Month: January 2022

Reputation by Sarah Vaughan

Reputation by Sarah Vaughan

Summary:

Emma Webster is a respectable MP.
 
Emma Webster is a devoted mother.
 
Emma Webster is innocent of the murder of a tabloid journalist.
 
Emma Webster is a liar.
 
#Reputation: The story you tell about yourself. And the lies others choose to believe…

My Review:

Many like me really enjoyed Anatomy of a Scandal which is being developed as a series for Netflix, but now Sarah Vaughan with another political thriller Reputation (Simon & Schuster) which is due out in hardback on 3rd March and this I can highly recommend.  

Now here is a book a really struggled to leave alone for very long, the story of Emma Webster who is an MP, she is dedicated to her role since becoming elected and also away from her position she is a devoted mother, but what happens when you life is turned upside down when you are a serving Member of Parliament and you feature in a major weekend newspaper with a photograph that seems to incite some on social media let alone some in her own party. There are threats made to her life, and there is even a bottle of water kept on her desk when she holds meetings back in her constituency in case of acid attacks. Some think Emma is fair game, and some take it to the extreme.

There is a real sense of claustrophobia when you are reading the story of Emma’s life, she is in constant fear of being followed even when she is cycling home. But then the story really reaches even new hights when a man dies, and Emma is implicated in the death of the man. What follows is a real tense courtroom drama, but just who is telling the truth?

Sarah Vaughan writes superbly and sets the scene as the drama plays out in court like you are part of the jury. Innocent or guilty you decide when you read for yourself. This is gripping and compelling drama and at times disturbing and makes for uncomfortable reading.

There are many themes being discussed within Reputation that include harassment and bullying it is very much a timely novel for the days in which we are living in.

I cannot recommend highly enough how Sarah Vaughan not only creates the settings and scenes in the novels she writes but also how she creates her characters, and this makes for powerful reading. And I for one am pleased I have.

480 Pages.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster for the NetGalley review Copy of Reputation by Sarah Vaughan. Published on 3rd March 2022 and is available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Demon by Matt Wesolowski

Demon by Matt Wesolowski

Summary:

In 1995, the picture-perfect village of Ussalthwaite was the site of one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, in a case that shocked the world.

Twelve-year-old Sidney Parsons was savagely murdered by two boys his own age. No reason was ever given for this terrible crime, and the ‘Demonic Duo’ who killed him were imprisoned until their release in 2002, when they were given new identities and lifetime anonymity.

Elusive online journalist Scott King investigates the lead-up and aftermath of the killing, uncovering dark stories of demonic possession, and encountering a village torn apart by this unspeakable act.

And, as episodes of his Six Stories podcast begin to air, and King himself becomes a target of media scrutiny and the public’s ire, it becomes clear that whatever drove those two boys to kill is still there, lurking, and the campaign of horror has just begun…

My Review:

Have we really reached the sixth book in the series of the Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski? Each one of the previous five in the series has been nothing short of outstanding and just released is Demon (Orenda Books) and Matt Wesolowski has not let up with his incredible writing.
If you have not yet come across the Six Stories series, then you are in for a real treat. Scott King is the host of a podcast that looks at old crimes and interviews those close to what really went on. Each is gripping and addictive.

For the latest in the series of the podcast our host, Scott King is investigating the brutal murder of 12-year-old Sydney Parsons, he was murdered by two boys of the same age.

The tiny Yorkshire village of Ussalthwaite was shocked by the dreadful murder and the village became the centre of the news across the world. The two boys who committed the murder were locked up but at the time no real reason for the murder was ever given, but there was something supernatural about what really happened. Now that Scott King and his podcast series are investigating the murder of Sydney Parsons the past will be brought back and six people close to the case will be interviewed as Scott seeks to look at what took place prior and after the murder. But is the village ready for the past to be raked up? Emotions are still raw especially as the two boys convicted of the murder were released in 2002 and given new identities.

As Scott King begins to investigate the case, he begins to uncover the facts about the ‘Demonic Duo’ as they became known and a village with a history that has had its heart ripped out and may never recover. But as Scott King continues his investigation and interviews, something else begins and that are the threats to him, and these get more and more terrifying. Clearly there are some people who do not want Scott King to continue with the case.

It is a dark and powerful novel with Matt Wesolowski being an outstanding writer that can allow the reader to become so involved in the storyline despite taking them to the darkest of places of the human mind. But now the question is will there be any more in the series, or will this be the last we hear of mysterious Scott King and his investigative podcasts?

320 Pages.

#Demon

@ConcreteKraken

@OrendaBooks

My thanks to Karen Sullivan (Orenda Books) for the review copy of Demon by Matt Wesolowski. Published on 20th January 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

The Maid by Nita Prose

The Maid by Nita Prose

Summary:

I am your maid.
I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry.
But what do you know about me?

Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice?
 
But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?

Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how everyone deserves to be seen. And how the truth isn’t always black and white – it’s found in the dirtier, grey areas in between . . .

My Review:

One of the most hotly anticipated books of the year is released on 20th January The Maid (Harper Collins) the debut novel by Nita Prose and is a fabulous murder mystery and the film rights have already been snapped up by Universal.

Molly Gray is our narrator, and she is the maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, and she really loves her job, and she cannot imagine doing anything else. But Molly seems to be all alone, and she comes and goes in her role and is not noticed in her position. Each day she attends to rooms and cleaning up after the guests leave. Sometimes there are secrets that only the maid sees and hears but Molly keeps it all to herself. But all that is about to change.

When Molly attends to one room and finds the guest dead in his bed, Molly’s life suddenly changes. Molly is different and your heart just breaks for her. She is socially awkward and finds making friends difficult. She has no memory of her mother and some of the staff make fun of her. Now Molly is at the centre of a murder investigation. Molly could never kill anyone but is now questioned about the murder of a longstanding guest and so the story really comes into its own as Molly now needs the help of some of the staff at the hotel to find out what really happened and at the same time clear up any misunderstanding that she could be involved in the death of a guest.

Molly is a wonderful narrator and there is a host of interesting characters that you get to meet, some good and some not so good. Without doubt The Maid is going to be one of THE books of 2022. Beautifully written by Nita Prose and is just a superb read. You are going to love meeting Molly the maid and you will take her to your heart.

#TheMaid

352 Pages.

My thanks to Jaime Witcomb (Harper Collins) for the review Copy of The Maid by Nita Prose Published by Harper Collins on 20th January 2022 and is now available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

Betrayal by David Gilman

Betrayal by David Gilman

Summary:

Dan Raglan, former Foreign Legion fighter, alias The Englishman, returns. The new high-octane international thriller from David Gilman.

Someone’s trying to start a war. And Raglan’s just walked into the kill zone.

It has been many years since Dan Raglan served in the French Foreign Legion, but the bonds forged in adversity are unbreakable and when one of his comrades calls for help, Raglan is duty-bound to answer.

An ex-legionnaire, now an intelligence officer at the Pentagon, disappears. He leaves only this message: should he ever go missing, contact Raglan. But Raglan’s not the only one looking for the missing man. From the backstreets of Marseilles, Raglan finds himself following a trail of death that will lead him to Florida, to the camaraderie of a Vietnam vet in Washington D.C., and into the heart of a bitter battle in the upper echelons of the US intelligence community.

Pursued by both the CIA and a rogue female FBI agent, Raglan’s search will place him in the cross hairs of an altogether more lethal organisation. Tracking his old comrade, he finds himself in the midst of deadly conspiracy, and on a journey to a fatal confrontation deep in the Honduran rainforest.

My Review:

The return of Dan Raglan. Fans of thriller writer David Gilman will be delighted to hear that published today (6th January) is Betrayal (Head of Zeus) and is the second in the series following on from The Englishman that was published in July 2020.

Not to worry if you have not read the first instalment featuring the former Foreign Legion fighter as both can be happily read as a standalone thriller but be warned, you may then want to go and grab a copy of the first when you have read Betrayal as this is a gripping thriller that will have you crossing the globe and at every turn there is danger that faces Dan Raglan known as the The Englishman.

In this instalment Dan Raglan hears that a friend and former French Foreign Legion fighter who now works at the Pentagon has disappeared and gone off the grid. Because of the role he has at the Pentagon, this is suspicious, and Raglan now must find him and quickly, but why has his former colleague disappeared? Be prepared for one hell of a rollercoaster of a thriller. The pace never lets up and when you consider this is a book of nearly 550 pages this is quite something to keep it going.

For Raglan he knows his former Legionnaire friend is in trouble and time is of the essence. Without giving anything away, there is more to this story than just a disappearance of his former colleague. Raglan is searching for his old comrade but who is looking for Dan Raglan and why?

Characters are so important in novels and in Betrayal they have been brilliantly written so that you can really get into the storyline. Raglan will do whatever is required and will not hesitate to kill anyone if that is what it takes.

David Gilman writes superbly and has crafted a compelling and plot driven thriller that is packed with drama and thriller lovers will really enjoy Betrayal as there is so much packed into this novel.

@DavidGilmanUK

@HoZ_Books

544 Pages.

My thanks to Sophie Ransom (Ransom PR) for the review Copy of Betrayal by David Gilman Published by Head of Zeus on 6th January 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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