Fires of Hate by Heather Peck @HeatherLydia1 #FiresOfHate BLOG TOUR @RandomTTours #Giveaway #Prize #Competition #Win

 

After a successful day in court, Greg Geldard is hoping to clear up some routine cases. Then a government laboratory receives a mysterious threat, a terrorist attack precipitates a multi agency emergency response and his investigations are seriously compromised by interference from the security service.

The enquiries lead down dangerous paths, with both Greg and someone he cares for put at risk, before he runs the perpetrators to ground. Then he's posed an ethical conundrum in court. Can hate ever be wholly sane?

'Fires of Hate' continues the Greg Geldard series; a compelling narrative of crime, emotion and one man's fight to do the best he can.

Fires of Hate by Heather Peck was published on 28 March 2022 by Silverwood Books and is the latest edition in the DCI Greg Geldard series.

As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to have one copy to give away. 

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

GOOD LUCK! 

One copy of Fires Of Hate by Heather Peck

Heather Peck is the author of the Greg Geldard series of murder mysteries, set in rural North Yorkshire and Norfolk. Her long career in both the policy and muddy-boots practice of agriculture is immediately apparent in the books, which are firmly and colourfully set in the world of farming and farmers. Although it has to be admitted that the Norfolk Broads and coast also feature.

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, she blames their many family holidays on farms for the interests that led her to work in the Ministry of Agriculture / Defra (her farmer husband was regularly described as sleeping with the enemy) and also to the commercial breeding of both sheep and alpacas.

Alongside her writing, in which she is ably supported by two canine assistants, she is Chair of Lantra UK, a Trustee of Norfolk Citizens Advice and volunteers as a Citizens Advice adviser and in the Witness Service. She has recently put her name forward to train as a Covid vaccinator. As she says,

'all that experience of vaccinating sheep and alpacas should come in handy - provided I remember not to turn anyone upside down and don't mark the backs of their necks with wax crayon when dosed.'

She hopes to grow up to be Granny Weatherwax - or a Lady who Lunches - either will do.

You can sign up free for Heather's monthly newsletter at www.heatherpeckauthor.com for sneak peaks into new books, short stories etc

Twitter @HeatherLydia1

Quicksand of Memory by Michael J Malone BLOG TOUR @michaeljmalone1 @OrendaBooks #QuicksandOfMemory #Revenge #PsychologicalThriller

 

Jenna is trying to rebuild her life after a series of disastrous relationships.

 Luke is struggling to provide a safe, loving home for his deceased partner’s young son, following a devastating tragedy.

 When Jenna and Luke meet and fall in love, they are certain they can achieve the stability and happiness they both desperately need.

 And yet, someone is watching.

 Someone who has been scarred by past events.

 Someone who will stop at nothing to get revenge…

 Dark, unsettling and immensely moving, Quicksand of Memory is a chilling reminder that we are not only punished for our sins, but by them, and that memories left to blacken and sharpen over time are the perfect breeding ground for obsession, and murder…

Quicksand of Memory by Michael J Malone was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 14 April 2022, the ebook was published on 24 December 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour 

I am a huge huge fan of Michael J Malone's books. He writes crime fiction with a difference. Whilst dealing with some of the darkest and most serious issues, he creates a stories that beguile and entrance his readers. His biggest strength is his ability to create characters who are often flawed and dysfunctional, yet always so very human. He creates back stories for these characters that can help the reader to understand the decisions that they take. However, he doesn't make them blame-free, he examines consequences and the far reaching effects of actions taken. 

Quicksand of Memory is Luke and Jenna's story, but I think it's fair to say that the main character in this novel is Danny. Danny died years ago, but his influence remains. 

Danny was a huge part of Luke's early years, their relationship was strained, for Danny was a manipulative man who was able to use his skills for his own good, and as the story progresses, we realise just how much of an impact his actions have made, on so many lives. 

Luke feels that he's paid the price for the mistakes of his early years. He's trained as therapist and wants nothing more than to be a good father to Nathan; the son of his recently deceased girlfriend. The reader has no doubt that Luke's intentions are good and that he truly wants to leave the past behind. However, that past keeps catching up with him, and just won't let go. 

Jenna hasn't had a great life so far. She has to care for a mother who is no longer the person she once was. Her only proper relationship ended in tragedy and she feels that seeing a therapist will help her. There's a spark between Luke and Jenna, and their relationship soon moves way past professional, and they are both invested in a potential new love. 

Jamie is an outlier. He also visits Luke, seeking help for his personal issues, but there's more to Jamie that first appears and he also becomes a large part of Luke's life. 

Quicksand of Memory is an incredibly well written story, the author's psychological insight into how damaged minds work is intoxicating in parts. Do damaged people always cause more damage? Malone looks at this question in depth, producing evidence from the past that will shock and stun the reader. 

Memory is a strange thing. We all interpret our thoughts in different ways, we can all look back at an event and see different things and take contrasting ideas from just one event, or one person, seen by many, known by many, but what is the truth? Is our own truth correct? Can we change the way we see something? What if we learn something that totally destroys a long held belief? How does that change us as a person? Luke, and in parts, Jenna and Jamie all experience these things and each of them will deal with them in their own ways. 

This is a novel that is often quite harrowing, always compelling and quite beautifully written. It's a crime story with such depth, with characters who have been carefully and sensitively created and subject matter that is both relevant and shocking. 

Another masterpiece from a favourite author, and publisher. Wonderful. Just wonderful. 

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. 

He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. 

His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit. 

A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. 

Michael lives in Ayr.

Twitter @michaeljmalone1

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy @KennedyLoulou @BloomsburyBooks #Trespasses @Ros_Ellis #BookReview

 

One by one, she undid each event, each decision, each choice.

If Davy had remembered to put on a coat.

If Seamie McGeown had not found himself alone on a dark street.

If Michael Agnew had not walked through the door of the pub on a quiet night in February in his white shirt.

There is nothing special about the day Cushla meets Michael, a married man from Belfast, in the pub owned by her family. But here, love is never far from violence, and this encounter will change both of their lives forever.

As people get up each morning and go to work, school, church or the pub, the daily news rolls in of another car bomb exploded, another man beaten, killed or left for dead. In the class Cushla teaches, the vocabulary of seven-year-old children now includes phrases like 'petrol bomb' and 'rubber bullets'. And as she is forced to tread lines she never thought she would cross, tensions in the town are escalating, threatening to destroy all she is working to hold together.

Tender and shocking, Trespasses is an unforgettable debut of people trying to live ordinary lives in extraordinary times.

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Circus on 14 April 2022. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

This is an extraordinary book, written by an author who is so very talented. Trespasses is Louise Kennedy's debut novel, she recently published a collection of short stories that was very popular. I hope very much that she continues to write full length novels if this one is anything to go by. 

Cushla Lavery is a primary school teacher. It is 1975 and Northern Ireland is ripped apart by The Troubles. Neighbours and colleagues look at each other, trying to judge where allegiances lie. Cushla's family have a pub, the customers are a mixed bunch and include British soldiers from the nearby barracks. 

Cushla cares deeply about the children that she teaches, going that extra mile to protect the vulnerable, especially from the cruel jibes made by the obnoxious headteacher and his ghoulish, vile sidekick, the local priest. Davy McGeown is one of the most vulnerable, but also one the smartest and brightest of her pupils. The priest despises him; his mother and father are a 'mixed marriage' and poor Davy suffers for that. When Davy's father is brutally attacked and left with life changing injuries, Cushla does everything she can to protect and care for him, whilst his older brother Tommy becomes more bitter and more distant. 

Michael Agnew is a Protestant barrister, known to Cushla's family and occasionally takes a whiskey in the family pub. Older than Cushla, and with an air of superiority and knowledge about him, Cushla is soon embroiled in a furtive  and passionate relationship. She finds herself examined and questioned by Michael's friends, whilst doing everything she can to ensure that her mother and brother Eamon do not discover what she's getting herself into.

The author begins and ends her story at the same place; an art gallery where the visitors are looking at ghost like sculpture called Everyman. After reading the ending, the poignancy of the beginning delivers a blow to the heart. 

Trespasses is a beautiful love story like no other that I've read. It is not flowers and romance by any means. Cushla and Michael's relationship often feels one-sided, yet their love develops slowly and surely, allowing them to be their own true selves, something that both of them have often found it hard to do. 

The backdrop of the troubled times in the North of Ireland is what really makes this story work so well, the intricacies of relationships, the danger, the fear and the feeling of general unease weaves its way through the narrative, adding such depth to a love story that feels so impossible at times. 

A story of powerlessness, and about people who are formed by where they live, or where they worship. It is a remarkable, tender story, written with an honestly and compassion that lingers long after turning the final page. Will most certainly be one of my top books of this year. 

LOUISE KENNEDY is the award-winning author of acclaimed short story collection The End of the World is a Cul de Sac.

Her stories have appeared in journals ranging from the Stinging Fly to Wasifiri and she has also written for the Guardian, Irish Times, BBC Radio 4 and RTE Radio 1.

Louise Kennedy was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Audible short Story Award in both 2019 and 2020.

Before starting her writing career, she spent nearly 30 years working as a chef.
She lives in Sligo. 

Twitter @KennedyLoulou

Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg #NobodyButUs @Laure0901 @MichaelJBooks @JenRHarlow #BookReview

 

Steven Harding is a handsome, well-respected professor.

Ellie Masterson is a wide-eyed young college student.

Together, they are driving south from New York, for their first holiday: three days in an isolated cabin, far from the city.

Ahead of them, the promise of long, dark nights - and the chance to explore one another's bodies, away from disapproving eyes.

It should be a perfect, romantic trip for two.

EXCEPT THAT HE'S NOT WHO HE SAYS HE IS.

BUT THEN AGAIN, NEITHER IS SHE . . .

Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg is published on 14 April 2022 by Michael Joseph. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Wow! Nobody But Us has one of the most enrapturing prologues that I've read in a long tome. It's raw, violent, visceral and unrelenting. If this prologue doesn't make you want to carry on reading, then nothing will. It sets a scene for the following pages, where we meet Ellie and Steven as they prepare to set off for a weekend away in an isolated house in the forest. 

Ellie is a young student. Steven is a college professor. They've been in a relationship for six months and this weekend will be a celebration of their time together. A chance to discover each other where no one else can see.  We already know that the weekend is not going to end well, we just don't know who the blood will belong to, or why.

The marketing blurb for this book asks us to meet '2022's most toxic couple', and this pair surely are two very messed up individuals. I can assure you that you will hate Steven, with his pretentious airs and his patronising way of treating Ellie. He's a man who is used to having things his own way, a taker. Whilst he considers himself to be generous, he gives nothing without expecting a lot in return. Ellie is,  at first glance, a shy and demure young woman who is obviously in thrall to Steven. She's young and easily manipulated; agreeing to wear the clothes that he buys for her, smiling and complying with all that he does. 

However, both Steven and Ellie are not who they want people to think they are, and as the story unfolds, the horror of the situation intensifies. 

The author's writing is beautifully poetic at times, yet is often brutal too. Her ability to create the eeriness and isolation of the house in the forest, coupled with the snow storm that rages outside adds a tension and feeling of anticipation that heightens towards the shocking and revelatory ending. 

This is not just a mystery about two people who are pretending, this is a savage, yet compelling look at historic sexual predatory and the effects that has on the victims. Steven is a damaged man, with an intense but totally dysfunctional family history and his behaviour over the years has been damaging. Here is a man who creates a facade of respectability whilst living a life that degrades others. 

Ellie is a woman who has been hurt beyond repair, who has spent the last years plotting how she will try to make a terrible wrong right. She's the cleverest one of the two, hiding behind her downcast eyes and her fluttering eyelashes, whilst harbouring the most intense of desires. 

Sharp and precise, beautifully written. This is a novel that consumed me, that I was loathe to set aside, yet which also horrified me at the same time. Highly recommended by me.

Laure Van Rensburg is a French writer living in the UK and an Ink Academy alumna. 

Her stories have appeared in online magazines and anthologies such as Litro Magazine, Storgy Magazine, The Real Jazz Baby (2020 Best Anthology, Saboteur Awards 2020), and FIVE:2:ONE. 

She has also placed in competitions including 2018 & 2019 Bath Short Story Award.

www.laurevanrensburg.com

Instagram @laurevanrensburg

Author Page on Facebook

Twitter @Laure0901

Soulcat : A Feline Memoir by Amy Vaughan-Spencer BLOG TOUR #Soulcat @SoulcatMemoir @RandomTTours #BookExtract

 

Amy wrote a love letter… a note to the love of her life.

Only Molly never read it. Even if she’d been alive when it was written, failing eyesight would’ve prevented her from making out the words.

Besides which, she was a cat. And cats can’t read.

No ordinary feline, Molly lived a life full of challenge and adventure, determined not to let gradual blindness hold her back.

This is that letter and - against all the odds - Molly’s long-lost memoirs….

Soulcat is a delightful furrytail of a unique friendship, filled with amusing anecdotes and touching moments. The first half is Molly's story told from the author's perspective, including a glimpse into the life of a touring theatrical stage manager. Each chapter is punctuated with a photo of Molly and an apt cat quote.

Part 2 is life through Molly's fading eyes, told in her own words (translated into English). Beautifully illustrated by Ellypop Illustration.

Soulcat : A Feline Memoir by Amy Vaughan-Spencer on published on 25 December 2021. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today.

Extract from Soulcat : A Feline Memoir by Amy Vaughan-Spencer 

You came into my life for a long weekend while your owners went away on holiday. It was a balmy August in Glasgow, where I lived with my boyfriend, Craig, in the West End of the city. The West End is ‘the posh bit’, with quirky independent shops, popular bars and restaurants, and long residential streets lined with terraces of beautiful big sandstone houses. Technically, we were more Northwest than West of the centre, but I liked to pretend we resided in the fancy part. Our flat was on Sandbank Crescent, a secluded cul-de-sac sandwiched between council estates, tucked behind the busy Maryhill Road, with a canal silently sweeping past on one side. 

I was twenty-five and on a break from my career as a theatrical stage manager, which had taken me around the UK with various plays and operas. Craig and I had met while I was rehearsing for a tour in Scotland, and afterwards we dated long-distance. He lived with his family just outside Glasgow and I was based partly in my hometown of Guildford, in Surrey, and partly in London, while also travelling the country with shows. When it came to moving in together, we planned on settling in London, but he had a good job in a local production studio and didn’t want to leave it. Since my work was contract-based and transient, it made more sense for me to move north. 

I loved Glasgow for its eclectic architecture, cultural vibe and welcoming atmosphere. The locals are often considered tough and antagonistic, due to their impassioned competitiveness over football, linked with sectarianism, and their aggressive-sounding accent, which leads people to assume the worst. Having spent a lot of time in London, where making eye contact with a stranger is a mortal sin, I found it unnerving when strangers in my new city chatted to me at bus stops and in the streets. Naturally suspicious if someone looked at me and smiled, I was pleasantly surprised to discover they were just really friendly. Glaswegians belie their reputation by being some of the most affable folk you can meet. 

Soon after relocating, I found some work at the Royal Concert Hall, before taking on a three- month contract with Scottish Opera On Tour. Then I found myself at a loose end. Having trained ‘down south’, and with no contacts in the regional rep circuit, I struggled to get my foot in the proverbial stage-door. 

I took a part-time job as a medical receptionist in a doctor’s surgery, alongside creating a website for fellow touring theatre staff. The clinic occupied a beautiful grand building on a leafy avenue in the West End (the actual posh bit). While one receptionist stood at the small front desk booking in patients, four others worked in the office behind, answering calls and filing paperwork. I soon learned why medical receptionists are renowned for being miserable and short-tempered, as the phones rang off the hook all day with patients making impossible demands and failing to understand why prescription requests couldn’t be processed instantly. 

My colleagues, however, were all lovely, and we kept each other sane with idle gossip and conversations revolving around what we’d be having for dinner that evening. 

One afternoon, as I was sorting patient notes into their corresponding files, I overheard the office manager, Jeanette, discussing her upcoming family break. 

‘Molly will have to come along wi’ us,’ she said. 

‘Um, sorry,’ I interrupted, ‘you’re going to take your cat camping?’ I didn’t understand how that would work. 

‘We’ll have nae choice, there’ll be nobody at home, and we can’t afford a cattery.’ 

‘I’ll look after her if you like.’ I said. ‘She can stay with us.’ 

‘Are you sure?’ 

‘Of course! I’d love to have her for a few days. We had cats in the house all through my childhood, I miss having them around.’ 

‘Well, don’t make a rash decision, I wouldnae want to put you out. Talk it over with Craig and let me know.’ 

Jeanette assumed it would be a burden for us to cat-sit, but we relished the opportunity to have a bundle of fur in the flat for a few days. Craig’s family had two feline members, and he missed them, despite having moved only a few miles away. We agreed that having a pet makes a house feel like more of a home. 

My manager and I conducted your handover outside the surgery, from her car to mine, on my morning off. She gave me your bed, litter tray, some food and a couple of toys, before lifting out your cat carrier. In the shadows at the back of the box, I caught flashes of white and brown fur as you cowered in the far corner. I drove you home as carefully as if I had a newborn baby on the rear seat. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I have been writing for most of my life, in various forms, although Soulcat is the first
completed project that has made it to publication (with the exception of 2 poems printed in anthologies half a lifetime ago). 

Although I always loved the idea of writing a book, I only became brave enough to share my work in recent years, discovering it might just be good enough to let loose on the general public. 

My love for Molly, and my determination to keep her memory alive, motivated me to get her memoir written and shared, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world from her perspective, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

www.soulcat.co.uk

Twitter @SoulcatMemoir

The Shot by Sarah Sultoon BLOG TOUR #TheShot @SarahSultoon @OrendaBooks #BookReview

 

Samira is an up-and-coming TV journalist, working the nightshift at a major news channel and yearning for greater things. So when she’s offered a trip to the Middle East, with Kris, the station’s brilliant but impetuous star photographer, she leaps at the chance

 In the field together, Sami and Kris feel invincible, shining a light into the darkest of corners  … except the newsroom, and the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to care as much as they do. Until Kris takes the photograph. 

 With a single image of young Sudanese mother, injured in a raid on her camp, Sami and the genocide in Darfur are catapulted into the limelight. But everything is not as it seems, and the shots taken by Kris reveal something deeper and much darker … something that puts not only their careers but their lives in mortal danger.

 Sarah Sultoon brings all her experience as a CNN news executive to bear on this shocking, searingly authentic thriller, which asks immense questions about the world we live in. You'll never look at a news report in the same way again...  

The Shot by Sarah Sultoon is published in paperback by Orenda Books on 28 April 2022, the ebook was published on 2 April. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour.

The Shot is Sarah Sultoon's second novel. I read and really enjoyed her first book; The Source, and have been looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next. 

Sultoon is an incredibly talented author, she creates stories that propel the reader into the thick of the action from the very first pages. This is, at times, a harrowing and difficult book to read. Sultoon has drawn on her own extensive experiences of working in international newsrooms and everything is laid bare.

The Shot is so very relevant at this time. Many times as I was reading the book, I looked up to see news reports from Ukraine on my TV screen. I have always had such respect for the men and women who go out into the field so that the rest of the world can see what is happening. There is no doubt that images captured from war correspondent photographers will always become iconic.

Sami is a young reporter, just starting out in a career in the news. She currently works the night shift, producing graphics for stories that other people will tell. She's passionate about her work, about current affairs, and especially about the atrocities of war. She's desperate to get out, to see more and to bring back her own stories. 

Kris is a well respected war photographer. His photos have become famous world wide. He's blunt, direct, almost battle weary at times. Returning home after sustaining an injury whilst on a shoot is not what he wants. Family life is difficult for him. His wife is tired of their life, his children hardly know him. The only affection he really gets is from the dog. 

When Sami is offered the once in a lifetime chance to accompany Kris on a report overseas, she is overjoyed. However, nothing is quite as she expected, and even the most brutal and graphic photographs and film have not prepared her for the reality of war and the after math.  Sami is determined though, and it becomes clear that she has a talent. She can find a story and she can relate that story. 

It is a photograph taken on a trip to Dafur with Kris that will change everything, for Sami and for Kris. 

This is a novel about people. It is an incredibly well written and perceptive study of people who spend their time witnessing the most terrible atrocities that man can produce. It's a story that shows the real impact of war, on those people who do not actively fight in it, but are central to it. It's distressing, painful and quite agonisingly brutal in parts. It is also astute and penetrating, evoking feelings that are long lasting and hard to shake off. 

A provocative mix of actual events and fictional characters. Sarah Sultoon is a new and welcome voice in what can be a very crowded genre. The Shot is riveting and relentless. Highly recommended.

Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs. 

As passionate about fiction as nonfiction, she recently completed a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge, adding to an undergraduate language degree in French and Spanish, and Masters of Philosophy in History, Film and Television. 

When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if... 

Her debut thriller The Source is currently in production with Lime Pictures, and was a Capital Crime Book Club pick and a number one bestseller on Kindle.

Twitter @SultoonSarah

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain #TheLastHouseOnTheStreet #DianeChamberlain @headlinepg @RosieMargesson #BookReview

 

1965. A young white female student becomes involved in the fight for civil rights in North Carolina, falling in love with one of her fellow activists, a Black man, in a time and place where an interracial relationship must be hidden from family, friends and especially the reemerging Ku Klux Klan. As tensions rise in the town, she realises not everyone is who they appear to be.

2010. A recently widowed architect moves into the home she and her late husband designed, heartbroken that he will never cross the threshold. But when disturbing things begin to happen, it's clear that someone is sending her a warning. Who is trying to frighten her away, and why?

Decades later, past and present are set to collide in the last house on the street...

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain was published in hardback by Headline Review on 20 January 2022, the paperback will be published on 4 August 2022. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

What an absolute treat this book is. I've enjoyed many of Diane Chamberlain's novels, although haven't caught up with her more recent ones until this one, and it's a dual timeline - my absolute favourite way of reading a story. There's something so clever about an author who can create a story that is so seamless, yet is set over fifty years apart. Her ability to capture the past, along with writing an up to date narrative is just wonderful.

The 1965 story is one that provoked so many feelings in me. As with most of Chamberlain's books, this is based upon North Carolina, USA, although the author names her county Derby County. Those were troubled times. Segregation was still a thing, and white supremacist groups such as the KKK were vocal in the area. Young Ellie comes from a fairly wealthy family in a small town in the County. She lives with her mother, and her father, the local pharmacist and her brother Buddy. Ellie is dating, she's studying hard to follow her father into the pharmacy, she has friends and is pretty content. 

When Ellie learns about the SCOPE organisation, she is enraptured. Civil rights workers, mainly young people and both black and white are working to enable black people to use their vote. It's a dangerous thing to do, especially for a young white girl from this town, but Ellie is determined to be part of this program. Leaving town to undertake her induction causes so much grief, her friends and family turn their backs on her and her beau is distraught. 

Ellie becomes a valued member of SCOPE. Risking everything to do the work that she believes in. Having to dodge people who look just like her and creating new relationships with people that she would never have met ordinarily.

In 2010, Kayla and her young daughter have just moved into their dream home. It's the house that Kayla always wanted, designed and built by her and her husband. Tragedy struck before they moved in, and now it's just Kayla and her daughter, alone. The house is set amongst woodland, and is not far from where Kayla grew up, her father lives not far away. 

Strange events have been happening, not least the appearance of a strange, red haired woman in Kayla's office. Kayla is perturbed and uneasy and regretting her decision to move into the house. 

At first glance, it is difficult to work out how Ellie and Layla's stories connect, but this clever author slowly reveals tiny things that join them together, culminating in an explosive and quite tragic event that rocked the community, but has been covered up for so many years. 

This is a beautifully written, insightful novel that taught me so much. The horrors of segregation are laid bare, and realising that US laws are presently being passed, in 2022, that will make things difficult for black people to vote is so distressing. 

Both Ellie and Kayla are strong women, carefully created and impossible not to support. For me, the 1960s part of the story was the strongest; the wealth of historical detail is fascinating and at times, quite horrifying. I did enjoy Kayla's story too and enjoyed the way that the author cleverly linked her to Ellie. 

Highly recommended by me

Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and (London) Sunday Times best-selling author of 27 novels.

The daughter of a school principal who supplied her with a new book almost daily, Diane quickly learned the emotional power of story. Although she wrote many small “books” as a child, she didn’t seriously turn to writing fiction until her early thirties when she was waiting for a delayed doctor’s appointment with nothing more than a pad, a pen, and an idea. She was instantly hooked.

Diane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived for many years in both San Diego and northern Virginia. She received her master’s degree in clinical social work from San Diego State University. Prior to her writing career, she was a hospital social worker in both San Diego and Washington, D.C, and a psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, working primarily with adolescents.

More than two decades ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which changed the way she works: She wrote two novels using voice recognition software before new medication allowed her to get back to typing. She feels fortunate that her arthritis is not more severe and that she’s able to enjoy everyday activities as well as keep up with a busy travel schedule.

Diane lives in North Carolina with her significant other, photographer John Pagliuca, and their odd but lovable Shetland Sheepdog, Cole.

Please visit Diane's website at www.dianechamberlain.com for her event schedule and for more information on her novels.