The Mysterious Miss Mayhew by Hazel Osmond ** BLOG TOUR **

Tom doesn't need any more women in his life. He already has his hands full with his five-year-old daughter, an estranged wife who keeps blocking his efforts to get divorced and a mother who might be having an affair with the vicar. So when Fran Mayhew turns up - years younger and with all the tact of a dinosaur with its backside on fire - she's just another tricky person to deal with.

...And what's she doing in his remote part of Northumberland crawling around in graveyards anyway?

But soon Tom discovers that there's more to the mysterious Miss Mayhew than meets the eye - and that it's not just his heart he's in danger of losing.

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Mysterious Miss Mayhew by Hazel Osmond, published by Quercus in paperback on 6 November 2014.


A novel written by a female, but told through the eyes of the male lead character. Unusual, and maybe some authors couldn't pull it off, but in this case it really does work. Tom is a loveable character, and Hazel Osmond has created someone who most readers will fall a little in love with. He's not overly sweet and sentimental, or too-good-to-be-true, he's real, with his faults, but sincere and funny, and a little bit saucy too!

The author adds a little mystery with Fran's character, she's quirky, a little bit strange and her and Tom really don't hit it off at first. It is Tom's feisty, funny little daughter that draws them together, she's the real star of the book; a little tom-boy who says how she feels.

The Mysterious Miss Mayhew is a fast-moving story set in a Northumberland village that is incredibly easy to read. Full of great characters, a plot that is unpredictable and a touch of romance thrown in. The perfect Sunday afternoon read, pull up your chair, pour a glass of wine, break open the chocolate and enjoy!

Hazel Osmond has been an advertising copywriter for many years. She won the 2008 Woman and Home short story competition sponsored by Costa and has written three other books called Playing Grace ,  The First Time I Saw Your Face and Who's Afraid of Mister Wolfe?  

She lives in Northumberland with her husband and two children, two cats and a blind tortoise.

For more information about the author and her books, visit her website www.hazelosmond.co.uk.    Her Facebook Author Page, follow her on Twitter @hosmond, follow her on Pinterest

Alice and the Fly by James Rice

This is a book about phobias and obsessions, isolation and dark corners. It's about families, friendships, and carefully preserved secrets. But above everything else it's about love. Finding love - in any of its forms - and nurturing it.

Miss Hayes has a new theory. She thinks my condition's caused by some traumatic incident from my past I keep deep-rooted in my mind. As soon as I come clean I'll flood out all these tears and it'll all be ok and I won't be scared of Them anymore. The truth is I can't think of any single traumatic childhood incident to tell her. I mean, there are plenty of bad memories - Herb's death, or the time I bit the hole in my tongue, or Finners Island, out on the boat with Sarah - but none of these are what caused the phobia. I've always had it. It's Them. I'm just scared of Them. It's that simple.

Published by Hodder & Stoughton in January 2015, Alice and the Fly is James Rice's debut novel.

Greg is a lonely, isolated, strange boy. He lives a life surrounded by people, but he feels totally alone. His mind works in a different way to those around him, he wants to be invisible, but his lisp, his scratching, his fits make him stand out. These are the things that make the other kids call him 'psycho', and point and laugh at him.

Miss Hayes is Greg's English teacher. Miss Hayes thinks that if Greg writes things down in a journal, then maybe things could get better.  Greg's journal becomes a letter to Alice, the girl on the bus, the girl with the long red curls who wears sunglasses and is prettier than Audrey Hepburn. Greg has never spoken directly to Alice, but he is a little obsessed by her .... but not as obsessed by the thought of coming across one of Them.

Alice and the Fly is a disaster story. In his journal, Greg pours out his innermost feelings, about his Mother, who spends all day every day redesigning their already perfect home; his Father, the 'breast man' plastic surgeon who sometimes doesn't come for days; his sister, obsessively rehearsing for the Christmas Dance Fantastical, not eating, comparing herself with the other Vultures (Greg's word for her friends and classmates). The disaster that is coming is so obvious to the reader, for it is the reader who is allowed into Greg's mind, who wants to understand him. Those around him are more concerned about their own lives than the odd boy who likes to watch old Hollywood movies and uses parcel tape to ensure that his room is not invaded by Them.

Every once in a while I start a new book and almost immediately, the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and I know, I just know, that this book is going to be one that I will be talking about for years. Alice and the Fly is one of those books, just as Matthew Crow's In Bloom and Nathan Filer's The Shock of the Fall are too.

James Rice says that Alice and the Fly is semi-autobiographical and the authenticity and realism of his writing is absolutely heartbreakingly wonderful. His ability to get into the troubled mind of a teenage boy who is suffering so much is startling. Rice does not hold back, his portrayal of the cruelty of some people towards those that they don't understand is so well done. The portrait of a modern, dysfunctional family; on the outside wealthy, shiny and happy, but underneath, decaying, hiding and denying is frightening real.

I am delighted and honoured to have to have had the opportunity to read Alice and the Fly pre-publication, and I am certain that this is going to be a smash hit in 2015, and that James Rice has a very successful writing future ahead of him.

My thanks to Lovereading and Hodder & Stoughton who sent my copy for review.


James Rice lives in Liverpool. In 2011 he completed an MA in Writing at Liverpool John Moores University and has since finished his debut novel, Alice and the Fly – the first chapter of which won the Writing On The Wall Festival’s novel-writing competition ‘Pulp Idol’. He also writes short stories, several of which have been published, and writes songs with his friend Josh, which he sings in a very high-pitched voice people have charitably referred to as ‘unique’. 
He is currently working on his second novel.
Follow him on Twitter @James_D_Rice

BOOK BREAK - the online book show series - Episode 7

Log on during your lunch hour for the latest Book Break episode where author Alexandra Heminsley is joined by M.J McGrath and Emily St. John Mandel who will be talking about their latest titles and their writing quirks, inspirations and methods.

Broadcast date: Friday 31^st October

Broadcast time: 12:30pm 

In episode seven of BOOK BREAK, anchored by author Alexandra Heminsley (Running Like a Girl), we are joined by M.J. McGrath, an award winning writer and journalist, and Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel to discuss North American literature, dark locations and even darker plots.

M. J. McGrath joins us to discuss the location that inspired her latest title The Bone Seeker, a gripping, atmospheric thriller set in the Arctic’s long white nights; the very personal murder of a young girl will explode a decades-long tale of the very darkest betrayal.  Mel shares her experiences of writing journalistically, non-fiction and fiction, and the future for her Edie Kiglatuk Mystery series.

While Emily St. John Mandel shares insight into her new release ‘Station Eleven’ and find out what drove her to write this post-apocalyptic narrative. Station Eleven, her fourth novel,begins with a dramatic end.  The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb. Thrilling, unique and deeply moving, this is a beautiful novel that asks questions about art and fame and about the relationships that sustain us through anything - even the end of the world.

We’ll also hear from Nickolas Butler in our writer’s room segment to get an insight into his perceptions of the novel form as a debut novelist, and take a sneak peek into the celeb-filled Taking Hollywood launch party

Follow #bookbreak on Twitter, subscribe to the Pan Macmillan’s YouTube channel or watch the broadcast right here at 12:30pm on Friday 31^st October. 

The Life I Left Behind by Colette McBeth

She's dead but she's the only one who knows what really happened; 

What your friends have said.

What the police missed.

Who attacked you.

So if you want the truth who else are you going to turn to?

You think you know people: Colette McBeth tells you what you don't know...

Published in ebook on 1 January 2015, and hardback on 24 February 2015 by Headline, The Life I Left Behind is Colette McBeth's second novel.  I reviewed her first; Precious Thing, here on Random Things in April of this year.

The Life I Left Behind is another psychological thriller, with a dark, twisty-turny plot narrated by characters who are both alive, and dead.

Eve has been murdered, and begins the story as her body is discovered. This discovery turns Melody's world upside down. She too was attacked by the same man, and left for dead, and the years since then have been hard. Afraid to leave the house, questioning herself and her relationships, the news that he has struck again is enough to tip her over the edge. The third narrator is DI Victoria Rutter, in charge of the investigation and part of the original prosecution; she too will question and wonder.

Don't expect to like the characters, I'm not sure that the author intends the reader to fall in love with them, I certainly didn't. Eve and Melody are intriguing though, and as Melody's life story unfolds, with flashbacks to the woman she was before the attack, I began to dislike her more and more, yet I was intrigued by her story and desperate to get to the bottom of the mystery.

This is what Colette McBeth does best; create mystery and tension. This is a very clever story, with the three viewpoints emerging at the same time, changing the reader's viewpoint, altering the emphasis and controlling the plot incredibly well. Having a dead narrator is not a new or unique selling point for a novel, in fact, for me it was a little off putting, as I'm one of the few people that hated Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, and I have no doubt that this will be compared (unfairly) with that novel. I'd advise readers to discard any preconceptions, any comparisons, and read The Life I Left Behind with fresh eyes, and enjoy it. I really did.

Colette McBeth was a BBC TV News Correspondent for ten years. She lives in West London with her husband and three young children.  She attended the Faber Academy Novel Writing Course in 2011. Her first novel, Precious Thing, was published in 2013.


For more information about the author and her writing, visit her website www.colettemcbeth.com, check out her Facebook Author Page  or follow her on Twitter @colettemcbeth

Emily St. John Mandel discusses Station Eleven

Back in August of this year,  I read and reviewed Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel - I really loved it, and it's been a real hit with most reviewers so far.

There's been so much buzz surrounding this new book, there's even a #StationEleven hashtag over on Twitter - check out some of the comments and reviews.

Emily St. John Mandel was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. She studied contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York.

Station Eleven is her fourth novel and begins with a dramatic end. The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb. News reports put the mortality rate at over 99%; by week two civilization has crumbled. Year twenty sees a band of actors and musicians called the Travelling Symphony move through their territories performing concerts and Shakespeare to the settlements that have grown up there. Twenty years after the pandemic, life feels relatively safe.

But now a new danger looms, and he threatens the hopeful world every survivor has tried to rebuild.

 Moving backwards and forwards in time, from the glittering years just before the collapse to the strange and altered world that exists twenty years after, Station Eleven charts the unexpected twists of fate that connects six people: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan - warned about the flu just in time; Arthur’s first wife Miranda; Arthur s oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed prophet. 

Thrilling, unique and deeply moving, this is a beautiful novel that asks questions about art and fame and about the relationships that sustain us through anything - even the end of the world.

 But how does Emily go about writing such a well-received post-apocalyptic narrative? What are her inspirations and what are the secrets of her writing room? Watch this video to hear from Emily herself.

Website: http://www.panmacmillan.com/

Public Battles, Private Wars by Laura Wilkinson

Yorkshire 1983. 

Miner's wife Mandy is stuck in a rut. At twenty-three, and trapped by domesticity, her future looks set and she wants more from life. 

Husband Rob is a good-looking drinker, content to spend his days in the small town where they've always lived - where Mandy can't do anything other than bake cakes and raise her children. 

When Mandy's childhood friend - beautiful, clever Ruth - and Ruth's Falklands war hero husband, Dan, return to town, their homecoming is shrouded in mystery. 

Like in their schooldays, Mandy looks to Ruth for inspiration - but Ruth isn't all she appears.  

As conflict with the Coal Board turns into war, the men come out on strike. The community and its whole way of life is threatened. Mandy abandons her dreams of liberation from the kitchen sink and joins a support group. 

As the strike rumbles on, relationships are pushed to the brink, and Mandy finds out just who she is - and who her true friends are.

Public Battles, Private Wars by Laura Wilkinson was published by Accent Press, in ebook in March 2014 and in paperback in October 2014, and is the author's second novel.

Set against the miner's strike in the early 80s, in a small Yorkshire pit town; Public Battles, Private Wars is a story of a community's fight to survive and one woman's personal journey.

Mandy and Rob married young, and had kids. They live amongst family and friends and Rob followed the rest of his family to work down the pit. Mandy has secret dreams, she wants to learn to type, she regrets her wasted schooldays, and knows that she could do more. Mrs Thatcher threatens to shut the pits, the men go on strike and Mandy uses her love of cooking to head up the soup kitchen. It's not long before she's the spokeswoman for the Action Group - travelling to London, giving talks, being interviewed by the newspapers - using her brain.

What should have brought her and Rob together seems to have pushed them further apart, and when Mandy's old school friend Ruth moves back into town, with her ex-soldier husband Dan, relationships seem to deteriorate even more.

Ruth seems to have it all. A good job, nice clothes, a great figure, money to spend, but Mandy senses that things are not all that they seem between Dan and Ruth.

Laura Wilkinson is great with words. Her fictionalised town of Fenley could be any of the small pit towns in South Yorkshire, her characters have real Northern grit, the language is spot on. This story is authentic and the setting is excellently portrayed.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that whilst Public Battles, Private Wars is set around the miner's strike, it is not wholly consumed by it. The story is more about the people, especially the women, and how they coped and how they grew during the twelve months that the men were out.

A well-written, compelling story with some great characters. Public Battlers, Private Wars is a story that looks at friendships, community, love and jealousy.

My thanks to the author, Laura Wilkinson, who sent my copy for review.


For more information about Laura Wilkinson and her writing, visit her website www.laura-wilkinson.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @ScorpioScribble

Long Way Home by Eva Dolan

A man is burnt alive in a suburban garden shed.

DI Zigic and DS Ferreira are called in from the Peterborough Hate Crimes Unit to investigate the murder. Their victim is quickly identified as a migrant worker and a man several people might have had good reason to see dead. A convicted arsonist and member of a far-right movement has just been released from prison, while witnesses claim to have seen the dead man fighting with one of the town's most prominent slum landlords.

Zigic and Ferreira know all too well the problems that come with dealing with a community that has more reason than most not to trust the police, but when another migrant worker is attacked, tensions rapidly begin to rise as they search for their killer.

Long Way Home by Eva Dolan was published in paperback on 19 June 2014 by Vintage, and is the author's debut novel.

This is a bleak, violent, no-holds-barred crime novel that is exposes the darker side of the issue of migrant workers and their gang masters in the fens around Peterborough.

DI Zigic and DS Ferreira work on the Hate Crime Unit and when a man is burnt alive in a garden shed, their investigations reveal a complex and incredibly violent underworld in a fairly run-down and deprived Peterborough. Both of these Police Officers are from ethnic minority backgrounds, a fact that helps and sometimes hinders their investigations.

Be prepared for some pretty full-on, explicit scenes of cruelty and suffering in Long Way Home, but also be prepared for an extremely well written crime story that explores issues that many of us are unaware of. Eva Dolan writes with authenticity, her descriptive prose is excellent and her two main characters are very well formed. Zigic and Ferreira are complex characters, each with their own complications and distinct story, so different to each other, yet the perfect partners for investigation crime and getting to the bottom of things.

Eva Dolan, Zigic and Ferreira are welcome additions to the world of the police procedure series; new and exciting, great writing, fast moving plot and exploring a theme that has rarely been written about in fiction. This is gritty and real, often uncomfortable, sometimes shocking, but very impressive.

My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review.

Eva Dolan is an Essex-based copywriter and intermittently successful poker player. 

Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Dagger for unpublished authors when she was just a teenager, Long Way Home is her debut novel and the start of a major new crime series starring two detectives from the Peterborough Hate Crimes Unit. The second book in the series will be published in 2015.

Follow her on Twitter @eva_dolan