Book review – Poisoned at the Priory by Antony M. Brown @ccjury @TheMirrorBooks @MelandJedi #PoisonedAtThePriory #ColdCaseJury

Thank you to Mel Sambells at Mirror Books for sending me a copy of Poisoned at the Priory by Antony M. Brown to read and review. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

 

The Blurb

Cold Case Jury presents its most confounding crime yet: Poisoned at the Priory.
1876. When the newlywed barrister Charles Bravo ingests a rare poison, all evidence suggests suicide. But in one of the most infamous inquests of all time, a coroner finds it to be an unlawful murder. So, we must ask, what is the truth?

The fourth book in Antony M. Brown’s popular Cold Case Jury series picks apart this notorious case that gripped Victorian Britain – and continues to spark debate to this day. Why did Bravo refuse any help, even when going through agonising pain? Was his wife, with her scandalous past, to blame? Or perhaps it was her former lover, eager to remove his usurper for good… or another sinister hand, moving silently?

In Poisoned at the Priory, Brown compiles the evidence and creates dramatic reconstructions of four main theories of how Charles Bravo may have died – including Agatha Christie’s solution, in her own words, for the very first time.

But was Christie correct? What’s your verdict in this spellbinding case?

 

My Review

I’ve read a couple of other books in the Cold Case Jury series and they’ve all been very intriguing. But this one has definitely been the hardest to decide on and I’m still out deliberating this one!

Charles Bravo, a newlywed, dies from ingesting poison. Was it self-administered or were there darker forces at work? The first, rather hurried, inquest ruled suicide. But too many people thought differently and a much, much longer inquest took place over three weeks. Obviously Brown hasn’t transcribed the whole inquest but has given us the relevant information. I don’t want to tell you too much as it’s important to discover the evidence for yourself and make up your own mind.

This isn’t the first time this cold case has been looked at and Brown refers to other authors who wrote their own books. Even Agatha Christie had her own view on it and Brown shares her thoughts with us. He also gives his own verdict and his sum ups are very useful in this baffling case.

So have I decided yet? I’m still unsure but once I’m ready to deliver my verdict, I can head over to Cold Case Jury and present my decision. I really like the interactive part of the book. I’m not a mere spectator, I’m a member of the jury. I look forward to reading more cold cases from Antony M. Brown.

You can buy Poisoned at the Priory here for Amazon or if you want to support an independent bookshop then click here for Hive.

 

The Author

Antony M. Brown is an award-winning essayist, former magazine editor-in-chief and member of the Crime Writers’ Association. He appears regularly on radio and TV, most recently in the BBC documentary “The Porthole Mystery”. He published several Cold Case Jury e-books – true crime mysteries in which the reader is invited to deliver the verdict on what most likely happened – before signing with Mirror Books in January 2017. See http://www.coldcasejury.com

Blog Tour – Deep Dark Night by Steph Broadribb @crimethrillgirl @OrendaBooks @annecater #DeepDarkNight #TeamLoriVIP #LoriAnderson

Thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for Deep Dark Night by Steph Broadribb. Lori Anderson is one of my favourite characters in the crime genre. Thank you to Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater for inviting me to take part.

 

The Blurb

Fearless Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson travels to Chicago to trap the head of a notorious crime family, in a high-stakes, nail-biting mission that sees her trapped in one of the city’s tallest buildings during a blackout…

A city in darkness. A building in lockdown. A score that can only be settled in blood…

Working off the books for FBI Special Agent Alex Monroe, Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson and her partner, JT, head to Chicago. Their mission: to entrap the head of the Cabressa crime family. The bait: a priceless chess set that Cabressa is determined to add to his collection.

An exclusive high-stakes poker game is arranged in the penthouse suite of one of the city’s tallest buildings, with Lori holding the cards in an agreed arrangement to hand over the pieces, one by one. But, as night falls and the game plays out, stakes rise and tempers flare.

When a power failure plunges the city into darkness, the building goes into lockdown. But this isn’t an ordinary blackout, and the men around the poker table aren’t all who they say they are. Hostages are taken, old scores resurface and the players start to die.

And that’s just the beginning…

My Review

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since the end of Deep Blue Trouble (no.2 in the series) when Lori was given the gold chess piece. Steph Broadribb has kept me on tenterhooks but it’s been worth the wait.

This is quite a different book from the rest. Instead of the action being spread over a few days, most of this takes place in one night. And what a night! This is one of the best locked room mysteries I’ve ever read. It touches on many different fears – complete darkness, claustrophobia and a lack of air. And that’s before we add in knives, tasers and guns! Not once does the tension drop. Just as Lori gets over one obstacle, there’s another right behind it.

The story flicks between Lori and JT and I loved having JT’s perspective on the situation. This novel really cements them as a couple and their love and concern for each other and their daughter, Dakota, comes across well. Lori is no longer alone.

I don’t want to tell you any more about the plot because the blurb sums it up beautifully and I have no intention of giving spoilers. I thought Steph Broadribb’s last book, Deep Dirty Truth, was her best so far but Deep Dark Night eclipses it. A rollercoaster thriller played out in the shadows, not knowing where the next threat will come from. Truly magnificent.

You can buy Deep Dark Night here or look out for it in your local Asda or Tesco.

 

The Author

Steph Broadribb was born in Birmingham and grew up in Buckinghamshire.
Most of her working life has been spent between the UK and USA. As her alter ego – Crime Thriller Girl – she indulges in her love of all things crime fiction by blogging at crimethrillergirl.com, where she interviews authors and reviews the latest releases. She is also a member of the crime-themed girl band The Splice Girls. Steph is an alumni of the MA Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and she trained as a bounty hunter in California, which inspired her Lori Anderson thrillers, She lives in Buckinghamshire surrounded by horses, cows and chickens. Her debut thriller, Deep Down Dead, was shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader Awards in two categories, and hit number one on the UK and AU kindle charts. My Little Eye, her first novel under her pseudonym, Stephanie Marland was published by Trapeze Books in April 2018.

Blog tour – #Mine by @ClareEmpson2 @Tr4cyF3nt0n @orionbooks

I’m thrilled to be taking part in the tour for Mine. I loved Clare Empson’s debut, Him, so I jumped at the chance to read her latest. Thank you to Tracy Fenton and Orion for inviting me. My blog buddy today is my good friend, Jacob Collins, so feel free to check out his review on Hooked From Page One.

The Blurb

‘Who am I? Why am I here? Why did my mother give me away?’

On the surface, Luke and his girlfriend Hannah seem to have a perfect life. He’s an A&R man, she’s an arts correspondent and they are devoted to their new-born son Samuel.

But beneath the gloss Luke has always felt like an outsider. So when he finds his birth mother Alice, the instant connection with her is a little like falling in love.

When Hannah goes back to work, Luke asks Alice to look after their son. But Alice – fuelled with grief from when her baby was taken from her 27 years ago – starts to fall in love with Samuel. And Luke won’t settle for his mother pushing him aside once again…

My Review

Sometimes with a book, you want a sweeping story. Other times you want to be connected with the emotional turmoil that the characters are going through. And then there are times when you learn things that you might never have learnt. With Mine, you get all three.

The novel comprises of two entwinned stories – Now (in 2000) with Luke and Then (early 1970s) with Alice. I wrote on Twitter when I was half-way through reading that this book is ‘splendidly intense’. Having now finished it, I completely stand by that statement. There’s something about Clare Empson’s writing, and it’s hard to put a finger on it, that draws you in right from the very beginning. In the opening chapter, we’re confronted with the very awkward first meeting between Luke and his birth mother, Alice. From then on Luke’s story is about reconnecting with Alice (or trying to) whereas hers describes the passionate love affair that brought Luke into being. I was totally caught up by both. And that’s where the emotional turmoil comes in. Luke struggles to make sense of all the emotions and memories rising up in him. Alice, aged 19, embarks on the most passionate love affair of her life. It made me wonder if this kind of love only lives in books or TV or films but I think not. At least, I hope not. Both stories are exquisitely and intensely written.

But I also learnt things from this book. Clare Empson goes into great detail about art and techniques and there are a few chapters set in Florence. It reminded me of some of the paintings I saw (or tried to see over the hordes) at the Uffizi. Luke is an A&R man. I have to confess I had to Google it. I’ve heard of it but didn’t know that A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. In a sense, it’s almost the equivalent of a literary agent but not quite. The A&R person works for the record label and it’s his/her’s job to find new talent and sign them. So Luke has to keep his wits about him if he’s going to get in ahead of the rest to sign the latest big thing. Probably not the best time to be having issues with his birth mother.

However, what really set this book apart for me, were the ‘quotes’ about adoption at the beginning of Luke’s chapters. I thought this was a real book but in fact, Clare Empson has made them up based on research she did on adoption. Each ‘quote’ was utterly convincing and set the tone for Luke for that part of the story.

The intensity of Mine meant there were times when I had to put it down, even though I wanted to continue reading. But I had to give myself a bit of space to absorb all the raw emotions spilling out of the characters. A heart-breaking and compelling read.

You can buy Mine here.

 

The Author

Clare Empson is a journalist with a background in national newspapers and has worked as a small business editor, finance correspondent and fashion at the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Express. Clare freelances for The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, the Evening Standard and Tatler amongst others. She currently works as editor/founder of experiential lifestyle website http://www.countrycalling.co.uk. Him is her debut novel. Her second novel Mine is an exploration of the fraught relationship between a birth mother and her adopted son set against a backdrop of a passionate love affair in the 70s. Mine will be available August 2019.

Book Review – Black River by Will Dean @willrdean @PtBlankBks @margotbookpr @OneworldNews #BlackRiver

Happy publication day to Will Dean for Black River, the third book in his Tuva Moodyson series set in Sweden. A big thank you to Margot Weale at Oneworld for sending me a proof copy to read.

 

The Blurb

FEAR

Tuva’s been living clean in southern Sweden for four months when she receives horrifying news. Her best friend Tammy Yamnim has gone missing.

SECRETS

Racing back to Gavrik at the height of Midsommar, Tuva fears for Tammy’s life. Who has taken her, and why? And who is sabotaging the small-town search efforts?

LIES

Surrounded by dark pine forest, the sinister residents of Snake River are suspicious of outsiders. Unfortunately, they also hold all the answers. On the shortest night of the year, Tuva must fight to save her friend. The only question is who will be there to save Tuva?

My Review

At the end of Red Snow, I was cheering a little bit for Tuva. She was finally going to escape the clutches of Gavrik and its very creepy inhabitants. She even managed four months away from the place before it lured her back. But her best friend, Tammy, has gone missing. Tuva has to find her. But the locals aren’t all that keen to help. Tuva wonders if it’s because Tammy’s of Thai origin even though she’s Swedish or because no one wants to disrupt the Midsommar festival.

Finally, after the freezing temperatures and thick snow, summer has come with its almost endless days. Great. This sounds like the kind of Sweden I’d like. Except summer brings its own tribulations in the form of insects, especially mosquitoes and ticks, and there are snakes. Hmm, beginning to lose its appeal. And then there are the people that Tuva meets. A small community at Snake River Salvage who appear even weirder than the troll-carving sisters. But Tammy has a connection with someone who lives there. Tuva has no choice but to head in.

The great thing about Will Dean’s writing is that you don’t actually have to go to Sweden to experience the snow or Midsommar. You can enjoy it all in the comfort of your own home as Dean’s wonderful descriptions transport you to the fictional town of Gavrik. I read Black River over Christmas/New Year and despite the cold darkness outside, my imagination was flooded with sunshine, warmth and, yes, insects.  But more than that, we’re back with Tuva whom I adore. She’s grown a lot since Dark Pines and I love seeing a more settled and assured Tuva. There’s the old adage of write what you know. Certainly, Will Dean knows about living in a Swedish forest but a female, deaf, bisexual journalist? Dean blasts that myth out of the water with his creation of Tuva Moodyson. She’s gutsy but vulnerable. A truth-seeker who won’t let anyone get in her way, despite the danger. For me, she’s one of the best female characters in crime books currently. And the good news, there’s more to come.

Black River is out today and you can buy it here.

 

 

 

The Author

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands and lived in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden, where he built a house in a boggy clearing at the centre of a vast elk forest. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball’s Book Club, shortlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker Prize and named a Telegraph book of the year. The second book in the series, Red Snow, is available in paperback with Black River out in hardback in March 2020.

Book Review – The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford @elisabeth04liz @theotherkirsty @CorvusBooks #TheLostLightsofStKilda

A huge thank you to Elisabeth Gifford and Kirsty Doole at Corvus for sending me a copy of The Lost Lights of St. Kilda. This is Elisabeth’s fourth book and is published today. So happy publication day! Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

 

The Blurb

1927: When Fred Lawson takes a summer job on St Kilda, little does he realise that he has joined the last community to ever live on that beautiful, isolated island. Only three years later, St Kilda will be evacuated, the islanders near-dead from starvation. But for Fred, that summer – and the island woman, Chrissie, whom he falls in love with – becomes the very thing that sustains him in the years ahead.

1940: Fred has been captured behind enemy lines in France and finds himself in a prisoner-of-war camp. Beaten and exhausted, his thoughts return to the island of his youth and the woman he loved and lost. When Fred makes his daring escape, prompting a desperate journey across occupied territory, he is sustained by one thought only: finding his way back to Chrissie.

The Lost Lights of St Kilda is a sweeping love story that will cross oceans and decades. It is a moving and deeply vivid portrait of two lovers, a desolate island, and the extraordinary power of hope in the face of darkness.

 

My Review

Oh. My. This is stunning. If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you’ll know that Elisabeth’s previous book, The Good Doctor of Warsaw, was my book of the year in 2018. It was a wonderful retelling of the true story of Dr Janusz Korczak. It was beautifully written but Elisabeth was bound by the constructs of truth.

Although huge research has clearly gone into The Lost Lights of St. Kilda, the story itself is fictional, allowing Elisabeth’s imagination to run wild. I’ve read all of her books and this is, by far, her best novel to date.

As I’m used to fast-paced crime books, it took me a little while to settle into the gentler pace of this love story. It soon became one of those novels I deliberately read slower so I could stay in the magical place of St. Kilda for longer. I’ve never been to Scotland let alone the Scottish Isles (disgraceful, I know, and needs to be rectified) but I feel as though I’ve been to St. Kilda through Elisabeth’s wondrous descriptions. The lyrical quality of Elisabeth’s words brings the story alive. I wrote a tweet when I was halfway through the book saying I wanted to ‘shout from the rooftops about it. Or rather sing because it’s beautifully lyrical and hauntingly descriptive.’

The story is told through the eyes of the two main characters, Chrissie and Fred, and switches between 1927/8 and WW2. I loved the drama of Fred’s escape and attempting to get back to Scotland and find Chrissie. But the emotional heart of the story lies in St. Kilda and the burgeoning love between the two lovers.

I don’t read a lot of romance but I think this is the best love story I have ever read. It’s evocative, atmospheric and emotional. Top Ten Reads of the Year material? Oh yes. Most definitely.

The Lost Lights of St. Kilda can be bought here.

 

I’ve been blessed with two copies of The Lost Lights of St Kilda as I have a proof and a HB. I’ve decided that I want as many people as possible to read this wonderful book so I’m going to donate my HB to my local library – West Barnes Library. So the lucky residents of Merton will get an opportunity to borrow it. This seems particularly apt as Elisabeth came to the library last March to talk about The Good Doctor of Warsaw.

 

The Author

Elisabeth Gifford grew up in a vicarage in the industrial Midlands. She studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She has a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford OUDCE and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway College. She is married with three children, and lives in Kingston upon Thames. She is the author of Secrets of the Sea House, Return to Fourwinds and The Good Doctor of Warsaw. She has also written the non-fiction book, The House of Hope. The Lost Lights of St. Kilda is published in March 2020.