All The Time in the World by Elizabeth McKay #virtualbooktour #allthetimeintheworld @elizlmckay @crowvuslit @randomthingstours @elizlmckay.bsky.social

 

Imagine a world not governed by time.

When twelve-year-old twins Jake and Abi stumble upon the mysterious Merchiston Hall, they think they’ve found somewhere to work, somewhere to sleep, and, if they’re lucky, a place to stay safe.

Instead, they discover a world unlike anything they’ve ever known.

A house with no clock.
Unicorns roaming the grounds.
And a bridge across the river that nobody wants them to cross.

For the first time since their mother’s death, Jake and Abi begin to feel happy. They begin to feel at home.

But there is an underlying threat of a stolen power - the ability to control all the time in the world.

All The Time in the World by Elizabeth McKay was published on 15 September 2026 by Crowvus. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours virtual book tour 

I don't often read children's fiction. I can't remember the last time I picked up a book aimed at younger readers. However, I'd been struggling with a bit of a reading block, nothing was really grabbing my attention and I fancied something a little different. At just over 200 pages, Elizabeth McKay's All The Time in the World seemed like a good choice. And what a lovely little read it turned out to be.

Twelve-year-old twins Jake and Abi have had a difficult time since losing their mother. When they arrive at Merchiston Hall, they want to find work, somewhere to sleep and to feel safe. What they discover is something quite different.

Merchiston Hall is not an ordinary house. There are no clocks, unicorns roam the grounds and there's a bridge that nobody seems particularly keen for them to cross. For the first time in ages, the twins begin to feel safe and happy. However, there's something sinister lurking beneath the magic, and it soon becomes clear that all is not quite as wonderful as it seems.

I really enjoyed the setting. I really love a mysterious old house where time doesn't behave as it should! Elizabeth McKay has created an imaginative world, with enough intrigue and adventure to keep the pages turning.

Beneath the fantasy and magic are some lovely themes of family, friendship, kindness and belonging. Jake and Abi are children who have experienced real sadness, and their longing for somewhere to call home gives the story real warmth. 

It's an easy, engaging read and exactly what I needed. Sometimes a shorter book, something completely outside your usual reading habits, is just the thing to get you back into reading.

A charming, imaginative little adventure that reminded me children's fiction isn't just for children. I'm really pleased I gave this one a chance.

Elizabeth still lives in the small Ayrshire town she grew up in and likes to get involved in numerous community activities – Tai Chi, art, fitness classes. 

She’s had a go at all of them with variable degrees of success. But her favourite thing is leading the brilliant book group at the library which often entails outings to local bookshops or places they’ve been reading about. 

She is the author of three picture books and has had hundreds of short stories and articles published in magazines, as well as being the winner of several writing awards. 

She believes the best thing about being a children’s author is visiting schools and hopefully helping to instil in children a love of books. 

When she’s not doing writerly things she’s most likely to be found with her feet up, reading a book and eating cake - all at the same time.

The Fresh Cut by Antti Tuomainen #thefreshcut #virtualbooktour t. David Hackston @anttituomainen @orendabooks @countertenorist #finland #thrillers #translatedcrime

 

Sawdust, secrets and a body that won't stay dead…

Heikki Nevalainen is the proud owner of a once successful sawmill, a mountain of debt and very few options to deal with either of them. An unexpected solution arrives in the form of local gangster Ismo Sippo. Dispose of Sippo's dead wife, and the sawmill can keep running. Refuse, and Heikki loses everything. Horrified but desperate, Heikki agrees, loads Annaleena into his car and heads for the mill.

But Annaleena proves to be not quite as dead as expected.

As a Belgian buyer arrives to inspect the mill's timber, Heikki scrambles to keep up appearances. But the situation is splintering fast, and even his own workers seem to be hatching plans of their own…

Deadlines loom, tempers fray and misunderstandings multiply, and as the interminable situation grows ever worse, Heikki discovers that keeping a sawmill running is hard enough without a half-dead body and potentially fatal complications…

Blending deadpan humour, escalating danger and absolute chaos, The Fresh Cut is Antti Tuomainen at his most audacious, as good intentions, bad decisions and a small Finnish town collide with explosive results.

The Fresh Cut by Antti Tuomainen was published on 5 November 2026 by Orenda Books and is translated by David Hackston. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour 

I've read every one of Antti Tuomainen's books that has been translated into English, and I've really enjoyed them all. He has such a  wonderful ability to take an ordinary person, place them in an increasingly ridiculous situation and somehow make the whole thing both hilarious and so incredibly tense. The Fresh Cut is another absolute treat and it deservedly won the Finnish Crime Novel of the Year Award.

Heikki Nevalainen is a man with problems. His once successful sawmill is struggling, the debts are mounting and he's desperate to keep the business afloat. Unfortunately, accepting help from local gangster Ismo Sippo comes with quite a few more strings attached than Heikki could ever have imagined. When he's asked to dispose of a body, things take a very unexpected turn, and that's all I'm going to say about the plot!

What follows is a gloriously chaotic story of bad decisions, misunderstandings and increasingly desperate attempts to keep everything under control. I absolutely loved Heikki. He's an ordinary, decent man trying to do his best in circumstances that become more outrageous by the minute. You can't help but feel for him, even while laughing at the situations he finds himself in.

The author's dark humour is, as always, absolutely brilliant. There's a proper deadpan quality to his writing, and the contrast between the absurdity of events and the seriousness with which his characters approach them is delicious. However, beneath the comedy there's real danger, and the tension never disappears.

I must also mention David Hackston's excellent translation. The dialogue, comic timing and wonderfully dry observations feel completely natural in English. The translation really contributes to the whole reading experience

The Fresh Cut is clever yet unpredictable, incredibly entertaining and filled with memorable characters. Antti Tuomainen continues to be one of my favourite crime writers, and this latest novel has only reinforced that. I loved it!

Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. 

In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. 

In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. 

With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller and has been released as a TV series, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. 

Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). 

He also translates Antti Tuomainen’s stories. 

In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. 

David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki. 

Follow David on X and Instagram @Countertenorist

The Falling by Carole Hailey #thefalling @carolehaileyx @atlanticbooks #speculativefiction #bookreview

 

Cassie had an unconventional childhood, growing up with a father who spent all of his time preparing for the apocalypse. Instead of going to school, she had an eccentric curriculum at the kitchen table with her mum, and instead of going out to play, she either snuck off to see her beloved grandparents or went to the family safe space, a garage that had been sealed off and stocked with tinned food and emergency batteries.

Now middle-aged and living alone, Cassie continues the rhythms of preparing for the worst, even though her dad failed to prepare for the slow-motion tragedy that became their family. But when an asteroid is located in the solar system, the chance of impact in northern Europe climbing every day, the worst finally seems to be confirmed. Cassie's strange dad might just turn out to have been her salvation...

The Falling by Carole Hailey was published by Atlantic Books on 5 November 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Carole Hailey is an incredible writer. This is her third book and I loved her previous two (The Silence Project and Scenes From A Tragedy), with a passion, regularly recommending both of them to people. I was so intrigued to discover what she would do next. 

This is speculative fiction at its finest. Once again, this extremely talented author has produced a novel that entertains, informs and makes the reader think. It may be complete speculation but it feels really prescient. 

Published just as the UK Government launched their 'Be Ready' campaign, with advice to citizens to ensure they have supplies in store in case of power/water loss, this is a novel that deals with just that sort of event ...... but on a far larger scale. This is the end of the world. An asteroid in the solar system is on track to hit Earth, and southern England is the centre of the target.

Cassie is a lonely, isolated woman whose father was a 'prepper'. Long before the talk of asteroids he prepared his small family for the unexpected and although her parents are both now dead, Cassie has kept up those beliefs. 
She is also tortured. Tortured by anxiety, eaten up with misplaced guilt. She believes that it is her fault that her family are dead and spends hours and hours trying to absolve herself, led on by a voice that she names 'the rat'.

As the asteroid gets nearer and nearer and society begins to break down completely, Cassie forms two unusual relationships and it is Cy and Kit who accompany her through the darkest days, but who also make her feel wanted and even loved. It is a pleasure to see these relationships grow, albeit with the knowledge that they may not have longevity. 

This is not just a novel of fiction though, it's a look at the behaviour of humans when under pressure. The author cleverly and quite scathingly includes detail of British people who are desperate to cross over to Europe and who meet barriers all the way. Very familiar to most of us and very telling too! With echoes of behaviours shown during the recent Covid pandemic and the utter contempt some show for their fellow humans, this makes for emotionally challenging reading sometimes. 

Utterly captivating, with beautiful prose and characters who will begin to live in your head. Another triumph and most certainly one of my books of the year. Highly recommended. 

Carole Hailey completed a six-month Guardian/UEA novel writing course taught by Bernardine Evaristo, then promptly abandoned her career in law to undertake an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths and a PhD in Creative Writing at Swansea University. 

Her debut, The Silence Project, was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick, Waterstones Welsh Book of the Month and a Kindle No. 1 bestseller. 

Carole's second novel, Scenes from a Tragedy,was shortlisted for the 2026 CWA Twisted Dagger.

Hope House by Joe Bond #hopehouse @joebondwriter @penguinfigtee #bookreview

 

They came from the streets, the sticks, and every place in between. They've stolen cars, dealt dope and hurt people. They've been hurt themselves. They’ve been labelled ‘delinquents’ and cast out from their families – if they ever had a family at all. Their futures promise prison - or worse - but for now, they've been brought together to live in an old house on a hill, and see about getting themselves - and each other - right.

Spirited, angry, confused, and misled, these are the boys of Hope House, an institution for troubled young men in 1980s Kentucky. There is Smoove, named for his distinctive walk after he was shot in both feet back home in Louisville. There’s Damico, reported for shoplifting and assault, even though that was only part of the story. There’s Bobby, who tells brave tales of adventures of coyotes but goes quiet at the thought of his father. And there’s Awol, who can’t stop running away, only to return to the place he knows best.

Deeply honest and soulful, Hope House is a novel about searching for belonging and lifting each other up; about coming of age into a society that’s already closed its doors; about lost boys who grapple with their pasts, dare to imagine different futures, and nurture the almost outrageous hope that they might just turn everything around.

Hope House by Joe Bond was published by Fig Tree on 12 November 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

Hope House by Joe Bond is such a moving, compassionate and beautifully written novel about troubled young lives, second chances and how important it is when someone believes in you. 

Set in 1980s Kentucky, the story centres on Hope House, a residential institution for teenage boys who have fallen foul of the law. They have been labelled delinquents, most of them have experienced violence, neglect and rejection, and their prospects look bleak. Yet under the guidance of Mr Watts, who refuses to give up on them, there is hope for something better.

The author creates such a wonderful cast of characters, each has their own distinctive voice, difficult history and dreams for the future. There is so much more to the boys that that label, and their relationships, disagreements and moments of unexpected kindness are such a compelling read. 

There is humour alongside heartbreak, and an real belief in the possibility of change. The writing feels authentic, and whilst the emotional impact is tough it is never overly sentimental.

This is a novel that raises important questions about rehabilitation, responsibility and society's treatment of vulnerable young people.

I found Hope House really moving. It was sometimes heartbreaking but in the end, uplifting. A thoughtful and memorable read that deserves a wide audience. Highly recommended.

Joe Bond grew up around group homes and residential treatment programs in eastern
Kentucky. 

He’s been a child-care worker, a copy editor, a security guard at a psychiatric hospital and a research librarian at a law firm in Times Square. 

For several years he covered mixed martial arts fighting for ESPN and various magazines and newspapers throughout the U.S., Brazil and Japan. 

He began working on Hope House after his story “Damico” won the Masters Review Short Story Award. 

He lives in New Orleans.

Adder Stone by Clare Clark #virtualbooktour #adderstone @claresclark @wiltonsquarebooks #bookreview #northwales #trywerynvalley

 

It is 1963 and in north Wales the Jones family are being forcibly ejected from the land they have farmed for generations. Their valley is to be drowned, turned into a reservoir for the people of Liverpool.

While her husband Dai is grief-stricken, Olwen Jones privately sees it as a blessing, an unforeseen chance to escape the narrow confines of the valley. But for her teenage son Emyr, Liverpool’s careless arrogance is proof that Wales will never be free to decide its own future until, like Ireland, it breaks the shackles of English imperialism.

Based on true events, Adder Stone is an exploration of personal identity and the possibilities and limits of love. How far will we go for our child or for our country? Who are we when we lose the places and the people that define us? And how much, in the end, is it possible to forgive?

Adder Stone by Clare Clark is published today; 5 November 2026 by Wilton Square Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this virtual book tour 

I loved this book. Adder Stone is one of those novels that stay in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page.

I had heard about the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley in North Wales, but didn't really know much about it and  I  had never really considered what it must have meant to the families whose homes and farms and entire way of life were sacrificed to provide water for Liverpool. Clare Clark has taken this extraordinary piece of history and created something so powerful and very moving. 

At the heart of the story is the Jones family.  I was fascinated by how differently each of them react to losing the land that has been theirs for generations. Dai's grief is almost tangible, while young Emyr's anger takes him in another direction entirely. And then there's Olwen.

Oh, Olwen. What a character! I found her utterly compelling. I loved her contradictions, her private thoughts, her frustrations and the fact that she doesn't always feel what she thinks she ought to feel. I could understand her longing for something beyond the valley, even while recognising the terrible sadness of what was happening around her. She felt so real to me, and I found myself thinking about her even when I wasn't reading.

The author doesn't make anything straightforward for her characters. Love, loyalty, marriage, motherhood and belonging are all complicated, and people don't always behave as we'd like them to. I found myself sympathising with one character, then questioning them a few pages later. I love it when an author makes me do that.

The landscape is described so beautifully that I could almost feel the valley around me. Knowing what is to happen to it makes those descriptions all the more poignant.

This is a novel about so much more than a flooded village. It's about identity, family, sacrifice and the places that make us who we are.

Beautifully written, devastating and full of wonderfully believable characters. I was completely absorbed. A fabulous read.

Clare Clark is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels including The Great Stink and Savage Lands, both longlisted for the Women’s Prize. 

Her previous book, Trespass, exploring the murky world of undercover policing, was praised by the Mail on Sunday as ‘provocative, moving and timely’. 

Her books have been translated into seven languages.

Inside The Madhouse by Hope Daniels with Ann Cusack #insidethemadhouse @hackneychild @mirror.books @randomthingstours #virtualbooktour #memoir

 Inside The Madhouse gives a bitterly honest account of life on a modern psychiatric unit including the incredible camaraderie and the often unintentionally funny day-to-day routines.

Hope Daniels became a poster girl for surviving abuse and the care system, thanks to her 2014 Sunday Times bestseller Hackney Child.

Despite everything, Hope grew up determined to have a career and after the release of Hackney Child, she went on to have more successful books, building a loyal fanbase, while also becoming an ambassador and role model for others like her.

However, in Inside The Madhouse, her new and most raw memoir to date, Hope reveals her new life was not quite as rosy as many thought.

In 2022, when a difficult relationship came to a toxic end and her unresolved trauma of being abused as a teenager began to resurface, she tried to take her own life.

It resulted in her being forcibly sectioned and spending three months in two very different psychiatric hospitals - one NHS and one private. Now, against a backdrop of rattling keys, slamming doors, and the shrieks of patients resisting treatment, Hope reveals what life is really like on a psychiatric ward today - celebrating the unexpected camaraderie amongst the patients and the moments of dark humour which helped her through.

She met countless women who, like her, were haunted by the memories and effects of a lifetime of cruelty and neglect. Their stories are rarely told, they are the shadowy figures who often exist in the margins of society - far from family and friends. In this powerful memoir, Hope shares her own lived experience, and that of her fellow patients, and documents their joint journey towards redemption and recovery.

Inside The Madhouse by Hope Daniels with Ann Cusack was published by Mirror Books on 22 October 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours virtual book tour.

Some books can be really uncomfortable reading, and Inside the Madhouse is certainly one of them. It's a very personal, often distressing account of a woman who has already survived more than most people could imagine, and finds herself facing another devastating time in her life.

Hope Daniels is probably best known for Hackney Child, her extraordinary account of growing up in the care system. In Inside The Madhouse she takes us into the frightening and bewildering world of psychiatric hospitals, when a mental health crisis resulted in her being sectioned for three months. She spent time in two different hospitals; one NHS, and one private. 

Hope describes the loss of freedom, the constant noise, the restrictions and some quite awful experiences of care. The contrast between the two hospitals raises uncomfortable questions about how people are treated when they're at their most vulnerable.

There is also humour here too, and I think that's one of the book's greatest strengths. Hope has a wonderfully sharp eye for the absurd, and even in the bleakest circumstances she finds moments of dark, sometimes wonderfully inappropriate humour. There is something very human about patients finding things to laugh about when almost everything else is beyond their control. These moments are a reminder that laughter can be an extraordinary means of survival.

The friendships and camaraderie between the women are really emotional, many of them are carrying their own heartbreaking histories. Their stories add another layer to an already fascinating memoir.

Ann Cusack helps bring Hope's distinctive voice to the page, balancing the rawness of her experiences with warmth and honesty. At times I found the relentless suffering overwhelming, and occasionally wished for a little more breathing space.

This isn't an easy book, nor should it be. But alongside the anger, sadness and frustration, there's resilience, compassion and a surprising amount of humour.

A challenging, eye-opening memoir that reminds us that even in the darkest places, people can still find reasons to laugh.

Hope Daniels is one of the UK’s foremost advocates for care leavers and social work. 

She has appeared on television and in the press and speaks at universities and other training bodies for social workers. 

She is also the author of four books that detail her own experience and those of others in care, the best known of which is ‘Hackney Child’ which was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

Bestselling author and journalist, Ann Cusack has ghost-written nine memoirs, all of which have been original material self-sourced and developed. 

Ann has previously written several bestsellers for Mirror Books including Groomed by a Gang and Abandoned. 

Living and working in Manchester, where she was born, she has a long track record of following stories and working with ordinary people who have found themselves thrust into the spotlight by extraordinary even

What Will Save Us by Claire Seeber #whatwillsaveus @claireseeberauthor @valleypress @lendalpress #bookreview

 

Three spies. One Mission. Three agendas – and everything to lose.

On the eve of war, Anna takes a post in London as a nanny to a family with Nazi ties, hiding her desperate search for the baby she was forced to give up. 

Karl plays both sides of the Secret Service, hunting a double agent while haunted by a past he cannot forget. 

Elise is drawn back into the shadows she once escaped. 

Set across Britain, Germany and Austria, What Will Save Us is a thrilling, intimate tale of ordinary men and women, whose messy, broken lives end up changing the course of history.

What Will Save Us by Claire Seeber was published on 15 October 2026 by Lendal Press / Valley Press. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

Some books entertain us and some make us think, and others that get right our your skin. What Will Save Us by Claire Seeber does all three of those things. I practically inhaled the book.

It's a sweeping, beautifully created story of espionage, betrayal, love, loss, and most importantly,  about people and the extraordinary lengths they'll go to for those they love.

The story begins in Austria in 1937, and we are  introduced to Anna, a young woman whose desperate actions bring her to the attention of Karl, a man working for both British and German intelligence. What follows is a dangerous journey into a world where nobody can be entirely trusted, loyalties are constantly changing and the consequences of making the wrong decision are terrifying.

What I really loved was that, despite the enormous historical events unfolding around them, Anna and Karl are the always the heart of the story. They are both complex and they have both suffered. They also both carry secrets, and are driven by very personal motivations. They are vulnerable and they are wonderful.

The author creates the atmosphere of pre-war Europe so convincingly. There's a sense of unease that increases throughout the story,  we are aware of the horrors waiting just around the corner. However,  alongside the tension and intrigue, there is such tenderness in the writing. The emotional story is just as compelling as the espionage.

Knowing that Anna was partly inspired by the author's own grandmother, and that the novel began during an incredibly difficult period in Claire Seeber's life, adds another layer of poignancy. There's a real sense of heart behind these pages.

I love historical fiction that teaches me something while keeping me completely absorbed in the characters' lives, and this certainly delivers. It's ambitious, atmospheric and full of difficult choices, with moments that are genuinely heartbreaking.

What Will Save Us is much so more than a wartime thriller. It's a powerful exploration of motherhood, survival, identity and the long lasting consequences of the past. A moving, memorable novel that will stay will be for a long time. Highly recommended. 

Born in London with a love of all things dramatic, Claire Seeber began her career as an
actress. Soon deciding she'd rather pull strings safely behind the scenes, Claire forged a successful career in documentary television, enabling her to travel the world, glimpsing lives otherwise unseen, also working as a feature writer for newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday and The Daily Telegraph.

She now works as a therapist, but is also a bestselling author of psychological suspense, with her novel Lullaby (Avon, 2007) recognised as one of the foundational works of 'domestic noir'. Her novel The Stepmother (Bookouture, 2016) has sold over 120,000 copies to date. Her 9 novels have been translated into 13 languages; she has been shortlisted for the 2023 Bridport Prize for Short Stories, and her short story 'He Did Not Always See Her' was shortlisted for a CWA Dagger. More recently, The Street Party and The Parents were both published by Bookouture, and reached the Top 5 Kindle Bestseller list.