Rainforest by Michelle Paver

 

Rainforest by Michelle Paver.

Published 9th October 2025 by Orion.

From the cover of the book:

The jungle watches. The dead remember.

The virgin rainforest seems a paradise to Englishman Simon Corbett. A last chance to salvage his career. A final refuge from a terrible secret.

But the jungle is no Eden. It hides secrets of its own. It does not forgive.

As Simon is drawn deeper into its haunted shadows, he learns to his horror that the past will not stay buried. For there are places in the forest where the line between the living and the dead is thinner than the skin of water.

A terrifying supernatural tale from Sunday Times bestseller Michelle Paver, author of Dark Matter, Thin Air and Wakenhyrst.

***********

Tortured by the death of Penelope, a young woman he was obsessed with, entomologist Simon Corbett heads to the Mexican rainforest to lose himself in his work. This is his last chance to save his career, and he hopes to win tenure by finding a new species of mantid.

When Simon arrives at the archaeological site exploring ancient Mayan ruins that has agreed to host him, he realises the professor in charge expects him to pull his weight on the dig. Frustrated that he is unable to follow his own agenda, and uncomfortable with the presence of the natives employed on the venture, Simon succumbs to the weight of the secrets he is keeping. His ghosts have followed him into the heart of the rainforest, and he is willing to risk anything to free himself from their presence...

I adore a good ghost story, and Michele Paver's unsettling creations are among the best I have ever read - especially the hair-raising Dark Matter, which tops my poll as the scariest horror yarn of all time. Back on the ghost trail, Paver now heads to the steamy wilderness of the Mexican rainforest, with a tale that ventures into delicious fever dream territory.

The story is set in the 1970s, and unfurls through the eyes of Simon Corbett, a man recovering from a breakdown, and desperately trying to get back to his twisted idea of normality. For the most part, his narrative takes the form of journal entries, which he fills with an erratic mix of his version of current events, and his reflections on the past. From the beginning, it is clear that Penelope died under circumstances which he believes he may have been responsible for, and as past and present weave together, the guilt he feels over his stalkerish ways feeds into a new obsession - the need to summon her spirit for a reckoning.

The claustrophobic rainforest back drop is an atmospheric delight - especially given the dig's location amongst Mayan ruins steeped in blood, and the presence of an indigenous population who believe in the power of magic. Simon's paranoia overwhelms him, and soon he is upsetting the 'natives', his compatriots, and his own sanity, as he relentlessly searches for elusive mantids at the same time as a way to connect with Penelope beyond the grave. Reality bleeds into the supernatural as Simon calls something from beyond the veil, and Paver hits her discomfiting stride to perfection once again as you become lost in deciding how much is real and how much is madness.

Thought-provoking themes abound. Simon's views on the indigenous population, and women, are uncomfortable, but they offering interesting insight when it comes to the prevailing attitudes of time and place. There is lots of fascinating context about Mayan history, local beliefs, flora and fauna, and there are heartrending references to exploitation too.

Shades of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness pulled me in completely, and I absolutely consumed this story from cover to cover. Spot-on for spooky season!

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

Thank you to Orion for sending me a proof 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:

Michelle Paver was born in central Africa and came to England as a child. After gaining a degree in Biochemistry from Oxford University, she worked as a solicitor before giving up the law to write full-time. Her books include the internationally bestselling Wolf Brother series for younger readers, and the acclaimed supernatural novels Dark Matter, Thin Air, and Wakenhyrst.

Let The Bells Ring Out by Milly Johnson

 

Let The bells Ring Out by Milly Johnson.

Published 23rd October 2025 by Simon and Schuster.

From the cover of the book:

Seven people, four days and a snowy Christmas on board a luxury sleeper train. This festive season getting away from it all takes on a new meaning…

The Yorkshire Belle is a glamorous steam train all decked out for an escapist festive getaway. It is not supposed to be where a group of people, all trying to get to their destinations for the holidays, will spend their Christmas.

Seven people, each with their own hopes and dreams, secrets and sorrows, board the train as strangers, but as the snow keeps falling and they realise they are going nowhere fast, they are forced to slow down and embrace the present.

This Christmas on board the Yorkshire Belle, will the friendships they make change their lives forever?

***********

December, 23rd. Seven strangers are on their way to destinations that promise little in the way of seasonal joy, when a sudden blizzard brings them all together at a tiny deserted station in the North of England. When a train finally arrives, they are astonished to find it is a steam locomotive pulling luxury coaches.

Making themselves at home for the short hop to the station where they can pick up connecting services, they are relieved to be in the warm and dry, but as the freezing weather worsens, the train becomes stuck in the middle of nowhere. Realising they will have to make the best of it, the travellers come together to celebrate Christmas, cut off from the rest of the world... not realising that their unexpected adventure will change their lives for ever.

In a brand new festive tale to warm the cockles of your heart, Milly Johnson brings seven strangers together in the middle of a snowstorm, each of them carrying a lot more baggage than the suitcases they haul aboard the beautiful Yorkshire Belle. 

The story unfurls over four days while a snow storm swirls around the train, with a lovely little nod to Hercule Poirot (though a lot less murdery). The group cobble together a Christmas celebration that has them making the most of store rooms packed with delicious food, state rooms to put the Orient Express to shame, and comfortable beds to rest their weary heads. With phone signals down, and only the voice and festive tunes of amateur radio broadcaster Brian Bernard Cosgrove (the real BBC Radio) to let them know the world exists outside their snowed-in cocoon, time stands still, and they begin pondering on their problems. 

Gradually, the small cast of characters reveal their relationship and family sorrows in a mix of painful internal reflections and intense conversations, which tug mercilessly on your heartstrings. By sharing their own experiences they are able to give each other fresh insight about what ails them, particularly when it comes to loss, loneliness, forgiveness, and having the courage to follow their hearts. In the special way Johnson has, she floods the story with tenderness, humour, and gorgeous romantic suspense. As the barriers came down between them, hope wins the day, and life-long friendships are forged.

I took every single character to heart, totally invested in their emotional journeys. The snowy setting is beautifully atmospheric, thrumming with nostalgic Christmas magic (in more ways than one), and the way Johnson uses the theme of bells is enchanting. An absolute sob-fest, of the very best kind. Make sure you have a whole box of tissues on stand-by!

Let the Bells Ring Out is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to join this Books and the City blog tour.

About the author:

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is the author of 23 novels, 4 short story ebooks, a book of poetry and a Quick Reads Novella ('The Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe') and was an erstwhile leading copywriter for the greetings card industry. She is also a poet, a professional joke-writer, a newspaper columnist and a seasoned after dinner speaker.

She won the RoNA for Best Romantic Comedy Novel of 2014 and 2016, the Yorkshire Society award for Arts and Culture 2015, the Romantic Novelist Association Outstanding Achievement award in 2020, the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award in 2021 and the Richard Whiteley Award for Inspiration to the County of Yorkshire in 2022.

She writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate her beloved Yorkshire.

The Blue Of You by Amanda Huggins

 

The Blue Of You by Amanda Huggins.

Published 23rd October 2025 by Northodox Press.

From the cover of the book:

Every Christmas Eve, Janey Shaw is reminded of the tragic death of her schoolfriend, Alice, and the untidy ending of her relationship with Rory Brook, her first love. 

When Janey leaves London to return to her hometown on the North-East coast of England, the ghosts of her unresolved past lie in wait.

There, Janey meets a coble fisherman, Tom Inglewood, and admires his ambitions to preserve the traditional way of life in their community and to stop second-home owners from painting over the town’s heritage.

Can she start to build a new life and finally paint over her own past? Or will she have to confront her ghosts as Christmas draws closer?

***********

Christmas Eve, 2010. Born and bred in the small sea-side town of Langwick Bay, on the North-East coast of England, Janey feels a yearning to escape. The festive season is filled with ghosts since the tragic death of her friend, Alice, and she feels the time is right to head for the bright lights of London to follow her dream of being a journalist, hopefully in the company of her boyfriend, Billy. But the night ends in a tangle of emotions when an argument erupts between her and Billy up on the snowy moors, and an unexpected encounter with her childhood friend Rory tears her heart in two.

Ten years later, Janey is back in Langwick Bay. A broken marriage to Billy lies in her wake, and she feels it is time to try to lay the past to rest. Loneliness has her pondering on a meeting with Rory that might rekindle the spark that ignited between them all those years ago, but instead she meets fisherman Tom Inglewood. Janey is drawn to Tom's passion to keep the Langwick Bay community alive, and celebrate its fishing heritage. She finds herself falling for him, but as Christmas draws near, she knows she will have to confront the memories that haunt her before she can find happiness.

I am a huge fan of the writing of award-winning author, Amanda Huggins. Her poetry, short stories, and novellas are beautifully atmospheric, and thrum with powerful emotions. This is no exception.

Huggins begins with a visit to the fateful festive night that Janey makes the decision to leave Langwick Bay, and then jumps forward in time ten years when she returns disillusioned, with a lot of baggage to work through. Her home town has changed in many ways, but in others it remains the same, filled with the same ghosts she left behind. Janey starts to reconnect with people, gaining different insight on past events, and the mysteries that lie behind her painful memories are gradually revealed, until the story comes deliciously full circle.

Echoes of Huggins' earlier work abound, as she explores many of her favourite emotive themes. Lucious threads about coming of age, love, loss, escape, family, friendship and forgiveness (of oneself and others) mingle with those around the issues facing small communities in modern times, the importance of heritage and tradition, and the irresistible pull of a capricious sea. The enchantment of folklore weaves throughout, something Huggins does so well, especially when it comes reflecting the dilemmas of her characters - I loved how she uses mermaids in Janey's tale, and once again sprinkles in a little Japanese charm (another of her many talents). The use of the colour blue is exquisite too.

Utterly magical, heartfelt, and affecting, this is Huggins at her spellbinding best. I savoured every single word, and turned the final page with eyes brimming over with tears. 

The Blue of You is available to buy now in paperback, from all good book sellers. You also support indie publishing by buying direct from Northodox Press HERE.

About the author:

Amanda Huggins was brought up on the North Yorkshire coast and now lives near Leeds. She is the author of two previous novellas and several short story and poetry collections. Her work has been broadcast on BBC radio and has been widely published in national newspapers and magazines. She has won, among others, the Colm Tóibín Short Story Award, the Kyoto City Mayoral Prize, the BGTW New Travel Writer of the Year and three Saboteur Awards. She has also placed in the Harper’s Bazaar, Costa, Bath and Fish prizes and been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize.

Bea's Book Wagon by Julie Haworth

 

Bea's Book Wagon by Julie Haworth.

Published 9th October 2025 by Simon and Schuster.

From the cover of the book:

Set in the fictional Sussex village of Blossom Heath, and featuring characters you will know and love from Julie Haworth’s RNA Katie Fforde Debut of the Year Always By Your Side and follow up New Beginnings at The Cosy Cat Café, Bea’s Book Wagon is a cosy, uplifting and comforting romance that tells the story of two love-interest heroes vying for Bea’s heart – her artisan-cheesemaking childhood sweetheart and a knock-you-off-your-feet property developer.

After impulsively jacking in her dead-end temp job and investing her life savings in a ramshackle old horsebox, Bea sets about turning her dream of running a bookshop into a reality, and opens Bea’s Book Wagon. But it’s not all smooth sailing, and as Bea struggles with the challenges of running her own small business, she can only hope that her love of literature and the power of reading can help transform the lives of her friends, her community and herself in the process.

***********

Fed up with a dead-end temp job for a boss who has strained her every last nerve, Bea quits in a sudden fit of rebellion. Unsure what to do next, or how she will break this to her parents, Bea starts to ponder whether it might be time to turn her dream of running a book shop into a reality.

Fuelled by alcohol, Bea sinks her life savings into buying a tatty old horsebox, which she plans to turn into Bea's Book Wagon. The enormity of what she has taken on hits her as soon as she sobers up, but with a little help from her friends (including her childhood sweetheart, Nathan), she is soon up and running - and bursting with ideas to bring the Blosson Heath community together too.

Bea's business is a roaring success, but not without a number of challenges. She also finds herself with some decisions to make about her heart, when long-held feelings for Nathan begin to clash with those she is developing for newly arrived, flashy property developer Lochlan..

It was such a joy to return to Blossom Heath for the third time, with a brand new Julie Haworth romance that is packed with delicious bookish content. At the centre of the story, Bea throws caution to the wind to follow her dream of owning a book-shop, but she has many trials and tribulations to overcome on the way - of the personal and professional kinds.

Lots of familiar faces from the Blossom Heath community put in a appearance to help Bea in her endeavours, and take part in the many bookish activities she sparks into life, making the most of Haworth's familiar themes of family, friendship, and pulling together in adversity, which I loved. 

There is plenty of lovely romantic suspense too, as Bea has to choose where her happiness lies. Does she belong with big-hearted Nathan, who knows her well, or the excitement of life in the fast-lane with Lochlan? There is an obvious correct answer in this book... I was team Nathan all the way, as a firm friends-to-lovers fan, and had more than a few tears to shed when the gorgeous happy ending rolled around.

The perfect cosy romance to warm your heart on an autumnal day, packed with content that will delight any book lover, and my favourite Blossom Heath book so far!

Bea's Book Wagon is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to join this Books and the City blog tour.

About the author:

Julie Haworth writes uplifting stories about friendship and community, bursting with romance and charm, from her home in the bustling city of Chelmsford, Essex. Her debut novel, Always By Your Side, won the RNA's Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel award in 2023 and her second novel, New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Café, was shortlisted for the RNA’s Popular Romantic Novel award in 2025. Julie is still pinching herself that she’s realised her lifelong dream of becoming a published author!

When she’s not busy writing or running her copywriting business, Julie can mainly be found shopping, drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee and hanging out with her two rescue cats. Julie is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors.

No Safe Place To Hide (The Philippines Thrillers Book One) by Murray Bailey

 

No Safe Place To Hide (The Philippines Thrillers Book One) by Murray Bailey.

Published in paperback 10th October 2025 by Three Daggers.

Coming in ebook 24th October 2025.

From the cover of the book:

A gripping noir thriller that exposes the dark heart of a nation in turmoil.

Journalist Martin Gillie has vanished, and his wife wants him found. It seems like a straightforward case for newly arrived Ash Carter. But in post-war Philippines, nothing is ever straightforward.

Carter follows a trail that leads from the smoky boxing rings of Manila to the rebel-haunted provinces. And as Carter digs, with each uncovered clue, the stakes rise higher. The police can't be trusted. The military has its own agenda.

Carter begins to wonder: Is Martin Gillie hiding from something—or someone? And if Carter finds him, will either of them live to tell the story?

***********

Forced to flee Singapore for his own safety, after a betrayal he did not see coming, Private investigator Ash Carter is hoping for a new start in Hong Kong. But on an eventful layover in the Philippines, he bumps into an old compatriot from his military investigator days, Bill Wolfe, and decides to change his plans. Wolfe, now running a bar, is in a bad way after becoming involved with an investigation that went tragically awry. Carter is hopeful that he can help Wolfe find his way back to a steady path, if he can get him to open up about the events that haunt him.

Meanwhile, the opportunity to reprise his own role as a PI comes Carter's way when the wife of a missing journalist asks for his help in finding her husband. It seems like a straightforward job, but as Carter digs into the circumstances surrounding the journalist's disappearance, it dawns on him that he has taken on a much bigger case than he expected - one he will be lucky to survive...

Ash Carter is back with an explosive new mystery! I am a huge fan of the Ash Carter books having consumed the Singapore Mysteries, and the prequel series set in Cyprus/Palestine/Israel (as well as the compelling trilogy that follows Carter's most dangerous foe, BlackJack, in Hong Kong), so I am delighted that Bailey has taken up his pen to write more adventures for him - this time in the post-war chaos of the Philippine Islands.

This new mystery picks up the thread following Carter's less than glorious departure from Singapore, where his life came crashing down in a delicious tangle of revelations that he has yet to come to terms with. Hong Kong is his destination, but fate intervenes to land him in Manila, where he reconnects with Bill Wolfe. Carter, being Carter, he cannot find it within him to abandon Wolfe in his hour of need, even if his old compatriot is determined to rebuff his kindly attentions, and soon he is up to the the kind of shenanigans that bring out the best in him.

The story unfurls with Carter travelling all over the Philippine islands trying to discover what the missing journalist was working on to have made rich and powerful enemies, finding unlikely allies along the way amongst a great new cast of characters. At the same time, he is determined to save Wolfe by getting to the bottom of the tragedy that has his friend on a self-destructive journey to alcohol-induced oblivion. And he has a lot of his own baggage to work through too.

Danger lurks on bustling street-corners and remote jungle roads; in smoky dive-bar environs and suspiciously helpful offices of authority; even in the vicinity of Manila's boxing circles as Carter returns to working out his frustrations on the canvas. Nowhere is safe from the unwanted attentions of criminal types who hide in plain sight, and those who employ respectable reputations to mask their murky machinations, and Bailey keeps the thrill level enjoyably set to the max as the plot thickens - before tying up the threads of more than one mystery in a very satisfying ending.

As is his forte, Bailey immerses you in time and place with rich settings that drip with well-researched historical detail, weaving gorgeous 1950's noir atmosphere into the proceedings, and he does an excellent job of getting to grips with the complicated political and societal situations that motivate his antagonists. I have learned so much about post-war history through Carter's eyes in Bailey's books, and this one is no exception.

This is a fine first instalment of a new era for Ash Carter, with real legs to run and run. I am already looking forward to the next one.

No Safe Place To Hide is available to buy now in in paperback and ebook formats.

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

About the author:

Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father's experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines. The Heretic Cypher is the first book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.

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

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

Moscow Underground by Catherine Merridale

 

Moscow Underground by Catherine Merridale.

Published 14th August 2025 by Fontana.

From the cover of the book:

Moscow, 1934.

Moscow's glittering new subway is under construction at last. The first line will run through the centre of the city, cutting deep through Moscow soil. But futures cannot be created without digging up the past. Though Russia's leaders want to build a glorious Soviet capital, what holds them in a fatal grip is history: old mud and bones.

Anton Belkin is an Investigator at the Procuracy, a sensitive job at a dangerous moment on the road to the Show Trials. He is also someone who needs to keep his head down. His artist father was once the darling of the revolutionary avant-garde, a painter whose work could inspire devotion and great sacrifice. But now his dreams are out of place, too loud and red in Stalin's world of sterile rules and rubber stamps.

Anton is dragged into a murder case. A prominent archaeologist, working alongside the subway dig, has been killed in a deserted mansion. Though Anton doesn't want the job, his former lover, Vika, who is now a powerful member of the secret police, browbeats him into paying a visit to the site with her. Against his better judgement he is drawn to follow though, embarking on investigations that will almost certainly get him killed.

Deep underground, he finds a priceless secret that could genuinely unlock the future but links him to a vicious internecine fight for power in the young Soviet state. In the process, he is forced to reconsider the history he shares with Vika and the bonds that bind them both.

Moscow Underground is a sweeping novel of life, death and politics in the quicksand world of Stalin's tyranny.

***********

Moscow, 1934. In the run up to the Workers' First of May celebrations, Moscow is remaking itself to fit Stalin's vision, including the construction of an extensive metro system designed to put the West to shame.

Anton Belkin is an Investigator at the Procuracy, walking a fine line between upholding Soviet law and straying into sensitive political matters that might bring him unwelcome attention in these dangerous times. But Anton is reluctantly dragged into the murky power games of others when his former lover, Vika, a prominent member of the secret police, forces him to become involved in a murder investigation which is likely to get him killed.

Anton finds himself fighting for survival as he tries to discover why the body of an academic, who was advising on historical artifacts dug up during the metro construction, has been found bloody and battered in the ruins of a former mansion. Peril lurks at every turn, and Anton is constantly worried about the safety of himself, his friends, and his outspoken artist father - once a darling of the revolution and now perilously out of fashion with Stalin's ideals. What secrets lie deep underground in Moscow's mud, and who would be willing to kill in order to discover them?

In a luscious combination of detailed research, a setting that crackles with an appropriately tense atmosphere of time and place, glorious characterisation, and a fabulous story of love, death, past and future under Stalin's tyranny, Catherine Merridale's Moscow Underground is a triumph.

The story unfurls largely in 1934 as Anton does his best to get to the bottom of a deliciously layered murder mystery about why an unassuming archaeologist has been killed. Punctuating the slow-burn action, Merridale cleverly inserts flashbacks to the backstory of Anton and Vika's relationship during the chaos of war, which gradually explain the bonds that tie them together.

It is very difficult to convey quite how the weaving together of mystery, emotion, and insightful examination of the Soviet psyche of this era comes together to create such a compelling novel. Merridale catches you up in a sweeping historical crime story, wrapped up in oppressive Orwellian chill, with moments of real tenderness, and an unexpected touch of an adventurous Indiana Jones-esque quest for treasure.

Glorious themes echo throughout, wreathed in capricious political ideology, ambition, bureaucracy, corruption, paranoia, orthodoxy, and surveillance. The way Merridale explores Russia's complicated relationship with its past is fascinating, and I loved how she reflects this theme in the relationships of her characters too, particularly when it comes to Anton, Vika, and Anton's father. I adored how this novel pivots on the things that are unsaid - so much relies on the skilful way she has you reading between the lines. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written novel, totally consumed from start to finish, and here for every brilliant twist and turn. There is scope here for a sequel that I would very much like to read too... more please!

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

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

About the author:

Catherine Merridale is an award-winning writer and broadcaster with an internationally acknowledged expertise in Russia and the former Soviet Union. A pioneer of oral history in the region, her first major book, Night of Stone (Granta, 2000), won the Royal Society of Literature's Heinemann Prize and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2001. More recently, Red Fortress: The Secret Heart of Russia's History (Allen Lane, 2013) won both the Wolfson History Prize and the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize in 2014. Ivan's War (Faber, 2005) tells the stories of ordinary Red Army soldiers in Europe's last great land-based war, while Lenin on the Train (Allen Lane, 2016) tracks Europe's collective and bungling responsibility for the Great October Revolution.

Henry V by Dan Jones (Paperback Release)

 Henry V by Dan Jones

Published in paperback 9th October 2025 by Apollo, Head of Zeus.

The UK's bestselling medieval historian brings unforgettably to life the astonishing rise of Henry V, who survived rebellion, a near-fatal arrow wound and a lengthy and precarious princely apprenticeship to become England's greatest warrior king.

Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months, and died at the age of just 35, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond.

The victor of Agincourt was a model king for his successors. Shakespeare's version of Henry V saw his youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship, and in the dark days of World War II, Henry's victories in France were recounted in British propaganda. Churchill called Henry 'a gleam of splendour in the dark, troubled story of medieval England', while for one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, 'the greatest man who ever ruled England'.

For Dan Jones, Henry is one of the most intriguing characters in all medieval history, but one of the hardest to pin down. He was a hardened, sometimes brutal, warrior, yet he was also creative and artistic, with a bookish temperament. He was a leader who made many mistakes, who misjudged his friends and family members, yet always seemed to triumph when it mattered.

As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England's borders; in foreign diplomacy, he made England a serious player once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses.

Dan Jones's life of Henry V provides unprecedented insight into the critical first 26 years of his life before he became king. Both a standalone biography and a completion of Dan's sequence of English medieval histories that began with The Plantagenets and The Hollow Crown, Henry V is a thrilling and unmissable life of England's greatest king from our best-selling medieval historian.

Henry V is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook, paperback and audio formats.

About the author:

Dan Jones is a bestselling historian, TV presenter and award-winning journalist. His non-fiction books, which have sold more than a million copies worldwide, include the Sunday Times bestsellers THE PLANTAGENETS, THE TEMPLARS, POWERS AND THRONES and HENRY V. His fiction includes the acclaimed Essex Dogs trilogy, set during the Hundred Years War, concluding with LION HEARTS. 

Dan has written and presented numerous TV series including Secrets of Great British Castles, Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets and London: 2000 Years of History. He writes and hosts the Sony Music podcast This is History. 

For a decade Dan was a weekly columnist for the London Evening Standard; he has also contributed to dozens of newspapers and magazines worldwide, including the New York Times, Sunday Times, Telegraph and Spectator. 

He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces.

Deadman's Pool (DI Ben Kitto Book 8) by Kate Rhodes

 

Deadman's Pool (DI Ben Kitto Book 8) by Kate Rhodes.

Published 25th September 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

DI BEN KITTO RETURNS…

A SACRED ISLAND

Winter storms lash the Isles of Scilly, when DI Ben Kitto ferries the islands’ priest to St Helen’s. Father Michael intends to live as a pilgrim in the ruins of an ancient church on the uninhabited island, but an ugly secret is buried among the rocks. Digging frantically in the sand, Ben’s dog, Shadow, unearths the emaciated remains of a young woman.

A SHOCKING MURDER

The discovery chills Ben to the core. The victim is , with no clear link to the community – and her killer has made sure that no one will find her easily.

A KILLER ON THE LOOSE

The storm intensifies as the investigation gathers pace. Soon Scilly is cut off by bad weather, with no help available from the mainland. Ben is certain the killer is hiding in plain sight. He knows they are waiting to kill again – and at unimaginable cost.

***********

DI Ben Kitto's day takes a shocking turn when he ferries priest, Father Michael, to uninhabited St Helen's for a pilgrimage. As he frets about the priest's chances camping during the winter storms currently lashing the Isles of Scilly, Ben's dog unearths an emaciated corpse on the beach.

Forensic examination shows the body to belong to a young Vietnamese woman, who seems to have no connection to Scilly, but as the murder investigation gets underway Ben begins to suspect that there may actually be a killer living in one of the island communities where he has made his home...

Kate Rhodes is an exciting new signing to Orenda Books, where her Isles of Scilly mysteries, featuring DI Ben Kitto, have found a new home with book eight, Deadman's Pool. I have not read any of the earlier instalments in this series, so embarking on an adventure with Ben Kitto did involve some picking up the threads of a fair bit of backstory, but the mystery itself is largely self-contained so I had no problem reading this as a new-comer.

Flipping back and forth between the narrative of a young Vietnamese woman called Mai, and a murder investigation from Ben's perspective, Rhodes draws you into a mystery that grips you like a vice from the very first page. Mai's account of years of abuse at the hands of an unidentified captor is utterly heartrending, and her fear feeds elegantly into the slow-burn police procedural elements of the search for a murderer driven by Ben's own despair - especially when he realises that the man they are looking for must be hiding in plain sight. 

Rhodes really knows how to keep you guessing, lining up a set of highly suspicious candidates for the role of guilty party, and mixing in the whisper of conspiracy to cloud your judgement. As the action gathers in pace, I really did not know who to trust, and the heart-pounding tempo builds relentlessly into the most beautifully choreographed climax that has danger coming much too close to Ben's own family for comfort.

I absolutely loved the way this story is set against the wind and wuthering of storm season, which  heightens the tension, and feelings of isolation and desperation. Unpredictable weather, and fragmented communities separated by the capricious sea stand as characters in their own right, creating an atmosphere to quite literally die for. And there are glorious themes for you to get your teeth into around people trafficking, family ties, and the difficulties faced by island communities in terms of economy and environment.

My first Kate Rhodes, but definitely not my last!

Deadman's Pool is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can buy direct from Orenda Books HERE.

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

About the author:

Kate Rhodes is an acclaimed crime novelist and an award-winning poet, selected for Val McDermid's New Blood panel at Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival for her debut, Crossbone Yard. She has been nominated twice for the prestigious CWA Dagger in the Library award, and is one of the founders of the Killer Women writing group.

She lives in Cambridge with her husband, the writer and film-maker Dave Peascod, and visited the Scilly Isles every year as a child, which gave her the idea for the critically acclaimed Isles of Scilly Mysteries series.

September 2025 Reading Round-Up

September was hectic on the home and family front, but somehow I managed to fit in 14 books - go me!

You can make your way to my reviews by clocking on the pictures below

 - there are some real gems here! 

All Wrapped Up by Heidi Swain

The Nightingale Dilemma by Katy Moran

Emma by Jane Austen

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

Clown Town by Mick Herron

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

The Howling by Michael J. Malone

The Winter Warriors by Olivier Norek

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

London Rain by Nicola Upson

A Lethal Legacy by Gudrun Gudlaugsdóttir

Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby

The Midnight Secret by Karen Swan

More great books to come in October!

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

 

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

Published 24th April 2025 by Pan Macmillan.

From the cover of the book:

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

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

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

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

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

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

***********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the author:

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

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

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

Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby

 

Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby.

Published 25th September 2025 by Northodox Press.

From the cover of the book:

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

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

***********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the author:

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

A Lethal Legacy by Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir

 

A Lethal Legacy by Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir.

Translated by Quentin Bates.

Published 20th September 2025 by Corylus Books.

From the cover of the book:

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

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

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

***********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the author: 

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

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

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

 

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

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

From the cover of the book:

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

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

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

***********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the author:

m

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

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

 

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick.

Published 25th September 2025 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

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

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

***********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the author:

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

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

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