Waking the Tiger (Betancourt Mystery Series Book 1) - Mark Wightman

Singapore, 1939

A young Japanese woman is found dead on the dockside, her throat slashed

Inspector Maximo Betancourt is working a new beat, one he didn’t ask for. Following the disappearance of his wife, his life and career have fallen apart.

A distinctive tiger tattoo is the only clue to her identity

Once a rising star of Singapore CID, Betancourt has been relegated to the Marine Division, with tedious dockyard disputes and goods inspections among his new duties.

Who is she? And why are the authorities turning a blind eye?

But when a beautiful, unidentified Japanese woman is found murdered in the shadow of a warehouse owned by one of Singapore’s most powerful families, Betancourt defies orders and pursues those responsible. What he discovers will bring him into conflict with powerful enemies, and force him to face his personal demons.

 

What did I think?

What a fantastic debut!  Waking the Tiger is a completely gripping thriller that I absolutely raced through.  I loved everything about it: the immersive writing, the well-developed characters, the dark and sometimes seedy location, the pre-war era and the razor-sharp plot. 

I love Max Betancourt; he's a brilliant detective but there's one case he can't crack: the one relating to the disappearance of his wife.  It's like someone has pressed pause on his personal life and he can't go any further until he finds out what happened to Anna.  He's even lost touch with his daughter Lucia, who is living with her grandparents.  At least he can rely on Alex...his motorbike!

It feels as if the whole novel is written in black and white and I could imagine every scene playing out in my head as if it was on the big screen.  The mystery surrounding the murdered woman is fantastic; it feels like Max is pulling at several threads and just one more tug will see the whole thing unravel and what's hidden underneath will be revealed. 

Authentic, atmospheric and addictive, Waking the Tiger is an outstanding debut and a fantastic start to an exciting new series.  Very highly recommended.

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

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Nineteen Steps - Millie Bobby Brown

The debut novel from global star Millie Bobby Brown

Love blooms in the darkest days…

London, 1942.

Despite the raging war, spirited 18-year-old Nellie Morris lives a quiet life in the tight-knit East End community of Bethnal Green. Her family and friends all tease that she will marry air raid warden Billy, the boy next door who’s always been sweet on her.

The arrival of Ray, a handsome American airman stationed nearby, causes Nellie to question everything she thought she knew about her future.

Nellie’s newfound happiness is short-lived when a tragic accident occurs during an air raid. Even the closest family can’t escape the devastation of war, and as the secrets and truth about that fateful night become clear, they threaten to tear Nellie – and those dearest to her – apart.

Inspired by the true events of her family history, Millie Bobby Brown’s dazzling debut novel is a moving tale of longing, loss and secrets, and the lengths that we will go to fight for love.

 

What did I think?

Millie Bobby Brown's debut novel has been written with Kathleen McGurl and it's based around an absolutely tragic event that I had never even heard of, although similar horrific events have happened over the years.  

When I first started reading, I thought it would be a traditional wartime love story with boy meets girl and boy goes to war but Nineteen Steps is so much more than that.  It absolutely devastated me and as hard as it was to read about the horrific tragedy, it's a story that really needed to be told.  I'm not going to reveal what the tragedy was as it would spoil it for other readers but I applaud Millie Bobby Brown for bringing it to light, especially when it is very personal to her.

I absolutely loved Nellie and her whole family.  I feel very fortunate to have never experienced a war on home soil as it must have been so frightening.  Parents, often women on their own as their husband was fighting in the war, had such difficult decisions to make to protect their family, not least whether they should evacuate their children.  

Everyone thinks Nellie will end up marrying Billy the boy next door but fate has other plans for her and American airman Ray is thrust into her life.  It wasn't exactly love at first sight but I loved how their relationship grew, almost cruelly right in front of Billy's eyes.

Haunting, devastating and poignant, Nineteen Steps is a heartachingly beautiful story that will stay with me long after turning the final page.  I was close to tears on several occasions and I had a lump in my throat at the end.  It's well-written, very easy to read and should come with a warning that it may cause tears.  A solid 4.5 stars from me.

I received an ARC for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: Foul Play at the Seaview Hotel (A Helen Dexter Cosy Crime Mystery Book 3) - Glenda Young

In the charming Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, a killer game is being played . . .

Helen Dexter is enjoying the new four-star status of the Seaview Hotel. But she begins to wonder if this accolade is cursed when a series of disasters strike.

It starts when a crazy golf team arrive to play in a Scarborough tournament. Their odd behaviour heightens when the rival team captain turns up. Yet, there's worse to come for Helen when one of the guests is murdered playing crazy golf.

Then the Seaview's prize-winning cook Jean quits, leaving Helen devastated. And so, as Helen's fiftieth birthday approaches, the last thing she's in the mood for is a celebration. However, mysterious invitations arrive to a party that Helen doesn't want.

Can Helen unmask the crazy golf killer, save the reputation of the Seaview, win Jean back and solve the mystery of the party invitations? With her rescue greyhound Suki by her side, Helen Dexter is on the case.

 

What did I think?

Foul Play at the Seaview Hotel is the third book in the Helen Dexter Cosy Crime Mystery series and it's an absolute cracker.  This amazing series is going from strength to strength and I always love my virtual visit to Scarborough, even though it appears to be the murder capital of North Yorkshire (but that's just in Glenda's books, of course).  You can definitely read this book as a standalone but I highly recommend the whole series.

Helen Dexter is all set to welcome a new group of guests to her newly rated Four Star Seaview Hotel.  Her guests are a crazy golf team competing in a local tournament and it's clear that they take the game very seriously indeed.  Helen also finds herself with an unexpected guest: the team captain of a rival team and his arrival causes tension above and below stairs.  The days are numbered for one of the guests and they're about to find themselves checking out...

This is a brilliant 'whodunnit' - I suspected even the most unlikeliest candidate at one point or another.  I love how the story is self-contained so that readers new to the series can pick up  this book and enjoy it, but there's some wonderful character development to delight established series fans.

Although I haven't been to Scarborough for many years, Glenda paints such a vivid picture with her wonderful writing and her love for the seaside town shines through every word in the book.  It was also lovely to see local brewery Wold Top getting a mention in the book as I've tried a few of their beers and loved them.

Hugely entertaining and as drama-filled as your favourite soap opera, Foul Play at the Seaview Hotel is a fantastic cosy mystery.  Very clever misdirection and perfect plotting keep the reader on their toes from start to finish and I loved every second of it, so much so that I will definitely be reading it again.  It’s absolutely brilliant and I really can't recommend it highly enough.

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

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Murmurs - Michael J. Malone

On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die.

How she knows this is a terrifying mystery, but it is the start of horrifying premonitions ... a rekindling of the curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a wicked gift known only as ‘the murmurs’...

With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson.

And this time, it will never let go...

What did I think?

Oh wow, Michael J. Malone has done it again.  Just when I think he's written his best book, he goes and pulls another one out of the bag.  The Murmurs is an outstanding gothic thriller that chilled me to the bone.

Annie has always felt different from her twin brother Lewis, and it wasn't helped by their mother treating Lewis as the golden child and all but ignoring Annie.  Their mother Eleanor always feared that Annie had a curse lying dormant inside her and now it's about to wake up.  Eeeeeek!  The death premonitions and whispering voices really creeped me out and I loved it!

The whole story is very intricately plotted around Annie's curse and it's like untangling a ball of wool so I couldn't read fast enough to discover all of the book's dark and creepy secrets.  I loved the story of Eleanor and her sisters and it was heartbreaking to read about how patients (mainly women) with mental health issues were treated in the not too distant past.  

Expect the unexpected with a Michael J. Malone book and you will not be disappointed.  The Murmurs is a dark, creepy and compelling book that ticks all the boxes of a fast-paced thriller but it goes one better by adding an element of the supernatural.

I received a digital 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:

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.

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BLOG TOUR: A Beautiful Rival - Gill Paul

The world is at war, but on the gilded streets of Fifth Avenue, New York, a battle of a different kind is brewing…

New York, 1915.

Elizabeth Arden has been New York’s golden girl since her beauty salon opened its famous red door five years prior. Against all odds, she’s built an empire.

Enter Helena Rubinstein: ruthless, revolutionary – and the rival Elizabeth didn’t bargain for.

With both women determined to succeed – no matter the personal cost – a battle of beauty is born. And as the stakes increase, so do the methods: poaching employees, planting spies, copying products, hiring ex-husbands.

But as each woman climbs higher, so too does what she stands to lose.

Because the greater the height, the harder the fall…

 

What did I think?

I would not be surprised to learn that Gill Paul has invented a time machine and an invisibility cloak and she can travel back in time to observe any historical figure she wishes to write about.  There is definitely some magic between the pages of A Beautiful Rival as I felt as if I was in early 20th century New York with Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein 

I knew nothing about Elizabeth Arden or Helena Rubenstein, apart from their brand names, before reading A Beautiful Rival.  Now I feel like I know both of them inside out, not just their physical characters but their whole character including their thoughts and feelings.  It's actually quite impressive to think that these two very different, but also very similar, ladies succeeded in what was very much a man's world.

The rivalry between them is as dramatic and bitchy as a soap opera, as each woman vies to be the premier cosmetic brand in America.  Fifth Avenue is pretty long, I'm sure there would have been room for both of them!  As with any feud, it often gets nasty and Helena Rubenstein is the victim of anti-Semitism, which unfortunately wasn't unusual during that time.  Give her her due though, she's not the one who changed her name.

A Beautiful Rival is historical fiction at its finest and five stars are nowhere near enough for this wonderful book.  Gill Paul continues to amaze me with her writing prowess and her inimitable skill of bringing historical figures to life.  I will be recommending this book for a very long time - make sure you don't miss it.

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

My rating:

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About the author:

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty languages. The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a bookclub favourite worldwide.

She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects.

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BLOG TOUR: Holly's Hawaiian Holiday (The Blossomwood Bay Series Book 3) - Daisy James

Welcome to Holly's Hawaiian Holiday, the third book in a brand new series from the author of the Hummingbird Hotel series and the Cornish Confetti Agency series.

Escape to the beautiful Hawaiian Islands!

When Holly Henderson loses her dog-grooming business in the Blossomwood Bay fire, she’s devastated, and her plans to expand into creative coat-dyeing are over before they began. After her temporary job at Blossomwood Kennels also comes to a heart-breaking end, she’s left with no choice but to accept her cousin’s offer of a dog-sitting assignment for celebrity TV chef Oscar Reynolds if she wants to keep her beloved springer spaniel, Ariel, in dog biscuits.

However, the assignment is in Hawaii and Holly has never been further than a short weekend trip to Paris. With some trepidation, she heads to Oahu and the Mahina family’s ranch where, within five minutes of arriving, she’s run off the road by a speeding Ferrari and doused in an avalanche of “organic” fertiliser.

So much for the glamorous holiday she’d hoped to enjoy!

But despite the inauspicious start, it doesn’t take long for the tropical island paradise to weave its Aloha magic through Holly’s veins. Can the hang loose lifestyle help her find the confidence she needs to deal with the demons that have been chasing her for as long as she can remember? Or will they continue to pursue her, sapping her energy, and ruining her chance of finding happiness?

Join Holly as she explores everything the beautiful Hawaiian Islands have to offer, and enjoy a story filled with sun, sea, and surfing, along with a Dash, Dollop & Drizzle of heart-warming romance.

 

What did I think?

I love going on a virtual holiday with a Daisy James book and the latest novel in The Blossomwood Bay series takes us to Hawaii.  Although it's the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone as it's a self-contained story.  Characters from the previous books are mentioned along with a brief reminder of their own stories, just to complete the full picture.

The Blossomwood Bay fire destroyed several businesses and they can't rebuild their livelihoods until the boardwalk owner is located.  The only problem is, he's on retreat in America without a phone and nobody knows exactly where he is.  To make ends meet, Holly agrees to do a dog-sitting job...in Hawaii.

I really enjoyed my trip to Hawaii; there's friendship, romance and a sprinkling of skullduggery that kept me entertained.  It was nice to get to know Holly and I feel like she's one of my friends so it'll be nice to see how she's doing as I'm sure she'll get a mention in the next Blossomwood Bay instalment.  

Daisy James has a wonderful knack of adding so much colour to her narrative via sights, sounds, smells and tastes that you really feel as if you're there in the book.  Hawaii would be far too hot for me and I would never dream of going there, but it was lovely to experience it through Daisy's eyes.

Entertaining and charming, Holly's Hawaiian Holiday is pure escapism and a very enjoyable 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 links:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the author:

Daisy James loves writing stories with strong heroines and swift-flowing plotlines. When not scribbling away in her peppermint-and-green summerhouse (garden shed), she spends her time sifting flour and sprinkling sugar and edible glitter. She loves gossiping with friends over a glass of something pink and fizzy or indulging in a spot of afternoon tea - china plates and teacups are a must.

Daisy would love to hear from readers via her Facebook page or you can follow her on Twitter @daisyjamesbooks or on Instagram @booksdaisyjames.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: @daisyjamesbooks https://twitter.com/daisyjamesbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009889775019

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BLOG TOUR: The Woman in the Woods - J.A. Baker

I am safe here, in my cottage in the woods where no one knows me or my real name. Here all is peaceful and calm and the real world can’t hurt me – because I know how cruel it can be.

But then I see here again and her pale, white face. Watching me. Taunting me. And then the notes appear.

I know who you really are… I know what you did…

My mind in whirl I don’t know what to do. Now the walls of my cottage feel like a prison. The peaceful woods around me feel like a maze that will trap me forever.

Who is this woman? And what does she want? And can she possibly know what happened during that boiling hot summer of 1976 when I made my terrible mistake. And if so, how?

So many questions paralysing me with fear. One thing I do know.

She must be stopped.

 

What did I think?

I love J.A. Baker books and her new novel, The Woman in the Woods does not disappoint.  Tense, suspenseful and gripping doesn't even begin to describe this fabulous psychological thriller as the main character must be one of the most unreliable narrators I have ever come across.

The main character is an author who lost her memory after a hit and run, which might be a blessing in disguise as she has a very dark secret in her past.  A secret that somebody knows and rather than simply threatening to reveal the secret, she wants retribution.  The simmering tension and increasing sense of unease feels like a cat playing with a mouse before it goes in for the kill.

As the past is gradually revealed, I felt sick to my stomach at the mindless crime committed.  It does give you food for thought as it's an often debated subject about whether children should be given a second chance after they have committed a crime.  They don't have the experience to understand the consequences of their actions but a crime is a crime.  Everyone deserves a second chance, or do they?

Dark, disturbing and incredibly tense, The Woman in the Woods really got under my skin and at several points really made my skin crawl.  It's another corker of a psychological thriller from J.A. Baker and a recommended read.

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

My rating:

Purchase link: https://mybook.to/WomanWoodsSocial

About the author:

J. A. Baker is a successful psychological thriller writer of numerous books, previously published by Bloodhound. Born and brought up in Middlesbrough, she still lives in the North East, which inspires the settings for her books. Her first title for Boldwood will be published in December 2022.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewriterjude 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewriterjude 

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

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

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