Trevelyan… dead… murder.’

Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snow drifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot…

***********

In the tiny village of Sittaford, on the edge of Dartmoor, newly arrived from South Africa, Mrs Willett and her daughter Violet have rented Sittaford House from retired Captain Trevelyan. As a snow storm sets in, the Willetts invite four local people to tea - one of whom is Trevelyan's long-standing friend, Major Burnaby. 

They decide to indulge in a little table turning (aka a séance), and at 5.25pm the spirit of Captain Trevelyan apparently appears. Major Burnaby, concerned for his friend, trudges off 6 miles in the snow to find out if Trevelyan is indeed dead. When he arrives in Exhampton, he finds his pal murdered, with his head bashed in.

Various members of the Captain's family come under suspicion of the dastardly deed, and his feckless nephew, James Pearson, is charged with the crime, despite proclaiming his innocence. Fortunately for him, his plucky fiancée Emily Trefusis is on hand to investigate on his behalf...

The action takes place in and around Sittaford, with Emily recruiting reporter Charles Enderby to her cause by using her femine wiles (she does this a lot), and they do a great job delving into the private affairs of a host of suspects - alongside Inspector Narracott, who is leading the investigation. The main thread works beautifully, and, as usual, Christie completely blindsided me with the truth when Emily works out who killed Trevelyan from a clue in plain sight! Nicely twisted on the psychological front too!

There are a boat-load of red herrings in this one, most of which work well, but there is an unnecessarly large cast of characters considering the crime focuses on such a tiny community - it didn't really need them all... for example, why is the mostly unseen Mr Duke there, other than to be mysterious???

Great female characters in this mystery though, with some interesting relections on domestic staff, and marriage to strong women! 

This was a fun book to round off #ReadChristie2025 and a great pick to explore the theme of the MILITARY. 

The Sittaford Mystery is available now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.

The Merge by Grace Walker

 

The Merge by Grace Walker.

Published 6th November 2025 by Magpie.

From the cover of the book:

Once the process begins, there can be no going back, we will always be together…

Laurie is sixty-five and living with Alzheimer’s. Her daughter Amelia can’t bear to see her mother’s mind fade. Faced with the reality of losing her forever, Amelia signs them up to take part in the world’s first experimental merging process for Alzheimer’s patients, in which Laurie’s ailing mind will be transferred into Amelia’s healthy body and their consciousness will be blended as one.

Soon Amelia and Laurie join a group of other merge participants: teenage Lucas, who plans to merge with his terminally ill brother Noah; Ben, who will merge with his pregnant fiancée Annie; and Jay, whose merging partner is his unwilling addict daughter Lara.

As they prepare to move to The Village, a luxurious rehabilitation centre for those who have merged, they quickly begin to question whether everything is really as it seems.

**********

Sixty-five year old Laurie is learning to live with Alzheimer's, but her daughter, Amelia, is finding it impossible to face the thought of losing her mother to the disease. For Amelia there is only one answer: signing up to an experimental procedure called the Merge, where their consciousnesses will be combined inside one living body - even though this has yet to be tried on anyone suffering from Alzheimer's.

In order to undergo the procedure, Amelia and Laurie must enter into a period of adjustment alongside other potential Combines to ensure they are compatible for merging. Soon, they are learning to accept exactly what this ground-breaking method will mean for them both, and their fellow candidates - teenager Lucas, who hopes to save his terminally ill brother, Noah: Ben, who plans to merge with his pregnant fiancée Annie: and Jay, who is desperate to help his daughter, Lara, conquer her addiction.

But as the group prepare to head for The Village, where the recently merged recover, they begin to question if this is really the solution they are looking for...

I am always searching for a speculative novel that hits the perfect unsettling 'Ira Levin' spot, and I am delighted to tell you that Grace Walker's chilling debut, The Merge, definitely makes the cut! 

Against a deliciously Dystopian, near future settling, where humankind is reaping the toll of its consumerist folly, Walker spins a tale with a highly original premise, where the answer lies in halving the burden upon the world by combining the minds of two people in one body. Sold on the notion of sacrifice for the greater good (and the privileges that come with life as a Combine), the process of merging is taking off - although there are many who are fundamentally, and loudly, opposed to the idea, including those close to Amelia and Laurie.

However, with Laurie's Alzheimer's taking hold, and the promise that merging can also cure what ails you by blending you with another's healthy body, Amelia is convinced this is the only way to save her nearest and dearest from fading away. And she is not the only one. However, the induction process throws up a lot of unnerving questions for the candidates, which Walker uses beautifully to gradually settling an icy chill in the pit of your stomach about what they are getting themselves in to.

The first part of the story flips back and forth between Laurie and Amelia, before heading to disturbing scenes at The Village, and Walker pulls you gently into the subversive layers of her plot through oodles of lovely emotional content, rich in insightful explorations of dementia, memory, and loss. You find yourself revelling in a story full of themes about complex dynamics around parent-child, sibling, and romantic relationships that the sudden shift towards full-on speculative drama almost takes you by (very pleasant) surprise. The twists are fabulous, with absolutely first-class writing from Walker in every respect!

The pace is very much sophisticated slow-burn for most of the novel, rather than relentless thrills, but the accomplished build-up is so worth it when the pay-off arrives. This is easily one of my books for 2025, and I am salivating at the prospect of the sequel which I am certain is on the horizon.

The Merge is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Magpie for sending me a copy of this book in return 

A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft

 

A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft.

Published 6th November 2025 by Avon.

From the cover of the book:

Can the happiest time of year heal the most broken of hearts?

Georgine loves Christmas. The festive season always brings the little village of Middledip to life. But since her ex-boyfriend walked out, leaving her with crippling debts, Georgine’s struggled to make ends meet.

To keep her mind off her worries, she throws herself into organising the Christmas show at the local school. And when handsome Joe Blackthorn becomes her assistant, Georgine’s grateful for the help. But there’s something about Joe she can’t quite put her finger on. Could there be more to him than meets the eye?

Georgine’s past is going to catch up with her in ways she never expected. But can the help of friends old and new make this a Christmas to remember after all?

***********

Georgine France normally loves the run up to Christmas, but this year is doing its best to dim her sparkle. Her ex-boyfriend has left her burdened with debts (and debt collectors knocking on her door), her father is recovering from a stroke, and her younger sister has moved in. It's a lot to cope with. Her solace is the sheer joy she gets from her job as Events Director at Acting Instrumental, a performing arts college, and she has plenty to distract her organising this year's Christmas production.

When a new staff member, Joe Blackthorn, joins the college staff, he is allocated to Georgine as her assistant. She can certainly use the help, but there is something weird about his arrival, and she cannot fathom why he feels so familiar...

The book unfurls from the perspectives of Georgine and Joe. Moorcroft does a lovely job weaving together past and present to reveal how, and why, Georgine feels a connection with Joe, while delving into their current trials and tribulations. Charcteristically, Moorcroft loads their story with heavy themes (this time around poverty, financial troubles, and the legacy of dysfunctional childhoods), but these dovetail into more lighthearted elements, and all the threads tie up in an uplifting ending.

Much of the story revolves around music, and the performing arts, and if you are a fan of college-set tales you will find lots to please you. I very much enjoyed the variety of characters - and they way they all pulled together.

Definitely not an overtly Christmassy story, but it has bags of warmth with festive undertones. And the ending hits the 'ahh' spot nicely!

A Christmas Gift is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Award-winning author Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes.

The daughter of two soldiers, Sue was born in Germany and went on to spend much of her childhood in Malta and Cyprus. She likes reading, Zumba, FitStep, yoga, and watching Formula 1.

Blackwater (The Jonny Murphy Files Book Three) by Sarah Sultoon

 

Blackwater (The Jonny Murphy Files Book Three) by Sarah Sultoon.

Published 4th December 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

London, Christmas 1999. The world is on edge. With the new millennium just days away, fears of the Millennium Bug are spiralling – warnings of computer failures, market crashes, even global catastrophe. But fifty miles east, on the frozen Blackwater Island, a different kind of mystery unfolds. A child's body is discovered on the bracken, untouched by footprints, with no sign of how he died. And no one has come forward to claim him.

At the International Tribune, reporter Jonny Murphy senses something is off. Police are appealing for relatives, not suspects. An anonymous call led officers to the scene, but no one knows who made it. While the world fixates on a digital apocalypse, Jonny sees the real disaster unfolding closer to home. With just twenty-hour hours before the century turns, he heads to Blackwater – driven by curiosity, desperation, and the sting of rejection from his colleague Paloma.

But Blackwater has secrets buried deep in the frozen ground. More victims – some dead, others still paying for past sins. And when Paloma catches up to him, they stumble onto something far bigger than either of them imagined. Something that could change everything. The millennium is coming. The clock is ticking. Can Jonny stop it? Should he?

And what if Y2K wasn't a hoax, but a warning...?

***********

London, December 1999. Journalist Jonny Murphy is now a full-time member of staff at the International Tribune, working alongside Paloma, the photographer who helped him break the story about the resurgence of the death flights in Argentina.

Jonny is frustrated with stories centred on escalating fears about the Millennium Bug. His mood has also been unsettled by failing the course he needed to allow him to take on more exciting projects at the paper (something he felt unnecessary given his experience in the field), and his uncertainty about Paloma's feelings towards him.

When the body of a child is found on Blackwater Island, Essex, with no indication of how it got there, Jonny's boss gives him a twenty-four-hour-pass away from Millennium Bug coverage to see if he can find out anything about the mystery. While the world is fixated on the upcoming digital apocalypse, Jonny discovers that Blackwater Island is the centre of a dangerous cover up that could see something far worse than computer failure unleashed at the strike of midnight on the eve of the new millennium...

Jonny Murphy is back in his third gripping adventure, this time on home-grown turf in the wilds of Essex. Fed up with his lot at the paper, where a constant round of coverage about the Millennium Bug is sending him crazy, Jonny is excited to be offered the chance to see what he can find out about the death of a small child that no one else seems to be concerned about, despite the unusual circumstances that surround the event.

With just twenty-four hours before he must be back in London to cover the Millennium Eve celebrations, Jonny has a hunch that there is a much bigger story here than meets the eye, and he is right. With Paloma on side, and the help of disaffected DI Gillian Peters, who has single-handedly been losing the battle against crime in her marshy neck of the woods for years, the threads of the story take a sinister turn. Otherworldly tales of ghostly apparitions protecting Blackwater Island abound, stemming from Viking folklore, and the locals give out a Reform Party by way of The Wicker Man vibe, which all adds to the eerie atmosphere. 

A slow-burn mystery develops into fast-paced action tale, in Sultoon's characteristic style, with lashings of 'bait-and-switch' twists, hinging on sins of the past and a conspiracy of silence that draws on some very uncomfortable history about horribly real cloak-and-dagger government operations. I loved how Sultoon makes this fit so well with the story elements around the paranoia that gripped the world around the impact of the Millennium Bug - which I remember well. It was wonderful to see Jonny and Paloma working together once again too.

This was fantastic read, that kept me firmly on the edge of my seat. The plot is devilishly clever, with just the right amount of mystery, action, and emotion - and it is packed with the kind of thought-provoking themes I have come to expect from an author of Sultoon's calibre. 

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

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof 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:

Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe's migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs.

As passionate about fiction as nonfiction, she recently completed a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge, adding to an undergraduate language degree in French and Spanish, and Masters of Philosophy in History, Film and Television.

When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if...