I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read and review this amazing book, by Mark Edwards. His latest release, No Place To Run, is the first of his books that I have read, and I was hooked!
Two years ago, on a trip to Seattle to visit her brother Aidan, fifteen-year old Scarlett vanished into thin air. After years of false leads and dead ends, Aidan has almost given up hope. But then a woman sees a girl running for her life across a forest clearing in Northern California. She is convinced the girl is the missing Scarlett. But could it really be her? Heading south, Aidan finds a fire-ravaged town covered in missing-teenager posters. The locals seem afraid, the police won’t answer any questions and it looks like another dead end―until a chance meeting with returned local Lana gives Aidan his first clue. But as they piece together what happened, Lana and Aidan make deadly enemies. Enemies willing to do anything to silence them. Only one thing matters now: finding Scarlett―even if it kills him.
This is my first Mark Edwards book, and I have to say I was not disappointed at all! An email out of the blue alerts Aidan to the possibility that his sister who has been missing for two years, may have been found. Aiden is a Brit who moved to the US for work, and his 15-year-old sister went missing while visiting him. I was hooked within a few pages, as I became immersed in the story. And what a story! Following Aidan, as he chases up a lead from a train passenger who is convinced she recognises a girl seen running across a field as his missing sister, we are pulled into a darker, twist in the tale, as sinister goings-on are uncovered in a small southern town, involving other missing youngsters. I don’t want to give much away, but, as I said before, I couldn’t stop reading, and the ending was totally unexpected!
About the Author
Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people. Mark has sold over 3.5 million books since his first solo novel, The Magpies, was published in 2013 and has topped the bestseller lists numerous times. His other novels include Follow You Home, Here To Stay and The House Guest. He has also published six books co-authored with Louise Voss. His last book, The Hollows, was published in July 2021. Mark lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children and two cats. He Tweets at @mredwards.
Another day, another book to spread the news about!
So, if you are interested in a bit of a thriller, then you may be interested in The Maidens by Alex Michaelides!
Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike – particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld? When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything – including her own life.
This is not my usual genre of books to read, but the blurb intrigued me, so, when I was sent a copy, I had to read it. Mariana is a group therapist and a widow, who has a young niece under her care. When a murder happens at Cambridge University, where her niece, Zoe is studying, Mariana leaves her patients to support her. From the beginning of the book, it seems that all arrows are pointing to Edward Fosca, a worshipped lecturer at the university, especially since he has a small coven of female students, known as The Maidens, at his beck and call. And more importantly, the initial murder victim and subsequent ones are all members of this coveted group. Tenuous links to Mariana’s own past mean that she can’t just comfort her niece and leave her. Instead, she decides to stay on and try and find out the truth behind the serial killer mystery. The story was intriguing, but I felt it lacked depth in certain key areas, and the ending did feel a bit rushed, though surprising.
Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has a MA in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and a MA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel. It spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking 49 countries. He lives in London.
It’s not often that you get the chance to showcase the work of a writing LEGEND, and I am in that position, right now!
Writing powerhouse Marian Keyes had a book out, twenty five years ago, called Rachel’s Holiday. Now, it might sound like a bit of a fluffy read, a beach romance sort of thing, but no, Rachel’s Holiday is a much meatier read than that, and along with a bit of the comedic genius that Keyes always adds into her books, she delves into more serious issues.
Rachel and her experiences never left many readers, or Marian, herself, so, next year, a sequel is coming out, Rachel, Again.
However, before that, Rachel’s Holiday is being rereleased – a 25th Anniversary special – and I am honoured to be a part of the blog tour to celebrate this!
The Blurb…
Meet Rachel Walsh. She has a pair of size 8 feet and such a fondness for recreational drugs that her family has forked out the cash for a spell in Cloisters – Dublin’s answer to the Betty Ford Clinic. She’s only agreed to her incarceration because she’s heard that rehab is wall-to-wall jacuzzis, gymnasiums and rock stars going tepid turkey – and it’s about time she had a holiday.
But what Rachel doesn’t count on are the toe-curling embarrassments heaped on her by family and group therapy, the dearth of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll – and missing Luke, her ex. What kind of a new start in life is this?
Now, not having access to Goodreads, 25 years ago, what better time to post my review of a fantastic book, by a fabulous author, on the re-release of it? I treated myself to a re-read, as well, all almost 600 pages of it, in one weekend, too! This is quite a read, filled with comedic moments, however, the real subject is no laughing matter. We have Rachel Walsh, our hapless heroine, who finds herself back in Ireland, incarcerated in Cloisters, a clinic for addicts, after an accidental overdose in New York. Now, there’s nothing wrong with Rachel. Oh, no. It was all a misunderstanding. She can’t wait to get out. But, the eight weeks she stays there, end up being the most poignant years of her life. Rachel is the middle sister of five, in a loving Irish family. Well, as loving as you can get, with all that oestrogen running rife around the house. Many choices she makes in life are a direct result of how she felt, growing up. And some of those decisions led her to drugs. Addiction does a lot to you. You may feel you are gaining a lot, every time you feel that high from your chosen poison, but in reality, you are losing everything around you. And every one that really mattered. Rachel’s Holiday explores this whole scenario, including the stages of acceptance, that you might, indeed, be an addict. I loved this, and cannot wait for the sequel which is due out next year!
Can I say, I am a little excited at having read a teeny snippet of Rachel, Again, and I now can’t wait for that to be released, either!
A little bit about Marian Keyes
Marian Keyes is one of the most successful Irish novelists of all time. Though she was brought up in a home where a lot of oral story-telling went on, it never occurred to her that she could write. Instead she studied law and accountancy and finally started writing short stories in 1993 “out of the blue.” Though she had no intention of ever writing a novel (“It would take too long”) she sent her short stories to a publisher, with a letter saying she’d started work on a novel. The publishers replied, asking to see the novel, and once her panic had subsided, she began to write what subsequently became her first book Watermelon, published in 1995.
The books deal variously with modern ailments, including addiction, depression, domestic violence, the glass ceiling and serious illness, but always written with compassion, humour and hope.
In 2009, Marian experienced the start of a major depressive episode, and had to stop any work. Eventually she found that baking cakes helped her survive; and in 2012, she published Saved by Cake, which combines recipes with autobiography.
As well as novels she has written short stories, and articles for various magazines and other publications. She has published three collections of her journalism, titled Under the Duvet and Further Under the Duvet, now collected in one volume under the title Under the Duvet: Deluxe Edition, and donated all royalties from Irish sales to the Simon Community, a charity which works with the homeless. In 2016 Marian published a new collection of essays, Making It Up As I Go Along.
She was born in Limerick in 1963, and brought up in Cavan, Cork, Galway and Dublin; she spent her twenties in London, but is now living in Dún Laoghaire with her husband Tony. She includes among her hobbies reading, movies, shoes, handbags and feminism.
There are some people who you know, without a second glance, that you are going to be happy to help, and one of those, for me, in Lizzie Chantree.
Now, we haven’t met IRL, but have been social media compadres for a good couple of years, and I have read a few of her books, including her non-fiction, Networking For Writers. I’ve also been a member of her Facebook writing group, where she is a constant source of motivation.
Now, our busy Lizzie has got a new release out… on November 23rd, and it sounds like it will be a wonderful read!
A gorgeous romantic story of love and new beginnings. Learning to love herself and be content on her own is the first step. But will Olivia be able to leave her past behind, follow her heart and find lasting happiness? A read full of humour, romance and tear-jerking reality, from international bestselling author, Lizzie Chantree.
Here’s the blurb!
The Woman Who Felt Invisible
Have you ever felt invisible? Working as a stationery supervisor and a sitter to a pair of internet famous, delinquent dogs, wasn’t how former cyber-specialist, Olivia, imagined her life turning out. Working in a tiny cubicle with a decrepit computer and being overlooked had suited her for a while, but now she’s fed up, lonely and determined to make the world ‘see’ her again. Old school friend, Darius, wants to fill Olivia’s days with romance, but their love of technology has taken them on very different paths. Gorgeous undercover policeman Gabe, is steadfast in finding out if Olivia was part of an online scam, but something doesn’t feel right and he suspects someone else was manipulating her life. Can love blossom from the most deceptive of starts? And can someone who feels lost, find a way to flourish against all odds?
Lizzie has been kind enough to provide an extract from the book for you to peruse:
This was it. This was Olivia Tenby’s life, now. This was how low she had come. At the age of forty-one, she was sweating her guts out in a house that felt like a furnace, babysitting two delinquent Labradoodle dogs called Bertie and Belle, while their owners swanned around getting even richer somewhere else. Wiping her palms across her face, feeling glad she’d discarded her top so that she couldn’t drip on it, she pressed a button. Music blared out of speakers set into the ceiling. This house had everything – lights that came on when you spoke to them, a vacuum cleaner that tripped you over while it scurried along the floor of its own accord, and a fridge that dispensed perfectly shaped ice cubes into crystal glasses.
Olivia looked around furtively for a moment, and then laughed and decided to go for it. Her job as dog sitter extraordinaire had begun two weeks ago. She’d been told to entertain the excitable animals in any way she could think of, as they were naughty and destroyed everything while the owners were out – which they always were. Olivia hadn’t even met them, which was baffling. They left her notes with instructions on how to stop the dogs eating the walls and making a mess of the thick pile carpets. She actually quite liked the job, it was as easy as walking in a straight line. Then she thought about how wobbly she always was after three vodka and cokes, and quickly pushed that picture aside. The dogs were bored and, although her job included giving the house a cursory swipe with a duster, it was always immaculate when she arrived. Something was a bit weird, though, as the place was incredibly hot. The dogs liked to slobber all over her, making her even hotter. So she’d taken to stripping off as soon as she sat down with the pooches, otherwise she’d probably pass out and be found weeks later, mummified in dog hair.
Here’s a little more about Lizzie, and her all-important buy links and social media links, too.
International bestselling author and award-winning inventor, Lizzie Chantree, started her own business at the age of 18 and became one of Fair Play London and The Patent Office’s British Female Inventors of the Year in 2000. She discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now works as a business mentor and runs a popular networking hour on social media, where creatives can support to each other. She writes books full of friendship and laughter, that are about women with unusual and adventurous businesses, who are far stronger than they realise. She lives with her family on the coast in Essex.
Book links: Lizzie Chantree. Universal book buy link: The little ice cream shop: viewbook.at/IceCreamShopByTheSea Universal book buy link: Networking for writers: viewbook.at/NetworkingForWriters Universal book buy link: If you love me, I’m yours: viewbook.at/IfYouLoveMe-ImYours Universal book buy link: Ninja School Mum: viewbook.at/NinjaSchoolMumRomance Universal book buy link: Babe Driven: viewbook.at/BabeDriven Universal book buy link: Love’s Child: viewBook.at/Amazon-LovesChild Universal book buy link: Finding Gina: viewbook.at/FindingGina Shh… It’s Our Secret: https://www.bhcpress.com/Books_Chantree_Shh_Its_Our_Secret.html The woman who felt invisible: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09J98F32J
Social media links: Website: www.lizziechantree.com
But I Smile Anyway... 