The Family - Louise Jenson

About the book… 

The new psychological thriller from master storyteller, Louise Jensen, will leave you breathless.

Laura is grieving after the sudden death of her husband. Struggling to cope emotionally and financially, Laura is grateful when a local community, Oak Leaf Organics, offer her and her 17-year-old daughter Tilly a home.

But as Laura and Tilly settle into life with their new ‘family,' sinister things begin to happen. When one of the community dies in suspicious circumstances Laura wants to leave but Tilly, enthralled by the charismatic leader, Alex, refuses to go.

Desperately searching for a way to save her daughter, Laura uncovers a horrifying secret but Alex and his family aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Just as Laura has been digging into their past, they’ve been digging into hers and she discovers the terrifying reason they invited her and Tilly in, and why they’ll never let them leave…

Buy Links: 

About the author… 

Louise Jensen always wanted to be Enid Blyton when she grew up, and when that didn’t happen she got a ‘proper’ job instead.

Several years ago an accident left Louise with a disability and she began writing once again, to distract her from her pain and compromised mobility. But writing turned out to be more than just a good distraction. Louise loves creating exciting worlds, dark characters, and twisted plots.

Louise lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, sons, a dog and a rather naughty cat, and also teaches mindfulness.

Contact Links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabricatingfiction/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fab_fiction

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabricating_fiction/

Website: www.louisejensen.co.uk

My thoughts…

It's my stop on the blog tour for The Family by Louise Jensen.  Grateful thanks to Jess at HQ Stories for my copy. I was hugely excited when I heard Louise had written another book, I have devoured every book she has written and with each the tempo, pace and bar is raised. She has immense talent, an author that sucks you right into the heart of the story from page 1.

This book follows the story of Laura and daughter Tilly as they navigate their way through the path of grief, Gavan, husband and father died tragically after falling from the roof of a house he was building.  At the same time they are faced with sudden isolation from the rest of the family too, for reasons unknown to them.  Almost from the very first chapter I had a nervousness low in the belly, a grey, miserable feeling of dread that hung like a cloud over me.  Laura is struggling to cope both emotionally and financially and is trying to hold it together for Tilly.  Tilly is finding herself without friends and ostracised at school by her friends and both try to keep their hurt and grief from each other.

There are hints and insinuations that Gavan, Lauras husband didn't die as a result of an accident and the insurance company are withholding payment of his life insurance whilst it is investigated.  The family are at rock bottom and broken.  Laura is about to lose the roof over their heads and has no idea what she is going to do, how they will survive, where they will live. She is thrown a lifeline in the form of Alex and Oak Leaf Organics - Saffron came to Laura's rescue one day after she fell ill and they became friends, she told her she should visit the farm, that she'd be made welcome whilst she gathered her thoughts and planned a strategy for the months ahead.

Laura reluctantly accepts the lifeline, she has no choice, things couldn't get any worse.  Family have turned their back on her and she is desperate.   As her car rattled up the potholed, lane to the secluded farm I was internally repeating don't do this, turn around, don't go in.  The atmosphere as I read felt tight and claustrophobic I had the most uneasy feeling and my senses were on full alert.

The farm turned out to be a commune of sorts that was a refuge to several others - they were welcoming and caring and welcomed Laura and Tilly into their fold.  So why did it feel so wrong, why did I feel anxious and had a gut feeling that screamed things weren't quite right?  Laura and Tilly were at rock bottom, they'd lost everything and gave off a sense of empty hopelessness.  Saffron, Alex & commune should be their saviour but oh boy, I so wished she'd had second thoughts.  Oak Leaf Organics turned out to be both heaven and hell as both Tilly and Laura got sucked into the life there and were pulled in different directions. I didn't trust anyone. 

The more I read, the more I couldn't shake the sick feeling of dread that rose from low in the heart of my stomach.  I had that feeling that makes you want to stop reading or start reading in equal measures. Too scared to know what’s behind the story yet a burning need to know what comes next.  This was a book that haunted me whilst I read it and haunted me when I finished it.  Nobody is who they seem, everyone has a back story and a hidden agenda, with individual stories so separate yet joined like the links on a bracelet. 

Louise Jensen is a firm go to author of mine, an author that I would buy and read without having read anything about the story.  Louise thank you for yet another page turning thriller that hooked me in and gripped me so tightly I felt captive, breathless and broken as I walked in the footsteps of Laura and Tilly. An outstanding read that will stay with me forever, a read I have already recommended to so many friends, thank you.

The Date - Louise Jensen

About the book… 

One night can change everything. 

‘I know it as soon as I wake up and open my eyes... Something is wrong.’

Her Saturday night started normally. Recently separated from her husband, Ali has been persuaded by her friends to go on a date with a new man. She is ready, she is nervous, she is excited. She is about to take a step into her new future. By Sunday morning, Ali’s life is unrecognisable. She wakes, and she knows that something is wrong. She is home, she is alone, she is hurt and she has no memory of what happened to her. 

Worse still, when she looks in the mirror, Ali doesn’t recognise the face staring back at her...

From the no. 1 bestselling author of The Sister, The Gift and The Surrogate, The Date is a gripping page-turner that will keep you awake until the early hours. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and Before I Go To Sleep. 

Buy Links:

About the author… 

Louise Jensen is a Global No.1 Bestselling author of psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift & The Surrogate. To date Louise has sold approaching a million books and her novels have been sold for translation to nineteen territories, as well as being featured on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s List. Louise was nominated for the Goodreads Debut Author of 2016 Award. 

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers and can be found at www.louisejensen.co.uk, where she regularly blogs flash fiction and writing tips.

Contact Links:

http://www.louisejensen.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/Fab_fiction

https://www.facebook.com/fabricatingfiction/

My thoughts…

I was given an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review by Bookouture, Louise Jenson publishers.  This is something I am more than happy to do.

Where do I start with The Date, it was a tense, gripping read right from the very first page.  I read this whilst sitting by the pool in Sicily and what a good job, the sweat was literally pouring off my forehead with fear as opposed to sweat from the heat - nobody could tell I was a gibbering wreck reading this.

I loved every single word of The Date it was incredible.  Louise Jenson has stepped up to the plate and knocked the ball right out of the park with this one. It was like reading a living nightmare - I had heart palpitations and read quicker and quicker to get to the bottom of the story, wanting to save Ali from the living torture she was enduring.

Imagine waking up with the worst hangover imaginable, not knowing where you are, how you got there or physically able to drag yourself out of bed.  When you do you don't recognise the face looking back at you or have any recollection of how you have got to that situation - a totally incredible, unimaginable, gut wrenching situation.

Ali is separated from her husband Matt and is persuaded by her flatmate and friends Chrissy, Jules and James to go on a blind date.  She is reluctant - she still wants to be married and is in denial about how she has arrived in this situation - she had a loving, close relationship with husband Matt until his character changed almost overnight - within months he had distanced himself from her and she leaves the marital home to give them both some breathing space.

With each and every book I've read of Louise Jenson the intensity has ramped up another notch, she is one of my firm go to authors that I would read without even reading the blurb - she never fails to disappoint, that is until the last page is turned and I know I have a long wait until I can get my next fix.  I can't recommend this book highly enough, huge thanks to both Bookouture for the opportunity to get an early read and to Louise for her writing.

Tell me A Secret by Samantha Hayes

About the book… 

Tell her all your secrets and she’ll tell you all her lies…

Everything in Lorna’s life runs like clockwork, from her 6 a.m. morning run to the strict 60-minute counselling sessions she gives. It’s the only way she can deal with the terrible secret she carries.

When a new client arrives for his first appointment, Lorna feels her perfect life unravel in a matter of seconds. It’s Andrew, the man she’s spent the last year desperately trying to forget. It seems he can’t forget her either…

Against her better judgement she anonymously contacts him on a dating site. Messaging him could mean the end of her marriage and her career, but she needs to know if his motives are genuine.

When Andrew is found dead in his home, grief quickly turns to fear when messages from him continue to arrive on Lorna’s phone. Somebody knows her secret and wants to use it to destroy everything she has.

Will she risk her family and her sanity to keep her secret? Will she risk her life…?

If you love twisty psychological thrillers that get under your skin, like The Girl on the Train, I Let You Go or anything by Louise Jensen, you’ll be utterly blown away by the jaw-dropping lies in Tell Me a Secret.

Buy Links: 

 mybook.to/TMASSocial

About the author…

Samantha Hayes grew up in Warwickshire, left school at sixteen, avoided university and took jobs ranging from private detective to barmaid to fruit picker and factory worker. She lived on a kibbutz, and spent time living in Australia and the USA, before finally becoming a crime-writer.
Her writing career began when she won a short story competition in 2003 and her ninth novel, THE REUNION, was published in February 2018. Her novels are family-based psychological thrillers, with the emphasis being on 'real life fiction'. She focuses on current issues and sets out to make her readers ask, 'What if this happened to me or my family?'

Contact Links: 

To find out more, visit her website www.samanthahayes.co.uk
Or connect with Samantha on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor
And she's on Twitter @samhayes

My thoughts…

I was given an ecopy of this book by Samantha Hayes publishers Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.  This is something I'm more than happy to do.

Tell Me a Secret is a twisty, tense thriller mainly told from the lead characters perspective.  Lorna in theory has the perfect life, is a successful psychotherapist, is married to Mark a successful dentist and has two children a shared daughter Faye and stepson Mark.

As the story begins I got the impression that the perfect lifestyle was held together by a taught, invisible thread.  One slip and it would all unravel. She has a routine to end all routines and when it is thrown off kilter the tension is palpable, I could feel her heart beating.  She has a difficult relationship with her stepson, his natural mother died when he was a toddler and although he can't remember her he keeps Lorna at arms length with his dismissive, insolent stance.  Although to be fair Lorna thinks it's all about him not liking her but I think it's a lot to do with simply being a teenager and knowing what strings to pull.

Lorna breaks protocol and calls back a potential new client after he persistently phoned the practise insisting he has an appointment with her.  There begins the story and the threads holding her life together begin to fall.

OMG, Samantha Hayes has the ability to weave a plot so intricately you have no idea or clue as to what is really going on - the sub-text is always just slightly out of your grasp and just when you think you may have it sussed the story changes direction.

One thing I was sure of was this was a book with a lead character you wanted to shake - she literally has written her own destiny through a web of lies and deceit and has dug herself a hole that is just that little bit too deep to climb out of.  I swayed between not liking her at all and pitying her - the perfect lifestyle with synchronised timings for every aspect of it unnerved more than just a little and then bam, another Samantha Hayes ending to a book that was totally unexpected - HOW DOES SHE DO IT?! I haven't read one of her books yet that hasn't stopped me in my tracks, with mouth hanging open, slowly nodding my head - OMG OMG.

Another thriller that I highly recommend, Samantha Hayes is an author that is always on my wish list when a new book comes out.

Dying Truth - Angela Marsons

Dying Truth

(Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 8)

About the book…

How far would you go to protect your darkest secrets?

When teenager Sadie Winter jumps from the roof of her school, her death is ruled as suicide – a final devastating act from a troubled girl. But then the broken body of a young boy is discovered at the same school and it’s clear to Detective Kim Stone that these deaths are not tragic accidents.

As Kim and her team begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, one of the teachers could hold the key to the truth. Yet just as she is about to break her silence, she is found dead.

With more children’s lives at risk, Kim has to consider the unthinkable - whether a fellow pupil could be responsible for the murders. Investigating the psychology of children that kill brings the detective into contact with her former adversary, Dr Alex Thorne – the sociopath who has made it her life’s work to destroy Kim.

Desperate to catch the killer, Kim finds a link between the recent murders and an initiation prank that happened at the school decades earlier. But saving these innocent lives comes at a cost – and one of Kim’s own might pay the ultimate price.

The utterly addictive new crime thriller from the Number One bestselling author – you will be gripped until the final shocking twist.

Buy Links: 

iBookStore: http://ow.ly/TQrt30k1uZa
Kobo: http://ow.ly/ttIR30k1v1U
Googleplay: http://ow.ly/ZJjW30k1v4S

About the author… 

Angela Marsons is the author of the International Bestselling DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 2 million in 2 years.

She lives in the Black Country with her partner, their cheeky Golden Retriever and a swearing parrot.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read "Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people's".

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 16 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into more than 27 languages.

Her last three books - Blood Lines, Dead Souls and Broken Bones - reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone.

Contact Links: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteAngie
Bookouture: http://bookouture.com

My thoughts…

I was given an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour for Dying Truth organised by Angela Marsons publisher, Bookouture. This is something I am more than happy to do.

Whenever I hear Angela has written another book my heart begins to beat a little bit faster, each and every book from the very first one Silent Scream has pushed me to the edge of an abyss and then she somehow brings me back before I go into a total freewill. That insight into how far you can push a reader and leave them gasping for air but exhilarated at the same time is second to none. As she very well knows I've tried reading a bit faster to try to save lives but it doesn't work - I'm left bereft that the book has ended so quickly.

Where do I begin with book eight, you just know it's going to be a difficult read when children are the victims in a book and Angela Marsons has spared no punches with Dying Truth, in fact she socked one right below the belt this time. I normally read one of her books in a single sitting but life at the moment is pretty full on and it took me the best part of a week - only finishing it at lunchtime today, I've been an absolute wreck.

OMG, I sat outside having lunch with tears rolling down my face - what have you done to me. I don't think I have ever been so distraught by a book EVER. I'm finding it difficult to compartmentalise fact from fiction, such is Angela's style of writing. Every word is like a true account totally mesmerising and compelling.

Dying Truth is DI Kim Stone's biggest challenge to date, an apparent suicide and then another death at the same upmarket, private school. The first victim jumps from the school roof and everyone assumes it's a suicide. Everyone that is except Kim Stone - a second death at the same school has her radar on high alert, she's like a sniffer dog - she has her nose into every corner and doesn't rest until every clue and avenue has been explored. She opens a pandora's box which leads to difficult situations and thoughts for everyone involved in the investigation. It's so difficult to share how fantastic this book and Angela Marsons is without spoiling the story.

I more than highly recommend this book and each and every book she's previously written, but the best news is, there are at least eight more books in the series to come!!!!!

Huge thanks to Kim Nash and Bookouture for another totally captivating read and for allowing me to be part of the blog tour.

The Reunion by Samantha Hayes

About the book… 

They were all there the day your sister went missing.

Who is lying? Who is next?

THEN – In charge of her little sister at the beach, Claire allowed Eleanor to walk to the shop alone to buy an ice cream. Placing a coin into her hand, Claire told her to be quick, knowing how much she wanted the freedom.

Eleanor never came back.

NOW – The time has finally come to sell the family farm and Claire is organising a reunion of her dearest friends, the same friends who were present the day her sister went missing.

When another girl disappears, long-buried secrets begin to surface. One of the group hides the darkest secret of them all…

If you loved Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, this gripping psychological thriller packed full of twists and turns will be impossible to put down.

Buy Links: 

About the author… 

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

Contact Links:
www.samanthahayes.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor/
https://twitter.com/samhayes

My thoughts…

I was given an ecopy of this book by Kim Nash at Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.  This is something I'm more than happy to do.

As soon as I heard Samantha Hayes had a new book out I jumped up and down and said 'yes please' to the blog tour. I didn't know the title, nor had I read the blurb - that is how much I love this author.  The first book I read by Samantha Hayes was 'Until You're Mine' and I was absolutely blown away. I have devoured each of her subsequent books and find them totally captivating and engaging.  Each one an intricate tale that has you guessing right until the final pages.

My expectations for The Reunion were high and Samantha Hayes met them and some. The Reunion is centred around a group of friends and family brought together by Claire to try and bring back happy memories for her dad who is now suffering from Alzheimers.  They are friends that spent more of their weekends and holidays at her parents farm than they did at their own homes. With her mum and dad acting as surrogate parents to them all, that was, until the day they were all at the beach and Leni (Eleanor), Claires sister went to the shops for ice-cream and never came back.

This is a thriller that has a devastating, sad story that appears to be mirrored over twenty yers later. Deliberately or a coincidence?  That was one of my first questions as I submerged myself in the plot. The story is told from several perspectives and from both the past and the present.  

The Reunion is woven with several plot twists and sub plots that originally seem separate with no connections, they had me guessing at possible solutions only to find I was wrong each time.  Samantha has intricately stitched up this story like a patchwork quilt - all of the pieces once put together make for a gut wrenching, heart pounding emotional read. There were so many times I thought I had it all wrapped up only to find I was way off the mark. and when the answers come with the end of the book I sat back open mouthed - words failed me.  This is a book that has an unthinkable storyline running through the heart of it.  Yet, I promise you'll be as hooked as I was, it that will make you sit back and be thankful it was just a book, it's not real - yet it so easily could be!

In case you haven't guessed, I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it - it's a psychological thriller with a plot that is so intricacy woven it will leave you guessing right until the end.  I sat open mouthed, just quietly thinking when I finished and i still have questions a week later - WHY?  I so need to re-read this again!!

Black Heart - (Detective Dan Riley Book 1) - Anna-Lou Weatherley

About the book… 

There’s a letter on the floor covered with blood next to a heart-shaped box of chocolates. The note says: ‘My beautiful darling, I’m sorry, please forgive me.’

When the body of a man is found with his wrists slashed in a London hotel room, it appears at first to be a tragic suicide. But Detective Dan Riley suspects there is more to this case than meets the eye and the pathology report confirms his worst fears – the victim was poisoned and suddenly Dan is dealing with a murder inquiry.

Then he makes a disturbing discovery, uncovering links between the victim and a woman calling herself Goldilocks on an online dating site. Is she seeking revenge or something more?

Still grieving the devastating loss of his girlfriend and unborn child in a car accident two years ago, Dan throws everything he has into the investigation. Yet just as Dan begins to piece together the clues of this complex case, the body of a woman is found in her bed with identical wounds.

Dan is on the trail of a twisted individual who is much closer than he realises. Can he overcome his own demons and stop the killer before it’s too late?

An all-consuming and totally unputdownable read that will have you holding your breath to the very last page. Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza and Karin Slaughter.

Buy Links: 

About the author… 

Anna-Lou began her career as a dancer but a moped accident in Ibiza put paid to those aspirations and so she went back to her first and one true love – writing! She re-trained as a journalist, specialising mainly in women’s interest and celebrity, becoming the Editor of J-17 and Smash Hits as well as writing for a host of women’s magazines.

Anna-Lou has written three Adult Fiction titles – Vengeful Wives and Wicked Wives, both published by Avon in the UK and Bookouture in the US and Canada and Pleasure Island published by Bookouture.

Contact Links: 

https://twitter.com/annaloulondon

My thoughts…

I was given an ecopy of this book by Kim Nash at Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.  This is something I am more than happy to do.

This is first book in a new detective series by Anna-Lou Wetherley an author I haven't previously read although I believe this is a new genre for her.  

Anna - Lou Weatherley packed so much into the opening chapter of this book I couldn't help but be engrossed. What is quite obviously an elicit, steamy meeting in the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel is turned on its head as 'Goldilocks' as we come to know her commits a murder that had me is nauseatingly transfixed.  I couldn't stomach to read as the story unfolded and yet I couldn't not turn the pages. I got to the end of the chapter and had to take stock. Asking myself the question - could I actually read this book, yet even as I thought it my fingers were turning the page. 

Chapter two and we are introduced to Detective Dan Riley, I really liked him, he had a dogged determination, attention to detail and that good old hunch that is often found in detective novels.  He was sent to the hotel to investigate an apparent suicide and almost instantly he picks up details that are so subtle they are almost invisible.   

Anna - Lou's descriptions of both people and scenario's was superb. The characters both complex and haunting. Dan is almost a shell of a person, he clearly has a bleeding heart, we are privy to his inner voice and thoughts and it's clear he hasn't got over a tragic death that was close to home. He needs something/someone to drag him out of the abyss and has turned to on-line dating and buried himself in his work.

It takes longer to un-ravel the character of Goldilocks - she is beyond cold and calculating and as the story went and her actions played like a cinema reel across my eyes I just wanted to get to the end of the book - he crimes so horrific and pre-meditated my stomach churned constantly.

Black Heart is told from both the killer and the investigative points of view and also from the inner turmoil and voices of the central characters, it is a shockingly brilliant book that I highly recommend. It's one of the fastest reads I have read in a long time, not because the plot moved quickly - that was expertly drawn out to induce panic and fear into the reader. But, because I wanted the book to end before the most horrific crime of all could be enacted.

Huge thanks once again to Kim at Bookouture for her on the mark recommendation.