#Review of The Nancys And The Case of the Missing Necklace by R.W.R. McDonald @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #TheNancys

The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace
By R.W.R McDonald

Review by Louise Cannon

Today I am on the Random T. Tour and Orenda Books blog tour with a review of The Nancys with a review. It’s a book to treat the young adult/teen in your life, perhaps for Christmas.

Nancy Drew, I loved reading about her mysteries when I was a teen. It’s one of the series that got me into liking crime fiction, that’s carried on into adulthood. This sort of brings it back to life, in a sense, but respectfully without re-writing them. This series is with a whole new character who discovers Nancy Drew’s mysteries. It’s a delightful way to introduce one character from the past that can still be read to another in present times. The representation of this merge feels significant and shows teens that they too can read books that perhaps their parents read and enjoy them as well as follow a new character all at once.
This time with 11 year old Tippy Chan who lives in a quiet part of New Zealand. She’s discovered her uncle’s old Nancy Drew books and can’t get enough of them. She’s so taken by her that she wants to be just like her newly discovered idol. The moment arrives when she discovers her teacher, dead beside Riverstone’s only traffic light. This sparks off the detective club, she affectionately calls The Nancys. Her mum isn’t exactly happy about it and between that and a wrongful arrest, all seems as thought lots is conspiring against its formation.

Tippy herself has a lot of imagination and lots of motivation about her, a bit like Nancy Drew. Eleven year olds, perhaps not to form a crime solving group, could find inspiring, that they can do more than just talk about something, but actually follow through with friends. Tippy may be the character to draw out something positive.

The book is charming, humorous and mysterious. Tippy herself is honest, bright, super observant and has a wit about her. She’s also dealing with grief as she’s lost her dad. This is handled sensitively and also, rather heart-warmingly, shows how escaping into books and also drawing some inspiration from them can bring about a bit of healing as well as remembering that bringing friends together can be positive too. It’s quite a meaningful book where its themes are concerned.

The mystery itself is one that teens can delve into and have fun trying to solve alongside Tippy and her crew of Nancys.

Readers also see Uncle Pike. He’s flamboyant and quite quirky. He’s also a hairdresser to the stars. He brings a different side to Tippy’s family, which is both fun and interesting. There’s also the rather cynical Melanie who is a neighbour. It brings Tippy’s outer world together and some fascinating conversations as well as those with The Nancys.

#Review by Lou of The Christmas Retreat by Trisha Ashley @trishaashley @RandomTTours #Christmas #TheChristmasRetreat

The Christmas Retreat
By Trisha Ashley

Christmas is coming and the books are hotting up! The Christmas Countdown is On! It’s time to retreat from the cold weather and dark nights and get cosy with Trisha Ashley’s new Christmas book.
Check out my review and the blurb below, thanks to Random T. Tours and Bantam for the book in-exchange of an honest review.

Blurb

Ginny Spain usually loves Christmas: wrapping up warm by a cosy fire, putting twinkling lights on the tree… But after breaking up with her ex, her festive spirit has deserted her. This year, she plans to hide away and spend the holiday alone.

Her formidable mother, Evie, has other ideas. Dragging Ginny out of isolation, Evie takes her to an artist and writers retreat at Triskelion, a remote old house in the tiny coastal village of Little Star, determined to uncover the secrets of an ancestor who once lived there.

Triskelion is now home to rugged Rhys Tarn and his ten-year-old daughter – and Ginny is in for a shock when she discovers Rhys and her share an unexpected connection.

Review

For those who have broken up with someone not before Christmas and for good reason, this one may be relatable. Ginny Spain just isn’t feeling the sparkle of Christmas like she normally does and has a desire to hide away. Instantly there’s a desire to feel compassion for her.
Evie, her determined mother who you wouldn’t say no to, is in a sense her saviour and gets her to go to a writers and artists retreat. It’s still isolated, but Ginny isn’t in complete isolation as she imagined her holiday to be. She’s plunged into a community of people who just may become new friends.

There’s much to uncover, including some histories and secrets which makes the book compelling in a beautiful setting.

Triskelion is a heart-warming place with various traditions to get involved with that are beautifully written that brings the spark of Christmas energy.

The Christmas Retreat is a lovely book that makes being invested in the characters effortless and brings a bit of Christmas sparkle alongside their complex lives.

#Review by Lou of The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks #TheWinterJob #ScandiNoir #Christmas #ChristmasRead

The Winter Job
By Antti Tuomainen

Review by Louise Cannon

Winter is upon us and the temperature is dropping, at least where I am, it’s a bit chilly, bordering on a bitterness in the air. There can be dark humour in these darker nights and it comes in the form of The Winter Job. A great Road Trip and Crime Christmas Read.

Antti Tuomainen is an interesting Scandi-Noir author and brings surprising twists and turns. If you know Scandi-Noir, it’s often quite dark in the themes and what happens. Antti Tuomainen cleverly turns some of this on its head. I first read The Rabbit Factor trilogy and saw this and he has written others that are stand-alone books, but this is the author who makes me want to read this genre. So, what did I think of this latest book that was a surprise gift left at Bloody Scotland Festival for me by Orenda Books? Find out below…

Review

There’s a Christmas promise to fulfil, a fabulous road trip which brings some unexpected people into the journey along the way, some with friendship, others with danger and there is a death.

There’s an important Christmas mission to avoid disappointment on Christmas Day. Ilmari has a piano to pick up for his daughter. There’s an important agreement to be made and he needs it for his daughter in 6 days time. It shouldn’t be too hard, but there is some poor driving and the transportation of something unexpected that defies the anything like any type of normal things that get moved. There are also suspicious businessmen along the way.

The Winter Job is not your usual Scandi-Noir nor your usual Christmas book. It’s quirky, it’s full of humour combined with dangerous twists. The big question is, will the piano get to where it needs to be in time?

For fun this Christmas with a crime theme, The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen is a great treat for readers either for yourself or a present for someone.

#Review by Lou of The Token by Sharon Bolton @AuthorSJBolton #CompulsiveReaders #BlogTour #PsychologicalThriller

The Token
By Sharon Bolton

Review by Louise Cannon

Today I am on the blog tour for Compulsive Readers about the newest book by Sharon Bolton called The Token. Here is the blurb and then go onto my review.

Seven beneficiaries. Seven people who stood to gain a huge amount of money, for a reason none of them yet understood.

Seven strangers receive a mysterious note informing them of their impending inheritance of billionaire Logan Quick’s fortune. They each receive a token and soon embark on a doomed cruise where they will have to conquer their own demons, and each other, for a chance at the money.

But someone on this boat has something to hide.

Can the survivors work out the truth… or are they destined to drown?

Review

The prologue instantly has a dramatic pull and sets the scene. The Token starts off with a yacht, a storm and a beautiful backdrop of the Scilly Isles. It’s a fascinating look into human nature as readers learn more about the people and their attitudes to money and what their occupations are and their different backgrounds.

There are 7 letters with a token that get sent to people and a murder, which brings a page-turning psychological thriller as dangers and what people do collide.

It’s a fast-paced thriller that is fascinatingly observed how people relate to each other, what their motives are and how they cope or otherwise when up against it in the circumstances they find themselves in.

#Theatre News: A NEW ENGINE FOR INVESTMENT IN UK-WIDE PLAYWRITING: Royal Court Theatre and Jerwood Foundation @royalcourt #Theatre #PlayWriting #Playwrites #Stage

A NEW ENGINE FOR INVESTMENT IN UK-WIDE PLAYWRITING:

ROYAL COURT THEATRE AND JERWOOD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE NATIONAL COMMISSIONING SCHEME

The Royal Court Theatre and Jerwood Foundation today announce the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme.
Designed to support UK-wide investment and risk in ambitious new playwriting, the Scheme will provide six grants of up to £6,000 each, awarded jointly between a producer and playwright, to underwrite first payments for new play commissions.
The first round of applications will open from 2 December 2025 to 23 January 2026, and the Scheme will then run annually, with full information and guidance now available online.
The Scheme is further supported by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, ensuring fair terms for commissioned writers.

The Royal Court, in partnership with Jerwood Foundation, today announces the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme. The first of its kind, the Scheme will make six annual awards of £6,000 each from 2026, jointly supporting playwrights and producers to initiate original, ambitious new play commissions for stages across the country – investing in a national pipeline of ambitious and risk-taking new theatre.

Launching for the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary, the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme marks a new era for the two organisations’ long-standing partnership, and a major expansion in the Court’s approach to playwright support – looking beyond its own stages to share resources nationwide. Separate from the Royal Court’s own productions, the supported commissions will be selected from open-access applications, open for joint submissions between writers and producing theatres or companies across the UK.

Royal Court Executive Director Will Young said: “The Royal Court is the national force for playwriting everywhere: not only on our own stages in London, but committed to the future of new theatre across the country. Working with the brilliant Jerwood Foundation, this game-changing scheme offers up-front support to playwrights, producers and theatres UK-wide, at a time when artistic budgets have never been more stretched – backing investment in bold, original plays that promise audiences the genuine thrill of the new.”

The Scheme is supported by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) to ensure fair terms on commissioning agreements. WGGB’s own one-off 2022 ‘New Play Commissioning Scheme’, with UK Theatre and ITC, led to 18 commissions and inspired this new annual programme, supporting writers across the country.

Grants from the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme will cover the non-recoupable first payments for six new play commissions per year, on at least WGGB minimum rates. By awarding funds at this point, the Scheme will unlock the first step in commissioning and underwrite financial risk, while encouraging theatres and producers to commit future investment towards completing commissions and undertaking full production.

Lara Wardle, Executive Director and Trustee Jerwood Foundation said: “Awarding this grant reaffirms Jerwood Foundation’s long-standing support of the Royal Court Theatre and enables the launch of the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme, a crucial national scheme, which will unlock a route to the stage for new plays and support emerging creative voices. Jerwood is also continuing its support of Jerwood New Playwrights, now in its fourth decade, through which the Royal Court Theatre identifies and nurtures a new playwright of outstanding talent each year and I am delighted that the 82nd Jerwood New Playwright has been announced as 19 year-old Leo Simpe-Asante, which underlines Jerwood’s ongoing commitment to support excellence and emerging talent in the arts.”

The first round of applications will open from Tuesday 2 December 2025 to Friday 23 January 2026 only. Proposals must be made jointly between a playwright and a venue or company – whether subsidised, independent, or commercial – and should demonstrate clear artistic ambition and risk as well as a viable route to future production.

Full application guidance is now available via the Royal Court website. Applicants can also book for a free, open-access webinar on Thursday 4 December.

For more information, visit www.royalcourttheatre.com.

#Review of The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @panmacmillan #TheKillingStones #CrimeFiction

The Killing Stones
By Ann Cleeves

Review by Louise Cannon

The Killing Stones has Detective Jimmy Perez in Orkney. He may have swapped Shetland for Orkney, but murders are still occurring giving him plenty of work ahead and mysteries to be solved. Check out the blurb and my review below…

Neolithic stones are often intriguing with engravings, markings and their formations. What makes this one so different is that it forms part of a murder case for Detective Jimmy Perez on the northerly island of Orkney, where he resides with his partner Willow and their young son.

The case becomes personal as he needs to delve into Andrew Stout, his childhood friend’s life as he’s found dead. Along the way, he also needs to untangle various webs of island tales to distinguish between factual truth and myth and legend.

The book is immersive in how it takes you into the lives of those who live on Orkney, whilst also showcasing the isolating, wild landscape, shaped by its challenging stormy weather. It’s a slow-burn to begin with, but sets the scene beautifully and allows it time to breath and readers to take both it and new characters who join the more familiar Detective Perez in. It’s interesting seeing someone move to a new place and how that works out for them, or in this instant, challenges them.

The mystery itself is intriguing with an excellently executed plot twist.

Whether you’ve read books by Ann Cleeves before or not, this is an excellent plotted book.