From the Book Elf

The Duke Wins A Bride  by Nina Jarrett The Duke Wins A Bride by Nina Jarrett is published by Rogue Press. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour. Synopsis She is desperate to escape…….. When Miss Annabel Ridley  learns her betrothed has been unfaithful, she knows she must cancel the wedding. The problem is no one else seems to agree with her, least of all her father. With her wedding day approaching, she must find a way to escape her doomed marriage. She seeks out the Duke of Halmesbury to request he intercede with her rakish betrothed to break it off before the wedding day. He is ready to try again…….. Widower Philip Markham has decided it is time to search for a new wife. He hopes to find a bold bride to avoid the mistakes of his past. Fate seems to be favouring him when he finds a captivating young woman in his study begging for his help to disengage from a despised figure from his past.

  Fall River  by Meredith Miller Fall River by Meredith Miller was published by Honno in 2024.  My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me on to the tour. Synopsis One young woman disappears and another returns home from London. Alice has turned to the river looking to drown the voices in her head. Khadija has come home to uncover the terrible history hidden under its surface. The London train screeches through while the rest of the town is still asleep along the banks of the Tamar. They’ll wake up that morning to find that everything, and nothing, has changed. Sooner or later, the river pulls them all. Sooner or later, someone falls. In this small-town drama, past and present relationships collide, weaving multiple narratives packed with intrigue and authenticity. Meredith Miller skilfully crafts a dark and unfolding psychological mystery, blending lyrical storytelling, a cast of strong female character

  A Sicilian Affair  by Susan Lewis A Sicilian Affair by Susan Lewis was published on 11th April 2024 by Harper Collins. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me on the tour. Synopsis A fresh start where no-one knows her name is exactly what Catie is looking for from her Sicilian escape. When Catie meets handsome Giancarlo, she has stumbled across a love that could last forever… If only she can admit the truth about her past. But the scars of betrayal from her broken marriage and fragile family are only part of the story. Some secrets are too devastating to share… My Review This is the first book that I have ever read by Susan Lewis and I thoroughly enjoyed it . The characters are developed well and the story moves along at just the right pace to keep you immersed in what is happening at all times. You will find yourself questioning the motivation of some of the characters and at times you will be proved righ

  Danger With Lashings Of Caviar  by Liz Hinds Danger With Lashings Of Caviar was published on 20th March 2024. My thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis When Tabby wakes up in a rubbish skip - again - she decides the time has come for action. The bad guys might have got away with it so far but it's time to turn the tables. With the help of her mum, a disgraced policeman, a farting dog, and two homeless friends Tabby is determined to bring the handsome criminal millionaire to justice. And she was only supposed to be making a few sandwiches. My Review This is the first book in the Tabitha's Table mystery series and if this first book is anything to go by it should prove to be a tongue in cheek cosy mystery set of books that will have you laughing out loud. At times you will be asking yourself "Really" whilst at other times you will be taking in the light hearted way that

 Leave No Trace  by Jo Callaghan  Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan was published on 28th March 2024 by Simon and Schuster. 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 One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic. It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . . When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case. But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started... The police issue a controversial warning to local men to be vigilant: do not walk home alone at night, do not leave a pub with a stranger… The Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims.

  The Mystery of Yew Tree House  by Lesley Thomson My thanks to the author and publisher , Head of Zeus, for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part on the Publication Day Promo Blitz Synopsis EIGHTY YEARS OF SECRETS. 1940. At Yew Tree House, recently widowed Adelaide Stride is raising her two daughters alone – but it’s not just the threat of German invasion that keeps her up at night. She is surrounded by enemies posing as allies and, while war rages, she grows sure that something terrible is about to happen. A BODY THAT REVEALS THEM ALL. 2023. Soon after Stella Darnell begins her holiday at Yew Tree House, a skeleton is found in a pillbox at the bottom of the garden. The bullet hole in the skull tells her that the person was murdered. This triggers the unravelling of a mystery eighty years in the making. Stella will learn that Adelaide was right to worry – the fighting might have been happening abroad, but the true enemy was alway

  Infinite Stranger  by Wendy Skorupski Infinite Stranger by Wendy Skorupski was published on 19th June 2023 by W Maryla Press 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 "A beautiful, complex, tender story about a mother and a daughter, about love, living and the choices we have to make when it comes to matters of the heart. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy an immersive read. It’s a fascinating, moving, heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting story." - review by author Louise Douglas On a snowy February morning in 1978, eighteen-year-old Leah Cavanagh meets Brother Matthew Haddon while on a retreat with her Catholic girls’ school. The four days she spends at Greystones Abbey in the wilds of North Yorkshire will have a profound impact not only on her own life, but also on that of her single mother Molly, who never recovered from the murder of her fiancé in

 The Ha-Ha  by Tom Shakespeare The Ha-Ha by Tom Shakespeare was published on 28th March 2024 by Farrago. 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 A delightfully funny and inclusive novel from Tom Shakespeare, author, academic and broadcaster Meet Fred. He is about to turn forty and has invited an eclectic group of friends to celebrate at a rented stately home. He is a wheelchair user after being paralysed in a road traffic accident, has been busy at work at his memoir and is longing to reconnect with long-standing university crush, Heather, a high-flying TV foreign correspondent. What should have been a jolly weekend in the country starts getting decidedly more complicated when Heather realises that the publication of Fred’s book could threaten her career ambitions. The Ha-Ha is a thoroughly engaging and very entertaining novel about friendship, sex, hallucinogenic drugs, marr

  Maid of Steel  by Kate Baker Maid of Steel by Kate Baker was published on 28th February 2023 My thanks to Kate and Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the Birthday Blitz. Synopsis It’s 1911 and, against her mother’s wishes, quiet New Yorker Emma dreams of winning the right to vote. She is sent away by her parents in the hope distance will curb her desire to be involved with the growing suffrage movement and told to spend time learning about where her grandparents came from.   Across the Atlantic – Queenstown, southern Ireland – hotelier Thomas dreams of being loved, even noticed, by his actress wife, Alice. On their wedding day, Alice’s father had assured him that adoration comes with time. It’s been eight years. But Alice has plans of her own and they certainly don’t include the fight for equality or her dull husband.   Emma’s arrival in Ireland leads her to discover family secrets and become involved in the Irish Women’s Suffrage Society in Cork. H

  Dark Rooms  by Lynda La Plante Dark Rooms by Lynda La Plante was published by Bonniere Books in 2022. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of #Teamtennison Synopsis Helena Lanark is the only one who knows about the horrors which once occurred in her family's house. The heiress of an immense family fortune, she now resides in a luxurious care home; her mind and memory fading fast. Jane Tennison is leading a murder investigation into the recent brutal death of a young girl, her decomposed, starved body discovered in an old air raid shelter in the garden of the Lanark's now derelict house. Initially the focus is on identifying the victim, until another body is found hidden in the walls of the shelter. As the investigation and search for answers intensifies, Jane travels to Australia. There she discovers the dark secret that the Lanark family has kept hidden for decades. A secret that not on