After spending several months banged up in Sunny Banks rescue centre, Aubrey, a large tabby cat, has finally found his forever home with Molly and Jeremy Goodman and life is looking good. However, all that changes when a serial killer begins to target elderly victims in the neighbourhood. Aubrey wasn’t particularly upset by the death of some of the previous victims, including Miss Jenkins whom Aubrey recalls as a vinegar-lipped bitch of an old woman who enjoyed throwing stones at cats, but Mr Telling was different. Mr Telling was a mate…
Published By: Crooked Cat Books Publication Date: 13th December 2018 Formats available: Kindle and Paperback Price: Kindle – £1.99, Paperback – £6.99 IS.B.N.: 9781731437822
Blurb
Beth Haldane, SE21’s answer to Miss Marple, thinks she is going for a carefree stroll on Peckham Rye with her best friend, Katie, and her annoying new puppy, Teddy. But before Beth knows it, she is embroiled in her most perplexing mystery yet.
Strange events from her family’s past, present-day skulduggery in the art world, and the pressures of moving school in south London threaten to overwhelm Beth. Will she be able to piece together the puzzle before her son’s crucial interview at Wyatt’s? Or will Beth’s insatiable curiosity finally drag down all her dreams for the future?
Join Beth, her irascible on-off boyfriend, Detective Inspector Harry York of the Metropolitan Police, and the dog walkers of Peckham Rye in a tale of murder, mayhem – and bloody revenge.
For a chance to win a signed copy of Revenge on the Rye, keep reading.
They can, and Odin has a message for Conrad…Conrad Clarke, former RAF pilot and alleged gangster gets a text – and a visit – from The Allfather. Odin has a challenge for Conrad:sign up to protect England from wild magick and get a commission in the King’sWatch. All he has to do is find a missing witch. Simple. Conrad never could resist a challenge. Before you can say “Ragnarok”, he’s plunged into a world of gods, mages, witches, dwarves and one very aggressive giant mole. But the witch doesn’t want to be found, and powerful mages will kill to keep her hidden. Going back isn’t an option. Going forward looks a lot like death. Armed with nothing but a sense of humour and a willingness to cheat, Conrad has to find the Witch and save his life.
Treat yourself to a copy now and experience a whole new universe of magick. And moles…
When Haydan’s home world is invaded by a soul demon seeking an item shrouded in myth and legend, his father evicts him and sends him to safety. His chosen one and warrior should provide reassurance and sanctuary, but neither appears to be working very well. Just when he thinks matters cannot get any worse his scheming grandmother arrives. She has her own plans that appear to involve him, none of which bodes well.
Diego feels confident he has the soul demon under control. Overlooking his devious mother’s involvement, he fails to appreciate that he is not only storm rider elder, but also an elven prince and certain debts are about to become due.
Lavinia worries about her grandson, but also who she left behind in the elven realm a long time ago. Tallin thinks she abandoned him and he is livid. She has everything under control, including Tallin…at least that is what she thinks.
They all need to learn afresh who to trust. With a soul demon on the rampage, an unleashed, angry and betrayed elven king and a long-forgotten mask surfacing, what could possibly go wrong?
The past is about to catch up with all of them. Nothing is going to go as planned because the mask and the gods have other ideas.
Published By: Alison & Busby Publication Date: 15th January 2019 Format: Hardback I.S.B.N.: 9780749024413 Price: £14.99 Purchase Link
Blurb
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when a family’s fortune is destroyed by scandal and rumour, they must look to their daughters to marry well.
Alys Binat, however, loves life as it is: teaching English literature and encouraging her female students to aspire to more than society expects of them. She is resolute: she will not marry.
However, her mother thinks differently and when the family receive an invite to a big wedding, Mrs Binat immediately coaches her daughters to snag rich, eligible bachelors. There, Alys’s eldest sister, Jena, catches the eye of Fahad ‘Bungles’ Bingla, a successful entrepreneur, but Alys is irked when she overhears Bungles’ friend Valentine Darsee’s snobbish assessment of her. As the festivities unfold, the Binats hold their breath, waiting to see if Bungles will propose. And Alys realises that Darsee’s apparent rudeness and contempt may conceal a different man from the one she first judged him to be.
An essential guide to marriage, class and sisterhood in modern-day Pakistan.
Published By: Crooked Cat Publication Date: 20th November 2018 Format: Kindle Price: £1.99
Blurb
A story of Family, Rationing and Inconvenient Corpses.
Life in 1918 has brought loss and grief and hardship to the three Fyttleton sisters. Helped only by their grandmother (a failed society belle and expert poacher) and hindered by a difficult suffragette mother, as well as an unruly chicken-stealing dog and a house full of paying-guests, they now have to deal with the worrying news that their late – and unlamented – father may not be dead after all. And on top of that, there’s a body in the ha-ha.
Keep reading for the review, a bit about the author and a chance to win another of Nicola Slade’s books.
Published By: HQ Publication Date: 7th February 2019 Format: Paperback I.S.B.N.: 9780008214791 Price: £8.99 Link
Blurb
London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood. 1896: Sherlock Holmes has once again hit the headlines, solving mysteries for the cream of London society. But among the workhouses and pudding shops of the city, private detective William Arrowood is presented with far grittier, more violent, and considerably less well-paid cases.
Arrowood is in no doubt who is the better detective, and when Mr and Mrs Barclay engage him to trace their estranged daughter Birdie, he’s sure it won’t be long before he and his assistant Barnett have tracked her down.
But this seemingly simple missing person case soon turns into a murder investigation. Far from the comfort of Baker Street, Arrowood’s London is a city of unrelenting cruelty, where evil is waiting to be uncovered . . .
My Review
The publicity team at HQ are fab; they sent me this book in late December in time for the blog tour this week. I read it during the last few of days of 2018.
Let’s get to it then.
William Arrowood, his assistant Norman Barnett and the indefatigable Ettie are back, and doing their bit to make the world a better place. When Arrowood and Barnett are asked to find the daughter of Mr and Mrs Barclay, they are drawn into a world of corruption between asylums and workhouses, the abuse of mentally ill people and people with learning difficulties, and face a corrupt police officer and magistrate determined to prevent any investigation.
The story is told by Norman, assistant, back-up for the rather less than spry Arrowood, and recent widower who still hasn’t told anyone. It’s written in his voice, and he comes through loud and clear. His anxieties and frustrations with the case, with Arrowood and with himself as he grieves, fights for justice and faces the threat of being accused of murder. Ettie and Neddy as well as the previously mysterious Lewis come to the fore as they all get involved in the case. This cast of characters are an odd, complex little family and their contrasts and frustrations with each other as they butt heads and worry their way through first a missing persons then a double murder case are entertaining and endearing.
The descriptions of London life, the asylum, the farms, all feel real. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric and gripping novel, that had me reading aloud in my excitement to find out what happened next as we reached the climax.
If you enjoy historical crime novels I recommend this one fully. But read Arrowoodfirst, some of the references will make more sense if you do. I reviewed it in May 2017, and I think this one is definitely an improvement on the first.
Published By: HQ Publication Date: 10th January 2019 ISBN: 9780008301811 Price: £7.99 Format: Paperback
Blurb
The gripping new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Michele Campbell
Because murderers are never who you expect… She was the quiet one but is she guilty?
For twin sisters Rose and Bel, enrolling at the prestigious new boarding school should have been a fresh start. But with its sinister rituals and traditions, Odell soon brings out a deadly rivalry between the sisters.
For Sarah and husband Heath, the chance to teach at Odell seems like the best thing that ever happened to their small family a chance to rise through the ranks and put the past behind them.
Until one dark night ends in murder.
But who’s guilty and who’s telling the truth? And who’s been in on it all along..?
From the Sunday Times bestselling author Michele Campbell comes the breathtaking new thriller SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE.
![The Convalescent Corpse by [Slade, Nicola]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qr0lXNN8L.jpg)
Everything Is Better With Dragons 