Go As A River by Shelley Read BLOG TOUR #GoAsARiver #ShelleyRead @DoubledayUK @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family's farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a dishevelled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives.

So begins the mesmerising story of split-second choices and courageous acts that propel Victoria away from the only home she has ever known and towards a reckoning with loss, hope and her own untapped strength.

Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary existence, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life for ever.

GO AS A RIVER is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettable characters and a breathtaking natural setting, it is a sweeping story of survival and becoming, of the deepest mysteries of love, truth and fate.

Go As A River by Shelley Read was published on 13 April 2023 by Doubleday. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour

This is an utterly beautiful, lyrical and vivid story of a young girl’s coming-of-age. 

Torie has been the woman of the house for five years, her mother died when she was twelve. Torie cleans, cooks, picks and packs the peaches from their orchard, tends the kitchen garden and keeps quiet. Her father, uncle and younger brother expect that, and it’s just what she does. 

One day, when in the local town, Torie meets Wil Moon, and for the first time in her life she feels like a female. Their meeting was brief, but Torie cannot get Wil out of her mind. Other people in town would rather Wil leave, he’s Native American and subject to racial hate and prejudice from all. 

Torie and Wil do meet again, and this is the beginning of a love story that is both innocently beautiful and viciously tragic. As the novel moves on, Torie does too and becomes a strong-willed woman who shows that she can overcome the odds stacked against her. 

Not only are the human characters wonderfully created, but this author also brings to life the Colorado mountains. From the wonders of the lush fruits produced on the land, to the harshest winters and also, of course, the flowing river of the title. 

Wil teaches Torie many things, and the most important of all is that she should ‘go as a river’; keep moving, and change your course if you need to. 

A true love story, and especially one that details the strength of the mother/child relationship and how memories can guide and steer a life, regardless of the horrors that are inflicted upon it. 

This is powerful, stunning writing with a lead character that readers will love. 

A version of my review was published in the Express S Magazine a few weeks ago

Shelley Read is a fifth generation Coloradoan who lives with her family in the Elk
Mountains of the Western Slope. 

She was a Senior Lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades, where she taught writing, literature, environmental studies, and Honours, and was a founder of the Environment & Sustainability major and a support program for first-generation and at-risk students. 

Shelley holds degrees in writing and literary studies from the University of Denver and Temple University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing. 

She is a regular contributor to Crested Butte Magazine and Gunnison Valley Journal, and has written for the Denver Post and a variety of publications. 

Go As A River, her first novel, is inspired by the landscape she comes from and will be published in over thirty territories.

www.shelleyread.com

Instagram @shelleyread.author

Ann Cleeves - My Life In Books @AnnCleeves London Book Fair @LondonBookFair @midascampaigns #MyLifeInBooks

 

Ann Cleeves is the Author of the Day on Wednesday at The London Book Fair (Olympia London, 18-20 April). 

The Rising Tide is out now in paperback from Pan Macmillan, £9.99

UK crime writer Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty-five critically acclaimed novels, and winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger 2017. She's created detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found in ITV’s Vera, BBC1’s Shetland and ITV's The Long Call. Her latest book is The Rising Tide, her tenth Vera novel.

 

Ann Cleeves will take part in an ‘in conversation’ event on the Main Stage on the second day of the London Book Fair, Wednesday 19^th April, as part of an engaging line-up of talks and panel sessions led by experts from across the publishing industry. 

The London Book Fair is the world’s largest spring book trade and publishing event, returning to its home at Olympia London.

I am delighted to welcome Ann to Random Things today, she's talking about the books that are special to her in My Life In Books. 

Ann Cleeves - My Life in Books

Any of the Lone Pine Books by Malcolm Saville.  I can’t remember individual tiles, and they were all borrowed from the library, so I don’t own any, but these were children’s thrillers set in Shropshire and the Welsh marches.  I’d read Enid Blyton’s mysteries before these, but immediately knew that this was a much better writer.  I wrote to him when I was eight or nine and got a beautifully hand-written letter back.

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.  A more adult version of my earlier passion for adventure stories, a race against time with a background of wild countryside.

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham.  In my teens I moved on from adventure to classic mystery.  This Albert Campion detective novel is a wonderfully atmospheric story, pitting good against grotesque evil, but also exploring, in a more realistic way, lives fractured by the war.

The Lost Domaine by Alain-Fournier.  This book sums up my sixth form in North Devon.  We read it in French – as Le Grand Meaulnes - for A level and our group loved it.  It’s a rite of passage novel about love and betrayal.  The subjective nature of reading became clear when another class hated it - they called it The Big Moan.  I still regularly read it, though in translation now.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.  I’m not sure why I love this so much, because I’m usually attracted by a strong plot.  I was seduced by the domestic details, and I absolutely understood this family, their disappointments and the tragedies.

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene.  I read this before I went to Sussex University just outside Brighton.  It’s a gangland thriller, but of course, it’s much more than that.  I dropped out of the university, but I kept my love of Greene.

Love in Amsterdam by Nicholas Freeling.  This book hit me as a completely fresh and wonderful detective novel.  I was already addicted to crime fiction, but the slender novel, written in the sixties, takes us out of the grand country house to explore ideas of power within personal relationships.

The Saint Fiacre Affair by Georges Simenon.  This is my favourite Maigret novel.  Translated crime fiction became my reading passion and for a while I chaired the judges for the CWA International Dagger. Simenon always sets a scene brilliantly, but this story, which takes him back to the village of his childhood is wonderful.

 

Preloved by Lauren Bravo BLOG TOUR #Preloved @Laurenbravo @simonschusterUK @RandomTTours #BookReview #PrelovedTheNovel

 

Gwen is coasting through life. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the countryside and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around the council’s wheelie-bin timetable.

 And she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?

 When she’s made redundant from a job she hardly cares about, she takes herself out for a fancy dinner. There she has the best sticky toffee pudding of her life and realises she has no one to tell. She vows to begin living her life fully, reconnect with her friends and family, and finally book that dentist’s appointment. 

 Gwen decides to start where all things get a second chance: her local charity shop. There, with the help of the weird and wonderful people and donated items bursting with untold stories, Gwen will find a way to move forward with bravery, tenacity, and more regular dental care.

 Dazzlingly witty, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss and being true to yourself no matter the expectations. Lovingly celebrating the enduring power and joy of charity shops.

Preloved by Lauren Bravo is published on 29 April 2023 by Simon and Schuster. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

Sometimes I pick up a book and begin to read and think that the author wrote the novel especially for me. Some books are just perfectly tuned to my life. Preloved by Lauren Bravo is one of those books. I was entranced by the character of Gwen, and the plot within minutes and that feeling didn't go away, right up until the very last page. 

I was brought up by the most amazing little Irish Mammy, and long before charity shops were popular, we spent hours rifling through piles of old clothes at jumble sales. Then, as charities began to open their shops, these places became our new haunts.  Both of us could afford to shop at high street stores, but there is just something very special about a charity shop, and the treasures within. Sadly, my Mum is no longer with us, but I proudly carry on the charity shopping in her memory. 

Gwen is a thirty-something woman, living alone in London. As the book begins, she is let go from her job, not sacked, but it's made plain to her that the bosses are not happy about that thing that she told one of their clients. 

Gwen didn't really like her job, it was something that she drifted into and stayed at because it was easy. When she and her friend Suze first began living in London, all those years ago, they had dreams. Suze is now firmly married, with a house full of slate grey objects, whilst Gwen is still dreaming. 

Putting together a list of things she must do, including ring her parents and visit the dentist, Gwen takes on a voluntary role at the local charity shop. This is where she really finds herself, amongst the discarded items from other people, the objects that are some people's rubbish and some people's treasures, she begins to make friends with the other staff members. 

Interwoven between Gwen's story are pieces about the items that find their way onto the shelves of the shops, and these are just beautiful. As the reader learns more about Gwen, her family, and her fellow volunteers, these short pieces about seemingly random items add so much depth to the overall story.

Whilst this is packed with warmth, wit and humour, the author also touches on some very emotional issues. We learn about Gwen's grief, and how she and her parents have lived their lives since the awful day that shaped their lives forever. We hear about Gwen's ex-boyfriend Ryan, and how she decided that she wasn't ready to marry him after all. We learn about her amazing friendship with Suze, how they've grown, sometimes apart, but always meeting in the middle. 

This really is my perfect book. It is written with so much compassion, humour and insight. I loved it and highly recommend it. 

 

Lauren Bravo is a freelance journalist who writes about fashion, popular culture, food, travel and feminism, for publications including Grazia, Refinery29 UK, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, easyJet Traveller, Time Out, Delicious, the Telegraph and the Guardian.

She is the author of two non-fiction books, What Would the Spice Girls Do? (2018) and How To Break Up With Fast Fashion (2020).

Lauren lives in East London, and Preloved is her debut novel.

Find out more on her website www.laurenbravo.co.uk.

Twitter @Laurenbravo

Instagram @laurenbravo

Twin Truths by Jacqueline Sutherland BLOG TOUR #TwinTruths @writerjac @RandomTTours @PointBlankCrime #BookReview

How well do your family really know you?

Belle can’t wait to finally have her twins all to herself after their first term at university. 

But when Kit unexpectedly brings back her boyfriend Ivo, Belle has to welcome him into their home. 

Charming and confident, Ivo soon wins over the family, but Belle can’t shake a strange feeling. 

And when Ivo reveals he knows a lot more about Belle than he first let on, she realises his intrusion into their lives could destroy everything she has built. 

How far is Belle willing to go to protect her family and herself?  

Twin Truths by Jacqueline Sutherland was published in paperback on 6 April 2023 by Point Blank / Oneworld. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

Twin Truths is a book that took me totally by surprise. It begins as a tale of family life, and then turns into a tense, page turning thriller that delivers surprise after surprise. I enjoyed every minute of it. 

Belle and David are looking forward to welcoming their twin girls; Kit and Jess, home for the Christmas holidays. They are both away at different universities and this is their first visit home. Quite unexpectedly, Kit asks if she can bring her boyfriend Ivo home for the holiday. Although Belle would far rather it was just her own little family together, she agrees that Ivo can join them.

Ivo seems like a nice lad, a little older than Kit, but well mannered and gracious. Kit is obsessed with him, she's obviously fallen head over heels, sticking to his side like a limpet. Showing him the local sights in the small seaside town where they grew up. Ivo also charms Morag; Belle's mother-in-law who lives in an apartment joined to their house. Morag is well known for her sharp tongue, often making Belle feel unwanted, yet Ivo has totally entranced her. 

However, Belle just cannot warm to Ivo. She's not sure what it is, but there's something about him that makes her feel very uneasy ..... and then he begins to drop hints ..... and then Belle realises that maybe Ivo knows far more about her than she'd like. His knowledge could destroy her and the family that she's created. 

Belle is an avid swimmer. Every single morning of the year, despite the weather, she swims in the sea. Each chapter begins with Belle's swim that day. This is such a clever way to incorporate the tension and feelings that the characters are feeling. As the sea temperature drops, and Belle contemplates things as she swims, this mirrors what is happening at home. 

Interwoven with the present day narrative, we have short chapters that tell us more about Belle's younger years, when she was newly married, and before the twins were born. As the reader learns more about Belle, and then watches Ivo's behaviour, it becomes more than apparent that there are links. 

Pulsating with tension, this is a novel that I savoured. The characters are incredibly well created and the seaside town setting is perfect for the mood. This author really can write a heart pounding thriller. 
Highly recommended by me. 

Jacqueline (Jack) Sutherland worked in corporate PR and marketing for over twenty years. 

She began her debut thriller, The Coffin Club (Point Blank,  2022) when she signed up for the 2020 Faber Academy Write Your Novel course, which she described as the best thing she’s ever done. 

Jack lives in Guildford with her husband and their four sons.  

Twitter @writerjac

Instagram @jacquelinesutherland13

The Intruders by Brian Pinkerton BLOG TOUR #TheIntruders @BrianJPinkerton #Giveaway #Competition @flametreepress @RandomTTours #Win

 

The Intruders have arrived. 

Something strange is taking place in the small town of Engles, Indiana. 

Greg Garrett returns home from a business trip to discover his wife and children have disappeared.

 More people begin to vanish without a trace. 

The skies produce a substance that doesn’t look like natural rain. 

Aggressive swarms of insects attack without warning. 

And late at night, residents are haunted by ghosts desperate to reveal the secrets of their existence but unable to speak.

Engles is undergoing a terrifying transformation that could threaten all of civilization 

Who is this unseen enemy? What is their mission? 

Discover the terrifying secrets of The Intruders.

The Intruders by Brian Pinkerton is published in paperback on 25 April 2023 by Flame Tree Press.

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

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

GOOD LUCK! 

One copy of The Intruders by Brian Pinkerton

Brian Pinkerton is a USA Today bestselling author of novels and short stories in the
thriller, horror, science fiction and mystery genres. 

His books include Abducted, Vengeance, Anatomy of Evil, Killer's Diary, Rough Cut, Bender, and How I Started the Apocalypse.

www.brianpinkerton.com

Twitter @BrianJPinkerton

Instagram @brianpinkerton1

FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. 

Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Twitter @flametreepress

The Acapulco by Simone Buchholz BLOG TOUR #TheAcapulco t. @FwdTranslations @ohneKlippo @OrendaBooks #Chastityreloaded #BookReview

 

A serial killer is on the loose in Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco, a club in the city’s red-light district, taking their scalps as gruesome trophies and replacing them with plastic wigs.

Chastity Riley is the state prosecutor responsible for crimes in the district, and she’s working alongside the police as they investigate. Can she get inside the mind of the killer?

Her strength is thinking like a criminal; her weaknesses are pubs, bars and destructive relationships, but as Chastity searches for love and a flamboyant killer – battling her demons and the dark, foggy Hamburg weather – she hits dead end after dead end.

As panic sets in and the death toll rises, it becomes increasingly clear that it may already be too late. For everyone…

The Acapulco by Simone Buchholz is published in paperback on 13 April 2023 by Orenda Books and is translated by Rachel Ward.

My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour. 

The Acapulco is the latest instalment in the Chastity Riley series, written by the awesome and talented Simone Buchholz. Expertly translated from German by Rachel Ward, this is another thrilling and exciting addition to what is one of my all time favourite series. 

Although this is the latest book, it doesn't follow on from the last (River Clyde). At the end of the last book we really were not sure where Chastity would go to next, in The Acapulco, the author has gone back in time. Allowing her readers to see a younger Chastity and we become aware of what shaped her future career. 

I honestly think this is my favourite of the series so far. Chastity is a State Prosecutor in Hamburg, Germany. Her role means that she gets really involved in solving crimes, and not just in the prosecution of the criminals. 

There are some pretty brutal killings in this book. A young woman has been found murdered, she's been scalped and a bright disco wig has been placed on her head. This case really affects Chastity. She's an emotional women, despite the bravado, the drinking, the smoking, the swearing and the sex! 

More dead women are found. Same MO, and all are dancers at a seedy club called The Acapulco. That's what connects them, but who is doing this, and why?

Simone Buchholz creates such a sense of place. We are taken through Hamburg and it's almost cinematic when reading. I really felt as though I were walking the same streets, it's often not very pretty, it's often a dangerous place to be. It can be dirty and it can be trashy, but it's always a joy to read. 

Alongside the murders of the women, there's also a local pimp who has been found battered to death. Chastity needs to get to the bottom of this too, are the deaths linked?

Now lets come to Chastity herself. She is an amazing creation. A woman who knows what she wants, who works hard and is determined to fight crime. However, she's also a woman with such a lot of baggage that she'd have to pay for excess weight at any airport. Her mother abandoned her, and her beloved father is dead. She's in a fairly casual relationship with her neighbour who just happens to be a lock breaker. Whilst she is alone regarding family, she is surrounded by people who love and care for her, not least her friend Carla, who watches out for her and tries her best to match her up with a man.

It is one of these blind dates, arranged by Carla that becomes central to the plot, slowly unravelling and revealing the horror that lurks in the mind of damaged men. 

Simone Buchholz writes with such depth and atmosphere. The tension can be almost unbearable at times, the plot is complex and the characters are a joy to discover. 

Remember I said it feels very cinematic?  I'm a huge fan of the new series of Van Der Valk with Marc Warren in the lead role, and whilst that is set in Amsterdam rather than Hamburg, I get the same feeling when reading as I do when watching Van Der Valk. That dark, noir feeling, the damaged yet fabulously drawn lead character, the seediness of some of the locations. They all fit and I think Chastity Riley really should be seen on screen too. 

Highly recommended. Over far too quick, and now I want more! 

Simone Buchholz was born in Hanau in 1972. 

At university, she studied Philosophy and Literature, worked as a waitress and a columnist, and trained to be a journalist at the prestigious Henri-Nannen-School in Hamburg. 

In 2016, Simone Buchholz was awarded the Crime Cologne Award as well as runner-up in the German Crime Fiction Prize for Blue Night, which was number one on the KrimiZEIT Best of Crime List for months. 

The critically acclaimed Beton Rouge, Mexico Street, Hotel Cartagena and River Clyde all followed in the Chastity Riley series, with The Acapulco out in 2023. 

She lives in Sankt Pauli, in the heart of Hamburg, with her husband and son

Twitter @ohneKlippo

Rachel Ward is a freelance translator of literary and creative texts from German and
French to English.
Having always been an avid reader and enjoyed word games and puzzles, she discovered a flair for languages at school and went on to study modern languages at the University of East Anglia.
She spent the third year working as a language assistant at two grammar schools in Saaebrücken, Germany.
During her final year, she realised that she wanted to put these skills and passions to use professionally and applied for UEA’s MA in Literary Translation, which she completed in 2002.
Her published translations include Traitor by Gudrun Pausewang and Red Rage by Brigitte Blobel, and she is a Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

Follow Rachel on Twitter @FwdTranslations

The Institution by Helen Fields #TheInstitution @Helen_Fields @AvonBooksUK #BookReview

They’re locked up for your safety.

Now, you’re locked in with them.

Dr Connie Woolwine has five days to catch a killer.

On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night. The next morning, a nurse’s body is found and her daughter has been taken. A ransom must be paid, and the clock is ticking.

Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine is renowned for her ability to get inside the mind of a murderer. Now, she must go deep undercover among the most deranged and dangerous men on earth and use her unique skills to find the girl – before it’s too late.

But as the walls close in around her, can Connie get the killer before The Institution gets her?

The Institution by Helen Fields was published in hardback on 2 March 2023 by Avon Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I read The Institution when I was on holiday last month and absolutely tore through it. Warning! Once you start, you will find this one very hard to put down. Read it when you have time to spare and to savour the book. 

The Charles Parry Institution for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane is known locally as just The Institution. It's a large, gothic style building situated on an island and houses some of the most dangerous people on earth. 

There's been a particularly brutal and shocking murder at the Institution. A nurse has been found dead, and her unborn child has been removed from her body.  Dr Connie Woolwine is a well respected and usually very successful forensic profiler, she and her colleague have been asked to move into the Institution to try to find the baby, and the killer. 

Connie is up against time, she spends her days fending off questions from suspicious staff members who are not aware of the real reason of why she is there. She talks with the patients, they reveal their crimes and their innermost thoughts to her.

I have to admit that there are a few parts of this novel that need a little suspension of belief. I worked in a high security forensic psychiatric hospital for many years and there were a few details that irked me. However, this is fiction and unless you know, you probably wouldn't notice any of this as the tension rises and the race to find the newborn intensifies. 

I loved the actual Institution itself. The author has created a character in itself with this dark, gloomy, almost brooding building, surrounded by water and occupied by people who are all pretty weird in their own way. 

I got a bit of a 'Shutter Island' feeling from this book at times. Never quite knowing who to trust, or what was the truth.

An enjoyable psychological thriller with a great sense of place and some very complex characters. 

Helen Fields studied law at the University of East Anglia, then went on to the Inns of
Court School of Law in London. 

After completing her pupillage, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practised criminal and family law for thirteen years. 

After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar.

Together with her husband David, she runs a film production company. 

 

Helen and her husband now live in Los Angeles with their three children and two dogs.

www.helenfields.com

Twitter @Helen_Fields

Instagram @helenfields_author