A Matter of Latitude byIsobel Blackthorn @Rachel’sRandomResources#Blog Tour.

A Matter of Latitude
From the acclaimed author of The Drago Tree comes a riveting thriller about survival, revenge and long-hidden secrets.
When local Lanzarote anti-corruption activist, Celestino, is T-boned on a lonely stretch of road, he knows the collision was no accident.
Wounded and fearing for his life, he hides in an abandoned fishing village, waiting for a chance to make it home. Meanwhile his wife, English expat Paula, is distraught. Her pursuit of answers is deflected when her neighbor, troublesome retiree Shirley Mobad, co-opts Paula on her escapades around the Canary Islands.
Paula’s search for her husband quickly descends into mayhem, danger and intrigue. Before long, she realizes she’s being followed. She needs answers, and fast.
But where is Celestino, and will he ever make it back alive?
“A Matter of Latitude simmers with danger, betrayal and treachery, drawing the reader into the island’s history of shady dealings and uneasy relationships between natives, tourists and expats… Isobel Blackthorn has crafted an atmospheric and setting-rich novel with alluring lyrical style.” – Sandi Wallace, award-winning crime fiction author

Purchase Links
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KWM65GY
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KWM65GY

My Thoughts and review:

My first read by Isobel and one I really enjoyed. Having a passing acquaintance with Lanzarote and recognising a lot of place names it made it more real for me. The story starts with Celestino, an artist and anti corruption activist being run off the road during a torrential rainstorm and missing his daughter’s birthday party.

He goes missing and this sends his wife Paula into a frantic search to find out what has happened to him; and whilst he is missing his subversive art appears in places where it shouldn’t. Who is behind this?………… Could it be Celestino himself?

As Celestino and Paula have a small circle of friends is it one of them? Or will the net have to be cast wider?

A fast paced read. Crisp, fresh prose and an insight of Lanzarote away from the tourist resorts. This book will have you second guessing yourself as to who the culprit is! Red herrings galore and while not a gruesome book it is not as cosy as I thought.

Art, corruption, murder and sunny Lanzarote. What more can you want?  A good read I recommend to you all.

Author Bio – Isobel Blackthorn is a prolific novelist of original fiction across a range of genres, including psychological thrillers, gripping mysteries, captivating travel fiction and hilarious dark satire.

Isobel holds a PhD in Western Esotericism for her ground-breaking study of the texts of Theosophist Alice A. Bailey. Her engagement with Alice Bailey’s life and works has culminated in the biographical novel, The Unlikely Occultist.

Isobel carries a lifelong passion for the Canary Islands, Spain, her former home. Many of her novels are set on the islands, including The Drago Tree, which was released in 2015 and is now in Spanish translation, Clarissa’s Warning and A Matter of Latitude. These novels are setting rich and fall into the broad genre of travel fiction, and the novels are as much stories about the islands themselves as they are straight-ahead entertainment.

Isobel has led a rich and interesting life and her stories are as diverse as her experiences, the highs and lows, and the dramas. Some of her writing is dark, like the psychological thriller, Twerk, which is based on six years of research and first-hand accounts of dancers working in what are euphemistically called gentlemen’s clubs.

A life-long campaigner for social justice, Isobel has written, protested and leant her weight to a range of issues including family violence. A Londoner originally, Isobel currently lives near Melbourne, Australia.

Social Media Links – https://www.facebook.com/Lovesick.Isobel.Blackthorn/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768657.Isobel_Blackthorn

Tweets by IBlackthorn

https://www.instagram.com/isobelblackthorn/

Thanks to Faye@Authoright#Becoming Insane by Leyla Cardena#Blog Tour#

Becoming Insane by Leyla Cardena
Summary:
When the monsters hiding underneath your bed are much less frightening than the bills you have to pay, the family you have to support, the job you have to find, and the unrealized dreams you cry about, then you know there’s a problem.

Especially when you are a full-grown adult in your mid-thirties.

It’s 1987. John Crane feels like throwing himself out of the window because of his depression, while his friend Jack Vain has to support his spiraling O.C.D. and panic attacks.

Their issues are driving them into a shared psychosis.

Without these issues, John and Jack may never have needed to go searching for the demon in the middle of the night, through the mean streets of New York.

John Crane’s writings will never be read and discussed, and Jack Vain’s drawings and paintings will never be seen and admired. But the creature is here. It knows them. It wants them. It wants their help. It wants to eat, to touch, to create. It wants to live and be free. It wants to avoid death and become immortal. John and Jack’s creativity looks like the perfect host.

As the beast of insanity takes hold, will John and Jack survive their own imaginations?

Information about the Book
Title: Becoming Insane
Author: Leyla Cardena
Release Date: 30th April 2019
Genre: Thriller
Page Count: 214
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45162769-becoming-insane
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Becoming-Insane-Leyla-Cardena/dp/1912562944/

My Toughts:

John Crane is an unpublished author and a depressive.  Jack Vain is failed artist and suffers from OCD and panic attacks.

They are also friends. A friendship made in heaven? Not! Things are made worse when John’s older brother Robert gets a book published and Jack has never escaped his fathers shadow. All their problems are aggravated when they meet up and are involved in a car accident and end up in a psychiatric hospital.

Leyla’s writing is very descriptive and puts you in a insane mindset. Blurring the line between reality and insanity. A fanciful tale, but as most of it takes place in fractured minds it all fits. I enjoyed it and I think you will too.

Author Information
I was born on the 2nd of August 1990 in Geneva, Switzerland, and still live there until today. I haven’t even changed neighborhood! I still like it very much and the fact that I live near the red-light district makes it even more interesting. I had many little jobs since the age of fourteen, shoe shops, hairdressers, pharmacy, boutiques. Then from the age of sixteen until eighteen I became an apprentice as an administrative assistant, working at the company three times a week and going to commercial school twice a week. I then found a job at eighteen as an administrative assistant in a trust company then got promoted as a legal assistant for its corporate department. I went to night school to study law, and gathered some other professional certificates/diplomas during that time. At 23, I quit everything as I realized that the only reason why I did all this was because I needed to be financially stable enough to write and create. Something I unfortunately didn’t have the time to do while working and studying. And also rest and sleep a lot!
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CardenaLeyla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Leylabecominginsane

 

 

 

The Suspects by Katherine Johnsone# Blog Tour@Rachel’sRandomResources#

The Suspects by Katharine Johnson
Shallow Grave meets The Secret History in this quirky psychological thriller
Bristol, 1988. Five young graduates on the threshold of their careers buy a house together in order to get a foot on the property ladder before prices spiral out of their reach. But it soon becomes the house share from hell.
After their New Year’s Eve party, they discover a body – and it’s clear they’ll be the first suspects. As each of them has a good reason from their past not to trust the police, they come up with a solution – one which forces them into a life of secrets and lies. But can they trust each other?
“The hugely talented Katharine Johnson has, again delivered a tense thriller! This is a compelling novel – up there with Erin Kelly and Sophie Hannah.”
Val Penny, author of The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries.
“Gripping and frighteningly realistic. The twists and turns kept me guessing to the very end.”
Jo Fenton, author of The Brotherhood.

Purchase Links:
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Suspects-Katharine-Johnson-ebook/dp/B07PRCJ785
US – https://www.amazon.com/Suspects-Katharine-Johnson-ebook/dp/B07PRCJ785

My Thoughts and Review:

This was a really good read. Set in the 1980’s at the height of Thatcher’s power. Four friends decide to buy a house together; after all, apart from office politics they all get on. Or do they?

The problems start with their first party, a New Year party. Everyone is there, known and unknown; friends and strangers alike. Apart from a few smashed glasses, someone being sick nothing could go wrong right? Wrong.

One stranger with a backpack keeps asking if anyone has seen Fitz.  No one  seems to be able to answer his question and he disappears. That’s when the fun begin!

Katherine from the start weaves a tale that keeps the reader enthralled and guessing. You are constantly second guessing and changing your mind about the characters and or the plot. As the story progresses cracks appear, not in the house but in the relationships between the housemates………….. and the fun begins!
You share a home with housemates. Sure you have arguments, but secrets? This book will tell you them all…… or will it!

Top quality writing, intriguing story, this book has it all. Read it!

About the author:
Katharine Johnson was born in Bristol and now lives in Berkshire. She’s worked as a journalist on lots of magazines and has written a history book about Windsor. When not writing you’ll usually find her with a book in one hand and a coffee in the other, restoring a house in Italy, walking her spaniel or playing netball (although not usually at the same time.)
https://www.facebook.com/katharinejohnsonauthor
https://www.twitter.com/@kjohnsonwrites
https://www.instagram.com/katharinejohnsonauthor

https://www.katyjohnsonblog.wordpress.com
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/katharine-johnson
http://www.crookedcatbooks.com @crookedcatbooks