BLOG TOUR: The Coming Darkness - Greg Mosse

 

A thrilling debut that has been likened to John Le Carré and Raymond Chandler . . .

Paris, 2037. Alexandre Lamarque of the French external security service is hunting for eco-terrorists. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust – not his secretive lover Mariam, not even his old mentor, Professor Fayard, the man at the centre of the web. He is ready to give up. But he can’t.

In search of the truth, Alex must follow the trail through an ominous spiral of events, from a string of brutal child murders to a chaotic coup in North Africa. He rapidly finds himself in a heart-thumping race against chaos and destruction. He could be the world’s only hope of preventing THE COMING DARKNESS . . .

What did I think?

With a dystopian setting and a hint of sci-fi, The Coming Darkness is a little out of my comfort zone but I rather enjoyed it.  It's a book of two halves for me; it took me quite a long time to get into the story and to work out who the characters were but once I got over that hump I absolutely flew through it.

Set in Paris in the near future of 2037, I loved the main character of Alexandre Lamarque and I hope this is the first of many thrillers starring Alex.  Greg Mosse has created a scarily realistic fictional future world and the book is filled with tension as you don't know who can be trusted or what they are willing to do for their cause.

The writing is outstanding and I think because of the almost sci-fi element to the novel, there's a lot of world building at the start which I'm not used to.  So I found the pacing at the start of the book to be slower than I expected but boy does it ramp up.  Once I became immersed in this new world, the thriller element completely gripped me and I couldn't read it fast enough.

An intelligent, thought-provoking and scarily realistic thriller, The Coming Darkness is a fantastic debut from Greg Mosse and one I would definitely recommend reading.  I think it deserves a reread and I wouldn't be surprised if it will be even better the second time round.

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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BLOG TOUR: The Shadows of Rutherford House - CE Rose

Darkness lies at the heart of this family…

In 1959 Milly starts her new life as a housemaid at Rutherford House, working for the aristocratic Rutherford-Percy clan. Entranced by her new mistress, Vivienne, she becomes deeply embroiled in the household and the keeper of dark secrets the family conceals beneath the mansion’s grand exterior.

In the present day, Christie is working as a psychiatric nurse when she meets troubled patient Lillian Percy, Vivienne’s granddaughter and heiress to Rutherford House. They soon bond over the loss of their mothers – Lillian’s died when she was a child; Christie’s mysteriously disappeared over twenty years ago – and Christie finds herself increasingly fascinated by Lillian’s family and their imposing ancestral home.

As Christie learns more about the Rutherford-Percys, she finds a shocking clue that could help her uncover what happened to her own mother. Desperate for answers, Christie puts her job, her family and even her very life on the line. But how much of the truth does she really want to know?

A twisty, chilling and unputdownable page-turner about family secrets, perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Louise Douglas and Harriet Evans.

 

What did I think?

With two intriguing and compelling dual timelines, The Shadows of Rutherford House is a gripping page turner that's impossible to put down.  It's filled with dark family secrets and has an eerie, gothic setting in the grand ancestral home of the Rutherford-Percys.

The present day storyline centres around the friendship between nurse Christie and her patient Lillian.  Christie is haunted by the disappearance of her mother and she is constantly looking for clues as to what happened to her.  Lillian may have lived a life of privilege as a Percy heiress but she also lost her mother at a young age.  Christie and Lillian have a lovely friendship but the dark cloud of Rutherford House is looming over them.

Buried in the past storyline is an absolute bucketload of secrets and tragic events.  The key to unlocking the secrets of the past is in the present and the story flicks seamlessly back and forth between them as I greedily devoured every single word.

How the storylines intermingle is nothing short of genius and just when you think you have uncovered all of the secrets, there's more!  I absolutely loved it and I was shocked and surprised at every twist in the tale.

Dark, twisty and gripping, The Shadows of Rutherford House is an outstanding gothic thriller that is full of secrets and suspense.  Very highly recommended.

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 Prisoner - B.A. Paris

THEN

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a career for herself in the magazine industry, she meets, and agrees to marry, Ned Hawthorne.

NOW

Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

 

What did I think?

You're always guaranteed a good read with a B.A. Paris book and The Prisoner is no exception.  This is one twisted tale and once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.

In a rags to riches story that would make Cinderella envious, Amelie goes from sleeping on the streets to sleeping in the luxurious bed of the most eligible bachelor in London.  Marriage to Ned Hawthorne should be everything Amelie has ever dreamed of but nothing is as it seems...and then Amelie is kidnapped.

I could almost feel Amelie's anguish and fear as I experienced every moment of her captivity with her.  I loved how she showed amazing strength of character and refused to give up.  The ransom request is ingenious - as a numbers person myself, I thought it was very clever and had never really considered such a thing before.  That's a virtual round of applause right there!

Fast-paced, gripping and completely addictive, The Prisoner is pure escapism (if you'll pardon the pun).  Maybe the characters make questionable decisions and perhaps some things seem unlikely to happen in real life but this is fiction and hugely entertaining fiction at that.  

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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BLOG TOUR: The Un-Family - Linda Huber

For better, for worse

Wildlife vet Holly's life seems blissful: husband Dylan is the man of her dreams, she has a rewarding career and a lovely home. And yet, a tiny niggle is growing daily. Dylan is becoming increasingly remote - but why? Holly is determined to mend the fissure in their relationship. But a shocking discovery changes everything...  

Family ties

Then there's Dylan's family: his wayward twin Seth and their widowed mother Elaine, who is rather fond of a glass or two of sherry. Nothing in Elaine's life is easy, bringing up teenage granddaughter Megan while the family grieves the loss of Megan's mother.

Family lies

A tragic event rocks the foundations of the family, and Holly's life starts to unravel. Dylan drifts ever further away. Megan is left uncertain and alone, while Seth falls deeper into himself.

 

The bonds that once bound the family together are breaking. Can they ever be repaired?

 

What did I think?

It's been a long time since I last read a Linda Huber novel and what a fantastic novel to reintroduce me to this fabulous author.  The Un-Family is a real page-turner; it's like watching a family implode in slow motion and I loved it.  

This is one massively dysfunctional family that might look cosy from the outside but they're practically fizzing with resentment for each other.  Elaine is the matriarch of the family, she's a mother of three and grandmother of one.  I really felt sorry for Elaine, her twin sons came along late in life and then her daughter Bryony died leaving Elaine to bring up her granddaughter, Megan.  It's no wonder she's a little tired and forgetful these days.

The twin brothers are something else - Dylan really doesn't like his twin brother Seth.  In Dylan's eyes, Seth appears to be Elaine's favourite and Dylan can't forgive him for that.  Dylan is absolutely delighted to know something about Seth's past and he likes to frequently remind Seth about it.  All this hate for his brother seems to be affecting his relationship with his wife and poor Holly can't say or do anything right.

I really loved Megan, her love for her grandmother really shines through and she is nothing like her uncles.  It was so lovely to see her relationship with Holly grow and it just shows how lovely Holly is when she devotes so much time to Megan even while her marriage is crumbling around her.

Suspense and tension oozes out from every page and I couldn't read The Un-Family fast enough.  There are so many shocks and surprises in store for the reader and you never know what's going to happen next.  A highly recommended read that makes you appreciate your own family that little bit more.

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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Three Pint Problems (The Accidental Detective Book 3) - Melvyn Small

Doctor John Watson has reached into his archives to treat us to three feature-length adventures. In The Darlington Substitution, The Devil’s Advocate and Murder on the Teesside Princess we see Boro’s greatest detective at the height of his wisecracking, foulmouthed, law disregarding and deductive brilliance.

If the devil is in the detail, he has nowhere to hide.

 

What did I think?

I absolutely love Melvyn Small's Sherlock Holmes stories and Three Pint Problems has a hat trick of stories that delighted and entertained me.  This Sherlock Holmes may have the same deductive reasoning as the original but he's been brought completely up-to-date by adding razor sharp wit and a Teesside postcode.

The three stories are all brilliant and I couldn't pick a favourite out from among them as I loved them all.  They read perfectly as standalones but with the same characters throughout, it's good to follow their lives too.  It's definitely a book I would read again as this is actually the second time I've read The Darlington Substitution, as it was previously published as a novella, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time round.

The stories are told from the perspective of Doctor John Watson and they're sharp, clever and incredibly entertaining.  I love how the spirit of the original Sherlock Holmes has been perfectly encapsulated and reinvented as a witty, sweary Boro lad.  Melvyn Small's writing is fantastic, creating imaginative problems that only the brilliant mind of Sherlock Holmes can solve.

I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I'm a huge fan of Boro's Sherlock Holmes and I could (and will) read these over and over again.  Melvyn Small also pays homage to Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes with several references to the original stories, for example Boro Holmes drinks pints of Engineer's Thumb in The Twisted Lip which are nods to two of Conan Doyle's short stories.  There are probably loads more references hidden in the stories like Easter Eggs for Sherlock Holmes fans to discover.

I really can't recommend Three Pint Problems highly enough; it's funny, entertaining and absolutely brilliant.  It's a book not to be missed and worthy of every single one of the five stars I have rated it.

I chose to read a digital ARC received from the author and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Confession - Maureen Myant

A house on a quiet street on the southside of Glasgow. Neat, terraced homes with manicured lawns and pruned trees. Not the sort of place that reeks of decay or where dead bluebottles pile up on a windowsill.

When the police break in, there’s a surprise in store for them. They find Julie Campbell’s decaying body at her desk, her laptop open beside her. She’s a well-liked, respectable woman. On the laptop is a confession – to five murders. There’s one major problem though - only one of the victims she names is actually dead.

DI Mark Nicholson is persuaded by his boss DCI Alex Scrimgeour that the confession is a fantasy, and to drop the case, but Mark senses there’s more to it than meets the eye. As he delves further, the darkest of secrets are revealed, and everyone around him is dragged into a vortex of fear, danger and murder. No one is beyond suspicion as The Confession becomes a murderous reality.

 

What did I think?

Maureen Myant kept me on the edge of my seat as I greedily devoured The Confession as fast as I possibly could.  I wasn't just hooked from the start, I was hooked from the cover - how can someone who has died confess to future murders?

Julie Campbell is found dead in her home with a written confession that claims she has murdered five people.  The confession is quickly disregarded by the police as the people Julie confesses to killing are still alive...for now.  When the bodies start to mount up, DI Mark Nicholson sees a connection to Julie Campbell's confession but Julie was dead long before the first murder.

It's such a puzzling premise that I was constantly asking myself 'how did she do it?' and it's so very cleverly plotted that I simply couldn't put it down.  Mark is such a flawed character that his story was almost as gripping as the murder storyline.  I really wanted to reach into the book and give him a good shake at times as he seemed intent on flushing his life down the toilet.

Fast-paced, intriguing and compelling, The Confession is a cracking 'how did she do it' that kept my eyes glued to the page from start to finish.  It's well worth reading and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

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

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Accidental Detective - Melvyn Small

Thrown together by the British legal system, Holmes and his court appointed psychologist, Dr John Watson, seem an unlikely pairing... but sometimes the stars align.

Our two heroes are soon drawn into a series of riotous adventures that both bewilder and beguile. Holmes’ mastery of data, deduction and logic combines with his gin-dry wit and a casual contempt for life-threatening danger to ensure there is never a dull moment as he and the good doctor battle the mysteries that have the local constabulary baffled.

The game is afoot... oh yes!

 

What did I think?

I love books set in my native north east of England but I never dreamed that I would ever read about Sherlock Holmes in Middlesbrough.  Melvyn Small's plotting is as clever as the famous sleuth himself in this fabulous collection of short stories.

Holmes is brought up to date with added wit and sarcasm but his brilliant deductive reasoning is true to the original.  I love how Melvyn Small pays homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle throughout the book; not just the character names but things like Holmes drinking pints of Engineer's Thumb in The Twisted Lip pub which references two of Conan Doyle's short stories: The Adventures of the Engineer's Thumb and The Man with the Twisted Lip.  There are probably loads more references that Sherlock Holmes fans will pick up.

There are six short stories in this collection and whilst each one can be read separately, I was like a runaway train once I got started and I had no intention of stopping at the end of each one.  The stories are told brilliantly by Doctor Watson and they flow together beautifully with the same cast of colourful characters and references to earlier cases thrown in for good measure.  The humour is outstanding; it's drier than the Sahara and it made me laugh out loud on several occasions.

With six cracking mysteries to solve, The Accidental Detective is hugely entertaining and absolutely brilliant.  It's a wonderful modernisation of Sherlock Holmes whilst staying true to the inimitable features of Conan Doyle's original characters.  A must-read for any Sherlock fan and anyone who loves a good old whodunnit mystery.

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:

Born in Stockton-on-Tees and raised in nearby Billingham, Mel left Northfield Comprehensive School at 16 to train as a civil engineering technician at Cleveland County Council Surveyor and Engineer's Department. It was during this time, spent either at a drawing board or on the clever end of a theodolite that, following a rather sharp haircut, he was bestowed the nickname Melvis.  Thanks go out to Joan the tea lady for that one.  Fortunately Mel is not a vengeful chap and has not once even considered informing HM Revenue and Customs of Joan's illicit below-the-tea-trolley line in Kitkats and Marathons.  Whether Mel retains any likeness to the King of Rock 'n' Roll is debatable, however even the most imaginative would now concede he is less GI Blues and more the Vegas years.  Mel loves a parmo.

On the completion of his traineeship at the council, which included BTEC qualifications studied on day release at both Cleveland Technical College and Teesside Polytechnic, Mel relinquished his unused right to countersign passport applications and photographs, and left local government for a period of employment in the private sector. This included stays at WS Atkins, WA Fairhurst and, perhaps his spiritual home, the now defunct Bullen Consultants Limited. During this period, interrupted by a bachelor’s degree in civil and structural engineering at the University of Sheffield, Mel undertook a lot of modelling work. Three-dimensional ground modelling work to be precise, Mel's use of isopachyte analysis being now the thing of legend.

A natural engineer, Mel expanded his capability into that of hydraulic engineering soon forming quite a reputation in the fields of both storm water drainage and sewerage design, his skills in this area being such that he soon earned the honorary title of the Shitman. It's no exaggeration to state that Mel has forgotten more about storm water attenuation than most people will ever know.

Feeling more inclined to a digital era the modelling shitman left the world of roundabout entry deflection and balancing ponds to embark on a career in information technology. Following a master's degree in information processing at the University of York, he gained employment in the IT department of a large financial services organisation. It wasn't his fault. None of it. Honest.

With respect to the written word, Mel's efficient writing style is perhaps the requirement of both engineering and computer science to communicate in a concise manner. The comedy in his literary output being more of a function of a Teesside upbringing. Mel's first foray into the world of creative writing came in the form of slogans for leading tee shirt retailer Shot Dead In The Head. Mel's work included the popular ”What Part Of Theoretical Physics Do You Not Understand?” and “If You Can Read This You Are Too Close”.

Upping the word count considerably into that of fictional crime writing, Mel's first printed work Holmes Volume 1 and the imaginatively titled Holmes Volume 2. The reviews for this reimagining of Sherlock Holmes a dry-witted, working class northerner plying his trade in current day Middlesbrough have been amazing. If you would like a copy of these classics including their cult cover art, act quickly, They will soon disappear to be republished as The Accidental Detective series in November 2022. This will include a new volume of stories including The Darlington Substitution. and two new feature length stories.

And it doesn’t end there. Mel has now turned his writing skills to music and Project Melv!s. The debut single from this initiative, Provisionally Yours, was released in September 2021 and was followed up with The Perfect EP at the end of 2021. Work on an album of original music is currently underway. It’s shaping up to be something quite special.

If you would like an email providing updates on Mel’s various endeavours please sign up to the newsletter.

Social Media Links – 

https://www.twitter.com/melsmallwriter

https://www.indipenned.com/melsmall

https://www.twitter.com/northernholmes

https://www.facebook.com/northernholmes

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