1924, Lady Eleanor Swift attends the Empire Exhibition in London. During an accidental hot air balloon flight she spots a murder and bravely plunges to the ground. But there is no sign of any wrongdoing and her beloved butler and fiance both doubt her…
Murder in Mayfair is the 18th book in the Lady Eleanor Swift series of cosy historical murder mysteries.
Ellie has plenty of action at the start of the book! The hot air balloon she is visiting breaks free of its moorings and an impromtu flight ensues. From the basket she spies one man shooting another and she creates a harness and launches herself towards the ground. The only evidence she can find is a broken piece of jewellery and she has to stop investigating to avoid an international incident. Then she meets with a desperate friend whose necklace has been stolen and Ellie agrees to go undercover as a governess to find the thief.
The warm and drole relationship between Ellie and Clifford is particularly wonderful in this book. Even when he doubts her, she knows she can rely on him in any situation. Her fiance Hugh is in a difficult situation as he tries to manage the exhibition and avoid any international scandal. Yet he wants to support his fiancee, even when there is no evidence of any wrongdoing!
I loved the historical aspect to the book and the accurate details that the author has used to bring the setting to life (I wish I could have seen the statue of the Prince of Wales made of butter!) Ellie sbverts the class and gender norms through her modern outlook in a refreshing way with Clifford looking on in dismay.
Murder in Mayfair is a wonderful addition to this enjoyable series.
Book Description:
Tea and cake at The Ritz, a stolen pearl necklace and a missing dead body… Lady Swift is back on the case!
Lady Eleanor Swift has been eagerly awaiting her trip in a hot air balloon to take in London’s amazing sights. But what she witnesses instead is a murder! From way up high she sees a man in a dark coat shoot another man dead, but by the time she arrives back on the ground, Eleanor can find no trace of the body. Just the broken piece of a pearl necklace clasp, trodden into the dirt.
Back at The Ritz hotel, over afternoon tea, Eleanor’s old friend Lady Philomena Chadwick confides in her about a scandalous theft. Lady Chadwick is certain someone on her staff has stolen her priceless pink pearl necklace. Eleanor is immediately suspicious when the description matches the jewellery she spotted at the crime scene.
Much to her butler Clifford’s amusement, Eleanor goes undercover as a governess in the Chadwick’s sparkling Mayfair mansion. As she sets about questioning the disgruntled staff, she uncovers a treasure trove of gossip. But how do a secret love affair, a flirty footman with a fondness for spying, and a housemaid hiding a nightly visitor connect to the murder?
And when Eleanor’s beau, Detective Hugh Seldon, is brought in to investigate a string of further robberies in Park Lane, Eleanor is certain that Chadwick House is hiding the unlikeliest gang of jewel thieves below stairs…
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but will this necklace get Eleanor killed before she uncovers the hidden gem she needs to crack the case?
Murder in Mayfair is a totally gripping and twisty Golden Age whodunnit set in London, perfect for fans of T.E. Kinsey, Agatha Christie and Catherine Coles!
Author Bio:
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
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TRIGGER WARNING: child murder
Maggie Riley is haunted by the disappearance of her little brother 5 years ago. Now another little boy has vanished and her emotions are in turmoil as she relives the past whilst trying to investigate…
One Little Sigh is the fourth book in the Detective Maggie Riley series.
A four year old boy disappears from his home and his mother is frantic whilst his father is disinterested. Maggie fears the worst and is proved right when a little body is found in the lake (we know this from the prologue). She wants to find the killer to offset her guilt that she couldn’t save her own brother 5 years earlier.
The majority of the book is written from Maggie’s first person perspective so we see her emotions and the progress of her investigation. Other chapters are from 5 years in the past as we witness her frustration at being unable to solve her brother’s case. There are also chapters in the present day from Maggie’s fiance Steve as he is struggling to keep a massive secret.
Any book that involves child death is bound to be heart wrenching and upsetting. This is balanced by Maggie’s fierce determination to catch the killer and fight the shadow that has blighted her life and destroyed her family. Her strength brings reassurance that there are good people in this cruel world.
One Little Sigh is an emotionally charged and engaging detective thriller.
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Book: ONE LITTLE SIGH
Author: Shannon Hollinger
Pub Day: JUNE 28TH 2024
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About the Book:
The small child floats so gently in the water, he could be peacefully but the cold blue of his skin reveals his fate. One mother’s little boy is never coming home again.
When Chief Maggie Riley sees the body of the small boy still dressed in pyjamas in Beaverhead Lake, her heart breaks. Little Patrick Warner went missing last night. Despite immediately calling the entire town of Coyote Cove into action, Maggie’s desperate search failed. Even worse, it’s clear it was Patrick took his last breath long before he entered the water.
Maggie is devastated—Patrick reminds her so much of her beautiful younger brother, gone for so long. Visiting the tiny, rumpled bed where Patrick’s teddy bear still lies, and where Patrick was last seen by his mother Jenny, Maggie’s grief turns to rage. She is determined to bring whoever hurt Patrick to justice.
In this isolated community, someone must know something. But no one will talk. And if his family had nothing to do with it, why are they so secretive? As Maggie’s investigation gathers pace, her emotions threaten to overwhelm her. She still doesn’t know her brother’s fate—she won’t let that happen for little Patrick.
But when Jenny suddenly disappears, suspicions whirl around her role in Patrick’s death. Could she have been lying all this time? Or is Jenny herself in terrible danger too? To uncover the truth before more innocent lives are lost, and lay her demons to rest, Maggie will have to risk not only those closest to her but her own life too…
An utterly addictive crime thriller perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Mary Stone and Melinda Leigh.
About the author
With degrees in Crime Scene Technology & Physical Anthropology, Florida author Shannon Hollinger hasn’t just seen the dark side of humanity – she’s been elbow deep inside of it! She finds writing to be a much cleaner way to spend her time than the autopsy suite. Most days it smells better, too.
Her debut novel, the psychological thriller Best Friends Forever, is the first of a five-book deal with publisher Bookouture.
Her short fiction has appeared in Suspense Magazine, Mystery Weekly, and The Saturday Evening Post, among a number of other magazines and anthologies, and her story Lady Killer was a finalist for the 2021 Al Blanchard Award sponsored by the New England Crime Bake.
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48 drones carrying explosives hover over Guernsey. Luckily there are only 5 fatalities. Liam O’Reilly abandons his honeymoon to start investigating and discovers a link between 4 of the victims…
Fire on the Island is the 13th book in the DI O’Reilly series. There are some mentions of earlier cases but no spoilers.
One teenager is killed accidentally but Liam is convinced that the other 4 victims were deliberately targeted by a cold blooded killer intent on revenge. His investigation discovers that they had a connection but then he needs to work out who had motive and opportunity.
As always with this series, Liam has run ins with colleagues and the press. I love the cheeky insubordinate side to his personality that he uses to get his own way. Even though he has only just got married, there was less of his romantic relationship featured in this book as he is so focussed on the case.
The style of writing is easy to read and dialogue led. Short chapters push the plot along speedily and there were plenty of twists and dramatic scenes to make me read faster and faster.
Fire on the Island is full of drama and action, and is a great addition to the series.
FIRE ON THE ISLAND (Detective Liam O’Reilly #13) by Stewart Giles
From bestselling author: Stewart Giles comes another brilliant addition to the Detective Liam O’Reilly series.
In the evening of the 4th of July 2019 four dozen drones descend on Guernsey, and the peaceful island is ablaze in minutes. 48 individual bombs have caused destruction in all four corners of the island.
Detective Inspector Liam O’Reilly takes this extremely personally. He was enjoying his honeymoon in the far north of the island at the time.
As the fire on the island continues to burn, O’Reilly can’t sit back and wait for it to die down. He needs answers to why this happened on the island he now calls home.
But the truth is going to take him to hell and back.
The fire on the island is only the start: this is a case that O’Reilly may never recover from.
What readers are saying about FIRE ON THE ISLAND:
OH MY GOD, the research gone into this book is remarkable, very unstable reading, and gripped me well in. Well done! Once again this author has delivered to me another mind-blowing top read that I just could not put down reading it in a full day. Watch out for a lot of harrowing chapters. Could not fault it one bit. And yes I want more in this series. – Booklover Bev
Stewart does it every time. He produces a book that I can’t put down with twists and turns that keep the pages ever turning. There’s something really special about his writing that engages the reader right the way through. Liam is a very likeable character and has steely determination to achieve justice- sometimes in his own inimitable way, A thoroughly enjoyable read that I raced through. – Misfits Farm
Plenty of twists and turns and a lot of red herrings all contributed to make this a thrilling read. Revenge, lies, smuggling and hate all play a part and we learn more about the regular characters while being introduced to new ones which makes for a well-rounded story. – Amazon Reviewer
Liam is my favourite character but his team of DC Katie Owen, DS Will Skinner and DC Andy Stone, add so much to the mix. Another great read in this series. Plenty of humour, lots of it from Liam’s interaction with DC Andy Stone. Andy is his daughter, Assumpta’s, partner. Liam gets so riled when Andy is around. Liam doesn’t have much tolerance for some people, in this book it is DCI Urban from the Guernsey Border Agency that sets him off, and I end up reading with a smile on my face. I have loved all the books in this series, and this is no exception. – Maureen
Stewart Giles – Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow. I also have another series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey, the Detective Liam O’Reilly series. There are also 3 stand alone novels.
Twitter: @stewartgiles
TRIGGER WARNING: rape, drugs, child murder
Billie Ann Wilde is a detective but the latest case is personal as her family are targeted…
In Her Grave is the third book in the Detective Billie Ann Wilde series. I have not read the earlier books but intend to catch on them urgently as this one was fab!
A young boy has his throat slit. His father confesses. A drug addict is held captive and cruelly injured. Two teens are attacked. The connection? All are family members of Billie Ann Wilde and she fears her children may be the next targets in a campaign of revenge.
I was utterly gripped by this book from the first page to the last. Most of the book is written to show Billie Ann’s first person perspective as the case unfolds, but there are also chapters to show the victims as well as episodes from the past which seem unconnected.
Billie Ann is a great lead character. She is trying to negotiate the breakdown of her marriage and it is linked to an event in the past. Her husband is awful but the danger their children are facing would bring out the worst in all of us. She is unable to investigate the case as she would like due to the family connection as I could understand her frustration.
The chapters are short so the plot speeds along. I thought the writing was vivid and the descriptions of the killings were chilling, even more so as many of them involved children.
In Her Grave was a brilliant detective thriller.
Book blurb
A killer lurking in the shadows. A detective who will do whatever it takes to protect her family…
Rushing towards the tall trees in the distance, Detective Billie Ann Wilde can already hear the sobs of those gathered at the scene of the murder of a young child. And when she spots the little boy’s pale skin and beautiful blond ringlets, her heart catches in her chest. It’s Billie’s own nephew, Charlie, whose life has been taken.
Billie is immediately told she can’t work on Charlie’s case, but nothing will stop her finding justice for her brother, Peter. Seeing Peter for the first time in years, he looks nothing like the happy-go-lucky teen she grew up with. She’s shocked to her core when, with a trembling voice, he confesses to Charlie’s murder.
But Billie is determined to defend her brother: she knows he’s not a killer. Sneaking into the case files, desperate to save Peter from a terrible fate, she finds a link between his other young son and the murder weapon. Is Peter taking the fall to protect the only child he has left?
Then Billie gets a call from an unknown number that turns her blood to ice. Her heart splits as she recognizes the cry of her own son, Zach. The killer has taken him…
A non-stop thrill ride from the first page to the last, fans of Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot and Mary Stone won’t be able to put this book down.
Willow Rose is a multi-million-copy bestselling author of more than 90 novels. Several of her books have reached the top 10 of all books in the Amazon store in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than seven million books, which have been translated into many languages. Willow’s books are fast-paced, nail-biting page-turners with twists you won’t see coming; that’s why her fans call her “The Queen of Plot Twists”. Willow lives on Florida’s Space Coast. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watching the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
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TRIGGER WARNING: Nazi ideology and brutality
1940, Poland. Mirek runs an orphanage but the Nazi occupation means it is a daily struggle to feed the 100 children in is care. Can Mirek escape Poland and save as many children as possible…?
A Song of Silence is an historical book set in Poland during the Second World War. It is based loosely on real people which gives the plot and characters extra poignancy.
Mirek is devoted to his charges. He welcomes Jewish and non Jewish children into his orphanage but fears for their safety as the reality of life under Nazi occupation becomes brutally obvious. The whole community are threatened and there are some chillingly awful incidents to strike fear into even the bravest of hearts.
This isn’t a happy story. There are moments of hope and love which sparkle through the darkness. However, these do not diminish the intensity of the cruelty imposed by the Nazis. It is beautifully written, vividly portraying Polish life and death at Nazi hands. The use of natural-feeling dialogue meant I felt totally immersed in the lives of Mirek and his orphans.
During the final chapters, I had such a dark feeling of dread. I wanted to stop reading and allow Mirek’s story to last longer but I couldn’t resist reading on to the conclusion. Afterwards, I wanted to cry but also smile at the triumph of love. Even hours after finishing it, I wasn’t ready to move onto another book as I was still processing my emotions at the devastation wreaked upon innocents.
A Song Of Silence is a genuinely inspiring book despite the horror and tragedy.
Book blurb
War thrust them together. Love will tear them apart.
Inspired by a true story…
When the Nazis invade his sleepy Polish town, Mirek swears to keep everyone in his orphanage safe at all costs. Yet, despite his struggles and sacrifices, the war drags him and his children deeper and deeper into its violent nightmare.
With 89 children looking to him for hope, Mirek must do whatever it takes to protect them — no matter how criminal, distasteful, or perilous it may be.
And just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, the arrival of a sadistic SS captain brings unspeakable atrocities to his town — and surprisingly, a glimmer of hope for Mirek to save all those he cares about if only he has the courage to grasp it…
Inspired by a true story of love, bravery, and compassion, A Song of Silence explores history’s darkest hour and how, even in the face of overwhelming evil, one man can become a dazzling beacon of light.
Discover what it means to be human. Discover A Song of Silence.
Author bio
Apart from animals and writing, Steve’s passion is travel. He’s visited 60 countries and enjoyed some amazing experiences, including cage-diving with great white sharks, sparring with a monk at a Shaolin temple, and watching a turtle lay eggs on a moonlit beach. He’s explored Machu Picchu, Pompeii, and the Great Wall of China, yet for all that, he’s a man of simple tastes — give him an egg sandwich and the TV remote control, and he’ll be happy for hours!
He lives in the North of England with his partner, Ania, and two black cats who arrived in the garden one day and liked it so much, they stayed. Graciously, the cats allow Steve and Ania to stay in ‘their’ house.
