BLOG TOUR: The Puppet Maker (Detective Alana Mack Book 1) - Jenny O'Brien

The scrap of paper looked as if it had been torn from a diary. The words written in faint pencil. The letters rounded, almost childlike: Please look after her. Her life and mine depend on you not trying to find me. 

 

When Detective Alana Mack arrives at Clonabee police station, in a small Irish seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin, she doesn't expect to find a distressed two-year-old girl sobbing on the floor. Abandoned in a local supermarket, the child tells them her name is Casey. All Alana and her team have to go on is a crumpled note begging for someone to look after her little girl. This mother doesn't want to be found. 

 

Still recovering from a terrible accident that has left Alana navigating a new life as a wheelchair user, Alana finds herself suddenly responsible for Casey while trying to track down the missing mother and solve another missing person's case… a retired newsagent who has seemingly vanished from his home.

 

Forced to ask her ex-husband and child psychiatrist Colm for help, through Forensic Art Therapy, Alana discovers that whatever darkness lies behind the black windows in Casey's crayon drawing, the little girl was terrified of the house she lived in. 

 

Then a bag of human remains is found in a bin, and a chilling link is made – the DNA matches Casey's. 

 

Alana and her team must find the body and make the connection with the missing newsagent fast if she is to prevent another life from being taken. But with someone in her department leaking confidential details of the investigation to the media, can Alana set aside her emotional involvement in this case and find Casey’s mother and the killer before it's too late? 

 

Heart-pounding and totally addictive, The Puppet Maker is the first in the Detective Alana Mack series that will have fans of Ann Cleeves, Angela Marsons and LJ Ross racing through the pages late into the night. 

 

What did I think?

Oh this book chilled me to the bone and I absolutely loved it.  The Puppet Maker is the first book in an exciting new police procedural series starring Detective Alana Mack and I can't wait to read more so I hope Jenny O'Brien is a fast writer.

Alana knows all about prejudice in the workplace as her boss is a blatant misogynist and not only is Alana female, she's also disabled.  Alana may have steel wheels but she also has a rod of steel for a backbone and she is a strong and inspirational team leader.  So you don't want to be in the shoes of the mole in Alana's team when she finds out who is leaking information to the press.

There's a lot going on in the story to keep the reader hooked and the police busy.  There's the heartbreaking story of a little girl abandoned in a supermarket, a gruesome discovery in a bin and a missing person.  All seemingly unrelated...or are they?

Just thinking about the 'puppet maker' makes my skin crawl but I also felt really sad as it just shows how things that happen in your childhood can leave very deep scars.  I liked the way that Jenny O'Brien showed different sides of the perpetrator, almost humanising them without excusing their heinous crimes.

The Puppet Maker is a chilling, heartbreaking and very gripping police procedural novel with characters that I can't wait to meet again.  This may be my first Jenny O'Brien book but it certainly won't be my last.   Very highly recommended.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the author:

Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers. 

In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off. She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer.

Jenny is represented by Nicola Barr of The Bent Agency and published by Storm Publishing and HQ Digital (Harper Collins).

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @ScribblerJB

Instagram: @scribblerjb 

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BLOG TOUR: My Heart Went Walking - Sally Hanan

 

The only man she's ever loved is seeing her sister.

And now they have to save her together.

Sally Hanan's sublime debut mixes the prose of Sue Monk Kidd with the dialogue of Maeve Binchy. With captivating warmth, she pulls us in to how it felt to live and love in Ireland's changing culture of the '80s, and how it often made a woman's decisions for her.

"I can't bear to keep walking. But you can't keep a secret in this town unless you leave with it."

Kept apart by their love for one man, two sisters embark on their own paths towards survival, love, and understanding, until all three finally meet again in the worst of circumstances. And the reality might break them all.

My Heart Went Walking is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that sweeps from the small Irish town of Donegal to the "big smoke" of Dublin City; a book that celebrates the pull of family and the chance of redemption. It is a novel for everyone who feels connected to the Irish approach to life-that of grit and laughter-and also for everyone who loves an overriding message of hope and restoration in all things.

What did I think?

One of the best things about book blogging is finding new authors you may not have otherwise discovered and it would be a travesty to miss Sally Hanan's fabulous debut novel.  I simply adored it and I really didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

Una and Cullen are the best of friends and they tell each other everything...that is until Una has a secret that she can't share with him.  Una runs away from her family and a potential future with Cullen because staying in Donegal would break her heart.  Making a new life for herself in Dublin shows Una's strength of character and I can totally understand why she ran away but there are so many heartbreaking sliding door moments when her life could have changed.  

Sally Hanan's stunning fiction debut is so heartwarming and achingly poignant that I felt completely bereft when I turned the final page.  As with real life, there are so many 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' but what if everything turns out just the way it's supposed to.  Told from the points of view of Una, her sister Ellie and Cullen, the boy they both love, I devoured every single beautiful word in this delightful novel.

Filled with Irish charm and lyrical prose, My Heart Went Walking is a truly gorgeous novel of family life and unconditional love.  It's an absolute pleasure to read and a true hidden gem from the Emerald Isle.  I can't recommend it highly enough.

Many thanks to Hannah from Hargrave PR for sending me an ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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COVER REVEAL: The Girl I Used to Know - Faith Hogan

It's no secret to anyone who follows my blog that I love Faith Hogan books so I'm thrilled to be part of the Aria gang who are revealing the brand new cover of The Girl I Used to Know today.

So without further ado, scroll down to see the beautiful new cover of The Girl I Used to Know and a little bit about the book.  You can also click here to read my review.

Two women. Two very different lives. One unexpected friendship.

Amanda King and Tess Cuffe are strangers who share the same Georgian house, but their lives couldn't be more different.

Amanda seems to have the perfect life. But the reality is a soulless home, an unfaithful husband and a very lonely heart.

While Tess has spent a lifetime hiding and shutting her heart to love.

But if they can open up to one another, these two women may just learn that sometimes letting go is the first step to moving forward and new friendships can come from the most unlikely situations.

Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond, Marian Keyes, Rowan Coleman and Veronica Henry.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Kobo

Google Play

iBooks

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

About the author

Faith lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and two very fussy cats. She has an Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology, has worked as a fashion model and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

Follow Faith:   

Twitter: @GerHogan

Facebook: @faithhoganauthor

BLOG TOUR: What Happened to Us? - Faith Hogan

Carrie Nolan is devastated when she is dumped by Kevin Mulvey after more than a decade without even a backwards glance! On reflection, she has sacrificed her own long term happiness establishing their critically acclaimed Dublin restaurant and pandering to his excessive ego.

Meanwhile Kevin can’t believe his luck. Valentina, their new waitress is a stunner, the kind of girl that turns heads when she walks in a room and surprise, surprise she has chosen him! He is living the dream!

Carrie seeks solace from a circle of mismatched friends who need her as much as she needs them. Jane, who struggles to run the pub on the opposite side of the street, Luke, who has stopped drifting while his father settles in a nearby nursing home and Teddy, a dog who asks for nothing more than the chance to stay by Carrie’s side.

With Christmas just around the corner, all is not quite as it seems and a catastrophic sequence of events leads to the unthinkable...

How far do you need to fall before you learn the true value of family and friends? And is it ever too late to start again...

What did I think?

I absolutely adore Faith Hogan's books so I was really eager to read her latest book, What Happened to Us?  With a main character that you will instantly take to your heart, this is a beautiful story of relationships and friendship with a surprising twist of fate.  

Carrie and Kevin seem to have the perfect partnership: a long standing relationship and owners of a prestigious restaurant in Dublin.  When Kevin drops a bombshell that he is dumping Carrie for their sexy Columbian waitress, Valentina, Carrie thinks her world has ended.  With Valentina eager to get her claws into Kevin's business too, Carrie feels more and more pushed out.

Taking a step back from the restaurant, Carrie spends more time with Jane Marchant who owns a pub over the road.  It may seem like an unlikely friendship but fate has played a hand in this one, especially when handsome Luke and cute dog Teddy enter Carrie and Jane's life.  It just shows that some things are meant to be.

I loved the characters in this book, from lovable Carrie to detestable Valentina with spineless Kevin in between.  Carrie has such a huge heart and Kevin clearly didn't deserve it so I was delighted when he gets a taste of his own medicine with Valentina.  I also loved the story around Jane who has kept her pub running after being widowed despite being scared to be on her own.  The growth of her friendship with both Carrie and Luke left a warm fuzzy glow around my heart; something that Faith Hogan always seems to manage to do through her beautifully emotive writing.

What Happened to Us? is a heartwarming story of love, loss, friendship and new beginnings that completely captivated me and effortlessly spirited me away to Dublin for a short while. 

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy links

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2Pv3cCJ
iBooks: https://apple.co/2BBjSpp

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2o3aMrV
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2OHDsSO

About the author:

Faith was born in Ireland and currently lives there with her husband, four children and two fussy cats. She gained an Honors Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate from University College, Galway. She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair- an international competition for emerging writers. When she’s not writing, she’s an enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger.

Follow Faith

Twitter: @gerhogan

Facebook: @faithhoganauthor

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How to Fall in Love - Cecelia Ahern

Christine Rose is crossing the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin late one night when she sees a stranger, Adam, poised to jump. Desperate to help, she talks him into a reckless deal: if he gives her two weeks – till his 35th birthday – she’ll prove that life is worth living.

But as the clock ticks and the two of them embark on late-night escapades and romantic adventures, what Christine has really promised seems impossible…

A novel to make you laugh, cry and appreciate life, this is Cecelia Ahern at her thoughtful and surprising best.

What did I think?

Christine Rose is either very lucky or very unlucky, coming across two men within a month of each other who are determined to end their lives.  Reeling from the effects of Simon Conway's attempt to end his life, Christine, in her own imitable style, is determined to stop Adam Basil from jumping into the river Liffey.  She has just two weeks to make Adam believe that life is worth living - she can do that, can't she?  Let's hope so, or she's agreed to let him go back to jump off the Ha'penny Bridge on his birthday - eek!

There's something so very comforting about Cecelia Ahern's writing - it flows so smoothly like the Liffey itself and there are many chuckles and sobering thoughts along the way.  I loved the character of Christine and how she had a 'how to' self-help book for every occasion, but she doesn't have time to refer to her books to save Adam...she's just going to have to take a leaf out of the book of life.

I thought Adam was quite a complex character who appeared to have everything but happiness in his life.  It just shows you that money can't buy you everything and happiness can be found in the most unexpected place.

How to Fall in Love is full of Irish heart and humour whilst dealing with the very delicate subject of suicide in such a sensitive way.  It reminded me that life is worth living even when we think that all hope is lost...you just never know what's round the corner on the bumpy journey of life.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

The Abandoned - Sharon Thompson

Peggy Bowden has not had an easy life. As a teenager, her mother was committed to an asylum and then a local priest forced her into an abusive marriage. But when her husband dies in an accident Peggy sees an opportunity to start again and trains as a midwife.

In 1950s Dublin it is not easy for a woman to make a living and Peggy sees a chance to start a business and soon a lucrative maternity home is up and running. 

But when Peggy realizes that the lack of birth control is an issue for women, she uses their plight as a way to make more money. Very soon Peggy is on the wrong side of the law. 

What makes a woman decide to walk down a dark path? Can Peggy ever get back on the straight and narrow? Or will she have to pay for her crimes?

Set against the backdrop of Ireland in the 1950’s The Abandoned tells the story of one woman’s fight for survival and her journey into the underbelly of a dangerous criminal world.

What did I think?

I took too much notice of the title and the cover of this book before reading.  I think if both elements had been removed I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more, but I kept wondering when the abandoned babies were going to come into the story.  Even at 80% through the book, I was still wondering what the cover and the title had to do with the story.  Taking that out of the equation, it was actually a really good story with a strong female character that Martina Cole would have been proud to have created.

Peggy Bowden has been in jail for selling babies and why not, it's only what the church has been doing in Ireland for many years.  Peggy now runs a whore house and she has a lucrative sideline of offering illegal abortions.  In typical Irish fashion, the prose is both lyrical and amusing, and I just have to share my favourite passage:

"I wouldn't be sitting in a hellhole with a dead woman in my house, prostitutes upstairs, a sergeant in my kitchen and a halfwit in my bath."

It sounds a bit like a Benny Hill sketch but trust me, it was deadly serious.  Looking back over the book now, I feel like Peggy Bowden would have given Tony Soprano a run for his money.  The Abandoned is like the Irish Sopranos and Sharon Bowden is to Dublin what Martina Cole is to London: both have tough female protagonists that are not only unafraid to wear the trousers, they're willing to kill for it.

Although not the book I was expecting from the title, blurb and cover, I really enjoyed it in the end.  I guarantee that all Martina Cole fans will love The Abandoned; Peggy is tough, gutsy and a real rough diamond.  I certainly wouldn't like to cross her!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Girl Targeted - Val Collins

A Psychological Thriller/Suspense set in Ireland. 

Office jobs can be stressful. Aoife’s may be lethal.

Aoife’s life is finally on track. She’s happily married, pregnant with her first child and has the world’s best mother-in-law. But when Aoife accepts a job as an office temp, her entire life begins to unravel. 

Is one of Aoife’s colleagues a murderer? Is Aoife the next target? Why is her husband unconcerned?

Can office politics lead to murder? Girl Targeted is a perfect read for fans of Behind Closed Doors, Girl on a Train and the Silent Wife.

What did I think?

I've seen the name 'Aoife' in books before and had no idea how to pronounce it, so I was thrilled that Val Collins popped a little note in the front of her book to tell is that this Irish name is pronounced 'Eee-fah'.  Sounds much better in my head now than 'Ay-oyfe'.

At the start of the book we are introduced to Delia.  What a horrible woman!  She is clearly unhinged and is a total bitch to everyone she comes into contact with.  Delia is a manager in an office in Dublin, so giving her a little bit of power makes her the worst boss ever.  Her staff HATE her and fear her at the same time.  The workplace would be a much better place without her, and the staff are about to see their dream come true.

Although heavily pregnant, Aoife gets a call from the temping agency about a vacancy in Delia's office.  Her controlling husband, Jason, would like to keep Aoife chained to the kitchen sink all day but Aoife takes the job and ventures into the city.  I felt as if Aoife hadn't been out of the house in ages as she felt danger on every street corner with hooded men seemingly ready to spring and attack her.  Aoife makes it safely to the office and has a first day she will never forget when she finds Delia's body hanging in her office.  It might look like suicide at first but it's definitely murder and absolutely ANYONE in Dublin, or even Ireland, could have had motive to kill Delia.

So we have all of the ingredients for a nail-biting whodunnit and like I said it could be absolutely anyone, so it was great fun to look suspiciously at each character.  Not only do we have Delia's murder to solve, but there is also backstabbing office politics, dodgy business dealings and Aoife's selfish and controlling husband in Girl Targeted.  With so much going on, it's such a fast-paced read and I had my heart in my mouth on many an occasion.

Girl Targeted is intense, suspenseful and totalling gripping; I was so enthralled that I read it cover to cover over one weekend.  I've always said that if I were to write a book it would be set in an office as there's a very good reason why people at work are called 'colleagues' and not 'friends'.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon


About Val Collins:

Val can’t remember a time when she didn’t love reading but writing is a pretty new adventure for her. 

Val wrote stories when she was very young but she was an impatient kid and had an unfortunate tendency towards perfectionism. When, at around the age of ten, she realised her attempts at writing dialogue were dire, her writing career came to an abrupt end. 

A few years ago Val decided to try her hand at writing again and Girl Targeted was the eventual result.

Girl Targeted is set in Ireland where Val has have lived all her life. It’s set in an office, an environment she know well as her entire working life has been spent doing office work. Val has worked for small and medium sized organisations, for multinationals and for many different business sectors. Unfortunately she never experienced anything as exciting as a murder so she had to resort to her imagination to create Aoife’s world.

Val really loved writing Girl Targeted and she hopes you enjoy reading it.

Find out more about Val:

Website: https://valcollinsbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Val-Collins-Books-125273274834187/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/valcollinsbooks

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BLOG TOUR: The Girl I Used to Know - Faith Hogan

A beautiful, emotive and spell-binding story of two women who find friendship and second chances when they least expect it. Perfect for the fans of Patricia Scanlan.

Amanda King and Tess Cuffe are strangers who share the same Georgian house, but their lives couldn't be more different.

Amanda seems to have it all, absolute perfection. She projects all the accoutrements of a lady who lunches. Sadly, the reality is a soulless home, an unfaithful husband and a very lonely heart.

By comparison, in the basement flat, unwanted tenant Tess has spent a lifetime hiding and shutting her heart to love.

It takes a bossy doctor, a handsome gardener, a pushy teenager and an abandoned cat to show these two women that sometimes letting go is the first step to moving forward and new friendships can come from the most unlikely situations.

What did I think?

I admit to being a huge Faith Hogan fan so I couldn't wait to get my hands on her new book; she writes such emotive and compelling fiction with strong female characters who you think of as friends as the book goes on.  The Girl I Used to Know is so perfectly named as it describes the journey our two main characters are on.  In this case, both women must shed the masks they have worn for so long in order to find their very own girl they used to know.  

Amanda lives in a beautiful Georgian house and her life revolves around her husband and children.  Amanda gets quite a wake up call when she catches sight of her reflection in a window and doesn't recognise the person she sees.  With her husband spending more and more time 'at work', Amanda can spend some time reconnecting with the girl buried beneath the excess pounds.

Tess is a sitting tenant in Amanda's basement and the pair can barely say a civil word to each other.  Amanda always imagined that she would include the basement as part of her home but Tess has no intention of moving out.  With Tess getting older, she has no intention of popping her clogs too soon and making it easy for Amanda to get her hands on the basement flat.

When fate plays a hand and the two women find themselves spending time with each other, they find that the other isn't the person they thought she was.  Amanda appears to have had an easy life, being given everything she ever wanted and dreamed of, whereas life has not been kind to Tess leaving her bitter and unhappy.  They are each other's perfect medicine, along with a drop of whiskey and Matt the cat, of course.

I do love dual storyline books as you unravel the threads of a person's life to find out why and how they are the person they are now.  As prickly as she was, I warmed to Tess straight away and was pinning my colours to her mast in the fight with Amanda, who I found to be one of those personality-free women...at first, I hasten to add.  Then I started to feel so sorry for Amanda as she hadn't done anything to deserve what she was going through, but my pity turned to triumph as Amanda the beautiful butterfly emerged from her comfy old chrysalis.

This is another amazing book by Faith Hogan, one that leaves your heart fit to burst but is actually so thought-provoking that you can't help but examine your own life to see if you can reveal your happier true self from years ago.  Pick it up today and maybe you will find the girl YOU used to know.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xDaPg4 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2z5f3hN

iBooks: http://apple.co/2ggvR1F

About the author:

Faith Hogan was born in Ireland. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway. She has worked as a fashion model, an event’s organiser and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair – an international competition for emerging writers.

Faith Hogan Contact:

Twitter (her favourite) https://twitter.com/GerHogan

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faithhoganauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithhoganauthor/?hl=en

Web Page. http://faithhogan.com/

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