What We Did In The Storm by Tina Baker

 

Three women are out just before a storm arrives on the island of Tresco, just off the coast of Cornwall. The following day one woman is missing and the other two are injured. Are they victims of the storm or something more sinister?

Although I've not read anything by author Tina Baker previously I do follow her on social media, initially because she rescued a little black kitten, Pip, and then as a result of the fun posts she regularly shares. Being a fan of thrillers I knew it wouldn't be long before I delved into one of her books. 

What We Did In The Storm is set in the Scilly Isles, an area I knew nothing about. Tresco is a family-owned island, the second largest island of the Scilly Isles and is twenty-eight miles from the Cornish coast. There are no cars on Tresco, people get around by foot, bicycle or golf cart. Boats transport people between the different islands and the wealthy make their way to Tresco via helicopter.

Wealth plays an important part in the story, this is a tale of division. The people who live and work on Tresco year-round are there to look after the tourists and wealthy visitors. We meet one of those wealthy visitors at the very beginning of the book, Beatrice Wallace, along with her goddaughter, Charlotte, and they don't come across well; spoilt and entitled, they have little regard for anyone other than themselves. Beatrice and her husband own a timeshare in one of the luxury holiday homes on the island, so are regular visitors. Her son, Kit, is also staying in the holiday accommodation. 

There are a large number of year-round inhabitants, the workers who keep the island ticking over and making sure that the wealthy visitors have everything they need. There are many benefits to living on Tresco; the climate, no litter, no pollution and no crime, but, it's a fragile ecosystem. There is a lot of resentment towards the wealthy visitors, they have to be kept sweet and their mere presence means that goods on the island are extremely expensive.

Each chapter focuses on a different person, giving the reader a chance to get to know everyone. These short chapters immediately draw you in and give you an idea of life on the island. Every so often there is a brief chapter focusing on the storm and its aftermath. From this, we have subtle hints about what has happened but the actual events are revealed very slowly, teasing the reader and building tension.

With the storm approaching you can feel the pressure building as petty jealousies come to a head. Gossip and rumors abound, along with a number of secrets. As all the story-lines converged I could feel my heart racing as we discover what took place.

What We Did In The Storm by Tina Baker is available now in a variety of formats. My thanks to Viper Books for a review copy.

Author Details

Tina Baker was brought up in a caravan after her mother, a fairground traveller, fell pregnant by a window cleaner. After leaving the bright lights of Coalville, she came to London and worked as a journalist and broadcaster for thirty years. She's probably best known as a television critic for the BBC and GMTV. Call Me Mummy is Tina's first novel.

The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan (Audiobook)

 

Recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves decides that she isn't going to spend the remainder of her time grieving, she's going to surprise her family and do something different, like rescue a dilapidated building. 

Ruth Hogan is a new author for me. After listening to The Phoenix Ballroom I will certainly be seeking out her earlier books as this delightful story is gentle and uplifting. On my first day of listening, I was completely engrossed and halfway through before I knew it.

Venetia was a devoted wife to her recently deceased husband, Hawk (bird names are a family tradition). Despite his recent death, Venetia doesn't feel that her life should also cease, her husband has left her a wealthy widow and at a sprightly seventy-four (the same age as Cher, apparently), she wants to use some of that wealth and do something exciting. Unfortunately, her son, Heron, doesn't see things the same way and insists on hiring a "granny nanny" to take care of her.

Liberty Bell is the "granny nanny" concerned. Liberty is also grieving, her mother passed away recently and left nothing to her only child. Still reeling from the end of a long-term relationship with a married man, Liberty has found herself alone and homeless so the job offers her a home and a little bit of security.

Along with the main characters we are introduced to a host of supporting ones; Evangeline, the leader of a church at the dilapidated building, Crow, a mysterious figure who hides out in the building, Swan, Hawk's eccentric sister, Colin Firth, the dog Venetia rescues, and Kite, Venetia's grandson. These supporting characters add mystery and humour to the story. The narrator, Joan Walker, does a fantastic job at giving each of them a distinct voice, which really adds to the atmosphere.

Brief glimpses of the past reveal how Venetia met her husband, revealing secrets that have shaped her life. They also show why she is now so determined to do something different.

With support from family and the community that uses the rundown building, Venetia is able to fulfill her wish, along with helping a few others along the way. and manages to rekindle the dreams she had as a young woman.

The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan is available now in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and W. F. Howes Ltd for a review copy.

Author Details

Ruth Hogan studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College and went on to work in local government. A car accident and a subsequent run-in with cancer convinced her finally to get her act together and pursue her dream of becoming a writer. The result was her debut novel - The Keeper of Lost Things, which went on to sell two million copies globally. She is now living the dream (and occasional nightmare) as a full-time author, along with her husband and rescue dogs in a rambling Victorian house stuffed with treasure that inspires her novels.

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh

 

A pediatric brain surgeon is accused of murdering a neighbour. Adamant that he is innocent, the only thing standing between John Jackson and a life behind bars is lawyer Eddie Flynn, and a scheming witness.

Fans of the Eddie Flynn series will be well aware that, despite all the predicaments he ends up in, Eddie uses his cunning to defeat even the toughest foe. This time around, author Steve Cavanagh has set up a storyline where Eddie seems to have met his match, in more ways than one. Witness 8 has Eddie facing a number of adversaries and placed in what seems to be an unwinnable position.

When a murder takes place in a wealthy suburb of New York, the murderer flees, disposing of the murder weapon nearby. Ruby Johnson, a part-time nanny and cleaner for some of the wealthy residents, is the only witness. Rather than report the crime, Ruby decides to retrieve the murder weapon and use it for her own ends. We begin to realise that Ruby is unpleasant, and the more we read on, we discover she's manipulative and constantly scheming. There are times when her behaviour is unsettling, and I was convinced she was suffering from a dissociative identity disorder. What is unclear is how and why Ruby is framing one of her employers, John Jackson.

Wealthy clients hire high-end legal firms, but the lawyer hired by John Jackson knows that in order for his client to stand a chance in what appears to be an unwinnable case, something or someone special is required. The firm turns to Eddie Flynn and his associates. Having previously been a con artist, Eddie is an expert at reading people and thinking outside the box; he's not averse to playing outside the rules either, and we witness this early on when he defends a client and ends up embarrassing a police officer in the process.

What Eddie doesn't realise is that the police officer involved works for a criminal gang, and they are upset that Flynn has disrupted one of their financial scams. Determined that it won't happen again, they put a price on Eddie's head. 

It becomes a case of cat-and-mouse as Eddie has to contend with having a target on his back while trying to solve the puzzles of who the actual murderer is and how he's going to save his client. While all of this is happening, Ruby Johnson continues her scheming, and a hitman with a strange code of ethics zeros in on Eddie. I began to worry that Eddie had met his match with two such formidable opponents, particularly when a devastating event takes place. I was truly convinced that this was the end for Eddie; however, we know he's a fighter, and even at his lowest ebb, he refuses to give up. Author Steve Cavanagh keeps the tension going right up to the last moment and has fans nervous about the conclusion.

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh will be published on 1st August 2024 in hardback, ebook, and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Headline for a review copy.

Author Details

Steve Cavanagh has sold over a million copies of his novels in the UK alone. His nine books have all been nominated for major awards and many are international bestsellers. His third novel, The Liar, won the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year 2018. Thirteen won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2019. Fifty-Fifty was a Richard and Judy Book club choice and was also selected for the BBC ‘Between the Covers’ book club. Twisted, Fifty-Fifty, The Devil’s Advocate, The Accomplice and Kill For Me Kill For You were all Sunday Times Top 10 bestsellers.

The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey

 

On the day of her fortieth birthday, Nina's divorce is finalised. Feeling that she's always taken the safe option in life she sets off for the French Riviera to see if the boy she fell in love with on an exchange trip twenty-three years ago remembers her.

I won a copy of The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey in a competition by The Bookload on Facebook. This is not my usual type of read but I was surprised at how quickly I got into the story and finished the book within two days. I also need to comment on how beautiful the cover is, the terracotta colour is stunning.

Nina is risk-averse, she always opts for the safe and steady option in life. When her divorce is finalised on the day of her fortieth birthday she realises that there may have been times when she should have said yes, rather than no, and had a little bit more excitement in her life. One of her big regrets is that she didn't run away to France at the age of seventeen to be with Pierre, the boy she fell in love with on an exchange visit.

Divorce means that the house Nina shared with her husband has to be sold. With only a couple of months left until completion, she decides to take part in a house swap and ends up back in the area of France she visited twenty-three years ago. With some internet sleuthing she manages to track down Pierre and "accidentally" bumps into him. It would seem that he does remember her and feels the same way.

Nina is helped along the way by the sister and brother of the man she has swapped homes with. Sabine is a wanderer with a lust for adventure, she helps Nina try new experiences and tries to convince her that she's not too old to travel. Antoine is kind and dependable, seemingly always on hand to rescue Nina when things don't go to plan.

The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey is a light and easy read. The ending is predictable but the setting and the people are wonderful.

Author Details

Gillian Harvey is a freelance journalist and the author of two well-reviewed women’s fiction novels published by Orion. She has lived in Limousin, France for the past twelve years, from where she derives the inspiration and settings for her books such as A Year at the French Farmhouse and A Month in Provence.

June 2024 Reads

June was another bumper month for books, although my holiday in May has resulted in me getting out of the habit of listening to audiobooks, a habit I’m working on getting back into. I was over the moon when I got a review copy of Steve Cavanagh’s latest instalment in the Eddie Flynn series. There’s a brief synopsis below, full review will be posted shortly, and fans will not be disappointed.

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse is a slow burner. As with the author’s previous novels the setting is atmospheric, becoming a character in itself. DS Elin Warner is on holiday in Portugal with her brother when she begins to investigate a missing persons case. There are links to an encampment in the forest they are staying in, along with connections closer to home.

Thanks to Twitter I stumbled across  No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby. Filled with wry humour this is the tale of an elderly spinster, twenty-eight-year-old Violet Hamilton, who defies Victorian convention in her quest to discover what happened to her mother who went missing ten years ago. There are lots of cryptic references to sex and scandals which are extremely tame by modern standards. I loved the character of Violet and her refusal to conform. It won’t be long before I dive into the sequel.

Having read two previous novels by author C. M. Ewan I knew that One Wrong Turn would be full of twists and turns. A young couple, returning home late at night along foggy deserted country roads stop, against their better judgment, to help a couple and their baby who’ve broken down. As you would expect, not everything is as it seems and a nightmare journey ensues, for both couples.

Book 3 in the Slough House series, Real Tigers from Mick Herron sees the slow horses having to break into an MI5 storage facility in order to save one of their own. Things aren’t straight forward as everything is a power-play and the only people who can be trusted are the slow horses themselves. Jackson Lamb is as obnoxious as ever.

Look In The Mirror by Catherine Steadman is a psychological thriller that will make you hesitate the next time you stay in a holiday property. Nina is surprised to discover her father has left her a Caribbean villa in his will, a villa she knew nothing about. Seeking answers to why her father kept the property a secret she decides to visit and begins a nightmare journey.

A break from thrillers came in the form of Funny Story by Emily Henry, another of those books that I had to check out as it garnered quite a buzz on Twitter. When their partners dump them Daphne and Miles end up flat sharing. Daphne is counting down the days until she can quit her job and leave Waning Bay. Miles is determined to show Daphne that the town has more to offer than a broken heart. Yes, the ending is obvious but I so enjoyed the emotional journey.

Back with thrillers for my next read, I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay. High school teacher Richard Boyle prevents a tragedy from happening at school. When he appears on a local news bulletin an ex-student decides to blackmail him, despite his protestations that he’s innocent. Knowing that “mud sticks” Boyle decides to pay his blackmailer but ends up in a nightmare he can’t find a way out of.

I was so excited when I got a review copy of Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh, book 8 in the fantastic Eddie Flynn series. Eddie’s client is accused of murdering a wealthy neighbour. Adamant he’s innocent despite the murder weapon, with his DNA on it, being found in his home. The family’s part-time nanny knows more than she’s letting on. As all of this is happening an organised crime gang has taken out a contract on Eddie. Will he be victorious against unbeatable odds?

The quirky title and cover drew me to Eddie Winston Is Looking For Love by Marianne Cronin and I fell in love with Eddie. A sprightly ninety-year-old who’s never been kissed forms an unlikely friendship with a grieving young woman. Setting out, via online dating, to find romance we discover that Eddie is a gentle and optimistic non-conformist who always looks for the positive. There was laughter and tears as I read.

I finished off the month with The Riviera House Swap by Gillian Harvey, a competition win. Recently divorced Nina turns forty and regrets “the one that got away”, Pierre, a French exchange student when she was seventeen. She sets off to find out if Pierre remembers her and if the romance has survived the test of time. An easy, and predictable read, that will make you fall in love with the region.

Only one audiobook this month, I seem to have gotten out of the habit of listening. In an effort to get back into audiobooks, I opted for The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary, an author whose previous books I enjoyed listening to. I didn’t feel this story was as strong as the previous two. Ex’s Dylan and Addie are forced, along with three other adults to share a mini from Chichester to Scotland. Various mishaps along the way interrupt the story of how the couple fell in, and out of, love.

Publication dates to watch out for are:-

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse will be published 16/7/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

One Wrong Turn by C. M. Ewan will be published 18/7/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Look In The Mirror by Catherine Steadman will be published 30/7/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay will be published 1/8/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh will be published on 1/8/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Eddie Winston Is Looking For Love by Marianne Cronin will be published on 15/8/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

 

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse

 

DS Elin Warner is on a much-needed holiday in Portugal. Stumbling across a small encampment in the middle of a forest raises suspicions, particularly as there are possible links to a young woman who hasn’t been seen in over a year.

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse is the third book to feature DS Elin Warner, following on from The Sanatorium and The Retreat. Fans of these books will be aware of the atmospheric setting of each and The Wilds is no different. With the majority of the story set in a Portuguese national forest, the landscape itself is overbearing and oppressive, which adds to the sinister feeling you have as you read.

Elin has had a traumatic couple of years dealing with cases and hasn’t quite come to terms with them, she’s also recently split from her long-term boyfriend. Her brother, Isaac, has suggested a walking holiday in Portugal and it is only after they arrive that she discovers Isaac has an ulterior motive. The sister of a friend has gone missing and the last time she was seen was in the same forest in Portugal.

The last thing Elin needs is a missing persons case to investigate and you can feel her frustration at being blind-sided by Isaac. The encampment where Kier, the missing woman, was last seen makes Elin suspicious. She gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right and that they aren’t being entirely truthful.

Intertwined with Elin’s investigation is Kier’s story. We jump back three years and meet Kier as she returns to the town in which she was raised for her twin brother’s wedding. Kier finds it difficult to settle in one place, mainly because she’s running from the horrific events of her childhood, events which are slowly revealed to the reader. With Kier is her boyfriend, Zeph. Initially, we meet a couple who are ideally suited and very much in love. Gradually you begin to realise that things in the relationship aren’t right, and that what we are witnessing goes beyond jealousy.

As the two story-lines begin to converge you get an unsettling feeling that you are being watched and that not everything is as it seems. A shocking revelation has Elin reeling and she questions her own judgement. Elin’s professionalism wins out as she is able to gain the trust of members of the encampment and finds out the distressing truth of what happened to Kier.

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse will be published on 16^th July 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown UK for a review copy.

Author Details

Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of household brands. After moving to Switzerland in her twenties, she spent every spare moment exploring the mountains in the Swiss Alpine town of Crans Montana, the dramatic setting that inspired her debut novel, The Sanatorium, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and became an instant New York Times bestseller and a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller. The Retreat was also a Sunday Times bestseller and No.1 Kindle bestseller. The Wilds is her third novel. 

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay

 

When teacher Richard Boyle acts without thinking at school he diverts a tragedy. Unfortunately, it puts him in the spotlight and leads to a series of shocking events that are out of his control.

When I read The Lie Maker in July 2023 I couldn't believe it had been such a long time since I'd read one of Linwood Barclay's thrillers. Having enjoyed The Lie Maker so much I jumped at the chance to read and review the author's latest novel, I Will Ruin You.

The heart-stopping opening chapter really sets the tone for the nightmare situation teacher Richard Boyle finds himself in. Richard is a well-respected high school English teacher, he treats his students as young adults and challenges their thinking. During one of his lessons, he spots a man heading for the side door into the building. Without giving thought to his own safety he heads out to intercept the intruder. It turns out the intruder is a former student with a grievance against some of the staff and he's determined to make them pay.

A school intruder, intent on harm, is the nightmare that every teacher, student and parent must have considered at some point. The opening chapter builds on that fear, showing how easily it could happen, particularly if the intruder is an ex-student with knowledge of the building. As staff and students go into panic mode Richard manages to keep a calm head, despite the adrenaline flooding his system, and talks them out of their planned attack.

In the aftermath of the event, a TV crew shows the school on the local news and this triggers memories for another past student who decides to seek retribution for the abuse he suffered in school. This sets off a nightmare journey for Richard Boyle.

Richard is adamant he's innocent of the accusations and it is very easy to put yourself in his shoes. How do you prove your innocence? Richard has to decide whether to stand his ground or pay off his accuser simply to make the accusations disappear. At the back of his mind is the thought that "mud sticks".

There are quite a few sub-plots within the story which all add to the tension. As these plots converge the terror for Richard Boyle intensifies and lots of secrets are revealed.

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay will be published on 1st August 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK.

Author Details

Linwood Barclay is a former columnist for The Toronto Star and the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including Too Close to Home and No Time for Goodbye, a #1 Sunday Times (UK) bestseller. He lives near Toronto with his wife.