Author: bookafterbook

Publication: 13th June 2019 – Michael Joseph

If you leave the door half open, you will hear the whispers spoken…

Still devastated after the loss of his wife, Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake move to the sleepy village of Featherbank, looking for a fresh start.

But Featherbank has a dark past. Fifteen years ago a twisted serial killer abducted and murdered fi ve young boys. Until he was finally caught, the killer was known as ‘The Whisper Man’.

Of course, an old crime need not trouble Tom and Jake as they try to settle in to their new home. Except that now another young boy has gone missing, stirring up rumours that the original killer was always known to have an accomplice. And then Jake begins acting strangely.

He says he hears a whispering at his window…

**********

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for THE WHISPER MAN, the brilliant and gripping new novel by Alex North. A huge huge thank you to Jenny and Michael Joseph for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the book.

THE WHISPER MAN is a page-turner!!!  It’s dark, creepy, and addictive and, even though it made me check that the doors were safely locked at night before going to bed, I couldn’t stop reading it. The main protagonists are Tom Kennedy and his six-year-old son Jake. Following the premature and sudden death of his wife, Tom moves to Featherbank for a fresh new start. This quiet English town has been shocked by the kidnapping and murder of a young boy. While the police investigate and tries to figure out if this case is somehow connected to the Whisper Man, a psychopath now in jail for kidnapping and killing 6 children twenty years before, Tom is worried about the fact that Jake is hearing voices…

THE WHISPER MAN quickly went to the top of the best books of the year. I heard there is a movie in the making which it’s really exciting and which I will definitely watch, although not alone and probably in daylight. It’s twisty, haunting, and immersive. The atmosphere is dark, the tension slowly builds up, and, although some of the scenes make for an unsettling and disturbing read that it’s not for everyone, especially when it comes to children being murdered, I couldn’t put it down.

The two protagonists of the novel are ordinary, genuine, and very likable. Tom is a young widower and his grief over losing his wife feels very real. The author perfectly captures the insecurities of a man who suddenly finds himself alone and who doesn’t know how to deal with a son he loves very much but he doesn’t understand. Jake is sensible and very smart. He misses his mother who was the only one who could really understand him, his relationship with his father is not easy, and I really felt for him.

THE WHISPER MAN is a chilling and superb read, a novel that highly recommend… but don’t read it at night!

Follow the rest of the blog tour for this amazing book:

Publication: 13th June 2019 – Orion

Introducing Standedge Tunnel: the longest canal tunnel in England.

Last year six students went in, and two and a half hours later, the boat reappeared on the other side with only one of the students, unconscious, and the dog.

The case of the Standedge Six was largely kept from the national media. The police investigation concluded that the only remaining student, Matthew, killed his friends, hid the bodies on the boat and returned later to move them to an undisclosed location.

Matthew is in prison . . . but maintains he is innocent.

Robert Ferringham is grieving for his missing wife, Sam. So when Matthew contacts him for help with his case, promising information on Sam, Robert has no choice but to help. But can he trust Matthew?

And how will he solve the insolvable case?

**********

A very happy publication day to Chris McGeorge!!! His new novel, NOW YOU SEE ME, is out now and it’s my absolute pleasure to welcome you on my stop on the blog tour. Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Orion for providing me with a copy of the book.

Have you read Guess Who? I did, I read it last year and I loved it and since then I have been waiting for a new novel by Chris McGeorge. Once again, he proved he can masterfully create a plot so intricate and full of twists that I didn’t figure out what really happened and who was guilty until it was all revealed. At the center of the story is Robert Ferringham. He is an author and journalist who is looking for one thing: the truth. The truth about what really happened to the woman he loved and the truth about the mysterious case of five students who disappeared into thin air while crossing a tunnel on a boat while Matthew, the only one to come out of the tunnel, is accused of having killed them and hidden their bodies. Can solving the case of the Standedge Six really lead Robert to discover what happened to his wife?

NOW YOU SEE ME is gripping, beautifully written, and sinister. There were moments that kept me on the edge of my seat, moments where I said “I knew it!”, moments when I I thought “this is such a fantastic twist!”, and some emotional moments when the author explores in details the different levels of grief and how people react differently to losing someone they love.

The characters feel very realistic, some likable, others not so much, but all perfectly crafted and well-developed. Add a self-paced and addictive plot, a dark atmosphere that creeped me out and gave me goose bumps, and a small town setting where everyone is keeping secrets and I can honestly tell you that NOW YOU SEE ME is a fabulous page-turner!

Follow the rest of the blog tour:

Publication: 20th June 2019 – Corvus

Never overstay your welcome…

Littleport, Maine is like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them. Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of – but that’s just what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.

Each summer for a decade the girls are inseparable – until Sadie is found dead. When the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name before she’s branded a killer.

**********

Two best friends, a suspicious death, and the brilliant and captivating writing style of an author that always manages to impress me. I am so happy every time that Megan Miranda has a new novel coming out. She knows how to build up the tension and keep the readers on their toes page after page.

In THE LAST HOUSE GUEST, she takes the reader in a small town on the coast in Maine where the wealth of the Loman family makes them royalty and untouchable. The unseemly friendship between one of them, Sadie, and the town’s bad girl, Avery Greer, causes curiosity and wonder. A year after Sadie was found dead, Avery is still not sure what really happened to her best friend, so she starts her own investigation.

The author makes a fantastic use of flashbacks to take the reader back in time and show the casual beginning of a friendship that no one expected or could explain, a family that thinks that money can buy anything, and a young woman struggling with grief and loneliness. The small town of Littleport is very characteristic, evocative, and bit claustrophobic and it is perfect for this story.

The story is told from Avery’s perspective who slowly reveals the truth about her past, her friendship with Sadie, and her relationship with the entire Loman family creating many twists and moments of suspense. I liked this character, she is multi-layered, well-crafted, and determined in finding out the truth.

As I read there was a sense of dread and suspicion that kept me glued to the page until I got to the ending which was fantastic, completely unexpected, full of surprises, shocking revelations, and drama. THE LAST HOUSE GUEST is addictive and thrilling and it is one of the novels I highly recommend you read this summer!

A huge, huge thank you to Corvus and NetGalley for provinding me with a copy of the book.

Publication: 6th September 2018 – Langton & Wood

While staying in a Dorset cottage, Hugh Mullion finds a mysterious key down the side of an antique chair. No one can say how long the key has been there or what it opens. Hugh’s search for answers will unlock the secrets of the troubled life of a talented artist, destined to be hailed a neglected genius fifty years too late. And no secret is darker than that of The Amber Maze, from whose malign influence he never escaped. The trail takes Hugh from Edwardian Oxfordshire to 1960s Camden Town, where the ghosts of the past are finally laid to rest. Delicately crafted noir fiction at its best.

 

**********

It’s my pleasure to welcome you all on my stop of the blog tour for THE AMBER MAZE, the new fantastic novel by Christopher Bowen. A huge thank you to Anne Cater for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the book.

Hugh Mullion is on holiday in a cottage. He is alone and bored, waiting for his wife to arrive, but the discovery of a mysterious key inside a chair that appeared out of nowhere leads Hugh in a entertaining and intriguing adventure to discover the secrets of a troubled artist. Meeting a cast of likable and colorful characters, Hugh finds himself trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle that take him back in England 1960 to solve a mystery that quickly becomes a true obsession for him.

THE AMBER MAZE is a quick and thrilling read. The novel is only 160 pages long, but a lot happens in these few pages. I found myself immersed and curious to see where Hugh’s investigation would lead him and it was fascinating reading about the world of art in 1960 London.

The narrative flows easily, the descriptions made the story feel real, and the characters are likable and interesting. The mystery of the key and all the secrets that follow create a story that is unique and captivating so that I found myself spending an afternoon pleasantly immersed in THE AMBER MAZE.

Christopher Bowden lives in south London.  He is the author of six novels, each with a colour theme.  The Amber Maze, published in September 2018, is the latest.  His previous books have been praised variously by Andrew Marr, Julian Fellowes, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Shena Mackay. Of his third novel, The Red House, Sir Derek said, “Very entertaining, cleverly constructed and expertly paced.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Website:

www.christopherbowden.com

Publication: 13th June 2019 – HarperFiction

It begins with an abduction. The routine of a family shopping trip is shattered when Michelle Spivey is snatched as she leaves the mall with her young daughter. The police search for her, her partner pleads for her release, but in the end…they find nothing. It’s as if she disappeared into thin air.

A month later, on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, medical examiner Sara Linton is at lunch with her boyfriend Will Trent, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. But the serenity of the summer’s day is broken by the wail of sirens.

Sara and Will are trained to help in an emergency. Their jobs – their vocations – mean that they run towards a crisis, not away from it. But on this one terrible day that instinct betrays them both. Within hours the situation has spiralled out of control; Sara is taken prisoner; Will is forced undercover. And the fallout will lead them into the Appalachian mountains, to the terrible truth about what really happened to Michelle, and to a remote compound where a radical group has murder in mind…

**********

Not only Karin Slaughter is back, but Will Trent is back!!! My favourite special agent has to save the world and the woman he loves in a new fast-paced and engrossing novel that I couldn’t put down.

What was supposed to be a family Sunday lunch for Will and his girlfriend, medical examiner Sara Linton, turns into bombs exploding, kidnappings, murder, and a race against time to stop a group of white supremacy terrorists from going through with their deadly plans.

In this new novel, Karin Slaughter takes us right into a far-right cult made of white men who want to control women, who want to cleanse the world of people of different race and religion and who make my blood boils in rage with every word they utter. I wish that the world Karin Slaughter created was pure fiction, but it felt so frighteningly real and menacing that I was on the edge of my seat with every page I read.

The story is told from three different points of views, Sara, Will and his partner Faith. I loved how the author structured the narrative and she rewrote some of the same scenes from different perspectives so that we see how all the characters feel and react to the same hard situation. Some of the descriptions were very disturbing and violent as Karin Slaughter addresses themes of rape, paedophilia, torture, and child murders making for a chilling and thought-provoking read, which is not new with this author.

I loved how we got a closer and deeper look inside Will and Sara’s relationship. I do adore these two characters and I love seeing them together. They are very different and they come from a different background but they fit so well together (I am a hopeless romantic!). In THE LAST WIDOW we see them not only fight to save each other, but also get a more profound understanding of each other that makes me just want to read more about them.

THE LAST WIDOW is the latest and ninth instalment of the Will Trent series. Like the other novels in this fantastic series, it is addictive, highly suspenseful, and thrilling and I am already looking forward to the next book!!!

Publication: 10th June 2019 (eBook); 22nd August 2019 – HQ

Did she really say ‘I do’?!

Holly is happily single with two gorgeous kids but when she finds out her ex is moving on she jumps at the chance of attending her friend Emma’s wedding in Vegas – it’s the perfect distraction…

Kim used to be the life and soul of the party, but now there’s nothing she loves more than a quiet night at home with the family. But in Vegas her past quickly catches up with her – in a way that could make or break her marriage!

Emma is getting married! She knows it should be the happiest time of her life, but she can’t help feeling she’s marrying the wrong man. So when she wakes up on her wedding day with a ring already on her finger, she panics – who did she marry last night?

**********

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for THE MORNING AFTER THE WEDDING BEFORE, the entertaining new novel by Laura Ziepe. A big thank you to HQ for inviting me to join the blog tour and for providing me with a copy of the novel.

THE MORNING AFTER THE WEDDING BEFORE is the story of three friends. Kim never thought that her life would revolve around children, but, after an unexpected pregnancy and a premature childbirth, she focuses every waking hour around her two young children neglecting her husband and her friends. Holly is recently divorced and while her ex-husband has moved on, she is still single and busy with their children, trying to find time to dedicate to herself. Emma is an Instagram influencer.  While her life appears perfect on social media, the truth is very different, but Emma is too afraid to let everyone down to change things. Now the three friends are together in Las Vegas to celebrate Emma’s wedding and they have to face their choices because not all that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…

I enjoyed THE MORNING AFTER THE WEDDING BEFORE. It is an entertaining and refreshing romantic comedy that I read in two days. Emma, Holly, and Kim are likable and realistic. Although the novel focuses on their individual lives, it’s also a story about a close friendship that is still strong even when marriage, children, and work make it difficult to spend time together. With many engaging characters, a few detestable bad guys, and addressing themes of parenting and controlling relationships, THE MORNING AFTER THE WEDDING BEFORE is a real page-turner!

Publication: 1st March 2019 – Panther Publishing

When PI Jordan Jenner returns to work following the death of his mother, his first case involves a murdered writer…

James Fairview has been killed. As a member of a prestigious writing group hosted by bestselling author Joseph Gordon in the heart of Cardiff, Jordan not only has to cope with solving the mystery, but also deal with press attention. 

As Jordan investigates, he discovers his mother’s death may not have been so simple. And when another writer is murdered, Jordan realises the killer could strike again… 

A murdered writer, a mysterious death, and a group with jealousy at its heart, this is Jenner’s toughest case yet.

A cosy murder mystery with a gay male detective, Murder on the Rocks is the first in the Jordan Jenner Mysteries series. If you’re a fan of classic whodunits you will love this! 

A perfect read for those looking for Welsh crime fiction. 

**********

Happy Monday, happy new week. I am delighted to kick off the blog tour for MURDER ON THE ROCKS by J. S. Strange, the first thrilling novel in the Jordan Jenner Mysteries. I’d like to thank Emma for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

Private detective Jordan Jenner is back at work after the death of his mother and his first case is helping the Cardiff police solving the murder of James Fairview, an aspiring author poisoned during a writing retreat. It seems that everyone in the writing group hated James, but who hated him enough to kill him? And as the case becomes more personal for Jordan, another member of the group disappears…

MURDER ON THE ROCKS is a fantastic first book to a new gripping series. Jordan Jenner is an interesting character. The author made him very realistic, but also complex, with his own problems, troubles, and a complicated and unresolved relationship with his mother. He is smart, funny, and very good at his job, even when his personal and professional life unexpectedly blend.

I liked the author’s writing style. J. S. Strange knows how to keep the reader’s attention and to build up the tension high with a dark atmosphere and twists that took me always by surprise. Everyone in the writing retreat is a potential suspect, everyone has a motive, and I didn’t figure out who the killer was until it was revealed in the end. The novel ends with a fantastic revelation and a little anticipation to the second novel which I am really looking forward to reading!

J.S. Strange is an author from Wales, United Kingdom. He writes crime, mystery and horror. His first novels, published in 2016 and 2017, were set in an apocalyptic London. Murder on the Rocks, is the first in a cozy crime mystery series, featuring a leading gay male detective.

Murder on the Rocks was written by Strange for many reasons. One of those reasons was a lack of representation within the crime genre, particularly with detectives and sleuths. Strange created Jordan Jenner, a private investigator, who lives and works in Cardiff. Murder on the Rocks was written with the intention of shining light on Cardiff, and bringing Cardiff, and furthermore, Wales, into the crime genre.

Strange’s previous works, such as ‘Winter Smith: London Burning’, also explored LGBT themes, and featured socialite Winter Smith escaping a zombie apocalypse. ‘London’s Burning’ became an Amazon best-seller in LGBT fiction.

When Strange doesn’t write, he works in television. He also presents a radio show all about the paranormal. He has an enthusiasm for Britney Spears and cats.

Jack can be reached on Twitter: @JackSamStrange

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackSamStrange @JackSamStrange

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

Website: https://jacksamstrange.com/?fbclid=IwAR1DGDgRPWre63XkLzW8kkcnBy2BBZ2g9TFTNU71K8vnJUDDapY_6igh4nA

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

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/l/B01AUNFQ78?_encoding=UTF8&redirectedFromKindleDbs=true&ref_=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1&rfkd=1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Rocks-Mystery-Jordan-Mysteries/dp/1527235521/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Rocks-Mystery-Jordan-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07L2FRDB8/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=murder+on+the+rocks&qid=1557827818&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/murder-on-the-rocks/j-s-strange/9781527235526

 

Publication: 13th April 2019 (eBook); 13th June 2019 (paperback) – Orenda Books

One dark January night a car drives at high speed towards PI Varg Veum, and comes very close to killing him. Veum is certain this is no accident, following so soon after the deaths of two jailed men who were convicted for their
participation in a case of child pornography and sexual assault … crimes that Veum himself once stood wrongly accused of committing.

While the guilty men were apparently killed accidentally, Varg suspects that there is something more sinister at play … and that he’s on the death list of someone still at large.

Fearing for his life, Veum begins to investigate the old case, interviewing the victims of abuse and delving deeper into the brutal crimes, with shocking results. The wolves are no longer in the dark … they are at his door. And they want vengeance.

**********

Happy Saturday, everyone! Today, I am so happy to kick off the blog tour for WOLVES AT THE DOOR, the new suspenseful novel by Gunnar Staalesen. A big thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

I discovered Gunnar Staalesen’s novels and its protagonist, private detective Varg Veum, exactly a year ago when I read Big Sister. It kept me glued to the pages and I was happy to go back to the dark and atmospheric Norwegian setting and immerse myself in this new captivating novel.

After being wrongly accused of child pornography, Varg Veum is investigating the sudden death of two men. Nobody hired him and the police doesn’t think their deaths are suspicious, so why is he so interested? Because the two men were accused of abuse and child pornography at the same time he was, and now it seems that someone is after him as well. Varg Veum questions their families and discover a past that it’s darker and more disturbing than he thought.

I am so happy Varg Veum is back. He is a fantastic and well-developed character. He feels real and likable. His calm and composed demeanour leads people to talk to him and reveal secrets they haven’t revealed before.

The author addresses the theme of child abuse and I found some of the scenes described in the novel very disturbing, especially when the abuse was inside a family. If you can’t trust your own parents, who can you trust? The way the author describes the effects of the abuse on the victims, how it affected their lives even years and years later created a few emotional moments.

WOLVES AT THE DOOR is dark, slow-paced, and suspenseful, another irresistible read from one of my favourite Nordic authors.

Follow the rest of the blog tour:

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over twenty-three titles, which have been published in twenty-six countries and sold over five million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Epsen Seim, and a further series is currently being filmed. Staalesen, who has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour) and the Petrona Award, and been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger, lives in Bergen with his wife.

 

Publication: 6th June 2019 – Corvus Books

She thought she would never go back…

Ailsa Calder has inherited half of a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared without a trace twenty-seven years ago. Her father.

Leaving London behind to settle her mother’s estate, Ailsa returns to her childhood home nestled amongst the craggy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, accompanied by the half-sister she’s never taken the time to get to know.

With the past threatening to swallow her whole, she can’t escape the claustrophobic feeling that the house itself is watching her. And when Ailsa confronts the first nighttime intruder, she sees that the manor’s careless rugged beauty could cost her everything…

**********

The French Girl, Lexie Elliott’s gripping debut, was one of my favourite novel last year so I was really excited to get my hands on her second novel, THE MISSING YEARS, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The author takes us in a small village in the Scottish Highlands where everyone knows the protagonist, Ailsa Calder, even though she hasn’t lived in there for almost thirty years. After Ailsa’s father suddenly disappeared when she was seven years old, her mother packed their things and left. Now her mother is dead and Ailsa’s is back for the first time to claim The Manse, the family’s manor she’s inherited. For Ailsa is time to figure out what really happened to her father, but it seems that a few people don’t want Ailsa there.

Once again Lexie Elliott managed to keep me glued to the pages. There are mysteries to solve, loyalties to prove, and an element of supernatural that fits perfectly with the story. The Manse, the manor belonging to the Calder family, has a life of its own. The house is surrounded by legends and a dark and haunted atmosphere that keeps the animals away. How much of the legend is true? Is the house really trying to say something to Ailsa or is someone entering the house uninvited?

For me, THE MISSING YEARS is a must-read. I liked the characters who are so well-crafted and intriguing that until the end I couldn’t figure out who to trust. The plot is engrossing and thrilling, the tension slowly rises, and the creepy and evocative atmosphere gave me the chills. Highly recommended!!!

Many thanks to Corvus and NetGalley for an early copy of the book.

Publication: 16th April 2019 – Quercus

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

**********

If I had to describe THE FLATSHARE in three words, I would call it addictive, superb, a must-read. I adored the plot and the characters and the author’s beautiful and clear writing style made it very difficult to put it down.

THE FLATSHARE is the beautiful and thought-provoking story of Tiffy and Leon. They have never met, but they share a house and the same bed. For months they communicate through entertaining and funny notes that they leave for each other, but with him working during the night and her working during the day, they manage to never set eyes on each other and yet grow a close friendship.

Many, many people know that flat-hunting around London is quite an exhausting and frustrating experience. As someone who spent years looking for a place in London that could be both affordable and cosy, or at least clean, I definitely related to Tiffy. Personally, I would never have chosen to share a bed with a stranger, even if I would never meet him, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I loved the characters of this novel. Tiffy and Leon are adorable and likable, but completely different characters. She is full of life, quirky, easy going, and warm, while Leon is more introvert and quiet, always worried about his family, but they fit very well together. Their stories, their problems, a troubled past made these characters more realistic and down-to-earth. Tiffy and Leon are not the only characters of the story that I fell in love with. There is Ritchie, Leon’s brother, who is fun and engaging; there are Gerty and Rachel who are badass, fierce, and also a bit scary; then there is Mo, quiet and always right; and I loved when sweet Mr. Pryor and young smart Holly, two patients at the hospital where Leon works as a nurse, made their appearance. I also liked Katherine who always made me laugh.

The author craftily manages to blend fun, heart-warming, and humorous moments with more serious and dark tones that create a few emotional scenes. THE FLATSHARE is memorable and captivating and it goes at the top of my list of books I definitely recommend everyone should read!

A huge thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book.