#Rewind @cathryanhoward @CorvusBooks

About Rewind 

From the bestselling, multiple prize-shortlisted novelist Catherine Ryan Howard comes an explosive story about a twisted voyeur and a terrible crime... 

PLAY 

Andrew, the manager of Shanamore Holiday Cottages, watches his only guest via a hidden camera in her room. One night the unthinkable happens: a shadowy figure emerges onscreen, kills her and destroys the camera. But who is the murderer? How did they know about the camera? And how will Andrew live with himself? 

PAUSE 

Natalie wishes she'd stayed at home as soon as she arrives in the wintry isolation of Shanamore. There's something creepy about the manager. She wants to leave, but she can't - not until she's found what she's looking for...


REWIND 

This is an explosive story about a murder caught on camera. You've already missed the start. To get the full picture you must rewind the tape and play it through to the end, no matter how shocking...

My review of Rewind

I'll just start by saying that this book was an absolute treat to read from start to end. It's one of those books that simply hooks you in from the very beginning and won't let you go until the final page  it's a hugely entertaining, shocking and disturbing thriller.

This is a highly original novel that is told from multiple points of view, and through different timelines, there is no chronological time order to the writing, as the book is segmented into Fast Forward,  Play,  Pause and Rewind chapters which  help to propel the story along, while adding a sense of unease and urgency to the writing. It's such a clever concept, in that we are fed pieces of information that we have to put together to work out exactly what happened to Natalie in that holiday cottage 

We begin the story at the end . As we see through the eyes of Andrew, the manager of the holiday cottages, the video tape of a young woman who is murdered as she lies in bed. This conjures up many questions.  Who is this woman? Why has she been killed? And why has Andrew placed a camera in the bedroom? This begins the tale of unearthing the truth and introduces us to some colourful and intriguing characters. The wanna be reporter, Audrey (who I loved), Natalie the Instagram star, and Andrew, the creepy manager. 

This novel is so cleverly plotted and we are drawn into a secluded and claustrophobic world that is Shanamore. I could taste the salt of the sea, envisage the desolate beach of winter, and the remoteness of the holiday cottages. It helped to set the scene for what was a deeply unsettling story that had me on the edge of my seat.

Rewind is an original, addictive and immersing read. Highly recommended. 

Rewind is available to buy now. It is published by Corvus.

With thanks to Readers First who provided the hardback copy. 

#TheMemoryTree #LindaGillard @AmazonPub

About The Memory Tree 

Can the power of love overcome life’s darkest memories and deepest losses?

When her favourite beech tree is felled in a storm, Ann feels as if someone has died. But when long-hidden seed packets are found inside the trunk, Ann realises there are more memories than her own lurking within the ancient tree . . .

A century earlier, head gardener William Hatherwick and Hester Mordaunt, mistress of Beechgrave, share a love for the mighty estate – and an undeclared love for each other. But when war breaks out, William is sent to the battlefields of France, and as the conflict rages on, Hester grieves beneath the tree. Can she and William ever find happiness once he’s witnessed the horror of the trenches?

In the present day, historian Connor Grenville wants to understand why his late grandmother tried to destroy Hester’s archive before she died. Who was she trying to protect – and why? His findings bring long-suppressed memories back to Ann’s mind . . .

Beneath the shadow of the tree, love is won and lost, and secrets are hidden and revealed. Will the truth heal the wounds that lie buried in the past?

Revised edition: Previously published as The Trysting Tree, this edition of The Memory Tree includes editorial revisions.

My review of The Memory Tree 

I read The Trysting Tree back in September 2017. 

How do I find the words to describe this beautiful book? I honestly don't think that I can do this book the justice it deserves, but I'll do my very best. The Memory Tree is a nostalgic, romantic, and emotional read rooted firmly in reality. It is quite simply breathtaking.

The story is told both in the present day, 2015, and during the First World War in the year 1915. The storytelling is lyrical, almost poetic at times, especially in the letters that are revealed and from the beech trees in the wood where all of the characters lived. There is such an honest and raw quality to the writing, which is a constant theme throughout Linda Gillard's novels. I first fell in love with her writing having read Star Gazing, that was then shortly followed by the devouring of Emotional Geology. In each and every book we have female characters that are utterly believable and who I can relate to, and this book is no exception.

The novel really helps to shed light on the emotional impact of war, and how it altered the women who were left behind. We hear Hester's views via her journal entries, and although from over one hundred years ago, the fact that we are reading her views in this format, made them appear very relevant and modern.

Relationships are at the heart of this novel. We have the relationship between mother and daughter, both past and present. The relationship between Ann, and her mother Phoebe, is incredibly poignant. Phoebe is a woman who has struggled with motherhood, who says she is not maternal, but there is a warmth to her, and a likeability, that I couldn't shrug off. Deeply flawed, yes, but realistic, I couldn't help but like her. We also have the romantic relationships, both past and present, and although a hundred years apart, share similarities. Both encounters were a joy to read.  

The house and wood are pivotal to this story, as is the garden, for both stories. The imagery that is conveyed on the page is just magical and whimsical and echoes the romantic and nostalgic mood that has been created. The beech trees even have their own voice, and their message at the end  of the book nearly made me weep. 

The Memory Tee is such a beautiful and moving book about love, family and the devestaing events of war. It really is a must read. 

The Memory Tree was published by Amazon's Lake Union on 15th August.  

#DateNight @samhayes @bookouture

About Date Night 

Returning early from a disastrous date night with my husband, I know something is wrong the moment the wheels crunch the gravel drive of our home. Inside, the TV is on and a half-eaten meal waits on the table. My heart stops when I find our little girl is alone in the house and our babysitter, Sasha, is missing…

Days later, when I’m arrested for Sasha’s murder and torn away from my perfect little family, I’ll wish I had told someone about the threatening note I received that morning.

I’ll hate myself for not finding out who the gift hidden inside my husband’s wardrobe was for.

I’ll scream from the rooftops that I’m innocent – but no one will listen.

I will realise I was completely wrong about everything that happened that night…

But will you believe me?

My review of Date Night 

Date Night is one cracking read. It's full of twists and turns, characters that you can't stop thinking about and a situation that is unthinkable. yet utterly possible. It takes the ordinary and gives it an elaborate spin to create a shocking domestic thriller. I loved it. 

So, we have married couple Sean and Libby, parents to young daughter, Alice. There are obviously problems within the marriage and the planned date night is a way for them to try and reconnect with each other. But what happens is the start of a living nightmare for Libby. On their return home they find Alice alone in the house, while their babysitter, Sasha is missing, and then Libby gets arrested for her murder.

This is a deeply disturbing story that truly unerved me. What happened during that fateful night? Who left the note on Libby's car? Ultimately, who is lying and who is telling the truth? Throughout the story we are given bits of information about the night in question and what has happened in the past, and it is the slow piecing together of this information that tells you the complete story, and it is brilliant and shocking.

Date Night is a real page turner. I was hooked from the very beginning and was fully invested in Libby's story. Part of me wondered if she was an unreliable narrator, while another part of me believed every word she said. A roller coaster of a read that thoroughly entertained and lived up to its cover description. Highly recommend.

With thanks to the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Date Night is published on 20th August by Bookouture

#TheHoliday @TMLoganAuthor @ZaffreBooks

About The Holiday 

Seven days. Three families. One killer.

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday, dreamed up by Kate as the ideal way to turn 40: four best friends and their husbands and children in a luxurious villa under the blazing sunshine of Provence. 

But there is trouble in paradise. Kate suspects that her husband is having an affair, and that the other woman is one of her best friends. 

One of these women is willing to sacrifice years of friendship and destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined. 

Because someone in the villa is prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden.

My review of The Holiday

The Holiday is an absolutely brilliant read. That tagline of 'Seven days. Three families. One killer' reeled me right in and I quickly became immersed in the world of these four women and their families. It's a wonderful 'catch your breath'  kind of a read, with you never quite knowing who you can trust. Not even until the final few chapters. 

It's a fast paced read with short chapters that I just loved, as it pushed me forwards though the story, I had to keep reading. There are so many twists and turns, so many red herrings that I thought I had it all sussed out, only to find that I was competent wrong.

This is a domestic family thriller set in a villa in France. Four women who have been friends since university decide to holiday together to celebrate their upcoming fortieth birthdays. But what unfolds is a tale that is dark, murky and full of secrets. 

The story is told mainly from Kate's point of view, but we also get insight into the other characters point of view in the form of chapters that are dedicated to them. Kate suspects from the very first day of the holiday that her husband, Sean; is having an affair. The trouble is that the other woman is one of the three women, and so she keeps quiet and tries to unearth the truth herself. It is the fact that they are all together in this villa in France that gives the story it's undercurrent of foreboading. It is tense and claustrophobic as Kate cannot escape.  

Who on earth is the other woman? That's at the heart of this story. But we also have storylines involving the older children, that show that they too are harbouring secrets of their own.

The Holiday is so cleverly written. It pulls you in one direction and then another so that you get whiplash in wondering what on earth is going on. And as for the ending, well, it's both perfect and surprising at the same time.  

The Holiday really is a fabulous summer read and you'll never look at your friends in quite the same way again.  

With thanks to Readers First for the advanced  paperback copy. 


The Holiday is published by Zaffre on July 25th.

#TheGirlIUsedToKnow @GerHogan @Aria_Fiction

About The Girl I Used to Know

Two women. Two very different lives. One unexpected friendship.

Amanda King and Tess Cuffe are strangers who share the same Georgian house, but their lives couldn't be more different.

Amanda seems to have the perfect life. But the reality is a soulless home, an unfaithful husband and a very lonely heart.

While Tess has spent a lifetime hiding and shutting her heart to love.

But if they can open up to one another, these two women may just learn that sometimes letting go is the first step to moving forward and new friendships can come from the most unlikely situations.

My review of The Woman I Used To Know 

The Girl I Used to Know is a warm hearted, emotional and thoroughly engaging read. It's a story that spans a lifetime and is one about the friendship of women, the strength of women and that we are all deserving of love. I absolutely loved it! 

The book revolves around Amanda and Tess, two women who have known each other for decades, but who barely talk, or acknowledge each other, even though they live under the same roof.  Amanda has been married for twenty years and has two teenage children. Her life has revolved around her husband and his needs, but things are about to change when she learns of his infidelity. Tess lives in the basement flat, just as she has done for decades. She is known as a recluse, a not very friendly sort, but why is this? What is her back story? We learn all about Tess and her past, just as we do Amanda's, as we progress through the book. 

Both women are lonely. Tess through her own choosing and Amanda because of a marriage that looks good on the outside but which has very little depth or feeling. 

Both women are very much the opposite of each other. One a mother and a wife, an upper class lady with money and contacts. Tess lives in her tiny basement flat, works as an office temp and has no friends. But, as we read this delightful story, these two women realise that they have more in common than they first thought  

The Girl I Used to Know is a heart-warming and emotional read. It restores your faith in the human race. It is a book about the bonds that women share and that we all deserve to be happy and connected to others. It's a refreshing and delightful read. I look forward to reading more books by this author. 

The Girl I Used to Know is published by Aria. 

With thanks to the publisher and Victoria Joss for the paperback copy and inviting me on the blog tour. 

About the author 

Faith lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and two very fussy cats. She has an Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology, has worked as a fashion model and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector. 


Follow the blog tour... 

#Trance @adamsouthward @AmazonPub

About Trance 

His victims are powerless. He is in control. This is his revenge—and he’s only just begun.

Three university scientists are found dead in a gruesome murder-suicide, and the only suspect in the case, Victor Lazar, is quickly captured. When the spate of violent suicides follows him to prison he is moved to solitary confinement, reserved for the highest-risk inmates. And then his assigned psychologist inexplicably takes his own life.

Alex Madison, a former forensic psychologist turned private therapist, is brought in to interview Victor. He suspects that Victor is controlling his victims, somehow coaxing them into a suggestive trance. It seems like science fiction, but as Alex digs deeper he uncovers a frightening reality of secret research and cruel experimentation—and the perpetrators are closer to home than he could ever have imagined.

Too late, Alex learns the true extent of what Victor is capable of—and who he’s after. With everything he holds dear at risk, can Alex take control of a dangerous mind—before it takes control of him?

My review of Trance 

Trance is a compulsive thriller that grips you from the very first page. It's highly original, addictive and I was drawn into the murky world of Victor Lazar. I couldn't put this book down. 

The story begins with a gruesome murder of a university professor and within these first few pages there is a subtle twist that sets the tone and expectations of this dark and unsettling thriller. 

Alex Madison, a forensic psychologist, who now has his own private practice, is brought in to assess Victor, the major suspect, and now a prison inmate. What follows is a story that is rooted in past trauma and medical experiments. Victor's past truly is the stuff of science fiction, but it happened and is happening and Alex  finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the mysterious world of Victor Lazar.

I loved this book. I loved the fact that it takes the theme of deep hypnotic trance and combines it with a cracking thriller of a read. It's dark, it's unsettling and it bubbles with tension. As I made my way through this book, I honestly didn't know who I could trust, and more importantly who Alex could trust. I raced through the pages, wanting Alex to find out the truth and to keep safe. 

Trance is a thoroughly enjoyable read. This book revolves around Victor Lazar, but Alex's story is equally interesting. He fascinated me, just as Victor did, and there was such pure excitement to be had when these two men met. 

I can't praise Trance highly enough. An original thriller that tackles some serious issues. It's menacing, it's unsettling and one addictive read.  

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

Trance was published by Thomas and Mercer on 1st July 

#Others @cfernyhough @unbounders

Others: Writers on the power of words to help us see beyond ourselves by Charles Fernyhough (Author, Editor)

It doesn’t take much familiarity with the news to see that the world has become a more hate-filled place. In Others, a group of writers explore the power of words to help us to see the world as others see it, and to reveal some of the strangeness of our own selves.

Through stories, poems, memoirs and essays, we look at otherness in a variety of its forms, from the dividing lines of politics and the anonymising forces of city life, through the disputed identities of disability, gender and neurodiversity, to the catastrophic imbalances of power that stands in the way of social equality.

Whether the theme is a casual act of racism or an everyday interaction with someone whose experience seems impossible to imagine, the collection challenges us to recognise our own otherness to those we would set apart as different.

Profits from this book will be donated to Stop Hate UK, which works to raise awareness of hate crime and encourage its reporting, and Refugee Action, which provides advice and support to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. 

Contributors include: Leila Aboulela, Gillian Allnutt, Damian Barr, Noam Chomsky, Rishi Dastidar, Peter Ho Davies, Louise Doughty, Salena Godden, Colin Grant, Sam Guglani, Matt Haig, Aamer Hussein, Anjali Joseph, A. L. Kennedy, Joanne Limburg, Rachel Mann, Tiffany Murray, Sara Nović, Edward Platt, Alex Preston, Tom Shakespeare, Kamila Shamsie, Will Storr, Preti Taneja and Marina Warner.

My review of Others 

Others is an insightful, inspiring and thought provoking collection of short stories, poems and real life accounts. The central theme is that of 'other'.  Those we perceive to be different to us and how this difference can shed insight on our own prejudices and truths. We read about the 'other' who doesn't conform to our rules, our culture, and as a result we learn  how we perceive ourselves to be different. We also learn how reading can shed insight into other, as we immerse ourselves in their point of view. 

This is a book that is very much time sensitive. In our current refugee crisis and the rise of the far right, this book makes you question what it actually means to be other, while making us delve deep into our own belief systems and prejudices. 

All of these stories have something important to say. They each have their own distinctive voice. But, one story in particular stood out for personal reasons  ‘We Are the Champions’ by Salena Godden  explores the relationship with the author's sister who has Williams Syndrome. I found this to be emotional, empowering and a wonderful and honest insight into how others perceive disability. It's beautifully written. 

Others showcases the power of words and stories in uniting  us all. Fundamentally, what we learn is that we aren't that different after all, and that difference should be celebrated, not something to be feared. 

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

The Others: Writers on the power of words to help us see beyond ourselves was published on 11th July by Unbound.