February 23

Paris Requiem – Chris Lloyd

‘You have a choice which way you go in this war…’

Paris, September 1940.

After three months under Nazi Occupation, not much can shock Detective Eddie Giral. That is, until he finds a murder victim who was supposed to be in prison. Eddie knows, because he put him there. The dead man is not the first or the last criminal being let loose onto the streets. But who is pulling the strings, and why?

This question will take Eddie from jazz clubs to opera halls, from old flames to new friends, from the lights of Paris to the darkest countryside – pursued by a most troubling truth: sometimes to do the right thing, you have to join the wrong side…

 

My thanks to Orion for the opportunity to read an review copy of Paris Requiem

 

In late 202o I listened to the audiobook of The Unwanted Dead. It introduced Eddie Giral, the police officer who was determined to investigate a crime which nobody else wanted him to investigate. I absolutely loved the story, raved about it A LOT on Twitter and I was delighted to see it win the CWA Gold Crown for best novel of the year.

I have been patiently waiting for Giral’s return (well quite patiently) and when Paris Requiem landed on my doormat it went straight to the front of my reading queue. I know I shouldn’t have favourites but as much as I loved The Unwanted Dead, I think Paris Requiem takes this series to greater heights. Paris Requiem – five stars and if I could give it more I would.

What’s it about then?

Detective Eddie Giral is a member of the Paris police force. It is 1940 and the Germans have occupied the city. The police are still to enforce the law but they must do so working alongside the Germans who have their own control over the city. It’s a fractious dynamic and Eddie is far from happy with the current state of affairs. Although we first met Eddie in the award-winning The Unwanted Dead. You don’t need to read the stories in order to enjoy Paris Requiem but as I adored The Unwanted Dead I would strongly encourage you to seek it out.

We meet Eddie in a closed down Jazz Club. He is a big fan of jazz but not such a big fan of empty clubs which house a dead body. Unfortunately for Eddie the reason he is in a closed down club is because there is a dead body which needs his attention. Bound to a chair and left to be found, the victim has had their mouth sewn shut with twine. A message? But who could it be for? And an even bigger headache for Eddie is that he knows the victim…he arrested him some months earlier and the man should still be in prison – so why is he dead in a club?

Eddie’s boss, Commissionaire Dax, has paired him up with the irritating Boniface. Potentially a decent cop but Eddie feels Boniface spends more time chasing women than he does chasing crooks. Together the pair try to find out why a convicted criminal was walking the streets before he met his untimely and unpleasant death. Worse still it seems he may not be the only criminal no longer serving their sentence – some of the crooks the pair helped capture will hold a grudge too.

Unfortunately for Eddie there are other matters to contend with. His son is trying to escape France, Eddie has not seen him for several months but someone else knows of his flight to freedom and is trying to use this knowledge to get some leverage with Eddie. Will Eddie be able to assist an enemy if it means safe passage for his son? There’s another son to worry about too – not his own but an old friend is looking for Eddie to help find her son. A soldier on the run and hiding from the German army will not have it easy, but when the soldier has black skin it gets even more complicated. Even Eddie’s connections with Major Hochstetter – the German officer who “assists” Eddie and the French police will not use his influential support to track down a missing soldier.

There’s a lot going on in Eddie’s life but Chris Lloyd manages to keep three or four different story threads constantly weaving around the reader. Even when there’s not a crime to occupy his mind Eddie can be found trying to encourage his local butcher to let him have a slightly larger cut of meat or begging his baker to give him a single loaf of bread despite Eddie not having his ration book. Life in occupied Paris still goes on and Lloyd shows the day to day problems all Parisians faced – sourcing fresh meat and bread being one of them.

It’s the wonderful blend of historical fact, crime fiction and sheer reading enjoyment which made me love the time I spent with Paris Requiem. Chris Lloyd breathes life into history and has created a compelling cast of characters. The murders, the escaped criminals, Eddie’s need to appease his boss, appease the Germans and keep himself safe while unknown forces try to kill him – you will be drawn into this story and will not want to stop reading. Especially when you hear about Capeluche – he’s a scary one.

Don’t miss these books. Get to know Eddie Giral. He’s having a rough old time of it but you’ll root for him from first page to last.

 

 

Paris Requiem is available now in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/paris-requiem/chris-lloyd/9781409190301

 

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October 3

One By One – D. W. Gillespie

The Easton family has just moved into their new fixer-upper, a beautiful old house that they bought at a steal, and Alice, the youngest of the family, is excited to explore the strange, new place. Her excitement turns to growing dread as she discovers a picture hidden under the old wallpaper, a child’s drawing of a family just like hers.

Soon after, members of the family begin to disappear, each victim marked on the child’s drawing with a dark black X. It’s up to her to unlock the grim mystery of the house before she becomes the next victim.

 

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the chance to close out the One By One blog tour.  I received a review copy from publishers, Flame Tree Press – my thanks to them too.

 

October does bring out my craving to read creepy books so huge thanks to Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read DW Gillespie’s latest release – One By One.  As you will have picked up from the blurb (above) this one sounded a proper chiller…new family move into big old house.  Haunted?  Unusual for sure and the child’s stick drawing of a family and their pet dog (uncovered by 10 year old Alice when she peeled away a strip of wallpaper) has a sinister element rather than the cute cheery image the picture *could* have had.

Alice is the main focus for One By One, indeed it is her story we share for the most part.  Though for reasons which partly fall into the “spoiler” category there are some necessary parts of the story which are told through the eyes of another.

Alice, her parents and her elder brother, Dean, have moved into their new home.  It has very unusual design features, quirky and peculiar interior planning and it really needs a lot of work done. A “fixer-upper” and a bargain…but bargains usually come with a story which Alice’s father seems happy to ignore.  Soon after the family move into the house things begin to change and tempers become frayed.

Alice, as the youngest, is scared by the new house not helped by the “face” she saw at her window on the first night. Her imagination runs wild but as a natural daydreamer her parents are not listening to her worries.  But they cannot ignore the reality of a death in the household and a large black cross painted over the corresponding figure from the child’s drawing of the family.

I don’t want to share too much more detail about events in One By One but for Alice the danger is very real.  Her family are disappearing and more crosses are appearing on the picture – can Alice save herself?

Small cast of characters, isolated location and a child terrified and unsure who to trust. A tense chiller which I zipped through in two fully captivated sittings.

 

One By One is published by Flame Tree Press and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07X3Q89JS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ETV6WWVV5DDU&keywords=one+by+one+dw+gillespie&qid=1570124437&s=digital-text&sprefix=one+by+one+%2Cdigital-text%2C759&sr=1-1

 

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September 5

Sleep – M K Boers

A marriage made in heaven, a murder made in hell.

Why kill the man you love?

Lizzy was struggling, everyone knew that.

He shouldn’t have done those things.

He shouldn’t have pushed her so hard.

And now, her children, her marriage, her hope – gone.

It was all her fault, she knew that, but was there a chance of redemption?

Lizzy Dyson’s on trial for her life. She knows she must pay for what she did, even if it wasn’t planned, but will the jury believe her?

 

Sleep is a domestic thriller but through the story there are many courtroom scenes giving it a nice cross genre feel.  While I am not normally a huge fan of domestic noir (where a story follows a troubled relationship) Sleep takes a more unusual approach in telling Lizzy’s story which really caught my attention.

Lizzy, returning home from work early one afternoon, finds her husband in her bed with his lover.  She kills them both. The book opens at the point between the crime and the subsequent discovery by the authorities…the opening chapter is deliciously dark in that regard.

Once the reader becomes aware of Lizzy’s crime they are then taken through how she came to this point in her life and M K Boers slowly unpicks layers of trouble and upset which Lizzy has endured prior to that fateful day. I found myself constantly reviewing my opinion of Lizzy with each new “layer” we uncover – while you can’t condone the action she took, the reasons behind her decision become clearer.

In the courtroom scenes Lizzy is confronted with figures from her life who are initially introduced by the prosecution to build the case against her.  As she hears a distortion of past events she starts to find an inner strength to push back and get the correct version of events into the open.

M K Boers spins this story brilliantly and the balance between human drama and courtroom interrogations hit the spot for me.

 

 

Sleep is published in both paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleep-M-K-Boers-ebook/dp/B07TRGHHQ2/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1567631231&refinements=p_27%3AM+K+Boers&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=M+K+Boers

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April 23

Have You Seen Her – Lisa Hall (Audiobook)

Bonfire Night. A missing girl.

Anna only takes her eyes off Laurel for a second. She thought Laurel was following her mum through the crowds. But in a heartbeat, Laurel is gone.

Laurel’s parents are frantic. As is Anna, their nanny. But as the hours pass, and Laurel isn’t found, suspicion grows.

Someone knows what happened to Laurel. And they’re not telling.

 

My thanks to Joe Thomas at Harper Collins for the chance to join an audiobook blog tour.

 

I love to juggle my reading material, paperbacks, hardback books, Kindle reads, books on my phone through the Kindle or Kobo apps – even the odd Word document for very early review copies.  However, over the last year or two I have become hooked on audiobooks and is a thrill to share today’s review as this is my first chance to participate in an Audiobook Blog Tour.

The most important question which any audiobook review needs to address is “Does the audio experience work for this story?”

Yes! It really, really does.

But what do I mean by “the audio experience”?  Simply put – some books are not enjoyable when they transfer to audio. The narrator(s) may not be to the listener’s liking, particularly if there is a need to cover a number of regional accents. Footnotes and annotations are lost. Overly wordy and complex explanations need to be endured and cannot be skipped (although maybe that is only something I do).

Have You Seen Her plays out wonderfully in audio. This is entirely down to the slick storytelling of Lisa Hall and the excellent work of narrator Kristen Atherton.  This was the first time I have heard Kristen read and I would very much like to listen to more of her work as she brought this book to life.

The book opens with a sickening premise.  At a community bonfire evening young Laurel disappears into the crowd to catch up with her mother.  Laurel’s nanny (Anna) watches her go but this is the last time anyone sees Laurel.  She never caught up with her mother and when Anna becomes aware Laurel is unsupervised in the park it is too late – the little girl is nowhere to be found.

Thus begins a tense and unpredictable domestic drama.  Events are told from Anna’s viewpoint.  It is clear she and Laurel’s  parents are not close…Anna is made very aware she is not Laurel’s mother and she is kept firmly in her place as an employee – not a friend.

Laurel’s parents are not likeable characters. Despite the distress they are enduring, the strain of their daughter disappearing, they come across as two unpleasant people. It was hard to empathise with their situation, particularly as Anna seems to care more about what has happened to Laurel than her parents do.

In this cracking domestic thriller you can be assured that secrets are being kept. The fun in Have You Seen Her is trying to figure out who to trust and identify which characters are lying.  On this front I failed miserably and thoroughly enjoyed my failure.  I don’t think I could describe an audiobook as a page-turner but what I did get was a story I didn’t want to stop listening to.

 

Have You Seen Her is published by Harper Collins and you can order a copy here: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008215019/have-you-seen-her/

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October 12

In Her Shadow – Mark Edwards

Isabel’s life seemed perfect. Successful business, beautiful house, adoring husband. And then she was dead.

For four years Jessica has never doubted that her sister Isabel’s death was an accident. But when Jessica’s young daughter seems to know long-forgotten details about her aunt’s past, Jessica can’t shake the feeling that there’s a more sinister truth behind the tragedy.

As Jessica unearths disturbing revelations about her sister, and about the people she loved and trusted most, it becomes clear Isabel’s life was less than perfect and that Jessica’s might also be at risk.

Did someone murder Isabel? Are they now after Jessica and her family? The key seems to lie in the hands of a child. Can Isabel reveal the truth from beyond the grave, or is the answer closer to home?

 

My thanks to the team at Midas PR for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I have been enjoying a return to reading ghost stories over recent months but I wasn’t expecting In Her Shadow to have a ghostly element.

Yet spooky is what I got and it was so well done.

 

Izzy is young, successful and full of life. Her business was taking off and she had everything to live for. Until a tragic accident brought things to a premature end. Her sister Jessica was devastated at Izzys death and struggled to accept how she could possibly have fallen over a balcony accidentally.

Time has passed but Jessica’s young daughter Olivia has started speaking with an imaginary friend. She calls her Izzy. Jessica realises that “Izzy” seems to tell Olivia lots of things about her Aunt Izzy which Olivia could not be expected to know. Could it be possible that the Jessica’s dead sister is able to communicate with Olivia?

In Her Shadow is a terrific twisty tale. Mark Edwards perfectly captures the paranoia and disbelief that Jessica displays. She knows there is no way Olivia could be communicating with Izzy. Yet…

Once we get into the story we have some flashback scenes. There is a hint that Izzy may not have died accidentally. We see the weeks leading up to her death and the author will make readers start to doubt all their preconceptions as to events they have read. A murder tale? A domestic thriller? A ghost story? All three?

Perfectly perplexing and wonderfully readable. I can see In Her Shadow sticking a chord with many readers, it is the ideal story to keep you reading in these dark autumnal evenings.

 

In Her Shadow is published by Thomas & Mercer and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Shadow-Mark-Edwards-ebook/dp/B07CBVH3JZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539281803&sr=1-1&keywords=in+her+shadow+mark+edwards

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March 6

Horoscope: The Astrology Murders – Georgia Frontiere

Dr. Kelly Elizabeth York has spent her life helping people solve their problems. A celebrity astrologer and psychologist with a devoted following, she now finds herself in the unlikely and terrifying position of helping the police and the FBI determine the identity of a serial killer—who just may be targeting her. No matter how careful she is, Kelly knows that she will have to confront darkness, an energy so black it could challenge everything she believes in.

Until now, Kelly has lived a comfortable, fulfilling life in her Upper West Side brownstone, with her housekeeper, Emma, and her loyal Siberian husky, King, by her side. Yet when four beautiful young women are found murdered, astrological signs carved into their thighs, she is drawn into a mystery whose clues may lead back to an astrological reading gone terribly awry.

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

 

Sometimes I have the opportunity to read a book and it takes me a lot longer to get to it than I originally envisaged. This is just one contributing factor to the phenomenon we bloggers refer to as “Blogger Guilt”…too many books and too little time.  Horoscope: The Astrology Murders has been in my TBR queue for far too long and had slipped so far down my list of Kindle titles it had unfortunately gone off my radar. A recent trawl for something “different” to read brought Horoscope to the top of the reading list and I can finally share a review.

Kelly York is an astrologer who has built a strong reputation in her chosen field. She will perform astrological readings to guide people making important life choices and enjoys the supportive role she offers. Kelly accepts that not everyone believes in her work but her patience and methodical reasoning means she will defend her career against the doubters and show why there is merit in the service she performs.

It should be noted that there were several quite detailed examples of astrological interpretations and readings interspersed through the book.  I cannot comment upon the accuracy of the information, but the detail and authority with which it was conveyed leads me to believe the author knows her stuff.

Kelly is housebound in Horoscope, she suffers agoraphobia and is terrified at the prospect of leaving her property.  She has a housekeeper who helps (but is unaware of Kelly’s condition) and her faithful K9 companion keeps her company too.  However, Kelly will soon have her peaceful sanctuary shattered – she starts receiving threatening phone calls. Someone who seems to know her every move and wants Kelly to experience fear as incidents around her home make her wonder if the danger is much closer than she thinks.

Outside of Kelly’s beautiful home there is a killer targeting vulnerable lonely women.  He breaks into their homes under cover of night before raping and strangling each of his victims. Each of the dead women has a sign of the zodiac carved into their leg. The FBI are investigating but the killer is not leaving them any meaningful leads.

Kelly calls in the police over the threatening calls and the connection between the rapist and the threatening calls is made. We face the prospect of a murderer closing in on Kelly and she remains confined to her house.

An entertaining serial killer thriller.  The murderer is a chilling figure and you root for Kelly from the outset – she is struggling to keep her agoraphobia a secret from her family and friends and the last thing she needs is the additional terror at the thought of being someone’s target.

 

Horoscope is published by Violet Mountain Press and is available for order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horoscope-Astrology-Murders-Georgia-Frontiere-ebook/dp/B00NZ96EBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520290141&sr=8-1&keywords=Georgia+Frontiere

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February 22

Best Friends – Carys Jones

Four friends, a terrible secret, and one week to stay alive. . . Grace doesn’t have a family. That was taken away one dreadful day when she was just six, and her twin brother Peter was killed. Instead she has her best friends and flatmates – Jasper, Franklin and Aaron – and nothing can tear them apart. Living in London, and trying desperately to make a living, the four friends are rapidly running out of money and hope. So, when they find a discarded suitcase in a skip, they can’t believe their eyes when its contents seem to answer all their prayers. But then a there is a knock on their door, and a very disgruntled thug with revenge on his mind, gives them one week to return his belongings, or they will pay with their lives. Soon the fractures in their friendships begin to show, and when one of them ends up fighting for his life, the stakes are raised even higher. Will any of them get to the end of the week alive, or will the best of friends become the deadliest of enemies. . .

 

My thanks to Melanie at Head of Zeus for the chance to join the blog tour

Four young friends sharing a flat in London and struggling to meet their living costs. The rent is due but even pooling funds they find they are going to struggle. Grace is a ballet dancer who is auditioning for that one role which will give her the break she needs, get some money, get to perform and hopefully spring-board her to greater heights.

Her friends and flatmates are in similar positions of just needing that change in fortune which will make all their struggles and sacrifice worthwhile. However, Grace has had the biggest struggle and as we read through Best Friends the horrors of childhood traumas are slowly revealed and we realise that Grace is a girl who really needs a stroke of good fortune.

But could the luck of the friends be about to take a significant turn for the better?  On a drunken night out (blowing the precious little money they have) the four stumble upon a case full of money. It has been left in a skip and with no-one around to claim it the four friends take the case (and its contents) home. They have scrimped and scraped for so long that it does not take too long before all four head into London on an indulgent shopping spree.

Of course their good fortune is all too good to be true. A menacing figure appears at their door demanding “his” money back and the consequences of not meeting his demands are too terrifying to contemplate.

Best Friends was an enjoyable read. I loved the character of Grace, her troubled background was nicely dripped into the narrative. Despite not loving all her flatmates (there’s always one!) I really wanted them all to pull through and get all the money they needed. Obviously I could not possibly reveal how they fare, you will need to read it for yourself to find out!

 

Best Friends is published by Aria and is available in paperback and digital format

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mKlVg0
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2DMGC34
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2mMlsKp
iBooks: https://apple.co/2rk5pZN
Follow Carys Jones
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2rmTGti
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Website: http://bit.ly/2mS51gj
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April 8

The Stolen Child – Sanjida Kay

 

Zoe and Ollie Morley tried for years to have a baby and couldn’t. They turned to adoption and their dreams came true when they were approved to adopt a little girl from birth. They named her Evie.

Seven years later, the family has moved to Yorkshire and grown in number: a wonderful surprise in the form of baby Ben. As a working mum it’s not easy for Zoe, but life is good.

But then Evie begins to receive letters and gifts.

The Stolen ChildThe sender claims to be her birth father.

He has been looking for his daughter.

And now he is coming to take her

 

My thanks to Kirsty at Atlantic Books for my review copy

 

Last year I read Sanjida Kay’s debut novel, Bone By Bone, and it messed with my head. Bone By Bone tells an intense story which focusses heavily on bullying and the impact that it can have. Despite all the terrible things I read about in the many dozens of crime thrillers I read each year, I find it hardest to read about bullies. Sanjida Kay did an amazing job of crafting a story around bullying which drew me in and kept me reading – I had to see how the story would be resolved.

Spin forward to yesterday morning and I don’t mind admitting that I was more than a little wary of picking up Sanjida Kay’s new novel: The Stolen Child.  Yup that DID say “yesterday morning”  I poured through The Stolen Child in superfast time as Sanjida has written another nail-biting emotional rollercoaster of a novel.

Zoe and Ollie adopted Evie 7 years ago. The story actually opens when Evie’s mother goes into labour – early. A tricky birth and a spell in intensive care for a baby, could this have had some impact upon Evie’s behaviour as when we meet her (aged 7) she appears a flighty, distracted girl?  Zoe is struggling to cope with the demands of young children, managing a home, trying to find time to work on her painting and she has, in Ollie, a husband who appears more focussed on work than his family. It is not an uncommon situation but Sanjida Kay brings the reader into the family home and exposes all their insecurities and weak moments.

As is indicated in the book description, Evie is receiving notes which appear to come from her father. Zoe finds the notes and the family face the challenge of explaining to a headstrong child that she was adopted. Evie’s reaction is initially one of acceptance, however, when her temper is raised she starts to lash out at Zoe and indicates that she want’s her “real” family.  Once again Sanjida Kay has a story which unsettles and I can honestly say that during the course of the book I was empathising with almost all of the characters at some point (and wanting to give them a stern talking to at others).

There are loads of discussion points which could arise from The Stolen Child and after this review I have some possible topics for consideration – this book is a dream for reading groups.

 

The Stolen Child is published by Corvus, is available now in paperback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stolen-Child-Sanjida-Kay/dp/1782396918/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491607094&sr=1-1&keywords=sanjida+kay

 

Book Club Questions:

  • What do you think about the attraction between Zoe and Harris?
  • Sanjida KayWho do you think is the best person for Zoe to be with – Ollie or Harris?
  • How does Ollie and Zoe’s marriage and their relationship change as the
    novel progresses?
  • Zoe says she feels almost like a single mum at times. Do you think this
    is true for many modern-day families?
  • Zoe is trying to be an artist. How hard to you think it is for her, and
    women like her, to juggle creativity and motherhood?
  • The novel is set in Ilkley, with some of the key scenes taking place on
    Ilkley Moor. Do you think such a large expanse of wilderness can be
    strange and frightening?
  • What do you think of the relationship between Jack and Evie?
    How do you feel Zoe and Ollie handled Evie’s adoption? Do you think
    she’s simply a ‘quirky child’ as Ollie does, or has she been damaged by
    her biological mother?
  • Zoe initially thinks that Harris is not from Ilkley. Later she and the police
    make some key assumptions about him based on what they believe
    about his religion and ethnicity. What role does race play in this novel?
    The title of the novel comes from a poem by WB Yeats, also called, The
    Stolen Child. How much of an influence do you think fairy tales, like the
    one described in Yeat’s poem, play in the novel?
  • Sanjida Kay has said that one of her favourite books is Emily Brontë’s
    Wuthering Heights. Can you see the novel’s influence on The Stolen
    Child?
  • Were you surprised by the ending?

 

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