#Review of Hattie Brings the House Down By Patrick Gleeson #PatrickGleeson @noexitpress #ATheatrelandMystery #Theatre #HattieBringsTheHouseDown #Mystery

Hattie Brings the House Down
By Patrick Gleeson

Hattie Brings the House Down is a book that serves theatre and mystery lovers well. Thanks to No Exit Press and Random T. Tours, I have the blurb and my review for you.

Blurb

Get ready for a thrilling backstage ride in the world of theatre as seasoned
stage manager Hattie embarks on a new production at London’s Tavistock pub
theatre. Here, the drama doesn’t just occur on stage.
Troublesome directors and fastidious assistants soon become the least of
Hattie’s worries as, a week into rehearsals, an actress is found dead backstage
on the same day that an extremely valuable theatrical mask goes missing.
Hattie begins investigating both mysteries, all the while trying to keep the
dysfunctional cast and crew on track for opening night. As she delves deeper
into the secrets behind the scenes, her allegiance to her theatre, cast and crew
will be tested to destruction.

Follow this unconventional detective as she delves into the alluring and
exquisitely perilous world of the theatre.

Review

There’s as much drama off-stage as there is on-stage, if not more…

A theatre, this case London’s Tavistock pub theatre, provides a great setting for a mysterious plot with some larger than life characters, some with more than just a few quirks and foibles.

Readers are treated to theatrical shenanigans and intricacies of putting on a play. All is far from well as, dramatically, there is a dead body and a theft, so the fact the cast and the backstage team aren’t ready for opening night, since it’s only week 1 of rehearsals meaning they’ve got a lot to deal with.

The case isn’t easy to solve as it takes readers down trap doors of secrets and lies and red herrings. Suddenly it isn’t as easy as just saying “stage left” etc. The circumstances sends Hattie on quite a quest to discover the truth of what’s been going on that led to the theft of a valuable item and a death.

Patrick Gleeson’s passion for theatre shines through and as the plot unfolds, the concept could almost be an entertaining play within a play on a stage. As it goes, it’s an entertaining and enjoyable book.

About the Author

Patrick has a degree in philosophy and classics, another one in technical theatre
and stage management, and one more in business administration. He has
worked as a theatre sound designer, an “interpretive naturalist” at an aquarium,
a software developer, a business mentor to fledgling entrepreneurs, and a voice
actor.
He composed the music for a musical about taxidermy that The Stage said “put
to shame the hackneyed standards of the contemporary musical scene”, and has
been performed in London, Edinburgh, Suffolk and, weirdly, Alaska.
He now lives in Norfolk with his wife and two children, where he brews
mediocre cider.

#Review By Lou of Takeout Sushi By Christopher Green @TheWriteReads @NeemTreePress #ShortStories #Sushi #TakeoutSushi

Takeout Sushi
By Christopher Green

Chopsticks at the ready!!! Takeout Sushi is more than food as you explore Japan like never before… Thanks to Neem Tree Press for a copy of the book for review, which you’ll find below.

Blurb

Takeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan that explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction.

In an innovative, fast-paced company, a man’s job comes under threat when a team of robots are brought in to replace the HR department. A husband’s search for shortcuts to his domestic tasks goes painfully wrong. Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, a foreigner takes a weekend break and discovers something other than solitude in the mountains.

Marking Christopher Green’s debut adult fiction and inspired by his own experiences, these whimsical slice-of-life tales are full of heart and humour—perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

Review

Experience Sushi and Japan like never before through short stories. Some stories are thought-provoking about our now very near future, for instance there are robots replacing jobs. Often there is also family at the centre of the short stories and a feeling of being ill at ease, but occasionally there is also a sense of humour in some too.
The stories take readers into the busy cities and upwards, away from the hustle and bustle, into the quieter hills for a bit of calm, peaceful solitude.

Some short stories are whimsical and others give almost serve as warnings and all will take you into Japanese culture and scenery.

#Review By Lou of The Secret Keepers By Tilly Bagshawe @tillybagshawe_author @harpercollinsuk @RandomTTours #TheSecretKeepers #BlogTour

The Secret Keepers
By Tilly Bagshawe

The Secret Keepers is the latest book by Tilly Bagshawe. It’s perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley. Tilly Bagshawe has been writing for a long time and this is the first I’ve read of hers. I am glad I read The Secret Keepers and I am sure it won’t be my last.
Check out the blurb below and my review.

Blurb

Sweeping from the French Riviera to the wind-blown Cornish cliffs, lose yourself in this spellbinding novel about one golden family – and a devastating secret that binds them, forever…

Year after idyllic year, the Challant family retreat to their summer house on the glittering French Riviera.

Until one stormy night in 1928 when a local boy suffers a fatal accident in the grounds. Overnight, it becomes a place of ghosts.

As time unspools, those dark memories loosen their grip on the four Challant children. And yet the local whispers about that night never quieten, calling them back to the house on the Riviera.

A family secret lies waiting in the past.

But dare they unlock the truth?

Review

Unlock scandalous secrets and enter the 1920’s and meet the Challant family in their luxurious retreat in France. Money can’t buy the perfect life. Events happen, such as a fatal accident and then there’s no telling what this sparks… unless you read the book. Nothing is hidden forever and secrets are always there, just lying in wait to be discovered. People remember things, tongues wag and whispers become noisier. Some of the family are happy enough to return to the French Riviera and others, not quite so much. There’s quite a bit to unravel to reach the truth of what’s really happened on such a fatal night, making it a compelling read as the air becomes quite mysterious.

The Secret Keepers is a book to easily lose yourself in the locations of France, Switzerland and Cornwall and become entangled in the characters lives and agendas.

About the Author

Tilly Bagshawe is the internationally bestselling author of nineteen previous novels and has written for newspapers and magazines including the Sunday Times, Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. She lives in London with her husband and 4 children.

#Review of Her Deadly Friend By Rachel Sargeant @RachelSargeant3 @HobeckBooks #HerDeadlyFriend #GloucesterCrimeSeries #CrimeSeries #PsychologicalThriller

Her Deadly Friend
By Rachel Sargeant

Excitingly, Hobeck Books has relaunched Her Deadly Friend, a psychological thriller. It’s one not to be missed by this top Indie Publisher which specialises in great crime books. How about checking out the atmospheric cover, blurb and review of book 1 of the Gloucester Crime Series. There’s a link to where you can buy it below. At the time of publishing my review, the book is on offer, so you can grab a bargain.

Blurb

A random sequence of murders rocks West Gloucestershire. First one, then another. From calculated and clinical, to opportunist and frenzied. As the body count tops five, Detective Inspector Steph Lewis’s investigations point to Amy Ashby as chief suspect for the rampage.

Steph and Amy were arch enemies at school.

Amy, still seething with fury about what Steph did back then, refuses to let the detective stand in the way of her current hunt for a new man and a fresh start. This time, it is for keeps.

As the evidence mounts, Steph is convinced of Amy’s guilt. But is Steph obsessed with a schoolgirl vendetta that could wreck her career and destroy her family? Or is she closing in on a deadly killer?

Her Deadly Friend is the first book in the Gloucestershire Crime Series, featuring DI Steph Lewis, a spirited, no-nonsense detective with secrets of her own.

Review

Set in Gleveham, a fictional town in Gloucester, Amy and her mother made a complaint to the headteacher 29 years ago about Stephanie and Terri damaging a viola.
Time swiftly swings to more present times and a body is found in Georgian Gardens. Stephanie from the school has now naturally grown-up and became DI Steph and she sets about trying to solve the murders. She has terrible migraines that may impair her judgement, which makes things rather interesting.

Steph’s old school pal, Terri and her have remained friends. Amy, on the other-hand is still enemies with Steph. She knows how to hold a grudge and holds it well with a tight grip. I must say, it’s rather impressive. She also has an ex-boyfriend stalking her, caring for her mother since her father died and is Matron in a posh school, so she has a lot on her plate.

It makes you wonder how you’d feel if you suspected someone you knew of murder and may also destroy your life!

Her Deadly Friend is a compelling start to this crime series. You really get to know the characters well within a sharply written murder mystery, where you need to keep your wits about you as it leads you to a very unexpected, shocking end.

Buy it here: Amazon

#Review By Lou of Edge of the Land By Malcolm Hollingdrake @MHollingdrake @HobeckBooks #EdgeOfTheLand #MerseysideCrimeSeries #CrimeFiction #BlogTour

Edge of the Land
By Malcolm Hollingdrake

After reading and reviewing the first two of the Merseyside crime series, Catch As Catch Can and Syn, it gives me great pleasure to be back on the Hobeck Books blog tour for the third instalment. You can read it as a stand-alone or as part of the series.
I’ve also trawled through my many photos of Liverpool and included the Albert Docks and the Liverbirds Building that are mentioned after my review. I don’t live in Liverpool, but have visited this city.

Blurb

Edge of the Land is the thrilling third novel in the Merseyside crime series from Malcolm Hollingdrake, author of the best-selling Harrogate crime series.

The waterways of the Liverpool docks contain many ghosts and shadows. It’s a place to disappear… a place to die.
Detective Inspector April Decent and Detective Sergeant Skeeter Warlock are fearful for the welfare of a vulnerable young man injured in an attack ordered by drug dealers. Originally questioned at the scene, the young man denies the attack and refuses to co-operate with the police. He soon disappears. Clues to his whereabouts are sown, a cry for help maybe, but he remains elusive.

At the same time, the team are dealing with a spate of deaths in the city. The one thing the deaths have in common: the victims are all homeless and seemingly ravaged by addiction. Initially, the deaths are not considered to be suspicious as there is no obvious connection. Soon the hallmarks of murder are discovered and a hunt for a potential serial killer is on.
Is there a link between the missing man and the deaths? Could he be the vital piece of the puzzle which will solve the mystery behind the brutal murders?

Review

The Merseyside crime series is gritty with twists and turns, creating a dark, yet very compelling atmosphere. In reality, the docklands around Liverpool is an interesting area to visit, for readers who perhaps visit this city or live in and around it.

The writing is engaging, with shades of light and dark.
There’s a petty criminal, Danny, who has been sadly involved in crime since the age of 8, so knows no different. It’s quite a reflection on certain areas of society and how people can turn out. He’s now fallen foul to a drugs gang. Police are concerned about his activities and his welfare.

Homeless people are seen as “easy targets” and are being murdered. As a wider picture emerges, it looks like a serial killer is on the lose, going through the Liverpudlian streets.

Detective Inspector April Decent and Detective Sergeant Skeeter Warlock are the beat to solve both cases. Both are gripping and intriguing and not easy for the police to piece together the fragments of evidence.

It’s a fascinating read with tricky puzzles to solve before time runs out. There’s a lot for the police to handle and a lot at stake in this pacy read.

Pics are of the docks and Liverbirds building that are mentoned in the book.

#Review By Lou of The Ha-Ha By Tom Shakespeare @Tommyshakes #TheHaha @RandomTTours #BlogTour #SocialComedy #Humour #Diversity

The Ha-Ha
By Tom Shakespeare

The Ha-Ha is a humorous social comedy book, in a P.G. Wodehouse sort of way with eccentric characters and poignancy. Discover the blurb and review as part of the RandomTTours blog tour as you wheel down the page to a country house setting… Discover more about Tom Shakespeare too, he seems an interesting guy, who’s done a lot.

Blurb

A modern country house farce with a diverse cast of characters

Fred Twistleton is about to turn forty. Gathering with his friends to celebrate at a rented stately home, he finally hopes to get together with his college crush, the woman of his dreams, Heather. But Fred is also keen to publish his memoirs, and Heather realises the revelations they contain could threaten her career as a high-flying foreign correspondent.

When the treasured manuscript goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Fred’s at a loss. Could someone have stolen it? Where has the resident pig gone? And will all the group remain friends by the end of the weekend? With burst pipes, sunken kayaks, and suspicious puddings, thank goodness Fred is only going to have one fortieth birthday.

Praise for The Ha-Ha

‘A beautifully observed and highly entertaining tale. Tom Shakespeare is a fine comic writer’ Alexander McCall Smith

‘A blissful social comedy, stuffed with cherishable lines’ Lissa Evans

Review

Turning 40, wheelchair bound Fred (which has, uniquely, given the author an opportunity to show the needs a wheelchair user may have. I know as my mum uses one and also has a zest for life), has decided it would be most fitting to rent a stately home and invite his friends, one being someone whom he had a crush on and didn’t really do anything about back at college. Now, he’s got ideas to buck up his ideas and do something about that. He’s also ambitious, seeing this is quite the auspicious occasion and turning such a special age, he has decided to write his memoirs. So far, all plans are moving in the right direction…. until they don’t and so much that could go wrong, does go wrong.

It could be a comedy of errors or like The Play That Goes Wrong, in modern terms. It, however, also feels like it could play homage to P.G. Wodehouse, with the humour and country house setting, but also with an element of Tom’s own take on the genre, giving it a fresh, modern feel.

The Ha-Ha is a book of humour and poignancy, all brought to life through the eccentricity of its characters, some who are kind, some who are ego-centric and one pig. in the form of Sonia, a literary agent who has experience of unrequited love, an old school friend who lives in a van, a stressed social worker and more… not forgetting the mischievous pig.

There’s also the matter of manuscript of the memoir going missing. It could destroy a career. It could create tensions within this group of friends…

Ultimately the book has the feel-good factor and fun.

About the Author

Tom Shakespeare CBE is a social scientist and bioethicist, an academic who
writes and talks and researches mainly about disability, but also about ethical
issues around prenatal genetic testing and end of life assisted suicide.
Born in 1966 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, he studied at Cambridge
University and has lived in Gateshead, Geneva and Norwich, while working at
Universities of Sunderland, Leeds, Newcastle, then at World Health Organisation
in Geneva, afterwards at UEA Medical School, and presently as Professor of
Disability Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Tom has presented programmes and documentaries on BBC Radio and has
written for publications including The Guardian and The Lancet, alongside talking
to academic, professional and lay audiences around the world.
He has been a stand-up comedian, an actor, a dancer, and an artist. A father of
two grown-up children, he now lives in London. https://farmerofthoughts.co.uk/