Book After Book

Publication: 16th April – 2020 – Orenda Books

When iconic musical Dust is revived twenty years after the leading actress was murdered in her dressing room, a series of eerie events haunts the new cast…

The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for her killer…

Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after twenty years. But who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in her dressing room?

Theatre usher Chloe Dee is caught up in the spectacle. As the new actors arrive, including an unexpected face from her past, everything changes. Are the eerie sounds and sightings backstage real or just her imagination? Is someone playing games?

Not all the drama takes place onstage. Sometimes murder, magic, obsession and the biggest of betrayals are real life. When you’re in the theatre shadows, you see everything.
And Chloe has been watching…

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop on the blog tour for I Am Dust, the suspenseful new novel by Louise Beech.

Let me start my review by admitting ashamedly that this is the first novel by Louise Beech. Reading the reviews of other bloggers, it seems that I am very late to the party, but I am planning to catch up quickly, especially after reading this latest gripping novel. Seriously, I was completely blown away by this novel. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down. It reminded me a bit of The Phantom of the Opera and I loved the dark and claustrophobic atmosphere, the setting of the theatre where most of the story takes place, and the author’s writing style is captivating.

I Am Dust in narrated through two timelines. In 2005, three teenagers attend the local theatre class and play with magic, death, and a Ouija board to call spirits. In the present, one of them is working as an usher in the local theatre. The announcement that a play is going to be back on stage after twenty years brings back to light memories of the past and an unsolved murder.

The author did an amazing job mixing teenage drama and jealousies with ghosts, witches, and cursed plays. You will find yourself immersed in this haunting and gothic mystery with supernatural elements that will take you by surprise, that will give you goose-bumps and keep you on the edge of your seat as you read. Even though sometimes I didn’t like the characters and I found them annoying, they are well-crafted and they fit perfectly with the story.

If, like me, you haven’t read any novels by Louise Beech, I think that I Am Dust is the perfect book to start discovering this author because it will leave you wanting for more. Highly recommended!!!

A huge thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for providing me with a copy of the book and inviting me to join the blog tour.

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Follow the rest of the blog tour:

Recalling the theatre noir of Ngaio Marsh with supernatural elements and a modern spin, this is a bewitching, beguiling and
dark psychological thriller from the critically acclaimed author of The Lion Tamer Who Lost and Call Me Star Girl.
Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2015. Her second book, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for Not the Booker Prize. Both of her previous books Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost were widely reviewed, critically acclaimed and number-one bestsellers on Kindle. The
Lion Tamer Who Lost was shortlisted for the RNA Most Popular Romantic Novel Award in 2019. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. Louise lives with her
husband on the outskirts of Hull, and loves her job as a Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.

Publication: 14th May 2020 – Simon & Schuster UK

One summer.
One house.
One family learning to love again.

Cate Morris and her son, Leo, are homeless, adrift. They’ve packed up the boxes from their London home, said goodbye to friends and colleagues, and now they are on their way to Hatters Museum of the Wide Wide World – to stay just for the summer. Cate doesn’t want to be there, in Richard’s family home without Richard to guide her any more. And she knows for sure that Araminta, the retainer of the collection of dusty objects and stuffed animals, has taken against them. But they have nowhere else to go. They have to make the best of it.

But Richard hasn’t told Cate the truth about his family’s history. And something about the house starts to work its way under her skin.
Can she really walk away, once she knows the truth?

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Prepare the tissues and settle down because Anstey Harris’s new novel is AMAZING!!! Last year, I LOVED her novel The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton so I was delighted when I got my hands on her new book, Where We Belong, thanks to the amazing Sara-Jade and Simon & Schuster. It’s a beautiful and moving story and it got me out of the reading slump I got in during the lockdown.

The protagonist of the novel is Cate. She met Richard at university and it was love at first sight. They got married and they had a son, but Richard’s illness took him away and now Cate, jobless and homeless, has no choice but to move into Richard’s family home, at least temporarily. However, as Cate and her son Leo stay at Hatters Museum, they find out secrets about Richard’s family that they never knew.

Wow!!! This novel had me in tears quite a few times. The way the author, through Cate’s voice, describes Richard’s illness was really heartbreaking, as well as Cate’s grief over her husband’s death. There are also a few happy moments, moments that made me smile and lifted me up, especially when it came to Leo, Cate and Richard’s nineteen-year-old son, who was my favourite character in the story. Speaking of characters, they are really well-drawn. They feel realistic, with their insecurities and their flaws, and they are very likable. The more I read, the more I grew fond of them.

Addressing themes of mental health, love, and new beginnings and with a bit of family drama and secrets, Where We Belong is an engaging, inspiring, emotional, and unique story that will stay with me for a while.

Where We Belong is out next month, on May 14th, and you can already pre-order: https://amzn.to/3akiVxu

 

Publication: 2nd April 2020 – HQ

Who says you can’t choose your family?

When Flora falls in love with Jack, suddenly she’s not only handling a very cranky teenager, but she’s also living in the shadow of Jack’s perfect, immortalised wife, Becca. Every summer, Becca and Jack would holiday with Becca’s oldest friends and Jack wants to continue the tradition, so now Flora must face a summer trying to live up to Becca’s memory, with not only Jack’s daughter looking on, but with Becca’s best friends judging her every move…

The more Flora tries to impress everyone, the more things go horribly wrong…but as the summer unfolds, Flora begins pushing her own boundaries, and finding herself in a way that she never thought she needed to.

And she soon learns that families come in all shapes and sizes.

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Nothing cheers me up like a novel by Sarah Morgan. Her stories are entertaining, heart-warming, and so well-written that I always find myself completely engrossed in them and I always fall in love with the characters.

Her new novel, Family For Beginners, sees two fantastic female protagonists. Flora is a woman in her thirties with a bit of a tragic past and in search of love and family. She works as a florist (never name was more adapt) and one day she meets Jack, a widower with a teenage daughter, a seven-year old daughter, and a late wife who, according to everyone who knew her, was simply perfect. Will Flora find what she is looking for with Jack?

Izzy is Jack’s seventeen-year-old daughter. Still grieving over her mother’s death and feeling guilty over the fight they had right before her death, Izzy feels it’s her responsibility to take care of her father and to take on the role of mother to her younger sister. So, when Flora enters their lives, Izzy is ready to do everything to make sure she doesn’t stay.

I LOVED the characters. Like in all her novels, they are very likable, engaging, and well-developed. They are the kind of characters I wish they were real and they could be my friends. I liked Izzy, even when she was an annoying teenager, and I found her sister Molly so adorable and funny.

One of my favourite thing about Sarah Morgan’s novels is the settings she chooses for her stories (I am still dreaming of a Christmas in Scotland thanks to The Christmas Sisters). In Family For Beginners, the author splits the story between my all-time favourite city, New York City, and the Lake District which, thanks to the author’s beautiful descriptions, I just added to my list of places to visit.

Would I recommend this story? Of course, over and over again. I ADORE Sarah Morgan and Family For Beginners is a beautiful and captivating novel about family, friendship, love, and new beginnings.

A huge thank you to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this amazing novel.

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/2K6EkQq

 

Publication: 2nd April 2020 – Zaffre

DC Jack Warr and his girlfriend Maggie have just moved to London to start a new life together. Though charming, Jack can’t seem to find his place in the world – until he’s drawn into an investigation that turns his life upside down.

In the aftermath of a fire at an isolated cottage, a badly charred body is discovered, along with the burnt remains of millions of stolen, untraceable bank notes.

Jack’s search leads him deep into a murky criminal underworld – a world he finds himself surprisingly good at navigating. But as the line of the law becomes blurred, how far will Jack go to find the answers – and what will it cost him?

In BURIED, it’s time to meet DC Jack Warr as he digs up the deadly secrets of the past . . .

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Lynda La Plante is back and I am delighted to take part in the blog tour for her brand new fantastic novel, Buried.

A fire leads to the discovery of a body and the money from an old heist. Enter DC Jack Warr, the protagonist of this new series by Lynda La Plante. Jack Warr has recently joined the Met, after moving from Devon to London with his girlfriend Maggie. While Jack tries to figure out the truth about the case, he has his own personal problems: his adoptive father is dying and his search for his real father quickly becomes an obsession.

I really liked the characters of Jack Warr and his girlfriend Maggie, they are smart, engaging, and well-crafted characters. Jack has his doubts about his career in the police and his search for the truth about his birth and his past lead him to a journey of self-discovery, while she is very understanding and supporting.

The story is intriguing, twisty, and very well-plotted. There are cold cases, gangsters, and so much mystery and, if you’ve read the author’s previous novels, you will recognize some of the characters mentioned. The more I read, the more the pace increases, the more twists keep coming, the more I couldn’t put it down so that I read it in less than two days. I think that the ending was perfect and surprising and it makes me eager to see what happens next to DC Jack Warr.

A huge thank you to Tracy Fenton and Zaffre for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

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Publication: 5th December 2019 (eBook); 2nd April 2020 (paperback) – HarperFiction

At the school gates, there’s no such thing as yesterday’s news . . .

When Liza’s little boy has an accident at the local health club, it’s all anyone can talk about.

Was nobody watching him?

Where was his mother?

Who’s to blame?

The rumours, the finger-pointing, the whispers – they’re everywhere. And Liza’s best friend, Sarah, desperately needs it to stop.

Because Sarah was there when it happened. It was all her fault. And if she’s caught out on the lie, everything will fall apart.

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Today I am very happy to take part in the blog tour for the brilliant new novel by Rebecca Thornton, The Fallout, out now in paperback.

In The Fallout, Rebecca Thornton explores the complex dynamics of a group of mothers in West London. Gossip, jealousies, secrets, and lies lead to a series of misunderstandings and discord with serious consequences.

Sarah e Liza have been best friends since they were pregnant with their first child. Their friendship is tested after Liza’s son gets hurt under Sarah’s watch and an old friend comes back into their life. Sarah’s guilt over the accident and the secrets she is keeping from her best friend put a strain on their friendship and, as rumours spread and lies come to light, things spiral out of control.

Rebecca Thorton created a close-community world where everyone is judged by their looks and their choices, where gossip can destroy a friendship, where loyalties easily change. The story is entertaining, gripping, and very well-written and it alternates between Sarah, Liza, and WhatsApp groups where every parent has their own opinion and are quick to judge.

The characters feel authentic and relatable, I found them flawed, sometimes annoying, sometimes likable, the sort of people you can meet on the street or at the park. Through the characters, the author perfectly shows the difficulties of motherhood and she addresses themes of mental health and loss.

Rebecca Thornton is a brilliant author and her stories are engrossing and enjoyable (if you haven’t read her previous novels, please do!). Highly recommended!!!

A huge thank you to Anne Cater and HarperCollins UK for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

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Follow the rest of the blog tour:

 

Rebecca Thornton is an alumna of the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course, where she was tutored by Esther Freud and Tim Lott. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, You Magazine, Daily Mail, Prospect Magazine and The Sunday People amongst others. She has reported from the Middle East, Kosovo and the UK. She now lives in West London with her husband and two children. The Fallout is her third novel.

 

Publication: 2nd April 2020 – Quercus

When the eight-year-old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers.

As Dee looks back over her time in the Master’s Lodging – an eerie and ancient house – a picture of a high achieving but dysfunctional family emerges: Nick, the fiercely intelligent and powerful father; his beautiful Danish wife Mariah, pregnant with their child; and the lost little girl, Felicity, almost mute, seeing ghosts, grieving her dead mother.

But is Dee telling the whole story? Is her growing friendship with the eccentric house historian, Linklater, any cause for concern? And most of all, why is Felicity silent?

Roaming Oxford’s secret passages and hidden graveyards, Magpie Lane explores the true meaning of family – and what it is to be denied one.

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I have been having a bit of a hard time concentrating on reading lately (and I’ve seen I am not the only one), but Magpie Lane kept me completely captivated. Such an excellent read! Multi-layered characters, a creepy atmosphere, a house seemingly haunted by ghosts, and a gripping plot. I couldn’t put it down!

It all started when Dee met new College Master Nick Law and got offered a job as a nanny for his daughter Felicity. Eight months later, Felicity is missing and Dee and Nick and his wife are turning on each other. What happened? As Dee is interviewed by the police we discover a disturbing story of loss, dysfunctional family, and secrets.

The story is very well-written and you can feel the tension as you turn page after page. The author’s choice of the setting is fantastic. Master House is claustrophobic and with an interesting and dark history, almost a character itself, that gave me goose-bumps all over my body. The author’s beautiful descriptions and the fascinating and intriguing historical facts narrated through the character of Linklater really bring Oxford to life and kept me glued to the pages.

The author put together a cast of brilliant and complex characters: there is Dee, the Scottish nanny with an obsession for mathematics and a mysterious past; Nick, an ambitious professor who cares more about his job than his own daughter; his Danish pregnant wife Mariah, who restores wallpaper; his daughter Felicity, a eight-year-old girl with selective mutism; and House Detective Linklater with a deep knowledge of Oxford.

Magpie Lane is intense, dramatic, and addictive. I couldn’t wait to see how it ended and, yet, I didn’t want it to end. I adored it and I couldn’t recommend it enough!!!

A huge thank you to Ella and Quercus for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel!

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Publication: 2nd April 2020 – Simon & Schuster UK

A mother in crisis
A doctor’s duty
What is the truth about that night?

Liz and Jess have been friends for ten years, ever since they both started a family. But how well do they really know each other?

When Jess arrives at A&E with her baby girl and a story that doesn’t add up, Liz is the doctor on call.

Jess has devoted her life to family and home. But she is hiding so many secrets.

As the truth begins to emerge, Liz is forced to question everything she thought she knew: about Jess, and about herself…

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The new novel by Sarah Vaughan is not an easy and light read. It’s a thought-provoking, compelling, and gripping story that addresses serious and relatable themes. At the center of the novel there are parents and it shows how difficult and life-changing parenthood is. Jess, a mother of three who is struggling after the birth of her third child; her husband Ed who is trying to figure out what is going on with his wife; and her best friend, Liz, a paediatrician who starts to question not only her friend’s life, but also her own and her past.

When Jess arrives at the hospital with her injured baby girl and a story doesn’t make sense, Liz struggles with her need to protect her friend and her duty to report her to authorities. In the meantime, Ed knows he should have been more present at home, but his work takes all his time. Should he have noticed his wife’s strange behaviour? And did Jess harm their baby? And did Liz make the right choice?

The characters are very well-drawn, relatable, and genuine and so well-drawn that you feel almost like you know them. They are every parent as they question their own parenting, as they wonder if they are doing the right thing when it comes to their children, as they realize how hard and consuming it is to take care of a child.

Once again, Sarah Vaughan wrote a fantastic novel that leaves you affected and questioning things. If you are looking for a thriller, then this is not the right read for you. It’s more a family drama with a lot of tension and a few twists that take you by surprise. The story progresses at a slow and perfect pace with different points of views and a few flashbacks that keep the reader completely engrossed. Some of the scenes are heart-breaking and moving, but there are also moments of joy and forgiveness that make this a beautiful and excellent read.

Little Disasters is a superb, realistic, and brilliantly written novel about parenthood, friendship, and mental health and it’s out next week. Highly recommended!!!

A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof copy of this fantastic novel.

 

 

 

 

Publication: 5th March 2020 – Transworld

Everyone brings baggage to a new relationship.

When Alex met Natalie she changed his life. After the tragic death of his first wife, which left him a single parent to teenage daughter Jade, he’s determined to build a happy family.

But his new-found happiness is shattered when the family home is gutted by fire and his loyalties are unexpectedly tested. Jade insists she saw a man in the house on the night of the fire; Natalie denies any knowledge of such an intruder.

Alex is faced with an impossible choice: to believe his wife or his daughter? And as Natalie’s story unravels, Alex realises that his wife has a past he had no idea about, a past that might yet catch up with her.

But this time, the past could be deadly…

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WOW!!!  What a wonderful and gripping read. I loved Rebecca Fleet’s first novel, The House Swap, but I ADORED The Second Wife. I spent an afternoon with my nose stuck on my kindle and I didn’t get up from my couch until I reached the last page. I loved the claustrophobic atmosphere, the high tension, and beautifully-written plot. Also, I enjoyed the twists that just pop up when you less expect it, which is not an easy thing when you read many thriller.

Not only the plot is intriguing and completely captivating, but also the characters are brilliantly-drawn: there is Alex, trying to figure out the truth about the fire that almost destroyed his family; his second wife, Natalie, with a past that she doesn’t want to surface; and then Jade, Alex’s thirteen-year-old daughter from his first marriage, who claims that there was a man in the house the night of the fire.

The story is told from different perspectives and, as each character tell their story, you don’t know who to trust (I DO love unreliable characters!). Is the fire an accident or arson? Did Jade really see a man in the house the night of the fire? What is Natalie hiding? Why doesn’t Alex know much about Natalie’s past? So many questions that the author unravels in a slow-burning progression that keeps the reader engrossed.

The Second Wife is a suspenseful, engaging, and thrilling novel, perfect for all fans of psychological thrillers.

A huge thank you to Transworld and NetGalley for providing me with a proof copy of this fantastic novel.

 

Good morning everyone! Starting my week with a fantastic Q&A with Maurice Gray whose new novel, TANNADEE, was published in February by Troubador Publishing.

First of all, what is TANNADEE?

Tannadee, a picturesque village in the Scottish Highlands, finds itself suddenly forced to fight for its life when Gordon Weever, a billionaire bully, reveals plans to build an exclusive golf resort nearby. Though most of the locals oppose him, Weever pushes on, employing dirty tricks and splashing cash. He trashes a rare woodland, he annexes land. Somebody needs to stop him. But who? 

Step up local teacher, Chizzie Bryson with his out-of-the-box idea for the villagers to compete in a Highland Games to raise funds – with a surprising ally. Weever’s own daughter rejects her father’s rapacious antics, time after time attempting to remodel him into someone she can respect… and failing.

The time of the Highland Games dawns, and a diverse range of local characters compete on behalf of Tannadee including a greasy wrestler, a hypochondriac miler, a suicidal hill runner, a pretty-boy hammer thrower, a hen-pecked cyclist, and a wild-boy sprinter. Can good morals and fairness win the day? And can they be the iceberg to sink Weever’s titanic ego once and for all?

Maurice Gray was so nice to answer a few of my questions…

Can you tell us more about your new novel, Tannadee?

Tannadee is a humorous novel about a fictional village in the Scottish Highlands. The village is forced to fight for its life when Gordon Weever, a bullying billionaire, plans to build an exclusive golf resort nearby. Though most locals oppose him, Weever pushes on, employing dirty tricks and splashing cash. He trashes a rare woodland, he annexes land. Somebody needs to stop him. But who? Step up local teacher, Chizzie Bryson. He inspires villagers to compete in a Highland Games to raise funds. He is helped greatly by Weever’s own daughter who rejects her father’s rapacious antics. She even confronts him in the hope of persuading him to become someone she can respect. But Weever is his own man, and he has no compunction about exploiting weakness, particularly that of a local aristrocat who is bedevilled by booze and gambling.  Through a mixture of satire, farce and challenging issues I think the novel delivers a story that is original, timely and engaging.

How did you come up with the plotline for the book?

As an adviser to golf courses throughout Scotland I had seen quite a few small communities benefit from the construction or upgrading of golf courses. They sometimes became the hub of the community’s social life and made the place more attractive to young families. So when Donald Trump submitted plans for a new golf course in Aberdeenshire, I was very much in favour of the project – it promised jobs and a higher profile for the region. However, the plans required  the acquisition of a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and a lot of debate and mixed feelings arose from this. With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to see what could happen when another billionaire proposes a major golf project near a small community in the Scottish Highlands.

Do you have a favourite character you can tell us a bit more about?

My favourite character is Yolanda, the billionaire’s daughter. She could quite simply take on her father’s mantle and run the global business while enjoying the best that life has to offer. But she chooses a different path, her own path. She’s a confident young woman without being overly assertive and she is aware that life has a spiritual aspect to it, something that her father only now, in his sixties, is coming to realise. She may not take up the most space in the book, but she arguably has the greatest impact. She takes on men in a men’s world. And most tellingly of all, she is able to act as a bridge between the single-minded dynamism of her father and the community spirit championed by the other lead character who is opposing her father.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

For most of my professional life I was a sportsturf agronomist advising venues ranging from the renowned to the very humble. Before that, I was a biology teacher in Zambia and Scotland. Now retired, I’m not active in sports, but once was a prize-winning sprinter on the amateur Highland Games circuit.

What is a great book you’ve read recently that you would recommend to others?

I would recommend My Life on the Plains by General George Custer. This book, published two years before the Battle of Little Bighorn, provides a first-hand account of the ill-fated General Custer and his cavalry as they set about confronting native Americans on the vast plains of America. Well written, though in a slightly archaic style, the book draws the reader into the sights and feel of the plains as ordinary men edge their way ever forwards. But ordinary though these men were, they  were about to sweep away not just a nation, not just a people, but an entire civilization. These ordinary men changed the human face of America. Also changed in these reminiscences is Custer’s image, popularly known as a rash and arrogant man, the book reveals Custer as a more complex person capable also of dry humour, sensitivity and genuine empathy for the native Americans.

When did you decide to write and what prompted you to start?

While I was a student at the University of  Aberdeen, I wrote some articles for the student newspaper and did some script writing for student revues. This gave me an appetite for writing sitcom scripts, but when I took up full-time employment as a schoolteacher I didn’t have enough time to continue writing. It was only later when I became established as a sportsturf agronomist  that I decided it was now or never and I would use what little spare time I had to attempt some serious writing. I wrote two plays which were never performed but were held for a time by two theatres for possible production and one of them received a reading by professional actors, with a famous Scottish comedian, Chic Murray, in the leading role. As for the sitcoms, a BBC editor told me that my scripts would never reach production stage because I enjoyed my job too much. And he was right; I just never had enough time to do all the writing and re-writing required to produce scripts of professional standard. When I finally retired, I had the time I needed and I had a large heap of notes accumulated from years of jotting.

What comes to you first – the setting, the characters or some aspect of the story?

For Tannadee it was a combination of the setting and particular events, but future books will be based around a set of characters.

Has any other writer in particular influenced the way you write?

I wouldn’t say I was influenced by any particular writer, but I can think of many writers whose work I admire and whose styles I probably have been influenced by to some extent. They include the works of Henry Fielding, Dickens, Chekhov, Tolstoy, the essays of J.B. Priestley, Garrison Keiller, Philip Roth, Spike Milligan, and John Grisham, to name but a few.

Can you describe Tannadee in 3 adjectives?

Humorous, Highland, enlightening.

Can you tell us a bit about your plans for the future?

I have two books in mind at present. One is a sequel to Tannadee, and the other is based in Africa featuring Chizzie, one of the leading characters in Tannadee.

More about Maurice Gray…

For most of his professional life Maurice Gray was a sportsturf agronomist advising venues ranging from the renowned to the very humble. Before that, he was a biology teacher in Zambia and Scotland, and was once a prize-winning sprinter on the amateur Highland Games circuit. Now retired, he is based in Perth. This is his debut.

Back in October, I came across the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series which features librarian-turned-investigator Kitt and her best friend Evie investigating homicides in York. A Body in the Bookshop is the second fantastic novel in the series and it’s out today to in paperback so I am delighted to share again my review of this thrilling and suspenseful novel set among books.

It’s nearly Christmas in York, but it seems the season of goodwill hasn’t touched everyone…

When DS Charlotte Banks is suspended from the police on suspicion of assaulting a suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop, librarian Kitt Harley and her friend Evie Bowes refuse to believe she is guilty. But why is she being framed?

With Charlotte’s boss DI Malcolm Halloran unable to help, Evie decides to take matters into her own hands. Kitt takes little persuading to get involved too – after all, as well as Charlotte’s career to save, there are missing books to be found!

From the tightknit community of York’s booksellers, to the most gossipy bus route in the country, Kitt and Evie leave no stone unturned to get at the truth behind the burglary.

Then the discovery of a body raises the stakes even higher. For Evie, and now Kitt, this case is as personal as it gets. Can they catch the murderer in time to turn a bleak midwinter into something merry and bright?

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A few weeks ago I was invited to join the media blast for the first novel in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series and I enjoyed reading about this librarian turned investigator. So, when I found out that the second book in the series, A Body in the Bookshop, was coming out on 31st October I knew I had to read it right away. Not only because I really love the title (it’s great, isn’t it?!?), but because I fell in love with the characters, the setting of the books, and I enjoy the author’s clear and flowing writing style.

So, in A Body in the Bookshop, we find the three funniest and smartest amateur detectives back for another case. It all starts with the robbery of some valuable first editions at Kitt’s favourite bookshop and the suspension of DS Charlotte Banks for assaulting a suspect. Feeling protective and grateful to DS Banks following the case in Murder by the Minster, Evie convinces Kitt, once again, to do their own investigation in the case. This case gives Kitt the excuse to visit all bookshops in town in search of clues, while Evie is determined to find out the truth and help DS Charley Banks. Helping them are the always loyal assistant librarian and online genius Grace and the 85-year-old psychic Ruby who reads tarots and gets her info on the bus 59.

While Murder by the Minster was more Kitt’s story, A Body in the Bookshop focuses more on Evie. She is still processing the events of the first book and its consequences. On the romantic side, she is struggling with her unexpected feelings for someone and we get to read more about her friendship with Kitt. I wish there had been more about Kitt and detective Halloran’s new romance (I love this couple!), but I enjoyed getting to know Evie better. Once again, Kitt is full of literary references that make me like her more and more (and increase my TBR pile) and I love the character of Grace. She is such a fun character, so smart, resourceful, and full of life and she always makes me laugh.

With good pacing and a few twists, the author addresses themes of police corruption, blackmail, secrets, and, of course, murder. Even though it is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend you read the first book, too, not only because it’s a fantastic read, but to better understand the characters and their story. A Body in the Bookshop is an engaging, thrilling, and addictive cosy mystery and I am already looking forward to the third book in the series which is out next March!

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