BLOG TOUR: The Cult by Abby Davies

“A hidden community… A shocking abduction… A twisting case…”

Set to be published on 28th October, The Cult by Abby Davies is set across two timelines. The first is thirty years ago, in the English countryside, where a commune was set up. Led by Uncle Saviour, it was supposed to be a place of love, peace and harmony. But what started out as paradise turned into hell. Now, two young children have vanished from their home in the middle of the night. Their parents are frantic, the police are at a loss. DI Ottoline is leading the search – her only clue is a mask found in the woods. Could the key lie in events that took place decades ago, when a dream of a new way of life became something far more sinister?

Book Review: The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

“The apparition had reached the landing halfway up and was therefore on the spot nearest the window, where, at the sight of me, it stopped short.”

Originally published in 2013, The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes is set in Depression-era Chicago where Harper Curtis finds a key to a house that opens on to other times. But it comes at a cost. He has to kill the shining girls: bright young women, burning with potential. Curtis stalks them through their lives until, in 1989, one of his victims, Kirby Mazrachi, survives and starts hunting him back. Now, it’s a race against time and reason for Kirby to unravel an impossible mystery.

Book Review: The Killer in the Snow (DI James Walker #2) by Alex Pine

“The first fall of snow can be fatal…”

The second book in the DI James Walker series, The Killer in the Snow by Alex Pine is set a year since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season. But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter. Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier.

Book Review: Guillermo del Toro: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work by Ian Nathan

“A complete and intimate study of the life and work of one of modern cinema’s most truly unique directors, whose distinct aesthetic and imagination are unmatched in contemporary film.”

Guillermo del Toro: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work is an unauthorised and unofficial biography by Ian Nathan of one of modern cinema’s most truly unique directors. A complete and intimate study of the life and work of Guillermo del Toro, the book charts the progression of a career that has produced some of contemporary cinema’s most revered scenes and idiosyncratic characters.

Book Review: The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James

“The apparition had reached the landing halfway up and was therefore on the spot nearest the window, where, at the sight of me, it stopped short.”

Originally published in 1898, The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James tells of a young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a sense of intense evil within the house, she soon becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care.

Book Review: All For You by Louise Jensen

“IT WAS ALL FOR YOU.”

Set to be published on 20th January 2022, All For You by Louise Jensen follows the Walsh family. The mother, Lucy, is falling to pieces. The father, Aidan, is in too deep. The son, Connor, can never tell the truth. Everyone in this family has something to hide, but what are they trying to protect, and at what cost?

Audiobook Review: Talking With Psychopaths and Savages: Beyond Evil by Christopher Berry-Dee

Published in 2019, Talking With Psychopaths and Savages: Beyond Evil by Christopher Berry-Dee delves even deeper into the savage world of psychopaths and their hideous crimes. This time, however, he combines sections on killers whom he has known, interviewed or corresponded with, with studies of psychopathic serial killers from the past, including Peter Kürten, the ‘Düsseldorf Monster’, John Christie, responsible for the killings at 10 Rillington Place; and Neville Heath, a ladykiller in every sense of the word.

Book Review: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

“But now she knows she was foolish to believe that evil existed only out there. It was here, among them, walking on two legs, passing judgement with a human tongue.”

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave is set in the 1600s in a Norwegian coastal village where, after a storm has killed off all the island’s men, the women are struggling to survive against both natural forces and the men who have been sent to rid the community of alleged witchcraft. The sinister figure leading the hunt is Absalom Cornet who arrives from Scotland after burning witches in the northern isles. Now, two women, Maren and Ursa, are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both. But the island begins to close in on them, with Absalom’s iron rule threatening Vardø’s very existence.

BLOG TOUR: The Hidden Girl (Agent Tori Hunter #3) by Roger Stelljes

“The lights of her parents’ cabin just visible through the woods, the girl carefully curls up amongst the reeds, her knees pulled tight to her chest. Terrified, the only sound she makes is the pounding of her heart, but she hears the stranger searching… if she keeps silent, will she be safe?”

The third book in Roger Stelljes‘ Agent Tori Hunter series, The Hidden Girl follows Agent Tori Hunter who is urgently called to the murder scene of Dan and Heidi Newman. She finds their throats slit, and Dan tied up: forced to watch his wife lose her life. Desperate to find the monster behind this crime, Tori pieces together the broken chain. But then another local couple is murdered in their isolated home, another husband forced to watch his worst nightmare unfold. As more couples lose their lives, can Tori keep her one witness safe from this vicious killer? And can she track him down before more innocent families are torn apart?

Book Review: The Taking of Annie Thorne by CJ Tudor

“People say time is a great healer. They’re wrong. Time is simply a great eraser. It rolls on and on regardless, eroding our memories, chipping away at those great big boulders of misery until there’s nothing left but sharp little fragments, still painful but small enough to bear.”

Published in 2019, The Taking of Annie Thorne by CJ Tudor is set in a small Nottinghamshire village called Arnhill where teacher Joe returns home after over twenty years. The last time he was here, his sister, Annie, went missing. There were searches and appeals, but everyone thought the worst. And then, miraculously, after 48 hours, she came back. Something had happened to Annie, but she wouldn’t say what. All that Joe was certain of was that the Annie that came back wasn’t the same. She wasn’t his Annie.

Book Review: Trick or Treat (DS Imogen Grey #7) by Katerina Diamond

“A stranger. A child. A liar who will stop at nothing…”

The seventh book in Katerina Diamond‘s DS Imogen Grey series, Trick or Treat sees six-year-old Marcus taken from outside his house on Halloween. There is only one witness: a frightened teen determined to keep himself hidden. After an anonymous tip-off, Detective Imogen Grey is called out to an expensive Exeter street, caught up in the buzz of the holiday. But when the police visit Marcus’s house, his parents claim everything is fine. Imogen is sure there is more to the family than meets the eye. But just how much more, she could never have imagined.

Book Review: Bad Apples (Tuva Moodyson Mystery #4) by Will Dean

“It only takes one…”

The fourth book in Will Dean‘s Tuva Moodyson Mystery series, Bad Apples sees deputy editor of the local newspaper, Tuva Moodyson, investigate the murder of a resident of the small-town Visberg who has been found decapitated. As Visberg closes ranks to keep its deadly secrets, there could not be a worse time for Tuva to arrive. Powerful forces are at play and no one dares speak out. But Tuva senses the story of her career, unaware that perhaps she is the story…

BLOG TOUR: That Dinosaur Has Talent! by Lily Murray (Author) and Richard Merritt (Illustrator)

Written by Lily Murray and illustrated by Richard Merritt, That Dinosaur Has Talent! follows Eliza Jane who lives in a town where dinosaurs and humans live happily side-by-side – raptors run restaurants, Troodons are teachers and you can even pay a visit to see a dinosaur dentist. Every dinosaur has a job to do, apart from one shy dino called Parry who always feels like he’s getting in the way. Eliza Jane is determined to help him find his groove but everything poor Parry tries seems to end in disaster. Then, one night, Eliza Jane discovers that Parry has a very special hidden talent and a star is born.

Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

“A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she?”

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh follows Jenna Gray whose world, in a split second, descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever. Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating…

Book Review: Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield

“Some say the river drowned her… Some say it brought her back to life.”

Originally published in 2019, Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield is set on a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames, where the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories. Suddenly, the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child. Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? And who does the little girl belong to?

Book Review: Cleaning The Gold by Lee Child and Karin Slaughter

“Twice the action. Twice the drama. Double the trouble.”

Co-written by Lee Child and Karin Slaughter, Cleaning The Gold sees the eponymous characters of Jack Reacher and Will Trent meet for the very first at the heart of America’s military, Fort Knox. Will Trent is undercover. His assignment is to investigate a twenty-two-year-old murder. His suspect’s name? Jack Reacher. Jack Reacher is on his own mission: to bring down a dangerous criminal ring operating at the heart of America’s military. Except now, there’s a bigger conspiracy at play – one that neither the special agent nor the ex-military cop could have anticipated. And the only option is for Jack Reacher and Will Trent to team up and play nicely. If they can…

Book Review: Reprieve by James Han Mattson

“Most people didn’t make it to Cell Six, he said. Most called out the safe word – reprieve – after the first Cell. It was that intense. “

Set to be published on 5th October, Reprieve by James Han Mattson follows Bryan, Jaidee, Victor and Jane, who team up to compete at a full-contact escape room. I seems simple: hold your nerve through six terrifying challenges; collect all the red envelopes; win a huge cash prize. But the real horror is unfolding outside of the game, in a series of deceits and misunderstandings fuelled by obsession and prejudice. And by the end of the night, one of the contestants will be dead.

Book Review: Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

“He came. He left. Nothing else had changed. I had not changed. The world hadn’t changed. Yet nothing would be the same. All that remains is dream-making and strange remembrance.”

Originally published in 2007, Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman follows 17-year-old Elio at his family’s cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera, who develops a relationship with a summer guest. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, their passion intensifies as they test the charged ground between them.

What grows from the depths of their spirits is an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.

BLOG TOUR: The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward

Published on 16th September, The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward follows well-to-do Hester who travels to a Nottinghamshire workhouse in Southwell after learning of her sister Mercy’s death. Eager to find out how her sister ended up at such a place and haunted by her sister’s ghost, Hester sets out to uncover the truth. She soon finds out that Mercy was pregnant, and that both she and the baby are said to be dead of cholera. But the workhouse hasn’t had an outbreak for years. So when rumours of children going missing and of a ghostly figure known as the Pale Lady that steals babies in the night, Hester investigates. Is this lady a myth? Or is something more sinister afoot at the Southwell poorhouse?

Book Review: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

“And though there should be a world of difference between the smile of a man and the bared fangs of a wolf, with Joss Merlyn they were one and the same.”

Originally published in 1936, Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier follows young Mary Yellan on a bitter November evening who journeys across the rainswept moors to Jamaica Inn in honour of her mother’s dying request. When she arrives, the warning of the coachman begins to echo in her memory, for her aunt Patience cowers before hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn. Terrified of the inn’s brooding power, Mary gradually finds herself ensnared in the dark schemes being enacted behind its crumbling walls — and tempted to love a man she dares not trust.