The Cutting by Michael J Malone #thecutting @malonemichaelj @orendabooks #bookreview #anniejacksonmysteries .#supernatural #historical #serialkiller

 

The most dangerous voices are the ones that no one else can hear…

Evie Cartwright first speaks to the dead as a child. When she leaves home for university, her ability takes a terrifying turn after she witnesses a brutal murder. By morning, she is haunted by a dead serial killer who refuses to leave her alone, and marked by a cut across her neck that never heals.

For the next ten years, Evie is driven from place to place, searching for a way to rid herself of the voice that torments her day and night. When desperation leaves her with nowhere else to turn, she arrives at the remote Highland home of Annie Jackson, hoping she will finally find answers.

As Annie and her brother Lewis begin to investigate, helped by an old friend with specialist knowledge of the occult, they are drawn into a dark and dangerous search that reaches deep into Scotland's history.

And some ghosts are not content to remain in the shadows…

A gothic thriller with a spellbinding mystery at its heart, The Cutting is the fourth instalment in Michael J. Malone's acclaimed Annie Jackson series, and this time, danger may be impossible to outrun.

The Cutting by Michael J Malone was published on 24 September 2026 by Orenda Books and is book four in the Annie Jackson mystery series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Virtual Book Tour 

I’ve been reading Michael J. Malone for many years now, and one of the things I love about his writing is his ability to take darkness, fear and strangeness and create characters who feel completely real. The Cutting is the fourth Annie Jackson Mystery and delivers exactly what I love. This is an unsettling, atmospheric and quite deliciously creepy addition to a series that continues to fascinate me.

Evie Cartwright has been able to communicate with the dead since childhood, but what might sound like a gift has become something altogether more terrifying. For ten years she has been haunted by the voice of a dead serial killer, a relentless presence that she cannot escape. Desperate for help, she eventually makes her way to Annie Jackson's remote Highland home.

Annie understands only too well that there are things in this world that cannot be easily explained. Along with her brother Lewis she begins to look into Evie's experiences. What follows takes them into some particularly dark corners of Scotland's history.

I really do love the way this author combines the supernatural with historical fact. There is a fabulous gothic quality to The Cutting, but beneath the ghosts, strange voices and things that might be lurking out of sight is something very human. Scotland's past is a chilling era, especially the persecution, superstition and fear that surrounded women who were deemed different or dangerous.

The Highland setting is superb too.  There is something about a remote Scottish landscape, an old history and the possibility of things unseen that makes the imagination work overtime. This author understands that what we cannot quite see is often far more frightening than anything that is placed directly in front of us.

Annie is a terrific character. Having followed her through the previous books, returning to her world feels really familiar, but also a little uncomfortable.  There is always the sense that her abilities can demand more from her than she is wants to give.

Dark, twisty and wonderfully atmospheric, The Cutting has everything I want from this series. Mystery, folklore, history and the supernatural are woven together beautifully, creating a story that is genuinely unsettling without ever relying on cheap scares.

Michael J. Malone has done it again. And yes, I’ll be waiting impatiently for more Annie Jackson.

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up
in the heart of Burns’ country. 

He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. 

His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit. 

A former Regional Sales Manager at Faber & Faber, he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. 

Michael lives in Ayr.

Wolves of Londinium by Kate Cunningham #Giveaway #VirtualBookTour #WolvesofLondinium @reading_riddle @randomthingstours #Prize #Competition

 

This is an adventure where you, the reader, get to choose which timeline you want to follow. Will you succeed in finding the emeralds or will you end up locked up or eaten by a tiger?

As you race to find the jewels you are given choices and these decisions will determine the outcome of the story. Along the way you may visit the harbour, forum, temples and baths. Be careful what you eat and consider how to appease the gods.

It is the year 122 AD

The Emporer Hadrian is visiting Britannia and your mother the aurifix, an expert goldsmith, has been commissioned to make a gold statue of a wolf to present to him.

In these adventures children get the opportunity to immerse themselves in an adventure and learn about a particular moment in history.

Along with Sam's ink drawings of the places and people of Roman London, this book will give children an insight into life 1,900 years ago.

Reading Riddle books help children learn while enjoying a story, and in our CAT (Choose A Timeline) books they have the power to choose which storyline to follow.

Wolves of Londinium by Kate Cunningham and illustrated by Sam Cunningham was published in July 2026 by Reading Riddle.

As part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour, I am delighted to have a fabulous giveaway today.  The prize is a book signed by Kate and Sam with a drawing by Sam inside and a wolf soft toy. The toy is from the Puppet Company and suitable from birth

Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget on this page. UK Entries only.

GOOD LUCK! 

Wolves of Londinium

When she was young Kate promised she would never go out with a boy called Sean (too
naughty), study history (too boring) or be a teacher (too hard) but she dreamt of writing books.

Luckily dreams can come true and promises are made to be broken.

She now writes books inspired by fascinating stories from history, visits schools using her ten years of teaching experience, and is married to historian Sean Cunningham. 

After all life would be very boring if you knew how it was going to turn out.

Kate works with her eldest son, illustrator Sam Cunningham, who creates the wonderful hand-drawn pictures in all the Reading Riddle children’s books.

www.readingriddle.co.uk

Instagram: https://instagram.com/reading_riddle

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@readingriddle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/readingriddle

Substack: https://readingriddle.substack.com

Girls Girls Girls by Shelley Stoehr #VirtualBookTour #GirlsGirlsGirls @stoehrshelley @randomthingstours #AuthorInterview

 

In the recession-scarred landscape of 1990s New York City, a young writer and dancer faces a brutal economic reality: no one will hire her, not even to bus tables. 

When she impulsively takes a job as a topless dancer, Stoehr begins a nine-year journey through the misunderstood world of sex work—a journey that runs parallel to her struggles for artistic recognition and personal autonomy. 

From the neon-lit stages of New York City to the debauched clubs of San Francisco, Stoehr chronicles the dualities of creating art while being objectified, and of finding camaraderie among fellow dancers while enduring an increasingly abusive marriage. 

With unflinching honesty, Stoehr dismantles the stereotypes and stigma surrounding sex workers, revealing the humanity, resilience, and sisterhood that flourishes behind the curtain of societal judgment.

Girls Girls Girls : One Woman's Experience as a Sex Worker in the 1990s by Shelley Stoehr was published on 13 August 2026 by Legacy Book Press. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Book Tour, I am delighted to share an interview with the author here today. 

Interview with author Shelley Stoehr 

1. What compelled you to write this memoir now, decades after the events it describes? Was there a specific moment when you knew this story had to be told?

This was partly a pandemic book! After I left the sex industry in 2000, I didn’t really talk about my history as a sex worker. It simply wasn’t a part of my life anymore—I was living in a new state, was married, and had a child. I didn’t think the PTA would appreciate the 9 years I worked in the sex industry. 

When I went back to graduate school for an MFA in Creative Writing in 2016, I began to consider writing about my past as a stripper, but I wasn’t brave enough yet. Then, during the pandemic, I had time to ruminate, and I ended up writing and publishing an essay about stripping and my toxic relationship with my ex-husband. The reactions from friends and colleagues were positive, which inspired me to write my story as a full-length memoir.

Although I didn’t start writing until 2020, I think I first knew this story needed to be told when the #MeToo movement began gaining steam online in 2017. I had a MeToo story to tell about my ex-husband’s abuse, but I wasn’t brave enough to write about it. Writing about sex work wasn’t as daunting as writing about the sexual abuse I endured because I am a feminist and was deeply ashamed that I’d allowed my former husband to treat me the way he did. Now that my book is coming out and my story is going to be public, I still worry a little bit about that portion of my story, but I think it needs to be said. 

Like many former and current sex workers today, I am finally able to be part of the conversation around sex worker rights, but I’m also now able to tell the story of being oppressed by my ex. I don’t need to be embarrassed about it! Although the cultural permission to speak about the nuances of sex work and about sexual coercion and abuse didn’t exist in the 1990s like it does today, I believe that now I can talk about my past without being overly judged for it.

2. The title Girls Girls Girls is borrowed from the neon signs outside strip clubs. How does the sign relate to your experiences as a sex worker?

One of the things that makes my memoir, Girls Girls Girls, powerful and important is my portrayal of the comradery, support, and sisterhood of sex workers. A lot of the book takes place in the dressing rooms of the various strip clubs I’d worked at and highlights the mutual support and creative lives of the women I worked with. To me, the title both refers to the neon signs, which provide context to my story, and to the sisterhood of women who are or have been in the business. 

My cover art shows the neon sign but as if hand-drawn, which I intended to represent that my book is also about artmaking and trying to live a creative life while struggling with economic precarity. I chose hot pink to show that stripping, while sometimes dark, can also be playful and light. It depends on the day, the club, and your point of view.

3. Was it difficult to write about the sensitive, often misunderstood topics in Girls Girls Girls? How did you navigate topics so often steeped in shame?

At first, it was difficult, although as I said above, the harder part was writing about the abuse I’d endured from my ex-husband than writing about my work in the clubs. In my first draft of the book, I even tried leaving my ex out of the book altogether! For obvious reasons, that didn’t work. I needed to dig in and be honest about my entire experience and the shame imposed on me by my ex-husband, which gradually sank into my skin and became part of me. I now call it “third-person shame,” because I wasn’t personally ashamed of my job, but I did allow the shame that others felt for me to affect me. Part of the effect was feeling that I needed to keep my work secret from civilians, neither writing nor even talking about it. I deeply regret that!

This is not to say that sex work is easy! But it’s not all dark and dangerous, either. In my experience—perhaps because of their marginalization—sex workers make up the most open, inspiring, loving community I’ve ever encountered. I really wrote this book for them and keeping that in mind made it easier to write about things I’d formerly kept secret.

Shelley Stoehr is the author of four young adult novels, including Crosses (1991), the first YA novel about self-injury. 

She publishes internationally in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction and has received awards from the DeGroot Foundation, The North American Review, New Millennium Sunshots, Writer's Digest, WOW: Women on Writing, The New York Public Library, and the American Library Association. 

In her work, Shelley seeks to challenge societal stigmas and to encourage open dialogues about issues that are often shrouded in silence. 

Shelley identifies as disabled and is a former sex worker.

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorShelleyStoehr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stoehrshelley/

The Dark by Amanda Mason #thedark @amandajmason @manilla_press #bookreview #ghoststory #yorkshire

 

A SPINETINGLING SEASIDE FOLK HORROR NOVEL, SET ON THE YORKSHIRE COAST AGAINST THE 1970s BLACKOUTS

When the lights go out
You can lose sight of what is real . . .

It is the 1970s. A young woman, Rosie, moves to a small remote seaside village, readying to welcome her first child. But with her partner working away on an oil rig, the house isn't the sanctuary she'd hoped for - the situation made worse by the regular blackouts due to the ongoing miners' strikes. And the villagers seem friendly enough, but some of them are taking an uncomfortably close interest in her pregnancy.

Before long, Rosie notices strange noises and unexplained shadows in the corners of the cottage. As her birth date moves closer and the blackouts intensify, her isolation begins to consume her until she feels that she is losing her grip on reality.

But Rosie isn't the only one in the village who has cause to fear the dark . 

The Dark by Amanda Mason is published by Manilla Press on 8 October 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I read and reviewed The Hiding Place by Amanda Mason back in 2021, and absolutely loved it. I was delighted to get a pre publication copy of her latest; The Dark, from the publisher

I remember the power cuts and the darkness of the 1970s and there's something about this era that makes it absolutely perfect for a ghost story. It is a decade that seems to come with its own peculiar darkness, and Amanda Mason uses that brilliantly in The Dark. Add an isolated house, a small Yorkshire coastal village, local folklore, winter weather and the blackouts caused by the miners’ strikes, and I was completely sold.

Rosie is expecting her first child and has moved with her partner Isaac to Righteous House in the village where he grew up. Isaac works away on a North Sea oil rig, leaving Rosie alone for long periods in a place where she knows very few people. The villagers are interested in her, perhaps a little too interested at times, and then there is the house itself. Strange sounds, unexplained shadows and a creeping feeling that something is not quite as it should be begin to make Rosie question what is happening around her.

I loved the Yorkshire setting. That coastline, beautiful but bleak and exposed, and it works so well for gothic and ghostly tales. The author creates a real sense of isolation, not just inside Righteous House but in the village too. It feels like a place with memories, where stories have been passed down and old beliefs haven't entirely disappeared.

The 1970s detail is excellent. There are no mobile phones to reach for, no instant way of finding reassurance or company, and when the electricity goes off, the darkness really is dark. Those blackouts become increasingly claustrophobic and threatening. The author also captures the everyday details of the decade so well that the setting always feels so real. The attitudes, expectations and limitations placed upon women are just as important to Rosie's story as the period furnishings and power cuts.

I really enjoyed the uncertainty. Doubt seems to be everywhere. Is Rosie genuinely experiencing something inexplicable, or are loneliness, pregnancy and fear changing the way she sees the world around her? That question creates a lovely, creeping tension.

The Dark is wonderfully atmospheric folk horror, filled with unease and no cheap shocks. It is eerie, unsettling and steeped in its Yorkshire setting. And really, what could be better for a ghost story than a remote house on the coast in the 1970s, just as all the lights go out? Highly recommended. 

Amanda Mason was born and brought up in Whitby, North Yorkshire. 

She studied Theatre at Dartington College of Arts, where she began writing by devising and directing plays. 

Her short stories have been published in several anthologies. 

Her debut novel, The Wayward Girls was a dark and captivating story of sisterhood and family secrets, followed by The Hiding Place, a haunting novel about mothers and daughters. 

Her short story, Three Times, Lefthandwise, was shortlisted for the V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize in 2021. 

The Dark is her third novel.

The Girl in the Glasshouse by Anna Stothard #thegirlintheglasshouse @annastothardwrites @amazonpublishing #bookreview

 

A perfect family. A missing child. But everyone is lying.

On the idyllic island of Guernsey, twelve-year-old Celeste Everett vanishes from her bed during a storm.

The last people to see Celeste were her best friends—identical twin sisters who refuse to tell the whole truth about that night.

The Everetts are one of the island’s wealthiest and most powerful families, while the twins’ mother, Jess, is a struggling single parent with secrets of her own. But when suspicion begins to circle her daughters, Jess is drawn into the search for the missing girl—and into the orbit of a family used to getting exactly what they want.

As the magical island turns in on itself, Jess must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her children. Because in a small community, you’re always being watched. And someone knows exactly what happened that night.

The Girl in the Glasshouse by Anna Stothard is published on 16 November 2026 by Lake Union Publishing. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

This is the third of Anna Stothard’s books that I have read and I’m increasingly fascinated by her writing. There’s something quite unique about it, an ethereal, almost other-worldly quality that makes even the most ordinary moments feel slightly strange and unsettling.

The Girl in the Glasshouse begins with the disappearance of twelve-year-old Celeste Everett from her bed during a storm on Guernsey. Her best friends, identical twins, are amongst the last people to see her. Getting to the truth of what happened that night is far from straightforward.

I’ve always found twins fascinating, particularly identical twins and that closeness that those of us who aren’t twins can never really understand. The author makes such great use of this in this novel. There’s something almost uncanny about the girls, their private world and the sense that they know far more than they are prepared to reveal. Their relationship adds another layer of mystery to an already deeply atmospheric story.

Guernsey is equally important. An island can be idyllic, beautiful and seemingly safe, but there is another side to living within such a small community. People know one another. Families have histories. Secrets are difficult to keep and yet, they can stay hidden for years. Anna Stothard captures that sense of claustrophobia beautifully. The sea, the landscape and the changing weather become such an important ppart of her story. 

At the heart of the novel is Jess, the twins’ mother, whose instinct to protect her daughters brings her increasingly close to the wealthy and powerful Everett family. Issues of motherhood, privilege, loyalty and the stories families tell about themselves are there, throughout the narrative.

This isn’t simply a missing-child mystery. It’s stranger and more dreamlike than that. The author creates an atmosphere that feels slightly off-kilter from the beginning, and I found myself completely drawn into her version of Guernsey.

Haunting, atmospheric and beautifully unusual. Highly recommended. 

Anna Stothard was born in London and studied English Literature at Oxford University before completing a Screenwriting MFA at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. 

She is the author of five acclaimed novels, which have been published all over the world. 

Her writing often explores themes of identity, belonging, and obsession. 

After living in Beijing, LA and Berlin, Anna now writes by the sea on the west coast of Guernsey.

Instagram: @annastothardwrites

No Place Left by Sean Watkin #noplaceleft @seanwatkinauthor @canelo_co #dcidesilva #bookreview #crimefiction

 

Sometimes the end is just the beginning.

A young girl is found dead on Southport Pier. Less than an hour later, a patient who recently vanished from a secure mental health facility is discovered in the sand and February snow.

DCI de Silva and DS Barclay are back, but they find themselves pulled back into an all-too familiar nightmare. Is this a tragic series of coincidences, or is it inextricably linked to a conspiracy they once thought contained?

As the snow falls, the duo must navigate a trail that is rapidly growing cold. But when the case hits devastatingly close to home, de Silva and Barclay realise the truth will demand a price neither of them is prepared to pay.

In a heart-pounding race against an unknown enemy, they are headed for a confrontation that will change everything.

No Place Left by Sean Watkin was published on 17 September 2026 by Canelo and is the third book in the DCI de Silva series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review 

I discovered Sean Watkin’s DCI de Silva series in December last year and was hooked. It's now time for the third book in the series and for me, the characters really have begun to matter. No Place Left proved that to me because this one absolutely broke my heart in places.

I'd advise that you really do need to read these books in order. Black Water Rising and Better Off Dead lay the foundations for what happens here, and without that history I don’t think this book could possibly have the same emotional impact.

The opening is immediately unsettling. A young girl is found dead on Southport Pier and, less than an hour later, a missing patient from a secure mental health facility is discovered in the sand. DCI de Silva and DS Barclay are given this investigation, and before long there are uncomfortable reminders of things they had hoped were behind them.

That’s all I’m saying about the story. Go into this knowing as little as possible about the plot. 

I will say that it is incredibly dark. There are themes here that some readers will find very difficult and I really would suggest checking trigger warnings if there are subjects you prefer to avoid.

There were times when I actually had to stop reading for a moment. Sean Watkin takes these characters to some extremely difficult places and because I’ve become so invested in them, I felt every bit of it. I became genuinely emotional and yes, there were tears.

For all the darkness, there’s still that wonderful relationship between de Silva and Barclay. Their conversations, humour and loyalty provide desperately needed moments of warmth amongst everything else that is happening.

The freezing Southport setting is perfect too. Snow, sand and bitter cold seem to seep from the pages, adding to that overwhelming feeling that something terrible is always just around the corner.

No Place Left is brutal, upsetting and sometimes very difficult to read, but I couldn't put it down.

I finished it emotionally exhausted.

What on earth are you doing to us, Sean Watkin?

An incredibly powerful third book. I need the next one, but I’m not sure my nerves do.

Sean Watkin was born and raised in Liverpool and studied a BA and MA in Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University. 

He has been shortlisted for Fresher Writing Award, Book a Break Prize, Bristol Short Story Prize and the McDermid Debut Award. 

His writing has been featured in The Gay UK magazine, and The Content Wolf e-zine, as well as other LGBT+ publications. 

Sean lives in Liverpool with his partner and dog.

The Last Tenant by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir #thelasttenant @evabjorgaegisdottir @orendabooks T. Victoria Cribb #forbiddeniceland #crimefiction #translatedcrime

 

Trust can be deadly…

When the skeletons of a young woman and a baby are uncovered on a long-abandoned farm in Hvalfjörður, it is clear they were buried years apart. West Iceland CID begins to investigate the disturbing discovery, aware that someone has gone to great lengths to keep the past hidden.

In Akranes, Karitas, a young single mother seeking a new start, settles in with her four-year-old son and rents a basement flat from an eccentric landlord. A cautious sense of happiness returns when she meets the boy next door.

But when news breaks that a local girl has been murdered, Karitas must decide who she can trust, knowing that one wrong choice could place her and her child in danger. Detective Elma is drawn into the case, forced to navigate long-hidden family secrets to understand a killer's motive, while trying to hold together her increasingly troubled relationship with Sævar.

Dark, atmospheric and rich with psychological suspense, The Last Tenant confirms Eva Björg Ægisdóttir as one of Iceland's finest crime writers, as a meticulous investigation and a series of unsettling discoveries draw a close-knit community towards a reckoning no one can escape…

The Last Tenant by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir was published on 10 September 2026 by Orenda Books and is Volume 6 in the Forbidden Iceland series. It is translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb.  My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Virtual Book Tour 

It was a great pleasure to discover the writing of Eva Björg Ægisdóttir. I adore the Forbidden Iceland series, and have also enjoyed her stand alone novel. However, there’s something really comforting about returning to a crime series that you’ve grown to love, even when the crimes themselves are anything but comforting!  I’m always genuinely excited when another book arrives, and The Last Tenant is another excellent addition to a series that, for me, just goes from strength to strength.

Whilst you would benefit from reading the complete series, this story can be read as a stand alone. The author cleverly fills in any back story, without overwhelming the reader with detail. 

When the remains of a young woman and a baby are discovered on a derelict farm in Hvalfjörður, Elma and her colleagues are faced with an incredibly sad and puzzling investigation. The remains were buried years apart and, as the team begin looking into the past, it soon becomes clear that there are secrets here that have been hidden for a very long time.

Alongside this, we meet Karitas, a young single mum who has moved to Akranes with her four-year-old son, hoping for a fresh start. I really felt for Karitas. There’s a vulnerability about her situation that made me want everything to work out for her, but from quite early on there’s that little niggle of unease that tells you all may not be quite as it seems.

This is what this author does so well. She doesn’t need constant shocks or dramatic cliffhangers to keep me reading. She quietly plants those tiny seeds of doubt until suddenly I’m suspicious of absolutely everybody. I changed my mind so many times!

It was also so really good to be back with Elma. She’s become such a familiar character now, and I love that she has a life beyond the crimes she investigates. Her relationship with Sævar continues to develop, not always easily, and those personal moments make me feel even more invested in her.

And then there’s Iceland itself. The landscape, the weather and those close-knit communities give these books such a distinctive atmosphere. I can almost feel the cold while I’m reading them.

Victoria Cribb’s translation is, as always, excellent. It reads beautifully and naturally while never losing that wonderful Icelandic sense of place.

Dark, unsettling and emotional, but also completely absorbing, The Last Tenant had everything I’ve come to love about this series. I finished it already looking forward to spending more time with Elma.

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir really does get better and better. Highly recommended 

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study her MSc in
Globalisation when she was 25. 

After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. 

Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. 

Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. 

The book went on to win the CWA Debut Dagger, the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers' Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland. 

The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Iceland series) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit in July 2022. 

Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík.