The Moon Gate by Amanda Geard

 

The Moon Gate by Amanda Geard.

Published 8th June 2023 by Headline.

From the cover of the book:

A faded photograph. An abandoned house. A wartime secret...

1939: On the eve of war, young English heiress Grace Grey travels from London to the wilderness of Tasmania. Coaxed out of her shell by the attentions of her Irish neighbour, Daniel - Grace finally learns to live. But when Australian forces are called to the frontline, and Daniel with them, he leaves behind a devastating secret which will forever bind them together.

1975: Artist Willow Hawkins, and her new husband, Ben, can't believe their luck when an anonymous benefactor leaves them a house on the remote Tasmanian coast. Confused and delighted, they set out to unmask Towerhurst's previous owner - unwittingly altering the course of their lives.

2004: Libby Andrews has always been sheltered from the truth behind her father Ben's death. When she travels to London and discovers a faded photograph, a long-buried memory is unlocked, and she begins to follow an investigation that Ben could never complete. But will she realise that some secrets are best left buried . . .?

From the author of the Richard and Judy Book Club pick The Midnight House, a mesmerising story of love, war, and a mystery that ensnares three generations, sweeping the reader from London to Tasmania and to Ireland. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Lucinda Riley and Eve Chase.

***********

1939: Fifteen-year-old heiress Grace Grey is evacuated from London to the other side of the world, in the company of her pretty chaperone Rose Munro, to spend the war with her uncle Marcus on the wild western coast of Tasmania. Shy and retiring, downtrodden by her cold, formidable mother Eveline, and constantly overshadowed by Rose, Grace has no idea of her own worth. It takes a long time for her to settle at Towerhurst, but encouraged by Marcus, and her new Irish friend Daniel, she begins to blossom. Grace discovers a passion for writing ballads inspired by the famous work of Australian poet, Banjo Paterson... and also for Daniel.

As Grace falls in love with Daniel, she keeps her affections a secret, afraid they will never be returned... until he confesses that he loves her too, in the anxious days before he must go to the frontline. The brief hours they have left together are treasured ones, but their hidden romance leads to heartbreak, and secrets that will ripple through time.

1975: Artist Willow, and her writer husband Ben, receive an unexpected windfall when a mystery benefactor leaves them a house on Tasmania's remote west coast. The secrecy behind the legacy makes them curious about Towerhurst's past, and as Ben delves into the stories about its previous owners, he becomes convinced that they might hold answers to questions about their own family history too.

2004: Libby travels to London to find out the truth about her father Ben's death in a tragic accident before she was born. Her mother Willow refuses to tell her what Ben was doing in London all those years ago, so far from their home in Tasmania, but Libby is determined to find out about the man she never knew. When she finds a faded photograph in his belongings, a childhood memory of a strange house in the forest comes back to her, and she sets out to complete the investigation her father started into the secrets of Towerhurst. 

The story follows these three threads in the spectacular way that Amanda Geard has made her own, forming a framework in which she weaves a vibrant and evocative finished picture. Once again, I am in awe of how she wields multiple timelines with such skill, ensuring you are fully invested in each one. 

While the action moves between London, Tasmania, and Ireland, everything revolves around the secrets of Towerhurst that begin in 1939 with Grace, Rose and Daniel. The themes of family ties, and romances tragically cut short, run throughout, and Geard builds layer upon beautiful layer as the novel progresses in each timeline - before she then deftly strips them back to reveal the answers you have been grasping for. 

There is a beautifully contrived mystery element to the whole story, sparked by Libby's need to pick up the threads of her father's investigation into the secrets of Towerhurst. All three timelines hold clues to the truth, and as each piece of the puzzle fits into place through their parallel quests, you come to fully understand how the consequences of Grace and Daniel's love have echoed through time. As in Geard's wonderful debut, The Midnight House, she cleverly uses personal possessions, letters, and photographs to link the timelines together, and they bleed together wonderfully as your perception of events shifts with each new reveal. I love how she celebrates ballads and poetry in all their glory in this novel too.

There is so much I cannot go into for fear of spoilers, but I can say that each part this novel is rich in pitch perfect feelings of time and place, bringing history and environment alive, which is impressive given the very different settings that Geard conjures for her characters. I found myself going down many rabbit holes in the process of reading this book as a result. I especially enjoyed the way she explores the rise of fascism in Grace's story, through her mother Edeline, which is something I find horribly fascinating about this time period - touching on the role of the aristocracy and powerful women in spreading the poisonous political ideology of the British Union of Fascists. And I applaud the way Geard highlights the wartime history of Australia, and her homeland Tasmania, which is so often overshadowed by the events of the Western Front with which we are more familiar.

This book is stunning, and it shows that Geard has grown in confidence, honing her skills as a writer, since her debut. It is an ambitious and sweeping story, full of aching heartbreak, romance, love, and friendship, and she pulls it off with aplomb. I adored it, and it is a serious contender for my book of 2023!

The Moon Gate is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Amanda Geard has always loved dual-timeline novels, where stories from the past weave with those of the present day. She wants to write books that transport you to another time and place, where secrets lie just beneath the surface if only the characters know where to look.

Her new novel, The Moon Gate, is set across three locations she ADORES: Tasmania (her home state), London (where she rented a houseboat for many years) and County Kerry, Ireland (where she now lives with her family). Each of these places is special to her and she hopes you’ll feel you’re entering the temperate rainforest with Grace, opening the door to Towerhurst with Willow, walking through London’s layered history with Libby and stepping out to the heather-clad hills of County Kerry with … well, with several characters, the names of who she won’t reveal here!

The inspiration for her first novel, The Midnight House, appeared in the rafters of her Irish home, a two-hundred-year-old stone building perched on the edge of the Atlantic. Hidden there was a message, scratched into wood: 'When this comes down, pray for me. Tim O’Shea 1911'. As she held that piece of timber in her hands, dust clinging to her paint-stained clothes, she was humbled that a person’s fingerprint could, in a thousand ways, transcend time, and wanted nothing more than to capture that feeling of discovery on the page.

She is also a geologist who loves to explore the world’s remote places. Luckily for her, writing novels provides a similar sense of wonder and discovery; but the warm office, fresh food and a shower in the evening make the conditions rather more comfortable!

It's also the perfect excuse to regularly curl up by a fire with a great book (often by the wonderful authors who write in her genre). She treasures her reading time, and knows you do too, and thanks you for taking a chance on her books.

Her Missing Husband by A.J. Campbell

 

Her Missing Husband by A.J. Campbell.

Published 31st May 2023.

From the cover of the book:

People don’t just disappear. Someone must know something.

Lori once lived the perfect life with her husband Howie and their teenage daughter Molly—until the day Howie left for work and vanished without a trace.

Haunted by her loss, Lori, a former investigative journalist, retreated from the city to rural isolation to become an author, seeking solace in the company of her beloved dogs.

However, Lori’s ordered, solitary existence is about to be turned upside down. As Frankie Evans, the man she helped convict for murder, has walked out of prison a free man.

And he is intent on finding her.

Because Frankie claims to have a message that will change everything—news about her husband that Lori cannot ignore.

Putting her life at risk, Lori delves into a world of hidden secrets to find her missing husband and learns that even the darkest truths cannot remain concealed forever.

***********

Former investigative journalist Lori's husband Howie went missing on his way to work, seven years ago. He has not been seen since. The years that have followed his disappearance have seen great changes for Lori, and her relationship with daughter Molly has suffered, as both of them try to deal in their own way with a mystery that seems impossible to solve.

Lori has cut herself off from her old life. She is now an author, living in rural isolation in North Wales with only her two dogs, Misty and Shadow, for company. However, her growing friendship with local cafe owner Ray, and a thawing of relations with her daughter, are making her think about the future - and whether it is time to acknowledge that Howie is never coming back.

But then, someone she has tried to forget intrudes into her life once more, bringing the past very much into the present. Frankie Evans, a man one of her invesigations helped convict of murder, has been freed from prison, and he claims to have information about Howie's disappearance. Can she trust him, or is he simply out for revenge?

Her Missing Husband is A.J. Campbell's sixth gripping psychological thriller, and she goes all out to keep you busy with a raft of twists and turns to make your head spin. The book revolves around the case of a missing husband, with a wife and daughter left haunted by a mystery that defies explanation. Lori drives the story as she tries to hold on to the scattered pieces of her life, and mend bridges with her troubled daughter, while attempting to finally get to the bottom of what happened to Howie. A fresh trail of clues comes to light after Frankie Evans' release from prison, and the story explodes with a bevy of sinister plot lines around corruption, domestic drama, stalking, and secrets and lies, which Lori must wade through before the shocking truth is revealed.

There is plenty of tension and suspense, and Campbell successfully makes you suspicious of almost every single character. I particularly enjoyed how she blurs the lines between reality and the story Lori begins feverishly writing as events play out, especially how the two collide at the climax of the mystery. Campbell's own love of dogs shines through in Misty and Shadow too, who are used nicely to enhance the constant underlying feeling of someone lurking just out of sight.

This is a fast paced, read in a single sitting thriller, which will keep you guessing through the twist and twist again moments, and it has a very clever ending to boot. Another winner from A.J. Campbell! 

Her Missing Husband is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to A.J. Campbell 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:

AJ CAMPBELL is an Amazon bestselling author of six psychological suspense novels and promises stories full of twists, turns and torment. Her fourth book The Phone Call was released in July 2022, and it topped the Amazon charts for several months. It was shortlisted for the Adult Prize for Fiction at the Selfie Book Awards 2023. She released her fifth novel The Wrong Key in January 2023.

AJ draws inspiration for her stories from seemingly unbelievable situations in which ordinary people find themselves. She creates compelling characters that resonate with her readers. AJ lives in the UK on the Essex / Hertfordshire border with her husband, sons, and cocker spaniel, Max. She is a dog lover, Netflix junkie, and a wine and Asian food enthusiast. And, either reading, watching TV, or writing, AJ enjoys nothing more than getting stuck into a twisty story!

Sidle Creek by Jolene McIlwain

 

Sidle Creek by Jolene McIlwain.

Published 15th May 2023 by Melville House.

From the cover of the book:

Set in the bruised, mined, and timbered hills of Appalachia in western Pennsylvania, Sidle Creek is a tender, truthful exploration of a small town and the people who live there, told by a brilliant new voice in fiction.

In Sidle Creek, McIlwain skillfully interrogates the myths and stereotypes of the mining, mill, and farming towns where she grew up. With stories that take place in diners and dive bars, town halls and bait shops, McIlwain's writing explores themes of class, work, health, and trauma, and the unexpected human connections of small, close-knit communities. All the while, the wild beauty of the natural world weaves its way in, a source of the town's livelihood - and vulnerable to natural resource exploitation.

With an alchemic blend of taut prose, gorgeous imagery, and deep sensitivity for all of the living beings within its pages, Sidle Creek will sit snugly on bookshelves between Annie Proulx, Joy Williams, and Louise Erdrich.

***********

Small town stories are one of my favourite things, in all their disparate glory. This series of stories from Jolene McIlwain forms a collection about life among the mining, farming and logging communities in the hills of Appalachia, western Pennsylvania. 

Right from the first story, Sidle Creek which gives the anthology its name, you know you are not going to be treated to cosy tales that weave a romantic picture of the people McIlwain writes so beautifully about. These are tales that conjure up powerful feelings and delve into the gritty depths of real lives, and the trials and tribulations that come with scraping out hard livings, and forming connections with people and places. 

The stories take place in homes and work places, among different sorts of communities, and mostly explore knotty themes of isolation, alienation, loss, the class divide, and unresolved trauma. Cowell does not hold back in doing her level best to evoke visceral emotion (something she achieves with aplomb), but there are glimmers of golden nuggets that thrum with love and healing too. For me, the best stories here are ones which spin well-contrived suspense among the grit, with my favourite being Those Red Boots, which has the makings of a cracking TV drama set around the town of Wampum.

These are stories for those who love to push their boundaries into the realms of the discomfitting, which makes them strikingly memorable, and you will find yourself thinking about the characters long after you close the covers. This is an excellent debut collection, and I look forward to reading much more from Jolene McIlwain. 

Sidle Creek is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

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

About the author: 

Jolene McIlwain's fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and appears in West Branch, Florida Review, Cincinnati Review, New Orleans Review, Northern Appalachia Review, and 2019's Best Small Fictions Anthology. Her work was named finalist for 2018's Best of the Net, Glimmer Train's and River Styx's contests, and semifinalist in Nimrod's Katherine Anne Porter Prize and two American Short Fiction's contests. She's received a Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council grant, the Georgia Court Chautauqua faculty scholarship, and Tinker Mountain's merit scholarship. 

She's taught literary theory/analysis at Duquesne and Chatham Universities and she worked as a radiologic technologist before attending college (BS English, minor in sculpture, MA Literature). She was born, raised, and currently lives in a small town in the Appalachian plateau of Western Pennsylvania.

The House In The Olive Grove by Emma Cowell

 

The House in the Olive Grove by Emma Cowell.

Published 25th May 2023 by Avon.

From the cover of the book:

Will one week in Greece change their lives for ever?

Chef Maria is running a successful cookery school in her home village of Petalidi, Greece – but she is also running from the secrets of her past.

Food journalist Kayla thought this was going to be just another work trip. But right before she leaves for Greece, she discovers that her whole life is built on a lie.

Jewellery-maker Alessandra has always lived according to her own rules – despite what it has cost her to do so. But she has just had some devastating news.

As these three very different women come together at the house in the olive grove, unlikely friendships blossom and a season of self-discovery begins. Will the sumptuous flavours, sapphire waters and golden sands of Greece give each of them the answers they so desperately seek?

***********

Renowned chef Maria, once the toast of the New York restaurant scene, has been running her cookery school in her home village of Petalidi, Greece for ten years. She loves communing with her beloved bees in the olive grove, and along with passing on her food wisdom she has a canny knack of helping her clients deal with problems in their personal lives - if only she could find a way to heal her own heartache too.

For the coming week, Maria will be joined by two new clients, who although she does not know it yet, are in sore need of her healing magic. Food writer, and TV personality, Kayla is coming to Petalidi to learn about Greek cuisine for work, but she is weighed down by the secrets she is forced to keep from her adoring public - now made even more of a burden by the break down of her apparently picture perfect marriage. Alessandra, a glamorous and free-spirited jewellery designer from Rome, is not sure what she is looking for in Petalidi, but hopes some time away from her life might help her deal with the devastating news she has received.

As these three very different come together, and cook together, an unlikely friendship grows up between them. A friendship that can help all three come to terms with the knocks life has dealt them, and to help them find the courage to move forward.

I love a story about food, especially one which offers a feast for the senses, and The House in the Olive Grove does that in spades, by bringing alive the taste of Greece against a stunning backdrop - and by throwing in a cast of intriguing female characters, both in our central characters Maria, Kayla and Alessandra, and in the women around them.

Maria, Kayla and Alessandra are very different people, with startlingly different philosophies on life, and yet they are all haunted by their pasts, pressurised by the need to conform to expectation, and troubled by the need to make some hard decisions about their futures. As the story plays out, through the narratives of all three, we learn of their lives, their secrets, and the choices they must make. Maria is the glue that holds everyone together, but she is hiding secrets of her own that she is afraid to confront. This allows Cowell to thread a thoroughly compelling storyline of menace and alienation through an otherwise heartfelt tale, which adds a very unexpected level of depth. 

There are some lovely themes interwoven through the generations of women in this story, especially, loss, fear, alienation, and finding the courage to be yourself. There is something magical about the way food is used to bring everyone together, and I loved the way Cowell mixes in references to Maria's bees throughout to reflect and amplify the themes too. Everything comes together in the most enchanting way, to fill your heart with emotion, and your eyes with tears.

This is such a charming story of female friendship, full of warmth, hope, romance, and tasty Greek treats to tempt your taste buds. Cowell's love of Greece shines through, and I am now yearning to feel the sunshine and swim in those azure waters once more. The perfect escapist summer read!

The House in the Olive Grove by Emma Cowell is available to buy now 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:

Emma lives in Cornwall with her husband, Tony, and their fur baby, a Russian Blue called Papoushka Gerald Cowell. A former actress and BBC presenter Emma has worked in the fundraising division of children’s palliative care for the last decade and is currently Head of Philanthropy for national charity Together for Short Lives. Segueing from being paid to talk for a living into writing was a natural progression, since story telling has been at the heart of her career to date. 

Outside of work, Emma is a keen angler and is attempting to learn Greek to maintain her love affair with the country where she has set her novels. She is yet to achieve a level of proficiency outside of tavernas and bakeries.

 May 2023 Reading Round-Up

What a month!

There are some absolute stunners among this May's reading pile, and many of them will be in my books of the year collection! 

You can find your way to my reviews by clicking on the pictures below... ⬇️

Talk Me About When We Were Perfect by Amanda Huggins

Tiny Pieces of Enid by Tim Ewins

The Power of Trees by Peter Wolleben

The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

The Secret Shore by Liz Fenwick

Outback by Michael Davies

The Final Party by A.A. Chaudhuri

The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators by Maureen Little

Seahurst by S.A. Harris

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

Mrs Porter Calling by A.J. Pearce

Paradise by Patricia Wolf

Vita and the Birds by Polly Crosby

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

The Spider by Lars Kepler

Perilous Times by Thomas E. Lee

This Family by Kate Sawyer

More great books coming up in June, folks!

If you have enjoyed my photos, head over to my Instagram account 

@brownflopsy for more!

This Family by Kate Sawyer

 

This Family by Kate Sawyer.

Published 11th May 2023 by Coronet.

From the cover of the book:

Mary has raised her daughters in this house. Watched them play and fight and grow up in this house. Today it is the house where she will get married.

The wedding celebrations have brought the fractured family together for the first time in years:
There is Phoebe and her husband Michael, children in tow.
The young and sensitive Rosie, with her new partner.
Irene, Mary's ex-mother-in-law.
And Emma. There, despite all that has gone before.

Set over the course of an English summer's day and punctuated with memories from the past forty years of love and betrayal, hope and joy, heartbreak and grief, this is the story of a family. Told by a chorus of characters, it is an exploration of the intimacies and transgressions that bring us to where we are, the changes that are brought about by time, and what, despite everything, stays the same.

***********

The scattered members of Mary's close family are coming together to celebrate her marriage. Her one wish is that they can lay aside their differences for one day, to make one happy memory in the house that has meant so much to them all over the years. 

Much troubled history has kept these four generations apart, and it will take a lot for them to all be together in one place without the loss, heartbreak and betrayal rising to the surface. Mary hopes that the weight of this occasion will be enough to bring about a healing between them all, but some things are very hard to forgive - even among family.

The story plays out over the course of a single, gorgeous September day, in the house and garden that Mary moved into with her ex-husband many years ago. Her new marriage will be the last chance for her fractured family to celebrate together before she moves on, and it is her one wish that they get along - at least for this day.

As the story follows preparations for the party in Mary's beautiful garden, and the events that follow the wedding, the narration moves back and forth between the characters introducing you to their anxieties about this reunion, and their reflections on the history that lies between them. It does take a little while to settle into the rhythm of the novel, as intriguingly Sawyer chooses to 'show' rather than 'tell' her reader about how the characters actually relate to each other, through flashbacks to the moments that have brought them together, shaped their relationships, and torn them apart. It takes time to get to know the four generations - from great grandmother, grandparents, siblings and young children - but once you get a handle on the family set up, the story pulls you along on an intense tide of emotion that cuts straight to the bone.

Sawyer writes about difficult family relationships to perfection, and I love how she examines the things both said and unsaid that come between the characters. It is the women in this story that are by far the most interesting, and Sawyer's exploration of the relationships between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother and daughters, and female siblings is glorious. There are a lot of hard hitting scenes, particularly around loss and betrayal, but it is the small moments that actually have the most power. 

This book really worked its way under my skin, and I loved how Sawyer spins her threads in a way that keeps you on tenterhooks about where the characters will find themselves at the end of the day. There are times when this book has the atmosphere of a play, with the focus of a small ensemble cast moving across a stage, which I loved. For me, the ending was perfect, and I cried a bucket load of tears when the curtain came down. This is an emotive little stunner, and I cannot recommend it to you highly enough if you like beautifully written, multi-generational family dramas.  

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

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

About the author: 

Kate was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK where she grew up in the countryside as the eldest of four siblings, after briefly living with her parents in Qatar and the Netherlands.

Kate Sawyer worked as an actor and producer before turning her hand to fiction. She has previously written for theatre and short-film.

Having lived in South London for the best part of two decades with brief stints in the Australia and the USA she recently returned to East Anglia to have her first child as a solo mother by choice.

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee

 

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee.

Published 25th May 2023 by Orbit.

From the cover of the book:

IN PERILOUS TIMES LIKE THESE, THE REALM DOESN'T JUST NEED A HERO.
IT NEEDS A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR.

Sir Kay and his fellow knights awake from their mythical slumber whenever Britain has need of them; they fought at Agincourt and at the Somme. But in these perilous modern times, the realm is more divided than ever, a dragon has been seen for the first time in centuries, and Kay is not the only ancient and terrible thing to come crawling up out of the ground . . .

Perilous Times is a fiercely entertaining contemporary take on the myths of Camelot, which asks: what happens when the Knights of the Round Table return to fix the problems of the modern world?

***********

Who do you need when the realm is in peril? Well, a knight or two, of course! At least that is what Merlin thought. So, when Sir Kay and his fellow Knights of the Round Table are roused from their slumbers under the earth, they are in no doubt that Britain needs a helping hand. Sir Kay and Sir Lancelot have awakened in times of peril throughout history to help Britain fight its foes, including battling at Agincourt and at the Somme, however this time it is not easy to get a handle on exactly who the enemy is in a land ravaged by climate change, scarred by foolhardy schemes, and torn asunder by political division. Can the knights of old really vanquish the problems of the modern world?

Perilous Times is a darkly comic and heartfelt tale that takes the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and gives it a whole new spin as a cli-fi adventure threaded with magic and mayhem. Here, familiar characters of old arise from their supernatural slumbers to battle present-day villains, but Lee paints them as rather different from the versions celebrated in myth and legend. There is an intriguing sprinkling of some unexpected faces too, such as Christopher Marlowe deliciously channelling his own troubled creation Dr Faustus. This is a clever concept, and it offers an engaging way to explore some very timely, contemporary issues through the story - from environmental catastrophe, to knotty issues around patriotism, racism, immigration, political division, and class divide. 

This is essentially a tale of good against evil, and it thrums with themes of how power corrupts. There are plenty of thrills and spills to keep you occupied as the battle heats up, but also Lee often blurs the barriers between the two, which adds an intriguing complexity to the way events play out. It has the air of a madcap caper, with the modern world clashing delightfully with the old, and I especially liked the fallout of ancient rivalries, years of emotional baggage, and the atmosphere oozing with elemental magic rich in folklore and foretelling. There is a joyously contrived feminist twist too.

As debut novels go, this is impressive, and so much fun. Throughout, I was reminded of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, as it captures that spot on mix of humour, heart, and a cracking story in the same way. There is great potential to develop this into a series, and I cannot wait to see what Lee comes up with next! 

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

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

About the author:

Thomas D. Lee is an author of fantastical and historical fiction. In 2019 he completed an MA in C reative Writing at the University of Manchester's C entre for New Writing. He has now embarked upon a PhD at the same institution, specialising in queer interpretations of the Arthurian mythos. He frequently considers emulating Merlin and becoming a hermit in the woods who speaks only in riddles.

The Spider (Joona Linna Book Nine) by Lars Kepler

 

The Spider (Joona Linna Book Nine) by Lars Kepler.

Translated by Alice Menzies.

Published 25th May 2023 by Zaffre.

From the cover of the book:

CAN YOU CATCH A KILLER?
OR ARE YOU ALREADY IN THE WEB?

Three years ago, Detective Saga Bauer received an ominous postcard describing a gun and nine white bullets - one of which was intended for her partner, Detective Joona Linna. The sender alleged that Saga was the only person who could save him. But as time passed, the threat faded.

Until now.

A sack with a decomposing body has been found hanging from a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing turns up at the scene. When the body count begins to rise, the police realise that the killer is sending riddles, offering them the chance to stop the murders before they happen.

But the police always seem to arrive a moment too late. As they begin to close in, the case becomes more and more tangled. Someone is spinning a fiendishly intricate web, pulling Joona ever closer to a trap he may not be able to escape.

***********

Three years ago, Detective Saga Bauer received an odd package in the mail: a postcard describing a distinctive gun and white bullets, listing an intention to kill nine victims -  with her former partner Joona Linna as the final name on the list. Whoever sent the message made it clear that Bauer held the answers to saving Linna, but she dismissed the claims as a hoax.

Bauer is now struggling to be reinstated on the police force, after events which threaten to end her career. But when a decomposing body is found wrapped in plastic, and a white bullet is found at the murder scene, she is suddenly at the centre of the case. Linna wants Bauer back on his team to help solve the riddles the killer keeps sending, goading the police to work out who the next victim is before their fate is sealed, and her apparent personal connection to the killer is key.

However, both Bauer and Linna's psychological scars, and their closeness to the motivations of the killer, are clouding their judgement. Can they solve this spate of murders before the killer comes for them?

I was first introduced to the work of Lars Kepler, in Joona Linna's last chilling book The Mirror Man, which I loved, so I could not wait to dive into The Spider! This case harks back to two of Linna's earlier stories Lazurus and The Sandman, so you need to be aware that there are spoilers in The Spider. I actually have not read either of them, but this book works well as a standalone - and, in fact, whets your appetite for the earlier books rather than spoiling the surprises.

This is all about the troubling legacy of serial killer Jurek Walter, whose horrific exploits have been kept secret by the authorities. His crimes have touched the lives of both Linna and Bauer, leaving them with psychological injuries that haunt them. A new serial killer is emulating Walter, following his unfinished project by taking out people connected to them both, in a revenge spree that is as gruesome as it is relentless. The past is out to get them, but there is little in the way of evidence to identify the killer.

There is tension galore from the very first page in this intensely gripping mystery, and the suspense ramps up with each new murder, as the clock counts down to the final target - Joona Linna himself. In a bizarre game, each killing comes with a series of clues about the identity of the victim, the location of the crime, and a trail that indicates where the bodies will be found. It takes all of Linna and Bauer's ingenuity to solve them, in a breathtakung race against the clock.

The stories of several charismatic serial killers weave together in this book, and there is no room for squeamishness as Kepler delves into the details of their crimes, and the sinister way they infect others with their darkness. Riddles abound, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way Bauer and Linna approach solving them in their own way, heading off into separate directions that diverge, and then collide, as the terrifying story plays out.

In many ways this is a showcase for Bauer's skills, and an exploration of the way her fractured psyche and misplaced guilt have shaped her. Bauer is definitely the key to solving the brutal murders, but not in the way you expect. The reveals, when they come, knock you sideways, in an orgy of violence. Linna's character development is rather intriguing this time around too, as the unconventional methods he has come to rely on to feed his intuitive flashes begin to work against him. 

I devoured this book in a matter of hours, despite its hefty 500-odd pages. The writing flows beautifully, carrying you along through all the thrills, spills, twists and turns. There is a serious injection of darkness that ticks all my demanding Nordic noir boxes, making this story grittily enjoyable. I loved it, and cannot wait for the next book!

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

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

About the author:

Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of critically acclaimed husband and wife team Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril (b. 1966) and Alexander Ahndoril (b. 1967), authors of the No. 1 internationally bestselling Joona Linna series.

The series has sold 15 million copies in 40 languages. The Ahndorils were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler, and have each published several acclaimed novels.

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

 

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 9th February 2017 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

An elderly widow is murdered at a clifftop seaside house…

What is the connection between a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft against a schoolgirl, and the romantic life of a famous tennis player?

To the casual observer, apparently nothing. But when a houseparty gathers at Gull’s Point, the seaside home of an elderly widow, earlier events come to a dramatic head.

It’s all part of a carefully paid plan – for murder…

***********

The guests are gathering for an unconventional house party at Gull's Point, the home of elderly invalid, Lady Tressillian, on the Devon coast at Saltcreek. Lady Tressillian normally looks forward to the visits of Audrey Strange, the ex-wife of her husband's former ward Neville, but this time the guests will also be including Neville and his glamorous new wife Kay. It is all rather too modern for Lady Tressillian's traditional sensibilities, and she sees trouble ahead. 

It is not long before the feathers start to fly, and this makes things very awkward for the other visitors, Audrey's cousin, the unassuming Thomas Royde, visiting from Malaysia and hopeful of wooing Audrey; Ted Latimer, a friend and disappointed former suitor of Kay's; and Lady Tressillian's companion, sensible Mary Aldin. Gull's Point is not a relaxing place to be, and when an old friend of Lady Tressillian's, the very astute, retired solicitor Mr Treves pays a call, he is concerned that sinister intent lies in the heart of one of the guests.

However, Mr Treve's suspicions go with him to the grave, when he dies the same night of his visit to Gull's Point, under murky circumstances. His death is closely followed by the brutal murder of Lady Tressillian, and it looks very much like an inside job. All the clues point to Neville, but as the police arrive and begin their investigation, Superintendent Battle is not so sure...

This mystery begins with several prophetic, seemingly unconnected, strands which foreshadow how this story plays out. The first is a prologue in which the wily old Mr Treves offers sage wisdom to the young members of his club, explaining how a murder arrives at the end of a planning process that counts down towards zero hour - his views are supported by a little aside glimpse that lets you see into the devious mind that wishes one of the Gull's Point party serious harm. The second is around a failed suicide attempt that is all about fate and unforeseen purpose. The third is connected to our old friend Superintendent Battle's views on modern psychology. Intriguing...

The main event then begins with an introduction to the members of the party that gather at Gull's Point, with a bit of history about the events that have shaped their state of mind, and their reasons for being here. Christie very cleverly manipulates how you think about each of them from this point, filling out of their stories with carefully dropped little titbits that make them very credible suspects in a mysterious death, a brutal murder, and an evil end game motivated by betrayal. 

This story is rife in beautifully contrived red herrings, and it takes all of Battle's considerable intelligence and intuition to see through them, backed up by his recent experience with misapplied psychological theories, and a delicious reference to what he has learned from investigating crime at the side of the great Hercule Poirot. But it is not until the storyline relating to fate eventually comes into play that he is finally able to get to the jaw-dropping truth, via exciting sea-going shenanigans, and a gathering of the suspects that emulates his muse Poirot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is the final one of Christie's to feature Superintendent Battle. It really kept me guessing, and the way the separate threads come together is a joy to behold. This is Christie at the very top of her game, and turned out to be an under-the-radar stunner!

This is my second Christie book read in May, featuring Betrayal as a motive for murder, and is one of the recommended choices as part of the #ReadChristie2023 challenge this month.

Towards Zero is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

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

Vita And The Birds by Polly Crosby

 

Vita and the Birds by Polly Crosby.

Published 25th May 2023 by HQ Stories.

From the cover of the book:

1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the menacing shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. But when she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney, the two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to be free.

1997: Following the death of her mother, Eve Blakeney returns to the coast where she spent childhood summers with her beloved grandmother, Dodie. Eve hopes that the visit will help make sense of her grief. The last thing she expects to find is a bundle of letters that hint at the heart-breaking story of Dodie’s relationship with a woman named Vita, and a shattering secret that echoes through the decades.

What she discovers will overturn everything she thought she knew about her family – and change her life forever.

***********

1938: As the world holds its breath, with a careful eye on the storm clouds gathering over Europe, Lady Vita Goldsborough has her own battles to fight. Daring to defy her controlling older brother Aubrey, she meets and forms a close bond with local artist Dodie Blakeney - a woman who gives her the courage to think that she might finally escape his clutches.

1997: Eve Blakeney, reeling from the death of her mother, heads to an old cabin on the Suffolk coast. A place which holds warm memories of her artist grandmother Dodie, and of carefree summers with her bohemian mother and brothers, but somewhere she has not dared to think about in the same way since a fateful night in the mysterious, derelict glasshouse called The Cathedral of the Marshes. Eve has not returned here for years, and is plagued by half-remembered images of that haunt her dreams. She is unsure if she should even be here now, but perhaps it is the right time to clear the cabin, and her own head.

When Eve discovers a bundle of letters among the scattered belongings of her grandmother, she learns of the relationship between Vita and Dodie - and she uncovers a secret that will change everything she thought she knew about her own family.

Vita and the Birds is the third wonderful novel from Polly Crosby, and in it she once again blurs the lines between reality and the other-worldy, delving into the uneasy relationship between the land and the sea in the brooding salt marshes on the wild Suffolk coast.

Against the backdrop of mist and mystery, in a shifting sea of reeds that hide all manner of secrets amid their sinister suserrations, Crosby imagines a Gothic glass castle looming above the marshes and spins two interconnected timelines about it that hold you spellbound. The first, tells of the history of the heartbreaking story of Vita and Dodie, from vulnerable and damaged Vita's point of view, and is rife with themes of control and forbidden love. The second, follows Eve as she tries to come to terms with her grief and unresolved fears about The Cathedral of the Marshes in the present, while she sifts through the memory laden belongings of her grandmother. And I am not about to tell you too much about either of them, except to say that this story confirms Crosby as one of the finest writers I have had the pleasure to consume in recent years.

Crosby moves deftly between the past and the present, merging seamlessly between the two through the use of letters, personal belongings, and mirrored events, that gradually allow many long held secrets to be revealed in a way that drops the heart-wrenching reveals with perfect timing. She weaves storytelling magic throughout, making the best of setting, weather, and a community with long memories and a propensity for believing rumour to be truth, playing with themes of gilded cages, and yearning for freedom. The scenes where Crosby uses birds are particularly moving, and I could easily wax long, and lyrical, about how she wields light, perception, and half-remembered moments that nag at the subconscious. Superb!

For me, this is Crosby's best work yet, and that is saying a lot! While not being devoid of dark themes, stitched into the fabric of the story in the way that she does so darned well, especially when it comes to women, it thrums with emotion and love - and tugs at the senses in a sensuous and seductive way. It is also her most uplifting story to date, and I shed a bucket load of cathartic tears in the glorious final stretches of this novel. 

This is quite simply, beautiful. I adored it from start to finish, and am already craving more. Polly Crosby is one of my favourite writers for a reason, and if you have yet to discover her books then all I can say is that you are in for a treat!

Vita and the Birds is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Polly Crosby grew up on the Suffolk coast, and now lives with her husband and son in the heart of Norfolk.

In 2018, Polly won Curtis Brown Creative’s Yesterday Scholarship, which enabled her to finish her debut novel, The Illustrated Child. Later the same year, it was awarded runner-up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel. Polly received the Annabel Abbs Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of East Anglia.