Book thoughts: The stranger times by C.K. McDonnell.

 

When Hannah finds herself almost penniless in Manchester, and in desperate need of a job, she unwittingly finds herself thrust into the crazy world of the strangers times newspaper. Her new boss an eccentric and incredibly moody Irish man, quickly has her doubting her choices. But desperate times call for desperate measures and at this point, what has she got to lose. 

This book is full of vivid and exciting characters and will keep you laughing from the very first page, to the very last. 

McDonnell is a talented writer, who has a knack for keeping you intrigued, and a very unique and wonderful writing style. 

I've not come across his books before but would certainly be interested in reading more of his books in the future. 

As always a big thank you to NetGalley, C.K. McDonnell and his publisher, for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

If you would like to know more you can read the blurb and pre-order a copy of your  very own by clicking here. This book will be released on January 14th 2021. And is currently available in ebook, audio and hardback formats. 

Book thoughts: Silent night by Nell Pattison.

    Paige Northwood, works as a freelance sign language interpreter. Having learned to sign as a child in order to communicate with her deaf family, Paige loves her work, but when she finds herself interpreting for the police, in the investigation of a missing deaf boy, and a murdered head teacher, she finds herself buried in a silent web of lies, deception and deceit so deep, she isn't sure they can ever get to the bottom of it. But with a child's life at stake, and the potential for more children to be harmed, Paige knows that the truth must be pulled from the silence. 

    This is a gripping read, with an interesting take on your typical crime/mystery/thriller book. Paige is an engaging and intriguing character who is easy to like, and relate to. She cares deeply and try's not to jump to conclusions. Their are a lot of different characters in this book though and that sometimes made it hard for me to keep track and I often muddled them up. Although with my Crohn's disease turning my brain to mush, it's not that hard for me to get muddled.

     There was some clever misdirection in play with this book, which meant I was pretty much left guessing till the very end. Which is always a good thing in these types of book. 

    And despite my struggled to keep the characters all straight in my head, I did really enjoy this one, and am very grateful to NetGalley, Nell Pattison and her publisher, for allowing me to read a copy of this great book, for free in return for and honest review. It has been an absolute pleasure. 

    If you interested in reading the blurb or getting your own copy of this great book, you can do so by Clicking here. It's currently available  as a paperback, eBook and audio book. And at the time of publishing was on offer, in Kindle format for just 99p so if you want a kind copy, go grab yours quick. 

Book thoughts: The Proctor Hall Horror by Bill Thompson.

     Dr Julian Girard, likes to put his students to the test, and each year he assigns them a project, on which they must work as a team, to research and evaluate  something from South Louisiana history.

    This year he is certain that he has picked the perfect team of four, to tackle his favourite topic, The Proctor Hall Horror. 

    In 1963, at a plantation house, in South Louisiana,  a teenage boy was found, sitting on the stairs of his home, covered in blood. 

    On further investigation, his parents and sister were found dead, but propped up on the sofa as if they were waiting for someone, however, it was instantly apparent, that they were no longer living, as their heads, were no longer attached to their bodies, but instead, sat upon the mantle, like ghoulish ornaments.  

    There son, Noah,  a mute was believed to be the culprit, but was never convicted, nor did he go to trial as he was deemed insane and unfit for trial. Instead he was lucked up in an asylum, until years later when he was deemed to be no fret to himself or others, released and returned to his old home, to live with the caretakers, who now resided there and had known him all his life. 

    but the Mystery didn't end there. Years later a young girl vanishes in a storm, her boat found docked in front of Proctor hall, and an item that belonged to her, found discarded by it's door. Again Noah is accused, but when no other evidence is found, he walks yet again. 

    Determined to succeed in their project and win the notoriously difficult to get A, from their professor, Marisol, April, Micheal and Andy have no idea what they are getting themselves into, and their not alone in wanting to learn the truth about Proctor Hall, a whole host of other interesting characters are about to enter their lives and the Bayou's of Louisiana and not all of them will escape with their lives. 

    There are a lot of great twists and turns in this book, and plenty of surprises. It's tense and interesting and I won't lie it had me pretty hooked. However, as with a lot of horror books there are a few things that are a little far fetch, that April, suddenly happens to be clairvoyant and never bothered to mention it before, was one of them. I'll admit, that had me rolling my eyes. That things were able to occur with everyone so close and them not hear it, again doubtful, especially when you discover what actually caused those things to happen. You also don't get to really bond with the characters and connect with any of them, but it's not the longest novel in the world and their are an awful lot of characters, and that didn't really effect my enjoyment of the book, as there was so much going on to keep me engrossed and sucked in. And realistically this is a horror, it's job isn't to give you characters that you bond with, it's to keep you on the edge of your seat, get your hairs standing on edge and maybe have you freaked out about going to the bathroom on your own. And this one did a pretty good job of that, I wasn't at any point really scared but I was hooked and intrigued and desperate to find out more and that's good enough for me. So despite the odd unbelievable moments I think I am still gonna give this a pretty decent 4 out of 5. Because I did enjoy it and I'd definitely be interested in reading more by this author in the future.  

    A big thanks to NetGalley, Bill Thompson and his publishers, for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. 

    If you'd like to check out the blurb or by your own copy you can do so by clicking here. It's already been released and is available in paperback and kindle format, and if your lucky enough to have kindle unlimited, you can read it for free too. (Please bare in mind this information was correct when the blog was published but may have changed since.)

    Well love and hugs all and if you read it, please let me know what you thought in the comments. Because sharing is caring and when it comes to books, sharing is also super fun. 

Book thoughts: Girl in the walls, by A.J. Gnuse.

    When Elise's parents die, she suddenly find herself all alone in the world. Transported by officers to a foster home far away from all she knows and loves, but closer to some family members, she barely knows, she decides to take matters into her own hands and flee. 

    Lost and alone she heads for the only place that ever felt like home, somewhere that holds the most memories of those she loved most. The home she grew up in. 

    But a new family lives there now, the ones who brought it after he family sold it, for somewhere smaller. But Elise doesn't care, she has to be their and she knows it better than anyone else, all it's hidden spaces, secret nooks and the gaps between the walls. 

    

    Girl in the walls is an enthralling tale, heart breaking, yet charming. The characters are well developed and interesting and Elise's character is explored so deeply, her emotions, her thoughts and it's wonderful. 

    

    The only thing I didn't like with this book is that it would suddenly ramble of topic, into a lot of description intended to set the scene and help you place yourself there, and at times that was great, at others I found it just rambled a bit too much and I would become distracted and start to lose the flow and my absorption in the book and grow bored. 

 That said, it is just a minor irritant and the story itself is lovely and definitely worth a read. There are lots of tense moments, that keep you locked to your seat, desperately needing to know what's going to happen next. 

    And you really feel for Elise and the boys of the house too. A lovely book and something a bit different, which is always nice. 

    Again thank you to NetGalley, A.J. Gnuse and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I've really enjoyed it and think I might need to grab myself a physical copy for my bookshelves. 

If you'd like to read the blurb or pre-order your own copy you can do so by clicking here. It's currently available for Pre-order  as a hardbook, or ebook. And will officially release on March 18th 2021. Happy reading. 

Book thought's: What my husband did, by Kerry Wilkinson

 

    Maddie's life is idyllic, she lives on the outskirts of a beautiful village with her husband Richard, in a comfortable home, has a daughter, Kylie off at collage, and a quiet peaceful life. 

    But that all changes when a her friends husband knocks on her door, late one night, with his dog by his side and tell her he's found a body in the river, not far from her door, and he needs her to call the police. 

    The body, is that of twelve year old Alice, and the last person known to have seen her that night, turns out to be Maddie's husband Richard, who never returned home from a trip out to visit a friend. 

    When Richards car is found abandoned and tucked away, as if purposefully hidden, with Alice's headband dropped beside it's wheel, Maddie is left reeling. Did her husband have a part in all this? Soon the man she thought she knew so well, begins to unravel before her eyes. 

    This is a gripping well written book, that keeps you guessing and is easy to lose yourself in. I know I spent half the night absorbed by it, fighting to keep my eye's open so I could read, just one more chapter, and then grabbed it up again as soon as I woke. 

    The characters are well developed and believable and the small village dynamics are eerily accurate, and I should know, I live in a village just like it. 

    I loved Maddie and really felt for her as her whole life unravels around her, and the village she had once been so involved with begins to turn its back on her. 

    You can feel her heartbreak and anguish radiating from the page and I longed to dive in and hug her close and give her the support she was so seriously lacking. 

    Kerry is a master with words and writes in a simple style that is easy to sink into and lose yourself within the story, I love it when a writer can do this. 

    I am so grateful to NetGalley, Kerry Wilkinson and his publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review and I will definitely be reading more books by this author.  

    If you would like to know more about this book you can check out the blurb and get yourself a copy by clicking here.

    The book, is currently available in the following formats: Kindle, paperback and Audio. 

Book thoughts: The girl who never came home by Nicole Trope

The blurb: They find her just as the sun is beginning to rise in the early morning mist. They had begun at dawn, the group of searchers keen to get going. A missing child spurred everyone on. In the end, it was a flash of colour, a bright neon pink that caught her eye. They had been looking for pink.

Nothing tests your faith like being a mother. The first time your children walk to school alone, their first sleepover, when they finally fly the nest. As a parent, you have to believe that everything will be OK.

It’s why, when Lydia’s sixteen-year-old daughter Zoe goes on a school camping trip, she has no idea of the horrors that will unfold. It’s why, when Lydia gets a call saying that her daughter has disappeared, she refuses to give up.

As she searches the mountains, her voice hoarse from calling Zoe’s name, she imagines finding her. She envisions being flooded with relief as she throws her arms around her child, saying, ‘you gave us such a scare’. She pictures her precious girl safely tucked in bed that evening.

It’s why, when they find Zoe’s body, Lydia can barely believe it. It is unthinkable. Her little girl has gone.

Something terrible happened, she is sure of it. Something made Zoe get out of her sleeping bag in the middle of the night, walk out of the warmth and safety of the cabin, into the darkness of the mountains. Driven by the memory of her youngest child, Lydia needs to find out the truth. What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t?

My thoughts: This is an intriguing tale, with interesting and complex characters that are believable and easy to relate too. 

Zoe is a beautiful vivacious girl, but she’s also a bully. When she goes away on a school camping trip, no one expects that to be the end, but when Zoe goes missing and is found dead, we are taken on a journey through the thoughts, fears, regrets, secrets and torturous guilt of all those who were there that night as well as those who were closest to her. 

Nicole lays out the story in a very clever way, allowing us to slowly discover the truth through a whole host of characters. 

Hearing their side of things, and seeing them struggle with what has happened, while also wrestling with their own sense of guilt and culpability.

There was not a single character that I felt wasn’t real, wasn’t really grieving or wrestling with their own involvement t or failure to act.

It also deals with some complex issues. In the modern age Bullying has gone beyond the playground, children can no longer escape to the safety of their home and gain a well needed reprieve. The bully’s are now able to follow them everywhere, attacking them night and day, in constant streams of endless abuse, torture and public humiliation, via social media and the internet. 

But that’s not the only danger of the internet, complete strangers can become anyone, and what a young girl believes to be a handsome Boy, could actually be a dirty old man. Children are easy prey and despite parents and teacher best efforts to teach the youth of today, to be careful, to be smart, they often get swept away by kind words, sweet promises and clever deception. 

Faced with all this how can today’s youth survive, do you know who your child is really talking too. 

Nicole deals with this issues beautifully and shows just how easy it is for the internet to play a devastating part in destroying lives.

I was hooked from the first page to the last and would definitely like to read more by this author in the future. 

A big thank you to NetGalley, Nicole Trope and her publisher for allowing me to read and advance copy of this wonderful book, in exchange for an honest review. I have truly loved it. 

Love and hugs all

Joss xx