From the Book Elf

 Sir Louis Curlewy by Susan Crow Sir Louis Curlewy by Susan Crow was published on 21st April 2025 by Crowvus. My thanks to Susan for sending me a copy to review, along with a lovely little Thank you card and  Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis This captivating book combines storytelling with fun facts about these remarkable birds, teaching young readers about their habits, habitats, and importance in nature. Perfect for curious minds, Sir Louis Curlewy inspires a love for wildlife and encourages the protection of these treasured creatures. A must-read for nature-loving families and budding bird enthusiasts! MyThoughts This is a lovely little book that is ideal for slipping into your rucksack when you go on a nature walk with a little one so that you can read it to them when, or if , you are lucky enough, as I was , to see and hear the curlews circling overhead.  Curlews are one of my favourite birds and Sir Louis Curlewy does them proud and is a b...

The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder  by Stephen Cox The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder was self published on 1st September. My thanks to Stephen for sending me a copy to review nad to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis London 1881. Can two crooked women stop a murder? Extravagant medium Mrs Ashton and her lover, blunt working-class Mrs Bradshaw, run a spiritualist scam. Mrs Ashton secretly reads minds. Believing that Mrs Ashton is genuine, grieving Lady Violet craves the truth behind her mother’s untimely death. But Lady Violet’s powerful husband Sir Charles hates spiritualists. Has he killed before? Uncovering this MP’s wicked crimes will put all three women in terrible danger… To solve a shocking murder, look both sides of the grave. My Thoughts This is the first time I have come across Stephen Cox and I found it rather a strange read at first. I have to be honest I stopped and started twice with this novel , mainly due to the fact that I found it...

The Madness  by Dawn Kurtagich The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich  was published on 28th August 2025 by Graydon House/Harper 360.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, along with her routine and the calm it brings, she returns to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious amnesiac patient, hundreds of miles away. With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center—one that has been haunting her...

A Deadly Affair in the Dales  by Maria Malone A Deadly Affair in the Dales by Maria Malone was published on 14th August 2025 by No Exit Press/ My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour Synopsis Meet Sergeant Ali Wren and her trusty companion Officer Police Dog Wilson, a springer spaniel with a nose for trouble. Together they serve the small Yorkshire town of Heft, where everyone knows everyone else’s business. And if they don’t, that’s a cause for concern… Ali, who has just returned home to Heft, needs all her diplomatic skills, not to mention a huge sense of humour, to navigate the requirements of her job. Drama lurks around every corner, from rogue parking in the disabled bays to a feud between the long-established Hooley bakery and a fancy new ‘cakery bakery’. When Brian Bright reports his wife Melody missing, at first Ali thinks it’s just another routine case. The eviden...

Secrets in the Dales  by Diane Allen Secrets in the Dales by Diane Allen was published on 14th August 2025 by Pan Macmillan. My thanks to the author and publishers for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis In the sleepy Yorkshire Dales, the peaceful existence of Sally’s family is shattered by the outbreak of the Second World War. With her father navigating the challenges of wartime farming, and her mother striving to keep the home fires burning, young Sally is determined to do her bit. The war brings unexpected challenges, but none so disarming as Luca – an Italian POW who introduces Sally to a love that threatens to unravel everything she holds dear. As secrets threaten to surface and the war rages on, Sally must face a battlefield of her own, torn between love and duty. Will her choices lead to heartbreak or hope ? My Thoughts Secrets in the Dales by Diane Allen is a heartwarming story about a lovely fami...