Well, this is scary… @bookouture

Five years ago on 18th January 2016, I started my blog and gave my first post the exact same title. I didn’t have a clue how to write a blog (still don’t really) so it was very scary putting myself out there. And now, I’ve reached a point where that title is applicable again. Yesterday, Bookouture revealed the cover and title for my debut novel, Last Seen. I still can’t quite believe this is actually happening after working and waiting for so many years. I’m still pinching myself!

Five years ago, I had almost finished my first novel and was starting to write the second. The first book, Unearthed, will actually be staying buried on my computer but it was the second one, originally titled Missing, that’s now going to be published. It’s been rewritten so many times and professionally edited. I think that final edit helped with getting an agent and a book deal. At some point I’ll write more about how I managed to get an agent and a publisher.

Five years ago, life with three children was quite chaotic and in some ways, it still is, especially at the moment with all three of them home! But we’re all in a better position for me to be writing full time. We’re currently having our garden done and hopefully we’ll be getting a summerhouse in the spring for me to work in. I’m very excited about finally having a dedicated place to write.

So things are changing and so will my blog. I have one more blog tour scheduled for February but then I probably won’t do many more after that. I’ll still put up reviews though and posts for First Monday Crime and my events with Friends of West Barnes Library. I’ll blog a bit about my writing as well, particularly around publication time. And of course, I’ll do my top ten reads of 2021. It’s looking like a corker of a year for publishing and I already have three books for my top reads!

And if you’re interested in a new police procedural series, then the first in the DI Bernadette ‘Bernie’ Noel series will be coming out on March 26th. In case you missed the reveal yesterday, here’s the cover for Last Seen. Hope you like it! And if you’d like to pre order then you can do so using the following links:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B08T6DNKTFCover Apple: http://ow.ly/WwXd50Dc8XW Kobo: http://ow.ly/HIF350Dc8W4 Google: http://ow.ly/LEQQ50Dc91M

Blog Tour – The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean @willrdean @HodderBooks #TheLastThingToBurn

Happy publication day to Will Dean for the incredible The Last Thing to Burn! Thank you to Jenny Platt and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me to read a proof copy via NetGalley and for joining the tour. Before I give you my thoughts here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

He is her husband. She is his captive.

Her husband calls her Jane. That is not her name.

She lives in a small farm cottage, surrounded by vast, open fields. Everywhere she looks, there is space. But she is trapped. No one knows how she got to the UK: no one knows she is there. Visitors rarely come to the farm; if they do, she is never seen.

Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn’t like what he sees, she is punished.

For a long time, escape seemed impossible. But now, something has changed. She has a reason to live and a reason to fight. Now, she is watching him, and waiting …

My Review

Where to begin? I haven’t read a book this devastating and claustrophobic since Room. As much as I wanted to keep on reading there were times when I had to stop and put the book down. I was so affected by the narrative and Jane’s (not her real name) terrible plight. Will Dean captures her voice beautifully. A woman desperately trying to hang onto herself and her sense of worth whilst systematically stripped of her few possessions and her humanity. A woman forced to slave for a man who claims to be her husband, watched by cameras when he’s out. A woman physically, sexually and mentally abused. A woman whose life seemed incredibly real to me. But in this dark, dark place there is a spark of joy for ‘Jane’. I’m not going to say any more about it but it’s this spark that lights a beacon of hope and points to a way forward.

I know Will Dean does a lot of research for all his books and aims to make them as accurate as possible. I’m sure he’s done the same here. As I’ve already said, this story was all too real for me. My hope is that people don’t just read this and wax lyrical about how wonderful it is (which it is) but will be spurred into action too. And that’s the whole point. This may be fiction but it’s a fact for so many people trapped in modern day slavery. The Last Thing to Burn highlights this so clearly and setting it in the Fens in the UK makes it our problem, something that can’t be ignored.

But there is one problem that I have. It’s only the beginning of the year and I’ve already read another truly magnificent book that should have been published in 2020 but was pushed back to April 21. My dilemma? There may be a tie for my top read of 2021. Does it matter? I guess not. So it may only be the first week in January but I’m going to say it – The Last Thing To Burn is truly extraordinary.

You can buy The Last Thing To Burn here.

Or check out your local bookshop or bookshop.org

If you want to know more about modern day slavery and how you can help then check out these charities to find out more.

Unseen

Hope For Justice

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants

The Author

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it’s from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.