BLOG TOUR: The Man Who Ran - Mark Stibbe

When he saw it, it was like a shotgun discharging in Jake’s face. His unbeatable hand had been beaten. 

When Jake Graystone becomes addicted to poker, he decides to abandon his family and indulge his new-found craving without restraint. Running away to a northern city on Christmas Eve, he discovers the Arcadia Casino and starts to play. With the help of a rare gift for reading his opponents, he quickly gains fame and fortune.

One year later, again on Christmas Eve, Jake is challenged to a heads-up match by a player called the Undertaker. When his adversary tilts him, Jake finds himself on the run again. With the help of a German Shepherd and a homeless friend, Jake outfoxes the gunman who pursues him - until one fateful night when they come face to face.

I didn’t want to put this down. A heartwarming story that would be great as a film. I hope this book reaches addicts and helps turn their lives around - Angela Lee

If you like Christmas, you’ll absolutely treasure this book - Jimbo Sun

A thoroughly gripping, enjoyable read that tugs on all the right emotions - Jules Loveland

Winner of the 2020 Page Turner Award for Fiction, Mark Stibbe is a full-time novelist specialising in exciting supernatural stories. The Man Who Ran is the new, expanded version of King of Hearts. 

What did I think?

Well this was an unexpectedly poignant tale.  The Man Who Ran is like a mixture of your favourite Christmas movies and festive books all rolled into one.  Think the ghosts of A Christmas Carol, the dire straits of It's a Wonderful Life and the charity of strangers in Home Alone, to name but a few.

Jake is a maths teacher who is at risk of redundancy when he finds he has the skills to play poker.  Seeing an easy way to make money, he becomes addicted to gambling but there's a cost to winning at the tables and it's a price his wife and sons must pay.  Jake doesn't seem to care though, all he can think about is the next game so he walks out on his family without a backwards glance.

Oh Jake, I was so disappointed in him as he headed off to the bright lights of Casino City that sounded remarkably like Newcastle with an angel statue standing guard on the outskirts.  As we know, the house never loses and I thought Jake deserved everything he got when things inevitably turned to sh*t so I was surprised to feel empathy towards him the further down he fell.  I think Mark Stibbe has sprinkled a bit of the magic of Christmas inside the book as I was wishing peace and goodwill to all men (apart from the Undertaker) towards the end.

Incredibly poignant and thought-provoking, The Man Who Ran is a modern-day festive fable that really makes you stop and think about your own life and the rest of humankind.  It is entertaining but also compassionate and it has a hint of the supernatural to add an extra touch of magic over the festive period.

I'm putting The Man Who Ran on my book shelf alongside A Christmas Carol so I will be reminded to read it every December.  A highly recommended read.

I received a gifted paperback to read and review for the Love Books Tours Bookstagram Tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: Edge of the Land (The Merseyside Crime Series Book 3) - Malcolm Hollingdrake

Edge of the Land is the thrilling third novel in the Merseyside crime series from Malcolm Hollingdrake, author of the best-selling Harrogate crime series.

The waterways of the Liverpool docks contain many ghosts and shadows. It’s a place to disappear… a place to die.

Detective Inspector April Decent and Detective Sergeant Skeeter Warlock are fearful for the welfare of a vulnerable young man injured in an attack ordered by drug dealers. Originally questioned at the scene, the young man denies the attack and refuses to co-operate with the police. He soon disappears. Clues to his whereabouts are sown, a cry for help maybe, but he remains elusive.

At the same time, the team are dealing with a spate of deaths in the city. The one thing the deaths have in common: the victims are all homeless and seemingly ravaged by addiction. Initially, the deaths are not considered to be suspicious as there is no obvious connection. Soon the hallmarks of murder are discovered and a hunt for a potential serial killer is on.

Is there a link between the missing man and the deaths? Could he be the vital piece of the puzzle which will solve the mystery behind the brutal murders?

 

What did I think?

Edge of the Land is the third book in The Merseyside Crime Series and it can most definitely be read as a standalone as I haven't read the first two books in the series and I absolutely loved it.

As soon as I turned the first page of Edge of the Land I knew I was in for a literary treat.  Malcolm Hollingdrake's exquisite writing sets such a vivid scene that I felt as if I'd dived head first into the book and found myself in Liverpool.  I've been a fan of Malcolm Hollingdrake's writing for many years now and just when I think he's at the top of his game, he goes and raises the bar again.

The city of Liverpool and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal are almost characters in their own right as they seem to live and breathe throughout the book.  The main characters are so well drawn that I had to keep reminding myself that they aren't real people.  I was sad to leave them when I turned the final page but it has definitely encouraged me to revisit DI Decent and DS Warlock by reading the previous books in the series.

Perfectly plotted and exquisitely crafted, Edge of the Land is a magnificent piece of crime fiction and you'll be hard pressed to find a better one...until Malcolm writes his next book.

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

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BLOG TOUR: The Beginning of Everything - Jackie Fraser

 

This is the story of Jess and Gethin, whose paths cross in the most unexpected way. 

Jess is running away, leaving all she knows and everyone she loves behind her, with just a few treasured belongings in her rucksack. She’s escaping from the pain and trauma of a bad relationship with a bad man, gone very badly wrong. 

Gethin’s kindness and care take her breath away. They become friends. But with so much hurt in her past, can Jess learn to love and live again?

What did I think?

I loved Jackie Fraser's debut, The Bookshop of Second Chances, but her new book, The Beginning of Everything is very special indeed.  It's a lovely lovely story (so lovely I had to say 'lovely' twice) and I experienced so many different emotions whilst reading it but I turned the final page with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye as I said goodbye to two wonderful characters.

Jess and Gethin meet in the strangest circumstances when Gethin opens the door to his new home and finds Jess living there.  Jess is 46 years old and homeless so when she finds an empty property it's just too much of a temptation not to spend the night there.  At least with an address she can get a job and start saving for a place of her own.  Until Gethin, the owner of the house, appears...

Gethin's family has been touched with homelessness and tragedy so he wants to help Jess, but she is naturally suspicious.  Surely, he can't be THAT nice?  Just the simple things that Gethin does for Jess were enough to bring a lump to my throat.  It was so lovely to see someone doing something kind without expecting recognition or reward.

Jess has built a solid brick wall around her heart to protect herself from further pain and the wall starts to crumble a little when a firm friendship forms between the pair.  When their feelings start to grow into something more, I don't think Jess can believe something good can be happening to her so she builds that wall back up.  It's very much a will they/won't they and I don't think I have ever rooted for a fictional pair as much as I did for Jess and Gethin.  

Beautifully written and incredibly uplifting, The Beginning of Everything is a book that oozes with kindness; it made me think about my own actions or inactions and how just a little thing can make all the difference.  A highly recommended read.

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

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BLOG BLITZ: Under the Woods (The Forensic Files #4) - K.A. Richardson

When a homeless woman, Cheryl Whiffen, hears voices in her head telling her to do bad things, she can’t help but obey.

But when Cheryl becomes the victim of a serial killer who is collecting angels, this time the voices can’t help her. She is deemed not worthy of being an angel and the killer has to find another way to dispose of her body.

TJ Tulley has connections in the police force – her brother Jacob is a digital forensic analyst and her soon to be sister-in-law is a CSI. She knows many of their colleagues so when someone breaks into her house at the riding stables she owns, it’s not a surprise when the police dispatch CSI Jackson Doherty.

Is there a link between a suspicious fire at the stables and the serial killer?

As TJ and Doherty get closer to the truth they don’t realise the danger they are in. He is a killer – he’s angry at their investigation and he’ll do just about anything to protect his angels…

What did I think?

I knew from the cover and the title that this was going to be dark and creepy but I didn't realise just how much it would unnerve me.  I haven't read any of the previous books in the series so I can definitely say that this book can be read as a standalone, although there are a few references to previous events that I suspect happened in the earlier books.  It didn't affect my enjoyment of this book in any way as the author is so skilled at seamlessly weaving enough of the back-story into the narrative to flesh out the characters I was encountering for the first time.

TJ Tully wants to expand her riding stables into the woods surrounding her property but somebody already thinks of the woods as their own and they have invested lots of time in burying their 'angels' under the woods.  The killer will do anything to keep this special place as there are still angels to collect and bury there.  TJ seems to have a run of bad luck after a break in and a fire threaten to destroy her stables but there is worse to come and even her angry busybody neighbour can't escape the cruel hand of Lady (Bad) Luck.

CSI Jackson Doherty has a lot on his plate; Jackson is called on to investigate the strange events at TJ's stables but he can't seem to escape his personal life.  After a one night stand, he's landed himself with a stalker, Nikki.  Nikki seems to know his every movements and turns up at the most unlikely of places when she perceives TJ to be a threat to her happily ever after with Jackson.  I loved this aspect to the story; Nikki is an absolute fruitcake!

What I loved about Under the Woods (apart from it being set in my native North East) is that you don't have to wait until the end for a big reveal; the killer is revealed about two thirds of the way through.  You might expect the pace to drop after that but it is actually the complete opposite as the danger levels seemed to increase to epic proportions.  Once I knew who was collecting these 'angels', I felt as if the story became even more creepy (if that's even possible, as it's pretty creepy to start with).  I felt my heart rate quicken and I even began holding my breath at times as the killer's confidence seemed to grow as time went on.

With K.A. Richardson's remarkable attention to gruesome detail, Under the Woods is a Creepfest with a capital C; I can feel my heart pounding just thinking about it.  It's one of those books that you live and breathe with every page and definitely one to read with all the lights on or you'll find yourself jumping at shadows.  K.A. Richardson's Under the Woods totally creeped me out and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I certainly won't be going down to the woods anytime soon.

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

My rating:

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About the author:

My name is Kerry-Ann Richardson (generally known as Kerry) and I write as KA Richardson. I started writing the North East Police series in 2010 when I was working towards my MA Creative Writing – I used the first 15000 words of With Deadly Intent as my dissertation. I passed my MA in 2011 and kept on writing. This all came about from working as a Crime Scene Investigator – I’d always written but when I was a CSI I went to see a psychic, Anthony, and he wanted to know why I wasn’t writing. He reminded me that it was my passion and said he could see me signing in Waterstones in 5 years. That was 5.5 years before my first ever signing in Waterstones so he wasn’t far wrong!

I did the normal things writers do when their book is ready to go out into the world – submitted to agents etc. I got a few nice personal responses back – still saying no but being constructive and polite about it. I approached Darren Laws from Caffeine Nights whilst at a crime festival and he asked to see my work. He agreed to publish With Deadly Intent from there, and once that was out I approached Bloodhound Books as wanted to know if there was any other interest in my novels. Bloodhound came back within 24 hours and offered me a 3 book deal! And I’ve since signed an additional 3 book deal with them which covers the series up to and including book 7!

Links:

Website: www.kerryannrichardson.com

Twitter: @kerryann77 or @karichardson77

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ka.richardsonwriter

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/K.A.-Richardson/e/B01D58WOV6/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1491858252&sr=8-2-ent

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Christmas Evie - Nicola May

It’s two days before Christmas and Evie Harris finds herself both manless and jobless. After a chance encounter with handsome Greg (and egged on by her toy-boy-eating friend, Bea) she agrees to work at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day. 

Striking up an unlikely friendship with homeless Yves, Evie begins an unwitting journey of spiritual awakening, all set against the sparkling winter backdrop of London. 

A New Year’s Eve revelation is on its way … but will it leave Evie with a happy heart, or will she allow the pre-Christmas past to dictate her future? 

What did I think?

Wow!  What an amazing little novella; this book gave me goosebumps and really warmed my heart on a cold winter night.  It’s a quick read that packs a big punch.

Evie is suddenly single and unemployed at Christmas and, when she meets handsome stranger Greg in the pub, agrees to help out in a homeless shelter.  It is there that she meets one of the homeless men, Yves, and she agrees to meet him at various locations around London.  At each location, the beauty of London shines through and Yves with a ‘Y’ hands Evie with an ‘E’ a little card at the end of each excursion reminding her of the lesson learned.  With his sudden appearances and disappearances, it quickly became apparent that there was something special about Yves.  He really made Evie look inside herself and open her heart to the possibility of a new relationship.

I have to give a special mention to Evie’s friend, Bea, who was responsible for my many chuckles when reading this book.  She is absolutely hilarious, and is the complete opposite to peaceful Yves.  She really doesn’t care what she says and is the perfect tonic to cheer up both Evie and the reader.

Although I had an idea in my head where the story was going, I wasn’t entirely right and the ending completely surprised me.  It’s a wonderful book that reminds us of those we miss at Christmastime and when they are still in our thoughts, they will never be very far away from us.

This is an absolutely superb short-story.  It is perfect for reading during the festive period, curled up in front of the fire with a nice glass of sherry.

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

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