BLOG TOUR: Guilty - Ruby Speechley

“You’re invited to my farewell party. I’ve got something to tell you before I die…”

Heather wants to leave this world with a clear conscience.

One confession. One secret. Two scores to settle.

Heather accepted the fate of her terminal diagnosis long ago, but now the time is nearing, she arranges a huge farewell party for her nearest and dearest.

She wants to say goodbye to everyone personally, but there’s another reason she wants the people in her life to gather.

She knows who killed young Simon Eyre all those years ago, and she needs to tell. The boy deserves justice.

But she doesn’t realise that by freeing her own inner demons, she’s unleashing much worse secrets, and putting everyone at risk…

 

What did I think?

I absolutely love a book filled with secrets so I couldn't put Guilty down once I picked it up.  There's a big whopper of a secret and a bucketful of smaller secrets and lies to be revealed so put on your virtual running shoes when you pick up this incredibly addictive book.

As awful as it is to die too soon, Heather has the chance to say goodbye to all of her family and friends when she receives her terminal diagnosis.  Heather doesn't just want to say goodbye though, she wants to confess...

To say things don't go to plan is a bit of an understatement and all of the added drama made my eyes zip down the page faster than they already were.  I'm surprised I didn't have a blister on my finger from turning the pages so fast!  I loved how just when I thought I had everything worked out, Ruby Speechley threw another spanner in the works.  Great stuff!

Addictive, entertaining and blisteringly fast-paced, Guilty may be my first Ruby Speechley book but it won't be my last.  I couldn't put it down and I loved every minute of it.  A recommended read but make sure you block out a few hours so you can read uninterrupted.

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

My rating:

Purchase link:

https://mybook.to/Guiltysocial

About the author:

Ruby Speechley is a bestselling psychological thriller writer, whose titles include Someone Else’s Baby. Previously published by Hera, she has been a journalist and worked in PR and lives in Cheshire.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063999185095 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rubyspeechley 

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

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/RubySpeechleyNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ruby-speechley 

Follow the tour:

BLOG TOUR: The Desire Card - Lee Matthew Goldberg

It's time for some serious crime as I hop aboard the damppebbles blog tour for The Desire Card by Lee Matthew Goldberg.  I am releasing my review for the tour so read on to see what I thought.

Any wish fulfilled for the right price.  That's the promise the organization behind The Desire Card gives to its elite clients - but sometimes the price may be more menacing than anyone could ever imagine.

Harrison Stockton has lived an adult life of privilege and excess: a high-powered job on Wall Street fuels his fondness for alcohol and pills at the expense of a family he has no time for.  Quite suddenly all of this comes crashing to a halt when he loses his job and at the same time discovered he almost certainly has only months left to live.

Desperate, and with seemingly nowhere else left to turn, Harrison activates his Desire Card.  What follows is a gritty and gripping quest that takes him from New York City to the slums of Mumbai and forces him to take chances, and make decisions, he never thought he'd ever have to face.  When his moral descent threatens his wife and children, Harrison must decide whether to save himself at any cost, or do what's right and break his bargain with the mysterious group behind The Desire Card.


The Desire Card is a taut fast-paced thriller, from internationally acclaimed author Lee Matthew Goldberg, that explores what a man will do to survive when money isn't always enough to get everything he desires.

What did I think?

Harrison Stockton is such an odious character that I didn't think I was going to enjoy The Desire Card at first, but I am pleased to say that I couldn't have been more wrong!  I absolutely loved it!  It's the first book in a five book series and I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

Harrison is what you would definitely call a workaholic; he is married to his job and it's almost like his wife is the other woman.  When Harrison finds out the cause of his sickly pallor that caused him to lose his job, it was like a real wake-up call to me.   As the author reminds us: nobody ever lay on their deathbed and wished that they had worked more.  I have been guilty of putting work before my health in the past so I could completely understand Harrison putting off his health check in favour of work.  What is unforgivable though, is putting work before his children's school events.  There is no do-over; you can never get that time back and every time he missed a soccer game or a ballet recital he lost a little bit of his own children. What would he give for a second chance? Read The Desire Card to find out! 

I found The Desire Card so very thought-provoking, not only the work/life balance but the thought that money could buy you anything you desired.  How much would I pay to save my own life or the life of my loved ones?  How can you even put a value on that?  The company who run The Desire Card manage to attach a price to absolutely anything your heart desires.  It's not so much a case of rubbing the lamp and a genie pops out, as this magic really does come with a price..more often than not, in a six figure sum!  Yikes!

The Desire Card is a dark, gritty and disturbing It's A Wonderful Life for the 21st Century.  As greed for money, power and possessions fuel the world, money really can buy you anything.  It's such an outstanding fast-paced, dark and compelling modern-day thriller that I think it would translate effortlessly to the screen.  I'm already looking forward to the next book!

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

My rating:

Buy it from:
Fahrenheit Press
Amazon UK
Amazon US



About the author:

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels SLOW DOWN, THE MENTOR, and THE DESIRE CARD. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar.

The second book in the Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming from Fahrenheit Press in 2019. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests.

After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, Cagibi, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series (guerrillalit.wordpress.com). He lives in New York City.


Follow him:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leemgol
Website: http://www.leematthewgoldberg.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lee-Matthew-Goldberg/e/B00RPF06TS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Follow the tour:

BLOG TOUR: Death Wish - Linda Huber

Secrets. Lies. Murder.

When Leo decides to go into business with his mother-in-law he soon realises his mistake. Eleanor is the mother-in-law from hell and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Her daughter, Ashley, has her own reasons for hating her mother. The atmosphere is toxic and old wounds refuse to heal.

Next door, eight-year-old Joya has a difficult life. Her parents argue constantly and her grandmother, who lives with them, is approaching death.

Soon these two families will collide and the consequences might just be fatal…

What did I think?

Talk about a good start to a book!  The prologue sets a scorching pace as we join the story when somebody is burying a body in their back garden.  Whose body is it?  Who is doing the burying, Mandy Jordache style?  Who is the killer?  As with any good book, we have to wait a while to get the answers after following the story from the beginning to get back to this very juicy end.

8 year old Joya lives with her parents, Martine and Stu, and Grandma Vee.  Grandma Vee has Huntington's Disease and doesn't want to be a burden, so she is looking at options to end her life.  Vee has one final wish: that she goes to her grave knowing whether or not she has passed this life sentence on to her daughter, Martine.  Martine, however, doesn't want to take the Huntington's test; she'd rather not know, but not knowing is putting a strain on her marriage as all they ever think about is Huntington's.  Joya is stuck in the middle of all this, hearing snippets of conversations that she doesn't understand, so she is delighted to be the centre of attention when a young couple move in next door .

Ashley and Leo move into the house next door to Joya and instantly strike up a friendship with the 8 year old.  Ashley is a natural with kids and it's a shame that she doesn't have a child of her own.  Ashley and Leo also have a cross to bear: Ashley's mother, Eleanor, is moving in to the annex that is joined to their house by a connecting door that is staying firmly locked.  Ashley doesn't get on with her mother, for reasons that become apparent as the story unfolds, so she doesn't want her living in such close quarters.  Leo, however, has sold his soul to Satan, aka Eleanor, and only repayment of her huge loan will get rid of her...unless there is another way...

A lot of this book is told from the point of view of Joya, and my heart went out to her as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing and hearing.  It really is true that little ones have big ears and Linda Huber has done an amazing job of giving us a glimpse into the confused mind of a sweet and innocent 8 year old.  We often keep things from people to protect them, but sometimes imagination does run riot and poor Joya feared the worst without even knowing what she was afraid of.

Death Wish is quite a dark book but so very easy to read with well-developed characters and a gruesome whodunnit.  I read it in the space of 24 hours as I couldn't wait to find out what events had led up to the grisly prologue.  There are so many good storylines within this one book, not only exploring the right to die but seeing a mother's love from several different angles.  How far would a mother go to protect her child?  Read Death Wish to find out!

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




About the author:

Linda grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Not to mention several years spent as a full-time mum to two boys, a rescue dog, and a large collection of guinea pigs. 

Her writing career began in the nineties, when she had over fifty short stories published in women’s magazines. Several years later, she discovered the love of her writing life – psychological suspense fiction. Her seventh novel, Death Wish, will be published by Bloodhound Books in August 2017.

Follow Linda on Amazon, Facebook, Website and Twitter


Follow the tour: