The Russian Doll by Marina Palmer #TheRussianDoll @RobertstonImogen @HodderBooks #BookReview

 

How much did she just say the salary was?

When Ruth Miller returns a dropped scarf to Elena Shilkov, she is whisked from a dreary shared house to a world of unimagined luxury.

The super-rich Russian wants a new personal assistant and won't take no for an answer.

Ruth gets accommodation, a credit card, and a complete wardrobe makeover.

And she's good at the job; distributing gifts, attending galas, dealing with the high-society movers and shakers fighting for Elena's attention.

Then the sinister truth begins to reveal itself, that nothing is quite what it seems in Elena's dangerous, deceptive world.

Ruth should get away.

But it's already too late.

The Russian Doll by Marina Palmer was published on 25 November 2021 by Hodder. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Set in modern-day London, amongst the lives of the obscenely rich, The Russian Doll is a novel that really too me by surprise. I was expecting the story of an ordinary girl who finds herself surrounded by the trappings of money and glamour, and that is what it is. However, there's so much more to this tense, complex and very entertaining novel. It's an eye-opening insight into what happens in those circles that most of us will never enter. It's about money, and power and control. It's about how humans will stop at nothing to protect themselves, and to rise higher. It's cleverly structured and quite fascinating.

Ruth Miller is from the North of England. She's recently moved to London. She's out of her comfort zone really and when she sees a woman drop an expensive scarf, she fleetingly considers keeping it. However, Ruth follows Elena Shilkov and her two daughters into an exclusive cafe, to ensure that the scarf is returned. Ruth then finds herself caught up in a terrifying incident and puts her own safety to one side, in order to save others.

It is this one act of bravery that leads Ruth to a mansion in the wealthiest part of London. Elena offers her a job, with a fantastic salary and full board. Although it does take a little while for Ruth to decide, she takes the job and enters a world that she could never have imagined.

This author takes her readers into a world where corruption is normal. Ruth faces incredible danger; there's murder, blackmail and online bot accounts. However, Ruth has her own shady past and is far tougher than either she, or the family she now works for could ever have imagined.

This is full of tension and suspense and I was never quite sure who to trust. Totally entertaining and written with such style. Recommended by me. 

Marina Palmer is the pseudonym of bestselling British author Imogen Robertson used for her contemporary solo thriller writing.

Imogen was born and brought up in Darlington and read Russian and German at Cambridge. Before becoming a full-time writer, she directed for TV, film, and radio. She is the author several novels, including the Crowther and Westerman series and The Paris Winter, and has co-written novels with former Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson (The House), screenwriter Darby Kealey (Liberation as Imogen Kealey) and the legendary Wilbur Smith (King of Kings). Imogen has been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger three times and for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award once. She has also written for Hampton Court Palace, chaired the Historical Writers' Association and been mentioned in Private eye twice.

Palmer is Imogen's husband's surname - she is married to the cheesemonger and author Ned Palmer - and she chose Marina as tribute to Russian Silver Age Poet Marina Tsvetaeva. She almost went for Anna, after Anna Akhmatova, but as her mother-in-law's name is Ann, that started getting a bit confusing. She, her husband, and her multiple identities live in south London.

www.marinapalmer.co.uk

Twitter @RobertsonImogen

The Reacher Guy by Heather Martin #Giveaway #Win #TheReacherGuy @drheathermartin @TheReacherGuy #Competition #Prize

 

Lee Child is the enigmatic powerhouse behind the phenomenally successful Jack Reacher novels. With devoted fans across the globe, and over a hundred million copies of his books sold in more than forty languages, he is that rarity, a writer who is both critically acclaimed and adored by readers. And yet curiously little has been written about the man himself.

The Reacher Guy shows us for the first time the young man behind the invention of Jack Reacher. Through parallels drawn between Child and his literary creation, it tells the story of how a lost and lonely boy from Birmingham with a ferocious appetite for reading grew up to become a high-flying TV executive, before coming full circle and establishing himself as an internationally bestselling author.

Heather Martin explores Child's lifelong fascination with America - and shows how the Reacher novels fed and fuelled this obsession. Drawing on exclusive correspondence and conversations with Child over a number of years, she forensically pieces together his life, from Northern Ireland and County Durham to New York and Hollywood. This is the definitive account of the man behind one of the most iconic series of our times.

The Reacher Guy by Heather Martin was published in paperback by Constable on 21 October 2021. You can read my review of The Reacher Guy here 

I am delighted to be able to offer one paperback copy, complete with bookmark and a bookplate - signed by both Lee Child and Heather Martin as a giveaway today. My thanks to the author for providing this prize.

Entry is simple. Just fill out the competition widget in this blog post. UK entries only please.

GOOD LUCK! 

'A biography as gripping as one of Lee Child's own bestsellers' Ian Rankin

'Very enjoyable' The Times

'Vivid and entertaining' Telegraph

A signed paperback copy of The Reacher Guy by Heather Martin

Heather Martin (author photo © Brian Aris) was born in West Australia. 

She grew up in Aix-en-Provence, Paris, and Perth, where she would fall asleep to the sound of the Indian Ocean. 

She left Australia for England to become a classical guitarist but found herself singing with a Venezuelan folk group and learning to speak Spanish instead. 

She read Languages at Cambridge, where she also did a PhD in comparative literature, and has held teaching and research positions at Cambridge, Hull, King’s College London, and most recently, the Graduate Center, City University New York. 

Heather is a long-time Reacher fan. 

While waiting to get her hands on the next in the series, she once read a Lee Child book in Spanish and wound up writing to the author about the fate of his character in translation. ‘The Reacher Guy’ is her first biography.

Twitter @drheathermartin

Lee Child comments: “I met Heather Martin some years ago, and we started talking about why people love telling and hearing stories. To get more depth and detail we started talking about why I do. Eventually I said, ‘If you want to really get to the bottom of it, you’re going to have to write my biography.’ So she did. It was a fun and illuminating process. I had forgotten a lot, and it was fascinating to be reminded. Now it all makes sense.”

Fall by West Camel BLOG TOUR #Fall @west_camel @OrendaBooks #BookReview #WhatDoYouRemember #Deptford

 

Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.

But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that shattered their lives, and changed everything forever…

Grim, evocative and exquisitely rendered, Fall is a story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave – a triumph of a novel that will affect you long after the final page has been turned.

Illustrations by David F. Ross

Fall by West Camel was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 9 December 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour. 

Last year, I read Attend by West Camel and was totally and utterly transfixed by the beauty of the story and the writing, you can read my review of Attend here

I really did wonder how this author would follow Attend, how could he write anything quite so special? Well, I don't really know how he does it, but he has. Fall is another beautifully written story that at times took my breath away. It's an exquisite piece of literature, populated with characters who will totally take over your day, in a setting that often feels quite magical, despite the grey concrete and often dismal surroundings of the housing estate that is central to the plot. 

Once more, as with his first book Attend, West Camel takes his readers to the heart of Deptford in London. This is not a well-known literary setting, but this author gives the place a heart and a soul, and it becomes the central character within the story. 

The story spans four decades, as we met eighteen-year-old twins Aaron and Clive. They live with their mother Zoe in a tower block on a Deptford estate. These are not your ordinary council tenants though, Zoe Goldsworthy is the architect of the the estate and has chosen to live there with her family, to prove that this is real community housing, suitable for all. As much as Zoe would like to feel that the family are just the same as the other residents, they do stand out. Everyone knows that Zoe designed the estate. 

When the boys meet Annette and Christine it is inevitable that they will be drawn to them. Another set of identical twins, albeit a few years older than them and also black. There are very few black people in the area and it's 1976.  Racism is rife and whilst the local residents do engage with the girls, their throwaway comments and behaviours are judgemental and ignorant. Zoe herself, surprisingly, advises her sons not to hang around with the women either. 

Meanwhile, forty five years later, the estate is set for demolition. Aaron and Clive have not spoken for decades. Aaron continues to live in the crumbling tower block that the family called home, whilst Clive looks over from his high rise office, his plans to demolish and redevelop the area thwarted by Aaron's refusal to move. Aaron always thought that he was the only resident left in the tower, and then he hears voices and footsteps, he realises that there are other residents, and when he finds out that Annette and Christine are back, he is perplexed. As is Clive.

There's an almost dreamlike quality to the 1970s story, as the two boys experience parties and community living properly for the first time and gradually and slowly realise that Zoe has not been entirely truthful about their family, for many years. 

It's almost impossible to write more about this unusual but extremely compelling story without giving too much away. It's safe to say that it's an utter delight to read and that the author takes many social injustices and brings them to the forefront. It is not just about the wider community though, it is a wonderfully executed study into family relationships; those of siblings and of parents and of controlling behaviours. 

There are reveals that are heartbreaking at times and the slow and steady destruction of a family is skilfully handled, with an empathy and understanding that is so brilliantly structured. 

Such an accomplished novel, so rich and intricate. West Camel is an author who uses words like an instrument, creating a symphony that will thrill any reader. 

Born and bred in south London – and not the Somerset village with which he shares a name – West
Camel worked as an editor in higher education and business before turning his attention to the arts and publishing. 

He has worked as a book and arts journalist, and was editor at Dalkey Archive Press, where he edited the Best European Fiction 2015 anthology, before moving to new press Orenda Books just after its launch. 

He currently combines his work as editor at Orenda with writing and editing a wide range of material for various arts organisations, including ghost-writing a New-Adult novel and editing The Riveter magazine for the European Literature Network. 

He has also written several short scripts, which have been produced in London’s fringe theatres, and was longlisted for the Old Vic’s 12 playwrights project. 

Attend, his first novel was shortlisted for the Polari prize.

www.westcamel.net

Twitter @west_camel

Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes 25th Anniversary Edition #RachelsHoliday @MarianKeyes #Giveaway #Prize #Win @MichaelJBooks @FMcMAssociates

 

The 25th anniversary edition of the million-copy bestselling phenomenon

A must-read for fans old and new, this stunning 25th Anniversary edition is the perfect way to rediscover the 1.5 million copy, No.1 bestselling phenomenon

*** Featuring introductions from Lisa Taddeo, David Nicholls, Nina Stibbe and more ***

Twenty-five years ago, Rachel Walsh arrived on the literary scene. Funny, sad, headstrong and achingly vulnerable, fun-loving Rachel connected with readers the world over. 

Ahead of her return in Again, Rachel (17th February 2022), a brand new 25th anniversary edition of Rachel’s Holiday will be released on 9th December 2021 by Michael Joseph Books

As part of this celebratory Blog Tour, I am delighted to offer one copy of Rachel's Holiday as a giveaway.  Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this post. UK Entries only please.

GOOD LUCK! 

Meet Rachel Walsh.

She's been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her adoring boyfriend, Luke.

But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn't quite part of her plan.

She's only agreed to her incarceration because she's heard that rehab is wall-to-wall jacuzzis, spa treatments and celebrities going cold turkey - plus it's about time she had a holiday.

Saying goodbye to fun and freedom will be hard - and losing the man who might just be the love of her life will be even harder.

But will hitting rock bottom help Rachel learn to love herself, at last?

One copy of Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes

FAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE RACHEL'S HOLIDAY

'Marian's writing is the truth. With big laughs' Dawn French

'A giant of Irish writing' Naoise Dolan

'Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are' Louise O'Neill

'Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way' Cathy Rentzenbrink

'One of the most honest writers writing today' Pandora Sykes

'Compassionate, tender, incisive writing' Lucy Foley

'Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul' Nigella Lawson

'Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius' Sali Hughes

'Irresistible, profound. Keyes's comic gift is always evident' Independent

'Joyful. Keyes' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself' C.L. Taylor

'A born storyteller' Independent on Sunday

Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. 

The multi-million copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years - such as Rachel's Holiday, Anybody Out There and Grown Ups - has millions of fans around the world. 

They are irresistibly drawn by her warmth and wit, fearless honesty, relatable characters and relationships, and sheer storytelling magic. 

Not only has Marian inspired and entertained countless readers, but also the next generation of writers too. 

As a beloved author herself, Marian is a passionate champion of storytellers everywhere, playing an active role in encouraging new voices. 

She has been the chair of judges for the Comedy Women in Print prize, a sponsor of the Curtis Brown Creative Marian Keyes scholarship, and most recently ran her own hugely popular Instagram Live series bringing free creative writing courses to thousands of viewers. 

Marian also uses her position to raise some of the most challenging issues of our time, including addiction, immigration, depression, domestic violence and the Repeal the Eighth campaign. 

Both critically acclaimed and commercially unstoppable, Marian's fourteenth novel Grown Ups went straight to No.1 in hardback and paperback in four global territories: UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Audiobook of the Year. 

In addition to her novels, Marian has written two collections of journalism, as well as been the star of the second series of her hit show Between Ourselves aired on BBC Radio 4 at the start of 2021. 

Again Rachel, the sequel to her ground-breaking novel Rachel's Holiday, will be Marian's fifteenth novel. 

Marian is based in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

www.mariankeyes.com

The Girl In The Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite @BCopperthwait @bookouture #TheGirlInTheMissingPoster #BookReview

 

24 June, 1994 – Nineteen-year-old Leila Hawkins runs from her father’s birthday party into the stormy night wearing her sister Stella’s long red coat. Some say she was crying, others swear they saw her get into a passing car. Nobody ever saw her again.

Present – This time every year, on the anniversary of that fateful night, Stella decorates the small seaside town she grew up in with pictures of her beautiful missing sister. But after twenty-five years, is it even worth hoping someone will come forward? Perhaps the upcoming documentary will spark people’s memories by reuniting all the guests who were there the night Leila went missing.

As old friends gather and long-buried secrets begin to surface, the last thing Stella ever expects is a direct response from someone claiming they took Leila. They want private details of Stella’s life in return for answers. But as the true events of the night of the party play out once again, who is lying? And who is next?

The Girl In The Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite was published in February 2021 in paperback by Bookouture. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I've read and enjoyed previous books from this author, she writes intelligently and carefully crafted stories that are always a little different. Whilst the 'missing woman' trope is certainly not a new one, in The Girl In The Missing Poster, the author puts a fresh spin on the plot device. Introducing a modern touch with the inclusion of transcripts from a planned documentary is a clever way to structure the story and I have to praise the creation of lead character Stella. She can be so annoying, yet she's driven and determined and the reader cannot help but urge her on. 

It is twenty-five years ago since Stella's twin sister Leila disappeared from a family party. The girls were just nineteen at the time and Leila has never been seen again. Although they were twins, Leila was the eldest by three minutes and for Stella it felt like losing a part of herself. Stella puts up missing posters, every year on the anniversary, all over the small seaside town where they grew up. It's just Stella now, and her dogs and she leads a life that's fairly solitary, always wondering what happened to Leila.

This year though, a production company has expressed an interest in making a documentary about Leila's disappearance. It's one of those human interest stories, and the twenty-fifth anniversary seems like the perfect time to do this. 

From here, the author is then able to tell the story in the dual time, using the documentary transcript and Stella's own current experiences to give the reader a wider view of what happened .... or what may have happened. It does keep the story fresh and interesting and Stella's voice and character is loud and at the forefront of the story. She's no nonsense, often blunt, but steely and determined. 

Suddenly, someone gets in touch. Someone who knows so much about what happened to Leila. Stella cannot let this go, despite the police involvement, she communicates with a potential murderer, putting herself in danger, but showing her strength of spirit throughout. 

Prepare yourself for an entertaining read, full of the unexpected and packed to the rafters with a host of interesting and intriguing characters, including three fabulous dogs who threaten to steal the whole story at times!  

Barbara is the Amazon, Kobo and USA Today bestselling author of psychological thrillers
INVISIBLE, FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD, THE DARKEST LIES, HER LAST SECRET and THE PERFECT FRIEND. Her new book THE GIRL IN THE MISSING POSTER was published on February 23, 2021 
Her writing career started in journalism, writing for national newspapers and magazines. During a career spanning over twenty years Barbara interviewed the real victims of crime - and also those who have carried those crimes out. She is fascinated by creating realistic, complex characters, and taking them apart before the readers' eyes in order to discover just how much it takes to push a person over a line.

Her first book, Invisible, was ‘totally gripping, and scarily believable’ according to Bella magazine. Its success was followed by Flowers For The Dead, which was the Sunday Mirror’s Choice Read, beating Lee Child’s latest offering. ‘Will have you looking over your shoulder and under your bed... Original, gripping, with a deep psychological impact,’ their review read.

The Darkest Lies came next, published by Bookouture, and became a USA Today bestseller. The follow-up, Her Last Secret, hit the Number 1 spot on Kobo. The Perfect Friend is a No 1 Kobo and Amazon best seller.

When not writing feverishly at her home in Birmingham, Barbara is often found walking her two dogs, Scamp and Buddy, or hiding behind a camera to take wildlife photographs.

To find out more about Barbara's novels, go to:

Website: www.barbaracopperthwaite.com

Blog: www.barbaracopperthwaite.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorBarbaraCopperthwaite

Twitter: www.twitter.com/BCopperthwait

Instagram: www.instagram.com/barbaracopperthwaite

Self Help For The Helpless by Shelly Wilson #SelfHelpForTheHelpless @ShelleyWilson72 @RandomTTours @BHCPressBooks #AuthorQ&A

 

Bestselling self-help author and award-winning personal development blogger Shelley Wilson takes the fear out of self-help and makes it fun, helping you to make easy, positive changes to improve your life right now. Includes her 31-day self-help toolkit.

Have you ever felt helpless? Are you struggling to understand why you feel disconnected from your friends or family? Are you mystified by the words self-help, self-care, and personal development? Are you looking for answers but really have no idea where to begin?

In this beginner's guide to personal developmental and understanding self-care, Shelley Wilson will show you how looking after your own needs can be a powerful tool for your mental, physical, and emotional health so you can begin making important changes today.

Discover what self-help means, how to become more self-aware, understand core values, and have fun mapping out what your best life looks like. Shelley includes tips, tools, and techniques and shares her 31-day self-help toolkit. 

Be the person you deserve to be and join bestselling self-help author and award-winning personal development blogger Shelley Wilson on a journey of self-discovery and recovery. 

Self Help for the Helpless : A Beginner's Guide to Personal Development, Understanding Self-care, and Becoming Your Authentic Self by Shelley Wilson was published on 2 December 2021 by BHC Press.

As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to welcome the author here today to answer a few questions.

Interview with author Shelley Wilson

Q: What was the inspiration behind writing Self-Help for the Helpless?

Personal development was, and still is, important to me because I’ve used so many techniques on my own healing journey. I wanted to pay it forward and help other women. In 2008 I opened a holistic spa which became a sanctuary for many women. I loved helping my clients to feel empowered, inspired, and confident. When I sat down to write Self-Help for the Helpless, I found myself going back to the early days of my training. What had I needed back then? Why was self-help so important to me? 

As my clients opened up to me during their appointments, I began to recognise that self-help strategies appeared when they needed them in their lives. I could relate to that. After walking out of a physically and emotionally abusive marriage, I found myself in the mind, body, spirit section in Waterstones – I’d never been in that section before. Still, at that moment, it was exactly what I needed. 

Self-Help for the Helpless is my way of reaching out to the women at the start of their healing journey and giving them the basics to thrive and survive.

Q: In your bio you mention using a healthy dose of humour in your non-fiction books. Do you believe this helps you cope with tough times?

It’s taken me many years to learn how to laugh again, and my amazing children were the main reason I was able to find my smile. When I give talks about self-help and motivation, I often include funny (and sometimes embarrassing) stories to put the audience at ease. We need laughter in our lives. I appreciate that it’s an urban myth to say children laugh 400 times a day and adults laugh less than 20, but the idea behind this is to show that we, as adults, can be far too serious.  

I’ve learned to laugh at myself, which has been a powerful tool on my own road to recovery, but laughter also strengthens our immune systems. It produces antibodies that fight off diseases, which means a good belly laugh not only helps you heal mentally but physically. What’s your favourite joke? Go on, share it with someone today.

Q: What advice would you give someone interested in self-help but unsure or hesitant?

When my clients came to my spa, many booked a pedicure or facial because they weren’t sure about alternative therapies. Once I told them what each treatment included and how it would benefit them, they switched to reflexology or reiki sessions. My advice is always to start with a small step. For example, download a meditation app, read a book (I can recommend Self-Help for the Helpless!!), listen to a podcast or go to a workshop or talk. Do one small thing that opens up the world of self-help to you. Be curious and open to the possibilities. 

Q: What was your favourite part of writing Self-Help for the Helpless?

I love talking about motivation and confidence, and I recognise that I’m a constant work in progress. It doesn’t matter how many self-help books I’ve read or written; there is still so much more to learn. In Self-Help for the Helpless, I share one of my favourite exercises that I used to do with my clients and still do for myself. The exercise is to write down what your best day would look like from the minute you wake up to when you go to bed. There are no rules. You can write whatever you want. My best day usually involves being by water, books, coffee, eating pizza, and occasionally, Johnny Depp makes an appearance! Have a go, it’s great fun, and you might just learn something about your innermost desires. 

Q: Why should people read this book?

When you travel by plane, you are told by the stewardess to secure your own oxygen mask before helping others in the event of any loss of cabin pressure. This is basic self-help. You can’t help others if you are broken. Self-Help for the Helpless isn’t a hefty tome designed to confuse or overwhelm. When I write my non-fiction, I want my readers to feel like they’re having a coffee and chatting with me. I want to know what’s going on in their world and how they’re coping. Hopefully, they’ll find the answers to their questions within the pages and feel supported as they dip their toe into helping themselves be the best they can be. 

I want people to read this book because they feel adrift or disconnected, and I want to help them realise it’s okay to feel this way. We all need guidance sometimes, and we all need to stay curious. My hope is that Self-Help for the Helpless finds its way into the hearts of anyone who needs a bit of a boost.

Shelley Wilson is a multi-genre author and award-winning blogger, and businesswoman. Her
motivational and personal development blog received numerous awards and was named a Top 10 UK Personal Development Blog.

She divides her writing time between motivational non-fiction for adults and the fictional worlds of her young adult titles. Her non-fiction books combine self-help with a healthy dose of humour, and her YA novels combine myth, legend, and supernatural characters with a side order of demonic chaos.

Shelley is an obsessive list maker who loves pizza, history, mythology, vampires, and travelling solo in her VW campervan. She lives in the West Midlands with her three children, a mischievous black cat called Luna, and a sixteen year old goldfish that refuses to die (he’s come back to life twice!)

Her new book, Self-Help for the Helpless, is out on 2nd December 2021, published by BHC Press Books.

Author website: https://shelleywilsonauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasyAuthorSLWilson/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ShelleyWilson72

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorslwilson/

Publisher: https://www.bhcpress.com/Author_SL_Wilson.html 

Piece Of Mind : A Memoir of Folly, Melancholy & Madness by David Mark @davidmarkwriter #PieceOfMind #Memoir #FollyMelancholyMadness

 

Best-selling novelist David Mark’s first work of non-fiction is an excruciatingly honest account of living with acute mental illness.

This lyrical, raw and painfully funny memoir explores how it feels to house a monster inside your head: a slavering, seductive beast that whispers ‘kill yourself’ just when you start to think you’re happy. It’s the story of finding love and raising a family in the face of mania, depression, OCD, addiction, hallucinations, suicidal ideation, chronic anxiety and a genuine genius for self-sabotage.

Piece of Mind deals with the reality of waking every day and choosing not to die. It’s about enduring. Keeping on keeping on. It’s about fighting for your life when death seems so much bloody easier. It’s about becoming a best-selling novelist and fulfilling your dreams and then feeling so utterly empty inside that an ocean of whisky isn’t enough.

Piece of Mind :  A Memoir of Folly, Melancholy and Madness by David Mark was published on 18 October 2021. I bought my copy from Amazon online. 

There is no doubt that there are a lot of books that feature mental health.  Self-help books, memoirs, fictional stories, poetry ... the shelves are full of them.  I haven't read a lot of these books. Whilst I know that some of the authors who seem to specialise in mental health writing have lots of fans, and are thought of very highly, I do get the impression that some of them are defined by their illness, instead of by their talent, or by their own personality. 

David Mark is a crime author. He's from Hull. He's a very talented author, he also lives with acute mental illness. I know David Mark as a crime fiction author, I don't think as him as the bloke who writes crime who also battles with demons. To me, he's a crime fiction author first. He doesn't define himself by his illness, in fact, I'd go as far as to say that he's denied it and tried to hide it for many years. 

This is a brutally honest, often disturbing read. There were a couple of times when reading this that I wanted to find David and give him a hug. I've met him at book events, he is always jolly and funny, cracking jokes and joining in. I looked back and realised that according to the time line in this book, there were events that I'd attended, and chatted with David that were bang in the middle of his crisis. I didn't know. He hides things.

Mental illness is not fun, it is not made up of a few wobbles and some pills and then a barrage of self-help memes. It's degrading, to the person themselves and to their loved ones. It's grubby and it's frightening. It changes lives and whole perspectives. It makes children scared of their parent, it splits up families and it not easy to get rid of. 

It's clear that David Mark has had issues with mental health for many years, he talks about his early years, about his parents and especially about his Dad's issues. David talks about his first romantic relationships, and then goes on to describe his many relationship break downs. He doesn't hold back, and there are times when I am sure that he really really doesn't like himself. It can be hard, as a person who is mentally well, to try to understand some of his reasonings and behaviours. He doesn't sugar coat stuff and he doesn't try to make excuses. 

It's a startling, enlightening read. Sometimes it rambles a little, but that is actually so much in keeping with the narrative that it fits quite beautifully. Mental health professionals should be made to read this book, people who are dealing with their own demons should read this book and those of us who are lucky enough to be free of these issues should also read it. We should all read it and learn from it.

Wishing you well David, thank you for writing this. 

David spent more than fifteen years as a journalist, including seven years as a crime reporter with the
Yorkshire Post - walking the Hull streets that would later become the setting for the Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy novels.

He has been championed by such industry luminaries as Val McDermid, Peter James, Mick Herron and Martina Cole.

He has written eight novels in the McAvoy series: Dark Winter, Original Skin, Sorrow Bound, Taking Pity, Dead Pretty, Cruel Mercy, Scorched Earth and Cold Bones as well as two McAvoy novellas, A Bad Death and Fire of Lies, which are available as ebooks. McAvoy will return in 2021 with the prequel Darkness Falls, and new installment PAST LIFE.

His first historical thriller, The Zealot’s Bones, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. With publishers Severn House, he has written the critically-acclaimed thrillers The Burying Ground, A Rush of Blood, Borrowed Time, Suspicious Minds and Cages.

His first work of non-fiction, a mental health memoir detailing his battle with depression and addiction, was released in September. Piece of Mind has been described as 'lyrical, raw, brutal and very funny'.

Dark Winter was selected for the Harrogate New Blood panel (where he was Reader in Residence) and was a Richard & Judy pick and a Sunday Times bestseller. Dead Pretty was long-listed for the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger in 2016, as was Cold Bones in 2019.

David’s Radio 4 drama, A Marriage of Inconvenience, aired in 2017. His first novel has been adapted for the stage and was a sell-out smash in Hull. He has also written for the theatre and has contributed articles and reviews to several national and international publications. He is a regular performer at literary festivals and is a sought-after public speaker. He also teaches creative writing.

www.davidmarkwriter.co.uk

Twitter @davidmarkwriter