A friendship forged at primary school is still enduring sixty years later. Josie, Lin and Minnie have been through the highs and lows of life together. Now they are reunited with their former teacher who is still trying to impart words of wisdom…
The Silver Ladies Do Lunch is a book about female friendship, seizing every opportunity and a reminder that age is just a number.
The three women have a firm friendship and have been through a lot over the course of their lives. Now in their later years, Josie is grieving for her recently deceased husband, hopeless cook Lin begins to fear for her marriage, and Minnie’s career is nearing retirement and she has no personal life to fall back on. Into this mix returns their inspirational former teacher Miss Hamilton, now in her nineties and still trying to positively influence her pupils.
There is a wonderful warmth to this book. There are a whole range of quirky peripheral characters, some also going back to the women’s school days. The village setting, characters and minutiae of interactions are described effectively to bring the plot to life.
I loved the main three friends and their delightful teacher. They have plenty to offer to the world despite their ages and the enduring love and friendship is uplifting. However, all of the women face challenges in their personal lives and this adds an extra emotional dynamic as they look to the future.
The Silver Ladies Do Lunch is a hugely enjoyable, uplifting novel that will leave you with a warm glow.
The Silver Ladies Do Lunch
When Lin, Josie and Minnie left Miss Hamilton’s class at Middleton Ferris County Primary School, sixty years ago, they could only dream about what the future had in store for them. The one thing they knew for certain was that their friendship would thrive.
Years later and life hasn’t always been kind. Josie is still mourning the loss of her beloved husband Harry a year after his sudden demise. Lin is hoping to celebrate her fiftieth wedding anniversary with husband Neil, but he’s suddenly keeping secrets and telling her lies, so she’s suspecting the worst And as for Minnie, well she loves her life in Oxford academia, but with no family to call her own, she sometimes wonders if the sacrifices were all worthwhile.
So, when the ninety-year-old Miss Hamilton – or Cecily as she lets them call her now – glides gracefully back into their lives on her glamorous purple mobility scooter, the ladies are in need of inspiration and fun. And over their regular lunches, the friends start to dream of leaving the past in the past and embracing the future, because there’s nothing you can’t achieve with good friends at your side.
Author Bio –
Judy Leigh is the USA Today bestselling author of The Old Girls’ Network and Five French Hens and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.
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The search for a missing child has a happy conclusion except it launches a murder investigation into remains found at the lake. Historic murder cases suddenly stack up as connections are made. Women go missing and then another child is abducted as a serial killer escapes…
Widow Lake is the 8th book to feature Detective Ellie Reeves and her colleagues. There are some mentions of events and outcomes from previous books where they relate to the personal life of Ellie.
The opening chapters of this book set several plot strands going and it took me a little while to begin to understand the connections between the events and characters. We are shown events from the past as well as build up to the present day circumstances. Ellie is called to investigate a missing child but the setting of a lake during a drought leads to the discovery of a body that links to a mother and child disappearance from 10 years ago.
The chapters are short and allows the plot to surge ahead. It is sooooo tempting to keep reading, one more chapter becomes three or four! I was completely caught up in the plot as the present day plot threads connect to those from the past. There is plenty of drama and danger as the plot develops, leading to an exciting conclusion.
Widow Lake was a gripping detective thriller and a great addition to the series.
MEDIA PACK
Book: WIDOW LAKE
Author: Rita Herron
Pub Day: May 31st 2023
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About the Book:
“Help,” a tiny voice cried out into the darkness. Little Betsy trembled, praying someone would hear her, save her. “Please,” she whimpered. “I’m scared.”
On the hottest day of the year, as a heatwave takes hold of the Appalachian Mountains, a five-year-old girl goes missing. Just as the sun is setting, a family vacation becomes a worst nightmare—Betsy, with her green eyes, ponytail and rainbow t-shirt—disappears in the woods by Widow Lake. Detective Ellie Reeves is straight on the scene, promising Betsy’s heartbroken parents that she will stop at nothing to find their precious daughter.
Hours later, Ellie is called back to the lake. One of her team have discovered some remains near where Betsy disappeared. The bones belong to a local girl, Amy Dean, who vanished ten years ago to the day, along with her two-year-old baby girl Paisley. But why was Paisley never reported missing? And could she still be alive?
Ellie is suddenly up against the toughest case of her career. Her instincts tell her that the two cases are somehow connected, and she works day and night to uncover the link. When she comes across some little graves beside the water’s edge, she knows she needs to stop the evil lurking around this tranquil lake.
When Ellie discovers a notebook scrawled with the handwriting of a little girl, it could be the breakthrough she needs. Can she unravel a decades-old mystery, and stop the monster claiming innocent lives?
This totally addictive and jaw-dropping crime thriller will have your heart racing as you fly through the pages! Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Lisa Regan and Kendra Elliot.
Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
For more on Rita and her titles, visit her at www.ritaherron.com. You can also find her on Facebook/ritaherron.com and Twitter @ritaherron.
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Lady Bea is at the royal family’s Scottish castle for a winter shooting party. Nowhere near the awful Detective Fitzwilliam. Or so she thinks…until a murder takes place among the guests and the only officer available is her nemesis…
A Dead Herring is the fourth book in the Right Royal cosy murder mystery series. I have previously reviewed the earlier books in the series: Spruced Up For Murder, For Richer For Deader, and Not Mushroom For Death.
Ben Rhodes has made plenty of enemies and has had to hire a bodyguard. But surely he is safe at a royal residence… NOPE! Ben is found dead in the bath as the royal family are snowed in on their estate. Luckily (or unluckily, judging by Bea’s response!) DCI Fitzwilliam is staying with friends on the estate and is able to visit the main house to try to track down the killer.
There is plenty of tension between Bea and Fitzwilliam as usual. They rub each other up the wrong way and take offence when none is meant. In contrast to this is the loving relationship between Perry and Simon who both have marriage on their minds. Daisy the dog continues to have a prominent role in finding clues and getting help for those in danger.
I love this series of books. There is a wonderful light hearted tone to the writing as well as humour in the dialogue. Once again there are several suspects to investigate with plenty of red herrings along the way. Bea finally finds out the truth about her brother’s work as well as extra information about her late husband. I did manage to guess the killer but this did not spoil my enjoyment of the book at all.
A Dead Herring is a hugely enjoyable cosy murder mystery from a brilliant series.
A Dead Herring
BREAKING NEWS Urshall United FC Owner Dies at Drew Castle
Details are sketchy at this stage, but it is believed businessman Ben Rhodes (38) was found dead in his bathroom at the king’s Scottish home by his twin brother Max, where the pair were guests at a shooting party hosted by Lord Frederick Astley (39), brother of Lady Beatrice (36). The cause of Mr Rhodes’ death is not known, but he started receiving death threats from football fans after his controversial takeover of the club and had recently employed his own personal security.
How unlucky can a girl get? Is fate playing a cruel trick on her for boorish Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam to be the only person who can get to the snowed-in castle to investigate Ben Rhodes’s death? And with no other external resources available to him, he now needs her, her smart dog, and her best friends’ help to catch the killer. Can they put their issues behind them and work together to find the murderer before the weather improves and the perpetrator is free to leave?
Another page-turning cozy British whodunnit with a hint of humour from author Helen Golden.
Author Bio –
Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.
Previusly, I worked in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.
It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes
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A young woman is found dead in her car with no obvious cause of death. Yet she has ligature marks on her wrists so a murder investigation is launched. DC Morgan Brookes and her team seek a cunning killer but he already has Morgan in his sights…
Hold Your Breath is the 9th police procedural and crime thriller to feature Morgan Brookes and her boss and lover Ben Matthews. There are some details about the private lives and previous cases which may act as spoilers if you haven’t read the earlier books.
Morgan receives a strange and hideous gift: a death mask. Jasmine’s body is discovered at a popular spot in the Lake District, where her father’s suicide was found just months earlier. At first another suicide is suspected but tie marks and petechiae prove it was murder by asphyxiation. Morgan and her team suspect a link to Jasmine’s work which is only strengthened when another young woman is killed. This time there is a huge link between the victim and Morgan and Ben.
The majority of the book is written to show the police investigation and the relationships between the police characters. I really like the relationship between Morgan and Ben but think both of them are reluctant to reveal the true strength of their feelings for each other. Morgan is in danger and injured quite a lot in this book which make Ben consider the future.
There are also some chapters that show the perspective of the killer. This increases the tension and drama as we see his plans for Morgan. The police have narrowed down the suspects and I was able to guess the identitiy of the killer. I found the ending to be a little abrupt and there wasn’t any confession or any real conclusion which explained the motive.
Hold Your Breath is a tense and enjoyable crime and police thriller.
MEDIA PACK
Book: Hold Your Breath
Author: Helen Phifer
Pub Day: June 2nd 2023
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About the Book:
The biting wind whips around the crystal-clear waters of the lake. The girl sits with her eyes open, as if transfixed by the waves on the shoreline, but she has taken her last breath…
When Detective Morgan Brookes is called to Lake Thirlmere one frosty night, she’s devastated to find the body of a young woman positioned in front of the glistening reservoir. She has ligature marks on her limbs, glue residue on her eyes, and her beautiful face is as cold as ice. Knowing only a dangerous serial killer would arrange a scene so carefully, Morgan is in a race against time to stop them before more innocent lives are lost.
The victim is twenty-year-old Jasmine Armer and her mother is distraught to hear that her beautiful daughter is gone. And Morgan is shocked when she learns that Jasmine’s father recently died by suicide at the same picturesque spot. The killer must have known the family. Then Morgan receives a terrifying package at the station of an intricate death mask. She immediately recognises Jasmine’s long lashes and perfectly-plump lips.
With the killer taunting her, Morgan knows time is running out. And then Morgan gets the heart-shattering call that her friend, Emily, has been killed. Ligature marks on Emily’s arms are identical to Jasmine’s. Heartbroken Morgan knows this isn’t the end of the killer’s twisted game, but can she track them down before they take another life?
A non-stop thrill ride from the very first chapter to the final, epic conclusion. Fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Lisa Regan will be glued to the pages of this addictive rollercoaster of a read.
Author Bio
Helen Phifer is the Bestselling writer of the hugely popular Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and her current series featuring Detective Constable Morgan Brooks published by the fabulous Bookouture.
She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District.
Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough scary stories she decided to write her own and her debut novel The Ghost House released in October 2013 became a #1 Global Bestseller.
She has written over twenty books in various genres and you can follow her over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/helenphifer/
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