BLOG TOUR: Behind Closed Doors - Carol Wyer

Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter?

When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the specific horrors, she remembers enough…

Stacey knows her father never paid the ransom—she has the missing pinkie finger to prove it. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.

Lyra’s kidnappers have made it clear the police must not get involved. But Stacey can’t shake the eerie similarities between the two cases, and she’ll use whatever she can, from her journalistic powers to her shady contacts, to save Lyra from the same nightmare. Desperate to find any link between Lyra’s abduction and her own, Stacey forces herself to revisit her forgotten, traumatic past for clues.

But can she make sense of the terrible secrets she unearths in time to save Lyra? And if she does, is she ready to face her own tormentor?

 

What did I think?

I'm a huge fan of Carol Wyer's novels so I was very excited to read her new novel, Behind Closed Doors and I'm delighted to say that I was not disappointed.  

When Stacey's stepdaughter Lyra is kidnapped, Stacey is forced to revisit her own kidnapping 30 years earlier as the key to finding Lyra is buried deep in Stacey's past memories.  There's a real race against time feel that keeps the pages turning rapidly; if it's the same kidnapper, then we know they're serious as Stacey has the scars to prove it.

As Stacey tries to recover suppressed memories, it creates a dual timeline as the reader finds out what happened to Stacey in 1992 as well as experiencing Lyra's spookily similar kidnapping in 2022.  I was constantly wondering whether it was the same kidnapper or just someone who knew enough about Stacey's past to become a copycat.  You'll have to read it for yourself to find out which one it was!

Behind Closed Doors is gripping, intriguing and incredibly tense.   Once again, Carol Wyer had me on the edge of my seat as I raced through another one of her fantastic page-turners.  A recommended read.

I received a gifted copy to read and review for the Instagram tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People's Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer's crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages. 

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.

February 2021 saw the release of the first in the much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young. An Eye For An Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia. 

Carol has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post. She's also been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr. Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy. When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

To learn more, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter: @carolewyer

Follow her at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-E-Wyer/221149241263847 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolwyer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolewyer 

Website : https://www.carolwyer.co.uk

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Past Life - Dominic Nolan

THE ONLY THING DETECTIVE ABIGAIL BOONE REMEMBERS...IS THE WORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HER.

Waking up beside the dead girl, she couldn't remember anything.

Who she was. Who had taken her. How to escape.

Detective Abigail Boone has been missing for four days when she is finally found, confused and broken. Suffering retrograde amnesia, she is a stranger to her despairing husband and bewildered son.

Hopelessly lost in her own life, with no leads on her abduction, Boone's only instinct is to revisit the case she was investigating when she vanished: the baffling disappearance of a young woman, Sarah Still.

Defying her family and the police, Boone obsessively follows a deadly trail to the darkest edges of human cruelty. But even if she finds Sarah, will Boone ever be the same again?

What did I think?

This book starts off racing at 100mph and doesn't let up for a second, so you'd better buckle up for this high-octane thrill ride.  Walk away now if you're squeamish, as the level of detail is often chilling and skin crawling but it just adds to the gritty atmosphere of the whole book.

I struggled with whether I liked Abigail Boone or not at first but she definitely grew on me.  When she wakes up with amnesia, surrounded by a family she doesn't know, she seems very indifferent to them and doesn't even care to get to know them.  I get that they are strangers to her but I couldn't understand how she doesn't even try.  Reading on, Abigail's character evolved at such a pace that I could clearly see her one track mind and dogged determination to solve the case of missing person, Sarah Still.  For Abigail, past and present, this is the one that got away and she won't rest until she finds out what happened to Sarah.

There are some very colourful characters in Past Life; I loved Boone's well named prickly colleague Barb, her friend Tess, who she knows from arresting her father and, last but definitely not least, her fellow captive Roo.  Such an array of strong female characters, who each made a lasting impression on me in their own right, just shows what a multi-layered story Dominic Nolan has written.

The whole Sarah Still investigation really intrigued me and I loved how this thread linked Boone's past and present lives.  Boone reminded me a bit of Jack Bauer in her single-mindedness and lack of fear for her own safety.  I had every confidence that she would get to the bottom of Sarah Still's disappearance, even if it killed her.  It certainly made my heart race and my palms sweat as I hitched a ride on Boone's highly dangerous rollercoaster of a journey.

Past Life is gripping and completely intense; once it grabs a hold of you, it refuses to let go.  I suspect (and hope) that this isn't the last we've heard of Abigail Boone.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Between the Lies - Michelle Adams

What would you do if you woke up and didn't know who you were?

Chloe Daniels regains consciousness in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. She doesn't recognise the strangers who call themselves family. She can't even remember her own name.

What if your past remained a mystery?

As she slowly recovers, her parents and sister begin to share details of her life. The successful career. The seaside home. The near-fatal car crash. But Chloe senses they're keeping dark secrets - and her determination to uncover the truth will have devastating consequences. 

What if the people you should be able trust are lying to you?

What did I think?

I really enjoyed Michelle Adams' debut, My Sister, so I was very excited to read her new book, Between the Lies, and I am delighted to say that I was not disappointed.  The story is intriguing, the pacing is fast and I read it cover to cover one sunny weekend (yes, we do get the odd sunny day up here in the North East).

I loved the idea of Chloe Daniels waking up from a coma and not knowing who she is.  She has no alternative but to believe the people who say they're her family, even though she doesn't like the smell of them.  Chloe thinks her family is lying to her; I know they are, as I've seen the title of the book, so I was suspicious of everything and everybody.  Her dad is controlling, her mother is an alcoholic and her sister is afraid of their dad.  What are they all hiding?  Little gasp-out-loud landmines of truth are exposed at regular intervals to keep the pages turning rapidly and I was completely riveted.

The police are waiting to speak to Chloe about the accident that left her with a brain injury but she can't remember anything about it.  Chloe's dad is a neurologist so he has put himself in charge of her therapy and uses hypnosis to try to help Chloe regain her memory.  I really worried that he may have been inserting false memories as there are certainly some things that he doesn't want Chloe to remember.  I really wanted some things that happened to Chloe to be false memories but life can indeed be cruel.

Between the Lies is a riveting fast-paced thriller that had me completely hooked from the start and didn't disappoint.  I will definitely be recommending this book to my nice-smelling family and friends.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Michelle Adams grew up in the UK and now lives in Cyprus, where she works as a part- time scientist. She read her first Stephen King novel at the tender age of nine, and has been addicted to suspense fiction ever since. 

BETWEEN THE LIES is her second novel following the acclaimed psychological thriller MY SISTER.

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The Abattoir of Dreams - Mark Tilbury

The past is never far away.

Michael Tate has not had an easy life. With his father in prison, and his mother dead, Michael was sent to Woodside Children’s Home.

Now an adult, Michael wakes up in hospital from a coma suffering from amnesia and paralysis. Confused and terrified, he is charged with the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Becky. He also learns he attempted to end his own life.

Detective Inspector John Carver is determined that Michael is sent to prison.

With no way of defending himself, Michael is left in his hospital bed awaiting transfer to remand.

But then strange things begin to happen and his childhood comes back to haunt him.

Can Michael ever escape the past?

Will he ever discover the truth about Becky’s murder?

And why is DI Carver so eager to make him suffer?

The Abattoir of Dreams is a bitter sweet story of murder, innocence and abuse.

What did I think?

A lot of readers were excited when Abattoir of Dreams came out and having read it, I can see why.  I chose this as my kindle loan book for the month but I wouldn't have hesitated to buy a copy just to get my hands on it to find out what everyone was raving about.

Michael Tate is in hospital with amnesia, accused of killing his girlfriend, Becky.  Although he has no memory of events, he must have done it as everyone tells him so.  In order to escape capture after killing Becky, he apparently jumped off the roof of his building and is left paralysed from the waist down.  Lying in his hospital bed, he thinks he must have overdone the painkillers when he sees an emergency door appear in his room.  A door that only he can see.  Where did it come from and where does it go to?

As an invisible force lifts him from his bed, puts him gently in the wheelchair and pushes the emergency door open, Michael is wheeled back to his past.  Think Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, except Michael doesn't know who has come back to visit him - who desperately wants him to remember what happened in the past?

WOW!  What an AMAZING book.  I knew it would be good, as all the book bloggers said it was, but I didn't expect it to be THIS good.  It went in directions I never expected, breaking my heart in two at times and had tears rolling down my face in laughter at others.  I can't look at a catflap without bursting into fits of laughter, imagining Michael and his friend, Liam, crawling through.

Michael had such a hard life and the friendship he forged with Liam saved his life on more than one occasion.  It just shows that no matter how bad your circumstances, something good can come out of adversity.  Not that I am condoning what happened to Michael and Liam, but the friendship that the boys had was second to none.  They helped each other more than they can ever imagine and my heart swelled with feeling for both of them.

I loved the tangible flashbacks in The Abattoir of Dreams.  It felt like two books in one, both equally as good as the other, so a bumper prize for anyone who reads it.  Who is the ghost of Michael's past?  I couldn't have told you straight away as I had to read the end twice with crying so much!  Michael's story really got under my skin and I admit to finding it difficult reading at times.  The world is indeed cruel.

Awesome, heartbreaking and amazing The Abattoir of Dreams is a spectacular book that should not be missed.  Completely unique and unusual; I was completely enthralled from start to finish.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

The Willow Tree (Fragment Trilogy Part 1) - Bekki Pate

"I heard the snap of their jaws, the click and scrape of their fingernails on the cold, metal door. They were angry, impatient and hungry. Their loud tortured screams pierced the otherwise quiet corridor; there was no one left now. No one left, except me."

Nick Jenkins cannot sleep. He drinks too much. All he can think about is her, and the night she disappeared. He is being taunted by her face, by those creatures who keep wearing it, mocking him. He is close, so close, but he is not the only one looking for her. Who will get to her first? And if he finds her, will she be the same as he remembered?

What did I think?

There really aren't enough horror books out there; I suppose many authors feel that they can't compete with the likes of Stephen King or Michael Slade, but Bekki Pate certainly gives them a run for their money.  From the dark and moody cover to the disturbing scenes within, Bekki shows that she can not only compete in this genre but come out on top.  The King of Horror may have just been usurped by a new Queen!

I'm a big fan of the tv show Supernatural, so from the prologue I had visions of Sam and Dean Winchester.  Dean wouldn't hesitate to stand up to evil in order to save his little brother Sammy, just like Mark does in The Willow Tree so that he can save Nick.  The Supernatural similarities continued with the introduction of shapeshifters and lots of blue goo!  Nick becomes a bit of a hunter as he searches for his girlfriend, Jenny, and obliterates all of the fake-Jenny shapeshifters.  Jenny's memory has been erased so she doesn't know what horrors she experienced but it also means that she can't find her way home and back to Nick.

Jenny ends up staying with a pair of x-men type friends.  Ash and Beth have abilities which mean that they don't fit in to the normal world but they are also a target for the evil Freya.  They can protect Jenny to a certain degree but their abilities also make them a target...although also a highly effective weapon in the case of Ash and his burning fireball brain.

I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Freya's life in the 1850's and what happened to cause her to become so evil.  It's certainly food for thought for all those bullies out there!

If you love Supernatural on tv and Stephen King books, you'll love The Willow Tree.  I'm really looking forward to reading more of the Fragment Trilogy to see how the stories intertwine with this one as it definitely has a "to be continued" ending.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon