The Holiday

Author – John Nicholl.

John Nicholl is the bestselling author of numerous psychological thrillers and detective series, previously published by Bloodhound, and inspired by his real-life experience as an ex-police officer and child protection social worker. Boldwood will be publishing the next title in his Galbraith series and a new psychological thriller in autumn 2022, and will be reissuing his bestselling backlist from May 2022.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.nicholl.988

Twitter https://twitter.com/nicholl06

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/johnnichollauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JohnNichollNews

Bookbub profile: John Nicholl Books – BookBub

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 273

The Blurb –

It was meant to be the perfect getaway…As I board the plane, all I can feel is hope and excitement. One whole week away. Just me and the man I have promised to be with forever. Time to repair what has been broken. Maybe even try for another baby, and pray that this time it doesn’t end heartbreakingly. I just need to not think about what George has done. He’s my husband. And this is the holiday where we make things right. But then I realise he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful woman who’s just boarded the plane in front of me… In that moment, everything changes. And nobody is safe.

A gripping, twisty, breathtaking psychological thriller that will keep you reading late into the night. If you loved The Housemaid, The Girl on the Train and The Couple at No.9, you’ll be addicted to The Holiday.

Today is my stop on The Holiday blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is the first book I have read by this author.

The story revolves around a young married couple, Suzie is looking forward to a holiday away together while George is just after her money. Although they are married they could not be further apart.

Then Suzie meets Amelia. She thinks she has made a friend, but is there more to Amelia than Suzie realises?

An interesting read, where you don’t really like any of the characters but you hope they get what they deserve, especially the husband.

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Murder in the Library

Author – Anita Davison.

Anita Davison is the author of the successful Flora Maguire historical mystery series. Previously published by Aria, she is writing a new cosy mystery series for Boldwood, the first title of which, Murder in the Bookshop, will be published in August 2023.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.davison

Twitter https://twitter.com/AnitaSDavison

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anitadavison3740/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AnitaDavisonNews

Bookbub profile: Anita Davison Books – BookBub

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 266

The Blurb –

A body in a hospital isn’t so unusual. Unless they’ve been murdered!

1916, London: Keen to support the war effort, bookshop manager and sometime amateur sleuth Hannah Merrill has taken a volunteer role in the library of the nearby military hospital. But arriving at the hospital one cold winter’s morning, she is horrified to find the body of a dead soldier in the library.

What’s more, a beautiful young nurse confides in Hannah that she thinks she’s being followed, and then she abruptly disappears. Hannah can’t shake the suspicion that the two cases are connected, but she can’t solve the case alone. She’ll once again need to call upon her delightful, demanding, only-occasionally devious aunt, Violet. The two women know they must find the missing nurse before it’s too late… but they don’t realise they’re now both in the killer’s sights.

Today is my stop on the Murder in the Library blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is the second book in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mysteries. This is easy to read as a standalone book.

This series is set in 1916 during the First World War and Hannah is volunteering at the hospital library, whilst her bookshop is out of action. However she is shocked to find a corpse locked in the library one morning. Things get stranger when a volunteer nurse disappears. Hannah, with help from her Aunt Violet, start looking into the victim and whether he is connected the nurse.

This is a great read and I look forward to reading the first in the series.

Purchase Links – Murder in the Library

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Death at Lover’s Leap

Author – Catherine Coles.

Catherine Coles writes bestselling cosy mysteries set in the English countryside. Her extremely popular Tommy & Evelyn Christie series is based in North Yorkshire in the 1920’s and Catherine herself lives in Hull with her family and two spoiled dogs.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.coles.9847

Twitter https://twitter.com/catherinecoles

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catherinecolesauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/CatherineColesNews

Bookbub profile: Catherine Coles Books – BookBub

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 210

The Blurb –

Westleham Village 1948

As Valentine’s Day rolls around, Martha Miller finds herself unusually melancholy at the state of her own love life. With husband Stan still missing and with her growing feelings for Vicar Luke still shrouded in secrecy, there’s only one place Martha can go – famous local beauty spot, Lovers’ Leap. Legend has it that those with a broken heart throw themselves off the bridge that spans the river, but Martha is certainly not about to do such a thing! But it looks like someone else has had other ideas…. Because there in the river, Martha finds a body. But is this misadventure, a moment of lovesick madness, or is foul play afoot? Martha knows one thing…the villagers of Westleham have another crime to solve! Let the investigation commence! Find out if Martha and Luke can catch the killer in a brand new Martha Miller mystery from bestselling author Catherine Coles.

Today is my stop on the Death at St Judes blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – I love this series having already read Poison at the Village Show. As well as being a really good cosy crime mystery, the historical detail really adds to the story.

Martha is still conflicted about her feelings about the Vicar, and the absence of her husband. She is soon to be distracted when a body is found by Lover’s Leap, where legend has it, spurnned lovers throw themselves to their deaths. So is this what has happened in this case?

A lovely addition to this series.

Purchase Links – Death at Lover’s Leap

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Death at St Jude’s

Author – Mary Grand.

Mary Grand writes gripping, page-turning suspense novels, with a dark and often murderous underside. She grew up in Wales, was for many years a teacher of deaf children and now lives on the Isle of Wight.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.grand

Twitter https://twitter.com/authormaryg

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marygrandwriter/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MaryGrandNews

Bookbub profile: Mary Grand Books – BookBub

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 347

The Blurb –

The Isle of Wight has always felt like a safe place to live for keen dog-walker and reluctant sleuth Susan. But after being involved in the investigation of a troubling crime near her old home, Susan decides to move to the peaceful village of Bishopstone.

Susan loves the sense of community and immediately throws herself into village life, volunteering at the local primary school and joining the choir of St Jude’s. So, when there is an altercation at the meeting of the choir committee, followed by a shocking accident involving head teacher Lawrence, Susan is dismayed to realise her powers of deduction may be needed again.

There is a dangerous criminal hiding in plain sight and with the police reluctant to help, Susan must put together the pieces of the fiendish puzzle to flush out a killer before they strike again.

A brand new cosy mystery from the author of the bestselling The House Party. Perfect for fans of Frances Evesham, Faith Martin and LJ Ross.

Today is my stop on the Death at St Jude’s blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is the second book in the Isle of Wight Killings series. It is the first I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It is easily read as a standalone.

This series revolves Susan, who has just moved after a a troubing incident. She throws herself into community activities, trying to integrate into the village. However it isn’t long before a body is found, and being unhappy with the police response, she finds herself looking into the victim. She soon finds a host of people who could have done it.

A great cosy crime mystery with a lovely setting.

Purchase Links – Death at St Jude’s

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Last Seen In Havana

Author – Teresa Dovalpage.

Writer, translator and college professor, Teresa Dovalpage is a Cuban transplant firmly rooted in New Mexico. She is the author of twelve novels, among them the Havana Mystery series, three short story collections and four theater plays. She lives with her husband, one dog and too many barn cats.

Social Media Links –

Blog in English https://teredovalpage.com/

Blog in Spanish: https://teresadovalpage.com/

Publisher – Thorndike Press

Pages – 352

The Blurb –

A Cuban American woman searches for her long-lost mother and fights to restore a beautiful but crumbling Art Deco home in the heart of Havana in this moving, immersive new mystery, perfect for fans of Of Women and Salt.

In 2019, newly widowed baker Mercedes Spivey flies from Miami to her native Cuba to care for her ailing paternal grandmother. Mercedes’s life has been shaped by loss, beginning with the mysterious unsolved disappearance of her mother when Mercedes was a little girl. Returning to Cuba revives Mercedes’s hopes of finding her mother as she attempts to piece together the few scraps of information she has. Could her mother still be alive?

33 years earlier, an American college student with endless political optimism falls deliriously in love with a handsome Cuban soldier while on a spontaneous visit to the island. She decides to stay permanently, but soon discovers that nothing is as it seems in Havana.

The two women’s stories proceed in parallel as Mercedes gets closer to discovering the truth about her mother, uncovering shocking family secrets in the process . . .

Today is my stop on the Last Seen in Havana blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is the second book I have read by Teresa Dovalpage, the first being Death Comes In Through The Kitchen which is the first book in the Havana book mystery.

This is the fourth book in the series and can be read as a standalone. 

I love how this book is written, the book itself is a beautifully written mystery, but the author also immerses the reader in the rich cultural world of Cuba.

Mercedes travels to Cuba to care for her sick grandmother, while she is there she hopes to find her mother who disappeared when she was a little girl.

A dual time story line reveals some shocking family secrets.

Giveaway to Win 1 hardcover copy of Last Seen in Havana (Open to USA Only)

*Terms and Conditions –USA entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Purchase Link – Last Seen in Havana

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Stranger in the Village

Author – Kate Wells.

Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing a new cosy crime series set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up. Boldwood  will publish the first title, Murder at Malvern Farm, in August 2023.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateWellsPoels

Twitter https://twitter.com/KatePoels

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/katepoelswrites/Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/KateWellsNews

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 359

The Blurb –

Where there’s a body in Malvern End, there are secrets to be uncovered…

Jude Gray has worked hard to bring a steady equilibrium to life on Malvern Farm and things are going well.

The only fly in the ointment is the foul addition of a new face in the village: staunch townie and chauvinistic sleaze, Des Smith. Jude has nothing but sympathy for his caring, patient wife, Loretta, who has become a regular visitor to the farm for a cup of tea and a chat.

But things take a turn for the worse when a hit and run outside The Lamb brings death once again to the village. Is it an accident or is something more sinister afoot?

Perhaps the answer lies in the stranger with red trainers who’s been seen wandering through the village and through Jude’s fields at night. Following the clues, Jude desperately hopes she will find the right answers, because the murderer being someone she knows is unfathomable…

Today is my stop on Stranger in the Village blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is the second book in the new Malvern Farm Mysteries by Kate Wells. I haven’t read the first one but this reads well as a standalone book.

This a lovely read and as well as some interesting human characters, there are an array of cute farmyard ones too.

Jude is hardworking and is running her farm by herself, she is a strong character and a good protagonist for a series. Her busy is life is interrupted when a newcomer to the village is murdered. It turns out he has many enemies and is a hit and run connected at all?

A good cosy crime mystery.

Purchase Links – Stranger in the Village

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Driven To Murder

Author – Debbie Young.

Debbie Young is the much-loved author of the Sophie Sayers and St Brides cosy crime mysteries. She lives in a Cotswold village where she runs the local literary festival, and has worked at Westonbirt School, both of which provide inspiration for her writing. She is bringing both her series to Boldwood in a 13-book contract. They will be publishing several new titles in each series and republishing the backlist, starting in September 2022.

Social Media Links –

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDebbieYoung

Twitter https://twitter.com/DebbieYoungBN

Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/debbieyoungauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/DebbieYoungNews

Bookbub profile:https://www.bookbub.com/authors/debbie-young

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 218

The Blurb –

A perfect cosy crime for fans of M C Beaton’s Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series.

Change is coming to Wendlebury Barrow – and not everyone is happy about it…

When the local bus company announces it will be stopping its route through their quaint Cotswold village, the people of Wendlebury Barrow are up in arms. Not least Sophie Sayers, whose driving lessons with her boyfriend Hector get off to a bumpy start.

But the local’s peaceful protests against the decision turn deadly when a body is discovered on the Number 27. No one can work out how Janice Boggins met her demise, let alone how the driver didn’t notice. While the police wait for the post mortem results, Sophie immediately suspects foul play, and launches her own investigation.

Can she solve the murder before another passenger is hurt?

Today is my stop on the Driven To Murder blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – As a lover of cosy crime, I really like Debbie Young’s series. Both Sophie Sayers and Gemma Lamb.

This book is the ninth in the Sophie Sayer Series. Although it is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone. I really like the character’s of Sophie and Hector, her boyfriend, and how they are constantly drawn to drama.

This book sees Sophie looking into the death of Janice Boggins, who dies on a bus. The local bus service is threatening to cut the service to the village, so Sophie immediately is suspicious.

Another good book in this lovely series.

I have also read and reviewed Murder in the Highlands and Artful Antics at St Brides  by the same author.

Purchase Links – Driven to Murder

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Murder at Merewood Hospital

Author – Michelle Salter.

Michelle Salter writes historical cosy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain. The first book in her Iris Woodmore series, Death at Crookham Hall, draws on her interest in the aftermath of the Great War and the suffragette movement.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleSalterWriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleASalter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellesalter_writer/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MichelleSalterNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-salter

Publisher- Boldwood Books

Pages – 293

The Blurb –

In 1916, Sister Helen Hopgood was sent with a team of nurses to care for wounded soldiers at Merewood Farm, a temporary military hospital in Hampshire.

Now the war is over, only five patients remain – and she is the only nurse. The last ward must close, and Helen is doing all she can to find new homes for the injured servicemen.

Joseph Wintringham has to sell the farm to keep Merewood Manor. But since the murder of Nurse Taplin, locals believe the place is cursed – perhaps by the doomed nurse or by the patients who perished from their war wounds.

Is the hospital haunted? Or is someone very real behind the unnatural deaths that began on Midsummer’s Eve?

Can Helen discover the truth before it’s too late..?

Today is my stop on the Murder at Merewood Hospital blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts –

I have also read Murder at Waldenmere Lake, The Body at Carnival Bridge, A Killing at Smugglers Cove by Michelle Salter.

This is a brand new series by Michelle Salter, so I was eager to get stuck in. This book revolves around Merewood Manor that had been repurposed, as a hospital, during the WW1. However with a lack of patients it is being shut down leaving Sister Helen Hopgood as the only nurse working there.

The local residents won’t come near the manor as they think it is cursed due a murder of a nurse the year before. They are suspicious of the grounds and the people in them. However is something more natural happening?

As always with this author’s books you can see that a great deal of research has been done to ensure authenticity throughout.

A great start to what I hope is a series.

Purchase Links – Murder at Merewood Hospital

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The Chameleon Killer

Author – Gina Cheyne.

Gina has worked as a pilot, physiotherapist, freelance writer and dog breeder. As a child, Gina’s parents hated travelling and never went further than Jersey. As a result she became travel-addicted and spent years bumming around SE Asia, China and Australia, where she worked in a racing stables in Pinjarra, South of Perth. She then lived and worked in various places in Spain, the USA and London before settling in West Sussex with her husband and dogs. This is her fourth crime novel in the SeeMs Detective Agency series. This book is set between Sussex and London.

Social Media Links –

https://ginacheyne.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ginacheynewriter/

https://www.facebook.com/gina.cheyne.books

https://reedsy.com/discovery/user/ginacheyne

@flyfizzi

Publisher – Fly Fizzi Ltd

Pages – 287

The Blurb – When you are having a really bad day, drink yourself legless, abuse everyone around you, pass out and try again tomorrow.
Trouble is; every day is bad in Rupert Fletcher’s world. He threatens his ex-wife, mocks his girlfriend, abuses his neighbours, and gets into a fight in the pub.
Next day, he is found dead.
Who’d want to kill him? Well, almost everybody, but it looks like only one person did. The police arrest his ex-wife’s therapist, Anthony.
Anthony’s family claim he is innocent and employ the SeeMs Detective Agency to find the real killer.
Cat, Miranda, and Stevie uncover clues that point them back to an intricate web of family injuries and an unexpected connection between the victim and his killer.
Could Rupert’s murderer be The Chameleon Killer, who has already killed before and is bent on revenge? They need to act fast before the killer strikes again.

Today is my stop on The Chameleon Killer Mystery. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This book is the fourth in the SeeMs series. I haven’t read the other three but this book is easy to read as a standalone.

The victim, Rupert, is a thoroughly unpleasant individual, so when detectives start to look at who would want him dead, it would appear everybody. The SeeMs detective agency is called in when people feel the wrong person has been arrested for murder. With so many people hating Rupert, who is the real killer?

Purchase Links – The Chameleon Killer Mystery

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A Story to Strangle For

Author – E.V. Hunter

Evie Hunter has written a great many successful regency romances as Wendy Soliman and is now redirecting her talents to produce dark gritty thrillers for Boldwood. For the past twenty years she has lived the life of a nomad, roaming the world on interesting forms of transport, but has now settled back in the UK.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendy.soliman.author

Twitter https://twitter.com/Wendyswriter

Instagram: Wendy Soliman (@wendy_soliman) • Instagram photos and videos

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/EvieHunter

Bookbub profile: E.V. Hunter Books – BookBub

Publisher – Boldwood Books

Pages – 276

The Blurb –

Today is my stop on the A Story to Strangle For blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is the fourth book in the Hopgood Hall murder mysteries. I have already read and reviewed A Contest to Kill For in this series.

After a string of events that have ruined the reputation of the hall, Alexi decides to start running a writer’s course to try and get more people in. However it isn’t long before her detective skills are put to use again when somebody is murdered.

As ever she works with Jack and Cosmo to work through all the suspects and figure out who the culprit is.

A really good series with a great cast of characters.

Purchase Links – A Story to Strangle For

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