loopyloulaura

Julia’s entry into the village baking competition is overshadowed when she discovers a dead body in the maze! Was the victim killed due to her cake baking or was there a darker motive?

A Village Fete Murder is the third book in the Julia Bird series but it is the first book that I have read so it works as a stand alone novel.

Julia is an older woman who has retired. She has moved to the countryside and has a new romantic interest in the form of Sean. They are ably assisted in their sleuthing by her dog Jake (I always love the inclusion of a canine character!) Meanwhile their efforts are both helpful to the local police yet unwanted as they are against protocol.

This book falls firmly into the cosy murder mystery genre. It has a traditional feel to it due to the setting and characters. There is little violence or forensic detail so the focus is on Julia’s investigation into the motives and opportunities of a range of suspects. My guesses about ‘whodunnit’ were repeatedly changed due to plenty of twists and misdirection as the plot unfolds.

I have read other books by these authors and love the warmth and humour of their writing. Their characters are always very human with flaws and vulnerabilities that endear them to the reader and Julia is no exception. I now need to catch up on the first two books in the series!

A Village Fete Murder is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery.

I have previously reviewed the three books in the Epiphany Bloom series: The Kensington Kidnap, The Museum Murder, and Death at the Gates.

Book Description:

Julia Bird can’t wait to attend the annual village party at the local stately home, with its tea tents, cake stalls, and… dead body in the maze?

The annual village celebration at Berrywick House is underway, complete with over-decorated cake stalls, fiercely contested flower competitions, and even a maze for the disappointed losers to hide in. Julia Bird, now a well-known – even notorious – member of the community, with her trusty Labrador Jake, has thrown herself headlong into the festivities. But her reputation for adding drama to any event stands up yet again when she discovers a dead body in the maze…

It seems Ursula Benjamin, village know-it-all and prickly baking competition participant, has been strangled – and the killer has to be someone at the fete. As Julia grapples with finding yet another murder in Berrywick, she starts to wonder, could one of the competitive cake-bakers have taken the contest to deadly new heights? Or is there something darker in Ursula’s life that led to her untimely demise?

Embroiled once again in a murder enquiry, Julia isn’t about to leave the investigation to the police. Like it or not, she’s involved, and she’s going to help them solve the mystery. But when there’s another death, and it’s clear the murders aren’t isolated incidents, the stakes become even higher. Can Julia figure out the identity of the killer, and prevent any further dastardly deeds, before the wholesome spirit of the village is ruined forever?

If you like utterly gripping English mysteries, then you’ll love A Village Fete Murder. Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands.

Author Bio:

Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.

https://www.facebook.com/KatieGayleWriter

https://twitter.com/KatieGayleBooks

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Katie Gayle here: https://www.bookouture.com/katie-gayle

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BD5Y4QSQsocial

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

TRIGGER WARNING: anti-Semitism and the Holocaust

1950, Hanni displays her wartime photos and her Jewish husband Freddy recognises a girl in one of the photos as his sister. This gives him hope that she survived the camps so the couple travel to Prague to try to find her. Hanni has been keeping her own past a secret but now she may need to call upon her Nazi ather for help…

The Girl in the Photo is the third book to feature Hannelore Foss who has reinvented herself as Hanni Winters. It works as a stand alone novel but I think it would help to create a deeper understanding of the characters if you read the books in order.

Hanni and Freddy have now married but she still hasn’t revealed to him that she is the daughter of a high ranking Nazi. Freddy finally has hope that one of his own family survived the death camps and is desperate to find his little sister. They embark on a dangerous journey across national and political borders. The anti Jewish sentiments, as well as the brutality described, make this book uncomfortable to read at times but the author and Hanni’s revulsion at these opinions is clear.

The majority of the book is written in 1950 to show Hanni and Freddy’s journey. However we also see Renny’s perspective as her mother leaves her and she is rescued by a Nazi wife going on the run. There is a huge emotional aspect to the book as we share Freddy’s hope to be reunited, Renny’s childish understanding of events, and the fear that grips Hanni. The pair have a personal mission in this book unlike the previous books where there was a killer to catch.

The Girl in the Photo has plenty of emotion and drama, and has been thoroughly researched.

I have previously reviewed the first two book in this series:The Commandant’s Daughter and The Pilot’s Girl.

Book Description:

1944. ‘I have to go away, my darling. Please, be brave, stay alive, for me.’ Her mother’s voice breaks. The little girl tries to stop the forbidden tears from falling, as the train takes her mother, and she is left alone in the camp…

Berlin, six years later. When Hanni Winter shows her new husband the heartbreaking photos she captured during the war, his reaction is unexpected. His face white, Freddy can’t take his eyes off the photo of a young girl around four years old. ‘That’s Renny,’ he whispers, ‘my sister, she was taken by the Nazis…’

Hanni remembers her perfectly – the child with the wide eyes and bitten lips, who wouldn’t let herself cry despite the chaos and cruelty all around them in the camp. Her heart had broken for the little girl as she took her picture, desperate to reveal the truth about the Nazis to the world. If that child is Renny, then they must try to find her. They must return to hell on earth.

But when Hanni arrives at the black and white arch of the camp, she comes face to face with a man she fears more than any other. Can she find the strength to fight again, or will every hope for the future be lost forever?

A heart-wrenching novel about love and courage in the face of terrible odds. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will need a box of tissues handy.

Author Bio:

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Catherine Hokin here: https://www.bookouture.com/catherine-hokin

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BBNCKN49social

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

Mary gave away her baby when she was a teenager. Now her husband has died and she wants to find the daughter she has never forgotten. She is delighted to find her long lost daughter Cathy but her other children are not so thrilled…

The Family Reunion is a family drama and psychological thriller set in the UK.

Mary is devastated by the death of her beloved husband but thankfully she has her children to support her. Her heart is aching for her first child, a baby she gave birth to secretly then abandoned in a phone box. Mary never told her husband about Hope but now wants to find her long lost daughter. This is a huge shock for her other children Joanne and Jason, both of whom have secrets of their own…

There is an enormous emotional layering to this novel. Mary’s heartache is so easy to understand and imagine as she deals with grief for all she has lost. Cathy has also missed out on a great deal and Mary is eager to make amends but this creates a tension with her other children. Joanne and Jason have a believable sibling rivalry with each other and this is thrown into focus as they unite in their suspicions about Cathy.

Most of the book is written from Mary’s perspective so we clearly understand her feelings, choices and actions. There are other chapters which show other perspectives and the secrets that are being kept from other family members.

The psychological elements of the book come from strange incidents which make Mary feel unsafe. She fears she may be in mental decline but could she also be in danger? Cathy’s arrival signifies warning bells for Joanne and Jason as they feel their inheritance and relationship to be threatened. As further lies are revealed, it becomes clear that there could be darker motives at work within the family. The epilogue has a huge twist which made my jaw drop!

The Family Reunion is an intensely emotional novel with plenty of mystery and secrets.

MEDIA PACK

Book: The Family Reunion

Author: Karen King

Pub Day:  January 23rd 2023

Buy Link(s):

https://geni.us/B0BJFD5D8Zsocial

About the Book: 

She’s the daughter you never knew… But how far will she go to get the life she never had?

Today I’m hosting a family party. One that’s different to every celebration we’ve had before. Because I’ve invited my secret daughter to it.

I’ve never forgiven myself for abandoning her as a baby, with just a scrawled note tucked into her soft yellow blanket, saying her name was Hope.

As soon as she reached out, I knew I had to meet her. My family all seem ready to accept her with open arms, their forgiveness a blessing I barely deserve. And I dare to believe that maybe we are all going to have a happy ending after all.

So I try to put all those small, strange things that have been happening to me in recent weeks out of my mind. The missing money, my lost charm bracelet, the broken window, the fire…

But as the drinks are poured and everyone’s talking animatedly, I hear a knock at the door. And something in my heart tells me this family is about to be torn apart. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it…

An utterly gripping psychological suspense novel with a twist you’ll never see coming. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mark Edwards and K.L. Slater.

Author Bio

Social Media

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

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/karen_king

Website: https://karenkingauthor.com/

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

Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/karen-king

TRIGGER WARNING: recreational drug use

Matilda Darcy returns to her university course and shared house after the Christmas break. She split up with Dean just before the holidays and is looking to party to heal her broken heart and show him what he is missing. But another student dies during a party game and other deaths follow…

First Degree Murder is a murder mystery set in Ambleside in northern England. I think the book is probably aimed at older teens and young adults due to its shorter length and style of writing.

It has a Dear Diary style at the beginning of each part and is written from Matty’s first person perspective throughout. The tone is very chatty and I felt that Matty’s character felt authentic as I was caught up in her student dramas (it did make me feel rather old, remembering that I finished uni 21 years ago!)

The drinking game death and the subsequent one are traumatic and emotional due to Matty’s experience of trying to help the victims. There are lots of twists as Matty suspects many of her friends and enemies of being a killer. The ending was a little extreme but certainly dramatic!

On the softer side, Matty has her on-off relationship with Dean and the whole host of emotions this causes. Her growing friendship with PC Nick Wilde is full of humour and possible hints of a future relationship (hoping this is the first book in a series…)

First Degree Murder is an entertaining murder mystery aimed at young adults.

Buy Links – https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Degree-Murder-M-J-Weatherall-ebook/dp/B0BLW8MCKJ

Book Blurb

From the author of Silent Is The Crown!

Matty Darcy is a Criminology and Psychology student in the quaint university village of Ambleside. She has survived the normal dramas of student life such as shared living, assignments, heartbreak and friendships. But this year takes the drama to a whole new level when her fellow students start mysteriously dying.

Matty takes it upon herself to catch the killer with the help of local Police Officer, and heartthrob, P.C Nicholas Wilde and her ex-boyfriend Dean. It is a race against the clock to work out who’s killing students, and why.

Matty soon finds out more than she has bargained for… enough to make her the next target!

Author Bio

M.J. Weatherall is one of those people who loves writing but always struggles to write about herself. She always feel like she’s bragging (which in and of itself sounds like a brag according to her).

She is a young author from Sheffield who moved to the Lake District to get her BSc (Hons) degree in Outdoor Adventure and Environment. More recently she has qualified as a primary school teacher and is now fulfilling her calling as an educator.

M.J. loves climbing, kayaking and spending all her spare time in nature. A lifelong bookworm, she takes pride in growing her book knowledge (an asset to any pub quiz team to be sure!). She likes to think that she’s a fun person to be around…at the very least, her cat seems to think so.

Follow her at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mj.weatherall

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mj_weatherall