#Review By Lou of Fatal Image By Ben Price @crimewritersci @HobeckBooks #CrimeFiction

Review of Fatal Image
By Ben Price

Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)

It’s time to get into your favourite reading place and allow your minds to wander to Mexton for the latest in the gripping DC Mel Cotton series. One photo can make or break a career…
This is book 5, but they can all be read as standalones. Today, I am allowing my blog to travel in the technology world for the Hobeck Books Blog Tour. The independent (indy) home of excellent crime authors.

Blurb

RUTHLESS AMBITION

Hugh Ventham MP, tipped for high office, can’t shake off the mental image of a sordid party he attended many years ago. Any one of the people there could derail his career if they talk about it. So he must eliminate them all.

A COMPROMISING PHOTO

But someone took a photo. And one of the attendees will stop at nothing to ensure it is never discovered. If they fail, they will face ruin.

A BAFFLED POLICE FORCE

As the murders mount up, Mexton CID struggle to see the connection between them. Are they random killings or is there a link? If so, who would want to kill such a disparate group of people? And who is the mysterious figure in the background with their own lethal agenda?

With police resources stretched to breaking point, DC Mel Cotton and her team face deadly challenges as they hunt for the killer. And when the mysterious figure strikes, will she get out alive?

Review

There’s a lot of crime on the page in Mexton for DC Mel Cotton and her team to clean up. The murders this time are piling up and someone has added a killing spree to their agenda.

The book goes in and out of politics and the mystery the police have to solve before time runs out. This particular book is action-packed and draws readers in very quickly into the criminal world.

Hugh Ventham who is running for high office in a general election isn’t exactly squeaky clean. He has secrets that aren’t public knowledge, until a photograph exactly what he’s been up to…
From there really good, well-written twists and turns come.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what ruthless ambition looks like, look no further than Fatal Image. This type of ambition becomes increasingly the dominant factor in this well-researched and well plotted book.

#Interview by Lou with #author Margaret Amatt about #Christmas #Book – Mix-up Under The Mistletoe @AmattAuthor @rararesources #BlogTour

Mix-up Under the Mistletoe

Interview by Louise Cannon with Margaret Amatt

Set your sights on a Christmas in the Highlands of Scotland in this Glenbriar series book, which can be also a standalone festive read. Today I am getting all festive with the Rachel’s Random Resources Blog Tour with Mix up Under The Mistletoe with an interview with the author, Margaret Amatt. Discover more about her writing, how she ensures she gets the balance right so her book can be standalone and part of a series, her characters and what she is doing for Christmas this year and more… Here, I have to say a huge thank you to her for taking the time to send in her answers so quickly and for her lovely comments, which you’ll see along the way. First check out the beautiful cover and the blurb and then we will crack on with the interview and how this book could be in your hands for a present or for your own pleasure.

She’s always on the outside looking in,
but his door might just be the one to open for her this Christmas.

‘Her name’s Tilly. Tilly Thorpe. She lives in London.’

To stop his family from speculating about his love life, travel company CEO Rafe Harrington casually drops Tilly Thorpe’s name as his girlfriend. After all, they’ll never meet – she’s just a name he saw on a rival company’s website.

But when Rafe arrives at his family’s home in Glenbriar for Christmas, he’s shocked to find ‘his girlfriend’ waiting for him.
He has some explaining to do and so does Tilly.

Why did Rafe’s family welcome her with open arms when she’s little more than a spy? Someone who’s trying hard to please her superiors, hoping it’ll bring some desperately desired happiness to her lonely existence.

Rafe isn’t a big fan of the festive season, but neither he nor Tilly can ignore their instant spark. With bad weather forecast, now is the ideal moment to discover some magic. Tilly’s never felt this at home anywhere, but none of it’s real, and that’s not why she’s here.

With time running short, can they seize this unexpected chance to fall in love not only with Christmas but also with each other?

Welcome Margaret Amatt to Bookmarks and Stages.
It’s a pleasure to introduce you to my blog readers.

Who or what inspired you to write and set books in Scotland?

I was born in and live in Scotland, so it felt like a natural place to write about. My first series was based on a real-life Scottish island that I love to visit, but I was always frustrated at the lack of books written about it, so I decided to write my own! This current series is a fictional place, based loosely around where I live. The locations are so beautiful that I really enjoy writing about them.

This is part of the Glenbriar series, that can also be read as a standalone. How do you ensure it works for readers who have followed it from the beginning and those who are diving in from a later book?

That’s a really great question and I don’t think anyone has ever asked me that before. It’s actually one of the trickiest things to do when writing a series like this to get the balance right. I can’t bring in all the characters from previous books to later stories as it would clutter up the main story, so what I try to do is think of every book first as a standalone story. That way I make sure it has a plot readers can follow with knowing what has gone before. Then I use characters from previous books as side characters. I choose the ones I think would work best and I try to show them in their ‘new’ life, so it’s almost like an epilogue to their story that readers of previous books will enjoy. I occasionally hint at them having had an interesting life or story, so that readers think, ‘Oh, I wonder if there’s a book about them!’ and hopefully go and check it out.

The crucial thing for me is just to have the recurring characters feature when necessary and if there’s a point to it, not just for the sake of squeezing them in! This is also how I introduce characters for future books. They often appear as a side character in one or more books before they get a story of their own. Some readers are very quick to pick up on this and will message me asking if a certain character will be getting a story of their own.

The blurb talks about it being partly about a character who is someone who’s trying to please her superiors but seems desperately lonely. It’s a common occurrence of people wanting to please those above them, but how do you feel this affects a person and those around them?

Another great question!

For this particular character, she’s had a tricky upbringing where she didn’t get the nurture and love she needed as a child. She started working for the business she’s in shortly after leaving school and it gave her life a structure and purpose which she hadn’t really had before. For this reason, more than anything, she became attached to it and felt like she should have loyalty to it as it was the first place she’d really made connections with people – even if they were not all good.

In answer to the question, it’s affected her whole life up until now as she’s trapped in a cycle of wanting to please her superiors in order to get the approval she craves, but not completely convinced what they’re doing is right.

It’s a very tricky situation and one she learns to deal with as the story goes on, though I can’t say too much about that as I don’t want to give spoilers!

How did you gel the feelings of the characters, especially Rafe not liking Christmas with this turning around a bit as all converged together, such as them meeting and the festive period upon them without it sounding too twee?

Such great questions! And you are so right in wondering, because often it’s wholly unrealistic for people to suddenly go from hating Christmas to loving it over the course of a few weeks. In Rafe’s case, he’s not a full-on Christmas hater, so he wasn’t too tricky to convert! He’s more of a cynic and he’s kind of let the joy of Christmas slip out of his life, seeing it more as a pointless distraction than something he absolutely hates. His conversion back to being a Christmas lover starts when he meets Tilly, because she’s from a completely different background. Rafe is from a loving family while Tilly grew up without parents in a disrupted childhood setup. When he starts to see Christmas with his family through her eyes, he remembers how magical and what fun it can be.

Hopefully I’ve made it convincing rather than twee!

Do you like Christmas and how do you plan to spend it?

I enjoy Christmas and try to keep it simple and stress free. To me, the joy is more in the build-up than the actual day. I love Christmas events like markets, the pantomime, Santa train, reindeer parades, and even just looking at the decorations in towns and other people’s houses. It’s also lovely to see family and friends, either and parties or just for little visits to hand over presents. My favourite thing is probably decorating the Christmas tree with my husband and son and seeing it twinkling in the corner once it’s done. 🎄

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/mixupmistletoeAuthor

About the Author

Margaret is a bestselling Scottish author and chocolate lover who has been writing stories for over twenty years (possibly more if you count her primary school efforts). Her early works will never see the light of day and are locked in dusty vaults on some old floppy disks. But after all those years of practise, Margaret released her first novel in 2021. It was the first of a ten-book series set on the gorgeous Scottish Isle of Mull. Margaret is also the author of the acclaimed Glenbriar Series ,based in the fictional Scottish town of Glenbriar. This is an ongoing series with more books coming in 2024 and 2025.The stories are unashamedly romantic, but with lots of drama and an eclectic mix of characters. Each book can be read as a standalone, but followers of the series will enjoy catching up with the characters.

#Review of There Are Rivers In The Sky By Elif Shafak @Elif_Safak @VikingBooksUK #ThereAreRiversInTheSky

There Are Rivers In The Sky
By Elif Shafak

There are Rivers in the Sky is evocative. Feel the emotions and the twists and turns of the river with its water sometimes meandering, sometimes quickening the pace… Be transported to different cultures and different places. Allow the rivers to take you there.
There Are Rivers In the Sky has featured on two tv bookish shows, Between the Covers and The Scottish Book Club. There would be plenty to discuss for book clubs. Here’s the blurb and then my review of this book, thanks to Viking Books UK, imprint to Penguin.

Blurb

THE TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives – all connected by a single drop of water.

*****

In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. When his brilliant memory earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, the world opens up far beyond the slums and across the seas.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised. The ceremony is cruelly interrupted, and soon she and her grandmother must journey across war-torn lands in the hope of reaching the sacred valley of their people.

In 2018 London, broken-hearted Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames to escape the wreckage of her marriage – until an unexpected connection to her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling from one of the greatest writers of our time that spans centuries, continents and cultures, entwined by rivers, rains, and waterdrops.

Review

Follow the river as you go deep into the populations it runs past, twisting and turning, entwining itself with the people’s lives of the past and the present. The book weaves together historical facts and storytelling like a tapestry of words that feed the mind.

The book is evocative, full of emotion on one man’s journey to discover the meaning of a tablet. There’s the question of antiquities that presents itself along with religion and different cultures. This is what the man sees and the river flows through. People’s lives aren’t all they appear and some are rather messy through relationships, wars, travel. The river is in contrast to human life. The river is the constant and giver of life in all that it runs past and its importance is apparent throughout this sweeping, scenic literary read.

#Review By Lou of #ChristmasRead – A Skye Full of Stars By Sue Moorcroft Book 2 of #SkyeSistersTrilogy @SueMoorcroft #ASkyeFullofStars #Christmas

A Skye Full of Stars
By Sue Moorcroft

Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)

A welcome return to the Isle of Skye, which is now getting ready for Christmas, with residents and unexpected visitors bringing festive warmth, but will all be ready on time?
I enjoy Sue Moorcroft’s books, so I jumped at the chance to review A Skye Full of Stars.

Blurb

Return to the snow-covered mountains of the Isle of Skye this winter in book two of The Skye Sisters Trilogy – where new loves and unknown family are just waiting to be found…

Ezzie Wynter can’t wait for Christmas on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Her island home sparkles at this time of year thanks to the snow-capped mountains and frosty winter walks, topped off with family gatherings with those she loves the most.

But her peaceful Christmas idyll is upended when she hears that the Larson family – the owners of Rothach Hall – are flying in from Sweden for the festivities. As Manager of their grand Scottish manor house, Ezzie suddenly has decorations to hang, food to source and itineraries to organise.

Life only becomes more difficult when Mats Larson turns up. The owners’ handsome, self-assured son is used to doing things his own way – and he is only another headache to add to her overflowing list.

Yet when unexpected visitors arrive looking for Ezzie, nothing else matters as she is left questioning everything she ever knew about herself. But amidst the Christmas chaos, she might also discover that, when all is lost, it’s sometimes those we least expect who come to our aid…

A beautiful, escapist festive tale to curl up with by the fire this Christmas. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Karen Swan.

Review

In this second of the trilogy, readers are reunited with the Wynter sisters, Thea, Ezzie and Valentina.
As the snow falls onto the mountains and hills, enhancing the scenery, giving it a picturesque festive feel, readers are treated into entering the manor house, Rothach Hall. Ezzie is the manager here and this is where the book’s focus is. It highlights the hard work that goes into creating a festive feel. The itinerary dwarf’s the average house hold by a “country mile”. There’s added pressure as the Larson family, who own this grand manor are flying in. She’s a lot to contend with because they’re highly demanding and it becomes a bit emotional.

Many people attend events and/or look round big country houses around Christmas time. This shows some renewed respect for the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make what people see look so fabulous.

There’s a heart-warming feeling that’s left when all looks impossible to achieve and yet in a turn of events, someone steps up to try to help.

A Skye Full of Stars is a perfect festive book to cosy up with a hot chocolate or mulled wine and festive nibbles in an evening.

#Review By Lou of The Corrs Talk On Corners Tour with Natalie Imbruglia as support #TalkOnCorners Tour 2024/2025 @CorrsOfficial @natimbruglia #Music

The Corrs with support of Natalie Imbruglia
Talk On Corners Tour 2024/2025

Review written and by Louise Cannon (Lou)

Remember the 1990’s? The Corrs hit the stage and were huge amongst teenagers and adults alike. I was in my teens when I first heard of this family from Ireland and was captivated by them. They were a refreshing change from the girl and boy bands that were around and they pierced through this and made their mark very well. Natalie Imbruglia was also on the scene making her mark back then too and she is back with a new album, which I’ve listened to since seeing this amazing gig.
As soon as I saw this was going ahead, I just had to treat myself to a ticket.

THE CORRS and NATALIE IMBRUGLIA are BACK!!!

First up was Natalie Imbruglia. She sang song after song for just over 30 mins and got the packed full OVO Hydro arena in the mood for music. Her new album Firebird is OUT NOW! She treated people to some songs of this, including the title name, Firebird. I especially liked the positivity and catchy tune of Build It Better. Everyone was of course waiting for Torn, which came with gusto!
Turns out she is a big Corrs fan and joined the audience to watch them perform throughout the night.

The Corrs

The Corrs certainly know how to build excitement, with a great lighting arrangement as the sound of violin and drums filled the air as they took to the stage to start their set of over 20 songs. They just kept coming and they had the audience in the palm of their hands, me included.
Talk on Corners was their biggest album and everyone remembered in the sell-out arena. The energy was electric as they kicked their set off with Only When I Sleep. Poor Sharon wasn’t able to perform on the night I was there, but their replacement was fabulous. It was a really lovely touch when Andrea announced this and plunged into the heartfelt Forgiven, Not Forgotten. There were other crowd pleasers such as Give Me A Reason, Summer Sunshine, So Young, Radio, Runaway, Breathless. There were some lesser known songs such as Ellis Island, White Light and their first song, Closer.
There were some energetic traditional Irish instrumentals added into the mix from the violin, drums, piano and penny whistle. The talent is amazing! They still all play their own instruments as well as sing in their highly uplifting, heart-warming gigs, which they have bits where they invite the audience to sing along with them.

The Corrs seem timeless and haven’t really changed at all, which was very pleasing. If this is the start of something, I would absolutely see them again.
It was a fantastic night and a week on, I still have the songs going round in my head. Even after the encore they give, they still leave you wanting more…

The Talk On Corners tour is worldwide and continues into 2025, keep an eye here: https://www.thecorrsofficial.com/

Talk On Corners and Special Editions can be purchased here: HMV

Firebird can be purchased here: HMV

Music can also be found on Spotify and Amazon Music for streaming.

*Please note that I am not affiliated with any site.

#Review By Lou of The Older I Get – How I Repowered My Life by Fern Britton @Fern_Britton @EburyPublishing @penguinrandom #Memoir #SelfHelp #TheOlderIGet #Repowering

The Older I Get
How I Repowered My Life
By Fern Britton

Review written by Louise Cannon (Lou)

We all age, for most people it’s a fact of life. Fern Britton, known for presenting Ready Steady Cook, This Morning, reboot of Watercolour Challenge, My Cornwall, writing novels and more… has lived through a lot of life’s ups and downs and survived. Now, she’s written a non-fiction book that’s not quite a traditional self-help book, more a gentle, wise, guide to the changing phase in life, with lived experiences that has a very human, relatable touch. She is in a stage of repowering her life and shows that anyone can do this in their lives too.

Blurb

Fern had recently entered her 60s when a series of life-altering events threw her into the eye of the storm. Both her parents passed away, her 20-year marriage ended, and the pandemic was looming.

Faced with an uncertain future, Fern decided that if she wanted to start over, now was the time. She moved to Cornwall, where she reconnected with her true self and instead of fearing getting older, she chose to create a glorious new life full of friendship, fun and adventure.

Fern explores the joy and challenges of aging with warmth and humour. She reflects back on all she has learnt, from enduring tough times to embracing new opportunities and learning how to be kinder to herself. This wasn’t a moment of empowerment, for that would suggest she never had any power to begin with. As women, we often put our needs aside, and she feels strongly that it’s time for us to repower and rediscover our happiness.

In The Older I Get, join Fern as she candidly shares her experiences of grief and loss, rebuilding confidence and exploring new passions, as well as the importance of finding friends you can put the world to rights with over a couple of Cosmos.

Review

We all just keep getting older and life changes for everyone, whether you’ve had children or not. Stuff happens! As Fern Britton says, in an aptly named chapter, When the Sh*t Hits the Fan”. She’s been through bereavement, divorce, kids flying the nest, moving house, forging a different part of life. It seems to me like she’s been there and lived it all. We all go through a lot, as she acknowledges, but she shows not everything has to be doom and gloom. She has chosen to repower her life, embrace new and old friendships and has a new place to live.

I like that term, repower. I’ve never heard of it before. Just that word is inspiring, re-energising. I’ve a lot of “get up and go”, but this gives me even more energy in my heart and soul to keep going, no matter what. Keep trying things out, doing things, meeting people, some I know lots about, some I don’t know so well. That word, repower spurs me onwards, some how, even though I am tired as I write this review, after a long, challenging week.

This book harnesses so much honesty and realistic positivity about growing older. Fern Britton doesn’t hide behind a facade, and I love it! What Fern Britton and this book embodies is how she is truly living life and is blooming all over again with her repowering of her positive energies. She explains clearly, in down to earth terms what this actually means, and the perks getting older brings.

The book feels like Fern Britton has taken your hand and said that one way or another, through all the ups and downs of life, ultimately, you’ll be okay.
She bravely writes about mistakes, imposter syndrome and confidence. What she writes is relatable and human. She doesn’t hide behind a facade.
She talks about taking care of yourself (I’ll admit to being a must get better at that part in life). Here she uses another new term, “selfist”, which is an interesting concept and one I hadn’t heard of before. Maybe it’ll make people feel a bit better when they’re taking time out for themselves. I may try thinking about it like that. I like bits about lists. I’ve had lists since I was a teen of places to visit and people I’d like to meet or meet again, some way or another. I’m not in for manifesting, but some of the more seemingly impossible things have happened, like the people I’ve met and now I’m hoping that will somehow happen again.
There are sections about making new friends and living in new places and discovering something different about yourself and your surroundings and the people you meet.

It’s an easy book to read, digest and follow in that it isn’t full of jargon. It feels like it comes from the heart with everything flowing out in a way that makes sense.
Helpfully, there are bullet points at the end of chapters that summarise what has just been read.

I am possibly not the exact target audience for this book, but in a way, being in my 40’s and also been through a lot, perhaps I am. It’s that next stage in life that isn’t too far into the distant future. There are many concepts that can be used for all of life, whether you’re a person at a similar age and stage of life as Fern’s or not. I felt the book is relatable to anyone, some parts naturally more so than others, but it’s nonetheless fascinating, practical and positive.

If you’re contemplating in reading any book in this genre, this is a brilliant one to get into. I can see that word “Repowering” becoming a bit of a trend. It has energy and heart and spirit lifting properties. As we look closer to a new year, this may be the book which helps to gradually change things for the better.