Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea

Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - as able in and out over 3 days

Pages - 304

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Bought copy

Blurb from Amazon

Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla abound. The only problem - those who go seeking their fortune never return. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread. Black-eyed children, strange lights and ferocious wild men venture from the deep, dark ghost mine...as well as a sinister force hungry for fresh souls.


My Review

Nate and Teta are heading to Hecla, an abandoned mining town. Sent in by President Roosevelt to find the team sent before them, to uncover the mystery of where they went and the gold and why the town is abandoned? Nate and Teta have fought many fights, together and alone, the ugly sides of humanity and then some, nothing has prepared them for Hecla.


AHHHHHH you guys I LOVE an abandoned place/town/building, add into that some spooky, bump in the night, ghosty freakery. Hecla is an actual real place, of course I looked it up once I started to get into the story. Nate is a good guy, him and Teta have history and aren't afraid to go into battle, this appears to just be some AWOL soldiers. Once they hit their destination they quickly realise things aren't right, people are afraid and won't talk about Hecla, from friendly to aloof or hostile. Once they are inside Hecla, getting in is a lot easier than getting out.

Weird happenings, bumps in the night and an adversary no one could have forseen. Hairs on my arms went up at one point, I love abandoned building or town stories so this ticked a lot of boxes for me. I think this was the second book by Shea I have read, the other also had an abandoned building, I absolutely will be checking out his back cataolgue, 4.5/5 for me this time.

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The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith

The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time take to read - in and out over 4 days

Pages - 368

Publisher - Abacus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

"The World According to Bertie" is the fourth in the series and revolves around the many colourful characters that come and go at No. 44 Scotland Street. McCall Smith handles the characters with his customary charm and deftness - the stalwart Tory chartered surveyor, the pushy mother, and, most importantly in this novel, the beleaguered Italian-speaking prodigy, Bertie. This is classic McCall Smith - clever, witty and entertaining - and beautifully illustrated. A chance encounter with Armistead Maupin in San Francisco inspired Alexander McCall Smith to write this series of novels based around the fictional No. 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh's New Town.


My Review

First off I thought we were going to be getting a lot more of Bertie but I would say it was almost equal as the previous books, shared amongst the other characters. Poor Bertie is still terrorised by his mothers "good will" depsite now having a little brother he hoped her focus would be on. Poor Cyril is in trouble again, could it be the end for him this time? And how will Angus cope? We see a lot more of Angus and Domenica in this book too, Angus and the whole Cyril saga. Domenica questioning inviting her pal to come and watch her house whilst she travelled, because now Domenica is back, said friend seems to be staying put.

Big Lou is a bit more involved this time around, she has found love and as we all know, the course of true love doesn't often run smoothly. Pat and Mathew find themselves with some big decisions to make, with Pat - is hers anything to do with the reappearance of non other than self loving gorgeous but shallow Bruce.

Bruce is one of those characters, ugh, he will use anyone to get where and what he needs, he doesn't physically hurt them but well it is all about Bruce.

There is a lot of humour and dear Lord moments, as I said before it is a bit like friends or nosey neighbours. You get to watch and see the dramas unfold and have a bit of a chuckle from your own sofa. This is book 4, I will be reading the rest in the series, I need to buy book 5 when I get home, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over a week

Pages - 640

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror.

In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest...and confront their own collective heart of darkness, where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast.

In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and as haunted -- as their own lives.

And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable book's denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.

Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new book will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave.



My Review

The book is split into two timelines if you like, the first is when Bobby Garfield is an 11 year old kid, a bit miserable but ok with his lot. When he gets a new neighbour, Ted Brautigan, things change for him. His mother, a very unlikable character although I did feel sorry for her for a wee bit, judges Ted quickly although happy to let her dislike slide when she needs a babysitter, honestly not a fan of that woman, at all! Anyway Bobby goes through a lot in a short space of time, love of books, realization of his mothers character, first attration/kiss, first heroic action and a glimpse of some of the horrors out there.

The other parts of the book split into short stories looking at characters who were in Bobby's childhood, college, addition, post war and then bringing them full circle to Bobby coming home. The book has nods to some of the happenings in other King's books and I always find that genius considering how many he has written and managed to intertwine or just brief inclusion/reference. If I am honest the men in yellow coats, first story, was my fave of the lot, the others were ok and it isn't until you get to the end you get the others, well that was how it was for me.

I read this years ago and re read it because I actually remembered very little of it, I think I will watch the movie too and see how that fares. 3/5 for me this time, I love King, he introduced me to reading and horror as a kid, I have keepers of most of his books and some still to read. This isn't a keeper, nor one of my faves but I am glad I read it.

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The Crown Agent by Stephen O'Rourke

The Crown Agent by Stephen O'Rourke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 5 days

Pages - 228

Publisher - Sandstone Press

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads


Shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year​

A ship adrift, all hands dead. A lighthouse keeper murdered in the night. The Crown needs man to find the truth. Doctor Mungo Lyon, his reputation tarnished by the Burke & Hare scandal, and forbidden to practise as a surgeon, is the wrong man.

That’s exactly why the Crown chose him.


My Review

We open with a murder, someone has vanished, a ship full with its crew dead and they need to know the truth. So enter Doctor Mungo Lyon, after the whole Burke and Hare scandal said surgeon may well take up the chance to do some good, not as if he can practice. As Lyon investigates he falls into the line of danger more than once and some people will do anything to protect their secrets.

So Lyons is a disgraced surgeon but the big guys are giving him a chance to do something worthwhile and off he goes on an extraordinary adventure. A historical fiction with a surprise side kick for Lyon's and a look into the past, attitudes, brutal surgery, life, times and attitudes in that time period 1800s.

Whilst there is a murder investigation, Lyon is being hunted along the way so it is action packed as we go, it was nice going to a different time period and encountering a famous person from the past. Book one in a series, hoping there is more, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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Seven Days by Alex Lake

Seven Days by Alex Lake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 432

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

The twisty new psychological thriller from the USA Today bestselling author

A race against time to save her child…



In seven days, Maggie’s son, Seb, turns three. But she’s not planning a party or buying presents or updating his baby book. She’s dreading it. Because in her world, third birthdays are the days on which the unthinkable happens… she loses her child.


For the last twelve years Maggie has been imprisoned in a basement. Abducted aged fifteen, she gave birth to two sons before Seb, and on their third birthdays her captor came and took them from her.


She cannot let it happen again. But she has no idea how to stop it. And the clock is ticking…




My Review

Think Room by Emma Donoghue, a child abducted by a predator, years later she is still imprisoned but now has a child. This is Maggie's life, she is stuck in a cycle, she gives birth, is allowed to keep the child until it is three and then the man takes it away never to be seen again and the cycle begins again. Max will be three in seven days, she cannot allow the man to take him too but she has been in the room for years and has no idea how she can stop him, but this time she will, even if it costs her her life.

So the book jumps a wee bit, timeline and characters. We have before the abduction and present day. We flip between Maggie, her family and detective Wynne - in charge of the case and taunted by the kidnapper. As the book goes on we find just how evil, twixted and depraved the kidnapper is with Lake teasing out surprises and shocks as we go. The impact the kidnap of Maggie has on her family and of course Maggie' existence in her prison. There isn't a lot of focus on the sexual abuse, thankfully, but there is enough for you to know what she endures, he abuses her in other ways which is hard to read in parts so just an fyi.

This is my second book by Lake and I absolutely will be checking out the back catalogue, relatively short chapters so you can dip in and out as busy schedules allow. The story gets started pretty quickly and pulls you in from the first few chapters. Some very dark themes in the book but nothing is gratuitous, really well written and unlike "Room" this isn't from the child's perspective which some people found a struggle. Dark, horrific, pacey and you don't want to put it down because you are desperate to know if Maggie can save Max and I was just wishing, page after page, this will be the one where "the man" gets his comeuppance. 4.5/5 for me this time, absolutely will be getting more by this author!

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Below The Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for "Below the Big Blue Sky" by author Anna McPartlin, for my stop I have my review.





Below the Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages -

Publisher - Zaffre

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads


When forty-year-old Rabbit Hayes dies, she leaves behind a family broken by grief. Her mother Molly is distraught and in danger of losing her faith. Her father Jack spends hour upon hour in the family attic, poring over his old diaries, losing himself in the past.

Rabbit's brother Davey finds himself suddenly guardian to her twelve-year-old daughter Juliet. Juliet might be able to fill a hole in Davey's heart - but how can he help Juliet through her grief when he can barely cope with his own?

Meanwhile, Rabbit's sister Grace is struggling with the knowledge that she carries the same gene that made her sister ill, and Rabbit's best friend Marjorie is lost, struggling to remain a part of a family she has always wished was her own now that her link to them is gone.

But even though the Hayes family are all fighting their own battles, they are drawn together by their love for Rabbit, and their love for each other. In the years that follow her death they find new ways to celebrate and remember her, to find humour and hope in the face of tragedy, and to live life to its fullest, as Rabbit would have wanted.

Below a Big Blue Sky will make you laugh, cry and shout with joy for the colourful, unruly Hayes family as they battle with the loss of their beloved Rabbit, the daughter, mother, sister and friend, who in her own crazy way taught each of them how to live, and goes on showing them how to love from beyond the grave.



My Review

If you haven't read "The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes" stop, don't read this, go and read that THEN come back for this one. We pick up from where book one ended, Rabbit has passed on and her family are trying to pick up the pieces of the heartache and emptiness that Rabbit's death has left. Her mum and dad, her best pal, her brother, her sister, her wee girl Bunny and everyone who Rabbit's life touched. Davey (her brother) agreed to be Guardian to Bunny but Davey is a bit of a big wean himself, musician, travels and based far from Ireland - how can the family cope losing Rabbit and Bunny as Davey goes back to his own life.

Set in Ireland (mostly) the book deals with death, grief, loss and the families attempt to go through the stages of grief whilst attempting to go about their lives. Sadness, a touch of humour dottered throughout as with book one, a look at how each character is touched and tries to cope with life after death of a loved one.

I like McPartlin's books "The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes" was my first and blew me away, whilst I do enjoy her writing there is something about the Hayes family I just love. They are all characters, you feel like you have slipped into the family yourself, it's people you "know" and came to care for from book one. I don't know where she would go from here but I would LOVE a book three, I cannot get enough of this family, they are like your own. 4.5/5 for me - laughter, sadness, grief, hilarity McPartlin has created a world you just don't want to leave.

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The Demolition of the Century by Duncan Sarkies

The demolition of the century by Duncan Sarkies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 408

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Amazon Vine

Blurb from Goodreads

Tom Spotswood (aka William McGinty) is an insurance investigator who has lost his socks, his suitcase, his career, his ex-wife and, most importantly, his son Frank.

He is being followed by Robert Valentine, the mysterious owner of the horse with no sperm; Alastair Shook and his van of teenage guards; and Spud, a demolition man who is using his wrecking ball to bring down the most beautiful movie theatre in town, the Century.

To find his son, Tom will have to come to terms with his past – a past he ran away from. But first will have to find those socks.



My Review

This book was nothing like I was expecting, I was thinking a dodgy investigation scam and maybe the fallout from that following Tom. And it isn't exactly not that, Tom is an alcoholic running from his past and the ever looming Robert Valentine. He lost so much after making one wrong decision, his job, his family, the place he lived. Now he is back and Valentine has people practically on every corner, threatening Tom and Tom isn't having it.

Spud is all about the demolition game and has huge issues from his past. Just now his job is taking down a beautiful old theater, we learn about his home life and past demons hovering. When Spud and Tom's path cross we start to learn more about both and things we thought were very separate actually have links and the story has much deeper layers than the reader initially realised or anticipated.

The book for me was almost like two different stories, part one being focused heavily on Tom and coming back to town after the shady insurance job. Spuds family life, his work and who he is as a person and the struggles he had endured, the past influences the present. Side note, there is a small focus on a badness that happens to a horse but no more animal harm discussed or covered bar that one incident. Part two we see much more depth to Spud and Tom and how many issues they both have, looking at addiction, issues from childhood and how this impacts on mental health. Mental health is integral to the second half, cause and effect and the book has a very human feel to it. Being that the two main characters are male it opens a very emotive theme, raw, sad, moving and I think depending on what your personal experiences are may have an impact on a personal level you receive the book.

This is the first time I have read this author, I would absolutely read him again, 3.5/5 for me this time. I like when a book catches you unawares and the depth this book takes you to, especially as I wasn't expecting it to go to the places it did, thought provoking for sure!

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