We Have Books

Her Last Secret by Barbara Copperthwaite: Having read, loved and reviewed all of Barbara Copperthwaites previous books I was delighted to accept an invitation to take part in the blog blitz to launch her latest twisty psychological thriller - Her last Secret. If you like convoluted, dark and twisty domestic Noir grip-lit you'll adore this new title. My Review Her last Secret begins at the end and then takes you back in the past to find out who and when and why the terrible event that grabs you and shakes you right at the start, happened. Its set at Christmas so it's topical for this time of year, but this is no glitter and tinsel fairytale. Its the story of a dysfunctional family and their individual flaws and failings, and boy there are loads! Every member of the Thomas family has dark and deep secrets and every one of them is angry and desperate but are any of them desperate enough to commit the atrocity which is being investigated? You bet they are! But which member or frien...

#FriendRequest - Laura Marshall @laurajm8 #Bookreview My Review: Friend Request is a term most of us will take for granted, you use Social Media you connect with people you know and sometmes you get a friend request from someone you haven't seen in a while. It's happened to me .... Usually it's a pleasant surprise .... But not for single Mum Louise Williams it isn't! The friend request she receives is a bit of a shock - it's from her old classmate Maria Weston. She hasn't heard a thing from Maria since leaving school, unsurprisingly, because Maria died, 25 years ago, didn't she? Louise can't resist having a little peek at her profile though, because Maria has never strayed very far from Louise's thoughts. Not when she was married to Sam who subsequently left her for another woman, even throughout her struggle to conceive her only child Henry, now 4 years old and the centre of Louise's universe, Maria was there in her deepest thoughts and fears. B...

The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engel My review Phew, this is one emotionally exhausting all consuming book. It's harrowing yet gentle, sad yet uplifting, its a contradiction in terms and I loved reading it. It takes the deeply taboo and makes it feel like the norm. It immerses you in a world where nothing is as it should be, surrounds you with folk who live by unacceptable rules and makes you feel at home among them. This is the story of the beautiful, rich and spoilt, daughters and granddaughters of the prosperous Roanoke family, whose wealthy lives out in the boondocks are privileged yet never to be envied. Meet Lane, she's a Roanoke beauty, who's broken away from the luxurious family mansion to make her own way in the world. When she hears of the death of her childhood companion, her beloved cousin Allegra this means she feels obligated to return to Roanoke, the home of her rich grandparents to help her grandfather cope with his loss, for he adored her beloved Allegra too. Lane...

My Review Another terrific twisty tale from the writer who is becoming my go to author when I want to be certain of a damn good chilling read and a guaranteed shiver down my spine. A different take on the psychological thriller with two unique viewpoints and so many smokescreens to blind me to the truth I could smell the smoke on my clothes. Melanie waves goodbye to her young teenage daughter Beth one evening as she heads to her best friends house, little knowing that a living nightmare is about to begin and the next time she holds her daughters hand she will be in a coma, following a brutal attack which left Beth for dead lying in the dark and lonely fenland of Lincolnshire. Why on earth was she even there at the dead of night?  There are so many mysteries surrounding this crime its almost difficult to keep track of them but the authors skill makes the story flow so deliciously you hardly notice you’re being sucked deep into the story until you’re so wrapped up in it, it feels as ...

Today I'm very excited to be sharing with you an enticing and tempting excerpt from the very latest psychological thriller by one of my favourite and most highly anticipated authors Barbara Copperthwaite. If you haven't yet discovered Barbara's superb writing you're in for a rare treat, and, lucky thing, you still have her 2 previous, sensational novels to look forward to as well. Barbara writes wonderfully scary, true to life twisty thrillers about crimes and the impact they have on all the people involved, she puts the reader so deeply inside the characters psyche you emerge  gasping. Barbara Copperthwaite You can find my enthusiastic ravings about her first two books on my blog: Her Debut novel Invisible and her second mind blowing thriller Flowers for the dead I kid you not if you haven't read them yet you really MUST! But I digress. What we're here for today is to tantalize and tempt you with the release of Barbara's third thriller The Darkest Lies  av...

My review Secrets We Keep - Faith Hogan I wasn’t sure whether I’d love this book, described as romantic contemporary women’s fiction. Of late I find I’m not always enjoying this genre nearly as much as I did, once upon a time. But I needn’t have worried. Secrets we keep has completely renewed my faith in books written by women, for women, with a lot of heart and a good few twists along the way. This is so much more than Chick-lit it’s a very competent and compelling dual timeline of love and loss and heartache spanning the generations, set in a small seaside town in Ireland called Ballytokeep. It is in Ballytokeep that Kate arrives, world weary, tired after years in her successful job as a top London lawyer, looking for a change of pace, a place to calm her soul and put down roots, a place like Ballytokeep. She comes to stay with elderly distant relative Aunt Iris who, with husband Archie, runs a charming, if slightly faded, guesthouse in this seaside village which charms so many folk ...

Bad Little Girl – Frances Vick My review An absolute corker of a psychological thriller, with a deprived and abused little girl at the heart of it – prepare to be moved – prepare to be terrified. Take an inner city school. Meet Claire, a harassed, very compassionate and caring, middle aged teacher who sometimes feels like a bit of dinosaur as she juggles the responsibilities of her dull private life, her irascible Mother, her non-existent social life, with her beloved career. Her path meets that of neglected 5 year old Lorna from a feckless family with a bad reputation on a run-down housing estate and both their lives are about to be affected by the meeting. Warning bells ring when Claire uncovers a heinous crime – Lorna, with the stick like limbs, the dirty clothes and the badly worn shoes, in a bid to be accepted by her peers, has stolen some collectable kids erasers and thus Rubbergate is unleashed! Far from bringing her friendship and admiration it makes her despised and scorned. I...