BLOG TOUR: The Weekenders (The Raskine House Trilogy Book 1) - David F. Ross

Glasgow, 1966: Stevie 'Minto' Milloy, former star footballer-turned-rookie reporter, finds himself trailing the story of a young Eastern European student whose body has been found on remote moorland outside the city. How did she get there from her hostel at the Sovereign Grace Mission, and why does Stevie find obstacles at every turn?

Italy, 1943: As the Allies fight Mussolini's troops, a group of young soldiers are separated from their platoon, and Glaswegian Jamesie Campbell, his newfound friend Michael McTavish at his side, finds himself free to make his own rules…

Glasgow, 1969: Courtroom sketch artist Donald 'Doodle' Malpas is shocked to discover that his new case involves the murder of a teenage Lithuanian girl he knows from the Sovereign Grace Mission. Why hasn't the girl's death been reported? And why is a young police constable suddenly so keen to join the mission?

No one seems willing to join the dots between the two cases, and how they link to Raskine House, the stately home in the Scottish countryside with a dark history and even darker present – the venue for the debauched parties held there by the rich and powerful of the city who call themselves 'The Weekenders'.

Painting a picture of a 1960s Glasgow in the throes of a permissive society, pulled apart by religion, corruption, and a murderous Bible John stalking the streets, The Weekenders is a snapshot of an era of turmoil – and a terrifying insight into the mind of a ruthless criminal…

 

What did I think?

The Weekenders is the first book in The Raskine House Trilogy and it's the first book by David F. Ross that I have read but I really enjoyed it.  It took me a while to get used to his unique writing style but I loved the colloquial Scottish prose that really brought the book to life.

The plot is razor sharp and I often grimaced at some of the darker scenes but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.  I was shocked so frequently that I might as well have been sitting in an electric chair and I don't mean in a prudish way, just the twists and turns that the story took.

You definitely have to have your wits about you when reading The Weekenders as it's very intricately plotted and feverishly fast-paced.  It does feel as if the characters are speaking to you in their broad Scottish accents making it very authentic and atmospheric.

Dark, gritty and highly original, The Weekenders is unlike anything I have ever read before and it's a great start to a new series.   

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

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BLOG TOUR: Small Fires - Ronnie Turner

Evil runs through this cursed island

And these wicked sisters are about to make it burn...

When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.

 

Lily is terrified of what her sister will might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.

 

Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?

 

Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, generational trauma, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…

Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.

 

What did I think?

Small Fires is the first book by Ronnie Turner that I have read so I didn't know what to expect but this disturbing gothic tale had me enthralled from the start.  It's like a Grimm's fairy tale for adults that is very dark but completely mesmerising.

The Pedley sisters were never proven to have killed their parents but there was something not quite right in that family.  The flashbacks to the girls' past are very unsettling with a definite undertone of evil.  When they move to Scotland, this evil follows them but the Scottish island has its own dark secrets so the girls may have met their match.

Oh my goodness this goosebump-inducing novel chilled me to the bone and it probably wasn't the best idea to read it in bed each night as I had some rather strange dreams after putting the book down.  Ronnie Turner's beautiful and hypnotic writing combines mystery, myth and folklore to give the novel the feel of an adult fairy tale with a hint of a gothic horror.

Clever, creepy and compelling, Small Fires is a haunting and atmospheric novel that sent shivers down my spine.  Highly recommended if you're looking for something unique and unusual to read.

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

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BLOGATHON: Judas Horse (DC Jack Warr book 2) - Lynda La Plante

SOME KILLERS CAN'T BE TAMED . . .

The brand new Detective Jack Warr thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante - now available in hardback, eBook and audiobook.

'Do you know what a Judas Horse is? When the wild mustangs are running free, you corral one and train it. When he's ready, you release him and he'll bring his team back into the corral - like Judas betraying them...'

Violent burglars have been terrorising residents across the English countryside. But when a mutilated body is discovered in a Cotswolds house, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary group of opportunist thieves.

As Detective Jack Warr investigates, he discovers locals with dark secrets, unearths hidden crimes - and hits countless dead ends. With few leads and the violent attacks escalating, he will have to act as audaciously as the criminals if he hopes to stop them.

When Warr meets Charlotte Miles, a terrified woman with links to the group, he must use her to lure the unsuspecting killers into one last job, and into his trap. But with the law already stretched to breaking point, any failure will be on Warr's head - and any more blood spilled, on his hands...

What did I think?

Having recently been introducted to the Jack Warr series I couldn't wait to read the second book, Judas Horse, and it was every bit as good as I expected it to be.  

Jack has more balls to juggle than ever now that he is a dad but he becomes laser focussed when a new case lands on his desk.  It's just as well that Maggie knows and loves him as he would test the patience of a saint when he forgets his family responsibilites.  It's great to have such a flawed character though as it really brings Jack to life.

This book is set in the Cotswolds where the peace and quiet of the idyllic countryside has been disrupted by a gang of burglars who always seem to be one step ahead of the residents and the police.  The burglars didn't account for Jack Warr though as he pushes the boundaries of his official role to solve the case.

Clever, gripping and twisty, Judas Horse had my pulse racing and my palms sweating as I galloped through the book as fast as I possibly could.  I absolutely loved it and I'm totally hooked on this series now.  Very highly recommended. 

I received a gifted copy to review for the Compulsive Readers blogathon and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: How to Slay on Holiday - Sarah Bonner

You’d kill for a holiday like this one…

Chloe and her husband Scott are holidaying with their families on the beautiful Greek island of Mykonos. But Chloe has a secret... She has hired a hitman to kill Scott when they return home. This week, her plan is to pretend to be such a happy wife that no suspicion can possibly fall on her after the murder.

But she's reckoning without Scott’s meddlesome sister, Tori, plus the rivalries and demands of both families. Can she deal with them all while keeping her murderous intentions hidden?

Then Chloe wakes up in their villa covered in blood, next to a dead body, with no memory of the previous night. Panic ensues as she tries to piece together what happened - and just who else on this holiday might be a secret killer...

Fans of Katy Brent, Bella Mackie and Julie Mae Cohen won't be able to resist this twisty, darkly funny crime thriller.

 

What did I think?

OMG I loved this book! It's the first book by Sarah Bonner that I have read but I will definitely be reading more of her books now that I have read this cracking thriller.

I loved Chloe, even though she has planned the murder of her husband down to every last detail...or so she thinks.  Of course, it goes slightly wrong and that's when the dark humour ramps up several notches.  

I'm keeping my review purposefully brief so I don't inadvertently give away any of the plot that would spoil it for others but I absolutely loved it.  I did work out some of the twists but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book one iota.  

Incredibly entertaining and highly addictive, How to Slay on Holiday is a fun, slightly gory and sharp darkly comic thriller.  I thought it was brilliant and I think it would be a great holiday read.

I received 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/howtoslayonholiday

About the author:

Sarah Bonner is the author of several bestselling psychological thrillers.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Sarah-Bonner-Author/61559588900774/ 

Twitter: @sarahbonner101

Instagram: @sarahbonner101

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

Bookbub profile: @SarahBonner

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BLOG TOUR: While We're Young - K.L. Walther

A whirlwind romance inspired by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off about four friends whose hearts are broken and mended over the course of an epic senior skip day—from the bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules!

Grace, Isa, and Everett used to be an inseparable trio before their love lives became a tangled mess. For starters, Grace is secretly in love with Everett, who used to go out with Isa before breaking her heart in the infamous Freshman Year Fracture. And, oh yeah, no one knows that Isa has been hanging out with James, Grace’s brother—and if Grace finds out, it could ruin their friendship.

With graduation fast approaching, Grace decides an unsanctioned senior skip day in Philadelphia might be just what they need to fix things. All she has to do is convince Isa to help her kidnap Everett and outmaneuver James, who’s certain his sister is up to something.

In an epic day that includes racing up the famous Rocky steps, taste-testing Philly's finest cheesesteaks, and even crashing a wedding, their secrets are bound to collide. But can their hearts withstand the wreckage?

 

What did I think?

As soon as I saw that While We're Young was inspired by Ferris Bueller's Day Off I just had to read it and I was not disappointed; it was everything I expected it to be and more.  It may be a YA book but adults will love it too.

Anyone who has seen the film will notice some similar scenes and the scattering of references that pay homage to the John Hughes classic.  I absolutely loved these little nods to one of my favourite films but there is so much more to this wonderful book.

The characters are so well developed they almost pop out from the page and they all have their own little hangups and characteristics that really endeared them to me.  Grace is the main character but I also loved her brother James and her two best friends Isa and Everett who haven't been speaking to each other since they dated and broke up.  Grace sees an opportunity to bring her little friendship group back together again but it will involve them all bunking off school.

Incredibly entertaining, sweet and heartwarming, While We're Young is so much fun to read and it left me with a great big smile on my face.  I definitely plan to read it again to relive the fun, high jinks and emotion that delighted me from start to finish.  

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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About the author:

K.L. Walther was born and raised in the rolling hills of Bucks County, Pennsylvania surrounded by family, dogs, and books. Her childhood was spent traveling the northeastern seaboard to play ice hockey. She attended a boarding school in New Jersey and went on to earn a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia. She is happiest on the beach with a book, cheering for the New York Rangers, or enjoying a rom-com while digging into a big bowl of popcorn and M&Ms. And listening to Taylor Swift on repeat, of course. 

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BLOG TOUR: The Formula - Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg

F1 is now the fastest growing sport in the world; the full story of its unbelievable rise is a riveting saga only hinted at by the likes of Drive to Survive. In this book - the first, definitive account of how F1 came to achieve total global fandom - Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg take us inside a world full of racing obsessives, glamorous settings, petrolheads, engineering geniuses, dashing racers and bitter rivalries.

The story of F1's world dominance is one of near-constant transformation and experimentation. This is a sport where the only way to win championships is to land a series of technical moon shots - and then do it all over again. With fast cars, big money, beautiful people, and glamorous locations from Monaco to Melbourne, The Formula tells the full, epic story of the sport. Starting in 1950s Britain, where six years of wartime engineering laid the foundations for a new type of motorcar racing; to the first global star partnership of Senna and Ecclestone; Spygate; Crashgate and its transition into an entertainment juggernaut. Bringing unique insight and access to F1's most storied teams and personalities - from Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton to Christian Horner and Daniel Ricciardo -The Formula offers a riveting portrait of the drivers, corporations, cars, rivalries, and audacious gambles that have shaped the sport for half a century.

The end result is a high-octane history of how modern F1 racing came to be - the first book to tell the story of the outrageous successes and spectacular crashes that led F1 to this extraordinary yet precarious moment. More than just a sports story, it is the tale of a commercial empire, one built in the 20th century, rendered almost obsolete in the early 21st, and re-emerged world-dominant today; a disrupter that claimed its place in the crowded sports marketplace through cash, personality, and a new understanding of what a sport needs to be in the age of wall-to-wall entertainment.

 

What did I think?

As a longstanding fan of F1 I was very excited to read The Formula by Josuhua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  This is a must-read for every fan of F1 that delves behind the scenes at the business-end of F1 and explains how its star has continued to rise over the years. 

Pretty much everything is covered in this fabulous book: THAT race in Abu Dhabi 2021, the McLaren Ferrari spygate controversy, Bruno Senna's calculated crash that put his teammate on the podium and a glimpse into the running of the sport.  I was never a fan of Bernie Ecclestone but I have to admire him for everything he did to get F1 on our TV and he epitomises our local phrase: 'shy bairns get nowt' and Bernie is anything but shy!

Reading this book is like revealing the inner workings of your favourite watch that you have been wearing for years; I thought I knew it well as I have been a fan of the sport for over 30 years but there was so much I didn't know.  I really enjoyed reading about the business side of F1 and as a wise man (Sir Lewis Hamilton, no less) once said "cash is king".

One minor niggle I have is that Jules Bianchi is referred to as 'a driver' when referring to his fatal crash in 2014 that resulted in the introduction of the driver halo and I think he deserves to be named and remembered.  Other than that though, I don't think there was a word out of place and a lot of ground is covered in this concise yet comprehensive book.

Well written, entertaining and informative, The Formula is an outstanding book that reminded me of the highs and lows over the years and gave me an unexpectedly eye-opening insight into F1.  A highly recommend read and one not to be missed for F1 fans.

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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About the authors:

Joshua Robinson is the European sports correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated.

Jonathan Clegg is an editor for The Wall Street Journal, his work has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Independent, and FourFourTwo magazine.

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BLOG TOUR: Little Red Death - A. K. Benedict

ONCE UPON A TIME LIKE YOU'VE NEVER READ IT BEFORE . . .

 

DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what they have named the Grimm Ripper Murders.

 

But as the bodies stack up, Lyla’s whole world is about to flip on its head. Because the killer’s bloody trail stretches deep into her own origin story, and when she discovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same again.

 

Faced with the fact that everything she knows is fiction, Lyla will have to take a little creative license of her own if she’s going to turn the final page on the killings . . . 

 

What did I think?

Little Red Death is described as "A mind-bending murder mystery like nothing you've read before".  Well consider my mind well and truly bent - I didn't know whether I was coming or going!

I love fairy tale retellings so I wanted to read this book as soon as I heard about it and it's a clever idea, although it sometimes felt a bit too clever for me.  I didn't particularly like any of the characters, although there is a very good reason for that (no spoilers here through).  One of the characters is an author who is forced to write dark fairy tales for the Grimm Ripper to bring to life and I rather enjoyed the book within a book part of the story.

There are some dark and gory scenes to shock and delight the reader and they are very vividly described.  I sometimes struggled a little with the descriptive writing as I just didn't get some of the analogies but they were quite entertaining. 

Little Red Death is an entertaining read that is imaginative and very dark.  I think it might appeal more to fantasy readers than crime thriller fans but give it a read and make your own mind up.

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

My rating:

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About the author:

A. K. (ALEXANDRA) BENEDICT is a best-selling, award-winning writer of short stories, novels and scripts.  Educated at Cambridge, Sussex and Clown School, she has been an indie-rock singer, an actor, RLF Fellow,  and a composer for film and TV, as well as teaching and running the prestigious MA in Crime Thrillers at City University. She is now a full-time writer and creative coach. 

As A. K. Benedict, she writes acclaimed short stories, high-concept novels and award-winning audio drama  for Big Finish, Audible UK, Audible US and BBC Sounds, among others. She won the Scribe Award for her  Doctor Who radio drama, The Calendar Man, and was shortlisted for the eDunnit Novel Award for The Beauty of Murder and the BBC Audio Drama Podcast Award for Children of the Stones. As Alexandra Benedict she writes puzzle-filled Christmas mysteries, of which The Christmas Murder Game and Murder on the Christmas Express were both bestsellers and The Christmas Murder Game was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. Her most recent festive thriller, The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, was published in 2023. 

She lives on the south coast of England with writer Guy Adams, their daughter, Verity, and dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford. 

Follow her on X @ak_benedict and Instagram @a.k.benedict.

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