We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It by Tom Phelan

In the tradition of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and Alice Taylor’s To School Through the Fields, Tom Phelan’s We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s.

Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy, and back-breaking.

It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone, and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland.

We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.  


A sometimes sorrowful, often humorous look at growing up in 1940's Ireland, when the kitchen was truly the heart of a home and the location of everything from bathing to turkey plucking. Tom Phelan shares with readers a look at his close knit family, dealing with bullies, and life on the farm. It is an engaging heartfelt memoir that paints a brilliant picture of simpler times.
4 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review

About the author
Tom Phelan’s memoir "We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It" was awarded a star by Kirkus Reviews, indicating a book of exceptional merit. Kirkus calls the book “A tender recollection of growing up on a farm in Ireland in the 1940s….A captivating portrait of a bygone time,” noting that “In precise, vibrant prose, novelist Phelan creates a finely etched portrait.”

Newsday says We Were Rich is "an evocative memoir, with echoes of Frank McCourt."

And the book blog For the Love of Books, says “Phelan’s story is one of grace and beauty.”

Tom Phelan was born and reared on a small farm in Mountmellick, Co. Laois, Ireland. He was fifty when his first novel, “In the Season of the Daisies,” was accepted for publication by the Lilliput Press in Dublin. Books Ireland's reviewer later wrote, "The most obvious question posed by a novelistic debut with as much resounding vigour as this is: Where has Mr. Phelan BEEN?"

“In the Season of the Daisies” was selected by Barnes and Noble for its Discover Great New Writers series and was a finalist for the Discover award.

In addition to "In the Season of the Daisies," Phelan’s novels include "Iscariot," "Derrycloney," "The Canal Bridge," "Nailer," and "Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told." These deal with such themes as Irish soldiers in World War I, returned emigrants, the abusive Irish industrial schools and the church-state collusion that allowed them to flourish, the priesthood, and life in rural Ireland in the mid-1900s.

Tom Phelan lives in New York.

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.

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

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.