Think the Lake District is a lovely place to visit? Think again. A Psychological & Chilling Thriller set in and around the fictional town of Kirkdale in Cumbria. One by one the young women of Kirkdale are being found grotesquely murdered, with no clues as to why.
Lying between the great lake Kirkwater and the base of Kirkby Pike, although beautiful, Kirkdale isn't exactly the most exciting place on the planet. But after young reporter Jenny Flood moves into the relaxed Cumbrian town, it sets a catalogue of events in motion that brings this comfortable community to its knees.
When middle aged G.P. Charlotte Peterson discovers Jenny has followed her from Bradenthorpe, six years after a fling with her philandering doctor husband Miles, it stirs deeply buried mental health issues from her youth. In the run up to the Kirkdale country show, the arrival of this third and most recent adversary triggers the already edgy and emotionally scarred Charlotte into finally stepping over the edge. Her longing to destroy Jenny has been on a slow and very resentful burn for years, now the reality of achieving that presents itself as a genuine possibility.
Can journalist Andrew Gale protect new colleague Jenny, girlfriend Gina and her best friend Molly from the psychotic GP's insane agenda? How will sarcastic ex Met. Officer Harry Longbridge deal with Andrew's continued interference?
Then there's the unexpected arrival of an American mystery woman. And just who is on the Blood List?
Blood List by Ali Carter was published in October by Matador Books. As part of the #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to welcome the author here today. She's talking about the books that are special to her in My Life in Books
My Life in Books - Ali Carter
The Magic Wishing Chair – Enid Blyton
Whilst Enid Blyton was often frowned upon as an author, she got a lot of children reading including me, and I read a fair few of her books when I was a child. ‘The Adventures Of The Wishing Chair’ particularly sticks in my mind because of a very old and dirty looking shop on my bus route to school. Every morning I passed it and looked longingly out of the window, it certainly got my imagination going because it looked just like the one the chair came from in the book. I remember reading the word ‘Antiques’ shop as ‘anti ques’ which made my mum really laugh, an overriding and lovely memory from the mid sixties.
White Fang – Jack London
I think I was about fourteen when my mum gave me a dual copy of Jack London’s ‘Call of the Wild’ & ‘White Fang.’ Considering ‘Shadow The Sheepdog’ had been one of my all time favourite Enid Blyton books, ‘White Fang’ came as a bit of a shock. But I loved it all the same despite the harshness and the brutality of the time and the bleak Alaskan setting. The writing style with so much emphasis on the wolf’s story had me utterly hooked. I remember starting ‘Call of the Wild,’ but it was ‘White Fang’ himself that I fell in love with. Probably one reason that once I had my own place, I’ve always lived with half a dozen or so large dogs, although now I also have a little Shih Tzu!
Murder Most Royal – Jean Plaidy
By the time I was in my late teens I was on to romantic historical novels, and for me Jean Plaidy, (and Phillipa Carr and Victoria Holt her other pen names), was the Queen of those. I just couldn’t get enough of them and was reading one after the other right into my early thirties. I loved history at school, particularly the Tudors & Stuarts so with Anne Boleyn’s being my favourite story, ‘Murder Most Royal’ was an obvious first choice. I ended up with multiple huge boxes full of them.
This is my only non-fiction book in this collection and was my ‘bible’ of the day. In 1987 I bought my first Golden puppy and began showing Golden Retrievers as a hobby, and breeding the odd litter. Joan Tudor was the doyenne of the breed for decades, and I devoured this book determined to learn everything I could in order to do my best by my furry family. It was my first major title in the subject and several authors followed as I spent the next thirteen years learning about and enjoying my dogs.
The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
This book was recommended by a colleague as he knew I was quite interested in history, old buildings, gothic symbolism and the Tarot. Although nothing remotely like the books I am currently reading, I loved The Da Vinci Code and Brown’s ability to paint such dramatic images with his words. It grabs you by the throat on the first page and doesn’t let go till the last. I followed it up with and enjoyed several other of Dan’s Robert Langdon stories, and the films that followed, although I’ve not read them all yet and still have ‘Origin’ in my TBR pile.
The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen
Tess Gerritsen has been my favourite author since I read her first thriller, ‘Harvest,’ the author having previously written for the romance genre. I absolutely loved ‘Harvest,’ however it was ‘The Surgeon’ introducing Detective Jane Rizzoli and forensic pathologist Maura Isles that really got me in the Gerritsen camp. With being a doctor herself, the medical detail she delivers is both as hypnotising as the story is haunting and gut wrenching. I thought I would never sleep again - but it didn’t stop me buying every single title.
Widows – Lynda La Plante
The fabulous ‘Widows,’ (the sequel ‘Widows Revenge’ is on my TBR list), from the 1980’s TV series which I absolutely loved. The cover is wonderful, (my cover of the year for 2018), the gritty storytelling is an absolute treat, and everything about it is what you’d expect from this experienced crime writer. I don’t think any woman could read Widows without wanting to be just a tiny bit like Dolly Rawlings, and I often think of poor stressed out and frustrated D.I. Resnick who also made me laugh out loud – what a character! Loved it!
Sticks & Stones - Jo Jakeman
This was my book of the year for 2018. A debut for the author and I loved the cover of this one too. The story of three women who had been badly treated by one man and collaborate to bring him down – a simple story you may think, but this is quite deliciously chilling and twisted whilst retaining in some places, a laugh out loud sense of humour. I love this mix of light and dark in my thrillers and am now ploughing through the psychological crime genre as my preferred reading choice.
The Crossing Places – Elly Griffiths
The first of the Dr. Ruth Galloway & D.C.I. Harry Nelson series set in North & West Norfolk which just happens to be where I live. The in depth descriptions of the area, (they literally drive past my house on the A47!), the relationships, the fact that Elly has no qualms about including a druid as a main character, all of these things made me fall in love with this book. A friend leant it to me initially, but I became so attached to the characters and Elly’s writing style of humour with suspense, I bought the whole series at one of her Norfolk author events, including this one. I never thought my favourite writer could be dropped into second place, but this book achieved that and it’s down to Elly’s fabulously reachable characters, and the way she makes you feel you’re in the book working alongside them all to solve their mysteries.
Ali Carter -May 2019
Ali Carter was born
in Surrey in 1958 and moved to East Anglia in 2003, settling just outside King’s
Lynn 4 years later where she currently lives with her husband, 5 dogs and 6
cats. (Yes she knows the dog/cat thing is a bit mad!)She originally found some success in writing poetry in the 80’s and 90’s, but inspiration for her debut novel ‘Blood List’ came after the Shipman case hit the headlines – a few years later the dark and deeply psychotic G.P. ‘Charlotte’ was born. The full story took its time in completion however as there was a very long period of writer’s block about three quarters of the way through the book. It was an author friend who finally persuaded her to pull it out of the laptop and finish it, for which she will be eternally grateful. At the time of writing, a sequel is in its infancy which she sincerely hopes won’t take another 12 years to come to fruition!
Ali is also a proud mum to two grown up sons, and an extra proud nanny to her adorable granddaughter, although at only 5 she won’t be reading ‘Blood List’ anytime soon!
She hopes you will enjoy her first long awaited thriller, and you can follow Ali on Twitter @alicrimewriter and on her website at alicarterauthor.com
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