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Nicole organises a retreat for her work colleagues at her beach house in Dorset. The group arrive with a whole heap of secrets they are keeping from each other…

The Beach House is a psychological thriller set in the UK.

Nicole and Audrey host a podcast but it may be on the brink of failing. Nicole invites her team to stay with her in order to work together on ideas to salvage the show. But all of the women have something to hide and the secrets may have devastating consequences.

The beach house is almost an extra character, and certainly creates a claustrophobic tension. This is set up in the opening chapter and straightaway suggests a sinister undertone. There is a past dimension to the book as it features a party which occurred six weeks earlier. We are drip-fed little clues slowly about the women’s secrets. My mind was grasping at trying to figure out the connections and I did manage to work out some but not all of the twists!

I enjoyed the style of writing and the way that the chapters focus on one of the characters or the party. The author stacks up the layers of clues for the reader to guess at the secrets before they are finally revealed. All of the main characters have vulnerabilities and flaws to make them more realistic and rounded while the lack of a first person narrator makes their perspectives equal.

The Beach House is a tense and enjoyable psychological thriller. I have previously read and reviewed Queen Bee by Nina Manning.

The Beach House

It should have been the perfect weekend…

Work colleagues Nicole, Margo, Paisley and Audrey all appear to be looking forward to a weekend away at Nicole’s luxurious beach house on the Dorset coast. It should be a chance for the women to kick back, relax and regroup after a stressful moment at work.

But this is no normal girls’ getaway. And the beach house is no normal home. This place holds dark secrets for Nicole, which threaten to be revealed when its doors are opened.

And unbeknownst to host Nicole, each of the three other guests all have secrets of their own…and some of them could be deadly.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/beachhousesocial

Author Bio –

Nina Manning studied psychology and was a restaurant-owner and private chef (including to members of the royal family). She is the founder and co-host of Sniffing The Pages, a book review podcast. Her debut psychological thriller, The Daughter in Law, was a bestseller in the UK, US, Australia and Canada. She lives in Dorset.

Social Media Links –

Twitter https://twitter.com/ninamanning78

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

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1918, war in Europe rages on. Fiona and Kitty have followed German spy Fredrick Fredricks to Italy. They are trapped in the snowy mountains with Mussolini and a murderer…

Mayhem in the Mountains is a cosy historical spy and murder mystery set during WW1. It is the third book in the Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane series and the books directly follow on from each other and include spoilers so I would advise reading them in order. I have previously read and reviewed the first two books: Chaos at Carnegie Hall and Covert in Cairo.

Fiona has been led to Italy by her nemesis Fredricks. She remains infuriated and flustered by the debonair spy. An avalanche occurs and the guests are trapped indoors. One dies from poisoning and Fiona realises that there is a murderer in their midst but who and why? Whilst keeping one eye on Fredricks, another on Kitty, she needs to find the killer but is unable to prevent a second murder.

The book is written from Fiona’s first person perspective so we see her thought processes as she investigates the murder as well as her confused romantic feelings towards Archie and Fredrick. She remains unsure about how far to trust Kitty and has humorous reactions to her dog Poppy. There is more comedy from her skiing attempts 🙂

I really liked the inclusion of Mussolini. As a history graduate and knowing what happens later in his life, there were some plot twists that made my jaw drop. The author has researched his life and added details such as his first marriage to add authenticity.

Mayhem in the Mountains is an enjoyable mystery.

Mayhem in the Mountains

1918 Italy

When a deadly blizzard traps Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane in the Dolomite Mountains, it’s all downhill from here.Their hotel is snowed-in, and no one can get in or out. Then a man is found dead in his locked hotel room – and the killer is still on the premises. But with no murder weapon and too many suspects, their investigation is treading on thin ice.

The colder it gets outside, the hotter it gets inside as Fiona squares off with both her beloved Archie and her nemesis Fredricks. With her love-life on a slippery-slope, Fiona risks everything in one bold move…

As fast and twisty as a downhill slalom, this slick new cozy from Kelly Oliver will have you melting into a puddle of laughter.

Snap in and enjoy the ride.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/mayhemmountainssocial

Author Bio –

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

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TRIGGER WARNING: Nazi brutality, rape and sexual slavery

1946, a man applies for divorce from his adulterous wife. But the judge listens to the wife’s story as she explains her wartime experience in various prison camps…

The Child Who Lived is a highly emotional historical novel set during WW2.

 Lore puts her life in danger to help her Jewish neighbour and other Jews but is caught. Her kindly Nazi employer organises a good lawyer who gets her sent to a concentration camp instead of being executed. But can she survive physically and emotionally?

The camp experience is terrible but the strength of Lore’s personality as well as her fellow inmates is truly inspiring. The events depicted in the book are heartbreaking and tragic but the characters provide bravery and love against all odds. Unpleasant and underrepresented topics such as sexual slavery and medical experimentation are not shied away from.

The majority of the book is written in chronological order to show Lore’s experience in the camps. However, some chapters refer back to the divorce hearing with the judge. The second half of the book contains the love story between Lore and Wolf which results in her pregnancy. The tension mounts as the pregnancy progresses and the danger increases.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I practically devoured this book; I couldn’t put it down and finished it in just a few hours. I was totally invested in Lore’s story from the very start and wanted her to find happiness. There was a definite tear in my eye as this book ended.

The Child Who Lived is a beautiful, terrible, tragic and inspiring book about the power of love in the face of hate and war.

The Child Who Lived: An absolutely unputdownable and heartbreaking World War Two page-turner by Ellie Midwood

Austria, 1942: In Mauthausen concentration camp, two prisoners dare to fall in love. When a baby is born – a miracle baby born behind the gates of hell – they vow to escape. Inspired by true events, this powerful World War Two novel tells the incredible and inspirational tale of two ordinary people who risk everything to achieve the impossible.

As Lore is pushed through the towering gates of Mauthausen concentration camp, she holds little hope of ever leaving, knowing that usually death is the only way out.

But soon, when Lore meets fellow prisoner Wolf, she commits the ultimate act of resistance against the brutal SS by falling desperately in love, finding solace and hope in this hell on earth. And when Lore falls pregnant, they know they have to fight to not only survive, but escape.

Together they must achieve the impossible: bringing new life into a death camp, and risking their own to ensure their child who wasn’t meant to survive, will become the child who lived…

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice will be incredibly gripped by this tearjerking page-turner. Based on true events, this unforgettable World War Two novel shows that even in darkness, love can sometimes find a way.

Buy link: https://geni.us/B0C5DPXL9Qsocial

About the author

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 14 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, “The Girl from Berlin.” Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their two dogs.

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) – “The Girl from Berlin: Standartenführer’s Wife” (first place)

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) – “The Austrian” (honorable mention)

New Apple – 2016 Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing – “The Austrian” (official selection)

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2017) – “Emilia”

Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2018) – “A Motherland’s Daughter, A Fatherland’s Son”

Author social media

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/EllieMidwood?_rdr

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Website: http://elliemidwood.com/

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Jane and Michael’s relationship is in crisis. She feels unfulfilled and unappreciated looking after the kids and house while he resents their move out of London and his long working hours.

The Wrong Man is an emotional book full of domestic drama. It was originally written almost 30 years ago and has been revisited by the author. However, the issues are just as relevant and emotive now as they were previously.

My heart went out to Jane immediately. She is trying to juggle society’s and her husband’s expectations of being a housewife. Finally she is so unhappy that she decides she needs to tackle her situation head on but she has been hiding her sadness so well for so long that her friends and family have been unaware. The depth of unhappiness has been layering up bit by bit rather than a big catastrophe that derails the marriage.

The writing is intensely emotional and really brings the marriage to life effectively and vividly. I felt uncomfortable at the tension between the couple that Michael is blissfully unaware of to begin with as Jane plods on miserably. The pent up emotions are easy to imagine and relate to. Love is gradually eroded by tiny little instances until they become overwhelming and shatter the whole.

The author uses other couple relationships to compare and contrast with Jane and Michael’s. I thought this was clever for showing other dynamics and issues that couples face together or get driven apart by.

The Wrong Man is a vividly written and starkly emotional book. I reviewed The Godmother by Amanda Brookfield earlier in this book tour.

The Wrong Man

‘In the weeks that followed, Jane did her best not to think about anything very much. Usually, it worked. But every so often she would freeze, and tremble at the terrifying realisation that she wanted to leave her husband.’

While many regard her marriage with admiration and a touch of envy, Jane Lytton quietly reaches the shocking conclusion that her relationship with Michael, a successful banker with little time for her – or the nitty-gritty of family life – is failing.

Even daring to contemplate leaving Michael is daunting. With no obvious outward signs of any marital problems, family and friends greet news of the predicament with a mixture of anger and uncomprehending sympathy.

Forced to accept that she is alone, Jane takes drastic steps that veer her life off course. When at last her vision clears to reveal the best chance of happiness, it looks as if she may have left it too late. Being with the wrong man does not make finding the ‘right’ one any easier.

Amanda Brookfield’s loving but unflinching dissection of marriage and relationships is timeless and irresistible. The Wrong Man demonstrates brilliantly why she got her well-deserved reputation for writing about women’s lives with humour and honesty.

*Please note this title was originally published as *Walls of Glass. **

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/wrongmansocial

Author Bio –

 Amanda Brookfield is the bestselling author of many novels including Good Girls, Relative Love, and Before I Knew You, and a memoir, For the Love of a Dog starring her Golden Doodle Mabel. She lives in London and has recently finished a year as Visiting Creative Fellow at University College Oxford.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandabrookfield100/

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