Dead Man's Prayer by Jackie Baldwin

Dead Man's Prayer by Jackie Baldwin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 3 days

Pages - 344

Publisher - Killer Reads

Blurb from Goodreads

Ex-priest DI Frank Farrell has returned to his roots in Dumfries, only to be landed with a disturbing murder case. Even worse, Farrell knows the victim: Father Boyd, the man who forced him out of the priesthood eighteen years earlier.

With no leads, Farrell must delve into the old priest’s past, one that is inexorably linked with his own. But his attention is diverted when a pair of twin boys go missing. The Dumfries police force recover one in an abandoned church, unharmed. But where is his brother?

As Farrell investigates the two cases, he can’t help but feel targeted. Is someone playing a sinister game, or is he seeing patterns that don’t exist? Either way, it’s a game Farrell needs to win before he loses his grip on his sanity, or someone else turns up dead.



My Review

A priest is murdered, D.I. Frank Farrell is named as the officer in charge of the case. Farrell is not just a police officer, he was a priest and in the same community as the the priest who has been killed. Farrell has links to the old priest, a connection that he doesn't think is relevant and doesn't want to dredge up his past. As the case unfolds, Farrell is forced to look upon his own past, why he had to leave the priesthood and why his mother no longer speaks to him.

You would never know this is a debut novel, it is well written and has strong police procedural themes. Farrell ends up investigating two cases, the murder of the priest and the disappearance of twin boys. Things start to seem personal and Farrell is battling his own demons whilst trying to focus on the cases and keep on top of the inner team issues.

A great book that looks at many themes, battling inner demons, secrets, mental health, relationships, police procedures and a deranged killer. The chapters are short which I love in a book, makes it easier for dipping in and out of especially if you are busy & working in between. You know early on something is a foot and Baldwin keeps you gripped page after page desperate to know what it is, or maybe that is just me because I am a nosey reader. Relatively fast paced, you have a murder in the first chapters and the investigation and introduction to the team goes from there. A fantastic and gripping debut, I will certainly be on the watch for more from this author and hope this is just the beginning of Farrell's story, 4/5 for me this time.

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The Lost Girl by Tania Carver

The Lost Girl by Tania Carver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Little Brown Book Group

Pages - 416

Blurb from Goodreads

The terrifying new thriller in the Brennan and Esposito series - are you brave enough to read it?

When three men are found hanged in locations around Colchester, Detective Inspector Phil Brennan gets the shock of his life. Not only are the victims dressed to look like him, but each carries a defaced tarot card in the pocket of their identical leather jackets, scrawled across with one name: Phil Brennan.

The bodies aren't found in random locations - they're all in places where DI Brennan has caught a murderer. Someone is sending him a message. And he thinks he knows who it is...

Shocking and thrilling, in this dramatic new Tania Carver thriller DI Phil Brennan and his wife, psychologist Marina Esposito, have their lives turned upside down as the past comes back to haunt their present with terrifying consequences.


My Review

Firsty, if you haven't read the previous books in the series I think you can get away with picking this one up. There are mentions to things that have happened in previous books and this series I have read out of order and just as I find them. DI Phil Brennan and his wife Marina Esposito (psychologist) have been through so much already, they are cautious and do keep on top of personal safety. When three male victims are found, all in places Brennan has connections to it is clear someone is trying to tell him something. A high profile kidnap puts everyone on edge and questioning everything they know and their team. The killer is fearless, clever and has one mission on her mind, no one and nothing will get in the way and Phil and Marina find themselves facing their greatest threat yet.

We open in italics, with a little girl and an event that will change her life forever, anytime we visit her the italics highlights the switch so we can follow the story with ease. There are many themes in this book, murder, psychological torture, rape, abuse, pedophilia, prostitution, police teamwork, grief and loss, to name but a few. Certainly not for the faint hearted or easily offended, some of the scenes are really tough to read even for the hardest fans of dark gritty crime.

The chapters are short making it easy for dipping in and out, the subject matter is horrific in parts and the pace finds the reader struggling to put it down. I have read Carver before and will read him again, I just may need a few fluffy reads inbetween to draw some balance again. Carver creates some really deprived criminals that disgusts you but keeps you hooked to discover just what creates such monsters. 4/5 for me this time, as I said I have read him before and I would read him again but warn readers to pick this one up with caution.

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The Freedom Broker by K J Howe - Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for The Freedom Broker by K J Howe. Don't worry you aren't seeing wrong, my blog name is wrong on the tour poster (URL name isn't of actual blog name) records have been updated and it actually happens a lot. Maybe I should change the blog name :P




About the author

Born in Toronto, Canada, KJ enjoyed a nomadic lifestyle during her early years, living in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean, which gave her an insider’s view into many different cultures. While abroad, she read every book she could find, which triggered in her a desire to create her own stories.

She attended Salzburg International Preparatory School, Neuchâtel Junior College, and Albert College before earning a Specialists Degree in Business from the University of Toronto. KJ found success in the corporate world, but her passion for travel, adventure, and stories drew her back to school where she earned a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She also won several writing awards, including three Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense.

While honing her fiction skills, KJ worked as a medical, health, and fitness writer. She then became involved with the International Thriller Writers as the Executive Director of ThrillerFest, the organization’s annual conference held every July in New York City.

In preparation for writing THE FREEDOM BROKER series, which focuses on elite kidnap negotiator Thea Paris, KJ spent extensive time researching the dark world of kidnapping. She has interviewed former hostages, negotiators, hostage reintegration experts, special forces operatives, and K&R insurance executives.

KJ is an avid tennis player, cyclist, and swimmer. Travel and adventure still rank high on her priority list. She has had the pleasure of riding racing camels in Jordan, surfing in Hawaii, ziplining in the Costa Rican jungle, diving alongside Great White Sharks in South Africa, studying modern combat in the Arizona desert, and working with elephants in Botswana. Home is in Toronto, Canada, but she is often missing in action.

You can read my full review of this debut novel here!




You can purchase your copy now from Amazon, kindle and paperback both available, click here.

You can connect with the author on Twitter or on her website, click here!

Thanks for stopping by, if you have read this book let me know what you thought of it!

Q&A with author M Jonathan Lee

Happy publication day for Broken Branches by M. Jonathan Lee. You can read my review here.

In order to celebrate I invited Jonathan for a chat and I am also offering up my pre loved copy up for competition.





Thanks for taking time to stop by and chat with us. Congratulations on the release of your new book Broken Branches.

Tell us a bit about the book.

Broken Branches is a story about families, about grief and loss. It’s really a study of the effects that loss can bring on a family and how it affects so many generations. It’s also based on the true story of my great-great-great-great grandfather who allegedly set a curse running through my family by his mistreatment of a dog!


What do you hope readers take from the book?

I hope that readers will firstly enjoy the journey that Ian takes to ultimately find the beginnings of light from perpetual darkness. I also hope that readers will follow the story only to find that things aren’t exactly as they appear.


There are some heavy themes to Broken Branches, mental health being one, what made you choose this for the book?

Mental health is a major theme in my life, I lost my brother to suicide and I do feel that drawing people’s attention to the struggles that others suffer can only be helpful in removing the stigma attached. As a by-product of my brother’s suicide, I was also affected with depression and some of the characters in Broken Branches also suffer difficulties due to events out of their control.


Has any of the book been drawn from personal experiences or situations/people in your life?

Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I discovered the alleged curse in my own family when looking at the geneology of my family. Is it a curse though?


Is any of your other books like this, in regards to themes?

It depends what the question means. All of my books have twists in them. Tricking (or at least encouraging) the reader to think one thing and then uncovering the reality beneath. So, yes, I love Roald Dahl, I love his Tales of the Unexpected. My third novel (A Tiny Feeling of Fear), deals candidly with mental health, but is a story of hope. It has the most unexpected twist of all time in my opinion. I loved writing that.


Are you writing anything currently?

I’ve finished “How Was I Supposed to Know How It Would Be?” my fifth novel. A story which looks at the dangers of the old adage of “the grass is always greener”. I’m about half way through my sixth novel, currently called “The Devil, Idle Hands and a little thing called choice.” Guess what? They all have twists…


What is next for M Jonathan Lee?

We’ve just released a documentary short called “Hidden” which is based on A Tiny Feeling of Fear. You’ll find it on youtube if you search for M Jonathan Lee Hidden. I’m currently heavily involved in setting up a local mental health facility to help people in my locality. That aside, I’m lucky to be writing as much as I am just now.


What does the M stand for in your name? (sorry I am so nosey)

Ha! When I first got a publishing deal we were threatened by the publishers of another author called Jonathan Lee. They advised that we should use a different name to differentiate. I came up with M Jonathan Lee. The M standing for ‘meaningless’… true story.


Where can fans find you?

Okay, so we have www.jonathanleeauthor.com. There is a /mjonathanlee facebok page @mjonathanlee on twitter and I think my publishers say a bit about me on their site. I also write for the Huffington Post regularly.


Anything else you wish I had asked or you would like to highlight or talk about?

Not at all. Thanks so much for having me. Feel free to tell the world about Broken Branches whenever you have the chance…(!)


As always, to enter the competition please use the Rafflecopter below, the more entries you complete the more chances you have.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Woman Who Met Her Match by Fiona Gibson

The Woman Who Met Her Match by Fiona Gibson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 3 days

Publisher - Avon

Pages - 400

Blurb from Goodreads

What if your first love came back on the scene . . . 30 years later?

After yet another disaster, Lorrie is calling time on online dating. She might be single in her forties, but she’s got a good job, wonderful children and she’s happy. This, Lorrie decides, is going to have to be enough.

That is, until she receives a very unexpected request from France. Antoine Rousseau, who had once turned a lonely French exchange trip into a summer of romance, wants to see her – after thirty years.

But Lorrie is a responsible woman. She can’t exactly run off to Nice with the man who broke her teenage heart . . . can she?

A wonderfully funny novel, perfect for fans of Jill Mansell, Joanna Bolouri and Milly Johnson.


My Review

We open at the Summer of 1986 where we meet our main character Lorrie, just a slip of a girl at 16, not very confident and shipped over to France for an exchange. She meets her first love and is heartbroken when she goes home. Fast forward thirty years, her children have signed her up for online dating, after a few disastrous dates Lorrie's first love gets in touch out of the blue. Lorrie is a responsible adult, a mother, making woman feel gorgeous with beauty products she can't just leave it all to chase her first love, or can she?

This is a lovely wee book, funny, light and some darker themes of loss and discrimination in the work place. Dating disasters, friendship, love, loyalty and trying to get yourself back after fully focusing on your kids and picking up life after a bereavement. Humor is laced throughout and I think because so many of the themes within the book are applicable to your normal every day person that there is something for everyone in this story. The chapters are relatively short which is great if you don't have time to sit and get stuck right in, had I had more time I would have read this in one sitting.

Lorrie is a relate-able character, a good heart, focusing on family and to be honest a wee bit of a door mat at times where you are urging her to stand up for herself. I found myself getting really invested in the characters, we all have a family member who is self involved, someone else we are looking out for. The element of the one who got away and what would happen if they got in touch again is something most people have thought about once in their adult life, if not more. A great read for a blue day or just by the pool. This was my first time reading this author, I absolutely would read her again. Thanks to Avon Books for introducing me to a new author and putting her on my radar, I will be looking up more of her work, 4/5 for me this time.

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Broken Branches by M Jonathan Lee

Broken Branches by M. Jonathan Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 3 days

Pages - 294

Publisher - Hideaway Fall

Blurb from Goodreads

'Family curses don't exist. Sure, some families seem to suffer more pain than others, but a curse? An actual curse? I don't think so.'

A family tragedy was the catalyst for Ian Perkins to return to the isolated cottage with his wife and young son. But now they are back, it seems yet more grief might befall the family.

There is still time to act, but that means Ian must face the uncomfortable truth about his past. And in doing so, he must uncover the truth behind the supposed family curse.



My Review

Ian Perkins family has a curse, it has plagued the family for many years and yet the family are reluctant to talk about it. With pressures from work hanging over his head, his relationship falling apart and strange happenings at home Ian is going to get to find out the truth about the curse once and for all.

This is for sure a different read, the authors voice is unique in that I can say I haven't read a book like this before. Shrouded in secrecy, hints throughout that something is not quite right, domestic unrest and even some paranormal echos Broken Branches keeps the reader engaged page after page. I think if the chapters had been dated or named it would have made for more enjoyment, we flip from Ian's present life to years back with his family life as a child. We learn more of the house's history and snippets of the curse. Ian becomes obsessed with uncovering and proving the curse exists, having to face some harsh truths about his life and family.

The book covers a fair few themes, suicide, family dynamics, relationship breakdowns, loss, love and marriage to name just a few. At times the pace is slow going but the claustrophobic tense atmosphere remains almost throughout making for a gripping read. You know something isn't right, you just don't know what. Is it the curse, is someone messing with Ian, just what has happened to his relationship and will the curse actually be revealed?

I think the themes have been written well and some so subtly it isn't until you finish the book entirely you appreciate what certain parts where about. The past and present flip comes together too but for a wee while you are, well I was, a bit lost to what was happening. It is well written and all becomes clear, an emotive and atmospheric read. As always, I love having short chapters, especially when you are reading in between shifts and busy days, Broken Branches offers this making it easy to dip in and out.

I wasn't sure whether to 3.5 or 4 star this one, I have gone with 4 stars as the last quarter pulls it all together and despite having an inkling to where the story was headed I still got the wind knocked out of me a little. This is my first dance with this author and I will certainly read more of his work. Thanks so much to Hideaway fall and Book Connectors for putting this author on my radar, 4/5 for me this time. Broken Branches will be out to buy from 27/7/2017 so you only have to wait 5 days before you can read it too.

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Growing Old Disgracefully by Ada Adverse

The Mills & Boon Modern Girl's Guide to Growing Old Disgracefully by Ada Adverse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - less than 20 minutes

Pages - 96

Publisher - Mills & Boon

Blurb from Goodreads

’Perfect for the gin drinker in your life.’ – Sun

Have you ever:

Treated afternoon tea as an ‘all you can eat’ opportuntity?

Realised you only ever hoover when you are expecting guests?

Flatly refused to ‘act your age’?

If so, the Mills & Boon Modern Girl’s Guide to Growing Old Disgracefully is for you: a guide to throwing out the rule book, with a feminist twist


My Review

If you haven't came across this wee books let me enlighten you. They are smaller than your normal paperback size, hardback (also available in kindle format) and 96 pages long. You have a zingy introduction to the book, Ada is hilarious, zingy and sharp giving you an immediate feel for the books content.

We have an A-Z and with each letter a wee sentence or two of advice or just a funky quip accompanied on the other bag with a corresponding photo in black and white. Much as these books are tiny and a few sentences per page they really do bring joy, laughter and conjure up some lovely memories. Each one will mean something different to each reader depending on life experiences and where they are in their life. I would think it would be hard pushed for anyone to pick one of these books up and not laugh or at the very least smile.

The books are filled with humor, bite size snippets for each letter and page. Pearls of wisdom or just flashes of quick wit. A small book that brings big smiles. This is the second in the series I have been sent to review, I think I am going to buy the rest and I bought the previous for my friend. Thanks to Mills and Boon for sending me a review copy and once again bring Ada Adverse into my life, a wee burst of feminine joviality that women of all ages can appreciate, 4/5 for me.

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