Her Last Secret @BCopperthwait @bookouture

About Her Last Secret

Everyone thinks the Thomases are the perfect family: grand London house, gorgeous kids.

They don’t know wife Dominique is a paranoid wreck.

They don’t know husband Ben is trapped in a web of deceit.

They don’t know daughter Ruby lives in fear of the next abusive text.

But someone knows all their secrets.

Can the lies that bind them destroy them all?

This dark, gripping psychological thriller will have you holding your breath until the very last page. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, Sometimes I Lie, and The Girl on the Train will be captivated.

My review of Her Last Secret

I was so very excited to read this psychological thriller by Barbara Copperthwaite, and as usual, it was a spellbinding read. Her Last Secret is a slow burning psychological thriller, that gradually quickens in pace to a delicious and explosive conclusion.

The novel begins on Christmas Day when the police are called to a house in the early hours of the morning, having been alerted by neighbours who have heard gunshots. We know nothing about the inhabitants, but two bodies are brought out of the house, and then the story slowly begins to unfurl.

We are introduced to four family members. Dom, her husband Ben, and their two children, young Mouse (Amber) and teenager, Ruby. We read all of their personal accounts via   alternating chapters. All have their own motives and all are complex. Nothing is as it seems. Dom is a stay at home mum, who feels that her husband loves his job more than her, and she too has her own secrets to keep. She also feels that she is growing further way from her teenage daughter. In fact, does she know her at all?  Ben has his own worries to deal with when it comes to work issues, and he finds himself getting deeper into trouble. Ruby also has a lot to contend with in her school life, but who will listen to her?

The storytelling is magnificent, the story structured in such a way that you know something bad has really happened but you don't know quite what it is, who is responsible and who the victims are. After we learn that the police have been called to a house on Christmas Day, we then go back just over a week before that day, and the story slowly begins to unravel, interspersed with chapters about the police and their findings on Christmas Day. This builds up the pace beautifully and I honestly didn't want to put this book down.

As the book states, this is a psychological thriller and it tackles some serious issues, none of which I will mention as they will be spoilers, but suffice to say that this is a gut punching book, and as a mother, Dom truly resonated with me.

Her Last Secret is a dark, unsettling and addictive read that will reel you in and keep you hooked from the very first page.

Her Last Secret is published by Bookouture on 13 October.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy.

The Break @MarianKeyes @MichaelJBooks

About The Break

Amy's husband Hugh has run away to 'find himself'. But will he ever come back?

'Myself and Hugh . . . We're taking a break.'

'A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?'

If only.

Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her.

He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. Six months to lose himself in South East Asia. And there is nothing Amy can say or do about it.

Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet . . .
However, for Amy it's enough to send her - along with her extended family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers - teetering over the edge.

For a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns, if he returns, will he be the same man she married? Will Amy be the same woman?

Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then so is she . . .

The Break is a story about the choices we make and how those choices help to make us. It is Marian Keyes at her funniest, wisest and brilliant best.

My review of The Break

When you pick up a Marian Keyes book you just know that you're in for a treat, and The Break is no exception. I loved this book from the very beginning. 

The novel revolves around protagonist Amy, and her husband, Hugh, who live in Dublin. Hugh decides that they need to take a break, they have been married for 17 years, and so heads off to Asia for six months on a backpacking adventure, leaving Amy at home who immerses herself in her PR work, while she waits for him to return home. The big questions are, will he return home? Can things ever be the same again? 

Hugh is dealing with his father's death, and although Amy understand his need to grieve, and that he needs time, she does struggle with the fact that he has decided to grieve alone, and on the other side of the world, effectively shunning her. What follows is an emotive story about how Amy deals with this life changing event, and although there are moments of pure anguish and a few tears, there are also many laugh out loud moments,  caused by the many colourful Irish characters that we meet

I loved this book for featuring a female character in her 40s. Amy is 44 and thought her life was pretty sorted. Happily married for seventeen years, a stable marriage, a happy marriage, but suddenly everything is turned on its head.  I read thinking that this could happen to anyone and I think that this is the main strength of this novel. What happened to Amy could happen within your own marriage. The idea , the horror of it hooks you in. It tackles not the falling in love part, but how to stay in love part, and this is what I loved about this book.  Will their love be strong enough?  Can they stay in love?

As ever the writing is witty, fast and engaging. The characters are colourful and the joy really comes from reading their conversations and how they interact with one another. It really is a pure delight.

The Break is anything but a light read. It does tackle serious issues that deal with love in marriage. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was engaging, current and I completely understood the characters. Loved it! 

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

The Break was published by Michael Joseph on 7 September. It can be found on Amazon here.

Dead Lands @LloydOtisWriter @urbanebooks

About Dead Lands

Dead Lands is a thrilling crime story set in the 1970s. When a woman's body is found a special team is called in to investigate and prime suspect Alex Troy is arrested for the murder. Desperate to remain a free man, Troy protests his innocence, but refuses to use his alibi. Trying to protect the woman he loves becomes a dangerous game - questions are asked and suspicions deepen. When the prime suspect completes a daring escape from custody, DI Breck and DS Kearns begin the hunt. Breck wants out of the force while Kearns has her own agenda and seeks revenge. Breck has his suspicions and she wants to keep it from him, and a right-wing march provides an explosive backdrop to their hunt for Troy. Lloyd Otis brings a startling account of the past back to life over a burgeoning '70s landscape, and delivers a thrilling piece of crime fiction that will excite any fan of the genre.

My review of Dead Lands

Dead Lands is the debut novel from Lloyd Otis and what a fantastic debut it is. It's gritty, fast paced and an exquisite read about a time before laptops, mobiles and social media. I loved it!

Set in the heart of London during the 1970s, Dead Lands is dark and punchy from the very beginning. A woman is found murdered in her own home, and when DI Breck and DS Kearns are called to the scene we witness their reactions, their horror at what they see, and the hunt for the killer begins. 

This story is full of secrets, twists and characters who you just don't know to trust, both inside and outside of the police. For me, the one stable character was that of DI Breck, I liked him the moment I met him, and I'm not sure why, but there was just something about him, something a little bit addictive, a little bit edgy that made him fascinating to read. He is also disillusioned with the force, wanting a way out, to have a more stable life, and I completely understood this need. Kearns on the other hand is not an open book, and although I didn't like her, I understood her. She is hiding a secret and it is difficult to know what side of the fence she is on, for that reason she made the novel even more gripping and intense.  

The police at first focus upon suspect Alex Troy, whose credit card is found at the scene of the murder. They bring him into custody, but he refuses to give an alibi, as it will compromise the woman who he is in love with. It is while he is in custody, that he manages to escape, and the race to catch him begins. 

As I progressed through the novel, I realised that I had no idea who the killer was, and my views kept changing. I found myself tearing through the pages in my quest to find out who the killer was, and the reasons for Kesrns' secrets. The ending truly surprised me, but made complete sense. I also loved this novel for its depictions of the 70s. It was so refreshing to read a police thriller that had no mobile phones, social media or need for the internet. The policing was all done the 'old fashioned way' and was very much based on a 'gut instinct.' I loved the fact that there was no technology, it made for a very different kind of read. 

Dead Lands was a joy to read from beginning to end. It was different, engaging, clever and full of characters who you yearned to know more about. It's also one hell of a murder mystery. I highly recommend it. 

Dead Lands is published by Urbane Publications on October 12. It can be found on Amazon here.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

The Surrogate @Fab_fiction @bookouture

About The Surrogate

You know that feeling? When you want something so badly, you almost feel you’d kill for it?’

Be careful what you wish for…

Kat and her husband Nick have tried everything to become parents. All they want is a child to love but they are beginning to lose hope. Then a chance encounter with Kat’s childhood friend Lisa gives Kat and Nick one last chance to achieve their dream.

But Kat and Lisa’s history hides dark secrets.

And there is more to Lisa than meets the eye.

As dangerous cracks start to appear in Kat’s perfect picture of happily-ever-after, she realises that she must act quickly. But is she willing to uncover the darkest secrets of her past in order to to save her family?

My review of The Surrogate

The Surrogate is a dark, engaging and a nail biting psychological thriller that sucked me in from the very beginning. This is one creepy, twisted tale that focusses upon buried lies and deceit. It's nothing like the cover would suggest, as initially I thought it would be about two women sharing a bond through pregnancy, and would be a heart warming tale. In that respect, the cover and tithe are very clever. 

We meet married couple, Kat and Nick, who have been trying to get pregnant for several years,  and who have gone down the adoption route, but have been unsuccessful. My heart went out to Kat, a woman who so desperately wants a child, who would do anything to have a child of her own. It is when Kat meets Lisa in a coffee shop, who is an old school friend, that she begins to think that her dream of becoming a mother may actually become a reality. However, what first appears as a dream come true slowly has the seeds of doubt planted. Is Lisa who she seems to be? Does Nick really want a child? There are so many unanswered questions and a real sense of foreboding starts to creep in. 

I really liked Kat. I got who she was and what she was wanted in life. That yearning to be a mother, I undersold that as a mother myself, and I felt as if I understood her motives. Her husband, Nick, on the other hand I just couldn't warm to. He never really warmed to the idea of surrogacy, and I wondered what the reasons were behind these feelings. As for Lisa, well, she truly confused me. From the moment I met her I wondered how she had found Kat, and what her true intentions were. She fascinated me, and I wanted to learn her story. All three of these characters spin a luscious web made from lies and deceit, and as I progressed through the novel, my loyalties shifted, not knowing who to trust or believe. What really happened between Lisa and Kat? That's the big question. 

This book really is full of twists and turns and I honestly didn't know who to believe, or where my sympathies should lie.  The idea of turning the theme of surrogacy into something that is dark and sinister is pure brilliance. I really was hooked on every word, and as for the ending... well I wasn't expecting it at all, but it was brilliantly stunning.

The Surrogate is an engaging, dark, and twisted read that will keep you guessing. I loved it! 

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Raeder Copy.

The Surrogate was published by Bookouture on 27 Sept and can be found on Amazon here.

Flesh of the Peach @HelenMcClory @FreightBooks

About Flesh of the Peach

An intense journey into and out of rage and grief, via sex and violence, following 27 year-old artist, Sarah Browne and set mostly in the American Southwest. In New York, the ending of Sarah's recent relationship with a married woman has coincided with the death of her estranged, aristocratic mother, leaving her a substantial amount of money and an unrecognised burden of toxic grief. Rather than return home to England, she decides to travel by Greyhound to her mother's cabin in New Mexico. There she's drawn into a passionate relationship with Theo, a man whose quiet stability seems to complement her mercurial character.

But as Sarah's emotional turmoil grows, there are warning signs that tragedy could ensue. In Flesh of the Peach Scottish First Book of the Year winner, Helen McClory, paints a beautiful and painful portrait of a woman's unravelling, combining exquisite, and at times experimental, prose with a powerful understanding of the effects of unresolved loss.

McClory is one of the most exciting literary talents to emerge from Scotland in recent years.

My review of Flesh of the Peach

Flesh of the Peach is the debut novel by Scottish author Helen McClory, and wow, what an intense and consuming read. It is about grief and the need to belong.

The novel revolves around  twenty-seven-year-old Sarah Browne, an artist, whose estranged mother dies from cancer. Sarah is also dealing with the after effects of the end of her affair with a married woman. She suddenly finds herself alone and wealthy, with the burden of grief upon her shoulders that she does not know how to deal with, and this is the premise for the story. She leaves her New York home to travel across America in a Greyhound bus to revisit her mother's remote cabin in New Mexico

The language is poetic at times, and the sentence structure took me a little while to fully 'get into ' but this is Sarah's voice that we hear, her innermost thoughts, and the way that these thoughts are put down on paper are important, as they truly represent how she thinks, her unraveling grief and her search for who she is.

While reading I really did feel that Sarah saw herself very much as an outsider, someone who observed rather than living life. This is shown in the recollections of her life growing up in Cornwall, were she felt as if she never really truly fitted in. Her toxic relationship with the married woman, and the affair that she has with Theo once in New Mexico, are all about Sarah's need to find her own identity. To find who she truly is.

Aa already mentioned, the writing is beautiful, it's lyrical and I got a true sense of who Sarah was and who she wanted to be. The language and imagery used also helps to paint an evocative atmosphere of both her childhood home, and its almost cloying atmosphere, to the barrenness of New Mexico and its many opportunities.

Flesh of the Peach is very much a coming of age story. It's a story about how the past shapes you, makes you who you are, and that we can never truly escape our upbringing. This book has a wonderful, fresh and cathartic feel to it, that is snappy and to the point, just like Sarah. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading future books by the author.

With thanks to the publisher and author who provided a paperback edition for review purposes.

Flesh of the Peach was published by Freight Books on 20th April. It can be found on Amazon here.

Where Dead Men Meet @MarkMillsAuthor

About Where Dead Men Meet

Paris, 1937. Luke Hamilton - a junior air intelligence officer at the British Embassy - finds himself the target of an assassination attempt. A clear case of mistaken identity, or so it first appears. As Luke is hunted across a continent sliding towards war, he comes to learn that the answers lie deep in a past that predates his abandonment as a baby on the steps of an orphanage twenty-five years ago.

From the author of the bestselling THE SAVAGE GARDEN, and set against a terrific backdrop of Europe on the cusp of the Second World War, this is a compelling novel, rich in adventure, espionage, secrets and lies.

My review of Where Dead Men Meet

Where Dead Men Meet is a thoroughly gripping period thriller like no other I have ever read. Mark Mills is a gifted storyteller and I quickly found myself immersed in this unknown world, with this gripping tale of survival. 

Where Dead Men Meet is set in Paris during 1937. Luke Hamilton, the protagonist of the story works at the British Embassy as an intelligence officer. He is young, handsome and has his fair share of the ladies. I loved him instantly. 

The novel opens with the murder of Sister Agnes, who lived at St Theresa’s Orphanage, the same orphanage that Luke grew up in, and the nun who found him abandoned on the doorstep as a baby. I'll admit that this opening hooked me in. We then move on to Luke, as he suddenly finds himself as the target of an assassination attempt, and the novel begins to ask questions about his past and who wants him dead. One of the men who has been assigned to kill Luke, Borodin, has a change of heart, believing him to be someone else, and so decides to protect him and help him escape... and so the real story begins.

The novel beautifully evokes the thoughts and feelings of those living before the beginning of the Second World War. The fear and the uncertainty. Coupled with this is the story of Luke, a story that is rich in lies, deceit and villains. This really is one twisted and complicated plot that I can't even begin to explain, and I don't want to give away any spoilers, but all I will say is that you will be hooked from the moment that you meet Luke. He is a captivating character, a likeable man, and you will want him to find out about his past and why someone wants him dead. Or is it simply mistaken identity? 

We follow Luke in his journey across Europe in his quest for survival and his search to find out who he really is. It's a tale of survival, treachery, with a dash of romance. This novel really does have it all. It's simply a fabulous read and an entertaining story with characters that you ultimately care about. Its a wonderful, evocative read

With thanks to the publisher and Bookbridgr who supplied a paperback for review purposes.

Where Dead Men Meet  was published in paperback by Headline Review on 13 July. It can be fond on Amazon here.

Revolver @swierczy @Mulhollandbooks

About Revolver

Philadelphia 1965: Two street cops - one black, one white - are gunned down in a robbery gone wrong. The killer is never prosecuted. One of the fallen officers, Stanislaw Walczak, leaves behind a twelve-year-old boy, Jimmy...

Philadelphia 1995: Homicide detective Jim Walczak learns that his father's alleged killer, Terrill Lee Stanton, is out of prison. Walczak will be waiting, determined to squeeze the truth out of him - any way he can.

Philadelphia 2015: Jim Walczak's daughter Audrey, studying forensic science in grad school, reinvestigates her grandfather's murder for her dissertation. But the deeper Audrey digs, the more she realises: the man everyone thinks killed Walczak didn't do it...

And when the truth comes out, the danger's only going to grow.

My review of Revolver

Revolver is a dark thriller with a touch of noir that spans three generations, from 1965 through to 2015. I loved it! 

Stanislaw Walczak, a cop working in Philadelphia, is shot dead during a robbery in 1965. His son, Jimmy, decades later becomes a homicide detective and begins to investigate the death of his father, to find his father's murderer. It is during 2015 that Jim's daughter, Audrey, begins to investigate the murder as part of her dissertation studies. These three stories are all told within their own time frame, all are interwoven, and all shed a different light on what happened. Who did kill Stanislaw Walczak? That is at the heart of this story. 

The author writes with such compassion, humanity and understanding of the human condition. It's a crime drama based upon the American dream. One that is always ultimately shattered. The multi layered narrative is fast paced and with well drawn characters that felt like friends by the time I read the final words. Each different generation, the father, the son and the granddaughter, were equally enthralling and offered a valid viewpoint and snapshot in time. 

This is not your average dark thriller, as it is part family drama that explores the differences between the generation gap, and the relationship between father and son, and father and daughter. It does tackle serious issues such as racism, gun crime and sexual assault, but all of these issues are pivotal to the plot and for exploring the time frame in which the characters live. Although the book is primarily three different stories, it really did feel as if I was reading a family saga, and I wanted to know what happened to Stanislaw Walczak, just as much as the characters within this fascinating thriller.

Revolver is a very different type of thriller, and at first it did take me a while to get into, but once I met all three central characters, I was hooked. Revolver is a dark and compulsive read. It's a novel about the complexities of family life, of relationships and of living in America during the 1960s surrounded by racism and intolerance to anyone who appears to be different. It's an illuminating read, full of action and interesting characters. I really enjoyed it. 

With thanks to the publisher and Bookbridgr for an Advanced Reader Copy.

Revolver was published by Mulholland Books on 10th August. It can be found on Amazon here.