Author: bookafterbook

Publication: 22nd October 2024 – Headline Eternal

A former child star learns that holiday magic can come from a change in perspective in this charming and hilarious holiday rom-com, perfect for fans of Love, Actually and The Holiday.

A little holiday magic can change everything . . .

Charlotte hates the holidays. As a former child actress, she starred in a Christmas movie, whose fans won’t let her move on. When a piece revealing that her reluctance nixed plans for a reboot, she flees to London to spend the festive season with her sister.

But the ghosts of Christmas past follow her when she visits Eden Priory, one of the filming locations. When she’s accidentally left behind, she’s forced to accept a ride back to London from Graham, the son of the owners. Their family business – and the funds to keep their historic house running – relies on holiday cheer, and Graham knows seasons greetings from a certain star would bring in more visitors.

Now an illustrator, Charlotte accepts a commission illustrating iconic holiday movie scenes in London and its environs for Eden Priory, with Graham offering to escort her. But as Charlotte’s chaotic family holiday goes awry, she begins spending more time with Graham. Charlotte may not love a Christmas romance . . . but what if she has one of her own?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

I am a huge fan of Martha Waters. I have read and adored all her books in the Regency Vows series, so I was thrilled when not only she announced a contemporary romantic comedy, but also a Christmas novel. Unlike Charlotte Lane, the protagonist of the novel, I love the Christmas season: the lights, the Christmas trees, the songs, the presents, the food. Although, I was a bit shocked by all the Christmas activities Charlotte’s family took part in just six weeks. However, like Charlotte, I don’t like Christmas movies. Not the classic Christmas movies, like Love, Actually, Home Alone, or The Grinch, but the romantic comedies that start, develop, and end all in the same identical way.

Part of the reason Charlotte hates Christmas is that, when she was nine years old, she was one of the protagonists of a successful Christmas movie, but, unlike the rest of her family, she never had any intention of pursuing an acting career. Now she is a successful illustrator and she is also the reason the sequel of the movie is not happening, as she refuse to take part in it, antagonising quite a large of number of fans, so she flies to London to spend the holiday season with her sister and her family where she is forced to take part in the numerous Christmas activities and events they have organized, one of which takes her right into the house where part of her movie was shot.

Needing an excuse to avoid her family’s Christmas obsession, Charlotte accepts a commission from Graham, the handsome owner of house, to illustrate scenes from famous Christmas movies and she starts spending more and more time with him, risking to find herself in a real life Christmas movie.

I had so much fun reading Christmas Is All Around. The story is beautifully-written, entertaining, and immersive and the setting is very atmospheric (I adore London during the Christmas season!).

Charlotte and Graham are adorable together. I enjoyed their banter, the slow-burn romance, and the way both their characters develop. Martha Waters is one of my auto-buy authors and as long as she keeps writing, I will keep reading her novels. And whether you like Christmas or not, you will enjoy Christmas Is All Around!

A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel in exchange of an honest review.

Martha Waters was born and raised in sunny South Florida, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She works as a children’s librarian in North Carolina, and spends much of her free time traveling. To Have and To Hoax is her first novel. To discover more find her online at: www.marthawaters.com Twitter and Instagram @marthabwaters

Publication: 17th October 2024 – Constable

Life is never, ever dull in Agatha Raisin’s sleepy Cotswolds village!

Agatha Raisin’s private detective agency is working flat out on a series of burglaries which take a violent turn when a friend of Agatha’s is murdered during a raid on his antiques shop. Although determined to nail the villains, Agatha still makes time to help Sir Charles Fraith prepare to stage a massive, hugely glamorous event in the grounds of his ancestral home, Barfield House.

When Agatha begins to receive death threats and narrowly avoids being abducted by kidnappers, she takes advantage of a previously arranged trip to Majorca to lie low for a while. There she meets her partner, former police officer John Glass, who is now working as a dance instructor on a cruise liner. Their relationship founders over John’s apparent closeness to his stage dance partner, Louise. Putting her love life on hold, Agatha heads home, having worked out who has been threatening her life.

Can Agatha track down the would-be killer, nail her friend’s murderers and rescue her romance with John? Everything comes to a climax at the Barfield Extravaganza when on top of everything else, Agatha also manages to solve a 400-year-old Cotswold murder mystery!

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

This is my first Agatha Raisin’s novel and certainly not the last one. Agatha Raisin: Killing Time is entertaining, witty, and quite immersive and I have already put my hands on a few other books in the series (although, I should probably read them chronologically and not randomly as I do with Agatha Christie’s novels).

Private detective and PR Agatha Raisin is busy on multiple fronts. She’s organizing a massive promotional event for Sir Charles Fraith at his ancestral home, Barfield House. She is also intrigued by a 400 years old local mystery while trying to solve a series of shop burglaries, the last one of which sent the shop owner to the hospital. And she also needs to find time to fly to Mallorca for a romantic break with her partner John Glass, a former police officer turned cruise dance teacher. And then there are murder, death threats written in riddles, attempts of abductions, and an antic clock that has attracted the attention of a few people.

I really liked the character of Agatha Raisin. She is smart, determined, with her own particular way of doing things and a take-charge attitude that makes everyone around her stand up straight. She doesn’t stop until every mystery is solved, even centuries old ones, and she has quite an interesting love life. Agatha Raisin: Killing Time is the 35th book in the series, but it can be easily read as a stand-alone. I loved the mysteries, the setting, and the cast of characters is wonderful, fun, and engaging, from its protagonist to her many friends, always happy to assist her in her investigations. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Constable and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

M.C. Beaton (1936-2019) was the author of both the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series, as well as numerous Regency romances. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages and have sold more than twenty-two million copies worldwide. She is consistently the most borrowed UK adult author in British libraries, and her Agatha Raisin books have been turned into a TV series on Sky.

Publication: 8th October 2024 – Headline Eternal

A wedding to witness. A brooch to poach. And a house that’s haunted as f**k . . .

Bowen Penhallow has always been a loner, but when his friend – who happens to be a ghost – invites him to a Yuletide wedding at a grand Welsh countryside estate, Bowen reluctantly agrees.

Tamsyn Bligh is not a witch, but she has managed to finagle an invite to the Witchy Wedding of the Century in the hopes of making the score of the century – just one priceless magical artifact from Tywyll House would set her up for life!

But Tamsyn isn’t the only one sneaking about in Tywyll House, and the combination of a very strong spell and a classic wedding mishap transports Bowen and Tamsyn back to Tywyll House’s 1958 Yuletide celebrations.

Bowen and Tamsyn must work together to get back to the present, but they first must reckon with the origins of Tywyll House’s haunting . . . and the fact that somewhere between the mistletoe and the bonfire, they might be falling in love.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

Having previously read The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse, the first two books in the series, I was intrigued by the character of Bowen, the third Penhallow brother. Grumpy and handsome, a man of very few words living in isolation in a repenting-kind-of way, I was curious about his story and, luckily, the author fulfilled those wishes. And I was also happy to see another interesting character from the previous books, as his love interest. Tamsyn Bligh could have been described as the villain of the first book, although she had her own redemption in the end, and now she is back as a procurer and seller of magical items, sometimes not in a very legal way.

I adored the characters of Bowen and Tamsyn. They are fun and adorable. I enjoyed their banter and the chemistry is off the charts. There is also a fantastic cast of secondary characters that make the story more entertaining and charming.

I think that The Wedding Witch is my favourite book of the series. We see the return of the previous characters and we meet new ones. There is ancient and powerful magic, a ghost, and a haunted house. There are witches, Yule festivities, and time-travelling. And, best of all, there is an immersive slow-burn romance and quite a few sexy and spicy scenes.

The Wedding Witch is bewitching, entertaining, and engrossing, the perfect read for the cozy season: it has Halloween vibes and gets you ready for Christmas!

A huge thank you to Headline and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Erin Sterling, who also writes as Rachel Hawkins, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Hex and The Wife Upstairs, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated in more than a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.

Follow Erin on Instagram and Twitter: @LadyHawkins.

Publication: 12th October 2024 – Boldwood Books

Wallflower at risk of ruin…

Secret femme-fatale in training Millicent Whittenburg needs to escape her unpleasant betrothal. Taking matters into her own hands, she plans her eventual ruin! Then she can disappear from society to carry out the Queen’s deadly missions. Step 1: seduce the one man who despises marriage more than her!

However, she hugely underestimates her target. Major General Beaufort Drake. Fearsome private investigator, he’s notoriously cold and visibly battle scarred. But Millie’s scandalously public kiss awakens a deeply suppressed desire in Drake. Instead of allowing them both to succumb to shame he does the unthinkable, and offers for her hand in a convenient marriage.

Nothing prepares them for the fireworks when a fearless damsel collides with a dangerous Major General! And as their secret missions align they face their hardest test on the glittering battlefield – a week long wedding house party where there is nowhere to escape…only new and wicked lessons to be learnt!

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is one of my favourite Regency romances of the year. There is brilliantly-written slow-burn romance, espionage, kidnapping, and subterfuges, a cruel step-mother (as they are usually found in a Disney movie), an all-female squad of well-trained spies, and lots of spice.

The protagonists of the novel are Millicent “Millie” Whittenburg and Major General Beaufort Drake, both considered outcasts from the ton of London. Millie has been entrapped by her step-mother in a betrothal with a man old enough to be her grandfather, but all she wants is to have the freedom to train as a spy with the Duchess of Dorset and take down the band of criminals kidnapping and selling young women all across Europe. The only way out of her engagement is to cause a scandal and what better than to be found in a compromising position with Major Drake? He is a war hero who still bears the scars, both physical and mental, of two years of imprisonment and torture in Afghanistan. Now working as a spy for the prime minister, he has sworn off women for good after he returned from war to his first love married his brother. And while Millie may think that she will be released from any engagement and let go in shame, Major Drake has every intention of being honourable and marrying her. And during a week-long party at his country estate to celebrate the wedding, they will have to face not only their trust and feelings for each other, but also a few dangers and enemies.

I had so much fun reading A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. The romance is very well-developed. The characters are intriguing and entertaining and there are also a few twists that I didn’t expect. This is the second book in The Queen’s Deadly Damsels series and I am looking forward to reading more.

A huge thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Darcy McGuire grew up in the wilds of New Zealand but happily settled in the Pacific Northwest. She and her ridiculously handsome husband have 2 children, 9 ducks, 2 geese, 1 dog, and a cat. In between dodging territorial geese, gathering duck eggs, taking the dog for long walks, and snuggling on the couch with the generally grouchy feline and aforementioned handsome hubby, Darcy loves writing about fierce female protagonists who may dodge daggers and bullets but never seem to escape Cupid’s Arrow.

Publication: 3rd October 2024 – Del Rey UK

Dina is a skilled kitchen witch and café owner, serving magic-infused pastries to her loyal customers. But it’s hard not to feel something is missing when you’re cursed to hurt anyone who falls for you.
Scott is a museum curator, recently back in London after a brutal breakup 2 years ago, and looking to make up for all the time he missed. He’s determined to be perfect best man at his best friend’s upcoming wedding, but his plans take an expected turn when he meets the bewitching maid of honour.

After a weekend in the countryside full of peculiar hedge mazes, palm readings by candlelight, and a midnight Halloween ritual, there’s no denying the chemistry between them. But there’s just one problem: the hex still holds, and Dina knows that Scott is in danger.

Can Dina break the spell before it breaks both their hearts?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

Best Hex Ever is the perfect read to enjoy during these early autumnal days, preferably while relaxing with a good cup of tea – or hot chocolate. There is magic, romance, spice, and mouthwatering baked goods.

Even though I am not a fan of insta love, I think that the immediate chemistry between the two protagonists, Dina and Scott, works very well here. A quick first meeting in her coffee shop and, then, a few more casual meetings until they are forced into proximity while attending the same wedding and sharing a cottage. And, of course, it didn’t help that their friends enjoyed match-making them. 

The story is well-written and it develops very well. With a hex cursing one of the love interests into getting hurt as long as they are together, you know that things won’t go smoothly, but every good love story has its bumps. The love story is also a journey of self-discovery for the two protagonists, especially for Dina, who is convinced that she will never find love.

The main focus of the story may be the magic and the romance, but I also really enjoyed the friendship between Dina and her two best friends, Immy and Rosemary, how close and loyal they are and always there for each other.

Best Hex Ever is a fun, sexy, and intriguing read and, if this is enough to convince you to read it, there is also a stubborn and yet adorable talking cat! 

A huge thank you to Del Rey UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Nadia El-Fassi is the pseudonym of Nadia Saward, who is a Commissioning Editor at Orbit Books UK. Before working in publishing, they completed an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, receiving a distinction. She lives in London with her husband and perfectly round cat and can be found impulse-buying new dice sets for D&D or watching horror movies.

Publication: 26th September 2024 – Penguin

It started with a fake date. Now true love is at stake…

Amelia Collins is tired of constant questions about her non-existent dating life, so she decides to get everyone off her back once and for all by finding someone – anyone – to pose as her date to a family wedding. If he’s annoying, or embarrassing, so much the better.

Coincidentally, Reginald Cleaves has centuries of experience at being rude, infuriatingly arrogant and a fashion eyesore, making him perfect for her purposes.

But as Amelia and Reggie practice their fauxmance and more of Reggie’s secrets come to light, Amelia is surprised to find her first impressions could not have been more wrong, and that Reggie’s bark might be worse than his bite…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

In My Roommate Is a Vampire, the side character of Reginald Cleaves was my favourite, so I was really excited when the author announced his own story and I wasn’t disappointed, especially because the text message exchanges between Reginald and Frederick still made me laugh out loud. For me, My Vampire Plus-One is even better than the first book and I read it in two days, unable to put it down.

I always enjoy the fake dating trope and here it is made very well. Amelia Collins is used to her family meddling in her love life, but with yet another relative’s wedding coming up and she is still single, she makes up a fake boyfriend to get her family off her back, especially her mother. All she needs to do is find a man who would be willing to go to a party and a wedding with her and pretend to be in love with her. And who better than the weird and handsome stranger she bumped into a few nights earlier? Reggie, who has taken up bullet journaling and has a group of angry vampires after him looking for revenge for something that he may have done a couple of centuries earlier, is happy to help Amelia, even going as far as exchanging his extravagant clothes for something more sober, especially after she seems to take very well his confession of being a vampire. 

My Vampire Plus-One is such a fun read. The romance is slow-burn and steamy, the characters are engaging, quirky, and hilarious, and the dialogue is witty and brilliantly-written. If you are looking for a fantastic and immersive paranormal romance, then My Vampire Plus-One is the perfect read!

A huge thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

By day, Jenna Levine works to increase access to affordable housing in the American South. By night, she writes romance novels where ridiculous things happen to beautiful people. When Jenna isn’t writing she can usually be found crying over k-dramas, starting knitting projects she won’t finish, or spending time with her family and small army of cats.

Publication: 14th September 2024 – Boldwood Books

London 1918: Is Fiona Figg ready to exchange her sleuthing cap for a bridal veil?

Fiona is set to tie the knot with her dashing captain, Archie Somersby. But, while Fiona is busy planning her happily ever after, side-kick Kitty Lane and a group of judo-chopping suffragettes are kicking up trouble at the Piccadilly Jujitsu Club.

When Kitty is found unconscious in the locker room during a high-stakes competition, Fiona must forsake her bouquets and bridal gown to investigate. Her sleuthing leads to a posh lady’s luncheon where a mysterious death crashes Fiona’s wedding plans.

To make matters worse, the arch-nemesis of all things matrimonial Fredrick Fredricks is up to his old tricks, attempting to put the brakes on Fiona’s journey down the aisle. Will he succeed in tripping up Fiona’s wedding vows? Or will she finally say “I don’t” to the charming devil?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

Today, I am excited to take part in the blog tour for Poison in Piccadilly, the new engaging and intriguing novel by Kelly Oliver.

Poison in Piccadilly is a quick and witty read! There are wedding preparations, a groom full of secrets, a young woman with amnesia, lots of espionage and subterfuges, and the suffragette movement in the background that kept me quite entertained. 

As I haven’t yet read the first books in the series, I can confirm that this sixth book in the Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery series can easily be read as a stand-alone. We are in London in 1918 and the story starts with its protagonist, Fiona Figg, right in the middle of her wedding preparations to the dashing Captain Archie Somersby. Clever and determined, Fiona is a young woman working for the British War Office where she’s been known to do a bit of spying and undercover jobs and chasing traitors. As her friend Kitty is attacked during a class at the Piccadilly Jujitsu Club, Fiona launches herself in the investigation and the wedding takes second place, especially as her fiancé’s mystery job starts giving her doubts. Can she marry someone with so many secrets? And as someone who craves not only independence, but also the thrill of chasing spies across the globe, can Fiona really be expected to give up her job once she is married?

This was such a fun and intriguing read. There is so much going on: mystery and espionage, a charming opponent (who I am really rooting for), a fantastic strong-willed heroine, accurate historical details, and much more. Poison in Piccadilly is a riveting and action-packed cozy mystery novel, full of twists and turns, and with an unexpected ending that leaves the reader looking forward to Fiona’s next adventure!

A huge thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyoliverauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/books_oliver

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyoliverbooks/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/KellyOlivernews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelly-oliver

Publication: 13th September 2024 – Bookouture

In a candlelit ballroom, London’s most fashionable amateur sleuth, Cressida Fawcett, is dancing the night away in her sparkling silk dress. It’s a night Cressida will never forget. Because outside the window, there’s a body under the falling snow…

Christmas Eve, 1925. The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is delighted to attend an exclusive ball at London’s glamorous Mayfair Hotel. When she steps out into the moonlit courtyard with her little pug Ruby wrapped in her furs, she is thrilled to see a dashing man propose to her best pal under the swirling snowflakes. But instead of squealing ‘yes’, Dotty lets out a terrified scream…

Because floating in the fountain, with her long blonde hair rippling in the ice-cold water, is the body of their dear friend Lady Victoria Beaumont.

It’s clear the wealthy young beauty was murdered, whacked over the head with a bottle of champagne. Would Victoria’s elderly husband Lord Beaumont kill his wife over rumours of her younger beau? Or did someone clobber Victoria to prevent her producing an heir for the Beaumont fortune?

A snowstorm prevents the authorities from arriving, and just as Cressida searches for clues, she finds herself locked inside a large wicker hamper. Why does the scent of the hamper’s smoky luxury tea remind her of the crime scene? And will a suspiciously rotund Ruby follow her snuffly nose and find Cressida in the nick of time?

Trapped in the hotel with a killer lurking among the guests, will Cressida lose someone dear to her heart? And when she finds a clue among the Christmas crackers, can Cressida solve her most mysterious case yet?

The perfect cozy whodunnit for a cold winter’s night. Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss won’t be able to put this down!

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

Murder in the Mayfair Hotel is my second Christmas novel of the year and it’s yet another 1920s historical mystery novel. I’ve heard of Fliss Chester, but I still hadn’t had the chance to read it, until I saw Murder in the Mayfair Hotel, the sixth book in the Cressida Fawcett Mystery series, up on NetGalley and I thought that now was the time to read it and I wasn’t disappointed.

With a few Agatha Christie vibes and many twists, Murder in the Mayfair Hotel kept me quite engaged. There is a murder and little time to find the killer, a long list of suspects, a young lady determined to discover the truth, and an adorable pug that can’t stay out of trouble.

It’s Christmas Eve and the Honourable Cressida Fawcett is celebrating with her friends at the Mayfair Hotel. The atmosphere is festive and romantic. While her best friend Dotty may finally become engaged to her beau, Cressida is getting closer to Dotty’s brother, Alfred, Lord Delafield. But the happy mood is interrupted when a body is found in the hotel’s fountain. It’s clear that the young woman has been murdered and the killer is one of the guests. With only a few hours until all the guests leave, Cressida and her friends have little time to find the murderer.

I found the character of Cressida Fawcett very interesting. She is smart and witty and she has already been involved in a few investigations, so the police detectives are familiar with her. I adored her pug Ruby, always following her around, and I enjoyed the small bit of romance that she manages to get during the investigation. I can’t wait to get my hands on the other books in the series and I am looking forward to reading her next adventures!

A huge thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Fliss Chester lives in a little village in West Sussex, and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1920s and 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their family business. This means she’s never far from a decent glass of something, which makes her very happy indeed.

Before writing her two cozy crime series, she wrote fun and flirty romances – the sort of thing that might make your mother blush. Not hers though, as it was her mother who always encouraged her to be ‘anything you want, darling, as long as it’s not dull’. Hopefully readers will attest to the fact that whether it’s death by cyanide or a smooch in a hot tub, there’s nothing dull about Fliss’s books.

The current series that Fliss is working on is the Hon Cressida Fawcett Mysteries Series. Our heroine, Cressida, is a fun-loving heiress in 1920s England – though when she’s not propping up the cocktail bar at The Savoy, she’s helping people with their interior decorating projects. Through her love of decorating, and the fact she keeps tripping over dead bodies, she realises that her eye for design means she has an eye for a crime too. Why not pick up the series with the first book, Death Among the Diamonds, and join Cressida for a martini and a murder!

Publication: 10th September 2024 – Boldwood Books

Escaping the city doesn’t mean escaping the criminals…

1916, Midwinter Manor: Desperate for a Christmas weekend break from war-torn London, Hannah Merrill and her Aunt Violet take Bartleby the cat and themselves off to visit Hannah’s sister and her husband, the Earl of Atherton, in their beautiful country estate, deep in the English countryside.

Hannah’s sister has filled the house with relatives, friends and merrymakers, and everyone’s excited to have a Christmas to remember.

But then, when a fellow-guest’s body is found in the library – apparently bludgeoned to death – and a precious ruby is stolen from another guest, it appears that it’s going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

With the house snowed in, and the rural police force completely incapable of finding a single credible suspect, Hannah and Aunt Violet realise that once again it’s going to be down to them to get to the bottom of it.

Because whoever’s behind the crimes must be at Midwinter Manor… And if they’re not found, who knows what their next ‘gift’ will be?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

If you love historical novels, the Christmas atmosphere, and cozy mysteries, then Murder at Midwinter Manor is the right read for you. The third novel in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mystery series, I can assure it can easily be read as a stand-alone. The story is told from the perspective of Hannah Merril, bookstore owner and occasional detective, who, together with her aunt Violet, arrives at Midwinter Manor, her sister’s house, to celebrate Christmas with her family. Invited is also her brother-in-law’s enlarged family and she is excited to see that even her beau Darius is there. Amid a bit of family drama and talk of war and its effects on soldiers who suffer from PTSD, things seem to go fairly well, until one of the guests turns up dead and a valuable family jewel goes missing. With the inept local detective loose in the house, Hannah and her aunt Violet have no choice, but to investigate on their own.

Murder at Midwinter Manor is my first novel by Anita Davison and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the cozy Christmas atmosphere, the snowbound setting, the mystery with quite a few surprises, and there are also some romance and a fun (although a bit dangerous) chase in the snow. The characters are intriguing and well-developed. Especially, I liked the character of Hannah who, like her aunt Violet, is considered unconventional for her independence and her ability to solve murders, but she is determined to live life on her own terms.

I will definitely keep reading the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mystery series: it’s witty, entertaining, and immersive. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Anita Davison is the author of the successful Flora Maguire historical mystery series.

Publication: 15th August 2024 – Transworld

Three women. One Killer.
Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous…

When the body of forty-four-year-old Karen Simmons is found abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined this will be the big break she so desperately needs.

Because she has a head start on all the other reporters. Just a week before Karen was killed, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her all about kissing strangers on the beach under the stars, expensive meals, roses. About the scammers and the creeps…

While the police appear to be focusing on local suspects, Kiki sets out to write the definitive piece on one woman’s fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

I really enjoyed Talking to Strangers. It’s a gripping, thought-provoking and suspenseful read, and, even though I guessed a few things, it still took me by surprise.

The story is told from the perspectives of three strong women whose lives are affected by the murder of a local woman. The first is DI Elise King, in charge of solving the murder. Just back from receiving cancer treatment, she is still struggling to settle back on the job. I don’t know how I missed the first book in this series, because I really liked the character of Elise King and I am already looking forward to reading more about her. I liked her determination, not only in her job, but in her life, too.

The other perspective is Kiki Nunn, a journalist who knew the victim because she was writing an article about dating in your forties and was interviewing her and her group of singles. She needs an exclusive article that will get her out of writing boring articles for the local newspaper and get her national, even if this may mean putting herself in dangerous situations. I didn’t always like her character because she didn’t always behave morally, but I guess that was part of her job.

And then there is Annie. This murder brings back memories of the murder of her young son, a few years earlier, in the same woods as this murder. The grief and the sadness rush all back as she still wonders why her son was killed.

Last but not least, there is Karen Simmons, the victim. We meet her briefly in the beginning and then through the stories of those who knew her. All she ever wanted was to fall in love, but the men she met didn’t always want the same thing. Was she killed by one of the men she met online?

I love Fiona Barton’s writing style. The pace, the twists, the suspense kept me glued to the pages and I am already looking forward to reading more from this author.

A huge thank you to Transworld and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona Barton‘s debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and has been published in thirty-seven countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, and her third, The Suspect, were both bestsellers. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives on the south coast in West Sussex.

Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.

While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. She interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most…