Lovely Diane Solomon has appeared here on Linda’s Book Bag a few times and when I heard she had a new book, Eva, I simply had to invite her back.  I asked Diane about her experience of writing Eva and she kindly provided a super guest post and an extract from the book that I’m delighted to share today.

Let’s find out about Eva which is available for purchase here:

Eva

Eva possesses a unique and powerful gift. But is it a curse?

She plays down her beauty, to avoid attention. But it doesn’t work. She has a magnetic quality, a calm, a power of which she is unaware.

Never having known her father and having lost her mother when she was young, Eva believes she’s better off alone. She only connects deeply with animals, they are her first love. But another great love is on the horizon, along with other life-changing discoveries.

When they learn of her gift, the media jackals gather, and Eva is forced into the limelight she’s avoided all her life. Facing challenges at every turn, including her own inner demons, she must fight to protect, even embrace, her newfound ability.

But someone wants her dead.

A Guest Post by Diane Solomon

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag Diane.  And congratulations on your new romantic suspense novel, Eva. Has writing this book helped you realize anything about yourself in the same way Eva has a voyage of discovery?

It’s nice to be back, and that’s a great question! I came up with the idea for this novel 20 years ago, but it took me until now to feel ready to write it, to truly understand what I wanted to say.

Here’s a wee bit about the story. Eva, the 26-year-old protagonist, has not committed to love since the day when she was eleven, when she found her mother dead on the kitchen floor. Since then, believing she is better off alone, she has kept a safe distance from people, only connecting deeply with animals.

Then she discovers she possesses a powerful skill. Maybe it is a gift. But it might be a curse. She realizes she can heal an animal simply by holding it and meditating to a deep inner space where she connects with its spirit. Things get even more shocking when she finds she can heal humans as well. When through her healing, her grandfather recovers miraculously from the incapacitation of a stroke, word spreads quickly and her life is no longer her own.

Journalists hound her relentlessly and hand-delivered death threats confirm someone wants to kill her. Forced into the limelight she’s avoided all her life and facing challenges at every turn, Eva must fight to protect her newfound ability while also doing the most difficult thing of all: staying alive.

Eva is a deep love story, full of twists and turns, with the theme of our universal yearning for connection. Plus, it is loaded with heart.

I resonate strongly with the path Eva travels, that of her struggle is to overcome her inner demons in order to own her power and to flourish. To grow. Eva is continually challenged, when all the time, all she wants to do is look after animals. That’s where she feels safe and loved and where she can give love unconditionally without fear.

Some of that is me! This hit home as I wrote the book. What kept me from connecting deeply with other people my whole life was very simply the walls I created to protect myself. The walls Eva created. The walls we all create! We hide behind those walls, protecting ourselves from pain. Yet, ironically, those walls insulate us from the very thing we need to alleviate the pain. Connection to other people. I believe we all yearn for that connection.

Writing this book has been one of the most fascinating and rewarding experiences of my life. And I wrote it from my heart, hoping to grab yours!

****

Eva sounds fabulous Diane! And thank you so much for allowing me to share an extract too today:

An Extract from Eva

The anxiety in the room was palpable. The cat’s owners were a young couple, mid-thirties, with a pre-teen daughter chewing her nails. The mother, eager and polite, nodded frequently, birdlike. The husband was taciturn, stern-jawed, as if he knew the bad news even before it was delivered.

Michael told them the diagnosis clearly and as gently as he could. The tumor had invaded the jawbone and now even the sinuses. He explained it wasn’t a good prognosis for their pet. “I’m afraid it’s progressed too far even for that option. Your little cat is in pain. And there’s no guarantee the operation would be successful.” He paused. “I’m sorry to tell you, but the kindest thing to do would be to put her to sleep.”

The young daughter wailed and burst into tears.

“I know you’ll want to say goodbye. I’ll have her brought in.”

When the tech carried in the little calico, the small girl, who couldn’t have been more than eight or nine, reached for her pet. She held her close and buried her face in her cat’s fur.

“Come on honey,” her mother said. “Let the doctor look at her.” The mother gently took the cat and placed her on the examination table. She bent over to study the animal’s face. “Wait a minute… Charles, look,” she said to her husband. “Isn’t the tumor on this side? But, hang on… I can’t see it now.”

Michael stared in surprise at the cat’s face. He physically examined it, while it stood quietly on the table. There was no swelling.

“This is your cat?” he inquired.

The couple nodded.

What on earth was going on? The file described a large squamous cell carcinoma on the left side of the animal’s face and neck, invading the teeth, the jaw, the sinuses. But there was no tumor. He felt carefully. Nothing. With effort, he kept his face still, without expression. How to explain this? He looked again at the file, again scanned the x-ray.

The owners confirmed again it was indeed their pet.

Speechless, Michael excused himself and turned for the door, with the image of the little girl’s full eyes seared into his mind.

Two hours later, after several vets and techs had examined the little calico cat, they were all stunned, but no one had any answers. Kurt, the vet who had first examined her, was adamant that yesterday there was a large growth, an SCC. And he kept referring to the x-ray. “The x-ray doesn’t lie,” he repeated for about the third time, clearly feeling defensive.

“No one’s claiming you’re lying, my friend,” replied Jerry, the clinic’s founding vet. An older man with a full head of silver hair, he had the respect of everyone at the vet clinic for his knowledge and lengthy experience.

“But what the hell? How is it possible?” Kurt asked.

Jerry patted his colleague on the shoulder. “There must be an explanation…”

But no one had one.

Most of the staff headed home, but Michael just couldn’t leave. At this rate, he knew he was not going to be able to give a rational explanation to the owners of the cat. He had simply told them he’d like to keep her another night, because of the painkillers, and said he’d call them in the morning. They were fine with a reprieve from euthanasia but Michael knew he was just buying time.

Bottom line, there was no tumor anywhere on that cat.

Like Kurt had asked, how was that possible?

The only thing Michael could think of to do, because he needed to do something, was to watch the closed-circuit TV camera footage from the back room, to see what had happened since the cat was brought to them yesterday morning. What, if anything, anything at all, might explain this “miracle?” Damn it, he hated to even use that word. It didn’t mesh with the practice of science.

The veterinary practice had recently installed three cameras in the back room, two over the operation tables, and one for the line of cages housing the animals in their care. They ran 24/7 for insurance reasons, liability, and security. He didn’t think anyone had yet needed to view them, but now he logged into the app which controlled the cameras and hunted for yesterday’s date. He chose to view the camera focused on the line of cages. Fortunately, there was a fast-forward selection in the digital app, and he systematically plowed through many hours, sped up. He watched the assistants, vets, and vet techs as they moved in and out of the cage area, taking animals out and returning them, cleaning the cages, adding food to bowls. He saw an assistant lift the little calico from the cage and return her half an hour later, and glancing at the file, he confirmed this was the logged time of the X-ray. Scanning through a few more hours of normal behavior, he was beginning to think he should just bag it and go home.

Wait a minute, isn’t that…? He slowed the images to normal speed. Yes. It was Eva. Why was she there? Four in the afternoon of the previous day. He watched as she slowly moved past the cages, touching a Rottweiler through the bars, then opening the cage door of another dog, a little terrier mix, and stroking its ears. When she reached the last cage housing the Calico cat, she stood and stared, her head slightly to one side. She reached into the cage and gently scooped the cat into her arms. Sinking down onto a small metal stool at the end of the line of cages, she closed her eyes. As she held the cat close, Michael could see her lips moving, although he heard nothing. There was no sound, just this image of a young blond woman holding a small multi-colored cat. The look on her face was the same as the day he saw her holding the orange cat, Pumpkin. It was an intense, all-consuming tenderness and focus.

An idea struck him. “No.” Michael spoke the word aloud. “No,” he repeated. “That’s ridiculous.” He shook his head.

But he continued to stare at the screen.

****

I think we could all benefit from a touch of Eva in our lives!

About Diane Solomon

Diane Solomon began her career in the UK as a singer and songwriter on BBC TV. Then, after 15 years of traveling the world as an entertainer, the dreaded Chronic Fatigue Syndrome destroyed her career. She struggled for almost eight years, years of wading through half a life, finally regaining her health with the help of a homeopathic remedy. This launched Diane into new studies and a second career: homeopath and nutritionist which she practiced for twenty years, using a combination of nutrients, herbs, homeopathic remedies, and diet and lifestyle recommendations.

Now retired from practice and focused on writing, Diane lives in beautiful Hillsborough County, New Hampshire with her husband, Mark. Sometimes called a “Renaissance Woman,” she writes, edits, researches, designs and builds gardens, always seeking more knowledge, more understanding, and more creative flow.

For further information, visit Diane’s website, find her on Facebook and Instagram or follow Diane on Twitter @dianesolomon.

My enormous thanks to Helen Richardson for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Anne Worthington’s The Unheard. I’m thrilled to be able to share my review today.

The Unheard by Anne Worthington was published by Confingo Publishing on 11 July as a Paperback Original at £7.50.  It is available now from the Confingo Publishing website.

The Unheard

The Unheard is the powerful and intensely moving debut novel by acclaimed documentary photographer Anne Worthington. It is a novel about memory, and what happens to the experiences that are too much for us, but we are unable to leave behind.

We meet Tom Pullan in 1999 when he has dementia. He lives with his wife, May. The visitors who come to the house aren’t the people he remembers. He would like to see the people that remain in his memory. The visitors say they have come to help but they only seem to cause trouble.

Fifteen years earlier, in 1984, Tom is working in an office amid sweeping redundancies across the country. His office is told there are going to be cuts and Tom is convinced he will be one of those who will lose their job. And he is sure that at the root of this, the person who’s orchestrating these changes is the prime minister. He watches her every day talking about cuts, all the while wielding an axe in her hands.

In 1931, Tom’s family walked away from their house leaving everything behind. They not only lost a home, but his brother has gone, and no one says a word. Now, he must do what he can to keep his father happy, and his father is never happy. Tom goes looking for his brother every day. He waits for his brother to come home because people don’t just disappear. Sometimes, waiting is all you can do when you can’t make sense of the world.

My Review of The Unheard

Tom has dementia.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted read that you’ll forget minutes after you’ve read it, don’t read The Unheard because this is a book that grasps your heart from the first page and keeps it in a stranglehold to the final syllable in a desperately sad, beautifully written, and scarily accurate narrative that affects the reader profoundly. The Unheard is an exceptional book.

Anne Worthington’s writing is so astute, so perceptive and so wise that I was completely mesmerised. I read The Unheard in one sitting then immediately read it again because I found it both brutal and sensitive – an accurate portrait of the human condition and such a clear insight into how we are the product of our past lives, that I felt a single read simply didn’t do it justice. 

Tom, May and Maggie leap from the page with huge emotional connection for the reader because Anne Worthington places us right inside their minds, sharing their innermost thoughts, emotions and experiences with razor sharp accuracy so it is as if their lives become readers’ lives. This makes The Unheard an uncomfortable, emotional, but totally compelling narrative that I found superb.

I thought the structure of the book was absolutely perfect. Regressing in time over three eras it uncovers layers to Tom especially that create an understanding of him that feels almost too much to bear at times. With social, domestic and political strata too, The Unheard is a kind of love song to the ordinary person, the oppressed and to those who have lost sight of themselves – to the unheard.

I thought The Unheard was astonishingly good. It’s a book that deserves to be lauded from the rooftops. Literary, exquisitely crafted and imbued with a desire to give the unheard a voice, I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s quite wonderful.

About Anne Worthington

Anne Worthington is a documentary photographer and writer. She grew up in Blackpool in the Northwest of England before moving to Manchester.

Living in the inner-city area of Hulme during the time when Manchester was at the centre of the UK music scene, she became part of the mix of artists, ex-students and squatters that made the partly abandoned blocks of flats their own. It was in Hulme where the underground music and art was being made. She became part of the Dogs of Heaven collective that produced large-scale art performances.

It was during this time that she first picked up a camera and took photographs of the iconic estate before it was demolished, marking the end of an era of squat culture. Anne went on to become a documentary photographer and over the next twenty years, produced a body of work that highlighted the conditions of housing, and the effects of social and economic change that had begun during the 1980s.

Anne Worthington was awarded an MA Creative Writing with Distinction in 2018. She was a finalist for Iceland Writers Retreat, 2015, and shortlisted for Fish Flash Fiction Prize, 2018.

The Unheard won the Michael Schmidt Prize in 2018. 

For further information, find Anne on Instagram and follow her on Twitter @aworthington111.

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My enormous thanks to Natasha Gill at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

I first discovered Phaedra’s writing when I reviewed The Book Share in a post you’ll find here.

Published in paperback by HQ on 20th July 2023, The Little Italian Hotel is available for purchase through the links here.

The Little Italian Hotel

Ginny Splinter, acclaimed radio host and relationship expert, prides herself on knowing what’s best for others. So, she’s sure her husband, Adrian, will love the special trip to Italy she’s planned for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. But when Ginny presents the gift, he surprises her with his own very different plan: a divorce.

Beside herself with heartache, Ginny impulsively goes live on air to invite four heartbroken listeners to join her instead. From hiking the hills of Bologna to sharing a gondola in Venice and dancing until dawn, Ginny and her guests embark on a holiday of full of fun, hope and healing.

Sunny, tender and brimming with charm, The Little Italian Hotel explores love, the importance of friendship, and reclaiming the present moment – even if it means leaving the past behind.

My Review of The Little Italian Hotel

Radio agony aunt Ginny Splinter might need her own advice!

It’s difficult to articulate, but I didn’t somehow notice reading The Little Italian Hotel. It felt so smooth and effortless a read, filled with such warmth and friendship that it was more like the experience of being with Ginny and her eclectic band of the heart-broken than actually reading about them. In fact, I found myself shouting at Ginny towards the end of the story, hoping she’s heed my advice and quite forgetting she couldn’t actually hear me.

The plot of The Little Italian Hotel is just lovely. As Ginny travels to Italy the simple events portrayed here feel real and believable and yet the underlying messages and themes are profound and affecting. Who would have thought a bit of sewing or a game of bingo could have such an emotional impact! What Phaedra Patrick achieve so beautifully, is an understanding of how grief impacts people in different ways and how one event might mean nothing to one individual but be devastating to another. She shows so sensitively how we can’t always step into another person’s shoes and understand them fully. Ginny herself needs to learn that she isn’t even dealing with her own life effectively, let alone sorting out others’ problems.

Alongside grief and healing as themes, there’s a sensitive, mature and intelligent exploration of social media, online dating, self-help, acceptance of others and the need to understand ourselves that s not only hugely entertaining, but frequently very emotional too. Curtis holds a special place in this, but you need to read The Little Italian Hotel to find out why.

The Italian setting is glorious. There’s the chance to travel to Bologna, Florence and Venice vicariously and Nico in particular makes the reader ravenous through the wonderful rustic food he provides at the Hotel Splendido. Phaedra Patrick has a brilliant eye for detail and creates such vivid impressions on the senses that it is as if you’re seeing, touching, hearing, tasting and smelling everything that Ginny and the others experience.

I thought the range of characters from 17 year old Loretta to 80 year old Edna was brilliantly balanced. They are all gradually uncovered as they develop over the story so that it is impossible not to become passionate about what happens to them and to care deeply about each one. I even found my perceptions of Adrian changing as the narrative progressed, but it was Edna who truly captured my heart because she epitomises the concept that age is just a number.

I thought The Little Italian Hotel was a wonderful story. Forget cancelled flights and crowded airports. Just read this book and you (and your heart) will have all the rest and recuperation needed.

About Phaedra Patrick

Phaedra qualified firstly as a stained glass artist before gaining her professional Marketing qualifications. She has worked as a waitress, stained glass designer, film festival organiser and communications manager.

She is a self-taught author who enjoyed her first real writing success when she entered and won several short story competitions. She now writes full time from her home in Saddleworth.

For further information, visit Phaedra’s website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter @phaedrapatrick and Instagram.

I’m really rather fond of children’s fiction, in spite of my advancing years so when a surprise copy of Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s The Wonder Brothers, illustrated by Steven Lenton dropped into my post box I was delighted. My thanks to Anna Read at Macmillan for sending it to me.

The Wonder Brothers is published by MacMillan Children’s Books on 20th July 2023 and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Wonder Brothers

‘Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe you don’t believe in magic. I bet you will by the time you’ve heard what happened to us.’

Cousins Middy and Nathan love magic. The on-stage, cape-swirling, bunny-out-of-a-hat kind.

For Middy, it’s all about patience and practice. She uses magic skills to help her out of tricky situations.

Nathan is a show-off and a total danger magnet, he is drawn to the sensation, spectacle and audience.

So when the famous Blackpool Tower dramatically vanishes the night of the Grand Lights Switch-On, showman Nathan announces live on TV that they will magic it back home.

With a stick of rock, a spangly cape, and a bit of misdirection, they end up lost in Las Vegas, home to the grand master of illusion, Perplexion, ‘Legend of Magic’.

Full of tricks, twists and deceptions, the delightful Nathan and Middy will keep you guessing until the very end.

My Review of The Wonder Brothers

The Blackpool Tower is missing. 

The Wonder Brothers is chaotic, bonkers and absolutely brilliant. Like Queenie the rabbit, the timeline hops about all over the place making for a madcap and hugely fun read. I loved the scenes in the police station as poor Captain Jimenez interviews the children and tries to pin down exactly what’s been happening. The structure of the story echoes her bewildered attempts to perfection and is the source of so much of the humour.

There’s everything from oversized rabbits, Pop Tart eating nuns and pencils (not) shoved up nostrils in The Wonder Brothers in a kind of narrative kaleidoscope that is so entertaining. Add in the super illustrations by Steven Lenton, who has a talent for facial expression in particular that brings the characters alive still further, and this is a book that would make a brilliant gift or middle grade read. The balance of story between Nathan and Middy gives equal status to boys and girls, and with Middy’s ethnicity, this is a story promoting inclusion and difference too. I especially appreciated the way Nathan’s overactive bounciness gets him into trouble but the story uncovers real skill and kindness in his actions.

Kindness is just one of the heart-warming themes in The Wonder Brothers. Family, friendship, being brave, embracing opportunity, making the most of a talent, stereotyping (Middy’s mum being Blackpool Tower’s resident plumber, for example) are all woven into the story so that there’s positivity for all young readers to find.

I loved both the Blackpool and Las Vegas settings and with reference to real life people like magician David Copperfield, Frank Cottrell-Boyce creates a magical world very firmly rooted in reality. Indeed, the most special aspect of the story is the message that real magic is all around us in the people and places we love, but that sometimes we forget to look for it. If you read the Author’s Note at the end of the book, I think any adult would find a small lump in the throat at the final line. 

The glossary of magical terms at the end, as well as the cracking story itself, gives just enough insight into how magic tricks are created without spoiling them for children and without reducing the sense of wonder they create. I can envisage a huge craze of magic in homes and schools where this book is read.

I found The Wonder Brothers to be wise, witty and wonderful. It has a magical quality and I loved it. In fact, there’s only one way to describe The Wonder Brothers and that’s – Ta-dah! 

About Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an award-winning author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children’s novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Cosmic, Framed, The Astounding Broccoli Boy and Runaway Robot. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children’s Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth was shortlisted for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal and selected for the inaugural WHSmith Tom Fletcher Book Club.

Frank is a judge for the 500 Words competition and the BBC’s One Show As You Write It competition. Along with Danny Boyle, he devised the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. He has written for the hit TV series Dr Who and was the screenwriter for the hit film Goodbye Christopher Robin.

For further information, visit Frank’s website or follow him on Twitter @frankcottrell_b or Instagram.

About Steven Lenton

Steven Lenton is a multi-award-winning illustrator, originally from Cheshire, now working from his studios in Brighton and London with his dog, Big Eared Bob. He has illustrated many children’s books including Head Kid and The Taylor Turbochaser by David Baddiel, The Hundred And One Dalmatians adapted by Peter Bently, the Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam series by Tracey Corderoy and the Sainsbury’s Prize-winning The Nothing To See Here Hotel series written by Steven Butler. He has illustrated two World Book Day titles and regularly appears at literary festivals and live events across the UK.

Steven has his own Draw-along YouTube channel, showing how to draw a range of his characters. He has also written his own picture book Princess Daisy and the Dragon and the Nincompoop Knights and his new young fiction series Genie and Teeny.

For more info visit Steven’s website, and follow him on Twitter @StevenLenton or Instagram. Steven is also on Facebook.

Long before I began blogging I was a fan of Lesley Pearse’s books and I have reviewed several since my blog was established in 2015. You’ll find those reviews here. Consequently, I was delighted when Courtney Jefferies at ed Public Relations invited me to review for the blog tour for Lesley’s latest book Betrayal. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

Published by Penguin’s Michael Joseph on 6th July 2023, Betrayal is available for purchase through the links here.

Betrayal

Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children – Olly and Tabitha – but he is a bully.

Worse than that, he hurts her.

But, after one drunken rage too many, she has the courage to leave him. Eve is warned that it’s a difficult path, yet she needs to give her children hope for the future.

Don, however, is bitter. And getting away entirely from him proves impossible.

Until the day, Eve tries to teach him a lesson – and it all goes horribly wrong.

Eve loves her children but now she carries a terrible burden that she dares not share. Has she betrayed her and her children’s futures?

Betrayal is Lesley Pearse’s brilliant new page-turner.

My Review of Betrayal

Eve’s in trouble!

Betrayal starts in a dramatic manner that takes the reader by surprise. Indeed, there’s a sense of threat that permeates the whole story so that the book has an edginess to it that I really enjoyed. 

The plot moves along at a cracking pace and events have a disturbing ring of truth for so many women’s lives in them. Lesley Pearse doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like the domestic abuse Eve suffers and I think it is this level of understanding about women’s lives in particular that makes her such an engaging writer. It is actually quite hard to say too much about themes as that would add spoilers for the reader, but obviously betrayal in many forms is present, the most important one perhaps being the way we dupe and betray ourselves – but I’ll leave you to read the book to discover more.

I loved the visual quality to Betrayal. Whether it’s because Eve has an eye for interior design, but I found the writing painterly and vivid, creating strong images in my mind’s eye. This makes some of the most brutal and most tender scenes all the more impactful and I think some readers will be profoundly affected by the quality of the writing.

As I have come to expect from Lesley Pearse, she gets right to the heart of complex female characters and I thoroughly appreciated the range here. Aside from Eve and her daughter Tabby, others like Dawn, Sylvia and Marianne are layered and important. I thought the violence of Don and George’s loathsome behaviour was perfectly balanced by Olly’s sensitivity and Tom’s down-to-Earth nature. What I enjoyed most, however, was Eve’s development over the plot. She couldn’t have been better named as she represents a universality of experience that women have had since the first woman herself. She does not begin in adversity and simply end up in success, but Lesley Pearse puts her through all manner of trials and achievements that make Eve feel vivid and real. 

Betrayal’s themes make it a disturbing read at times, but Lesley Pearse handles them with clarity and sensitivity making it a compelling read. I very much enjoyed it.

About Lesley Pearse

Lesley Pearse was three years old when her mother died. With her father in the Royal Marines, Lesley and her older brother spent three years in orphanages before her father remarried and Lesley and her older brother were brought home again. They were joined by two other children who were later adopted by her father and stepmother, and a continuing stream of foster children. The impact of constant change and uncertainty in Lesley’s early years is reflected in the recurring themes in her books: how emotional damage inflicted on children impacts the rest of their lives. Lesley had an extra-ordinary childhood and skilfully marries the pain and unhappiness of her early experiences with a unique gift for storytelling.

Lesley left home at 15 and headed to London where she worked her way through many jobs – from corsetry sales in Cooks of St. Pauls (featured in Dead to Me), to musician’s muse (her second husband was a musician managed by Don Arden), to bunny girl to nanny; from gift shop owner to dressmaker – finally finding her true vocation when she became a published author age 49. Since then, Lesley has become an internationally bestselling author, with over 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

A true storyteller and a master of gripping storylines, there is no set formula for a Lesley Pearse novel although strong heroines and difficult circumstances are pervasive. Whether historical adventures such as Gypsy or Never Look Back or the passionately emotive Trust Me, Lesley is inspired by stories of courage and adversity and often gives voice to women lost in history. She is passionate about her research and her stories have taken her far and wide; from Alaska to the Crimea. Lesley now lives in Torquay, Devon where she loves to spend time walking on the beach with her grandchildren. A fantastic speaker and committed and passionate fundraiser for the NSPCC, Lesley is a much sought-after guest at literary lunches, library events and festivals up and down the country.

You can follow Lesley on Twitter @LesleyPearse, and find her on Facebook.

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I’ve been sent some wonderful children’s books of late and Birdie Lights Up the World by Alison McLennan and Lauren Mullinder is another that I’m delighted to review.

Published by Exisle imprint EK children’s books, Birdie Lights up the World is available for purchase in all the usual places including directly from the publisher here.

Birdie Lights Up the World

Birdie the penguin believes she is the chosen one who lights up the world every night with her song. Her zoo friends believe this too.

In this sensitively illustrated story, featuring a cast of zoo animals, Birdie the penguin has a special role to play. Until one day she gets sick and discovers that perhaps her role was not as important as she thought. She and her friends discover that the world can light itself up at night without Birdie’s song. Birdie begins to question what her purpose is. She tries to learn the jobs the other animals do, without success. She feels lost and confused ― until her zoo friends help her realize her true purpose.

The author has said that she wanted to deliver the message that we all have special, unique gifts and it’s our responsibility to share them with the world. If we have a song to sing, we should sing it, whether it fills a stadium or only brings joy to one person … it all counts.

Parents, grandparents, librarians and teachers will all want to gift or recommend this book. It’s for everyone, but especially for any child who has been told they are good at something and then feels the weight of responsibility to take lessons and compete, and to be the best. Birdie Lights Up the World will inspire them to do the things they love for the pure joy of it.

My Review of Birdie Lights Up the World

Birdie has to sing to light up the world.

What a gorgeous children’s book. It’s a lovely story as Birdie becomes unable to sing and wonders just what her purpose in life is, so  that Birdie Lights up the World teaches children about their own skills and identity. Through Birdie children understand that a setback isn’t the end of things and that friendship, purpose and belonging are always possible.

It feels wrong to say that I liked the fact it’s illness that stops Birdie’s song, but I felt that this gave an aspect for unwell children to relate to. I liked the diversity of the animals as here we see that everyone has a role and talent, even if, like the monkeys, it isn’t always apparent. This is such an important life lesson. The fact that Birdie regains her voice even after she realises it isn’t essential to the physical light, but that her friends miss it, illustrates how we can all offer something to the world.

Speaking of illustrations, those in Birdie Lights up the World are wonderful with a range of emotions displayed through the animals’ expressions. I thought the balance of text to image was perfect and the pictures are so engaging even very young non-readers will enjoy the book and will be able to make predictions about the plot and characters so that discussions can be had to promote oracy.

Indeed, several aspects of Birdie Lights up the World are so educational, aside from the emotional intelligence and uplifting story. The text is relatively simple but with occasional vocabulary that extends that of young readers. Aspects such as direct speech are super exemplars for emergent writers too.

Each aspect of Birdie Lights up the World – from text to illustration – is so well judged, but added together they become a truly super children’s book. I thought it was lovely.

About Alison McLennan

Alison McLennan was a terrible creative writer as a child but an enthusiastic volunteer in her school library. After studying journalism and then working in PR/media, Alison returned to creative writing while raising her family. When not writing children’s books, she’s busy on stage in musical theatre productions, singing with her children’s band Allioopsy, working as a voiceover artist, or curled up reading a book with her cat Honey.

For further information, visit Alison’s website. You’ll also find Alison on Instagram.

About Lauren Mullinder

Lauren Mullinder has had a passion for drawing ever since she was able to hold a pencil and loves to create illustrations that capture and delight the imagination. With a degree in Visual Communication and a background in marketing and design, Lauren spends her days drawing stories, creating characters and teaching others how to do the same. Lauren lives in Adelaide, Australia with her husband and dog Charlie and loves spending time in nature.

For further information visit Lauren’s website. You can also find Lauren on Instagram and Facebook.

It’s a pleasure to welcome back Val Penny to Linda’s Book Bag today. Val was last here when we shared an extract from her new series beginning with The First Cut here.

Today we’re looking at the latest book in Val’s D.I. Hunter Wilson crime thriller series with another extract, this time from Hunter’s Blood. Val also told me that the inspiration for Hunter’s Blood came from a tangle of family relationships that intrigued her. Also a story that was in the news. The story was of a car crash that the emergency services didn’t attend for several days. Val says that news items are often good inspiration for crimes.

Published on 3rd July 2023, Hunter’s Blood is available for purchase here.

Hunter’s Blood

Mutilation and murder outrage…It’s about to get very personal for DI Hunter Wilson.

When DI Hunter Wilson learns three elderly women have died in mysterious circumstances he is horrified to realise that he is the only person who has met each of them.

As he scrutinises the evidence he concedes that he must accept help from the Major Investigation Team to solve the triple murder.

When a breakthrough comes from unlikely source , Hunter finds himself in race against the clock.

What exactly did the witness hear?

Do the victims really deserve justice? or were they targeted for their own past crimes.

You can run from your past but you cannot hide…

An Extract from Hunter’s Blood

 Friday, 5.30pm, 04 November 2013

 “Fucking shit! Did you see that? How fast was it going? It could have taken my nose off!” DI Hunter Wilson roared as a red van raced past them in the outside lane.

“Your nose isn’t that big, darling,” Meera Sharma smiled.

“Huh, thanks. I think. Where are the traffic cops when you need them? And really, how fast was that van going?” 

“Some are in a real hurry to meet their maker.” 

“I just get so angry. They don’t even think about who else they could take with them if they crash and that was a business vehicle. I’ll bet the owner wouldn’t like their employees to be racing around like that.”

“Probably not,” Meera sighed.

Hunter was driving back from a leisurely lunch at The Steading at Hillend on the outskirts of Edinburgh, with the petite pathologist, Meera Sharma. He always enjoyed their time together. She was easy company, and they got on very well indeed. The Steading was a good place to eat after they had been for a long walk in The Pentland Hills. Maybe this time he would be lucky in love.

Meera changed the subject. “That was delicious, thank you. We should spend more time like this. There is no better exercise than walking you know.”

“Oh, I can think of at least one form of exercise I prefer,” Hunter grinned.

She turned and grinned back at him.

“You’re very cheeky, you know that, don’t you?” 

“That’s why you love me,” he glanced away from the road to smile at her.

Meera looked into Hunter’s intense grey eyes and smiled at his traditional short haircut. He would look even better if his hair were just a little longer, but he complained that he looked like the cartoon character ‘Oor Wullie’ when it grew even just a little. She sighed inwardly. Hunter was one of the good guys. Maybe this time her parents would accept her partner of choice.

“Of course, we should make more time to go walking together,” Hunter replied with a sheepish grin. “But you well know how likely that is with our schedules, doctor. In fact, I forgot to tell you, I’ve got to go back to the station this evening. There are a couple of things still I need to finish.”

****

And now we need to know more! Thanks Val.

About Val Penny

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

For more information about Val, visit her website or blog.  You’ll find Val on Goodreads, Twitter @valeriepenny, and Facebook.

It’s an absolute pleasure to share my review of Mike Gayle’s latest book A Song of Me & You today. My enormous thanks to Alainna Hadjigeorgiou for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

You’ll find my review of Mike’s The Museum of Ordinary People here and of All the Lonely People here. As part of the celebrations of Mike’s writing, I also have a paperback copy of The Museum of Ordinary People to send to a lucky UK reader. See below for details.

A Song of Me & You was published on 6th July 2023 by Hodder and Stoughton and is available for purchase through the links here.

A Song of Me & You

Helen and Ben parted as heartbroken 18-year-olds and went their very separate ways.

Twenty years later, mother-of-two-teenagersHelen is still in Manchester, a part-time primary teacher, stunned by the behaviour of her love-rat husband. In an old T shirt and scruffy jeans, she feels at the lowest point in her life.

And suddenly, impossibly, Ben is standing on her doorstep. Tired maybe, lonely even, but clearly still the world-famous, LA-based multi-millionaire rockstar he has become.

Can you ever go back?

For Helen and Ben, so much has happened in the years between. But just to sit in the kitchen for a while and talk – that would be nice.

Before the world comes crashing in.

Friendship, love, heartache and hope collide in this unforgettable emotional journey, from the author of Half A World Away.

My Review of A Song of Me & You

Helen has an unexpected visitor.

I usually love Mike Gayle’s writing, but my reaction to A Song Of Me & You exceeds that descriptor. It’s an utterly wonderful book, being both uplifting and heartbreaking. 

A Song Of Me & You is an effortless read because Mike Gayle has such a natural and engaging style that it doesn’t feel as if you’re reading at all. It’s more like being in the room as action takes place. Indeed, I put life on hold for a couple of days to devour this story.

As I was reading, I cheered aloud. I gave the characters my unheard advice and I cried, as I was so caught up in what was happening to them, completely forgetting I was reading a story and not real events. I had the plot all sorted out and knew just how this gorgeous story would end. Except, of course, I didn’t because Mike Gayle had other plans for the people here, but you’ll need to read A Song Of Me & You to find out what they are.

There’s deep seated emotion in this story that portrays a startling reality. Life isn’t a simple linear path and Helen, Ben and Adam epitomise modern relationships, family ties and difficulties, and the pressures of simply living, in a sensitive and heartfelt story that gets under the reader’s skin and affects them profoundly. Ben’s privileged rockstar lifestyle belies an unhappiness and a reality far removed from how the media portrays it so that A Song Of Me & You not only entertains the reader beautifully, it shows them what is important in life. This makes A Song Of Me & You important as well as a gorgeous read.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my taste of a lavish lifestyle so clearly depicted here. It gave me an experience I’d never normally have and with reference to real people like Elton John, for example, there’s a sensation of genuineness in the narrative.

The characters feel realistic and layered – even Adam, whom I loathed for much of the story. Helen is a triumph. She’s older than the usual 30 somethings of the genre which makes her all the more appealing and her insecurities and strengths make her hugely relatable. 

I love Mike Gayle books for their sensitive portrayal of humanity, its vulnerability and its strength in adversity, and A Song Of Me & You is simply lovely. It’s Mike Gayle at his best and a story I recommend without hesitation. Just wonderful! 

Giveaway

A Paperback copy of The Museum of Ordinary People

Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she’s ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold.

But when in the process Jess stumbles across the mysterious Alex, together they become custodians of a strange archive of letters, photographs, curios and collections known as The Museum of Ordinary People.

As they begin to delve into the history of the objects in their care, Alex and Jess not only unravel heartbreaking stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long buried secrets that lie much closer to home.

Inspired by a box of mementos found abandoned in a skip following a house clearance, The Museum of Ordinary People is a thought-provoking and poignant story of memory, grief, loss and the things we leave behind.

****

If you live in the UK, click here to enter for a chance to win a copy of The Museum of Ordinary People.

I’ll need a UK address to send the book to the winner, but I won’t retain your details after that and the giveaway closes at midnight on Sunday 16th July.

About Mike Gayle

Mike Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham. After graduating from Salford University with a degree in Sociology, he moved to London to pursue a career in journalism and worked as a features editor and agony uncle. He has written for a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, the Guardian and Cosmopolitan. Mike became a full-time novelist in 1997 following the publication of his Sunday Times top ten bestseller My Legendary Girlfriend, which was hailed by the Independent as ‘full of belly laughs and painfully acute observations’, and by The Times as ‘a funny, frank account of a hopeless romantic’. Since then he has written sixteen novels, including The Man I Think I Know, selected as a World Book Night title, and Half A World Away, selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages. In 2021, Mike was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, kids and greyhound.

For more information, find Mike on Instagram or Facebook, visit his website or follow him on Twitter @mikegayle.

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Having received a sampler of Murdle by G.T. Karber, I was delighted to find a surprise copy of the full book in my post box. Sadly I have no idea who sent it but I’d like to thank them anyway and I’m delighted to share my review today.

Published by Profile Books’ imprint Souvenir Press, Murdle is available for purchase through the links here.

Murdle

* The ‘utterly addictive’ murderous puzzle book for armchair detectives everywhere *

From G. T. Karber, the creator of the popular online daily mystery game at http://www.Murdle.com, comes this fiendishly compulsive and absolutely killer collection of 100 original murder mystery logic puzzles. Join Deductive Logico and pit your wits against a slew of dastardly villains in order to discover:

– Who committed the ghastly deed?
– What weapon was used to dispatch the victim?
– Where did the dreadful demise occur?

These humorous mini-mystery puzzles challenge you to find whodunit, how, where, and why. Examine the clues, interview the witnesses, and use the power of deduction to complete the grid and catch the culprit. Packed with illustrations, codes, and maps, this is the must-have detective casebook for the secret sleuth in everyone.

Are you the next Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot? You’ll soon find out, if you dare to Murdle!

My Review of Murdle

100 murder mystery logic puzzles.

I’ll let you into a secret – I’m useless at logic puzzles and Murdle is a brilliantly challenging. I haven’t finished many of them yet, but as I think I have around a year’s worth of entertainment here I thought I’d share my thoughts anyway! I’m delighted to find there are hints to help my feeble brain but I haven’t resorted to cheating and looking at the solutions also provided – yet!

Murdle is mind-blowing! I have a feeling it will take me some time to solve all the mysteries, making Murdle incredibly good value for money and enormously entertaining. With puzzles increasing in difficulty as Murdle progresses, I love the way the participant reader gets the opportunity to attune themselves to the style so that they are challenged more as they become more competent. There’s a cracking introduction outlining the protagonist Deductive Logico’s first case that explains exactly how to use the book.

However, it’s not just the actual puzzles that make Murdle so good. What I thoroughly appreciate is the development of Deductive Logico as a character too. Each puzzle has a short paragraph that gives a little bit of background and the different sections hold more information so that the reader feels they are getting to know a logical mind as well as enjoying the puzzles.

Even better, Murdle exists beyond the confines of its pages. Participants can join in with an online community Detective Club so that there’s even more to discover than simply between the pages of this excellent book.

Innovative, entertaining and challenging, I think Murdle is going to become a completely addictive sensation. It would make the perfect gift for even the most difficult person to buy for. Don’t miss it.

About G.T. Karber

G. T. Karber grew up in Arkansas, the son of a judge and a civil rights attorney. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas with a degree in mathematics and English literature before gaining a MFA from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. As the General Secretary of the Hollywood Mystery Society, he has staged more than thirty immersive whodunits in the Los Angeles area.

For further information, follow G.T. Karber on Twitter @gregkarber, find him on Instagram or visit his website, and be sure to visit the Murdle website.

I’ve long been a fan of Emylia Hall’s writing and cannot believe how long it is since she featured here on Linda’s Book Bag. I was thrilled when Emylia arranged for me to receive an early copy of her new book, The Shell House Detectives and delighted subsequently to be offered a slot on the blog tour for the book. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

Published by Thomas & Mercer on 1st July 2023, The Shell House Detectives is available for purchase here.

The Shell House Detectives

Welcome to the coastal paradise of Porthpella, where murder lurks among the dunes…

Late one night, a distraught young man knocks on the door of retired and recently widowed Ally Bright’s remote home on the Cornish coast. But before she can make sense of his confused words, he’s gone—not to be seen again until he’s found the next morning at the foot of the nearby cliffs.

In an instant, the peace of Ally’s beachcombing life is shattered. Feeling responsible for the young man’s fate, she wants to help find answers—as does ex-cop Jayden Weston, whom Ally meets at the scene. He shares her certainty that there’s more to the story than attempted suicide. When it emerges that the man is newly released ex-offender Lewis Pascoe, and that Helena, the wealthy new owner of his grandmother’s home, has subsequently disappeared, the tight-knit community of Porthpella is thrown into turmoil.

Driven by their need to know more, the duo decide to investigate the mystery together. Is there a connection between the Pascoe family’s tragic history and Helena’s disappearance? And if there is a killer stalking Porthpella, do Ally and Jayden have what it takes to catch them?

My Review of The Shell House Detectives

Ally’s peaceful life is about to get busy! 

Having unreservedly loved Emylia Hall’s commercial women’s fiction, I approached her departure into crime writing with The Shell House Detectives with very high expectations and not a little trepidation in case the new genre didn’t meet my hopes. It didn’t. It completely exceeded them in every respect, whilst retaining the magnificent story-telling I knew I’d find. The Shell House Detectives is an absolutely smashing read and I could not have enjoyed it more.

The Cornish setting is a triumph. The sense of community, the sea and the beach, the weather and small businesses all combine to add a touch of magic to the story which is enhanced by Jayden’s mixed race otherness, drawing in the reader to an enthralling story. I wanted to be in Porthpella. 

The plot is so brilliantly wrought because Emylia Hall weaves in her characters’ backstories with a precise balance of subtlety and clarity so that there’s a smooth depth that underpins an intelligent, entertaining and compelling narrative. I loved the fact that there’s murder and crime that feels so realistic, without recourse to shock tactics and visceral blood and gore. 

That said, whilst The Shell House Detectives might be billed as cosy crime and it does draw on some Golden Age crime characteristics, it also considers dark themes and social issues in a natural and mature manner so that this story feels like a read for grown ups. I thoroughly appreciated this aspect. I loved, too, the exploration of truth and right. Ally and Jayden don’t always employ conventionally acceptable means to support their highly morally motivated actions so that the story is thought provoking as well as diverting. Emylia Hall understands what causes people to behave as they do and weaves this understanding so sensitively into her narrative. She shows us how we all too often live for the approval of others, losing sight of who we are for ourselves. I found this such an affecting and uplifting theme.

Ally in particular is a triumph because she’s middle aged, unassuming and ostensibly a no-one following the death of her policeman husband, but her public persona belies an incisive mind, a compassionate nature and a tenacity and strength that bring her to life completely. However, what works so well here is that there is a wide enough cast for variety and reader interest, but, simultaneously, a narrow enough focus to afford development for characters like Tim Mullins with scope for the future. What Emylia Hall does so beautifully is to convey the thoughts and emotions of her characters and I admit to shedding a tear or two with them, both in joy and sadness. 

I loved The Shell House Detectives. It’s a fabulous read that sets the scene for what I hope will be many other adventures for the characters because I’m simply not prepared to let them go.

The Shell House Detectives is brilliant because it has heart and soul as well as entertainment, making it sensitive, gripping and compelling. Don’t miss it.

About Emylia Hall

Emylia Hall lives with her husband and son in Bristol, where she writes from a hut in the garden and dreams of the sea. The Shell House Detectives is her first crime novel and is inspired by her love of Cornwall’s wild landscape. Emylia has published four previous novels, including Richard and Judy Book Club pick The Book of Summers and The Thousand Lights Hotel. Her work has been translated into ten languages and broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music. She is the founder of Mothership Writers and is a writing coach at The Novelry.

You can follow Emylia on Twitter @EmyliaHall and visit her website. You’ll also find her on Facebook. and Instagram.

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