BLOG TOUR: Let the Bells Ring Out - Milly Johnson

Seven people, four days and a snowy Christmas on board a luxury sleeper train. This festive season getting away from it all takes on a new meaning…

The Yorkshire Belle is a glamorous steam train all decked out for an escapist festive getaway. It is not supposed to be where a group of people, all trying to get to their destinations for the holidays, will spend their Christmas. 

Seven people, each with their own hopes and dreams, secrets and sorrows, board the train as strangers, but as the snow keeps falling and they realise they are going nowhere fast, they are forced to slow down and embrace the present.

This Christmas on board the Yorkshire Belle, will the friendships they make change their lives forever?

 

What did I think?

I need to apologise to Milly Johnson as I simply cannot write a review that will do justice to this fabulous book, but I'll give it a try.  Also, I need to say sorry (not sorry) to my other Milly Johnson books as Let the Bells Ring Out is my new favourite.

Milly Johnson is one of my favourite authors and her new book is always guaranteed to be a five star read before I've even read the first word.  This might sound blasé but believe me she earns every single star and MORE!

If you could imagine your favourite Christmas movie, your favourite festive read and your favourite Yuletide treat all wrapped up in beautiful paper with a huge bow and lots of love from Milly Johnson then you are close to the feeling I got when I read Let the Bells Ring Out.  I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it now.

Beautifully written, heartwarming and fabulously festive, Let the Bells Ring Out is a truly wonderful novel that is filled with Christmas spirit and bursting with the magic of Christmas.  I intend to read it again over the upcoming festive season and for many years to come.   Five stars just aren't enough for this magnificent book - a very highly recommended read.

I received a beautiful signed hardback to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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(Don't) Call Mum - Matt Wesolowski

HE ALWAYS COMES FOR YOU…

Leo is just trying to catch his train back home to the village of Malacstone in North East England. But there’s disorder at the station, and when a loud young man heading for London boards the train accidentally, a usually easy journey descends into darkness and chaos. The train soon breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and as night falls, something...or someone steps out of the distance. Is it a man or something far more sinister?

When one of the passengers goes missing, Leo fears that a folkloric tale whispered to him in childhood might be the culprit.

(Don’t) Call Mum blends Matt Wesolowski’s trademark voice of mystery, folklore and humour in this heart-racing tale.

 

What did I think?

The North East's very own Prince of Darkness is back and Matt Wesolowski's new book, (Don't) Call Mum, is darker than ever.  It certainly gave me the creeps and sent shivers down my spine.

Leo is one of a handful of passengers who boards a late night train from York to Northumberland.  There may only be a couple of passengers but, just like real life, there's always one annoying one who talks loudly on their mobile phone and Annoying Angus seats himself in the same carriage.  It soon becomes clear that Angus has got on the wrong train and that's when things start to get really weird.  Eeeeeek! 

Matt Wesolowski's vivid writing perfectly encapsulates the bleak Northumbrian contryside as the train rattles through the villages, taking the few passengers further away from civilisation.  Northumberland is rife with folklore and Matt weaves some dark and spine-chilling tales through his perfectly crafted prose.  

(Don’t) Call Mum is a dark and creepy novella that simmers with tension and brims with malice.  It's a quick read but I wouldn't want to read it on the train!

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

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In The Dying Minutes - J.A. Baker

Everyone has their secrets, some are more deadly than others.

What is she running away from?

When Leah is involved in a train crash, she goes to a therapist, Will. He attempts to help her through the trauma but whenever Leah is in his presence, strange things occur. She suffers from hallucinations that include visions of her dead brother, Ellis. 

As Leah reveals to Will that her friends Jacob and Chloe wronged her, further flashbacks of her childhood and parts of her life she would sooner forget begin to surface, troubling Leah even more.

But what is actually bothering her and what led Leah to be on that train? 

Nothing is as it seems, and soon she will learn the heart-breaking truth… 

What did I think?

Well this was a psychological thriller with a capital P.  I love J.A. Baker books and In The Dying Minutes feels much darker than her previous books; it's tense, creepy and disturbing which makes it a goosebumpy page turner.

Leah is such a complex character that you can't tell what is real and what is in her head.  Losing her boyfriend, her job and her home in quick succession has sent her on a downward spiral with devastating consequences.  It's not a spoiler to say that Leah is involved in a train crash and I just have to mention that J.A. Baker's writing of this scene was absolutely sublime.  It's not something I ever want to experience but I felt and heard unimaginable things through J.A. Baker's powerful writing.  I don't want to go into any details but there's one thing that stuck in my mind just before the crash and it's one of those sliding doors, what if moments.  I love this sort of thing, like the twist of fate and the possibility that everyone ended up where they were supposed to be.

Although I've focused on the train crash, the story is so much more than that.  It's a deep delve into the psyche of Leah, not just through her therapist but through her own actions.  Leah is so obsessed with her ex-boyfriend, Jacob, that she stalks him and his new girlfriend, Chloe.  I really enjoyed seeing inside the mind of a stalker: the delusions, the obsession and the disturbing mental health.

What really stands out for me is the way that the format of the book seems to mirror Leah's mind.  It jumps around a bit but rather than feel confusing, it just added to the authenticity of Leah's state of mind.  There are quite a few layers of the story as we unearth Leah's past and you can't help but feel sorry for her and think how things could have been different if she'd had counselling at an early age.  The story of Leah's brother, Ellis, really got to me and I loved the final thing that linked him and Leah - I just can't say what it is!!!

Shocking, disturbing and outstanding, In The Dying Minutes is so full of surprises that I feel like I need to read it again to pick up all the nuances that J.A. Baker has woven into her exceptional story.  An intelligent and imaginative story that is highly recommended.

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

My rating:

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The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.

Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.

Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

What did I think?

I'm a bit late to the party on this one but, with the volume of books rotating through my family, it was inevitable that my path would cross with The Girl on the Train at some point.  So many thanks to Aunty M for lending it to me.

Rachel is the girl on the train, travelling in and out of London each day passing her old house.  A house she used to live in with her husband, Tom, until Tom met Anna.  As the train stops at the signals, Rachel looks into one of her neighbours homes and sees a loving couple.  It is not long before Rachel conjures up a story about the couple, naming them Jason and Jess.  One day Rachel spots 'Jess' with someone who isn't her husband and is completely devastated that Jason and Jess are not the perfect couple she though they were.  Then when a local woman, Megan Hipwell, is reported missing, Rachel's breath catches in her throat as she sees a photo in the newspaper, because Megan is 'Jess'.

Told from the point of view of the three ladies in the story; Rachel, Anna and Megan, with each voice being so completely and perfectly distinct from the others.  Rachel is an alcoholic and is held together by sticky tape; I thought if she got stuck in a shower she'd become unstuck and fall to pieces.  Anna thinks she's won, going from the other woman to the wife, but she doesn't seem very confident in her relationship and is constantly on the lookout for Rachel so she can complain to Tom.  Megan is so guarded and confused, I felt like she was a shadow of herself and an almost empty shell of a person.  As her story progresses, it becomes clear why I would think this.

I can see why there has been so much excitement about The Girl on the Train; it is written in such a way that it feels like the book is actually talking to you.  Rachel's alcoholism was revealed warts and all, sometimes shockingly so, but it made your heart go out to her. She feels like her life is falling apart and as she rapidly loses control she regularly drinks herself into oblivion.  When Rachel reveals what she knows about Megan's mystery man and his link to her disappearance, her reliability is called into question but Rachel actually knows more than she realises.  If only she hadn't been drunk that night she might have remembered a crucial piece of evidence that is so far remaining agonisingly out of reach.

Never mind The Girl on the Train, I felt like I'd been hit by a train at the end.  I was tootling along nicely grasping at snippets as Rachel remembered them, then BAM! No way!  I totally didn't see it coming and I then questioned everything I'd picked up as the book went along.  A top psychological thriller, The Girl on the Train deserves every accolade that comes its way.  I know that I will be talking and thinking about this one for a long time.  

My rating:

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Double Indemnity - James M. Cain

A true crime masterpiece, and highly acclaimed 1940s movie

DOUBLE INDEMNITY is the classic tale of an evil woman motivated by greed who corrupts a weak man motivated by lust.

Walter Huff is an insurance investigator like any other until the day he meets the beautiful and dangerous Phyllis Nirdlinger and falls under her spell. Together they plot to kill her husband and split the insurance. It'll be the perfect murder . . .

What did I think?

Another quick read out of my classic film pack - I actually enjoyed this more than The Postman Always Rings Twice.  It was easy to read and drew me in quite quickly as it jumped straight into the meeting with the femme fatale, Mrs. Nirdlinger.

For a thin book it sure packs a lot of punch!  It became apparent quite quickly that all was not as it appeared and I found myself exclaiming, "oh Walter, you silly man, you have been played."

It was so detailed how the scene was set and alibis were created that I can't see what enhancement could be made in the movie. Although I will be looking out for the film starring Barbara Stanwyck to see if, as suspected, the book is better than the film.

My rating:

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