The Traitor (Alias Emma Book 2) by Ava Glass

 

The Traitor by Ava Glass.

Published 14th September 2023 by Penguin.

From the cover of the book:

LONDON. EARLY MORNING.

A body is found in a padlocked suitcase.

Investigator Emma Makepeace knows it's murder. And it's personal.

She quickly establishes that the dead man had been shadowing two oligarchs suspected of procuring illegal weapons in the UK. And it seems likely that an insider working deep within the British government is helping them.

To find out who the traitor is, Emma goes deep undercover on a superyacht owned by one of the oligarchs.

But the glamorous veneer of the rich hides dark secrets. Out at sea, Emma is both hunter and prey, and no one can protect her.

Never has the turquoise sea and golden sands of the Rivera seemed so dangerous.

As the hunt intensifies, Emma knows that she is in mortal danger. And that she needs to find the traitor before they find her . . .

*********

Emma Makepeace is an operative for a branch of British Intelligence so secret that it it does not even have a name. Its remit is to track down Soviet spies and 'persuade' them to leave Britain's shores, and Emma is dedicated to ensuring their missions have a successful outcome.

When the body of MI6 specialist Stephen Garrick is found rammed into a suitcase, the security services are baffled, as he was not a front-line agent. It soon becomes clear that he was running and off-the-books investigation into the actions of two Russian oligarchs suspected of trading illegal weapons, and had clearly stumbled on something that got him killed. The only way to discover what Garrick knew is for an agent to go deep undercover aboard the superyacht of one of the oligarchs, and Emma is just the right person for the job. 

Emma has no way of knowing how this mission will play out, especially as she will be alone in a nest of vipers, but the only way to stop these villains will be from the inside. What she does not know is that there is also a viper in the bosom of her own organisation, and the traitor has no compunction about betraying her to the enemy...

The Traitor is the second instalment of Ava Glass' Alias Emma series, and agent Emma Makepeace is back at the centre of another tricky mission, this time to bring bring down an illegal weapons empire. Set against the glamour of the French Riviera, among the jet set lifestyle of the super-rich, Emma has her work cut out obtaining the information needs. She is under suspicion from her Russian targets right from the word go, who are twitchy after recent events in London, and the actions of a mole inside her agency soon get her into dangerous waters that require all of her ingenuity to navigate safely.

This is very much a story on the lighter side of the espionage genre, harking back to a James Bond era packed with nifty spy gadgets, and I did find myself yearning for a harder-edge to the plot at times. However, what it lacks in low-down grit, it certainly makes up for in pace and page-turning action. Emma makes for an engaging protagonist, even if her spy skills are a tad inconsistent, and there is an entertaining cinematic feel to the story which would lend this series nicely to a TV adaptation (one is already in development). 

There are twists and turns to keep you busy, and although the traitor proves a little easier to identify than in the works of the heavyweights of spy fiction, there is plenty of intrigue and all the threads collide in a very satisfying finale - with a catchy little hook into Emma's next adventure. There are some lovely themes running through the story too, and I really enjoyed how Glass examines the relationships between dodgy Russian oligarchs and their families and inner circles, and how they are perceived by those who consider themselves authentic Soviet power houses.

If you like your spy thrillers fast, furious, and set in exotic climes then you will find a lot here to please. It will be interesting to see how this series develops, especially if Glass can inject a little more bite into the stories that follow, as she grows in confidence with the Alias Emma universe.

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

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

About the author:

Ava Glass is the author of the espionage series Alias Emma. A former civil servant and journalist, she once worked closely with spies, and that experience fuels her writing. Ava is the pseudonym for an international bestselling author who has written more than ten crime novels under another name. Her books have been bestsellers in multiple countries, and have been published in more than twenty languages. Alias Emma is currently being developed for television by The Ink Factory.

The Opposite Of Lonely (The Skelfs Book Five) by Doug Johnson

 

The Opposite of Lonely (The Skelfs Book Five) by Doug Johnstone.

Published 14th September 2023 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Even death needs company…

The Skelf women are recovering from the cataclysmic events that nearly claimed their lives. Their funeral-director and private-investigation businesses are back on track, and their cases are as perplexing as ever.

Matriarch Dorothy looks into a suspicious fire at an illegal campsite and takes a grieving, homeless man under her wing. Daughter Jenny is searching for her missing sister-in-law, who disappeared in tragic circumstances, while grand-daughter Hannah is asked to investigate increasingly dangerous conspiracy theorists, who are targeting a retired female astronaut … putting her own life at risk.

With a body lost at sea, funerals for those with no one to mourn them, reports of strange happenings in outer space, a funeral crasher with a painful secret, and a violent attack on one of the family, The Skelfs face their most personal – and perilous – cases yet. Doing things their way may cost them everything…

Tense, unnerving and warmly funny, The Opposite of Lonely is the hugely anticipated fifth instalment in the unforgettable Skelfs series, and this time, danger comes from everywhere…

***********

The Skelfs are trying to get their lives back on track after the events of Dark Hearts that nearly claimed their lives. Having rebuilt following the fire that damaged their home, Dorothy, Jenny, and Hannah have taken time to reflect on what the future holds for them. Dorothy has ideas about taking the funeral business in an eco-friendly direction, Jenny is dealing with the fallout of the conflict with her sister-in-law Stella over Craig's remains, and Hannah is looking towards the stars...

On the private investigations front, cases come their way that tap into their reflections - Dorothy is determined to find the person behind a case of arson aimed at a travelling community; Hannah is embroiled in finding someone responsible for harassing a famous female astronaut; and crucially for Jenny, she is compelled to track down Stella to fulfil a deathbed request. The threads of these investigations are about to lead them all into danger once more...

Doug Johnstone has done it again, with a cracking fifth instalment of this series that throws a whole new set of trials and tribulations at the Skelf family we have come to know and love. Dorothy is once more opening her arms to waifs and strays, which adds a great new character to the Skelf fold in the form of Brodie, a young man carrying the burden of unacknowledged grief, and which gets her into literal deep water in a crusade against those who abuse their powers. In an unexpected turn, Hannah finds herself caught up in a case which has unsettling undercurrents of off-kilter power dynamics, which she is slow to appreciate under the spell of one of her idols. Meanwhile, Jenny has to confront her demons, and sees the disturbing truth about controlling influences in the process too.

This book is a slickly conceived culmination of all that has come before, and as the storylines from the perspective of all three generations of Skelf women play out, Johnstone spins his magic to have them looking forward to a potentially more positive future. Of course, this being a Johnstone novel, the transition is far from easy, and it is marked with heart-rending emotional turmoil in the way he does so well. There are all the twists and turns you could want, with murky mysteries to be solved, caustic confrontations with authority, bruising brushes with danger, and the grittiest of crime stories, set against an Edinburgh that comes alive at the hands of someone who knows all her many faces. This is glorious storytelling.

The theme of abuse of power runs rife through this book, sometimes in ways which are not easy to detect beneath facades of wealth, celebrity, and positions of trust; along with Johnstone's trademark examination of the lives of those on the fringes of society; but what strikes me most about this fifth book is the overwhelming message he imparts about human connection. From grand notions of the insignificance of humankind in the big, wide cosmos, to the most intimate moments of kindness and understanding between strangers, Johnstone touches on so many ways in which we are all connected with each other. This resonates beautifully with the lovely title, The Opposite of Lonely, with all its shades of meaning. A little mention here too for the truly brilliant way Johnstone shines a light on loss, grief, and the whole process of what happens to our remains after death in the Skelf books - I went down a rabbit whole about eco-funerals and water cremation after reading this story, and it provoked a really interesting family conversation about the many issues involved. Death can be a difficult topic to talk about with loved ones, so well done Mr Johnstone.

I consumed this book from cover to cover, and it is my favourite of the Skelf series so far. I cannot wait to see what fate holds for this family next.

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

About the author:

Doug Johnstone is the author of sixteen novels, many of which have been bestsellers. The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers, while Black Hearts and The Big Chill were longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year. Three of his books – A Dark Matter, Breakers and The Jump – have been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize. 

Doug has taught creative writing or been writer in residence at universities, schools, writing retreats, festivals, prisons and a funeral home. He’s also been an arts journalist for 25 years. He is a songwriter and musician with six albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. 

He’s also co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club and lives in Edinburgh with his family.

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews

 

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews.

Published in hardback 3rd February 2022 by Bloomsbury Raven.

Audio Book narrated by Rupert Farley.

From the cover of the book:

SHE IS AWAKE...

Norfolk, 1643. Reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater has been summoned home by his young sister in a letter accusing their new servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas reaches the family farm, his father is on the verge of death, Esther is near hysterical and their new servant is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft.

Thomas prides himself on being a rational, modern man. He is confident that he can free their servant, a beautiful if peculiarly self possessed young woman, and reassure his sister that there is nothing further to fear, now he has returned.

But as he begins to unravels the mystery of what has happened to his family, he uncovers a tale, not of witchcraft, but of something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck many years before...

Something has awoken, and now it will not rest.

Richly atmospheric and deliciously unsettling, The Leviathan is a tale of family and loyalty, superstition and sacrifice, but most of all it is a spellbinding mystery and a story of impossible things.

***********

1643. Parliament soldier Thomas Treadwater is called home to Norfolk by a disturbing letter from his younger sister, Esther, talking of an inappropriate relationship between their widowed father and a newly employed servant. By the time he reaches their family farm, events have taken a worrying turn: his father lies on his deathbed, and Esther is alone and unprotected in the farm house. Thomas is at a loss to understand what has been going on in his absence, especially since Esther's story of ungodly acts sounds far fetched to his rational mind.

The servant Esther claims to be at the root of the mayhem, Chrissa Moore, stands accused of witchcraft. She has been imprisoned awaiting trial, but when Thomas meets this beautiful and defiant woman he finds it hard to believe she is guilty, despite Esther's testimony.  Thomas is determined to get to the bottom of the matter, but rather than being able to dispel superstitious stories, he discovers a dark and terrifying tale of murder, shipwreck, and evil at work in the world.

I came to The Leviathan expecting a novel about witch trials set against the political and religious turmoil of the English Civil War, and although Rosie Andrews draws you cleverly into thinking that this is indeed what this brilliant debut is about, it gradually becomes clear that this is a tale far darker and more deadly. Here there be monsters... something has awakened and it will not rest until chaos reigns.

It is difficult to talk too much about how this story unfolds without giving away spoilers, but I can tell you that Thomas' narration moves seemlessly back and forth between the time of his alarming discoveries that defy rational thought in 1643, and his later account from 1703 when he is an old man struggling with a terrible burden. The two combine to make a glorious whole in which Andrews conjures up a tale of ancient forces, possession, and the eternal struggle between good and evil, that is as spellbinding as it is terrifying.

Andrews delves into faith, responsibility, and human frailty, building tension slowly and keeping you on a knife edge of suspense about how the unenviable situation Thomas finds himself in can ultimately be resolved. She asks some intriguing philosophical questions along the way about the fate of humankind, and its path towards destruction, which are really thought provoking and work well with the surprising appearance of poet John Milton. 

This book is one of the creepiest tales I have read in ages, with highly original twists and turns that kept me focused from beginning to end. For the ultimate experience, I recommend listening to the epic audio book narrated by Rupert Farley who does an excellent job of driving the story on through all its disquieting moments, and has the best Norfolk accent I think I have ever heard in an audio book production.

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

About the author:

Rosie Andrews was born and grew up in Liverpool, as the third of twelve children. She studied History at Cambridge before becoming an English teacher. She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and daughter.

The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore

 

The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore.

Published 14th September 2023 by Simon and Schuster.

From the cover of the book:

Sunday Times bestseller Rachel Hore’s captivating new novel of secrets, loss and betrayal - set on the beautiful Cornish coast during World War Two and the heady days of the 1960s.

When talented musician Gray Robinson persuades Belle to abandon her university studies and follow him to Silverwood, home to an artistic community on the Cornish coast, Belle happily agrees even though they’ve only just met. She knows she is falling in love, and the thought of spending a carefree summer with Gray is all she can think about.

But being with Gray isn’t the only reason Belle agrees to accompany him to Silverwood.

Why does the name Silverwood sound so familiar?
What is its connection to a photo of her as a baby, taken on a nearby beach?
And who is Imogen Lockhart, a wartime nurse who lived at Silverwood many years ago?

As the summer months unfold, Belle begins to learn the truth – about secrets from the past that have been kept hidden, but also about the person she wants to be.

***********

1966. Belle Johnson, disillusioned with the university studies she had been looking forward to, decides to take the plunge into an adventure. Promising musician, Gray Robinson, is heading to Silverwood, an artists' commune on the Cornish coast, and he has asked Belle to come with him. Falling fast for Gray, she decides to see where this new direction takes her, even though they have known each other for just a few days. But this is not the only reason she is curious about Silverwood. Something about the name calls to her, and Belle wonders if this journey will hold the answers she seeks about an old photograph of her as a baby in the arms of an unknown woman.

1939. Imogen Lockhart sets off to Cornwall to accompany two young boys to Silverwood, where their school has been evacuated to for the duration of the war. Circumstances conspire to keep Imogen in Cornwall. where she falls in love with life at Silverwood, and with a dark, brooding member of staff who reminds her of the man who broke her heart... and where she discovers the purpose she has been searching for.

The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore is a glorious, sweeping story that draws you into the lives of two women separated in time, who are closely connected through a mysterious web of secrets. The story begins with Belle in the 1960s, caught up in a whirlwind romance and a journey of self-discovery. Belle suspects there are things she has not been told about her childhood, and her trip to Silverwood promises some answers, which Hore gradually starts to reveal through the parallel story of Imogen from 1939.

As the novel moves back and forth between the lives of Belle and Imogen, you become completely immersed in each timeline, inching towards the truth of the connection between them, tied up in their loves, losses, and the trials fate throws their way. Hore pays great attention to the way she brings alive both 1940s Cornwall, with its privations and the gritty determination of a nation at war, and the social changes that mark a country looking towards a different sort of future in the 1960s. She does an excellent job of bleeding between the two with the skilful use of objects and location to reflect many of the same themes around family, class, expectation, marriage, and following your own star.

This novel completely transported me in time and place, especially when it came to Imogen's story, as Hore delves so well into the upheaval that came with World War II, exploring many aspects of life on the home-front and the conflicted emotions experienced by both men and women about where they find themselves. The sections about military manoeuvres, preparations for D-Day, and the human toll of war are fascinating, as they focus on the domestic front, and show how their impact ripples through time.

I loved this book, consuming it from cover to cover in a single sitting. It has everything I want from a story that combines fabulous historical detail, a cleverly contrived mystery about family secrets, and bitter-sweet romantic suspense, in an enchanting setting. If you have read Liz Fenwick's wonderful The Secret Shore, then I highly recommend this book as a companion piece too, as the wartime elements complement each other beautifully.

 The Hidden Years 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 to Books and the City for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

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

The Last Chronicle of Barset (The Chronicles of Barset Book Six) by Anthony Trollope

 

The Last Chronicle of Barset (The Chronicles of barset Book Six) by Anthony Trollope.

This edition published 11th December 2014 by Oxford World Editions.

From the cover of the book:

Josiah Crawley lives with his family in the parish of Hogglestock, East Barsetshire, where he is perpetual curate. Impoverished like his parishioners, Crawley is hard-working and respected but he is an unhappy, disappointed man, ill-suited to cope when calamity strikes. He is accused of stealing a cheque to pay off his debts; too proud to defend himself, he risks ruin and disgrace unless the truth can be brought to light. Crawley's predicament divides the community into those who seek to help him despite himself, and those who, like Mrs Proudie, are convinced of his guilt. When the Archdeacon's son, Major Grantly, falls in love with Crawley's daughter Grace, battle lines are drawn.

The final volume in the Barsetshire series, The Last Chronicle draws to a close the stories of many beloved characters, including the old Warden, Mr Harding, Johnny Eames, and Lily Dale. Panoramic in scale, elegiac and moving, it is perhaps Trollope's greatest novel.

***********

Back to Barsetshire we go, into the home of the Crawleys, who we first met in Framley Parsonage. They are still living in poverty in the tiny hamlet of Hogglestock, where Josiah Crawley is the perpetual curate. Josiah has got himself into a sticky situation by presenting a cheque of doubtful origin to cover their mounting debts. Josiah has been charged with theft, and his muddled mental state means he cannot remember the exact circumstances of how it came to be in his possession.

The Crawley's eldest daughter Grace, now grown into womanhood, is in love with Archdeacon Grantley's eldest son, widower Major Grantley. He would dearly like to marry her, but the disgrace of her father is a sticking point for his upright father. In Barchester itself, Mrs Proudie is on the war path, and convinced of Josiah's guilt will stop at nothing to see him stripped of his position, parish and home - much to the frustrstion of her henpecked husband, Bishop Proudie.

Josiah is a proud man, as we know from our earlier meeting with his family, and he is unwilling to accept help, even though it could mean jail and destitution for his family. But all hope is not lost, because there are still those who believe him to be innocent and they are willing to act behind the scenes to get to the bottom of the matter, whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile adventures abound for many of our other old friends including dear Mr Harding who is now reaching the end of his gentle life; faithful Johnny Eames, who is still trying to woo foolish Lily Dale, while becoming involved in another little intrigue of his own; the family of the former Miss Dunstable, now Mrs Thorne; and a bevy of other familiar faces from Barchester, Allington and Framley - including the return of the dastardly Adolphus Crosbie!

The action centres on the problem of how to prove Josiah Crawley innocent of the charges against him, so the lovely Grace can be free to marry Major Grantly, while Mrs Proudie plots to see her own brand of justice done for the sake of 'the souls of the people'. This results in a typical Trollope-style amble around various sub-plots, some of which directly relate to the Crawleys' plight, before a mad dash to the continent brings about an epiphany in the case.

There are some excellent scenes across Barsetshire and in London, bringing us up to date with the fortunes of lots of characters from the other books. Although, I was not a big fan of the crowd in Framley Parsonage (and self-righteous Josiah remains extremely difficult to warm to in this last book too), it was an absolute joy to be back with many of my favourites. The best parts of the story for me are actually those which take place in London, bringing in some new characters around Johnny Eames, who embroils himself in another frivlous romantic aside, while still hoping to get Lily Dale to marry him. Johnny always seems to collect an interesting crowd around him and this is true once more with the nouveau riche social climbers and artistic oddities that abound in this book. There is lots of fun to be found in their goings on, as well as some real gritty drama around financial and flirtatious matters, which ramps up the power of this novel. Even Cathedral Close in Barchester has its share of surprising twists, which knocked me sideways (my lips are sealed, but it involves a very surprising conclusion to one of the most entertaining marital dymanics in the series).

I loved this final book, although Barchester Towers remains my favourite instalment overall. Trollope manages to round everything up nicely with a satisfatory tying up of (most of) the threads from the epic series, and it has a sense that he is saying goodbye to characters he has totally fallen in love with - I know I have.  

I do feel a bit sad to have finished reading all six wonderful Barset books, but it has been a very enjoayble experience alongside the fabulous other members of #TheGreatAnthonyTrollope2023 readalong gang. It is onwards to the Trollope's Palliser novels next, which are a whole new adventure for me. I cannot wait.

The Last Chronicle of Barset is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

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

The Murmers (The Annie Jackson Mysteries Book One) by Michael J. Malone

 

The Murmers (The Annie Jackson Mysteries Book One) by Michael J. Malone.

Published 14th September 2023 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

In the beginning there was fear.
White-hot, nerve-shredding fear.
Terrifying premonitions of deaths.
And then they started…
The Murmurs…

On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die.

How she knows this is a terrifying mystery, but it is the start of horrifying premonitions … a rekindling of the curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a wicked gift known only as 'the murmurs'…

With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson.

And this time, it will never let go…

A compulsive gothic thriller and a spellbinding supernatural mystery about secrets and small communities, about faith, courage and self-preservation, The Murmurs is a startling and compulsive read from one of Scotland’s finest authors…

***********

When Annie Jackson begins a new job at a care home for the elderly, she is plagued with first day jitters, but she has no idea that this fresh start will bring with it a nightmare. When meeting a resident called Steve, Annie is overwhelmed with the feeling that he is going to die very soon, but when she tries to share her fears with him, he brushes her concern aside. The very next morning brings news that Steve has died in the very way Annie has foreseen. 

A terrifying ability has awakened within Annie, and as she tries to cope with a stream of visions of death that will not leave her in peace, she begins to wonder if this power is somehow related to the childhood she cannot remember. With the help of her twin brother Lewis, Annie searches for clues to help her unlock the mystery of the years before a fateful crash that killed her mother and left her with amnesia. What they discover harks back to family secrets, and a curse that has inflicted her female bloodline with terrifying premonitions, bringing with it the danger of madness, fear and suspicion.

In this intricately plotted mystery, Michael J. Malone skilfully blends the boundaries between past and present, echoing through time the shattering legacy of both Jacobean witch trials and the Highland Clearances on Annie Jackson's family. Annie knows little of her family history, as her parents both died in tragic circumstances, and her own memories have been wiped clean by the car accident that killed her mother. However, when haunting nightmares of drowning herald the onset of premonitions of death, she begins to question whether she has been told all there is to know about her family, and embarks on journey that reveals far more about sins of the past than she could ever imagine.

Told through the tense chain of events that follow Annie's realisation that she has the ability to foretell death, flashbacks to family conflict between Annie's mother and her two sisters, and excerpts from the memoir of Annie's distant relation Moira Mclean written in 1818, this story oozes Gothic vibes. Malone delves into history to bring alive episodes within Annie's family tree that show how passion, jealously and fierce rivalry entwined with age old suspicion gave birth to a hatred that cursed future generations. And in a stroke of pure genius, he embroiders the effects into a gripping mix of domestic drama and cracking crime story in the present.

As the separate storylines in time and place unfurl, Annie finds herself embroiled in a search for the truth about the murders of young women in the Scottish Highlands which leads her into terrible danger. In parallel, the secrets that lie thick around her own parentage, and the origin of the curse that has left such a toll on her and the women before her are revealed. Everything comes together in a mighty collision as the tangled threads resolve themselves in a powerful moment of shocking clarity - with a glorious little parting kick in Moira's memoir too.

Malone's themes run thick and fast, and a sense of foreboding holds you tightly throughout. He explores faith, deeply held superstition, madness, fear, and an unwillingness to confront the truth, through every part of this tale. I particularly enjoyed how he plays with power, charisma, and the subversion of religion to ramp up that disquieting feeling in the pit of your stomach, and cleverly uses themes of different kinds of witch hunts appropriate to each time period. 

This book hits the all consuming sweet spot between being terrified by what you are reading and yet unable to look away for a second. It gave me the absolute chills, in the best possible way. I am delighted to find that this is the first in a series of mysteries for Annie too, as I desperately need more of this fabulous Tartan Noir in my life. 

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

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

About the author:

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. 

His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit.

A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. 

Michael lives in Ayr.

Murder At The Residence by Stella Blomkvist

 

Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist.

Translated by Quentin Bates.

Published 28th August 2023 by Corylus Books.

From the cover of the book:

It’s New Year and Iceland is still reeling from the effects of the financial crash when a notorious financier is found beaten to death after a high-profile reception at the President’s residence. The police are certain they have the killer - or do they? Determined to get to the truth, maverick lawyer Stella Blómkvist isn’t so sure.

A stripper disappears from one of the city’s seediest nightspots, and nobody but Stella seems interested in finding her. A drug mule cooling his heels in a prison cell refuses to speak to anyone but Stella - although she has never heard of him. An old man makes a deathbed confession and request for Stella to find the family he lost long ago.

With a sharp tongue and a moral compass all of her own, Stella Blómkvist has a talent for attracting trouble and she’s as at home in the corridors of power as in the dark corners of Reykjavík’s underworld.

Stella Blómkvist delivers an explosive mix of murder, intrigue and surprise, and is one of Iceland's best-loved crime series.

***********

A new year has dawned, and Iceland is in turmoil following the shocking financial crash that has broken the whole country. As January gets underway, controversial lawyer Stella Blómkvist finds the badly beaten body of a high profile financier in a church near the President’s residence. The police are convinced they have the murderer bang-to-rights, but Stella is sure that her new client has been framed, and she is determined to prove it.

Meanwhile, she has several other cases demanding her attention. A Lithuanian sex worker is desperate to find her friend, after she was last seen setting off for a party; a young protestor seeks justice against a disgraced banker; a suspected drug runner has asked for her help; and an old man has set her on an almost impossible task to find his daughter. 

As Stella attempts to do what she can for her clients, bumping heads with the authorities in her own special way, she finds herself caught up in web of corruption that reaches from the darkest corners of Reykjavík’s underworld all the way to the top ranks of the city's respected citizens...

Murder at the Residence takes you into the world of the best-selling Icelandic crime series following the adventures of headstrong lawyer Stella Blómkvist (who is also the author), published for the first time in English by Corylus Books, in translation by Quentin Bates. Intriguingly, the real identity of the author of this series is unknown, even though the first book was published in the 1990s, although there has been a lot of speculation about who lies behind the Stella Blómkvist name.

The action begins on New Year's Eve 2009, with a fateful meeting in a public convenience, and follows several of Stella's cases as she tries to comply with the wide ranging requests of her clients to defend them against charges, advise them in civil matters, track down missing friends, and execute their dying wishes, all set against the backdrop of the shocking financial collapse in Iceland. This is a country in turmoil, seemingly having lost its own way and become prey to the unscrupulous on both sides of the law, which perhaps makes it unsurprising when Stella's ball-busting investigative style reveals more and more links between the cases.

Stella herself is a spiky character, and I did find it difficult to warm to her. There is a bit of wading through her complex personal relationships to do, with practically no filling in of backstory, which does make her motivations difficult to navigate. I do not feel that I had any more handle on the real Stella by the end of this book than at the beginning, other than that she has a predatory streak, which was a bit of a shame.

Nevertheless, within these pages there lies a very slick crime story that is well conceived and executed in a way that keeps you engaged throughout, and it has some cracking themes around past sins, revenge, and redemption running through it. The threads of the various mysteries and injustices that Stella must get to the bottom of are wide-ranging, but very gradually you come to see that they all fit into a very complicated framework around corruption and deception that goes right to the top of Iceland's establishment. You certainly have to admire Stella's doggedness to track down the leads, confront authority figures, and play around in the legal grey areas, in order to engineer the downfall of the villains of the piece. There is a satisfying conclusion to all aspects of the story, and the translation by Quentin Bates maintains a decent pace.

If Nordic noir is your thing then you will find many things in this book to please, even if it is difficult to pin your colours to Stella herself from this first adventure, especially in terms of the plot and the creditable way that this chaotic period of Iceland's contemporary history is described. I will be watching closely to see how this series develops in its English language reboot, as it shows real promise.

Murder at the Residence is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

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

About the author:

Stella Blómkvist has been a bestselling series in Iceland since the first book appeared in the 1990s and has attracted an international audience since the TV series starring Heiða Reed aired. This series features tough, razor-tongued Reykjavík lawyer Stella Blómkvist, with her taste for neat whiskey, a liking for easy money and a moral compass all of her own - and who is at home in the corridors of power as in the city’s darkest nightspots.

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

About the translator:

Quentin Bates is a writer, translator and journalist. He has professional and personal roots in Iceland that run very deep. He worked as a seaman before turning to maritime journalism. He is an author of a series of nine crime novels and novellas featuring the Reykjavik detective Gunnhildur (Gunna) Gísladóttir. In addition to writing his own fiction, he has translated books by Guðlaugur Arason, Einar Kárason, and crème de la crème of the Icelandic crime fiction authors Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Óskar Guðmundsson, Jónína Leósdóttir, Sólveig Pálsdóttir and Ragnar Jónasson. Quentin was instrumental in launching IcelandNoir, the crime fiction festival in Reykjavik.

 August 2023 Reading Round-Up

It has been a busy month, but I have still managed to get quite a few excellent reads (and listens) under my belt. You can find your way to my reviews by clicking on the pictures below.

I Did It For You by Amy Engel

The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson

Echoes on a Cornish River by Kate Ryder

A Little in Love by Florence Keeling

Vicious Circle by Wilbur Smith

Women of Troy by Pat Barker

Love on the Island by Jessica Gilmore

Someone Like Her by Awais Khan

The Sentence by Christina Dalcher

Deadly Autumn Harvest by Tony Mott

Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie

Dirty Geese by Lou Gilmond

Always By Your Side by Julie Haworth

The Good Daughter by Laure Van Rensburg

Mirror Image by Gunnar Staalesen

Joy in the Morning by P.G. Wodehouse

More excellent books on the way!

If you have enjoyed my pictures, please head over to Instagram and five me a follow at @brownflopsy.

Joy In The Morning (Jeeves And Wooster) by P.G. Wodehouse

 

The Jeeves Collection Vol 1: Book Five - Joy in the Morning by P.G. Wodehouse.

Narrated by Sephen Fry.

Released 17th December 2020 by Audible Studios.

From the cover:

“I have the honour to offer up to you, thanks to the good people of Audible, a selection of some of my very favourite Wodehouse. If these stories are new to you I hope it will be the beginning of a lifelong pleasure, if some or all are familiar I hope you will welcome them like old friends.” (Stephen Fry)

Audible Studios presents this brand new performance by Stephen Fry of some of his favourite Jeeves stories from P.G. Wodehouse, with an exclusive introduction.

Book 5: Joy in the Morning

Bertie is persuaded to brave the home of his fearsome Aunt Agatha and her husband Lord Worplesdon, knowing that his former fiancée, the beautiful and formidably intellectual Lady Florence Craye will also be in attendance.

***********

I am a late-comer to the work of P.G. Wodehouse as I only read my first one a couple of years ago, but it was literary love at first sight! So far, I have only ventured into the Jeeves and Wooster stories, but what better way to enjoy them than through the excellent narration of the incomparable Stephen Fry?

The Jeeves Collection (P. G.Wodehouse Volume One) has been a delight to listen to from beginning to end, covering five of Stephen Fry's own favourite Jeeves and Wooster stories about the loveable, but hapless, Bertie Wooster and his extremely capable valet Jeeves. The collection includes five books - The Inimitable Jeeves, Carry On Jeeves, Right-Ho Jeeves, The Code of the Woosters, and Joy in the Morning.

I have been saving the last story, Joy in the Morning, as a little treat, and it has been a fabulous way to round off the collection. They all pretty much follow the same formula, with Bertie getting into scrapes, generally as the result of trying to 'help out' friends and family with a variety of dilemmas, and having to be rescued by Jeeves. They evoke everything I love about that golden age when wealthy, bright young things spent their time enjoying high-jinks up town and on country estates.

In this particular episode, Bertie has been recruited on behalf of his step-uncle Lord Worplesdon (husband of Bertie's dreaded Aunt Agatha) to aid him in arranging a clandestine meeting with American businessman Chichester Clam, but he gets distracted by trying to get his pal, author 'Boko' Fittleworth, into Lord Worplesdon's good books so Boko can marry his ward 'Nobby' Hopwood. Throw in some awkward scenes with Bertie's former fiancée Florence, her new suitor local copper 'Stilton' Cheesewright, and Florence's troublesome little brother Edwin, and you have all the ingredients for mishaps and mayhem.

You can normally tell right from the beginning where Bertie is going to come a cropper, but this somehow makes things all the more enjoyable, especially as you know Jeeves will come up with a plan to put everything right in the end - including extricating Bertie from an accidental engagement, which seems to happen all too often.

The stories are narrated by Bertie himself, full of lingo suitable for a fine fellow of his age and class, which absolutely zings. Wodehouse's prose just glides, perfectly enunciated by Stephen Fry, and the humour drips from the increasingly absurd predicaments that unfold and Bertie's lack of self-awareness in making matters worse as he tries to do good.

I highly recommend any of these books if you love delicious use of language, laugh out loud capers, and a good rummage in the tweed-clad, what hoi-ng, jolly old past.

About the author:

P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) is widely regarded as the greatest comic writer of the 20th century. Wodehouse wrote more than 70 novels and 200 short stories, creating numerous much-loved characters - the inimitable Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth and his beloved Empress of Blandings, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and Psmith. His humorous articles were published in more than 80 magazines, including Punch, over six decades. He was also a highly successful music lyricist, once with over five musicals running on Broadway simultaneously. P.G. Wodehouse was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for 'an outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world'.

About the narrator:

Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director and all-round national treasure. 

Whilst at university, Fry became involved with the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his long-time collaborator and friend Hugh Laurie. As half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. 

Fry’s acting roles include Blackadder, Kingdom, Bones, V for Vendetta, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Hobbit trilogy. He has written and presented several documentary series and as a proudly out gay man, the award-winning Out There, documenting the lives of lesbian, bisexual gay and transgender people around the world is part of his 30-year advocacy of the rights of the LGBT community. 

Fry has written four novels: The Liar, The Hippopotamus (made in to a feature film in 2018), Making History and The Stars’ Tennis Balls. Translated into many languages, they have never been out of print. The most recently published works are Mythos, Heroes and Troy, a trilogy retelling the Greeks myths from the Creation to the aftermath of the Trojan War. 

One Moment by Becky Hunter (Paperback Publication)

 

One Moment by Becky Hunter.

Published in paperback 31st August 2023 by Corvus.

From the cover of the book:

One moment in time can change everything...

The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.

If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

***********

Scarlett and Evie have been inseparable since childhood, certain that whatever life throws at them they will always be able to rely on each other. But Fate has other ideas. On a day that promises the realisation of everything Scarlett has been working toward, she is involved in a fatal accident. Scarlett's death leaves Evie overwhelmed by grief, and struggling to get beyond blaming Nate, the man she considers responsible for what happened... and yet, these things are never black and white.

After the accident, Scarlett is unable to leave the world behind, even though her life is over. She hovers unseen on the edge of Evie's struggles, and watches over her with conflicted feelings while Evie and Nate, who would never have met if she had not died, develop a friendship that could become so much more. Scarlett finds herself revisiting moments from the past, gathering insight on the decisions she has made, and begins to understand that her relationship with Evie was not all it should have been. Would she go back and make different choices if she could, now she can see everything more clearly?

One Moment is an absolutely gorgeous debut novel from Becky Hunter that takes you on a deeply emotional journey through love, loss and the moments that define us. The story focuses on an intimate cast of characters dealing with loss in different ways, and it has a very clever twist reminiscent of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, because one of them is watching on from the outside, witnessing the profound impact of her death on those who remain behind.

Although Scarlett is dead throughout almost all of this story, she becomes the guide that leads you onwards from tragic beginning to heart-wrenching end. There is a lot of (quite literal) 'soul' searching, as Scarlett learns more about herself and her relationships with others, through being drawn to moments from past. Meanwhile Evie has revelations of her own about her friendship with Scarlett as Nate persists on inserting himself into her life and dragging her out of her comfort zone when she wants to hide from the world - and as she makes a new friend in Astrid, the young girl that reminds her so much of how she used to be.

There is no way to do this book justice in a short review. It deftly explores the pivotal moments that dictate the direction our lives take, and the preoccupations that can get in the way of seeing the bigger picture. There is real maturity in Hunter's writing that is very impressive for a debut author, as she spins bittersweet magic that wraps you up completely in this story, touching on a wealth of themes about expectation, self-awareness, chronic illness, mental health, friendship, family, and different aspects of love.

I cried my way through this one, building up to a full on sob fest at the end when all the threads come together in a final breath-taking moment that hits you right in the feels. One Moment is a contender for my book of the year, and I predict that Becky Hunter is a rising star to watch. If this book is not on your reading pile yet, then it should be.

**Review originally published March 2023 for hardback release.

One Moment is available to buy now in paperback, hardback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Corvus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blogger day.

About the author:

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment.

Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure.