Thirty Days Of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen (Paperback Release)

 

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen.

Published in paperback 9th May 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually reads them, and frustrated by writer’s block, Hannah has the feeling that she’s doing something wrong.

When she expresses her contempt for genre fiction, Hanna is publicly challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjöður – a quiet, tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colourful local characters – for inspiration.

But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman’s young son is pulled from the water … and what begins as a search for plot material quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to uncover secrets that put everything at risk … including Hannah…

Atmospheric, dramatic and full of nerve-jangling twists and turns, Thirty Days of Darkness is a darkly funny, unsettling debut Nordic Noir thriller that marks the start of a breath-taking new series.

***********

Danish author Hannah Krause-Bendix writes novellas about the human condition, but they have failed to sell, despite regularly featuring in the high-brow literary prize lists. Hannah is starting to wonder if writing books no one reads is worth the emotional toll that is feeding her alcoholism, no matter how worthy she believes them to be. Struggling with writer's block, her first attempt at a love story is going nowhere, so she decides to head for the literary festival her agent Bastian has been begging her to attend.

Hannah quickly realises that this is not an environment likely to improve her mood. Everything about it emphasises the gulf between her carefully considered, heartfelt prose, and the popular publications she holds in contempt. Her irritation is incited into fury when she is confronted by her literary nemesis, best-selling crime writer Jørn Jensen, who epitomises everything she hates about genre fiction. Inadvertently, Hannah's outrage results in her being openly challenged to write a crime novel of her own in only thirty days, and she is forced to take up the gauntlet or admit to public humiliation.

Bastian sends Hannah off to remote Iceland settlement Húsafjöður to get to work, hoping that the small town vibes and quirky characters will inspire her, but her writer's block persists and rattling-off a crime novel is much harder going than she thought. Two days after her arrival, the body of a young man is pulled from the water, and she is driven from her jaded mood by morbid curiosity. She begins to ask questions about the death, which, while giving her a rich seam of plot ideas for her book, put everyone in danger. Hannah's growing conviction that this was no accident threatens to expose long buried secrets that some in Húsafjöður would rather stay hidden...

Thirty Days of Darkness is the first part of a brand new crime series starring author, turned unlikely criminal investigator, Hannah Krause-Bendix. Hannah is a spiky character. She begins this story in a self-pitying black hole that keeps everyone at arm's length, except her long-suffering agent Bastian. When her caustic attitude gets her into a spot of bother, the scene is set for Jenny Lund Madsen to weave a layered journey of self-discovery for Hannah, bringing together a highly enjoyable mix of dark comedy and the delicious Nordic noir elements that I love.

The theme of darkness runs cleverly through the threads of this tale, from pitch black moods and the sinister influence of those hiding secrets, to a menacing atmosphere heightened by dwindling daylight hours. In turn, the concept of isolation echoes across the story, reflected in the setting of a remote small town in Iceland, the weather that closes in, and in the history of many of the characters - whether it be a self-imposed distance, or as the result of a community that marginalises those that do not fit its rigid expectations. I particularly enjoyed how Madsen uses language barriers to play on the theme of isolation too.

This is a sharply plotted crime tale, full of mystery, that pulls off the difficult task of blending grit and pitch black humour to perfection. Madsen contrives tense thrills, bloody spills, compelling passionate interludes, and spot-on moments of slapstick comedy - and you can cut the claustrophobic, small-town vibes with a knife. It kept me guessing, made me chuckle at Hannah's blundering about, and has a powerful punch when the shocking reveals start to drop. And that is not all, because Madsen also casts an insightful eye on so many aspects of the world of books, touching on assumptions about the worthiness of different genres, and the writing process, which is very thought provoking.

I consumed this book, and take my hat off once more to Megan E. Turney for her first-class translation work. The little twists, turns, and thawing of frosty relationships have me looking forward with high anticipation to the next book in the series!

 
Thirty Days of Darkness is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats. Buy link HERE. Also available in Sainsburys! 

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.

**Review originally published May 2023 for hardcover publication.

About the author:

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of Denmark’s most acclaimed scriptwriters (including the international hits Rita and Follow the Money) and is known as an advocate for better representation for sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. 

She recently made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater) and her debut literary thriller, Thirty Days of Darkness, first in an addictive new series, won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year and was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key Award. 

She lives in Denmark with her young family.

The Coming Storm (The Coming Darkness Book Two) by Greg Mosse

 

The Coming Storm (The Coming Darkness Book Two) by Greg Mosse.

Published 25th April 2024 by Moonflower Books.

From the cover of the book:

SOMETIMES THE CALM IS DEADLIER THAN THE STORM.

The hotly-anticipated sequel to Sunday Times Thriller of the Year The Coming Darkness sees the return of special agent Alexandre Lamarque.

He may have saved the world from darkness, but he knows his work is not done yet.

There’s still a terrorist threat out there, pulling together the strands of a new and even more destructive conspiracy to bring the world to its knees.

Battling with personal tragedy on one hand, and the intrusion of new-found celebrity on the other, Alex and his allies must re-emerge from self-imposed exile to face the fight of their lives.

From the streets of Paris, the lithium mines of Southern Mali, and the mighty Aswan Dam, they come up against forces whose intentions are as devious as they are malign. Time is against them, and there’s more at stake than ever. Can they survive the coming storm?

***********

Having saved the world from disaster in The Coming Darkness, special agent Alexandre Lamarque and fellow operatives, his lover, Mariam Jordane, and close friend, Amaury Barra, have been ordered to lie low. This is harder than anticipated given the fame that comes with the widely circulated stories of their heroic deeds, as it not only makes them of great interest to journalists hungry for headlines, but also those who seek revenge for the plans they foiled. Alex knows that this job is far from finished, but tracing the threads of conspiracy that linger is extremely difficult now he cannot operate from the shadows, even with his remarkable powers of intuition. 

As Alex and his team gradually get back to work, they must navigate a whole new set of pressures. They are taken on different paths around the world as their personal lives become caught up with their professional duties, and it becomes clear that the fate of the world lies in their hands once again. A storm is coming, and the clock is counting down...

Picking up the threads of the rollicking first part of this series, The Coming Darkness (which you should read before this book), Greg Mosse pitches Alex Lamarque against enemies who are even more devious than the shady Tabula Rosa organisation. Marked by personal tragedies, and trying to keep out of the public eye, Alex, Mariam and Amaury are sent in separate directions this time around, each with their own role to play in different parts of the globe. 

The disparate threads unfurl with a simmering slow-burn, reaching boiling point only in the final stretch of the book, and Mosse touches on a veritable feast of themes through the twisting plotlines he contrives for Alex, Mariam, and Amaury - and the characters holding the fort back home. There is less of the team-work I enjoyed in the first book, but I liked that Mariam and Amaury get much meatier parts to play in the overall story as a result. 

With luscious descriptions of location, and plenty to get your teeth into around the motivations of the characters, there is a lot to occupy your attention in the near future Alex inhabits, where the global impact of climate change is starting to bite. Mosse delves into water politics; complex relationships between corporate organisations and governments; the secretive plans of those who wish to protect themselves while the world burns; and the aims of terrorists vs peaceful protesters. There is some very thought provoking stuff here about what it really takes to build and run a successful survivalist stronghold in the face of extinction level events too.

This very much has the feel of a second book in a trilogy, maintaining a constant menacing pitch before smacking you full in the face with bold moves and emotional surprises in the final swathes of the story, in order to pull you into book three... which I really hope comes soon, as I need to know what happens next!

The Coming Storm is available to buy now in paperback, and ebook.

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

About the author:

Greg's first career was in theatre as actor, director & writer. He has lived and worked in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Madrid. 

Having worked as an interpreter at a variety of international institutions, in 2015 Greg returned to theatre. Since then, he has written and produced 25 plays and musicals. 

His debut novel, The Coming Darkness, was named Best Thriller 2022 accolade from The Times and one of the Books of the Year by the Sunday Times. It was endorsed by big names like Lee Child and Anthony Horowitz, and Greg appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4 Front Row. 

He now lives in Sussex with his wife, the novelist Kate Mosse.

Murder Under The Midnight Sun (Stella Blómkvist Book 2) by Stella Blómkvist

 

Murder Under the Midnight Sun (Stella Blómkvist Book 2) by Stella Blómkvist.

Translated by Quentin Bates.

Published 5th May 2024 by Corylus Books.

From the cover of the book:

What does a woman do when her husband's charged with the frenzied killing of her father and her best friend? She calls in Stella Blomkvist to to investigate - however unwelcome the truth could turn out to be. 

Smart, ruthless and with a flexible moral code all of her own, razor-tongued lawyer Stella Blomkvist is also dealing with a desperate deathbed request to track down a young woman who vanished a decade ago. It looks like a dead end, but she agrees to pick up the stone-cold trail - and she never gives up, even if the police did a long time ago. 

Then there's the mystery behind the arm that emerges from an ice cap, with a mysterious ruby ring on one frozen finger? How does this connect to another unexplained disappearance, and why were the police at the time so keen to write it off as a tragic accident? 

Brutal present-day crimes have their roots in the past that some people would prefer to stay forgotten. 

As Stella pieces together the fragments, is she getting too close to the truth and making herself a target for ruthless men determined to conceal secret sins?

***********

2010: Reykjavík, Iceland. Formidable lawyer, Stella Blómkvist's reputation of dogged determination has her engaged in pursing several cases likely to have her butting heads with the authorities... nothing new there.

A dying mother's request for some answers in the unsolved disappearance of her daughter ten years ago is her first order of business. Dismissed as another instance of a tourist who fell prey to Iceland's unpredictable landscape, Stella soon uncovers a lead the police failed to discover - something that they are less than willing to concede.

Then her friend's husband is charged with the murder of his father-in-law and lover, and needs Stella's help to prove his innocence. But as Stella digs into the ever more complex circumstances surrounding the case, she unexpectedly begins to see a connection with her recent attempts to help a journalist pal out of the spot of bother he is in over a book he is writing. Someone here is telling lies, but she cannot yet see who... or why.

And if all this was not enough, there is also the mystery of a severed arm, bearing a distinctive ruby ring, that Stella had the misfortune to happen upon after an accident on a glacier. It is all another day at the office for the indefatigable Stella Blómkvist...

Murder under the Midnight Sun is the second book in the best-selling Icelandic crime series following the adventures of headstrong lawyer Stella Blómkvist, now being published for the first time in English by Corylus Books, in translation by Quentin Bates. The real identity of the author of this series is unknown, even though the first book was published in the 1990s, although there has been a lot of speculation about who lies behind the Stella Blómkvist name.

After the no holds barred introduction of Stella in the first book, Murder at the Residence, this second instalment follows the same themes of missing persons, murder, corruption, and political machinations, but on a much grander scale. Beginning with the search for a missing girl, in a very cold case that appears to be clouded by cover-ups and misdirection, Stella is soon ruffling feathers... but her capacity to get under the skin of authority figures does not stop there. Blómkvist then adds delicious layers of story to develop her other plotlines, weaving in sprawling threads that gradually explode to encompass Cold War espionage, clashing political ideologies, and shattering moments of global history, which would provide creditable fodder for any top-drawer spy yarn.

The action moves slickly between Stella's efforts to get to the truth of the multiple cases that currently consume her interest, providing an entertaining showcase for her intelligence, quick thinking, and ability to ferret out clues where others have failed - often through unconventional, and border-line legal methods that put a smile on your face. And in the telling, you learn a lot more about the woman behind the reputation, particularly when it comes to her personal relationships. There is less of the predatory Stella that makes her such a complicated person to like in the first book, and more about the backstory that has shaped her into someone that shies away from letting her emotions show, which I really enjoyed. This is still very much an authentically noir novel though, and Stella continues to charm with the wise-cracking, ball-busting elements of her personality that get results... and she certainly gets results.

I absorbed this book in one tasty gulp, totally immersed in the sharp plotting, which is driven beautifully along by Quentin Bates' considerable talents as a translator. I get the feeling that he revelled in the way Blómkvist clearly warms to Stella's theme in this second book too, with more action to get to grips with on the way to the satisfying conclusion. Roll on book three! 

Murder Under the Midnight Sun is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

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

About the author:

Stella Blomkvist has been a bestselling series in Iceland since the first book appeared in the 1990s, and has attracted an international audience since the TV series starring Heida Reed aired. 

The books have been published under a pseudonym that still hasn't been cracked. The question of Stella Blomkvist's identity is one that crops up regularly, but it looks like it's going to remain a mystery...

About the translator:

Quentin Bates is a writer, translator and journalist. He has professional and personal roots in Iceland that run very deep. He worked as a seaman before turning to maritime journalism. 

He is an author of a series of nine crime novels and novellas featuring the Reykjavik detective Gunnhildur (Gunna) Gísladóttir. In addition to writing his own fiction, he has translated books by Guðlaugur Arason, Einar Kárason, and crème de la crème of the Icelandic crime fiction authors Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Óskar Guðmundsson, Jónína Leósdóttir, Sólveig Pálsdóttir and Ragnar Jónasson. 

Quentin was instrumental in launching IcelandNoir, the crime fiction festival in Reykjavik.

 April 2024 Reading Round-Up

Fourteen spectacular books on the reading pile in April!

You can find your way to my reviews for these by clicking on the pics below...

Nothing Without Me by Helen Monks Takhar

Sword of the War God by Tim Hodkinson

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan

The Holiday Escape by Heidi Swain

The Kitchen by Simone Buchholz

Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope

Old Romantics by Maggie Armstrong

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Comeback by Ella Berman

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie

The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereauxby M.J. Robotham

More brilliant books on the way in April...

If you like my photos, why not pop over to Instagram and give me a follow - you can find me at @brownflopsy

The Scandalous Life Of Ruby Devereaux by M.J. Robotham

 

The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux by M.J. Robotham.

Published 11th April 2024 by Aria, Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Everyone knows Ruby Devereaux's books. But no one knows her story... until now.

From a teenager in wartime England to a veteran of modern-day London - via 1950's New York, the Swinging Sixties, Cold War Berlin, Venice and Vietnam - Ruby Devereaux has lived one hell of a life: parties, scandals and conflict zones, meeting men and adventure along the way. In a writing career spanning seven decades and more than twenty books, she's distilled everything into her work. Or has she?

Now beyond her 90th year, Ruby's energy is ebbing and her beloved typewriter put away. Until a call from her publisher presents Ruby with an ultimatum, and the impetus to embark on one last book - "warts and all", as she says. Even in her dotage, Ruby M Devereaux has the power to surprise, because whatever this author does, she does on her own terms. Always.

Is Ruby finally about to reveal the secrets of her infamous life?

***********

Infamous author Ruby Devereaux, now in her nineties, takes on the obligation of writing one more book for her publisher. This time, rather than drawing on her exploits to write fiction, this will be an honest portrayal of her own life. Armed with an eager young assistant, courtesy of her agent, Ruby begins to tell her story in her own inimitable style...

Author, M.J. Robotham does a brilliant job channelling her creation, Ruby Devereaux, to spin a fictional memoir of a quite remarkable woman. Beginning in wartime England with Ruby's teenage sexual awakening and the birth of her career as a published author, Robotham proceeds to anchor you in time and place at each stage of Ruby's life, taking you on a tour of international proportions - via glamourous 1950s New York; La Dolce Vita Venice; Cold War Berlin; Vietnam; and behind-the-Iron-Curtain Budapest; with various momentous stops back home in the land of her birth.

The story unfurls with sections of Ruby's memoir in chronological order, linked together by occasional brief scenes that give you a glimpse of her writing process, or from the illuminating point of view of her agent, Marina. But what makes this so original is the unconventional way Ruby tells her story, through her interactions with the twelve men in her life who she has loved, lost, learned life lessons from, and who have provided inspiration for her novels.

Ruby is a force of nature who springs vividly from the page. Her character is driven by the conviction that you should seize the moment, and you cannot help but fall in love with her as she lays herself bare through her reflections on her globetrotting adventures. There is plenty of drama set against the backdrop of many of the significant moments of the second half of the twentieth century, and this combines beautifully with the emotional aspects of Ruby's story. In the telling, Robotham delves deep into different facets of romance; the highs and lows of relationships; family dynamics; ambition; motherhood; grief; loneliness; alienation; and mental health; tugging mercilessly on your heart-strings - and she serves up a powerful side order of the horrors of war and the grip of addiction too. 

Intriguingly, at no time does this feel like a book steeped in doom and gloom, despite the poignant places Robotham takes you to. Yes, there are tears (have the tissues handy), but this book is enormous fun too, packed to the gills with warmth and well judged humour that will have you chuckling to yourself often - especially when it comes to Ruby's irreverent personality, and the sheer enjoyment of being alongside her as she immerses herself in everything life has to offer. I easily blasted through this engaging book in a matter of hours, and thoroughly enjoyed every single moment spent with Ruby Devereaux.

The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

M.J. Robotham saw herself as an aspiring author from the age of nine, but was waylaid by journalism, birth, children and life. After twenty years as a midwife, she is now a full-time author, writing historical fiction as Mandy Robotham, She lives in Gloucestershire with her partner and muse mutt, Basil.

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie

 

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie.

Published in paperback 21st Marsh 2024 by Oneworld.

From the cover of the book:

AKORFA AND SELASI WERE ONCE INSEPARABLE. NOW, THEY MUST REPAIR THEIR BROKEN RELATIONSHIP OR LOSE EACH OTHER FOREVER.

Growing up in the same small Ghanaian town, Selasi and Akorfa were more than just cousins, they were best friends. The girls shared everything: their dreams, their desires, their every secret. But as they enter their teens Selasi begins to change, until Akorfa barely recognises the sullen, withdrawn girl she once knew so well.

Years go by before they cross paths again, and their lives look very different now. Although they are separated by continents, they have each found success in their careers: Akorfa works in international development in the US; Selasi is a restaurateur running the hottest spot in Accra. It takes a crisis to pull them back together, forcing both women to confront shocking secrets and childhood trauma that neither one has been willing to address. Now they must bridge the gulf between them to stop history repeating itself.

From the author of Reese's Book Club pick His Only Wife, Nightbloom is a powerful story about female friendship, the relationships that shape us and the people we never quite leave behind.

***********

Cousins Akorfa and Selasi grew up in the same small town in Ghana. With mothers who were best friends, it was almost inevitable that they would become inseparable, but a friendship that seemed unbreakable was eventually torn asunder by difficult family circumstances.

As the years go by, the two women follow separate paths in marriage, motherhood, and their careers - Akorfa in international development in the USA, and Selasi as a successful restaurant owner in Accra. Their lives seem as far apart as the miles that divide them, but when Akorfa's father dies, she returns home to Ghana and unexpectedly bumps into Selasi. It is a meeting that provokes a bitter outburst of recriminations, and forces them to confront the secrets that bind them.

Nightbloom is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that has quite rightly earned its place among the longlisted titles of this year's Women's Prize for Fiction. The story unfurls in a very clever way, starting with Akorfa's narrative in the first half of the book, and then flipping perspective to Selasi's point of view for the second half. This deliberately leads you down a path of looking at their relationship in a particular way, before everything gets tipped on its head in a 'there are two sides to every story' kind of way.

Medie's writing is a delight, and she examines a spectacular array of themes around different facets of power, responsibility, prejudice, systemic racism, corruption, and culture shock through the stories of these two women, via intelligent plotlines far too complex to delve into in a short review - especially given their geographical locations in societies that are both broken in a number of profound ways. 

But what really pulls you into this novel, and keeps you turning the pages all the way to surprise conclusion, is how Medie writes about the far more intimate details of the shifting relationship between the two women. She beautifully explores how the tangled threads of close female friendship can be divided by complicated family dynamics and the rawness of perceived slights, and then bound tightly back together by shared experiences of trauma. 

This is a fascinating book, full of cultural detail about Ghana. Medie immerses you completely in the lives of each of these women in turn and leaves you to make up your own mind about the rights and wrongs of their actions and what happened between them, although it is Selasi's astonishing strength of character that shines out for me. 

Like any book that addresses weighty issues there are no easy answers when it comes to the shape of the future they face at its conclusion, but I think Medie makes the right choices about where this story goes, and she leaves you with some interesting things to ponder about fighting against pressure to remain silent about abuse and corruption. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

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

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

About the author:

Peace Adzo Medie’s debut novel, His Only Wife, was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, a New York Times Notable Book of 2020, and a Time Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020. It was also a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her book, Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa, was published by Oxford University Press in 2020. 

She has won numerous awards for her scholarship and has held several fellowships, including the Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship. She holds a PhD in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in geography from the University of Ghana.

The Comeback by Ella Berman

 

The Comeback by Ella Berman.

Published 11th April 2024 by Aria, Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

They say she owes him everything.
Now she wants to burn it all to the ground.

Grace Turner was one movie away from Hollywood's A-List. So no one understood why, at the height of her career and on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, she disappeared.

Now, one year later, Grace is back in Los Angeles and ready to reclaim her life on her own terms.

When Grace is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke - the man who controlled her every move for eight years - she knows there's only one way she'll be free of the secret that's already taken so much from her.

The Comeback is a moving and provocative story of justice - a true page-turner about a young woman finding the strength and power of her voice, from the author of Reese's Book Club pick Before We Were Innocent.

***********

Former child star, Grace Turner, was on the brink of establishing herself as Hollywood royalty. With a Golden Globe nomination for her latest movie, she seemed to have everything she ever wanted, so why did she mysteriously disappear? 

After a year away from the limelight, facing awkward silences and simmering recriminations in the less than welcoming bosom of her family, Grace is back in Los Angeles trying to pick up the threads of her life, amidst intense media speculation about where she has been and why. 

Battling her demons, Grace is doing her best to stay away from the drink and drugs she has relied on to numb her from the things she would rather forget, while trying to help her younger sister steer clear of the mistakes she has made. But when she is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke, the man who secretly manipulated her career and her whole persona for eight troubled years, she is forced to decide between stardom and sharing the secrets that have torn her apart.

With delicious echoes of Eve Babitz, Ella Berman's The Comeback delves beneath the glitzy glamour of Hollywood to explore how the disturbing power games of a lauded director bring a young star to breaking point. Told from the first person perspective of Grace, who was plucked from British school-girl obscurity to take a starring role in a Hollywood franchise, the story flips between the present, a year after disappearance, and the past, as she relives her experiences working with Able Yorke.

The threads of the story unfurl as Grace struggles to find her own identity and come to terms with the trauma of her time being abused and manipulated by gas-lighting Yorke. She is stuck between grasping at the chance of a comeback, and finally admitting to the world that he is not the man everyone thinks he is, and neither path is easy. The slow-burn pace sizzles with tension and spellbinding atmosphere, brimming with character driven scenes between Grace and her husband, parents, sister, entourage, and Yorke's wife Emilia, that are laden with the weight of things unsaid. Intriguingly, Yorke is mostly absent from the timeline in the present that weaves through Grace's painful episodes of paranoia, depression, and attempts to avoid relapsing into comforting darkness of her addictions, until the cracking final sections of the novel - but his predatory personality looms large via the disturbing flashbacks.

Grace is a complex character, prone to wildly swinging moods, but she makes a perfect unreliable narrator. At times she is difficult to like, but as the threads of the story work themselves out, you find yourself very much on her side, yearning for a resolution that can help her on the way to healing... via some well deserved revenge, if possible. Berman's writing is exquisite, and she conjures breath-taking scenes that ooze with brittle emotion. She also manages to incorporate a smidgeon of pitch-black humour to make you chuckle, even while your heart is breaking. 

This is a seriously classy novel that packs a formidable punch, and easily makes it on to my list of books of 2024. Berman deftly picks apart all that is wrong with the toxic environment that still pervades Hollywood, despite the #MeToo campaign, and along the way, she examines trauma, alienation, difficult family relationships, identity, and loneliness with sharp insight. I devoured it from prophetic prologue all the way to the ending that was everything I needed it to be.

The Comeback is available to buy now in paperback, ebook, and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Ella Berman grew up in both London and Los Angeles and worked at Sony Music before starting the clothing brand London Loves LA. She lives in London with her husband, James, and their dog, Rocky. 

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

 

The Yellow Wallpaper and selected writings by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

This edition published 15th Jan 2009 by Virago Modern Classics.

The Yellow Wallpaper originally published 1892.

From the cover of the book:

'It is stripped off - the paper - in great patches . . . The colour is repellent . . . In the places where it isn't faded and where the sun is just so - I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about . . . '

Based on the author's own experiences, The Yellow Wallpaper is the chilling tale of a woman driven to the brink of insanity by the 'rest cure' prescribed after the birth of her child.

Isolated in a crumbling colonial mansion, in a room with bars on the windows, the tortuous pattern of the yellow wallpaper winds its way into the recesses of her mind.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was America's leading feminist intellectual of the early twentieth century. In addition to her masterpiece The Yellow Wallpaper, this edition includes a selection of her best short fiction and extracts from her autobiography.

***********

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story about a young woman diagnosed as having a 'nervous condition' after the birth of her child. Her doctor husband prescribes a period of rest for her recuperation (widely known as the rest cure), and rents a dilapidated, once grand country house for three months over the summer, where she languishes in the former nursery at the top of the house while he is frequently absent.

Denied of all intellectual stimulation, including reading or writing, and confined to a shabby room with bars on the windows and a bed fixed to the floor, her thoughts turn inwards. She becomes obsessed with tracing the pattern in the peeling yellow wallpaper, consumed by the idea that there is a malevolent presence trapped behind the overlaid prints, and she falls gradually into madness.

Based on her own experience of being prescribed the 'rest cure' following a bout of what we would now know as post-natal depression, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's most well-known story is widely held to be a feminist masterpiece. 

The story unfurls through the fragmented, first-person journal entries of our unnamed protagonist, which she secretively scribbles when unobserved by her husband and his housekeeper sister, and they set a chill in your heart as you are party to her increasingly fractured sanity. 

Since it was first published in 1892, there has been much debate about how metaphorical Gilman intended her story to be in terms of feminist themes, but there is no doubt that it stands as a convincing argument against the ridiculous treatments prescribed for women dismissed as 'hysterical' at the time it was written - and it is an incredibly vivid, deeply unsettling, example of Gothic literature, that thrums with themes of madness, patriarchal control, and female rage.

Whatever the hidden meanings, I think it is enough to know that this story had considerable impact on views about the 'rest cure', which is after all, why she wrote it. She even sent a copy to Dr Silas Weir Mitchell, the pioneer of the 'rest cure' - and the very man who nearly sent her spiralling into madness when he recommended this treatment... his response is sadly unrecorded.

This is a story I have been meaning to read for a long time, and I am glad to have finally got around to it with the #QuietClassics2024 gang. 

The Yellow Wallpaper is available to buy now in various formats.

About the author:

Charlotte Perkins Gilman; also Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was a prominent American feminist, sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform.

Old Romantics by Maggie Armstrong

 

Old Romantics by Maggie Armstrong.

Published 18th April 2024 by Tramp Press.

From the cover of the book:

Slippery, flawed and acute, Old Romantics is a collection of alternative romances told from a nether world of love and disenchantment by an astonishing new talent.

The linked stories follow the interior biography of an indistinct Dublin woman, from early adulthood into motherhood and the trials of young family life right up to pandemic times. Whether a catastrophic road trip, an ill-advised career move or a sinister encounter on the beach, these stories dig at the heart of what it is to be alone and alienated in your world. The heroes of these escapades are thickly masked and often unreliable as they pursue each other. Love is sometimes obsessive and often delusional. Motivations are slippery, expectations are shattered, and self-knowledge is hard-won yet inevitable. 

This collection opens the under-seam of what it is to fall in love and back out again. Romance has a rotten heart, but love is real and infinite. From bad dates that call to mind an Irish ‘Cat Person’ by Kristen Roupenian, to comically observed workplace absurdity, Maggie Armstrong is a powerful new voice in Irish fiction.

***********

Old Romantics is a collection of twelve short stories by Irish writer Maggie Armstrong, linked by echoing themes which perversely have very little to do with conventional notions of romance - and it is that which makes this book so mind-jarringly compelling.

Generally speaking, the collection follows a chronology from teenage angst to motherhood and strained family life, through scenes of sexual awakening and off-kilter relationships, with a little side-order of work place weirdness. In every case there is a discord between fantasist levels of expectation and the harsh thwack of reality, and the way the narrative flips between stream of consciousness-like first person intensity and third person separation fits nicely with each one.

There is pitch black humour to be found in many of these tales - I particularly liked the comic Black Mirror vibes of The Dublin Marriage (my favourite of them all), and the surreal road-trip of Old Romantics - but there is also a darkness of a different kind, which I found quite disconcerting. I was unable to shake the feeling that life is happening to these characters almost against their will, as they are so mentally detached from from the physical acts they are engaging in, and the bitter tastes of sordidness and hopeless despondency become quite overwhelming as you work your way through the stories. 

Repeated threads of dysfunctional relationships that leave their mark on fragile mental health make this a collection that is the antithesis of warm-hearted romantic fayre, and the sharply observed, thought-provoking way Armstrong uses them means there is a lot here to talk about, and to divide the crowd. This makes this book a great choice for book clubs and reading groups. 

I confess that I am in two minds about this collection, caught between the highly entertaining farcical tales, and the tragic ones that hit with a visceral poignancy. This is not a book I can easily refer to as one I 'enjoyed' as there is such a disenchanting edge to it, but I can tell you that reading it has been a fascinating experience. I suspect that I will be picking it up again in the future to reread some of these stories, as Armstrong's writing has a seductive pull to it that is hard to ignore. 

Maggie Armstrong is now a writer on my literary radar, and I look forward to seeing what comes from her pen next.

Old Romantics is available to buy now in paperback.

Thank you to Tramp Press for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Helen Richardson PR for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Maggie Armstrong’s work has appeared in the Dublin Review, The Stinging Fly, Banshee, and elsewhere. 

The author was longlisted for a 2023 Irish Book Award. 

She lives in Dublin.

Palamedes PR: In Praise Of Bookbloggers

 

About Palamedes PR:

Palamedes PR is a long-established and award-winning name in the book marketing

field and the recognised UK market-leader.

Their specialist services include national and international press, TV and radio, and PR stunts.

For more information, visit www.palamedes.co.uk

Working with book bloggers by Anthony Harvison - Palamedes Publicist

Book bloggers are no longer considered ‘fringe media’ but important vehicles to promote new titles, authors and publishers. Unlike mainstream news and feature outlets, which reach a wide but less targeted audience, blogs like Brown Flopsy's Book Burrow are the go-to destination of choice for engaged consumers who return time and time again for expert reviews and advice.

According to Palamedes PR, the UK’s market-leading book marketing agency, bloggers can be instrumental in shaping the overall success of a new release and are an indispensable force in the public relations industry.

Here, we speak to one of its publicists, Anthony Harvison, to find out why book blogs are reshaping the literary marketing and sales landscape, and how they are an increasingly important advocate for underrepresented voices and genres.


Q: How has the landscape of book marketing evolved with the rise of book blogging, and what role does it play in promoting books?

Book blogging has become a powerful force in book marketing, offering a dynamic platform for readers to share their thoughts and recommendations. It plays a crucial role in creating buzz around books, reaching niche audiences, and influencing purchasing decisions.


Q: In what ways do book bloggers contribute to building a book's online presence and visibility? 

Book bloggers contribute significantly to a book's online presence by writing reviews, hosting blog tours, and participating in social media discussions. Their authentic and personal recommendations can enhance a book's visibility and attract a diverse readership.


Q: How do book publicists identify and collaborate with book bloggers to promote specific titles?

Book publicists often research and reach out to book bloggers whose content aligns with the target audience and genre of a particular book. Collaboration may involve sending review copies, organizing blog tours, or facilitating author interviews to generate interest among the blogger's followers.


Q: Can you share examples of successful book marketing campaigns that heavily leveraged book blogging?

Successful campaigns often involve strategic partnerships with influential book bloggers. For instance, organizing blog tours with well-established bloggers, hosting giveaways, or encouraging book discussions on popular platforms can generate substantial online buzz and drive book sales.


Q: How do book bloggers contribute to the diversity and inclusivity of book promotion, particularly in highlighting underrepresented voices or genres?

Book bloggers have a unique ability to champion diverse voices and genres that might be overlooked in mainstream media. They can bring attention to underrepresented authors and stories, fostering a more inclusive literary landscape and broadening the range of books available to readers.


Q: With the prevalence of social media, how do book bloggers use platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube to enhance their book reviews and recommendations?

Many book bloggers utilize social media platforms to share visually appealing book recommendations, snippets of reviews, and engage in real-time conversations with their followers. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube, in particular, provide a multimedia approach to book promotion, enhancing the overall impact of their reviews.


Q: How can book publicists and authors effectively engage with book bloggers to ensure a mutually beneficial collaboration?

Building genuine relationships is key. Publicists and authors can engage with book bloggers by offering personalized pitches, providing relevant content, respecting their schedules, and acknowledging their contributions. It's essential to approach collaborations as a partnership that benefits both parties and their audiences.


Q: Looking forward, do you see any emerging trends or changes in the relationship between book blogging and book marketing?

As technology evolves, immersive experiences like virtual book clubs, interactive content, and multimedia reviews may gain prominence in book blogging. The relationship between book bloggers and marketing may deepen as influencers continue to shape literary conversations and bridge the gap between authors, publishers, and readers.


For more information about Palamedes PR and its book marketing services, go to:
www.palamedes.co.uk or call 0208 1036883

Phineas Finn (Palliser Book Two) by Anthony Trollope

 

Phineas Finn (Palliser Book Two) by Anthony Trollope.

This edition published 10th November 2011 by Oxford World's Classics. 

Originally published in 1869.

From the cover of the book:

Phineas Finn, the handsome Irishman, is equally successful at scaling the political ladder and gaining the affection of influential women. 

As he makes his precarious way in parliament he discovers how far principles must be sacrificed to the common cause, and how essential money is to political progress. 

Set during the turbulent passage of the second Reform Act of 1867, the novel paints a vivid picture of the compromises and tactics of daily political life. 

Loss of independence is felt just as keenly by Lady Laura and Violet Effingham, whose choice of marriage partner will determine their future freedom as much as their happiness. 

With politics and the personal so closely entwined, Phineas faces an act of conscience that will have a profound effect on his life.

The second novel in Trollope's Palliser series, Phineas Finn's engaging plot embraces matters as diverse as reform, the position of women, the Irish question, and the conflict between integrity and ambition.

***********

The second novel in the Palliser series continues the political theme when the eponymous hero of the piece, handsome Phineas Finn, the only son of an Irish doctor, decides to give up on his intention to become a lawyer and try his hand at becoming an MP. The story then follows Phineas through the next five years of his career in the House of Commons, as he works his way up to a position as a junior minister.

Alongside Phineas' political career, Trollope also engineers various romantic adventures for the young Irishman, as he falls in love (mostly) with society heiresses with a modicum of success, until the whole tale comes satisfyingly full-circle in a way that spoilers naturally prevent me from divulging.

As Trollope novels go, this really is a story of two halves for me. The first issue is Trollope's preoccupation with political shenanigans for the first half of the book, which I think stems from his own, failed, political ambitions at the time of writing. The second, is that Trollope's excellent female characters, who always prove to be the most interesting part of any of his books, take way too long to have anything interesting to do.

As a result, I found it very difficult to get into this book, bored rigid by lengthy political ramblings, that no doubt would have been rather entertaining to Trollope's contemporary Victorian audience, but which left me cold. Despite the fact that Phineas is actually a genial and jolly decent chap who wants nothing more than to make a difference, and the odd flash of satirical humour, it was hard going indeed. However, bolstered by the assurances of the lovely Trollope read-along gang that things would eventually improve, I girded my loins and soldiered onwards... and I am rather thankful that I did.

Trollope eventually seems to give himself a little shake and remembers that he can write female characters with verve! As a result, Phineas' propensity to fall in love too easily gives rise to some lovely storylines about the women he gives his heart to. His first London-based love, Lady Laura Standish, who marries in haste and repents in despondent leisure; the heiress Violet Effingham, who is intended for Phineas' best pal (and Lady Laura's brother) Lord Oswald Chiltern; the unconventional wealthy widow, Madame Max Goesler; and sweet little Mary Flood Jones, back home in Ireland; draw Phineas into wandering plotlines about money, matrimony, and the loss of female independence that work themselves out in society salons, on country estates, during parliament business, and even via a garrotting and a misguided Continental duel! Some familiar faces from previous novels make a welcome appearance too, such as Plantagenet Palliser and his vivacious wife Glencora. Suddenly the continuing political threads are much less tiresome, and Trollope even manages to weave the personal and professional sides of Phineas' life together nicely to direct the course of his principal-guided fate at the end of the novel. Thank goodness, this is much more like the Trollope I know and love!

Phineas crops up again in the Palliser series in book four, which is intriguingly entitled Phineas Redux, so I am glad I finally conquered this beast in a much better state of mind than I was anticipating at the halfway point. This was definitely a struggle after the excellent first book in the series, Can You Forgive Her?, but I am looking forward to meeting up with Phineas again. In the meantime, the next Palliser novel awaits in The Eustace Diamonds, and, based on the title alone, I have high hopes that this will be more engaging straight out of the gate... stay tuned to see how I get on.

Phineas Finn is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Anthony Trollope (1815-82) became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire, but he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

 

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth.

Published 25th April 2024 by Pan Macmillan.

From the cover of the book:

It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from their own family tragedies, they were raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance for a happy family life.

But the girls’ childhood wasn’t quite the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the three foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses.

It’s time for them to return home as adults. The only question is are they innocent victims or the prime suspects for murder?

***********

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters in every way but blood, tied together by their childhood experiences at Wild Meadows in Port Agatha, the foster home they were told they were 'lucky' to have. Each of them carries the inner scars of the time they spent with foster mother Miss Fairchild, who was far from the loving parent she presented herself as, and the burden of these has dictated the direction of their lives.

The women have done their best to leave their past behind, navigating their individual struggles and supporting each other in the only way they know how - with a fierce protectiveness. But then an unexpected telephone call brings all their troubling memories rushing back. A body has been found underneath the house they grew up in, and they find themselves called back to Port Agatha to answer questions as part of a murder investigation - but are they being asked to return as potential witnesses, or as suspects? 

The story unfurls through the narratives of each of the women, moving back and forth between the disturbing events of their childhood at Wild Meadows, and the time they receive the fateful phone call asking them to return to the last place on earth they want to see again. Weaving in-between these narratives, Hepworth inserts scenes of psychiatric assessment sessions with an unknown character about their childhood at Wild Meadows too, and she keeps you guessing about these for quite a while before revealing the whos-whats-whys-and-wherefores about their meaning in the overall scheme of things.

The relationship between Jessica, Norah, and Alicia is the central core of this compelling tale, and Hepworth spares nothing in delving into the details about how they have come to be so close through the horrendous circumstances of their childhood at Wild Meadows. She describes upsetting scenes of psychological and physical torment, which are very difficult to read, but these are all essential to build the complex layers of story around the shape their lives have taken, and the dysfunctional strategies they rely on to get by - as well as to ramp up the mystery and suspense about the murder investigation.

With slow-burn lusciousness, the threads of the story come together, via some nicely plotted twists and well-judged dark humour, and Hepworth saves the biggest secret of all until the very end, with a jaw-dropping reveal that will have you questioning everything you think you know. She drives you through a range of powerful emotions as she delves into the legacy of the abuse these women have experienced, but there is hope too in the way they finally make their voices heard and come to terms with their past. 

In the telling, Hepworth explores heart-rending themes about foster care, and the children who are made to think they are 'lucky' to be in the care system, but she also touches on what can be achieved with love and understanding. I always think a good story, told well, is a great way to set readers thinking about weighty issues, and this book will certainly leave you with lots to ponder upon.

This is my first Sally Hepworth, but it definitely will not be my last. I swallowed it whole, unable to look away for a second!

Darling Girls is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including The Good Sister and The Soulmate. Her latest novel, Darling Girls, was released in Australia in September 2023, and will be released internationally in April 2024.

Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships and identity. Her domestic thriller novels are laced with quirky humour, sass and a darkly charming tone. They are available worldwide in English and have been translated into twenty languages.

Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her three children and one adorable dog. She has recently taken up ocean swimming (or to put it more accurately, ocean dipping).

Better Left Unsaid by Lia Louis

 

Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis.

Published 11th April 2024 by Zaffre Books.

From the cover of the book:

Millie Chandler is known at work as the nice receptionist who got dumped by the company hotshot, and ever since then, she has vowed to keep everything to herself - her feelings, her hopes, and especially her fears.

But Millie does have an outlet: her emails. From sarcastic replies to her rude boss, rants to friends about their terrible taste in men to a five-hundred-word love declaration to her ex, who three years on, is about to marry someone else. Millie's reality lives in her drafts until the morning she discovers that they are somehow in her sent folder. The truth is out.

As every dark secret she's worked so hard to keep password protected is released, Millie must fix the chaos her words have caused.

Will Millie find the strength to open both her heart, and her inbox?

***********

Millie Chandler works as a receptionist at a sports television production company, where she likes to stay under the radar since being unceremoniously dumped by star director, Owen, three years ago. Always ready with a smile, no one ever hears Millie complain, but she has a secret - for her draft email folder is full of every sarcastic reply, gripe, piece of 'helpful' advice, and unspoken declaration that she has never had the courage to say out loud.

One nightmare day, Millie arrives at work to find that her secret is not so secret anymore. Somehow, every single one of her private rants and heartfelt confessions has been sent to its intended recipient - including a lengthy, lovelorn message to her ex; and a flirty missive to her co-worker crush, Jack. How will Millie ever deal with the fallout...?

Can you imagine if all your private thoughts suddenly made their way out in the world to the very people you have directed them at? With the most cringe-worthy of premises, Lia Louis crafts a brilliant new rom-com in Better Left Unsent that is equal parts funny, thought-provoking, and heart-meltingly gooey!

Shocked, bemused, and shamefully embarrassed, Millie spends the entirety of this story wading through the consequences of her emails, going on an epic emotional journey that is wonderfully heart-warming given the nightmare beginning - and not just for herself. As the story unfurls, following the threads of the impact of Millie's emails, we learn a lot about the poignant events that have led her to keep her hopes, fears, and grumbles between herself and her draft folder, especially when it comes to her relationships with friends, family, the wretched Owen, and love interest Jack.  

There are characters galore to love and loathe, all with issues of their own to work through that are given an unintended push by Millie's emails, and this makes the story really compelling. Essentially, it is a romance, and a gorgeous one at that, with as much will-they-won't-they suspense between Millie and Jack as you could possibly want, and lashings of friendship-centred pulling together. But there are so many echoing themes that Louis touches on in that special way she has, exploring the darker side of relationships amidst the laughs and love-story too. Control and manipulation get Louis' attention here, but my favourite theme she examines through Millie's tale, and some of the characters around her, is all about being honest with yourself and those you care about.

I loved this from start to tear-jerking finish... make sure you have the tissues handy, because you are going to need them.  

Better Left Unsaid is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Lia Louis lives in the United Kingdom with her partner and three young children. 

Before raising a family, she worked as a freelance copywriter and proofreader. She was the 2015 winner of Elle magazine’s annual writing competition and has been a contributor for Bloomsbury’s Writers and Artist’s blog for aspiring writers. 

She is the author of Somewhere Close to Happy and Dear Emmie Blue.