REVIEW: The Doctor's Mistress by Daniel Hurst

The Doctor's Mistress (The Doctor's Wife #3) by Daniel Hurst

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 1st December 2023

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Amazon

Published: 6th December 2023

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The wife. The mistress. Who will get their revenge?

I was the other woman. The mistress. Everyone blamed Doctor Drew Devlin’s death on me. And I’ve paid the price for loving the wrong man.

Now, I have dark circles under my eyes because I can’t sleep at night. I lost everything – friends, family, my home and even my freedom. Drew’s devious wife Fern tore my whole world apart. And she thinks she’s got away with murder.

But she’s wrong. It’s time for revenge. For myself… and for my baby.

Her new life on the windswept Cornish coast is about to come crashing down around her. I’m determined for everyone to find out the true story. Because now it’s not just my life in danger, I’ve got to protect the doctor’s daughter too.

I know Fern will expect me to come after her – I’m certain she will have her own plan in place to stop me. After all, she’s duped so many people before.

But then again, Fern always did underestimate me. And by the time she realises, it’ll be far too late for the doctor’s wife…

An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with twist after twist from the number one bestselling author of The Doctor’s Wife. If you loved Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train then The Doctor’s Mistress will keep you reading long into the night!

MY THOUGHTS:

The wife...the mistress...who will get their revenge?

One thing you know you're going to get when picking up a Daniel Hurst book is that it will be fast paced, entertaining and there is simply no chance you will fall asleep from boredom. Nor will you get what you would normally expect from this genre because Hurst will always outsmart his readers with an outlandish plot and a fiendish end to finish on. THE DOCTOR'S MISTRESS is the third in the Doctor's Wife series and I have to say I think it is probably the best of them all. Usually it's the first book that can't be outdone but in this case the first - "The Doctor's Wife" - was great, the second - "The Doctor's Widow" - dipped a little but was still a thrilling read, but this one...I don't know what it is but I really enjoyed this one. Maybe because we got closure with it. Either way, all three have been thrilling and entertaining reads from start to finish.

Those who have followed the exploits of Fern and journeyed with Alice will be familiar with their stories. Fern killed her husband Doctor Drew Devlin for cheating on her and then proceeded to frame Alice, the woman he was cheating on her with, with his murder. But not before she enlisted the help of Alice's husband and when he outlived his usefulness, she killed him too lest he reveal her part in the crime. All was going swimmingly for Fern until someone else had suspicions that she was not all she appeared to be and endeavoured to garner a confession from her about the part she played in the doctor's death. Unfortunately for Greg, who posed as boyfriend Roger, Fern got wind of what he was up to and killed him too. But not before, he'd managed to send the video of her confession to the police detective in charge of the case, thus freeing Alice from prison. (Note: these are not spoilers as these all took place in the first two books)

Which then brings us to book 3, leaving readers as well as Alice and the police, pondering where Fern is now.

Alice has been cleared of the crime for which she was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison for and has now given birth to Drew's child which was a surprise to say the least when she discovered she was pregnant. However, Alice is not finding motherhood at all easy. Evelyn is 8 months old and all she seems to do is scream...constantly. Alice is lucky to get 15 minutes shut-eye before she's wailing again. She is, however, thankful for the love and care of her boyfriend, Detective Tomlin, who does his best to ensure she gets at least some rest and reprieve while he tries to shoulder the load and see to Evelyn's demands. But this should be her job as Evelyn's mother but her whole life has been turned upside down, first by Drew and then by his murderous wife Fern. How is she supposed to relax and take care of a baby with that woman still out there somewhere? Despite her struggles, Alice's greatest desire to hunt down the woman who completely wrecked her life and seek revenge for doing so, thus bringing her to justice.

Meanwhile, Fern has undergone something of a transformation. While she fled to London to lose herself in the crowds at first, she then changed her identity and her appearance before moving to Cornwall where she now lives hand to mouth in a squalid bedsit flat with a three month old baby that came as something of a surprise whilst on the run. With her dwindling funds, Fern knows time is running out for her if she can't get her hands on some funds to keep them clothed and fed at least. She knows where she can get her hands on some money, but how much and how to access it is another problem. She's just lucky that baby Cecilia is such an easy contented baby, her smile lighting up her face and the room. But with time running out, Fern knows that life on the run can't last forever. But how long can she continue running?

This was a delightfully exceptional read and naturally I loved the setting in Cornwall, even if it was a squalid flat! I could picture the promenade and the seaside which made a lasting impression...particularly in the culmination to the climax.

While we know Fern is the baddie in this story and has been from the beginning. I didn't like her at all in the first two books but in this one we got a different Fern. Maybe she was mellowed by motherhood but I found myself actually rooting for her at times, reading on tenterhooks if she was going to escape the clutches of whoever may have been pursuing her at the time. This time it was Alice who irritated me and I could hear Evelyn's constant crying reverberate off the pages that even I found draining...lol I know Alice was the victim of circumstance and then the hormonal changes that come with having a baby, it was clear she wasn't coping. The only thing that seemed to brighten her mood was the promise of catching Fern...a new lead that gave her hope that soon this could all be over. But it didn't end quite the way you would expect...as you would naturally expect from a Hurst thriller. But I was quite satisfied with it even if you had to suspend belief a little.

I am never disappointed with a Daniel Hurst thriller and am always eagerly awaiting when I can pick up another. I have a backlog of many of his previous ones I have yet to devour, and some in between, because he is one prolific author who releases a new book before I can read the previous one!

Overall, an addictive read that I devoured in a day (it could have been one sitting if pesky real life didn't get in the way...lol) and I can't wait to pick up another because I know to always expect the unexpected and thensome. And above all, I will always be entertained!

I would like to thank #DanielHurst, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheDoctorsMistress in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Daniel Hurst was born in the northwest of England, a part of the world famous for its comedians, pasties and terrible weather.

He has been employed in several glamorous roles in his lifetime, including bartending, shelf stacking and procurement administration, all while based in some of the most exotic places on the planet, like Bolton, Preston and South London.

Daniel writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.

Since following his lifelong passion for writing in 2020, he has amassed a loyal and devoted set of readers, and regularly has several books in the top 100 of the Psychological Thriller Charts on Amazon. His title The Passenger became the #1 selling psychological thriller in the UK in October 2021. The Doctor's Wife is his first publication with Bookouture.

A prolific writer, Daniel likes to keep readers on their toes by self publishing even more books in between those released through his publisher.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

     

REVIEW: The Country Sisters by Sally Tarpey

The Country Sisters (Truscott Family #2) by Sally Tarpey

Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, Post WW1

Read: 30th November 2023

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Amazon

Published: 21st November 2023

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

An absolutely heartbreaking and uplifting story of hardship and hope in the aftermath of World War I.

1922. After the horrors of the Great War, the close-knit Truscott family return to pick up what’s left of their lives on their busy Hampshire farm.

But the two Truscott sisters are on very different paths. Kate is happily married to Albert, content to be a mother and farmer’s wife. Her younger sister Dot sets her heart on becoming a teacher.

But an unforeseen tragedy means Dot must give up her place at college. Instead she resigns herself to becoming a lady’s companion to wealthy Mrs Humboldt, who is a difficult woman to please.

Accompanying Mrs H. to Eastbourne, Dot enters an intoxicating new world of cocktails, circuses and dance halls, a life far removed from her quiet Hampshire village. And soon this naïve country girl catches the eye of a sophisticated seducer . . .

Dot must quickly learn the ways of the world if she is to forge her own path, on her own terms. But in her single-minded pursuit of her career, is she in danger of missing out on love altogether?

Fans of Nadine Dorries, Rosie Goodwin, Dilly Court, Anna Jacobs, Tania Crosse and Dominic Luke will devour this emotional 1920s saga.

MY THOUGHTS:

Picking up several years after the end of the first book, this story begins in 1922 and centres around Kate's younger sister Dot. While it is part of a series, it suffices easily as a standalone. But if you enjoy one, chances are you will enjoy another...so why stop at one?

Life is slowly returning to normal after the Great War though with the shadow of all it left in its wake. After her time in service then the workhouse before returning home to Micklewell with a three month child in tow, Kate married Albert and is happily content as a farmer's wife. Now young Dot continues to focus on her dreams of becoming a teacher. Her studies have taken her to Chichester where she lodges in a boarding house, returning home in the holidays to see her family.

Her studies are seemingly cut short however when a tragic accident befalls the family leaving them in desperate need of help to make ends meet. With only one wage coming into the house, the family face some difficult choices particularly when Dot announces she is leaving her studies to take up employment to help out. The family won't hear of it but Dot will not be swayed. She finds work as a paid companion with a local wealthy woman, Mrs Humboldt, through her friendship with Mrs H's niece Miriam, to accompany her to Eastbourne. 

Dot's troubles are far from over when her family continue to need her placing her in a quandary, seeking advice from her mentor Miss Clarence. To continue her studies? Or to return home and find work? Added to that is her fledgling romance with William Martin. How can it possibly go anywhere when he works in Scotland and she will be returning to Micklewell? Not only that, teachers cannot be married...so therefore what would be the point? She calls on her friend Miriam for her advice but is met with the same resistance she herself feels.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE COUNTRY SISTERS though I must admit to being somewhat confused about the ages and the timeline which didn't seem to tally. The first book began in 1912 when Kate was 15 and Dot was referred to being 11, but then there was a reference to her being 7 at the time of Kate going into service. Fast forward to this book which begins in 1922, ten years later. There was a mention of when Kate gave birth to Ronnie around the same time their mother had their youngest sister Tilly and there was a reference to Kate's age being 24 while her mother was 46 at the time. But Kate was barely out of her teens when she had Ronnie, with the war still raging and then the Spanish flu. 1922 would see Kate as 25 now but the reference made it sound like she was 24 when she gave birth. It was all very confusing and not entirely clear. 

Some things that took place in the story I wondered what their point was as nothing really came of some of them so I didn't understand their need to be there. It almost gave an air of unfinished business of loose ends because those incidents had no resolution. They just happened and then...nothing. Two that come to mind took place on their sojourn to Eastbourne in Dot's capacity as a travelling companion to Mrs H. I didn't understand the point of their inclusion when nothing came of their incorporation.

These would be my only gripe with this story as it entirely enjoyable otherwise.

The story illustrates the strength of sisterly bonds, resilience, courage, friendship and self discovery. It also embodies the social divide between classes in the friendship between Dot and Miriam. Admittedly I was frustrated with Miriam on more than one occasion as she really had no grasp on the realities or struggles other people actually face, having grown up with a life of privilege. 

A thoroughly compelling and enjoyable read which I devoured (again) in one sitting.

I would like to thank #SallyTarpey, #Netgalley and #JoffeBooks for an ARC of #TheCountrySisters in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sally was born in rural Hampshire and now lives close to the sea in Essex. She began writing short stories when she was a VSO volunteer in Cambodia and hasn’t stopped writing since. A retired teacher, she now volunteers with two community projects, her local community shop and an EAL support group. She is currently working on her second novel.

When she’s not writing, Sally can be found enjoying time with her family, striding out in her walking books, battling with weeds on her allotment or planning her next adventure.

 

REVIEW: The Night She Lied by Lucy Dawson

The Night She Lied by Lucy Dawson

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 29th November 2023

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Amazon

Published: 16th November 2023

★★★ 3.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Every family has secrets. Would you kill to keep yours?

It’s midnight in the hospital when Jude’s phone rings, interrupting her precious fifteen-minute break. When she sees it’s her seventy-year-old mother, Margaret, she braces herself for the usual complaints. But her blood runs cold at four words that will change everything... ‘Something terrible has happened.’

Margaret has been accused of an unspeakable crime committed twenty years ago. She insists she’s not guilty, and begs Jude to help her prove it. But as Jude is drawn into the dark secrets of her family’s past, she starts to question whether her mother is really as innocent as she claims to be.

Soon, Jude realises what happened twenty years ago is more entangled with her own life than she could ever have imagined. And as she stands face-to-face with her mother’s accuser, she knows the cost of protecting her family will be someone else’s life...

From bestselling author Lucy Dawson comes an insanely compelling page-turner perfect for anyone who tore through The Family Upstairs and Gone Girl.

MY THOUGHTS:

How far will she go to hide the truth...?

I'm not sure about the night she lied...depending on who you're talking about, they lie throughout the entire book it seems! Well, one character in particular anyway. I mean, every family have complex dynamics and hold their own secrets. But those that are facing Jude, threaten to turn her entire world on its axis.

Jude is an A&E nurse working the endless night shifts, at her behest, having lost of her partner a year before and suffering insomnia ever since. Becoming nocturnal is her way of coping. During the break of one of her shifts, she meets charasmatic Rik who is also nocturnal by choice and the two form a kind of understanding and, dare she say it, friendship. Until one night, she receives a troubling phone call from her mother prompting her to drop everything and race up to Berkshire. What awaits her is nothing short of a nightmare.

Lady Margaret Fawkes has been evicted from her lifelong home at Highcombe (Hall, Manor...I can't remember which - a big stately house at any rate), in which she had grown up as a child and spent her married life there alongside her newspaper mogul husband Benedict, at her father's and then her brother's discretion. Highcombe is entailed to pass down to the next male heir in the line and after the death of Lady Margaret's brother Anthony, the estate is then passed down to her nephew Timothy who has returned from his home in South Africa with his family to restore Highcombe and make it a working/running estate gaining income from functions and open days. Lady Margaret is appalled at the idea. But Lady Margaret has been evicted to a cottage on the estate, which is still a mansion by most people's standards...but not Lady Margaret.

When Jude arrives at Highcombe, it is to the devastating news that her mother Lady Margaret has been arrested and charged with historic sexual abuse. Jude is shocked. Her mother? This cannot be true. But there is an even bigger shock to come. And the hole that Lady Margaret pushes for Jude to dig herself just gets bigger and bigger...until she is left to flounder alone!

From the cliffhanger the prologue left us with as it then rewound a couple of years, readers know that something jawdropping is going to happen before the end. So it is expected. But is it what we expected? Or something else entirely? For me, it was a mixture of both while at the same time I didn't find it to be as earth shattering as I thought. Maybe because I knew it was coming? I don't know. At any rate, it does throw a different spin on things although right from the life-changing event happening, we knew what really happened but what everyone else got was lie after lie after lie. The shocker was Jude's cousin Timothy's testimony in court. That threw a whole new light on things. But did it change anything?

The characters are a complex bunch. I didn't really warm to Jude though I did sympathise with her. Rik, I wasn't too sure about as his appearance seemed a little too coincidental, but at first glance I liked him. But was he to be trusted? Johnnie was the poor hapless solicitor friend of the family who I found endearing. Timothy was caught in the middle of Lady Margaret's complex drama and then there was Lady Margaret herself. She was something else. A complex but completely horrible character. The way she treated everyone as if they were dirt on her shoe, the way she could take a character trait and turn it into a failing, especially when it came to her daughter, was appalling. She was a completely horrible character.

The story unfolds through the past and present, with a few flashback chapters to 1994 when the alleged abuse occurred. It is mostly told in Jude's first person narrative but also switches to the third person perspective of the cold and aloof Lady Margaret as well as detailing childhood scenes from 1994. It is quite a dark read and while it does feature child sexual abuse it is not graphic in nature and is only alluded to in part.

This is a hard book to rate. I enjoyed it for the most part but it's not one of Dawson's best. I'm not sure why. I was certainly engaged throughout though I did feel it dip a little and drag out some, but on the whole there was something missing. Maybe the characters being so unlikeable it was hard to connect with any of them though it was still an interesting read. I wanted to love this book but by the end, it did fall a little flat for me.

I would like to thank #LucyDawson, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheNightSheLied in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lucy has been writing psychological suspense novels since 2008, when her first bestseller - His Other Lover - was published. Since then her work has been translated into numerous languages.

Her gripping books jump in at the deep end... the extraordinary things that can happen to ordinary couples, families and friends with devastating conclusions.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 

REVIEW: The Altar Girls by Patricia Gibney

The Altar Girls (Detective Lottie Parker #13) by Patricia Gibney

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Mystery, Police procedural

Read: 27th November 2023

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Amazon

Published: 9th November 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The little girl looked like an angel in her thin white robe, her long black hair spread around her head like a dark halo on the snow. Her hands rested on her chest, fingers interlaced as if she had fallen asleep while praying. But she would never wake up again…

When Detective Lottie Parker receives news that a child’s body has been found in the frozen grounds of the cathedral, a shiver runs down her spine. She’s terrified it will be eight-year-old Willow Devine, reported missing that morning.

But when she arrives at the cathedral, holding a photo of Willow with her blonde ponytail and gap-toothed smile, she gets a terrible shock. The body is a young girl, wrapped in a white shroud, a rosary clutched in her frozen fingers. But her hair is dark, not fair. This girl isn’t Willow but another eight-year-old, Naomi.

Desperate to find a connection between the two girls and to find Willow before it is too late, Lottie speaks to the girls’ families and discovers that both girls were altar servers at the cathedral. The charismatic priest Father Maguire has a watertight alibi for the time the girls went missing, but Lottie suspects the confused old lady traumatised by the discovery of Naomi’s body is hiding something…

A day later, Willow’s little body is found wrapped in a white robe in the snowy grounds of a church across town. Lottie is devastated, convinced now that she can’t trust anyone, least of all the girls’ parents. Why did Willow’s mother claim the girls didn’t know each other? And why are there no photos of Naomi in her mother’s shabby house?

But when a little boy from the choir goes missing too, Lottie realises she must spread her net wider. Can she stop this twisted killer before another precious life is stolen?

A completely compelling page-turner from bestselling author Patricia Gibney. If you like Rachel Caine, Kendra Elliott and Robert Dugoni, The Altar Girls will have you hooked.

MY THOUGHTS:

The thirteenth installment of the Lottie Parker series, I'm beginning to wonder if Lottie and Boyd are ever getting married. They've been engaged forever. But then again, life hasn't gotten easier either. 

Last book Boyd had brought his 8 year old son Sergio to England to live with him...until Boyd's ex-wife Jackie returned and snatched him back, thus scarpering and living in hiding for the past three months. Boyd has spent the past three months searching for them to no no avail. Jackie and Sergio had vanished.

As for Lottie, her mum's dementia is progressing and this time I am finding that part of the storyline a little confronting as my own dad suffers from dementia and we have just put him in a care facility kicking and screaming, so it was just a little too close to home for him this time round. Of course, I don't see why her children don't help out a little more. They are all living at home and are better placed to do so rather than Lottie who works 20 hour days, especially when on an investigation.

This time the case at hand are two little girls found within hours of each other in the midst of a snowtstorm in the cathedral ground, clasping a hymn sheet in their hands. Why would someone kill two 8 year old girls? They were both in the choir there and from single parent families struggling to make ends meet. Is this a coincidence? The more Lottie digs, the answers keep coming back to Father Keith Macguire and the cathedral. Is he as innocent as he claims?

A parallel story is one of a car crash in Ballina in the north of the country with the body of an unidentified woman inside. No one knows who she is. There was no handbag, no identification, nothing to indicate who she might be. What has she to do with the case in Ragmullin?

This is one of the longer tales Gibney has spun at over 500 pages but it didn't feel as such with the short snappy chapters that kept the pace moving steadily along. But every time I pick up a book in this series it always seems to be snowing and is perpetually freezing. I know they have a totally different climate to me but it can't always be that cold ALL THE TIME. hahaha. I have friends from Northern Ireland and it rains...a lot...but they do get blue skies and the occasional nice day. Every book in this series seems to be shrouded in snow.

Anyway, it is another exciting addition to the series and wrapped up nicely by the end. I do have to wonder will Boyd and Lottie ever get married? They very nearly made it twice but now life just seems to get in the way. Ms Gibney, please give them their happy ending.

Overall, another compelling and enjoyable addition to the series.

I would like to thank #PatriciaGibney, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheAltarGirls in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Patricia Gibney is an Irish author of crime fiction who sold 100,000 copies of her first crime thriller as an e-book, and had total sales exceeding 500,000 copies in 2018. By 2019, total book sales had passed one million.

Patricia is from Mullingar, County Westmeath and has lived there all her life. She spent 30 years working with Westmeath County Council.

When her husband died in 2009, aged 49, three months after a diagnosis of cancer, Patricia turned to art and writing, self-publishing a children's book entitled 'Spring Sprong Sally'. She then started writing crime fiction and created her first novel in that genre featuring DI Lottie Parker with 'The Missing Ones'. She worked with the Irish Writers Centre to improve her writing. Eventually she began a second novel 'The Stolen Girls' and through that acquired an agent and a publishing contract with Bookouture.

Patricia currently has 11 DI Lottie Parker novels to date, with the eleventh 'The Guilty Girl' to be published in June 2021, and is set in the fictional Irish town of Ragmullin, which is an anagram of the real-life town of Mullingar, where Patricia lives.

Social Media Links:

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PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

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COVER REVEAL: What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

Are you ready to be chilled and thrilled?

Are you ready for the new Shari Lapena thriller?

Then look no further!
Today this stunning new cover has been revealed for the chilling new thriller
"What Have You Done?"
(description below)

Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. 

The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked.

But this morning all of that will change.

Because Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer. 

How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia.

Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.

And one innocent question could be deadly.

Coming 18th July 2024

Thanks to Bantam Books UK (Transworld Books) and Shari Lapena

REVIEW: Trouble at Fishers Wharf by Tracy Baines

Trouble at Fishers Wharf (Fishers Wharf #2) by Tracy Baines

Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, WW1

Read: 24th November 2023

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Amazon

Published: 9th November 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The winds of war bring uncertainty but also opportunity…

With the outbreak of War, the fishing fleet is confined to port, bringing hardship to the families and businesses of Fishers Wharf.

Ruth Evans awaits the safe return of her father’s last trawler carrying her wayward brother Henry, the future of the family business. But unbeknown to their father, Henry sees war as a chance to break free from the constraints of his privileged background and follow his heart.

Much is expected of Ruth. Her marriage to Arthur Marshall will help realise her father’s dream uniting two of the largest trawler companies in Grimsby. But will Ruth choose the path of duty or destiny?

Ruth’s friendship with hardworking Letty Hardy sustains her. Separated by class, they are united through their work for the Fishermen’s Mission as Letty battles to keep her business and family afloat while husband Alec serves on the minesweepers.

Can they navigate the treacherous waters ahead – or will they be caught by hidden dangers?

MY THOUGHTS:

A little kindness goes a long way...

This is the second book in the Fishers Wharf series though it can easily be read as a standalone...as the first one can too. While the first one focused on Letty establishing herself a life outside of the fishers wharves whilst bumping heads with her cantankerous mother-in-law Dorcas, this one centres on Ruth Evans who is of a different class to Letty though the two women do become friends in a world where one doesn't cross the great class divide.

Ruth Evans lives a very comfortable life with her father, Richard, and two brothers Henry and Charles. Having lost her mother at a young age, it had been up to her father's sister, Helen Frampton, to help raise her and her brothers whilst steering her towards a suitable match in Arthur Marshall. Unfortunately, the match is one of practicality and not of love for Ruth finds him somewhat dull as dishwater but Arthur's family has one of the three largest trawler companies - her father's being one and Frampton's being the other. This marriage will unite the Evans and the Marshalls to create an even bigger empire. But is it what Ruth really wants? Unfortunately what she wants doesn't come into it.

Her brother Charles has bought a commission as an officer and is in training for battle. Her youngest brother Henry who, at just 19, was to oversee the trawlers so that he can help take on the reigns when their father retires. But Henry has other ideas. He doesn't want to push paper or sit behind a desk. He wants to work with the men, get his hands dirty. But his father believes that is beneath him as an Evans. And then he announces that he wants to join the naval branch of trawlers (name escapes me just now) to which his father throws an apoplectic fit. Ruth doesn't want to see either brother lost and would rather they both remain home.

Ruth befriends Letty Hardy much to the annoyance of their counterparts. Ruth is middle class while Letty is working class...and never the twain shall meet. But these two women don't care much or stand on ceremony. Life is too short for such nonsense and with the war raging just across the channel, it is also precious. The two form a friendship whilst working at the Fisherman's mission. Added to her success at Parker's, she opens a cafe which proves just as successful. But alas, she becomes burnt out whilst keeping the home fires burning whilst husband Alec is at sea as a minesweeper. She returns to her family farm in Lowestoft for a break but ends up feeling much worse. Meanwhile Ruth gets stuck in helping out at the mission.

There is so much more to this story but you will just have to check it out yourself. It is a nice easy read but to be honest, I did like the first one better. Though this one was a close second. Even Dorcas, who can be a little cantankerous at times grows on you.

I love the backdrop of WW1 which was a completely different time to that of WW2 and the expectations and life of those at home were a lot different. Another wonderful tale from Tracy Baines and the shores of Lincolnshire (though no Guy Martin in these pages...lol) The ending is a little up in the air but that of course is to pave the way for a third installment for which I can't wait.

I would like to thank #TracyBaines, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TroubleAtFishersWharf in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Tracy Baines was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. When she was eight her parents took over the management of the pub opposite the pier, The Pier Hotel. One of the rooms had been closed up and her father reopened it as a music venue bringing performers such as Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Billy J Kramer and Billy Fury to start the ball rolling.

So began her love of live entertainment, and with something of a virtual free pass, Tracy and her sisters got to see many variety performers who appeared in summer seasons and pantomimes on the end of the pier show.

From the age of sixteen, Tracy worked backstage during summer seasons, pantomimes and everything else in-between on the pier.  She met her husband when he was appearing with the Nolan Sisters and she was Assistant Stage Manager.

The first two books in the Variety Girls series are set in Cleethorpes, in the square mile that was her childhood home.

Tracy lives in Dorset with her husband and springer spaniel, Harry. Her children and grandchildren live close by.

Social Media links:

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REVIEW: We All Keep Secrets by Sheryl Browne

We All Keep Secrets by Sheryl Browne

Genre: Domestic suspense, Psychological thriller

Read: 23rd November 2023

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Amazon

Published: 6th November 2023

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

I look into baby Fern’s crib, and my heart pounds. I’m her nanny, I was supposed to keep her safe. I hear the police downstairs, and the next words I hear make my legs buckle underneath me. ‘It was the nanny. She’s guilty’.

When I first walked into Jake and Megan’s immaculate home, I felt totally at ease. Sitting in the crisp white living room, they held hands and talked lovingly about their baby girl, Fern.

As the weeks passed, I began to think I’d made a mistake in taking the job. Jake was overly friendly from the start, watching my every move and always offering to drop me home, even though it was out of his way. And Megan seemed to take pleasure in telling me off in front of her husband, blaming me for things I hadn’t done.

The first time I heard the Haringtons arguing behind the door to their bedroom, I heard my name mentioned, and then they went silent. I should have left right there and then.

Now, as I stand accused of something terrible, my whole past is revealed and the Haringtons admit to knowing every detail about why I was sacked from my last job. We all have secrets, but little do they realise, I know theirs too…

With twist after twist, this is perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and The Girl on the Train. A gripping thriller you don’t want to miss!

MY THOUGHTS:

We all keep secrets...do we? Except in Jake and Megan's case they really didn't. They shouted them from the rooftops in a bid to outwit the other. This entire domestic debacle is a shouting match from start to finish. I don't know who's worse as they are both as bad as each other. And Ellie? She's a deluded fool. There were warning bells and red flags flashing all about that house and still she stayed. I would have run a mile.

It is hard to like any of the handful of characters in this very messy tale. Because none of them are likeable. And none of them are completely believable either. So who is telling the biggest whoppers of them all?

And then there are the children. Six year old Ollie and three month olf Fern, who becomes a tragic victim at the centre of this nightmare. Both who completely deserved better. And still Jake and Megan scream at other. In front of their children, in front of Ellie, in front of dinner guests. Have they no shame?

It's clear the marriage is in tatters and it's beyond me why either of them stayed. And yet it's a secret that keeps them bound to each other. That and the kids. But really? And was it all worth it? For one of them, probably; for the other, definitely not. The entire book was a cat and mouse game between them that I just wanted to bang their heads together and couldn't wait to escape their presence altogether. The pair of them were clearly toxic.

The first half of the book is told from unsuspecting Ellie's perspective before we move into the second half which alternates between Jake and Megan's inflammatory narratives, most of which retells the first half but from their perspective. And then we get a different insight into what was actually happening when Ellie opened the door to find Jake there or when she was walking down the stairs as Megan came storming in. While it did provide a few insights it wasn't all that enlightening because it was clear they were both nutters anyway.

And then there was the ending. I was disappointed in that and unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I was hoping for a twist that was bound to shock or surprise (as Sheryl has been known to do) but none materialised and the epilogue simply left me frustrated and unsatisifed. I mean, what? After the build up and that's what happened?

The writing was skilful and it was was well-plotted. I just didn't warm to any of the characters and was left disappointed for an ending I stuck around for expecting better. Not a bad read but not one of her best either. But never fear...Sheryl is a skilled writer with a fantabulous library of thrillers under her belt so I know that while I may not enjoy every book, her next one will probably leave me breathless.

I would like to thank #SherylBrowne, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #WeAllKeepSecrets in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sheryl Browne writes psychological thriller and edgy contemporary fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and awarded a Red Ribbon by The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies, where she completed her MA in Creative Writing.

When she's not writing Sheryl can usually be found messing about on the water in her little narrowboat, Aquaduck, which she says she can generally be found falling off and she admits to being a bit accident prone.

Sheryl lives in Worcestershire with her partner and a variety of disabled dogs, of whom she says "my furry-friends give me back much more than I could ever give them. I really wouldn’t be me without them." According to readers of her thrillers, she also apparently makes an excellent psychopath.

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