Thicker Than Water by Rachel McLean. Thanks to Rachel’sRandomResources#

Blurb:

Thicker Than Water
Six years after floods made her family homeless, Jess Dyer has found safety on the wild North Yorkshire coast. Her sister-in-law Ruth is forging a role as doctor to their community of refugees and the rock around which the family revolves.
But the family is haunted by memories of the journey north and the loss of their mother Sonia. And their community is under attack from the local population.
When Jess answers a distress call at sea, she brings strangers to their village and puts Ruth in jeopardy. Jess must calm the community, mount a rescue mission and keep her brother Ben from tipping into insanity.
Will she succeed? And will she find Ruth before it’s too late?
‘Thicker Than Water’ is a gripping thriller about family, belonging and revenge.
Purchase Links:
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thicker-Than-Water-gripping-belonging-ebook/dp/B07CVKXGRD
US – https://www.amazon.com/Thicker-Than-Water-gripping-belonging-ebook/dp/B07CVKXGRD

My thoughts and review:

This was a fast paced read. Set in a Britain that has suffered dramatic flooding in the southern half of the UK.

The book opens with the floods hitting London and then switches to Yorkshire six years later. Where a group of survivors have settled in what is known as the village. This is where they eke out a living and things can only get better. Well maybe?

The main characters are Ben, Ruth his wife and Jess Ben’s sister.  Early on disharmony visits the village when Ben loses the stewardship of the village to his sister Jess.                    This is further increased when three strangers are rescued from a stricken trawler and enter the village. Suspicions abound.

The writing is top class and the characters are all well drawn.  The tension between Ben and Jess is well illustrated and she also has to face hostility from the some men in the village as she is a woman in a position of power.

This was a tale of suspicion, hostility, betrayal and lies. Very dystopian and shows how living on the edge, where the normal rules of polite society break down and people impose their own rules and beliefs. I enjoyed this book and if dystopian fiction is to your taste I would urge you to read it! Thanks to two Rachels for the chance to read this book.

Author Bio –
My name’s Rachel McLean and I write thrillers that make you think.

What does that mean?

In short, I want my stories to make your pulse race and your brain tick.

Do you often get through a thriller at breakneck pace but are left with little sense of what the book was really about? Do you sometimes read literary fiction but just wish something would damn well happen?

My books aim to fill that gap.

If you’d like to know more about my books and receive extra bonus content, please join my book club at rachelmclean.com/bookclub. I’ll send you a weekly email with news about my writing research and progress, stories and bonus content for each book. And I’ll let you know when my books are on offer.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelmcwrites
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelmcleanwrites/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelmcwrites/

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The Monumental Secret of The Crucifixion by Julian Doyle.

Blurb:

Summary:
Throughout the history of Christianity there have been those claiming a monumental secret. Often centered around the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris and associated with French esoteric circles like Debussy who wrote in a review:

“Perhaps it’s to destroy that scandalous legend that Jesus Christ died on the cross.”

But even Canon Alfred Lilley came back from St. Sulpice questioning the crucifixion. There must have been some documentation in the church that convinced these people of something portentous. BUT now searching links between the history of Rome and the latest Biblical research, we finally reveal the extraordinary facts that prove exactly what the monumental secret was and its validity making the revaluation of Christianity, as we knew it, inevitable.

My Thoughts and Review:

After I received this book I wondered what I had let myself in for; but the title intrigued me!  I must say at the outset I have no particular religious opinions but I do like nonfiction so here we go!

This is a book that challenges the orthodox Christian beliefs and puts forward the opion that the established Church of Rome had as much if not more loyalty to the Roman Empire as to God. So where does that leave us?

It begs the question that passages of the Gospels were altered and removed to please there masters. These Gospels were flawed anyway as they were written sometime after the crucifixion and supposed death of Jesus Christ. I say supposed because according  to the Gnostic belief, crucifixion was a symbolic thing rather than a concrete reality.

This  was a staple of the Gnostic Church, who were the first Christians after. They were about mystery and ritual to achieve enlightenment. They  also treated women as equals. This put them on a collision course when Rome converted to Christianity and created the Coptic Church which like the Empire was a paternal setup that relegated women to a subservient position in society and religion.

Julian also challenges the fact that the Bible, in particular The New Testament is the word of God, more the manipulations of man. Names changed to present their picture. Historical figures are mixed and substituted to paint a picture that suited their purpose. Also challenged is the timeline of the birth and death of Jesus.

Julian has presented a picture that you may not agree with, may even challenge but you definitely cannot ignore. This is a book I enjoyed from an historical point of view and certainly gives the reader food for thought. Three stars from me.                                              Thanks are due to Faye@authoright and Julian Doyle for the copy of the book which I have reviewed in an fair and Unbiased way.

Links:

Information about the Book
Title: The Monumental Secret of the Crucifixion
Author: Julian Boyle
Release Date: 20th May 2018
Genre: Non-Fiction
Page Count: 217
Publisher: Chippenham Books
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41968402-the-monumental-secret-of-the-crucifixion
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monumental-Secret-Crucifixion-Julian-Doyle-ebook/dp/B07D6LSTF8

Author Information

JULIAN DOYLE is the editor of ‘Life of Brian’ and is also one of the world’s most versatile filmmakers. He has written and directed his own films, and edited, photographed and created Fx on others. He is most famous for editing the Monty Python Films and shooting the Fxs for Terry Gilliam’s movies ‘TimeBandits and ‘Brazil’, which he also edited.

He has written and directed three feature films. ‘Love Potion’ about a drug rehabilitation centre, described as Hitchcockian. ‘Chemical Wedding’ featuring Simon Callow about the outrageous British occultist, Aleister Crowley and described by one American reviewer as ‘Thoroughly entertaining although at times you wonder if the film makers have not lost all there senses’. He has also directed award winning pop videos such as Kate Bush’s ‘CloudBusting’ featuring Donald Sutherland and Iron Maiden’s ‘Play With Madness’.

He recently wrote and directed the play ‘Twilight of the Gods’ investigating the tumultuous relationship between Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche and described by ‘Philosophy Today’ as ‘Masterful!’ the film version now being used as a teaching aid in US Universities.

Julian was born in London and started life in the slums of Paddington. His Irish father, Bob, was one of the youngest members of the International Brigade that went to fight against Franco’s invasion of democratic Spain. His mother, Lola, was born in Spain of an Asturian miner who died early of silicosis. She was thereafter brought up in a Catholic orphanage in Oviedo.

Julian started his education at St. Saviours, a church primary school. He went on to Haverstock secondary school, one of the first comprehensive schools in England. His first job was as a junior technician to Professor Peter Medawar’s team, which won the Nobel Prize soon after Julian’s arrival. Not that he claims any credit for that. At night school he passed his ‘A’ level exams and took a Zoology degree at London University. After a year at the Institute of Education, he taught biology before going to the London Film School. On leaving he started a film company with other students. Besides film making, Julian is well known for his Master-classes in Film Directing.

Monty Python’s Terry Jones described Julian as a Polymath.

While still at school, Julian had a daughter, Margarita who was brought up in the family. He then had two further children, Jud and Jessie.

Website: http://www.juliandoyle.info

 

 

 

 

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Stitched by Cheryl Elaine # Domestic Noir

Blurb:

Stitched: A gruesome tale of control, fear and brutality

by Cheryl Elaine.
A patchwork of lies and threads of abuse…Stitched is a gruesome tale of control, fear and brutality.
To the outside world, Andrew Brooke is a cop who’s obsessively committed to his job. But behind closed doors, he enforces his dominance and disciplines his wife, Emily, in the most inhumane ways. When his life begins to fall apart and his reputation becomes tarnished, he unleashes his anger and seeks revenge on those who dare to encounter him.
Emily Brooke is left broken by her husband’s hand, with no means of escape. Eventually, though weak and confused, she manages to flee. But is the life she escapes to a better one?
Detective Donavan has his own demons to battle following his wife’s death. Assigned a missing person’s case that leads to a series of brutal attacks, he follows the trail of a serial killer dubbed ‘The Stitcher’ – but will his own dark secrets get in the way of justice being served?
Stitched perfectly demonstrates how cruel life – and people – can be.

My Thoughts and  review.
Is everything what it seems? Are the pillars of our society our protectors? Maybe on the surface , but we don’t know what lurks underneath.
Andrew Brooke is a cop who is dedicated to his job, but all is not what it seems; he hides a dark secret!
Behind closed doors he is a controlling, dominating husband. His wife Emily lives in fear of him. His time as the perfect cop is limited as he is accused of rape. His life falls apart and his reputation is stained. He takes this out on all who cross his path; but Emily bears his wrath more than most. She seems to have little room for escape but eventually she manages to escape. But to what?
Donovan a detective, with demons of his own enters the story. He has never seemed to recovered from wife’s death. He throws himself into his workload and is assigned a missing person’s case. This involves him in following the trail of a serial nicknamed ” The Stitcher”
The further he goes into the investigation , the darker it becomes.
It shows that life can be cruel…… And not all is black and white

Author Bio:

Cheryl Elaine resides in Yorkshire with her husband and three daughters. She enjoys reading dark novels and watching horror movies- the more gruesome the better!
Throughout her life she has been an avid reader and wrote many short stories, which lead her on a path to world of publishing. Releasing her debut novel, crime thriller- No Ordinary Girl, which is an adult novel, not for the faint hearted due to containing graphic content.
Also in 2018 she released a Fantasy novel- Dragged to the Depths, an apocalyptic love story for a YA Audience.
Yet her love for Crime & Horror brought her to release another dark and disturbing tale – Stitched, a gruesome tale of control ,fear and control.

Black Matter/ Blog Tour/ G.D. Parker

Black Matter
The future is now… it’s terrifying!!! Humanity locks jaws with the ever-increasing human desires towards highly advanced technological innovations making the world a dangerous place. Unanticipated horrific consequences unfold for Tommy McGregor when he partakes in a new high-tech innovation to enhance his health and wellbeing. He thought it would make him healthier, better looking and live forever…DI Valentina is out of her comfort zone when she’s tasked to track down a killer, unknown to her, hidden behind a digital mask. The future has already fallen upon humanity as she soon discovers, nothing is as it seems anymore as society embarks in technology that’s already here. A terrifying mystery, it feeds your imaginative mind’s eye – a fast-paced “whoisit” thrilling crime, novel that will leave you guessing until the end, (or will it?) As it leaves the hairs on your arms stand on end as you uncontrollably turn each page in this 3 part series.
Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Matter-order-must-read-thriller-ebook/dp/B07KJNDX1P
US – https://www.amazon.com/Black-Matter-order-must-read-thriller-ebook/dp/B07KJNDX1P

My Thoughts and Review:

This is a debut G.D or Gareth to give him his Sunday name.

 

A hard novel to describe. Is it SciFi  I suppose it is.

Crime  I suppose it could be.

It all depends on the reader.

I liked it immensely, whatever genre it is! The story is simple Tommy McGregor goes into a clinic, for what is a simple procedure, to have chip put into his body.  This device known as an I.P.E.A, is to monitor his bodily functions and warn of high blood pressure, cholesterol and other malfunctions and recommend a cure or course of treatment to bring the levels down to more manageable levels.

Great eh? Well with every upside there is a downside. Light unfortunately casts a shadow that Tommy finds to his misfortune.

The characters in this novel are well drawn and all have a place in the story, but you find yourself second guessing them and yourself when finding the storyline is not going the way you were hoping. And characters are also acting out of character, if you’ll pardon the pun. The good guys and the bad guys keep changing roles and identities.  This story is the first of a series of three  books. If you like crime with a dash of SciFi or the other way around ,then this is the book, series for you.

Thanks to Rachel’sRandomResources for the ARC and Gareth for the story.

Author Bio –
GD Parker is the author of his debut novel, Black Matter. Book one of a three-part series that explores the depths of the unfolding high-tech world we now live in, making it a dangerous place.
The novel will be available to purchase in e-book and paperback formats on the Amazon store.
Gareth was born in the UK in 1981. A family man spent much of his working life in South Wales working in a professional capacity. One day he made the decision write about an idea he dreamt about.
Still working full time for a large organisation, he enjoys reading all manner of books, and spending time with his world – his family.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GDParker_Author and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gd.parker_author/

Current read# Turkish Author#

Dragged to the Depths by Cheryl Elaine.# Book Review. # Fantasy/ Kelpies.

Blurb:
Dragged to the Depths: A Cherry Laine Fantasy

by Cheryl Elaine

Tormented with grief after losing her father, Emilia journeyed to her gran’s, in a desperate attempt to escape the memories surrounding her. But once there, she found little rest and respite on the remote Orkney islands after discovering a supernatural world under the sea.

The gods, goddesses and unfamiliar species of Mother Earth’s oceanic lands welcomed her with open arms – particularly Erox, the love of Emilia’s life. Her eyes were opened to the greed and hatred of her fellow mortals; it wasn’t a question of whether she was simply following destiny – she knew the path to RESET was one she could not ignore.

Erox smiled before giving Emilia a lingering kiss. She didn’t hesitate, and gave herself freely to the vortex before heading into the unknown. Could she save herself, let alone everyone else on the planet?

Dragged to the Depths will lead readers into a magical world full of secrets, legacies and adventure. An apocalyptic love story for those who believe there’s someone for everyone, somewhere…

My thoughts and Review:
I must admit the cover of this book put me off. A bit girly? Been on my TBR for a while. But I made the decision to dive in and I’m glad I did. A really good read and for such a short read, 250+ pages it was a such a brilliant read. It had such depth and scope. That coupled with quality writing made it a great story.
It contains many elements within its pages. Being a fantasy it has mythical beings. Also a romantic side to it. A clash of two cultures, both claiming to be right neither admitting to being wrong.
But this is just a thin veil to disguise a deeper element. The possible destruction of the world and what must be done to prevent this happening.
The characters in this novel must change their perspectives and step in the grey area. None more so than the heroine Emilia who sees everything, at first, in black and white; as someone who has Aspergers may do.
Finding love, she cannot see why she must take into account the thoughts and ideas of others. She learns, as to a greater or lesser degree all of the characters in this narrative
As said earlier, a short book with a big punch; that covers a range of themes that make us selfish and others that make us care.
A great read and all the stars from me!

 

Author Bio:

Cheryl Elaine

Born
March 23

Website
http://www.cherylelaine.co.uk/

Twitter
CherylElaine15

Genre
Crime, Fantasy, Horror

 

 

 

 

 

Cheryl Elaine was born in Germany but moved to England as a young child. she resides in Yorkshire with her husband and three daughters.
Cheryl Elaine is an avid reader and enjoys watching horror movies- the more gruesome the better!
she enjoys travelling and socialising but also loves spending time at home with her family and her ever expanding menagerie which currently includes two dogs, a budgie, two fish and a rat called Rocky!
Throughout her life she has wrote many short stories and with her love of writing, she has just published her first crime thriller, No Ordinary Girl, an adult novel that contains graphic content!

Kelpies:

 

Thanks to Rachel’sRandomResources# A Heart in the Right Place# Blog Tour. #

Blurb:

A Heart in the Right Place
All Nick wants to do is take his dying father for a perfect father-son weekend in the Scottish Highlands. It’s not much to ask, is it? A log cabin, a roaring fire, a bottle of fine whisky and two days to paper over the cracks in their relationship.
However, Nick didn’t plan on making the trip with a dead neighbour in the back of his car. Or the neighbour’s dog. He really didn’t plan on being pursued by a psychotic female assassin intent on collecting body parts. And he really, really didn’t plan on encountering a platoon of heavily armed mercenaries, or some very hungry boars, or a werewolf.
A Heart in the Right Place – a horror comedy about setting out with the very best intentions and then messing everything up.
Purchase Links:
https://www.amazon.co.uk

My Thoughts and Review:

My first read by Heide and Iain and what a totally off the wall read this was.

Comedic, gruesome and scary. All rolled into one entertaining package.

Nick has arranged a weekend away with his terminally ill father. Everything is in place, well except for one thing, the delivery of a bottle of Talisker malt whisky. Nothing can go wrong can it?  Well for one thing the malt has been delivered to his neighbour!  A neighbour that Nick, despite numerous attempts cannot seem to get hold of. So he decides to do a little breaking and entering. That is his first mistake, but after all his heart is in the right place. Is it not?

This was not for me a laugh out loud book, more a small chuckle and smile tale. But no less funny for all that. It was a book I could see being turned into a film. It reminded me of Shawn of the Dead. But that was about zombies. This tale has a female assassin, mercenaries, hungry boars and oh werewolves!!

The writing was superb and the dialogue crisp and entertaining. All the characters are well drawn and have their place in the story. All appealed to me for various reasons,           My favourite character was Tony, Nick’s father. He is the voice of common sense and reality amidst the mayhem!

Thanks Heide and Iain for this hilarious romp of a book. 5 stars from me.

Author Bio:
Heide Goody is the stupid one in the writing partnership and Iain Grant is the sensible one. Together, they are the authors of over a dozen books.
The ‘Clovenhoof’ series (in which Satan loses his job and has to move to Birmingham) has recently been optioned by a Hollywood production company.
Heide and Iain are both married, but not to each other.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clovenhoof-Books-285544508177333/
Website: http://www.pigeonparkpress.com/
Twitter: @HeideGoody and @IainMGrant

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