My enormous thanks to Sarah Mather at Titan for sending me a copy of Good Neighbours by Sarah Langan in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Published by Titan on 13th July 2021, Good Neighbours is available for purchase through these links.

Good Neighbours

A sudden tragedy pits neighbour against neighbour and puts one family in terrible danger.

Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world. But when the Wilde family moves in, they trigger their neighbours’ worst fears. Arlo and Gertie and their weird kids don’t fit with the way Maple Street sees itself. As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and neighbourhood Queen Bee Rhea’s daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. Suddenly, it is one mother’s word against the other’s in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.

A riveting and ruthless portrayal of suburbia, Good Neighbours excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.

My Review of Good Neighbours

The Wildes have moved to Maple Street

My goodness I found Good Neighbours a horrifyingly compelling read. Initially I was unsure if I’d enjoy the book but it wasn’t long before I was completely ensnared because Sarah Langan presents such a razor sharp insight into suburban American life that I simply couldn’t tear myself away. Good Neighbours lays bare the delusional, corrupt underbelly of provincial society with such clarity that I almost feel tainted by the read.

From the very first page there is a pervasive menace that lurks just like the sink hole that precipitates so many events. The plot is presented so cleverly with futuristic interviews, reports and newspaper articles, interspersed between events taking place in a little over a month so that the reader can see just how false witness can reverberate down the years with terrifying results. Add in the oppressive heat, the petty everyday lives of people living in Maple Street and the ease with which rumour can spread and Good Neighbours becomes an almost sentient, malignant being in its own right rather than simply a narrative.

The characters are a triumph. Whilst obvious empathy lies with Arlo and Gertie (if indeed it can be obvious with all the accusations and rumour in the story), it is Rhea who is one of the most fascinating literary characters I’ve encountered. She’s complex, malevolent, dangerous and terrifying so that I found myself thankful I’d never encountered her in real life, but at the same time I found the reasons why she is as she is, realistic and deserving of sympathy. The children too are completely authentic so that Maple Street’s Good Neighbours are a microcosm of American society at its very best and very worst.

Whilst the plot races along and the characters are completely fascinating, the themes underpinning Good Neighbours give it astounding depth and credibility too. Social control, mass hysteria and victimisation, family and societal relationships, authority at many levels, abuse in several forms – whether that be through drugs and alcohol or inappropriate relationships and violence – hope and despair, madness and evil, compassion and cruelty swirl through Good Neighbours until the reader is moved as well as entertained, horrified and uplifted and thankful for their own life well away from Maple Street.

I think Good Neighbours is a triumph because I’d defy any reader not to have a strong opinion about it. Some might not wish to deal with Sarah Langan’s laying bare of the human potential for evil and goodness, but I round it a riveting portrayal of toxic society. I loved it.

About Sarah Langan

Sarah Langan grew up on Long Island, in a town called Garden City, but not on a crescent bordering a park. She got her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, and also received her Master’s in Environmental Health Science/Toxicology from New York University. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughters.

She’s received three Bram-Stoker awards, and her work has often been included in best-of-the year lists and anthologies. She’s a founding board member of the Shirley Jackson Awards, and works in both film and prose.

For further information about Sarah, follow her on Twitter @SarahVLangan1, visit her website and find her on Facebook and Instagram.

It seems a long time since David Videcette last featured here on Linda’s Book Bag. Then, having just reviewed David’s excellent The Detriment in a post you’ll find here, I’d asked David his thoughts on The Fine Line Between Right and Wrong and he provided a super guest post you can read here.

With David’s latest book investigating a true crime that has been part of the fabric of my own life, Finding Suzy, I simply had to invite David back onto the blog even though I hadn’t time to fit in a read. Luckily he agreed and has provided another superb guest post today. Before I share that post, let me tell you more about Finding Suzy.

Finding Suzy was published on 5th August and is available in ebook and paperback from your regional Amazon.

Finding Suzy

How can someone just disappear?

Step inside a real-life, missing person investigation in this compelling, true crime must-read.

Uncover what happened to missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, as David Videcette takes you on a quest to unpick her mysterious disappearance and scrutinise the shadowy ‘Mr Kipper’.

One overcast Monday in July 1986, 25-year-old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanished whilst showing a smart London property to a mysterious ‘Mr Kipper’.

Despite the baffling case dominating the news and one of the largest missing persons cases ever mounted, police failed to find a shred of evidence establishing what had happened to her.

Sixteen years later, following a second investigation and under pressure from Suzy’s desperate parents, police named convicted rapist and murderer John Cannan as their prime suspect. However, the Crown Prosecution Service refused to charge him, citing a lack of evidence.

Despite several high-profile searches, Suzy’s body was never found. The trail that might lead investigators to her, long since lost.

Haunted by another missing person case, investigator and former Scotland Yard detective, David Videcette, has spent five years painstakingly reinvestigating Suzy’s cold case disappearance.

Through a series of incredible new witness interviews and fresh groundbreaking analysis, he uncovers piece by piece what happened to Suzy and why the case was never solved.

People don’t just disappear…

The Flashbulb: indelible memories that change our lives

A Guest Post by David Videcette

There are a handful of moments in our lives that we can vividly remember in great detail from one year to the next, and even fewer that last for decades or even a lifetime.

Can you remember exactly where you were, what you were doing and the conversations you had, when you heard of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States or the London 7/7 bombings? Perhaps you are old enough to remember what you were doing when you heard the news that JFK had been assassinated?

It’s what’s known as a ‘Flashbulb Memory’.

In a 1977 scientific research paper, Roger Brown and James Kulik first hypothesized that: “Flashbulb Memories are memories for the circumstances in which one first learned of a very surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) event.”

Decades later, in the modern day, using studies of people’s flashbulb memories of  9/11, scientists have proven that the original hypothesis of Brown and Kulik was right; there is such a place in our minds where these indelible flashbulb memories are stored.

Looking backwards at some of my own flashbulb memories, two stand out as having influenced my decision to spend five years reinvestigating the disappearance of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh and write my latest book Finding Suzy. Both of my flashbulb events happened in 1996 within a few months of one another.

At 7:01pm on 9th February 1996, one-and-a-half tons of explosive hidden in the back of a truck detonated in London’s Docklands.

I’d never heard a sound quite like it before. Sitting inside a small police station close to the Blackwall Tunnel in South London, the ground shook and the glass in the windows rattled against their frames. Little over a mile away, a lorry bomb had killed two people, injured one hundred others, and destroyed South Quay Plaza at Canary Wharf, leaving a crater 32ft wide and 10ft deep.

As we raced to help, I can remember in vivid detail the colours of the devastated buildings blasted off their very foundations, and the shock on people’s faces. I remember wondering how on earth anyone could investigate this awful crime. Where would you even begin to look for the evidence among this scene of annihilation? The emotions I felt at the time come flooding back as I think about it today; the memory of that ravaged blast site still chills me to the bone.

My second flashbulb memory relates to a missing person case. On a warm summer’s evening, with half-an-hour to spare before my night shift started, I’d grabbed the chance to catch up on the intelligence briefings in the tiny coffee room.

There had been a hiss of static as the battery slid into place on my archaic police radio, before I heard the operator in our control room ask:

‘Is there a unit that’s free to deal, please? Caller claims to have found what he thinks is someone’s arm sticking through a pile of soil and rubbish on the railway embankment behind their house.’

The moment I heard it, my stomach lurched. Although Suzy Lamplugh had vanished exactly ten years before, almost to the day – I already suspected whose body it might be.

Fifteen-year-old Joanne Eddison had failed to return home from school one Tuesday afternoon in May 1996. She’d disappeared just days short of her sixteenth birthday. I feared the worst. Her distraught parents had called the police when she’d failed to return home from school. It had been my team that had taken the original missing person report.

Nine weeks later, on that warm summer’s night on the railway embankment, we identified Joanne from the rings on her fingers. I was posted to stand guard over her body until we could organise a forensics team to recover her remains and collect any evidence that may be on or around her, although that wouldn’t be until the morning. Her parents were duly informed by a fellow officer that their daughter was dead, and that she was lying beneath a pile of rubbish. As soon as Joanne’s father heard, he clawed his way through the undergrowth and trees at the back of the houses to try and get to his daughter.

“You can’t just leave her there in the ground! It’s inhuman – that’s my daughter. I just want to take her home. Let me take her home, you can’t leave her lying there,” he screamed into my face, his spittle settling on my cheeks and lips. His eyes filled with tears, as he bristled with pain and anger.

I still don’t know how I managed to persuade him not to dig her out with his bare hands. I remember telling him that we had to preserve as much evidence at the crime scene as we could. I assured him that to do the best for Joanne, he had to let me do my job.

Both of those incidents in 1996 ultimately changed my life; altered where I saw my role in this world. They taught me that evil walks among us unseen every single day, and sometimes there’s very little we can do to prevent it. But these events also taught me that regardless of the type of crime, or the magnitude of the crime scene and investigation, everything can be solved.

It would ultimately set me on a course to investigate Suzy’s case.

****

My goodness David. What a post and no wonder you’ve embarked on this latest book. Many thanks for sharing this with us.

FINDING SUZY: The hunt for missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh and ‘Mr Kipper’ by David Videcette, is available now through UK Kindle, UK paperback, US Kindle, AUS Kindle, and CAN Kindle.

About David Videcette

As an investigator, David Videcette has worked on a wealth of famous cases. He’s chased numerous dangerous criminals and interviewed thousands of witnesses.

With decades of experience working in counter-terror operations and combatting organised crime, David investigated the 7/7 London bombings as a Scotland Yard detective.

Today he uses his policing expertise to painstakingly investigate cold cases in his true crime series: Investigations by Videcette. David is also the author of the Detective Inspector Jake Flannagan thrillers.

David lives in London. When he is not writing, he consults on security operations for high-net-worth individuals and is a key media commentator on crime and policing for many broadcasters and newspapers, both nationally and internationally.

For more on David and his books, visit David’s website, by following him on Twitter @DavidVidecette, Instagram and on Facebook.

The Secrets of Wishtide is this month’s choice for the U3A Reading Group I belong to and I’m delighted to share my review today. I’m really looking forward to finding out what others in the group thought too.

The Secrets of Wishtide was published by Bloomsbury on 7th July 2016 and is available for purchase through these links.

The Secrets of Wishtide

The first in the delightfully cosy and clever mystery series featuring private detective, Laetitia Rodd.

Winter, 1850. Mrs Laetitia Rodd is the impoverished widow of an Archdeacon, living modestly in Hampstead with her landlady Mrs Bentley. She is also a private detective of the utmost discretion.

When her brother Frederick, a criminal barrister, introduces her to Sir James Calderstone, a wealthy and powerful industrialist, she is tasked to investigate the background of an ‘unsuitable’ woman his son intends to marry – a match he is determined to prevent.

In the guise of governess, she travels to the family seat, Wishtide, deep in the frozen Lincolnshire countryside, where she soon discovers that the Calderstones have more to hide than most. As their secrets unfold, the case takes an unpleasant turn when a man is found dead outside a tavern, and Mrs Rodd’s search for the truth takes her from elite drawing rooms to London’s notorious inns and its steaming laundry houses.

My Review of The Secrets of Wishtide

Laetitia Rodd has a mystery to solve.

My goodness, The Secrets of Wishtide is an entertaining read. I thoroughly, thoroughly it. Filled with high Victorian melodrama, plenty of murder and an enormous dash of humour and wit, The Secrets of Wishtide makes for a really fun and immersive read and would translate into fantastic television drama.

Letty is a triumph. Her narrative voice rings through the pages and I loved the occasional moments when she addresses the reader directly, or references her own prejudices and less than perfect behaviours and attitudes, because they really add depth and interest to her character. In a Dickensian world dominated by men and the wealthy, Letty shines like a feminist beacon of the down at heel middle classes. I really rather hope she finds romance in future books in the series – possibly with the taciturn Blackbeard! The conversational style through Letty’s narration is perfect for the book’s setting and era. It feels slightly tongue in cheek and yet completely authentic so that The Secrets of Wishtide is a total treat to read.

Indeed, it is Kate Saunders’s exploration of class, morality, money and hierarchy that give such piquancy to the read. Some characters are deliberately, whilst effectively and endearingly, stereotypical whilst others burst from the expected norms of class and behaviour so that the whole panoply of human life is here. Other themes of identity, trust, betrayal, love and duty add depth and give the narrative layers of interest that I found very entertaining. In fact, The Secrets of Wishtide might be set in the Victorian era with nods to Dickens’s own writing, but it it equally as twisty and modern in plot as any psychological thriller.

And what a plot it is. Crimes abound, suspects swirl and at the heart of the action is the unflappable Laetitia Rudd, gathering her evidence and manipulating interviewees every bit as well as any Poirot or Miss Marples. I had to concentrate to keep up with some of teh events and characters but this is by no means a criticism. It simply added to my enjoyment.

And I really, really enjoyed Kate Saunders’ writing. The Secrets of Wishtide is an absolute cracker of a read. Perfect for cosy crime lovers, it held me captivated, entertained me completely and lifted my spirits. I absolutely recommend it.

About Kate Saunders

Kate Saunders is an English author, actress, and journalist. The daughter of the early public relations advocate Basil Saunders and his journalist wife Betty (née Smith), Saunders has worked for newspapers and magazines in the UK, including The Sunday Times, Sunday Express, Daily Telegraph, She, and Cosmopolitan.

She has also been a regular contributor to radio and television, with appearances on the Radio 4 programs Woman’s Hour, Start the Week, and Kaleidoscope. She was, with Sandi Toksvig, a guest on the first episode of the long-running news quiz program Have I Got News For You.

Kate Saunders has also written multiple books for children and for adults.

It’s always a thrill being in at the start of something new, and today I couldn’t be more excited than to share news of a brand new digital first imprint from Bonnier – Embla Books who start out in the world today, 4th August 2021. Embla is led by Jane Snelgrove.

Embla are launching with three books for the rest of the year – an amazingly funny and heartwarming rom com in September, a chilling and scary thriller in October, and a psychological suspense in November and I’m really looking forward to finding out more about those books. Embla will have many more exciting announcements to come from well known authors and debuts across genre fiction.

Embla’s goal is to publish quality commercial fiction for all readers. Books will include romance, historical fiction, psychological suspense, thrillers and book club fiction. Books that make you laugh, cry, fall in love and stay up all night and I cannot wait to see what’s on offer.

My enormous thanks to Jennifer Porter, Head of Marketing at Embla, for sending me a super launch pack to celebrate Embla’s birthday.

The fabulous Kindle/tablet stand is created by ibeanibags and you’ll find their website here. You’ll also find them on Twitter @ibeaniworld and Facebook. You can also find Teapigs on Twitter @teapigs and their full range of Cold Brew teas on their website. Teapigs are also on Facebook and Instagram.

To keep up to date with all the news make sure you follow Embla on Twitter @emblabooks. You’ll also find Embla on Facebook and Instagram where I’m sure they’d appreciate a follow!

It’s a real pleasure to welcome C F Barrington to Linda’s Book Bag today to stay in with me to chat all about his latest book about to be released in paperback as I think it sounds brilliant and I’m sure you will too!

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with C F Barrington

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you for inviting me, Linda. Staying in is something we’ve all been getting very used to over this last year or so isn’t it?

It certainly has. This new ‘freedom’ feels a bit weird to me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought with me my debut novel – The Wolf Mile – which was by launched Head of Zeus adventure imprint, Aries Fiction, on 6th May in e-book and is about to come out in paperback on 5th August.

How exciting Chris and congratulations. Is The Wolf Mile a stand alone?

It is the first in a five-book saga about The Pantheon, with Book 2 (The Blood Isles) launching in October 2021 and Book 3 (The Hastening Storm) coming in spring 2022.

You must be thrilled to be writing such a series. Tell me a bit more about The Wolf Mile.

I’ve chosen it tonight because the story – and indeed the genre – has sparked much discussion amongst my early readers, because it is hard to pin into a single category and defies my many attempts to condense it into a snappy teaser.

You’ve got me intrigued now.

The most concise description came from one of my advance readers, who said it was ‘Fight Club with swords’. I’ll take that! And my agent (Laura Macdougall at United Agents) said it had ‘elements of The Hunger Games’ when she first read it.

I love a book that doesn’t readily fit a precise genre and this sounds so exciting. What can we expect from an evening in with The Wolf Mile?

It is a story which, first and foremost, is inspired by a sense of place. Apart from a sojourn into the forests of the Highlands, the book’s action all takes place in the closes, tunnels and rooftops which flow from the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Indeed, it was Edinburgh’s Old Town which really allowed the story to manifest. The dark, malevolent history of the Old Town and its stunning architecture and rumours of tunnels and secret passages, set my mind ticking. I am sure that the whole concept of The Pantheon could not have come together if it had not been for my life in and around Edinburgh.

This aspect of Edinburgh sounds perfect to inspire a series.

The story was also prompted by two other factors: Firstly, I had always wanted to take my love of historical fiction and coax it into a modern thriller – without going down the well-trodden route of some sort of time-travel. Secondly, after a career spent in major gift fundraising for charities and universities, I had communicated with many very wealthy individuals and I got to wondering what makes someone excited when they can buy everything? As the book asks….. Imagine riches beyond your wildest dreams. What would you do with them? Travel the world? Buy a yacht? Now times it by ten.  A hundred. We’re talking mega-wealth – the kind that buys governments, shapes economies, enervates security forces and makes a mockery of justice systems. NOW what would you do with it? Less certain?

Crikey – that’s got me thinking…

In ancient times, the wealthy of Rome spent their money and energies on forsaking human life in the gladiatorial stadia – and that’s where the concept of The Pantheon grew from in my head.

The Wolf Mile charts the rise of Tyler Maitland and Lana Cameron as they are plucked from their normal lives to become players in The Pantheon, a secret game bankrolled by the world’s wealthy elite and watched online by thousands. Warriors from seven ancient civilisations are trained, sworn to allegiance, then pitted against each other in battles amongst the claustrophobic alleys which flow from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and filmed in real-time.

The Wolf Mile sounds thrilling.

Set in today’s city, this is very much a modern thriller, but it mixes elements of historical fiction, as well as a sweeping romance over the five-book series, which takes the protagonists from friends, to sworn enemies and finally to lovers. So when Aries came along and declared it was, above all, adventure fiction, it was perfect – because this is exactly what the saga is: A twisting, turning, relentless adventure with a big cast of characters, which propels the protagonists on a journey more horrifying and wondrous than they could ever have dreamed, into a world which perhaps we all secretly wish we experience.

I’m hooked! I need to add The Wolf Mile to my TBR immediately. How is it being received?

The book has yet to launch in paperback and so reviews are only just beginning to come in. But comments so far include:

‘Featuring two compelling yet flawed lead characters, an intriguing mystery and unrelenting action, I can’t wait to see where Mr Barrington takes us in the future.’

‘It is a very cool idea and I think if done right will become one of my favourite secret societies.’

‘Get ready for a rip-roaring adventure through the streets of Edinburgh – The Wolf Mile is the perfect escapist read!’

You must be delighted with those responses.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I’ve brought a few of my photos of the Old Town which have helped inspire me.

One evening before the pandemic, a friend and I toured the Old Town cameras in hand. We ended up climbing onto buildings and lying in the middle of roads, getting carried away discovering the dark, brooding essence of The Pantheon.

It was great fun and hopefully the images provide a taste of what to expect in The Wolf Mile.

These photos make me want to travel to Edinburgh immediately! As it’s a bit of a trek from here in south Lincolnshire I’ll just have to go vicariously through reading The Wolf Mile. Thank you so much for staying in to tell me all about it. I think it sounds a cracking start to your new series. Let me me give blog readers a few essential details:

The Wolf Mile

An action-packed adventure thriller, where modern-day recruits compete in an ancient, deadly game in the streets of Edinburgh.

Welcome to the Pantheon Games. Let the streets of Edinburgh run with blood…

The Games are the biggest underground event in the world, followed by millions online. New recruits must leave behind their twenty-first century lives and vie for dominance in a gruelling battle to the death armed only with ancient weapons – and their wits.

Tyler Maitland and Lana Cameron have their own reasons for signing up. Now they must risk their lives and join the ranks of seven ancient warrior teams that inhabit this illicit world. Their journey will be more extraordinary and horrifying than anything they could have dreamed, testing them to breaking point.

Let the Season begin.

Published by Head of Zeus imprint Aries Fiction on 5th August, The Wolf Mile is available for purchase through these links.

About C F Barington

C F Barrington spent twenty years intending to write a novel, but found life kept getting in the way. Instead, his career took him into major gift fundraising, leading teams in organisations as varied as the RSPB, Oxford University and the National Trust.

When his role as Head of Communications at Edinburgh Zoo meant a third year of fielding endless media enquiries about the possible birth of a baby panda, he finally retreated to a quiet desk beside the sea and discovered the inspiration for the Pantheon saga.

Raised in Hertfordshire and educated at Oxford, he now divides his time between running over the hills of the Lake District and dog walking on the beaches of Fife.

For more information, visit C F Barrington’s website and find him on Facebook. You can also follow him on Twitter @barrington_cf and Instagram which shows lots of his hill-running adventures with his spaniel, Albie!

It’s a real privilege to begin a blog tour and I’m thrilled to commence the tour for Cecily by Annie Garthwaite. My enormous thanks to Georgia Taylor at Penguin Random House for inviting me to participate and for sending me a copy of Cecily in return for an honest review. I love historical fiction and am delighted to share that review today.

Cecily is published by Penguin today, 29th July 2021, and is available for purchase through the links here.

Cecily

‘Rebellion?’
The word is a spark. They can start a fire with it, or smother it in their fingertips.
She chooses to start a fire.

You are born high, but marry a traitor’s son. You bear him twelve children, carry his cause and bury his past.

You play the game, against enemies who wish you ashes. Slowly, you rise.

You are Cecily.

But when the king who governs you proves unfit, what then?

Loyalty or treason – death may follow both. The board is set. Time to make your first move.

Told through the eyes of its greatest unknown protagonist, this astonishing debut plunges you into the closed bedchambers and bloody battlefields of the first days of the Wars of the Roses, a war as women fight it.

My Review of Cecily

Cecily Neville has ambitions.

What a cracking historical fiction Cecily is. It’s quite difficult to believe Cecily is a debut novel because it’s written so compellingly. Annie Garthwaite has taken a little explored character from history and created a vivid, portrait of a woman at the heart of political life. Cecily leaps from the page as a real woman, flawed, ambitious, loyal, duplicitous, strong and vulnerable. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting her. It was the characterisation in Cecily that really captivated me. I so appreciated having a fresh female perspective on a well-known historical period.

Aspects of the plot are familiar to those who enjoy this era (and given that I grew up in the next village to Fotheringhay where my parents were married, I loved the references to it) but Annie Garthwaite gives them a vibrant innovative presentation that enhances history and truly brings it to life. She weaves in back stories and relationships so that the scene is clearly set, ensuring her reader has a thorough understanding of the social and political times, without ever slowing the pace or providing too much extraneous detail. I thought the balance was excellent and was transported back in time brilliantly.

I think the immediacy and pace in Cecily is enhanced by the continuous present tense because it makes the book feel as if it is happening now rather than several hundred years ago. That said, the narrative style and authorial voice fits the era perfectly giving an added layer of authenticity. Add in the iterative image of strategic chess that runs through the book and Cecily becomes a narrative treat of intrigue, manipulation and politics at international, national, local and personal level. Here we get insight into the world of real people. However, regardless of the obviously exemplary historical research that makes Cecily authentic and engaging, this book has as many twists and turns as any psychological thriller or crime fiction, making it appealing to a wide range of readers and a captivating read. The frequent short sentence hooks at the end of chapters compel the reader to continue and I found I had consumed the story almost without realising.

With vivid characterisation, carefully crafted writing and meticulous research, Cecily is a satisfying read for any lover of historical fiction. But what gives Annie Garthwaite’s Cecily the edge is the feminism; the insight into, and the appreciation of, a strong woman in a world of men. Cecily may have been a woman of her time, but Annie Garthwaite makes sure she has resonance and relevance in today’s society. Great stuff!

About Annie Garthwaite

Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north-east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career. In 2017 she returned to her first love, books, and set out to write the story of a woman she had always felt drawn to: Cecily Neville. This became her debut novel, Cecily.#

For more information, follow Annie on Twitter @anniegarthwaite and Instagram, visit her website and find her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’ve been hearing very good things about Gary Wright’s debut novel and am delighted to have it on my TBR pile. As a result, whilst I’m waiting to get to it, I asked Gary if he would stay in with me to chat about it and luckily he agreed. Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Gary Wright

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Gary and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Hi Linda, and thanks so much for having me.

It’s a pleasure. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’m really happy to be sharing my debut novel, A Parent Apart.  I’ve always loved to write and play with words, and when lockdown came along I took the plunge and finally put pen to paper with a story that had been formulating in my head for years.  I’m very, very proud of it.

What can we expect from an evening in with A Parent Apart?

Well, the basic premise of A Parent Apart is the fall out following the death of a child, the police investigation into it and the recriminations that arise from it.  It’s hard to say much more without giving away certain things, but I hope that whets your appetite.

It does indeed. I’ve seen fabulous reviews so I can’t wait to read A Parent Apart for myself. So, is it a crime novel?

I’ve found it hard to define a genre in which A Parent Apart fits.  It has elements of crime, elements of drama and a whole lot of tragedy.  I’m yet to find someone who hasn’t cried at some point while reading it!  My favourite review actually consisted of someone telling me how much they hated me because they had cried so much while reading it!

Oo. That’s definitely my kind of read. Although I have over 900 physical books on my TBR and more again in ebook I think I might just have to bump it up a bit! Tell me a bit more…

The thing I love about it is that crime novels conventionally have a goodie and a baddie.  A Parent Apart doesn’t – the lines are blurred between good and bad, between right and wrong.  It explores the grey areas and the human flaws that are so often overlooked when a story such as this is written.

I’d love to share with you, if I may, the reason that I wrote this book.

Of course.

11 years ago, I was a fit, healthy and active police officer.  I was 27 years old and played many sports, had just got married and was hoping to start a family with my beautiful wife (she’s still beautiful, by the way!).  It was a few days before my sister’s wedding that it happened first.  I passed out, without knowing why.  I ignored it, and managed to get through the wedding weekend (but I can’t remember anything about the wedding itself). Unfortunately, I passed out again days later, and was eventually diagnosed as having an incurable disease of the heart muscle (I am very lucky – my disease is normally only diagnosed post-mortem – when you have already died from it).

What? That sounds awful…

The two episodes of passing out were likely to have been cardiac arrests – the same as those suffered by Fabrice Muamba or, more recently, Christian Eriksen.  I was fitted with an internal defibrillator (I now have both a pacemaker and a defibrillator inside me.  Pesky hearts).  I was medically retired from the police aged 29, and – without wanting to sound melodramatic – made a bucket list of things that I wanted to do.  Not a written list, just a mental checklist in my mind.  Having children was top of that list, and we have been blessed with two absolute beauties (Florence and Sully).  I also was determined to write a book, just for myself, and just so that I could feel the satisfaction of completing such a feat.  And I did it.  I’m so, so proud of it, and the feedback I got was so good that I decided to self publish.  I didn’t want to go down the route of ‘agent, publisher’ as I just wanted to get it out there with no pressure.  I edited it myself, I made the cover myself, everything is my own work.  And for those reasons, and aside from my children, it is my greatest accomplishment.

Aside from bringing a tear to my eye already Gary, I cannot believe how you’ve triumphed so much over adversity. You must be so thrilled with your achievements. My hat is well and truly off to you.

Bearing those achievements in mind, what else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

A photo, if that’s okay?

It is.

It’s a picture of my kids.  Becoming a parent to my babies was the best thing that has ever happened to me, bar none.  They are my reason for getting up in the morning, for working so hard (I own a coffee shop with my wife in Ramsgate Harbour), and for fighting ill health to stay here just a little bit longer.  They also gave me the empathy I needed to write this book, to be able to feel the emotion that the characters in the book do.  Put simply, they are my everything and I wanted to share that with you.

Well I feel privileged to have ‘met’ them Gary. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about A Parent Apart. It sounds utterly wonderful and I wish you every success with it. Let me tell Linda’s Book Bag readers a little more:

A Parent Apart

Decisions define us. Decisions have consequences. Who lives… And who dies.

In Beachbrook, on the south coast of England, Andrew had a choice to make. Save his daughter, or save her friend. A decision no parent should have to face, but one that sets in motion a tragic series of events.

With the decision came a dark secret, one that Andrew thought he could keep hidden from his family, his friends and the police.

Two families collide as grief-fuelled recriminations expose the human flaws that haunt us all. The protection of self, the security of family and the fear of losing it all.

Published on 24th June 2021, A Parent Apart is available for purchase here.

About Gary Wright

Gary was a police officer for ten years before a hereditary heart condition brought an abrupt end to his career. He loved policing, and wanted to find an outlet to allow that passion to continue. Combining his enjoyment of writing with a job he could no longer do, his debut novel, ‘A Parent Apart’, was born.

Gary lives on the coast of Kent with his wife and two young children. He owns a coffee shop in Ramsgate Harbour.

You can follow Gary on Twitter @Gaz_Wright83 or Instagram for further information.

My enormous thanks to the Team Bookends for sending me a copy of Always, in December by Emily Stone in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Always in December is published by Headline Review in audio and ebook on 5th August and is available for pre-order here.

Always, in December

Heartbreaking. Life-affirming. Truly unforgettable.  Always, in December is the timeless, stay-up-all-night love story you’ll take straight to your heart.

If you loved One Day, Me Before You and the hit movie Last Christmas, this is the perfect book for you.

Josie Morgan never looks forward to December. It’s always a reminder of the life she lost, twenty years ago. Now, she always switches off the radio when Christmas music comes on. She always wants to tear down the tinsel her flatmate insists on pinning up. And she always posts a letter she knows will never be read.

Max Carter never expected to find himself stranded in London just days before Christmas. He never expected it would be so hard to say goodbye to a woman he hardly knows. Then again, he never expected to fall in love.

But, this December, when Josie’s letter leads her to Max, a chance encounter will change their lives in the most remarkable way. And their story is only just beginning . . .

From London to Manhattan, from Edinburgh to the English countryside, Always, in December is a romantic journey that’s impossible to forget.

My Review of Always, in December

Posting a letter can be life changing.

It’s impossible to believe that Always, in December is a debut novel as it is as close to perfection as it is possible to get in its genre. Emily Stone has created a simply fabulous story that I found totally captivating. I actually don’t really want to write a review or fear of sullying its memory.

The story is gorgeous and if the rights to turn Always, in December into a film aren’t snapped up immediately, there’s no justice. Emily Stone creates a wonderful plot set mostly over one year, with humour, emotion, surprise and the most exquisite skill. The structure is perfect, direct speech entirely naturalistic and settings given a glorious sense of place without snagging the pace at all. It must be said too, that whilst the narrative begins and ends in December, the story is simply wonderful to read at any time of the year. I consumed Always, in December over two of the hottest days of the year and was so entranced I noticed neither the weather nor time passing because I was spellbound. I’m quite an emotional reader, and frequently shed a tear when I read, but in Always, in December, Emily Stone reduced me to huge, wracking sobs because it touched me so much.

The characters are brilliant. Even the most minor person feels realistic and vivid so that it was difficult to remember these are not actual people. Josie is a triumph. Her sense of justice, her strength and her vulnerability are woven into one of the most convincing romantic heroines I’ve encountered. I wanted her to succeed and achieve her happy ever after with every fibre of my being, but you’ll need to read Always, in December to see if I got my wish! I loved the way absent characters help shape both character and plot too, because Emily Stone illustrates how we are the sum of our past as well as our present and possible future.

The themes explored in Always, in December elevate it from an excellent romantic story to a narrative of depth and sensitivity too. Grief, childhood, relationships, friendship, ambition, courage, practicality, family, career and talent are just a few of the aspects to this glorious story that make it so enjoyable, so moving and so enchanting.

I genuinely could not have loved Always, in December more. It’s quite simply wonderful. It’s my favourite read of the year so far – even if it did break me!

About Emily Stone

Emily Stone lives and works in Chepstow and wrote Always, in December in an old Victorian manor house with an impressive literary heritage. Her debut novel was partly inspired by the death of her mother, when Emily was seven, and wanting to write something that reflected the fact that you carry this grief into adulthood, long after you supposedly move on from the event itself.

For more information, follow Emily on Twitter @EmStoneWrites.

It’s always a sadness that I simply cannot read every book I’m offered, but whilst I turn down 90%, occasionally I find one that I simply have to feature because it intrigues me so much. Such is the case for Chicago May by Harry Duffin and I’m delighted to share a small extract from the book with you today.

Chicago May was published by Cumulus on 26th April 2021 and is available in all good bookstores and online including here.

Chicago May

Sixteen-year-old peasant girl, May Sharpe, steals from her abusive father, and flees Ireland, to chase her dream of a new life in America. Arriving penniless and friendless in 1919’s America, May has to choose between honest poverty, or crime. Beautiful May is charmed by successful con-man, ‘Society’ Eddie. With her new lover’s guidance, teenage May soon becomes the city’s ‘Queen of Crooks’.

But Joe, a stubborn local cop, has fallen for the spirited May. He is determined to save her from herself, and having to spend her life in prison. In the midst of her glitzy life, he confronts May to make a decision; a decision which would threaten, not only her new-found fame and fortune, but her young life…

An Extract from Chicago May

May’s new life had started with a crime, but she had not expected to end her life as a criminal.

Her lawyer had been dismayed when she told him that she wouldn’t speak in her own defense. She wouldn’t give the sensation-seeking gallery in the court the satisfaction of hearing her beg for mercy. May Sharpe was not a beggar, she was a thief. Not so long ago, back in her own country, she would have been hanged for what she had done. So be it.

She spent the night alone in her bleak cell preparing her suicide. For despair had replaced her fiery defiance. The infamous Irish beauty had only one defiant act left in her.

With an effort she pulled herself up on the bars. Pushing her head through the noose, she felt the twisted rope tighten against her skin. As she let go, the noose tightened, forcing  blood to rush to her head like a blow. The drumming in her ears was deafening. Then, as the air drained from her lungs in a strangled cry, she was falling, falling.

****

How’s that for a dramatic taster? Sounds good doesn’t it?

About Harry Duffin

Award-winning British screenwriter, Harry Duffin has worked extensively in UK television for such hugely popular series as ‘Howards Way’, ‘Eastenders’ and ‘Coronation Street’. As Head of Development for Cloud 9 he was responsible for seven major television series, including ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ starring Richard ‘John Boy’ Thomas, and ‘Twist in the Tale’ featuring William Shatner.

He is co-creator of the hit teen series ‘The Tribe’, produced by Cloud 9, which ran for 260 episodes and has a growing world-wide fan base.

Chicago May is his first novel, adapted from his own screenplay of the same name.

For more information about Harry, visit his website and follow him on Twitter @duffin26.

My enormous thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the launch celebrations for Carol Kirkwood’s Under a Greek Moon and to Elizabeth Dawson at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Published by Harper Collins on 8th July 2021, Under a Greek Moon is available for purchase through the links here.

Under a Greek Moon

She can escape Hollywood, but can she escape her past?

A-list actress Shauna Jackson has the perfect life. Fame, fortune, marriage. Or so it seems.

Running from a scandal, Shauna must return to the place that changed her life twenty years ago, the idyllic Greek island of Ithos.

Captivated once more by her island escape, bittersweet memories resurface of one summer, one unforgettable man, and a long-hidden secret.

Can Shauna take the chance to confront her past?

My Review of Under a Greek Moon

Shauna Jackson’s life isn’t as perfect as her fans might think.

What a super, summer read Under a Greek Moon is. Taking the reader from Ireland to Los Angeles and on to Greece, Carol Kirkwood has created an escapist voyage of discovery for both the reader and for Shauna so that reading the book is like taking a break from everyday life.

I loved the glamour of Under a Greek Moon because it gave me a glimpse into an unfamiliar world in a realistic way balanced by the reality of Shauna’s Irish past and upbringing. It was a sheer delight to sail on the yacht in the Greek waters so that I felt as if I were on holiday as I read. There’s a smashing quality to the setting details that allows the reader to picture the scenes without detracting from the narrative. I have a tiny criticism in that my preference is not for brand names to be attached to items but here they add to the sense of privilege and wealth so I forgive the author, especially as her descriptions of food were totally mouth-watering.

Carol Kirkwood’s plot is cleverly structured so that the reader has glimpses into the past as well as present action, adding interest and appeal to the story. Not only is there conflict at many levels, and romance, but there’s mystery too so that Under a Greek Moon will appeal to a wide range of readers.

I thought the characters were brilliantly wrought. Shauna’s mother in particular, although she plays a seemingly small role, is a clever catalyst for action and felt absolutely realistic. I loved meeting Roxy, Shauna’s feisty, loyal friend and if it were possible, I would definitely like to spend time with Demetrios! However, it is Shauna who is the literal and metaphorical superstar. Her rise to stardom and the reality that can lie behind such a persona is so well presented. It’s difficult to explain too much without spoiling the plot, but I particularly enjoyed Shauna’s ambition, her dignity and her integrity in the face of adversity.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the cast and the smashing story, I think what drew me so much to Under a Greek Moon was the uncovering of themes. Carol Kirkwood shines a spotlight on friendship, desire at many levels, whether that be in occupation or romance, on family and relationships, on loyalty and trust, on responsibility and burden so that I felt Under a Greek Moon had smashing depth as well as light entertainment in a perfect balance.

Under a Greek Moon is gorgeous summer reading (or indeed any time reading when you need some sunshine in your life). It’s glamorous, romantic, entertaining and escapist. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

About Carol Kirkwood

Carol Kirkwood is one of the BBC’s most loved TV presenters, best known for presenting the weather. She lights up viewers’ homes every day, appearing on programmes such as BBC Breakfast, Strictly Come Dancing, Wimbledon Tennis Fortnight, and Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

She is hugely popular with fans and Carol frequently trends on Twitter. Beyond the television screen, she can often be found ensconced in a book, singing, dancing, and driving fast cars.

For more information, follow Carol on Twitter @carolkirkwood or find her on Facebook.

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