From the Book Elf

  One Moment by Becky Hunter Life or death, Love or loss, It can all happen in.... One Moment One Moment by Becky Hunter is published in hardback on the 2nd March 2023 by Corvus and in paperback today 31st August 2023. My thanks to the author and the publisher who sent me a copy and  Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.   Synopsis: One moment in time can change everything... The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most. Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhap...

  Tennison  by Lynda La Plante Tennison by Lynda La Plante was first published on 9th February 2017 by Simon & Schuster UK. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Compulsive Readers Blog Tours for inviting me to be part of Team Tennison . Tennison is Book 1 of the Tennison series. Synopsis In 1973 Jane Tennison, aged 22, leaves the Metropolitan Police Training Academy to be placed on probationary exercise in Hackney where criminality thrives. We witness her struggle to cope in a male-dominated, chauvinistic environment, learning fast to deal with shocking situations with no help or sympathy from her superiors. Then comes her involvement in her first murder case. My review The big question on my mind at the moment is how on earth did I get to the age I am without reading the  Tennison books, or any book, by Lynda La Plante !!!!!!!!! Anyone would think that an avid reader like myself who can easily read over one hundred books a ...

  Operation Nassau  by Dorothy Dunnett Operation Nassau by Dorothy Dunnett was published on 6th July by Farrago and is book four in The Dolly Mysteries. My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Doctor B. McRannoch is in the Bahamas with her father who has moved there from Scotland because of asthma. She is a savvy and tough young woman who shows much independence of mind and spirit. However, when Sir Bart Edgecome, a British agent who has been poisoned with arsenic falls ill on his way back from New York, she becomes involved in a series of events beyond her wildest imagination. Drawn into an espionage plot with multiple suspects, it is only the presence of enigmatic portrait painter Johnson Johnson on his yacht, Dolly, that saves the day. But nothing is quite as straightforward as it at first seems. ** PRAISE FOR THE DOLLY SERIES *** The Dolly novels are… delicious, funny, i...

  Emily's Algarve Escape  by DCR Bond Looking for a holiday read to dive into over a cocktail?  Emily’s Algarve Escape will whisk you off to the stunning shores of the Algarve in Portugal.  Be sure to pack your Factor 30! Emily's Algarve Escape was published on 16th August 2023 by Prosperina Press.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Literally PR for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Emily is persuaded to trade her glamorous London life for a sun kissed villa in Portugal... with her family in tow... what could go wrong? Emily soon discovers she must confront the shortcomings of her new lifestyle, and the problems she brought with her to this new country, as tensions mount and boundaries are tested. It seems it’s impossible to escape the realities of family life even in the picture-perfect surroundings of the Algarve. My Review Emily's Algarve Escape is the second novel form DCR Bond and in my mind it has...

 Dear Lottie by Mel Higgins Dear Lottie by Mel Higgins was published on 26th May 2023. My thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review and to Love Book Tours for inviting me to be part of the tour. Synopsis Three Decades, Two Hearts, One wish...to be together.   Lottie used to be a dreamer, but never did she see herself as a housewife to a controlling husband.   When Lottie's Nan unexpectedly passed away in the late 50s, her dreams died alongside her. Blinded by grief, her actions changed the course of her life and that of Henry Hollister, her first love.   With Henry haunting her dreams and a burden of regrets, Lottie and Henry wish for nothing more than to turn back the clock to a time of innocence. A time when no one was in the way to stop their plans.   Is it ever too late to follow your dreams? Is it ever too late to be with the one you truly love? My Review A love story spread over three decades that will have your emotions in a turmoil. Lottie end...

  The Invisible Women's Club  by Helen Paris The Invisible Women's Club by Helen Paris was published on 3rd August 2023 by DoubleDay. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Books Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis A joyous and refreshing read about the power of unlikely friendships, women’s voices, and a reminder that it’s never too late to find joy and meaning later in life One woman’s journey from invisibility to being seen once more, as she strives to save her beloved community allotment, perfect for fans of The Lido and Keeper of Stories . Ignored. Overlooked. But they’re about to prove everyone wrong… Janet Pimm is used to being invisible. 70 something, with her beloved allotment for company, she simply doesn’t need anyone else. But when the local council threaten to close the allotments, Janet will do anything she can to try to save them – even enlisting the help of her irritatingly upbeat an...

  Love in War  by Michael Farthing Love in War by Michael Farthing was published on 10th July 2023 by Unicorn Publishing.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Love in War is a love story of its time. Joanna and Johnnie were born in South London in the shadow of the Great War and were still growing up when the narrative begins in 1936 during Hitler’s rise in Nazi Germany. It ends ten years later in 1946, when Johnnie is demobilised. Despite the committed intensity of the five-year relationship, they spent only forty-nine days together. Thus, Love in War is more about managing life apart than being together. The story moves between London and Berlin (where Joanna visits in 1938 and her dear schoolfriend, Ursula lives out the war) and the horrific theatres of war in North Africa and Southern Italy, which have disastrous effects on Johnnie and render hi...

Dig two Graves  by Heather Peck  Dig Two Graves by Heather Peck was published on 12th July 2023 and is the 5th book in the DCI Greg Geldard Norfolk Mysteries My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Greg stumbles upon the gruesome murder of a police informant and realizes his colleague has gone missing, presumed kidnapped. As he seeks Sarah in a desperate race against time, he uncovers a sinister County Lines operation, entangled with money laundering and a labyrinthine network of organised crime. The pursuit is intensifying when the man at the centre of the web directs his malevolence towards Greg, targeting not only his home and his cat, but also his beloved partner, Chris. This gripping narrative unfolds in the captivating world of the Norfolk Broads, involving a number of contemporary issues from knife crime to the profound impact of revenge on perpetrator and vict...

 Scrap by Kathy Biggs Scrap by Kathy Biggs was published on 23rd June by Honno. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Life has become stale for best friends Mackie and Sharon, who never imagined they’d end up working in a scrapyard. Sharon has dreams of becoming a cruise ship star, while a browbeaten Mackie cares for his wayward daughter’s twins. But fate takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious kid is discovered in the boot of a car. He has a remarkable gift—he can draw visions of the future, and this opens up new avenues that neither could have foreseen… Scrap is a modern fable about the human capacity to overcome the hand life deals us and start afresh My Review I won't lie, this took me a while to get into , but I  persevered and I am so relieved that I did as it morphs into one of the loveliest books I have read this year. The strength and love of friendship a...

  Eternal   by Lisa Scottoline What war destroys, only love can heal. Eternal by Lisa Scottoline was published on 20th July 2023 by No Exit Press. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear--their families, their homes, and their con...

 Gallow Falls  by Alex Nye Someone  wants the truth  to stay buried Gallow Falls by Alex Nye  was published in July 2023 by Fledgling Press.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review  and to Kelly at Love Books Tours  for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis A remote Scottish estate. A missing teenager. When a young archaeologist discovers bones at the site of her Bronze Age broch on Gallows Hill, the community of Kilbroch hold their breath. Ex-detective Callum MacGarvey came to work on the estate in order to escape from his past, but when a friend asks for his help, he cannot refuse. Missing teenager Robbie MacBride's grandmother wants answers. She doesn't believe what the family tell her, and Callum finds himself reluctantly drawn into a historic missing persons case. He suspects that everyone is hiding a secret, including George Strabane, the landowner whom Callum works for. While the police believe Ro...