I have a cover reveal for you today for Living Proof by A.H. Martin thank you to Hannah at Hygge book tours for organising this and inviting me alongā¦ but before we get to that let me tell you a little about the book!
Synopsis: A shipwreck in the Caribbean.. a global drugs and sex trafficking cartel… an American Presidential candidate… and a survivor who holds a secret that could blow apart the entire western world with her revelations. What is Julia Anderson’s secret and why does a woman named Rachael Rodgers cause Julia’s friends to turn to sinister and frightening measures to silence her? But how far will they go to ensure that Julia’s secret is never revealed?
Living Proof is the debut novel of author A.H. Martin; set in the lush Caribbean resort of Royal Tradewinds, the book explores the lengths people will go to in order to keep a secret. But will it include murder? And do they succeed? Find out in this fast paced thriller with a hint of romance.
No buy link available for this yet but it sounds brilliant!
This cover definitely leaves me intrigued and wanting to read it!
I have an extract for you today.. but first let me tell you about the book and the author š
Pages: 276
Synopsis: What is the difference between dedication and obsession?
While investigating the murder of two known offenders with connections to a notorious, recently escaped London drug trafficker, the Scotland Yard forensic team headed by DCI Eric Shaw becomes involved in a child abuse case. A nurse had accused a mother of a series of violent, feverish attacks on her ten-year-old son, Jimmy. The woman would exasperate the condition of her child to draw the attention and compassion of health workers at the hospital. Eric learned of this accusation by chance because he is dating Catherine Foulger, the paediatrician looking after the child. She is an old flame, and he is seeing her again in the hope of putting some order back in his life after discovering the identity of the serial killer nicknamed Black Death. But this is a relationship his former partner Adele Pennington, still working as an investigator in Forensic Services, has not really accepted.
About the Author:
Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli is an Italian science fiction and thriller author. She has lived in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) since 1993, earning a degree in biology and working as a writer, scientific and literary translator, and freelance web copywriter. In the past she also worked as researcher, tutor and professorās assistant in the field of ecology at āDipartimento di Biologia Animale ed Ecologiaā of the University of Cagliari. She has written original fiction since 2009. In 2012-2013 she wrote and published a hard science fiction series set on Mars and titled Deserto rosso. The whole Deserto rosso series was also published as omnibus in December 2013 and hit No. 1 on the Italian Kindle Store in November 2014. Deserto rosso was published in English, with the title Red Desert, between 2014 and 2015. It includes the following books: Red Desert – Point of No Return, Red Desert – People of Mars, Red Desert – Invisible Enemy, and Red Desert – Back Home. She also authored three crime thrillers in the Detective Eric Shaw Trilogy ā The Mentor (Il mentore, 2014), Syndrome (Sindrome, 2016), and Beyond the Limit (Oltre il limite, 2017) ā, an action thriller titled Kindred Intentions (AffinitĆ dāintenti, 2015), five more science fiction novels ā Lāisola di Gaia (2014), Per caso (2015), Ophir. Codice vivente (2016), Sirius. In caduta libera (2018), and Nave stellare Aurora (2020) ā and a non-fiction book titled Self-publishing lab. Il mestiere dellāautoeditore (2020). Her crime thriller The Mentor was first published in English by AmazonCrossing in 2015 and became an international bestseller hitting No. 1 on the Kindle Store in USA, UK, and Australia in October 2015. This is a new edition of The Mentor (published in November 2022). The other two books in the trilogy, Syndrome and Beyond the Limit, are expected in 2023. Sheās also a podcaster at FantascientifiCast, an Italian podcast about science fiction, an Italian Representative of Mars Initiative, and a member of the International Thriller Writers organization. Sheās often a guest both in Italy and abroad during book fairs, including Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino (Turin Book Fair) and Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair), local publishing events as well as university conferences, where she gives speeches about self-publishing and genre fiction writing. She has also taught a class on self-publishing at the University of Insubria (Varese, Italy) since 2016. Her books have been reviewed or recommended by national magazines and newspapers such as Wired Italia, Tomās Hardware Italia, La Repubblica, Tiscali News and Global Science (magazine of the Italian Space Agency). As a science fiction and Star Wars fan, she is known in the Italian online community by her nickname, Anakina, which has become the name of her imprint.
Now for the extractā¦
Extract: We havenāt even started working yesterdayās case.ā Miriam placed her mobile phone in front of his eyes. āBut, apparently, itās the same case.ā
A photograph of a corpse appeared on the screen. Eric took the device and looked at it, then he turned his attention to the dead body before him and again to the image. Except for the clothes and the shade of the parquet flooring, everything else matched.
He heard a camera shutter click.
āHere too there are gravitational drops.ā Adele had already opened her kit, put on the gloves, placed the first tag and started taking pictures.
With a finger, Eric scrolled the screen on the mobile phone. āI havenāt really had a chance to check yesterdayās forensics; youāll have to update me.ā More details, besides the corpse, made the two scenes very similar. In both of them, the flats were vacant and unfurnished. Everything looked perfectly clean.
āLook.ā Another click, this time towards the window. A sheet was attached to the pane, but unreadable from the inside. Adele opened the frame, so that she turned the sign towards them. āAm I wrong or is it the same estate agency?ā She took another picture.
āSutton Estates.ā Miriam grabbed the mobile phone out of Ericās hands. āSorry, I want to call Dawson to see how much longer he expects us to wait. Two victims in less than twenty-four hours makes me nervous.ā
He watched her enter one of the adjoining rooms. A moment later she was muttering at the phone. So he resumed observing the corpse. Two dead in vacant flats, killed with the same exact modus operandi.
Better get to work.
He put down his case and camera and donned a pair of gloves. There were no visible footmarks on the floor, but the victimās shoes were dirty. āIt doesnāt look like he came here on his own two feet. Unless someone cleaned up the place.ā
He turned his eyes to the door and visualised a man walking in and stopping where his feet were now. The silhouette of another person appeared behind the man. The newcomer was brandishing a firearm. As they fired, hitting the victim at the back of the head, the latter fell forward, while high-velocity impact spatters ended on his clothes, perhaps also the murdererās and the floor all about.
He took the luminol bottle and sprayed a bit of it around the corpse, steering clear of the bloodstains already tagged by Adele. Then he wore his safety glasses and pointed the UV lamp to the moistened areas. āI donāt see anything. This isnāt the primary crime scene.ā
āAs in the other one ā¦ā Adele commented in an absent-minded tone. She was kneeling at the opposite side of the victim, by his shoulders, and leaning forward, staring at his back, but keeping her arms folded to avoid touching it. Sheād left her camera beside the wall. āDo you think they may be fingermarks?ā Now she was pointing at an undefined spot on the dead manās shirt.
He placed his lamp and glasses on the floor and walked way around to come beside her. He crouched down on one knee to take a close look. There was an evident dark stain where the shirt had been pulled enough to expose the shoulders, and was still crumpled. āThis must be one of the points from which he was dragged.ā
āHe was lifted right after being killed.ā
Eric pointed to an area. āLook at this space.ā No blood was there.
āBefore!ā Adele closed her hand in a fist, mimicking a jerk. āHe was grabbed from behind with one hand, while they shot at him with the other. Thereās no blood, because this flap of fabric ended up inside, and the hand prevented it being reached by the spatters.ā
Today Iām on the tour for The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore, 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: 336
Synopsis: Forbidden, passionate and all-encompassing, Margo and Richardās love affair was the stuff of legendā but, ultimately, doomed.
When Richard walked out, Margo locked herself away, leaving her three daughters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, to run wild.
Years later, charismatic Margo entertains lovers and friends in her cottage on the Isle of Wight, refusing to ever speak of Richard and her painful past. But her silence is keeping each of the Garnett girls from finding true happiness.
Rachel is desperate to return to London, but is held hostage by responsibility for Sandcove, their beloved but crumbling family home.
And wild, passionate Sasha, trapped between her fractured family and controlling husband, is weighed down by a secret that could shake the family to its coreā¦
The Garnett Girls, the captivating debut from Georgina Moore, asks whether children can ever be free of the mistakes of their parents.
My Rating: š§š§š§š§
My Thoughts: having grown up in a single parent household this story resonated with me so much that I couldnāt put it down!
I found myself drawn into the writing quite easily as it flowed so well.
Weāre following the 3 Garnett sisters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, all very different despite the same upbringing and throughout the story you can really tell from their personalities that they were all affected in different ways and all have carry certain aspects of their childhood quite heavily.
Synopsis: Beth thought sheād escaped her past. She was wrong.
Beth and Ian are desperate to have a child. So much so that they decide to sell his family cabin in upstate New York to pay for IVF.
When they arrive at the cabin, they meet Ryan, the caretaker. But Ryan is not who he says he isā¦ Heās here because he knows Beth has a dark secret. And now he intends to use it against her.
He threatens to tell Ian everything about Beth’s past unless she does exactly what he says.
Beth finds herself caught in a nightmarish trap. If Ian discovers what sheās been hiding from him, sheās sure heāll leave her. Sheāll lose everything she cares about, including the chance to have a child of her own.
On the other hand, what Ryan wants her to do is so dark and twisted itās beyond horrifying.
Either way, Beth is sure her life is over, she can see no way out. Unlessā¦ Unless she digs deep and finds a part of herself that is willing to do something so awful it doesnāt even bear thinking aboutā¦
Synopsis: They took the children. Now they have to pay.
A rich socialite is found hacked to death in her Dublin home. Itās the beginning of a killing spree that leaves five apparently unconnected people brutally slain.
Kate Hamilton, a brilliant and ambitious detective sergeant, is assigned to the case and soon uncovers the connection between the victims ā they were all involved in an illegal adoption scheme which was running in Ireland up to the 1980s.
In a deeply traditional society, unmarried mothers were shamed by their families, forced to give birth in secret and surrender their newborns for adoption, fuelling a lucrative and cruel baby trade.
Now, decades later, it seems someone is taking bloody revenge on those who played a part in the adoption racket.
With each day bringing a new victim, Kate and her team race to stop the bloodshed. But when she discovers she has a personal link with both victims and murderer, Kate realises her own life is in danger as never before.
My Rating: š§š§š§š§
My Thoughts: a story told from 2 different perspectives through 2 different timelines, this was brilliant!
In 2010 weāre following Kate, sheās a detective in the Irish Garda, determined to show she can pave her way in a predominantly male oriented place of work.
As the main character in the new series, I loved her, sheās dedicated & open to listening but keen to stand on her own 2 feet at the same time.
Sheās solving a series of murders that on the surface seem sporadic and random but as we dog a little deeper we find that the link is subtle but itās there.. a link that Kate is dreading coming to light.
In the past, 1967 weāre following a young girl who finds herself pregnant at 14, gets sent to a āMother and Baby Unitā which sets off a whole chain of events with tragic circumstances.
As the story goes on and the pieces start falling into place, I found that I worked out the ending but canāt help that that was done on purpose because it added a new sense of dread to the story š¤£
A brilliant opener to what promises to be a fantastic crime series, I canāt wait for book 2!
Synopsis: What if someone you love is a serial killer?
DCI Eric Shaw, leading a forensic team at Scotland Yard, together with DI Miriam Leroux from a Murder Investigation Team, is investigating the death of a known offender. Killed by two gunshots: one to his neck, execution style, but preceded by another to his groin, implying a more personal motive. Shawās attention at work is often distracted by a young forensic investigator, Adele Pennington, who is a beautiful woman over two decades his junior. However, his attraction to her is unreciprocated. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the London police, an anonymous blog describes the details of a very similar crime. The author of the blog signs herself as Mina, like one of the victims in a case Shaw investigated many years ago.
Twenty years ago Eric saved her. Who will save him now?
Meet DCI Eric Shaw . . . and his pupil.
About the Author:
Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli is an Italian science fiction and thriller author.
She has lived in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) since 1993, earning a degree in biology and working as a writer, scientific and literary translator, and freelance web copywriter. In the past she also worked as researcher, tutor and professorās assistant in the field of ecology at āDipartimento di Biologia Animaleed Ecologiaā of the University of Cagliari.
She has written original fiction since 2009.
In 2012-2013 she wrote and published a hard science fiction series set on Mars and titled Deserto rosso. The whole Desertorosso series was also published as omnibus in December 2013 and hit No. 1 on the Italian Kindle Store in November 2014.
Deserto rosso was published in English, with the title Red Desert, between 2014 and 2015.
It includes the following books: Red Desert – Point of No Return, Red Desert – People of Mars, Red Desert – Invisible Enemy, and Red Desert – Back Home. She also authored three crime thrillers in the Detective Eric Shaw Trilogy ā The Mentor (Il mentore, 2014), Syndrome (Sindrome, 2016), and Beyond the Limit (Oltre il limite, 2017) ā, an action thriller titled Kindred Intentions (AffinitĆ dāintenti, 2015), five more science fiction novels ā Lāisola di Gaia (2014), Per caso(2015), Ophir. Codice vivente (2016), Sirius. In caduta libera (2018), and Nave stellare Aurora (2020) ā and a non-fiction book titled Self-publishing lab. Il mestiere dellāautoeditore(2020).
Her crime thriller The Mentor was first published in English by AmazonCrossing in 2015 and became an international bestseller hitting No. 1 on the Kindle Store in USA, UK, and Australia in October 2015.
This is a new edition of The Mentor (published in November 2022). The other two books in the trilogy, Syndrome and Beyond the Limit, are expected in 2023.
Sheās also a podcaster at FantascientifiCast, an Italian podcast about science fiction, an Italian Representative of Mars Initiative, and a member of the International Thriller Writers organization.
Sheās often a guest both in Italy and abroad during book fairs, including Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino (Turin Book Fair) and Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair), local publishing events as well as university conferences, where she gives speeches about self-publishing and genre fiction writing. She has also taught a class on self-publishing at the University of Insubria (Varese, Italy) since 2016.
Her books have been reviewed or recommended by national magazines and newspapers such as Wired Italia, Tomās Hardware Italia, La Repubblica, Tiscali News and Global Science (magazine of the Italian Space Agency).
As a science fiction and Star Wars fan, she is known in the Italian online community by her nickname, Anakina, which has become the name of her imprint.
Extract: Eric hesitated for a moment, unsure whether or not to approach her. That was why it was a bad idea to fraternise with colleagues. You felt embarrassed about gestures that in any other circumstances wouldāve felt normal. Only there hadnāt been any real fraternisation, because nothing had happened between them. It was all in his head. As he repeated that concept to himself, he glanced at Dawson.
āSheās all yours,ā the medical examiner commented. A wrong interpretation of those words made Eric gave a feeble start. āIāve already seen it.ā The further clarification wasnāt really of any help. Then Dawson put his glasses back on and went back to his file.
With a certain reluctance, Eric walked around the table and stood next to her. She moved her head a little, then waved one hand in front of her face as if to shoo away an insect. He couldnāt see any, but the gesture freed a fragrance from her hair, which for a few seconds prevailed over the stench of the corpse.
āThis is a reconstruction of the crime scene. Itās pretty rudimentary.ā Adele had seemed as if she was apologising whilst pronouncing those words.
On the screen was a three-dimensional image of a room, the one where theyād found the body. About one metre away from the table on the floor were two large bloodstains, one of which was roughly three times the other. Their shapes werenāt round, but irregular, as if something had prevented the liquid from spreading out freely. The reconstruction was very realistic. Eric recognised the scene. Only the corpse was missing.
āAt first, we supposed the victim was here, more or less, when he was shot,ā Adele continued. A human figure materialised over the largest stain.
āNo, wait,ā Eric cut it. āWere it so, we would have high-velocity spatters all around the body and some gravitational drops where it fell afterwards.ā
āIn fact, there werenāt any. When we lifted it, most of the floor underneath was clean. That made me think Thompson wasnāt standing at all when he was shot.ā
āWait a moment.ā Eric knew where she was going with this. āYou think he was already on the floor.ā
āThat would explain the shape of the bloodstains and also why the one related to the neck was a bit farther from the body,ā Adele said, nodding.
But now Eric was a little lost. Theyād thought that the abnormal position of the stain was due to the victim writhing as he was dying.
āIāll show you.ā She tapped an icon on the side of the screen and the bodyās position changed. Now the human figure was no longer standing, but lying down supine. āIf theyād shot him while he was already on the floor, we could explain the direction of the bullets for a start.ā
A new figure, this time equipped with a gun, was standing beside the victim, its feet by his groin.
āThe murderer threatens him with a handgun, forces him to gag himself.ā Adeleās account was flowing. It was evident that sheād worked on it for a long while. Considering that it was nine oāclock on Monday morning, she must have devoted the day before to it. āThen they make the victim lie down, and bang.ā Sheād imitated the shot by raising her voice. āThey shoot him in the groin.ā
Without meaning to, Eric winced. He instinctively moved a hand to cover his private parts, but as he realised it, he stopped halfway. However, the manoeuvre didnāt escape Adele, who shot him a mischievous glance. He wondered whether sheād done it on purpose, to see his reaction.
If you like the sound of this it can be bought here!
Today Iāmon the tour for Fear or Favour by Ray Britain, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the publisher and the author for my copy.
Pages: 547
Synopsis: A drowned man is pulled from floodwaters. Identification is difficult but a routine investigation for DCI Stirling and newly promoted DI Marti Summer. Or is it? Sensitive material in the dead manās possession links Stirlingās investigation to the top of Government, and a leadership race for Prime Minister. Favourite to win is Zola Campbell, the grandchild of Windrush immigrants whose rise from humble beginnings to forge a business empire, amassing personal wealth and fame along the way, have made her an iconic figure. Entering politics, her talents earned swift promotion to the top of Government, and now sheās poised to be the first woman of colour Prime Minister. The media is in overdrive, the political stakes are high, and the nation is watching. Fearing a national scandal that will engulf them all, ACC Steph Tanner wants results ā fast! With just days to unravel what connects a quiet manās drowning to events at Westminster, a hundred miles away, tensions rise as Stirling takes his investigation undercover. Stirling senses something is missing. But what? Or who? With a suspect to locate, and crypto millions to trace, things are complex enough when MI5 step from the shadows! And just where do Lena Novak and the National Crime Agency fit into it all? Frightened by Stirlingās methods, Marti Summer fears for her job, and the shame sheāll bring on her family. But Marti has a moral dilemma too – have her own prejudices jeopardised the investigation? Haunted by tragedy, Stirlingās private life is a mess. Ayeshaās gone, with no explanation. He and Steph Tanner are close, but sheās his boss. And life is about to get still more complicated.
My Rating: š§š§š§š§š§
My Thoughts: I really loved this, it drew me in right from the start.
A young man is found drowned in the river by a young girl going for a walk with her mum, with the added complication of the storm by the time they free him he is past being able to identify him..
What seems like a simple suicide/drowning is proved otherwise after the autopsy..
Itās down to DCI Stirling and DI Summer to work out what happened!
Getting to the bottom of it means going back in time when sensitive material comes to light that can cause uproar for one of the candidates who is in the race to become the new prime minister…
The story was gripping, itās a fairly long book, but it doesnāt feel long because the story itās just so easy to get lost in.
I didnāt know where it was going, but every time I thought Iād work it out another layer was added!
I really enjoyed being back with Stirling and found Summer to be the perfect partner for him, the banter between them was brilliant and she even managed to find his softer side.
Iām really hoping that there is another book in the series I canāt wait to see what Ray comes up with next!
Chloe needs to get her life back on track after the collapse of her marriage. So when she meets handsome, charismatic Danny on a night out, she is open to seeing what develops.
It should be normal, exciting, boy-meets-girl but something about Danny isā¦off. Heās a little too interested, a little too intense. So she doesn’t give him her number. End of story.
But Danny isn’t going anywhere. He pursues Chloe with a determination that frightens her, ignoring her warnings to leave her alone. He invades every corner of her world, makes every effort to get between her and Tom, a friend who could be more.
Chloe finds herself in the fight of her life as she realizes that Danny is deadly serious about his promise that they will be together ā at any cost.
And with Tom and Chloe growing closer, her fear for her new man only escalates as she struggles to answer one terrifying question ā how far will Danny go to get what he wants?
My Rating: š§š§š§š§š§
My Thoughts: Iāve been going back and forth for a couple of days, deciding wether this book was a 4 or 5 star.. itās not often a psychological thriller gets 5 stars from me, but this one really got into my head..
Weāre following Chloe who is on a night out with friends and meets Danny, heās nice, heās friendly & heās easy on the eye so she decides to talk to him, after all sheās single now her marriage has ended.
We soon learn that Danny is her knight in shining armour, always there when she needs help.. but how does he know where she is all the time?
This book had me feeling things that I didnāt like š¤£ my heart was pounding I had goosebumps, I felt sick, I wanted throw my kindle away from me because I didnāt want to read the words that I knew would be coming.. it was just too real, stuff like this happens in real life alll the time.
But my god it was bloody brilliant, if youāre a fan of the genre and can handle a stalker based story then this is one that needs to be added to the tip of your TBR.
Can DI Hunter Wilson keep Edinburgh safe when he is the hunted?
Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is woken in the early hours of the morning by a call from his son. Cameronās flatmate has been murdered.
Why would anybody want to kill a young woman recently arrived in the city?Hunter must call in the new Major Incident Team (MIT), however his ability to be involved in the case is severely compromised when someone from his past resurfaces with revenge on their mind
When Hunter goes missing, and his team struggle to find the clues they need to locate hm. Who would want to stop Hunter in his tracks?
Meanwhile, Hunter’s team must also work closely with the MIT and with or without him, solve the murder in this taut crime thriller.
My Rating š§š§š§š§
My Thoughts: this is book 3 in the DI Hunter series and although it would absolutely work as a stand alone I would recommend reading the other 2 first as we see the reappearance of all of our favourite characters.
This time a young woman is murdered, no rhyme or reason to it, and it seems to be linked to someone weāve met before in previous books although said person knew nothing about this woman from the Ukraine staying in his flat.. can he be trusted?
As always the story is multi layered and absolutely fascinating, I love the fact that all the characters from various backgrounds all pull together to get to the bottom of things!
This one deals with the difficult subject of human trafficking, but in a sensitive way. Val somehow manages to make sure the seriousness is put across whilst also making sure the characters donāt lose the wit and humour that we have grown to love and expect from Hunter and his gang.
Parts of this book made my blood run cold, itās chilling yet gripping. I am eagerly awaiting book 4!
Today Iām on the tour for The Weekend by L.H. Stacey, thank you to Rachel at Rachelās Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.
Pages: 323
Synopsis: That Lake. This house. His friends. They all know what happened to my boy. I know they do. And you… you have to help me find the truth…
A weekend to rememberā¦
Ten years ago, deeply in love, I would have done anything for Thomas Kirkwood.
But on the night of our graduation, fuelled by drink and drugs, Thomasās lifeless body was found floating in the Kirkwood family lake. That weekend changed everything, and I swore I would never return to Kirkwood manor.
A weekend to forgetā¦
Now, ten years later, I have been invited back to the place that holds such terrible memories for me, to a memorial weekend for Thomas, organised by his still-grieving mother Ada.
But this is no ordinary weekend. This is a reunion to catch a killerā¦and I fear that I could be top of Adaās listā¦.
My Rating: š§š§š§.5
My Thoughts: this book is a hard one for me to review, everyone who knows me, knows I love a good psychological thriller & this one definitely kept my attention.. it just fell a little flat for me at times..
Now that is definitely just due to personal preference within the genre.
Weāre following Elizabeth, who is returning to Kirkwood Manor for the first time in 10 years, sheās not been back since her boyfriend was killed there, but now his mum Ada has decided itās time for a memorial.. but is there an ulterior motive?
The story is told from multiple perspectives through 2 different timelines & weirdly I found myself enjoying the present day chapters more than the āTen Years Agoā chapters
I found a lot of the characters to be unlikeable, but in a way that you could tell that that was the authors intention.. I think Elizabeth and William were the only ones that I was actually rooting for š¤£
There were twists and turns galore and even a couple of red herrings to throw you off the scent.
Please donāt read this review and think āoh well Patrice didnāt enjoy thisā – I absolutely did, it just wasnāt the fast paced read I was expecting & sometimes thatās ok š
The storyline was brilliant, it shocked me more than once and I didnāt work out the twist at the end!
prdgreads 