The Woman Who Went Over Niagra Falls in a Barrel by Caroline Cauchi @Caroline_S @0neMoreChapter_ #BookReview

 

School teacher. Widow. Legend.

It’s 1901 and the mists of change are swirling. Queen Victoria’s reign is about to come to an end, and an obscure widow in Buffalo, New York, is about to attempt the impossible.

Meet the courageous Mrs Annie Edson Taylor. The bravest woman you’ve never heard of and the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel ―over a decade before any man dared to do the same.

Enter a world of lost fortunes and friendship, as Annie, grieving the past and determined to change the lives of the women around her, attempts to alter the course of history.

With a single jump, that is.

The Woman Who Went Over Niagra Falls in a Barrel by Caroline Cauchi was published on 10 October 2024 by One More Chapter. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I have read everything that this author has written, in her various writing names; Caroline Smailes, Caroline Wallace and most recently as Caroline Cauchi. Her ability to weave a story is incredible, and no matter which name she is using, her books always delight me. 

The Woman Who Went Over Niagra Falls in a Barrel is inspired by the true story of sixty-three year old Annie Edson Taylor, who in 1901, really did climb into a home-made barrel and go over the top of Niagra Falls. Annie was the first person to survive this feat. Many people had attempted it in the past, but Annie was the first to succeed. In this extraordinary story, Cauchi has taken a real life character and fictionalised some of her story. The actual event is true, but the accompanying tale of Annie and her relationships has been created beautifully by the author. 

Annie is a complex character. She has been grieving for most of her adult life, her son died before he reached his first birthday, and her husband died a couple of years later. Annie was just twenty years old at the time. She's spent her life doing various different jobs, living in assorted places and the reader discovers her living in a boarding house in Buffalo, New York. This is a house for women who are in desperate need, they may be escaping bad relationships,  most of them have no money, but the door is always open and Annie and the boarding house owner, Mrs Lapointe will take these women in and give them a home for as long as they need. Money is tight, food is often scarce, but this is a place of refuge and every woman who enters the house helps out with the running of the place. 

Cauchi creates such wonderful themes of female friendship in this novel. She also looks closely at how woman of a certain age become almost invisible as they grow older. Annie is sixty-three, and determined to carry out her plan to go over the Falls, however, she knows that her age, along with her gender will go against her, so takes twenty years off, and presents herself as a widow in her forties.

The amount of research that has gone into this book is amazing, the reader is introduced to a host of colourful characters who will help Annie to achieve her goal. From the dubious manager, to the fabulous barrel builders, we are treated to such an array of people. Some we will love, and trust, whilst there are other who we should be suspicious of. 

At its heart, this is a story of strong women defeating the odds to become even stronger. Annie's motives for carrying out the barrel ride are complex and mixed. Not only does she want to prove that an older woman can do exactly what she wants to, she also wants to heal herself, to get rid of the overwhelming sadness and sorrow that have taken over her life, to do something exciting and new. To discover the real Annie. 

The friendships formed within the story are heartwarming and so poignant. Annie's influence on the women make a huge difference to their entire lives, giving them hope and allowing them to see that they are worth far more than they ever realised. 

This is historical fiction at its very best. Annie is a fascinating character and has sadly been overlooked in history. Caroline Cauchi brings her to life and what a wonderful job she has done. Highly recommended. 

Dr Caroline Cauchi worked as a university lecturer for several years before turning her
hand to fiction. 

With a PhD in Creative Writing, Caroline’s current academic fields of interest are Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, the silencing of women involved in creative pursuits, and the consideration of a novelist’s ethical and moral responsibilities when fictionalising a real life. 

With a Maltese mother and a British father, she is also known as bestselling author Caroline Smailes (THE DROWNING OF ARTHUR BRAXON).

www.carolinecauchi.co.uk

X @Caroline_S

Instagram @caroline.cauchi

Ice Town by Will Dean #IceTown @willrdean @HodderBooks @HodderFiction #TuvaMoodyson #BookReview

 

'Deaf teenager goes missing in Esseberg. Mountain rescue are launching a search party but conditions hinder their efforts. The tunnel is being kept open all night as an exception.'

When journalist Tuva Moodyson reads this news alert she knows she must join the search. If this teenager is found, she will be able to communicate with him in a way no one else can.

Esseberg lies on the other side of a mountain tunnel: there is only one way in and one way out. When the tunnel closes at night, the residents are left to fend for themselves. And as more people go missing, it becomes clear that there is a killer among them ...

ICE TOWN is an unputdownable new standalone Tuva novel, which will delight existing fans of the series and bring many new readers to it.

Ice Town by Will Dean is published on 7 November 2024 by Hodder. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Ice Town features much-loved character Tuva Moodyson, but is a standalone story and not marketed as part of the series featuring this character.  Whilst it would be great if you'd read the previous Tuva books, to get a feel of her character, it's really not essential for Ice Town. The author gives enough of Tuva's back story, without going into unnecessary detail, and new-to-Tuva readers can enjoy it just as much as those who've followed her from day one. 

Tuva is a journalist; a proper, old-fashioned reporter who writes long-form articles which are published in a newspaper and read by many. She's well aware that digital journalism is becoming more and more popular, but she's something of a stubborn woman, and will continue to write for as long as is possible. Tuva is deaf, she wears expensive, high functioning hearing aids. She doesn't hide behind her disability, it's just part of her. There's nothing that will stop her from getting to the bottom of a great story. 

Esseberg, otherwise known as Ice Town, is a small isolated community many hours away from Tuva's home in Gavrik, Sweden. When Tuva reads that a deaf teenager is missing in Esseberg, she is immediately pulled towards the story. She knows that she has to travel to help to search for Peter, she will be able to talk to him, to discover what has really happened. 

It's a long long journey, it's cold and the roads are not great. Esseberg town is accessed via a tunnel, this tunnel is closed for hours each day. Once in the town, and the tunnel is closed, there is no getting out. 

Esseberg is a strange little place. Dominated by the tunnel and a large administrative building, there's little else. A church, a school, a bar, a couple of tattoo places. There's a high-end hotel high up on the mountain, accessed by a failing ski lift. Tuva manages to bag one of only two rooms in the only B&B in town .... but there's no breakfast. Thank goodness for the Willy's supermarket, where she can stock up on sweet treats to keep her going. 

In Tuva's usual style, she doesn't hesitate to start to ask questions about missing Peter. She speaks with everyone that she can. Some of the locals are wary of her, some of them are pretty open. There are times when it could be thought that Tuva's methods are a little manipulative of people who are scared and worried about what's happening in their small town. 

With something of a slow start, Ice Town soon turns into a story that is pacy and incredibly tense in places. Dean's ability to draw the town, both the surrounding environment and the eclectic mix of residents is top class. There are characters that the reader will immediately suspect, there are also some that seem to fly under the radar, but who will become so pivotal in the story. It's astonishing. 

There are plenty of deaths, plenty of suspicion. There's snow and blizzards, there's unexpected, dangerous journeys that Tuva must survive. Whilst Tuva is a strong, independent woman, she also has vulnerabilities. Events in her life have formed her character and there have been some very important relationships that Tuva often reflects on. There's sometimes a real sadness about her, it makes her so realistic and the reader cannot help but really love her and hope that her future is going to be brighter. 

Chilling, compelling, full of unexpected events that really shook me at times. This is fine crime writing with characters who fill up the pages in a setting that is beautifully portrayed. Highly recommended. 

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. 

After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. 

He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

X @willrdean

The Edge of Solitude by Katie Hale #TheEdgeofSolitude @halekatie @canongatebooks #BookReview

A lone ship journeys south, heading for the furthest reaches of Antarctica. It belongs to Sky, the billionaire behind a groundbreaking project to salvage the region. On board is disgraced environmental activist Ivy Cunningham, lending her expertise in the hope that it might rescue her reputation - and perhaps even mend her broken relationship with her son.

And yet, as the ship moves ever deeper into the breathtaking but eerie landscape, Ivy grows increasingly suspicious of her fellow passengers, and starts to question the project's motives.

If she could leave, she would - but she knows there's no way home.

Exhilarating, terrifying and thought-provoking at once, The Edge of Solitude is a story of climate emergency and human fallibility, of the clash of ambition and principle, and of the choices we make when we know that time is running out.

The Edge of Solitude by Katie Hale was published on 4 July 2024 by Canongate Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

This is a truly astonishing novel. Exhilarating, atmospheric and original, it is a mix of dystopia and speculative fiction and is everything that I want from a book. The author writes with a lyrical, almost poetic touch at times, yet her descriptions are often so stark, so chilling and violent. It's a novel that will stay with me for a very long time. 

It's sometime in the near future and the climate change crisis continues, almost expected by everyone in the world. The world's richest man, known only as Sky claims that he can use science to reverse the existing process, to stop the melting ice, to stop the world's temperatures rising. He and his crew are on his super yacht, bound for Antarctica. They call it Plan B.

Ivy Cunningham, a seventy-five year old climate activist is also on board. Ivy is no longer revered and admired by the world, she refers to her downfall as the 'Helsinki Affair', yet readers are not privy to the full details until much later in the novel. Ivy is a character who is extremely difficult to either like, or empathise with. Their is no doubt that over the years she has achieved great things, she won prizes, her work was acclaimed internationally, but we hear from Ivy in her own voice. We hear about her relationships, her marriage, her parenting. We realise that Ivy has always put herself first, she will imply that it was the world that she wanted to save, but it's clear that it was the fame and the admiration that spurred her on. 

Ivy and Sky have a strange relationship. Whilst she has researched him for years, and written many articles about him, and not all complimentary, they have never spent time together. Ivy is unsure why she's been asked to join the expedition and her nature leads her to more interference. She's something of a loose cannon .... and it becomes clear that she cannot trust anyone else on board. 

Hale's descriptive prose of the landscape as the yacht sails is outstanding, she has the ability to put a chill down the reader's spine with her extraordinary use of words and language. The contrast between the utter luxury of the yacht, with it's heat and fine foods, compared with the stillness and desolation of the lands that they sail alongside is beautifully done. 

This is Ivy's story, without a doubt. She honestly lays bear her life, her mistakes, her regrets, her continuing anguish about her relationship with her son and her grief for her late wife Bree. It is a study in a life lived in the spotlight. The science included in the story is fascinating and the effects of how humans have treated their planet is shocking and raw, and oh so real. 

An outstanding read. Highly recommended by me. 

Based in Cumbria, Katie Hale won a Northern Debut Award for her poetry collection,
White Ghosts (Nine Arches, 2023). 
Katie is a former MacDowell Fellow and winner of the Palette Poetry Prize, Munster Chapbook Prize and Aesthetica Creative Writing Prize. 
Her short fiction has been longlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. 
Her debut novel, My Name Is Monster, was published in 2019. 
She won a Northern Writers' Award for Fiction in 2022 to work on The Edge of Solitude.

@halekatie | @katiescribbles | halekatie.com

Dark As Night by Lilja Sigurdardóttir BLOG TOUR #DarkAsNight @LiljaWrites @OrendaBooks #BookReview

 

Icelandic investigator Áróra receives strange and devastating news about her missing sister, while her detective friend Daníel looks into the disappearance of a family friend. The twisty, addictive, award-winning series continues....

When Áróra receives a call telling her that a child she’s never met is claiming to be her missing sister reincarnated, she is devastated … as ridiculous as the allegations might seem. For three years she has been searching for her sister without finding a single clue, and now this strange child seems to have new information.

On the same day, Icelandic detective Daníel returns home to find a note from his tenant, drag queen Lady Gúgúlú, giving notice on her flat and explaining that she has to leave the country. Daníel is immediately suspicious, and when three threatening men appear, looking for Lady, it’s clear to him that something is very wrong…

And as Iceland’s long dark nights continue into springtime, that is just the very beginning…

Twisty, intricately plotted and atmospheric, Dark as Night is the highly anticipated fourth book in the addictive An Áróra Investigation series, as Áróra and her friends face unimaginable danger and extraordinary experiences that may change everything, forever…

Dark As Night by Lilja Sigurdardóttir was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 10 October 2024 and is the fourth book in the Áróra Investigates series. The book is translated by Lorenzo Garcia. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour 

I have absolutely devoured every book in the Áróra Investigation series, and Dark As Night is my favourite so far. 

Lilja Sigurdardóttir is probably my favourite Icelandic author, she never fails to produce a story full of action and tense plots, with characters that are relatable in an incredibly described, and very evocative setting. 

Áróra Jónsdóttir and her sister Ísafold were brought up in England by their late Icelandic father and their British mother who still lives in the UK. Ísafold disappeared some years ago; and Áróra has always believed that she was murdered by her violent boyfriend, a man who has since also disappeared. Her body has never been found, despite Áróra's many attempts to find her. She will never leave Iceland until she knows what happened to her sister. 

Áróra works for the Directorate of Tax Investigations, tracking down monies that corporations have tried to hide away. She's something of a loose cannon at times, obsessed with pumping weights, not shy of using steroids to help her build strength and tearing around in her powerful Tesla. Her boyfriend, police officer Daníel tries his best to keep her on the straight and narrow, but it's a daily struggle. She's a strong woman who has one aim ... to discover what happened to her sister. 

Sigurdardóttir writes in short snappy chapters that really appeal to me. Despite the length of the chapters, and the overall novel, there's such a lot packed into this story, it's breathtaking in its energy at times. The reader is treated to more and more as each page flashes by, it's intriguing and tightly plotted. 

There are two main threads to the plot line. We have a very young child who claims that she is Ísafold reincarnated. This is a difficult, emotional time for Áróra, her head tells her that it's nonsense, yet her heart tells her that there may be something in it. The toddler knows so much about her and her sister, about their life with their late Father, it's puzzling. Daníel is doing his best to investigate these claims whilst also comforting her as she struggles with dealing with it. 

Daníel has his own issues. His long-term tenant and good friend, drag queen Lady Gúgúlú has upped and left after four happy years of living with him. Just a short note, with little detail is left and when Daníel is visited by three mysterious men who are looking for Lady, it soon becomes clear that there's a whole lot of danger in store. 

Written with such style and flair, with the accompanying descriptions of the Icelandic landscape, both the busy city and the isolation of the glacial areas, this is such a thrill packed and exciting read. The various plot lines work seamlessly together, creating a novel that is twisty and just fabulous. 

Highly recommended by me. 

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranesin 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. 

An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series and Lilja's English debut shortlisting for the CWA International Dagger and hitting bestseller lists worldwide. Trap soon followed suit, with the third in the trilogy Cage winning the Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year, and was a Guardian Book of the Year. Lilja's standalone Betrayal, was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel. In 2021, Cold as Hell, the first in the An Áróra Investigation series was published, with Red as Blood to follow in 2022. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja is also an award-winning screenwriter in her native Iceland. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

X @LiljaWriter

Lorenza Garcia was born and brought up in England. She spent her early twenties living and working in Iceland and Spain. In 1998 she graduated from Goldsmiths with a first-class honors degree in Spanish and Latin American studies. She moved to France in 2001, where she lived for seven years. Since 2006 she has translated and co-translated more than thirty novels and works of nonfiction from the French, the Spanish, and the Icelandic.

Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan #CircusOfMirrors @JulieOwenMoylan @MichaelJBooks #BookReview

 

BERLIN, 1926

After the death of their parents, sisters Leni and Annette only have each other.

Desperate to support her younger sister, Leni finds work at a notorious cabaret: the Babylon Circus, a place where reality and fantasy merge.

It’s an overwhelming new world, and Leni is happiest hiding in the shadows.

That is, until she meets the cabaret’s resident pianist, Paul, beginning a tentative love affair that will play out over the next forty years and will change the course of their lives forever.

In a city whose divisions will define a century, can a love born within the feverish walls of the Babylon Circus ever survive?

And can the bond between Leni and Annette – tugged in opposite directions of their own – also endure?

Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan was published in hardback on 12 September 2024 by Michael Joseph. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

It is very fair to say that Julie Owen Moylan is now one of my favourite authors. I devoured her first two books (That Green Eyed Girl - May 2022), and 73 Dove Street - July 2023. I was so excited when I heard that Circus of Mirrors would be set in both pre and post War Berlin. Historical fiction is never my first choice of reading, but I do love stories set in the more recent past. I read this during my final few days in Cyprus a few weeks ago and was totally and utterly transfixed throughout. 

This author draws extraordinary female characters and in Leni and Annette we have two of the best. We follow them as they struggle with life on the streets in devastated Berlin. Where food is scarce, the streets are mean and danger lurks around every corner. Annette is just a small girl, and her older sister Leni is totally and utterly responsible for her. She wants nothing more than to get them off the streets, to safety and this is how she is introduced to the Babylon Circus. Not a circus in the usual way, but a cabaret club, held in the Whalebone Theatre, where scantily-clad women dance for rich men.  Annette is not a dancer, but gets a job as a cigarette girl, working each night, whilst Leni shelters in their hiding place in an old yard. 

The author takes her readers through four decades, following the lead characters as they love, as they lose, as they cry and as they celebrate. At the heart of the story is a wonderfully depicted romance, but this is not all hearts and roses by any means, there are sadnesses to shred the hardest of hearts along the way.

Not only are the characters wonderfully woven, they are also incredibly flawed at times. It is not easy to empathise with Annette at times, despite learning so much about her experiences. Yet Leni is a true heroine, a character to shout for, to back all of the way, to hope for and to cry for. 

Absolutely stunning historical fiction, with a sense of place that is intricately and sensitively created. Characters who are realistic, and a plot line that captures the reader from page one. Highly recommended. 

Julie Owen Moylan is the author of three novels: That Green Eyed Girl, 73 Dove Street and Circus of Mirrors. 

Her debut novel That Green Eyed Girl was a Waterstones’ Welsh Book of the Month and the official runner up for the prestigious Paul Torday Memorial Prize. It was also shortlisted for Best Debut at the Fingerprint Awards and featured at the Hay Festival as one of its ‘Ten at Ten’. 

73 Dove Street was a Waterstones’ Books of 2023 and a Daily Mail Historical Fiction Book of the Year. 

As a filmmaker Julie won the Celtic Media Award for her graduation film “BabyCakes” before going on to win Best Short Film at the Swansea Film Festival. 

Her writing and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications including Sunday Express, The Independent, New Welsh Review and Good Housekeeping. 

She has a Masters in Filmmaking and an additional qualification in Creative Writing & English Literature. 

Julie is an alumna of the Faber Academy. Circus of Mirrors will be published in Sept 2024.

Julie can be found on X: @JulieOwenMoylan

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen BLOG TOUR #TheBurningStones @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks #BookReview

 

Saunas, love and a ladleful of murder…

A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest moment: the new head of a sauna-stove company is murdered … in the sauna. Who has turned up the temperature and burned him to death?

 The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and the victim’s successor at Steam Devil.

 And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its purpose, and struggling with work weren’t enough, Anni realizes that she must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is behind it all – before it’s too late…

 From the international bestselling author of The Man Who Died and The Rabbit Factor, comes a darkly funny, delightfully tense new thriller that showcases humanity at its most bare – in middle age, suspected of murder and, of course, in a sauna…

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen is published on 24 October 2024 by Orenda Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. The book is translated by David Hackston. 

It is almost ten years since I read my first Antti Tuomainen novel. That was The Mine back in 2016, I was so impressed by that first read and have devoured all of his translated works ever since. 

You know how sometimes you only have to hear one chord played by a guitarist and you know immediately who it is? Well, this is how I feel about Tuomainen's writing. As soon as you begin to read, it screams Antti at you. He is unique and just one of a kind.

Being Finnish, this author knows a lot about saunas, and in The Burning Stones we are treated to an opening chapter that shows just how dangerous sitting amongst red hot coals can be. Ilmo Räty has recently been made head of Steam Devil; a long standing company that supplies sauna stoves throughout the country. Sitting back to enjoy a sauna, Ilmo has no idea what is in store. He doesn't leave the sauna. An intruder makes sure of that, and Ilmo is welded to the bench as the temperatures rise. Dead.

Steam Devil is a company doing well, with a small but very eclectic group of staff. Erkki 'The Stove King' Ruusula, founder and main shareholder of the business is standing down and every one of his staff are in line to take over, now that Ilmo is no longer around. Fifty-three year old Anni Korpinen, super saleswoman, is the favourite to take over his role and is now the lead suspect in the murder of Ilmo. 

We follow Anni as she tries her best to prove her innocence and also does her own investigation into what really took place that day. Anni is a complex character, she loves a sauna, she's married to a man who is far more interested in Formula One racing and she often looks back on her past, with regret. 

This is a laugh out loud hilarious story at times. Tuomainen's characters are wonderfully formed, each and every one of them are totally unique, and their interactions with each other are so fabulous to follow.  

Once more, this talented, original, funny and very fine author has delivered a story to savour. One to chuckle at, one to discover the world of the sauna business and one to experience the wonders of the Finnish landscape. Recommended by me. 

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.

X @antti_tuomainen

Frankie by Graham Norton #Frankie #GrahamNorton @CoronetBooks @HodderBooks #BookReview

 

Always on the periphery, looking on, young Frankie Howe was never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage - after all, life had already judged her harshly. Now old, Frankie finds it easier to forget the life that came before.

Then Damian, a young Irish carer, arrives at her London flat, there to keep an eye on her as she recovers from a fall. A memory is sparked, and the past crackles into life as Damian listens to the story Frankie has kept stored away all these years.

Travelling from post-war Ireland to 1960s New York - a city full of art, larger than life characters and turmoil - Frankie shares a world in which friendship and chance encounters collide. A place where, for a while, life blazes with an intensity that can't last but will perhaps live on in other ways and in other people. But as Frankie's past slowly emerges, her spirit and endurance are revealed as undeniable . . . and unforgettable.

Frankie by Graham Norton was published on 12 September 2024 by Coronet. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I was talking to a friend about this book and told her that I could easily read a book by Graham Norton every month. He writes so beautifully, his characterisation is exquisite and he does not shy away from dealing with the darker issues in life.

All too often, I hear people say that they refuse to read a book written by a 'celebrity' author. I really don't understand this stance. I'm not sure why anyone assumes that just because someone was well known for something else before they published a novel, then they cannot write. As far as I am aware, most novelists had other professions, some still do, yet are accepted as writers. I know of police officers, doctors, nurses, comedians, scientists who have all written fiction, I can't believe that anyone assumes that they are unable to write just because it wasn't their first profession. There, that's out of the way, had to be said! 

Back to this wonderful book. It's a slim volume at just over 300 pages but my goodness, it is packed with drama and intensity. We meet lead character Frankie as an elderly woman who has recently had a fall. Despite her misgivings, her friend Nor has arranged for a carer to visit Frankie in her London flat. Just to make sure that she is OK. The carer is young, Irish gay man Damien; a man who has his own struggles in life. Frankie and Damien connect via their shared culture, they both originally come from County Cork, and it is not long before Frankie feels comfortable enough to share stories about her long life with him. 

What a wonderful, full life Frankie has led, although she has never felt that way herself. She always felt a little on the edge. Overshadowed by Nor, and by her choice of partners through the years. However, she has left a legacy that will live on forever and as she regales Damien with her tales, we learn so much about her. 

From her tragic childhood in Ireland, through a loveless marriage and then on to London, followed by the bright lights of New York. Frankie really found herself, she also found her crowd. She experienced hard times, she had many disappointments, but she also had huge successes. 

Norton's handling of some of the darkest of issues, most especially the tragedy of the AIDS crisis in the 80s and 90s is outstanding. We learn to love the characters, we cry with them, we grieve for them. It is startling and sweeping. 

Frankie is an utter triumph. I loved everything about it, from the detailed narrative to the warm and appealing characters, to the wonderfully described settings. Highly recommended. 

Graham Norton was born on April 4, 1963 in County Cork, Ireland. 

He is an actor and writer, known for Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020), So Graham Norton (1998) and Soul (2020). 

He has been married to Jono McLeod since July 10, 2022.

Instagram @grahnort

X @TheGNShow

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham #TheWrongHands @MarkBillingham @BooksSphere #BookReview #DetectiveDeclanMiller

 

This is one case Miller won't want to open . . .

Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Still desperate to solve the murder of his wife, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase . . . containing a pair of severed hands.

Miller knows this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne'er do well Wayne Cutler - a man he suspects might also be responsible for his wife's death. Now Miller has leverage, but unfortunately he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of.

Chuck in a Midsomer Murders-obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème Egg, and Miller is in a mess that even he might not be able to dance his way out of.

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham was published in hardback on 20 June 2024 by Sphere and is the second in the Detective Miller series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I adore this series, I read the first book; The Last Dance,  back in March 2023 when I was on holiday in the Canary Islands, it is becoming a holiday reading habit as I read this one in sunny Cyprus a few weeks ago. 

It was so good to be back with Declan Miller and his team again. They find themselves dealing with a very unusual investigation, and Miller is right at the front of it. It's not every night that someone appears on your doorstep clutching a case that contains two severed hands.  Miller is intrigued, a little horrified, but determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. He may not be quite conventional in his initial dealings with the evidence, but as soon as he reports the incident, things start to move. 

Mark Billingham has such a dry, wry humour that runs through his stories, this brings some light to what could be a really dark story. However, Miller is not just a funny guy, he's also still very vulnerable, grieving for his wife who was murdered and ever determined to catch the killer. He suspects that there are people involved in this current case who could answer some questions about his wife too. 

Miller and his partner, DS Sarah Xiu work so well together. Billingham has really expanded their personalities, allowing themselves, and the reader to learn more about each of them, and creating a partnership that whilst unusual, really does work. 

I love everything about this series, from the ballrooms of Blackpool to the dirty, grubby backstreets of the town that are usually hidden. The characters shines like lights from the page, the humour is subtle and adds so much and the plot line is fascinating and tense. Another fabulous instalment in this new series. 

Mark Billingham is one of the UK's most acclaimed and popular crime writers. A former

actor, television writer and stand-up comedian, his series of novels featuring D.I. Tom Thorne has twice won him the Crime Novel Of The Year Award as well as the Sherlock Award for Best British Detective and been nominated for seven CWA Daggers. His standalone thriller IN THE DARK was chosen as one of the twelve best books of the year by the Times and his debut novel, SLEEPYHEAD was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 books that had shaped the decade. Each of his novels has been a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.

A television series based on the Thorne novels was screened in Autumn 2010, starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne and a BBC series based on the standalone thrillers IN THE DARK and TIME OF DEATH was shown in 2017.

Mark is also a member of Fun Lovin' Crime Writers. Performing alongside Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Stuart Neville, Doug Johnstone and Luca Veste, this band of frustrated rockers murders songs for fun at literary festivals worldwide.

www.markbillingham.com

X @MarkBillingham

Rough Justice by Biba Pearce BLOG TOUR #RoughJustice #BibaPearce #ShrapNelson #BookReview

 

A Murder She Can't Ignore. A Truth She Must Uncover.

For Shrap Nelson, ex-military police sergeant and homeless veteran, the charred body under the bridge isn’t just another victim—it’s Doug, the man who once saved her life. Now, she’s determined to find his killer, no matter the cost.

As Shrap digs deeper, she’s pulled into London’s violent underworld, where powerful enemies lurk in the shadows. Hunted by a ruthless adversary and haunted by her own demons, Shrap must choose between giving in to her fears or finding the truth.

Doug gave her a second chance. She’ll make sure his death doesn’t go unpunished.

Rough Justice by Biba Pearce was published on 24 September 2024 by Mortlake Press. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour.

There's a reason why Biba Pearce was shortlisted for a Crime Writer's Association Dagger Award a few years ago; she's a fine crime author and this first book in her new series is an explosive, compelling read with an incredible lead character. Shrap Nelson is a woman unlike any other that I've read about. She's vulnerable, but so strong. She's reliable, yet questions herself all of the time. She's the type of woman who you'd certainly want on your side, and not as an enemy.

Shrap lives on the streets of London. She served in the Military Police for years, fighting in the most dangerous of places, seeing things that should never be seen, experiencing events that have changed her. However, it is the effects of the PTSD that are her worse enemies now. Shrap gave up her life, her home, her relationship to live on the streets. Trying to escape, but never quite getting there. 

When Shrap's old mate Doug is accused of the murder of a dancer in the city, and is then found dead himself, she knows that Doug was innocent. She also knows that he didn't take his own life, and despite her own inner battles and the dangers she faces, she is determined to clear his name. Doug saved her, she wants to save his reputation. 

DC Gareth Trevelyan has recently moved to the area from another part of London, he has his own baggage to deal with and when he's assigned these cases, at first it all seems clear cut. Then he meets Shrap and there's a spark, despite her appearance, her mystery, her current living conditions he can see that there's more to Shrap than meets the eye. Before long, they are working together. Not officially of course, but Shrap can be invisible, she's clever, she's working it all out. 

This is a compelling, exciting crime story that had me gripped. Not only is the plotting superb, but the characters are just perfectly created. Pearce brings London to life too, as Shrap walks the streets, both the glitzy touristy areas, and the mean, dark back streets, the reader really can get a feel for the place. 

There's some violence, but it is done with flair and style, not overly bloody and just adds depth to the dangers that Shrap and Gareth face along the way. 

An excellent beginning to a new series. I can't wait to meet Shrap and Gareth again soon. 

Biba Pearce is a crime writer and author of the Kenzie Gilmore, Dalton Savage and DCI
Rob Miller series. 

Her books have been shortlisted for the Feathered Quill and the CWA Debut Dagger awards, and The Marlow Murders was voted best crime fiction book in the Indie Excellence Book Awards.

Biba lives in leafy Surrey with her family and when she isn’t writing, can be found walking along the Thames River path - near to where many of her books are set - or rambling through the countryside.

Download a FREE Kenzie Gilmore prequel novella at her website bibapearce dot com.

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