BLOG TOUR: 6 Ripley Avenue - Noelle Holten

 

ONE HOUSE

EIGHT KILLERS

NO WITNESSES

Jeanette is the manager of a probation hostel that houses high risk offenders released on license.

At 3am one morning, she receives a call telling her a resident has been murdered.

Her whole team, along with the eight convicted murderers, are now all suspects in a crime no one saw committed…

Don’t miss the first nerve-shredding standalone thriller from Noelle Holten, author of the Maggie Jamieson series.

What did I think?

6 Ripley Avenue is Noelle Holten's first standalone thriller following the success of her Maggie Jamieson series, of which I'm a huge fan, so I was very excited to read it and I was not disappointed.

Told from various perspectives, the plot centres around the murder of an offender in a probation hostel.  With a house full of killers, any one of the offenders could have done it so the police have their work cut out.  It's not just the offenders who have motive though, neighbours and staff are all under suspicion.  I could say that I got the murderer right but that's only because I suspected everybody at one time or another.

I found it really interesting to glimpse inside a probation hostel and seeing the challenges that brings for staff, offenders and neighbours was very enlightening.  It's certainly not a job I could do so I really must applaud people who work in the probation service.  Just remembering all of the many acronyms is challenging enough!

Gripping, tense and filled with suspense, 6 Ripley Avenue is another winner from Noelle Holten and it's well worth a read.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA's - Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice - and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle's hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog.

Dead Inside - her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

Connect with Noelle on social media here:

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Website: https://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk

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Amazon:  https://amzn.to/37G2Cha

Pinterest: https://pin.it/1VgMygp

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The Accomplice (Eddie Flynn #7) - Steve Cavanagh

THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA

The Sandman killings have been solved. Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband's crimes.

THE LAWYER

Eddie Flynn won't take a case unless his client is innocent. Now, he has to prove to a jury, and the entire world, that Carrie Miller was just another victim of the Sandman. She didn't know her husband's dark side and she had no part in the murders. But so far, Eddie and his team are the only ones who believe her.

THE FORMER FBI AGENT

Gabriel Lake used to be a federal agent, before someone tried to kill him. Now, he's an investigator with a vendetta against the Sandman. He's the only one who can catch him, because he believes that everything the FBI knows about serial killers is wrong.

THE KILLER

With his wife on trial, the Sandman is forced to come out of hiding to save her from a life sentence. He will kill to protect her and everyone involved in the case is a target.

Even Eddie Flynn...

 

What did I think?

Even though I jumped into the Eddie Flynn series at book 5, I get super excited when a new book is released and I couldn't wait to read book 7, The Accomplice.  Even though each book is brilliant and I don't think it can be bested, this series just gets better and better and The Accomplice is the best one yet.

The plot is breathtaking with the wife of a missing unconvicted murderer standing trial as an accomplice.  With Sandman Daniel Miller missing and unable to stand trial, all of the public's hatred is directed towards his wife Carrie.  The sense of injustice is palpable as Carrie is faced with the full wrath of the law as well as the public.  Only Eddie Flynn can get justice for Carrie.

The investigation to prove Carrie's innocence progresses with the help of former FBI agent Gabriel Lake, but Lake seems to have an agenda of his own and I was worried that he couldn't be trusted.  He's partnered up with Bloch though and she takes no nonsense from anybody so I knew I should be more concerned for Lake's safety if he tries any funny business.

I just couldn't put this book down and I enjoyed every single second of it.  It's so good that I want to read it again, even though I know all its secrets.  Steve Cavanagh is The Master of Misdirection and even though I expected the unexpected, I was still shocked and surprised by The Accomplice.

Gripping, thrilling and absolutely breathtaking, The Accomplice is a jawdroppingly brilliant masterpiece and an easy five stars.  I really don't know how Steve Cavanagh will outdo it but, on his past form, I know that he undoubtedly will and I can't wait for more Eddie Flynn.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

Lord of the Fly Fest - Goldy Moldavsky

One of Us Is Lying meets Lord of the Flies meets Fyre Fest in this wickedly addictive and funny YA thriller.

Rafi Francisco needs something really special to put her true crime podcast on the map. She sets her sights on River Stone, the hearthrob musician who rose to stardom after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. Rafi lands herself a ticket to the exclusive Fly Fest, where River will be the headliner.

But when Rafi arrives on the Caribbean island location of Fly Fest with hundreds of other influencers and (very minor) celebrities, they quickly discover that the dream trip is more of a nightmare. And it’s not just confronting beauty gurus-gone-wild and spotty WiFi. Soon, Rafi goes from fighting for an interview to fighting for her life. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers that he might be hiding even darker secrets than she suspected . . .

 

What did I think?

Lord of the Fly Fest appears to be a modern-day retelling of Lord of the Flies; I say ‘appears to be’ as, to my shame, I’ve never read Lord of the Flies but I did recognise some nods to the classic novel.  It’s a YA novel but can of course be enjoyed by adults too.

The book cover is stunning and that’s what drew me to the book in the first place; the colours are so eye-catching and I was intrigued about the smears on the girl’s lips and eyes (and then wish I’d never found out).

The story revolves around a group of social media influencers who attend a music festival on a remote island.  They can’t wait to start uploading photos and videos as partying with rock stars and models is going to get them so many likes…but there is no internet.  No internet?!?! What kind of hell is this?  Not only is there no internet, there’s no Fly Fest.

I don’t want to mention any more of the plot but it’s a very twisted tale.  Seeing how different people react to adversity always intrigues me but these people are something else entirely; they live and breathe social media.  These are the monsters that social media has created and it was actually pretty eye-opening and sobering to be reminded that a lot of what you see online is fake.  It’s all filters and poses yet somehow people become influencers; influencing fakery more like.

Highly imaginative and thought-provoking, Lord of the Fly Fest is perhaps the weirdest book I have read all year but I really enjoyed it.  A solid four stars and a recommended read.

My rating:

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Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Black Hearts (The Skelfs Book 4) - Doug Johnstone

The Skelf women live in the shadow of death every day, running the family funeral directors and private investigator business in Edinburgh. But now their own grief interwines with that of their clients, as they are left reeling by shocking past events.

A fist-fight by an open grave leads Dorothy to investigate the possibility of a faked death, while a young woman’s obsession with Hannah threatens her relationship with Indy and puts them both in mortal danger. An elderly man claims he’s being abused by the ghost of his late wife, while ghosts of another kind come back to haunt Jenny from the grave … pushing her to breaking point.

As the Skelfs struggle with increasingly unnerving cases and chilling danger lurks close to home, it becomes clear that grief, in all its forms, can be deadly…

 

What did I think?

I love The Skelfs series so I was very excited to read Black Hearts and I was not disappointed.  This series is just getting better and better and I hope Doug Johnstone has a lot more ideas up his sleeve for the Skelf women as I don't ever want this series to end.

You could read Black Hearts as a standalone as it has a brilliant self-contained plot, however, to fully appreciate the characters it is better to read the previous books in the series.  There is just enough of their backstories included in the book to intrigue and inform new readers without being too repetitive for long-standing fans of the series.

I'm purposefully avoiding talking about any of the various threads of the plot as it would spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but oh my word it's a good 'un.  Each character has something different to deal with and I couldn't read fast enough to see how it would all end; I certainly couldn't have predicted any of it.

I love how Doug Johnstone explores grief in all of The Skelf novels but Black Hearts is particularly poignant as it mentions something from Japanese culture that some readers may have never heard of before.  It allowed us to see a bit more behind Dorothy's character and it shows us that grief never leaves us, it merely becomes less painful as time goes on.

Unpredictable, suspenseful and addictive, Black Hearts is another fantastic installment in The Skelfs series.  I've loved every single one of them; keep 'em coming, Doug!

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:

Doug Johnstone is the author of twelve novels, most recently The Great Silence, described as ‘A novel [that] underlines just how accomplished Johnstone has become’ by the Daily Mail. He has been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year three times, and the Capital Crime Best Independent Voice one; The Big Chill was longlisted for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He’s also player-manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club. He lives in Edinburgh.

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BLOG TOUR: I'm Not There - Rob Gittins

Two sisters abandoned

It was a treat, she said. An adventure. A train journey to the mainland. Six-year-old Lara Arden and her older sister Georgia happily fill in their colouring books as their mum pops to the buffet in search of crisps. She never returns. Two little girls abandoned. Alone.

Present day 

Twenty years later, and Lara is now a detective inspector on her native Isle of Wight, still searching for answers to her mother's disappearance.

A call comes in. A small child, a boy, has been left abandoned on a train. Like Lara, he has no relatives to look after him. It feels as if history is being repeated - but surely this is a coincidence?

A series of murders

Before Lara can focus on the boy's plight, she's faced with a series of murders. They feature different victims in very different circumstances, but they all have one thing in common: they all leave children - alone - behind.

So who is targeting Lara? What do these abandoned souls have in common? And how does this connect to the mystery of Lara's missing mother? 

What did I think?

This book is massively intriguing.  It got its hooks into me from the start with the mysterious disappearance of Lara's mother twenty years earlier and now a similar case in the present day.  

Not only are there two intriguing missing persons, but there is also a series of brutal murders that are leaving children orphaned.  It all seems to link back to Lara who is now a police detective and she has a race against time to stop the killer before someone she knows becomes the next victim.

There are some amazing characters in this book and they are so very well developed that they virtually leap out from the page.  I loved Lara but I also really liked Lara's colleague Jordan; his personal life is falling apart but he still manages to keep a close eye on his family.  I'm Not There is the first book in a new series set on the Isle of Wight, so I do hope to catch up with these characters again in the future.

The writing is flawless; it's vivid, descriptive and very easy to imagine the scenes in your head.  I really couldn't tell which direction the story was going in as there are so many different threads weaving through the novel, but they all get tied up perfectly at the end.  

Unpredictable and gripping, I'm Not There is a hugely enjoyable police procedural with an intriguing mystery at its heart.  You can't go wrong with a Hobeck Books novel and I'm Not There is no exception.  Recommended.

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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BLOG TOUR: Before I Do - Sophie Cousens

What would you do if the one that got away turned up the night before your wedding?

Audrey is marrying Josh; steady, dependable Josh, the love of her life. They share a flat and a bank account, and it's the only relationship that Audrey's ever had that feels like something she can put her trust in. But romance should be full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey's found herself wondering if Josh really is 'the one'.

So, when Josh's sister Miranda arrives at their rehearsal dinner with Fred - Audrey's 'What If?' guy, the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with but never saw again - Audrey can't help but see it as a sign.

Surely Fred's appearance the night before Audrey is due to get married can't be a coincidence. And when everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to wonder: could fate be trying to stop her from making a huge mistake?

 

What did I think?

I enjoyed Before I Do so much more than I expected to.  I was expecting something lighthearted and fun, which it sort of is, but it's so incredibly intriguing from the start that I couldn't put it down.  I hadn't read any of Sophie Cousens' books before but I definitely want to read more now.

The first line is a wonderful hook that not only sets the scene but makes the reader want to find out more.  With chapters titled various amounts of time 'Before I Do' the story flips back and forth between Audrey's past and the present day.  Audrey has always wondered about Fred, her one that got away, as fate seemed to bring them together before so cruelly tearing them apart.  Josh didn't make such a good first impression on Audrey but her love for him grew and they are about to get married.  The last person Audrey expected to see the day before her wedding day is Fred.

I really felt for Audrey as she juggled her emotions and tried to keep her wedding on track.  It seems like fate is once again playing a part in Audrey's life when things start going wrong, but Audrey is sure that she loves Josh, isn't she?  A wedding must be one of the most stressful things a couple can go through so it's no wonder that they often have doubts.  I loved the vivid portrayal of Audrey's emotions and I felt like I experienced them all with her.

Before I Do is so entertaining, the writing is vivid and the plot is wonderfully surprising.  I absolutely loved it and it's an easy five stars.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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The Dead Romantics - Ashley Poston

On 29th September, HQ will be publishing THE DEAD ROMANTICS by Ashley Poston. This book is currently taking TikTok by storm – #TheDeadRomantics currently has over 25.6 million views, and if you haven’t seen some of the fantastic videos, you can watch here and here.

About the book:

Florence Day is a ghost-writer with one big problem. She’s supposed to be penning swoon-worthy novels for a famous romance author but, after a bad break-up, Florence no longer believes in love. And when her strict (but undeniably hot) new editor, Benji Andor, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye.

Although when tragedy strikes and Florence has to head home, the last thing she expects to see is a ghost at her front door. Not just any ghost, however, but the stern form of her still very hot – yet now unquestionably dead – new editor.

As sparks start to fly between them, Florence tells herself she can’t be falling for a ghost – even an infuriatingly sexy one.

But can Benji help Florence to realise love isn’t dead, after all?

Click here to read the first chapter.