Twelve years have passed since Robert Alardyce left Scotland to avoid hurting those he loves. Now he sees an opportunity to return home but can he control the evil in his heart?
Evil at Alardyce House is the fourth book in the Alardyce series. I would advise reading the books in order (The Missing Girls of Alardyce House, HIs Fatal Legacy, and The Cursed Heir) as each has spoilers about previous events.
Robert uses his deviousness to demonstrate his business acumen and builds a succesful empire in South Africa. He manages to curb his deadly impulses and I actually warmed to him a little. His love for his mother, wife and child shines through but his darker side is never far away.
Poor Amy. She has been through so much in this series of books! In her new grief, Robert returns and she needs to welcome him whilst protecting her other children. In this book, the timeline has moved on to the early twentieth century and I liked the way the characters moved away from the Victorian era. Amy has always felt surprisingly modern which makes her experiences seem more relatable.
I have really enjoyed this series and felt invested in the characters from the beginning. There is passion, murder, love and hate. The author carefully blends violence and darkness with tenderness and emotion. There continues to be a mix of mystery and supernatural about the writing as Amy is haunted by the past.
Evil at Alardyce House is a fitting conclusion to this enjoyable historical series.
Evil at Alardyce House
The history of the Alardyce family is fraught with scandal and intrigue.
But after her eldest son Robert leaves the country, finally Amy Alardyce can enjoy some peace. Robert is wanted by the police for some unspeakable crimes, and his family hope he has run far enough and never looks back.
A decade after his disappearance, Robert has forged a successful life for himself, making his fortune from the diamond and gold mines of Africa. But when he sees a death notice in the newspaper, the call to go home to Scotland grows ever louder.
At Alardyce House, there are big changes too, and the fragile peace the family have enjoyed for so long is feeling more fragile than ever. And as the past comes back to haunt Amy and her children, will she have to finally accept that the curse of the Alardcye family can never be outrun…
Author Bio –
Heather Atkinson is the author of over fifty books – predominantly in the crime fiction genre. Although Lancashire born and bred she now lives with her family, including twin teenage daughters, on the beautiful west coast of Scotland. Her gangland series for Boldwood, set on the fictional Gallowburn estate in Glasgow begins with the title Blood Brothers.
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Maddy’s life is in turmoil when she is given the surprising news that she has inherited a house from the black sheep of the family. However, cousin Nigel has included the stipulation that she has to live there for a whole year…
What Would Jane Austen Do? is a warm and lighthearted book about fresh starts and new love.
Maddy is a huge fan of Jane Austen and uses the great author to give advice and guide her life choices as her books are just as relevant today as they were nearly 200 years ago. Maddy locks horns with crime author Cameron and she finds he is her new neighbour when she inherits Nigel’s house.
I loved the discussion about the philosophy of reading and writing books. Why do we read books of certain genres? Are our expectations governing the author’s writing? Are crime novels and romance novels equally predictable in that they conclude with a solution? Would we be satisfied if they didn’t? Is predictability a bad thing?!
The writing style is easy to read and I liked the antagonism that leads to a romantic spark between the two main characters. There is a light tone to the book and touches of humour as Maddy throws herself into her new life.
What Would Jane Austen Do? is an enjoyable book and I liked the Jane Austen theme.
What Would Jane Austen Do?
It’s a truth often acknowledged that when a journalist and Jane Austen fan girl ends up living next door to a cynical but handsome crime writer, romantic sparks will fly!
When Maddy Shaw is told her Dear Jane column has been cancelled she has no choice but to look outside of London’s rental market. That is until she’s left an idyllic country home by the black sheep of the family, long-not-so-lost Cousin Nigel.
But of course there’s a stipulation… and not only is Maddy made chair of the committee for the annual village literary festival, she also has to put up with bestselling crime author –and romance sceptic – Cameron Massey as her new neighbour.
When Maddy challenges Cameron to write romantic fiction, which he claims is so easy to do, sparks fly both on and off the page…
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Author Bio – Linda Corbett lives in Surrey with her husband Andrew and three permanently hungry guinea pigs. As well as being an author, Linda is a member and former Treasurer of Shine Surrey – a volunteer-led charity that supports individuals and families living with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. For many years she also wrote a regular column for Link, a disability magazine, illustrating the humorous aspects of life with a complex disability, and she is a passionate advocate of disability representation in fiction. When not writing, Linda can be found papercrafting, gardening, or cuddling guinea pigs. What Would Jane Austen Do? is her second published novel.
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A chess player returns home to find his dog hideaously injured and his family dead with their throats slit. Granville Markham confesses to killing his family but DI LIam O’Reilly isn’t convinced that this is the truth…
Sadness on the Island is the 10th book in the O’Reilly series set on Guernsey.
A woman phones the police to advise that a dog has stopped barking. She is adamant that something is wrong and when the police investigate they find a seriously injured dog and Granville sat playing chess with his family dead upstairs. A murder investigation swings into action and there appears to be just one suspect. I was almost screaming at Liam to arrest him at first! But his guilt seems too easy and quick to figure out which makes Liam suspicious.
There is also a personal side to the plot as Liam adjusts to living alone as his daughter has moved out. He is also dealing with his girlfriend’s cancer which reminds him of the death of his wife from the same disease. There are big issues involved but this is countered by the humour of Liam’s attitude towards the cats!
The pace is fast and the chapters are short. I found myself swept up in the investigation while also emotionally attuned to Liam as he accepts changes to his life and relationships. The ending made me smile but Stewart Giles is the master of the cliffhanger and this book was no exception…
Sadness on the Island is a great addition to this already wonderful series.
SADNESS ON THE ISLAND Detective Liam O’Reilly #10) by Stewart Giles
Detective Liam O’Reilly has reached a low point in his life.
The love of his life has just been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and his daughter is about to move out of the apartment they’ve shared for the past year.
Even his cats are bringing him down, and he doesn’t think life can get much worse.
But then everything is suddenly put into perspective when news of a horrific incident comes in.
A man has arrived home to find his entire family slaughtered. His wife and children have been brutally murdered. The family dog has also been viciously attacked.
O’Reilly soon forgets his own woes and throws himself headlong into the case. His own sadness can wait.
But soon, O’Reilly realises things are rarely as they appear to be. Not all sadness is real. Sometimes there is something much deeper running beneath the surface, and as he gets closer to the truth, his own misery is forgotten when he comes face to face with an evil so dark, he starts to wonder if sadness is destined to be the norm from now on.
What readers are saying about Sadness on the Island
‘I was absolutely overcome by all the sadness and the references to cats, chess and cancer. I don’t want to give any spoilers, this is 5 star, the best in the series.’ – Carol
‘It’s a great plot, incredibly well crafted as ever with twists and turns and also the subplot of Liam’s personal life. It’s an unusual plot, one centred very cleverly around chess , the chess master vs the detective. Loved this, and wow! What an ending. Can’t wait for the next one!’ – Misfits Farm
‘Liam also has a couple of major personal issues he needs to come to terms with as well as being at war with his cats which brings a bit of humour into the story. I really enjoyed this and always look forward to a new book in the series.’ – Maureen
BOOKS BY STEWART GILES
DI O’REILLY MYSTERIES
1 – Blood on the Island
2 – Lies on the Island
10 – Sadness on the Island
11 – Danger on the Island
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
Lexi Bennett is out on a run before starting her new job when she discovers the murdered bodies of teenaged twins. Lexi meets her new police colleagues as she gets straight to work and finds out that triplets went missing days ago. Where is the third sister?
The Girls on Chalk Hill is the first book in a new detective thriller series set in Kent, England.
Lexi starts her new job with a bang! She finds two dead bodies and swings straight into action securing the scene and meeting her new team. The teen triplets had been listed as missing and now two are dead so the police are frantic to find clues to the final triplet’s location. There is a very personal dimension to the case as Lexi herself is a triplet and was kidnapped along with her sisters. She and one sister escaped but the third was never found. Could it be coincidence that she is now dealing with a triplet murder?
The majority of the book is written in the third person to show the criminal investigation. However, some chapters give the killer’s perspective which is deeply chilling. The writing style is easy to read and I was plunged straight into the case along with Lexi. I liked the way that we are presented with the setting and other characters alongside Lexi and get to learn about her too as she introduces herself to her colleagues.
The pace is quite fast as the police track down clues before time runs out for the final triplet. The killer’s perspective adds to the tension as we see their fixation on Lexi.
The Girls on Chalk Hill is a great start to a new series and I can’t wait to read the next book.
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Book: THE GIRLS ON CHALK HILL
Author: ALISON BELSHAM
Pub Day: JUNE 26TH 2023
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About the Book:
They lie on the hillside, wearing matching white dresses, tiaras in their blonde hair. Each of them clutches a red rose. They could be sleeping, but frost shines on the lashes of their wide blue eyes, frozen open forever…
Detective Lexi Bennett is devastated when she finds the two teenagers lying side by side on the quiet green hillside, their throats cut. Convinced this is no ordinary killer, she vows to draw on all her profiling experience to find justice for these beautiful girls who will never have the chance to grow up.
But when the victims are identified as Lucy and Eden Carter, Lexi’s blood turns cold. The sisters were triplets – and the third girl, Paige, is missing. The case suddenly feels frighteningly personal. Lexi was a triplet too, and she and her sisters were abducted as teens. Two of them escaped but Lexi’s dreams are still haunted by memories of the faceless man who took them, and her sister Rose, who she never saw again.
Her boss thinks she’s too close to the case, but Lexi is sure the monster who took her is back with a message. She throws herself into the investigation, hunting down every clue, certain that time is running out to save Paige.
Then she returns home to find the back door open and Rose’s diary on the kitchen table. As she traces her beloved sister’s handwriting, her heart breaking, Lexi swears she will not rest until this brutal monster is caught. Will the diary help her find him before Paige is killed? Or is she walking into a trap designed just for her?
A completely compelling serial killer thriller that will make your pulse race on every page. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Angela Marsons and J M Dalgliesh will love The Girls on Chalk Hill.
Author Bio
In 2016, I entered and won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect competition. This secured me an agent and a three-book publishing deal with Orion for my police procedural series set in the world of tattoos and tattooing. My first novel, The Tattoo Thief, was translated into 15 languages, was a No 1 bestseller in Italy and is the first instalment of the internationally acclaimed Tattoo Thief trilogy. I also write in collaboration with my brother Nick Higgins – Canelo has published our action thriller series set in Afghanistan, Death In Kabul and Death in Helmand. Now I’m embarking on a fresh crime series with Bookouture. It’s set in Canterbury, featuring DI Lexi Bennett, newly appointed to lead the Major Incident Team after a spell working with the FBI’s specialist serial killer unit.
I divide my time between London and Edinburgh, where I am a co-founder of the Edinburgh Writers’ Forum, providing professional development and networking for writers.
To learn more about me and the books I write, visit my website at www.alisonbelsham.com
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Ria has been on sabbatical after the death of her best friend Livvy after an apparent drugs related accident. Now she has run out of money and argued with her mum so is forced to return to her home and job. But she finds a new flatmate who has also taken Livvy’s job. Is Ria too sensitive or does Amanda have a dark motive?
The Flatmate is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
Ria had been through a tough few months following the accidental death of her friend Livvy. But Ria can’t believe that Livvy would have taken the drugs that led to her death and this raises suspicions about who could have been responsible. Ria went off the rails making extreme accusations and was sent on leave to recover her mental health. Now she is back and finds another woman living in her flat. Amanda seems ok but Ria doesn’t trust her at all. Amanda has Livvy’s old job and is interested in Ria’s ex. Are Ria’s concerns real or is she projecting her own fears and neuroses?
The book is written from the first person perspective of Ria. However the opening chapter shows us Livvy’s death which is hugely emotive to read and there are then later chapters that show scenes from Livvy’s life. We are aligned with Ria’s view while she struggles to adapt to life back home as well as grieving for her friend.
Sinister things begin to happen when she returns to the flat. She receives phone calls from Livvy and a bouquet of black roses. There is plenty of tension and mystery as the plot progresses and Ria becomes more suspicious of Amanda. I enjoyed the twists as Ria makes discoveries and endures upsetting reminders of Livvy.
The Flatmate is a tense and mysterious psychological thriller.
The Flatmate
Always trust your very basic instincts or prepare for the consequences…
It was surreal returning to work after a five-month enforced sabbatical following the suspicious death of my best friend Livvy at a work event. I was grateful for the time away to grieve and had slotted straight back in work But a surprise awaited my return. Amanda Dowd, Livvy’s replacement, was firmly entrenched as my new flatmate in the company apartment. Something didn’t feel right, I felt on edge. But everyone seemed to love Amanda.
Even my ex-Jayden was blinded by her outgoing personality and model looks. Yet her desperation to become friends felt unnatural. When I began to receive calls, photos and presents supposedly from Livvy, I became spooked… someone was targeting me, watching me. With my job, home and life on the line, I had to find out who was doing this to me. I knew I hadn’t caused Livvy’s death; I still believed it was no accident. Someone else was guilty and I had to find out who before I was next…
Bestseller Gemma Rogers is back with another page-turning thriller.
And how far would they go to keep their secret?
Author Bio –
Gemma Rogers was inspired to write gritty thrillers by a traumatic event in her own life nearly twenty years ago. Her debut novel Stalker was published in September 2019 and marked the beginning of a new writing career. Gemma lives in West Sussex with her husband and two daughters.
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