BLOG TOUR: Best Served Cold - Hilly Barmby

A mystery woman enters Lily's life

At the launch for her latest children's book, a member of the audience asks Lily for an strange inscription in her copy of the book. Why does this unnerve her?

Is Jack the answer to Lily's prayers?

Later, while celebrating in a local bar, Lily, and best friend Alice, spot the same woman. Her name is Rose. Putting aside earlier unease, a new friendship between the three is formed. Rose offers to help Lily re-enter the dating scene after a bad breakup and they come across Jack, Mr Perfect on Paper. Lily quickly falls for handsome Jack. Is he too good to be true?

The past is the past, or is it?

Soon after the pair start dating, bizarre things start to occur to Lily, things are moved or they go missing, and, what’s worse, her precious artwork is damaged. Who did this to her? Surely it can’t have been her new boyfriend, her new friend Rose, or even oldest friend Alice? They all have a motive. Perhaps Lily did this all herself. Who can she trust, in fact, can she trust herself? Or has a ghost from Lily's past come back to haunt her?

 

What did I think?

Oooooh this book gave me the chills and I absolutely loved it!  Hilly Barmby is a new author to me and I'll definitely be checking out her back catalogue (and future books) based on this fantastic read.

I loved Lily and Alice's friendship and it is a very strong friendship to have survived Lily's breakup with Alice's cousin, Harry.  Whether it will survive the addition of a suspicious new member to their group is the big question when Rose Briar (see what Hilly Barmby did there, fairy tale fans?) inveigles her way into their lives.  As soon as Rose said that line from Misery, Lily should have run for the hills! 

Lily's duo becomes a trio and Rose convinces Lily to try online dating.  Before Lily knows it, Jack Kelly enters her life and he really is too good to be true.  As the reader being treated to flashbacks to Lily's past, I could see what was happening to her I wanted to reach into the book to keep her safe.  It's like watching a car crash in slow motion as events unfold and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.

Incredibly gripping, addictive and chilling, Best Served Cold is a fantastic revenge thriller that had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't read it fast enough.  Very highly recommended.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

Hobeck Books

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: Hear Me Cry - E F Wharton

A nun hiding a chilling secret. A literary agent, Katie Kovacs is ghost-writing her mysterious memoir, and delves into her grisly past. What secrets will be revealed?

Heather Parnell runs away from a commune in the 1970s and in a disastrous catalogue of events, is involved in the death of three elderly people. She becomes the focus of a media storm, who name her, The Commune Murderer.

Katie has her own demons. Haunted by an abduction she witnessed as a child, Katie believes she is being stalked. Her six-year-old son went missing years before, and Katie was convinced her husband was responsible. 

Will she ever find out what really happened to Oliver? 

Will she finally unearth the truth about Britain’s most notorious female killer?

SHE INVITED HER INTO HER HEAD, NOW SHE CAN’T GET HER OUT. 

 

What did I think?

I love Eileen Wharton's writing so I was eager to read her new psychological thriller, Hear Me Cry, and wow I was not disappointed.  This is a psychological thriller with a capital P that really kept me on my toes and I had several gasps out loud and many jaw-dropping moments.

I loved both Katie's and Heather's stories - there is so much to discover about each character that I simply couldn't read fast enough.  Heather is a killer who has always claimed she's innocent and the 'did she/didn't she' question was constantly see-sawing back and forth in my mind as Heather's story was revealed.  Katie is writing Heather's story but Katie could write a book about her own life with a missing son and a husband who could be a gaslighting champion.

Flicking between Heather's story and Katie's story, Hear Me Cry is a real page-turner.  I really can't write more about it as I might inadvertently release a spoiler and spoil the book for other readers.  In this case, a shorter review equals a fantastic book.

Hear Me Cry is an absolutely cracking novel that's an easy five star read.  Conflicting stories make it completely unpredictable and you can't tell what's real and what isn't - I loved it and most definitely recommend it.

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

My rating:

Buy Link

About the author:

Eileen Wharton is an Oscar winning actress, Olympic gymnast, and Influencer. She also tells lies for a living. Her first novel was published in 2011 to worldwide critical acclaim. And she’s won awards for exaggeration. It did top the Amazon humour chart so she’s officially a best-selling author. She currently has five ‘lively’ offspring ranging from thirty-three to fourteen years of age, and has no plans to procreate further, much to the relief of the local schools and police force. She lives on a council estate in County Durham. She has never eaten kangaroo testicles, is allergic to cats and has a phobia of tinned tuna. She’s retired from arguing with people on the internet.

Follow her at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhartonEileen

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/eileen.whartonwriter

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

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