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I post book reviews as often as possible but at least once a week every Wednesday! I hope they help you to find some new books that you'll love as much as I did!
 Today is my stop on the blog tour for You Die Next by Stephanie Marland! Thank you so much to Alex for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops! The Synopsis You can run - but you can't hide... When a group of urban explorers stumble across a murderer's kill room in a derelict film studio, terror strikes. And when one of the group is found dead, the team realise - they're being hunted. DI Dominic Bell is investigating the murder, but as the body count rises, time is running out. The only person who can help him is a figure from his past, Clementine Starke - but Clementine is haunted by her own demons. Can the two of them pair up to catch the killer? Or is it already too late? My Review I was on the blog tour for the first book in this series, My Little Eye, and I absolutely fell in love with Marland’s writing. As soon as I started reading You Die Next I instantly remembered why that was. The short chapters which flick between perspectives keep the pacy, fresh feel while the multi modal aspects such as the messages and live streams make the plot totally original and contemporary and Marland’s skilful writing keeps you hanging on to every word. As I mentioned above, this book is the second in the series and while the case from the previous book plays a big part in this one, it’s explained in enough detail so that you’ll have no problem understanding if you haven’t read the first book. Additionally the main plot regarding the ‘Urbexers’ is standalone so you can jump right into that, however I think that to get a proper insight into the characters’ relationships, particularly Clementine’s relationships with others and specifically with Dom, you’d benefit from reading the first book too. (And trust me, that’s far from a chore!) The plot has a really up to date feel with unique and well-developed characters and themes throughout. I did guess who the culprit was towards the end, but this didn’t spoil my enjoyment at all as not only was I compelled to keep reading to see if I was right, but the tension and action really ramped up so I couldn’t have stopped reading even if I’d wanted to! Overall, I’m giving You Die Next 5 out of 5! It’s riveting, contemporary and entirely unique. I’m going to have to try really hard to be patient for the next book in the series!! This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review About the AuthorStephanie Marland has worked in the University sector for over ten years and published research on how people interact and learn together in virtual environments online. She's an alumni of the MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and an avid reader of all things crime fiction, blogging about books at www.crimethrillergirl.com. Steph also writes the Lori Anderson action thriller series (as Steph Broadribb) for Orenda Books, the first book Deep Down Dead is out now.
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 The Synopsis ‘They say I must be put to death for what happened to Madame, and they want me to confess. But how can I confess what I don't believe I've done?' 1826, and all of London is in a frenzy. Crowds gather at the gates of the Old Bailey to watch as Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs Benham, goes on trial for their murder. The testimonies against her are damning - slave, whore, seductress. And they may be the truth. But they are not the whole truth. For the first time Frannie must tell her story. It begins with a girl learning to read on a plantation in Jamaica, and it ends in a grand house in London, where a beautiful woman waits to be freed. But through her fevered confessions, one burning question haunts Frannie Langton: could she have murdered the only person she ever loved? My Review I don’t get to read gothic historical fiction as much as I’d like to, so I was delighted when I read the synopsis of this book, but what first struck me about The Confessions of Frannie Langton was the absolutely stunning cover, and let me tell you it’s even more beautiful in reality! I couldn’t stop staring at it and then when I started reading, I couldn’t stop doing that either! I thought that the events from Frannie’s past were really well explored and while there were times where it was uncomfortable and disturbing to read, her story was compellingly told throughout. I felt really drawn into Frannie’s world thanks to the attention to detail and amount of research which Collins has clearly undertaken. I really enjoyed the way that Collins writes, it felt fresh and different to what I usually read and I particularly appreciated the way she wrote her characters. I thought they were all very richly drawn and Frannie’s voice worked really well as a narrator. Overall I’m giving The Confessions of Frannie Langton 4 out of 5. It’s profound, well-researched and absorbing. A great debut from Sara Collins. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorSara Collins studied law at the London School of Economics and worked as a lawyer for seventeen years. In 2014 she embarked upon the Creative Writing Masters at Cambridge University, where she won the 2015 Michael Holroyd Prize of Re-creative Writing and was shortlisted for the 2016 Lucy Cavendish Prize for a book inspired by her love of gothic fiction. This turned into her first novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton.
  Today is my stop on the blog tour for Dead Man’s Daughter by Roz Watkins! Thanks so much to Lily for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops! The Synopsis She was racing towards the gorge. The place the locals knew as ‘Dead Girl's Drop’… DI Meg Dalton is thrown headlong into her latest case when she finds a ten-year-old girl running barefoot through the woods in a blood-soaked nightdress. In the house nearby, the girl's father has been brutally stabbed to death. At first Meg suspects a robbery gone tragically wrong, but something doesn’t add up. Why does the girl have no memory of what happened to her? And why has her behaviour changed so dramatically since her recent heart transplant? The case takes a chilling turn when evidence points to the girl’s involvement in her own father’s murder. As unsettling family secrets emerge, Meg is forced to question her deepest beliefs to discover the shocking truth, before the killer strikes again… My Review Ever since I finished Watkins’ last DI Meg Dalton novel, I’ve been waiting desperately for the next. Several months ago I found out that a few words from my review had made it into the paperback and it made me even more excited for the next book, then when I got the invite to the blog tour and realised that it was finally here, I couldn’t reply fast enough! I think that Dead Man’s Daughter will work just fine as a standalone, but I’d really recommend reading The Devil’s Dice first as DI Meg Dalton is such a fantastic character and the first book will really help to get more of her background. (Plus it’s a brilliant read) Meg is a complex, realistic and multi-layered character, all of this makes her really enjoyable to read as well as adding to the intrigue. I really love the way Watkins writes and how she deftly creates tension and gripping chapters not only through the plot, but also through the wonderfully atmospheric descriptions of the Peak District which weave through the novel. For the duration of me reading this, I wished I’d never have to put this book down! Overall, I’m giving Dead Man’s Daughter 4.5 out of 5. It’s fast-paced, intelligent and so, so enthralling. I’m really looking forward to more from DI Dalton ASAP! This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorRoz Watkins is the author of the DI Meg Dalton crime series, which is set in the Peak District where Roz lives with her partner and a menagerie of demanding animals.
Her first book, The Devil’s Dice, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, and has been optioned for TV. Roz studied engineering at Cambridge University before training in patent law. She was a partner in a firm of patent attorneys in Derby, but this has absolutely nothing to do with there being a dead one in her first novel. In her spare time, Roz likes to walk in the Peak District, scouting out murder locations.   Today is my stop on the blog tour for Sleep by C.L. Taylor! Thanks so much to Sabah and Nelima for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops! The Synopsis All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty… To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare. Each of the guests have a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they're on the island. There's a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they've set their sights on Anna. Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie. Someone’s going to sleep and never wake up… My Review After absolutely loving C.L Taylor’s last book, The Fear, I was so excited to be invited onto the blog tour for Sleep! I really didn’t think it was possible for Taylor’s writing to be any more brilliant than it was in The Fear, but after just a few minutes reading Sleep, I was proved completely wrong! And I certainly didn’t sleep for long on the night I first started it, as I stayed up late reading even though I had to catch a train early in the morning! I just couldn’t stop reading! Clear your diary when you start this one! Once again, Taylor excelled in keeping me on the edge of my seat and totally gripped. The characters are really well developed and interesting and they definitely made the book for me. I loved how the tension builds throughout the book and how Taylor had me changing my mind about everything after every little twist. Overall, I’m giving Sleep 4.5 out of 5. It’s addictive, twisty and highly compelling. Another masterpiece from C.L Taylor! This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorC.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.
 Today The Feather Thief comes out in paperback! To celebrate the paperback release, I’m sharing a mini review of this fascinating true crime book! The Synopsis A true crime story like no other you’ve read before One summer evening in 2009, twenty-year-old musical prodigy Edwin Rist broke into the British Museum of Natural History. Hours later, he slipped away with a suitcase full of rare bird specimens collected over the centuries from across the world, all featuring a dazzling array of priceless feathers. A page-turning story of a bizarre and shocking crime, The Feather Thief shines a light on our fraught relationship with the natural world’s most beautiful and valuable wonders, and one man’s relentless quest for justice. My Mini Review (Proof Cover) While I have no background in the subject matter of the book, I still found it to be a truly fascinating read and I was really impressed by the sheer amount of research that had obviously gone into writing it. It was so well written and very insightful and eye opening on the topic of fly tying and illegally obtaining bird feathers to do this. It really left me in shock at the lengths people will go to and the damage they will do along the way. The pace is fast and enjoyable and I absolutely flew through the book. Overall I’m giving The Feather Thief 4 out of 5. It’s detailed, fascinating and brilliantly written. A real must-read. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorKirk Wallace Johnson served in Iraq with the US Agency for International Development in Baghdad and Fallujah as the Agency’s first co-ordinator for reconstruction in the war-torn city. He went on to found The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies. His work on behalf of Iraqi refugees was profiled by This American Life, 60 Minutes, the Today Show, the subject of a feature-length documentary, The List, and a memoir, To Be a Friend is Fatal.
A Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, and the recipient of fellowships from the American Academy in Berlin, Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, his writing has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times and the Washington Post. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son and daughter. |
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