Watch her Fall by Erin Kelly BLOG TOUR @mserinkelly @HodderBooks @ReadEatRetreat #WatchHerFall #BookReview

 

Swan Lake is divided into the black acts and the white acts. The Prince is on stage for most of the ballet, but it's the swans audiences flock to see. In early productions, Odette and Odile were performed by two different dancers. These days, it is usual for the same dancer to play both roles. Because of the faultless ballet technique required to master the steps, and the emotional range needed to perform both the virginal Odette and the dark, seductive Odile, this challenging dual role is one of the most coveted in all ballet. Dancers would kill for the part.

Ava Kirilova has reached the very top of her profession. After years and years of hard graft, pain and sacrifice as part of the London Russian Ballet Company, allowing nothing else to distract her, she is finally the poster girl for Swan Lake. Even Mr K - her father, and the intense, terrifying director of the company - can find no fault. Ava has pushed herself ahead of countless other talented, hardworking girls, and they are all watching her now.

But there is someone who really wants to see Ava fall . . .

Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly is published by Hodder, in hardback on 1 April 2021. The paperback will follow in March next year. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this blog tour.

A new book from Erin Kelly is always a treat to look forward to. I received my copy of Watch Her Fall at the end of last year and devoured it over the Christmas break. I've been wanting to talk about it for so long, and now is my chance. 

Kelly is already known as one of the best, most original writers of psychological fiction. I have read all of her previous novels and enjoyed every one of them. This novel, Watch Her Fall, catapults her to the next level, it is a thrilling and cinematic story of control, deceit and passion. It's a story that the reader must invest heavily in, filled to the brim with layers of intrigue, told with a precision that is quite stunning and populated by characters who are never quite who they seem to be. 

I have little previous knowledge of ballet, or of the story of Swan Lake, and I have found this element of this story quite fascinating. My YouTube history is now made up of video clips from various performances of Swan Lake, and knowing the story has given me an appreciation of the beauty of this form of dance.

Ava Kirilova is the principal dancer at the London Russian Ballet, and is about to achieve her life time dream; she will be Odile and Odette in the production of Swan Lake currently being devised by Nicky Kirilova, or Mr K, as he is affectionately known as. Not only is Mr K, the founder and owner of the company, he is also Ava's father, and she is under immense pressure to ensure that this performance will be the best that audiences will ever see.

There's a glamour and intrigue about the arts, not just ballet, but theatre, cinema, music and writing, all have a glossy exterior and seem to be filled with beautiful people creating wonderful imagery with graceful ease. In Watch Her Fall, Erin Kelly uncovers the reality of life for a dancer. The cult-like standing of Mr K, his controlling behaviour, the bitterness, the jealousy. The anguish of being passed over for a part, the bleeding feet, the constant rehearsal, and in the case of the London Russian Ballet members, the total control over their lives. No phones, no bank accounts, no take out food, no friends from outside .... no life, other than ballet. 

As preparations for the new show get more and more frantic, a new 'second swan' is needed and young Juliet is thrilled to be offered the part. 

Suddenly, it all comes crashing down. Injuries, and death cast a huge shadow over the ballet and both Juliet and Ava find themselves on the outside. Floundering, no longer able to do what they love and struggling to discover who they are, and who they may go on to be. 

This story is not just set on stage. The author intricately weaves another thread into this tale. That of the dangers faced by those people who are forced to live undercover. Those who have left everything that they love to find a new life, but have only discovered more pain and heartache. 

To say much more would be straying in the field of spoilers, and I can't do that. I can say, however, that this is an outstandingly acute look at human nature, with propulsive writing that is moody, and chilling, and at times terrifying. 

I was immersed in this book. I was amazed by the clever way that the author turns things around, in plain sight, yet hidden from view at the same time. It is so intricate, so tightly plotted and in my opinion, the author's best book to date. 

Erin Kelly is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The Burning
Air, The Ties That Bind, He Said/She Said, Stone Mothers and Broadchurch: The Novel, inspired by the mega-hit TV series. 

In 2013, The Poison Tree became a major ITV drama and was a Richard & Judy Summer Read in 2011. 

He Said/She Said spent six weeks in the top ten in both hardback and paperback, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier crime novel of the year award, and selected for both the Simon Mayo Radio 2 and Richard & Judy Book Clubs. 

She has worked as a freelance journalist since 1998 and written for the Guardian, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, New Statesman, Red, Elle, Cosmopolitan and The Pool. 

Born in London in 1976, she lives in north London with her husband and daughters. 

erinkelly.co.uk 

twitter.com/mserinkelly

The House of Mirrors by Erin Kelly #TheHouseOfMirrors @mserinkelly @HodderBooks #BookReview

 

One of them has killed before.

One of them will kill again.

In the sweltering summer of 1997, straight-laced, straight-A student Karen met Biba - a bohemian and impossibly glamorous aspiring actress. A few months later, two people were dead and another had been sent to prison.

Having stood by Rex as he served his sentence, Karen is now married to him with a daughter, Alice, who runs a vintage clothing company in London. They're a normal family, as long as they don't talk about the past, never mention the name Biba, and ignore Alice's flashes of dark, dangerous fury.

Karen has kept what really happened that summer of '97 hidden deep inside her. Alice is keeping secrets of her own. But when anonymous notes begin to arrive at Alice's shop, it seems the past is about to catch up with them all ...

The House of Mirrors by Erin Kelly is published on 4 April 2024 by Hodder & Stoughton. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

The House of Mirrors is a sequel to this author's debut novel; The Poison Tree, which I read way back in 2010. It is a long time ago, and I've read a lot of books in that time, including all of Erin Kelly's works. I read this as a stand alone story, I did not try to remember the detail of the first book and it really works. Whilst I'd urge anyone who hasn't read this authors earlier works to do so, you can pick this up and enjoy it without reading The Poison Tree. 

It is twenty years after that eventful summer of 1997, when Karen met Biba and her brother Rex for the very first time. It was a summer that shaped them all, changed their lives and their outlooks. It turned Karen into the overly protective, almost paranoid woman that she is today. It took years from Rex's life as he served a prison sentence. It's a time that Karen and Rex have tried their best to put in their past. 

The summer of 2017 has similarities to those days in the past, with sweltering heat causing chaos on the London streets, and the events of the 1997 seeming to rear their ugly, and unwanted head once more. 

Karen and Rex's daughter Alice is opening a vintage dress store in a small side street of the city. She's worked hard to make the shop so fabulous on social media, and her parents have worked hard to support her too.  Although an exciting new venture, Karen and Rex are worried that this may make them more noticeable, they've managed a quiet life for the past years .... they are proved correct. 

Alice begins to receive strange, anonymous notes at the shop. She's a huge true-crime podcast fan and cannot let this go, she needs to know more and it is not long before she is keeping secrets of her own. The ghosts of the past are not resting peacefully and the impact on this small family is massive. With just the family characters, and the addition of Alice's boyfriend Gabe - a man with secrets of his own, this is a tight narrative, usually seen from Karen and Alice's perspectives. 

Erin Kelly excels in creating a dark world that draws in her readers quickly. Her characterisation is immaculate, her settings sublime and the slowly unfolding plot line kept me hooked throughout. There are things that I didn't anticipate at all, shocks galore and twists that blow the mind. Oh, and that ending! What a stunner, it's perfect and left me reeling a little. 

I have read and enjoyed everything this writer has produced. Her books offer something a little different with their mix of thrills, family secrets and gothic darkness. I love it. Highly recommended. 

Erin Kelly is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The Burning Air, The Ties That Bind, He Said/She Said, Stone Mothers/We Know You Know, Watch Her Fall and Broadchurch: The Novel, inspired by the mega-hit TV series. 

In 2013, The Poison Tree became a major ITV drama and was a Richard & Judy Summer Read in 2011. 

He Said/She Said spent six weeks in the top ten in both hardback and paperback, was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier crime novel of the year award, and selected for both the Simon Mayo Radio 2 and Richard & Judy Book Clubs. 

She has worked as a freelance journalist since 1998 and written for the Guardian, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, New Statesman, Red, Elle and Cosmopolitan. Born in London in 1976, she lives in north London with her husband and daughters. 

erinkelly.co.uk 

twitter.com/mserinkelly

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly #TheSkeletonKey @mserinkelly @HodderBooks #BookReview

 

Summer, 2021. Nell has come home at her family's insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, her father wrote The Golden Bones. Part picture book, part treasure hunt, Sir Frank Churcher created a fairy story about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. Clues and puzzles in the pages of The Golden Bones led readers to seven sites where jewels were buried - gold and precious stones, each a different part of a skeleton. One by one, the tiny golden bones were dug up until only Elinore's pelvis remained hidden.

The book was a sensation. A community of treasure hunters called the Bonehunters formed, in frenzied competition, obsessed to a dangerous degree. People sold their homes to travel to England and search for Elinore. Marriages broke down as the quest consumed people. A man died. The book made Frank a rich man. Stalked by fans who could not tell fantasy from reality, his daughter, Nell, became a recluse.

But now the Churchers must be reunited. The book is being reissued along with a new treasure hunt and a documentary crew are charting everything that follows. Nell is appalled, and terrified. During the filming, Frank finally reveals the whereabouts of the missing golden bone. And then all hell breaks loose.

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly is published in hardback by Hodder on 1 September 2022. My thanks to the publisher who sent my book for review. 

Erin Kelly is one of my all-time favourite authors. I have devoured everything that she's written and have to admit that The Skeleton Key has been one of my most anticipated books of the year. The joy of reading on holiday enabled me to really get stuck into this one, with no distractions and no need to put it aside to cook dinner, or do the washing. What an absolute treat that was and I was completely and utterly lost within the pages. It's a stunning read that takes the reader on a wild and rocky ride, alongside two troubled and very dysfunctional families. 

Nell Churcher has lived away from her family for many years. Choosing to live off-grid in a house boat, shunning the family wealth and making her own way, creating her own glass art and travelling the waterways in a very simple life. 

Nell's father is Sir Frank Churcher, celebrated artist and author of a book that took the world by storm fifty years ago. His creation, named The Golden Bones is a treasure hunt story, with clues littered within the text. The Golden Bones attracted people who were determined to solve the clues and find the bones of Elinore; the female character whose skeleton was scattered and the bones hidden. One bone remains undiscovered and the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication makes for the perfect showcase. Frank will reveal the whereabouts of Elinor's pelvis, and the jewel that was hidden with it. 

Nell's life was almost ruined by the book, and the hunters. The hunters became obsessive and sometimes violent and Nell's decision to hide herself away is the result of the trauma she faced as a child.  Now she is returning to the family home, and to the two families who live side by side and are linked together by secrets, guilt and deceit.

The Skeleton Key is a gothic mystery with such depth. Kelly not only describes the Golden Bones book, the hunters and the furore caused by it all, she also takes two families and cleverly unpicks the many layers within them. Theres's an age-old mystery within the story too and as the author slowly reveals each character and their innermost thoughts, the reader begins to learn and to suspect each and every one of them.

Told mainly in Nell's present-day voice, with flashbacks from the decades before, this is a complex and multi layered story that is utterly bewitching. I especially loved the female characters who have tried their utmost to be their own people, yet ultimately remain the wives of famous and somewhat controversial men. 

Addictive, disturbing and so very inventive, this is fiction at its finest. Erin Kelly is a master of her art, I adored this book. I loved the mystery, I loved to hate some of the characters, it really is brilliant. 

Erin Kelly is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The Burning
Air, The Ties That Bind, He Said/She Said, Stone Mothers/We Know You Know, Watch Her Fall and Broadchurch: The Novel, inspired by the mega-hit TV series. 

In 2013, The Poison Tree became a major ITV drama and was a Richard & Judy Summer Read in 2011. He Said/She Said spent six weeks in the top ten in both hardback and paperback, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier crime novel of the year award, and selected for both the Simon Mayo Radio 2 and Richard & Judy Book Clubs. 

She has worked as a freelance journalist since 1998 and written for the Guardian, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, New Statesman, Red, Elle and Cosmopolitan. 

Born in London in 1976, she lives in north London with her husband and daughters. 

erinkelly.co.uk 

twitter.com/mserinkelly

The Heights by Louise Candlish @louise_candlish @simonschusterUK #Win #Giveaway #Prize #Competition #TheHeights #CloseToTheEdge

 

He thinks he’s safe up there. But he’ll never be safe from you. 
 
The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Tower Bridge, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him. 

Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years.  You know this for a fact.  

Because you’re the one who killed him.  It’s time to confess what we did up there.
 
‘Kieran Watts has been dead for over two years when I see him standing on the roof of a building in Shad Thames…’

#CloseToTheEdge

The Heights by Louise Candlish is published on 5 August by Simon & Schuster. I read and reviewed this for the Express. It's a twisty, shocker of a book and I loved it.

I'm delighted to have one hardback copy to give away today. Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this blog post.    UK entries only please. 

GOOD LUCK! 

'It twists and it turns and it twists again. The Heights by Louise Candlish is the very definition of a “just one more chapter” novel. I devoured it. And it’s full of such great writing about the ferocity of maternal love' 
  -- Hannah Beckerman, author of If Only I Could Tell You

‘Impossible to resist, impossible to predict, impossible to put down… this is an author at the top of her game’ 
  -- Erin Kelly, author of Watch Her Fall

'There’s nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly' 
-- Jane Corry, author of The Lies We Tell

'No one creates middle-class characters we love to hate quite like Louise Candlish. I’d expected her to do this, and to provide a great sense of place, and twists that would have been rifling through the book to see how they’d been done. What I wasn’t expecting was that this thriller of obsessive revenge and intense parental grief would tug at my heartstrings. Smart, addictive, twisting, surprising. Highly recommended' 
-- Sarah Vaughan, author of Little Disasters

One hardback copy of The Heights by Louise Candlish

Louise Candlish is the Sunday Times bestselling author of fourteen novels. 

Our House, a #1 bestseller, won the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards, was longlisted for the 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. 

It is soon to be a major ITV drama made by Death in Paradise producers Red Planet Pictures. 

Louise lives in London with her husband and daughter. 

Visit her at LouiseCandlish.com or connect with her on Twitter @Louise_Candlish.

My Top Reads of 2021 #AmReading #TopReads2021 #FavouriteBooks2021 #BookBlogger

 

My Top Reads of 2021

I remember writing my Top Reads of 2020 post and saying that I hoped that we would never ever live though another year like 2020.

My hopes did not come true. For me, my family and my friends, this year has been one of utter devastation. We have been rocked to the core by losing loved ones and seeing those closest to us suffer. Sadly, for my little family, it is inevitable that the coming year will bring more pain and sadness.

Despite the often overwhelming feeling of despair, I have continued to read and shout about the books that I love. I have been able to grow my Blog Tour organising business and once again, I have been fortunate enough to work with some truly amazing books, authors, publishers and fellow bloggers. 

I read around 170 books this year, this includes the submitted books for the CWA International Dagger for which I am a judge. I have already reviewed most of these, either here on my blog, or for the Express.

A few statistics :

I've posted 148 book reviews on the blog this year

107 of these were by female authors, 38 by male authors and 3 were by various authors

Of these reviews, nine were non-fiction titles, 28 were debut books and 16 were translated into English from another language

As always, I rarely finish a book that I'm not enjoying, so to pick my top books out of so many that I've really enjoyed has, once more, been very difficult. 

As always, my list is split into three sections; I start with some of the 2021 books that I read in 2020. I mentioned them last year and hoped that they would be huge.

The second part is my list of  Top Books of 2021

Finally, I'll give a mention to some 2022 publications that I've read early.

I really think that 2022 is going to be another fabulous book year!

Enjoy! 

2021 books that I predicted would do well

At the end of last year, I'd read these 2021 books pre-publication, and predicted that they would do well. I'm still recommending them, twelve months later.  (click on the title for my full review).

The Push by Ashley Audrain - 7 January 2021 from Michael Joseph

The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean - 7 January 2021 from Hodder & Stoughton

Daughters Of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson - 18 February 2021 from Mantle/Pan Macmillan

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles - 9 February 2021 from Two Roads

Everything Happens For a Reason by Katie Allen - 10 April (digital), 10 June (paperback) from Orenda Books 

My Top Reads of 2021

My Top Reads of the year are listed in order of reading. The list contains some favourite authors who pop up year after year, and also some debuts. I think it's a great list, with something for everyone. I heartily recommend all of these books.  (click on the title for my full review)

The Source by Sarah Sultoon published (ebook) 15 February (print) 15 April by Orenda Books
Gripping, emotional, eye-opening and so brilliantly written. Highly recommended by me.

You Me And The Sea by Elizabeth Haynes published 11 February by Myriad Editions

It transported me to a place that felt so much safer than our existing world. It's beautiful and wonderful and I recommend it highly

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin published 18 February by Doubleday
An utter and total delight. Wonderful characters who worm their way into your life and leave little traces on your heart.

How To Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison published 1 March by Saraband

A terrifying and harrowing novel, yet is is also deeply touching

Bound by Vanda Symon published 18 March by Orenda Books

Do not miss this, it's edge-of-the-seat drama that will satisfy any fan of crime fiction. Highly recommended.

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller published on 25 March by Fig Tree

Clever, sharp and irresistible, this is a novel that has to be savoured

Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz published 4 March by Orenda Books

Addictive, extremely hard to put down. Another fabulous chapter in what has become a favourite series of mine

Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly published 1 April by Hodder

 It is so intricate, so tightly plotted and in my opinion, the author's best book to date. 

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins published 5 April by Pan Macmillan

This is an accomplished, brutal and moving story, and comes highly recommended by me.

Boys Don't Cry by Fiona Scarlett published 6 May by Faber

This book is one that will evoke every emotion from anger, to compassion, despair and hope

Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins published 29 April by Harper360 UK

It's a complex and intricately woven story with hints of magical realism that reminded me at times of Alice Hoffman's work

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox published 17 June by Doubleday

It is masterfully created and it's a story that will stay with me for a very long time

Dead Ground by MW Craven published 3 June by Constable

Breath-taking, fascinating and gripping

This Is How We Are Human by Louise Beech published 10 June by Orenda Books 

Wonderfully moving, emotional and very thought provoking. A book to savour and love. Highly recommended. 

Fragile by Sarah Hilary published 10 June by Pan Macmillan 

It is a superb mix of gothic tension, obsession, young love and disappointment, woven together masterfully

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau published 27 May by Harper360 UK

Full of sunshine, love, music and utter joy, Mary Jane is a stunning read that I would highly recommend. 

No Honour by Awais Khan published 19 August by Orenda Books 

This is a very special book. One that will stay with me forever, and one that I will re-read, for sure.

Love And Missed by Susie Boyt published 26 August by Virgo

An utter joy to read. A book that touched me deeply and one that I highly recommend. 

The Sound of Sirens by Ewan Gault published 28 October by Leamington Books

This is Ewan Gault's debut novel and it is stunning. Highly recommended from me, one of the best books I've read this year.

The Shadowing by Rhiannan Ward published 16 September by Trapeze

This is an excellent gothic mystery, with a hint of the supernatural

The Woman In The Middle by Milly Johnson published 14 October by Simon and Schuster

It's a warm, touching read and you'll be longing for Shay to find her own happy ending

The Leftovers by Cassandra Parkin published 1 October by Legend Press

A really stunning piece of writing, nuanced, uncomfortable at times but incredibly powerful. Highly recommended. 

The Red Monarch by Bella Ellis published 18 November by Hodder

It's intricately detailed, full of vibrant and vividly created characters and has such heart. 

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen published 28 October from Orenda Books 

Death, a touch of violence, fraud and a tender emerging romance all combine to create the most magical story

The Quiet People by Paul Cleave published 25 November by Orenda Books

So very very intense, so dark and utterly compelling

Fall by West Camel published 9 December by Orenda Books

An author who uses words like an instrument, creating a symphony that will thrill any reader. 

Books to look out for in 2022 ....

I've already made a start on the 2022 books, and if the ones that I've read already are anything to go by, we are in for another outstanding book year.

Here are a few tips; books that I think will be huge next year. 

Some of these reviews have not  been published yet but I can assure you that I enjoyed every one of them. 

Should I Tell You? by Jill Mansell - 20 January 2022 from Headline

Anything Could Happen by Lucy Diamond - 6 January 2022 from

 Quercus

The Impulse Purchase by Veronica Henry - 3 February 2022 from Orion

How To Find Your Way Home by Katy Regan - 3 February 2022 from Mantle

Other Parents by Sarah Stovell - 20 January from HQ Stories 

Wahala by Nikki May - 6 January from Doubleday 

Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes - 17 February from Michael Joseph

That's 2021 over and done with. Thank goodness!

It's been a fabulous year for books, but honestly, not for much else!

I want to wish everyone the VERY BEST for next year and I really hope to see lots of lovely book friends soon.

In the meantime, thank you to everyone who reads my reviews and puts up with my book shouting.