Little voices

This IS a debut yeah?
Crickey it’s just so dam well written that you wouldn’t know.

You get a lot more from this read than you will ever bargain for, a lot more and then some.

The main character being Devon. A very well developed character and well rounded that you can’t help but be pulled into her life.

It’s a political thriller come mystery. I got drawn into all what was happening, the money laundering, the death of her best friend, and got used to the italics surrounding Devon, the little voices, the negative voices. The author had me fooled until quite later.

Don’t be mistaken, definitely don’t be mislead as this story impacts a lot on family and family secrets too. Corruption and lies.

Dark secrets from Devon’s past emerge slowly shockingly taking me to a whole new level.



And I got to learn more about postpartum depression too. I had heard of it, but not it’s impact so much.

Mystery/legal thrillers, this may be what some will think it’s about, but, I can’t express more than to say there’s a heap loads of “stuff” just grabbing you into this story. I lost myself between the pages many a time as the clock was ticking towards my bedtime but I was reluctant to put the story down.

Not once did it lag, not once was this a chore to pick up, I was eager for the next chapter, then the next.

If I hadn’t had known this was a debut novel I’d easily be seeking out what else she had written, so, I’m really eager to see what the author comes up with next.

I’m so glad Ludwig and I are connected as book lovers on social media. He was reading this and I just had to get my hands on a Copy.

I’ll remember this one for some time to come.

Highly recommend this to those who love thrillers, mystery, legal thrillers and family drama thrown in and definitely in tune with factual things.

This is a new author you need to consider.

Ask again, yes

This is a really cleverly written book. A pure family saga type drama with plenty to keep you interested in.

We have two families who end up living next door to each other.
Each character has its flaws or talent. 
But something bad happens and one family move. 

The two eldest from each family had grown fond of each other now only to be told to stay clear from one another.

I’ll be perfectly straight, I struggled at the beginning due to the style of the writing plus it was very slow moving.
I eventually understand one of the moms and her over reaction to things.
But there were several characters in this book which I tried to like. In the end I just gave up trying.

I tossed between three stars and four.

Let me tell you that the ending isn’t jaw dropping or amazing either, but, there was plenty in here that helped to redeem and overcome my negatives.

It was the emotions, the sincerity and the way that the author led me. I somehow became trapped within its pages. I had to read it. I had to finish it. There were life lessons within these pages that made my mind tick over. 

Love and forgiveness and moving on is one of life’s hard lessons.
We tend to reflect on the past. And by doing so we ignore where we are right now.

Two families. Can they heal the rift?

The mental health in this book was written well. 

I’ll be seeking out more from this author as she had my thoughts tossed all over the place. Now that’s making an impact! 

My mothers daughter by Ann O'Loughlin

I AM ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED TO HAVE READ THIS BOOK....enjoyed this book and be able to jump on the blog tour 

County Wicklow, Ireland. Margo has just lost her husband Conor and is grieving his passing, unsure how she and her daughter Elsa will survive without him. Then she receives a letter that turns everything she thought she knew on its head. Not only has she lost her husband, but now Margo fears she could lose her daughter as well.Ohio, United States. Cassie has just split from her husband acrimoniously. Upset and alone she does not know how to move forward. Then her ex-husband demands a paternity test for their daughter Tilly and sorrow turns to anger as Cassie faces the frightening possibility of losing her daughter.A powerful, moving stories of family, resilience and compassion, and how women support each other through the most difficult times, My Mother's Daughter takes the issues closest to our hearts and makes us ask ourselves the most difficult questions - what would we do in Margo and Cassie's place?

I’ve got one other book written by this author, unread as yet, I think that’s going to change very very soon after my reading this.

I so thoroughly was invested in this book that time just slipped away from me.
The women in this book are Mothers, good Mothers who want nothing else but security, and that their child is loved and feels love.

They are separate Mothers. Neither know the other exists.....
Until....

Something comes to the surface that connect these two women. Extraordinary circumstances that alter all lives.

From the pages of 300 (ish) I was in tears.

That doesn’t happen often but when it does it shows just how powerful words of a story can be on a reader.

I was happy to be an audience to this book, to the realistic characters that became 3D in my minds eye.

If you live books like this in the categories I’ve shelved it on Goodreads, truly add it to your reading list.

This author is truly a remarkable storyteller. 

A leading journalist in Ireland , Ann O'Loughlin has covered all major news events of the last three decades. Ann spent most of her career with Independent Newspapers and is now a senior journalist with the Irish Examiner newspaper. Ann has also lived in India. Originally from the west of Ireland she now lives on the east coast with her husband and two children. The Judge's Wife was shortlisted in the Epic Romantic Novel category of the 2017 RoNA awards. The Ballroom Cafe and The Judge's Wife were both bestsellers for several weeks in Ireland.
Find Ann on FACEBOOK @annoloughlinbooks TWITTER @annolwriter 

My Lovely Wife

3.75 and more towards adding on than minus.

It’s definitely a thriller fan needs to read.


I’ve read the book. 
Then as usual I check out some trusted friends reviews.

Why do I do this? Because as a book reviewer I don’t want to be influenced by any reader. My choice is to make up my own mind, plus I don’t want to know anything about the book I’m about to read only the blurb.

So having explained that, I can say I fall somewhere in the middle of the ratings.

I loved this book! 
I loved that it kept me anxious, that it made me flip pages quicker than trying to swat a fly.
I liked how the story was unfolding until.....
It got a bit crazy when consequences to family happened. 

If you read it.....no....when you read it (because you must) you will fully understand my comments.

My eagerness to finish it was real. Yes I was loving the tension.

But I couldn’t get free from that niggling voice in my head when I was halfway through saying “Sue, this is crazy stuff”

At the end when it all came together I understood that “it” wasn’t crazy, it was the “person” who was crazy.

It fell a bit flat in certain areas for me. 

I’ve sat on this review for two days.
I wanted to come down from the high and think logically. 

You want a good thriller?
This is it.
You like tension?
This is it.
You like family related books?
This is it.
You want crazy?
Oh boy, this is it.

I’m so glad I read it.

The authors work is impeccable and so easy to follow.
However, I land somewhere in the middle with my thoughts.

Enjoyment level. 10/10
Tension. 10/10
Keeping my attention 9/10
Craziness 10/10
Upon reflection 6/10

My thought processes whilst reading 6/10
Belief 5/10
Content 5/10
Madness 10/10

So why do I fall in the middle of the ratings? 
Because of the kids.
Because of the dad.

I can say no more than that.

But there’s some whole lot of crazy in this read that will pull you and grab you.

Forget me not by Luanda Lewis

A very fast paced and at times emotional thriller.

Your daughter I’d dead. 
Shock.
But was it suicide?
Anger.

Grief.

As a Mother, being told your daughter is dead, but suicide brings blame, also BRINGS anger at the person, at yourself. What did I not see?
How could I have prevented it?
All kinds of things.

But what Mother truly knows her daughter?

There are hidden secrets.

Lots of cul-de-sac moments (no way out) so lots of brilliant red herrings.

I’m late reading this, but if this is a book that you’ve not read, it really is a good ‘in.

Along came the rain

A powerfully written book with so much in. It knocks you sideways that’s for sure.

I can’t write anything than what’s already been spoken about in other reviews in case of giving the plot away.
I want to write so much.....
But you need to go in blind.

Brilliant read. Been glued to it all day.

stalker

I was completely floored and fooled by this.

I haven’t read any of this series. I didn’t realise this was book 5 in the Joona Linna series when I got it.
I’m always doing stuff like that! I really need to pay attention more.

I felt like I should have at least read the book before this, I recommend that as you won’t be fumbling about so much at the beginning. Nevertheless I loved it.

First book by this author I am ashamed to say ( hides my head in shame) I can certainly see why his books are popular though.

Excellent read. And no, I was kept guessing all the way through.

Delicious ply Vegan Soup Kitchen

I just love this authors fiction books and now I’m totally blown away by this recipe book of soups.

I’m not Vegan, and you don’t need to be. The Potato and leek soup recipe was the first one I tried. One of my favourite soups, but this had so much more flavour.

I will be trying more.

I actually made it again but using my soup maker and loved it.

I love soup and I love the way this book is laid out with photos. Hate recipe books with just write ups.

You need to get this.

Full of flavour.

I can’t wait for her next recipe book now! 

Such healthy foods.

Orphan Sisters by Lola Jaye

I so loved this book!

It’s based from its starting point in 1950’s through to 1980’s.

Life was different in some respects in the 1950’s and racial prejudice was rife. I’m not saying it is not prevalent today, but it’s eased and there are equality rights in place.

Having children who are black back then with a family who came over to the UK and later being orphaned caused its sadness. But this book wasn’t sad throughout, it showed guts and determination for siblings to be together.

It didn’t pan out.

But they were determined.

I loved the solid writing in this novel. It flowed to well I was eagerly turning the pages.

I loved it. 

My sisters secret

This is very much a family drama with lots of hidden secrets.

It’s emotional but not always sad. Does make you invest in this family though like you belong to them no matter how dysfunctional.

Secrets are in families, and they sometimes need to be, but, a lot are destructive and knock the core of family life if you let it.

This isn’t a fast paced book, to the contrary this is an ease book which you need to savour at a slow pace to get the most from it.

This author was very good at drawing me in. It’s a book I’ll remember for quite a while. 

Secret Sister by Emelle Gamble

I’m late...I’m late...

For a very important date🥴

Yep shame on me! I’ve hoarded this book for far too long.

This book really slipped down my kindle. It was published in 2014 and I was very new to Net Galley and didn’t keep a list.

This year I’ve taken a sabbatical from book blogging (well...more selective) and concentrating on the books I already had.

With the holiday that my son took my husband on I took advantage to do very little and read more. Do whatever I wanted basically!

This is a book that threw me. I wasn’t intrigued by the cover and seeing we are 5 years on.....my taste in books have grown. So I wasn’t expecting what I received from the story.

BOOM it really is worth a second look

Hold Still by Tim Adler

I don’t think I’m right for this book. 
I’m not a lover of “mobby” kind of reads and it never really gave any indication that is was going to be anything other than maybe a physiological thriller/domestic noir kind of book, so it threw me a bit.

It’s writing was OK, had a storyline.
But nothing I could relate to or feel like I had enjoyed it.

Might be a case of it’s me not you?

Lizzie’s Secret by Rosie Clarke

I absolutely devoured this book.

“If you are a fan of Katie Flynn you will love this book” is what the publishers say. Well yes I do! I loved all of Katie Flynn books and more like her. In my 20’s I read nothing else but historical fiction like this and Catherine Cookson. So going back to my roots of what got me into reading in the first place was a sheer joy to me.

Setting myself back to how life was then, it wasn’t easy for Lizzie. Neither would it have been to date.
But people’s morals were so different then. And yes, I’m getting older and in some ways it did have it’s good points but also had it’s bad.

This is the story of Lizzie, this is her secret.

But seeing she doesn’t remember it brings even more collateral damage.

I so loved this!
Did I say?!

What a fantastic writer this is.

There was a little girl by Cynthia Luhrs

Book 1

Not sure to go onto book 2.
Not because I didn’t like it but I think if the next ones like this I’ll need smelling salts.

The Animal cruelty is bad in this book and I had to skip pages.
The rest was very good.

The concept being that this girls father abused her mother and left her dead. And the dog.
She survived.


Now she’s older she’s found to have a good job, thought to be getting on with her life.
But is she.?

There are still bad things happening out there in the world and she decides to do something about it.

I think there may be triggers for sure in this book, so if you are aware of that then it may or may not help.

Fast paced thriller, but I definitely won’t go onto book2 as it’s too graphic for my liking.

Dying day by Stephen Edger

Fast paced, a read with anticipation, emotionally charged thriller, police procedure.

Just imagine a colleague of yours who was killed pursuing a serial killer. Part of your team?
Would you maybe rightly or wrongly feel some guilt?
Would you want justice?

So when this case is reopened Detective Kate was told to stay well away. Remembering Amy who was killed at the hands of this perpetrator, could, or rather.....would she obey orders.

Kate does thing sometimes her way and not always the orthodox way.

I really enjoyed this read. I read it quickly as it was really a page turner where you are eager to see what’s going to happen next for sure.

Having not read book 1 this didn’t make any impact on my not reading it, so I’m guessing it’s equally as good as a stand-alone.

If this book is anything to go by, I’m sure going to follow what he writes next.
I’m on it. 

All the missing girls

This is definitely a story you read in reverse.
It’s practically a page per day in the life of........
But told backwards leading up to the present day.

It really was a case of concentrating too much with this. So any interruptions could throw you off in the beginning few chapters.

The concept of it all was really rather good. 

The eagerness of me wanting to know the why, where, how, and OMG what happened was real. I was wanting to flick past the lead up to scan the outcomes and who and what.

So that was a plus.

To be honest, I really had to use my brain far too much to keep recalling the past. Lots of hard work.
Should it be that hard reading? Or should I be just edge of seat enjoying this thriller?

Great concept but the almost everyday lead up back to front done me in. 

Scarred for life

A very short review

An over all good follow on.

But a few things annoyed me in this book.
A reference to a cookie, quickly was referred to a biscuit.

There were some other things to which kept me scratching my head.

No the best book in this series IMHO

The nanny

I’ve been reading this on and off from last night. I read the bulk of this book until dawn. I finished the rest over breakfast and lunch.
The book was glued to my hands, I really had a job putting it down.

I love a dysfunctional family, and we certainly have one in the story, I loved the “rich class higher archly “ in this too. “We have servants”. 

The Nanny is a class pounding thriller that I loved. Plenty to get your teeth into.

Highly recommend

Robert Scragg . Nothing else remains book 2

After discovering this author Robert Scragg through the publishers sending me his debut thriller I was amazed that the debut was so good, it was high standard and sure was like a best selling author. So receiving his 2nd book in the series I was overjoyed. Max Brennan hasn’t had life easy. And he’s still not finding life straightforward. People in his life are going missing. He goes to DI Jake Porter for assistance, but then Max is in his home one time and gets attacked. Jake is on it with Nick Sykes his partner but things take a turn for the worse when a body turns up, the very person they suspected was now dead. What now? Then Max thinks they’ve caught the person, but he’s told “no, they may come after you again” This is very much an Whodunnit and Cat & Mouse chase. But you get so caught up in this you find yourself getting breathless keeping up with it. Fast paced Top notch in the writing field Excellent 3D characters One I couldn’t stop reading until I finished. I’m so happy the publisher Allison & Busby sent me his debut. I’ve discovered a great author!

Thicker than water

I read this in a day. I really am loving this compulsive compelling series.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
This author is so underrated.

Jessica Daniels has been great within these investigations. I’ve seen her grow, I’ve seen her mature and now I’m seeing her personality shine through.
She has everyone’s back in her team and her team hers. They’ve grown together, there’s deep respect .

This case is a hard nut to open and solve.
Along the way I felt like I was part of her team. I’ve been reading this series since book 1.

May I suggest you start from the beginning, you will get so much more out of it.

It’s intense and brilliantly done.

Playing with fire

If your child was killed in a fire deliberately started by someone and now after the perpetrator spending several years behind bars, but, is now released, would you think that was justice?

This father aims to get his revenge.

This is a very powerful but at times a thought provoking emotive read for any parent.

It doesn’t take long before the media has plenty to report as things take a turn drastically for the worse.

Is all as it seems?

Really got engrossed in this one.

Book 4 Think of the children

Book 4

Another exciting compelling read from this author with the same D.I. Jessica. I have seen Jessica grow book by book in her dealings with people, her team and her sheer gutsiest and I am loving her growth and determination.

We have children this time who are disappearing at an alarming rate from a list that is discovered.

It’s a race against time and I’m truly out of breath! 

This is proving one of the best series I’ve read for a long time.

Book 3 The black widow by Kerry Wilkinson

I can’t believe I’m on book 3 already on my April catchup on this wonderful series.

This authors work is so underrated, if you fancy reading a really good series that’s fast paced and written well. Look no further.

This case is about hands being found in places. Nothing else, it’s not attached to a body. 

Then fingers get posted to people in the mail.

Sound gruesome?
Yes, but it’s the how, why and wherefore that grabs you and doesn’t let you go in this wonderful series.

Jessica once again takes the lead, and from book 1 I have seen her get stronger in her role.

Book 2 Vigilante by Kerry Wilkinson

“Scum killing scum” is not a priority today. But Jessica wants to see justice being done! And so she does. After book 1 which I loved, I found this one has really bumped up my belief that Kerry Wilkinson has a pure and natural talent. I loved the differing POV in this. Kept me glued to one spot I can tell you! Onto book 3

The killer inside now called Locked in 🙄

Another catch up read for me in April. 

It’s May but I’m catching up on reviews.

Book 1 in what looks like a great start to a series.

Someone’s dead. The killers inside. No break in. How did they get in? It’s all locked up from the inside?

The detective in this story is young and learning, she comes across at times like that too, so I’m looking forward to seeing her grow and develop within this series.

There are plenty of twists within the pages to peak your attention eventhough the start of the book was a little slow.

Time to die book 2 in Caroline Mitchell series

I’m still on my catch up reads in and in between other books I’m reading or listening to.

This was a spine chilling, atmospheric, “hairs on the back of your neck stand up” kind of read.

It has some supernatural feel to this that leaves you shivering all over from your head to your toes in a real “gotta keep reading” sort of way.

I’m onto book 3!

The affair

This, for me is one of what I call my “catch up reads” I’m way behind some of my reviews and reading. I’m trying to take one or 2 at a time off my pile per month.

That said......

Amanda Brooke pens very good well worth reading novels.
This one was of no exception and with a subject matter that seems to be an acceptable “norm” at times.
So this being said, I wasn’t as shocked as I should be.
We read about this in newspapers or in Women’s magazines.

I thought the author was really good at putting over a very realistic upsetting approach to this subject matter.

Young girl gets groomed by adult man or did she just “fall in love?” I’ll let you decide.