prdgreads

Today I am on the tour for The Only Child by S. Englefield, 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: 339

Synopsis: How well do you really know the people you love?

After her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Amelia Simpson retreats from her old life and moves to the sleepy Isle of Wight to be near her grandmother, her last remaining family.

But as the people closest to her start to die and secrets from her parent’s past are uncovered, Amelia is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her childhood and the people that she loved the most.

In order to find the killer, Detective Inspector Jennifer Stone will have to delve into Amelia’s past where she learns that there’s no such thing as a perfect family and that stopping them may end up costing her everything that she holds dear.

My Thoughts: never in a million years would you think this was this authors first book because it had me invested from the beginning!

Poor Amelia had it rough, literally everyone she cared about was in danger and we didn’t even know it so the book was full of shocking moments & just when you think it couldn’t get any worse another spanner was thrown into the works..

As a main character Amelia was a really likeable woman but was riddled with insecurities after losing her parents at a fairly young age and uprooting her life and getting settled in the Isle of Wight to be near her gran, she had a boyfriend Sam who is quite frankly a bit of a knob.

DI Jennifer Stone or Jenny as she is known in the book really is a force to be reckoned with, she’s confident & unafraid to do or say what needs be, the only problem is that her husband and daughter Sophie sometimes get forgotten and she misses important moments.

The story had me so tense that I got cramp in my fingers with how tight I was holding my kindle at times.

The red herrings, the twists, the turns all had me feeling like I didn’t know which way was up & I just loved the whole experience! – I’m hoping there will be a second book & I can’t want to see what Jenny gets up to next!

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Today I am on the tour for The Little Girl In The Wardrobe by C.J. Grayson, 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: 352

Synopsis: The police receive a call.

‘Please help. He’s coming.’

The small voice is barely a whisper.

‘Who’s coming? Are you in danger?’

‘He has a knife. He killed her.’

The line goes dead.

Nine-year-old Anya crawls into a cupboard in her bedroom and calls the police again. The line connects as the bedroom door creaks open.

‘He’s here . . .’

A blood-curdling scream barrels down the phone, filling the earpiece of the operator.

For the second time, the lines goes dead.

Detectives Tanzy and Byrd are called to Anya’s home, a small, semi-detached property.

They’re hit by the familiar smell of death.

Something terrible happened here — and it’s up to Tanzy and Byrd to pull together the pieces of this terrifying puzzle.

My Thoughts: I’m going to start by surprising you all and telling that this is book 4 in the series and yes I have actually read all of them!

I adore C.J. Graysons ability to pull the reader in from the very start of the book & it’s that initial shock factor so early on that leaves you unable to stop turning the pages until your done, even if this means you’ve devoured a 352 page book in one sitting and lost track of time whilst doing it!

I thoroughly enjoyed being back with Tanzy and Byrd, they are hands down some of the most likeable and relatable fictional cops out there, it honestly feels like they as characters feel the emotions that their actions are evoking in the reader.

I’m trying so hard not to tell you too much about the plot of this one because it’s deep, it’s dark and it’s layered & the enjoyment is in unpicking it all.

I can promise you with 100% confidence that you will be thoroughly entertained and completely engrossed the whole time.

I’ll be honest, this would definitely work as a standalone, but in order to appreciate it properly I would recommend starting the series from the beginning.

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Today I’m on the tour for A Fatal Silence by Rachel Amphlett, 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: 298

Synopsis:When the body of a young woman is discovered at an outdoor music festival, Detective Kay Hunter’s investigation stalls almost as soon as it starts.

Because the killer has left no trace, and the victim’s identity is unknown.

Amidst a media backlash, and faced with thousands of potential suspects, Kay must piece together the last hours of the woman’s life before her killer can escape.

But when Kay finds out the truth, her discovery will shake her investigation team to its core…

My Thoughts: firstly I feel like I need to tell you that this is book 14 in the series, also the first one I read, which seems to be very typical of me recently, however that being said this worked very well as a stand alone and I wasn’t left feeling like I’d missed much if anything.. I’m sure if I was to go back and start from the beginning I’d feel differently 😂 but this book was fantastic!

I took the audio book option for this tour & I feel like that was the right decision for me, it just helped me feel so much more real emotion, I was tense throughout and I know this is a weird thing to say, but I loved that, you know the story has you gripped when your body is just totally unable to relax!

The whole thing just felt too real to me, although I have never been to a music festival I have family and friends who love them & it made the story really hit home that this could & probably does happen more than we think!

The twist totally threw me for a loop, but was rather satisfying too after I had devoured the book in just one sitting!

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Today I am on the tour for If She’s Found by Alesha Dykema, 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: 247

Synopsis: Meet Andi.
Devoted wife.
Adoring mom.
Killer?

My daughter’s missing. And the police think I killed her.

Monday, 8 a.m. I go to wake up eight-year-old Bella to get her ready for school.

She’s not there.

My husband Charlie and I put her to bed as usual the night before. We kissed her goodnight. Just like we always do.

Things like this don’t happen to people like us. Not in a quiet little town like Spencer, Michigan.

Detective Anne Briar is leading the case. I know she suspects I’m not telling her everything. I see it in the way her eyes narrow ever so slightly. And she’s right.

No one must ever know what really happened the night Bella disappeared.

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this, it’s a thriller with a twist, because this time the parents know what’s happened.. right from the start we’re aware of that and it’s a bit of a cat and mouse over who’s going to win.. will the parents get to keep the secret or will the police work out what’s happened.

It’s fast paced and full of heart in mouth moments that actually make you gasp, now I hate it when a tagline says that it makes me roll my eyes, but I genuinely did & I think I said “oh my god” a few times too!

Throughout I wasn’t sure who’s side I was on, because although we know that the parents know what’s happened to Bella we are left in the dark, so at times I didn’t want their secrets to be revealed and at others I was urging Detective Briar to connect the dots because I couldn’t!

Will definitely be looking out for more from this author in the future!

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Today I am on the tour for The Family Before Us by Tracy Martin-Summers, 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: 298

Synopsis: I was only seven when I first met Eva. She stood at the front of the classroom, pale and petrified, clutching her hands as our teacher introduced her. There was something about her—something that pulled me towards her immediately. Maybe it was the sadness that lingered in her eyes, or her oversized, second-hand clothes, or the shoes so tight they pinched with every step. Whatever it was, I knew I had to be her friend.
It’s ironic that her one simple mistake at the age of sixteen contributed to turning our lives upside down. How was it that one single act of kindness exposed a web of inconceivable deceit, so mind-blowing, it was impossible to comprehend
What would you do if you discovered a secret so shocking that you no longer knew who you were? How far would you go to protect the people you loved?

My Thoughts: this book honestly had me hooked throughout, it starts off slow, it’s totally heartbreaking from the off, slowly reeling you in until you find yourself 100% unable to put the book down.

It’s dark and twisty with so many layers & so many characters..or so you’re led to believe. I’m pretty sure that anything I say about this book will absolutely not do it justice.

Tracy has an incredible ability to make you think the story is going one way & completely turning it on its head, from the cover and the synopsis you don’t expect a thriller and the writing sets it up as something that fits the cover & before you know it you’re knee deep in secrets and lies and just not knowing which way is up.

You absolutely need to add this book to your tbr and read it immediately!

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Today I am on the tour for The Baguette Murders by Anne Penketh, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and the n you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 234

Synopsis: Meet Pippa. She’s feisty, forty-something — and living her best life in the charming little town of Louennec, Brittany.

Not so long ago, she was a corporate career girl. Now she runs her own bakery — and goes home every night to her dishy gendarme boyfriend and a welcome glass of Merlot.

But murder is just around the corner . . .

Pippa is out on her rounds, delivering delicious crusty bread to her loyal customers. Her first stop is Derek’s remote gîte. Fitness instructor Derek sees carbs as the enemy. But even he can’t resist Pippa’s signature baguettes.

Pippa cycles to Derek’s door . . . only to discover, someone got there first.

Derek is dead! His body lies slumped across the piano, in a mess of blood and — to Pippa’s horror — breadcrumbs.

He’s been bludgeoned over the head with . . . a lethal stick of bread?

Just like that, Pippa finds the finger of suspicion pointing at her.

Can she follow the trail of crumbs to uncover the true killer — before more of her friends and neighbours die?

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved being back in this series and in this instalment we got to know Pippa a little bit better or Peeper as the locals call her which makes me smile every time!

I’ve never know so much crime and murder to happen in a small town, remind me never to go there 😂

Anne Penketh writes the most perfect cozy crime novel, it’s a little bit twisty but a whole lot of fun. I mean where else would you find a baguette being used as a murder weapon?!

This book leaves you questioning all the people you’ve grown to love in the previous books & I’m not sure I liked it.. I didn’t know who I preferred the culprit to be, I feel like I’m part of the group now and didn’t want to lose any of them!

Another enjoyable read in a fantastic series, I can’t wait to dive into book 4.

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Today I am on the tour for Horrible Husbands by Jessica Huntley, 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: Is your husband so horrible that you’d ask your best friend to kill him?

Penny: I know my husband has cheated on me. But I can’t believe what I just found in the bedside drawer. Are my children safe . . . ?

Lisa: The first time he did it was on our wedding anniversary. He broke down in tears afterwards. That’s the thing about Simon. He’s always sorry . . . until the next time.

Holly: My husband is useless. He just loafs around the house all day and spends my money. But now I think he’s done something far worse.

We’ve descended on Penny’s stunning country home for a rare girls’ weekend.

As the cocktails flow, it turns out we’re all keeping secrets. Bloody hell, we sure can pick them.

We clink our glasses. “Here’s to our horrible husbands. May they get what’s coming to them.”

Good friends will die for you. But only best friends will kill for you.

My Thoughts: now if you’ve been following my reviews for a while you’ll know that I don’t often give thrillers 5 stars.. this is the 5th book of Jessica’s that u have read in less than 2 months and 4 of them have had 5 stars!! – horrible husbands being the latest one, and this is definitely my favourite so far!

We’re following 3 best friends, Holly, Penny and Lisa, they live as far away as possible within the UK now & decide it’s time for a girls weekend! They haven’t been together for years & things have changed for all of them, they’re all keeping secrets from each other and all going through things in their lives.. so this weekend is the most perfect break.. right?

I honestly can’t put into words how much I loved this, it made me cry, it made me laugh and had me turning the pages so fast that at times I was having to go back just to make sure I’d read what I thought I had!

The writing was so easy going and relatable at times that I almost felt like part of The Bitches, I guess my boyfriend is lucky we’re not married because I became so invested 😂 I was here for it all and was totally behind them all!

Parts of this book had my heart beating so fast and holding my breath for so long that I’m half convinced that it should be classed as a health hazard.

Props to Jessica for completely pulling the rug from under my feet with the twist at the end, I still can’t believe she managed it, I read so many thrillers and didn’t see it coming at all!!

I can’t wait to see what her brilliant, crazy twisted mind comes up with next, but whatever it is I can promise you I will be reading it!

Genuinely think I may have found my favourite read of the year already…

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Today I am on the tour for Best Mistake Ever by Christy McKellen, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 226

Synopsis: Some mistakes are worth making

Beatrice Donovan would do anything for her identical twin sister. Including stepping into her hotel management job temporarily and pretending to be her – she’s desperate. What could go wrong? A lot apparently! Because her sister Delilah has hugely understated her role – the hotel is at risk of closure and she’s promised she can turn it around. Now Bea has to find a way to fly under the radar, get the job done before anyone notices their switch up.

Sounds easy, all Bea has to do is avoid her temporary new boss Jonah. However, that’s a lot harder than she thought. Not only does he have impossibly high standards, he’s also out of this world gorgeous, an ex-rockstar with a chip on his shoulder and he’s watching her like a hawk! So Bea uses her charm to keep him focussed on the job and not her. But by trying to put up boundaries and keep things professional, Bea finds herself seeing the real man beneath the grumpy façade . Yet with so much at stake, she knows she shouldn’t fall for her sister’s boss…but then again, it may just be the best unintentional mistake she’s ever made!

My Thoughts: I do love a Christy McKellen book and this one was no different, it had a slightly different feel to it as it focused on twins, Beatrice and Dee, they swap places for a while because Dee has hurt her ankle, she’s in trouble at work already so asks Bea if she will be her stand in until her ankle is better..

Neither of them expect it to go as far as it does, it turns out that Bea loves the job & throws herself in with both feet using previous contacts to bring business to the hotel in the form of a festival, an event that sounded so fun that I would have loved to be part of it myself!

Not only is the job right up her street but her new boss Jonah is easy on the eye too, would have been perfect if she wasn’t pretending to be her twin sister!

As they start to get closer & things start to get exciting Bea realises she has to tell the truth, will everything fall apart, or can Jonah see past the lie?

This one was so much fun! – it was cute and so easy to get lost in the story and become invested in the lives in all of the characters!

This one wasn’t as spicy as some of the other books of Christy’s that I have read but when the spice appears it feels just right for the story.. I loved it!

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Today I am on the tour for Hidden In The Dark by H.K. Christie, thank you to Sarah at Bookouture for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 296

Synopsis: The table is set for family dinner; roast chicken, wine for them and juice for their darling boy, a vase of fresh daisies from the garden for decoration. But the food is cold, and the flowers are wilting. You might think they were sleeping in the next room, if it wasn’t for the blood dripping crimson onto the carpet… 

FBI Agent Val Costa is drawn out of retirement once again when the Cramer family are found dead in their home in Red Rose County. She falls to her knees in despair at the sight of little Michael Jr., curled up on the couch. What monster would take the life of an innocent child? Val vows to find justice for the mother, Stephanie Cramer, who survived the attack but is fighting for her life in hospital.

Interviewing neighbors uncovers no leads, but Val knows there’s a message in the way Mike Cramer’s body was left, tied to chair, stab wounds all over his body. It seems mother and son were collateral, and Mike was the real target. But why? Working in an auto shop between taking his boy to karate class, Michael was a perfect family man. There are no signs of a robbery, and all Val has to work with are small-town whispers about the age gap between him and his wife.

A break in the case comes when a secret phone is found hidden in Mike’s car and GPS reveals he’d been making late-night trips out of town for weeks before his family was attacked. Her team are quick to suspect an affair, but Val’s instincts tell her it’s something far more sinister.

As more cracks in the perfect Cramer family picture begin to show—arguments, money troubles—Val must work around the clock to stop this twisted individual in their tracks. But does she know someone is watching her every move? And when a dark secret in Mike’s past surfaces, can Val stay ahead of her stalker long enough to catch the killer before another precious life is taken?

My Thoughts: I love the Val Costa series, I’ve read all 3 and 100% believe they just get better and better, at first I thought it might be because the author got more confident, but then realised how many books H.K. Christie had in her backlist.

Reading this book made me realise it’s a purposely done move from the author as in Hidden In The Dark Val really found her feet & ran with her theories, she was absolutely in her element & I am already looking forward to the 4th book to see where this new found confidence takes her!

The detail in these books are amazing, the crimes are brutal and there’s definitely no holding back in the descriptions & the execution of it, several times this story made me wince.. but I really love that the book isn’t all about the crime, we get to see into the characters lives too.

Vals mum and her group of friends are my absolute favourite, because they’re not afraid to say it how it is or have a bit of fun, but their support for each other & Val is unending.

I honestly thoroughly enjoyed this, read in one sitting & was totally hooked from beginning to end.

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Today I am on the tour for The Vanilla Killer by Peter Boland, 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: 329

Synopsis: PUT THE KETTLE ON AND DISCOVER AN UTTERLY CHARMING MURDER MYSTERY SET IN A SLEEPY ENGLISH SEASIDE TOWN.

It’s a perfect summer’s day in Southbourne. And Partial Sue’s in one of her rare generous moods. She wants to treat all the ladies of the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop to supper.

But before the ladies can shut up shop and head to the chippie, the air is filled with the strains of ‘Greensleeves’. And a clapped-out old ice-cream van lurches into view. The gang can barely believe their eyes. Especially when they see who’s behind the wheel. Daisy’s daughter Bella.

Newly divorced Bella’s only just rid herself of her rotten husband. Now she’s landed herself in an even stickier situation. This banger may be stocked with sweet treats, but its freezer once held something much more sinister — the dead body of its former owner!

Everyone in the village knows the van’s sinister history. Except poor Bella. The culprit slipped away without a trace. But the village folk allsay it’s just a matter of time until the Vanilla Killer strikes again!

When Bella starts receiving poison pen letters, the ladies can’t help but worry. What if their beloved Bella’s next?

There’s only one thing for it, the ladies agree over a steaming pot of tea. They need to put the Vanilla Killer on ice . . . before anyone else dies.

My Thoughts: I’ll be honest, this is the first book in this series that I’ve read. It did work well as a standalone however I feel that because I missed some of the background in the previous books, that I probably didn’t appreciate some things as much as I could if I had started from the beginning, this was completely my error & didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

I do love me a cosy mystery, even more so when it’s just a group of friends solving the mysteries alongside their everyday lives, I find that the people they talk to throughout the investigation are usually more open and honest and we get right into the nitty gritty!

I adored all of the characters, they’re all very different with their own strengths (and weaknesses) wish allows them to work well together as a team without too much arguing or stepping on each others toes.

Can they get to the bottom of who’s causing all this havoc and unease within the ice cream selling community before Daisy’s daughter Bella pays the ultimate price?!

The story was a lot of fun & I found myself totally swept up in it all, it definitely left me craving an ice cream though despite it being December & 3°c 😂

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