Monday, January 28, 2019

The Hiding Place by C J Tudor

The thrilling second novel from the author of The Chalk Man, about a teacher with a hidden agenda who returns to settle scores at a school he once attended, only to uncover a darker secret than he could have imagined.

Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang--the betrayal, the suicide, the murder--and after what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn't have a choice. Because judging by what was done to that poor Morton kid, what happened all those years ago to Joe's sister is happening again. And only Joe knows who is really at fault.

Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with former friends who are none too happy to have him back in town--while avoiding the enemies he's made in the years since--is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to that abandoned mine where it all went wrong and his life changed forever, and finally confronting the shocking, horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn't the day his sister went missing.

It was the day she came back.

With the same virtuosic command of character and pacing she displayed in The Chalk Man, CJ Tudor has once again crafted an extraordinary novel that brilliantly blends harrowing psychological suspense, a devilishly puzzling mystery, and enough shocks and thrills to satisfy even the most seasoned reader.


"Happiness is overrated; it’s far too short-lived, for a start. If you bought it on Amazon, you’d demand a refund. Broke after a month and impossible to fix. Next time will try misery—apparently that shit lasts forever."
Joe Thorne left his hometown under a cloud of grief and guilt. Never to return, or so he thought. Part time teacher, full time heavy drinker and gambler, he tries to block out what happened all those years ago, and some days he even succeeds. When he gets a strange message that reminds him of his tragic past, and with nowhere to escape his mounting gambling debts he heads home to Arnhill to hide from the thugs who want to collect, and to uncover what really happened all those years ago.
Most of the people who remember Joe are not happy to see him, and slowly we learn why the feeling is mutual. I loved the flashbacks to Joe's childhood and the supernatural overtones.
C.J. Tudor has officially cemented her place on my list of must read authors.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
C. J. Tudor was born in Salisbury and grew up in Nottingham, where she still lives with her partner and young daughter.

She left school at sixteen and has had a variety of jobs over the years, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, shop assistant, ad agency copywriter and voiceover.

In the early nineties, she fell into a job as a television presenter for a show on Channel 4 called Moviewatch. Although a terrible presenter, she got to interview acting legends such as Sigourney Weaver, Michael Douglas, Emma Thompson and Robin Williams. She also annoyed Tim Robbins by asking a question about Susan Sarandon’s breasts and was extremely flattered when Robert Downey Junior showed her his chest.

While writing the Chalk Man she ran a dog-walking business, walking over twenty dogs a week as well as looking after her little girl.

She’s been writing since she was a child but only knuckled down to it properly in her thirties. Her English teacher once told her that if she ‘did not become Prime Minister or a best-selling author’ he would be ‘very disappointed.’

The Chalk Man was inspired by a tub of chalks a friend bought for her daughter’s second birthday. One afternoon they drew chalk figures all over the driveway. Later that night she opened the back door to be confronted by weird stick men everywhere. In the dark, they looked incredibly sinister. She called to her partner: ‘These chalk men look really creepy in the dark . . .’

She is never knowingly over-dressed. She has never owned a handbag and the last time she wore heels (twelve years ago) she broke a tooth.

She loves The Killers, Foo Fighters and Frank Turner. Her favourite venue is Rock City.

Her favourite films are Ghostbusters and The Lost Boys. Her favourite authors are Stephen King, Michael Marshall and Harlan Coben.

She is SO glad she was a teenager in the eighties.

She firmly believes that there are no finer meals than takeaway pizza and champagne, or chips with curry sauce after a night out.

Everyone calls her Caz.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

The Long Way Home by Richard Chizmar

SYNOPSIS
Gathered here for the first time ever are seventeen short stories, two essays, and a short script by award winning and New York Times, bestselling author, Richard Chizmar.
Eerie, suspenseful, poignant, the stories in The Long Way Home run the gamut from horror to suspense, crime to dark fantasy, mainstream to mystery. This brand new collection features more than 100,000 words of short fiction, as well as more than 5,000 words of autobiographical Story Notes. Chizmar s previous short story collection, A Long December, was published in 2016 to starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, and was included on numerous Best Books of the Year lists. Entertainment Weekly gave the book high praise: Each tale is a magic trick, luring you toward the light while leading you down an ever-darkening path. There is hope mingled with horror, and that s Chizmar s secret power. His storytelling always beats with a huge, passionate heart.
Stephen King says he writes terrific stories served with a very large slice of Disquiet Pie, and with The Long Way Home, Richard Chizmar has taken his evocative and compelling storytelling to an entirely new level.
CONTENTS
The Man Behind the Mask
The Bad Guys
The Meek Shall Inherit...
Silent Night
Widow s Point
My Father and Ellery Queen s Mystery Magazine
The Witch
A Nightmare on Elm Lane
Dirty Coppers
Mischief
The Man in the Black Sweater
Odd Numbers
The Hunch
Roses and Raindrops
Stephen King at 70: A Tribute to the Gunslinger
The Association
The Sculptor
Murder House script
The Custer Files
The Long Way Home
Story Notes

A formidable collection of dark fiction that kept me thoroughly entertained.
The 5 star stories in my opinion were The Witch - A dead body is found and the corpse has left a note that if anything has happened to him the ex is responsible.
A Nightmare on Elm Lane- A father and son project in the back yard turns up a murder mystery.
Mischief - A serial killer has a frightening confession to make.
The Association- A couple has worked hard to afford their dream home but didn't realize their new neighborhood had very strict rules with terrifying consequences.

I received a complimentary copy for review

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Black Wings by Megan Hart

There hadn't always been something wrong with Briella Blake, but when she's invited to attend Parkhaven, a private school for extremely gifted students, the girl's wicked genius begins to manifest itself in ways her mother can no longer deny are...strange. Briella's friendship with a raven, Onyx, that's equally as smart as she is, prompts her mother to restrict the animal from Briella's company. Soon Marian learns that nothing can stop her daughter from interacting with the bird, who seems to have become an integral part of the girl's experiments into the possibilities of recording and recreating personality and memory. Also the existence of angels, the afterlife and the soul. Marian's pregnancy with a sibling Briella doesn't want spurs the girl into a frenzied activity of experiments and desperation. Soon, it's impossible for Marian to ignore that although there hadn't always been something wrong with Briella, something is certainly wrong with her, now. Certainly even a child genius can't be blamed for the unexpected deaths and sickness surrounding her. Even the idea that the raven has become some kind of paranormal instigator of tragedy is too ridiculous and idea for Marian to entertain. With a difficult pregnancy sapping her strength, it's all Marian can do to keep herself out of the hospital, much less torture herself with worry about the daughter who's never caused trouble before. A mother's worst nightmare might be something terrible happening to her child - but what happens when the terrible thing IS the child? FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Marian is divorced from Briella's dad Tommy and now remarried to Dean. They are living happily and madly in love. Happy that is except for the problems with Briella. Maybe there hadn't always been something "wrong" with her but she never was quite like other little girls. Different enough in fact that her paternal grandmother found her to be an embarrassment to the family, Different enough that her current school thinks there is just nothing more they can do with her. Briella is a little genius, but sadly that genius runs towards the evil side. She is too smart for her own good and does not seem to feel any empathy or much emotions at all other than the fake ones she can wear like a mask.
If the Bad Seed had been a mad scientist she would have been as scary as  Briella.
I Loved this book!
5 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review. 


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About the author
Megan Hart has written in almost every genre of romantic fiction, including historical, contemporary, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, futuristic, fantasy and perhaps most notably, erotic. She also writes non-erotic fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing to occasionally dabble in horror.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser

When a video call between friends captures a shocking incident no one was supposed to see, the secrets it exposes threaten to change their lives forever.Molly and Liza have always been enviably close. Even after Molly married Daniel, the couple considered Liza an honorary family member. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit—in the friendship and the marriage.

When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat after the kids are in bed. But then Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child.

What Liza sees next will change everything.

Only one thing is certain: Molly needs her. Liza drives all night to be at Molly’s side—but when she arrives, the reception is icy, leaving Liza baffled and hurt. She knows there’s no denying what she saw.

Or is there?

In disbelief that their friendship could really be over, Liza is unaware she’s about to have a near miss of her own.

And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either.

But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this.

Jessica Strawser's Forget You Know Me is a “twisty, emotionally complex, powder keg of a tale” (bestselling author Emily Carpenter) about the wounds of people who’ve grown apart. Best, friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain.

One moment will change things for them all.

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I had previously read "Almost Missed You" by Jessica Strawser and it broke my heart! I was hoping this latest novel could evoke such intensity of emotion and it came very close even if nothing here drove me to tears. Molly and Liza were the best of friends, and although they tried to remain that way after Liza moved, the distance between them made it impossible. Meanwhile Molly has been suffering debilitating pain, and she and her husband have drifted apart. When Liza and Molly try to rekindle their friendship over a video chat Liza witnesses something she wasn't meant to see. Fearing for Molly and her children Liza drives all night to get to her, and is treated as an unwelcome and unwanted nuisance when she arrives. She is shocked when Molly turns her away. but there's an even bigger shock waiting for Liza when she gets home, and there is just no telling if their friendship or Molly's marriage will survive.
4 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review



About the author
Jessica Strawser is the Editor-at-Large for Writer’s Digest magazine, North America’s leading publication for aspiring and working writers since 1920. Her debut novel, ALMOST MISSED YOU (St. Martin's Press), was a Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction Selection upon its March 2017 release, as well as a She Reads Book Club Selection and a PopSugar Best Spring Read. The book garnered accolades from such wide-ranging bestsellers as Chris Bohjalian, Adriana Trigiani, Lisa Scottoline, Jacquelyn Mitchard, and Garth Stein. Her second, NOT THAT I COULD TELL, is forthcoming from St. Martin's in March 2018, and a third is under contract for 2019.

Her diverse career in the publishing industry spans more than 15 years and includes stints in book editing, marketing and public relations, and freelance writing and editing. A Pittsburgh native and “Outstanding Senior” graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, she counts her New York Times Modern Love essay and her Writer’s Digest cover interviews with such luminaries as Alice Walker, Anne Tyler and David Sedaris among her career highlights. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two children.

She blogs at the WritersDigest.com “There Are No Rules” blog and elsewhere, tweets @jessicastrawser, enjoys connecting at Facebook.com/jessicastrawserauthor, and speaks at writing conferences and events that are kind enough to invite her.

Visit jessicastrawser.com to learn more, read some of her work and sign up for her email list to receive occasional updates and hellos.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

As Long as We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney

What happens when you're really, truly done making your marriage work? You can't be married to someone without sometimes wanting to bash them over the head...
As Long As We Both Shall Live is JoAnn Chaney's wicked, masterful examination of a marriage gone very wrong, a marriage with lots of secrets...

"My wife! I think she's dead!" Matt frantically tells park rangers that he and his wife, Marie, were hiking when she fell off a cliff into the raging river below. They start a search, but they aren't hopeful: no one could have survived that fall. It was a tragic accident.

But Matt's first wife also died in suspicious circumstances. And when the police pull a body out of the river, they have a lot more questions for Matt.

Detectives Loren and Spengler want to know if Matt is a grieving, twice-unlucky husband or a cold-blooded murderer. They dig into the couple's lives to see what they can unearth. And they find that love's got teeth, it's got claws, and once it hitches you to a person, it's tough to rip yourself free.
So what happens when you're done making it work?



This book started off strong and I expected to love this tangled web of marriage gone wrong and happily ever after turned into I hope you die before me. As it went on and veered away from the dysfunctional marriage and headed more into the lives of the cops working the investigation and the daily ins and outs of police work the less interested I became. When I finally made it to the reveal I was a bit let down at the unbelievability of it all.

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
JoAnn Chaney is a Colorado-based writer. Her first novel, WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW, is out now. AS LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE is to be released in January 2019.