A Sign Of Her Own by Sarah Marsh

 

A Sign of Her Own by Sarah Marsh.

Published 1st February by Tinder Press.

From the cover of the book:

Ellen Lark is on the verge of marriage when she and her fiancé receive an unexpected visit from Alexander Graham Bell.

Ellen knows immediately what Bell really wants from her. Ellen is deaf, and for a time was Bell's student in a technique called Visible Speech. As he instructed her in speaking, Bell also confided in her about his dream of producing a device which would transmit the human voice along a wire: the telephone. Now, on the cusp of wealth and renown, Bell wants Ellen to speak up in support of his claim to the patent to the telephone, which is being challenged by rivals.

But Ellen has a different story to tell: that of how Bell betrayed her, and other deaf pupils, in pursuit of ambition and personal gain, and cut Ellen off from a community in which she had come to feel truly at home. It is a story no one around Ellen seems to want to hear - but there may never be a more important time for her to tell it.

***********

Ellen Lark is looking forward to the prospect of marriage with her fiancé, Harmon, when they receive an unexpected visit from Alexander Graham Bell. But Bell's visit is not purely a social one. Years before, Ellen, deaf from a very young age, was a pupil of Bell's, and they became close as he instructed her in a technique called Visible Speech, intended to allow deaf people to converse with the hearing.

Bell, with promises of involving Harmon in lucrative business deals, hopes to encourage Ellen to support his claim to be the true patent holder of the telephone, in the light of a dispute about who was the real inventor of the system - and thus, open the door for him to secure wealth and renown.

However, Ellen is not quite as friendly to Bell's cause as he assumes. Her time with Bell brings painful memories of betrayal, control, and being separated from a deaf community that could have offered her so much more than false promises. This is her chance to tell the story of the deaf pupils whose lives were marked by the ambitions of this man, if only she can make her voice heard...

A Sign of Her Own is a difficult to sum up in a few words. Ostensibly, it is a poignant coming of age story about one woman's stand to 'speak out' for herself and a deaf community affected by the movement to ban the use of sign language in favour of oralisation methods. However, it is also about so much more!

The novel follows two timelines: one is Ellen's story from her childhood, and the other from the time Bell reappears in her life. It is not always easy to tell at first glance which timeline you are reading about in any one chapter, especially as the timelines come to the point where they clash, but I actually rather enjoyed the way they blur. This evokes a feeling that you are grasping at meaning alongside Ellen as she tries to negotiate the intentions of characters who not only do not always say what they mean, but whose speech is just beyond her understanding.

The going is slow when it comes to the twists and turns in the overall plot of Bell's business troubles, especially since the timeline following Ellen's childhood and scholarly days mostly concerns itself with family dramas, the shady ins and outs of the Visual Speech method, and the destructive preoccupation with forcing deaf people to communicate like the hearing. However, everything that happens in the past impacts of the way Ellen behaves in the future, and brings about a very powerful conclusion to the story.

I do not think I have ever read anything quite like this before, While I do not pretend to have a grip on exactly how some of the technical systems talked about in this novel actually work, there is so much fascinating information about the mechanics of speech and vocalisation. I spent quite a bit of time diving down a whole warren full of rabbit holes about the technologies and methods described, and about Alexander Graham Bell too. But it is not really the technical aspects of this debut that make is so compelling, even though they are so interesting. It is the way Marsh gives you incredible insight into the the experience of being deaf in a hearing world that makes it so moving, and I promise it will give you a great deal of food for thought. I am particularly struck by the way Marsh uses the stark contrasts between the lives of the deaf characters, and that of a man determined to produce a telephone system they would be unable to use.

This is not an easy read. Marsh's storytelling borders on the abstract at times, as it flips between methods, motives, and emotion. and you do have to persevere to make your way to the stirring pay-off. However, I found it a very rewarding experience, and will spend a lot of time thinking about her message. This is an excellent choice for a book club book if you are looking for a phenomenal debut to get your teeth in to. It really is rather special.

A Sign of Her Own is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Sarah Marsh was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish prize in 2019 and selected for the London Library Emerging Writers programme in 2020. A Sign of Her Own is her first novel. She lives in London.

Island In The Sun by Katie Fforde

 

Island in the Sun by Katie Fforde.

Published 15th February by Century.

From the cover of the book:

Dominica. A beautiful remote island where the sun shines and the living is easy.

And where Cass goes to photograph a rare stone carving as a favour to her father.

With her is Ranulph, a deeply attractive, much-travelled journalist, who offers to help Cass with her quest.

But Dominica has just been hit be a severe hurricane, and Cass and Ranulph are spending all of their time helping the local community.

Cass knows she must not fall in love with him… He is just looking out for her. He’s being kind.

There is no way he could be even the slightest bit interested in her. Could he?

***********

Cass, as the youngest child in her divided family, has always felt overshadowed by her high-performing half siblings. At twenty-five, her parents still consider her flighty and unwilling to settle down. Her father, a famous wildlife photographer, wants her to follow in his footsteps, while also training to be a teacher, but she longs to pursue her dream of becoming an artist.

Her last summer of freedom brings with it the prospect of an adventure. During a visit to her father and his new partner on the beautiful, and remote Scottish island where he is living, he asks her to take on an important mission in his stead. Cass must go to the rugged Caribbean island of Dominica to help Bastian, the son of one of his old friends, locate and photograph a very special petroglyph that lies at the heart of his research work. 

With a fragile map that promises to point to this rare carving secreted in her luggage, Cass sets off to Dominica in the company of the extremely handsome journalist, Ranulph, who has come along for the ride as something of a protector. It is a mission fraught with difficulties, as Dominica has just been struck by a hurricane, and Bastian is under time pressure to submit his research paper for a chance to win some much needed prize money for the island, against fierce competition...

Island in the Sun is an enchanting combination of suspenseful, romantic drama; gripping adventure yarn; and coming of age tale; that brings alive the magical, rocky island of Dominica, where the Caribbean and the Atlantic meet. At the centre of the story is Cass, who has drifted through life up until this point, unable to pluck up the courage to stand up to her family about the things she really wants, but her adventure in hurricane-torn Dominica brings with it a host of challenges that become something of a journey of self-discovery.

The spine of the novel follows the on-off love story between Cass and Ranulph, with all the necessary mishaps and misunderstandings to keep the will-they-won't-they factor bubbling along nicely. To spice things up, Fforde weaves in some Indiana Jones type excitement with the race to find the petroglyph, adding in a despicable baddie in the form of the meddling Austin, who is determined to throw a spanner in Bastian's goodhearted works and win the prize money for himself. 

Cass is a frustrating protagonist at times, with a tendency to be a bit passive for a modern young woman, but she does find her feisty side eventually, and I really enjoyed how she blossoms over the course of the story, building up her self-confidence and the ability to take pride in her talents. Fforde creates a lovely cast of characters around her, especially when it comes to the warm and supportive community on Dominica, and I became very fond of many of them especially the wonderful Delphine, who shares so much of her strength and wisdom with Cass.

As in all Fforde's charming tales, this one bounces along, keeping you engaged through all the twists and turns for its characters. Fforde's emotional connection to Dominica shines out, and this is very much a love letter to its people, landscape and history - all of which she touches on in the story to make you feel that it is a very special place indeed.

Island in the Sun is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Katie Fforde lives in the beautiful Cotswold countryside with her family, and is a true country girl at heart.

Each of her books explores a different profession or background and her research has helped her bring these to life. She’s been a porter in an auction house, tried her hand at pottery, refurbished furniture, delved behind the scenes of a dating website, and she's even been on a Ray Mears survival course.

She loves being a writer; to her there isn’t a more satisfying and pleasing thing to do. She particularly enjoys writing love stories. She believes falling in love is the best thing in the world, and she wants all her characters to experience it, and her readers to share their stories.

The Light That Bends Rounds Corners by Alexandra Carey

 

The Light that Bends Round Corners by Alexandra Carey.

Published 22nd November 2023 by Book Guild Publishing.

From the cover of the book:

Laura, a successful fashion journalist based in London, finds herself uprooted from the world she knows and loves after she moves with her husband and two small children to a dilapidated bungalow in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Behind the house is an overgrown garden inhabited by monkeys, snakes and monitor lizards. A swimming pool sits in the shade of a beautiful jacaranda tree.

Mariel, the Filipina maid Laura hires, hasn’t seen her own children for nearly ten years. She’s on a mission to escape her abusive past and finally marry the man she loves despite an ongoing battle against prejudice.

Laura’s journey is one of self-discovery, Mariel’s is a fight for a better life.

***********

When Laura's husband receives a job opportunity too good to refuse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she finds herself torn away from her fulfilling job as a successful fashion journalist in London, and plunged into the ex-pat life. Suddenly expected to take on the unfamiliar role of stay at home mother to their two small children, in a ramshackle house with an overgrown jungle for a garden (complete with an alarming array of wildlife), Laura struggles to get to grips with life in a strange country.

Mariel, a Filipina maid, comes to work for the family. She has problems of her own to contend with as a foreign worker, but is determined to provide a better life for herself and the children she has not seen for over nine years, and to finally escape her abusive marriage and marry the man she loves here in Malaysia.

In this debut novel, Alexandra Carey draws on her own experiences as an ex-pat living in Malaysia to write a compelling story about two women from very different backgrounds thrown together by need.

The book begins in 2006 when Laura and her family arrive in Kuala Lumpur for an adventure that proves to be a lot more challenging for her than she has anticipated. The reality of living in a run-down house with a tropical garden and strange assortment of flora and fauna (not all of it friendly), while caring for two small children who have previously been the province of a live-in nanny, is not quite the romantic prospect she was hoping for. Mariel arrives, after a complicated process bearing an uncomfortable similarity to the transfer of ownership, and she takes charge of the house and children, much to Laura's relief - but it is soon apparent that Mariel has many trials to surmount in her own search for happiness too.

The story unfurls in a slow-burn, dual narrative that provides a stark contrast between the attitudes and expectations of Laura and Mariel. For Laura, negotiating the complex workings of a strange country, combined with the loss of purpose she feels in having had to give up her high-flying career, gradually begins to overwhelm her, sending her into a spiral of depression. Carey examines many relatable themes through her story, in terms of marriage, motherhood, and self-worth, which become part of her journey of self-discovery, but inevitably she sometimes comes across as entitled and naive next to Mariel, which makes her a tricky character to pin your colours to. In contrast, Mariel's problems carry a lot more weight. The very real issues she must face as a maid in a country which relies on foreign workers to perform low-paid work, while holding them in disdain, are very upsetting to read about. There is so much poignancy in Mariel's back story, and her simple dream to have her loving relationship with fellow migrant worker, Vijay, accepted by the family she has been separated from is very moving. My heart bled for her.

I am impressed by the way Carey weaves back and forth between the voices of both women to highlight so much about living in Asia from the points of view of the ex-pat, and the domestic workers they employ. The misunderstandings and bemusement that arises on both sides is explored beautifully, bringing moments of humour as well as shock. I found much of Mariel's story, and those of her fellow migrants, eye-opening. Themes of corruption, abuse, prejudice, control, and socio-economic gulfs are examined well, and will set you pondering. She also touches on a heart breaking storyline about refugees in Malaysia, which proves to be a quite a turn-around for Laura.

Carey does a lovely job of bringing Kuala Lumpur alive with detailed descriptions of culture, weather and environment, and you can almost feel yourself battling with the oppressive heat and humidity, stepping over cockroaches, and keeping a wary eye out for snakes, alongside the characters. There are some extremely fascinating snippets about what life in Malaysia is really like, which enriches the story no end.

For the most part, this is a quiet kind of novel, filled with the trials, tribulations, hopes and dreams of real life, but there are also moments of suspense to capture your imagination, and heartfelt scenes that hit the emotional soft spot. Carey's writing is incredibly engaging, with a gentle rhythm that pulls you right into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut, and can highly recommend it to readers who love novels with strong female characters in well rendered, exotic settings, that also touch on thought-provoking themes. And I guarantee that you will enthralled by the idea of a land filled with light that can 'bend round corners'!

The Light that Bends Round Corners is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Alexandra Carey/Book Guild Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Alexandra Carey lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with her family from 2006 to 2013 where she worked as a volunteer for the UNHCR and wrote two children’s books, Ted Ted and the Dhobi Ghats and Ted Ted, Trouble in Tokyo. Since returning to England, she has lived by the River Deben in Suffolk and has studied creative writing. The Light That Bends Round Corners is her first novel.

Frank And Red by Matt Coyne

 

Frank and Red by Matt Coyne.

Published 1st February 2024 by Wildfire.

From the cover of the book:

Frank and Red are a mess.

Frank is a grumpy old curmudgeon. A recluse whose only company is the 'ghost' of his dead wife, Marcie. He is estranged from his friends, his son, and the ever-changing world beyond his front gate.

And then Red moves in next door.

Red is six. A boy struggling to adjust to the separation of his mum and dad, a new school, and the demonic school bully. Red is curious, smart, he never stops talking, and he's got a trampoline.

From the moment Red's blonde mop appears over the top of the fence that divides their two gardens, the unlikeliest of friendships is born.

. . . And it is a friendship that will change both of their lives forever.

***********

Frank's life has grown small since the death of his wife Marcie nearly two years ago. Having fallen out with his son at Marcie's funeral, after a painful outburst of recriminations, his grief confines him to the house and he has not gone beyond his own garden gate for many months. His only company comes from the occasional visits of life-long friend Fat Ken, who refuses to be put off by Frank's dark moods, and the 'ghost' of Marcie - who Frank is convinced is simply his own conscience fighting a losing battle to try to get him to pull himself together.

Frank is suddenly wrenched from his curmudgeonly zone when a familiar-looking, young single mother and her son, six-year-old-son Red, move in next door. Red is struggling too. He is bewildered by the break-up of his parents' marriage, and the absence of his father, and is finding it impossible to make friends at a new school, especially as he has become the target of the class bully.

Against the odds, Frank and Red strike up an unlikely friendship over the (broken) garden fence. A friendship that will change both of their lives...

Frank and Red is an unlikely buddy story that hits the 'in-the-feels' spot to perfection. Frank and Red are both lost souls. Frank has become comfortable in his sweary, grumpy old sod rut, drinking himself into oblivion to forget his sorrows, and ignore the commentary of ghostly Marcie on his sorry state - especially when it comes to his refusal to make his peace with their son, Mikey. Not even the persistent, cheery attempts of lifelong friend, Fat Ken, can shift him from the place he has gone to. But something magical happens when little Red moves in next door. Red, at six years old, has no concept of personal space, and he inserts himself into Frank's life to significant effect - via many bad-tempered games of Guess Who?, some companionable DIY, an unfortunate incident with a fish, and Red's misguided 'mission' to help Frank make up things with Mikey ahead of his granddaughter's christening.

Both Frank and Red spring from these pages as fully-formed, totally convincing characters, and through them Coyne explores a wealth of themes around over-whelming grief, family, friendship, and the loss of the people you rely on to help you navigate the bumps in the road on life's journey. Coyne gets into the nitty gritty of heavy subjects, but he examines them with a sensitivity that is astonishing for a debut novel, alternately lightening the mood with wicked humour and going right for the emotional jugular to bring a lump to your throat.

I laughed and cried my way through this heart-warming masterpiece, totally falling in love with the characters and Coyne's writing. This is going to be hard one to beat when it comes to my book of 2024, and I recommend it to you whole-heartedly as a gem that you it would be a crime for you to miss - make sure you get the tissues in before you read it, because you are going to need them... 

Frank and Red is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Matt Coyne lives in South Yorkshire with his partner Lyndsay, their son Charlie, and a Jack Russell - with 'issues' - called Popcorn. Frank and Red is Matt's first novel, but he is the author of two Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction books inspired by his popular parenting blog and social media profile: Man vs Baby (Dummy and Man vs Toddler). He also writes children's books about monsters and stuff.

When he is not writing, Matt enjoys the pub, obscure Japanese films and falling for clickbait headlines, like '13 potatoes that look like Channing Tatum'.

An Expert In Murder (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book One) by Nicola Upson

 

An Expert In Murder (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book One by Nicola Upson.

Published January 2008 by Faber and Faber.

From the cover of the book:

March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride--and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works.

Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing.

***********

March, 1934. Mystery author, Josephine Tey is heading from Scotland to London for the final week of the sell-out run for her stage play, Richard of Bordeaux. Unused to being in the limelight, Josephine has found the experience of having a theatre-land hit somewhat of a strain, but she has made some good friends amongst the acting fraternity, and in the theatrical world, and she is very much looking forward to spending time with them during her visit - and catching up with her good friend, DI Archie Penrose.

On the train, Josephine meets an enthusiastic fan of the play. Elspeth Simmons. Uncharacteristically for the very private Josephine, who is not yet used to being recognised as a celebrity, she takes an immediate liking to this young woman and the two spend the journey chatting companionably. However, their burgeoning friendship is brought to an untimely end when Elspeth is brutally murdered shortly after the train arrives at King's Cross.

Heading up the investigation, Archie is baffled by Elspeth's murder, but the way the body has been posed in a surreal tableau leads him to believe that this is not a random act. The clues point towards a connection with Richard of Bordeaux, and he is convinced that Josephine herself may now be in danger. When a second victim falls prey to the killer, Archie and Josephine must team up to see if they can get to the bottom of these bizarre murders, before they come for her...

An Expert in Murder is the first book in the excellent murder mystery series by Nicola Upson, which puts writer Josephine Tey in the role of detective at the side of her good friend DI Archie Penrose. Although Tey herself was not a real person, being the pen name of author Elizabeth MacKintosh, Upson somehow works literary magic by channelling the personality that thrums through MacKintosh's books to fashion Tey into a very creditable Golden Age crime sleuth. It works so well that Upson's Tey mysteries are one of my absolute favourite series, evoking everything I love about the Golden Age of crime, and having read (and loved) all eleven books that Upson has written so far, I have decided to go back the beginning and read them all again!

It was a joy being back at the start of the partnership between Josephine and Archie with a twisty mystery that immerses you in London's theatre-land of the 1930s. The cast of characters revolves around the players appearing in Richard of Bordeaux, the backstage staff working on the play, Elspeth's family, Archie's Scotland yard crew - and of course, Josephine herself - and the narrative flips between several of them to create twisting plotlines that throw up a bevy of likely suspects for the murderer, and keep you guessing all the way to the end.

Upson brings all the glamour of the theatrical world of this period alive, but she also holds nothing back about the seething rivalries, and fragile egos that go with the territory. However, this is not just a mystery that concerns itself with the world of the stage (and, by association, the silver screen), because the murky motives that provoke the killing spree also have a lot to do with sins of the past tied up with old passions, a desire for revenge, and the shadow cast by the horrors of World War One... themes which also carry weight in Josephine's personal life, especially when it comes to her relationship with Archie.

There are so many things about this series that I love, and they all begin in this first book. Upson does an incredible job bringing time and place alive, and her characters always have relatable traits that make them difficult to paint in shades of black and white, even when the acts they perform may be heinous ones. There is often a sprinkle of famous faces in these stories as well, and although there are not many in this first book, there are some lovely name drops, and if you know London's theatre-land at all well, you will enjoy walking the streets of the area alongside the characters. 

Josephine and Archie's friendship is the mainstay of the series, and it comes with quite a back-history even in this first book, which serves to explain why they care quite so much about each other in a platonic, rather than romantic, way. And talking of love stories, this book includes the very first appearance of Marta, in an intriguing twist of a story-line - a character who we will come to know intimately later down the line!

I adored this book just as much as I did the first time around, and I am so looking forward to continuing my journey by revisiting the next instalment, Angel with Two Faces. I highly recommend this series if you are a fan of Golden Age crime done well by a contemporary writer - this one really is rather addictive. The audio books narrated by Sandra Duncan are brilliant too, if audio is your bag.

An Expert in Murder is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Nicola Upson is the author the 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 Prisoner Of Acre (Ash Carter Near East Crime Thriller Book Four) by Murray Bailey

 

The Prisoner of Acre (Ash Carter Near East Crime Thriller Book Four) by Murray Bailey.

Published 23rd February 2024 by Three Daggers.

From the cover of the book:

Ash Carter returns to Israel on what should be a straightforward mission except for one small detail. Why did Alfred Duffy go AWOL from the British Army, go to Israel and then hand himself in at Acre Prison.

The mystery deepens when Carter finds that Duffy escaped just as he arrived.

The hunt begins but as the mystery unravels towards an exciting climax, it becomes unclear who is the hunter and who the hunted.

***********

1949, Israel. Captain Ash Carter of the SIB is back in the Middle East, hot on the heels of Sergeant Alfred Duffy, who has gone AWOL from his unit in Cyprus. Tensions are running high in the newly created state of Israel, and the British are no more popular than they were when Carter was previously on secondment here to track down the Killing Crew. 

Duffy has mysteriously handed himself in at Acre prison, and Carter anticipates that this will be a simple collection job. However, when he arrives on the ground, he discovers that Duffy has just escaped through the tunnels under the ancient fortress, in the company of an Arab prisoner called Abu Hajjar, the head of a gang who call themselves The Orbit Men.

War rages on every side, and somehow Carter must find a way to get to the bottom of what connection an AWOL soldier could possibly have with organised crime in this troubled region, and work out how to capture him before they both get themselves killed.

I am a huge fan of Murray Bailey's books, and his Ash Carter thrillers are some of my favourites - both those set in Carter's 1950s PI days in Singapore, and in this prequel series following his adventures as a Military Police investigator in the Near East. So, it was joy to be back with Carter as he has a brand new conundrum to solve, tracking down an AWOL soldier amidst the political and military hot-bed surrounding the newly formed Israeli state.

Without preamble, this book goes straight for the jugular. As soon as Carter arrives he is thrown into a relentless cat and mouse chase to locate his man, and attempt to stay alive long enough to get the job done. The trail of breadcrumbs begins at Acre prison, and it takes Carter on a twisty route across the region, which gives you an insightful view of the strained relationships between the powers fighting over the disputed territories he must travel through - which is always something Bailey does incredibly well. 

Threaded through this authentic historical perspective, Bailey conjures a cracking thriller full of action, adventure, and nerve-jangling tension, which has a very enjoyable James-Bond-by-way-of-Indiana-Jones element that keeps you perched on the edge of your seat. Carter's habit of making friends and enemies along the way is central to this story, even if you are not always sure who is who, and his particular brand of justice embroils him in a situation that leads to an exciting climax among the ancient ruins (possibly the best multi-shoot out Bailey setting since Singapore Killer too). Of course it would not be a Bailey book if there were not a few intriguing females, and here he throws in a typical femme fatale to stir Carter's passions - and a very interesting character in the form of Lieutenant Eva Weiss to engineer some lovely twists and turns, up the emotional ante, and touch on the role of women in the military as well. Superb!

I raced through this gem, completely caught up in the well constructed plot and the clever mix of characters from all sides of the modern historical equation. This one seems particularly timely too, given recent events in the real world. It can be read as a stand-alone of you are new to Captain Ash Carter's adventures, but is so much better if you are familiar with the other books in the Near East series. I highly recommend a read of the Ash Carter Singapore books too while you are at it - and if you can, throw in the BlackJack series once you have completed them, for a slice of morally grey leading man caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. You can thank me later...

The Prisoner of Acre is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to Murray Bailey for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Murray Bailey Is the author of Amazon bestseller Map of the Dead, the first of the series based on his interest in Egyptology. His main series however is the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father's experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s.

Murray is well traveled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray lives on the south coast of England with his family and a dog called Teddy.

Bird Spotting In A Small Town by Sophie Morton-Thomas

 

Bird Spotting in a Small Town by Sophie Morton-Thomas.

Published 29th 2024 by Verve Books.

From the cover of the book:

My feet are itching to walk to the shore, to leave the kids again, to sit with the birds and pretend none of this has happened.

In a small, isolated town on the North Norfolk coast, Fran's life is unravelling.

As she fills her days cleaning the caravan park she owns, she is preoccupied by worry - about the behaviour of her son, the growing absence of her husband and the strained relationship with her sister. Her one source of solace is slipping out to the beach early in the morning, to watch the birds.

Small-town tension simmers when a new teacher starts at the local school and a Romany community settle in the field adjoining Fran's caravan park. From the distance of his caravan, seventy-year-old Tad quietly watches the townspeople - mainly, Fran's family.

When the schoolteacher and Fran's brother-in-law both go missing on the same night, accusations fly. Yet all Fran can seem to care about is the birds.

An eerie and unsettling novel, Bird Spotting in a Small Town perfectly encapsulates the intensity of rural claustrophobia when you don't know who you can trust.

***********

Fran and her family have settled on the windswept North Norfolk coast, where she spends her days looking after the caravans that make up their small holiday park. Fran loves being close to the birds on the coast, waking early every morning to take a walk on the shoreline in search of rare sightings. It seems to be the only part of her life that she has a grip on given the growing emotional distance between herself and her husband; her worries about her young son's behaviour; and the difficult relationship she has with her unstable sister, who has taken up residence at the site with her daughter and alcoholic partner.

When times in this small, isolated town become unsettled outside Fran's family too, everyone is more on edge than usual. A new teacher at the local school has provoked mixed opinions among the parents of her pupils, and residents are nervous about the Romany camp that has set up in the field beside the caravan park - particularly as the local children seem fascinated by the strangers among them. Unease turns to suspicion when the new teacher goes missing on the same night as Fran's sister's partner. Fran is suddenly forced to confront uncomfortable truths about her family when all she wants to do is lose herself in the birds.

Bird Spotting in a Small Town is a slow-burn, literary chiller that thrums with discomfiting vibes. It is equal parts beautifully written exploration of difficult family relationships twisted by the weight of things unsaid; a claustrophobic portrayal of the undercurrents at play in a tight-knit community; and an off-beat murder mystery. Told through the first person narratives of Fran and Tad, a seventy-year-old member of the Romany camp, the story unfurls over a few months between January and May as shocking events bring fragile relationships to breaking point.

Isolation, alienation, and unreliable narrators are names of the game here, and Morton-Thomas does an excellent job building tension throughout, keeping you guessing about what is really going on between the members of Fran's family, within the Romany encampment, and in the community at large. There is a lovely contrast between Fran's jagged, anxiety-ridden narrative, and the calm, almost lyrical, storytelling of Tad. Fran's part of the tale is a full-on family drama, cutting between agonising scenes of a marriage in trouble, and her obsession with the local bird-life; while Tad's voice provides an outsider's view of the relationships 'over the hedge' in the caravan park, intertwined with enigmatic hints that all is not right in his own family either - and the two halves weave together to immerse you in a novel that gradually gets under your skin.

The fear of spoilers prevents me from revealing too much about the clever twists in this, quite frankly, disturbing tale, but prepare for your perception of the characters to be challenged as Morton-Thomas drops her reveals. There are many secrets at the heart of this story, and what you think you know gets turned on its head more than once as they are uncovered, particularly as she does such a brilliant job leading you into making assumptions alongside the characters.

This is a book to sit and immerse yourself in, letting the deftly wrought threads carry you along on an eerie tide to an ending that packs a powerful punch. I swallowed it whole, impressed with how Morton-Thomas brings all the elements of this mystery together, and the way she uses location and weather to enhance the strained atmosphere. For a book that has birds as a central theme, I was struck by the way that this entire novel carries with it the feeling that everyone is walking on egg shells...

If you are a fan of an unnerving crime novel like those of Greg Buchanan then this is definitely for you. Morton-Thomas incorporates many of the same dark themes as Buchanan and, in my view, her writing certainly deserves the same accolades. Sophie Morton-Thomas is an author to watch.

Bird Spotting in a Small Town is available to buy in ebook and paperback. Buy links and more information HERE.

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

About the author:

Sophie Morton-Thomas was born in West Sussex and has always loved reading and writing - she had about ten penfriends as a child. She is now an English teacher as well as a mum to three (two grown-up!) children and two cats. Her first novel, Travel by Night, was published by darkstroke, an imprint of Crooked Cat Books, and was a #1 Bestseller across multiple Amazon Kindle categories.

She is currently a student on the University of Cambridge's Crime and Thriller Writing master's degree and recently moved to the coast for work - but also for inspiration for her stories!

Death Flight (The Jonny Murphy Files Book Two) by Sarah Sultoon

 

Death Flight (The Jonny Murphy Files Book Two) by Sarah Sultoon.

Published 29th February 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Argentina. 1998. Human remains are found on a beach on the outskirts of Buenos Aires – a gruesome echo of when the tide brought home dozens of mutilated bodies thrown from planes during Argentina’s Dirty War. Flights of death, with passengers known as the Disappeared.

International Tribune reporter Jonny Murphy is in Buenos Aires interviewing families of the missing, desperate to keep their memory alive, when the corpse turns up. His investigations with his companion, freelance photographer Paloma Glenn, have barely started when Argentina's simmering financial crisis explodes around them.

As the fabric of society starts to disintegrate and Argentine cities burn around them, Jonny and Paloma are suddenly thrust centre stage, fighting to secure both their jobs and their livelihoods.

But Jonny is also fighting something else, an echo from his own past that he'll never shake, and as it catches up with him and Paloma, he must make choices that will endanger everything he knows…

***********

Buenos Aires, 1998. Cub reporter Jonny Murphy is in Argentina covering the financial crisis that threatens to derail the country. Working alongside photographer, Paloma Glenn, they are barely scratching a living through the stories coming their way, until they receive a tip off about human remains that have washed up on a near-by beach - remains that uncomfortably evoke the stories of the Disappeared from the years of the Dirty War.

As Jonny and Paloma begin to dig into the circumstances of the death, they are shocked at the realisation that this could mean that the infamous Death Flights of the military regime could be under way once again. Caught between the families who need closure for their loved ones who went missing years ago; those who want to confess their part in terrible deeds; and those who want their secrets to never be revealed, Jonny and Paloma begin to realise that the stakes are much higher than they thought. They are now in danger themselves, but the way this investigation calls to secrets from Jonny's own past means he cannot rest until the truth is exposed. 

Set two years after the explosive events in Israel that set Jonny's life reeling in the first book in this series, Dirt, Sarah Sultoon picks up his story in a compelling thriller that delves into the horrifying modern history of Argentina. The action begins with a slow burn build up as Jonny and Paloma get caught up in the financial crisis that plunged Argentina into depression in 1998. With scene after gritty scene as the pair do their best to get be ahead of the game to grab headlines, Sultoon paints a picture of a population reduced to grinding poverty by a perfect storm of political and monetary disasters, and the way she tells it thrums with authenticity clearly garnered from her own journalistic experience. 

Within this storyline, Sultoon lays the seeds of the darkest of plots that brings back all the horror of the military junta years, and she gradually weaves this into Jonny and Paloma's investigation to take them off in a tangent that explodes with full-on political thriller/espionage vibes, and bring them right back in a cleverly contrived circle. If you are of an age to remember the sickening reports of what went on in Argentina during that time, as I am, then this element of the novel will grab you by the scruff of the neck and take you down a truly chilling road. As shocking as the threads are that Sultoon uses to heighten the thrills, spills, twists, and deeply emotional turns in this side of the story, I do not think there is anything here that is beyond the realms of possibility, and that makes it all the more powerful. I recommend a listen to Sting's deeply moving song, They Dance Alone, as a musical accompaniment here too - it always brings me to tears, and fits well with the heartrending scenes of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.

I really enjoyed how Sultoon connects this second outing for Jonny with the groundwork she laid in the first book, especially how this ties him to Paloma's own poignant past. You do not need to have read the first book to enjoy this story, but it certainly adds layers that make the reading experience all the more worthwhile - and feeds into where she takes Jonny's story next.

This is an absolutely cracking thriller that will pull you in and have you turning the pages from cover to cover in a single breathless read. I consumed it, and am overwhelmed with how well Sultoon shines a light on some very uncomfortable history once again in that way she does so well.

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

About the author:

Sarah Sultoon is a novelist and journalist, whose prior 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 degree in languages, chosen mainly so she could spend time itinerantly travelling the world. 

She likes running, Indian food, cocktails, playing sport with her children and throwing a ball for her dog, order dependent on when the cocktails are consumed. 

The Source is her first novel and is currently in development for television with Lime Pictures.

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

 

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 3rd August 2017 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

The very first collection of superb short stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings…

First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond… then came the ‘suicide’ that was murder… the mystery of the absurdly chaep flat… a suspicious death in a locked gun-room… a million dollar bond robbery… the curse of a pharoah’s tomb… a jewel robbery by the sea… the abduction of a Prime Minister… the disappearance of a banker… a phone call from a dying man… and, finally, the mystery of the missing willl.

What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot!

***********

Poirot Investigates, published in 1924, was Agatha Christie's third outing for the little Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and his faithful sidekick Captain Arthur Hastings - and her first short story collection. It builds very much on the relationship established between the sleuthing pair in the previous novels featuring their exploits, The Mysterious Affair at Styles and Murder on the Links, bearing all the hallmarks of the Holmes and Watson style rapport that inspired their partnership - but there are also enjoyable traces here of Poirot's little grey cell modus operandi that becomes all his own as is character develops over the years.

The collection comprises eleven knotty cases that are solved in good order by Poirot, while Hastings frequently gets hold of the the wrong end of the stick and gets endearingly huffy when Poirot pokes genial fun at him, and they are a great showcase for the finer qualities of both of them.

The stories are as follows:

- The Adventure of the Western Star

- The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor

- The Adventure of the Cheap Flat

- The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge

- The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

- The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

- The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan

- The Kidnapped Prime Minister

- The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim

- The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman

- The Case of the Missing Will

The subject matter holds a veritable feast of themes that echo through Christie's work, with theft, marital strife, deception, and good old fashioned greed at the root of the crimes, and there is also an entertaining sprinkling of politics, espionage, and the kind of shady underworld antics that appear in her more adventurous stories too. The final parting shot, The Case of the Missing Will, is the most curious of the bunch, as it is more of a quirky treasure hunt, with some interesting reflections on the education of women. My favourite one though is The Adventure of the Western Star, which is a twisty tale of passion, avarice and betrayal around the theft of a whopping diamond (or is it two...) - it comes with a slice of Hollywood glamour, and has Hasting's totally stumped, which ups the humorous content delightfully.

This collection is a very accessible way into the Poirot stories, if you prefer shorter tales that wind up quickly. I polished them off in double quick time, and listened to the audio book narrated by Poirot himself, David Suchet, too, for the ultimate comfort-read experience.

This is my February choice for #ReadChristie2024, as one of her books written in the 1920s, and it was really interesting to reread them and view them through the lens of when Christie wrote them, which is not something I would normally do. 

Poirot Investigates is available in various 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 London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein

 

The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein.

Published 29th February 2024 by William Morrow.

From the cover of the book:

Two courageous women. One astonishing secret. A world on the brink of war.

London, 1962: The world is teetering on the brink of nuclear war but life must go on. Celia Duchesne longs for a career, but with no means or qualifications, passes her time working at a dusty bookshop. The day a handsome American enters the shop, she thinks she might have found her way out of the monotony. Just as the excitement of a budding relationship engulfs her, a devastating secret draws her into the murky world of espionage.

France, 1942: Nineteen-year-old Anya Moreau was dropped behind enemy lines to aid the resistance, sending messages back home to London via wireless transmitter. When she was cruelly betrayed, evidence of her legacy and the truth of her actions were buried by wartime injustices.

As Celia learns more about Anya—and her unexpected connection to the undercover agent—she becomes increasingly aware of furious efforts, both past and present, to protect state secrets. With her newly formed romance taking a surprising turn and the world on the verge of nuclear annihilation, Celia must risk everything she holds dear, in the name of justice.

Propulsive and illuminating, The London Bookshop Affair is a gripping story of secrets and love, inspired by true events and figures of the Cold War.

***********

London, 1962. Nineteen-year-old Celia Duchesne longs to be an independent woman like the ones she reads about in the glossy magazines, but living with her ageing parents and working as an assistant in a dusty, antiquarian bookshop is very far from glamorous. Despite momentous events playing out on the world stage, between super-powers vying for nuclear dominance, that could lead to a war to end all wars, Celia sees little chance of any excitement in her own life. Determined to change her fortunes, she embarks on a Pitman's secretarial course that she hopes might see her on her way to a career at the BBC, but fate has other ideas for her future...

The bookshop is suddenly given a new lease of life under the ownership of vivacious American, Mrs Denton, who attracts a whole different crowd of visitors to the store, and her upstairs flat, some of whom make Celia very uneasy. However, there is no denying that the young and extremely handsome Septimus Nelson, who works at the American embassy, is very charming indeed. Celia finds herself swept off her feet by Septimus, but when she discovers a shocking family secret, she is torn between thoughts of romance and the need to pursue answers to a mystery that has been kept from her.

France, 1942. Nineteen-year-old Anya Moreau is dropped behind enemy lines as an SOE wireless operator. Her tenure as an agent is cut short when she is cruelly betrayed. An attempt to bring justice for Anya, and the fellow female agents that were double-crossed, is subverted in an attempt to protect those higher up the chain, and the legacy of injustice echoes through time to impact Celia. As she begins to dig into the short life of Anya, Celia uncovers a trail of deceit that leads to shady goings on connected to the nuclear arms race that has the world holding its breath in the here and now... and she unexpectedly has a role to play in the dangerous game of espionage.

In The London Bookshop Affair, Louise Fein uses the inspiration of real historical events and characters to spin an engrossing fictional tale of spies and betrayal. The story unfurls in a dual timeline through the voices of Celia and Septimus in 1962, and Anya in 1942, gradually revealing the family secrets that connect both female characters, as a tentative romance plays out between Celia and Septimus. The name of the game is espionage, and Fein does a stellar job of making this a spy thriller that builds in more than enough pace and tension to keep you on the edge of your seat. She heightens the gritty authenticity of her cleverly interconnected plotlines by referencing a number of real world events in both timelines too, from Nazi atrocities to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which evoke the perfect feelings of time and place - whether it be wartime Europe, or the fate of a Britain caught between the Cold War moves and counter moves of Kennedy and Khrushchev. And I love how she plays with the notion of deep cover agents hiding in plain sight in both timelines, especially when it comes to the brilliantly wrought surprises that hit me for six. Well played, Louise Fein!

I am always delighted by how Fein combines fact and fiction to bring history alive, especially when it comes to the relatable personal stories of her characters. This is very much a novel about the unsung voices of brave, intelligent women making sacrifices to fight for what they believe in, and this gives it serious emotional heft. Fein does an incredible job of echoing similar themes through Celia and Anya's stories, and those of the more sympathetic female characters around them, and the way she captures the atmosphere of the hopes and dreams of lives lived in the shadow of cataclysmic world events is intensely poignant.  

This is another winner from Louise Fein, perfect for anyone who enjoys well written, and researched, historical fiction, with just the right amount of emotional content to tie you to the triumphs and tragedies of the characters. Interestingly, there is scope for an intriguing sequel here too, which I would definitely be up for. In any case, whatever comes next from Louise Fein is firmly on my radar. Roll on book four!

The London Bookshop Affair is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to William Morrow for sending me a proof of this book in return for and honest review.

About the author:

Louise writes historical fiction, focusing on unheard voices or from unusual perspectives. Her debut novel, Daughter of the Reich (entitled People Like Us in the UK edition) was published in 2020 into 13 territories and is set in 1930’s Leipzig. The book was shortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2021 and the RNA Historical Novel of the Year Award, 2021. Louise's second novel, The Hidden Child, was published in 2021 and is centred around the eugenics movement in 1920’s England and America. It was a Globe & Mail bestseller in Canada. Her third novel, The London Bookshop Affair, about one woman’s journey to uncover secrets of her past, set against a backdrop of espionage and looming nuclear war in 1962 London, will be published in February 2024.

Louise, previously a lawyer and banker, holds an MA in Creative Writing from St Mary’s University and now writes full time. Equally passionate about historical research and writing, she loves to look for themes which have resonance with today’s world. 

Louise lives in the Surrey countryside, UK, with her family, and is a slave to the daily demands of her pets.

The Descent (The Forcing Book Two) by Paul E. Hardisty

 

The Descent (The Forcing Book Two) by Paul E. Hardisty.

Published 29th February 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book: 

Kweku Ashworth is a child of the cataclysm, born on a sailboat to parents fleeing the devastation in search for a refuge in the Southern Ocean. Growing up in a world forever changed, his only connection to the events that set the planet on its course to disaster were the stories his step-father, long-dead, recorded in his manuscript, The Forcing.

But there are huge gaps in the story that his mother, still alive but old and frail, steadfastly refuses to speak of, even thirty years later. When he discovers evidence that his mother has tried to cover up the truth, and then stumbles across an account by someone close to the men who forced the globe into a climate catastrophe, he knows that it is time to find out for himself.

Determined to learn what really happened during his mother's escape from the concentration camp to which she and Kweku's father were banished, and their subsequent journey halfway around the world, Kweku and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet. What they find will challenge not only their faith in humanity, but their ability to stay alive.

The Descent is the devastating, nerve-shattering prequel to the critically acclaimed thriller The Forcing, a story of survival, hope, and the power of the human spirit in a world torn apart by climate change.

***********

Two years after the death of his step-father, Teach, Kweku Ashworth rereads the manuscript he left behind, telling what he knew of The Forcing that brought the planet to its knees through an unstoppable climate emergency. Kweku knows the importance of these stories in recording the events that led his family to travel half-way across the world to their refuge in Australia, and feels it is time for this knowledge to be spread to other survivors on this devastated planet.

Kweku begins broadcasting Teach's words on a short-wave radio, hoping that someone out there will hear them. Unexpectedly, he receives a response from a woman calling herself Sparkplug with her own shocking revelations about how The Forcing was managed, and her complicity in the planet's descent into chaos. She also feels it is time for her story, The Descent, to be told.

As Kweku begins to put together more pieces of the puzzle about how ruthless corporations and corrupt politicians turned their back on the truth to line their pockets, he realises that there are gaps in Teach's stories that need to be filled - gaps that his mother is reluctant to explain. But before he can understand why his parents kept secrets from him, tragedy comes to his family's haven in the Southern Ocean. It is time for Kweku and his own young family to go on a dangerous quest for the truth, and what they discover will not only reveal the full impact of the past, but also the reality of the world they are now living in.

Following on from Paul E. Hardisty's incredible climate emergency thriller, The Forcing, which should absolutely be required reading for all, The Descent revisits the same timely themes in a way which is brilliantly both prequel and sequel to the first book. You do have to have read The Forcing before reading The Descent - you can thank me later for the way it will open your eyes to what is going on right now around the world.

The story unfurls in two cracking storylines - one in the near future following Kweku and his family's fight to survive, and the other through Sparkplug's revelations about the horrific events that led to the collapse of society. Kweku's part in the novel builds beautifully on Hardisty's writing in the earlier book to give you a disturbing wider view of the way people are scratching together an existence in a world that has changed for ever, and plays out in a series of edge-of-your seat scenarios that make for a thrilling dystopian nightmare all of their own. But the real magic comes from the way Sparkplug's narration gradually completes the tale of how The Forcing was not only managed, but how its instigators planned to ride out the storm while engineering the destruction of the society that raised them as gods. Both storylines feed into each other with masterful storytelling, with deliciously contrived links between the two in terms of characters and history, until they collide in explosive style.

Both threads of this tale are full of unsettling acts and intent. Kweku's side of the novel carries with it the biggest emotional punch, exploring poignant themes of family, love, and humanity. However, as a huge fan of the prescient nature of the first book, for me, it is Sparkplug's side of the novel that is the most chilling, and the one which carries with the most significance in guiding us through the difficult times ahead. I do not think it is any mistake on Hardisty's part that Sparkplug's narration begins with a climate emergency conference in 2024, where attempts to educate are cynically subverted by greed. Hardisty almost offers a blueprint of how repudiation can lead to the most horrific of futures, with sharp insight into the insidious tactics that can be employed to distract from the truth. Some of the most upsetting scenes in this story are those which describe the sordid veracity of obscene consumerism while the planet burns, and those where callous acts lead to slaughter in pursuit of a fast buck - which feel all too real.

While this has a difference in tone to the first book, with two threads that are equally pacy, it is every bit as terrifying and awareness-raising. There are lessons to be learned here: ways to act that still offer us hope - and with a US presidential election on the horizon that could be potentially disastrous should a certain figure return to the Oval Office, I have my fingers crossed that more people will take notice of them. Another must-read book from Paul E. Hardisty!

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

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a copy of the 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:

Canadian Paul E Hardisty has spent 25 years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a. 

Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). 

The first four novels in his Claymore Straker series, The Abrupt Physics of Dying, The Evolution of Fear, Reconciliation for the Dead and Absolution all received great critical acclaim and The Abrupt Physics of Dying was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and Telegraph Thriller of the Year. The Forcing (2023) was a SciFi Now Book of the Month, with The Descent out in 2024.

Paul is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, and lives in Western Australia.

The Trials Of Lila Dalton by L.J. Shepherd

 

The Trials of Lila Dalton by L.J. Shepherd.

Published 1st February by Pushkin Vertigo.

From the cover of the book:

You are standing in the middle of a courtroom.

The judge, jury and prosecution team are waiting for you to speak.

But you have no idea who you are.

Lila Dalton finds herself the lead defence for a man accused of a terrible crime, his fate in her hands. She doesn’t know how she got there, but is surprised to discover that she possesses legal knowledge, and that everyone else seems to know who she is.

Outside the courtroom, things are even more unnerving: the courthouse is on a peculiar island where the locals are hostile, threats are slipped beneath her door, and her phone calls are tapped. Hints from strange sources suggest that someone from her forgotten past is in very real danger ― but are the threats genuine, or a warning from her missing memories?

As the trial progresses, Lila must decide who and what she can trust ― and whether that includes herself...

***********

Lila Dalton finds herself standing in a courtroom at the beginning of a trial into the alleged crimes of a mass murderer. The judge, jury, and prosecuting counsel all stand ready, and the accused man stares out blankly from the dock. The courtroom waits for the first words of the defending counsel... the problem is that Lila is the barrister appointed for the defence, and she has no memory of her life before this moment, including any details of the case.

In flashes, Lila's knowledge of legal procedure comes back to her as she sets about preparing to fight a case that seems impossible to win. The weirdness of her situation, bizarre interruptions, and the disorienting memories of a blue-eyed man that keep plaguing her, are throwing her off her game too. 

Events only get stranger when she discovers that this courthouse is very deliberately housed on a remote island in the Atlantic, from which there seems to be no escape, and threatening messages keep coming her way telling her something very bad will happen to someone close to her if she does not manage to get her client acquitted. What is really happening here, and who can she trust - if anyone?

The Trials of Lila Dalton is not your normal legal thriller. Instead, debut author, Human Rights barrister L.J. Shepherd, uses her own experience of defending high-profile cases to create a mind-bending, twisty novel that thrums with unsettling, claustrophobic vibes in a Black Mirror vein - and like the best of the speculative stories that the Black Mirror series portrays, this book also explores some very thought-provoking themes.

The story unfurls in the first person through Lila's eyes, which works beautifully in this menacing context. You are confined to viewing the small cast of characters, from her legal colleagues to the oft hostile locals, solely through the lens of Lila's perceptions of them, which shifts markedly over the course of the story. It is hard to explain quite how brilliant this novel is without spoilers, but without giving the game away, I can tell you that Shepherd cleverly subverts what you think will be a tense court-room drama into something very different, exploding the storylines with threads of manipulation, conspiracy, extremist ideologies, and anarchy, set in a surreal island location peopled with a hotch-potch of characters with shady agendas.

You do have to concentrate to keep track of the shifting memories; time jumps; jarring visions that keep Lila in an endless cycle of deja-vu; and the sheer scope of lies-within-lies that flood the story; but Shepherd's writing pulls you seductively towards the search for the truth at Lila's side. I could not look away until all the twists, turns, and cleverly contrived intricacies of the story worked themselves out in the slick, and provocative conclusion.

Shepherd does an incredible job of taking you through courtroom protocol; the work that goes into a high-profile jury trial; the impact of the evidence presented on the legal team; and how a barrister needs to think on their feet; in a way that I have rarely seen done so well. But more than that she explores a bevy of timely questions around justice; truth; and how to combat terrorism (especially domestic terrorism); and uses the story to cast a penetrating eye on the future of the kind of worryingly dystopian political policies we see coming into being in the present. Lots to ponder on here.

I think this is a book likely to divide the crowd, especially for those expecting a conventional courtroom yarn, but if you enjoy a story that sends you diving down a whole warren full of rewarding rabbit-holes in parallel with the characters, then you will love it as much as I have. I cannot wait to see what springs from the pen of L.J. Shepherd next!

The Trials of Lila Dalton is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats.

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

About the author:

L.J. Shepherd lives in Cardiff with her rescue cat, Coral. She studied English Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. After graduating, she decided to pursue a career in law and began practising as a barrister in 2017. Since then, Laura has prosecuted and defended in many jury trials in the Crown Court. She is now a Human Rights barrister instructed in high-profile public inquiries.

The Dancer's Promise by Olivia Horrox

 

The Dancer's Promise by Olivia Horrox.

Published 31st January 2024 by Embla Books.

From the cover of the book:

When their father loses the family fortune, and their mother locks herself away, sisters Grace and Clementine are left to raise themselves in a grand London house that is slowly falling apart around them.

Each of them is determined to one day restore their fortunes and their family name and make a promise to do just that.

Clementine dreams of being a star on stage, a celebrated ballerina who will tour the world, earning fame and fortune. She is adamant she won't put her fate into a man's hands, but take charge of it herself.

Grace, in contrast, sees security in a good marriage. Their eligible new American neighbour, with wealth, charm and looks, seems like the perfect match.

But when Clementine falls unexpectedly in love, it throws both sisters' lives into turmoil and forces each of them to ask if they are prepared to break their promise for a chance at true love...

A beautifully imagined historical novel about the bond between sisters and a changing world. Perfect for fans of Tracy Rees, Lucinda Riley and Kate Morton.

***********

London, 1936. Since the death of their father, sisters Grace and Clementine have been struggling to keep their family together. While their mother confines herself and her perpetual black moods to her bedroom, their state of genteel poverty is becoming unsustainable, despite Grace's best efforts to keep their heads above water through her job at the London Library.

Clementine dreams of becoming a ballet star, and touring the world. She hopes to win a coveted place at the Vic-Wells troupe with her dance partner and close friend, Rudi, who she has been dancing with since she was a child. She has the talent, but her stern mother's disapproval threatens to dash her hopes before they can become reality. Grace's hopes are simpler, but just as dear to her. She yearns for the contentment of marriage and motherhood, with the man she has secretly given her heart to, even though she knows her mother will never approve of her choice.

When a wealthy, charming American, August Draper, becomes their neighbour, he brings turmoil to Grace and Clementine's lives. Their mother is determined that Grace will become his wife and save the family fortunes - a situation that Grace becomes resigned to, even though she loves another. Single-minded Clementine finds herself caught between her hopes and her heart too, forced to make difficult choices she was not expecting. What does the future hold for these sisters?

The Dancer's Promise is a  story of love, loss, family, and fighting for your dreams, set in the 1930s. The mainstay of the story is the relationship between sisters Grace and Clementine, and their courage in dealing with the twists of fate that threaten to shatter the dreams each of them hold so dear.

This a slow-burn, coming-of-age story, told from the point of view of younger sister Clementine, who feels the greater burden of her mother's wrath, for reasons which become clear as the story unfurls. This allows Horrox to immerse the reader in the world of the ballet dancer through Clementine's ambitions, which will thrill fans of the classic terpsichorean art. There is so much detail from behind the scenes of dance, and about the glamour of the performances on stage - especially when it comes to the fierce rivalries and the sacrifices which must be made to be a prima ballerina, and the chemistry between dance partners.

In contrast, Grace's story happens mostly off stage (if you will pardon the pun). The knowledge you glean of the emotional twists and turns that befall her, as she is caught between her dreams and her duty, mostly comes through Clementine's eyes . Much of what happens to Grace feeds into Clementine's tale, and yet we never really see into her heart and mind, which I thought was a shame. There were some really interesting social history elements of Grace's storyline that Horrox could have explored to broaden the appeal of the novel for readers less engaged with ballet too.

My favourite parts of this story are those which delve into the bond between the sisters; and into the historical setting, which Horrox does a nice job to brings alive with her evocative writing. This was a time of great change for women, and I enjoyed how she touches on shifting attitudes through her female characters, although this is essentially a historical romance rather than a feminist story. In many ways, the feel of this book reminds me of a grown-up version of Noel Streatfeild's ballet stories, which I found quite nostalgic - definitely worth your time if you grew up reading that series, and enjoy a well- woven, gentle historical romance.

The Dancer's Promise is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Embla Books for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Olivia Horrox studied English Literature and Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and wrote her dissertation on post-WW1 societal changes in The Great Gatsby which has inspired her own writing.

 She lives in London with her husband and a very cantankerous cat called Coco.