The Perfect Home by Natasha Boydell #bookreview #blogtour @tashboydell @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new thriller by Natasha Boydell, The Perfect Home. With thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part.

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Until the girl went missing, we thought it was the perfect place to live…

When we move into the exclusive Westford Park housing estate, we feel safe at last. More like a country club, it has everything we might need – beautiful houses with big gardens, a pool, a boating lake, extensive grounds. It’s also got 24/7 security.

Our new neighbours are lovely too. We start to make friendships that feel like they could last a lifetime.

It feels like nothing could possibly go wrong here.

It’s like our secrets haven’t followed us here.

Or that’s what we think at first…

MY THOUGHTS

The Perfect Home is a tense novel by Natasha Boydell, and it only took me a couple of days to finish it. It follows Avril, who is moving into her new home with her family, her husband, and her daughter, Poppy. The home is within an exclusive community called Westford Park and Avril feels incredibly lucky to have been able to buy a house there and it does seem as though it will be the perfect place for them to live. But from the opening of the novel, we know a girl goes missing and Avril’s dream turns into a nightmare.

Right from the outset it is clear that Avril is worried about her daughter. Avril is fretful of Poppy being out of sight. Soon some of neighbours begin to suspect that perhaps there might be something more going on to explain why Avril is like this with her daughter. I wanted to find out what was really going on behind the scenes, and what the reason was behind Avril’s decision to move to a new neighbourhood. It is clear to see there is tension between her and Poppy.

I really connected to Avril and I wanted to follow her journey. Natasha Boydell creates a tense atmosphere surrounding her relationship with her daughter, Poppy, and it really does feel as though everything is building up towards something terrible. Natasha Boydell does a brilliant job of adding a real sense of foreboding over the course of the book which kept me on the edge of my seat as I was reading. The characters are all really well drawn, especially the neighbours as well. We see this as Avril begins to make friends with them, and when the teenagers all begin to start forming friendships. Even this becomes a concern for Avril, especially as she is concerned about who Poppy might end up becoming romantically involved in. I really wanted to understand what was going on with Poppy.

Natasha Boydell draws out the tension really well as the book races towards its conclusion and the emotions the characters are experiencing pour out onto the page. The Perfect Home is the first book by Natasha Boydell which I have read, and I will definitely be checking out her other books. Psychological thriller lovers are in for a real treat.

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication date: 21st June 2024

Print length: 359 pages

The Perfect Home is available to buy:

Amazon UK

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A Proper Mother by Isobel Shirlaw #bookreview #blogtour @isobelshirlaw @PointBlankCrime @RandomTTours

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the gripping debut novel by Isobel Shirlaw, A Proper Mother as part of the blog tour. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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Sometimes it’s your own child you’re most afraid of…
Ever since an ominous palm-reading on her honeymoon, Frankie has suspected that her youngest son, Michael, is different. From an early age he sees things no one else can. As he grows up – academically gifted, a musical prodigy and with an unshakeable religious faith – his mother can no longer deny there is something strange about him, or that it frightens her.

It is only when Frankie learns Michael is sliding into drugs and violence that she realises she can’t keep ignoring the past. But by confronting her destructive marriage and her own responsibility for all that has gone wrong, she begins to see there is something darker at play.

MY THOUGHTS

A Proper Mother is a dark, emotive debut novel from Isobel Shirlaw focusing on the relationship between Frankie and her son, Michael, who, from the moment of his birth, Frankie has felt is different and there has always been a strain in their relationship, and she is frightened of him. Michael is incredibly gifted at music but also has strong religious views. Even before Michael was born, Frankie was warned by a fortune teller that they would have a difficult relationship during her honeymoon with her husband, Callum, in Greece. 

The darkness really does seep into every page of this book. We flick back and forth between different time periods, and we see Frankie’s relationship with Michael evolve over time. The scene when she is talking to the fortune teller was really tense and I was eager to know if the fortune teller’s predictions would come true and how much of an impact this prediction would have on Frankie. I was particularly interested in Michael’s relationship with his father, who is Frankie’s ex; Frankie no longer has anything to do with him, but Callum soon begins to get more involved in Michael’s life. It was fascinating seeing Frankie’s relationship with Michael unfold, right from her early years of motherhood, through to Michael’s adult years.

The tension keeps ticking up a notch and the darkness begins to grow throughout the book which really kept me hooked. Isobel Shirlaw does a brilliant job of creating a creepy atmosphere and she brings Frankie’s emotions to life well in her writing and I really invested in her story.

A Proper Mother is an intriguing, unsettling and a unique literary thriller with characters who will get under your skin. I really enjoyed reading it. Isobel is an exciting new voice in fiction and I’ll definitely be looking out to see what Isobel Shirlaw writes next.

Publisher: Point Blank

Publication date: 20th June 2024

Print length: 300 pages

A Proper Mother is available to buy:

Amazon UK Waterstones

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Boys Who Hurt by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir #bookreview #blog tour @evaaegisdottir @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new novel in the Forbidden Iceland series, Boys Who Hurt by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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Fresh from maternity leave, Detective Elma finds herself confronted with a complex case, when a man is found murdered in a holiday cottage in the depths of the Icelandic countryside – the victim of a frenzied knife attack, with a shocking message scrawled on the wall above him.

At home with their baby daughter, Sævar is finding it hard to let go of work, until the chance discovery in a discarded box provides him with a distraction. Could the diary of a young boy, detailing the events of a long-ago summer have a bearing on Elma’s case?

Once again, the team at West Iceland CID have to contend with local secrets in the small town of Akranes, where someone has a vested interest in preventing the truth from coming to light. And Sævar has secrets of his own that threaten to destroy his and Elma’s newfound happiness.

MY THOUGHTS

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir is back with her latest book Boys Who Hurt and it is another fantastic addition in the brilliant Forbidden Iceland series which has definitely become one of my favourites in crime fiction. Detective Elma is returning to work after her maternity leave and as she is welcomed back by her team, the body of a man named Thorgeir is discovered, and this proves to be quite a complex case, especially as Thorgeir has been killed in such a brutal and shocking way. As Elma and her team investigate, it becomes clear that what has happened has links to events that happened in the Thorgeir’s past, but who would want him dead?

I really liked how Eva told part of the novel from the days leading up to the Thorgeir’s death. It adds a real sense of tension, as we know how his story is going to end, but I wanted to find out what was going on in his life beforehand, and Eva does an excellent job of delving into what his state of mind was like in the days leading up to his death. It was really fascinating and intriguing seeing the build-up, and Eva begins to paint a picture of what he was like as a person and there are certainly a few people who have strong opinions of him. As the police investigation also continues, we begin to find out just what sort of a man Thorgeir was, and there are some chilling revelations along the way, particularly in relation to events that took place at a Christian camp in the 1990s.

The book is really pacy and it grips you from the first page. I loved the short chapters as this, for me, really helped to add to the tension and it kept me turning the pages. I loved the scenes featuring Elma and her team as they try to advance the investigation, and seeing the scenes showing Elma as a new parent with her partner Sævar, but I also liked the scenes when Eva takes us back in time. I wanted to understand more about what had happened in the past at the camp and this creates a chilling atmosphere.

The characters in this book are so compelling and I read this book really fast. Eva does a brilliant job of making us want to find out more about her characters. Boys Who Hurt is a dark, and an utterly gripping read. I love this series and I can’t wait to see what Eva has in store for us next.

Publisher: Orenda Books

Publication date: 20th June 2024

Print length: 393 pages

Boys Who Hurt is available to buy:

Amazon UK Kobo Waterstones

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Guilty by Ruby Speechley #bookreview #blogtour @rubyspeechley @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources

On my blog today, I’m taking part in the blog tour for the new thriller by Ruby Speechley, Guilty. With thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part.

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“You’re invited to my farewell party. I’ve got something to tell you before I die…”

Heather wants to leave this world with a clear conscience.

One confession. One secret. Two scores to settle.

Heather accepted the fate of her terminal diagnosis long ago, but now the time is nearing, she arranges a huge farewell party for her nearest and dearest.

She wants to say goodbye to everyone personally, but there’s another reason she wants the people in her life to gather.

She knows who killed young Simon Eyre all those years ago, and she needs to tell. The boy deserves justice.

But she doesn’t realise that by freeing her own inner demons, she’s unleashing much worse secrets, and putting everyone at risk…

MY THOUGHTS

Guilty is an emotive page turner by Ruby Speechley and it is a real roller coaster of a read. I immediately connected to Heather, particularly, as it is revealed early on in the novel that she is dying of cancer. When we meet her she is getting her affairs in order before her situation gets too bad. She is also planning a party, as her way of saying goodbye to everyone she loves, but there are a lot of people who still don’t know she is dying, and she is planning on telling them all at the party. But at the party things take a very dark turn, and we begin to realise that Heather may not be the person we think she is.

When we meet Heather, she comes across as kind and caring, someone who will do anything for the people she loves. She certainly does seem like the type of person who you would want to have in your corner. I could feel the love she has for her family and her friends and the love they have for her. It seems so unfair that she has to succumb to this disease, but Heather has now reluctantly accepted her fate. But she also has a dark secret, and Heather feels that now her time is nearing its end, she cannot go to her grave without revealing what that secret is. This is the part that really intrigued me as we follow Heather. I could really sense how much this meant to her, to finally unburden herself and let the truth, of whatever it was that happened in her past, be known.

Ruby Speechley ups the tension so, so well as the party gets underway, and it seems that there are people there who want Heather to suffer. The book really darkens at this point and I raced through the chapters to find out what was going to happen and what the secret was Heather wanted to let go of. This is what makes this story so intense and so intriguing as well.

The final revelations were shocking and Ruby Speechley does a brilliant job of bringing everything together in an explosive finale. I thought it was executed really well in a highly entertaining way. Guilty is a brilliant psychological thriller. I really enjoyed it.

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication date: 7th June 2024

Print length: 284 pages

Guilty is available to buy:

Amazon UK

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A Weekend at Capital Crime

This past weekend saw the return of London’s Capital Crime Festival and on Thursday, 30th May 2024 I traveled to the Leonardo Royal Hotel in St. Paul’s, London where the Festival was taking place across three days. The weekend was packed full of exciting and fascinating panels. To kick things off, on Thursday I attended The Anatomy of a Crime event, a staged police investigation and trial, which saw crime writer, Fiona Cummins being tried for the murder of bookshop owner Havid Deadly. This was really entertaining and it was interesting to see what verdict the audience would give at the end.

Next up was the Debut Authors Class of 2024 featuring Samuel Burr, Sarah Brooks and Jennie Godfrey, moderated by literary agent David Headley. I’ve only read Jennie’s novel, The List of Suspicious Things which I reviewed earlier this year, but it was fascinating hearing about their different journeys to publication and about their books as well. It definitely made me want to read them.

The final panel of the day I attended was Tennison Meets Vera, a discussion between popular crime authors, Ann Cleeves and Lynda La Plante. It was fascinating hearing about Ann and Lynda’s journeys and, if whether or not, they thought their lead detectives would work well on a case together.

Ann Cleeves and Lynda La Plante were both asked how they dreamed up their characters. For Ann Cleeves, Vera came to her when she had a new editor after no commercial success with her previous book. Her editor originally wanted a standalone psychological thriller, not a detective series. But as Ann was writing this book, Very Stanhope came to her, and when her editor moved to Australia, she was allowed to write more Vera books. Lynda La Plante was working in television at the time she came up with Jane Tennison, and had just had huge success with Widows, but work wasn’t coming in following this success. All of her ideas following Widows were turned down and when she asked the production company what they were looking for, they said a female detective. Lynda La Plante said she was already in the process of creating a female detective, but, in truth, wasn’t. But after spending six months working with Met Detective, Jackie Malton, the main inspiration for Jane Tennison, the character was still turned down because the production team thought Jane was too cold. It was fascinating hearing what Ann and Lynda had to say about the idea of Vera and Jane Tennison working together on a case. They both agreed they probably wouldn’t like each other very much but would work together to get jusice.

On Day Two, the first panel I attended was The Art of Revenge Panel with Steve Cavanagh, Nilesha Chauvet, Saima Mir, moderated by Araminta Hall. This was a fascinating discussion about what prompts certain people to carry out revenge and this is a theme explored in their novels. Each writer had different reasons for wanting to write about revenge. Steve Cavanagh wanted to write about revenge because he’s interested in what happens when justice breaks down. Nilesha’s character, Rita, in her book, The Revenge of Rita Marsh sounds really fascinating and I am desperate to read it when it comes out next month, I’ve already pre ordered my copy. As described by Nilesha, Rita is very suspicious of the police and feels compelled to take justice into her hands. The authors all agreed, on this panel, that as a writer, you have to make your readers care about the characters, particularly if they are setting out to get their revenge.

Next up for me was the Bingeable series panel with Sig Abell, Will Dean, Erin Young. The panel was moderated by Tariq Ashkanania.

Then for the final panel at the day it was M.W. Craven and A.A. Dhand in conversation with S.J. Watson. M.W. Craven had some fascinating stories to tell about how he creates his novels. His Washington Poe series is very dark, but he said in previous drafts of his books, the darkness had to be toned down after his agent suggested it. A.A. Dhand talked about the process of bringing his books to the screen and about how he has been desperate to write one scene into all of his books but his editors have always made him take it out. He even suggested it to be a scene in the television series, but even then it was turned down.

Saturday was a much quieter day for me, as unfortunately I only had the time to attend one panel and that was the Tales that Bind panel with Chris Whitaker, Vanessa Walters and Erin Kelly. The panel was moderated by Victoria Selman.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend at Capital Crime. It was great catching up with old friend as always, and really fascinating hearing different writers speak about their books. I can’t wait for next year and if you would like to attend Capital Crime it is taking place at the same location next year. More details will be announced on their website soon.