BLOG TOUR: Killer Bodies - Heleen Kist

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

In a prestigious Edinburgh apartment building, gym receptionist Evie whiles away long hours doodling the deaths of residents who’ve annoyed her.

On her birthday of all days, a man slumps off the exercise bike — dead. She tries to get help, but someone has locked the doors and the phones are out of reach.

When another resident collapses inexplicably, Evie realises the deaths resemble those she drew … and her sketchbook is missing.

Was she framed...

... or is she next?

 

What did I think?

After reading Killer Bodies, I can say for certain that I won't be setting foot inside a gym...not that I would want to go anyway.  Exercise is bad for you and it's certainly lethal for some of the characters in Heleen Kist's new novel.

There are a lot of entitled and dislikeable characters in the book but I absolutely loved Evie, the gym receptionist.  Evie was supposed to be off work for her birthday but she is called in to work at the last minute and she finds herself locked in the gym with a bunch of residents whose deaths she has imagined and drawn in her sketchbook.  Then the residents start dying exactly how Evie imagined...

Yikes!  This is a pretty dark novel but it has a sprinkling of humour and some really funny drawings that had me laughing out loud.  I think I suspected every single character at one point or another as it really could have been any of them.  It's very cleverly done and impossible to work out as there are so many different (and dare I say, amusing) ways that people are killed.

Entertaining, imaginative and suspenseful, Killer Bodies is a brilliant locked room murder mystery that had my eyes glued to the page from start to finish.  It's so good that I want to read it again!  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:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Heleen Kist is a Dutch, formerly globetrotting career woman who fell in love with a Scotsman and his country, and now writes about its (sometimes scary) people from her garden office in Glasgow. 'Killer Bodies' is her fourth novel, inspired by her hatred of exercise.

She was chosen as an up-and-coming new author at Bloody Scotland 2018. Her novels have been finalists in a variety of awards, both in the UK and USA, and she years to some day 'be the bride'.

Heleen hopes you enjoy her writing, and would love to hear from you on twitter (@hkist), Facebook (@heleenkistauthor) or Goodreads. You can also sign up to her newsletter on www.heleenkist.com

Follow the tour:

The Aviary (Colouring Book) - Claire Scully & Richard Merritt

The Aviary is filled with an array of beautiful birds to colour and complete.

Each wonderfully detailed piece is a work of art to be treasured by keen colourers and bird lovers alike.

The cover is fully foiled, and makes this book a wonderful gift for anyone who loves colouring.

A follow up to The Menagerie: Animal Portraits to Colour.

What did I think?

With a mesmerising metallic blue jay on the cover, I couldn't wait to turn the pages of The Aviary and get my colouring pencils out. There is such an excellent variety of birds in this colouring book and each drawing is so highly detailed that it will always result in the most breathtaking finished picture.

Within the book, there are 31 birds to colour: Atlantic puffin, barn swallows, Indian peafowl, macaw, grey crowned crane, bald eagle, swallow-tailed hummingbird, mallard ducks, brown pelican, Welsummer chicken, lovebirds, southern cassowary, South American great horned owl, red-billed toucan, swan, blue jay, emperor penguin chick, Victoria crowned pigeon, greater flamingo, Queen Victoria's riflebird, raven, white-capped albatross, common kingfisher, common ostrich, great blue herons, Major Mitchell's cockatoo, long-legged buzzard, red-bellied woodpecker, hoopoe, pheasant and blue-footed boobies.

There really is something for everyone in The Aviary; whether your favourite is the wise owl, colourful peafowl, majestic eagle, or the comical blue-footed boobies.  I chose the Indian peafowl as my first bird to colour and, due to the amazing attention to detail in the drawings, I found that I could really let my imagination run away with me.  I found that, although I started colouring in the traditional colours of the bird, the drawing was crying out for something a bit more unusual.  I'm not the most imaginative of folk, but out came the pink, purple and red pencils and I'm delighted with the result.

I'm relatively new to adult colouring books, but I certainly find it to be a very relaxing and rewarding activity on a cold and wet summer's day in the North East of England.

The only limit in The Aviary is your own imagination.

I received this book from the publisher, Michael O'Mara Books, in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

F**k This Journal: Betterness Through Bitterness - Dale Shaw

Many journals exist to encourage and provoke inspirational activity in the artistically and creatively inclined. But what is out there for those paralysed with bitterness and an overwhelming desire to push people over?

F**k This Journal faecally pollutes all over the notion of positive creative encouragement and instead uses anger and resentment as the pointy stick to goad their inner artistic pursuits.

With 'testimonials' from famous creative types through history, inspiring instructions to spur your bitter creative core and lots of blank space to exhort your artistic spirit and save costs, F**k This Journalliberally takes the wee out of twee inspiration journals and forges its own path into the brooding heart of darkness that is 'Cre-hate-tivity'.

With added fun!

What did I think?

I had high hopes for this - I have a good sense of humour so I did have a few laughs but not as many as I expected.  I liked the journal style of the book and the fun illustrations throughout.  I loved the "I wonder what your pet is thinking?" page along with the "Think outside the box, push the envelope" page.  My favourite has to be the star that I will share with you - because next time somebody says "you're a star" don't take it as a compliment, take it as the insult it was clearly intended to be!  I shared this quote with my cousin, John-Paul, and I'm proud to say that I made him laugh!  He is the king of humour and I've never been able to tell him a joke or share a pun he hasn't heard before...until now!

It was funny that all the hate is directed towards Carol, the ex-wife, and her new partner the car boot salesman!  A super-quick read as it is mainly hand-drawn illustrations but, whilst reading it, I embraced the "betterness through bitterness" idea, sharpened my pencils in the face of  cre-hate-ivity, and vowed never to leave the house - outside is full of people!!

A great gift book for the difficult to buy for and anyone with a dark sense of humour, although not as funny as I expected - perhaps more my style of humour rather than the book's fault.

I received this book from the publisher, Headline, via Bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy from Amazon