#Review of Hattie Brings the House Down By Patrick Gleeson #PatrickGleeson @noexitpress #ATheatrelandMystery #Theatre #HattieBringsTheHouseDown #Mystery

Hattie Brings the House Down
By Patrick Gleeson

Hattie Brings the House Down is a book that serves theatre and mystery lovers well. Thanks to No Exit Press and Random T. Tours, I have the blurb and my review for you.

Blurb

Get ready for a thrilling backstage ride in the world of theatre as seasoned
stage manager Hattie embarks on a new production at London’s Tavistock pub
theatre. Here, the drama doesn’t just occur on stage.
Troublesome directors and fastidious assistants soon become the least of
Hattie’s worries as, a week into rehearsals, an actress is found dead backstage
on the same day that an extremely valuable theatrical mask goes missing.
Hattie begins investigating both mysteries, all the while trying to keep the
dysfunctional cast and crew on track for opening night. As she delves deeper
into the secrets behind the scenes, her allegiance to her theatre, cast and crew
will be tested to destruction.

Follow this unconventional detective as she delves into the alluring and
exquisitely perilous world of the theatre.

Review

There’s as much drama off-stage as there is on-stage, if not more…

A theatre, this case London’s Tavistock pub theatre, provides a great setting for a mysterious plot with some larger than life characters, some with more than just a few quirks and foibles.

Readers are treated to theatrical shenanigans and intricacies of putting on a play. All is far from well as, dramatically, there is a dead body and a theft, so the fact the cast and the backstage team aren’t ready for opening night, since it’s only week 1 of rehearsals meaning they’ve got a lot to deal with.

The case isn’t easy to solve as it takes readers down trap doors of secrets and lies and red herrings. Suddenly it isn’t as easy as just saying “stage left” etc. The circumstances sends Hattie on quite a quest to discover the truth of what’s been going on that led to the theft of a valuable item and a death.

Patrick Gleeson’s passion for theatre shines through and as the plot unfolds, the concept could almost be an entertaining play within a play on a stage. As it goes, it’s an entertaining and enjoyable book.

About the Author

Patrick has a degree in philosophy and classics, another one in technical theatre
and stage management, and one more in business administration. He has
worked as a theatre sound designer, an “interpretive naturalist” at an aquarium,
a software developer, a business mentor to fledgling entrepreneurs, and a voice
actor.
He composed the music for a musical about taxidermy that The Stage said “put
to shame the hackneyed standards of the contemporary musical scene”, and has
been performed in London, Edinburgh, Suffolk and, weirdly, Alaska.
He now lives in Norfolk with his wife and two children, where he brews
mediocre cider.

#Review By Lou of The Ha-Ha By Tom Shakespeare @Tommyshakes #TheHaha @RandomTTours #BlogTour #SocialComedy #Humour #Diversity

The Ha-Ha
By Tom Shakespeare

The Ha-Ha is a humorous social comedy book, in a P.G. Wodehouse sort of way with eccentric characters and poignancy. Discover the blurb and review as part of the RandomTTours blog tour as you wheel down the page to a country house setting… Discover more about Tom Shakespeare too, he seems an interesting guy, who’s done a lot.

Blurb

A modern country house farce with a diverse cast of characters

Fred Twistleton is about to turn forty. Gathering with his friends to celebrate at a rented stately home, he finally hopes to get together with his college crush, the woman of his dreams, Heather. But Fred is also keen to publish his memoirs, and Heather realises the revelations they contain could threaten her career as a high-flying foreign correspondent.

When the treasured manuscript goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Fred’s at a loss. Could someone have stolen it? Where has the resident pig gone? And will all the group remain friends by the end of the weekend? With burst pipes, sunken kayaks, and suspicious puddings, thank goodness Fred is only going to have one fortieth birthday.

Praise for The Ha-Ha

‘A beautifully observed and highly entertaining tale. Tom Shakespeare is a fine comic writer’ Alexander McCall Smith

‘A blissful social comedy, stuffed with cherishable lines’ Lissa Evans

Review

Turning 40, wheelchair bound Fred (which has, uniquely, given the author an opportunity to show the needs a wheelchair user may have. I know as my mum uses one and also has a zest for life), has decided it would be most fitting to rent a stately home and invite his friends, one being someone whom he had a crush on and didn’t really do anything about back at college. Now, he’s got ideas to buck up his ideas and do something about that. He’s also ambitious, seeing this is quite the auspicious occasion and turning such a special age, he has decided to write his memoirs. So far, all plans are moving in the right direction…. until they don’t and so much that could go wrong, does go wrong.

It could be a comedy of errors or like The Play That Goes Wrong, in modern terms. It, however, also feels like it could play homage to P.G. Wodehouse, with the humour and country house setting, but also with an element of Tom’s own take on the genre, giving it a fresh, modern feel.

The Ha-Ha is a book of humour and poignancy, all brought to life through the eccentricity of its characters, some who are kind, some who are ego-centric and one pig. in the form of Sonia, a literary agent who has experience of unrequited love, an old school friend who lives in a van, a stressed social worker and more… not forgetting the mischievous pig.

There’s also the matter of manuscript of the memoir going missing. It could destroy a career. It could create tensions within this group of friends…

Ultimately the book has the feel-good factor and fun.

About the Author

Tom Shakespeare CBE is a social scientist and bioethicist, an academic who
writes and talks and researches mainly about disability, but also about ethical
issues around prenatal genetic testing and end of life assisted suicide.
Born in 1966 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, he studied at Cambridge
University and has lived in Gateshead, Geneva and Norwich, while working at
Universities of Sunderland, Leeds, Newcastle, then at World Health Organisation
in Geneva, afterwards at UEA Medical School, and presently as Professor of
Disability Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Tom has presented programmes and documentaries on BBC Radio and has
written for publications including The Guardian and The Lancet, alongside talking
to academic, professional and lay audiences around the world.
He has been a stand-up comedian, an actor, a dancer, and an artist. A father of
two grown-up children, he now lives in London. https://farmerofthoughts.co.uk/

#Review By Lou of Nosy Neighbours by Freya Sampson @SampsonF @CompulsiveReaders #BlogTour #NosyNeighbours #Mystery #ContemporaryFiction

Nosy Neighbours
By Freya Sampson

Even the nosy neighbours have their uses in this mysteriously uplifting book that shows secrets behind doors…
Find out more about what else Freya Sampson has written, after the blurb and my review for Nosy Neighbours, of which I am part of today’s Compulsive Readers blog tour.

Blurb

You can choose your home, but you can’t choose who lives next door . . .

Twenty-five-year-old Kat Bennett has never felt at home anywhere, especially not in crumbling Shelley House. The other residents think she’s prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat is plagued by guilt from her past and looking for somewhere to belong.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling has lived in Shelley House for longer than anyone else, and if you believe the other tenants, she’s as cantankerous and vindictive as they come. Dorothy may spend her days spying on the neighbours, but she has a closely guarded secret herself – and a good reason for barely leaving her home.

When their building faces demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy become unlikely allies in their quest to save their historic home; and even less likely detectives when they suspect that foul play is coming from within Shelley House . . .

Review

Kat is a mysterious character. She doesn’t really feel like she belongs anywhere and is someone who’s an intriguing slow-burn to warm to. Dorothy on the other-hand isn’t the nicest of people and also harbours a deep secret.
As you delve deeper into their lives and those of other residents of Shelley House, you soon learn why they are how they are. There are moments of great emotion and others that are rather funny.

Cantankerous Dorothy is the longest serving tenant of Shelley House and likes to keep a good, keen eye on everything and everyone. She’s quite possibly the nosiest woman, but it turns out not to be a bad thing. Apart from sorting the mail, taking the rubbish out, she knows everyone, which turns out to be good for trying to work has the motive and opportunity to attack Joseph, the landlord.
This and the horrifying news that their home is going to be demolished, has the residents rallying around and unexpected alliances being forged. This, in-turn gives it the feel-good factor.

It’s an involving book that’s easy to get caught up in.

About the Author

Freya Sampson is the USA Today bestselling author of The Last Chance Library, The Girl on The 88 Bus (or for the US, known as The Lost Ticket) and Nosy Neighbours.

She studied history at Cambridge University and worked in television as an executive producer, making documentaries about everything from the British royal family to neighbours from hell.
She lives in London with her husband, children and cats.

#Extract from Chapter 4 of Whispers Through Time By Melanie Robertson-King @RobertsoKing #ReadingBetweenTheLines #BlogTour

Extract from Whispers Through Time
By Melanie Robertson-King

Today I am delighted to be able to present the blurb and an extract from chapter 4 of Whispers Through Time, thanks to Lynsey at Reading Between The Lines and the author, Melanie Robertson-King. It sounds mysteriously eerie to me.

Blurb

A historic Canadian property becomes the canvas for a tale that spans generations. In 1914, a tragedy unfolded, leaving scars that linger far beyond the passage of time. In 1947, a visionary purchases the haunted remnants, seeking a new beginning for his family, but his young daughter senses a ghost from the far past. In the present, urban explorers unlock the secrets of the past while running a web design company. Photographs and sketches capture the essence of the property, documenting the whispers of spirits from another era. As the explorers navigate the abandoned corridors and forgotten chambers, the photographs unveil subtle anomalies until supernatural phenomena manifest that defy explanation. Amidst the subtle changes in decor and the flickering candle flames frozen in time, the explorers find themselves entangled in a mystery transcending the boundaries of the living and the dead, forcing the urban explorers to confront the unresolved secrets that echo through the corridors of time. Is a structure just that, or can it house remnants of horror, pain and sin? The urban explorers find they must confront the unresolved secrets that echo through the corridors of time.

From Chapter 4

October 15, 2022 Nicole left the office room hurriedly. That chill. Was she the only one who felt it? The way Connor had spun around and checked the windows said that he did, too. Her sketch showed nothing untoward. The photos wouldn’t show anything either. Something in there was wrong but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
She started up the staircase to the second level of the abandoned mansion. As she ascended the stairs, the air suddenly chilled, and something moved by, jostled her, pushing her against the wall and forcing a startled yelp from her.Nicole dropped onto the step closest and sketched out this bizarre encounter.
It wasn’t Mitch or either one of her brothers. It was a man dressed in a black suit and white shirt, black waistcoat, and black tie. Clothing styled from about one hundred years ago. None of them were dressed in that way. And none of them were transparent. It had to be the guys playing a trick on her. After all, they were pranksters. “Connor, Cooper, Mitch, not funny, guys.”

Nicole stared at the location where the apparition stood. “I mean it guys, this isn’t funny.” “What’s going on, sis?” Connor asked as he poked his head out of the room his sister had just vacated. The ghost or whatever it was faded away.

“Yesterday, upon the stair,” she whispered. “What are you talking about?” Cooper asked as he joined her in the corridor. Nicole’s eyes remained transfixed where the ghost-like being vanished into thin air.
Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there! He wasn’t there again today, I wish, I wish he’d go away! “What gibberish is that you’re spouting?”
“It’s not gibberish. It’s the first stanza of the poem Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns. Don’t you guys know nothin’?”

#Review By Lou of Miss Cat By Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet @thamesandhudson #GraphicNovel #MissCat #MiddleGrade #ReadingForPleasure #BlogTour @RandomTTours

Miss Cat (Graphic Novel)
By Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet

Graphic Novels have been on a rise and rise for years, with certain series now being firm favourites of children and teens alike. They, especially encourage reading for those who don’t think that’s for them and are termed “reluctant readers” and show a different type of book to add to the pile of the more exuberant, proficient readers.
Miss Cat is a great mystery for the young middle-grade readers.
Discover the blurb and my review of the first in a brand new series in this genre below.
Thanks to the publisher and authors, I also have a couple of pages and the cover to show you. You’ll see them as you go down this blog post.

Synopsis

The first book in an irresistible new graphic novel series for young readers, featuring a cool detective dressed in her cat-ear hoodie.
Meet Miss Cat, a private eye with ears on her hat and a nose for mystery!
Mr Titula, a sad old man, comes to see Miss Cat at the old dairy shop she uses as an
office. Someone has kidnapped his canary, Harry, his pride and joy! He begs the young detective to find him.
So, Miss Cat sets on the trail of Harry and a strange couple, the sultry Doris and the aggressive Jean-Pøl, a talking dog.
What could they be trying to hide? And could the senile Titula and the dashing Titus the Magnificent, a magician with extraordinary powers, be the same person?
Miss Cat, who thinks she’s a cat and hides underneath a large hoodie with cat ears, is a perfect new heroine to encourage children to read. With a Scandi-noir mood, Joëlle Jolivet’s dynamic illustrations and Jean-Luc Fromental’s thrilling plot and irresistible dialogues whisk young readers through Miss Cat’s crime-solving adventures!

Review

Miss Cat is quite the private eye, all clad in her cat-like hoodie. It’s a story that entertains and is quite the magical page-turner, with short chapters for 7-10 year olds, with its intriguing characters. There’s Miss Cat, a human who has set-up a detective agency and wears a cat-like outfit. She has dealings with Olaf the talking octopus, a member of the Octopus 6, Wolfgang who’s a talking dog and Maximus and Doris who are humans.

The book is entertaining with its mystery of a talking canary being bird-napped, magic and humour. You get a really good feel for the captivating characters in what’s great story-telling. What do the digits mean? Why are they so important to some of the characters? There’s goodies and baddies and a whole lot of fun for readers.

All is well-illustrated in a fun way, original way, that builds a good amount of atmosphere in what becomes a good page-turner.
It will leave children wanting more…

It would sit well with anyone’s collection of graphic novels, from schools to libraries to personal collections.
This is certainly one for children to look out for.
I’d certainly review more, given the opportunity.
The second will be ‘The Gnome’s Nightmare’.

#Review By Lou of The Teacher – A DS Cross Thriller By Tim Sullivan @TimJRSullivan @AriesFiction @HoZ_Books #TheTeacher #Thriller #CrimefictionSeries #DSGeorgeCrossSeries #Thriller

The Teacher
By Tim Sullivan

I am totally captivated by the DS Cross series and so far, each one has had great, unique characterisation, especially of the neuro-diverse detective and with captivating, strong storylines. Each book in this series can also be read as a stand-alone book. Discover the blurb and my full review below…

Blurb

He’s a victim. But is he innocent?

THE BODY
In a village in South West England, an elderly man is found dead in his home. The angle of his neck says he fell down the stairs. The stab wound on his body tells a different story.

THE EVIDENCE
In the weeks before his murder, Alistair Moreton changed. He usually kept himself to himself, but people swear there was someone in the house when they checked on him, that there was a reason he wouldn’t let them inside.

THE PUNISHMENT
Moreton made people’s lives a misery, from his neighbours to his ex-pupils. While DS George Cross’s list of suspects is long, every victim deserves justice.

But in all of Alistair’s years, there was something important he never learned:

If you go through life making enemies, don’t be surprised when they teach you a lesson.

Perfect for fans of MW Craven, Peter James and Joy Ellis, The Teacher is part of the DS George Cross thriller series, which can be read in any order.

Review

DS Cross is on the autism spectrum and the characterisation, within the writing is terrifically done, with much believability. In my paid work, I work with many autistic children and have done for many years.
In DS Cross you see it makes relationships within the workplace and working methods different from other books in this genre which adds a unique layer. The writing conveys it all very well and draws you to him. We also get insights into the team he works with and their life situations.

In a sleepy village, where everything should be perfect, with everything and everyone going about their routines, smoothly, not all is well. A body is discovered…
Alistair Moreton was a headteacher and not a well-liked one. The emotions are evocative and strong, when it comes to him.
There are plenty of motives for readers to be suspicious of.
The setting and premise makes The Teacher, even more intriguing and may have headteachers wondering if they’re well-liked or not and sitting on the edge of their seats.

Amongst the darkness of the crime, there is some great humour that lifts it all brilliantly.

This is a book and, indeed, series that I highly recommend. Personally, I am loving reading it and each book that comes out, excites me.