Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten

 

Dead Mercy

By 

Noelle Holten

About the Book

‘Hugely confident … harrowing, visceral … recommended’ Ian Rankin on Dead Inside

A brutal murder…

When a burned body is found with its teeth missing, DC Maggie Jamieson discovers that the victim may be the husband of one of her probation colleagues.

A dark history…

As the body count rises, the team becomes increasingly baffled by how the victims could possibly be connected until a clue leads them to a historical case that was never prosecuted.

A terrible secret…

In order to catch the killer, Maggie must piece together what happened all those years ago before it’s too late.

About the Author 

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. Dead Inside – her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

Connect with Noelle on Social Media here:

Subscribe to Newsletter: http://ow.ly/cgww50BkBtt

Twitter: (@nholten40) https://twitter.com/nholten40

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

Blog FB page: https://www.facebook.com/crimebookjunkie/

Instagram: @author_noelleholten

Website: https://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk

Bookbub Author page : https://bit.ly/2LkT4LB

My Review

The fifth book in the Maggie Jamieson and they are just getting better and better.

I’m really enjoying this series, easy to read, shortish chapters which keep a great pace and the book is gritty.

There’s a murderer out there but can Maggie find out who it is before anyone else dies. Her and her team work closely with different departments to get to the bottom of these crimes and it’s good to see the relationships and how they work together. Maggie is a strong character who I like.

Quite a dark story with parts that made me feel the pain.

The characters are really building now as we get to know more about them. I love this series and can’t wait for the next one. 

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Stolen Ones by Angela Marsons

 

Stolen Ones 

By 

Angela Marsons 

About the Book

25 years ago he took a girl. Today he takes another.

One August afternoon, eight-year-old Grace Lennard skips into the garden of the childcare centre she attends and vanishes into thin air. Rushing to the scene of Grace’s disappearance, Detective Kim Stone finds a chilling piece of evidence: the engraved heart bracelet belonging to Melody Jones – the little girl who was taken from a playground exactly twenty-five years ago.

Hours before, Steven Harte had walked into Halesowen police station and confessed to having information that would lead Kim to Melody. And he told Kim she’d have a more urgent problem to deal with first. Now Kim must play Steven’s twisted game if she’s to find Grace alive.

With only twenty-four hours to make every second of Steven’s interrogation count, and scan his behaviour for hidden clues, Kim and her team soon link Steven to the abduction of several vulnerable girls – two were kept for a year and then released, unharmed – but where are Melody and the others?

Then small bones are discovered in the grounds of a local park, and Kim fears the worst.

Kim may think she’s close to convicting a killer, but the case is about to get even more complex. Steven is hiding one final explosive truth and he’s not the only one. Dr Alex Thorne – the evil woman Kim did her best to keep behind bars is about to reveal a shocking secret to Kim that will hit her where it hurts the most. Kim knows she must put aside her own demons to save Grace and find the other missing girls in time. But can Kim untangle Steven’s web before any more innocent lives are lost?

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave your heart in your mouth. You will be totally hooked on the utterly addictive, number one, multi-million-copy bestselling Detective Kim Stone series.

About the Author 

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 4 million in 5 years.

She lives in Worcestershire with her partner and their 2 cheeky Golden Retrievers.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read "Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people's".

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 28 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into more than 27 languages.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone and the translation of Dead Souls, La Verita Sepolte, recently won the prestigious Primo Bancarella award.

My Review

Yes I’m going to say it again….Angela Marsons has done it again!! Produced yet another gripping Kim Stone book.

This is book 15 in the Kim Stone series and they never grow tiring or boring.

Melody Jones disappeared 25 years ago. Steven Harte turns up at the station and wants to talk to Kim, he has information about her….but the help is on his terms. 

Another girl disappears does Steven know anything about this too? 

Kim has her work cut out to try and see if there is a link between the missing children and getting this one back alive…can Steven Harte really help? Should she play his games? 

Then just as you think you can’t get anymore gripped…. Alex Thorne appears just to make Kim’s life a little bit more complicated.

Unputdownable, twists and turns that keep you 

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COVER REVEAL - Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten

 

Dead Mercy 

By 

Noelle Holten

About the Book

Hugely confident … harrowing, visceral … recommended’ Ian Rankin on Dead Inside

A brutal murder…

When a burned body is found with its teeth missing, DC Maggie Jamieson discovers that the victim may be the husband of one of her probation colleagues.

A dark history…

As the body count rises, the team becomes increasingly baffled by how the victims could possibly be connected until a clue leads them to a historical case that was never prosecuted.

A terrible secret…

In order to catch the killer, Maggie must piece together what happened all those years ago before it’s too late.

About the Author 

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. Dead Inside – her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

Connect with Noelle on Social Media here:

Subscribe to Newsletter: http://ow.ly/cgww50BkBtt

Twitter: (@nholten40) https://twitter.com/nholten40

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

Blog FB page: https://www.facebook.com/crimebookjunkie/

Instagram: @author_noelleholten

Website: https://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk

Bookbub Author page : https://bit.ly/2LkT4LB

If Only by Angela Marsons

 

If Only

By 

Angela Marsons 

About the Book

I want Michael Hunter to fall so deeply in love with me that he can’t bear to be more than fifty feet away,” Cher declares to her best friends over cheesecake and wine. But what if she’s searching for happiness in the wrong place?

As Cher types up letters about overflowing rubbish bins in a job she hates, she dreams of Michael Hunter. He’s gorgeous, smart, funny and he’s about to become her new boss. But he barely looks at Cher except to ask for a coffee refill. How can she get him to notice she’s the perfect girl for him?

While Cher ignores the warning from workmate Dan that Michael is bad news, her friends have their own problems to fix. Sarah is longing to start a new life with a man who won’t commit, and bride-to-be Deb should be looking forward to her wedding, but her future mother-in-law is turning it into a nightmare from hell... If only her fiancé could see it that way.

So, when one summer evening, over several glasses of wine, Cher, Sarah and Deb stumble across an old book and decide to cast a wishing spell, they don’t think for one minute that it will come true. It’s just three best friends having a laugh and throwing some herbs around the garden. Or is it?

Totally unputdownable, absolutely full of laugh-out-loud ‘I’ve so done that’ moments, and plenty of emotional twists and turns that will keep you refilling your wine and racing through to the end. The perfect romantic comedy for fans of Shari Low and Sophie Kinsella.

About the Author 

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 4 million in 5 years.

She lives in Worcestershire with her partner and their 2 cheeky Golden Retrievers.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read "Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people's".

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 28 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into more than 27 languages.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone and the translation of Dead Souls, La Verita Sepolte, recently won the prestigious Primo Bancarella award.

My Review

Angela Marsons has gone rogue and written a RomCom and has shown she’s as good at writing those as she is at writing crime.

I love her Kim Stone series so wondered what this would be like but she’s done it again and written a winner!

If only is a fun story about three best friends who are all very different and all are wishing for something more from their lives….but be careful what you wish for.

An easy read that is funny and lighthearted. A perfect summer read.

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A Cut for a Cut by Carol Wyer

  

A Cut for a Cut 

 By 

Carol Wyer

Today is my spot on the #blogtour for #acutforacut by @carolwyer 

I would like to thank @carolwyer @amazonpub @damppebbles @damppebblesblogtours for the opportunity.

About the Book 

DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

 

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

 

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

 

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate's past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

 

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People's Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction. 

 

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in LITTLE GIRL LOST and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol had found her true niche.

 

To date, her crime novels have sold over 750,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

 

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

 

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

 

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

 

 

Social Media:

Website www.carolwyer.co.uk

Blog www.carolwyer.com

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/carolewyer

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

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/carolewyer

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-wyer-407b1032

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14925467.Carol_Wyer

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5O-lvkAYO19S0AMW8VqJQ

My Review

This is the second book in the DI Kate Young series.

This can be read as a stand-alone however I feel you will get much more out of the book by reading an Eye for an Eye the first in the series to begin with.

This is a dark, gritty police procedural and if anyone knows how to write this genre it’s Carol Wyer. 

Kate is still dealing with her past and her stepsister is back in the uk so she wants to find time for her and her nephew Daniel but bodies of women with MINE scratched into them have been appearing and she needs to find the killer and stop anyone else coming to harm.

This series has strong characters that work well, you want Kate to do well and find the killer but it’s not always that easy.

The chapters are quite long however I’m left at the end of each page wanting to know what’s happening next so still fast paced.

A great read

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Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3pCnXyX

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2TXmOGn

 

 

Publishing Information:

Published by Thomas & Mercer in paperback, audio and digital formats on 29th June 2021

He’s Cancelled by Sophie Ranald

 

He’s Cancelled 

By 

Sophie Ranald

Today is my spot on the #blogtour for #hescancelled I would like to thank #sophieranald @bookouture #noelleholten for the opportunity 

About the Book

When he proposed, I had to pinch myself. Up until then, his most romantic gesture was buying me a 128-piece tool kit.

It’s normal to get cold feet, right? But what about a case of frozen get-me-the-heck-out-of-here feet?

When Natalie’s boyfriend gets down on one knee (even if it’s because he trips and drops the ring) it’s meant to be the start of their happy ever after. But planning a wedding to Archie feels like she’s competing in the Hunger Games…

She’s up against a mother-in-law who enforces a pre-wedding diet with portions you need a microscope for.

She’s cornered by a bridesmaid-zilla sister-in-law who forces her old wedding dress on Nat, featuring satin bows, way too much tulle and a bodice that Nat doesn’t even have the boobs for.

She fends off a best man who tries to kiss her by kneeing him in the crotch.

And she has to defeat a pushy wedding planner who insists on peacocks, doves and pink flamingos at the ceremony.

Nat would wear her battle scars with pride if Archie was by her side. But her fiancé is missing in action, refusing to help her deal with his diva family and going AWOL on the stag do. With just weeks to go, she might have to do the unthinkable… Is it too late to cancel? And if she’s not Archie’s bride-to-be then who on earth is she?

A totally addictive romantic comedy for anyone who has a phobia of bridezillas and who makes the happiest memories during Happy Hour. Fans of rom coms by Sophie Kinsella, Shari Low and Mhairi McFarlane, and TV shows like Emily in Paris will be glued to the pages of this feel-good page-turner.

About the Author 

Sophie Ranald is the youngest of five sisters. She was born in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa until an acute case of itchy feet brought her to London in her mid-20s. As an editor for a customer publishing agency, Sophie developed her fiction-writing skills describing holidays to places she'd never visited. In 2011, she decided to disregard all the good advice given to aspiring novelists and attempt to write full-time. After one false start, It Would Be Wrong to Steal My Sister's Boyfriend (Wouldn't It?) seemed to write itself, and six more novels have followed. Sophie also writes for magazines and online about food, fashion, finance and fitness. She lives in south-east London with her amazing partner Hopi and their two adorable cats.

To find out about Sophie's forthcoming releases and get access to free books and special offers, sign up to her newsletter at sophieranald.com

My Review

This is the first book I have read by Sophie Ranald. It won’t be the last.

When Archie proposes to Nat after just 6 months together she was surprised but said yes and was looking forward to planning a small low key wedding in a registry office. 

Archies mother is a little overbearing and has other ideas for the wedding which is quickly becoming out of hand.

This is a lonely summer easy read that made me laugh out loud with great characters.  

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Waiting to Begin by Amanda Prowse

Waiting To Begin

By 

Amanda Prowse 

About the Book

1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down. Her bright and trusting smile is lost, banished by shame—and a secret she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.

2021. The last thirty-seven years have not been easy for Bess. At fifty-three she is visibly weary, and her marriage to Mario is in tatters. Watching her son in newlywed bliss—the hope, the trust, the joy—Bess knows it is time to face her own demons, and try to save her relationship. But she’ll have to throw off the burden of shame if she is to honour that sixteen-year-old girl whose dreams lie frozen in time.

Can Bess face her past, finally come clean to Mario, and claim the love she has longed to fully experience all these years?

About the Author

Amanda Prowse is an international bestselling author of twenty-seven novels published in dozens of languages. Her chart-topping titles What Have I Done?, Perfect Daughter, My Husband’s Wife, The Coordinates of Loss, The Girl in the Corner and The Things I Know have sold millions of copies around the world.

Other novels by Amanda Prowse include A Mother’s Story, which won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the Year Award. Perfect Daughter was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016. She has been described by the Daily Mail as ‘the queen of family drama’.

Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today. Her titles consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres.

A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show, as well as featuring on numerous daytime ITV programmes. She also makes countless guest appearances on national and independent radio stations, including LBC and talkRADIO, where she is well known for her insightful observations and infectious humour.

Amanda’s ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning off the bedside lamp at night, that ensure you walk every step with her great characters, and tales that fill your head so you can’t possibly read another book until the memory fades…

My Review 

Another beautifully written book by Amanda Prowse.

This is the story of Bessie who in 1984 was a sixteen year old with ambitions of becoming an air hostess and travelling the world.

Fast forward to 2021 Bessies life wasn’t what she wished for and hasn’t been easy but can she now make changes.

Amanda as always captures the characters so wonderfully they come to life on the page and become your best friend. Not always living in a perfect world with a perfect life you can relate and fall in love with them so easily. 

Loved it.

Five stars

Save Her by Abigail Osborne

 

Save Her

By 

Abigail Osborne 

Today is my stop on the #blogtour for #saveher I would like to thank @abigail_author @bloodhoundbook @lovebooksgroup @lovebookstours for the opportunity.

About the Book 

Bonded by their traumatic childhoods, Flora and Sophie are inseparable friends who married brothers.


What they could not have anticipated was their mother-in-law, Cecelia. Disappointed that her children have married beneath them, Cecelia takes every opportunity to belittle and taunt her daughter’s-in-law.


When Cecelia learns that Flora and her son are moving away, her wrath escalates, and Flora’s world begins to fall apart.


Meanwhile, Sophie’s life is also crumbling around her. Her marriage is not what it seems, and she is desperate to escape the clutches of the poisonous family she has married into.


Is Flora being tormented or is she losing her mind?

Will Sophie and Flora be forced to leave their husbands in order to survive?


With a mother-in-law like Cecelia, anything is possible…

About the Author 

Abigail is originally from the Lake District but moved to the West Midlands for University where she completed an English Literature & History degree. She lives in Worcestershire with her husband and is a board game fanatic, owning over 70 games. She has a huge collection of books, plays the violin, and used to play the piano until her husband sold it because it was too heavy to keep moving. Save Her is Abigail’s second novel.

My Review

Flora and Sophie have been friends forever. They are married to brothers Sam and Greg Cavendish who come from a wealthy family that are very close and couldn’t have had a more different upbringing to the ones Flora and Sophie did.

Cecelia the girls mother in law does not feel they are good enough for her sons and makes no attempt to hide this. 

When Flora announces that her and Sam will be moving thing start to happen…

This book is a creepy family psychological thriller with twists and turns that make you wonder who is doing these things. Each character has their own strong back story and it could be anyone of them as they would all have their own reasons. 

A great read that keeps you guessing to the last page.

5*

Buy here 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Save-Her-gripping-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B092ZT5BVC 

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