#Review By Lou of Quicksand of Memory By Michael J. Malone @michaelJmalone1 @OrendaBooks #QuicksandOfMemory #Revenge #PsychologicalThriller #TartanNoir #BlogTour #RandomTTours #TeamOrenda

Quicksand of Memory
By Michael J. Malone

Quicksand Of Memory is a page-turner that packs a punch! Check out more in the blurb and the rest of my review below about this psychological thriller/TartanNoir… Today I have the privilege of closing the blog tour. The book is Available Now!
Thanks first, to Random T. Tours and publisher – Orenda Books for inviting me to review and for a copy of the book.

About the Author

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers.
His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller.
Michael lives in Ayr.

Blurb

Jenna is trying to rebuild her life after a series of disastrous relationships.
Luke is struggling to provide a safe, loving home for his deceased partner’s young son, following a devastating tragedy.
When Jenna and Luke meet and fall in love, they are certain they can achieve the stability and happiness they both desperately need.
And yet, someone is watching.
Someone who has been scarred by past events.
Someone who will stop at nothing to get revenge…
Dark, unsettling and immensely moving, Quicksand of Memory is a chilling reminder that we are not only punished for our sins, but by them, and that memories left to blacken and sharpen over time are the perfect breeding ground for obsession, and murder…

Review

Michael J. Malone has skillfully delved into the inner-sanctum that is memory. The way he plays with his characters memories has created a psychological thriller that waxes lyrical and yet grips hard until the end.

Jenna has attacks of anxiety due to her relationship issues, so seeks a therapist – Luke. It’s rivetting being in the therapist’s room with her, as she pours out her life to him, which is more than what she thought she was originally for as he probes into other life events. This is possibly the most sedate the book is and then delving further, it all becomes such a page-turner.
hrough Luke, you can really see the power of loss and guilt and so much more, that permeates through, and through his clients, the sense of needing a support system, or at least someone to give support through life, or parts of life.
It’s just as, or even more fascinating when it comes to learning about Luke. There is so much more to Luke than healing people in his therapy sessions and the sinister burdens he carries.
Then, as time moves on, the fractures in lives really start to open up, wider and wider, increasingly revealing more secrets, more previously buried truths and falsehoods and deadly obsessions.

Quicksand of Memory twists and turns, leading readers down a deep, dark path of the professional and personal aspects of life and the blurring of lines and crimes committed, with romance flourishing and revenge, later in the book with revenge occuring. It is beautifully constructed and written. Once started this visceral, chilling psychological thriller; it’s pretty hard to put down as you find out more about people’s pasts, where they are presently and the spine-tingling secrets that emerge.

Malone gives lots for readers to ponder over, with the thought-provoking, complex themes of obsession, guilt, love, revenge, support, memory, trauma, grief, violence, drug-use and more… It really packs a punch.

#Review By Lou of The Rabbit Factor By Antti Tuomainen @antii_tuomainen @OrendaBooks #TheRabbitFactor #NotTheEasterBunny #BlogTour #SoonToBeAMovie #ReadingCommunity #FilmCommunity

The Rabbit Factor
By Antti Tuomainen

Dark Comedy Crime; Black Humour; Literary Fiction; International Mystery & Crime; Nordic Noir;

The Rabbit Factor is going to be a Major Motion Picture starring Steve Carell. This darkly humoured, Scandi-Noir type book is available to read now. Discover more in the blurb and my review below…
I firstly, thank Random T. Tours and Orenda Books for inviting me to review on the blog tour.

Dark Comedy Crime; Black Humour; Literary Fiction; International Mystery & Crime; Nordic Noir;

Blurb

Dark Comedy Crime; Black Humour; Literary Fiction; International Mystery & Crime; Nordic Noir; What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.
And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri’s relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a
triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in
the beauty and random nature of life.

Review

Rabbits are cute and furry, but in this case the rabbit is something quite different in what is a darkly quirky story. Just wait and read the opening paragraph about this rabbit, it’s sure to raise a chuckle.

Mathematics/Math/Maths, however you want to say it, has a universal truth. It makes so much calculable, rock steady, you know where you are with it and nothing changes. Henri Koskinen knows this all too well and appears to have a bit of an obsession with maths, to put it mildly and is an actuary for a Finnish insurance company. It brings Henri and Tuomo Pertila a certainty about life and all the things in their environment around them. I did say, this was quirky. Bear with the book though. You don’t have to be a mathematician to read and enjoy it. It’s not really full of rabbits telling you how to do algebra and even more hard sums. Everything is so precise in Henri’s life and you begin to wonder where is the space for the fun things in life.

An actuary and one as pedantic about life as Henri is, isn’t perhaps anyone’s usual character to be rooting for and although his life views seem pedantic, the Toumainen manages to skillfully steer clear from it becoming frustrating for the reader and instead injects some dry humour.
The book is going to be made into a major motion picture, starring Steve Carrell. I can imagine him well in this film and I think it could be entertaining to watch. The book certainly has a number of twists and even more corners of life to turn into as life paths change accordingly to each milestone and situation. This isn’t always comfortable for Henri as he tries to calculate his way through life and not all calculations, even for a mathematically obsessed actuary as Henri is, can bring that certain steadfast certainty they normally do.

Life changes quite a bit when his job circumstances, and as it goes, inherits an adventure park from his brother. All isn’t what anyone would imagine at all. The circumstances he finds himself in with the park is also rather quirky as is the employees, then there is also the poor financial situation and criminals to contend with. As Henri’s life changes, it sends him into a bit of a spin as no longer is he totally in his own little world that he comfortably inhabited before, but he has to do recalculations of formulas he normally lived by, as he tries to control his life so much in such a pedantic way after chaotic formative years, that is illuminating to enter his mind and life.

Romance also enters Henri’s life as he meets Laura, who is an artist. You can’t help wondering how he will calculate and live that aspect of life through.

Fans of Scandi-Noir and Chris Brookmyre would enjoy this book, which is the first in a series.

Dark Comedy Crime; Black Humour; Literary Fiction; International Mystery & Crime; Nordic Noir;

#Review By Lou Don’t Panic! All the Stuff The Expectant Dad Needs To Know By George Lewis @georgelewiscom @Octopus_Books @RandomTTours #DontPanic #BlogTour #Humour #NonFiction #NewDads #Parenthood #ExpectantDads #Comedy

Don’t Panic!
All The Stuff The Expectant Dad Needs To Know
By George Lewis

A must read for all expectant dads! This book has it all, along with plenty of humour from well-known comedians. Thanks to Random T Tours and Octopus Books for inviting me to close the blog tour with my review and for gifting me a copy of the book. Discover more in the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

Are you ready for fatherhood?

Written by award-winning comedy writer, George Lewis, DON’T PANIC! is destined to be
the next classic for new dads, preparing them for the confusing, emotional – and funny –
rollercoaster ahead.
From birth to pre-school, EVERYTHING new dads need to know is here. The book is
packed with useful tips, inside knowledge and hilarious real-life stories from George’s
friends and fellow comedians, who know exactly what it’s like to take your first steps as a
new parent, including, Adam Kay, Andy Parsons, Carl Donnelly, Elis James, Iain Stirling,
Ivo Graham, Jen Brister, Josh Widdicombe, Kerry Godliman, Matthew Crosby, Rich
Hall, Romesh Ranganathan, Russell Kane and Sindhu Vee.
Practical and emotional this is a book full of all the stuff your mates would tell you. Friendly,
accessible, informative and funny, Don’t Panic is the vital guide that reassures new dads
that they’re not alone, and demonstrates how helpful the experience of others can be.

Review

This isn’t your usual sort of parenthood or parent to be book. This has so much humour that dad’s would certainly relate to, as well as handy-tips, split into bite-sized chunks. There are even snippets that new mum’s would be able to relate to as well. It goes through everything from scans, the bump, changes, building up the nursery right through to nappy changing and bathtime. It also deals with baby loss.

The balance between humour and the serious is good and all is informative. What is good about this is that it has the input of so many well-known, well-liked comedians such as Rich Hall, Andy Parsons, Adam Kay, Josh Widdecombe and many more, so readers can see a mix of points of view and have their humour coming through too, which enhances the book.

The book reads well with the narrative of George Lewis and the comedians interjecting in with their experiences.

I highly recommend Don’t Panic to all expectant dad’s or even those who have just been through that stage, for a look back with a laugh.

About The Author

George Lewis’s writing credits include Have I Got News for You, 8 out of 10 Cats, various
work for BBC Comedy, Radio 4, Dave, Comic Relief and his own weekly football column – Funny Old Game – in The Times. He has recently appeared on the Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2), Top Gear Extra Gear (which he hosted), Celebrity Mastermind (which he won) and he presents the Britpopcast for Radio X. Before he became a comedian, he worked as a copywriter. He lives in Manchester with his wife and his two children, a boy and a girl, fourteen months apart.

#Review By Lou – The Fairy In The Kettle By Pauline Tait @PTait_author @SilverWoodBooks @RandomTTours #TheFairyInTheKettle #ChildrensBook #Fairies #BlogTour

The Fairy In The Kettle
By Pauline Tait

The Fairy In The Kettle is sweet for 3-6 year old children by Pauline Tait. Thanks to Random T Tours for inviting me to review. Find out more in the blurb and my review and discover more about this author who lives in Scotland. She has much to offer readers of all ages…

Blurb

Leona knows she is very lucky, she has wonderful friends and family and lives in a beautiful old round cast-iron kettle, a place filled with adventurous fun. Leona fills her days with dancing, listening to music and decorating her kettle.

However, how will Leona and friends cope on one particular wild and stormy evening when the fairy village turns into a nightmare…?

Review

The type is beautiful in purple and goes with what transpires to be very sweet story about a fairy and her home. There is warmth and friendships to be found within the 25 pages, with their large and colourful illustrations, with a plot to keep young readers (3-6 years), enthralled.

There’s the creating of the home in the kettle, the friends Leona has and some dance. Life is good, until a storm hits, creating some tension and trepidation in the plot, until its lovely ending.

It’s short and sweet and is sure to capture the imaginations beautifully of young readers. It’s a great story to be read aloud too, whilst children cosy up to their parents/caregivers etc. It’s sure to give them a lovely warm fuzzy ending by the end of the entertaining story.

About the Author

Pauline is a multi-genre author, living and writing in Perthshire, Scotland. Having worked as a pharmaceutical technician for over twenty years and then in primary pupil support for learning, Pauline is now enjoying writing full time.

Her writing spans the ages as she writes both adult fiction novels (Romantic Suspense/Second Chances) and children’s picture books for 3- to 8-year-olds.

Writing has allowed Pauline to reach out and encourage children through her school and library visits and bookshop and festival events. She is passionate about children’s futures and welcomes opportunities to encourage children in their own reading and writing.

Married with two grown up children, Pauline also has a passion for cooking, travel and photography.

#BookReview By Lou of Remember Me By Charity Norman @CharityNorman1 @AllenAndUnwin @RandomTTours #RememberMe #CrimeFiction #Thriller

Remember Me
By Charity Norman

Remember Me is another gripping thriller from Charity Norman. It gives me great pleasure to close the blog tour with a review today, thanks to Random Things Tours and publisher – Allen and Unwin for inviting me and for a copy of the book. Discover more in the blurb and my review, as well as a little about this author.

Blurb

They never found Leah Parata. Not a boot, not a backpack, not a turquoise beanie. After she left me that day, she vanished off the face of the earth. A close-knit community is ripped apart by disturbing revelations that cast new light on a young woman’s disappearance twenty-five years ago.

After years of living overseas, Emily returns to New Zealand to care for her father who has dementia. As his memory fades and his guard slips, she begins to understand him for the first time – and to glimpse shattering truths about his past.

Are some secrets best left buried?

Another page-turning, emotive suspense novel from the Richard & Judy bestselling author of After the Fall and Radio 2 Book Club pick, 2020’s The Secrets of Strangers – ideal reading-group fiction, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Clare Mackintosh.

Review

After really liking Secrets of Strangers, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to review Remember Me. When reviewing Secrets of Strangers, I reckoned this was an author to watch. I wasn’t wrong. Remember Me is absolutely just as gripping and addictive to read as the layers build up to discover what happened to Leah when she mysteriously disappeared.

Emily Kirkland is a children’s illustrator in the UK, who then makes the sort of difficult decision to upsticks and leave what and where she loves, to go and care for her ailing father, Felix, who was perhaps not one of the better paternal figures there’s ever been, to care for him in his advancing years. She does have 2 siblings, Eddie and Carmen, who don’t want make any changes in their lives and reckons he should just go into a carehome so they can continue their lives with no disruption, which in a way forces Emily’s hand to go cross half the world to do something. It also turns into a journey that was more than she expected as she discovers more about him, what makes him tick and what secrets he has been concealing for so long, that have huge consequences.

The secrets that emerge that keep those pages turning as it goes between 2019 with the investigation and people in the village in their current states and 1994 when they were all shaken up with Leah Parata going missing. As time moves on, characters have aged and as well as getting to know the scenery and the inner community, the characters have also naturally aged and all are not well. Alzheimers features and is written well by Norman. She has clearly either put in the research or had experience of someone with this disease, creating an additional heart-rendering element that so many people will sadly be able to relate to, as well as someone being missing for so many years, without trace, also I am sure, relatable to those with family and those who perhaps have experienced this.

Close-knit communities is what Charity Norman seems to do well and writes with aplomb. In Remember Me, you really get to know the people in the community and the inner, anguished secrets that have been kept, creating intensity.

This is a book I highly recommend.

About The Author

Charity Norman was born in Uganda and brought up in successive draughty vicarages in Yorkshire and Birmingham. After several years’ travel she became a barrister, specialising in crime and family law. In 2002, realising that her three children had barely met her, she took a break from the law and moved with her family to New Zealand. REMEMBER ME is her seventh novel.

#Review By Lou of After The Rain By Lucy Dillon @lucy_dillon @TransworldBooks @RandomTTours #BookTwitter #ContemporaryFiction #Fiction #BookRecommendation #AfterTheRain #BlogTour

After The Rain
By Lucy Dillon

Today I am excited to reveal my review of After The Rain By Lucy Dillon.
After The Rain is Out Now!
There’s more than meets the eye after the storm and the drama that ensues as it is more than just the weather that can be stormy.

Find out more in the blurb and my thoughts in my review and a bit about the author below…

Thanks, firstly to Random Things Tours and Transworld Books/Penguin for inviting me to review as part of the blog tour.

Blurb

After the storm it’s time for a fresh start . . .
First, the clouds…
Tara Hunter is a therapist on a mission to restore Longhampton’s community spirit after catastrophic flooding. But with her boyfriend AWOL, her family fragmented, and only a cat for company, Tara’s own life is crumbling.
Then the storm…
On top of everything, Tara’s father – last seen as he walked out on her when she was ten years old – is suddenly back, with a surprising offer that could change everything.
And after the rain…
Dr David Dalloway is Longhampton Wellness Centre’s new star counsellor. He’s charming, caring and has a knack for reading people’s minds – which is the last thing Tara needs right now. Will having David and her dad around make for a bigger storm on the horizon? Or is this Tara’s chance for a fresh start?

Review

After the Rain is insightful and leads readers into a therapist’s office, where readers meet Tara, and later, newcomer – David. The storm had an impact on the residents of Longhampton, but after the rain, there are surprises for them, especially Tara.

NLP and Hypnotherapy are some of the therapies that are what on offer by some of the therapists. I found this striking as NLP and Hypnotherapy have become more known about over the years, especially with the rise in fame of the likes of Paul McKenna and now seems to be, as is people going to any sort of therapy, within books in a way it perhaps hasn’t before. What makes this one so interesting, is you get to know more about a therapist’s office and the lives of therapists that patients/clients won’t normally be privy to know.

Readers are privy to see therapist’s lives behind the scenes as it were, especially through Tara as she navigates her own career at the Wellness Centre, and her own issues, as despite her job, finds it easier to help her patients, than herself and she is better at giving advice, than following her own or receiving it, in Longhampton. It really shows this can be part of the human condition.

New counsellor David is easy to be charmed by and it’s interesting to see how he and Tara get along. He is excellent at his work, really cares and is intuitive, even when it comes to colleagues, so he knows all isn’t always well with Tara and he wants her to open up, which she finds infuriatingly annoying, or rather that he can read her so well.
The interactions within the Wellness Centre between staff themselves and between them and their patients brings the book alive.

Keith, Tara’s father returns out of the blue to try to reconnect, after he left Tara and her brother, Toby and to help the town rebuild after the storm. The drama throughout is enthralling, within the family, as well as within the Wellness Centre.

With intertwining threads of family and patient/counsellor relationships intertwining as a community tries to piece itself back together physically and mentally, there is much poignancy as you see whether new starts can begin or not.
There’s care and compassion and a bit of humour and intrigue along the way.

Ther e are a couple of parts with animals, I wasn’t sure about, but all in all my verdict is:
This is a book I very much recommend!

At the end of my copy is an extract of Unexpected Lesson’s In Love. There’s romance in New York and characters in the prologue you will want to know more about and where there lives go to after an event… Would I want to know more? Yes, absolutely!

About the Author

Sunday Times bestselling author Lucy Dillon grew up in Cumbria and read English at
Cambridge, then read a lot of magazines as a press assistant in London, then read
other people’s manuscripts as a junior fiction editor. She now lives in a village outside
Hereford with a Border terrier, an otterhound and her husband.
Lucy won the Romantic Novelists’ Association Contemporary
Romantic Novel prize in 2015 for A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME, and
the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2010 for LOST DOGS AND
LONELY HEARTS. You can find her on Twitter (@lucy_dillon) and
Instagram (@lucydillonbooks).