Book Extract: Murder Most Wilde by Helen Golden
It’s so wonderful to be welcoming Helen Golden back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Murder Most Wilde.
In the world of amateur theatre, the drama isn’t all onstage…
Tragedy Strikes the Windstanton Players
Popular local actor, Noel Ashworth, who collapsed during the rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was pronounced dead at the scene. As shock ripples through Windstanton’s tight-knit amateur theatre group, the Fenshire Police are looking at them as suspects.
I can’t let Perry’s acting debut end in disaster! With the cast spooked and the local police under-resourced, Bea—along with Perry, Rich, Simon, and her trusty Westie, Daisy must shift through the cast’s petty jealousies and diva behaviour to unmask the killer before they strike again.
When the show must go on…will everyone make it to opening night?
Helen has shared an extract from Murder Most Wilde with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Perry Juke is excited to take on the part of Algernon in The Windstanton Player’s adaptation of The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. As rehearsals begin in the village hall, Perry is settling into the role and looking forward to opening night. Four weeks before the preview they move to the Windstanton Theatre Royal for their rehearsal in the historic theatre and everyone seems a little nervous. For Perry it suddenly feels very real…
*****
Perry Juke’s chest tightened as he stepped onto the stage of the Windstanton Theatre Royal. The smell of dust and old wood enveloped him, and a thrill of excitement shot down his spine. He looked out towards the red velvet seats, then up at the glittering chandelier. This is it. I’m a real actor now.
Emily Shaw, the stage manager, clapped her hands. “Alright everyone, listen up! This is our first walk-through in the actual theatre. With four weeks to go before we open, I expect you all to be off-script. No excuses!”
Noel Ashworth raised his hand, a sickly sweet smile on his face. “But, Em, my dear,” he said in his best actor voice. “It’s only been a month since the first read-through. And I have the most lines of anyone, you know.”
by 
Book Review: The Silent Witness by K.J. Mcgillick
I’m pleased to be welcoming K.J. Mcgillick to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for, The Silent Witness – book one in The Art Of Deception series.
History is fragile. A single brush can forge it anew.
When a stolen Klimt painting becomes a death sentence, lawyer-turned-writer Saoirse St. James must choose between justice and survival.
Eleanor Ashford should have been safe in her Boston home. Instead, she’s found murdered—and The Golden Veil, her priceless Gustav Klimt, has vanished without a trace. As executor of Eleanor’s will and the painting’s unexpected heir, Saoirse inherits more than art: she inherits a target on her back.
What begins as a simple insurance claim spirals into a deadly conspiracy stretching from Boston’s elite galleries to Venice’s shadowed auction houses. Alongside enigmatic investigator Matthew O’Donnell, Saoirse uncovers a criminal network that has been rewriting history itself—using forged masterpieces to manipulate the past, reshape power, and conceal the truth behind decades of crimes.
But Eleanor’s death was just the beginning. As bodies fall and evidence vanishes, Saoirse realizes The Golden Veil hides secrets that could expose this empire of lies—and powerful people will kill to protect it. Every step toward the truth draws her deeper into the crosshairs of Maximilian Devereaux, a ruthless powerbroker whose fortune and influence were built on stolen identities, forged provenance, and silenced witnesses.
From Zurich’s cobbled streets to Venice’s labyrinthine canals, this fast-paced thriller follows Saoirse as she stays ahead of assassins who erase their victims as cleanly as they forge the records of history. Because in a world where beauty masks brutality and culture conceals corruption, the most dangerous thing isn’t possessing a stolen masterpiece—it’s knowing who forged it and why.
Some inheritances are worth dying for. Others are worth killing for.
*****
Saoirse St. James plans to leave the world of law and become a writer. However, when her friend is found murdered and a Klimt painting is stolen, Saoirse finds herself in a race against time, following the breadcrumbs her friend left behind.
During her investigation, she crosses paths with Matthew, an insurance investigator. Together, can they find The Golden Veil before it disappears forever?
by Audiobook Review: Salt & Honey by Candi Miller
We’re pleased to be welcoming Candi Miller to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Salt & Honey, book one in the Koba series.
‘Hide!’ shouts her father. Then he breaks cover to draw the hunting party away across the blackened plain. The child sees them shoot him. And murder her mother.
It’s the 1950s but Koba is a hunter-gatherer from an ancient living culture. She’s a survivor.
Alone in a cave, she fends for herself, talks to her ancestors, breaks taboos. She gains healing power and tries to ignore the warnings she feels. She trades with the teenage son of the family who orphaned her – bushcraft for jive dancing, salt for honey.
But now she’s in the greatest danger she’s ever faced: she’s falling for a white boy in Apartheid South Africa, where love across racial divides is brutally punished. She hears the axe shatter the bedroom’s wooden shutters but Koba won’t run.
Book 1 of this fast-paced saga introduces a striking character into romance-writing, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten way of life and into recent black history.
*****
Salt and Honey is the story of a black African girl, Koba, orphaned by white farmers and then subsequently raised by them. Struggling to reconcile her situation with her heritage, she find herself falling in love with a white boy.
I was given this novel to review via Audiobook. The narration was superb. There are a lot of native African names and dialects with clicks in it and the narrator brought those to life wonderfully.
by Book Review: The Twin by Amanda Brookfield
I’m pleased to be welcoming Amanda Brookfield back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Twin.
A splintered childhood.
A family divided.
An ugly past resurfaces…
From birth, twins Cath and Rob are inseparable. When their mother dies, their bond deepens as their father hastily remarries a woman with a volatile temper whose sole focus is her own baby – Oliver – who arrives nine months later.
When, aged 48, Rob tragically dies, Cath’s world begins to crumble. Her grief compounded further by Oliver’s out-of-the-blue decision to attend Rob’s funeral, opening old wounds after three decades of estrangement.
Thrown together, the half-siblings are forced to confront a past that sends shockwaves through both their lives due to the huge discrepancies in their respective recollections. But could both their versions of the truth be correct…?
*****
When they lose their mother, the bond between twins, Catherine and Rob only deepens. However, when tragedy strikes, Cath is forced to face a past that threatens to overwhelm her.
Oliver doesn’t have good memories of a childhood that was plagued with bullying by his siblings. Can he find a way back to a side of his family that’s been lost for decades before he loses everything he holds dear?
The premise of this novel intrigued me so I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for The Twin, the latest novel by Amanda Brookfield.
by Book Review: Hit For Six by Isabella May
I’m pleased to be welcoming Isabella May to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Hit For Six.
A simmering Fangirl Down X Rivals X Crazy Rich Asians (with a British twist)
LOLA is juggling two jobs to make ends meet; underpaid sales exec by day, and waitress in a cocktail bar by night.
MONTY is the captain of Bath Beasts cricket team and heir to a portfolio of luxury properties.
Girls like her don’t normally end up with boys like him. But when she accidentally bares all at his cup final, destiny (and the number six) ensures their match is a home run.
Unfortunately, Monty’s family has other ideas, doing all they can to prevent their golden boy from getting bowled over by the lowly Lola. Can their love survive the attacking shot? Or will they find themselves on a sticky wicket?
*****
Lola works two jobs trying to make ends meet. Monty is on the verge of becoming a professional cricket player. However, he’s the heir to his family’s vast wealth. Will Lola and Monty find love or will people get in their way?
Having been a fan of some of Isabella May’s previous novels, I was eager to get started on Hit For Six. From the blurb, it looked like a fun read and it absolutely was.
by Book Club
