Today’s The Day #BloodyScotland Begins in Stirling, Scotland @BloodyScotland @Brownlee_Donald #Scotland #UK #CrimeFestival #CrimeLovers

Bloody Scotland Begins

Written By Louise Cannon (Lou)

With a myriad of crime theme events, Bloody Scotland has arrived in Stirling, Scotland. I’m never bored when it’s festival time. There’s always something to do and old friends and new ones to meet. It’s an amazing time!

Bloody Scotland runs from Friday 13th – Sunday 15th September.

Meet your favourite authors, hang out at the Bloody Scotland bar at the Golden Lion Hotel, meet the reviewers, meet other readers. Swap thoughts on books, try something new or something familiar. Eat, drink and read.

Hear talks about books, get books signed, have fun at the Karioke and watch game show formats with a devilish twist.

Come for an entertaining weekend of high-jinx and chat.

For those not been before, welcome. For those who are regulars, welcome back to the city of crime writers with a historical backdrop of olde world streets and castle and so much more…

Programme and Tickets on the Bloody Scotland website here: Bloody Scotland

#Review By Lou of The Cracked Mirror By Chris Brookmyre @CBrookmyre @BloodyScotland @Brownlee_Donald #BloodyScotland #TheCrackedMirror

The Cracked Mirror
By Chris Brookmyre

Written By Louise Cannon

The Cracked Mirror cracks all you think you know about writing a murder mystery and time concepts. Thanks to Fiona at Bloody Scotland for sending me a copy of the book. He will be attending Bloody Scotland. See further details after my review.

Blurb

FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW
THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a Sunday best hat.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might just come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.

A cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly, The Cracked Mirror is the most imaginative and entertaining crime novel of the year, a genre-splicing rollercoaster with a poignantly emotional heart.

Review

The layout of the chapters is the most unique as they get, so I feel I have to mention it. It’s a unique, interesting concept that works. I’ve never seen chapters being numbered how these are before. It’s absolutely genius! Some have roman numerals and some state “chapter 1” etc. It means you’re never lost as to who’s pov it is you’re reading or when in the timeline ever again.

Now, with the excitement of the chapters over, onto the book itself. It’s complex (those chapters really do help) and twisty.

Set in Scotland, there’s 80 year old Penny Coyne in her typically sleepy village, that is apart from murders happening. In some places there is an Agatha Christie feel about it, but it soon moves away from that. It truly isn’t That crime novel, just a, perhaps, respectful glance of it before the uniqueness of Chris Brookmyre’s writing and imagination takes over and it becomes very different and original.

Penny and Johnny are chalk and cheese in character. She has grace and decorum and he’s more rough around the edges, but what a great sleuthing pair they are to follow to solve the crime. The read feels quite quick and it feels less than its 500 pages. The pace itself ebbs and flows as the locations change.

Chris Brookmyre’s skill comes to the fore in the intertwining of intriguing plot threads and characters. There are many characters to get to know, but each of them quickly become of interest in the intriguing storyline. There are hugely unexpected page-turning plot twists that you just can’t even predict are coming.

You can see Chris Brookmyre at Bloody Scotland at Stirling Albert Halls on Sunday 15th September https://bloodyscotland.com/event/stuart-and-chris/

By Lou – The Wickedest Link – A game at International Crime Festival – Bloody Scotland in Stirling @BloodyScotland #BlogTour #TheWickedestLink #BloodyScotland @Brownlee_Donald @CraigRobertson_

The Wickedest Link Game

Friday 13th at 10pm in Albert Halls, Stirling

Spine-tingling, mind twisting, tension inducing, can you hear the blood-curdling screams of fear as crime writers are told, one by one that they are The Wickedest Link?

The Weakest Link, we all remember the icy stare of Ann Robinson and the coolness of being told “You Are The Weakest Link, Goodbye”, somewhat now softened with a new presenter, Romesh Ranganathan. Now, the excitement builds and with even more quaking in boots, there’s a new take on this game: The Wickedest Link. Which crime writer will come out on top as the wickedest link of them all? Tense already, isn’t it as heartrates heighten and the blood pumps through the veins that little bit harder. With Craig Robertson as a worthy inquisitor to that of which Anne Robinson brought, Elly Griffiths, Mark Billingham, Vanda Symon, Tony Kent, Lija Sigurdardottir, Vaseem Khan and Marion Todd had better beware of the icy glare as one by one they may leave if they get their questions wrong and voted out of
The Wickedest Link!

You can buy your ticket here: https://bloodyscotland.com/event/wicked/

Bloody Scotland, International Crime Book Festival in Stirling goes from strength to strength each year.
It is one for every crime fan’s calendar, set in the old part of the picturesque, historical millennium city of Stirling, crime writers come to entertain readers and writers alike in beautiful venues like The Golden Lion Hotel, The Albert Halls and Trinity Church. September comes around and Stirling comes to life, like no other time of year, with a beating heart and the joy of people.

The prestigious McIlvanney Prize gets announced and it’s home to established and new authors alike.

By Lou – Eeek! One Day To Go Until Bloody Scotland Weekend – Friday 13th-15th Why You Should Dare To Go Out @BloodyScotland #CrimeFiction #Festival #BloodyScotland #Reviews #Article

Friday the 13th – Sunday 15th September –
Dare to go out into Stirling
It would be criminal not to!

Written By Louise Cannon (Lou)

Bloody Scotland is one of the most exciting international crime festivals that just keeps getting bigger and better for readers and authors. Hear the heartbeat of historical (now also millennium city) of Stirling.
I am so excited…. can it be Friday already???
Feel the buzz as Stirling springs into life like no other time of year!
All within a few minutes or in some cases, seconds, of walkable distance, enter the venues of The Golden Lion Hotel, Trinity Church and The Albert Halls for some of most entertaining times of your life!
Seeing an author in-person and meeting them is just amazing! It’s exciting that it isn’t in Edinburgh or Glasgow, but in Stirling.

I am enthused for so many panels to hear what authors have to say about their books. From debut authors to established huge household names, it’s amazingly wonderful that so many come to Stirling to make it the most “happening place” in autumn. I love chatting to whoever I meet, from bloggers to authors to publishers. Bloody Scotland is quite sociable as well as a chance to discover books.

I’ve been lucky to have had the pleasure to read and review some books from authors who are attending and whose panels that get my own crime loving heart beating. The books just steal me away as do the panels their authors will appear on.

Here are links which will open in new tabs to full reviews of some author’s books you can expect to see in Stirling:

See the Programme Here: https://bloodyscotland.com/whats-on/#programme
Also find out how you can join in the fun and buy tickets at the end of this post.
Reviews are in no particular order…

Lin Anderson: The new Rhona MacLeod book – Whispers of the Dead – readers are taken to the heartland of the gangland streets of Glasgow, where there is supposed to be Hollywood glitz and glam as they rock up into the city to film, but an actress goes missing and there’s a murder not far away. Can Rhona MacLeod and the team solve the crimes? Check out my full review here: https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2024/09/04/review-by-lou-of-whispers-of-the-dead-by-lin-anderson-lin_anderson-crimefiction-rhonamacleod-whispersofthedead-bloodyscotland/

Doug Johnstone: New Skelf’s series book: Living Is A Problem – The Skelf’s are a family who work in an undertaker’s but its the most unusual of its type as they also solve crimes in Edinburgh. It also becomes under siege from a drone attack and there’s a sinister group in this intriguing book. Check out my full review here: https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2024/09/09/review-by-lou-of-living-is-a-problem-by-doug-johnstone-orendabooks-randomttours-theskelfs-skelfsummer-livingisaproblem-crimefiction/

Peter May new Hebrides book – Black Loch sees the return of Fin MacLeod and he’s returned to Lewis for unexpected reasons to do with his son in this atmospheric book. Check out my review here: https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2024/09/08/review-by-lou-of-the-black-loch-authorpetermay-poppydelingpole-quercusbooks-riverrunbooks-sophieransompr-blogtour-theblackloch-petermay/

Michael J. Malone has a new Annie Jackson Mysteries – The Torments – Mysterious murmurs and curses abound and Damian has gone missing. It’s up to Annie to solve the mystery in this hauntingly good book. Check out my review here: https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2024/09/10/review-by-lou-of-the-torments-by-michael-j-malone-michaeljmalone1-orendabooks-anniejacksonmysteries-gothic-randomttours-blogtour/

Jack Jordan has a new thriller – Redemption – I am yet to get a copy and read and review this, but I just know it’ll be good. I had the absolute pleasure to read and review Do No Harm and Conviction some time ago. Do No Harm takes place in the medical world and Conviction in that of law. I was gripped throughout. Here’s the link for Do No Harm, the first I ever read: https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2023/03/30/review-by-lou-of-do-no-harm-by-jack-jordan-happy-paperbackpublicationday-to-jackjordanbooks-simonschusteruk-t4cyf3nt0n-compulsivereaders-donoharm-blogtour-thriller-medicalthriller/

Peter James has a new Grace book you can pre-order – One of Us Is Dead. Sadly, I still have to get my hands all over this book too, but I will. In the meantime, Here’s a review of a previous DS Roy Grace book in the series to whet your appetite and excitement: https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2023/05/18/review-by-lou-of-picture-you-dead-by-peter-james-peterjamesuk-panmacmillan-riotcomms-grace-pictureyoudead-crimefiction/

Janice Hallett has a new thriller out – The Examiner. I haven’t read this latest, but I have read and reviewed other twisty books by her. Here’s one of them – The Christmas Appeal:

https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2023/12/27/review-by-lou-of-the-christmas-appeal-by-janice-hallett-janicehallett-viperbooks/

I will mention Louise Minchin too. She has read the news and now she’s making news in writing a debut novel. Do I want to read and review it? Absolutely!!! I feel compelled to read about investigative journalist, Lauren to find out about her and what’s dug up.

I am also excited to see there are other big names – Richard Armitage, Mark Billingham and Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths and so many more…

You too can see your favourite authors or discover a new one.

Buy Tickets Here: https://bloodyscotland.com/whats-on/#whats-on

#Review By Lou of The Torments By Michael J. Malone @michaeljmalone1 @OrendaBooks #AnnieJacksonMysteries #Gothic @RandomTTours #BlogTour

The Torments
By Michael J. Malone

For a sinisterly creepy thriller, The Torments is the place to go… if you dare! I’m bravely on the Orenda Books/Random T. Tours blog tour for the new book by Michael J. Malone. Check out the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

Annie surged forward, but she was too slow, too late.
A hand came over and down, and she felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck.
Then all became smoke, and silence.

Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries.

While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the door they clamour to torment her all over again, bringing with them shocking visions of imminent deaths.

Into this oasis comes her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy, begging for Annie’s help. Mandy’s nephew Damien has gone missing, after dropping off his four-year old son at his mother’s home.

Unable to refuse, but terrified to leave her sanctuary, Annie, with the help of her brother Lewis, is drawn in to a secretive, seductive world that will have her question everything she holds dear, while Lewis’ life may be changed forever…

The second book in the critically acclaimed Annie Jackson Mysteries series, The Torments is both a contemporary gothic thriller and a spellbinding mystery that deeps deep into a past that should, perhaps, remain undisturbed…

Review

The Torments is hauntingly good. Beware, it might keep you awake at night with its compelling, sinister nature that locks your spine in place, save for a tingling chill and fixes your eyes on the pages.

Loch’s, they sit in the scenic landscape of Scotland. You could even say, they sit somewhere between nature’s beauty and the sinister. This one is closer to the sinister, alongside a lone white cottage. Lingers, is a world of curses and murmurs and a feeling of being trapped. What seems on the surface of it, like a sanctuary from the rest of the world, proves to be anything but this.

Annie is an interesting character. She can see when someone is going to die. All she can do is try to warn people of certain aspects that will undoubtedly lead to death, but it doesn’t necessarily work like that.

Lewis and Annie do end up travelling back to the dark streets of Glasgow, which have, perhaps a slightly less sinister feel, but have something dark in the atmosphere of some of them non-the-less. Mandy’s nephew has gone mysteriously missing, so in the process, Annie also tries to quieten the haunting murmurs so she can help search for him.

The chapters alternate between Lewis and Annie, which throws up another thread with the characters Ben and Sylvia from when they were at a rather creepy boarding school. This then intertwines with the mystery of finding Damien.

With Scottish folklore, some supernatural activity and a mystery to solve, it’s got a bit of everything in it that would suit the reading appetites of many.

#Review By Lou of Living is a Problem by Doug Johnstone @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #TheSkelfs #SkelfSummer #LivingIsAProblem #CrimeFiction

Living is a Problem
By Doug Johnstone

Review By Louise

The Skelfs series has been SHORTLISTED for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year
(three times), the Capital Crime Best Independent Voice, and Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (twice).
Living is a Problem is the latest book in the series, of which I am on the blog tour for with a reivew, first, onto the blurb.

Blurb

The Skelf women are back on an even keel after everything they’ve been through. But when a funeral they’re conducting is attacked by a drone, Jenny fears they’re in the middle of an Edinburgh gangland vendetta.
At the same time, Yana, a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that plays with Dorothy’s band, has gone missing. Searching for her leads Dorothy into strange and ominous territory.
And Brodie, the newest member of the extended Skelf family, comes to Hannah with a case: Something or someone has been disturbing the grave of his stillborn son.
Everything is changing for the Skelfs … Dorothy’s boyfriend Thomas is suffering PTSD after previous violent trauma, Jenny and Archie are becoming close, and Hannah’s case leads her to consider the curious concept of panpsychism, which brings new danger, while ghosts from the family’s past return to threaten their
very lives…

Review

The Skelf’s are back!!! This time the women try to bring the undertakers business into the 21st century, whatever it takes to drag it there. It is as far as you can get from a normal family-run undertaker business. It isn’t everyday that funerals become under siege by a drone attack.

There’s an overarching sinister feel to this book from someone or something disturbing the grave of a stillborn to panpsychism.

This was the first time I had heard of panpsychism and apparently it’s from way back in history but every so often makes a resurgence. To put in brief and from what I looked up, panpsychism is “a philosophical theory asserting that a plurality of separate and distinct psychic beings or minds constitute reality”. “It can be found in environmentalism,” which is one of the themes of the book. Panpsychism in Living Is A Problem becomes very dangerous indeed.

The human psyche is often fascinating, so to add this and Thomas’s PTSD from a traumatic experience really gets into the depth of the characteristics of the characters.

The Skelf’s series is one I recommend. I’ve read and reviewed most of them and the story development becomes increasingly compelling as does seeing what happens next in the Skelf’s lives and of course there’s always a mystery to be solved. With all that happens to the characters in this latest in the series, no wonder Living Is A Problem.