#Review of The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent, bestselling #PsychologicalThriller author of strange sally diamond @liznugentwriter @penguinrandom #penguinsandycove #LizNugent #BookReview By Lou #TheTruthAboutRubyCooper

The Truth About Ruby Cooper
By Liz Nugent

Review written by Louise Cannon (Lou)

Dark, twisty and secrets to behold to discover what is Ruby Cooper’s truth.
Thank to Penguin, I am able to review this suspense/psychological thriller by the bestselling author of Strange Sally Diamond. This is the 6th novel by Liz Nugent. If you enjoy Freida McFadden and Lisa Jewell, chances are you’ll enjoy Liz Nugent’s writing too.
Find my review and blurb below.

Spanning across a couple of decades, set between Boston and Dublin, The Truth of Ruby Cooper is smartly written, so following the time span is not confusing in this dark, immersive psychological thriller.

Ruby and Erin are sisters who have quite a comfortable life and it looks like all should be rosy in Boston, but a dark incident, which totally changes your perception of this family and turns everybody’s lives upside down.

Liz Nugent expertly and compellingly weaves serious, life changing issues throughout of trauma, sexual abuse, moral dilemmas and addiction. She’s written it with immense believeability.

Ruby, perhaps isn’t the most likeable character, but she is one of the most compelling to discover what lies beneath in her life. She and her mother move away from Boston to her gran’s house in Dublin to help her rebuild her life. It nicely doesn’t happen instantly, it isn’t a quick fix. Ruby becomes estranged from the rest of her family, which has totally imploded by then and readers are taken to the deepest darkest recesses of her mind and her struggles. What she does and her personality becomes rather twisty in what is a twisted book, but with high relevancy that are some people’s life experiences in either part or whole, as well as thought-provoking moments throughout.

As secrets are revealed of all that’s referred to as “the incident” and its subsequent consequences, the ending is unpredictable. It’s a showstopper!

Flawed characters is what Liz Nugent creates beautifully and dares to go places not every author does, making her psychological thrillers quite unique and such great page-turners. Ruby Cooper and her family are written in a compelling way that always leaves you wanting to read just another page, just another until you realise you do actually have to find time to sleep, but can’t wait to get back to it.

For a fast-paced, highly emotionally charged psychological thriller, I highly recommend The Truth of Ruby Cooper for anyone’s reading lists.

Blurb

“If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.”

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close knit church community in Boston.

But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.

Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.

Not that Ruby wants to think about the past.

But it can’t stay a secret forever.

#Review of The Woman With All The Answers by Linda Green @BoldwoodBooks #BookReview by Lou #TheWomanWithAllTheAnswers

The Woman With All The Answers
By Linda Green

Review by Louise Cannon

The Woman With All the Answers is wise and humorous and not always who you expect… Readers who enjoy Mike Gayle and David Nicholls will enjoy this one. It’s also a Richard and Judy book club pick.

Alexis knows your family more than you do… It’s a thought isn’t it. Quite an unsettling one and a statement that may well be true for some. In Michelle’s case it becomes true. Life throws quite a lot at this family, keeping it intriguing.

Michelle Banks is a district nurse grappling with peri-menopause, an anxious teen, a husband who is addicted to eBay and her parents.

In comes Alexa into the family. Yes, that Alexa that is in many homes across the world. She’s a constant there, listening and picking up everything. The book goes further into this piece of technology and how it becomes more humanistic in some ways.

The characters are well thought out and Pauline is written especially well so you can’t help but catch the Yorkshire accent and dialect.

The balance of consequence and humour works rather well, mixed with family life, which makes it realistic. There’s also some poignant, deeply emotional parts as the themes also include loss and abandonment, which touches the heartstrings. It also delves into issues of sexting scandals, financial strain, which adds to the relatability and thought-provoking nature of the book.

There are times when it perhaps doesn’t completely hit the mark with a lot of things happening quite closely together, but other than that, it’s a very good, wise, thought-provoking and witty read.

Blurb

Your virtual assistant is about to become your midlife mentor…

Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her 16-year-old son is behaving secretively.

Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.

So, when Michelle pleads for help, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…

Wise, funny, relatable and inspiring, Alexa, We Have a Problem is perfect for fans of Clare Pooley, Mike Gayle and David Nicholls.

#Review of Erased by Miha Mazzini @fly_press #MihaMazinni #BookReview by Lou #Erased

Erased
By Miha Mazzini
translated by Gregor Timothy Ceh

Erased is a book by Indy publisher, Fly on the Wall Press. A tale about how over 25,000 Slovene citizens were erased from their computer systems in 1992, leaving them all without an identity. Thanks to Fly on the Wall Press for a copy of the book to review.

Review

Erased is fast-paced, chilling and written in a way that is so believable that you can see what unfolded in 1992, what may still be shockingly coming to light today.

Devastatingly. in 1992, 25,671 people were ‘erased’ in the Republic of Slovenia. A chilling thought as you read on, not only in my review, but also the book.

Meet Zala, a woman who, when her waters break, discovers when she reaches the hospital to give birth, that she suddenly doesn’t exist on any computer system. It turns out not to be a technical hitch. It becomes rather serious. If you have ever been somewhere, as I have when I was at high school, to discover you aren’t on any database or register, it is rather disconcerting. Erased is even darker and deeper than that. Unlike my school experience, in Erased it wasn’t an accident, it was intentional when a new law was passed, affecting foreigners and she doesn’t consider herself to be one, even although she has been in Slovenia since birth.

The political situation in Slovenia is not one that we see prominently on the news and just now, not at all. Miha Mazzini shines a light on it. He tells, in part of what lots of people, including myself, remember, when Yugoslavia was one country was all one country and when it split in one big civil war. He tells it engagingly with what people went through and where Slovenia is at now for people like Zala.

This book is about displaced people with a deep desire and yearning for their homeland as well as the resilience of a population.

There is real heart and serious thought-provoking insights into Slovenia. Erased is a fascinating read that will be great for bookclubs, reading groups and individual readers alike.

#Review of The Dark Heart by Neil Lancaster @neillancaster @HQstories #TheDarkHeart #CrimeFiction

The Dark Heart
By Neil Lancaster

The Dark Heart is Neil Lancaster’s latest police procedural. You’ll come face to face with a deadly bombing, a dark conspiracy and a dangerous game. If you like Line of Duty, you’ll like The Dsrk Heart. Thanks to HQ, I am pleased to be officially reviewing this with a physical copy. All writing and opinions are my own. Check my review, the blurb and a little of further praise from a vast amount of praise, below…

Check out the cover of a viaduct rising up into the orangey sky, standing, foreboding like something else is looming and about to happen. Set in Scotland around various places like skirting round Stirling and other places, Tulliallan, known for police college and a station, where you’ll get to know a shadowy group, a drugs bust further north in Pitlochry, readers get a full view of a grittier side of Scotland in picturesque towns and small cities. Readers are also plunged into the grittier parts of Scotland with its authentic voices and dialogues of the characters, that ensure you experience it all.

Dr. Daniel Solomon has a new book out and is doing a talk to about 50 people. It has a cracking title: An Iman, a Rabbi, a Priest, and an Atheist Go Into a (Juice) Bar: How Religion and Secularism Can Peacefully Co-exist. He is going all out to give his ideas and he is applauded for it. It’s all innocent and nothing harmful, just a way of showing social cohesion in a healthy way. Don’t expect calm for long, not even past the first chapter. Some people disagree with a peaceful, tolerant society and all hell breaks loose when a bomb explodes.

DCI Laura McKechnie is brought in to delve to unravel the story behind murders and carnage that have been no accident. There are extremist groups at play like Sharia 4 UK and others that MI5 are roped into investigating. Thrown into the mix is a team, like Line of Duty, who are working on anti-corruption.

The Darkheart is a definite page-turner, full of suspense and police and criminal activity. The plot and fast-paced style of writing keeps the book darkly compelling throughout the action-packed pages.

Blurb

A DEADLY BOMBING

When renowned author Dr. Daniel Solomon is killed in a devastating explosion in York, authorities quickly attribute the attack to Islamic extremists. But as the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems.

A DARK CONSPIRACY

DS Max Craigie uncovers a chilling connection between a series of brutal murders, each victim linked by a secret that someone is determined to protect.

A DANGEROUS GAME

With the number of victims growing and an elusive figure known as The Cashier operating in the shadows, Max must navigate a web of corruption and hatred. Can he unravel the truth before more lives are lost?

Praise for The Dark Heart:

‘Lancaster has once again put himself in the top echelons of modern crime writers. This series must never end’ Graham Bartlett

‘Neil Lancaster is a natural born storyteller… The Dark Heart is a cracker of a tale ― and the best Craigie yet’ John Sutherland

#Review of The Forever Home by Erica James @hqstories #bookreview by Lou @TheEricaJames @HQstories #TheForeverHome

The Forever Home
By Erica James

review by Louise Cannon

The Forever Home is a heartwarming book of second chances in the unlikeliest of places by the bestselling author Erica James. HQ kindly sent me a copy to review.

The Forever Home, even the title sounds warming. What lies behind the door of Hope Hall, a former grand country house in Cambridgeshire, since converted into luxury apartments, is residents with complex lives who are all in need of a second chance in life.

Cassie is in love with Ben, but he’s her second man, there are shadows still from her first marriage. They have quite the impact on her and her daughter, Emily. The relational dynamics are believable, with Cassie being the one to blame when anything is seen as going wrong in Emily’s eyes. There is, however a jovial feel between Cassie and Ben, which gives hope amongst some turmoil and something quite shocking in Abu-Dhabi (not related to current events).

Nina owns an art gallery. She was widowed quite young in life and has hope for a new life to begin. She is also making a big decision that will shatter her mother-in-law. She is, however, still easy to empathise with as she has a strong desire to move on, and naturally so.

Venetia, at 79 is sparky and does love a secret. She knows a lot about Hope Hall and its colourful history. She knows all and had a traumatic start to life herself. What she’s harbouring is deeply emotional, but what happens in her present is like a second life.

Erica James writes compelling characters that are easy to care about. There are many emotional ups and downs of love and loss, but within the apartments of Hope Hall, there truly is hope, a sense of community and friendships across the generations as they strive for different and better lives.

#Review of A Scottish Teashop in Napoli By Jane Lambert – A Hug in A Book #Review by Lou @JaneLambert22 #AScottishTeashopInNapoli

A Scottish Teashop in Napoli
By Jane Lambert

Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)

A heart-warming friendship story that’s a book with a hug. Thanks to Jane Lambert for sharing her book with me. Below is my review and then the blurb.

Review

Sitting with a cup of tea, whilst I write this review, there’s literal warmth from that and warmth from the book. Food and the power of friendship are the main themes in Jane Lambert’s latest book, all set with a gorgeous backdrop, that makes you wish you were there too. Lucy captures the heart instantly as she is a determined, and some might say, brave woman, and going on honeymoon, even though she was jilted by her sweetheart at the altar. She’s a woman after my own heart there. I am fairly certain I would do the same, just go anyway.

Elena is fighting to save her husband’s mozzarella business and a language school. It’s a current theme in that so many people in businesses people assume will be around forever are working harder than ever to survive.

There are chance meetings between our two main characters and what happens is just the warmest of friendships with chat and laughter through the pain. They are there for each other and listen well. What comes next is another chance to grasp at life and give it a good shake and create something amazing and new. A Scottish Teashop right in scenic Napoli. It doesn’t sound so outlandish the way its presented.

A Scottish Teashop in Napoli will certainly help shake off the winter blues in its wrap-around immersive writing quality that truly touches the heart.

Blurb

When Lucy’s childhood sweetheart leaves her at the altar, her world shatters. But instead of cancelling her honeymoon, she boards the plane alone―bound for a sun-soaked island that will change everything.

In Naples, recently widowed Elena is fighting to keep her husband’s family mozzarella factory and language school afloat while raising her young son. Desperate to save both businesses, she posts a job advert―and fate delivers Lucy to her doorstep.

Together, these two women―each nursing heartbreak and loss―discover that friendship, food, and a dash of courage can heal even the deepest wounds.

Filled with pasta, laughter, and second chances, this is a story of resilience, renewal, and the unexpected magic of connection.

‘Real heart, sunshine and a smattering of Italian, the story is a holiday in book form’ People’s Friend

‘Totally hooked. Loving it. Pictorial, warm and evocative. Really entrancing and beautifully written’. Rula Lenska