Author: Patricegotting

Hi 👋🏼 today is my stop on the tour for Blood Sisters by Rebecca Frost & I have a spotlight for you where I tell you all about the book and the author. Thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 351

Synopsis: For almost a decade now, Brent Wright has been in prison for the murder of seven women – unless the surviving twin sister of one of his victims is right and Brent didn’t kill anyone at all.

She goes to Brent’s sister in her last attempt to prove that Brent didn’t kill Sunni. 

In fact, Sunni’s alive … and she’s the real murderer behind everything. 

If the theory is true, Sunni is dangerous and they should leave well enough alone, but neither sister will be entirely satisfied until they find out for certain.

About The Author:

Rebecca Frost is a published academic who researches and writes about serial killers. Her dissertation was about the history of written true crime in the United States. She is the author of three books published through McFarland on Jack the Ripper, H.H. Holmes, and Making a Murderer, is currently under contract for two books about the works of Stephen King, one through McFarland and one through Lexington. She is also the author of Psychological Thriller Not Your Mary Sue published through Aesthetic Press. BLOOD SISTERS is her second published title through Aesthetic Press. Rebecca uses her research into both real and fictional serial killers in order to realistically craft her own murderous characters.

If you like the sound of this is can be bought here!

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Today I’m on the tour for the Haunting of Wexley Heights by Carole Bulewski, thank you to Hannah at Hygge Book tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 248

Synopsis:

When Meg Wyatt inherits a manor house in Cornwall from the grandmother she didn’t even know she had, she seizes the opportunity to start her life afresh, embarking on a new adventure with her husband and twin daughters.

Of her birth family, all she’s ever known was that her parents died in mysterious circumstances during the Second World War, when she was just four years old – did her mother kill her father or was there more to the story?

As soon as she arrives in the ancestral home of Wexley Heights, which has belonged to the Barrett family since Elizabethan times, Meg starts having visions and aural hallucinations, at the same time that she discovers her formerly hidden talent as a painter – just like her birth father before her. Antipsychotic medication brings things back under control, until a few years later, her four-year-old son starts displaying signs of being possessed by the spirit of Wexley Heights. Once again, Meg feels she is losing her mind. Is Wexley Heights haunted, or is she cursed like the rest of the Barretts?

This dark supernatural horror by author Carole Bulewski is a must read for horror and literary fans.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: horror isn’t a genre I reach for often and then every time I do I wonder why I don’t read more of it!

This book was the perfect mix of creepy yet believable, was very cleverly written because everything that happened could almost be written off with a plausible reason and ‘managed’ with the antipsychotic meds that Meg is prescribed!

The length of the book would normally mean I could read it in one go, but this one made me so uncomfortable in the best way that I had to keep putting it down 🤣

Every time I thought we’d reached the limit, something else happened that shocked me, this one really kept me on my toes constantly!

I would absolutely recommend this one to fans of horror and I will definitely be looking out for more from Carole in the future.

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Today I’m on the tour for Stay by Jane Bailey, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 358

Synopsis: I simply slung my rucksack on my shoulder and climbed into the car – and into the life – of perfect strangers.

It was meant to be Caitlin’s perfect summer, but betrayed by her best friend and her boyfriend, she finds herself hitchhiking home alone, heartbroken, and penniless.

When a smiling family pulls up on the roadside to help her on her way, she’s relieved – they seem so friendly, safe. And when they offer her a warm bed in their isolated house for the night, she’s grateful not to have to travel back alone in the dark. In any case, she’s in no rush to get home, where a grave secret is lying in wait to blow her family apart.

One night soon turns into two, and then three. The increasingly spellbinding couple wants her to stay, and why shouldn’t she? Their children need a tutor, and the longer she can avoid home, the better. But then an older member of the household warns her to leave immediately. And when her phone suddenly goes missing, when she realises that this perfect family is a perfect lie, it might not be so easy for her to leave…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: this book was slow paced but kept my attention throughout, it’s the kind of book that reels you in slowly and then catches you by surprise when you realise it’s got you completely compelled.

The main character Caitlin knew after a while that things were odd & wasn’t completely comfortable in the environment she’d found herself in, but they were in the middle of a lockdown & anyway she’d got herself too attached to the children to leave, or so she thought.. how far do you turn a blind eye before you can’t ignore what’s going on anymore?

When her phone goes missing and she’s not getting a reply to letters she’s sent to her family, she knows she has to get out.. can she find someone she can trust to help her?

Some of the things written about in this book were done so in incredible detail and were quite disturbing to read & the scary thing is that the things depicted in this story happen in real life all the time.

Absolutely brilliant story dealt with in a really sensitive way, this is my first read by Jane but I will be looking out for more in the future.

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Today I’m on the tour for The Adopted Daughter by JJ Burgess, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 285

Synopsis: She says she’s his daughter. But what does she really want?

Alice and Richard are happily married and about to achieve their lifelong dream – giving up their jobs to sail around the Mediterranean on their own boat.

But shortly before they are due to leave, a young woman, Sally, appears on their doorstep and says she is Richard’s daughter, given up for adoption by his former lover.

After he gets over the shock, Richard is welcoming to Sally, but Alice is unsettled. Discovering that Richard is a father is a painful reminder of her own desire for a family and her inability to conceive.

But is this what makes her wary of Sally, or is her intuition trying to warn her that something much darker is happening here?

When one suspicious incident follows another, Alice starts to dig into who Sally really is and why she has suddenly come into their lives. What she finds is something she could never have imagined in her wildest nightmares…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: now we all know I am a huge fan of a psychological thriller and I didn’t think it was possible for me to discover new authors within the genre, then enters JJ Burgess with what turned out to be a read that I devoured, this wasn’t quite a one sitting read as life and work for in the way but believe me if I’d started this on a day where I didn’t have to work I wouldn’t have moved until it was finished!

The story starts off slowly, introducing us to the characters, we have Richard and Alice, who on the surface seem like a happily married couple who are just preparing for early retirement and going cruising around the Mediterranean, sounds perfect right?

We soon discover that things aren’t quite as they seem, Richard is keeping secrets, but how bad are they? how deep do they go?

Then Sally appears, a lady claiming that Richard is her dad.. but yet again it all just seems too perfect.

Once you get deeper into the story the pace picks up massively, the chapters are relatively short which helps & the story goes back on itself so you see the same scenes from both sides of the story which helped to fill in some of the blanks!

Normally when this happens it takes away from the story for me because you know what the big reveal is, but this time it made me root for a certain character more, no spoilers here but I just wanted it all to go in their favour & believe me when I tell you at certain points this had me on the edge of my seat and unable to sit still 🤣

Will definitely be looking out for more by JJ Burgess in the future!

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Today I’m on the blog tour for Gods Galore by Rupert Stanbury, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author for my copy.

Pages: 360

Synopsis: The Olympian Gods have made it to the 21st century AD. We may not have heard much about them in the last two thousand years, but they’re still controlling what we humans are up to – or at least they think they are.

The reality is that the Gods are like us – they’ve got problems!

Zeus is still Top God on Mount Olympus, but he’s got issues with many of the younger gods. His brothers, Hades and Poseidon, have issues with themselves – they’re getting too set in their ways ruling the Underworld and the Seas; they probably need a job change.

But help is at hand from an unexpected source – we humans.

It’s surprising what a dose of good common sense can do for even the most powerful of the gods, especially when it comes from a couple of teenagers!

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I had absolutely no use what to expect going into this but I’ve started dipping my toe into stories about gods and mythology.

I bloody loved this one, it was light and funny with totally tongue in cheek humour.

Vesta and Totty were almost a law unto themselves mixing things up and making the gods and historical figures on Mount Olympus, on earth and down in the underworld realise that they were stuck in their ways and helping them to realise there were better/ easier ways, but then realising themselves that change isn’t always for the better 🤣

I don’t feel like I’m selling this very well, but I promise it’s worth the read, I flew through it and I’m pretty sure when I wasn’t laughing I had a big goofy smile on my face.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to watch Hercules in the same way again!

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Today I’m on the tour for The New Husband by Brian R. O’Rourke, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 307

Synopsis: Mary always dreamed of a perfect husband. Now she’s got one.

When Mary’s husband Brent returns from a month-long wellness retreat, he seems like a totally different person.

Before he went away, Brent was anxious, depressed, and in danger of losing his job.

Now, he’s decisive, optimistic, and full of energy. He also has big plans to start his own business … big plans which require a lot of capital.

As Mary spends more time around her husband, she begins to realise just how much he’s changed in every little way. Is the man she’s living with really the same person she married?

And who is the guy in the grey SUV who keeps following her? Does he know something sinister about her husband?

Little by little, Mary realizes Brent has been hiding a dark secret about what really happened on that wellness retreat. And as she draws closer to the horrifying truth, she finds herself trapped in a nightmare beyond her wildest imaginings.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Mary is eagerly awaiting the return of her husband, after suffering from depression and losing himself in more ways than one he decided to go on a wellness retreat for a month. Things were starting to get rocky between the 2 of them before he left so now she’s excited to see him again and see if they can get there relationship back on track.. but when he comes home he’s completely different, yet still looked the same, to everyone but the ‘nosy neighbour’ who is convinced that he is not Brent!

What an absolute rollercoaster this one was, having the story told in 2 different timelines from different perspectives really added to the overall confusion of the whole thing, no matter how many times I tried to get it all to fit, it just didn’t, very frustrating but yet satisfying from the readers point of view 🤣

This thriller is a bit of a slow burn to begin with, now normally this is something I dislike in this genre but this time it worked in the books favour because it really helped to build the doubts I had!

Even as I saw the outcome unfolding I found myself shaking my head as I was reading because I just didn’t want to believe it!

Full of twists and lies, this book is like a very intricate jigsaw puzzle winds you up as you’re trying to get the pieces to fall into place but yet the end result is very satisfying. This is definitely one you need to be adding to your tbr!

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Hi hi, this one isn’t a blog tour, just a review for a book I thoroughly enjoyed!

Firstly let me say happy publication day to you Conrad!!

Pages; 242

Synopsis: Cuckoos on the Mersey follows the child protection teams in social services and the PVPU (protecting vulnerable people unit- Merseyside Police) on Merseyside. They are in a constant battle to protect the most vulnerable in society. Leo is a sixteen-year-old in the grip of a violent OCG, struggling to kick his addiction to ketamine. When his neighbour Angela is visited by social services, the social workers can’t get an answer. They persuade her children to open the door for them and Angela is found unconscious on her settee. A police investigation is launched and an evil criminal network is uncovered. A race against time begins as witnesses are silenced or vanish completely.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Right from the start this book pulled at my heartstrings, such a hard topic to write about but Conrad has really managed to pull it out of the bag making it seem very realistic yet done in a really sensitive way.

So many different elements and characters that all added up to the bigger picture, each characters story was heartbreaking on its own, but you just can’t believe how deep it all goes, just when you think you’ve reached the bottom something else gets dug up.

An book that had me in its clutches throughout and has every aspect of a crime novel you can imagine!

I’ve been purposefully vague so as not to give anything away but I highly recommend you give this one a go!

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Today is my turn on the tour for The Red Admirals Secret by Matthew Ross, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for arranging it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author for my copy.

Pages: 358

Synopsis: A Premier League bad-boy murdered at his newly refurbished home; a teenage runaway’s corpse uncovered on a construction site; a gunman shoots up the premises of the local gangland boss – all of them projects run by beleaguered builder Mark Poynter. Can he fix it?

The Red Admiral’s Secret is the second of ‘the Poynter + Perry Mysteries’, the darkly comic crime novels following Mark Poynter’s trouble on the tools, aided and hindered in equal measure by his trusted crew of slackers, idlers and gossips, and the lengths they go to just to earn a living.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed being bag with this big bunch of misfits, seemingly ordinary people who trouble just seems to follow 😂

This time Mark is helping to turn an old pub into apartments for his friend and boss, almost instantly they have someone knocking on the door telling them they will offer money for the pub as long as they leave it as is.

Obviously not one to be outdone Danny refuses and tells mark to carry on with the work.. only to later discover a body..

Mark finds himself under police scrutiny yet again whilst still trying to make money and keep his business afloat and keep his girlfriend happy. The only solution he can find to all his problems is Hamlet and we all know that won’t end well 😂

The Red Admirals Secret has everything you need from a book, it’s dark and twisty, full of suspense the perfect crime book, whilst also being full of laughs, moments to make you smile and characters who almost make you feel like you’re coming home.

A one sitting read for me. I am eagerly awaiting the next instalment!

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Hi 👋🏼

today I have a review for you that isn’t part of a blog tour! – I received an ARC of this book at the back end of last year by the author himself, unfortunately life got in the way and I’ve only just got around to it!

Pages: 154

Synopsis: Hallucinations where I am tortured to death or Emmerdale? Tough call. Ever feel that your life is so empty that all there
is left to do is drink? Life for Lucas hasn’t changed since he was 20, battling an addiction which consumes him and anyone close. Can Lucas break the cycle or is he cursed to have his life stuck on repeat?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: do not let the calming front cover fool you (although this will make sense at the end) what’s contained in these pages is, brutal and dark at times.

This is classed as Horror and Urban fantasy and it was absolutely fantastic. It had me laughing at Luke’s really dry humour and the fact that he just tells it as it is, but I suppose when you’re trying and sometimes failing to against your nature than you have to find the joy and the laughs where you can even if it’s at other people’s expense.

This is a fairly short book which meant the story took off straight away and never really tailed off or slowed down.

Luke is the kind of character that you should hate, he’s the ‘bad guy’ after all, but how can you when he redeems himself so cleverly and more than once in the story you’re praising him for the havoc he caused!

Im not ashamed to admit that this book had me shedding a tear too, and for an author to have me feeling 2 different emotions at opposite ends of the scale within 154 pages is a skill in itself.

Brilliant book that I would definitely recommend to fans of the horror/urban fantasy genre!

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Today I’m on the tour for Lamb of God by Catherine Fearns, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 256

Synopsis: Thy Will Be Done…

Detective Inspector Darren Swift can’t seem to give up the ghost. When a woman is discovered living wild in the Blundellsands dunes, followed by a burial of skeletons dating back centuries, he can’t help being drawn into the case.

With the help of Sister Helen Hope and heavy metal musician Mikko Kristensen they delve deeper, uncovering a world of secret societies, private clubs and religious orders.

But as they approach the truth, do they realise that the danger may be closer than they think?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I have absolutely adored this series and book 4 was no different, like the other 3 this one was a one sitting read for me, it was lovely to be back with my bunch of misfits that seem to work when you put them together even though everything in you tells you they shouldn’t, where else could you get a DI, a sister and a heavy metal musician solving crimes together?!

This one was a little different to the rest as they’re not all together, but a woman found living in the wild and a pile of mismatched bones some dating back centuries brings them all back in and doing what they do best!

As always things aren’t straight forward and they find themselves delving deeper into a part of society that we know exists but isn’t necessarily shouted about.

Full of wit, banter and sarcasm all tied together with the occasional reference to religion, it was creepy yet fun and exciting to read!

Already looking forward (and hoping) to the next instalment! A

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