#Review of Love on Lake Como by Joy Skye @joys.kye @BookMinxSJV #loveonlakecomo is a great #summerread for your #holidays

Love on Lake Como
By Joy Skye

When you look out of the window, fleeing to somewhere like Lake Como sounds like a perfect dream. When you see what Indie Summer is fleeing, it’s even more so. Relationships come in all shapes and sizes, some perhaps are good, others definitely not. Indie Summer is has decided to get away from her manipulative boyfriend and escape to the picturesque Lake Como, Italy. The destination isn’t as random as it sounds. She has a twin sister there who she plans to work with in a luxury villa. It isn’t just any luxury villa either, it belongs to a reclusive actor, who she, understandably comes very interested in. This lands in trouble with Marco Rossi, a brooding bodyguard…

What ensues is a slow-burn romance. Indie knows she should stay well clear of Marco, but she finds him so handsome. Realistically, she doesn’t just jump straight into a relationship, she does have her doubts and isn’t sure whether she can trust another man. This brings some great thought by the author and something quite grounded to the situation she finds herself in.

The sisterly relationship is heartwarming and shows a great bond that is rather touching.

There’s quite a bit of intrigue shrouding the luxury villa. There are family secrets woven into its fabric and its residents that are compelling to discover.

Love on Lake Como is as beautifully written as the scenic vista itself. It is a wonderful summer read.

Blurb

A new life, an old secret, and one unforgettable Italian summer.

Falling for him wasn’t part of the itinerary.

For Indie Summer, fleeing to Lake Como after walking away from her manipulative boyfriend feels like salvation.

With everything she owns crammed into a single suitcase, she heads to Italy to work a season at a luxurious villa with her twin sister, clinging to the hope that the picturesque lakeside escape might also bring her closer to their elusive father.

What she didn’t expect was that her curiosity about a reclusive actor’s villa would land her in hot water with his brooding bodyguard, Marco Rossi. Tall, dark and handsome, Marco is everything Indie should avoid, but she can’t seem to stay away.

As sun-soaked days stretch into glittering nights, Indie navigates demanding guests, long-buried family secrets, and more than a few glasses of Pinot Grigio. But the biggest challenge of all might be learning to trust again, especially with a man who guards not only a celebrity, but his own heart.

Escape to the sublime in this heart-warming, slow-burn romance set against the dreamy backdrop of Italy’s most iconic vista.

#Review of The Boy in the Photo by Hilly Barmby #HillyBarmby @HobeckBooks #psychologicalthriller

The Boy in the Photo
By Hilly Barmby

The Boy in the Photo is an incredible psychological thriller. If you like Gillian Flynn and/or Freida McFadden this is one I highly recommend you pick up.

When is a car accident perhaps not so clear cut? When events happen that bring about other suspicions.

Kaz Emmerson, her brother Mark and sister Livy are devastated when their parents both die in a car crash. You can’t help but feel the emotion and the hardship of trying to re-discover and rebuild life after the funeral. Livy is married and has a child, so that’s where her energies go, as well as escaping for a holiday with her best friend to Spain, where it’s all sun and sangria. It can be a small world at times as they discover when they meet Ryan, who happens to live close-by in the UK. Both start to build a connection and find him handsome.
Mark buries himself in work, but also re-emerging at certain points to try and rebuild and maintain his social life. So far, so normal.

When the 3 siblings meet in a lawyers office, everything changes. The pace and suspense increases and the twists start to appear as things don’t all add up. A mysterious photo emerges and someone is oddly taking photos around the property. What feels normal to begin with becomes darker as the unexpected of events occur.
The intrigue runs deep as does a sense of uneasiness when it becomes apparent that you don’t know who can be trusted and who cannot. That feeling can be deeply felt within the various big emotions that weave themselves into this story as everything that was once hidden away or glued together unravels and there could be someone out to cause destruction.

The Boy in the Photo is revealing about how precarious some aspects of life can be. What it can be to have everything feel certain and then discover strange things later on.

Hilly Barmby has written a page-turner of a psychological thriller that hooks and grabs in an immersive sense throughout.

Blurb

This unbelievably twisty read will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves Freida McFadden and Gillian Flynn won’t be able to put down The Boy in the Photo!

Kaz Emmerson, brother Mark and sister Livy are devastated after the death of their parents in a car crash. Surely it was just a terrible accident, wasn’t it?

After the funeral, the three try to rebuild their lives as best they can. Livy turns her focus on her husband and young son. Mark immerses himself in work and rebuilding his social life. Kaz escapes the pain with bestie Elise, taking off to Spain for a couple of weeks for sun, sand and sangria.

While on holiday, Kaz and Elise chance upon the mysterious and handsome Ryan. They both like him. As it turns out, he lives rather close to home and when they return to the UK they meet up. But who will he pick?

The three siblings gather with their family lawyer who leaves them with a deep sense of unease. What is he not telling them? Curious, Kaz ploughs into the family paperwork stored in the attic of their parents’ grand country home. After a shocking discovery, she is embroiled in a family mystery that threatens to unravel everything. Who exactly is the boy in the photo with their father? Why is there a man sneaking around their garden taking photos? When more horrifying things happen, who can they trust? Is there someone who will stop at nothing to destroy them?

#Review of Octagon by C.J. Merritt – A Gripping Espionage Thriller Published Today! #Octagon #ChrisMerritt @MichaelJBooks #Thriller #SpyThriller #politicalthriller #crimethriller

Octagon
By C.J. Merritt

review written by Louise Cannon

Octagon is rather different for C.J. Merritt in that it isn’t psychological, it’s a fast-paced politcal/espionage thriller that’s also very much worth picking up and reading. The quality of writing and story-telling is just as high as any other book he has written previously. Today, I have a review and blurb on publication day for Octagon, thanks to Michael J. Books.

There are secrets, confessions and murders galore. A Russian Scientist, practically on his deathbed has a deep, dark confession to make. There is also a murdered spy, a ritual killing and a former MI6 Agent Runner and former SAS Operator to get to know. There are a mix of backdrops of calm, including English countryside and Swedish forest to be lured into, but hang on tight, there is a lot of action in this tightly written plot. Readers are taken on a big high octane, big stakes journey as Octagon, the name of a plot against the West, which if pulled off in its entirety, will have devastating consequences.

Stella McCrae left MI6 on not exactly the best of terms and set up an investigation company, which unfortunately struggles. Fortunately she finds herself deep in a rather dark mystery to solve and that’s where Tommy Kane, internally, a complex man, comes in with just the expertise and experience she needs to really get going on the case. There is also Hoss who Stella set up the company with. Each of them have differing, but complimentary skill sets. It’s interesting to watch how they relate to each other within their professional capacity and work.
They are up against time to stop plot Octagon from becoming a horrific reality and someone instrumental to it is already on a key train.

Octagon is so fast-paced with unexpected twists and turns and depth that it’s easy to find yourself racing along to discover where it takes you next and which direction it ends in.

For a thriller that takes you on an unexpected journey of high danger, intriguing characters and a compelling plot, I highly recommend Octagon.

Blurb

A DYING RUSSIAN SCIENTIST
confesses to his children what he did as a young man.

A MURDERED SPY
shares vital intelligence before he’s ruthlessly assassinated in the English countryside.

A RITUAL KILLING
hidden in a forest clearing in Sweden hints at something much worse.

FORMER MI6 AGENT RUNNER
Stella McRae is the only person who can be trusted to investigate now her former employer has been compromised.

EX-SAS OPERATOR
Tommy Kane has always had Stella’s back, but as the threats against them escalate, will his formidable skills be enough this time?

OCTAGON
A devastating plot against the West is already in train. Only Stella and Tommy stand in its way. And time is running out…

#Review of The Night Lagoon by Jo Morey @JoMoreyWriter @HarperCollinsUK @RandomTTours #Thriller #bookreview by Lou

The Night Lagoon
By Jo Morey

Wittering Lodge, Stann Creek is a place that’s a piece of paradise, but isn’t all it seems with its current occupancy of Laelia and her partner, Aid. There is quite a rum-filled passion that gets darker in atmosphere and actions as many secrets become uncovered in a nook in the lodge.

Tension builds in such a gripping, creative way that makes it quite the cinematic page-turner as it becomes rather immersive with interesting, lush descriptive writing of the jungle playing off the characterisations of the people you meet.

There’s quite a uniqueness in the characterisation of Laelia as she has tinnitus and wears hearing aids. Something I know a bit about via a parent dealing with this. The way she is written is authentic and she doesn’t catch every word.

The psychological element of this thriller is palpable in the dynamics between people in the way they behave and manipulate. The web of lies plays with you, keeping its hold until unraveled in both character and reader.

Jo Morey is a new to me author and she is one to watch!

The Night Lagoon is a different summer read that grips from beginning to end as everything comes out and presents itself bit by bit.

Blurb

It’s a liar’s paradise
Wittering Lodge, Stann Creek, Belize

In the dead of night, lying in her father’s jungle lodge, Laelia watches her partner Aid sleeping – her mind racing with everything that’s brought her to this moment.

The heady Caribbean holiday when they first met.

The rum-fueled passion that, day by day, creeps into something darker.

The secrets she discovered in a hidden nook of the lodge, revealing a devastating past.

Above all, she thinks about the impossible decision she must make before dawn.

Does she stay silent and protect their newfound paradise? Or does she confront the lies which run as deep and dark as the lagoon – surfacing a dangerous truth from which there’s no return…

A transporting book club novel with the pulse of a thriller, The Night Lagoon is about the secrets and lies that simmer just beneath the surface of paradise.

#Review of Old Bones in Puglia – A Daniel Leicester Thriller by Tom Benjamin @tombenjaminsays @RandomTTours #Thriller

Old Bones in Puglia is the seventh Daniel Leicester thriller and the first I have ever read. It works well as reading it as a stand-alone and probably in the book order too. So, it’s time to get acquainted with a side of Italy that brings a lot of intrigue and unexpected corners. Thanks to Random T. Tours, who’s blog tour I have joined with a copy of the book, I have a review of Old Bones in Puglia. Check out my review, the blurb and a bit about Tom Benjamin. He’s achieved something pretty positive and great, so do take a look at his short bio.
This is a little late for the blog tour due to a family situation, now sorted.

Daniel Leicester is a British detective from England, now residing in Bologna, Italy. He is on this travels to Puglia because a relative has died. It couldn’t be further from some divine, idyllic holiday destination. It turns out Puglia has quite a dark history and isn’t all as innocent as the revered saints. This is mixed with mafia clans, hidden catacombs and sinister ceremonies. There’s a bit of spookiness and uneasiness in feel to part of this that builds the sinister atmosphere. What also becomes clear is just how powerful the mafia is and how strong superstition and that belief in mysticism can be, even when it comes to murder. It becomes scarier still as Daniel’s daughter is snatched during a Holy Week procession. It shows the mafia is prepared to do anything to get what they want.

Tom Benjamin weaves creates palpable atmosphere with historic artefacts and intriguing characters in a way that becomes quite the immersive page-turner. The characters are written in an interesting way in the narrative which works rather well for the style deployed.

The plot keeps you guessing to the end and captures the imagination with rich descriptions through submersive scenery and characterisation within the plotlines.

Whether you’ve read the Daniel Leicester Thrillers in-order or not, since it stands alone pretty well, I recommend you check out Old Bones In Puglia. It does not disappoint and makes you see Italy in a different light.
Would I read more? Yes, I would go back and check others out as time allows.

Blurb

Discover Italy’s bewitching region of Puglia with the seventh Daniel Leicester mystery, the most propulsive yet . . .

English detective and Bologna resident Daniel Leicester has been summoned by a dying relative to the wildest corner of Puglia, home to revered saints, fearsome mafia clans, hidden catacombs and sinister ceremonies.

As Daniel discovers that his Italian family’s history runs deep in the veins of the region, old grudges resurface and life is breathed into ancient superstitions. He is enchanted by the mysteries of the region and joins a search for stolen antiquities, but when a contact is gruesomely murdered by mobsters, it’s clear that mafia rule is more powerful than local mysticism.

Lured by magic but trapped by the mob, Daniel finds himself unable to return to his beloved Bologna. His family is bound to Puglia more tightly than he ever imagined, and powerful people want answers he can’t give.

And when Daniel’s daughter is snatched during a Holy Week procession, he sees first-hand just how far they’re prepared to go . . .

About the Author

Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his working life as a journalist before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he developed Britain’s first national campaign against alcohol abuse, Know Your Limits, and led drugs awareness programme FRANK. He now lives in Bologna.

A Quiet Death in Italy is the first novel in his Daniel Leicester crime series.

Find Tom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at tombenjaminsays.

#Review by Lou of A Cornish Legacy By Fern Britton Now Available In Paperback @Fern_Britton @HarperCollinsUK #ACornishLegacy

A Cornish Legacy
By Fern Britton

It’s time to fall in love with a visit to Cornwall all over again with A Cornish Legacy. . Below is the blurb and my review of her latest absorbing book.

Blurb

Escape to Cornwall this summer with the new emotional and uplifting novel from Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Fern Britton

Set by the wild Atlantic coast of Cornwall comes a story about finding home in the most unlikely places.

When Cordelia Jago learns she’s been left the crumbling manor house Wilder Hoo, perched high on the Cornish coast, she wonders if it’s one last cruel joke from beyond the grave.

Having already lost her marriage, her best friend and her career, she’s at rock-bottom. Now she’s inherited a house she hates, full of unhappy memories.

But as she fights with its echoing rooms and whispering shadows, the house begins to exert a pull on her. The wild Cornish landscape, the stark beauty of seagrass and yellow gorse against the deep blue sea, begin to awaken a connection she thought she’d buried forever.

Could she turn around this monstrous wreck of a house – and, along the way, let go of the secrets of the past and heal her heart too?

Review

Cordelia Jago is an interesting character. She doesn’t wear any make-up, is a bit fed up and all is a bit ordinary. She’s also not had things easy, having lost the major thing in life, so you really can feel for her. Things, however, change when she discovers she’s been left a manor house in a will. This manor house, Wilderhoo, like the setting in Cornwall, seems to be quite a character in itself and has quite profound effects on her, which in turn makes things quite thought-provoking for the reader.

What makes this inheritance really different is that Cordelia doesn’t actually want it. She remembers it from another place in time. It becomes quite a mysterious book in that way. It sweeps you up because by this time you want to know why she doesn’t want this big country pile to do up, apart from it being a money pit. Makes you want to read more into what the memories its bringing back as the house then appears to also have a life of its own… It really seems to go with the saying of “walls have ears”. This country pile just knows things and there are conscious and unconscious thoughts that Cordelia then has about it.

The book is succinctly set in both the past and the present, giving a whole picture about what’s been going on. It’s told in a very compelling way, and much like the house pulling Cordelia in, it draws you as a reader into its depths of emotion and life opportunities and life matters.

Fern Britton weaves the seascape, the manor house and the power of memories expertly together, creating a highly atmospheric, highly adept and compelling book.