January 27

Changeling – Matt Wesolowski

A missing child
A family in denial
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

On Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the dark Wentshire Forest Pass, when his father, Sorrel, stopped the car to investigate a mysterious knocking sound. No trace of the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995.

Elusive online journalist, Scott King, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the disappearance, interviewing six witnesses, including Sorrel and his ex-partner, to try to find out what really happened that fateful night. Journeying through the trees of the Wentshire Forest – a place synonymous with strange sightings, and tales of hidden folk who dwell there, he talks to a company that tried and failed to build a development in the forest, and a psychic who claims to know what happened to the little boy…

Intensely dark, deeply chilling and searingly thought provoking, Changeling is an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, taking you to places you will never, ever forget.

 

Thank you to Anne Cater and Karen at Orenda Books for the chance to join the blog tour.  I have reviewed the Audible audiobook which I had pre-ordered for purchase before I knew I would be joining the blog tour.

 

Matt Wesolowski writes each of the Six Stories books as a series of podcast episodes. One novel takes the reader/listener through a sequence of six interviews each interview is designed to give a different viewpoint on a single incident.  The incidents in questions are unsolved crimes, mysteries or puzzles to which there has not been a definitive answer or explanation and sometimes the incidents have a supernatural undertone.  The podcast host asserts that he is not trying to solve these crimes or occurrences, simply letting his listeners have the opportunity to challenge the “truth”.

As Changeling is written as a sequence of podcasts I was determined to read the book in audiobook format. What better way to enjoy the podcasts than to have them play out in the format they are intended to be presented? The result – an astonishing and wholly immersive experience.

Changeling documents the disappearance of a young boy in 1988.  Alfie Marsden was in a car with his father on Christmas Eve when, driving near Wentshire Forest, their car broke down after Alfie’s father (Sorrel) heard a strange tapping noise coming from the engine.  Sorrel was looking under the bonnet trying to identify the source of the noise, Alfie was sleeping in the car. Yet when Sorrel gave up on his mechanical investigations and looked back into the car Alfie was gone.

The case generated a lot of publicity over 3o years ago and Wentshire Forest had a reputation for creepy and unexplained activity. Scott King explores the forest’s reputation, looks into the people around Alfie at the time he disappeared and challenges his listeners to consider if something came out Wentshire Forest and took Alfie back into the woods.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

The emotion and the drama surrounding the disappearance of a young child is brilliantly conveyed in the performances of the narrators on the audiobook. As was the terror surrounding the tap, tap, tap phenomenon in the interviews discussing the peculiarities of  Wentshire Forest.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

A constant chilling undertone plays over a distressing family drama. Broken people tell their story and it can make for harrowing listening.  Matt Wesolowski has delivered another majestic read.

I am blown away by the storytelling in the Six Stories books and I urge everyone to seek them out.  If you listen to podcasts but don’t like to listen to talking books then I believe Changeling could be the book which may change your listening habits.  There is nothing to rival the sheer reading pleasure of losing yourself in the brilliance of a well constructed audiobook.  The Six Stories series is an essential addition to any audiobook library.

 

Changeling is available in digital, paperback and audiobook format.  It can be ordered here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Changeling-Six-Stories-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07F9JH5ZV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548587467&sr=8-1&keywords=changeling+matt+wesolowski

Follow the tour

 

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January 16

Evil Things – Katja Ivar

Hella Mauzer was the first ever woman Inspector in the Helsinki Homicide Unit. But her superiors deemed her too ‘emotional’ for the job and had her reassigned. Now, two years later, she is working in Lapland for the Ivalo police department under Chief Inspector Järvi, a man more interested in criminal statistics and his social life than police work.

They receive a letter from Irja Waltari, a priest’s wife from the village of Käärmela on the Soviet border, informing them of the disappearance of Erno Jokinen, a local. Hella jumps at the chance to investigate. Järvi does not think that a crime is involved. After all, people disappear all the time in the snows of Finland.

When she arrives, Hella stays the village priest and his wife, who have taken in Erno’s grandson who refuses to tell anyone his grandfather’s secret. A body is then discovered in the forest and she realizes that she was right; a crime has been committed. A murder. But what Hella doesn’t know, is that the small village of Käärmela is harbouring another crime, a crime so evil, it is beyond anything any of them could have ever imagined.

 

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things for the chance to join the Evil Things blog tour

 

First blog tour of the year for me and it is great to start with a book I enjoyed.

Evil Things took me into new territory as I cannot think of any other books set in 1950’s Finland. We are quickly introduced to Hella Mauzer and given an insight into her challenging life.  Hella is a female police officer at a time where women were not expected to join the force.  She appears driven and determined but as the story unfolds the reader also gets to see how Hella has left a role in a busy Helsinki station to a role at a more remote outpost.

Working under a boss who believes effective policing is keeping careful files and not taking on difficult unsolvable work (which would ruin his efficiency statistics) Hella wants to head into the deep woods to follow up a report of a missing man.  Her boss is extremely reluctant to let Hella leave.  The prospect of a change to the weather could mean Hella is stranded in the wilderness for weeks.

Fortunately Hella prevails and he heads to the village of Käärmela where she will stay with the local priest and his wife.  They are also looking after the grandson of the missing man. The boy is too young to fend for himself and his missing grandfather was his only carer.  Hella tries to question the boy and realises he has a secret but something is scaring him and he will not reveal anything useful.

By the time she arrives in Käärmela Erno Jokinen has been missing for several days.  There are searches of the woods being conducted and before long human remains are found.  Hella realises that there are secrets in Käärmela but she really could not have been prepared for what was to follow.

Evil Things played out very well. Hella is a complex character, she is no fan of herself and seems to be quick to focus on her own shortcomings.  Her initial interactions with colleagues and strangers make her seem unapproachable or even hostile.  Yet it is easy to like Hella too.  I cringed at some of her behaviour but still empathised with her situation and became angry on her behalf over how her colleagues had treated her.

Location is another very important aspect of the story.  The setting is the remote Finnish woods and the isolation is conveyed really well – couple this with the lack of technology (1950’s remember?) and the reader feels Hella is all alone and extremely vulnerable. Hella will feel that too.

Atmospheric reading which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Evil Things is published by Bitter Lemon Press and is available in audiobook, digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evil-Things-Katja-Ivar-ebook/dp/B07GT7QDHD/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1547668803&sr=8-1

 

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December 6

The Silent Dead – Graham Smith

He’d found an angel for his collection. But one angel at a time was never enough…

Detective Beth Young has just joined the Cumbrian major crimes team when a body is found posed in a ritualistic manner – arms spread and graceful wings attached – at a crumbling castle in the hills of the Lake District.

The entire police force are on red alert. But Beth begins to feel she’s the only one who can follow the disturbing clues left by the twisted killer. Because she doesn’t think like everyone else. To Beth, crimes are puzzles she can solve. Even if real life is a little harder.

As more bodies are discovered in derelict stately homes across the Lake District, she knows she’s in a race against time.

But the killer is looking for another victim to add to his collection… Will Beth be able to save her? Or will he get there first?

 

My thanks to Bookouture for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

 

I always enjoy picking up a new thriller by Graham Smith as he writes books I love to read. The Silent Dead was no exception, a dark and engaging tale which introduces Detective Beth Young to the crime reading community.

Young is finding her feet in Cumbrias major crimes team. Eager, determined and keen to impress but hampered by a degree of naievity and she still needs to learn the politics of her new role.  It makes Beth an endearing and entertaining character to follow.

She is cutting her teeth on a brutal murder case. A body has been discovered – the dead man was suspended upright and subjected to some extremely unpleasant reconstructive bodywork (no spoilers) before his killer abandoned the corpse.

We follow the investigation, a narrative I always love, but progress for Beth and her colleagues is slow so we share their frustrations too.

A second narrative is shared – that of a hunter. A predator looking to add to his “angels” and readers get to see him choose his next target. The cut-away from the investigation to this predator and his potential victims made the story seem more urgent and this kept me reading.  You are urging the police to get cracking and stop the bad guys before anyone else is harmed!

The Silent Dead is highly recommended to all crime fiction lovers. Beth is a great lead character and Graham Smith can spin a cracking story.

 

The Silent Dead is published by Bookouture and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Dead-gripping-thriller-stunning-ebook/dp/B07H2DG957/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1544052122&sr=8-3

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November 24

The Lingering – SJI Holliday (Audiobook)

Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history

When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution…

At once an unnerving locked-room mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for the opportunity to review the audiobook of The Lingering for the blog tour.

 

I was lucky to receive an early review copy of The Lingering and my review of the book is reproduced below. Spoiler…I loved it. But when I was invited to join the blog tour I asked if I could review the audiobook of The Lingering.

Over the last 12 months I have become an audiobook convert.  While the reading pace is frustratingly slow I am finding I get so much more from my books when every word is carefully articulated by an array of excellent actors.  The Lingering really emphasised the difference between two reading experiences and the audio Book is incredible.

Knowing the story made no difference to my enjoyment, the dual voice narrative was a treat and, while I did not think it possible, it is was a more eerie and chilling experience to have the story told to me.

The Lingering has been one of my favourite stories if the year. Outstanding and capitvating in equal measure – to listen to the audiobook rubberstamped that opinion. Whether you elect to read or listen to this book you need to make sure it is one you grab as soon as you can.

 

My original review:

I spent most of my teen years pouring over all the ghost stories and horror books I could get my hands on but I do feel that there is currently a lack of good new ghostly tales for readers to enjoy. This is why, when I first heard that Susi Holliday was writing a spooky thriller, I was beyond excited and The Lingering instantly became my “most anticipated” book.

The wait was entirely worth it as there was no Lingering over this story.  I was flicking pages so fast I am surprised the pages didn’t burst into flame.

The setting for The Lingering is a large creepy house which was once used as a psychiatric hospital. Within the house is a commune,  the residents are odd collection of characters who live a seemingly simple and self-sufficient life. Into this mix come Ali and Jack Gardiner – they bring secrets and their past is a mystery but it is clear to the reader that the couple are trying to escape a troubled past and get a fresh start.

Jack and Ali discover that their new home is rumoured to be haunted and it is not long before Susi Holliday starts to unsettle the reader with odd occurrences and strange sightings. The constant ghostly undertone to the story is a joy and when chilling incidents arose I found myself drawing deeper back into my chair and scanning the dark corners of the room to ensure I really was alone.

As with all her previous books the characters in The Lingering are wonderfully defined so you will get drawn into the lives of Ali and Jack and also that of “Fairy” Angela (the resident self-appointed ghost hunter) and Smeaton, the commune leader. Strong characters give me much more of a personal investment into a story and this meant when unpleasant things started to happen I felt an anger/outrage and upset that I don’t normally expect to get from books.

The joy of The Lingering is that Susi Holiday sets up many mysteries throughout the story and it is the desire to uncover the truth which will keep you reading. Make no mistake this is a dark, dark story and there are some deeply unpleasant events to be uncovered but discovering these secrets is an absolute joy.

I am reluctant to share too much about what happens within Rosalind House and its occupants past and present.  Suffice to say that The Lingering is a brilliantly chilling tale and that Susi Holliday is on top, top form delivering a story which feels like an instant classic

 

The Lingering is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital, paperback and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lingering-S-J-I-Holliday-ebook/dp/B07DFVXVDX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543010848&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lingering

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November 20

Stoned Love – Ian Patrick

Detective Sergeant Sam Batford has been lying low at a remote safe house in the highlands of Scotland. He’s doing his best not to attract the attention of the enemies he made, on both sides of the law, during his last under-cover operation but Batford knows he’s just killing time.

Inevitably the sharks begin to circle and as Batford is called back to front-line action in London he’s thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse where it seems everyone is out to get him.

After having to endure a frustrating resolution to their previous undercover operation together DCI Klara Winter from the National Crime Agency is determined to prove that Batford has crossed the line into criminality and finally bring him to face justice.

All Sam Batford wants is to outwit his enemies long enough to stay alive and come out ahead of the game.

My thanks to Kelly at Love Books Group for the chance to join the blog tour.

 

After an outstanding debut appearance in Rubicon, Sam Batford returns for another outing in Ian Patrick’s Stoned Love. Another ripper lies ahead.

Batford has been hiding out in the Scottish Highlands, a terrific place to keep off radar. Events in Rubicon have made life tricky for Batford – he needs to lay low and shift some of the drugs he stole when we last met him.  But his escape to the country will be short lived as he is summoned back to London to take on a new assignment.

We are thrust straight into the action.  As Sam makes his way South he realises he is being followed and a pursuit through Edinbugh ensues. Ian Patrick writes a good chase scene and I felt the tension of Sam’s plight as I followed his dodging and weaving through the city.

On eventual arrival in London we see Batford being thrown back onto the front line. A new undercover assignment awaits and the chance for another profitable venture if he can pull it off. However there are dangers awaiting.  A contract on his life for crossing a drug dealer. His own police force have suspicion Sam is not being entirely honest with them. Plus Sam is haunted by ghosts from his past.

Keeping one step ahead of everyone around him will be a huge strain on Sam. Reading about Sam trying to keep one step ahead of everyone is extremely entertaining.  Once again Ian Patrick delivers an edge of your seat adventure – this is a terrific story and I highly recommend it to anyone that has ever enjoyed an action adventure tale.

More stories like this would be most welcome, this is a good’un.

 

 

Stoned Love is published by Fahrenheit Press and is available in paperback and digital format here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_stoned_love.html

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November 13

Think Yourself Lucky – Ramsey Campbell

David Botham just wants a quiet ordinary life—his job at the travel agency, his relationship with his girlfriend Stephanie. The online blog that uses a title he once thought up has nothing to do with him. He has no idea who is writing it or where they get their information about a series of violent deaths in Liverpool. If they’re murders, how can the killer go unseen even by security cameras? Perhaps David won’t know until they come too close to him—until he can’t ignore the figure from his past that is catching up with him…

 

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the chance to join the blog tour.

This one is going to split the jury I feel.  On one hand the story has a series of nasty killings, seemingly instigated by someone that takes exception to their victim’s anti-social or unacceptable behavior.  Good horror novel fare and a fun hook that shows bad behaviour is not going to be tolerated by our killer.

On the other hand I didn’t find the story flowed as easily as I needed and I found the narrative a bit cumbersome.

We see a scene as David Botham which ends with David being frustrated/thwarted or vexed by the situation.  Then the killer relives the same scene (or is it David’s perception) and this time the irritating individual that David encountered is permanently silenced.

The mystery behind the story is who is responsible for a series of brutal deaths? The anecdotal narrative of the murders is uploaded to a blog.  It is made quite clear that David is no writer and distances himself from any suggestion that he may be.  However, there are too many overlaps and coincidences for random chance to be a factor so, over the course of the story, the reader has to puzzle out what is happening.

I liked the premise of this story and there were some nicely dark touches throughout, however, this has not been my favourite Ramsey Campbell title but it would be one I suggest you pick up if you are a fan of revenge/retribution thrillers.

 

Think Yourself Lucky is published by Flame Tree Press on 15 November 2018 and you can order a copy in paperback or digital format here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Yourself-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07JGGC5JV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541974475&sr=8-1&keywords=ramsey+campbell

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November 9

Perfect Bones – AJ Waines

Is the killer on the loose…or standing right beside you?

When art student, Aiden Blake, witnesses a gruesome attack on a London towpath, the police need him to identify the assailant without delay. But there’s a problem: refusing to leave his canal boat and traumatised by the shock, Aiden is rendered mute by the horror of the event and can’t speak to anyone.

In a desperate bid to gain vital information before Aiden’s memories fade, The Met call in Clinical Psychologist and trauma expert, Dr Samantha Willerby, giving her only seven days to get a result. When Aiden finally starts to communicate through his art, however, the images he produces are not what anyone expects and before Sam can make sense of them, another murder takes place.

With her professional skills stretched to the limit and the clock ticking, Sam strives to track down a killer who is as clever as she is – someone who always manages to stay one step ahead.

My thanks to Emma at Bloodhound Books for the chance to join the blog tour.

 

It’s the third Samantha Willerby novel from AJ Waines.  Don’t worry there is no need to have read the first two books (though I’d recommend you do as they are great) Perfect Bones can be easily enjoyed as a stand-alone read.

 

Sam Willerby finds her holiday plans are thwarted at the last minute when the police try to engage her assistance. A violent attack on a young woman has left the only witness deeply traumatised and unable to speak. The police need Sam to try and help their witness (Aiden) to recover sufficiently to provide a description of the attacker or share what he saw.

Sam knows that the shock Siren experienced cannot just be brushed off in a day or two, however, she is given just 7 days to work with Siren and try help him to cope with his shock.

Matters are further complicated by the fact Sams younger sister knew both Siren and the attack victim. This places Sam in the midst of a police investigation which touches on her family life. As time is right and Aiden in such a poor mental state Sam takes the unorthodox step of moving into Aiden’s home (a houseboat) to spend more time trying to help him.

Sam’s natural desire to help means she forms a protective bond with Aiden and it is fascinating reading as her treatment and protectiveness progress. Initially asked to help the police we see Sam coming into confrontational situations with officers who are pushing for an investigation result- not caring for the care of their witness.

A separate timeline story (a few weeks prior to the attack) is also running through the book. An intriguing series of episodes where women are isolated and “pounced” on by person or persons unknown. The reader knows bad things are happening..why and what remain a well kept secret.

As with previous AJ Waines books I have read I found Perfect Bones to be a clever and engaging read. I love recurring characters and Sam is a great protagonist with the perfect blend of professional competence, self doubt and a natural inquisitive nature.

Another great read which I strongly recommend.

 

 

Perfect Bones is published by Bloodhound Books and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Bones-psychological-thriller-Samantha-ebook/dp/B07K33XVJ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541716500&sr=8-3&keywords=perfect+bones

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November 2

Hydra (Six Stories) – Matt Wesolowski – Audiobook

A family massacre. A deluded murderess. Five witnesses. Six stories. Which one is true?

One cold November night in 2014, in a small town in the north west of England, 21-year-old Arla Macleod bludgeoned her mother, father and younger sister to death with a hammer, in an unprovoked attack known as the Macleod Massacre. Now incarcerated at a medium-security mental-health institution, Arla will speak to no one but Scott King, an investigative journalist, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation.

King finds himself immersed in an increasingly complex case, interviewing five witnesses and Arla herself, as he questions whether Arla’s responsibility for the massacre was a diminished as her legal team made out.
As he unpicks the stories, he finds himself thrust into a world of deadly forbidden ‘games’, online trolls, and the mysterious black-eyed kids, whose presence seems to extend far beyond the delusions of a murderess…

Dark, chilling and gripping, Hydra is both a classic murder mystery and an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, that shines light in places you may never, ever want to see again.

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my Audible books review copy.

 

I have seen early copies of Changeling reaching readers this week.  Changeling is a Six Stories thriller from Matt Wesolowski and I am very much looking forward to seeing what it will bring (mainly because of this review by Kate at Bibliophile Book Club).

Why am I so excited about Changeling? Well recently I had the pleasure (a chilling pleasure) of listening to Matt’s second Six Stories book Hydra.  If ever a series should be enjoyed as an audiobook then it must surely be this one.

Six Stories is a podcast produced by Scott King. He revisits a crime or an event and over a six part series of podcasts he interviews guests who will cast new light onto the known/established facts and listeners are challenged to reconsider the “official” findings or outcome of events.

As the books in the Six Stories series are each recreating a podcast show it makes complete sense that Wesolowki’s books are best enjoyed as an audiobook listen. It also helps that the actors/narrators who contributed to Hydra were exceptional and brought this creepy tale to life in a way I don’t normally experience with an audiobook. It is possibly more accurate to consider the Hydra audiobook as a dramatization than a reading.

How to do Hydra justice without spoiling the story?  Hydra focuses on a family murder – Arla Macleod killed her mother, step father and her sister.  There is a suggestion that her fascination with supernatural may have influenced her actions – Arla suggests that on the night of the murders she opened the door to mysterious Black-Eyed Kids.  Could these ghostly children have brought about the death of three innocents?

Arla’s story (and that of her fellow contributors) are chilling, tragic and desperate tales. I got too involved in the stories and became enraged at stories of bullying, frustrated at the ignorance of children and happy when the underdogs tried to stand up for themselves.  The author has done a fantastic job of capturing the best and the worst of human behaviour.

Hydra was wonderfully interlaced by dramatic events away from the podcast too.  No spoilers, however, the Six Stories host will come to realise that not everyone appreciates his work.  The local community does not like three brutal murders being brought back to the attention of a wider audience and a mysterious stranger certainly does not welcome the nature of discussions which are being broadcast.

Hydra is a wickedly chilling read. It takes a very clever narrative style and delivers a dramatic punch.  I urge you to try the audiobook but you really should ensure you read this story. A five star score from this reader.

 

Hydra is available in paperback, digital and (my recommendation) audiobook format.  You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hydra+matt+wesolowski&sprefix=hydra+matt%2Caps%2C151&crid=2LDXHENNPTBB3

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October 28

Lost in the Lake – AJ Waines

She came at first for answers…now she’s back for you

Amateur viola player Rosie Chandler is the sole survivor of a crash which sends a group of musicians plunging into a lake. Convinced the accident was deliberate, but unable to recall what happened, she is determined to recover her lost memories and seeks out clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby.

But Rosie is hiding something…

Sam is immediately drawn to the tragic Rosie and as she helps her piece the fragments together, the police find disturbing new evidence which raises further questions. Why is Rosie so desperate to recover her worthless viola?

When Rosie insists they return to the lake to relive the fatal incident, the truth about Rosie finally emerges. Now Sam is the one seriously out of her depth…

 

My thanks to Emma at Bloodhound Books for the chance to join the blog tour

 

Sam is a clinical psychologist and she has helped patients recover lost memories. It is through this skill that she encounters Rosie – a young woman who has narrowly survived a terrible ordeal and is reaching out to Sam to help her recall the events leading up to the accident which she had been involved in. Rosie hopes that by recovering her memories of the event she may understand what happened to her friends that were in the van she was traveling in. All she can recall is that the van left the road and Rosie managed to get out but her friends do not appear to have been so lucky.

Lost in the Lake begins with Rosie’s near death experience then spins forward to her first encounter with Sam. From the very first meeting of the two women it becomes clear to the reader that Rosie is a deeply troubled person and has experienced more than one terrible ordeal. However, we also get a hint that she is not being entirely honest with Sam and that she is keeping things back.

We also spend time with Sam. Events from Inside the Whispers have cast a bit of a shadow over her current personal situation (nb reading Whispers is not essential as the author deftly provides all the relevant information). Sam appears at a bit of a low ebb, her oldest and dearest friend may soon be moving away and there is a suggestion that Sam is lonely. But she is throwing herself into her work and the chance to assist Rosie is a compelling motivator.

Once the pattern of visits is established we come to see that Rosie is not behaving normally and that her dependency upon Sam is spilling out of control. Sam too is becoming aware that Rosie is becoming too needy for Sam’s attentions and she begins to wonder if she should end Rosie’s sessions.

The relationship between the two becomes a tense and intricate dance. While their conversations are professional and aimed at helping Rosie we also know how each woman is also trying to control the nature and extent of the relationship they have with each other – it is brilliantly conveyed by the author and I was gnawing at my fingernails in horrified frustration.

I cannot share too much detail over how the “dance” unfolds, however, if you are a fan of psychological thrillers and books which ramp up the tension as the characters reveal more and more of their driving forces, then you will not go far wrong with Lost in the Lake.

I read the whole book in two sittings as I had to know how events were going to play out – I was not disappointed. Lost in the Lake is available now and I urge you to read it.

 

Lost in the Lake is published by Bloodhound Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Lake-psychological-thriller-Samantha-ebook/dp/B07J59N6G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540726587&sr=8-1&keywords=lost+in+the+lake

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October 25

Five Ingredients That Make Up Rosewater: Politics

This week five bloggers are hosting Nommo Award winning author, Tade Thompson, as we look at the Five Ingredients which make up Rosewater.  What is Rosewater I hear you ask?  Good Question! Here is the publishers blurb:

Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless—people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumoured healing powers.

Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn’t care to again—but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realization about a horrifying future.

 

Sounds good!

The first of the five ingredients can be read at Liz Loves Books: here

That post was all about Aliens!

Next up is Vicki who brings you Technology: here

Yesterday Dave introduced characters: here

 

Today you get POLITICS – yup they trusted the “Cybernat*” with the politics post

* Cybernat = Politically Informed Scottish Voter with an internet connection.

 

Over to Tade Thompson

Politics:

That ROSEWATER is political allegory is easy to see. A city that grows around an alien dome, from scratch, starting from no local government and yet trying to understand its own destiny can be nothing but political. It starts from dirt roads and mud to asphalt and skyscrapers, forced development over a single decade, bound to be under pressure.

The dome is a resource, of healing and energy, and the control of those resources, the means of production as it were, is a steady undercurrent in the entire Wormwood Trilogy. Even the mind-reading Kaaro and his ilk are resources, used by the government to interrogate suspected insurgents, controlled by the aliens for their own purpose.

If it existed, Rosewater would be a haven for the sick, the desperate, the dying, and the pilot fish that follow these around, the loan sharks, the religious charlatans, the criminals, the peddlers of false hope.

It’s not a city I’d like to visit on my travels, but I can’t wait to see what you think of it.

Rosewater is published by Orbit Books and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewater-Winner-Nommo-Wormwood-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B076H5V3Q6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540395783&sr=8-1&keywords=rose+water+tade+thompson

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