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Set mostly in Italy, in a small village on the hills just outside of Rome, THE DARK ANGEL is the tenth novel featuring Dr Ruth Galloway. Although I have still a few books to read in this series, I really enjoy it and this last book really kept me glued to the page. For once, I was thankful for my long commute to work because it gave me time to read and I went through this novel in two days.

Ruth Galloway needs a break from watching Harry Nelson, the father of her child and the married man she is love with, spending time with his pregnant wife, so when an Italian archaeologist, Angelo Morelli, asks her to go to Italy to look at a mysterious group of bones, Ruth happily accepts. She decides to turn it into a holiday and she brings her 6-year-old daughter, Kate, her best friend Shona and her son Louis. But, first someone leaves a warning on their door, and then there are other strange events that make Ruth suspect that not everyone in the small Italian village is happy about their arrival.

In the meantime, Harry Nelson has a lot going on in Norfolk. Although he looks happy about his wife’s pregnancy, it also means that his dream of forming a family with Ruth and Kate is over. Additionally, Mickey Webb, a man who threatened him after he put him in prison ten years earlier, is now out and, despite his claims of redemption, Nelson is not completely convinced.

What I like about the characters of this series is that their insecurities and their flaws make them more human and more likable. My favourite character is Cathcart who I find engaging and funny with his predictions and declarations. Ruth is a kick-ass forensic archaeologist, smart and determined, and she is one of my favourite female characters. I love reading about her relationship with Nelson. It is complicated, now more than ever: they love each other and have a daughter together who Nelson can’t recognize, and now his wife is pregnant. But is Nelson the father of the child? Sometimes, reading about their story it’s like watching a soap opera.

If the romantic side of the novel doesn’t have your attention, then you will love the atmospheric Italian setting with its rural villages, the good food and wine, and the culture and the history. Then, there is the suspenseful plot and the captivating writing, so in two words, a fantastic read.

Thank you Olivia Mead and Quercus for providing me with an early copy of the book.

THE DARK ANGEL was published in the UK on February 8^th.

 

Love happens when you least expect it…

Emily Atkinson stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago! She’s fed up of dating frogs in order to track down her very own Prince Charming, despite the best efforts of her matchmaking best friend…

But now she’s been invited to the wedding of the year at the enchanting Durban Castle, and perhaps bumping into a knight in shining armour isn’t as far away as she thought!

Will Emily survive the wedding and walk away an unscathed singleton – or finally find her own happily-ever-after?

A cosy and charming romance, perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley and Caroline Roberts.

 

Chapter One

I’m going to have to dump him, which is a shame as he’s a good-looking guy (not that looks should matter, but there’s no denying the bloke is pretty damn hot). His dark hair is styled (but not overly so), he has the perfect amount of stubble, and deep, expressive eyes beneath defined brows, and – his best asset, in my opinion – a wide, readily available smile. He has good teeth, his fingernails are neatly trimmed, and he always smells divine. He has good manners too. He’s attentive and interesting and never monopolises our conversations. And, most impressive of all, when we spoke about our work (I’m a history teacher at the local secondary school) and he asked about my favourite time period, he didn’t gloss over as I gushed about my passion for all things Tudor. He is, on the surface, the perfect package.

But he has to go, I’m afraid.

‘It’s too soon, isn’t it?’ he asks as I sit staring at him from across the table, my fork suspended between plate and (gaping) mouth. I haven’t said a word since he suggested I meet his parents next weekend, but I manage to pull myself together, snapping my cavernous mouth shut and pushing my lips into what I hope resembles a smile and not the grimace I’m feeling deep inside.

‘No. Of course it isn’t too soon.’

I’m lying. It’s way too soon. This is our third date, for goodness’ sake! I’ve had a longer, more fulfilling relationship with the half-packet of Polos in my handbag. I don’t know him well enough to meet his parents; I don’t know whether he prefers salt and vinegar crisps or cheese and onion, which supermarket he frequents, how many sugars he takes in his tea or coffee (see, I don’t even know his preference of hot beverage!) or how he feels about Brexit. We haven’t even slept together yet! Now, call me crazy, but I’d quite like to know what he’s like in the sack before we start doing full-on couple stuff.

‘So?’ He looks at me with those gorgeous eyes, eyebrows lifted, fingertips meeting above his plate as though half in prayer. ‘What do you think?’

‘It’s… an idea.’

A stupid idea. Ludicrous. Who meets the parents of somebody they’ve been on three measly dates with? We won’t make it to a fourth, that’s for sure. I’d probably find an engagement ring floating in my Chardonnay considering the speed this bloke works at.

‘Great!’ If he senses my discomfort, he doesn’t show it as he flashes his wide smile. ‘What do you want to do?’

Go home? Curl up on the sofa with Carrot (my cat, not a root vegetable) and pretend this date never happened?

‘We could go for a hike?’ he suggests when I don’t respond. My fork is still frozen in the air, the speared stuffed mushroom no longer appetising. ‘We could take a picnic or stop off for a pub lunch? Do you own a pair of hiking boots? We can pick some up on the way if you don’t.’

‘Are you a big fan of hiking?’ I’m enquiring more to avoid answering the question than out of genuine interest, to be honest, but he doesn’t pick up on this.

‘Oh, yes.’ He nods effusively and picks up his cutlery while I place mine down gently on my plate. ‘We love it! The fresh air, the views…’ He sighs happily and starts to saw into his steak. ‘Gets your heart rate going too.’

Do you know what else gets your heart rate going? The prospect of dumping a perfectly nice guy because he’s galloping way ahead of you, moving you on to a new stage of your relationship before you’re even remotely ready. But I have to do this, before I find myself clad in brand-new hiking boots, making polite conversation with Mr and Mrs Nice Guy while dragging my carcass up a hill.

But just look at him. He’s so sweet, chatting away animatedly about the top hiking routes to take on the outskirts of Woodgate, the pubs that serve the best lunches, where to buy my new boots (his treat). I need to let him down – gently, obviously – but I’m not sure how to do it without hurting his feelings.

‘Maybe we can spend the weekend after with your parents.’ His fate is sealed as he pops a forkful of steak into his mouth. I now know, without a doubt, that this three-date relationship will be over before he’s swallowed.

 

My house is just ahead, a two-bed terrace nestled between the Chelsea Flower Show and a drug den. Okay, so it isn’t the actual Chelsea Flower Show, but our neighbour has filled the tiny strip of yard at the front of her house with enough shrubs, blooms and decorative solar lights to create a mini exhibition. And our other neighbouring property isn’t really a drug den, though the lads who live there do dabble in a bit of weed dealing. The smell is sometimes as overpowering as Mrs Hodgkinson’s primroses.

I’ve lived in this little house with my best friend for a decade, ever since we were students commuting daily into Manchester for uni and the waitressing jobs that helped fund our not-quite-lavish lifestyles. Alice is technically my landlady as she owns the house, but I’m an exemplary lodger so it’s never been a problem. It works for us, anyway. I love living with my best friend and the rent is extremely reasonable, which helps when you’re a teacher at a state school, and Alice likes to wind her family up (especially her annoying stepmother) by still ‘living in squalor like a student’. We don’t live in squalor, but Francelia Monroe (the annoying stepmother) has issues.

Our house looks so inviting as I approach, the lamp inside the living room casting a warm glow now it’s just starting to turn dark, but I don’t ask the taxi driver to stop just yet. There’s plenty of space to park, but we carry on up the road, stopping several doors away so the rumbling engine doesn’t alert Alice to my arrival. My plan is to sneak, as quiet as a mouse wearing cotton-wool slippers, into the house and up the stairs without Alice hearing a thing. I know she’ll want to dissect the date – What did we talk about? Did we kiss (or get up to anything more saucy)? Wouldn’t he make a fabulous husband and father one day? – and I simply don’t have the energy or inclination to discuss any of it. Not tonight. Alice will be so disappointed I’ve let another good guy slip through my fingers, so I’ll let her down gently in the morning (or shout it over my shoulder as I leg it from the house with a piece of toast clutched in hand so I don’t have to go into detail). Alice has been trying to find my perfect match for the past year. She’s always had herself pegged as a bit of a Cupid, but three things happened a year ago to propel her nagging about my love life to actual meddling. The first was the introduction of Alice and Kevin, one of the music teachers at my school. Alice had been a bit mopey since her sister announced her engagement, so when a group of us got together to celebrate the end of the school year, to toast our surviving yet another set of GCSEs and kick off the summer holidays in style, I invited Alice to join us. She hit it off with Kevin and, one year on, they’re proper loved up, and Alice thinks it’s all down to me. She’s determined to repay the favour, even if I’d rather she didn’t. I’m happy being single. It’s less complicated. Less stressful. Ending my relationship with Edward – the second thing that happened a year ago – was the right decision, no matter how much Alice tells me otherwise.

I pull my keys out of my handbag as I scurry past the row of houses, making an emergency stop as I reach the Chelsea Flower Show. From here, I tiptoe (yes, really – I look like a flipping cartoon character) past the shrubs and flowers until I reach our wall. I pause while I consider – briefly – whether I should drop down to the pavement and army-crawl past the window. The blinds are still open and, although my view is obscured by their angle from the outside, Alice will be able to see me clearly if she happens to look outside. But no, even I’m not that irrational.

With extreme care, I inch my key up to the lock, holding my breath as metal reaches metal. Growing up, I had lots of practice at sneaking into houses – non-burglar-like – as I often stayed with my great aunt, who was strict about curfews (screw it, let’s call a spade a spade – the woman was a mean old cow), so I manage to slot the key into place almost silently, turning it ever so gently until the door starts to give. This is the easy bit done with. The hardest part is removing the key without alerting the occupant inside.

With one hand against the door, I ease the key from the lock, breath held and face scrunched up in concentration. I’m nearly there. The key is coming loose. A little bit more and it’ll be free. I’ll creep inside, closing the door with as little noise as possible, before slinking up the stairs. Once I’ve made it up there, I’m golden. If Alice finds me in bed, I’ll just pretend to be asleep.

The key slips from the lock and I give the door a gentle nudge, almost jumping out of my skin as I come face to face with Alice, looming on the doormat like Great Aunt Dorothy.

‘Holy humus, Alice!’ I’ve somehow managed to swallow the gasp of surprise as I take a step back, one hand pressed against my chest. ‘What are you doing? You scared the crap out of me.’

‘Ssh!’ Alice’s eyes are wide, a finger vertical across her lips. When she speaks, she’s whispering. ‘I thought you were Kevin.’

‘Do you usually hide behind the door to scare the living daylights out of your boyfriend?’ I, too, am whispering, though I’m not sure why.

‘No, of course not.’ Alice grabs me and pulls me inside, her finger going back up to her lips once my feet are firmly on the ground again. She nods towards the living room. ‘Francelia is here.’

‘What?’ I manage to groan while whispering. ‘Why? What have we done to deserve this?’

‘Something bad, obviously.’ Alice narrows her eyes at me. ‘Why are you home so early?’

I concentrate on shoving my keys into my handbag so I don’t have to look at Alice when I reply. ‘The date didn’t go too well.’

I sneak a peek up at Alice. She’s folded her arms across her chest and an eyebrow is quirked at me. ‘What do you mean? What happened?’

This is why I was so keen to avoid Alice tonight. She’s affronted every time a date goes awry, as though I’ve insulted her by not falling head over heels with the guy. I look down at the doormat beneath my feet. This really is like getting collared sneaking into Great Aunt Dorothy’s house and I’m lost for words as she awaits an explanation.

‘Emily…?’

I sneak another peek at her. Poor Alice. There is such hope in her eyes. It’s going to be such a shame to squish it.

‘I ended it.’

‘You ended it?’ Alice’s voice comes out all high and squeaky, and she clamps a hand to her mouth, her eyes swivelling towards the closed living room door. When she speaks again, the whisper is back. ‘What happened?’ Her eyebrow quirks again, as though adding ‘this time’ to the end of her question.

‘He wanted me to meet his parents.’ I wait for a reaction, but Alice doesn’t bat an eyelid. ‘His parents, Alice. We’ve been on three dates. That isn’t normal!’

Alice opens her mouth to argue, but closes it again with a sigh. ‘I suppose you’re right. It is a bit soon.’

‘A bit soon?’ I give a hoot, which earns me a death glare from Alice, who thrusts a thumb at the living room. I dutifully lower my voice even further. ‘Three dates, Alice. I’ve known the man for approximately six hours. You’ve been with Kevin for a year and…’ I yelp as Alice grabs me by the arm, her grip so tight it pinches.

‘Will you shush?’ Her eyes are back on the living room door again.

‘Sorry.’ I try to extricate myself from Alice’s grasp, but the woman’s fingers are like a vice. ‘But you know what I mean. Also, you’re really hurting me.’

‘What?’ Alice looks down, suddenly realising I’m trying to squirm from her grip. ‘Oh. Sorry.’ She releases my arm and I start to inch towards the stairs.

‘Anyway, I’m exhausted. I’m going to go up to bed.’

‘No, you are not.’ Alice’s fingers are clutching my arm again before I can make any attempt to shuffle off upstairs. ‘You are not leaving me with that woman. She’s been here for twenty minutes and I already feel like jumping off a very tall building. She’s mocked my career choice, my living arrangements, my so-called weight gain.’ Alice looks down at her tiny frame. ‘Pur-lease. Bitch knows I look smokin’ hot.’ She tightens her grip on my arm, and her eyebrows press down low. ‘Any minute now we’re going to start on my love life. I need you, Emily.’

‘Wouldn’t it be easier if you just told them about Kevin?’

Despite their one-year relationship, Alice hasn’t told her family about her boyfriend. They’ve never met him or even heard his name. As far as they’re aware, Alice is still very much single (and doesn’t Francelia like to goad Alice about that).

‘Are you kidding me?’ Alice jabs her free hand at the living room door. ‘That woman in there would make our relationship hell until she’d crushed it if she knew about me and Kevin. You’ve met her. She’s evil. There’s not a chance in hell she’d accept Kevin.’

‘Not even if she knew you were totally in lurve with him?’ I make a silly kissy face, but it doesn’t make Alice smile. In fact, it makes her face and shoulders droop.

‘Especially if she knew I was totally in love with him. She’s done it before and she’ll do it again. She doesn’t want me to be happy.’

‘You have to tell them the truth one day,’ I point out.

‘I know.’ Alice nods, though with little enthusiasm. ‘And I will. Just not now when Carolyn’s about to get married. The wedding is the only thing that’s put Francelia in a good mood – I don’t want to ruin it. Now isn’t a good time.’

‘Will there ever be a good time?’ I ask, but Alice doesn’t get the chance to answer as the living room door swings open. I almost recoil in horror as evil stepmother Francelia appears in the doorway. She’s actually beautiful (on the outside) – though this is more down to her highly paid surgeon than Mother Nature. Francelia is forty-seven (and not thirty-five as she tells everyone) but she doesn’t have a single crease on her face or grey hair in her glossy, chin-length bob.

‘What’s going on out here?’ she asks, eyes narrowed (no crow’s feet) and one hand planted on a slender hip. ‘And why have I been left to fend for myself? This is not how we treat guests, Alice. You are a very rude young lady at times. Your father would be shocked at your behaviour.’

‘Papa Monroe not here today then?’ I pop my head past Francelia into what I know will be an empty living room. Alice’s father hasn’t been to the house in the ten years I’ve lived here, and I think I’d die of shock if he rocked up now.

‘Mr Monroe is very busy this evening.’ Francelia has an icy glare when she’s irritated. It’s actually quite scary. It makes me wonder what would happen if I chanted ‘Francelia Monroe’ three times in front of a mirror.

‘He is a very busy man,’ I say, which is clear, as he never has time for his daughter. Alice flashes me a pleading look, silently begging me to leave it. Alice is a strong and feisty woman, but she wilts whenever she’s in Francelia’s presence.

‘He is indeed.’ The corners of Francelia’s mouth pull upwards, hinting at a smile. ‘Now, are we going to stand out here all evening?’

‘No. Of course not.’ Alice finally releases my arm and follows Francelia back into the living room. She glances over her shoulder, eyes wide and pleading. It’s been a very trying evening and I want nothing more than to drag myself up the stairs and crawl into bed, but I can’t do that to Alice. Taking a fortifying breath, I step into the living room and prepare for battle.

 

JENNIFER JOYCE is a writer of romantic comedies who lives in Manchester with her husband and their two daughters. She’s been scribbling down bits of stories for as long as she can remember, graduating from a pen to a typewriter and then an electronic typewriter. And she felt like the bee’s knees typing on THAT. She now writes her books on a laptop (which has a proper delete button and everything).

You can keep up to date with Jennifer’s books by subscribing to her newsletter. The newsletters are packed with book news, exclusive content and giveaways. Sign up by copying and pasting the following address: http://www.jenniferjoycewrites.co.uk/p/newsletter.html

You can keep in touch with Jennifer on Twitter and Instagram (both @writer_jenn) or by liking her Facebook page www.facebook.com/jenniferjoycewrites

When I heard that Clare Mackintosh had a new book coming out, I was really excited because in the past year I have become a big fan of this author after reading her first two novels, I Let You Go and I See You, so I would like to thank Little, Brown for providing me with an early copy of the book.

The protagonist of LET ME LIE is Anna Johnson, a twenty-six-year old new mum. She and her partner Mark have a six-week-old daughter, Ella, and they live in her parents’ house that she inherited after her parents died a year before. First her father jumped from a cliff and then, seven months later, her mother killed herself from that same cliff. Now, a year later, on the first anniversary of her mother’s death, Anna receives a card that questions her parents’ suicide. Anna’s always found strange that her parents had killed themselves and this card seems to confirm her doubts, so she turns to the police.

Murray Mackenzie is a retired detective who works in the reception of the police station. He decides to help Anna and to investigate her parents’ deaths not only because, like Anna, he thinks that they look suspicious, but also to escape from his difficult situation at home. His wife’s Sarah battles mental health and she spends most of her time in a mental hospital.

The story is told from the point of view of Anna, Murray, and another unidentified narrator. I loved the use of multiple narrators, especially the unidentified one, who I tried to guess who it was – but I figure it out almost at the end –, because it makes the novel more suspenseful and gripping. I kept reading and reading because I wanted to know what was going on with the other characters.

The characters of the novel are ordinary people with complicated family dynamics. Anna is still grieving her parents’ deaths and, as a new mother, she especially feels the absence of her mother who she wishes had been there through her pregnancy. The author created a well-developed character in Anna and described in details her emotions, her grief, her guilt for keeping things from her partner Mark, and her confused feelings when she finds out the truth. But my favorite character was Murray Mackenzie. He goes out of his way to find out the truth, even if he risks to lose his job over it. Murray is a good person, he is patient, determined and diligent. He is going through a lot in his personal life and all I wanted to do was to hug him.

LET ME LIE is full of crazy twists. Just when you think that you know what is going on, something else happens that surprises you and then there is a shocking ending that I really didn’t see coming. It’s an intense, thrilling, and unpredictable novel about dysfunctional families, secrets, suicide, and mental illness, and you won’t be able to put it down until the last page.

LET ME LIE is out in the UK on March 8^th.

Let me start by saying that I have a little bad habit as a reader: sometimes I read first the second and third book in a series and then, if I like it, I go back and read the first ones (I started reading Harry Potter from the third book because at the time that’s what my local library had). I first heard about Joseph Knox when his debut novel, Sirens, came out and although the reviews were all good, I never got around to read it. But when I started hearing again about this author now that his second book is coming out, I decided that I needed to catch up and I was lucky enough to get my hands on THE SMILING MAN, which can be also read as a stand-alone novel.

The protagonist of the novel and the series is Detective Aidan Waits. He has a history of drug abuse which led him to work the night shift. He had a troubled childhood and he grew  up in foster care. He is emotionally damaged, he can’t keep people close to him and nobody in the book likes him. He is passionate about his job – he risks his career for someone he barely knows because he feels compassion for the victims of crime. I found him reckless and irresponsible, but those are qualities that actually make him good at his job. He is full of flaws and problems, but he tries to right his past. Despite all his imperfections and weaknesses, I really liked the character of Aidan, he is what kept me glued to the page of the novel.

Although the character of Aidan is what captivated me most of THE SMILING MAN, the plot is also gripping and absorbing. Aidan and his partner, DI Peter Sutcliffe, are on their night shift when they are called about a break-in in an abandoned hotel. When they arrive they find the night guard unconscious and the body of a man smiling and sitting in a chair in one of the rooms. The investigation is complicated by the fact that the victim seems to be a ghost. He has no ID, the tags on his clothes have been removed, and he doesn’t have any fingerprints. As Aidan tries to investigate the case without much help from his partner or his colleagues who all seem to hate him, he also has to face someone from his past who doesn’t want to let him go.

THE SMILING MAN is chilling, dark, and intense. The characters are well-drawn and complex and, although I couldn’t stand the character of DI Peter Sutcliffe, I enjoyed his working relationship with Aidan and their sharp and ironic exchanges. The author explores in depth the nightlife of Manchester, where the novel is set, and his attention to details made me feel like I was inside the novel.

I found THE SMILING MAN gripping, captivating, and riveting and now I know that I absolutely have to read Sirens.

Thank you Transworld for providing me with an early copy of the book.

THE SMILING MAN is out in the UK on March 8^th.

I first read Helen Callaghan’s debut novel, Dear Amy, a couple of years ago, a few weeks after it came out and I really liked it. I found some of the content a bit disturbing, but her writing was captivating and the suspense was high from the first page, so when I heard she had a new book coming out I was really excited and I couldn’t wait to put my hands on a copy.

The protagonist of her new novel is Sophia, a twenty-six year old architect, living in London and having fun. During a night out with her colleagues, Sophia receives a call from her mother asking her to come home. Sophia is used to her mother’s needy calls so she puts her off and keeps enjoying her night. But when the next morning she turns up at her parents’ house in Suffolk, she finds her mother dead hanging from a tree and her father stabbed and barely alive. The police rules it as a suicide-homicide suspecting that her mother wanted to kill herself and when her father tried to stop her, she stabbed him. Besides the grief over her mother’s death, Sophia feels angry and confused. Her mother wasn’t suicidal so why would she do something like that?

Let me start by saying that I really liked the character of Sophia. She is strong and determined and even when she finds herself in dangerous situations, she manages to come out of them almost unscathed. I liked how the author explored the relationship between her and her mother. Sophia thinks there is something more to her mother’s death so she starts to dig in her past. She finds out her mother has started writing a book in which she recounted her life inside a cult. Even though the revelations about her mother’s past shook her and made her question everything she knew, Sophia’s feelings toward her mother don’t change.

The plot is very twisty and suspenseful. I feel cheated when a story becomes predictable, and  halfway through the novel I thought I knew where this was going, who was guilty, and the reasons behind the death of Sophia’s mother. But I was happy to discover that I was completely wrong on my prediction. The ending was unexpected and it took me completely by surprise and it made me love the book even more.

Helen Callaghan created a gripping and compulsive novel in which she examines the relationship, often complicated, between a mother and a daughter. She also explores obsession, family ties, and the lengths a person would go to protect the people they love and I was completely engrossed from the first to the last page.

Thank you Sarah Harwood and Michael Joseph for providing me with a copy of the book.

EVERYTHING IS LIES is out in the UK on February 22^nd.

This is one of these great and captivating books that you can’t stop reading and, once you do, you keep thinking about it. A character-driven novel with a gripping and immersive plot, THE SUNDAY LUNCH CLUB features four siblings and their extended family. There is Anna who is pregnant and in love with a man who is not the father of her baby. Also, the arrival of a few threatening letters risks to bring to light a secret from her past. There is Neil who still can’t feel fatherhood after adopting baby Paloma with her much younger husband Santiago. Then there is Maeve. She has a new boyfriend who everyone seems to like but her thirteen-year-old son Storm. Josh is the shy younger brother everyone in the family worries about, but he seems happier since there is a new woman in his life, although nobody has ever met her, yet. At the head of the family there is their grandmother Dinkie, the one in the family everyone looks up to, but she doesn’t look  happy in her new nursing home, and there is something going on between her and her nurse Sheba.

Every few Sundays they meet for lunch together in each home and each chapter opens with that Sunday menu (as an Italian-born, my favorite was Luca’s and his tortellini in brodo!). Everyone is welcome at their Sunday Lunch Club, friends, boyfriends, even ex-husbands and their new girlfriends.

I couldn’t stop reading about these characters and their exciting stories. I wanted to be part of their family and go to their Sunday lunches. They have their flaws and each has a distinctive personality. The members of the family are very close to each other, they accept everyone, and they don’t hold back criticism – “families don’t sugar-coat the truth”. I liked how they tell each other (almost) anything. No lunch is uneventful as secrets are spilled each Sunday.

THE SUNDAY LUNCH CLUB is funny, but also a bit emotional, and, with a few dramatic scenes and shocking surprises, there is never a dull moment. I really didn’t want it to end, but neither I couldn’t put it down and I read it in two days.

Thank you Sara-Jade Virtue, Books and the City, and Simon & Schuster UK for providing an early copy of the book.

THE SUNDAY LUNCH CLUB is out in the UK on April 19^th.

A January morning, Fi Lawson is on her way home when she sees a van parked right outside her house. Her first thought is that finally her neighbours must have sold their house after months on the market. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes that the men are moving furniture and boxes not into the neighbours’ house, but right inside her beloved house. And when she gets there a woman claims that she and her husband just bought the house from her husband. But Fi knows nothing about the sale of her house. And why her husband is not answering her phone? Where are all their things? Where are their sons?

The plot is very character-driven with the characters leading the narrative. From present time, the narration switch a few months back as Fi and her husband Bram, each tell their side of their story. Fi tells her story on Victim, a podcast in which victims of a crime recount their sad stories. I don’t listen to podcasts (although I really think I am going to start now) but I love this type of feature in books and I especially enjoyed the twits and comments from listeners, each with their opinions, each taking a side. Bram, on the other hand, is writing his story on a Word document in which he reveals the series of events that led to that January morning. While I found Fi a bit too self-righteous, I felt a small amount of sympathy for Bram. He likes to drink and to drive fast (not a good combination) and he made a few big mistakes followed by a series of bad choices, but he tried to make things right even as things got out of his control.

The suspense is high all the time. Just when you think that you know what is going on, something else happens that takes you completely by surprise. This is my first novel by this author (I need to catch up) but I love her style and her writing which is completely captivating. She does a great job getting into the protagonists’ minds and she perfectly portrays their feelings as the story slowly unravels.

OUR HOUSE is a gripping and immersive thriller about a broken marriage and the lies we tell to protect ourselves and the people we love and it won’t be easy to put down.

Many thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue and Simon and Schuster UK for providing a copy of this book.

OUR HOUSE is out in the UK on April 5^th.

A corporate retreat is organized by a financial organization to encourage the bonding among colleagues. The two teams, five women and five men, will have to spend three days in the Australian bushland hiking and camping. But at the end of the three days, only the men have managed to turn up at the meeting point. After a few hours of waiting, four of the five women finally appear, scratched and injured, but one is still missing. Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper of the Melbourne Financial Investigations Unit take part in the investigation because the missing woman, Alice Russell, was collecting information for them about the organization she works for which they suspected of financial fraud. Is Alice’s disappearance linked to the work she was doing for them? Or it has to do with the Australian setting, once the hunting ground of a serial killer?

I haven’t read Jane Harper’s first novel, The Dry, which first features Federal Agent Aaron Falk, but after reading FORCE OF NATURE, I plan to catch up. Aaron Falk is an interesting character, with a complicated past that still haunts him and to which he refers a few times throughout the novel: growing up in a farm and then leaving it for the big city, his difficult relationship with his father, and his intricate love life.

The narration alternates between the past and the present, between the first day of camping, the women’s struggle to survive in the wilderness and the events that lead to Alice’s disappearance, and the police’s investigation and their search for Alice.

One of the main theme of this novel is the relationship between parents and children and the lengths parents would go to protect their own children. This is also a provocative novel about families, old rivalries and jealousies, and bullying.

The detailed and rich descriptions transport the reader right into the Australian wilderness that look like the perfect setting of a horror movie. The author’s writing and the suspense running high through the pages make this an unputdownable and compelling novel!

FORCE OF NATURE is out in the UK in February 8^th.

Ben Kitto is an homicide detective working in London, but after the death of his partner he tries to resign from the Met police. His boss doesn’t accept his resignation and gives him a three-month break to change his mind. Ben decides to spend this break in the place where he grew up, Bryher, one of the small island of the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. Ben’s arrival is marked by the disappearance of Laura Trescothick, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Matt and Jenna Trescothick, the golden couple of his high school. Ben decides to help the investigation of the local police because no one arrived or left the island before or after Laura’s disappearance and this means that one of the islanders is the killer, one of their own.

This novel is a highly enjoyable and compulsive read that reminded me a little of one of my favorite novels by Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, with its wintery dark and atmospheric setting, the isolated small island far away from the mainland, everyone suspecting everyone, everyone with their motives to commit the murder.

The plot is very intriguing with a few surprising twists and tension rising as the end of the book approaches. The characters are very well-crafted and complex, especially the protagonist, Ben Kitto, with ghosts who from his past and an uncertain future. The island is as much a protagonist of the novel as the other characters and I loved the author’s attention to details and the vivid descriptions that make the story more realistic and captivating.

HELL BAY is the first of a series and I am already looking forward  to book number 2, of which I already had a taste and I can’t wait for the rest.

HELL BAY is out in the UK on January 25^th.

In 1986, Eddie is twelve years old and, like the other children his age, he is dealing with friendships, his first crush, and bullies. But that year things change. First a terrible accident at the town fair, then arguments between parents, an assault, and a scandal in the school are just few of the things that disrupt Eddie’s life on that fatidic summer. When one of his friends receives a box of chalks for his birthday, Eddie and his friends first dismiss it, but then they find a good use for them, making up secret codes to communicate among them. One day, the chalk figures appear on their own and lead the boys to a gruesome discovery.

Thirty years later, Eddie is a teacher, he still lives in his family home, and he still hangs out with some of his childhood friends. Eddie and his friends seem to have left their past behind but one day the chalk figures appear again…

I have been hearing about THE CHALK MAN for months as everyone was raving about it saying how good it was, so, as soon as it came out, I bought a copy and immersed myself in it and I saw why everyone was so excited about it. The narration is told from Eddie’s perspective and it alternates between the past and the present. The writing is addictive – you wouldn’t say it’s a debut novel – and the author created a fantastic cast of well-developed characters, especially Eddie who is an engaging character, at times odd, and with a very strange and macabre obsession (which I am not going to give away as it’s important to the story).

The truth about the events of the past is told slowly, a few bits at the time, although there are a few hints here and there that build the suspense until the shocking revelation at the end. All psychological thrillers have a shocking ending, but this one really surprises the reader as you really don’t see it coming.

I liked that the author, among mystery and scary moments that keep you awake at night, added also an emotional side to the novel. Eddie’s father had Alzheimer and the author describes in details the protagonist’s struggle with his father disease, his reaction to losing him, and his fear that the disease could be hereditary. It’s an interesting storyline that perfectly develops throughout the novel.

THE CHALK MAN is one of these book that it is not easy to put down because there is never a dull moment. It is dark and atmospheric, a coming-of-age novel full of twists and turns and dramatic moments that keep you glued to the page. Even when the action is more slow-paced, the tension is still high and the story keeps you on edge. A must-read debut!

THE CHALK MAN is out in the UK on January 11^th.