#CoverReveal The Ossians by Doug Johnstone

I'm delighted to be taking part in the cover reveal for the newly reissued 20th anniversary edition of The Ossians from Doug Johnstone and Orenda Books.

Doug Johnston is one of my favorite authors. I love both the Skelf series and the Enceladons trilogy. I keep promising myself that I'll read some of his standalone novels. The synopsis of The Ossians, which will be republished on 9th April 2026, sounds enticing, filled with dark humour.

You can pre-order from here.

Synopsis

Connor is twenty-four, brilliant, broken, and out of control. He's the swaggering frontman of The Ossians, a Scottish indie band on the brink of signing a major record deal.

Desperate to make their mark, they head off on a two-week winter tour across the cities and hinterlands of Scotland – a last-ditch attempt to find fame, purpose, and themselves.

But the tour soon spirals into a surreal, chaotic odyssey. From seedy bars and snowbound towns to a final, defining Glasgow gig, the band hurtles through a whirlwind of seagull massacres, botched drug deals, a mysterious stalker, radioactive beaches, bomb-testing ranges, epileptic fits, riotous Russian submariners, deadly storms, epiphanies, regular beatings and random shootings.

Raw, darkly funny and wild with energy, The Ossians is a gloriously anarchic story of rock'n'roll obsession, national identity and self-destruction, and what it means to belong – in a band, in a country, in a life unravelling at speed.

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson

 

Kate Bright felt guilty enough meeting her lover in a London hotel, but when terrorists take control of the hotel, she feels even worse. Forced to hide in her room, she reflects on her life and how she has ended up where she is.

There has been such a buzz about Room 706 by Ellie Levenson that I leapt for joy when I was given access to an eARC. As a lover of thrillers, I settled down ready for a suspense-filled tale of survival, what I ended up reading was a much more nuanced story of love, deceit and forgiveness.

The opening chapter grabs your attention and has you desperate to know more. We are then introduced to Kate, and she doesn't come across well; her sole focus that morning had been to get out of the house so she could meet her lover. While she hasn't quite abandoned her two young children, her priority is meeting her lover, James.

Once it becomes obvious that the hotel is in lockdown and Kate and James are hiding in their room, we get three very distinct threads that weave together to form the narrative. Firstly, there is the current situation, the panic and fear of not being in control of the situation, and the unknown danger. Kate comes across as very real; she is hesitant about what to do for the best, frightened for her own safety, and worried about explaining things to her husband.

The second storyline takes us back fifteen years, and we meet Kate in her early twenties studying in Italy. Kate is grieving the untimely death of her mother, her only relative, and is feeling very lonely in Italy. By chance, she meets Vic, who is ten years older, recovering from burnout. Slowly, with the help of Vic's Italian Nonna, the pair falls in love. The final storyline is how Kate meets her lover and their relationship over the previous six years.

Through the intertwined stories, we get greater insight into Kate's character and how she has changed over sixteen years. When we first meet Kate, she's simply existing. Vic's gentle nature is just what she needs to help her mend. Vic is empathetic thanks to his own recent mental health issues. The age gap, the introversion of both characters and the support they find in each other lead to a very quiet life. It is therefore understandable that Kate is bewitched when an older man shows her attention and offers her passion without commitment. 

As the hours tick by, Kate reflects on her life and her relationships. She begins to understand how important seemingly inconsequential details are, such as family recipes and passwords for grocery deliveries. She also contemplates the relationship she has with both men, weighing the excitement James offers with the stability and unconditional love offered by Vic. The important question is, if she survives, which life does she want?

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson will be published on 15th January 2026 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Headline for a review copy.

Author Details

Ellie Levenson is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared across many national newspapers and magazines. She lives in London with her family.

What Happened That Summer by Laura Pearson

 

Summer 1996 shocked the world when the biggest pop star of the year tragically died at a theme park in the UK. Mystery has surrounded the actual events until, almost twenty years later, a podcast delves back into the mystery.

Author Laura Pearson is one of those writers who I know is going to deliver something special, something different. What Happened That Summer certainly fits that description. The novel is a little different from the author's more recent novels, featuring a mystery rather than a mystical element.

I loved the style, told as a transcript for a podcast. Although the chapters are long, the fact that it is a transcript makes it easy to put down mid-chapter. However, once you start reading, you are completely engrossed by the storyline and unlikely to want to stop.

Podcaster Danny interviews lots of people involved with the events leading to the death of teen pop star AJ Silver. The main characters are the Hunter family, who own the theme park, and the Campbells, AJ's family. It is interesting getting so many different perspectives, particularly when they contradict each other. It is also obvious that, even twenty years later, some people haven't been entirely honest and open.

This is primarily a romance. You can feel the euphoria of Penelope 'Pea' Hunter and Zak Campbell as their young love blossoms. The setting of early summer in a world without smartphones and emails adds to the heady mix. However, things are not without their complications; jealousy isn't far away. The couple also has to contend with AJ being around. AJ is not a likeable character, he displays all the traits you would expect from a diva. There are sympathetic moments, where you realise that he's had to grow up under the glare of spotlights, constantly in the media's attention, when at heart he's still a child, a child who no one is willing to say no to.

As the narrative weaves its way through the build-up to the arrival of AJ and his entourage, his time at the theme park, and then the accident, I found myself looking for subtle clues, frantically turning the pages, desperate to know what was going to happen. The repercussions have a seismic effect on everyone, with the podcast relating the way in which lives were changed forever. I'd grown to care for the characters I'd read about and was upset by the way some of their lives had been impacted. There's also a mystique hanging over everything, and a bombshell revelation that makes you sit up and question what you've read. The conclusion puts to rest some of the uncertainty that has surrounded AJ Silver's death for twenty years, but still leaves the reader needing to know more.

What Happened That Summer by Laura Pearson will be published on 3rd January 2026 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a review copy.

Author Details

Laura Pearson is the author of the #1 bestseller The Last List of Mabel Beaumont. She founded The Bookload on Facebook and has had several pieces published in the Guardian and the Telegraph.

#BlogTour No Oil Painting by Genevieve Marenghi

I'm delighetd to be taking part in the Blog Tour for No Oil Painting by Genevieve Marenghi. Read on for details of a competion connected with the tour.

Synopsis

A respectable septuagenarian steals a valuable painting and later tries to return it, with a little help from her friends.

Bored National Trust volunteer, Maureen, steals an obscure still life as a giant up-yours to all those who’ve discounted her. The novice fine art thief is rumbled by some fellow room guides, but snitches get stitches, camaraderie wins out and instead of grassing her up, they decide to help.

Often written off as an insipid old fart, Maureen has a darker side, challenging ingrained ideas of how senior citizens should behave. Her new set of friends make her feel alive again. No longer quite so invisible, can this unlikely pensioner gang return the now infamous painting without being caught by the Feds?

I wrote this after hearing a radio interview in which an art detective revealed how a stolen Titian was dumped at a bus stop outside Richmond station. In a red, white and blue plastic bag! I just couldn’t shake such a compelling image. I volunteered at Ham House for many years, and my passion for this Jacobean gem, together with the volunteers’ indomitable spirit, gave birth to my unlikely anti-hero.

With over five million members, the National Trust is a huge British institution. Yet, next to nothing has been written about it in terms of contemporary fiction. Until now.

While No Oil Painting explores themes of insignificance and loneliness in older age, particularly for women, it is mainly intended to entertain and offer a small haven in dark, uncertain times.

My Review

I do enjoy a cosy crime, particularity if it involves an older protagonist. No Oil Painting by Genevieve Marenghi fits the bill perfectly. 

Maureen is in her seventies and is a trusted volunteer at Ham House, a National Trust property. The other volunteers, along with the paid staff, are a very mixed bunch of characters. I was shocked at the amount of pettiness and jealousy that existed amongst the genteel volunteers. You can probably spot people who have similar character traits to individuals you may have worked with.

A hypothetical conversation is the trigger for what follows. Maureen asks which item everyone would save should a fire break out. Shortly after this conversation, Maureen decides to see if she can actually steal her favorite work of art. Not only is Maureen extremely resourceful, but she also plans to make use of one important skill she possesses - the art of invisibility! Maureen knows that the elderly are frequently overlooked and ignored, and she plans to take full advantage of this. There's no maliciousness in Maureen's actions, it's more a case of trying to see what is possible. She certainly doesn't think through the consequences if she's caught.

There are some funny scenes, as Maureen's plan doesn't always go as she'd hoped, and added to this is the question about what to actually do with the picture once she has it. Alongside the humour, there is some vividly descriptive writing which really brings Ham House to life. The details of the ghost walk left me feeling terrified. There are also some poignant moments, reflecting the nature of growing old, with family and friends no longer around. 

I certainly don't feel as if we've seen the last of Maureen; she strikes me as one of those characters who can set her mind to anything and cause trouble while doing so.

No Oil Painting by Genevieve Marenghi is available in paperback and ebook format. My thanks to Burton Mayers Books and Rachel's Random Resources for a review copy.

Purchase Links

UK Kindle: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Oil-Painting-Genevieve-Marenghi-ebook/dp/B0FNLWTCBS/

UK Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Oil-Painting-Genevieve-Marenghi/dp/1917224125/

Giveaway to Win National Trust chocolate, and a Ham House towel and fridge magnet (Open to UK Only)

https://gleam.io/8q3jO/win-national-trust-chocolate-and-a-ham-house-towel-and-fridge-magnet-open-to-uk-only

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Author Details

With a BA in English and Philosophy, Genevieve worked for eleven years at the Weekend FT, where she helped create and launch How To Spend It magazine.

She volunteered for years as a National Trust guide at Ham House. This became the setting for her debut art heist novel, No Oil Painting, which was listed for the inaugural Women’s Prize Trust and Curtis Brown Discoveries, and was published by Burton Mayers Books on 10th October 2025.

Her writing uses dark humour to probe the difference between our perception of people and their true selves. The gulf between what is said and what is meant. She considers people watching an essential skill for any writer; overheard snippets of conversation or a bonkers exchange at a bus stop are like gold nuggets. She’s been known to follow people to catch the end of a juicy conversation or argument. Women aged over fifty are essentially invisible anyhow and she views this as a kind of superpower.

Unlike her protagonist Maureen, she hasn’t used this to commit art theft. Yet.

#CoverReveal 138 Main Street by Gavin Bell

 

I'm delighted to be taking part in the cover reveal for 138 Main Street, the latest thriller from Gavin Bell, which will be published in the UK by Simon & Schuster UK on 7th May 2026. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew this was my kind of book.

AN ADDRESS TO DIE FOR…

There is a killer on the loose.

And he is targeting one specific address – 138 Main Street.

The problem? There are over 7,000 Main Streets in the USA.

And no clue which one will be next.

For FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and his rookie colleague, Officer Zoe Hill, the pressure to solve the case is unimaginable. There aren’t enough police officers to cover every house, and vigilante residents are attacking anyone who rings their doorbell. Main Street might be one of America’s most popular addresses, but for those living at number 138 it comes down to fight or flight.

Then a manuscript is sent to the New York Times, purporting to be the manifesto of the Main Street Killer and demanding radical social change.

As the effect of the terror campaign takes hold across the nation, Ben and Zoe find themselves in a race against time to stop the killer. But with their target always several steps ahead, and almost 3,800,000 square miles of ground to cover, they'll have to find him first…

You can pre-order a copy here - purchase link

The Croaking Raven by Guy Hale

 

In Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1972, Oliver Lawrence returns to seek revenge on the people he holds responsible for his father's suicide. Detectives Fred Williams and Toby Marlowe lead the investigation into the suspicious deaths.

The Croaking Raven by Guy Hale, the first book in the Shakespeare Murders series, is a cosy crime mystery with a literary twist. Set in Stratford-Upon-Avon and focusing on a company of actors, the murders mirror Hamlet. Oliver Lawrence, who disappeared fifteen years earlier and is presumed dead, has returned in disguise to seek revenge on the actors and critics who destroyed his father's career, resulting in his suicide. Many of these same people wrecked Oliver's fledgling career, too, so he's doubly bent on retribution.

DC Toby Marlowe has recently relocated from Birmingham and is keen to make his mark in Stratford. He's teamed with veteran officer DS Fred Williams. The first meeting between the pair isn't an auspicious one. Fred is described as "a bull of a man, who appeared to be in a state of simmering rage", a man who much prefers to work alone and doesn't suffer fools gladly. I did enjoy this pairing. Although Toby is relatively young and inexperienced, he is intelligent and intuitive, something Fred quickly realises. Likewise, Toby soon learns that there is much more to Fred than his bullish appearance.

Oliver is aided in his quest by an old friend of his father, Felix Richards. Felix initially comes across as a masterful manipulator, and you wonder if he has an ulterior motive. However, Felix quickly realises he has lost control as Oliver rapidly descends into madness.

There are lots of theatrical references and quotes; fans of Shakespeare will love the way in which the plot follows the tale of Hamlet. Many of the characters come across as caricatures, with critics being vicious and biased, and actors being over the top. DS Williams is completely irreverent towards the theatre luvvies, particularly "national treasure" Sir Morris Oxford, the person Oliver ultimately holds responsible.

As the body count grows, you wonder where things are going to end. Oliver is determined to hold everyone responsible for his father's death to account, which makes for a very long list of victims. Rather than rush, the author has chosen to continue the murder spree over a series of four books, and I can't wait to see how things transpire.

The Croaking Raven by Guy Hale is available in hardback, paperback and ebook format. My thanks to The Bullington Press and Love Books Tours for a review copy.

You can purchase copies of the book direct from the author here, or from Amazon UK here

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Author Details

Guy Hale was born in Worcestershire, England. His first job was as a Professional Golfer. He also played Rugby and raced motorcycles until his mid-twenties. When this failed to kill him he started writing plays, mostly two handers which he performed in pubs and assorted venues with his mate, Andy.

#BlogTour A Christmas Caroline by K. L. Crear

 

I'm delighted to be taking part in the blog Tour for A Christmas Caroline by K. L. Crear, 

Synopsis

Caroline’s got frugality down to a fine art. She can make a tin of soup stretch for days, considers “reduced to clear” her love language, and thinks Christmas is just a daft excuse for people to throw their money away on tinsel trimmed tat. 

But Christmas Eve night takes a turn when her best mate, Marlene, drops in for a chat. Lovely, right? Except Marlene’s been dead for seven years and she’s got a message for Caroline, she will be visited by three spirits and if she doesn’t pay attention, her future’s looking bleaker than the contents of her fridge freezer. 

Caroline’s convinced she’s having a hallucination. Ghosts? Surely not! But as the night goes on, she starts to wonder if she might just learn something worth more than her latest discount voucher. And for someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, this might be the wake-up call she didn’t see coming. 

Move over Ebenezer! This modern, laugh-out-loud retelling of the Dickens classic has a new Scrooge in town. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella. 

Caroline Scroggins has a lonely Christmas ahead of her. She's shunned invites from family and friends and intends to be her usual miserable self, although she does plan to indulge herself with a jacket potato for her Christmas dinner. Will a few ghostly visitors make her realise what she's missing out on?

My Review

A Christmas Caroline by K. L. Crear is a modern retelling of A Christmas Carol, with the main character being Caroline Scroggins, the "Queen of Mean". Caroline is a thoroughly unpleasant character who takes frugality to the extreme; she can make a can of soup last for three days! Poetic licence has been used to great effect to exaggerate Caroline's behaviour to reinforce our understanding of how much she fits the Scrooge character. 

This is a quick and easy read, and at times it will make you chuckle. Set in Yorkshire, Caroline calls a spade a spade, and at times the descriptions are very near the knuckle. Caroline's unpleasant nature and caustic comments do nothing to endear her to the reader. It is only when she is visited by ghostly apparitions that her doubt and apprehension begin to show. In true Christmas Carol style, an epiphany takes place, with Caroline realising the error of her ways as she embraces the true spirit of Christmas.

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Caroline-K-L-Crear-ebook/dp/B0DHS6QXMQ

Author Details

Karen (K.L. Crear) is an author, over-sharer, and walking cautionary tale. Think: a sweary teenager trapped in the body of a menopausal woman who can’t sneeze without risking a wardrobe malfunction. You’re welcome.

Once upon a time, she worked in banking, the Civil Service, and property management, or as she likes to call it, The Beige Trilogy. She spent decades being respectable (ish), responsible (occasionally), and quietly losing the will to live. Then one day she found herself broke, baffled, and built entirely out of biscuit crumbs and unresolved trauma. So she did what any sensible woman would do, she wrote it all down and flogged it in paperback.

Karen has battled cancer twice, and her coping strategy was to laugh at wildly inappropriate moments and shout “F*ck off!” at inspirational quotes. Spoiler: it worked. Her sense of humour is deeply questionable, but it’s kept her just about sane through grief, illness, love, lies, and the time she gave herself food poisoning with a dodgy prawn ring from Iceland.

After years of procrastination (and one too many vinos), she finally swapped Pinot for a pen. She now writes jaw-dropping memoirs and hilarious women’s fiction about women who’ve had enough, snapped slightly, and are thriving in spite of it all, usually with a glass in hand, some top mates, and a solid alibi.

Her hobbies include eating anything wrapped in pastry, shouting at the Real Housewives (“She’s definitely had something done - she’s melting!”), and threatening to adopt an axolotl because they look so absurdly cheerful. She once turned down hugging a sloth in Mexico, it dangles upside down, pees on itself, and honestly felt like a warning from the future.

Karen lives in a sleepy Northern town with her long-suffering husband (he’s partially deaf, which helps) and their cat Pickle, who looks permanently disgusted with their life choices and the ongoing Dreamies rationing.

A portion of every book sale goes to Women’s Aid, Great Ormond Street, the Epilepsy Society, and Macmillan. because she knows what it’s like to need help. The world’s a shitshow, but we can all make a little difference in our own way.