Three women, Marisa, Elly and Claire, enjoy an exclusive lifestyle in the Hamptons but all are hiding secrets and unhappiness that they are desperate to hide.

Marisa is unhappily married to Avery. Her children have gone off to college so she is throwing herself into volunteer work. Elly has been dreadfully hurt by a bigamous husband and date raped by another man. She takes lovers to avenge herself on men in general by exposing their infidelity. Claire is a cop, yearning for a baby when she finds out her husband is infertile.

Into this situation arrives Jodi, scared and alone, 5 months pregnant and searching for her baby’s father.

I loved the way Nicola Marsh leaves plenty of mystery to increase anticipation. I had my suspicions throughout the book but the author cleverly misdirects readers so I don’t think anyone will guess all of twists!

There is a great deal of sadness at the extent of the unhappiness the women face in spite of their apparent lifestyle. All of the women have strength and determination but also such vulnerability that we as readers can’t help but sympathise even if we can’t condone their behaviour or even particularly like them.

The Scandal is a cracking read that shows appearances are not always what they seem, assumptions are dangerous, and trust is easily broken and difficult to mend…

Title: The Scandal      

Author:  Nicola Marsh

Publication Day: 25/07/19

Buy Links:         

Amazon: https://geni.us/B07R66ZF77Social

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2PFN7e6

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2GLjCmK

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/F7do30oAfRP

Description:

My life is like one of those cheap snow globes my twins collected when they were younger. Shiny and pretty on the outside, blurred beyond recognition when shaken.

Ever since her twin girls left home, Marisa has felt there’s something missing from her life. Her sprawling mansion is no longer filled with laughter and chaos, and she’s desperate to feel needed… and to be distracted from the secret she’s been hiding from her husband for all these years.

Coffee with her best friends might be the only thing holding Marisa together. But Claire and Ellyhave their own secrets. Like why Claire hasn’t been to work in weeks, or why Elly won’t tell anyone who’s buying her flowers.

When Jodi, a pregnant young girl, turns up at Marisa’s doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to her aid. She sees herself in Jodi and she knows how devoting yourself to looking after others can take up all your time in the most marvellous way.

But Jodi’s arrival quickly pushes everyone’s lies to the surface. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well, and Marisa starts to wonder if her obsession with helping Jodi might come at a devastating price…

The Scandal has a twist that will take your breath away. An emotionally charged novel about secrets, affairs and perfect small towns that will be devoured by fans of Kerry Fisher, Big Little Lies and The Other Woman.

Author Bio:

USA TODAY bestselling & multi-award winning author Nicola Marsh writes feel-good fiction with a twist!

She has published 68 books with Harlequin, Amazon and indie, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
She currently writes women’s fiction/rural romance for Harper Collins Australia Mira imprint, emotional domestic suspense for Bookouture and contemporary romance for Harlequin Dare.

Her first mainstream contemporary romance, BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD released to rave reviews, including a nomination for RWA’s RBY, Romantic Book of the Year.
Her first indie-pubbed contemporary romance CRAZY LOVE is an Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestseller, and was nominated for an ARRA award.
Her women’s fiction novel SAVING SARA with Lake Union hit the #1 kindle romance spot on Amazon UK.

Her young adult fantasy SCION OF THE SUN won a National Readers’ Choice Award for Best YA novel.

She’s also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a RBY and National Readers’ Choice Award winner, is a multiple finalist for awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

A physiotherapist for 13 years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two dashing young heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, barracking loudly for her beloved North Melbourne Kangaroos footy team, and her favourite, curling up with a good book!

Social Media links:

Website: https://www.nicolamarsh.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicolaMarsh

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

The Secret Letter is such a beautiful book, made especially emotional by the fact is is based on the wartime experiences of the author’s parents.

Two girls, one English, one German, grow up during the Second World War. Separated by geography but united in their passion to defeat the Nazis, Imogen and Magda become young women facing the reality of war.

Imogen is in love with Freddie but he joins the war effort and tells her to forget him in case he doesn’t come back. Magda falls in love with an injured airman but can’t avoid Hitler Youth fanatic (and later SS officer) Otto.

I admit that when I started this book I imagined the two girls would have more of a link than they actually ended up with. But actually it was so much better this way as it allowed the author to explore two complete stories with brief connections rather than have one story intermingled, making it much more powerful.

Both Imogen and Magda begin the book as children so are quite naive. As they grow into women, they become more aware of the war and determined to fight injustice. Both women are independent and even ambitious. Love for their countries, and hope for a better Nazi free future, inspires them to help the war effort in whatever way they can.

This book by Debbie Rix firmly focuses on the bravery and hope of those fighting against Nazi rule. There is also sadness about the reality of war and the difficulties faced by civilians. As well as using her own parents’ experiences and letters, the author has obviously done plenty of research to underscore the fictional plot with real life events.

Germany, 1939. A tumbledown farmhouse, on the outskirts of a close-knit village in the heart of the rolling hills of Bavaria. A once happy family home torn apart by Nazi rule. And one young girl who refuses to give up on what she believes in…

2018: When ninety-four-year-old Imogen receives a letter addressed to her in neat, unfamiliar handwriting, she notices the postmark is stamped from Germany – and it sends shivers down her spine…

1939: Thirteen-year-old Magda is devastated by the loss of her best friend, shy and gentle Lotte, cruelly snatched from her and sent to a concentration camp – the Star of David sewn on her faded, brown coat. As the Nazi’s power takes hold, Magda realizes she’s not like the other girls in her German village – she hates the fanatical new rules of the Hitler Youth. So Magda secretly joins The White Rose Movement and begins to rebel against the oppressive, frightening world around her.

But when an English RAF pilot lands in a field near Magda’s home she is faced with an impossible choice: to risk the lives of her family or to save a stranger and make a difference in the war she desperately wants to end. Little does she know, her actions will have the power to change the life of another girl, on the other side of enemy lines, forever…

About the author

Debbie Rix has written five novels, the latest of which – ‘The Secret Letter’ – will be published on July 22nd 2019. The novel, set in World War II, tells the story of two girls – one German the other English whose lives eventually intertwine through the noble actions of one RAF pilot. Set in the UK and Germany, the novel is a slight departure as all Debbie’s previous novels have been set in Italy.

The Photograph – set in Sardinia – crosses generations and continents as Sophie, desperate for a child of her own, uncovers the extraordinary secrets of her grandmother, Rachael, fifty years earlier. Like her other novels, it reached the No.1 spot in Amazon’s Italian category. The Photograph will be published in Italy on June 6th 2019.

The Silk Weaver’s Wife – published 19th July 2017 – was shortlisted for the RNA’s Historical Novel category and is about a silk designer named Anastasia from Verona whose life is almost destroyed when she is forced into a marriage to a Venetian silk weaver. In the present day Millie visits an old villa near Verona and uncovers a lost painting. Who is the woman in the painting and how will her experiences affect Millie’s life? 

Daughters of the Silk Road topped the historical fiction charts in 2016, reaching No.1 in Italian, Women’s fiction and Mystery, Thriller & Suspense and spent many weeks in the top 100 best selling lists. It follows the fortunes of a family of merchant explorers who bring a Ming vase back to Venice from China in 15th century. 

‘The Girl with Emerald Eyes’ was published in 2015 and also reached the No.1 spot in Amazon’s Italian category. Set amidst the world of medieval Italy, it explores the creation of the most famous building in the world – the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

Debbie spends a lot of time in Italy and the setting of the novels reflects her knowledge and passion for the country. She lives in the Kent countryside with her journalist husband, children, sheep, chickens and cats. When not writing, she is usually to be found in the vegetable garden. She began her career with the BBC- initially as the news reader on Breakfast Time, thereafter appearing as a presenter and reporter on a variety of factual and light entertainment television series. She had a spell as an Agony Aunt, and has also written about gardens and gardening – one of her private passions.

https://twitter.com/debbierix

Two reviews in one!

Watch Her Die

Tensions are high in the police force: financial pressures and personal feuds are rife but will they interrupt a murder investigation?

DI Temple is estranged from his wife, keeps an illegal gun and is loathed by his superior Harker due to an indiscretion with the latter’s daughter that will never be forgiven or forgotten. He is put in charge of the murder investigation following the death of a beautiful woman with a complicated sexual history but is contantly fighting against beligerent officers, a lack of manpower and a whole load of secretive suspects. Meanwhile his own family are at risk due to a previous case.

Temple is paired with dodgy cop Sloper who has plenty of secrets to hide but also has the ear of the chief. Some parts of the book were fast paced and others were the methodical contemplaition of interviews and clues.

Watch Her Die is a solid police procedure novel and the effect of the personalities of the officers on the case is fascinating to read. There are excellent twists in the book and none of the suspects are particularly likeable or blameless.

Temple’s tenacity in the face of adversity makes him endearing depsite the huge mistakes he has made which impact on his work and home life. As an introduction to a new series and detective, I couldn’t ask for more!

Dead of Night

This book is much darker and involves drug trafficking and the sexual exploitation of young teenage girls.

We meet up with Temple again 6 months after the conclusion of the previous book. His family circumstances have dramatically changed again (but I won’t give away how and spoil the ending of the previous book!) He is also facing disciplinary action for disobeying orders and the police chief who hates him has decided to get revenge at last. Simon Sloper is set against him and we see the seedier side to his behaviour.

Reading about the exploitation of the young girls was quite heartbreaking and often difficult due to the intense sadness the descriptions generated. I have heard of county lines in relation to safeguarding at the secondary school I work at, so know how real the danger to children is right now.

Dead of Night was much more emotive than Watch Her Die. We see how the girls are treated and are also shown the thoughts of other characters so understand their actions better. The unfairness that Temple faces at work and the difficult decisions he has had to make regarding his home life make the reader sympathetic towards him and hope he gets a positive outcome.

I’m hoping for more in this series as Temple recovers from the revelations this case produces…

WATCH HER DIE (Detective Temple Mystery Book 1) by Deborah Lucy

MEET A NEW AUTHOR WHO WILL TAKE YOU ON AN ADDICTIVE CRIME THRILLER JOURNEY.

Please note this book was originally published as “Death Watch.”

HE WATCHED HER DIE

Who murdered Greta Ashton-Jones? This beautiful married woman is found naked, strangled and tied to her bed. Who’s been watching her and taking pictures of her? Who needed to kill her — and why?

Detective Inspector Temple investigates. It’s not the straightforward ‘domestic murder’ he’s been told. Written off by a boss who’s relegated him to the back office, he knows he has to find her killer and fast, but he soon has trouble of his own.

DISCOVER A MURDER MYSTERY YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT DOWN TILL THE STUNNING CONCLUSION

He’s on the wrong side of the law trying to protect himself and his family when a dangerous criminal with a vendetta is released from prison. As things go wrong, losing his job is the least of his problems.

Temple uncovers a tangled web of deceit, betrayal and blackmail which leads him to a depraved undercover world.

CAN DETECTIVE TEMPLE CATCH THE KILLER BEFORE HIS OWN LIFE FALLS APART?

Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Damien Boyd, Rachel Abbott, Patricia Gibney or Mark Billingham.

What readers are saying about WATCH HER DIE

“Could not put it down.” SP

“Well written and plotted, an excellent and complex crime novel.” MP

‘Loved this book, gripping story, kept me guessing till the end.’ DW

“Compulsive read!” GC

THE DETECTIVE
As a small boy, DI Temple found his mother dead. She had been brutally murdered, with the crime unresolved. Temple is a man on a mission to find her killer, it’s why he joined the police. With the past throwing a long shadow over his life, as a detective, this makes him even more determined to seek justice for other victims as he hunts their killers. His personal quest makes him difficult to live with and difficult to work with and his relationships suffer. But he’ll stop at nothing to protect his family, even though they are estranged and if it means breaking the law.

THE SETTING
The DI Temple novels are set in Wiltshire, a largely rural county. Its landscape of beautiful rolling hills, downs and valleys gives no immunity to the crime that infects its scattered towns and villages. Steeped in ancient history, the tourist guides make no mention of the organised crime groups, the murders and turf wars, or the drugs that saturate the streets, lanes and school playgrounds. The M4 artery across the top of the county pumps its poison from London and Bristol, linking east and west coasts, providing criminal gangs and networks with an easy route to ply their deadly trade.

DEBORAH LUCY AUTHOR BIO

Deborah Lucy was born in Southsea and bought up in Portsmouth, the island city. In her working life, Deb has worked alongside a number of senior investigating officers as they’ve investigated major crime – from murder, to missing persons to abduction and kidnaps. She’s been at the 7am starts and the 3am finishes, the ‘golden hour’s,’ the high’s, the low’s, the breakthrough’s, the arrests. The slog. The politics.

For three years she worked in the missing adults and children arena, with police, government policy advisors and charities. Latterly, she conducted lifestyle enquiries for international blue-chip companies into the lives of billionaires, millionaires and politically exposed people around the world.

She is a non-fiction author, ghost-writer and has been a consultant on a forthcoming ITV drama series, A Confession starring Martin Freeman and Imelda Staunton, involving a real case she was involved in. She has a master’s degree in historical research. Her experiences lend authenticity to her stories; she also wants her books to be entertaining and find fans amongst those who are the hardest to please – the most discerning of crime readers and real life detectives.

Links

Website: www.deborahlucy.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deborah–Lucy–1809348826037410

Twitter: @DeborahLucy6