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.

Getting Away With Murder by Shari Lapena #gettingawaywithmurder @sharilapena @bantambooksuk #bookreview #thriller

She loves her husband. But she might love their house more . . .

Jill and Ted adore their New York brownstone the way others adore their children. They have carefully, expensively, made every inch of it their own. It reflects who they are, their status and tastes. With the grand mahogany staircase and state-of-the-art kitchen, it is the stuff of glossy magazines and real-estate dreams. It is their sanctuary.

So when Ted’s inheritance runs out and he makes a bad investment, they panic. How can they protect their beloved home and enviable lifestyle?

The answer is obvious. Or at least, it is obvious to Jill and Ted. The death of one wealthy family member could solve all their problems. Together, they will get away with murder.

As long as they trust each other.

And as long as there are no surprises . . .

Getting Away With Murder by Shari Lapena was published on 19 July 2026 by Bantam/Transworld. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Oh, I do love a Shari Lapena book! I've been a huge fan since The Couple Next Door and have read every one of her books since. There's always such a lovely feeling of anticipation when a new one arrives, because I just know I'm going to be in for a treat. However, I really do think Getting Away With Murder might be my favourite yet! I read this one on the plane travelling to Canada and it was the perfect read for my journey. 

Jill and Ted have everything they could possibly want, including a gorgeous New York brownstone that they absolutely adore. They've spent a fortune on it, and their beautiful home and fancy lifestyle mean everything to them. Unfortunately, they've also spent more money than they actually have, and things are beginning to look decidedly shaky.

They're desperate to hang on to everything they've worked for, and their solution to their financial problems is, well, quite shocking!

I absolutely flew through this book. Once I'd started, I really didn't want to put it down. Shari Lapena has such a knack for creating characters who make the most dreadful decisions, and then somehow manages to make me desperate to find out what they'll do next.

Jill and Ted are not particularly likeable people, and I don't think they're supposed to be. They're selfish, entitled and completely wrapped up in their own little world. I found them fascinating, though, and their relationship is one of the things that makes this story so entertaining. Watching the cracks begin to appear in their seemingly perfect marriage is quite delicious!

There's a brilliant sense of unease throughout and I also really enjoyed the dark humour. There were moments when I couldn't quite believe what I was reading, and others when I almost wanted to shout at the characters. It's all very very entertaining.

This is exactly the sort of thriller I adore. Fast-paced, packed with tension, full of surprises and impossible to leave alone. Do not promise yourself that you'll stop at the end of the next chapter, you won't! 

I've loved Shari Lapena's books for years, but she's really excelled herself with this one. What a fabulous read! I already know it's going to be one of my favourite thrillers of the year. Recommended. 

Shari Lapena is the number one internationally bestselling author of ten stand-alone
thrillers. 

Her debut thriller, The Couple Next Door, was a global phenomenon, selling over four million copies worldwide. 

It was named WHSmith’s Book of the Year in 2016 and became the UK’s No. 1 bestselling adult fiction title in 2017. 

Her recent novels include Everyone Here Is Lying and She Didn’t See It Coming. 

Shari’s thrillers have been Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, and four have been selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club. 

A former lawyer and English teacher, Shari now writes from a farm in Ontario. 

Her books are published in over forty territories, translated into dozens of languages, and optioned for film and television.


Facebook: /ShariLapena
Instagram: sharilapena

The Innocent Canadian by John Delacourt #theinnocentcanadian @johndelacourt1 #bookreview #historical #spyfiction #canada

 

The Innocent Canadian is a literary spy thriller and murder mystery inspired by a hidden chapter of Canadian literary history. 

At its heart is the decades-long romance between Canadian diplomat Charles Ritchie and Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen, which began in wartime London when Ritchie was stationed at Canada House and Bowen worked for Britain’s Ministry of Information. 

During that same period, Bowen wrote The Heat of the Day—a haunting and original spy novel. But could her inspiration have come from real-life entanglements too complex or dangerous to name? 

Picking up where history and fiction blur, The Innocent Canadian imagines a world of covert alliances, Nazi sympathisers, and 'America First' conspirators, reclaiming a forgotten thread of World War II intrigue to tell a distinctly Canadian story of romance, loyalty, and quiet heroism—one with striking resonance for our times.

The Innocent Canadian by John Delacourt was published on 5 April 2026 by Now Or Never Publishing. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I've just spent a wonderful ten days in the Canadian Rockies - I do love that country. I am always eager to read books set in places that I am travelling to, I read The Innocent Canadian before my trip. 

The Innocent Canadian by John Delacourt is an interesting blend of historical fiction, espionage, murder mystery and romance, set against the uncertainty of wartime London.

What particularly interested me was the author's inspiration behind the novel. He has drawn upon the real-life relationship between Canadian diplomat Charles Ritchie and Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen, and created fictional characters around this fascinating piece of literary history. I knew nothing about Ritchie before reading this, and the historical connection really added something to the story for me.

Bill Davenant is the Canadian of the title, a diplomat working at Canada House who finds himself drawn into a world far removed from the everyday business of diplomacy. Colette Cluny is a writer working for the Ministry of Information, and their developing relationship unfolds alongside a story of espionage, divided loyalties and political intrigue.

I thought the author portrayed wartime London really well. This is a city living with the threat of bombing and invasion, yet people continue to work, socialise, gossip and fall in love. There is also an interesting look at the attitudes of the times, particularly the uncomfortable presence of Nazi sympathisers within sections of British society.

At times I found there was quite a lot to take in. There are numerous characters, political connections and historical references, and I occasionally had to stop and remind myself who was who. The pacing is fairly steady too, so anyone expecting a fast-moving spy thriller may find this rather different. For me, it worked best when concentrating on Davenant and Colette and their experiences as they work their way through this complicated world.

I liked the Canadian perspective. Davenant is something of an outsider in British society, and viewing its class structures and peculiarities through his eyes gives the novel an interesting angle.

The Innocent Canadian is an intelligent and thoughtful historical novel, well suited to readers who enjoy literary fiction alongside their espionage. An intriguing mixture of fact and imagination that also encouraged me to find out more about the real people who inspired it.

John Delacourt is the author of five novels. A graduate of the Humber School for Writers, his short fiction and literary criticism have appeared in The New Quarterly, The Danforth Review, The Literary Review of Canada, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Life Magazine, and The Ottawa Review of Books. 

He lives and writes in Ottawa.i

s an Ottawa writer and government relations consultant whose fiction has appeared in numerous publications in Canada and the U.S. . His criticism and political commentary have appeared in the Rover, the Ottawa Review of Books, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Life,  iPolitics, the Hill Times and Policy magazine. He studied at the Humber School for Writers after graduating with an MA in English Literature from the University of Toronto.
His sixth novel The Innocent Canadian will be published in April of 2026 in Canada.

The Princes of Pauper's Pond by Lars Elling, t Don Bartlett #princesofpauperspond @lars_elling_artist @orendabooks #norway #litfic #historical #translatedfiction

 

1985. Nineteen-year-old Filip spends his days playing football, listening to music on his Walkman and drawing, searching for something he cannot yet name. He lives in a large family house shared with his grandparents, where an old rift between his grandfather Arnstein and Arnstein's brother Truls still governs the atmosphere. The cause appears trivial, an apple tree dropping fruit across a boundary fence, but the bitterness between the brothers speaks of something far older and deeper.

1912. With Europe on the brink of upheaval, Arnstein and Truls are sent into the forest for the summer by their stern father, determined that his sons should learn to endure hardship. Left to fend for themselves among travellers, log drivers and Forest Finns, the brothers live from the land, fishing, hunting and roaming the vast woodland. Cold and hungry, yet bound together by fierce loyalty and affection, they crown themselves the princes of Pauper's Pond, rulers of a world shaped by freedom, imagination and shared struggle. Until, back home, their father makes a decision that will change everything.

Spanning generations, The Princes of Pauper's Pond is a vibrant, magical and deeply affecting novel about brotherhood and belonging, about finding joy and love in the open landscape, and about those single moments that can seal a family's fate … forever…

For readers who love Maja Lunde, Per Petterson, Benjamin Myers, Claire Keegan and Maggie O'Farrell.

The Princes of Pauper's Pond by Lars Elling is published by Orenda Books on 24 September 2026, and is translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Virtual Book Tour 

Oh, this book! The Princes of Pauper's Pond is a novel that just seemed to creep up on me. I became so involved with these characters and their complicated family history, and there is something particularly emotional about knowing that Lars Elling has based the story on true events.

The author takes us between two time lines. In 1985, nineteen-year-old Filip is living in the family home with his parents and grandparents. His grandfather Arnstein and Arnstein's brother Truls live close to one another, yet haven't spoken for years. There is an apple tree involved in their ongoing feud, but it soon becomes obvious that a few pieces of fallen fruit cannot possibly account for so many years of anger and resentment.

We then travel back to 1912, when Arnstein and Truls are boys. Their stern father sends them off into the forest for the summer, expecting them to fend for themselves and learn about hardship. What follows is a such a wonderful portrayal of childhood freedom. The brothers fish, hunt and roam through the Norwegian wilderness, and meet all sorts of people along the way. They're resourceful, mischievous and sometimes reckless, but most of all they're brothers, fiercely loyal to one another.

I loved these sections. Elling is also an artist, and I think you can really see that in his writing. The landscape is so vivid that I could picture the forests and water, almost feel the cold and damp and smell the trees. There are moments of real beauty, but Elling never romanticises the boys' experiences. Life can be harsh and sometimes brutal.

Running underneath everything is the knowledge that something happened to these two boys. We know the elderly Arnstein and Truls are estranged, but Elling takes his time in showing us how a childhood bond could become so fractured. That knowledge adds real poignancy to their adventures.

Don Bartlett's excellent translation deserves a huge mention too. Translated fiction can only work when the English feels completely natural while retaining the character of the original, and Bartlett achieves that beautifully here. The humour, tenderness and lyricism all shine through.

This is not a book to rush. It's one to settle into and allow the characters and landscape to work their magic. A moving, sometimes funny, sometimes painful story about brothers, fathers and sons, memory, regret and the strange things that families carry with them through the generations.

I thought it was quite wonderful. Highly recommended. 

Lars Elling (b. 1966) is a writer and a visual artist. He is the author of two picture books and has also illustrated several children’s books. Together with Bjørn Sortland he won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1996 for the book Red, Blue and a Bit of Yellow, which he illustrated. Elling has had exhibitions in Berlin and New York and his works have been acquired by Norway’s National Museum and the Council of Culture. 

The Princes of Pauper’s Pond is his first novel.

Don Bartlett completed an MA in Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia in 2000 and has since worked with a wide variety of Danish and Norwegian authors, including Jo Nesbø and Gunnar Staalesen’s Varg Veum series: We Shall Inherit the Wind, Wolves in the Dark and the Petrona award-winning Where Roses Never Die. He also translated Faithless, the previous book in Kjell Ola Dahl’s Oslo Detective series for Orenda Books. He lives with his family in a village in Norfolk.