#BlogTour ~ The Man on the Middle Floor by Elizabeth S. Moore @LizzyMoore19 @RedDoorBooks

A big welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Man on the Middle Floor by Elizabeth S Moore.

The Man on the Middle Floor was published on 12th April 2018 by Red Door.

Despite living in the same three-flat house in the suburbs of London, the residents are strangers to one another.

The bottom floor is home to Tam, a recent ex-cop who spends his days drowning his sorrows in whisky. On the middle floor is Nick, a young man with Asperger’s who likes to stick to his schedules and routines. The top floor belongs to Karen, a doctor and researcher who has spent her life trying to understand the rising rates of autism.

They have lived their lives separately, until now, when an unsolved murder and the man on the middle floor connect them all together. Told from three points of view, The Man on the Middle Floor is about disconnection in all its forms; sexual, physical, parental and emotional. It questions whether society is meeting the needs of the fast growing autistic section of society, or exacerbating it.

Thought-provoking and thrilling, The Man on the Middle Floor will leave readers talking.

* * * * * * * *

A big thank you to Anna at Red Door Publishing for inviting me to participate on the blog tour.

Today, I have an article that the author has written at the end of the book which explains why she wrote The Man on the Middle Floor:-

‘I have four children. My first, Philippa, was born when I was still twenty-one, and by the time I was twenty-five I had three daughters under the age of three. I absolutely love motherhood, nurturing and babies. This book was never supposed to be the first book I wrote; instead I was going to write a thriller that was part memoir and part fiction based around my childhood. Then I had my fourth child, who is now nineteen, and I realised as he grew up what a massive shift had taken place in the twelve years since my last daughter was born.

Political correctness had invaded every corner of parenting and childhood. Academic exams started almost as soon as the toddler stage was over. There was homework and no time for play, children were much more likely to have been in nurseries very early and not at home. These are all sudden and rapid changes, and I have asked myself often how schools can have our children for such long periods and then let them emerge with no social skills not knowing the difference between an oak tree and a willow tree, or how to manage money, or how to change a car wheel, while the government changes targets and literacy levels compulsively.

All these are subjects for discussion, but, distilled down, are the questions that were most pertinent and which informed The Man on the Middle Floor, gleaned from the hundreds of children and young people I have had in my home and got to know. Why are they so much unhappier, and why is there such a huge increase in disconnection? This generation has the highest suicide rates, the highest depression rates, and the number of children on the autistic spectrum has increased dramatically.

Society, attachment, love and kindness are in my opinion what define us as human beings. Compassion and intelligence, using our judgement and being able to express opinions without being shouted down, are vital. The Man on the Middle Floor asks why we are so lost when we have so many tools for social interaction these days? Why the increase in solitude? Where are we going, and should we turn back before it’s too late? ‘

To follow the rest of the blog tour – please see below for all the stops!

 

 

About the Author

Elizabeth S. Moore has worked as a journalist since she won the Decanter Young Wine Writer of the Year at seventeen. She has written columns and articles on restaurants, politics, South Africa and all things foodie.

She comes from a family that has given her a lot of writing material and is currently finishing her second book, having written the first after completing the Faber Write a Novel course and being approached by fourteen agents after reading an excerpt of her novel to industry professionals.

Elizabeth lives in London with her South African husband and has three daughters and a son as well as two lazy Labradors.

Advertisements

#BlogTour ~ He’s Gone by Alex Clare @_AlexandraClare @ImpressBooks1

A big welcome to my turn on the blog tour for He’s Gone by Alex Clare.

He’s Gone was published on 1 August 2016 by Impress Books and is the first in the Robyn Bailley series.

 

How do you find a missing child when his mother doesn’t believe you have the right to even exist?

When Detective Inspector Roger Bailley returns to work as Robyn, all she wants is to get on with the job she loves while finally being herself.

When three-year-old Ben Chivers is snatched from a shopping centre on her first day back at work, Robyn has to find Ben and herself as she deals with the reactions of her police colleagues, the media and her own daughter.

* * * * * * *

Thank you to Natalie at Impress Books for sending me my review copy of the book and for inviting me to participate on the blog tour.

Alex Clare isn’t an author I was familiar with but I’m happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series following Robyn Bailley and her team. Robyn, a Detective Inspector in the police force, was previously Roger and is returning back to work after taking holiday leave where she has made the decision to transition to becoming a woman. Before anything can be made permanent, Robyn has to live as a woman for a year.

The title of the book refers to a young boy who has gone missing but also refers to Robyn herself. Roger is gone and has been replaced by Robyn, a woman who can actually be herself after many years of denying who she really wants to be.

She returns to work and is immediately thrown into the investigation of the missing toddler from a shopping centre and a spate of vicious burglaries that are plaguing their local town, whilst also having to deal with her colleagues and the public perceptions and reactions to her. The author has done her research and it is so interesting to read about how Robyn is dealing with how others seem to perceive her, whilst trying to ignore it and continue in her high pressured job and surroundings.

The storyline had me gripped from the first page as we delve into the investigation. It’s a top knotch police procedural thriller with some twists that I didn’t really see coming. We sense their frustration as the progress slows with seemingly no motive for the kidnap.

Alex Clare has introduced us to a strong willed new lead – I really liked Robyn and think this was an incredibly well written debut. I excited to start the next in the series!

 

About the Author

After nearly twenty years of being a committed corporate person, Alex Clare was made redundant. She had always enjoyed writing, studying fiction part-time through the Open University and managing to complete a novel in her commuting time, though no one had ever read it.

Now, with lots more time on her hands, there was the opportunity to take writing more seriously. She began to enter competitions and joined a writing group, which encouraged her to try out new genres and styles. After a period focusing on short stories, she wanted to try another novel.

Inspiration came from watching Parliament debate the Equal Marriage Act in 2013. Astounded by the intensity of feeling generated, she created a fictional world to explore some of the issues and attitudes.

Now working again she is working on her second novel, in her usual place, on a London commuter train.

#BlogTour ~ Half a World Away by Sue Haasler @pauseliveaction @DomePress #HalfAWorldAway

A big welcome to my turn on the blog tour for Half a World Away by Sue Haasler.

Half a World Away is published on 12th April 2018 by Dome Press.

 

Charming and talented Alex dreams of becoming a professional saxophonist while working long hours in the family bakery. Detlef, lonely, repressed, and a small-time Stasi informer, develops an obsessive love for him.

But Alex has eyes only for Nicky, an English woman visiting East Berlin as an au pair. With no natural outlet for his feelings, Detlef’s passion becomes destructive, his need for approval enmeshed with the latent homophobia of the regime.

As Alex takes up with more successful musicians, he moves closer to influences considered subversive by a state that has eyes and ears everywhere, and Detlef’s passions threaten to endanger them all.

* * * * * * * *

A big thank you to Emily Glenister at Dome for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

I’ve not read that many books set in 1980’s Germany before the Berlin Wall fell so it was very interesting to read what life was like then and especially from people who had different experiences of it.

We follow Alex who works for his family bakery but his real love is his saxophone. His parents have mixed emotions when he informs them he has applied to study music at university. His father is overjoyed as he has passed his love of jazz to his son. His mother however is not so pleased. Living as a Russian in Germany hasn’t been easy for her but she has a happy life with her husband, son and bakery. She is concerned about her husband working too hard and knows that Alex is there to help which will all change if he follows his lifelong dream. He has also fallen in love with an English girl, Nicky who is working as an au pair, which will possibly have serious ramnifications.

Detlev is a completely different character and a complete contrast to Alex. He isn’t a very nice character but is determined to try and better himself from his current life working in the payroll department of a factory, by becoming an informer for the GDR. He has dreams of becoming an officer but I think he just wants to try and show how important he is (when in contrast he isn’t really). He spies on his neighbours and informs on his work colleagues to a mysterious figure that he meets each week from the GDR.

When Detlev, meets Alex he immediately falls in love with him but also questions his feelings as being a gay man in 1980’s Germany is just not allowed. Especially one who has higher ambitions in the GDR for himself. Alex is unaware of Detlev’s feelings much to Detlev’s annoyance and he becomes increasingly jealous of Nicky and Alex’s love.

Alex begins to associate with other musicians, people who aren’t classed as desirable by the big brother state and Detlev battles with his feelings for Alex and his feelings for wanting to belong to something big and me SOMEONE.

I must admit that I was quite young when the Berlin Wall was pulled down but Sue Haasler does a magnificent job of describing how harsh and completely different things were depending on which side of the wall you were on. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story but I found this book to be one that I didn’t know a lot about going into but learnt a lot at the end of the journey.

A compelling and highly emotional story that I’m glad I was introduced to.

To follow the rest of the blog tour….

About the Author

Sue is the author of the first ever official tie-in book for the BBC TV series HOLBY CITY, which will be published at the beginning of 2018. It’s based on interviews with all of the current cast and many of the people working behind the scenes, and will lift the lid on the journey of the show from script to screen.

Also in 2018, Sue’s novel Half A World Away will be published by The Dome Press. It’s set in East Berlin in 1987, two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Sue’s first book, Two’s Company, was published in the UK, Japan and France and was optioned for film by Warner Bros. It was followed by Time After Time, True Colours and Better Than The Real Thing.

Her proudest achievements so far have been her daughter (though she can only take part of the blame/credit for her) and having Two’s Company reviewed in an edition of Hello! magazine that had Hugh Grant in leather trousers on the cover.

When not writing books, Sue can be found slumped on the nearest sofa watching TV and blogging about it for the website http://www.pauseliveaction.com

#BlogTour ~ Keeper by Johana Gustawsson @JoGustawsson @OrendaBooks @AnneCater #Keeper

A big welcome to my turn on the blog tour for Keeper by Johana Gustawsson.

Keeper is published on 28th April 2018 by Orenda and is the second in the Emily Roy and Alexis Castells series.

Whitechapel, 1888: London is bowed under Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror.

London 2015: actress Julianne Bell is abducted in a case similar to the terrible Tower Hamlets murders of some ten years earlier, and harking back to the Ripper killings of a century before.

Falkenberg, Sweden, 2015: a woman s body is found mutilated in a forest, her wounds identical to those of the Tower Hamlets victims. With the man arrested for the Tower Hamlets crimes already locked up, do the new killings mean he has a dangerous accomplice, or is a copy-cat serial killer on the loose? Profiler Emily Roy and true-crime writer Alexis Castells again find themselves drawn into an intriguing case, with personal links that turn their world upside down. Following the highly acclaimed Block 46 and guaranteed to disturb and enthral, Keeper is a breathless thriller from the new queen of French Noir.

* * * * * * *

Thank you to Anne Cater and the publisher for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

WOW. This book is something else. I’ve not read anything quite like it.. This is the first book I’ve read by Johanna Gustawsson but the first book I will be reading when I’ve finished my April blog tours will be Block 46.

This book is absolutely outstanding. It seriously is. The story is told through dual storylines that although I thought I may struggle with, I soon found that I picked things up quickly and swept along with the absolutely enticing storyline. The storyline from 1888 featuring the terror of Jack the Ripper was brilliant. The descriptions of London in this desperate time were chilling and spot on. You can almost smell the decaying life and death on the pages.

This book is not for the faint hearted and it is very descriptive and grim at times but this just adds to the storyline. It pulls you in from the get go as you try to figure what could possibly link the separate storylines, with twist after twist. Just when you think you may have a slight inkling of maybe what is coming next, the author manages to completely send you another way leaving you in awe and also thinking how on earth she has managed to come up with this amazing storyline.

Emily Roy and Alexis Castells are new characters for me, so I maybe would have benefited from reading Block 46 but enough background is provided so you aren’t in the dark but I enjoyed their differences and found myself becoming quite attached to them.

The ending for me was what completely made this book a five star read – it completely got me and I didn’t see any of it coming. It was so well written throughout and is how a serial killer thriller should be written.

Very excited for book three in this absolutely stellar series!

About the Author

Born in 1978 in Marseille and with a degree in political science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French press and television.

She married a Swede and now lives in London. She was the co-author of a bestseller, On se retrouvera, published by Fayard Noir in France, whose television adaptation drew over 7 million viewers in June 2015.

Her debut, Block 46, became an international bestseller, with Keeper following suit. She is working on the next book in the Roy & Castells series.

#BlogTour ~ A Home at Honeysuckle Farm by Christie Barlow @ChristieJBarlow @RaRaResources @HarperImpulse

A very big welcome to my turn on the blog tour for A Home at Honeysuckle Farm by Christie Barlow.

A Home at Honeysuckle Farm was published by Harper Impulse on 6th April 2018.

A family secret

One shocking argument and ten-year-old Alice Parker’s world was turned upside down. Her peaceful life at Honeysuckle Farm in the quiet rural village of Brook Bridge swapped for the bustling metropolis of New York City. Alice’s life was changed forever…

A second chance

Now, thirteen years later, Alice’s American dream is over. With her life in tatters, there is only one place Alice wants to be… home at Honeysuckle Farm. So, when Alice learns her beloved Grandie is ill, she knows this is her last chance to heal the family rift.

A forever home?

But secrets still swirl in Brook Bridge, and Alice is no closer to discovering the truth. And for some reason her new friendship with local heartthrob Sam Reid seems to be making the locals tense.

Sick of the lies Alice knows it’s time to lay the past to rest once and for all. But could the truth ruin her hopes of ever calling Honeysuckle Farm home again?

* * * * * * *

A big thank you to Rachel at RaRaResources and Netgalley for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

Who doesn’t love a Christie Barlow book?!

I absolutely adored her last book so I didn’t need asking twice about reviewing and taking part on the blog tour for her new offering!

The story follows the idyllic life of 10 year old Alice who lives with her mother and ‘Grandie’ on the beautiful sounding Honeysuckle Farm. This all comes to an end however when she is dragged away and taken halfway across the world to New York.

When she returns 13 years later she is transported back to being a child and the happiness that she felt. She immediately feels at home. Christie Barlow has conjured up another beautiful village, it sounded absolutely perfect and I could imagine everything clearly.

The storyline was paced perfectly with added twists that just added to the depth of the plot. Along with Alice, you are desperate to find out more about what the argument between her mum and Grandie was really about. We are slowly given hints but I still wasn’t prepared when it is finally revealed!

This is a perfect, comfortable and easy to read that will have you turning the pages fast whilst also trying to savour every moment in Brook Bridge.

Another lovely book from Christie Barlow who is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

Purchase Link – https://tinyurl.com/y8yvvapd

To join the rest of the tour…..

About the Author

Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty’s Countryside Dream, Lizzie’s Christmas Escape, Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream and A Home at Honeysuckle Farm. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

She loves to hear from her readers and you can get in touch via her website www.christiebarlow.com Twitter @ChristieJBarlow and Facebook page Christie Barlow author

#BlogTour ~ Too Close to Breathe by Olivia Kiernan @LivKiernan @AnneCater @RiverRunBooks

A big welcome to my turn on the blog tour for Too Close to Breathe by Olivia Kiernan.

Too Close to Breathe was published on 5th April 2018 by RiverRun.

TOO SOON TO SEE

Polished. Professional. Perfect. Dead. Respected scientist Dr Eleanor Costello is found hanged in her immaculate home: the scene the very picture of a suicide.

TOO LATE TO HIDE

DCS Frankie Sheehan is handed the case, and almost immediately spots foul play. Sheehan, a trained profiler, is seeking a murderer with a talent for death.

TOO CLOSE TO BREATHE

As Frankie strives to paint a picture of the killer, and their victim, she starts to sense they are part of a larger, darker canvas, on which the lines between the two blur.

* * * * * * *

Thank you to Anne Cater and the publishers who kindly sent me my copy of the review book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

Well what a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive book this was! A great start for what I think is going to be an absolute cracking series featuring a fiesty, new female detective.

DCS Frankie Sheehan is returning back to work following her last case which saw a woman murdered and Frankie severely injured. (We learn little bits about this particular case – and absolutely fascinating it is!). She is thrown into what is at first glance a sucicide but Frankie begins to suspect foul play. There are subtle hints that a murderer is on the loose and it is soon up to Frankie and her colleagues to delve into the world of the Dark Web, namely a website called Black Widow and discover what actually links the victims.

This was a well paced thriller and I couldn’t put it down. Frankie is a brilliant lead character who is trying to get back into her work life whilst also battling the demons from her last case which are still ongoing. I can’t wait to read more about her in the books to come as I think there is a lot more to discover about her.

This is quite a dark and twisty tale and not for the faint hearted but I loved it! (not sure what that says about me..!). The added twists are brilliant and kept me reading into the early hours. I kept saying I would put it down and try to sleep but no, that was not going to happen!

A highly recommended book from me, I’m really looking forward to reading more of what Olivia Kiernan has to offer!

 

About the Author

Olivia Kiernan is an Irish writer living in the UK and author of crime thriller, TOO CLOSE TO BREATHE.

She was born and raised in County Meath, near the famed heritage town of Kells and holds an MA in Creative Writing awarded by the University of Sussex.

#BlogTour ~ The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans @HarrietEvans @AnneCater @Headlinepg #TheWildflowers

A big welcome to the last stop on the blog tour for The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans.

The Wildflowers was published on 5th April 2018 by Headline.

Tony and Althea Wilde. Glamorous, argumentative … adulterous to the core.They were my parents, actors known by everyone. They gave our lives love and colour in a house by the sea – the house that sheltered my orphaned father when he was a boy.

But the summer Mads arrived changed everything. She too had been abandoned and my father understood why. We Wildflowers took her in.

My father was my hero, he gave us a golden childhood, but the past was always going to catch up with him … it comes for us all, sooner or later.

This is my story. I am Cordelia Wilde. A singer without a voice. A daughter without a father. Let me take you inside.

* * * * * * * *

A big thank you to Anne Cater and Becky Hunter at Headline for issuing me with my review copy and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

The Wildflowers has probably one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen so I was delighted when I received a copy to read.

The Wildflowers is definitely not what I was expecting, it is quite hard going in places but really intriguing and detailed account of the infamous ‘Wilde’ family and the tangled web they weaved. They had a privileged life but as you read further you realise this isn’t entirely accurate. They were a family full of secrets and insecurities, as normal families indeed are underneath the surface.

We follow the story through the eyes of various characters and read about the hardships they encounter as they get older through various periods of their life and also diary entries which I thought was a really interesting touch.

Tony Wilde, the patriarch of the family is known for his philandering ways but we read about another side to him as we discover his tragic family life as a small boy during the midst of World War 2 and how he grew up under the wing of his Aunt Dinah at her beachside retreat ‘The Bosky’. It is his story that had me the most interested (although the others are just as good too!)

I really enjoyed the different time periods we slipped back and forth in during the chapters and I liked how I was reading and also growing up with the characters at the same time. Growing up with characters you get a sense of how they became the people they did in later life and Harriet Evans does a brilliant job of making you feel empathy with them even though their actions are not what you want.

I found the start of the book quite a slow burner but as you read on it begins to speed up and you find yourself wanting to know more. It is quite a long book but I think it is a brilliant showcase for you to take in the full effect of the author and her glorious writing.

A very enjoyable read that stays with you after you have finished.

If you have missed any of the stops on the blog tour, you can follow them here…..

 

About the Author

I live in London with my partner and our two daughters. I love books. We all love books in fact. My favourite authors are Elizabeth Jane Howard, Rosamunde Pilcher, Dorothy Whipple, Nancy Mitford and of course Georgette Heyer. OF COURSE. His favourite books are non-fiction ones about the Second World War and obscure medicine, Ursula Le Guin, Richard Feynmann, Brian Aldiss. The 6 year old likes Tom Gates, Clarice Bean, Katie Morag, and Daisy and the Trouble with… The one-nearly-two year old likes Each Peach Pear Plum, Alfie, Mog, and Maisie, and also lying down on the floor screaming if you hand her a spoon the wrong way or if her cup isn’t blue, etc.

The books I love are ones that take you into a different world and wholly absorb you, about families and secrets and magical places. I write the books I want to read, that’s the most important thing of all. I LOVED writing The Wildflowers as it is mostly set in Dorset by the sea, one of my favourite places in the world. I really hope you enjoy it if you get the chance to read it. If you’d like to get in touch I’d love to hear from you. Please visit my website: http://www.harriet-evans.com/

Or follow me on Twitter @HarrietEvans

Or (this is the last one I promise) check out ma rockin Facebook page which I absolutely love: https://www.facebook.com/harrietevansbooks

#BlogTour ~ The Fear by C L Taylor @callytaylor @AvonBooksUK @Sabah_K

A big welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Fear by Cally Taylor.

The Fear is published on 22nd March 2018 by Avon Books.

Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey….

* * * * * * *

A big thank you to Sabah Khan at Avon for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

Wow, this book is an excellent piece of work. Cally Taylor completely gets under your skin as she tackles a tough subject with vigour and keeps you turning the pages.

We follow the story through the eyes of Lou, Wendy and Chloe. Three completely different women who each have their own story to tell. Lou was abducted and groomed by Mike when she was 13 years old and now at 32 years old is still suffering the after effects of everything that happened to her. She struggles to let anyone close to her and has short lived relationships. Looking back, this is exactly the type of person that a man like Mike picks. A quiet and shy girl with a troubled home life and not many school friends. It’s history repeating itself when Lou discovers that Mike is also involved with Chloe, who is also 13.

We are given an insight into the young Lou as we follow her story through her diaries, written as she first met Mike. They are quite heartbreaking and often hard to read as the pain and vulnerability seep through the lines.

C L Taylor has done a magnificent job of really making your skin crawl with Mike’s character. He’s a predator and you witness the way he manages to get close to the girls. After reading about the girls home lives you can completely understand their vulnerability and why they become drawn to him and the attention that he gives them.

It is quite a hard read at times, reading about Lou’s decline and her obsession with bringing Mike to justice is tough but you can almost understand her actions and feel sympathy for her, as unhinged as she becomes.

I raced through this book as I was desperate to find out the final conclusion – what a belter it was too!

A fantastic read from start to finish.

 

About the Author

C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son. She started writing fiction in 2005 and her short stories have won several awards and have been published by a variety of literary and women’s magazines.

In 2014, The Bookseller named C.L. Taylor as one of the year’s Bestselling Adult Fiction Debut Authors for The Accident. The Lie and The Missing were Sunday Times top 10 bestsellers in paperback, and both books hit the #1 spot on the Kindle bestseller list. She has sold 1 million books to date.

Sign up to join the CL Taylor Book Club for access to news, updates and information that isn’t available on the web, as well as exclusive newsletter-only competitions and giveaways and the books that CL Taylor thinks will be the next big thing. You will also receive THE LODGER for free when you sign up:

http://www.callytaylor.co.uk/cltaylorbookclub.html

http://www.cltaylorauthor.com
http://www.twitter.com/callytaylor
http://www.Instagram.com/cltaylorauthor
http://www.facebook.com/callytaylorauthor

 

 

#BlogTour ~ 88° North by J F Kirwan @Kirwanjf @RaRaResources

A very big welcome to my turn on the blog tour for 88° North by J F Kirwan.

This is the final instalment in the Nadia Laksheva spy series and was published by HQ Stories on 14th December 2017

The deadliest kind of assassin is one who is already dying…

As the radiation poisoning that Nadia Laksheva was exposed to in Chernobyl takes hold of her body, she knows she has mere weeks to live. But Salamander, the terrorist who murdered her father and sister has a deadly new plan to ‘make the sky bleed’. Nadia is determined to stop him again, even if it is the last thing she ever does.

The only clue she has are the coordinates 88˚ North, a ridge in the Arctic right above one of the largest oil fields in the world, three thousand metres below the ice. If Salamander takes hold of the oil field, he could change the climate of the whole planet for generations to come…

But can Nadia stop him before her own time runs out?

The gripping third and final novel in J.F. Kirwan’s brilliant spy thriller series. Perfect for fans of Charles Cumming, Mark Dawson and Adam Brookes.

* * * * * * * *

Thank you to Rachel at RaRaResources for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

What a roller-coaster of emotions this series has been. I genuinely feel sad and a bit bereft that the adventure is over having finished the final installment!

The previous books have been a test up to this final showdown with the deadly and incredibly slippery Salamander and Nadia and Jake have proved to be worthwhile adversaries. This is what everything has been leading up.

We are also introduced to some new characters which is a brilliant on the authors part to keep things fresh and especially lively. Blue Fan is an amazing character and although mentioned in the previous book she takes front stage with Nadia. She is such an intense and intelligent character that she deserves a book of her own! (In my head I picture her as Yukio from Wolverine).

Nadia and Blue Fan although not allies are very similar characters. They are both strong-willed women who have had to try and thrive in a male dominated world against all assumptions and succeeded. It’s been a brilliant change to read a spy thriller with such a strong female character. In this case 2 who are written so well.

We are thrown back into the action straight away and it really does grab your attention hook, line and sinker. It doesn’t let up as we are once again brought along for the ride with Nadia and Jake as they once again try to thwart Salamander and his evil and chilling proclamation of wanting to “make the sky bleed”.

It’s always sad to say goodbye to characters that you have almost come to think of as friends but JF Kirwan has ended the series perfectly.

I’ve absolutely loved being along for the ride in this action packed to the brim and then a bit more added series and think everyone should experience them.

To follow the rest of the blog tour…

About the Author

J. F. Kirwan is the author of the Nadia Laksheva thriller series for HarperCollins. Having worked in accident investigation and prevention in nuclear, offshore oil and gas and aviation sectors, he uses his experience of how accidents initially build slowly, then race towards a climax, to plot his novels.

An instructor in both scuba diving and martial arts, he travels extensively all over the world, and loves to set his novels in exotic locations.

He is also an insomniac who writes in the dead of night. His favourite authors include Lee Child, David Baldacci and Andy McNab.

Website: http://www.jfkirwan.com
Blog: http://www.jfkirwan.com/blog
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/kirwanjf/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/kirwanjf

#BlogTour ~ End Game by Matt Johnson @Matt_Johnson_UK @OrendaBooks @Annecater #RobertFinlay

Welcome to the final day on the blog tour for End Game by Matt Johnson. This is the final book in the Robert Finlay series.

End Game is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback from 31st March and is already available in e-book.

 

Robert Finlay seems to have finally left his SAS past behind him and is settled into his new career as a detective. But when the girlfriend of his former SAS colleague and close friend Kevin Jones is murdered, it’s clear that Finlay’s troubles are far from over.

Jones is arrested for the killing, but soon escapes from jail, and Finlay is held responsible for the breakout. Suspended from duty and sure he’s being framed too, our hero teams up with MI5 agent Toni Fellowes to find out who’s behind the conspiracy. Their quest soon reveals a plot that goes to the very heart of the UK’s security services.

End Game, the final part in the critically acclaimed Robert Finlay trilogy, sees our hero in an intricately plotted and terrifyingly fast-paced race to uncover the truth and escape those who’d sooner have him dead than be exposed.

 * * * * * * * * *

Thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for my review copy of the book and for inviting me to participate on the blog tour.

This is actually the first book I have read in the series (although I am certainly going to go back to the start and read the others!) and I didn’t find it too confusing as the author does provide a little bit of background so you can keep up with what is happening as the actions in this book are based on events that have happened previously. From what I have read though, the first two books along with the subject matter sounds incredibly good so I can’t wait to actually find the time and read them!

This is the type of book I really enjoy reading. A lot of action but also some great investigation work. I really enjoyed learning a bit more about the techy side of investigations so I like hearing from Nell and Stuart and they work they carried out behind the scenes.

I can understand why people are sad about this series ending, the characters are well written and you genuinely almost feel the tension that they are feeling as you are reading along. The first chapter really hooks you in and sets the tone for the storyline as we follow Robert Finlay as he becomes involved in a conspiracy that dates back to when he was serving in the military.

You really feel for Finlay as his life and career in the police force slowly start to unravel as actions from the past come back to haunt him. The tension is built up so well as you eagerly turn each page to discover who and what is behind everything.

The author also served in the military and police so he really writes with authenticity and clearly knows what he is talking about. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and tells you as it is which was a refeshing change.

Absolutely brilliant! Such an enjoyable book – I’m looking forward to going back to read the others!

You can go back and read the other reviews below…..

About the Author

 

Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for twenty-five years.

Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1992, one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital.

Hidden wounds took their toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Whilst undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism.

One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition. He has used his detailed knowledge and memory to create what has been described by many readers as a fast paced, exciting and authentic tale of modern day policing.

Matt Johnson is living proof that PTSD is a condition that can be controlled and overcome with the right help and support. He has been described by many fans as an inspiration to fellow sufferers.

A keen biker, Matt rides a ’99 Harley Davidson Fatboy and is patron to the UK based ‘Armed Forces Bikers’ charity.

In his spare time Matt keeps honey bees and produces his own honey. He scuba dives, collects unusual hats and enjoys hill-walking with his three dogs at his home in Wales near the Brecon Beacons.

More information, including book tour dates and festival appearances at http://www.mattjohnsonauthor.com

Newsletter sign-up at https://mattjohnsonauthor.com/newsletter-signup/

Matt is now represented by James Wills at Watson-Little Literary Agents in London. He is available for interview either through Watson Little and can be contacted by email mattjohnson57@hotmail.co.uk and through twitter @Matt_Johnson_UK .