Book Review: Gone by Ruby Speechley
Please join me in saying hello to Ruby Speechley who is here with the blog tour for her novel, Gone.
My son is missing, and everyone is lying to me.
Last night my son, Shay, sneaked out of the house and didn’t come home. He promised not to go to the illegal party in the woods. But someone’s been attacked and Shay has gone missing. The police want to know if he saw what happened. I’m worried he could be involved.
After all the trouble he’s been in lately, mixing with the wrong crowd, coming home beaten up and scared, I thought we’d put it all behind us. Trouble is, Shay resents me moving my new boyfriend into the family home. I found all sorts on his laptop, including a half-written email warning me not to trust David. What does he know that I don’t?
I’m beginning to fear for his safety. What is David hiding from me? Who have I let into our lives?
I don’t know who I can trust. Will I ever see my son alive again?
*****
Rachel’s son is missing and she’s increasingly questioning who she can trust.
As the days go by, she starts to question the man she loves and what he had to do with her son’s disappearance.
OK, so I seriously could not put this book down, even when I was meant to be sleeping. From page one, it had me hooked as I tried to figure out what was going on.
Hmm, what can I say about this novel without giving too much away?
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Book Review: The Ragged Orphan by Lindsey Hutchinson
I am pleased to be welcoming Lindsey Hutchinson to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Ragged Orphan
When 12 year-old Jared Johnson’s little sister dies, just hours after his mother breathes her last after wasting away so her children could eat, he knows he is on own.
Desperate to avoid the workhouse, he does everything he can to survive the inhospitable streets of Birmingham. Jared is blessed with the gift of the gab and soon attracts the attention of the King of the Tatters, Toby McGuire. Recognising a kindred spirit, Toby soon has Jared out on a cart hustling for rags.
Jared loves driving his horse Bess, shouting ‘any old rags’ as loud as he can, and it’s not long before he’s thriving. But being successful can bring you enemies as well as friends. Toby knows that Jared is destined for bigger things – provided his big mouth doesn’t get him hurt first…
*****
When Jared loses his mother and sister, he is alone and has nowhere to go. However, Jared soon finds his will to survive and it puts him in the path of some unexpected people.
From page one, I became as protective of a fictional character than it’s possible to be. I wanted to know he was going to be ok. So much happens to him but he shows strength and resourcefulness and a head for business that is beyond his age.
by NK Chats To… Nigel May
Hi Nigel. Thank you so much for joining me today with the blog tour for your novel. Can you tell me about Quilling Me Softly and what inspired it?
Quilling Me Softly is a cosy crime novel set around a crafting group in a little sleepy village called Rooney-at-Burrow. I work as a TV presenter within the crafting industry so I have always loved crafting and crafters themselves. It seemed a weirdly perfect idea to have the craziness of a murder being solved by a group of people who normally get excited about making cards and scrapbooking. Normally it’s all about decoupage and not deception.
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
One of the characters, Sheena, sings in the Rooney-at-Burrow village pub so quite a few songs are actually mentioned. The book starts with Killing Me Softly by The Fugees and Sheena also sings Remember Me by Diana Ross And The Supremes, so definitely those two. I’d also have to have something by the Spice Girls as there is a spicy connection in the book (I’d probably pick Who Do You Think You Are) and something from Barbados as one of the characters comes from there. Rihanna was born there so I would choose Umbrella.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple as they are best sleuths ever created. Agatha Christie was a genius. Mind you, Miss Marple might have met her equal in Violet Brewer in Quilling Me Softly. She’s a very shrewd and tenacious lady.
From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you? Do you have any rituals before you begin writing?
I always plot out characters before starting to write. That way I have my cast list, as it were, of the people who are going to be creating the action. Some change, some get jettisoned and some get killed off mid-story. I never know exactly what is going to happen. I always have a loose idea and obviously with a mystery I know who is behind the villainous action. This has actually been the quickest book I have ever written. Normally books take about six months. The first draft on this was done in three. Then the rewriting started! My advice to any writer is write about what interests you.
What’s your favourite word and why?
I love the word plumptious. I don’t think it’s even a real word but I often refer to cushions being plumptious – a mixture of plump and scrumptious I suppose! It’s a lot of fun to say.
Any other advice for aspiring writers?
I am going to say the same as a million other authors I suspect….never give up.
What are you currently working on?
by Book Trailer: The Chase by Ava Glass
Today we are shining the spotlight on The Chase by Ava Glass.
A freshly-minted secret agent, Emma Makepeace has barely graduated from basic training when she gets the call for her first major assignment. Eager to serve her country and prove her worth, she dives in head first.
Emma must covertly travel across the world’s most watched city to bring the reluctant adult son of Russian dissidents into protective custody, so long as the assassins from the tracking him down don’t get to him first. With London’s famous Ring of Steel hacked by the Russian government, the two must cross the city without being seen by the hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras that document every inch of the city’s streets, alleys, and gutters.
The underground, buses, trains and cars, are completely out of the question. Traveling on foot, with no phone or bank cards, Emma and her charge have twelve hours to make it to safety. This will take all of Emma’s skills of disguise and subterfuge. But when Emma’s handler goes dark, there’s no one left to trust. Just one wrong move could get them both killed and the clock is ticking…
We are happy to share the book trailer with you today.
by Book Review: The Lumberjills by M W Arnold
We are so pleased to be welcoming M W Arnold back to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his new novel, The Lumberjills.
Berry Chambers and her co-workers have joined the Women’s Timber Corps—known as the Lumberjills—to do their bit for Britain. On their first day felling trees, they rescue an RAF pilot and become entangled in the loveless marriage of their new landlords.
Danger is never far away, be it an ill-timed axe swing or the occasional activity of the Luftwaffe overhead. Add a psychotic farm cat, a couple of young runaway evacuees, a spate of malicious packages, and the jealousy of the Land Girls next door, and life for Berry and her friends is never boring.
Can the girls find the balance between their vital war work and the natural pull of love?
*****
I am such a big fan of Mick Arnold’s Broken Wings series and therefore was so excited to read what I hope is book one of a new series.
Beryl ‘Berry’ Chambers has joined the Women’s Timber Corps, known as The Lumberjills. Along with Vicki, Sophie and gaffer, Marcy, can they settle into life in a small village during World War II?
Mick Arnold has such a talent for creating relatable, likeable characters and bringing them to life.
I got very attached to all of these characters. I want to adopt the cats although I think the ones I already have might have something to say about it.
by Book Club
