88 Guys for Coffee by Diane Solomon #Humour # Contemporary Women’s Fiction @dianesolomon @EloquentRascals

Great review

BOOKS FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Abandoned and feeling lost, her self-worth in tatters, Laura decides to try online dating sites. What an education. And what a long, five years she has ahead.

Hilarious and heartbreaking, soul-searching and spiritual, “88 Guys for Coffee” shares Laura’s roller coaster of experiences as she searches for her soul mate, for her true partner in life.

No matter how crazy it gets, no matter how disillusioned she becomes, she can’t give up. She won’t give up.

Laura learns all there is to know about online dating, but she learns the most about herself.

HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW

Isn’t this cover just fab and the title just made me smile. Imagine 88 guys for coffee, from that I guessed that a lot of them didn’t get asked back for a second cup! Diane Solomon based this novel round some of the actual events from her own life…

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THE FOURTH MONKEY by J.D. BARKER #Blog Tour #4MK @jdbarker @HarlequinBooks

I avree with Sue. In your face stuff!!

BOOKS FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

Firstly I wish to thank Maxine Groves for inviting me to take part on this super Blog Tour for THE FOURTH MONKEY by J.D. BARKER

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The most anticipated thriller of the year – Optioned for both film and television

Se7en meets The Silence of the Lambs in this dark and twisting novel from the author Jeffery Deaver called, “A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind.”

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter…

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London Calling (Mirabelle Bevan Mystery #2)bySara Sheridan

In the years following World War II, former Secret Service employee Mirabelle Bevan has found a refuge in the quiet coastal town of Brighton. But she can’t seem to resist an attraction to danger and a thirst for justice . . .
1952: Eighteen-year-old debutante Rose Bellamy Gore was last seen outside a Soho jazz club in the company of a saxophone player named Lindon Claremont. Now her mysterious disappearance is front-page news in the London tabloids.
When Lindon turns up the next day in Brighton, desperately seeking help, Mirabelle counsels him to cooperate with the authorities. After the local police take the musician into custody and ship him off to Scotland Yard, Mirabelle and her best friend, Vesta Churchill, hop a train to London in search of the truth.
As they scour smoky jazz clubs searching for clues to the deb’s disappearance, they descend into a sinister underworld where the price of admission can be one’s life. Mirabelle will need to draw on her espionage skills to improvise her way out of a disappearing act of her own . . .
Praise for the first Mirabelle Bevan mystery, Brighton Belle
“Beneath that prim exterior lies a fearless, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of gal. One part Nancy Drew, two parts Jessica Fletcher, Mirabelle has a dogged tenacity to rival Poirot.” —Sunday Herald
“Unfailingly stylish, undeniably smart.” — Daily Record
“I was gripped from start to finish.” — Newbooks
“Fresh, exciting, and darkly plotted, this sharp historical mystery plunges the reader into a shadowy and forgotten past.” — Good Book Guide
“Early 1950s England is effectively portrayed in this intriguing mystery story . . . An excellent read for the beach or a long flight.” — Historical Novel Review
“After many twists and turns, she finally unravels the mystery in an entertaining romp pitting her wits against underworld characters and scheming impostors.” — Bookseller
“An entertaining mystery read–light, intriguing and ideal for a weekend escape. Bits of history enhance the plot without overwhelming it, and a handful of unexpected twists keep the reader guessing.” — RT Book Reviews

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published March 28th 2017 by Kensington Publishing Corporation (first published February 1st 2012)

My thoughts:

This was such a change from my usual read. In lots of ways similar to Agatha Christie in language and setting. But Sara has her voice and it shines through in this novel. I liked her evocation of the times and her characters are well drawn and not superfluous to the story. Mirabelle and Vesta run a debt collection agency in Brighton and when Vesta’s friend Lindon Claremont is arrested in connection with disappearance of debutante Rose Bellamy Gore. He later dies in police custody’ a death that is classed as suicide. This sends Mirabelle and Vesta off on a quest to clear his name, a quest that involves the Establishment, Secret Service and assorted shady characters. It is a story that keeps the reader turning the pages and following the story to its satisfying conclusion. I urge you to read this book   Sara Sheridan   Born Edinburgh, The United Kingdom Website http://www.sarasheridan.com   Twitter sarasheridan   Genre Historical Fiction, Children’s Books, Mystery & Thrillers   Born in Edinburgh. I’m a complete swot – love books always have! Currently obsessed with Georgian and Victorian explorers, about whom I write and with 1950s Britain for my Mirabelle Bevan murder mystery series set in London and Brighton

About the book

 

The Music Shop

byRachel Joyce

 

From the author of the world-wide bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a new novel about learning how to listen and how to feel; and about second chances and choosing to be brave despite the odds. Because in the end, music can save us all …

1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk – as long as it’s vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need.

Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.

Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind 

Hardcover, 336 pages

Expected publication: July 13th 2017 by Doubleday

Original Title

The Music Shop

ISBN

0857521926 (ISBN13: 9780857521927)

Get A Copy:

• Amazon UK

 My thoughts:

I found this a beautiful, refreshing and simple read with a deep message. The main characters are Frank; who runs a record store that only stocks vinyl. Frank seems to weighed down by his past but he believes in the therapeutic value of music and brings this to his customers. Also Isle a German lady with problems of her own. Other characters Kit, Maud and Father Anthony are so well drawn and you can engage with them all fully. All these people mix together and form a great story that builds and swirls to a satisfying conclusion. I recommend you to read this book and invest in these characters. I will say it again, a beautiful refreshing and simple read with a deep message. Thanks to Rachel, publishers and Lovereading for the ARC.   The Author: ABOUT RACHEL JOYCE Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman’s Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for best radio play. She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver

The Fourth Monkey

 

by J.D. Barker

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.

With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.

My thoughts:

Omg what a read! I enjoyed this book. Hard to review without spoilers. The FMK is apparently killed when run over by a bus, when on his way to post one of his trademark parcels; which contains a body part of his latest victim. Whom he tortures before killing. All he leaves behind is this parcel, his body and a hand written diary, of presumably his younger days with his family. This sends the police off on a race against time, to find the latest victim before hunger and exposure claims her. A fast paced thriller; told in short chapters with the police, the victim and the killers diary alternating, has the reader turning the pages furiously. Well rounded characters, top quality writing and superb story make this a well deserved four stars from me. I urge you to read this book. About the author: J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author who’s work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural

Persons Unknown (DS Manon #2)

 

 Blurb:

by Susie Steiner

A new crime novel featuring the unforgettable Detective Manon Bradshaw—a man is stabbed in a park near her home and the case threatens those Manon loves the most.

Detective Manon Bradshaw is five months pregnant and has officially given up on finding romantic love. Instead, she is in hot-pursuit of work-life balance and parked in a cold case corridor—the price she’s had to pay for a transfer back to Cambridgeshire. This is fine, she tells herself. She can devote herself to bringing up her two children—the new baby, and her adopted 12-year-old son Fly Dent. He needed a fresh start—he was being forever stopped and searched in London by officers who couldn’t see past the color of his skin. Manon feared Fly, increasingly sullen and adolescent, was getting in with the wrong crowd at school, or possibly that he was the wrong crowd. Being there for the children, and home by five, is what Manon tells herself she needs.

Yet when a wealthy victim is found stabbed close to police HQ, she can’t help but sidle in on the briefing: he is a banker from London, worth millions. More dramatically, he was also Manon’s sister Ellie’s ex, and the father of her toddler son. The investigation swirls with greater and greater urgency, and as it begins to circle in on Manon’s home and her family, she finds herself pitted against the former colleagues she once held dear—Davy Walker and Harriet Harper.

Can Manon separate what she feels about the people she loves, from the suspicion hanging over them? Can she interrogate the evidence, just as she would with any other case? And when Manon instructs defence lawyer Mark Talbot to work alongside her, can she refrain from throwing herself at him in a manner unbecoming to a woman at an advanced stage of pregnancy? Manon must fight to find the truth with every fiber of her being.

Hardcover, 400 pages

Expected publication: June 29th 2017 by The Borough Press (first published June 27th 2017)

ISBN

0008123330 (ISBN13: 9780008123338)

Edition Language

English

Series

DS Manon #2

setting

Cambridgeshire, England (United Kingdom)

• 
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My Thoughts:

This was a superb book. Manon and her adopted son Fly share a home with her sister Ellie and her son Solly. Life seems ok and she is (un)happily working cold cases and the only complication is she pregnant with a sperm donors baby!. So life seems tolerable if not ideal; waiting on the birth and working cold cases, Manon finds herself involved in a very hot case that may involve her and her family This is a multifaceted tale told from different perspectives and grips from the start. The writing is simple, but weaves a complicated story with ease. Well rounded characters and all have an important role to play in the narrative. A 5 star read for me and thanks to Susie and Lovereading for the ARC OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES DS Manon (2 books)

The War on Women

by Sue Lloyd-Roberts

 

Sue Lloyd-Roberts joined ITN in 1973 as a news trainee, she went on to become the UK’s first female video-journalist, reporting alone from the bleak outposts of the former Soviet Union and China. With a 30-year-long career in human-rights journalism, she has travelled the globe and witnessed the worst atrocities inflicted on women. Observing first-hand the war on the female race, she’s experienced and interacted with the brave ones who fight back.

This is a breath-taking and visceral narrative, interweaving the real-life experiences of the heroines combating gross inequality. It is an examination of how women are treated across the globe: from the pay gap in the UK and the laundries in Ireland, to gender discrimination in Saudi Arabia and female genital mutilation in Africa.

In a world where the issues facing women are so disparate, we’re facing a war of varying extremities and this has created a breakdown in the feminist discourse. But through her extraordinary and unique experiences, Lloyd-Roberts starts to build a bigger picture with a pervasive perspective.

The book delves into our history and takes us on a journey towards the analysis of the state of women’s lives in modern-day society. This is a ground-breaking approach to a global problem; anecdotal evidence bridges the gap between different fights and gradually starts to knit together the battles being fought by the starkly different cultures across the world.

My review:

This was a series of articles about the atrocities and crimes against women; as a man I’m sorry to say commited by the male of the species. Covering various issues such genital mutilation, the separation of mothers from their babies in so called civilised Ireland. The imprisonment of women in the prison of the home in Saudi Arabia and the sex trade in Russia and Eastern Europe etc. This is but a few of the crimes perpetrated against one half of the world’s population against the other. A must read by everyone, male or female, who consider themselves human beings. I urge all to read this; especially if you are male