Book Extract: Hazard Night by Laura Vaughan
I’m pleased to be welcoming Laura Vaughan to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Hazard Night.
Cleeve College is not for everyone…
When Eve’s husband is appointed housemaster at his old boarding school, Cleeve College, she gives up her life in London to join him. But the isolation and loss of autonomy threaten both her happiness and her marriage.
The arrival of Fen, an enigmatic artist and wife of the new Classics teacher, is a welcome distraction. Fen doesn’t play by the rules, and she and Eve enter into a game of escalating dares, disrupting the delicate balance of school life.
Then, the morning after Hazard Night, a tradition that allows the students to run wild and play pranks for one day, a body is found. Someone has been murdered. And it seems everyone has something to hide…
Laura has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
ALICE
I think I knew from the start that the new beard at Wyatt’s was a hopeless case.
(Beards are what the boys call the campus wives. Gogs – as in pedagogues – are the teaching staff. God is the name for my father, the chaplain. Fishface is what they call me.)
I’d been roped in to help on the Winslows’ first Arrivals because the kitchen was short-staffed and so Pat B – head of catering – asked if I’d lend a hand at Wyatt’s welcome tea. These teas are always served in the housemasters’ gardens, and although the kitchen staff do most of the baking and serving, it’s a tradition that the housemaster’s wife makes her own contribution. When Mrs Winslow unveiled her Tupperware boxes of gingerbread men, she flushed defensively. ‘I’m not much of a cook,’ she said, attempting a laugh, ‘but icing covers a multitude of sins.’
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Book Extract: Dark Days at the Beach Hotel by Francesca Capaldi
I’m pleased to be welcoming Francesca Capaldi to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Dark Days at the Beach Hotel.
Can Helen save the hotel… and her reputation?
Helen Bygrove is managing the hotel, now that her husband has been conscripted. Against all expectations, Helen and her team are doing marvellously, despite the shortages brought by war. Even the exacting Lady Blackmore agrees. But then the calm is shattered when poison pen letters are sent to prominent townsfolk and Helen finds herself the target of a police investigation.
Is someone trying to ruin Helen, and the Beach Hotel? And can she rely on the handsome but taciturn Inspector Toshack to help her? When her husband, Douglas, is invalided out of the war he is determined to take back control of the hotel and things go from bad to worse.
How can she ever escape his bullying? Is she a fool to hope that she may have a second chance at love?
Francesca has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
Helen Bygrove has taken over as manageress of the Beach Hotel after her husband is conscripted. There have been libellous letters sent to many people in the town, and much of the focus has concentrated on the hotel. Detective Inspector Toshack has now turned up at the hotel, with several police officers.
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‘What are they doing?’ said Helen.
‘Carrying out a search.’
‘But my children are up there, with Vera, their nursemaid.’
‘I’m sure WPC Lovelock will escort them elsewhere. Constable, you search the office, down this passageway on the left.’
Twort performed a short salute before obeying the command.
‘Why are you doing this, Inspector?’ Helen asked. ‘Why would anyone here use the hotel writing paper for anonymous letters?’
As she finished the sentence, the door to the stairs opened once more, and Vera appeared, with Elsie in her arms. Dorothy and Arthur came just behind her.
‘Shall I take the children into the staff dining room, madam?’
‘That would be best.’
by Book Extract: A Deadly Portrayal by LM Milford
I’m excited to be welcoming LM Milford to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, A Deadly Portrayal.
When local crime reporter Emma Fletcher is asked to help identify her friend’s blackmailer, she discovers a link to the recent death of a teacher at Allensbury Dance and Drama School.
Meanwhile, a police investigation is uncovering some dark secrets, and it is clear that someone is seeking revenge for past wrongs.
As Emma’s list of suspects continues to grow, the discovery of a second body puts her in the killer’s sights.
Warned off the investigation by the police for her own safety, Emma decides the best way to save herself is to find the culprit first.
With the help of fellow news reporter Dan Sullivan, Emma must work out who is targeting Allensbury Dance and Drama School before the killer strikes again.
LM Milford has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
The story so far… dancer Natasha Kent has received an email threatening to ruin her life if she doesn’t admit to what she’s done. Then teacher Travers McGovern, who has been watching Natasha in a dance rehearsal, is found dead in his office. News reporter Emma Fletcher attends the scene to get information for a story.
**
Students were streaming out of the doors of the school as Emma arrived. As she headed towards the entrance, she felt like a salmon desperately trying to swim upstream. She was almost knocked off her feet by a burly male student carrying a sports bag. He gripped her arm to prevent her falling, apologising, leaving Emma just enough time to detain him and ask if he knew what was happening.
by Book Extract: When We Were Us by Patricia Caliskan
I’m pleased to be welcoming Patricia Caliskan to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, When We Were Us.
Is it ever too late to start again…?
Erika Forde has always played second fiddle to her husband David, the famous novelist. But since their son, Matt, left home for university, cracks have started to show in their marriage.
Erika has long had a nagging suspicion that David may not always have been faithful, and now his latest books are starting to wane in popularity causing erratic moods that are affecting Erika.
But while David’s career starts to dip, Erika’s advertising agency is on the up.
Erika’s creative genius wins the agency a huge client in Stable Denim, but her life is thrown into turmoil when one of the models cast for the campaign turns out to be her ex-boyfriend, Enzo.
Has Enzo been sent back into Erika’s life for a reason? Is it time for her to reevaluate her marriage?
Or should some things be left in the past…?
WHEN WE WERE US is a second chance love story, that shows the ups and downs of family life with buckets of humour and wit.
Patricia has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Erika Forde has always played second fiddle to her husband David, the famous novelist. But since their son, Matt, left home for university, cracks have started to show in their marriage.
While David’s career starts to dip, Erika’s advertising agency is on the up. Erika Forde’s creative genius wins her creative advertising agency a huge client in Stable Denim, but her life is thrown into turmoil when one of the models cast for the campaign turns out to be her ex-boyfriend, Enzo Morelli.
by Book Extract: Death on the High Seas by Anna Legat
I’m pleased to be welcoming Anna Legat to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Death on the High Seas.
Maggie and Sam take a break from the murder and mayhem of Bishops Well and embark on a relaxing mid-winter cruise across the northern seas. The brochure promises smooth sailing, good food and dazzling entertainment. Sam is hoping to sprinkle the mix with romance.
But nothing goes to plan.
Maggie runs into an old lover, the mesmerising Benedict Rawbotham, who goes out of his way to sweep her off her feet. Sam is left seething with jealousy.
A mayday signal sent by a fishing boat forces the cruise liner off course. But there is something fishy about the rescued crew and Maggie insists that two young women have died on that boat. Alas, no one believes her.
Soon one of the alleged fishermen is also dead and so is one of the cruise passengers. Cordelia Conti Lang, nicknamed the Bitcoin Queen, with links to London’s criminal underworld, is found in her cabin, stabbed to death.
In pursuit of the killer, Maggie hurtles from one disaster to another and Sam begins to fear for her life. Has he taken her on a cruise to hell?
Anna has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
A quick introduction to Sam’s rival vying for Maggie’s affections: Benedict Rowbotham
The show was about to start. The lights were dimmed and the stage was hit with bright spotlights. The compere announced the grand entrance of Maestro de Norte – or Morte, Sam couldn’t quite make that out.
The Maestro burst onto the stage in a puff of white smoke. He was wearing a top hat and a cape, and altogether resembled Count Dracula. He was tall and lean, with sharp but handsome features. His hair was uncannily black – probably dyed. The hair and the heavy eye makeup rendered the man creepy, in Sam’s opinion. Even more so after he noticed that Maggie was utterly hypnotised by him. She stiffened in her seat, pushed her chin forward, squinted and gaped like a possessed groupie.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to a night of magic and mayhem!’ De Norte spoke in a deep baritone. ‘Let me introduce my glamorous assistant, Mademoiselle Coco.’
by Book Club
