Book Review: ‘The Haven’ by Fiona Neill

I’ll admit the blurb pulled me into this one – a sixteen year-old girl waking up in the forest with no memory of what happened. She has a head injury and there doesn’t seem to be anyone around…except a police team who visit occasionally and seem terrible at solving things! What happened?!

Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Haven’ by Fiona Neill

Book Review: ‘Unholy Murder’ by Lynda La Plante

Thanks to Compulsive Readers and Zaffre Books for my place on #TeamTennison! It has been a delight to read the Tennison series, following Jane Tennison from her first police job to her role here as a Detective Sergeant. Thanks for my copy of the book for review – opinions are entirely my own.

In this – the seventh in the series – Jane is called in to investigate the death of a young nun found inside a sealed metal coffin by a group of builders developing an old convent. At first, nothing seems amiss – but closer inspection of the body suggests that the woman could have been murdered. As senior police officers try to write it off as a cold case, Tennison is not so convinced and works to uncover the identity of the nun – and how she came to be in the ground.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Unholy Murder’ by Lynda La Plante

Book Review: ‘Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You’ by Becky Holmes

I first discovered Becky Holmes on Twitter/X where she has the brilliant and hilarious account, @deathtospinach – a platform she uses to take down some of the sleazier characters who send her messages. She’s funny and sassy and so entertaining, so I was delighted to hear she had written a book. Sign me up for a review copy!

Thanks to NetGalley for granting me a copy to review – opinions, as always, are my own.

In this book, Becky Holmes tackles the topic of online romance fraud – all those ‘Keanu Reeves’ and similar accounts that try to woo unsuspecting women on the internet with the aim of taking money from them. Some of this involved engaging with the scammers themselves, but Holmes also talks to women who have been the victims of such fraudulent activity – and warns against the way that the scammers are getting smarter and harder to resist.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You’ by Becky Holmes

Book Review: ‘Only If You’re Lucky’ by Stacy Willingham

I’ve loved Stacy Willingham’s previous books – all tightly plotted and packed with tension against the backdrop of the sizzling heat of the American South. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of ‘Only If You’re Lucky’ in return for an honest review – opinions, as always, are my own.

This story centres on a group of four friends who meet at university in South Carolina. The main character, Margot, is fleeing from a tragic event in her personal life when she meets the charismatic and captivating Lucy. An invitation to share a student house follows and Margot, Lucy, Sloane and Nicole find themselves living together and next to a boys’ fraternity house. Before long, Margot’s past starts to surface in ways she never expected – and impacts on her current life and relationships. When events take a dark turn, Margot and her friends need to decide who to trust. But can they even trust each other?

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Only If You’re Lucky’ by Stacy Willingham

Book Review: ‘Nuclear Family’ by Kate Davies

As a huge fan of Kate Davies novel ‘In at the Deep End’, I was pleased to be granted a review copy of ‘Nuclear Family’ by NetGalley. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.

The book opens with Lena buying a DNA kit as a Christmas present for her dad (Tom) and her twin sister (Alison). She thinks it will be fun – plus there was an offer on the kits, so they’re a bargain! However, it forces Tom into the confession that Alison and Lena were conceived using a sperm donor – something that neither were really ready to find out in their thirties. Both respond very differently – but the impact on both is lasting as they reconsider their relationships, thoughts about having their own children and what it means to be family.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Nuclear Family’ by Kate Davies

Blog Tour: ‘Blunt Force’ by Lynda La Plante

I’m delighted to share my review of ‘Blunt Force’, the sixth book in the excellent series featuring Jane Tennison in her early career – way before her ‘Prime Suspect’ days.

I’m reading this series as part of #TeamTennison – thanks to Compulsive Readers and Zaffre Books for inviting me on to the tour and for my copies of the books for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

In this book, Jane Tennison has left Flying Squad and is now stationed in Knightsbridge – not exactly a hub of violent crime in comparison to some of her previous postings! Just as she’s beginning to worry that her career is going nowhere, a brutal murder is committed and Jane joins the investigative team. However, the case is far from straightforward – the victim, Charles Foxley, was a theatrical agent who was well-known, not always above board and had some powerful enemies…

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Blunt Force’ by Lynda La Plante

Book Review: ‘The Last Word’ by Elly Griffiths

Ahhh, it is so lovely to be back in Shoreham in Sussex with Natalka, Edwin and Benedict! I first met them in Elly Griffiths’ ‘The Postscript Murders’ and this is another mystery all twisted up with books and writing and authors. Perfect for a bookworm and crime-fiction fan like me!

This is (I think) the fourth mystery in the detective Harbinder Kaur series, but some of the books are set in London and don’t feature the rest of the gang. They’re all brilliant and all can be read as standalones, but it is great to be back by the sea in Edwin’s retirement flat and ex-monk Benedict’s coffee shack. This story does pick up some of the themes from ‘The Postscript Murders’ but everything is explained so you don’t need to have read it.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Last Word’ by Elly Griffiths

Blog Tour: ‘Strong Female Character’ by Fern Brady

I’m delighted to take part in the blog tour for the paperback of Fern Brady’s brilliant memoir, ‘Strong Female Character’.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and Octopus Books for inviting me on to the tour and for my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

From the Publisher:

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘I tore through this hilarious, smart, sad, revealing book’ – Bob Odenkirk
‘Funny, sharp and has incredible clarity’ – Jon Ronson
‘An absolute riot. I’m literally going to read it again once I’ve finished, and I’m a miserable bastard…it’s a belter’ – FRANKIE BOYLE
‘A set text for all of us in 2023’ – DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE


A summary of my book:

  1. I’m diagnosed with autism 20 years after telling a doctor I had it.
  2. My terrible Catholic childhood: I hate my parents etc.
  3. My friendship with an elderly man who runs the corner shop and is definitely not trying to groom me. I get groomed.
  4. Homelessness.
  5. Stripping.
  6. More stripping but with more nervous breakdowns.
  7. I hate everyone at uni and live with a psycho etc.
  8. REDACTED as too spicy.
  9. After everyone tells me I don’t look autistic, I try to cure my autism and get addicted to Xanax.
  10. REDACTED as too embarrassing.

‘Fern’s book, like everything she does, is awesome. Incredibly funny, and so
unapologetically frank that I feel genuinely sorry for her lawyers.’ – PHIL WANG

‘Of course it’s funny – it’s Fern Brady – but this book is also deeply moving and
eye-opening’ – ADAM KAY

‘It made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep…I hope
absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious
about the way we all live’ – DAISY BUCHANAN

‘Glorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn’t sacrifice voice or selfawareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being
funny’ – ELLE MCNICOLL

‘Strong Female Character is a testament to the importance of self-knowledge.’ – Rachael Healy, The Guardian

‘Fern is a brilliant, beautiful writer with a unique voice and even more unique
story. Astute, honest and very, very funny.’ – LOU SANDERS

‘So funny and brilliant’ – HOLLY SMALE

‘Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, Strong Female Character is a necessary
corrective. Brady offers a compelling, messy, highly resonant portrait of what
masked Autism feels like.’ – Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism

My Review:

I was so glad I was invited onto the blog tour for this book – I’d picked it up a few times in bookshops and weighed up whether it would be too sad, too challenging, too harrowing for me. I know Fern Brady is a comedian, but still…

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Strong Female Character’ by Fern Brady

Book Review: ‘The Mystery Guest’ by Nita Prose

Happy publication day!

Having 2022’s ‘The Maid’ and been charmed by Molly the Maid, I was very happy to be granted an advance copy of ‘The Mystery Guest’ for review. This is Molly’s second outing and a lovely sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts with Molly Gray – now Head Maid – preparing for a big event at the Regency Grand Hotel. A famous crime writer has a big announcement – but, before he can make it, he drops dead on the floor of the tea room. Molly, with her quirky ways and ability to be in the wrong place when it counts, immediately comes under suspicion as the police start digging into secrets in the hotel. However, Molly knows that she has important information – even though it means confronting some truths about her past…

Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Mystery Guest’ by Nita Prose

Book Review: ‘Went to London, Took the Dog’ by Nina Stibbe

As a big fan of Stibbe’s writing (and her previous autobiographical book, ‘Love, Nina’), I requested this without actually knowing what it was about. I don’t regret this at all!

In fact, it’s kind of tricky to pin down what this book is actually about. It’s Nina Stibbe’s diaries covering her move to London (with dog, Peggy, as indicated by the title) in the period of an impending divorce. Leaving her home in Cornwall, Stibbe takes a spare room in the home of author Deborah Moggach (‘Debby’) and spends a year navigating a new life in the city. Surrounded by friends (including lots of other writers) and her grown-up children, Stibbe reevaluates her life and muses on a range of topics – from the big things (life, love, family) to the very small (toads, internet adverts, swimming at the lido).

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Went to London, Took the Dog’ by Nina Stibbe