Behind Her Smile - Caroline England

 

Buried secrets are dangerous.

Unearthing them might be deadly ...

Laurie Dunn has returned to her childhood attic bedroom and her old nightmares have come rushing back. Terrorised by a client-related mugging, her job as a criminal solicitor causes more problems than solutions.

Finn Ballentine yearns for a fresh start, but even the glossy façade of his new law firm can't protect him from the past he's running from.

After a disturbing remark by her confused father, Laurie joins forces with Finn to uncover dark truths. But the long-buried secrets they unearth are laced with danger for them both.

What did I think?

I love Caroline England books as you never know what to expect but you're definitely guaranteed a good read.  The creepy doll on the cover gives you some idea of how dark Behind Her Smile is and I absolutely loved it.

Laurie has been brought up by her father and sister after her mother died in childbirth.  The subject of memories is explored as Laurie thinks about her childhood and whether what she can remember is real or false.  You also wonder whether her family are protecting her or hiding something from her.  Needless to say, every guess I had was wrong!

I really liked Laurie and it was lovely to see her reviving her relationship with Finn but there are so many obstacles in their way.  Caroline England just kept reeling me in with the ups and downs of Laurie's life until hitting me with the big reveal.  Absolutely brilliant!

Dark, disturbing and completely addictive, Behind Her Smile is an unpredictable and unsettling read that gripped me from start to finish.  A highly recommended read.

I received a gifted paperback for the Love Books Tours readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Secret Orchard - Sharon Gosling

Set in a small community on the Scottish coast, the new feel-good story about family, belonging and finding peace with the past from the author of The Lighthouse Bookshop and The Forgotten Garden.

 

Bette and Nina Crowdie have never been close – the ten-year age difference doesn’t help, and Bette’s rarely been home since she left for university at eighteen. When their father passes away and unexpectedly splits the family farm between them, Nina is furious and afraid. She’s been working at the farm for the past five years. It’s the only home her young son, Barnaby, has ever had, and she’s convinced that Bette will sell at the first chance she gets.

When they discover the huge debt their father has been hiding, Bette reluctantly agrees to help her sister. But that means they have to find a way to work together, and Bette must face up to the real reason she left all those years ago.

Could a long-forgotten diary and the discovery of a secret orchard on their land help save the farm – and the sisters’ relationship?

 

What did I think?

Oh this beautiful book has it all: romance, mystery, broken family relationships, a faithful hound and a young superhero, to name but a few.  I absolutely adored it and I wanted to read it again the moment I finished it to prolong my visit to the Crowdie farm.

Sisters Bette and Nina couldn't be more different; Bette is a successful solicitor in London and Nina is an emotionally and physically scarred single mother living and working at the family farm in Scotland.  When their father dies, both sisters expected Nina to inherit the farm but his final wish was to share it between them.  What they didn't expect to inherit was a mountain of debt.

It is completely heartbreaking to see how the two sisters are almost strangers to each other but now that they have a common goal to save the farm they gradually begin to build a relationship built on trust and love.  This is helped immensely by Nina's cute son Barnaby, aka superhero Best Barnaby Barnacle, and his dog Limpet.

There is a lot going on in the book and so many different strands of intrigue that kept me well and truly hooked.  That was even before the discovery of the mysterious secret orchard that was really the cherry (or the apple) on top.  

Heartwarming, compelling and uplifting, The Secret Orchard is beautifully written and evokes a wealth of emotions in the reader.  It's an easy five stars from me and I simply can't recommend it highly enough.

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

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: The Curious Case of Maggie Macbeth - Stacey Murray

Sometimes you have to take the law into your own hands...

After losing her high-powered job in Hong Kong, forty-something widow and lawyer, Maggie Macbeth, turns up on the doorstep of her old sidekick, Cath, in the sleepy Peak District village of Archdale. A fish out of water, Maggie comes into conflict with everyone and everything - especially Cath's awful friend, Tiggy - and rock bottom is just around the corner. But it turns out Maggie isn't the only one in trouble. When a crisis hits the local community, Maggie has a choice: to give up on life, or go back to her legal roots and fight for justice. But can she save the day as well as herself?

This laugh-out loud debut novel shows that no battle is too big when you've got friends on your side.

What did I think?

Stacey Murray's debut, The Curious Case of Maggie Macbeth is a very entertaining story with a larger than life protagonist.  Maggie Macbeth is kind of like a hedgehog: prickly and tough on the outside but soft and caring on the inside.  If you make friends with Maggie I think you'll have a friend for life, such as in the case of her friend, Cath.

Glaswegian Maggie Macbeth makes quite an entrance to the story when she turns up out of the blue at her friend's cafe in Derbyshire clutching a traffic cone.  I worked in Glasgow for a wee while so a Glaswegian clutching a traffic cone did make me chuckle in the same way as it did when I first saw the traffic cone perched atop the Duke of Wellington statue in Glasgow city centre.  A stickler for the rules, as evidenced by the confiscated traffic cone, Maggie inevitably seems to rub people up the wrong way at first but she's definitely someone you want on your side when the chips are down.

It's not a saying I've ever adopted but it came to mind when I was reading Maggie's story: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  Widowed and unemployed in her forties, Maggie has been handed more than her fair share of lemons but I felt that she got more job satisfaction through helping a local farmer with a loan contract than she ever did with any of her high flying clients in Hong Kong.  Of course, it helps when the farmer in question is a bit dishy!

I loved Maggie and Cath's longstanding friendship and the strain it was put under when Maggie seemed to have outstayed her welcome.  Cath's dog, Jazz, has to get a special mention as she's such a fantastic little character and she almost stole the show; she really took a shine to Maggie and the feeling is definitely mutual.  What I loved most is how things didn't always turn out as expected for Maggie, making it very realistic and true to life.

Gloriously heart-warming, The Curious Case of Maggie Macbeth is a fabulous feel-good book.  It might take a while for readers to warm to Maggie but she is well worth getting to know in this charming and witty debut from Stacey Murray.

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

My rating:

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