REVIEW: The Boyfriend by Kerry Wilkinson

The Boyfriend by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense

Read: 11th June 2022

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Amazon

Published: 16th June 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

He went missing when you were sixteen. Was it all your fault?

Trembling with shock, Jodie picks up the old T-shirt. She hasn’t seen it for twenty years. Her boyfriend had been wearing it – her Ben – the day he went missing. The last time anyone saw him alive.

After her dad’s funeral, all Jodie wants is to clear out her childhood home as quickly as possible and get back to life with her son. But a terrifying discovery changes everything she knew about her kind, loving father.

Her boyfriend Ben went missing when they were just teenagers. His parents still stare out the window desperately waiting for him to come home. So how did the T-shirt he was wearing when Jodie saw him walk away from their last date end up in her father’s attic?

The search for answers leads Jodie to an old family friend who knows all her father’s secrets. She can’t shake his questions about her older brother, and the real reason their dad left everything to Jodie, not him. But when a stranger begins to follow her around their little town, and a deadly fire breaks out in her home, it’s clear someone will do anything to stop Jodie finding the truth about Ben's disappearance. Has Jodie unknowingly put her own son in terrible danger?

An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with a heart-stopping twist, about how even the people we love can hide the darkest secrets. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, I Am Watching You and Shari Lapena.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Kerry Wilkinson's latest compelling thriller THE BOYFRIEND.

I'm a huge fan of Kerry Wilkinson and never pass up an opportunity to read his standalone thrillers, with each of them suitably different from the previous. I guess what I love most about Wilkinson's books is his witty humour. It is a little dark at times but there are those throwaway lines that just make me chuckle whenever I see them nestled within the pages of an otherwise serious matter.

Jodie Parker is a divorced single mum to the despairingly monosyllabic Owen living in the town in which she was born and grew up in. Everyone knows each other, everyone has dated almost everyone else or known those who have dated them, has grown up with the same people and the same neighbours for decades in a town where not much anything changes. Except if you go to prison for twenty years and come out to find everything has changed.

And now Jodie's life as she knows it is about to come crumbling down...if it hasn't started to already. Her father has passed away after a sudden heart attack and she is left to pick up the pieces, organise his funeral, wake and the clearing out of the house that she and her brother grew up in and of which she is now the sole beneficiary. Much to the annoyance of her sister-in-law Samantha who is now threatening a lawsuit to see her hubby and Jodie's brother Mike share the inheritance. But Jodie's father had a reason for making her the sole beneficiary and she needed to respect that.

Then one day she is in the attic, that she was never allowed into as a child, clearing out some long-forgotten boxes up there when she comes across one labelled in her father's hand "KEEP". She opens it up expecting to find treasures from his public life as town mayor and a pillar of the community, but nothing can prepare her for seeing the green fabric of her long missing boyfriend's t-shirt. The same one he had been wearing the last time she saw him...the night he disappeared.

Jodie was sixteen when Ben disappeared after waving goodbye to her to walk home through "Bramble Alley", as it was locally known. He was her first boyfriend and the love of her life. Part of her has never gotten over the loss of him and everyone, their parents mainly, expected the two to marry and raise a family of their own. But that all ended one night when Ben walked into the alley and was never seen again. No body was found, no trace of him was left behind...except in the van of a local man Paul McIntosh, the same van Jodie had seen near the churchyard on the night Ben disappeared. McIntosh arrested, tried and found guilty of murdering Ben and sentenced to prison. Case closed.

Except now Paul McIntosh had been released from prison and Jodie now held the last piece of clothing Ben had been wearing. So why did her dad have it? And why was it hidden away stashed in his attic? Jodie had so many questions she didn't know who to ask or where to look for answers.

And then things began to happen. Someone broke into her father's house - now her house - one night, although nothing was taken, and then tried to burn the same house down by pouring accelerant through the letterbox along with a match, resulting in only damaging the door beyond repair. Someone knows there is something in her father's house and they want it...but what? And who? And has her father's life all these years been a lie?

Added to her worries is her monosyllabic son Owen, who spends an inordinate amount of time playing violent video games online when he's home and bullying younger kids when he's not. Jodie barely recognises her son anymore and when she tries to speak to him she only gets grunts in reply. His father is useless, cosying up to him and playing video games with him rather than parenting him.

But nothing will prepare Jodie for the truth of what happened to Ben twenty years ago or the wheels that have already been set in motion of what is to come. Is she strong enough to speak up or will she hide the truth forever?

THE BOYFRIEND is a very different thriller in which it does begin rather slowly where Jodie goes through the motions of her life in the wake of her father's death and generally feeling sorry for herself. She doesn't even excel at parenting either, leaving a troubled Owen to his own devices most of the time. When she does try to confront him, I'm not surprised he barely takes any notice of her as I doubt she has taken a lot of notice of him in general before. Her life has been a series of unfortunate choices and bad decisions, Owen the result of one, her life as a single mum another. She isn't actually all that likeable but by the end I did really feel for her.

With its slow start, it is easy to see why THE BOYFRIEND fails to go anywhere in the beginning and it is easy to become frustrated with the irritating characters and the lack of suspense. But it does pick up and while it doesn't really become a fast paced ride the tension throughout is palpable as you try to unravel the complexities Jodie is faced with. There are many clues peppered throughout but you have to keep your wits about you to pick up on them. Wilkinson did not, however, hoodwink me this time.

Unlike other thrillers, THE BOYFRIEND elicits a range of emotions from anger to disbelief to heartwrenching sorrow. It is more emotional than most and extremely devastating as Jodie is left to question everything she thought she knew and we, as the reader, witness her unravelling.

While it is not the thrill-ride some fans are looking for or expecting, it is most certainly a thought-provoking and emotional read all the same. It also is an example of Wilkinson's diversity in his skillful plotting and writing.

A good solid read, THE BOYFRIEND is out 16th June and perfect for fans of dark domestic thrillers.

I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheBoyfriend in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 crime bestsellers in the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States. His book, Ten Birthdays, won the RNA award for Young Adult Novel of the Year in 2018 and Close To You won the International Thriller Award for best ebook in 2020.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

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REVIEW: Sleeping Dolls by Helen Phifer

Sleeping Dolls (Morgan Brookes #6) by Helen Phifer

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller

Read: 8th June 2022

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Amazon

Published: 13th June 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The beam shines around the dark room, lighting up the woman in sky-blue pyjamas lying on the couch. But she doesn’t wake under the bright glow, she isn’t sleeping at all…

When a concerned neighbour reports a woman missing, Detective Morgan Brookes squeezes through the stiff front door to find the woman dead. At first, the case appears unsuspicious, but something about the scene unsettles Morgan. Every clock in the house has been stopped, every mirror covered, and the woman seems physically unharmed except for one missing lock of hair.

Shirley Kelly was loved by her friends and hated by her ex-husband and his new wife, but they have an iron-clad alibi, and Morgan is certain that the scene-staging holds a vital clue. She’s devastated to be proved right when another woman is killed, and her home arranged in the same way. The only difference is that the second victim has been stabbed, using a knife from Shirley’s own kitchen…

The team can’t find a connection between the two women, but Morgan is sure that there is a deadly pattern to the killer’s actions. She hunts through each woman’s past until she finds the link: years ago, they both worked for a woman called Evelyn Reynolds, before tragedy struck her young family. But what has made them targets now? Morgan knows this twisted case is far from over, can she find the final clue before the clock stops for the next name on the killer’s list?

An absolutely gripping, mile-a-minute read. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Lisa Regan and Rachel Abbott!

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Helen Phifer's latest crime thriller SLEEPING DOLLS.

I'm a huge fan of Helen's Dr Beth Adams series as well as this one and always eagerly await the next installment. She can always be counted on to deliver a spine-tingling thriller that has readers on the edge of their seats gripped by the unfolding events with every page. SLEEPING DOLLS is no different in that it is gripping, addictive and fast paced from start to finish. But for me, I found it surprisingly lacking the usual elements that draw readers in at the start and leave them breathless by the end. Don't get me wrong, I still loved it but I was a little disappointed at the same time.

DC Morgan Brookes is back after her near fatal attack at the end of the last book which saw her biological father and escaped serial killer Gary Marks die in her arms. Finally relinquishing her tenancy on her flat, Morgan has moved in with Ben as the two have finally stopped dancing around the inevitable. I have to say I missed Morgan's quirky neighbour from upstairs (whose name escapes me just now). She was always an interesting addition to the story.

After arriving at the station and the newly rebranded CID to CAST to find the office empty, Morgan hears about a call to check on the welfare of a woman after a neighbouring rang in complaining about a smell emanating from her flat. She advises Control that she is also enroute and she fears what she is about to walk into. Squeezing through the small opening of the door that has a rug preventing it from opening fully, Morgan finds the lifeless form of Shirley Kelly laying on her sofa. At first glance, nothing appears suspicious but something in Morgan's gut tells her that something is off. Something about the scene unsettles her. Then she see the clock has stopped at six and the mirror has been covered. And although the woman seems physically unharmed, a patch of hair that has been cut from her head. Very unsettling indeed.

A short time later, a second woman is killed. Even more chilling is that her house is arranged in the same way. But what is troubling is this woman had called police just an hour before believing there to be someone in her house but everything was deemed sound and the house clear of intruders. So what had happened to this woman in the short time between when the police had left her and when they returned? Was someone hiding somewhere in the house after all? And, more importantly, what connects these two women?

Morgan and Ben are baffled by the unfolding events and who could possibly be behind them. They question friends and witnesses in an effort to glean any information about the two women they can. Whilst in the midst of everything they are dealing with comes their new DI, Marcel Howard (Marc), who arrives a week before he is due to start as well as in something of a flurry. All the women in the nick are immediately drawn in by hus charm and good looks whilst Ben isn't so sure. And the Marc ruffles a few feathers and steps on some toes leaving Ben livid. Who is this man and where has he come from? And who the hell does he think he is?

Just when Morgan and Ben think they are never going to catch a break, they are thrown a lifeline in some intel Morgan has garnered in passing. Then it's all systems go as the team take their places in the respective takedown of the person behind these unsettling murders. But nothing is as it seems and of course nothing goes according to plan in this fast paced twisted tale that is both chilling and creepy.

With plenty of red herrings and twists, SLEEPING DOLLS is an addictive fast paced thriller that is the sixth installment in the brilliant Morgan Brookes series. There is plenty going on but with Helen's easy style it is still very easy to read and follow the story. It does differ to her previous books in which there is little from other aspects, which I missed greatly from this installment. I love how the reader is usually given glimpses from other perspectives throughout and with the exception of one of the victims prior to her death, a few flashbacks to 1989 and the killer themselves near the end, the book is mostly from a procedural perspective. It is the one aspect I found disappointing in this book. The only other disappointing factor was the identity of the killer. Without revealing any spoilers, I felt it was a bit out of nowhere with nothing really linking them to murders or the story.  Maybe if there were more of the various aspects peppered throughout, like in previous books, the loose ends that lead to the killer would make more sense.

Despite my disappointment, I did enjoy SLEEPING DOLLS and it certainly reflected Helen's usual fast paced addictive writing complete with her easy style. Not to mention her element of creepy undertones she likes to throw in now and again. The old house that features in this story reminded me Lake View House in her standalone thriller of the same name.

With its creepy undertones, SLEEPING DOLLS will definitely pique readers' curiosity and have fans cheering for their heroine. And although I was a little disappointed, it didn't ruin my enjoyment of what it is essentially another spine-tingling thriller from this talented author!

I would like to thank #HelenPhifer, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SleepingDolls in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin and Beth Adams series. 

Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District. 

She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learnt how to in infant school. She loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to go to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. She is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. 

Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.

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REVIEW: Just One Lie by Ruth Harrow

Just One Lie by Ruth Harrow

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense

Read: 6th June 2022

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Amazon

UK

US

Australia

Published: 5th June 2022

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Everyone has a secret. But not like Alison’s.

Alison loves being a mother which is why she is finding it so hard to come to terms with the recent loss of her baby daughter. She still has her young son Adam whom she adores, but the grief is always there…

Everyone can see she is struggling.

And they don’t know the half of it. Alison has a terrible secret she has never shared with anyone – not even her husband, Dan. She knows if he ever discovers what she did, her family will be destroyed forever.

But someone seems to know, because Alison gets a sinister message. And then bad things start to happen – her website is hacked, her business is sabotaged, there’s a fire in her home… then more threatening messages.

Alison is in no doubt that someone means to destroy her by exposing her to the world. But who? And why?

Can she discover the truth before it’s too late? Or is the terror that fuels her sleepless nights about to become all too real?

Just One Lie - a gripping psychological thriller with a mind-blowing twist. Perfect for fans of Sarah Denzil, K.L Slater and Sue Watson. 

MY THOUGHTS:

Everyone has a secret. But not like Alison’s. And it all started with a lie.

So many people have said that this was a slow paced book, so when I read that I thought "oh no" as I hate slow burns. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn't think it was slow paced at all. It does begin with a build up that does, admittedly, leave the reader a little confused at first. Especially with the alternating narratives changing every few chapters and BOTH are in the first person, so it is easy to mistake the second narrative as Alison's...until there is a few words that hint at it being an entirely different narrator. Some of the chapters are titled with "Before" making them easier to identify but some of the others are not which makes it confusing. I found this to be a confusing inconsistency.

The main narrator is Alison and is told predominantly from her perspective When the second one stealthily makes their way into the story in the second chapter, we stop to wonder who this could possibly be. We are drip-fed information to lead us thinking we know where the story is leading and who the mysterious narrator is...but we don't. I was left scratching my head cluelessly until a light bulb went on in my brain and it all became comparatively clearer. Didn't it? But like all good psychological thrillers, JUST ONE LIE has us chasing our tails and second guessing ourselves all the way through.

Beginning with an intriguing prologue another unnamed person is swimming with their child in the warm waters of somewhere quite obviously abroad until fate deals them a deadly blow. And the reader is left wanting to know who, what, why and when this all happened. But one thing we learn throughout the story is that time is relative.

Alison Burnham thought she had the perfect life. She thought she and Dan had the perfect marriage and they were incredibly happy together...until Adam was born. It was a difficult birth and for a time, Alison and her son were separated with him being in the neonatal unit shortly after his birth. But it wasn't long before they returned home together and the perfect life Alison thought they would be enjoying crumbled. She spiraled into a postpartum depression and found caring for a newborn incredibly trying as well as the changes to their family unit. It wasn't until a year or so had passed that Alison finally found her feet and a new appreciation for her beautiful baby son. But her's and Dan's relationship had taken a battering and they found it even harder to regain that equilibrium again.

Eight years later, and Alison is now mourning the loss of their stillborn daughter she had hoped would get her and Dan back on an even keel again. Now they couple barely speak and when they do she finds Dan patronising instead of understanding. Having lost her previous successful career in marketing after Adam's birth, Alison has been through a few failed ventures to help contribute financially to the household while Dan works as an undervalued chef at a local restaurant. Now Alison has begun a career as a photographer specialising in maternity and family photos, an idea that formed during her own recent pregnancy. She takes on an employee, Rebecca, who thrives in being at the forefront of organising bookings and the photo shoots, an ability Alison can only admire and envy in equal measure.

But then strange things begin to occur. Her studio is broken in. The electrics short-circuit having been filled with water. Strange phone calls where no one speaks. Anonymous messages sent to her Facebook account. And then her website is hacked. And she has this strange sense of being watched. Is it any wonder that Alison has trouble sleeping? That she barely eats? But is it the mysterious happenings occurring now or the deep dark secret she has carried for so long?

Her behaviour becomes so erratic Dan believes she is falling into a depression again and instead of showing her understanding, Alison finds every thing he does and every thing he says patronising. But when she returns home one day to find he has done the unthinkable without discussing it with her first, she is livid. And to be honest, I thought she had every right to be. What he did was cruel, even if he thought he was doing the right thing at the time. Just because it was right for him doesn't mean it was right for Alison. But to go behind her back without telling her...well, that was just cruel. As if she hasn't got enough to contend with.

And then she gets a phone call from the school...Adam has disappeared whilst on a school excursion. Has Alison's greatest fear come to fruition at last?

Pretty much WOW! Despite the ambiguity and confusion with the failure to clearly separate the two narratives in the beginning, JUST ONE LIE is just one wild ride! It wasn't slow paced at all. I found it began with a relatively steady pace that offered mystery and intrigue, picking up quickly as I raced to turn the pages long into the night. Just when I thought I knew who the unnamed narrator was, I discovered I'd been cleverly hoodwinked.

Alison is not an entirely likeable character and she is clearly unreliable as a narrator as well. Do we believe her perception? Or is it all in her mind? Is she suffering postpartum depression again only adding to her grief? Or is she right to be worried? Does someone know her secret?

I didn't particularly like Alison much but I liked Rebecca. Dan was not a very understanding husband particularly with some of his actions. But Alison was constantly second guessing herself and throughout the entire book she just figuratively threw her hands up and declared "That's it! I've failed as a wife! I've failed as a mother!" What mother hasn't thought that at times? But she just goes on about it every time something went wrong or threatened Adam's safety...which in Alison's was just about everything. Including a harmless birthday gift of walkie talkies, thus thinking someone could hack the frequency and lure her little boy away. Seriously? She just got on my goat a bit.

However, regardless of how annoying she could be, I thoroughly enjoyed JUST ONE LIE. It was fun, fast paced and entirely intriguing and entertaining. I had fun trying to work out who it could possibly be and I was able to work out the anonymous narrator long before their identity was revealed.

JUST ONE LIE is a brilliant, fun fast pace read with all the thrills and chills and clever twists along the way to keep you entertained throughout. I did find it ended a little abruptly though and found that a bit of a letdown considering everything else had concluded nicely, only for it to end...just like that.

Still an intriguing read that I recommend for fans of psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators.

I would like to thank #RuthHarrow, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #JustOneLie in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ruth Harrow was born and raised in England and graduated from university before embarking on an unfulfilling career in an office job. She eventually put pen to paper and her debut psychological thriller, In Her Footsteps, was published in 2018. It quickly became a bestseller. Following the success of her first novel, her second and third books followed shortly afterwards. She lives in the UK with her husband, two children and chocolate Labrador, Rolo. 

Just One Lie is her second psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham

The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham

Genre: Historical fiction, Wartime fiction, Sagas, WW1

Read: 4th June 2022

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Amazon

Published: 6th June 2022

★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

The young nurse ran across the wooden deck, her feet skidding. She spotted an injured young man clinging to the ship’s rail, his eyes wide with terror. She could see the water rushing up to meet them. ‘We need to jump!’ she screamed. In that moment, a wave washed over them. She lunged forward to grab his hand, but she was a second too slow. Somewhere, deep inside the vessel, came a loud crack. The hospital ship was breaking apart…

1914. Evie Munro is a Scottish fisher girl, working the herring season from Wick to Great Yarmouth. For Evie, every day is the same – gutting fish at the docks, shoulder-to-shoulder with her friends, followed by fresh bread, a warm whiskey toddy and an early night. But when Germany declares war on Britain, everything changes.

As her village begins to empty of young men, Evie’s life is marked by a heartbreaking tragedy at home. Her happiness destroyed, she vows to join the war effort as an army nurse, caring for wounded soldiers on the imposing hospital ship Britannic.

But as the war rages on and the ship comes under direct fire, Evie’s courage is put to the ultimate test. Can Evie and the nurses of the HMHS Britannic save the day and heal the patients in their care? Or will her life become one more casualty in Britain’s heroic fight for freedom?

A heartbreaking wartime saga – guaranteed to have you grabbing for the tissues! Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries, Diney Costeloe and Nancy Revell.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Kate Eastham's wartime saga tale THE SEA NURSES.

This is the third book by Kate Eastham I've read and it was relatively enjoyable with the unique aspect of beginning on a cruise ship liner to becoming military hospital during the war. In the early 1910's, there were three sister ships built for the White Star Line for passage from London to New York primarily. They were Olympic, Britannic and the ill-fated Titanic. But even after Titanic's demise, the Olympic and Britannic continued to make the TransAtlantic voyage. THE SEA NURSES begins on one and continues on another.

It's 1914 and Iris Purefoy is a stewardess and nurse for the White Star Line on board the RMS Olympic to New York. There have been whispers of war amongst the passengers though many believe if it were to come it would be over in weeks anyway. Others are dismissing the idea of war as ludicrous. Beginning in second class, Iris soon made her way up to First Class and found herself as the occasional personal maid for Miss Amelia Duchamp, on passage from Paris to New York. The elderly woman has a feisty little Pekingnese called Marco whom she dotes on and who has nipped Iris more than once. Miss Duchamp is incredibly demanding with high expectations but Iris sees to her needs as her charge requires.

One night on deck, Iris sees a flash in the shadows and meets Jack Rosetti, a young American who lost his ticket in a car game but managed to stowaway on the liner. Iris took pity on him when he disclosed that his mother was dying and he wanted to reach her before it was too late. Against her better judgement, Iris chose to ignore his illegal passage and tried to ignore the young man each time she saw him. But there was something captivating about him. His smile, his eyes, his laughter. He asked to see her on shore before the ship made its way back to Britain, but news of the war changed any plans made and the RMS Olympic hastily made its return to become a troop ship.

Arriving back in England, Iris had decided to put her nurses training to good use and join a military hospital, following matron to Netley in Southampton.

Meanwhile, in Great Yarmouth Evie Munro was a fisher girl who travelled from her native Scotland each year to the Norfolk coast to work the herring season. This year she meets Jamie who captures her heart. But life as a fisherman is a hard one out on the roughs of the North Sea, and it is often fraught with tragedy. Life as a fisher girl is also a tough one, and Evie jumps into action to assist when one of them is injured, using her skills to suture and bandage and even nurse her charges back from the onset of sepsis. She is not a nurse but she has the skills of one. When the season is over, Evie travels home to Scotland with her friends with a heaviness she'd never felt before. And with the war approaching, she makes a decision. Leaving her past behind her, she travels to Southampton as a probationary nurse where she falls under the charge of Nurse Purefoy.

After almost a year at Netley, Iris and Evie along with some of the VADs, begin work on the former cruise liner Britannic, now a military hopsital ship that had been requisitioned for the war, collecting soldiers from the Front and bringing them back to England. Their job is to nurse the injured men and help keep them alive until they are then transferred to a hospital on shore. Life is far different for both women - from the luxurious state rooms Iris had worked as a stewardess or the fishing wounds Evie had once tended. Despite their's being a military hospital ship displaying a prominent red cross and signage to give them clear passage and prevent them from being fired upon but this is war and no one is safe. There was nothing stopping them hitting an underwater mine or a U-boat firing upon them, mistaking them for the enemy.

Life changes for both Iris and Evie in profound ways throughout the course of the war. Particularly when a new orderly is taken on Britannic and Iris is shocked to be looking into the smiling eyes of Jack Rosetti once again. Ever the professional, Iris keeps her distance particularly as fraternisation between male and female staff is not permitted and Sister frowns upon such a blatant disregard for the rules.

And then life changes in an instant off the Mediterranean coast and each must make a snap decision to save themselves before it's too late.

A heartrendering and emotional tale, THE SEA NURSES takes on a unique aspect of a wartime saga in that it is on board former cruise liner ships now decked out as floating military hospitals. I like how it began with Iris as a stewardess so we get a glimpse of life aboard those ships before the war and therefore becoming military hospitals or troop ships. There was a hint of glamour befor being thrust into the horrors of war and the promise of something to come when it was all over. 

With Evie it was a little different. I felt that she was more of a secondary character to Iris' main one. I also felt that the friendship between the two women wasn't at the forefront of the story as much as the premise alluded to. I felt the women didn't really connect as friends throughout the story...not until almost the end after Evie's shocking find beneath the pier. I found Evie connected more with her fisher friends - Rita and Minnie - and even her brother and sister in law, more than Iris. To me, Iris felt more of her superior than a friend and any connection between the two women was lost. Their meetings up on deck in the evenings wasn't enough to make a close friendship as the narrative spoke or Iris in one context or Evie in another. The women were hardly ever together, forming a bond of friendship, not on page at least.

I liked both women but I didn't feel there was enough there to make them such close friends. They were too separate and never seemed to really connect. I found Iris closer to Miss Duchamp and she hadn't seen her since that final voyage at the beginning of the war, though the women remained in constant contact via letter.

I enjoyed THE SEA NURSES but not near so much as "When the World Stood Still" which I absolutely loved. I would have liked the ending to have gone a little further than another sea voyage, with a final glimpse of New York.

An entertaining read, THE SEA NURSES is an interesting and engaging historical wartime saga complete with drama and suspense of life, love, friendships and loss. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries and Diney Costeloe.

I would like to thank #KateEastham, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSeaNurses in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

A change in circumstances meant Kate Eastham made the shift from a career in nursing to being a full time carer for her husband. Determined to make the most of this new role ‘working from home’ and inspired by an in-depth study of the origins of nursing, she wrote her first novel at the kitchen table. Miss Nightingale’s Nurses was published by Penguin in 2018, closely followed by three more in the series. With her passion for history, Kate aims to make visible the lives of ordinary yet extraordinary women from the past. Her current historical fiction is set during the World Wars and will be published by Bookouture. 

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REVIEW: The Murder List by Jackie Kabler

The Murder List by Jackie Kabler

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 1st June 2022

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Amazon

UK

US

Australia

Published: 31st May 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

When Mary receives a blank diary as a present, she thinks nothing of it. Until she opens the diary, and sees it’s not blank after all…

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD

1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM

1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF

1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

Is this some kind of sick joke? But…it’s the end of January now. And a woman named Lisa was murdered in Oxford on 1st January.

Does that mean there really is a killer out there, planning to commit a new murder on the first of each month? And is the Mary due to be killed on 1st April her?

The clock is ticking for Mary to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim on the killer’s list…

MY THOUGHTS:

This is my third thriller by Jackie Kabler and I was both excited and intrigued by the premise. A killer forewarning his victim? What an interesting read this could be!

Freelance crime writer Mary Ellis receives a blank diary as a gift just days before Christmas and thinks nothing more of it. Until six weeks later she's clearing a bunch of random items including a couple of unwanted gifts to send to charity. She picks up the expensive leather-bound diary and flicks through the pages...and realises it's not blank after all.

1st January - MURDER Lisa, Oxford

1st February - MURDER Jane, Birminghams

1st March - MURDER David, Cardiff

1st April - MURDER Mary, Cheltenham

Is this some kind of sick joke? It's already the end of January which means the first murder must have already occurred and the second one is now just days away. And then she recalls the body of a young barrister in Oxford found, her murder still unsolved. Was her name Lisa?

Mary knows immediately that she must inform the police and let them take charge of the diary and investigation. But as each month draws to a close, Mary begins to feel anxious knowing what is in store but not knowing exactly who the next victim will be...not until the call comes through or news hits the press.

And then Mary receives a threatening letter, naming her as the fourth victim, thus calling her Family Liaison Officer in a frantic panic. So why forewarn Mary of her impending murder when the other three are just random mystery names? How can the police possibly track down the actual intended victim before they become a victim?

Throughout this reign of terror, Mary has confided in her closest friend and housemate Pete, although the police have asked her to swear him to the utmost secrecy. But when people begin to find out her intentions, Mary starts to wonder who can she truly trust?

And as February ticks over into March, April looms closer. The clock is ticking...and time is almost running out. Can Mary and the police uncover the killer before claiming Mary has the final victim?

A fast-paced thriller, THE MURDER LIST was indeed a different concept and an intriguing one to say the least. There are many red herrings, false leads and twists that it will make your head spin. Then about halfway through comes the biggest shock of all! I did NOT see that coming...and then I began to look at the mystery differently. Did this reveal have something to do with what is really going on? Or is just another red herring? But the twists didn't stop. I had about four suspects at one stage, as I slowly eliminated them one by one...to be replaced by yet another latecomer to the mix. I was almost convinced of three of them of possible involvement when another fourth made me stop and wonder. Making me realise, I really had no clue at all. lol

Predominantly narrated in the first person by Mary herself, THE MURDER LIST also takes in the investigation from each of the local constabularies of each region. It was interesting to watch them hammer it out together and factor in key points whilst dismissing others. And it became quite clear that the police had no clue either. By the end, Mary was almost a quivering wreck from anxiety over the looming attack whilst everyone else was left scratching their heads...myself included.

THE MURDER LIST is a fun and entertaining read. I loved the underlying theme that began in the prologue and was always just a whisker away from the rest of the story. I knew it had to be important but I wasn't sure how it factored in. I wasn't entirely impressed with who the villain turned out to be and even less impressed with their motive behind the murders. My own theory was far more impressive...but to share that would be to reveal spoilers.

I really enjoyed THE MURDER LIST, though admittedly not as must as "The Perfect Couple" or "The Happy Family" - both of which I loved. Still it was an entertaining read and a good solid thriller. Perfect for fans of thrillers with a little procedural and a lot of twists to make for a fun-filled ride.

I would like to thank #JackieKabler, #Netgalley, #OneMoreChapter and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheMurderList in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jackie Kabler is a television presenter and crime writer.

A former news reporter, she spent more than nine years with GMTV as a roving correspondent and newsreader, covering some of the biggest stories of the decade including President Clinton’s impeachment trial, the Asian tsunami, the Kosovo crisis, famine in Ethiopia, the Athens Olympics, the Soham murders and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Jackie left GMTV to work as a freelance broadcaster in 2008. She became a regular presenter of the ITV national morning news and a reporter across ITN’s news programmes including News at Ten; a reporter and presenter on the BBC’s Midlands Today programme; presenter of property show Selfbuilder TV on Sky’s Information TV channel; and guested as a TV gardening expert. Her work also appeared on the BBC’s News Channel and on CNN.

She also worked as a media trainer and in media simulation – in particular with the armed forces – and produced, wrote and presented corporate and promotional films.

In January 2013 Jackie joined the UK’s biggest shopping channel, QVC, as a presenter.

A former newspaper reporter, she has also worked as a reporter and presenter for Channel TV, ITV West, Central TV, Five News and Setanta Sports News.

Jackie is also an internationally bestselling crime writer, author of the Cora Baxter Mysteries, a series of humorous murder mysteries set in a television room, and of psychological thrillers Am I Guilty? and The Perfect Couple. The Happy Family is her sixth book. 

Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.

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SPOTLIGHT: The Secret Couple by J.S. Lark

 

The Secret Couple by J.S. Lark

Genre: Psychological thriller

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Published: 13th May 2022

DESCRIPTION:

Someone knows what they did…

A laugh.

A touch.

A lingering look.

A dead body.

An affair.

A crime years in the making.

Alice knows she’s in too deep. But behind closed doors, no one is who they seem…

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jane is a coffee, chocolate and red wine lover, and a late-night writer of compelling, passionate, and emotionally charged fiction. 

Jane's books may contain love, hate, violence, death, passion, a little swearing, and an ending you are never going to forget.

Social Media links:

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REVIEW: The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart

The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2, Holocaust, Fact with Fiction

Read: 28th May 2022

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Published: 31st May 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Auschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched across her little thigh. And I prayed that one day this set of numbers, identical to her mother’s, would have the power to reunite a family torn apart by war…

Inspired by an incredible true story, this poignant novel tells of one woman’s fight for love, life and hope during a time of unimaginable darkness.

Ana Kaminski is pushed through the iron gates of Auschwitz beside her frightened young friend Ester Pasternak. As they reach the front of the line, Ana steps forward and quietly declares herself a midwife – and Ester her assistant. Their arms are tattooed and they’re ordered to the maternity hut. Holding an innocent new-born baby, Ana knows the fate of so many are in her hands, and vows to do everything she can to save them.

When two guards in their chilling SS uniforms march in and snatch a blond-haired baby from its mother it’s almost too much for Ana to bear. Consoling the distraught woman, Ana realises amidst the terrible heartache there is a glimmer of hope. The guards are taking the healthiest babies and placing them with German families, so they will survive. And there are whispers the war is nearly over… Ana and Ester begin to secretly tattoo little ones with their mother’s numbers, praying one day they might be reunited.

Then, early one morning, Ana notices the small bump under Ester’s thin striped clothing…

An absolutely heartbreaking and page-turning WW2 novel of one woman’s bravery and determination to bring life and hope into a broken world. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz,The Alice Network and The Nightingale will be gripped.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Anna Stuart's heartwrenching tale THE MIDWIFE OF AUSCHWITZ.

As much as I have enjoyed Anna Stuart's "based on true stories" tales woven with fiction, I found THE MIDWIFE OF AUSCHWITZ an incredibly heartbreaking one to read. Although all stories about the Holocaust the the crimes against humanity are just as heartbreaking, I am finding it incresingly difficult to read them. However, as difficult as it was to read this one, I'm glad I did. It was a different tale although it began like any other Holocaust story with Jews being ripped of their identities, moved into stinking ghettos before being deported to death camps or the like. It wasn't until they reached Auschwitz that the story took a slightly different turn.

Ester was a young nurse, who is Jewish, living and working in Lodz in Poland when she and her new husband Filip Pasternak along with their families were rounded up and rehoused in the new ghetto as the Germans overtook their town. Their house had been given over to the Germans to house troops while they now lived in barely two rooms all together.

Ana Kaminski, a Catholic Pole, has worked as a midwife for two decades. Alongside her, her dear friend Ester Pasternak learns the art of birthing as together they bring new life into the world in the ghetto and beyond. 

Until one day, ripped from her husband and her family, Ester finds herself on a train bound for Auschwitz in the hope of saving her dying mother. In the cattle-car she is shocked to find her friend and mentor, Ana, looking a shadow of her former self. Together the two women arrive at Auschwitz with the idealistic notion that they can help save the women and their babies. But Auschwitz was nothing if not cruel and unforgiving, the SS officers even more so. The barbaric cruelties they are forced to face change the way they see the world whilst trying to maintain some form of hope. For if they have no hope, what do they have?

In Auschwitz, Ana and Ester bring 3000 babies into the world. Some lived, some died. But through each mother's pain, the two women gave each of them hope...even if it were to die tomorrow. And then a new cruelty is to be inflicted upon them. Perfect blonde babies will be selected from the newborns for Germanisation, ripped from their mother's arms as they suckle to be brought up in "good Fuhrer loving homes". These selections are the worst kind of cruelty.

So Ester devises a plan to one day bring hope to these families torn apart by tattooing the little ones with their mother's numbers, in the hope that they may be reunited once the war is over and the camp has been liberated. In the meantime, they continue to help each other drawing on one another's strength and resilience to make it through.

But then Ana notices the familiar signs and a small bump beneath Ester's thin clothing...

I was both saddened and angered by this tale. Though I shouldn't be surprised at the Nazi's cruelties during that time. The barbaric nature of such inhumanity resonated with me that my heart ached for the women. Already they had been stripped of everything and still they wanted to take even more? How mankind can inflict such cruelties upon each other is beyond me.

Alternating between the narratives of both Ester and Ana, THE MIDWIFE OF AUSCHWITZ is a heartwrenching tale of friendship, motherhood and survival. How anyone can survive a death camp is remarkable. My heart ached for both women but particularly young Ester.

By the end of the book I was just heartbroken that it hadn't ended how I thought it would. But it was still a satisfying end and a tearful one at that. Anna Stuart tells a wonderful tale and is a skillfull storyteller. I absolutely LOVED "The Secret Diary" but this one was just that more heartbreaking.

I would like to thank #AnnaStuart, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMidwifeOfAuschwitz in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Anna Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name.

Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels.

Anna loves the way that writing lets her ‘try on’ so many different lives, but her favourite part of the job is undoubtedly hearing from readers. 

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