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Today I am on the tour for The Interpreter’s Secret by Andrew Rosenheim, 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: 297

Synopsis: In Stockholm for a G20 summit, the interpreter Thomas Weaver is summoned by the White House Chief of Staff to an off-the-record meeting with a Russian general. Expecting routine diplomacy, what Weaver gets instead is a chilling glimpse into a secret arrangement between Washington and the Kremlin. Warned never to divulge what has been said, Weaver discovers he has accidentally recorded the meeting – the only evidence that it took place.

Now under threat, he escapes to the safety of a friend’s house in the English countryside, and then on to London. Yet even there he senses danger. Unsure where to turn, Weaver finds unexpected help from the enigmatic Lily Churchill, whose own loyalties are a mystery. As the two begin to grasp the significance of what Weaver has heard, he and Lily are forced to go underground to hide from their unknown pursuers, who seem determined to silence Weaver for good.

The Interpreter’s Secret is a sophisticated literary thriller about corruption, conspiracy, and the lethal confusions of language.

My Thoughts: I went into this one a little bit blind, I didn’t read the synopsis properly and went on the cover and the title alone, wrongly assuming this would be historical fiction.

Imagine my surprise when I realised this was a modern day political thriller, we’re following Weaver who is attending the G20 summit as a translator, but plans change when he is instead taken to a private meeting between the White House and a Russian General! He’s a little confused but goes along anyway, not that he has a choice, what he didn’t expect was for that meeting to leave him being hunted down by people, did he hear something he shouldn’t have done, do they think he’s a spy? He’s not really sure but soon finds himself in hot water up to his neck!

With the help of Lily, a lady who is very hard to describe but definitely a force to be reckoned with he starts to piece things together and realise just how much danger he’s in!

This one is a definite page turner it reels you in slowly and before you know it you’re that enthralled by the writing style and that engrossed in the story that you just can’t stop yourself turning the pages & before you know it ‘just one more chapter’ has turned into the whole book!

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Today I am on the tour for Service by Lauren Mooney, 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: 280

Synopsis: Danielle MacKinnon’s nearly thirty and still hasn’t got her life sorted. She’s broke, hates her job as PA to the blithely privileged Jeannie, and now a break-up’s left her with nowhere to live. It comes as a surprise when Jeannie suggests that Danielle stay at Westerley, the sprawling Yorkshire estate where she grew up. They need someone to look after the place anyway.

Danielle enjoys the borrowed luxury at first, but the house is strange, uneasy. The sleep paralysis that started in London has followed her there. Then Jeannie arrives unannounced.

Working for Jeannie, serving her, living in her house, the razor-thin boundaries between Danielle and her boss begin to dissolve. Soon their relationship slides into one that is older, stranger and harder to name.

Something is happening at Westerley. Things where they shouldn’t be. The shadow of a maid sweeping in the dawn light. But is the house really haunted? Or is Danielle?

My Thoughts: if you asked me what genre this book was I’m not 100% sure I could tell you, it’s got a little bit of a lot of different ones, but what I can tell you is that it gives you exactly what you need without even knowing you needed it.

This was a one sitting read for me, my family were watching something on the tv I wasn’t interested in so I took the book upstairs with a cuppa and just devoured it!

We’re following Danielle, she’s a bit down on her luck and finds herself with nowhere to live, after all it’s not her turn for the house she shares with her now ex yet & her friend can’t have her on the sofa anymore, so when her boss offers her the place she grew up in exchange for a few housekeeping chores Danielle takes it.

As soon as she gets to Westerley in Yorkshire she starts feeling uneasy but with no real reason why.

I can’t explain properly how this book made me feel, the writing style almost made it like we were watching Danielle, especially when she was in the house, we as the reader almost felt like part of the house itself.

It’s part horror, part comedy and a whole heap of Danielle working out who she is and where she belongs. Give it a go, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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Today I am on the tour for The Case Of The Two-Faced Killer by Mithran Somasundrum, 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: 286

Synopsis: Meet Vijay Mistry. He used to work a desk job at Bristol City Council. But adventure called! Now he lives in the bustling city of Bangkok, doing translations . . . and solving mysteries.

He loves a good puzzle. But his latest case will test his skills to the limit.

When respected English antiques dealer Arthur Cavendish falls from the balcony of his luxury apartment, the police quickly conclude he took his own life. A locked room. No forced entry. No sign of a struggle. 

Case closed — right?

Vijay agrees, when he’s asked to investigate as a personal favour. But as he follows the trail from high society parties and upscale antique shops to the city’s darker corners, his instincts begin to prickle.

Then a second, shocking death stops Vijay in his tracks. 

And the part-time detective realises that the truth he’s chasing is far more complex — and far more dangerous — than he ever imagined.

My Thoughts: as seems to be typical for me I jumped into this one not knowing it was book 2 in a series, so I can confidently say this will read well as a stand alone, you just won’t have the back story of the characters or the details of the 1st book!

In this one Vijay finds himself tangled up with his ex girlfriend again when she file to him asking for help to solve the murder of a friend.. the only problem is the case has been closed and was ruled as a suicide! she doesn’t believe that, that’s not what Arthur was like but no one will listen, after all you can’t question the evidence, right?

Vijay doesn’t really know if he is a good enough PI to get to the bottom of the mystery, but does it anyway, he’d like to get into Malinee’s good graces and thinks this is the perfect way, he doesn’t expect to be thrown into a proper investigation, one that is leaving people turning up dead or being threatened when he’s around!

A perfect cozy mystery that is so easy to lose yourself in, is engaging enough to keep you turning the pages and have you invested enough that it makes you a little sad when things don’t go the way you’re expecting them to!

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book, it was a bit of a fun, a little bit tongue in cheek, I found myself laughing, shaking my head in confusion & hiding my head in my hands at time!

Highly recommend this and I am tempted to go back to the first one and start the series from the beginning.

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Today I am on the tour for Diagnosis or Death by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, 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: 298

Synopsis: Janna Rose is back! The Oxford journalist-turned-therapist is shocked by a colleague’s sudden death, which police dismiss as suicide – but she’s not convinced.

Pursuing her passion for justice, Janna investigates further only to be drawn into a shadowy world of Artificial Intelligence, where identity is fluid and nothing quite as it seems.

But who are the men behind the scheme, and what are their real motives? With dark forces threatening to drag her down and peril around every corner, Janna must deploy all her insights into human motivation to reveal the truth.

My Thoughts: although this is book 2 in the series it seemed to work really well as a stand alone, all we were missing was a proper introduction to the characters but that in no way took away from the story!

We soon get to know Janna, she’s funny, she’s clever and isn’t afraid to say and do what is needed to get to the bottom of everything!

She always has her patients (I don’t know if that’s that’s the right word 🫣) best interests at heart, she knows when to push and when to back off, she seemed to be a really good reader of people, I enjoyed the therapy sessions, I felt like a fly on the wall looking into something I shouldn’t be seeing, but weirdly felt included at the same time!

I was a bit worried that the AI aspect would make the story confusing but it didn’t, it added a really interesting spin on the mystery and just took a little bit more research and digging!

I loved how the reveal was slow and steady, it allowed us as readers to guess and question ourselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one & plan to go back to the first book & will absolutely be looking out for more in the future ☺️

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Today I am on the tour for Killer On The Set by PN Johnson, 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: 348

Synopsis: A dream role in a hit TV drama is not all it seems when actor Holly Elding is warned to turn down the part and run for her life! 

A missing actress, a superyacht full of stolen art, an FBI man with a hidden agenda, a chateau set to burst into flames, a love triangle and a web of deceit.

Can Holly and disgraced cop turned stuntman Josh Corton bring down the gang before they’re written out for good?

My Thoughts: I really appreciate when the synopsis of a book gives you nothing but the bare bones of the story, just enough to intrigue but not enough to spoil anything!

I’ve read a book by PN Johnson before so I knew I was in for a good time and this didn’t disappoint, we’re following Holly who had just landed her dream role, so why are people putting her off, she thought they would be happy for her but instead they almost seem worried or scared?

It doesn’t take long for her to realise that the crew are hiding things & that things might not be as good as they seem, the director is very particular and isn’t a friend to tell you when you’re in the wrong.

Holly then finds out that one of the actresses that have just been written out of the show is actually missing and takes it upon herself to find out the truth.. it’s not long before she finds herself stuck in a real life police investigation that is almost parallel to the part she is supposed to play in the show.

Full of tension and intrigue, you can feel it coming through the pages! Yet another one that I really struggled to put down, full of characters that you want to trust but know that that would be stupid!

A rollercoaster of a journey, which left me not knowing which way was up. highly recommend!!

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Today I am on the tour for The Drowned Girl by David Mark, 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: 251

Synopsis: She went into the water. She isn’t coming back.

A woman vanishes from a remote lake in Cumbria. All that’s left behind are her abandoned clothes, a ringing phone, and a stretch of dark water that won’t give her back.

Moses Crow knows this place. He grew up here. Before prison, before he became the man people crossed the street to avoid. He hasn’t been back in thirty years, but the drowning has stirred up old rumours about a girl who went missing in the caves long ago, and the family who raised him want him home – to keep the police at arm’s length, and the past where it belongs.

Moses knows that out here by the wild tarns, the past doesn’t get buried… it drowns. But now the lake is giving up its dead. And his family’s secrets will not be far behind.

My Thoughts: as I was reading this book I did have a moment where I thought maybe it wouldn’t be for me, but there was something in the writing that just kept me reading & I’m so glad I did! it was dark, very dark & twisty, I really felt for Moses, he didn’t want to be there, very early on I got the feeling that he was hiding secrets he had buried a very long time ago.

Secrets that the longer he stays threaten to reveal themselves.

The style of writing is very different to what I’m used to, it felt kind of poetic in the way that it flowed & it was perfect for the story line it really took hold of you and in a way refused to let go, I was hooked!

The story was told in both the past and the present which if you’ve been here a while you will know that’s one of my favourite ways to read a book as you seem to get more of an understanding of the story, but especially in a thriller because you get little glimpses of possible future twists that you don’t realise until afterwards!

Will definitely be picking more books up from David in the future, this one kept me guessing right until the end.

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Today I am on the tour for Because You’re Worth It by Sally Jenkins, 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: 368

Synopsis: At sixty-four, Michelle thought her best years were behind her. She couldn’t have been more wrong . . .

When Michelle loses her beloved husband Eddie, she’s sure the best part of her life has gone with him.

Then her mother passes away, leaving her half a million pounds — money Michelle is certain she doesn’t deserve.

Determined to give every penny to charity, Michelle sets out to find the worthiest cause. And she’s not doing it alone.

There’s Doug — her landlord, her brother’s oldest friend, and the rugby-playing heartthrob of her teenage dreams. He’s kind. He’s funny, and he still makes her stomach flip like she’s sixteen. There’s just one problem, Doug has broken more hearts than Michelle has had hot dinners, and she’s not about to become another name on his list.

Then she meets dashing charity trustee, Luke,and is swept into a world of scarlet ball gowns and champagne. For the first time in years, Michelle feels beautiful. Desired. Worth it.

But a forgotten suitcase, hidden away in storage, holds a secret about her inheritance. And as Michelle uncovers the truth, she must decide — about the money, her future and who her heart truly belongs to.

My Thoughts: this book was lovely, it was quite refreshing to read a romance where the main characters were older, they’d lived a life, they weren’t perfect and all came with a huge heap of baggage.

Michelle our FMC has been through a lot, she’s widowed, she’s just lost her mum, she’s living with her brothers best friend and if she’s really honest with herself, she’s never really felt valued in her life, her childhood was hard, she always felt like she wasn’t really good enough, that she let her mum down constantly & now that her husband is gone too her relationship with her daughter isn’t the best.

So to try and make up for her ‘mistakes’ she has the genius idea of donating the inheritance from her mum to a charity she deems worthy.. it’s what her mum would want right?

The story was beautiful, but a lot of it had an underlying feeling of sadness, it’s told in 2 timelines, one from Michelle and one from Nellie, I really enjoyed this aspect because it meant we got a real insight & the best bit for me was the fact that Nellie’s parts for the majority were told through letters that she had written to her late husband.

I really felt the grief within those letter and I’m not ashamed to admit that although they didn’t make me cry it was a close one.

Not all of the characters in this book had good intentions and sometimes it was hard to tell which way the story was going to go, but I was invested and really struggled to put it down.

This is the second book of Sallys that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed which makes me excited to see what she comes up with next!

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Today I am on the tour for Wonderful by Louise Beech, 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: 381

Synopsis: A Hollywood idol. The Virgin Mary. An everyday girl from Hull.

Three women, three eras, surprising things in common…

On 4th August 1962, the night she should have died, Marilyn Monroe – the biggest star in the world – receives a visitor who changes the course of her destiny. The Virgin Mary appears in her kitchen with a curious message. Inspired, Marilyn abandons her home, her life, her fame, and disappears into the night…

Fifty-four years later, in a Hull kitchen, Flora Baker finds Mary, bathed in light. She has a similar message for the working class woman who is on the poverty line and dreaming of a better life. Flora begins to make changes that impact not only her life but the lives of those around her…

Do Marilyn and Flora have more in common than just Mary’s visit? Are they somehow linked across time? And is Mary’s message for all the women of the world?

Wonderful is about the way women are portrayed in both history and the world of celebrity, about women not being quiet, and about women united by the shared stories that shape them.

My Thoughts: this book is actually a really hard one for me to review, I loved it, it absolutely blew my expectations out of the water, but yet I can’t seem to articulate my thoughts into words.

The story is told in 2 time lines, in one we’re following Marilyn Monroe and in another we’re following Flora, both linked in a weird way by The Virgin Mary.

This book shows the true power of fiction, you can completely rewrite someone’s story.. the idea of Marilyn not dying on that day was something truly beautiful to experience, yet her impact on the world was the same because everything else she achieved was done in silence and in secret.

This story had me feeling all sorts of emotions, I cried, I laughed, I cried again, I was so invested in the whole story, felt like I was a part of it, I was genuinely sad when it ended.

I would normally say literary fiction isn’t a genre that I reach for, but after this book I may have to be more open minded.

Thank you Louise for opening my eyes.

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Today I am on the tour for Forever Reckless by Eve L. Mitchell, 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: 431

Synopsis:

🖤 Morally grey MMC
🖤 Sports Romance
🖤 Enemies to lovers
🖤 Opposites Attract
🖤 Forbidden love
🖤 Suspense

The golden boy has secrets. I’m about to discover his biggest one.

Dante Spence. Quarterback. National champion. Star of the Alabama Lions. The smile on every billboard — charming, untouchable, worshipped.

I’m the dean’s daughter. I can spot a performance from across a banquet hall.

The academic office assigned me as his tutor for one semester. It’s simple. He flirts. I ignore him. He passes. I walk away.

But I start noticing things.

The pill bottle in his bag with someone else’s name on it. The phone call I wasn’t supposed to hear. The way his perfect smile disappears when he thinks no one’s watching.

Dante isn’t the man on the billboard. He’s ruthless. Reckless. Hiding something dangerous enough to destroy his career.

I should stay far away from him. I could ruin everything he’s built.
So why does he look at me like I’m his to own?

He’s not safe.
And the worst part . . .
I don’t want him to be.

My Thoughts: this one felt like so much more than just a romance, it had heart, the characters were flawed and had their own struggles, it just felt real & genuine.

I get the feeling we were all supposed to see Dante as tough, a real knobhead but if I’m honest I loved him right from the beginning, he keeps his secrets but he does it with the best of intentions, he wants to protect his family, especially his sister, he’s seen her hit rock bottom before & will do anything he can to stop that from happening again.

Savannah.. I don’t know what to say about her, I just wanted to wrap her in a hug, she protects herself by putting everyone else first, because if they’re happy, they will leave her alone, leave her to get on with the things she does best.. because if you don’t rock the boat no one asks questions right?

All that changes for both of them when they meet each other! – you can feel the chemistry between them oozing through the pages, the tension was amazing.

I love the way Eve writes a romance that has all the spice, but the story behind it is full of depth and feeling, it pulls you in and leaves you with no choice but to feel the emotions too! – I’m really hoping this isn’t a stand alone, I need to know more about the side characters in this book!

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Today I am on the tour for Heartbreaker by Jude O’Reilly, 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: 296

Synopsis: A mother under attack.

Three years ago, Daphne Monroe woke up to find her family had been murdered while she slept. To the police, she’s the prime suspect. To the world, she’s a monster. To the killer, she’s the next victim on a blood-soaked list.

A killer on the move.

Now he’s back to finish what he started – and Daphne should be running for her life. Instead, she’s trying to make sense of a tangled web of medical obsession, organ donation, and a young girl’s murder.

Nothing to lose.

Three years ago, the serial killer destroyed her life and broke her heart. Now, Daphne wants justice for her murdered children and she’ll stop at nothing to get it.

But the killer is closing in. And Daphne Monroe is out of time…

My Thoughts: they always say to never judge a book by its cover, but this time I couldn’t help it, it’s so eye catching, it gives nothing away but leaves you with enough intrigue to pick up the book! – it’ll be no surprise that I went in blind, I didn’t read the synopsis, all I knew was that it was a thriller!

It’s so eery, because a lot of it is a guessing game and Daphne is left in her own for a lot of it to work things out for herself because the people she should be able to turn to aren’t listening they just think she’s guilty and won’t be convinced otherwise.

Daphne can’t shake the feeling this all linked to the heart transplant she had 10 years ago.. but why?

The closer she gets to the truth, the more of a web she’s tangled in and can’t see any way out!

The tension in this book is palpable, it had my heart beating so fast and my anxiety through the roof. I loved it!

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