Book Review: Happy New Year by Malin Stehn

“IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE PARTY OF THE SEASON –
BUT SHE NEVER CAME HOME”

Set to be published on 24th November, Happy New Year by Malin Stehn is set on New Year’s Eve, the best night of the year, as old friends the Wiksells and the Anderssons raise their glasses, and their teenage children host their own party across town, finally free to let loose. But the next morning, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Wiksell is missing. The hours tick by. The police get involved. And no one knows who to trust. These two families have a lot to hide. Could the answer to Jennifer’s disappearance lie close to home?

Book Review: The Hiding Place (DI Fleet #2) by Simon Lelic

“Ready or not, here I come. It’s time to play hide and seek again.”

Set to be released on 5th May, The Hiding Place by Simon Lelic follows four friends, one murder, and a game that they can’t escape. Ben is new to Beaconsfield and struggles to settle in. So when three students offer friendship, Ben is willing to do anything they ask to finally fit in. Twenty-two years later, Ben’s body is found. It was just a game of Hide and Seek gone wrong, they said. But who was Ben hiding from?

Audiobook Review: The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

“She’d been swallowed up in her own pain for so many years that she didn’t notice his until it was too late.”

Originally published in 2019, The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup is set in Copenhagen where a young woman has been killed and dumped at a playground. One of her hands has been cut off, and above her hangs a small doll made of chestnuts. Young detective Naia Thulin is assigned the case with her partner Mark Hess, a burned-out investigator. They soon discover a mysterious piece of evidence on the chestnut man – evidence connecting it to a girl who went missing a year earlier and is presumed dead, the daughter of politician Rosa Hartung. Another woman is then found murdered, along with another chestnut man. Thulin and Hess suspect that there’s a connection between the Hartung case, the murdered women and a killer who is spreading fear throughout the country. But what is it?

Book Review: One Step Too Far (Frankie Elkin #2) by Lisa Gardner

“Five men head into the woods for a bachelor party weekend. Only four return.”

Set to be published on 20th January and the second series in the Frankie Elkin series, One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner sees missing persons specialist Frankie travel to Wyoming where she joins a seven-day woodland search team to find Tim and bring him home – whatever the cost. Tim has been missing for five years now after disappearing during a bachelor party weekend in the woods. The search, led by Tim’s father Martin, uncovers broken tree limbs and traces of blood which suggest a wild animal may be lurking nearby. But Frankie knows better. With secrets swirling and tensions raised in the group, it becomes clear that Frankie’s newest case could be her last.

Audiobook Review: Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

“Their lives and stories weren’t their own; and all the different stories he set in motion would play out at the same time, the simultaneity generated by him.”

Published in 2020, Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton is set in a rural English village in the middle of a snowstorm, where the unthinkable happens: the school is under siege. From the brave, wounded headmaster barricaded in the library, to teenage Hannah in love for the first time, to the pregnant police psychologist who must identify the gunmen, to the terrified 8-year-old Syrian refugee, to the kids trapped in the school theatre still rehearsing Macbeth, all must find the courage to stand up to evil and try to save the people they love.

BLOG TOUR: You’ll Be The Death Of Me by Karen M. McManus

“It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder.”

Set to be published in 2nd December, You’ll Be The Death Of Me by Karen M. McManus follows Ivy, Mateo, and Cal. They used to be close in middle school. So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch school and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Why did they stop hanging out, anyway?

As soon as they pull out of the parking lot, Cal knows why. Ivy’s already freaking out about missing class, and the truth is, they have nothing in common anymore. At least they don’t until they walk into the middle of a murder scene. Cal, Ivy, and Mateo all know the person lying on the ground of that building, and now they need to come clean. They’re all hiding something. And maybe their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all.

Audiobook Review: The Couple At No. 9 by Claire Douglas

“It was the house of their dreams. Until the bodies were found…”

Released earlier this year, The Couple At No. 9 by Claire Douglas follows pregnant Saffron Cutler who moves into 9 Skelton Place with her boyfriend Tom. But when they set about renovating their new home, the last thing they expected was for the builders to uncover a body – let alone two. Forensics indicate the bodies were buried at least thirty years ago, meaning that the police need to speak to the cottage’s former owner – Saffy’s grandmother, Rose. But Rose is in a care home and has Alzheimer’s, so her memories are increasingly confused. She can’t help the police, but it is clear she remembers something. As her fragmented memories resurface and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched. What happened thirty years ago? Why did no one miss the victims? And what part did her grandmother play?

Audiobook Review: Better Off Dead (Jack Reacher #26) by Lee Child and Andrew Child

“If Reacher is coming after you, you might be better off dead.”

The 26th book in Lee Child‘s Jack Reacher series and co-written by Andrew Child, Better Off Dead sees Reacher facing a new problem on a deserted road in Arizona, where a car has crashed into the only tree for miles around. Minutes later, Reacher is heading into town. To introduce himself to the shadowy crew who made it happen. Their boss has a terrifying reputation, and the stakes are high. Just to get in and meet him, Reacher is going to have to achieve the impossible.

Book Review: The Women Of Troy (Women of Troy #2) by Pat Barker

“The truth? Achilles’ story never ends: whenever men fight and die, you’ll find Achilles. And as for me – my story and his were inextricably linked.”

Set to be published on 26th August, The Women Of Troy by Pat Barker follows on from its predecessor with the fall of Troy. The Greeks have won, and are waiting to return home as victors. All they need is a good wind to lift their sails, but the gods have been offended, and in these empty, restless days, the hierarchies that held them together begin to fray, old feuds resurface and new suspicions fester. Largely unnoticed by her squabbling captors, Briseis remains in the Greek encampment. She has survived the Trojan War, but peacetime may turn out to be even more dangerous…

Book Review: The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood

“HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE?”

Set to be published on 5th August, The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood follows Vanessa who has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape. That’s how it started: looking around houses she couldn’t possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn’t. Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead, and everyone thinks Vanessa killed him…

BLOG TOUR: The Lies We Tell by Jane Corry

The Lies We Tell by Jane Corry follows married couple Sarah and Tom who must find out just how far they are willing to push themselves, and their marriage, to protect their only child. Sarah always thought of herself and her husband as good people. But that was before their son Freddy came home saying he’d done something terrible. Begging them not to tell the police. As the lies build up and Sarah is presented with the perfect opportunity to get Freddy off the hook, she is faced with a terrifying decision: Save her son, or save herself?

BLOG TOUR: The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain

“He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder…”

Released today (13th May), The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain follows Erin Kennedy who moved to New York following a family tragedy and now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. It’s the start of an ordinary day when Erin answers the door to Danny’s police colleagues one morning. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death. Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband’s murder.

BOOK TOUR: Things To Do Before The End Of The World by Emily Barr

“I walked home. I kept hearing footsteps behind me, but every time I turned around, no one was there.”

Set to be released on 13th May, Things To Do Before The End Of The World by Emily Barr follows teenager Olivia who is struggling to live her life as fully as she wants to. So when the news breaks that humans have done such damage to the earth that there are only nine months of safe air left, everybody makes a bucket list to start living their best lives. Everyone, that is, but Olivia, who is still struggling to figure out who she wants to be. Then, out of the blue, comes contact from a long-lost cousin who Olivia didn’t even know existed. Natasha is everything Olivia wants to be and more. And as the girls meet up for their last summer on earth, Olivia finds Natasha’s ease and self-confidence having an effect on her. But what if Natasha isn’t everything she first appears to be?

Book Review: The Whole Truth (DI Adam Fawley #5) by Cara Hunter

“An attractive student. An older professor. Think you know the story? Think again.”

Set to be released on 29th April, The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter is the fifth book in the DI Adam Fawley series that sees DI Fawley and his team investigate a report of sexual assault of an Oxford student by one of their university’s professors. But this isn’t a case you’ve heard before. This time, the predator is a woman and the shining star of the department, and the student a six-foot male rugby player. The team are up against the clock to figure out the truth. What they don’t realise is that someone is watching. And they have a plan to put Fawley out of action for good…

BOOK TOUR: Kate In Waiting by Becky Albertalli

Released on 22nd April, Kate In Waiting by Becky Albertalli follows best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker who, contrary to popular belief, are not co-dependent. But when Kate and Andy’s latest mutual crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script. Enter: Matt Olsson. He is talented and sweet, and Kate really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson. Mutual crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship…