BLOG TOUR: The Lobbyist - Lionel Zetter

Parliamentary lobbyist Damian Beaufort is a professional manipulator – clever, charming, ruthless – but when Labour wins power his Tory-heavy agency spirals towards bankruptcy. And the rest of his life looks like going the same way.

Salvation comes not from booze or sex – despite his best efforts – but a far less likely quarter: the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service.  It also comes at a cost.

Beaufort finds himself entangled in a lethal web of conflicts: an internecine turf war between MI5 and MI6; underhand Westminster manoeuvrings; Eurocrats bent on reversing Brexit; and, seemingly pulling all the strings, the sinister head of Russia’s FSB.

Soon the lobbyist-turned-spy isn’t just fighting to save his agency, his reputation and his country. He’s fighting for his life, and he’s fighting for revenge. 

First-time author Lionel Zetter brings dazzling insider knowledge to bear in this fast-moving contemporary thriller with a totally unexpected denouement in the Chamber of the House of Commons.

 

What did I think?

Wow!  What a cracking political thriller!  I actually couldn't be less interested in politics so I didn't expect to enjoy a book filled with politicians so much.  I really couldn't put The Lobbyist down.

The strapline says it all really: 'He may be a bastard. But he's our bastard.'  Damian Beaufort doesn't know who his father is so he is literally a bastard.  He's a bastard by name and a bastard by nature which makes him a successful and much sought after lobbyist.  When the Tories lose the election, Beaufort has no intention of going down with the ship but it's not as simple as just switching sides.

The disturbing prologue is set in Russia and, although it wasn't difficult to see how it related to the rest of the story, it's a great hook.  With the Russians involved, there's espionage and assassinations to add an extra layer of entertainment and suspense to the already gripping storyline.

Fast-paced, compelling and intriguing, The Lobbyist is a fantastic debut novel from Lionel Zetter.  With an intoxicating mixture of politics, espionage and danger, The Lobbyist is just crying out to be made into a TV series so I wouldn't be surprised to see it on our screens in the future.  Very highly recommended.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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Ever After - Amanda Prowse

From the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner and Swimming to Lundy, comes a hopeful and inspiring story about the possibilities that await when you dare to start again.

If you’re given another chance at love, shouldn’t you take it?

Enya’s life has become small. Her husband’s death has left her bereft, and though she’s only in her early fifties, she’s happiest looking after her son, Aiden, his childhood sweetheart, Holly, and her beloved cat, Pickle.

So the spark she feels for the stranger who bumps into her car in the airport car park is a complete shock. But Enya can’t stop thinking about him.

Then, when Aiden makes a life-changing decision, Enya suddenly finds her close-knit community thrown into chaos. Her best friend, Jenny, isn’t speaking to her, Aiden’s future hangs in the balance, Holly is devastated, and the stranger from the car park is suddenly in her life.

Torn between family, love and loyalty, Enya faces a dilemma: stay safely where she is, or take a leap into the unknown? Because maybe her happily-ever-after could have one more chapter yet…

 

What did I think?

Amanda Prowse writes with so much heart that her books always move me to tears...every single time!  Ever After is no exception and I have to say I was reaching for the tissues when I read the dedication!  I finished the book with a little tear in my eye...oh ok I'll admit it, it was a veritable torrent of tears but I absolutely loved it.

Family and friendship is at the heart of the book and even though Enya is grieving the loss of her husband she is surrounded my friends and family who love her, until her son Aiden makes a decision that makes everyone pick a side.  My heart went out to Enya when people seemed to be taking out their anger and disappointment on her.  Enya had nothing to do with Aiden's decision, but she is the nearest one available to blame.

With her life in disarray, Enya has a little bit of enjoyment left in the form of an unexpected flirtation with the man who crashed into her car.  Of course, he's not being completely honest with her and there are more complications that may prove insurmountable.

There is so much warmth and heart in the book that made me really start to care about the characters and it was lovely to see them evolve and grow as each page was turned.  I didn't realise how much I cared about them until near the end when my emotions threatened to spill over (and ultimately did end up spilling over).  It's just a lovely yet realistic story and it makes a refreshing change to have a main character in her fifties.

Heartwarming, emotional and uplifting, Ever After is a fabulous book that really pulled at my heartstrings as I lived the ups and downs of life with Enya and her family.  Amanda Prowse is such a wonderful writer and Ever After is a wonderful book.  Very highly recommended.

I received a gifted paperback to take part in the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Happy is the One - Katie Allen

What if halfway through your life was just the beginning?

Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life.

 

Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof.

 

With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever.

 

But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago.

 

Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin.

And he’s hiding even more from her…

 

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, Katie Allen's new book, Happy is the One, is simply stunning.  I loved it from the very first page and my feelings continued to grow the more I read.

Robin knows when he's going to die as he was born during the appearance of Halley's Comet and he is destined to die when the comet returns, just like Mark Twain correctly predicted for his own death.  Now you would think that Robin would be able to live a full and happy life, knowing that his number is not coming up until he's 75, but instead he seems to be obsessed with planning every minute of his life until his death....whilst life passes him by.

It's a bit of a culture shock when Robin returns to his home town to live with his elderly dad and it is heartbreaking that his dad can't communicate verbally any more.  Robin's mum died when he was young and it seems that he was never close to his dad so it's a difficult time for both of them.  As they get to know each other again, things that Robin thought he knew are brought into question, including his inability to die until 2061.

The story is incredibly poignant and my heart ached at certain points as Katie Allen put me through the emotional wringer.  I love being so invested in a book that events make me gasp out loud and struggle to hold back my tears.  The writing is so warm and witty that there's sure to be something to smile or laugh about on the next page whilst my tears are drying.

Breathtaking, stunning and memorable, Happy is the One is a book with the biggest heart; it made me laugh, cry and everything in between 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:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Katie Allen was a journalist and columnist at Guardian and Observer, starting her career as a Reuters correspondent in Berlin and London. Her warmly funny, immensely moving literary debut novel, Everything Happens for a Reason, was based on her own devastating experience of stillbirth and was a number-one digital bestseller, with wide critical acclaim. Katie grew up in Warwickshire and now lives in South London with her family.

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BLOG TOUR: SON (The Kari Voss Mysteries Book 1) - Thomas Enger & Johana Gustawsson

Psychologist and expert on body language and memory, Kari Voss investigates the murder of two teenaged girls in the small Norwegian town of Son, as suspicion is cast on multiple suspects. A mesmerisingly dark, twisty start to a nerve-shattering new series by two of the world's finest crime writers…

Everyone here is lying…

Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.

Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.

When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…

With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son's disappearance, but Kari's own life, too…

 

What did I think?

WOW!  What have I just read?  A twisty, gripping masterpiece, that's what!  I know it says on the front that "Everyone here is lying" but I just didn't expect to have the rug pulled from under my feet to that extent.  Absolutely brilliant!  What a blistering start to an exciting new series!

I haven't read any books written by Thomas Enger or Johana Gustawsson but if their books are half as good as SON then I definitely want to read more from these two amazing authors.  The writing is seamless and if it didn't say so on the cover then you really wouldn't be able to tell that there are two authors.

Even the title is clever as Son is both a place in Norway and the mystery that haunts psychologist Kari Voss.  Kari's son Vetle disappeared on his ninth birthday and seven years have gone by without any clues as to what happened to him.  Kari is kept busy with her work as a reknowned psychologist and she is so successful at her job that she is known as 'The human lie detector'.  Her latest case is very disturbing as it involves some of Vetle's childhood friends and the police think they have caught the killer but Kari doesn't agree.

Oh I absolutely loved this amazing book.  I was hooked from the start by Vetle's shocking disappearance and really felt for young widow Kari as her world was shattered once again.  It just shows what a strong character she is that she can get up each day and continue with some semblance of a life.  I can't wait to read more of this series, especially with such a jaw-dropping cliffhanger at the end of the book.

Incredibly gripping and completely unmissable, SON is Nordic Noir at its very best.  I would give it more than 5 stars if I could - 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:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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JACK JORDAN BLOGATHON: Do No Harm

It's the start of the Compulsive Readers Jack Jordan blogathon and first up is Jack Jordan's unmissable thriller Do No Harm!  

For my stop on the tour I am resharing my review and if you haven't read Do No Harm yet, I can't recommend it highly enough.

My son has been taken. And I’ve been given a choice…

Kill a patient on the operating table. Or never see him again.

The man lies on the table in front of me.

As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him.

As a mother, I know I must kill him.

You might think that I’m a monster.

But there really is only one choice.

I must get away with murder.

Or I will never see my son again.

Could you kill another person to save your own child?

When heart surgeon Dr Anna Jones returns home to find her son kidnapped, she is forced to make an impossible choice. Kill a high-profile patient on the operating table, or never see her son again.

Told from the perspectives of Anna, her scrub nurse, Margot, who has her own secrets to protect and DI Rachel Conaty, Anna must first make the impossible decision…

I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES.

WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?

 

What did I think?

This is THE book that everyone is talking about this year and rightly so as it's BRILLIANT!!  I've been a fan of Jack Jordan since I started my blog in 2015, the same year he wrote his stunning debut, Anything for Her and I have been itching to get my hands on a copy of Do No Harm.  It wasn't in my hands long though as I couldn't put it down.

The characters, the plot, and the writing are all exceptional.  This is the definition of a heart-pounding thriller as the writing is so vivid that I felt like I was in the operating theatre myself.  The different character perspectives add depth to the already gripping story as each character struggles with their own demons.

Any story with a moral dilemma begs the question: "What would you do?" and it's a question that I asked myself over and over again as I was reading.  I think it would be a quick and easy decision for anyone who is a mother but I found that I was able to look at it more objectively.  Anna's not exactly the nicest character so that adds another element into the equation. 

Do No Harm is unputdownable and unmissable - it is definitely the book that everyone should read this year.  I would be very surprised if it's not picked up for TV or film as it's such an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster of a thriller that is so entertaining, gripping and fast-paced from start to finish.

Jack Jordan's star continues to rise and Do No Harm is easily his best novel yet (and I've absolutely LOVED all of his others).  I don't know how he will follow it, but I'm looking forward to seeing him try.  Very highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour in May 2022 and I am reposting my review on the paperback publication day.  I chose to read this book (TWICE!) and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Waterstones

Amazon

About the author:

Jack Jordan is the global bestselling author of Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, Before Her Eyes, and Night by Night and an Amazon No.1 bestseller in the UK, Canada, and Australia. After selling at auction in the UK and numerous foreign territories, Do No Harm is set to be the thriller of the summer in 2022. The idea for Do No Harm came to Jack after undergoing a minor medical procedure where he had to be sedated and trust strangers with his welfare. After the anaesthesia wore off, Jack began scribbling his notes, wondering to himself just how iron-clad a surgeon’s oath is, and what it would take to break it…

Follow Jack on social media:

Twitter: @JackJordanBooks

Instagram: @jackjordan_author

Facebook: @JackJordanOfficial

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Oscar's Tale - Chris Bishop

'For is it not the wish of every man that his son will achieve more in life than he did?'

OSCAR'S TALE is the story of a Saxon boy who sets out to find and rescue his father who has been taken by Viking slavers. 

Set in 877 as the people of Wessex are forced to fight not just for their very lives, but for their freedom, their religion and for their right to live as Saxons, Oscar relates all that which befalls him on his all but impossible quest. This is set against the backdrop of King Alfred's desperate attempt to regain his kingdom which culminates in a victory at the Battle of Edington which is very much against the odds. 

But this is not just a story about bloody battles and fearsome warriors, it's about a boy struggling to live up to his father's reputation as a warrior and trying to find his place in a turbulent and uncertain world. For that, Oscar is forced to confront many dangers, earn the respect of others far above his station and even find love - albeit the cost to him is far higher than most men would have been willing to pay. 

What did I think?

I am a huge fan of Chris Bishop's Shadow of the Raven series so I was delighted to read an advance copy of his new standalone novel, Oscar's Tale.  This wonderful novel is a virtual walk in the footsteps of the Anglo Saxons and I absolutely loved it.

It's a difficult time in 9th century Wessex with the constant threat of Viking invasion and families trying to survive by living off the land.  Teenager Oscar witnesses a Viking invasion on his home and as if that wasn't bad enough, he sees his father captured and taken prisoner.  Oscar struggles with his guilt of not rushing to defend his father but with a wise head on such young shoulders instead makes his way to the Ealdorman's Vill to plead for help.

Oscar is such a plucky young lad and I really enjoyed reading about his adventures that takes him on a journey that brings him to the attention of King Alfred himself.  I love Oscar's whole commitment to defend his family and his king and he has to do a lot of both as the Battle of Edington draws near.

After reading Oscar's Tale it's almost like other books are written in monochrome as Chris Bishop writes historical fiction in glorious technicolor, magically bringing history to life in front of my eyes.  Vivid, immersive and compelling; it feels like stepping back in time when you read Oscar's Tale and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Many thanks to Chris Bishop for sending me a digital ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life - Helen Fisher

Joe loves predictability. But his life is about to become a surprising adventure.

Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like his dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, he’s good at his job, good at making things and good at following the rules, and he’s learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things in life he isn’t prepared for. While she helps guide him every day, she’s also writing notebooks full of advice about the things she hasn’t told Joe yet, things he might forget and answers to questions he hasn’t yet asked.

Following her wisdom – applying it in his own unique way – this next part of Joe’s life is more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.

 

What did I think?

Having adored Helen Fisher's fabulous debut, Space Hopper, I was so excited to read her second novel, Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life, and it is just wonderful.  This should be everyone's winter read as it left me with a glow that lasted longer than the Ready Brek one ever did.

Joe-Nathan doesn't have a bad bone in his body; that's what his mother says and everyone knows that mothers are always right.  Joe's mum knows that she won't be there to help him every day of his life, so she has written some advice for Joe to follow when she is no longer there to guide him.  I think we should all have one of Joe's mum's guides to follow - the world would be a much nicer place if we did.

There's something so endearing about Joe-Nathan and it's not just one or two things, it's his whole essence.  The way that Joe tries to help Mean Charlie, even though Charlie is horrible to Joe, just shows what a lovely character he is.  Just as well my heart is not made of ice as Joe would have totally melted it.

Incredibly captivating and completely unforgettable, Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is easily one of my favourite books of the year.  It's an unmissable read and 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:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Helen Fisher is the author of Space Hopper, her debut novel of 2021. Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is her second novel. Helen has degrees in psychology and ergonomics and was the senior evaluator at RNIB for a few years. This background informs much of her writing as she is fascinated by the psychology of everyday life, especially in terms of relationships. Inspiration for Helen’s protagonists and other characters are often drawn directly from herself, her friends and family. She explains that her creation of the character of Joe Nuthin is partly to examine ‘the importance of what some might think of as a small and ordinary life’.

Helen was born on a US military base and spent the first five years of her life in the US, before returning to the UK with her family settling in Suffolk. She returned to Suffolk as an adult and now lives in a village with her two children and a cat called Bear, who thinks he’s a dog. When she isn’t working on her third novel, she walks a lot, talks a lot, likes a jigsaw and the occasional Mojito. @helenfisher_author.

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Do No Harm - Jack Jordan

It's paperback publication day for Jack Jordan's unmissable thriller Do No Harm!  

To celebrate, I am resharing my review and if you haven't read Do No Harm yet, I can't recommend it highly enough.

My son has been taken. And I’ve been given a choice…

Kill a patient on the operating table. Or never see him again.

The man lies on the table in front of me.

As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him.

As a mother, I know I must kill him.

You might think that I’m a monster.

But there really is only one choice.

I must get away with murder.

Or I will never see my son again.

Could you kill another person to save your own child?

When heart surgeon Dr Anna Jones returns home to find her son kidnapped, she is forced to make an impossible choice. Kill a high-profile patient on the operating table, or never see her son again.

Told from the perspectives of Anna, her scrub nurse, Margot, who has her own secrets to protect and DI Rachel Conaty, Anna must first make the impossible decision…

I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES.

WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?

 

What did I think?

This is THE book that everyone is talking about this year and rightly so as it's BRILLIANT!!  I've been a fan of Jack Jordan since I started my blog in 2015, the same year he wrote his stunning debut, Anything for Her and I have been itching to get my hands on a copy of Do No Harm.  It wasn't in my hands long though as I couldn't put it down.

The characters, the plot, and the writing are all exceptional.  This is the definition of a heart-pounding thriller as the writing is so vivid that I felt like I was in the operating theatre myself.  The different character perspectives add depth to the already gripping story as each character struggles with their own demons.

Any story with a moral dilemma begs the question: "What would you do?" and it's a question that I asked myself over and over again as I was reading.  I think it would be a quick and easy decision for anyone who is a mother but I found that I was able to look at it more objectively.  Anna's not exactly the nicest character so that adds another element into the equation. 

Do No Harm is unputdownable and unmissable - it is definitely the book that everyone should read this year.  I would be very surprised if it's not picked up for TV or film as it's such an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster of a thriller that is so entertaining, gripping and fast-paced from start to finish.

Jack Jordan's star continues to rise and Do No Harm is easily his best novel yet (and I've absolutely LOVED all of his others).  I don't know how he will follow it, but I'm looking forward to seeing him try.  Very highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour in May 2022 and I am reposting my review on the paperback publication day.  I chose to read this book (TWICE!) and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Waterstones

Amazon

About the author:

Jack Jordan is the global bestselling author of Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, Before Her Eyes, and Night by Night and an Amazon No.1 bestseller in the UK, Canada, and Australia. After selling at auction in the UK and numerous foreign territories, Do No Harm is set to be the thriller of the summer in 2022. The idea for Do No Harm came to Jack after undergoing a minor medical procedure where he had to be sedated and trust strangers with his welfare. After the anaesthesia wore off, Jack began scribbling his notes, wondering to himself just how iron-clad a surgeon’s oath is, and what it would take to break it…

Follow Jack on social media:

Twitter: @JackJordanBooks

Instagram: @jackjordan_author

Facebook: @JackJordanOfficial

BLOG TOUR: The Daughter-in-Law - Fanny Blake

When Hope’s only son Paul met and married Edie, Hope was delighted that he had found love and was settling down to make his own family. Hope has loved bringing up her own child, and is happy to step in and help out now and again – but is always worried about overstepping the line between grandmother and mother.

 

Edie was hoping that having children with Paul would fulfil her as much as her busy job as a barrister has. But the reality is far from her dream. And with her mother-in-law Hope constantly poking her nose in where it’s not wanted, she finds herself frustrated and alone.

 

Both women could be each other’s greatest ally, but both have secrets that could ruin their relationship. Secrets neither wants Paul to uncover…

 

What did I think?

I love books about family secrets so The Daughter-in-Law really appealed to me and as an added bonus, it's written by Fanny Blake, who really knows how people tick. 

Going on holiday with your son's family and two small children is always going to be stressful and Hope can't seem to do anything right as far as her daughter-in-law Edie is concerned.  I disliked Edie immediately, she is so self-centred and she doesn't realise how lucky she is to have Hope on hand to help her out with the children.  I felt sorry for Paul being stuck in the middle between his mum and his wife.

Both Edie and Hope are keeping secrets from Paul and we all know that secrets never stay buried.  Their secrets are huge and I kept changing my mind about which one Paul should feel more betrayed by.  

Fanny Blake really gets under the skin of her characters and I loved discovering all their flaws and fears.  Every reader will pick a side at the beginning but as the story develops there'll be more swapping sides than the English Civil War.  

The Daughter-in-Law is hugely enjoyable and very compelling and I was completely absorbed by the family drama that was unfolding before my eyes.  This is classic Fanny Blake and I loved it.

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 Amazon

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Emergence (The Necropolis Series Book 4) - Guy Portman

There’s no stopping this young sociopath.

Teenager Horatio hates his mother’s boyfriend, and there is nothing his long-suffering single mum or half-sister can do about it. The tension soon boils over into school when he attacks the class bully.

While suspended, Horatio has plenty of time to plot revenge against the man he holds responsible for all his problems. It won’t take the adventurous adolescent long to stumble across a depraved and degrading solution.

Now all he needs to do is keep deceiving the psychiatrist and wait for an opportunity to strike.

This suspenseful story will appeal to aficionados of psychological fiction and darkly humorous crime.

 

What did I think?

I absolutely love the Necropolis series and I was intrigued to see what direction it would go in after the dramatic events of book 3.  The first three books in the series follow Dyson Devereux as he kills everyone he doesn't like and book four sees the emergence (see what I did there?) of Dyson's son Horatio who has the same homicidal tendencies.

Whilst I didn't warm to Horatio as much as Dyson, Emergence is another dark and entertaining novel in this fantastic series.  I just loved reading Horatio's thought processes as he plans to murder his first victim.  Murder shouldn't be so funny but Guy Portman creates such vivid imagery of almost farcical situations that I couldn't hold my laughter in.  Just thinking about it now makes me chuckle.

Horatio is one clever sociopath as he deceives everyone around him, but the reader is privy to his innermost thoughts and can see how very dark he is underneath.  He's perhaps not as clever as his father (yet) but I'm sure he'll leave a trail of bodies in his wake as we hopefully see him develop over future novels.  More please, Mr Portman!

Emergence is as hilarious as it is dark and it's a fascinating and highly entertaining insight into the mind of a sociopath,  If you're just picking up this brilliant series now, Emergence can definitely be read as a standalone, but I very highly recommend the earlier books in the series.

Many thanks to the author for sending me an ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

Golgotha (The Necropolis Series Book 3) - Guy Portman

This sociopath is spiralling out of control.

Dyson Devereux is languishing in an Italian prison awaiting trial for murder. His capricious paramour Alegra is desperate for him to be released, so they can start a new life together. But all Dyson wants is to be back in the UK with his treasured mementos.

Time inside has not abated Dyson’s violent urges, and it won’t be long until he is hunting new additions for his collection. He will need to be wary, for hell hath no fury like a sociopath scorned.

Golgotha is a funny, frenzied crime novel boasting a sinister and sardonic protagonist.

Grab your copy and settle in for the ride.

 

What did I think?

The Necropolis Series is definitely my favourite series at the moment and I can't get enough of my favourite sociopath, Dyson Devereux, so I'm delighted that Golgotha is my first book review of 2023.  Golgotha is the third book in the series and it picks up where Sepultura left off, so it's advisable to read the series in order.

After a work trip turned deadly, Dyson is stuck in an Italian prison.  He's hundreds of miles away from his treasured memento collection and of course his son.  Without being able to be soothed by her particular token, Dyson's dreams are haunted by his cousin and his first kill.  He needs to get home to his precious fly fishing tin.

Dyson hooked up with a woman he met through work on his trip to Italy and Alegra has stood by him while he's in prison.  When Alegra is no further use to him, Dyson drops her like a stone and if she doesn't let him go quietly, she might be the next kill on his list.  I'm not saying another word about the fantastic plot but suffice to say that I loved every second of it.

I just love Dyson, in the same way that I loved Dexter on TV; you know what he's doing is very wrong but you can't help rooting for him and hoping that he doesn't get caught.  This would be a brilliant Netflix series and I'd love to see Dyson brought to life on our screens. 

Highly original and incredibly entertaining, Golgotha is absolutely brilliant from start to finish; it's dark and gory at times but Guy Portman weaves his wonderfully dry humour throughout the prose and it's impossible not to laugh out loud at times.  I love it so much I'm already planning to read the series again from the start.

An easy five stars - very highly recommended.

I received a digital ARC from the author and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Three's a Crowd - S. R. Booker

Out-of-work actor Harriet is recuperating from a crash-and-burn affair with Damian – aka ‘Cockweasel’ – and making ends meet as a barista when she meets two rather lovely men. Tom is a regular at the café, and seems like such a nice guy. Smooth-talking DJ Richard is older, but in great shape – a real silver fox.

 

Deciding to take a chance on both of them, Harriet doesn’t realise at first that she is actually dating father and son. Tom and Richard aren’t on speaking terms, and don’t share a last name – so how was she to know? By the time everyone finds out, both Tom and Richard are truly madly deeply in love with Harriet, and she’s faced with an impossible choice.

 

But as the battle for her affections intensifies, ‘Cockweasel’ makes an unexpected reappearance and begs her to give him another chance…

 

What did I think?

I absolutely loved this book.  Thank you Simon Booker for making me laugh and smile so much.  Three's a Crowd is just the tonic I needed to escape the madness of real life.

Harriet is a barista who wants to be an actor, but her dream of moving to Tinseltown seems to get more distant with every coffee she makes.  Tom is just Extra Cinnamon Guy' to Harriet until he finally works up the courage to ask her out.  When Harriet enters a radio competition to be the Voice of London, she meets DJ Richard who takes an instant shine to her.  Richard has good taste, his son Tom likes Harriet too...what are the chances it's the same Tom?

Told from three perspectives of Harriet, Tom and Richard, with an odd grandad George chapter thrown in for good measure, this isn't an ordinary story of girl meets boy - it's so multifaceted the book virtually sparkles.  The writing depicting the different voices of the characters is absolutely fantastic, especially Harriet's nagging doubts that seem to be constantly shouting in her ear.  I loved Gorgeous George (Richard's dad), he's such a smooth talker and rich lady magnet but his charms won't work on his son, who doesn't speak to him.

The fractured relationships between Tom and Richard and Richard and George adds an element of mystery and intrigue that shocked my jaw in to dropping to the floor when it all became clear.  I was really amused by Tom and Richard both trying to outdo each other to win Harriet's affections, they didn't know that Harriet was still hung up on her ex and she would drop everything (and I mean everything) if he ever came back into her life.

Three's a Crowd is like Cinderella mixed with a Carry On caper; it's fun, fresh and hilarious.  It's a fabulous romcom that often had me laughing out loud but also experiencing the various emotions of the characters as I loved all of them.  Highly recommended - it's one of the most entertaining books I've read this year.

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

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