Book Extract: Then There’s Trust By Susan Gray
I am excited to be welcoming Susan Gray to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Then There’s Trust.
A forbidden love…a relationship in jeopardy…a tested trust
Darcy Dukas is fearless and feisty – but can she be trusted? Left bereft after a personal disappointment, her vulnerable mindset causes her to seize an opportunity to pursue her dream career. When Marcel Duval arrives in Durham to establish his detective agency, she agrees to work with him. But is she prepared for the risks she will encounter? Risks for her safety…risks for her young marriage…and risks affecting her family’s trust?
In 1952 Josh Smallwood, Darcy’s brother, returns home after completing his national service. Trying to sort his future, he begins working on the family farm and befriends Judy, a young nurse. He is baffled to discover any liaison with her is forbidden by her family. This mystery fuels an intense, secret relationship…can they overcome obstacles to be together?
A shroud of guilt clings to Chantal Martin – will she ever be free from its taint? As an unmarried mother, her once tenacious trait seems to have deserted her. Striving towards the final hurdle, an unexpected decision and an untimely event threaten to blight her resilience…can her trust be rewarded?
Then There’s Trust is a gripping, emotional story of love, fidelity and trust set in 1950’s northeast England.
Susan has shared an extract from Then There’s Trust with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Tom and Rachel Smallwood and their extended family are hosting a Frenchman, Marcel Duval for lunch. He is a friend of Tom’s nephew, Jonty, who lives in Lyon. Marcel is relocating from France to Durham to open a Detective Agency. The family, including Darcy, their married daughter, are keen to learn more – Darcy longs to be an investigative journalist.
Northeast England 1952.
How is Jonty?” asked Josh, immediately warming to the French visitor.
“He is well and sends his love. He’s hoping to visit next summer. He has praised you all. He talks frequently about his English family. I am excited to get to know each of you.”
“I’m surprised he hasn’t found himself a bride yet.” Josh smirked, knowing his cousin possessed a ‘roving eye’.
“No, he is still a free man and dare I say it ‘enjoying himself’!” Marcel grinned.
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Book Spotlight: The Time Of My Life By Samantha Tonge
I’m pleased to be welcoming Samantha Tonge back to Novel Kicks and we shine a light on her latest book, The Time of My Life.
How far would you go to change your life?
When Eliza Woods sees an advertisement for someone’s whole life for sale – their house, car, all their belongings, even their clothes and cat – not to mention a trial-run in their job and an introduction to their friends… she decides it’s fate.
Grabbing a different life with both hands is exactly what she needs. Even if 26-year-old Carrie’s wildly-social life and job in a bar couldn’t be more different from Eliza’s quieter existence.
As for Carrie, she’s heading off to Greece, desperate to run away from everything she’s familiar with in England. The two women message each other after the deal has gone through, with Eliza excited to go for cocktails with Carrie’s friends before her first shift at her new job.
What Carrie doesn’t tell her is why she put her life up for sale. And what Eliza doesn’t tell Carrie is that she’s about to turn 75. And that isn’t her only secret…
Don’t miss this absolutely brilliant, escapist read. Available now!
The Time of My Life was released by Boldwood Books on 10th March 2026. Click to buy on Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Waterstones.
The Time of My Life Is currently available for only 99p!*
by Book Review: The Last To Know By Laura Jane Williams
Ash has met her perfect match.
So has CJ.
Unfortunately for them, it’s the same man.
Mid-thirties and feeling the pressure, they’re ready to fight for him. Even if it means sabotaging each other.
As Ash and CJ turn up on each other’s dates, ruin one another’s chances, and accidentally end up spending an awful lot of time together, their friends begin to wonder. Are they fighting over the same guy? Or are they fighting their feelings for each other . . . ?
*****
Cj loves her life in Portugal. She’s the manager of a successful business, has a “friends with benefits” situation with her best friend/colleague but most importantly, she has a son who is her whole world.
Ash is on a journey to find life. Having been the odd one out in her family and always being one for organisation to within an inch of her life, she’s attempting to open herself up to opportunities in Portugal for a few weeks.
When the women meet each other, it’s dislike at first sight. However, can they both find a way to thaw when it comes to each other?
by A Moment With… Paul Gitsham
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Paul Gitsham and the blog tour for his book, Deadly Truths.
How do you solve a murder when you’re shut out of the investigation?
Young detectives, Robinson Ellington Foxe and Amy Kennard, don’t want to work at Coventry’s Moat Lane police station. Neither do their colleagues want them there. But it’s the last chance for two officers for whom doing the right thing has cost them their futures.
Despite a murder on their patch, they are lumbered with investigating a series of high-profile burglaries. But when a thief is killed in the house of an influential businessman, Foxe and Kennard are convinced it is linked to their cases and want in.
The official investigation is a whitewash, but Robbie and Amy keep investigating anyway. As they uncover a web of deceit and corruption, reaching to the very top of the force, their own difficult histories are weaponised against them, and they find themselves fighting for their careers and their lives.
To talk about starting a new series, it’s over to you, Paul.
The pleasures of a new sandbox to play in.
In 2023, I decided to put my long-running DCI Warren Jones detective series on hiatus (I say hiatus – I haven’t finished him off!). But when one door closes, another opens. Enter Foxe and Kennard in Deadly Truths, the first in a brand-new series.
It’s not that I’ve run out ideas for Warren, far from it, but as many writers will tell you, it’s not the lack of ideas it’s the lack of time to write them. Furthermore, some of those ideas just won’t work within an established series.
Therefore, I decided it was time for a reinvention. Rather than more of the same with different characters, I saw this as an opportunity to rewrite the rules and restart from scratch.
The thing about an established series is that its strengths can also be weaknesses. Building a world that will become familiar to readers and author alike is a wonderful experience. So many successful writers have beloved characters that hook the readers as much as the intricate plots and thrilling action scenes. Warren certainly has his fans.
by Novel Kicks Book Club: The Alchemist’s Secret By Clare Marchant
Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Book Club.
I can’t believe I am saying this, but June is here and we are almost halfway through 2026. With the weather not being able to make up its mind here in the UK, I am hoping the book club title this month will be one you’ll enjoy. It’s an historical fiction novel by an author I love.
The Alchemist’s Secret by Clare Marchant.
So, how does our book club work?
Whether you’ve already read the book or will be starting it this month, all are welcome. The added bonus of our book club is that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your sofa/garden/terrace/bed to take part. I’ve added a question below to start the discussion.
I’ll see you in the comments.
About The Alchemist’s Secret –
Now: When Paige returns to her ancestral family home, Woodham Hall, she’s nursing an unbearable heartbreak. The man she’d thought she loved has told her the most terrible lie, one she feels she’ll never recover from. The only thing that seems to be able to hold her interest is the story of a poisoning that once supposedly happened in the house – depicted in brutal detail in a painting by an unknown artist…
by Book Club
