Source: Publishers Group Canada

#BookReview The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan @PGCBooks #TheHiddenGirl #LucindaRiley #PGCBooks

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan @PGCBooks #TheHiddenGirl #LucindaRiley #PGCBooks Title: The Hidden Girl

Author: Lucinda Riley

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Sep. 17, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 576

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

A breathtaking novel from the international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley.

You can’t alter destiny…

Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again.

Years later, Leah has taken the modelling world by storm, travelling from Milan to London and New York and living life in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during World War II.

As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars.

Sweeping and evocative, The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from global bestseller Lucinda Riley, reworked and given new life by Harry Whittaker, Lucinda’s son and co-author of the record-breaking, international phenomenon Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.

Review:

Absorbing, moving, and mysterious!

The Hidden Girl transports you from Yorkshire to New York to Poland between 1942 and 1992 and immerses you into the ongoing, complex, multi-generational relationships between two families, complete with all the powerful emotions, haunting tales, long-buried secrets, and unimaginable tragedy that has plagued them for over fifty years.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, conflicted, and hardworking. And the plot is an enthralling, emotional saga filled with life, loss, familial drama, survival, betrayal, brutality, tragedy, manipulation, horrors, obsession, heartbreak, and love.

Overall, The Hidden Girl is a heart-tugging, clever, captivating tale by Riley that reminds us that the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and skeletons always seem to find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re buried.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four.

Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold thirty million copies worldwide. She is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestseller.Lucinda's Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster, has become a global phenomenon. The series is a number one bestseller across the world and is currently in development with a major TV production company.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 Lucinda fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died in June 2021

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#BookReview The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkWives #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves #PGCBooks

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkWives #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves #PGCBooks Title: The Dark Wives

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: Vera Stanhope #11

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 29, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

A LOCAL MYTH. A DEADLY THREAT.

A body is found by an early morning dog walker on the common outside Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who never showed up to work.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate. Her only clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie are soon embroiled in the case, but when a second body is found near the Three Dark Wives standing stones in the wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, folklore and fact begin to collide.

Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, but it seems that the dark secrets in their community may be far more dangerous than she could ever have believed. . .

Review:

Sinister, mysterious, and tight!

The Dark Wives is an intense, intricate thrill ride featuring the dependable DI Vera Stanhope and her loyal, hardworking team as they work together as quickly as possible to solve the puzzling murder of a young group home worker and find a somehow connected missing teen.

The writing is sharp and meticulous. The characters are intelligent, multilayered, and persistent. And the plot is an unpredictable, ominous tale filled with twists, turns, deception, red herrings, suspicious personalities, corruption, secrets, deduction, greed, and murder.

Overall, The Dark Wives is another thrilling, addictive, well-crafted addition to a series that, with its credible characters, great pace, and constant sense of urgency, is still one of my all-time favourites.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is the author behind PBS’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before becoming a crime writer. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series, and in 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside, England.

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#BookReview The Lost Lover by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheLostLover #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview The Lost Lover by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheLostLover #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks Title: The Lost Lover

Author: Karen Swan

Series: The Wild Isle #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 1, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

The third epic and spellbinding historical romance in The Wild Isle series from Globe and Mail and Toronto Star bestseller Karen Swan.

Young Flora MacQueen has always dreamed of more than a hard life on the small Scottish island of St Kilda. And when she catches the eye of visiting adventurer and wealthy businessman James Callaghan her future seems brighter.

Only, as the islanders prepare to leave their homes for the final time, Flora finds her dreams shattered. With her beauty her only currency she must step forward in ways that would have been unthinkable back home in order to support her family. Soon Flora is the toast of glamorous Paris. Fame and fortune are hers for the taking but she knows only too well by now that rich men make empty promises.

But then a secret comes to light that will change everything…

Following The Last Summer and The Stolen Hours, The Lost Lover is the third book in Karen Swan’s bestselling Wild Isle series, loosely based upon the dramatic evacuation of Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.

Review:

Beguiling, atmospheric, and consuming!

The Lost Lover is a dramatic, passionate tale that takes you back to 1929 and into the life of Flora MacQueen, a St. Kilda beauty who, after falling for a visiting explorer and agreeing to marriage, discovers upon the island’s evacuation that things have not unfolded as initially planned and she will have to make some of the hardest decisions of her life in order to secure a future for her family and herself in a world where money talks and fame and fortune can be alluring yet fleeting.

The writing is vivid and sentimental. The characters are determined, dependable, and selfless. And the plot is a captivating tale of life, loss, friendship, family, intrigue, temptation, responsibilities, attraction, community, sacrifice, romance, and enduring love.

Overall, The Lost Lover is an enchanting, heart-tugging, beautiful tale by Swan that I absolutely adored and which has left me counting down the days until the fourth and final novel in this series becomes available so I can discover how this compelling, must-read, historical saga will finally come to an end.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret. 

Photograph by Alexander James

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#BookReview Return to Blood by Michael Bennett @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #ReturnToBlood #MichaelBennett #HanaWestermanThriller #PGCBooks

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Return to Blood by Michael Bennett @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #ReturnToBlood #MichaelBennett #HanaWestermanThriller #PGCBooks Title: Return to Blood

Author: Michael Bennett

Series: Hana Westerman Thriller #2

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on May 31, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the author of Better the Blood, the gripping second novel in a crime series starring Maori detective Hana Westerman, in which the discovery of human bones in the dunes of New Zealand upends a long-ago murder conviction.

After the perils of a case that landed much too close to home, Hana Westerman turned in her badge and abandoned her career as a detective in the Auckland CIB. Hoping that civilian life will offer her the opportunity to rest and recalibrate, she returns to her hometown of Tata Bay, where she moves back in with her beloved father, Eru. Yet the memories of the past are everywhere, and as she goes for her daily run on the beach, Hana passes a local monument to Grace, a high school classmate who was murdered more than twenty years ago and hidden in the dunes overlooking the sea. A Maori man with a previous record was convicted of the crime, although Eru never believed he was guilty. When her daughter finds another young woman’s skeleton in the sands, Hana soon finds herself awkwardly involved. Investigators suspect that this is Kiri Thomas, a young Maori woman who disappeared four years earlier, after battling years of drug addiction. Hana and her daughter Addison are increasingly captivated by the story behind this unsolved crime, but without the official police force behind her, Hana must risk compromising her own peace and relationships if justice is to be served.

Expanding the range of vivid characters who made Michael Bennett’s first book, Better the Blood, so appealing, and offering a shocking twist at the end, Return to Blood takes readers further into Maori culture and traditions as it engages us more deeply into the story of Hana Westerman.

Review:

Shrewd, menacing, and gritty!

In this latest novel by Bennett, Return to Blood, we head back to New Zealand where Hana Westerman, now retired from the Auckland police force and living a quieter life back in her hometown of Tātā Bay, finds herself quickly immersed in a murder investigation when her daughter stumbles across the bones of a young woman on the exact stretch of beach where one of Hana’s high school classmates was found dumped more than twenty years ago.

The writing is sharp and tight. The characters are vulnerable, complex, and intriguing. And the plot is a sinister tale full of deception, manipulation, misdirection, secrets, mayhem, revelations, Maori culture, and murder.

Overall, Return to Blood is an ominous, sophisticated, entertaining addition to a series that, with its flawed characters, great pace, and constant sense of urgency, has now found a permanent place on my must-read list.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue)is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and author whose films have been selections at major festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and New York. His nonfiction book, In Dark Places, which explored an infamous miscarriage of justice, won awards, and his young adult graphic novel, Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, was a finalist for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

Goodreads

#BookReview Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin (translated by Hildegarde Serle) @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #ForgottenOnSunday #ValeriePerrin #PGCBooks #EuropaEditions

categories: 9/10, Book Review, General Fiction
#BookReview Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin (translated by Hildegarde Serle) @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #ForgottenOnSunday #ValeriePerrin #PGCBooks #EuropaEditions Title: Forgotten on Sunday

Author: Valérie Perrin

Published by: Europa Editions on Jun. 14, 2024

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 316

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

An unforgettable story about an unlikely friendship and about healing the wounds of a broken past from the million-copy bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers.

Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and her cousin Jules since the death of her parents. As a nursing assistant at a retirement home, she spends much of her days listening to her residents’ stories. 

After bonding with Hélène, an almost 100-year-old resident, the two women slowly reveal their stories to one another. Whilst Justine helps Hélène to relive her memories of love and war, Hélène encourages Justine to confront the secrets of her own past, and the loss she keeps buried deep within. 

One day, a mysterious phone detailing a shocking revelation shakes the retirement home to its core. At once humorous and melancholic, Valérie Perrin’s novel depicts the consequences of undeclared love and, in her inimitable way, portrays once again how the past is never really past.

Review:

Captivating, melancholic, and sensitive!

Forgotten on Sunday is a heart-tugging, character-driven tale set in France during the 1930s, as well as present day, that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Justine, a young nursing aide who after being raised by her grandparents from an early age after the sudden loss of her parents, spends her days caring for the elderly and writing down all the stories they choose to share, and Hélène a ninety-six-year-old woman who as her life slowly comes to an end reveals a well-lived life that was bursting with passion, pain, tragedy, and war.

The prose is elegant and rich. The characters are troubled, sympathetic, and endearing. And the plot is a moving tale about life, love, loss, lies, emotion, betrayal, family, friendship, secrets, heartbreak, guilt, grief, hope, and regret.

Overall, Forgotten on Sunday is another immersive, touching, astute tale by Perrin that highlights once again her innate ability to delve into all the messy emotional and psychological entanglements that exist between family members, lovers, and friends, and proves why year after year her novels garner enormous amounts of high praise.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Valérie Perrin

Valérie Perrin was born in 1967 in Remiremont, in the Vosges Mountains, France. She grew up in Burgundy and settled in Paris in 1986. Her novel The Forgotten Sunday (2015) won the Booksellers Choice Award and the paperback edition has been long-selling best-seller since publication. Her English-language debut, Fresh Water for Flowers (Europa, 2020) won the Maison de la Presse Prize, the Paperback Readers Prize, and was named a 2020 ABA Indies Introduce and Indie Next List title. It has been translated into over thirty languages. Figaro Littéraire named Perrin one of the ten best-selling authors in France in 2019, and in Italy, Fresh Water for Flowers was the best selling book of 2020. Perrin now lives in Normandy.

Photo © Valentin Lauvergne

Goodreads

#BookReview They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy’s Story by Peter James @peterjamesuk @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #PeterJames #TheyThoughtIWasDead #RoyGrace #PGCBooks

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural
#BookReview They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy’s Story by Peter James @peterjamesuk @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #PeterJames #TheyThoughtIWasDead #RoyGrace #PGCBooks Title: They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy's Story

Author: Peter James

Series: Roy Grace #20

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 23, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Peter James, international bestselling author of the Roy Grace series, returns with a standalone novel revealing the truth behind Sandy Grace’s dramatic disappearance.

Some will know how it begins.

Her name is Sandy. You might know her as the loving wife of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. But there’s more to her than meets the eye. A woman with a dubious past, a complicated present and an uncertain future. Then she was gone.

Some will know how it ends.

Her disappearance caused a nationwide search. Even the best detective on the force couldn’t find her. They thought she was dead.

But nobody knows this…

Where did she go? Why did she run? What would cause a woman to leave her whole life behind and simply vanish? For the first time, award-winning crime writer Peter James lays bare what really happened to Sandy Grace. They Thought I Was Dead will thrill fans and new readers alike with its gripping story of a woman on the run. This is Sandy’s story.

Review:

Tense, menacing, and gritty!

They Thought I Was Dead is a clever, captivating mystery that takes us back to the beginning and into the life of Sandy Grace, the elusive first wife of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, whose reckless behaviour leaves his world irrevocably turned upside down and hers on a fast road to ruin.

The writing is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and impulsive. And the plot is a sinister tale full of twists, turns, deception, mayhem, lies, secrets, suspicious personalities, revelations, addiction, and murder.

I have to say that die-hard fans of the Roy Grace series will be absolutely thrilled with this latest outing by James. They Thought I Was Dead is an ominous, sophisticated, entertaining tale that finally gives readers the insight and answers they’ve been waiting for.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Peter James

Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels. His Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has been translated into thirty-seven languages with worldwide sales of over eighteen million copies, and has given him eleven consecutive Sunday Times number ones. In 2015 WHSmith customers publicly voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he became the recipient of the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. Peter has also written a short story collection, A Twist of the Knife, and his standalone titles include Perfect People and The House on Cold Hill. He has also co-written a non-fiction account of Brighton’s toughest cases with former detective Graham Bartlett entitled Death Comes Knocking. The Perfect Murder, Dead Simple and Not Dead Enough have all been turned into smash-hit stage plays. All his novels reflect his deep interest in the world of the police. Three of his novels have been filmed and before becoming a full-time author he produced numerous films, including The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. He divides his time between his homes in Notting Hill, London and near Brighton in Sussex.

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#BookReview A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi (translated by Hildegarde Serle) @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #AGoodLife #VirginieGrimaldi #PGCBooks #EuropaEditions

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, General Fiction, Women's Fiction
#BookReview A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi (translated by Hildegarde Serle) @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #AGoodLife #VirginieGrimaldi #PGCBooks #EuropaEditions Title: A Good Life

Author: Virginie Grimaldi

Published by: Europa Editions on Jun. 7, 2024

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 288

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Full of humor and compassion, a profound exploration of sisterhood, healing, and the ineffable beauty of life from France‘s most beloved contemporary novelist

Laughter, tears, the transformative power of love, unexpected revelations, and striking natural these are the ingredients that combine to make best-selling author Virginie Grimaldi’s American debut the feel-good read of 2024. Grimaldi is among France’s top ten contemporary authors and her uplifting, unputdownable literary novels have quickly garnered her millions of adoring fans. This, her American debut, is among her most delicately wrought and emotionally compelling novels to date. 

Emma and Agathe are sisters. They were thick as thieves when they were young but have always been as different as can be. Agathe, the younger sister, is disorderly, chaotic, and fiery. Five years older, Emma has always been the more mature sister, the defender, the protector, the worrier. Their relationship as adults is scarred by a tragedy that transformed their happy, ordinary childhoods into something much more complex and challenging. For a long time, Emma hasn’t wanted to be involved in Agathe’s life. But then they must return together to the Basque Country, to the house of their adored grandmother, to empty out her home and in the process to reconcile, to remember, and to pour out what is in their hearts. 

The story alternates between Agathe and Emma’s childhood and their present day, with everything in between, and readers see them as young girls, teenagers, young women, mothers, wives, partners, individuals, sisters. This is a story that encompasses whole lives, complex lives, women’s lives, asking all the while how the scars of the past can be healed and what, in the end, is a good life.

Review:

Tender, sincere, and memorable!

A Good Life is an intimate, poignant tale that sweeps you away to France and immerses you into the lives of two sisters, Emma and Agathe, as after being estranged for several years, they come together to clean out their late grandmother’s home and discover how to accept the things they cannot change, confront a past littered with tragedy and heartbreak, acknowledge and repair long-strained relationships, and ultimately learn to savour every moment.

The writing is effortless and polished. The characters are multi-layered, genuine, and scarred. And the plot, including all the subplots, skillfully intertwines and unravels into a delightfully touching tale about life, love, loss, guilt, grief, family drama, secrets, happiness, self-discovery, and sisterhood.

Overall, A Good Life is a beautiful mix of hope, heart, and healing that is not only a humorous, emotive, lovely novel by Virginie Grimaldi but one which I don’t think anyone could possibly read and not be completely absorbed and moved.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

          

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Virginie Grimaldi

Virginie Grimaldi was born in 1977 in Bordeaux, where she still lives. She is the author of nine novels and was the most read French writer for three consecutive years (in 2019, 2020, and 2021). Her novels have been bestsellers in Europe and have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Photo Pascal Ito © Flammarion.

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#BookReview Death on the Lusitania by R. L. Graham @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #DeathOnTheLusitania #RLGraham #PGCBooks

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Death on the Lusitania by R. L. Graham @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #DeathOnTheLusitania #RLGraham #PGCBooks Title: Death on the Lusitania

Author: R. L. Graham

Series: Patrick Gallagher #1

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Apr. 2, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

Welcome on board the Lusitania’s final voyage . . .

New York, 1915. RMS Lusitania, one of the world’s most luxurious trans-Atlantic liners, departs for Liverpool and war-torn Europe. Among those on board is Patrick Gallagher, a civil servant in Her Majesty’s government tasked with discreetly escorting a British diplomat back to England in relation to charges of suspected treason.

When a fellow passenger, Jimmy Dowrich, is found shot to death in his cabin, the captain asks Gallagher to investigate. Knowing something of the man’s past, Gallagher realizes that the problem will not be simple; and also, the body was discovered in a locked cabin with the key inside and no gun to be found.

Gallagher believes that one of his fellow passengers is a deadly killer. But many of those on board are harbouring secrets of their own, and his questioning reveals that several had a motive for ending Dowrich’s life. He fears that the killer could strike again to protect their true reasons for being on board and all the while, the ship sails on towards Europe, where deadly submarines patrol the war zone . . .

Review:

Mysterious, captivating, and atmospheric!

Death on the Lusitania is an Agatha Christie-like murder mystery set during 1915 on the infamous HMS Lusitania that features the savvy Patrick Gallagher who, when shortly after departure from New York, one of the travellers winds up dead in a locked cabin with no murder weapon in sight, endeavours to a find the murderer onboard amongst a passenger list riddled with secrets, deception, and ulterior motives.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters are multi-layered, intriguing, and secretive. And the plot is a well-paced, locked-door style whodunit full of red herrings, suspects, amateur sleuthing, deduction, danger and, of course, a touch of the unexpected.

Overall, Death on the Lusitania is the first book in the Patrick Gallagher series, and if you love historical mysteries, this one won’t disappoint. It’s an entertaining, cosy, satisfying debut by the writing duo of Graham, and I can only hope, even with the tragic loss of one half of this dynamic team, that there is still more to come.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About R. L. Graham

R. L. Graham is a husband-and-wife team of historians and writers with a broad range of interests in many periods of history, including the belle époque and the tumultuous years leading up to the First World War and the post-war re-ordering of the world.

They are very much drawn to the shadowy world of crime, espionage and political intrigue. They are particularly fascinated by historical mysteries: things which have happened but have no apparent explanation. Originally from Canada, they now live in a small village in Devon. Marilyn Livingstone, one half of R. L. Graham, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while this book was being written. She passed away in September 2023.

Goodreads

#BookReview The Dredge by Brendan Flaherty @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheDredge #BrendanFlaherty #PGCBooks

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Dredge by Brendan Flaherty @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheDredge #BrendanFlaherty #PGCBooks Title: The Dredge

Author: Brendan Flaherty

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Mar. 5, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 240

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

n Brendan Flaherty’s debut novel, two estranged brothers must confront the violence of the past when they find out a pond where they played as children will be dredged.

After some traumatic teenaged years in rural Connecticut, Cale and Ambrose Casey had nothing left to say to each other. Cale ran off to Hawaii to sell luxury real estate. Ambrose stayed behind and built up his construction company. Neither thought they’d be in touch again and were glad for it—until they learned of a real estate developer’s plan to drain and expand Gibbs Pond.

Nearly 30 years before, the Casey brothers buried a secret in that pond, which fell somewhere between self-defense and family preservation.

Lily Rowe, the contractor in charge of the dredging, can also trace her roots—and her trauma—to the banks of Gibbs Pond. After a childhood that saw her and her brother yanked across the country by her abusive father, it was here where she finally stayed put, even if they didn’t. But as ambitious as Lily is, and as much as she wants answers of her own, her family also has secrets to protect. 

Now, the haunted lives of Cale, Ambrose, and Lily collide once more as they reunite to unearth the devastation of the past.

Review:

Intricate, gritty, and unsettling!

The Dredge is a compelling, absorbing tale that transports you to Macoun, Connecticut, and into the lives of members of both the Rowe and Casey families as the past suddenly collides with the present when a developer decides to dredge Gibbs Pond and more than one person is on edge and threatened by the long-buried secrets it may finally bring to light.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are vulnerable, impulsive, and scarred. And the plot, using a back-and-forth style, intertwines and unravels seamlessly into an engrossing tale full of lies, deception, abuse, desperation, manipulation, familial drama, troubled pasts, unusual friendships, troubling behaviours, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Dredge is a dark, atmospheric, promising debut by Flaherty that kept me enthralled from the very first page and left me entertained, satisfied, and eager to read whatever his deliciously sinister mind manages to come up with next. 

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Brendan Flaherty

Brendan Flaherty is from outside Hartford. He went to Washington University in St. Louis, and received his MFA from Boston University, where he was awarded the Saul Bellow prize. The Dredge is his debut novel.

Photo by Luke Wayne Photography

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#BookReview The Escape by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheEscape #RuthKelly #PGCBooks

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Escape by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheEscape #RuthKelly #PGCBooks Title: The Escape

Author: Ruth Kelly

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 23, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

The grander the house. The darker the secrets.

From bestselling author Ruth Kelly, The Escape is an electrifying winter read for fans of Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pearse.

The Perfect Escape

When struggling influencer couple Adele and Jack post a crowdfunding video online, they’re amazed when a mysterious benefactor offers to buy them an idyllic 17th century French château. It’s the lifeline they need to leave all their troubles behind and patch up their relationship after a rocky period.

The Influencer

For Adele, it’s a dream come true. She will post videos from the fairy tale setting, renovating the grand building as thousands of online subscribers follow their journey. But the château is not all it seems and the local community is far from welcoming.

The Sister

Then Adele’s videos suddenly stop. Her sister Erin travels to France to make sure she’s okay but the couple have vanished. Between the obsession of Adele’s fans, the unsettling history of the building and the claustrophobic secrecy of the nearby town, Erin must unravel the shocking truth behind why the anonymous investor gifted Adele and Jack their dream home in the first place . . .

Review:

Dark, ominous, and unnerving!

The Escape is an intense, well-crafted tale that takes us into the life of Erin, a young woman who, after her social media influencer sister vanishes without a trace, travels to France to uncover what truly happened inside the run-down French chateau she was gifted to renovate by a mysterious benefactor.

The writing is sharp and menacing. The characters are self-involved, adventurous, and exposed. And the plot is an intricate, tension-filled tall full of mischief, mayhem, secrets, deception, manipulation, shocking revelations, lies, indulgence, depravity, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Escape is a sinister, atmospheric, twisty whodunit by Kelly that does a splendid job of highlighting just how vulnerable and susceptible technology and social media makes us and reminds us just how far some people are willing to go to protect the ability to keep their deviant proclivities consistently available and hidden from normal society.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller. She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.

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