Watching You by Helen Fields

 

Watching You by Helen Fields.

Published 28th August 2025 by Avon.

From the cover of the book:

On the dark streets of Edinburgh, a killer is waiting.

When a body is found, it is only the beginning. Soon there will be seven more.

In the city’s hospital, renowned surgeon Beth Waterfall is grieving.

Her beloved only daughter fell prey to a vicious stalker a year previously – and now he’s coming for her too.

Edinburgh’s police are desperate.

After one body comes another, and then another. The brutal deaths are all seemingly unconnected, yet DS Lively and forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine know they are dealing with a serial killer – they just need to prove it.

But time is running out, and Beth Waterfall already looks set to be the next victim…

***********

A body is found in Edinburgh, and more follow in close order. The fact that there is nothing to connect the victims has the police baffled, and they are under pressure to get the situation under control before panic ensues. When forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolvine is called in to consult on the cases she and DS Lively begin to believe that a random serial killer is at work on Edinburgh's streets.

Meanwhile, surgeon Beth Waterfall is grieving the loss of her daughter, and trying to piece together the scraps of her life, while a stalker watches her from the shadows. Can Lively and Woolvine prevent Waterfall from becoming the next victim...?

This cracking thriller unfurls in Helen Fields' excellent crime universe, with enjoyable appearances from some of her recurring characters. Multiple perspectives drive the action, focusing mainly on gripping police procedural elements via DS Lively and team; the unconventional forensic methods of Dr Woolvine (and her burly sidekick, Brodie Baarda); the professional and personal trials of surgeon Beth Waterfall; and the seriously creepy shenanigans of a stalker named 'The Watcher'.

Jumping back and forth in time Fields masterfully wields multiple threads like spinning plates, full of gritty Scottish noir crime content and lashing of psychological depth, that keep you guessing as they draw together in a gut-wrenching climax. Waterfall's backstory comes through flashbacks to the toll the stalker has taken on her family, which add atmospheric vibes of dread when it comes to the things you fear are going to happen if our team of sleuths cannot crack the case in time - especially given the budding romance that Fields conjures between Lively and the surgeon. And just when you think you know where the story is heading, Fields drops the slickest of twists that has you questioning everything you thought you knew! 

Plus, if a suspenseful treat was not enough to keep you interested, Fields explores some meaty themes along the way too, particularly around toxic masculinity, stalking, and trauma, which will really provoke your thoughts.

It has been an age since I read a Helen Fields thriller, but Watching You has reminded me how good they are. I will be sure to catch up with the ones I have missed very soon!

Watching You is available to buy in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

A Sunday Times and million copy best-selling author, Helen is a former criminal and family law barrister.

Every book in the Callanach series has claimed an Amazon #1 bestseller flag. 'Perfect Kill' was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2020, and others have been longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize, Scottish crime novel of the year. Helen also writes as HS Chandler, and has released legal thriller 'Degrees of Guilt'. In 2020 Perfect Remains was shortlisted for the Bronze Bat, Dutch debut crime novel of the year. In 2022, Helen was nominated for Best Crime Novel and Best Author in the Netherlands. 

Now translated into more than 20 languages, and also selling in the USA, Canada & Australasia, Helen's books have won global recognition.

She has written standalone novels, The Institution, The Last Girl To Die, These Lost & Broken Things and The Shadow Man.

She regularly commutes between West Sussex, USA and Scotland.

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen (Paperback Release)

 

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen.

Published in paperback 14th August 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Love, murder, middle age, and a sauna to die for…

A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest moment: the new head of a sauna-stove company is murdered … in the sauna. Who has turned up the temperature and burned him to death?

The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and the victim’s successor at Steam Devil.

And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its purpose, and struggling with work weren’t enough, Anni realizes that she must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is behind it all – before it’s too late…

From the international bestselling author of Little Siberia and The Rabbit Factor, comes a darkly funny, delightfully tense new thriller that showcases humanity at its most bare – in middle age, suspected of murder and, of course, in a sauna…

***********

When Ilmo Rӓty (heir apparent at the illustrious Steam Devil sauna company) is burned to a crisp in his home sauna, top salesperson (and next in line for promotion) Anni Korpinen falls under suspicion as the cold-blooded murderer. But Anni is innocent, despite the damning evidence stacking up against her. She acknowledges she is not cut out to be a sleuth, but if she does not find out who really killed the unfortunate Ilmo from among her rivals fast, then she is in big trouble...

An Antti Tuomainen novel is always a breath of fresh Finnish air, beautifully combining a cracking crime story with dark humour and heart-felt emotion - and this is no exception. The story unfurls from the point of view of fifty-something Anni, who has spent the last twenty years working her way to the top by selling quality steam-stoves for the world's best saunas. And her job is a welcome respite from the cares of a marriage to a Formula One obsessed husband that is long past its sell-by date.

Finding herself in the spotlight as number one suspect in a very odd murder, as the likely successor to her boss, Erkki 'Stove King' Ruusula, Anni is up against it - but she is more of a Sherlock Holmes than she thinks herself to be. Digging into the shenanigans of her fellow employees at Stove Devil, she comes across some intriguing clues that might put her on the trail of the real killer... if she can stay alive long enough, of course.

All the delightfully absurd situations and characters I have come to expect in one of Tuomainen's books are here, cleverly sprinkled throughout the story to provide Anni with perplexing trials to overcome - cringe-worthy conversations; ridiculous planted evidence (I give you enchantingly named 'bumlets', and sauna ladles in places they were never intended to be); a steam-stove client fixated on true crime; awkwardly amorous, mambo-loving Erkki; and a police detective unable to let an old grudge about an enormous elk go... such fun!

There is so much poignancy in many of these situations and relationships, that Tuomainen touches on with tenderness in that gentle way he has - particularly around marital troubles, dementia, and second-chance love. And, as always, there is a delicious, quirky mystery that keeps you guessing right until the end. Excellent translation work from David Hackston once again too!

The way Anni transforms herself in this story is so heart-warming, reigniting the fire in her belly to forge her way out of the middle-aged rut she has fallen into. It was lovely to be at her side as she battled the odds to banish her ghosts, and found the happiness she deserved.

Nordic noir the Antti Tuomainen way is an absolute joy, and I am already looking forward to his next book!

*A version of this review was previously published in Ocotber 2024 for the hardback release.

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

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

About the author:

Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author.

In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published.

With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller and has been released as a TV series, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

About the translator:

David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). He also translates Antti Tuomainen’s stories.


In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki.

The Transcendent Tide (The Enceladons Book Three) by Doug Johnstone

 

The Transcendent Tide (The Enceladons Book Three) by Doug Johnstone.

Published 14th August 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

 It’s been eighteen months since the Enceladons escaped the clutches of an American military determined to exterminate the peaceful alien creatures.

Lennox and Vonnie have been lying low in the Scottish Highlands, Ava has been caring for her young daughter Chloe, and Heather is adjusting to her new life with Sandy and the other Enceladons in the Arctic Ocean, off the coast of Greenland. But fate is about to bring them together again for one last battle.

When Lennox and Vonnie are visited by Karl Jensen, a Norwegian billionaire intent on making contact with the Encedalons again, they are wary of subjecting the aliens to further dangers. But when word arrives that Ava’s daughter has suffered an attack and might die without urgent help, they reluctantly make the trip to Greenland, where they enlist the vital help of local woman Niviaq.

It's not long before they’re drawn into a complex web of lies, deceit and death. What is Karl’s company really up to? Why are sea creatures attacking boats? Why is Sandy acting so strangely, and why are polar bears getting involved?

Profound, ambitious and immensely moving, The Transcendent Tide is the epic conclusion to the Encedalons Trilogy – a final showdown between the best and worst of humanity, the animal kingdom and the Encedalons. The future of life on earth will be changed forever, but not everyone will survive to see it…

***********

Eighteen months have passed since the devastating events at the secret American military base, New Broom. The Enceladons have now fled Scottish waters in favour of a peaceful existence in the Arctic Ocean, off the coast of Greenland, and the humans that chose to go with them are adjusting to a new kind of life as part of Sandy's alien community - including Heather.

Ava yearns for some normality for herself and her daughter Chloe, while Lennox and Vonnie are hiding out in the highlands, keen to avoid any further attention. But their hopes for a quiet life are disrupted when Chloe suddenly becomes ill; and Lennox and Vonnie are approached by Karl Jensen, a Norwegian billionaire who knows far too much about their secrets.

The friends head to Greenland for a reunion with the Enceladons, where Heather has been questioning what is going on between the formerly peaceful aliens and the Arctic wildlife in the wake of strange animal attacks - something local woman, Niviaq, has also been wondering about.

Will the Enceladons be able to help Chloe? Can they trust the motives of a man who has made his fortune from exploiting others? Or are they just walking into another trap...?

Welcome to The Transcendent Tide, the blistering conclusion of Doug Johnstone's epic speculative trilogy, The Enceladons, which builds upon all the twists and turns of The Space Between Us, and The Collapsing Wave, to make a third instalment packed with all the action, excitement, and riveting themes that I was hoping for.

Fate brings humans and aliens face-to-face once more in Arctic waters, and Johnstone keeps the thrill level at max through the introduction of a new character, billionaire Karl Jensen, whose motives are unsettlingly murky... and by doubling down on the 'who can you really trust' factor, he takes the Enceladons in a more confrontational direction (hardly surprising given past events) which raises questions about their intentions too.

Through the combined perspectives of Heather, Ava, Lennox, Vonnie, and the fabulous Niviaq, Johnstone steers the plot through many shades of suspicion as the consequences of lies, deception, and starkly different philosophies propel the characters towards a final, violent showdown - with the people of Greenland slap bang in the centre of the battlefield. 

Against the Arctic backdrop, a suitably stormy blizzard of themes about the environment, friendship and community juxtapose those around the short-sighted interest of greedy corporations, and I loved how Johnstone has a ball with notions of 'the enemy of my enemy' and 'it's just business' throughout. Prepare to have your emotions get a through work-out, and have you thoughts provoked...

I am bereft that this is the final book of the series, but applaud Johnstone for leaving these characters on a hopeful note. He has certainly showed his hand when it comes to speculative fiction that does exactly what it should, and I very much hope he will decide to write more novels like this. Every scene, whether quiet and tender, or brutally visceral, has its place in making for a story that is so beautifully cinematic that if this series does not get an adaptation, it will surely be a crime against humanity (which certainly needs to learn the lessons Johnstone aims to teach his readers). 

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

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

About the author:

Doug Johnstone is the author of Fourteen novels, including The Great Silence, the third in the Skelfs series, which has been optioned for In 2021, The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. Black Hearts (Book four), was published in 2022, with The Opposite of Lonely (book five) out in 2023.

Several of his books have been bestsellers and award winners, and his first science fiction novel, The Space Between Us, was a BBC2 Between the Covers pick. He’s taught creative writing, been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years.

Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers.

He lives in Edinburgh.

The House At Devil's Neck (Spector Locked-Room Mysteries Book Four) by Tom Mead

 

The House At Devil's Neck (Spector Locked-Room Mysteries Book Four) by Tom Mead.

Published 14th August 2025 by Aries.

From the cover of the book:

This gripping locked-room mystery sees Joseph Spector investigate his most sinister case yet: murderous machinations at a haunted manor house.

A former First World War field hospital, the spooky old mansion at Devil's Neck attracts spirit-seekers from far and wide.

Illusionist-turned-sleuth Joseph Spector knows the house of old. With stories spreading of a phantom soldier making mischief, he joins a party of visitors in search of the truth.

But the house, located on a lonely causeway, is quickly cut off by floods. The stranded visitors are soon being killed off one by one.

With old ally Inspector Flint working on a complex case that has links to Spector's investigation, the two men must connect the dots before Devil's Neck claims Spector himself as its next victim.

***********

August, 1939. A group of unlikely 'tourists', including illusionist-turned-sleuth Joseph Spector, travel to a creepy manor house once used as a Great War hospital - each with their own reason for wishing to commune with the ghosts that haunt Devil's Neck. Little do they know that they are about to become involved in a locked-room murder mystery, as the weather closes around them.

Meanwhile, Spector's old ally Inspector Flint is involved in a locked-room puzzle of his own, when a bizarre suicide bears all the marks of a clever murder. As his investigation proceeds, an unsolved case from Flint's past connected to the dead man rears its ugly head... with a trail that also leads to Devil's Neck.

Charismatic illusionist Joseph Spector is back in a brand new mystery that will test his sharp insight to its limits. The story unfurls though two twisty threads - one for Spector and his fellow visitors to the infamous house at Devil's Neck, and the other via Inspector Flint. In typical Mead style, the threads twist and turn as murder, mayhem, and knotty posers come at you in close order, until the threads clash together in the kind of glorious tangle that only Spector can unravel - which he does with theatrical flair (of course).

Mead channels his love of Golden Age posers into every single aspect of this delicious novel, working in so many elements from my list of classic crime wants that I absorbed the whole story in a state of utmost glee - particularly when it comes to the pinnacle of locked-room settings, a manor house with a dark history, cut-off by location and inclement weather. It is so beautifully eerie and atmospheric, and uses every unsettling ounce of a seductive double-whammy premise of supernatural legend and gritty WWI horrors. 

And if the terrifying manor house aspect was not enough, weaving through the bloody footprints of spiritual subject matter, Flint's investigation blurs ghosts of his own on the personal and professional fronts. Using all the lessons he has learned from Spector, his entertaining storyline takes him to Devil's Neck for enlightening reckonings as the exciting climax plays out.

Mead layers theme upon luscious theme in this mystery, using meticulous research to craft a tale that is just as thought provoking as it is gripping. His characters are inspired by real life stories of ghost hunters, witch-finders, spiritualists, charlatans, illusionists, automatons, and performers, exploring themes of the power of suggestion, sleight of hand, and deception. And there is so much fascinating (and sad) history about the young men disfigured by war, and early attempts at designing prosthetics that aimed to rebuild their faces.

Mead's books are a sophisticated joy. I love everything about the way this series captivates you with intelligent classic crime whodunits, and invites you to pit your wits against Spector to solve them by examining the pertinent clues. I have not managed to solve one yet, but I have adored having a crack at the sleuthing game each time. I cannot wait for the next one!

The House at Devil's Neck 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, and to Ransom PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Tom Mead is a Derbyshire author and Golden Age crime afficionado.

His short stories have appear in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Best Crime Stories of the Year (edited by Lee Child). His novels have been nominated for the Capital Crime Award for Debut Novel of the Year, shortlisted for the Historical Writers' Association Debut Crown and long listed for the CWA Historical Dagger Award.

His books have also been named as crime novels of the year by The Guardian, Telegraph and Publishers Weekly. The series has been translated into ten languages (and counting) and is currently in development for screen adaptation.

Home Before Dark by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir

 

Home Before Dark by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir.

Transalted by Victoria Cribb.

Published 27th July 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsí has a secret penpal – a boy who lives on the other side of the country – but she has been writing to him in her older sister’s name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time.

But when the date arrives, Marsí is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes missing – her bloodstained anorak later found at the place where Marsí and her penpal had agreed to meet.

November, 1977. Stína’s disappearance remains unsolved. Then an unexpected letter arrives for Marsí It’s from her penpal, and he’s still out there…

Desperate for news of her missing sister, but terrified that he might coming after her next, Marsí returns to her hometown and embarks on an investigation of her own.

But Marsí has always had trouble distinguishing her vivid dreams from reality, and as insomnia threatens her sanity, it seems she can’t even trust her own memories.

And her sister’s killer is still on the loose…

***********

Iceland, November 1967. Marsi strikes up a correspondence with a secret penpal, a boy she is now planning to meet, but when the time comes she is unable to make it to their assignation. That same night her older sister Stina goes missing, leaving behind a bloodstained anorak on the roadside. She is never seen again. Marsi is consumed by the notion that Stina's disappearance is somehow related to her penpal - she can never reveal that she had been using Stina's identity to write to him instead of her own...

Ten years later, the mystery of Stina's disappearance remains unsolved. Plagued with insomnia, and feelings of guilt, Marsi returns home to her broken family for the anniversary of that fateful night. But this year something is different - her penpal has contacted her once again, and she is frightened he might be coming for her next. The time has come for her to find out once and for all what happened to her sister.

Every time I read one of Aegisdottir's cracking Nordic noir mysteries I am struck with the well-deserved comparisons between her work and that of the eminent Agatha Christie. I think this book, more than any of hers I have read before, shows every ounce of the talent that has earned her this reputation.

The story unfurls in two deliciously twisted timelines, through the narratives of Marsi in 1977, and Stina in 1967. In classic Aegisdottir style, she begins from the outset to lay plenty of false trails as the two timelines weave back and forth, delving into the tragic consequences of family dramas, friendship clashes, and coming of age struggles. 

Marsi's desperate quest for the truth drives the story, and she makes for a complicated protagonist as her chronic insomnia, the toll of the guilty feelings that haunt her, and half-remembered memories (that may of may not be true) warp her perception of events in past and present. As she delves into matters others would prefer she left alone, suspicion of those she thought she could trust only clouds her judgement further. 

The plot is devilishly clever. Aegisdottir deftly spins multiple threads of mystery about Stina's disappearance, shocking secrets, and Iceland's uncomfortable post-WWII history. She misleads, misdirects, and springs her carefully concealed traps like never before, all while immersing you in the gritty reality of a family torn apart by loss, and things that remain unsaid. And the atmosphere! It is thick with all the edgy suspense that comes from unsettled weather, brooding landscape, capricious characters with murky motivations, and unsettling locations you are bound to revisit in your nightmares.

I could not put this book down. Victoria Cribb's translation is crisp and viscerally gut-wrenching, doing full justice to the imagination of one of Iceland's most accomplished crime writers, and this book makes the perfect choice to celebrate Women in Translation month this August. Simply superb!

Home Before Dark is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats. You can support the very best of indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE

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

About the author:

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study her MSc in Globalisation when she was 25. 

After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. The book went on to win the CWA Debut Dagger, the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers' Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland. The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Iceland series) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit in July 2022. You Can’t See Me (book four) was released in 2023, with Boys Who Hurt out in 2024.

Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík.

We Live Here Now by C.D. Rose

 

We Live Here Now by C. D. Rose.

Published 7th August 2025 by Melville House.

From the cover of the book:

When a famous conceptual artist's installation project suddenly vanishes, the sinister aftershocks radiate outwards through twelve people who were involved in the project, changing all of their lives, and launching them on a crazy-quilt trajectory that will end with them all together at one final, apocalyptic bacchanal.

Mixing illusion and reality, simulacra and replicants, sound artists and death artists, performers and filmmakers and gallerists and journalists, We Live Here Now ranges across the world of weapons dealers and international shipping to the galleries and studios on the cutting edge of hyper-contemporary art.

Rose's characters are, as one of the puts it, in search of 'a gateway to the Un, the Ex, the Outer, the Under, the Anti, the Non, the Other Place, the Not,' and it is those mysterious Other Places where C. D. Rose weaves his surreal magic. We Live Here Now spins a dazzling web that conveys, with eerie precision, the sheer strangeness of what it is like to be alive today.

***********

Welcome to the world of art through the intriguing perspective of C.D. Rose, who explores a myriad of facets around the work, artists, and the sphere that surrounds them, via fourteen linked short stories to push your metaphysical boundaries.

Connecting them all is the enigmatic artist Sigismunda Conrad, her peculiar art installation We Live Here Now, and the twelve people who were involved in the project. From critics, to fellow artists, agents, fixers, and a selection of others on the fringes of the art world, Rose spins a tale about the almost mythical Conrad, rumours of strange disappearances, and the fact that the exhibition piece itself has subsequently vanished.

Between literary bookends from the perspective of an art critic, which brings everything full circle, each chapter explores the uncanny experiences of the characters. Through them Rose probes different artistic media, performance, perception, memory, illusion, corporate machines, murky investments, and even the fabric of space and time, in pursuit of answers to some pretty big questions... What is art, and what does it tell us about ourselves and the world around us?

For those of you that consider art to be a subject as dry as dust, then this the book to shatter your illusions. Rose pitches this somewhere between fever dream and philosophical investigation. He strikes out in a number of thought-provoking directions, blurring the line between speculative fiction and horror, to take you on an eerie existential journey.

It has been a good while since I read anything as wonderfully weird as this mind-bending odyssey, and I enjoyed every bizarre moment. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror.

We Live Here Now is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Melville House 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:

C. D. Rose is the author of four previous books, including The Blind Accordionist and Walter Benjamin Stares at the Sea. His short stories have appeared in Gorse, 3AM, The Quietus, and Best British Short Stories. He currently lives in the north of England.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

 

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

This edition published 22nd May 2025 by Pan Macmillan.

Originally published 4th September 2008.

From the cover of the book:

Rediscover The Forgotten Garden, the breathtaking intergenerational mystery from the multimillion-copy bestseller, Kate Morton.

Three women. Three generations. One spellbinding mystery . . .

Once upon a time, a little girl was found abandoned after a gruelling sea voyage from England to Australia. She carried nothing with her but a small suitcase of clothes, an exquisite volume of fairy tales and the memory of a mysterious woman called the Authoress, who promised to look after her but then vanished.

Years later, Nell returns to England to uncover the truth about her identity. Her quest leads her to the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast, but its long-forgotten gardens hide secrets of their own.

Now, upon Nell’s death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into a surprise inheritance: an old book of dark fairy tales and a ramshackle cottage in Cornwall. It is here that she must finally solve the puzzle that has haunted her family for a century, embarking on a journey that blends past and present, myth and mystery, fact and fable . . .

***********

Brisbane, 2005. When Cassandra's beloved grandmother passes away, leaving her a surprise inheritance, she discovers that there are many secrets that Nell kept from her. With only an old suitcase, a mysterious book of dark fairy tales, and the deed of a cottage in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor in Cornwall, Cassandra sets off on a quest to unravel the puzzle of her family's past.

Kate's Morton's beloved bestseller, The Forgotten Garden, is now available with a gorgeous new paperback cover design. Essentially, this is a tale of three women from the same family (spanning four generations), from the turn of the twentieth century onwards. The many layered story unravels through three narratives, Eliza, Nell and Cassandra, shifting in time and place between Australia and England, to reveal secrets, tragedies, and complex family history.

The pace of the novel is gentle and meandering (though not without its dramas), with a sprawling cast of characters, and little pieces of the mystery that connects the women coming together across all three timelines. Morton spins her threads to encompass Cassandra's adventures in the present, alongside Nell's research into her foundling origins (having arrived on the shores of Australia with only a few possessions and no memory of how she came to there); and (eventually) the sad history of authoress Eliza's connection to the Mountrachet family of Blackhurst Manor in Cornwall. 

A lot happens over the course of the story, but this is really a character-led piece that delves into identity, and the way the consequences of the women's decisions ripple through time (particularly when it comes to the Victorian melodrama of Eliza's tale). Sacrifice, self-destruction, loss, betrayal, and abandonment are the focus, which means your emotions get a battering, but Morton does craft a lovely uplifting ending around the significance of the 'forgotten garden', with a heart-warming romance for Cassandra as the threads draw together - and I loved the magical realism aspect of the novel, which uses Eliza's fables to great effect.

As my first venture into Morton's novels, I was intrigued about the delights its whopping 650+ pages would hold, and can now see what it is that attracts millions to her storytelling. Perhaps a little on the slow side to get going, but definitely one to immerse yourself in. 

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

KATE MORTON is an award-winning, Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author. Her novels - The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper, The Lake House, The Clockmaker's Daughter and Homecoming - are published in over 45 countries, in 38 languages, and have all been number one bestsellers around the world.

Kate Morton grew up in the mountains of southeast Queensland and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.

The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson

 

The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson.

Published 22nd July 2025 by Cassava Republic Press.

From the cover of the book:

Bradford, December 1962.

A precocious Mercy makes her reluctant entrance into the world, torn from the warm embrace of her mother’s womb, to a chaotic household that seems to have no place for her. Her siblings do not understand her, her mother’s attention is given to the Church, and the entire family lives at the whims of her father’s quick temper.

Left to herself, Mercy finds solace in books, her imagination, and the quiet comfort of her faithful toy, Dolly. But escapism has its limits, and as the grip of family, faith and fear threatens to close in, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future; one where she is seen, heard, and her family set free.

The Mercy Step is a sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion, and her refusal to be broken.

***********

Bradford, 1962. Mercy bursts forth on the world on a cold December day, swapping the peaceful warmth, and safety, of her mother's womb for the unwelcome shock of chaotic family life. Her ever-growing number of siblings seem to have nothing in common with her, her busy mother has little time for one daughter among many, and the household is dominated by the tempestuous moods of a father quick to violence.

Despite the fierce love she feels for her mother, quick witted Mercy learns she cannot rely on her for comfort. Instead she finds solace in books, daydreams, and the presence of her faithful plastic friend, Dolly, and sets herself apart by whiling away the hours in solitude on her favourite step of their damp, draughty Victorian home.

As Mercy grows, her family begins to disintegrate in a blur of abuse, dogma, and fear. If they are to have any kind of chance of real salvation, then she must be the one to 'fix-up' and take it upon herself to find a brighter future.

The Mercy Step is one of those irresistible coming of age stories that sucks you in heart and soul, which makes it very difficult to do justice to in a review. Mercy's voice rings out loud and clear, and it is the sheer strength of her mighty will that leads you through the story, from the days before her birth to the moment she realises she must be the one to dictate her own path... 

Mercy is born one freezing cold winter day, to Windrush generation parents whose vision of a Britain welcoming them with open arms is very quickly dispelled in a perfect storm of shattered illusions and grinding manual labour. The harsh realities of life exacerbate the strain of a dysfunctional marriage over-shadowed by domestic violence, cultural norms, loss, and religious strife, leaving the household constantly on edge. Every heart-rending moment is laid bare through the eyes of wise-beyond-her-years Mercy, as she tries to understand a bewildering world in which the adults around her do not seem to follow the rules of right and wrong. It is a lot for a child to deal with, especially on top of the complicated feelings that come with being a middle child in a family where her mother barely has time to give her the attention she craves.

Hutchinson spares nothing in describing every hard knock Mercy experiences. I shed many tears for her through her weighty trials and tribulations, but she has soul-stirring triumphs too. Mercy's determination not to be defeated by the weight of burdens much too heavy for her small shoulders, and her humorous inner dialogue, make her a force to be reckoned with. I completely adored her.

Mercy stands front and centre of this book, with a story as compelling as any you could wish for in a literary novel. With this comes the obvious talent of a writer who knows how to craft layers of substance around the fictional tale of a small Black girl in 1960's Bradford. Hutchinson allows you to look beyond Mercy's level of understanding to consider a wealth of subject matter connected to time, place, and the issues that faced Windrush families like Mercy's - particularly when it comes to the impact of poverty, racism, and expectation. She skilfully stiches in references to popular culture, the political landscape, and social change throughout, and makes this a heart-felt love letter to libraries too.

This book is mesmerising, holding you entranced from the very first, beautifully descriptive, words to the last. Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite books of 2025.

The Mercy Step is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Cassava Republic Press for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to FMcM Asscociates for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

MARCIA HUTCHINSON was born to Windrush generation Jamaican parents in the UK in 1962. She was the first pupil from her comprehensive school to go to Oxford, where she gained an MA in Law. She worked as a lawyer before founding the educational publishing company Primary Colours, which she ran until 2014.

She was awarded an MBE in 2011 for services to Cultural Diversity. Moving to Manchester in 2012, she became a community activist and was eventually elected as a Labour Councillor in 2021. She is now a full-time writer and an active member of the Black Writers' Guild.

She is the co-author with Kate Griffin (under the pseudonym Lila Cain) of the historical fiction novel The Blackbirds of St Giles, which will be published by Simon and Schuster in 2025. The Mercy Step is her literary debut as a solo writer.

 July 2025 Reading Round-Up

A very creditable fourteen books read and reviewed in July, and there are some absolute stunners among them. Click on the photos below to find out what I thought about them!

Getting Away by Kate Sawyer

Hard Copy by Fien Veldman

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie

The Village Cafe In The Loire by Gillian Harvey

Divinity Games by Lou Gilmond

The Heretic Cypher by Murray Bailey

The Jane Austen Insult Guide by Emily Reed

Murder In Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

Havoc by Rebecca Wait

Seven Recipes For Revolution by Ryan Rose

The Secrets Of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster

Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko

More great books coming in August!

Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko

 

Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko.

Published 3rd July 2025 by Oneworld.

From the cover of the book:

TWO UNFORGETTABLE STORIES. TWO FAMILIES. TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF HISTORY.

1854: When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Brisbane – or Edenglassie, as it was once briefly known – his community still outnumbers the British settlers. Tensions are simmering just beneath the surface of a fragile peace, but hopes for independence are running high. Yet when colonial unrest tears through the region, Mulanyin's passion for his new bride clashes with his loyalty to a homeland in danger.

Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny when her grandmother Eddie has a serious fall. Winona just wants the obstinate centenarian back on her feet, but a shrewd journalist has other ideas. Eddie becomes a local celebrity, dominating the headlines as 'Queensland's Oldest Aboriginal'.

Her time in the spotlight brings past and present crashing together, the legacy of Nita and Mulanyin's tragic past reaching into Winona and Eddie's lives with consequences they couldn't have predicted.

***********

Brisbane, 1854. Mulanyin meets and falls in love with beautiful Nita, but these are troubled times. While his community outnumbers the British settlers, tensions are high, and when colonial unrest finds him caught between the interests of his bride and his homeland, he faces difficult choices.

Brisbane, 2024. When one-hundred-year old Eddie takes a fall, it brings together her fiery granddaughter Winona and the doctor treating her obstinate grandmother, Dr Johnny. As love blossoms between Winona and Johnny, Eddie finds herself becoming a reluctant celebrity.

In a fascinating dual timeline novel, Lucashenko delves into Australia's troubled colonial past in Brisbane, once known as Edenglassie. The story unfurls in two timelines, the 1850s and 2024, which thrum with similar themes, despite the different backdrops.

Essentially, there are two emotional stories here, which clash together when the tragic past leads to consequences that ripple into the future. As a non-Aussie, what happens is a brutal education about uncomfortable history around the treatment of the country's indigenous population, and they are hard lessons to learn.

The rhythm of the story takes a little while to get going, and you do have to familiarise yourself with the pattern of spoken language, but the characters spark from the page - and once you get a handle on Lucashenko's writing, there is a lot to admire in her whip smart dialogue.

This book is a proper heart-wrencher, and I would find it hard to say I 'enjoyed' it given the heavy dose of darkness and violence that inevitably comes with it, but there are lovely moments of tenderness and a wealth of humour of the pitch black variety that keep you from being overwhelmed.

Powerful and haunting, this is just the kind of book that set you off down a rabbit hole of additional reading...

Edenglassie is available to buy now in paperback, 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:

Melissa Lucashenko is a Goorie (Aboriginal) author of Bundjalung and European heritage. Her first novel was published in 1997 and since then her work has received acclaim in many literary awards. Her sixth novel, Too Much Lip, won the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance. It was also shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, the Stella Prize, two Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, two Queensland Literary Awards and two NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Melissa is a Walkley Award winner for her non-fiction, and a founding member of human rights organisation Sisters Inside. She writes about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead.

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster

 

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster.

Published 29th May 2025 by Mantle.

From the cover of the book:

Inspired by an infamous real-life case, The Mourning Necklace is the unforgettable feminist historical novel from the Women's Prize-longlisted author of The Maiden, Kate Foster.

They said I would swing for the crime, and I did . . .

1724. In a tavern just outside Edinburgh, Maggie Dickson’s family drown their sorrows, mourning her death yet relieved she is gone. Shame haunts them. Hanged for the murder of her newborn child, passers-by avert their eyes from her cheap coffin on its rickety cart.

But as her family pray her soul rests in peace, a figure appears at the door.

It is Maggie. She is alive.

Bruised and dazed, Maggie has little time for her family’s questions. All that matters to her is answering this one: will they hang her twice?

***********

Edinburgh, 1724. Maggie Dickson's family are astonished when the last person they are expecting to see walks in the door, Maggie herself. For Maggie has just been hanged for the crime of concealing her pregnancy, and the death of her new born baby, and they have been drowning their sorrows at her wake.

Maggie somehow survived the gallows, but now she faces an uncertain future...

Kate Foster's incredible third novel is a captivating retelling of the story of 'Half Hanged Maggie', a woman who survived a hanging, and became one of Edinburgh's infamous historical characters. Her story is extraordinary, full of themes about poverty, loss, injustice, macabre fascination, public shame, and the sheer strength of character of eighteenth century Scottish women (especially the fishwives of Fisherrrow).

The story begins with Maggie 'returning from the dead', and then goes on to tell a compelling tale about the tragic path that brought the brutal weight of the law down upon her, how she may have survived, and the life she went on to lead. As is her forte, Foster's prose is rich; her plot is imbued with a slow-burn mystery to be solved; and her historical settings are vividly alive with atmospheric details of time and place.

I always adore her female cast members, who are realistically capricious and sympathetic in turn, shining out as living breathing, complicated characters with hopes and dreams that they cling to in distressingly difficult times. Maggie, more than any of Foster's characters before is one that it is easy to forge a connection with, I think. Her desires are so relatable, her aspirations are modest, and her coming of age is deeply moving. My heart was ripped to shreds at Maggie's fate at the mercy of laws which cast grieving women as criminals, and the unfeeling people who brought her to the gallows, but there is also stirring warmth to be found in her story, especially around the bonds of motherhood, family and friendship that ultimately give her restless soul some peace.

I have loved each and every one of Foster's stirring, feminist tales that give voice to women punished for simply wanting more, but this is absolutely my favourite one so far. Maggie worked her way into my heart, and I found myself utterly sobbing as I turned the final page of this beautiful novel. More please, Kate Foster!

The Mourning Necklace is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Kate Foster worked as a national newspaper journalist for more than twenty years before becoming an author. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. Her previous novels include The Maiden, which won the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and The King’s Witches. The Mourning Necklace is her third novel. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children.

The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore

 

The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore.

Published 31st July by Simon and Schuster.

From the cover of the book:

Secrets from the past, unravelling in the present…

Nancy Foster has harboured a devastating secret that shattered her professional and personal life. On meeting her, journalist Stef Lansdown realizes that she has the power to restore Nancy’s reputation and to heal the wounds, if only Nancy will trust her. 

But someone else wants to get to the bottom of the story first, someone who doesn’t want it to be told.

Set in the beautiful environs of the Norfolk Broads in 2010, and in London in the '40s and ‘50s, when life for career-driven women was so different, The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge is Sunday Times multi-million copy bestselling author Rachel Hore’s utterly compelling new novel, interweaving the past and the present.

***********

When journalist Stef Lansdown decides that her next project will be setting the record straight when it comes to the way the research of female scientists has been historically side-lined, or worse, she could not have foreseen how her own life would change in the process...

Fate brings Stef into contact with Dr Nancy Foster, who lives alone on a nature reserve on the Norfolk Broads, in ramshackle Dragonfly Lodge. As Stef strikes up a friendship with this elderly woman, she begins to realise that Nancy is an ideal candidate as a subject for her book - if only she can persuade Nancy to reveal the devastating secrets she has kept about her life and work.

But persuading Nancy to trust her is not going to be easy when someone is determined to keep the truth hidden, and Nancy's protective grandson, Aaron, is suspicious of Stef's motives.

Set in the beautiful Norfolk countryside, Rachel Hore's compelling new novel delves into the shocking history of the treatment of female scientists in post-war Britain, and is inspired by the experiences of her own mother and aunt in the late 1940s.

The story unfurls through the eyes of Stef in 2010, as she gets to know Nancy (and her grandson Aaron); and through flashbacks to Nancy's life, which she gradually reveals over the course of the book, once she knows she can trust Stef with the truth. The book is dominated with jaw-dropping detail about how Nancy's personal and professional lives were derailed by patriarchal manipulation, sexual discrimination, and the misjudged motives of others. It paints an authentic picture of time and place, with powerful themes of post-war attitudes; the conflicting demands of marriage, motherhood, and career; and the factual stories of women who were treated just like Nancy - all of which leaves a profoundly bitter taste in the mouth, 

In the present, Hore weaves in lovely threads about friendship, family, failed relationships, love, marriage, and community, and a gentle romance for Stef, all of which nicely echo many of the themes from Nancy's life. There is the grit of a sinister mystery about threatening letters, and an examination of corporate influence in scientific research too, which fill out an already hard-hitting novel. But, for all its thought-provoking substance, this is not a book without hope. I very much enjoyed the way Hore brings everything to an uplifting close, and her nature writing is lovely.

I consumed the 480 page heft of this compelling novel in a single sitting, which says a lot for how Rachel Hore can utterly absorb you with her writing. Highly recommended, especially if you love a book that shines a light on the untold history of women.

The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to join this Team BATC blog tour.

About the author:

Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she taught publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia until deciding to become a full-time writer. The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge is her fourteenth novel. She is married to the writer D.J. Taylor and they have three sons.

Seven Recipes For Revolution (What We Eat Book One) by Ryan Rose

 

Seven Recipes for Revolution (What We Eat Book One) by Ryan Rose.

Published 22nd July 2025 by Daphne Press.

From the cover of the book:

The Bear meets Attack on Titan in this exhilarating, food-based epic fantasy filled with high stakes and monster steaks, perfect for fans of Pierce Brown and Jay Kristoff.

Paprick is a common butcher, carving slabs of meat from gargantuan monsters so elite chefs can prepare magic-granting meals for the rich. But Paprick’s true passion is cooking, and if he can learn the secret art, his dreams of liberating his people and sharing the monsters’ magic with the world could come true. He steals the precious ingredients needed to practise recipes at home, but if he’s caught, he’ll be executed.

As his desperation grows, he ventures into the black market and uncovers a spice imported from unknown lands. Combining it with the last of his stolen meat, he cooks a dish the world has never tasted before, with side-effects he couldn’t have foreseen.

The dish’s magic grows Paprick to kaiju-size, and legends of his powers spread among the people. Immediately, the rulers arrest him, but Paprick convinces them to make him a chef’s apprentice—if they ever want to learn his Recipe. However, his exposure to the world of high cuisine reveals the rot at its centre, and with his new power, rebellion is only a few recipes away…

***********

Paprick is an apprentice butcher, spending his days carving meat from monstrous beasts called emphon, to supply the tables of the rich. He is forbidden to taste the meat himself, and benefit from the magical properties it provides, so when he steals some emphon to feed his own desires as a keen cook, he knows he is risking everything.

Desperate to learn the secrets of the recipes the Rare consume, he ventures to the black market in search of ingredients for his own dishes. Discovering an exotic imported spice, he is inspired to add to the scraps of emphon he has stolen. The results lead to unexpected consequences, but they also bring Paprick a chance to barter his unique recipe for a chance become the Chef he longs to be.

Little does he know that they will also lead to knowledge of the darkness as the heart of the dynasty that rules Ranch, and that the power he gains from his food might be the catalyst to spark rebellion...

With a brutal beginning that cuts to the bone, like the cleaver Paprick wields, Ryan Rose conjures a wickedly sharp fantasy debut that is unlike anything I have read before. The central themes of elitism, oppression, reckoning, and revolution may be familiar ones, and they make for a truly gripping adventure, but it is the way Rose manages something deliciously original with his food based magical system that marks this debut out from the crowd.

Rose's novel unfurls in two compelling threads, cutting back and forth from the present, where Paprick stands trial for the alleged crimes that have earned him the title 'The Butcher'; and the past, as he tells his version of the events that have led to the rebellion raging outside the prison walls, in a cracking retrospective.

The world building is complex, with a lot of context coming at you head on right from the first page, but Rose shows great skill in the way he gradually knits together the details of this society of Commons and Rares, and the history that has come before. Multiple strands of story weave together to make a tasty dish of triumphs and tragedies for the well drawn characters around Paprick (plenty to love and loathe amongst them), with a feast of bitter-sweet side orders of the bonds of family, love, conspiracy, betrayal, and war. Rose makes the sumptuous most of the theme of food, cooking, recipes, kitchen protocol, and culinary techniques - even going so far as to include full recipes for each course of Paprick's seven recipes for revolution, which I though was an inspired touch.

This is a book to get your teeth into (pun intended). I loved the way everything comes together in a kicker of an ending that promises much more appetizing plot to come in the next book in the trilogy, Eight Tastes of Treachery. My epic fantasy taste-buds are already watering in anticipation...

Seven Recipes for Revolution is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Black Crow PR/Daphne Press 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:

After escaping his hometown in Central Florida, Ryan Rose made his way to Los Angeles. There, he attended the University of Southern California, studying to become a chemical engineer. He was sure he would one day be an asteroid miner.

A year later, he became an English major working in Concert and Live Entertainment production and writing a fantasy novel, eager to become a full-time author. These days, Ryan lives in Oakland with his partner and their dog, which may in fact be a demon. He still works in event production (occasionally) but now works to support Democracy Policy, which is more relevant to revolutions at least. Ryan continues to write about ridiculous things, like a world where people eat kaiju to gain superpowers. At least he achieved that author thing part-time.

His debut epic fantasy novel, Seven Recipes for Revolution, debuts in July 2025. It is the first in the What We Eat trilogy. He is represented by Harry Illingworth of DHH Literary Agency.