Martha Miller has thrown herself into village life since her husband walked out on her. But her neighbours think she could have killed Stan and buried him under her vegetable patch. They become even more suspicious when someone is poisoned at the village show after drinking Martha’s plum gin…
Poison at the Village Show is a cosy murder mystery set in an English village in 1947.
Martha is something of a pariah in her village. She lives with her sister Ruby who moved in to help financially once her husband Stan walked out. The new vicar appears friendly but then their regular meet ups threaten even more scandal. Martha wants to prove that her plum gin was not responsible for the death at the village show and that someone else has a better motive. So she starts to investigate…
I loved the gentle friendship that develops between Martha and Luke the vicar. It was effective how the author introduces us to new characters while they get to know each other. A variety of potential suspects and motives become apparent as Martha explores the lives of her neighbours. The author kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed watching the plot unfold.
I liked the village setting and found it familiar and traditional, reminding me of Agatha Christie novels. Martha is distrusted for losing her husband and makes little effort to conform to feminine stereotypes. The war has only just ended so class and gender norms affect relationships within the village community.
Poison at the Village Show was a warm and entertaining introduction to a new amateur sleuth and I look forward to the next book.
Poison at the Village Show book blurb
With the war finally over the residents of Westleham village are trying to reclaim a sense of normality and the upcoming village show is proving to be a popular event!
Newcomer, Martha Miller, has high hopes for the village show. Since her husband Stan left for work one day and never returned, some of the villagers have treated Martha with suspicion – why would a good man like Stan simply up and leave? Was it something Martha did?
All Martha knows is that she’s hoping that she can win people over and hopefully they’ll but her delicious homemade plum gin, too and she’ll be able to make ends meet.
But as glasses of Martha’s gin are passed around, disaster strikes. Alice Warren, Chairwoman of the village show slumps to the ground after taking a sip. It’s clear she’s been poisoned!
Martha is shocked, but not surprised, when fingers of suspicion once again point her way. Determined to prove her innocence, Martha sets about trying to find the real culprit. But who would kill Alice and why?
Ably helped by the new vicar, Luke Walker, Martha quickly tries to get to the bottom of this mystery. But with the villagers closing ranks it quickly becomes apparent that the only person with a motive is Martha herself….
Will Luke and Martha discover who is behind the poisoning before it’s too late?
Author Bio –
The daughter of a military father, Catherine was born in Germany and lived most of the first 14 years of her life abroad. She spent her school years devouring everything her school library had to offer! Catherine writes cosy mysteries that take place in the English countryside. Her extremely popular Tommy & Evelyn Christie mysteries are set in 1920s North Yorkshire. Catherine lives in northeast England with her two spoiled dogs who have no idea they are not human!
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Karen is exhausted mentally and physically. She works and runs around after her two boys and husband. Their marriage is still reeling from his affair. Her friend Eve recommends a holiday home for a short break and Karen jumps at the chance to get away. The house is gorgeous, the views are stunning and Karen immediately starts to relax. It all seems too good to be true…
The Break is a psychological thriller set in the UK. Karen and Peter are struggling to rebuild their relationship and trust but someone is out for revenge.
At first only their marriage is at risk but then their lives are threatened as well. It was fascinating to watch the events unfold so I suspended my disbelief – the motive felt a little far fetched – and just let myself enjoy the plot. There is plenty of drama and danger which is quite enthralling as the characters develop and the plot escalates.
The book is written from three first person perspectives: Karen, Eve and Peter. This shows us the inner workings of their characters as well as increasing the tension as we anticipate the effect of events and actions. I felt that the characters were well written and each perspective was clearly defined as individual and seemed authentic. In particular, I enjoyed Peter’s despair as he attempts to cater for the children!
The Break is a gripping yet quick read and the pages seemed to melt away as I was fascinated by the developing plot.
I have previously reviewed The New Friends by Daniel Hurst.
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Book Blurb
It seems like a lovely little house. But it has dark secrets…
Karen is a busy wife and mother. Between work, her husband Peter, and their two children, Oscar and Noah, she doesn’t have a minute to herself.
So when it all begins to feel too much, Karen knows just what she needs – to get away for a little while. Nothing big. Just a short break.
Her friend, Eve, tells her about a quaint little holiday home, and Karen books herself a short stay. She’ll have time to read, take bubble baths, unwind. Perfect.
But this is no ordinary holiday home – it contains a dark and disturbing secret. Because Karen isn’t alone here – someone is watching her. Waiting for the right moment to spring the trap and plunge her into a nightmare she’ll never forget.
The Break – the stunning psychological thriller from the author of The Passenger and The New Friends
Author Bio
Daniel Hurst writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.
Daniel writes psychological thrillers. The New Friends will be his fourth novel published with Inkubator Books.
Cara De Rosa collapses at her great granddaughter’s birthday party. Lying ill in hospital, she makes a series of confused statements to her granddaughter Sienna but as her health deteriorates further, it becomes clear that she spoke the truth. Sienna needs to investigate her family’s personal and financial lives to explore who could have poisoned her beloved nonna…
Search No Further is a family drama and psychological thriller set in the present day in London.
Sienna is devastated when her grandmother is taken ill but then very upset by the revelations and accusations Cara makes. She is determined to investigate her own family as she suspects that someone has deliberately caused Cara’s illness. Secrets from the past and present emerge, leaving Sienna shocked.
There are many twists and turns within the plot and I ended up distrusting everyone! The intricate plot cleverly interweaves the characters and motives so I think it is impossible to guess the final revelations.
I really liked Sienna’s character as she searches for the truth, irrespective of the potential consequences for someone she loves. She is also trying to heal her heart after the death of her husband and I felt that she took new love Zach for granted whilst he is obviously besotted with her.
Search No Further is quite a gripping read and I enjoyed witnessing the secrets that are revealed within the family.
I have recently reviewed two other AJ Campbell books which form the Eva Barnes series: Leave Well Alone and Don’t Come Looking.
Search No Further book blurb:
Family secrets can kill in this brand-new psychological suspense thriller from AJ Campbell, the Amazon bestselling author of Leave Well Alone and Don’t Come Looking.
Cara De Rosa is the heart of her large family and community in London. Her restaurant business is booming. She’s found a second chance at love, and an impending marriage is on the horizon. But there’s no such thing as a perfect life. And the good times never last forever.
When Cara’s health suddenly falters, her family’s world turns upside down in the blink of an eye. In a bed-ridden haze, she confides in Sienna, her favourite grandchild, that her rapid decline may be at the hands of one of her own.
Sienna, a young, single mother, is reeling in the wake of her husband’s unsolved death. She is haunted by crippling anxiety and misplaced guilt, heightened by suddenly finding herself in a race against time to save Cara’s life. As she begins to pull at the strings of a tangled family web, she’ll reveal disturbing secrets, decades of deceit and shockingly serious crimes.
Great for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, Adele Parks, Jackie Kabler, Miranda Rijks, Daniel Hurst and Lucy Foley.
About the author
Until the birth of her twins in 2005, which radically changed her life, AJ worked as an accountant in London. One of her twins was born with severe disabilities, as a result of which she had to give up work to care for him. During this incredibly challenging (and rewarding) time, AJ began to draw on her love of the written word, partly for daily inspiration and partly for her own mental health.
Reading or writing, AJ loves nothing more than settling down with a good book. She enjoys reading most genres, especially thought-provoking novels that beg the question – what would I have done in that situation?
AJ lives on the Essex / Hertfordshire border with her husband, two of her three sons, and her cocker spaniel, Max. She is a firm believer in daily exercise for mental health and enjoys walking Max in the local fields. AJ also loves cooking oriental food while sipping a good glass of white wine.
WEBSITE: www.ajcampbellauthor.com
EMAIL: aj@ajcampbellauthor.com
INSTAGRAM: ajcampbellauthor
FACEBOOK: ajcampbellauthor
TRIGGER WARNING: child abuse, alcoholism, self harm
Three sisters, divided. Ashleigh is an artist, haunted by her past. Jessica has a seemingly perfect life but is secretly leading a double life. Grace is recreating the past, pregnant by a man who can’t or won’t commit. Then a man is found dead and Ashleigh becomes the prime suspect…
I Will Find You is a psychological thriller and family drama set in the UK.
Ashleigh is a tragic figure. Sexually abused by their father, responsible for his death, surviving on drink and drugs to block out the emotional trauma. Her best friend dies and she goes on the run to save herself from suspicion. But secrets from the past threaten to be revealed and Ashleigh needs to confront her fears and find the truth.
I felt quite strongly about the characters. Ashleigh is first seen through Jessica’s eyes and we see the trail of trouble she leaves behind her. But then as we learn of her past and see her perspective, I softened and sympathised with her so that I ended up willing her to succeed in proving her innocence. Jessica and her husband frustrated me with their lack of compassion, taking things at face value and only thinking about how it impacts on them. Grace is the outsider, rejected by their father and now her sisters, looking for love and acceptance.
There are two interweaving strands of narrative: the sisters’ relationships and the murder of Ashleigh’s best friend. The book deals with some pretty big and unpleasant issues but I felt they were handled sensitively. The pace is quite fast yet doesn’t feel rushed. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book and I enjoyed trying to anticipate how things would develop.
I Will Find You is an enjoyable psychological thriller with emotive content.
I Will Find You
Three sisters…One terrible secret
Ashleigh: A creative, free spirit and loyal. But Ash is tormented by her demons and a past that refuses to be laid to rest.
Jessica: Perfect wife and loving mother. But although Jessica might seem to have it all, she lives a secret life built on lies.
Grace: An outsider, always looking in, Grace has never known the love of her sisters and her resentment can make her do bad things.
When Ashleigh goes missing, Jessica and Grace do all they can to find their eldest sister. But the longer Ashleigh is missing, the more secrets and lies these women are hiding threaten to tear this family apart.
Can they find Ashleigh before it’s too late or is it sometimes safer to stay hidden?
Author Bio –
Amanda Rigby is the nom de plume of the writing partnership between Amanda Ashby and Sally Rigby. Both authors live in New Zealand, have been friends for eighteen years, and agree about everything (except musicals). They decided to collaborate on a psychological thriller which they then entered into a competition, run by Boldwood, which they won!
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1941 Joy Cooper joins the Civil Defence during WW2, charting the bombs falling on London but gradually her world is eroded as she receives reports of familiar targets… 1974 Joy is required to leave her home but does she have the strength to start yet again…?
The Woman With The Map is a dual timeline novel set in the 1940s and 1970s in London.
Joy starts the war with optimism and a world of security and love from her family. This gradually erodes as the nightly Blitz destroys her home town and the people she loves most. The physical and emotional devastation is not shied away from and makes this an intense book to read. I think a great deal of research went into this book and the scenes described feel authentic.
The sadness and sense of loss is relentless in both timelines. Joy has lost so much over the course of the book. The destruction and devastation is surely more than anyone can bear. Yet Joy finds an inner strength to eke out an existence but avoids making new personal connections. This is a form of self preservation as the hurt and pain of the past is overwhelming.
The dual timeline works really well and I felt that both historical periods were realistically portrayed from the food to the clothes and beyond. The final chapter ends on a note of hope but this doesn’t eradicate the grief of the rest of the book in both timelines.
The Woman With The Map is a book full of Blitz spirit but the sadness is almost overwhelming.
The Woman With The Map
February 1941
The world is at war and Joyce Cooper is doing her bit for the war effort. A proud member of the Civil Defence, it is her job to assist the people of Notting Hill when the bombs begin to fall. But as the Blitz takes hold of London, Joyce is called upon to plot the devastation that follows in its wake. Night after night she must stand before her map and mark the trail of loss and suffering inflicted upon the homes, families and businesses she knows so well.
February 1974
Decades later from her basement flat Joyce watches the world go by above her head. This is her haven; the home she has created for herself having had so much taken from her in the war. But now the council is tearing down her block of flats and she’s being forced to move. Could this chance to start over allow Joyce to let go of the past and step back into her life?
An emotional and compelling historical fiction novel perfect for fans of Fiona Valpy, Mandy Robotham and Catherine Hokin.
Author Bio –
Jan Casey’s novels, like her first – The Women of Waterloo Bridge – explore the themes of how ordinary people are affected by extraordinary events during any period in history, including the present. She is fascinated with the courage, adaptability and resilience that people rise to in times of adversity and for which they do not expect pay, praise or commendation. Jan is also interested in writing about the similarities as opposed to the differences amongst people and the ways in which experiences and emotions bind humans together.
Jan was born in London but spent her childhood in Southern California. She was a teacher of English and Drama for many years and is now a Learning Supervisor at a college of further education.
When she is not working or writing, Jan enjoys yoga, swimming, cooking, walking, reading and spending time with her grandchildren.
Before becoming a published author, Jan had short stories and flash fictions published.
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