Thursday 18 March 2021

Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten #HappyBirthdayRandomThings @nholten40 #Giveaway #MyLifeInBooks #Competition #Prize #Win #DeadPerfect

 


A murdered woman…

When the body of a young woman is found in a local park, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she’s dealing with no ordinary killer.  The murder victim has been disfigured; her outfit changed to resemble someone else.  Someone Maggie knows all too well…her close friend Dr Kate Moloney.

A determined detective…

Maggie is determined to keep her friend safe, but with Kate already struggling with a threatening stalker, Maggie now fears Kate’s life is in real danger.  Who else would want to harm Kate and why else would the killer be turning his victims into exact replicas – his living dolls? 

Can Maggie find the depraved killer?  Or will Kate become his next living doll?



READ MY REVIEW OF DEAD PERFECT ON RANDOM THINGS






As part of my on-going #HappyBirthdayRandomThings celebrations, I am so pleased to welcome author Noelle Holten here today. She's talking to us about the books that are special to her in My Life In Books


I also have one paperback copy of Dead Perfect to giveaway. 


To win a print copy of DEAD PERFECT, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @annecater and good luck!








MY LIFE IN BOOKS - NOELLE HOLTEN


Thank you Anne for inviting me to take part in My Life in Books as part of the fabulous Random Things Through My Letterbox birthday celebrations! I’ve chosen ten of my favourite books that I have read numerous times over the years with a brief explanation as to why I love them so much! 


This was the first boxset of books I ever owned, purchased by my dad and probably the first time I ever really understood about escaping into books and the story. I would look into wardrobes for many years after this in the hopes that I might one day find my Narnia. 


Where my love of mystery began – I adored these series of books because my sister and I would read them together or just after each other and we fancied ourselves kid detectives. I saved my pocket money to buy a fingerprint dusting kit once to see if I could solve some made up crime we had come up with – of course, we always did! 


I am pretty sure that every girl who read when I was growing up (in Canada at least) read this book and many more by Judy Blume! It’s funny, filled with all those questions a teenaged girl might have and quite thought-provoking. I still remember it some thirty years on. 






Another series I escaped into in my early teen years when life wasn’t fair, friendships were everything and our parents just didn’t understand. And I can’t forget – finding true love of course – for Adrian, that was Pandora – for me…well it was many boys and Although I didn’t have cane like Adrian, I was very overweight and invisible to most of my crushes – so I could relate. These books made me laugh, cry and nod my head. I have read them many times and still smile. I never want to be a teenager again! 




One of my all time favourite books – the perfect example of a psychological suspense thriller, I was totally captivated by this story which had it all. A haunting past, gaslighting, conflict, love – and so much more. Even as I type I am thinking of Manderley. *sigh* I think it might be time for another read of this classic gothic tale! 



I read this book in 1991 just when I was started my Hons BA in Philosophy and absolutely fell in love with it. It’s a YA mystery, philosophy and fantasy cross-over and I adored it. I think I’ve read it about ten times now and each time I discover something new in the pages. I want to say more but it is one of those books you have to experience for yourself as it will have a different meaning for everyone in my opinion. 


When anyone asks me what my all-time favourite crime book is – I name this. It forged my love of philosophy and crime and actually it was what made me want to study both. The question of morality and what would you do in the back of your mind as you read about Raskolnikov’s mental journey after he commits a random act of violence. An absolute masterpiece in my opinion. 






HUGE Stephen King fan here. I found his books in my early youth and have been a fan ever since. I particularly loved Salem’s Lot because the idea that people were returning from the dead fascinated me and with a writer as the main character and the realisation that perhaps we should leave well enough alone – also be careful what you wish for – well, it just had everything. I also remember being totally creeped out and my love of horror began! 


During my teens I was a horror / true crime fan – I read and collected every serial killer book made – still do! But then I happened upon Patricia Cornwell in the 90’s and my love of crime fiction developed even further. I love the Scarpetta series and still do – as the author created characters that grew throughout the series and stories that mimicked real life. The details were phenomenal and with the author being a medical examiner herself, the authenticity of what I was reading added something special to the series that I found a rarity at the time.


My love of gangland thrillers came after my first book by Martina Cole – and hasn’t stopped since. I’ve read every one of Martina’s books and this is one of my favourites – the main MC, Maura is badass – and what I love about Martina’s books was the idea that women could be fierce, strong individuals despite what they have to go through to get to the top.  I always get such an adrenaline rush after finishing a book by this author – like I can take on the world – though I have no experience as a gangland boss… yet! A girl can dream, eh? 




Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. 


She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. 
She has three Hons BAs - Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice - and a Masters in Criminology. 
Noelle's hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog.

Twitter @nholten40








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