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The Housewarming – S.E. Lynes
What a fab thriller! S.E. Lynes’ The Housewarming is a book that will have you gripped to the pages while being consumed with all sorts of emotions – you cry with Ava and feel for her, and fear for little Abi. With Ava, you are grieving and searching for the truth, with Ava, you cannot let go until you’ve unravelled it all. The Story A child goes missing, a nightmare for the parents. Mother Ava blames herself, can barely continue her life but she had to, for her baby boy. Will he ever see his older sister? Will Ava and Matt ever come to know what happened to little Abi?…
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The MX book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories – part XXI-2020
This year, MX Publishing’s annual anthologies brought us three jewels: part XIX, XX, and XXI in their MX BOOKS OF NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES. The books are a delight to read with stories, created by various authors, assembled and compiled by David Marcum. A must-have for any Sherlock Holmes fan. Introduction Today, I am very pleased to welcome a guest reviewer, author Wendy Heyman-Marsaw, on my blog with a fabulous review for the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories – Part XXI-2020 Annual (1898-1923). Wendy is not only an avid reader, she is the author of Memoirs from Mrs Hudson’s Kitchen, in which she puts herself in Mrs Hudson’s shoes,…
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Things We Say in the Dark – Kirsty Logan
Fear. Dread. The unexpected, the unexplainable, the utterly incomprehensible and the unsettling all combined into the stories of Kirsty Logan’s ‘Things We Say in the Dark’. A collection of dark and disturbing, sometimes bizarre, tales that cannot leave you untouched ~ that keep hurdling through your mind. The Blurb So here we go, into the dark. Some things can’t be spoken about in the light of day. But we can visit our fears at night, in the dark. We can turn them over and weigh them in our hands and maybe that will protect us from them. But maybe not. The characters in this collection find their aspirations for happy…
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Behind Her Back – Jane Lythell
Tales from the TV frontline! StoryWorld #2 Introduction When Liz, the television producer of the UK’s favourite morning show, returns from her holiday, things have changed at StoryWorld – and not for the best. Secrets, manipulations, and hidden alliances are dividing the once so strong team into two camps. What will happen to tv-star Fizzy and will Lesley, the new host, step aside? What is newcomer Lori’s role in it all and how much do her marketing tactics influence the show? With a scam builder, a teenage daughter who has a habit of blaming her mother for everything, an over-indulgent ex and.. a new love interest, Liz’s life is pretty…
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Normal People – Sally Rooney
One of the 12 titles, longlisted for 2019’s Dylan Thomas Prize is Sally Rooney’s novel ‘Normal People.’ Insightful, tender and confronting – a novel that gave me much food for thought. Introduction Marianne and Connell are friends. Friends for life. But each of them has no idea what the other goes through. She is regarded as ‘weird’ he’s kind of popular but it changes… no one is allowed to know they like each other. How do they find their way through life? Connell thinks rich Marianne has it easy. Marianne loves him. But he doesn’t want others to find out – Marianne knows she embarrasses him. She knows she isn’t…
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How The Light Gets In – Clare Fisher
One of the 12 titles, longlisted for 2019’s Dylan Thomas Prize is ‘How The Light Gets In’ by Clare Fisher. I had the honour of reading & reviewing this wonderful bundle of short stories. ‘How The Light Gets In’ is a remarkable bundle of short stories that makes you think – and think again. Sometimes you grasp the author’s meaning right from the start, sometimes you ponder afterwards how to interpret this. Insightful. Thought-provoking. Love the touch of humour shining through making even heavy topics bearable – almost approachable. Introduction How do you describe little scenes that have so much meaning? How to tell what’s going through my head after…
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Letters to the Pianist – S.D. Mayes
Letters to the Pianist is S.D. Mayes fascinating, gripping, emotive, and harrowing tale of a family torn apart in wartime London – of a plucky daughter on a quest to keep her family together, to find her father – of a man without memory, who discovers his talent and falls into a bed of roses. Roses have ugly thorns though and in this case, carry a gruesome legacy… Introduction London, 1941. Despite the danger, Joseph Goldberg is adamant their family, with their three children, Ruth, Hannah, and Gabi, stays together. One fateful night, the family home is bombed. Life changes dramatically for the children – without parents, they have to live with an aunt and uncle. Unluckily…
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Novella | Venetian Lives – Brendan Gisby
Come with me to beautiful Venice, the city of culture and love! But wait.. wouldn’t you like to know about the people living in Venice? The ones who belong to the city of over a hundred islands and as many canals? The ones who hurriedly pass the Piazza San Marco, packed with tourists, and disappear? Follow me and enter Brendan Gisby’s Venetian Lives… Introduction This novella contains four short stories about Venice but instead of focusing on the city’s beauty and gorgeous buildings, Brendan Gisby shows us the world of the city’s residents and their Venetian Lives, that takes place beyond tourists’ favourites as the Piazza San Marco and its…
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I Am… – Ceartas Creative Writing Group
I Am… absolutely thrilled and honoured to be part of raising awareness for independent Advocacy by taking part in the book blog tour for I AM…. An interesting, enlightening, and touching Anthology, a bundle of stories and poems by members of the Ceartas Creative Writing Group under the inspiring and motivating guidance of Ceartas’ writer in residence, Donna Moore. Introduction ‘Raising awareness of Independent Advocacy by giving individuals a voice’ Ceartas Advocacy Ceartas Advocacy is a marvellous institution providing Independent Advocacy to adults by prioritising working with those who have particular support needs. Ceartas Advocacy is a member of the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance. The introduction to this remarkable book…
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Abel’s Revenge – Ross Greenwood
A man called Abel brings death and destruction to the city causing “madness, fear, and murder” – no wonder the city is on edge. Some of its inhabitants follow Abel’s lead… Introduction ‘The sickness” is what transforms Abel into a person most cruel who tortures and gravely misconducts himself without feeling… anything. The chilling first chapter shows us all too well what Abel is capable of and that is just him growing up. The reference to the Biblical brothers Cain and Abel is there to see but what is extremely worrying is Abel’s conclusion – one which will have a far-reaching impact on his life and, sadly, on that of others…
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