#Review by Lou of The Mistake By MJ Arlidge and Lisa Hall @MJArlidge @lisahallauthor @CompulsiveReaders #BlogTour @TracyFenton

The Mistake
By MJ Arlidge

Review written by Louise Cannon

The Mistake is a chilling, tensely written psychological domestic thriller. The people who have been writing with M.J. Arlidge of late has been working very well for great plots that have been well-written with interesting characters lives you can absorb into. The Mistake is another example how 2 writers can work really well to create something brilliant to read.
Today I am on the Compulsive Readers blog tour. See the blurb and full review below…

Blurb

In this family, everyone is telling lies.

Pete never wanted another child. Before baby Erin was born, they were happy. If Natalie hadn’t got pregnant, he would never have done what he did.

Natalie knows things have been difficult since the surprise arrival of Erin. Life with Pete and their two other children – Emily and Zadie – has been balancing on a knife-edge.

Now their home is full of guests at a party Natalie didn’t want to throw – and she’s about to reach breaking point.

But so is her family.

Because everyone has a secret that they’ve been hiding and when Erin suddenly disappears everyone becomes a suspect.

Surely no one here would want to harm their baby? But after the events of the party there are plenty of people who would want to hurt Natalie.

Including her husband…

Review

In some ways it’s quite a chilling read, but in others, it would take a cold-hearted person not to empathise. Pete and Natalie have children. Things seemed not exactly terrible before. This next baby wasn’t planned and nor does it go to any sort of “script” Natalie has known before. This is the point everything changes.
It deals with the likes of post-natal depression and a stressed out family where no one is coping very well. It’s easy to look in from the outside to know what to do, but the adults in this family are spiralling, making it harder to see how to get help. It just shows that even when you have had babies before, not all pregnancy and post-pregnancy is the same.
What comes next turns The Mistake into a tense, chilling psychological domestic thriller. Erin goes missing, just disappears. There’s plenty of fingers of suspicion flying around and Pete is quite useless in this whole situation. The entire family are deeply affected and have been ever since the mistake of yet another pregnancy.

The Mistake is tense in how it is plotted and certainly makes you think about unplanned pregnancies as well as how any pregnancy can be not as straight-forward as you’d hope and how it affects the family in detrimental ways.

The Mistake is a tightly written plotted book that is one I recommend.

#BloodyScotland Reveals Early Release Tickets – Ian Rankin @Beathigh @KathyReichs to Headline @BloodyScotland

BLOODY SCOTLAND REVEALS THE PROLOGUE

American superstar of crime fiction Kathy Reichs will be the first of a series of Early Releases as Bloody Scotland teases its headline acts for 2025.

The author of the Temperance Brennan novels will be making her first visit to the Stirling festival since 2013. She is a multi-million international bestseller, and the Brennan novels were the inspiration for the TV series Bones.

Tickets for Kathy’s event – in which she will be in conversation with 2025 guest programmer Sir Ian Rankin – will go on sale at noon on Monday 26 May.

A string of further Early Releases – all major names in the crime fiction world – will soon follow so keep your eye on our social media channels.

See www.bloodyscotland.com to spot other early highlights as they drop or follow Bloody Scotland on Facebook, Instagram, X or Blue Sky

The Bloody Scotland 2025 programme – featuring many other HUGE names in the world of crime fiction – will be launched at noon at The Golden Lion in Stirling on Thursday 12 June followed by an event at 1pm with Canadian crime writing superstar, Linwood Barclay. www.bloodyscotland.com

#EdFringe News of Use Your Words – #Comedy about #Motherhood / #Parenting is #WhatsOnEdinburgh this #Summer #UseYourWords @TheSpaceUK #Edinburgh

Use Your Words! a heartfelt comedy about the chaos of new motherhood — told through physical comedy, music, and sheer determination — comes to Edinburgh Fringe 2025!

Photo Credit: Find the Light Photography

Think Charlie Chaplin except he’s a sleep-deprived new mom unable to find a single pair of jeans that fit.

Direct from New York City, Use Your Words! is a one-woman play about a new mother, Kate, struggling with the responsibility of caring for a tiny human. The new comedy, comprised of five scenes, spans Kate’s first glorious days with her newborn, her ensuing sleep-deprivation, her toddler’s shenanigans, and the struggles to consume enough sugar and coffee to survive the challenges of parenthood. The show is rooted in comic physicality with many props mimed—most importantly, the baby. Onstage throughout is a musician, a trumpet player/percussionist, who with his music will exacerbate Kate’s struggles, emphasize her emotional state, or celebrate her successes. There are moments of direct interaction with the audience—sometimes a new parent needs backup!

This play, written by Karen Eleanor Wight, was inspired by her two children, late mother, and 18 years of performing as 1/2 of the improvisational duo Imp. This ground-breaking duo improvised wordless scenes at festivals nationally and internationally with an onstage musician creating silly and inspiring tunes on the spot. This unique play’s script was developed through improv in rehearsals over the course of several years, and then finessed at new works festivals. After a successful run in NYC in 2024 funded by a New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant, the same artistic team is thrilled to bring the production to Edinburgh this year.

Use Your Words! features Karen Eleanor Wight as Kate and Rodney Umble on trumpet/percussion. Co-directed by Zinc Tong and Karen Eleanor Wight, Sound Design by CJ Whitaker and Ella Danyluk, Lighting design by Jesse Baxter, Production Stage Management by Jenna Arkontaky, and play development by Melissa Attebery.

“Use Your Words! is refreshing and funny as physical storytelling and a personal but universal account of the early phase of motherhood. This style and topic are seriously under-explored– this show is a gift.” ~Ian Morgan, Assoc Artistic Director, The New Group, NYC

“Use Your Words! was truly one of the best things I’ve seen so far this fall. Karen Eleanor Wight’s artistry, skill level, and capacity to hold a room’s attention is impressive.” ~Ria T. DiLullo, Artistic Director of Skeleton Rep, NYC

“Wight’s attention to kinesthetic detail in Use Your Words! brings this hilarious and meaningful journey of motherhood to life. Each of her movements are simultaneously incredibly clear and comedically timed.” ~Joseph Heitman, Artistic Director, One Day Dance, NYC

Venue: theSpace @ Niddry Street

Dates: 18- 23 August 2025

Time: 12:25 (65 minutes)

Ticket prices: £11.00 (£8.00)

Fringe Box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com

Suitable for all ages

#Review by Lou of A Secret Escape by Sarah Morgan Happy Publication Day @sarahmorganwrites @HQstories #summerread #Summer

A Secret Escape
By Sarah Morgan

review written by Louise Cannon

Summery with friendships and thought-provoking aspects with warm escapism is within the newest book by Sarah Morgan. Many people have at least one friend from childhood, but you just never know what’s around the corner… Check out more in the blurb and my review below, thanks to HQ.

Blurb

A lifelong friendship

Childhood friends Milly and Nicole had always been more like sisters so Milly never understood why Nicole dropped out of contact all those months ago. Milly buried that hurt and moved on with her life.

A call for help

Now, suddenly, Nicole is begging for Milly’s help. She needs somewhere private to hide, and the only safe place she can think of is Milly’s holiday home business in the Lake District. Milly knows she should tell Nicole no, but she can’t ignore the desperation in her old friend’s voice so, despite her misgivings, she agrees to let Nicole stay.

A summer to reconnect

Over a summer of tentative conversations, the two women begin to reconnect, and there’s a potential new romance for Milly too. But then the biggest bombshell of all lands and their delicate friendship is put to the test once more …

Can the friends come together in this time of need, or will this summer break their bond forever?

Review

Friendships, however long you’ve known someone can have a certain amount of fragility and this is explored beautifully in this book. There’s a fascinating note from the author at the before the story really begins. It not only sets the scene, it’s poignant and truly thought-provoking in aspects that aren’t often explored in such a way this book does.

Milly and Nicole were friends since childhood and then suddenly this was dismantled quite disarmingly by Nicole.
Milly’s life sounds quite tough at times with other emotional stresses on-top of this, that makes her a bit self-reflective. She also became a mother, with a business to run in the Lakes.
Nicole’s life moved in a very different direction to follow her desires to act.

You get to learn more about what the friendship was like, what it became as you read further along. You can tangibly feel the hurt that is later caused and the desperation of need of help when their lives connect again. Some relationships with the sub-characters of multi-generations can be intense and others are heart-warming and well-meaning.

Friendships really come under the microscope and with well-written characters and plotting, A Secret Escape truly is an intently fascinating book to read.

There are twists and turns as reconnections are made, but you don’t always quite know what direction lives will go in the end. Secrets are revealed and truths come to the surface as the past and present is confronted, all in a lovely setting.

Can new beginnings happen in a positive way? What will become of the tentative re-budding of a friendship?

A Secret Escape truly is a hbeart-warming summer read you can escape into the lives of others as the sun beats down and whisks away the cares of the day.

At the back of the book is a small bit of Sarah Morgan’s next book, All Together for Christmas. We meet Becky at an airport that sounds like it’s in the sort of chaos we see in the news, or have experienced with delays, cancellations, noise. Just where will she end up? Newcastle, Edinburgh or somewhere else? There is also an all important family announcement to be made… It sounds a good read with the complexities of travelling at Christmas and relationships. It publishes October 2025.

#Review of Intersections By Karen Uhlmann #KarenUhlmann @booksforwardpr

Intersections
By Karen Uhlmann

Review written by Louise Cannon

Intersections! Lines cross in life, perhaps they were meant to and perhaps not in this emotionally raw rollercoaster of a very different style of thriller from debut novelist and acclaimed Chicago reporter Karen Uhlmann.
Thanks to Books Forward for a copy to review.

Blurb

Style-guru Charlotte Oakes sells beautiful lifestyles, but her mentally ill daughter is an addict, her long marriage is dead, and she is pregnant with her ex-lover’s baby. Stunned after witnessing a hit-and-run in Chicago that leaves a child dead, Charlotte thinks she sees her Prius fleeing the scene. Her troubled daughter, Libby, is the only one who could have been driving.

His partner and best friend killed in a drug bust, police officer Ed Kelly learns that forensics has found that the fatal bullet came from Ed’s gun. Under internal investigation, Ed copes by filming cars at the site of the recent hit-and-run, hoping to catch the child’s killer. There, he notices Charlotte’s pilgrimages to the makeshift memorial, and over the weeks, the two become unlikely friends sharing intimate stories. But Charlotte won’t trust him with her most vulnerable secret of all: her suspicions about her daughter’s involvement in the accident.

When Ed finally learns the truth, he struggles with his beliefs and duties. If he keeps quiet, he has breached his commitment to the law. But if he does the right thing as an officer, he may send Libby to jail – and lose Charlotte.

Review

but all is colliding in the professional and personal world of style guru, Charlotte Oakes. Professionally, she beams in the glow of perfection, behind closed doors is a whole other story. Her daughter has mental health issues and a whole lot besides.

Ed Kelly is a police officer whose bullet happened to have killed his partner, but was it him who had done it?

There’s a hit and run and Charlotte isn’t so trusting of her daughter not to have been the one in the car.

Between Ed and Charlotte a friendship strikes up, but can there be more to it and what secrets will come out into the open?

Karen Uhlmann has delved deep into the grey intersections of lives and makes the readers question both the moral ground and how far you might go to protect people, especially a loved one. Intersectional lines criss-cross and are blurred, but will clarity come?

There’s a real sense of emotions throughout the book from the complex characters that transfers to the reader as you wonder how you’d deal with such a big situation.

Intersections has an engaging plot that weaves a huge web of life, tragedy, romance and human flaws together.

All in all, it’s an intriguing read and one that would be good for book clubs.

About the Author

Debut author and acclaimed Chicago reporter Karen Uhlmann would watch a police officer recording traffic everyday at an intersection in her neighborhood. Four-to-five times a week, he would sit there hoping to catch the suspect of a fatal hit-and-run that killed a young child. Karen wondered what he might be going through. She explores this and more in her compelling drama, Intersections (May 6, 2025, She Writes Press), the story of a fatal hit-and-run in a quiet Chicago neighborhood, the police officer and suburban mother who both witness the tragedy, and the bond they form over their shared grief–with one big secret: the mother believes the killer is her daughter.

Review by Lou of By Your Side By Ruth Jones #RuthJones @TransworldBooks #RosieAinsworth @PenguinRandom

By Your Side
By Ruth Jones

Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)

I am absolutely delighted to be able to review By Your Side by Ruth Jones, having enjoyed her previous books and tv work, thanks to Rosie at Transworld, Penguin Random House. The writing and creativity of Ruth Jones is divine! Readers are in for a treat of a rich, heart-warming, witty, emotional page-turning read with a rather unusual reason attached to travel to a remote Scottish island…
Check out the blurb and review below…

Blurb

DON’T MISS THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE BAFTA-WINNING CO-WRITER OF GAVIN & STACEY.

‘Ruth Jones writes with such warmth you can’t help but fall in love with the characters she creates.’ JAMES CORDEN

The joyful and life-affirming new novel from the co-creator of Gavin and Stacey and the Richard and Judy Book Club author of Love Untold.

Linda and Levi will never meet. But they’re going to change each other’s lives.

In her role at the council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit, Linda Standish investigates the lives of those who’ve died alone and tracks down any living relatives. She’s been a friend to the friendless for the past thirty-three years. And now she’s looking forward to an early retirement.

But before she hangs up her lanyard, Linda takes on one last case – that of Levi Norman – a Welshman who made his home on a remote Scottish island for the past five years.

What brought Levi here? And who did he leave behind? Obliged to travel (by hearse) with her arch nemesis Fergus Murray, and helped (and hindered) by local residents, Linda searches for clues to a life now lost. And in the process unexpectedly makes new friends, and discovers things about herself she never knew.

Bursting with all the heart and humour that has made Ruth’s name as a screenwriter and author, By Your Side is about finding joy in the most unlikely connections, and the importance of holding onto friendship, love and community – especially when life gets messy.

Review

The Unclaimed Heirs Unit is a fascinating place. Imagine working there trying to piece together people’s belongings and unite them with their new owners. Linda Standish did that, and now, on the cusp of retirement, she takes on one final case. One which takes her to a Scottish island.

By Your Side draws you in with a little humour and a fantastic beginning and that’s it, the hook that doesn’t let go until the end, and even then, not completely, is there, compelling you to read on until the end.

Living in Scotland, myself and travelled around the country a bit, I can say she’s certainly done her research or used experiences well. I am impressed she has chosen, to mention Crainlarich, Perth and more… It’ll feel like a real adventure and road-trip for readers, especially those who have perhaps not heard of these places before. It’s also nice to see them get a mention with that feeling of familiarity for those who have heard of them or, like me, travelled to or through them.

By Your Side is exceedingly heart-warmingly emotional and highlights what is quite an unusual job, showing much care and attention so the deceased are not alone.

Ruth Jones brings together community, travel and discovery together that’s so absorbing that you forget the time as you’re drawn deeply into the plot and characters.

Linda is a fabulous written character who you really get to know, from her love of chocolate, her kindness and pet hates, bringing relatability and a realness.

Ruth Jones writes in quite an evocative way that makes you care about why Levi was on such a remote island and makes you want to know more about whether an heir will be found. The people you meet along the way are either enlightening, enriching or intriguing, humorous or a whole mixture.

Cleverly written, By Your Side has the contrast of the actual journey taken to the island with that of the life journey Linda Standish finds herself on. In turn it sends readers on quite the journey themselves throughout what quickly becomes a page-turner of a read.

By Your Side by Ruth Jones is a book I highly recommend isn’t just by your side, but in your hand as you settle down with a cuppa and allow the warmth and humour to ooze out of the pages into your very being.
By Your Side is a book you could pick up and read time and time again.

Buy Links

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*Please note I am not affiliated to any of the companies or any person mentioned.