#Blogtour Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan

It's a pleasure to take part on the Blogtour Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan .Two detectives - One human, One AI. And the hunt for an undetectable killer... 

'The hotly anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller In The Blink of an Eye, one of the most talked about and original debuts of 2023'

About the Author

Jo Callaghan works fulltime as a senior strategist, where she has carried out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019 when she was just forty-nine, she started writing In the Blink of an Eye, her debut crime novel, which explores learning to live with loss and what it means to be human. In 

The Blink of an Eye was selected for BBC 2’s ‘Between the Covers’ in Spring 2023, and Jo was a featured debut at Harrogate Crime Festival and Bloody Scotland Festival. She lives with her two children in the Midlands. Leave No Trace is her second novel. Follow @JoCallaghanKat on X

About the book

One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic. It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . . 

When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case. But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started...  

The police issue a controversial warning to local men to be vigilant: do not walk home alone at night, do not leave a pub with a stranger… The Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots, so they must combine their human instinct and algorithms to catch the killer before the strike again.  

For if Kat and Lock know anything, it’s that killers rarely stop – until they are made to. 

Review

This is the second book in the Kat and Lock series, where AI Detective Lock and Detective Kat Frank deal with their first live case - a heinous murder with disturbing details. Can their combined talents help them find a vicious killer who has only just started their reign of terror. Logic, pattern recognition and facts vs hands-on experience and the human factor, a win - win combo, right?

Kudos for using this threat to men and the recommendations or safety strategies they are asked to put in place, which in turn highlights the reality of dangers women live with daily and the strategies they have to use all the time.

Not going to lie - I find this futuristic concept of police and detective work quite fascinating. Perhaps more so because the author presents the limitations, the scrutiny, the criticism and equally also the positive aspects of this kind of technological advancement. I'm hoping we also get an similar adversary with less positive intentions, but that might create an irreversible question mark above Lock and the existence of AI technology in a human driven field of work. Can fact or should fact and patterns always supersede the element of humanity and compassion?

After the great success of the first book in the series, it was great to see the second live up to the hype. I think it has so much potential going forward, ergo let's have more please.

Buy Leave No Trace at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon and Schuster Uk, pub date 28 March 2024 | Hardback | £16.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Clickbait by L. C. North

It's a pleasure to take part on the Blogtour Clickbait by L. C. North.

About the Author

L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her book club thrillers - The Ugly Truth and Clickbait - combine her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye. When she's not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family.

L.C. North is the pen name of Lauren North. Readers can follow @Lauren_C_North on X and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor.

About the book

'We're not famous anymore. We're notorious.' - For over a decade, the Lancasters were celebrity royalty, with millions tuning in every week to watch their reality show, Living with the Lancasters.

But then an old video emerges of one of their legendary parties. Suddenly, they're in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: witnesses swore they'd seen missing teenager Bradley Wilcox leaving the Lancaster family home on the night of the party, but the video tells a different story.

Now true crime investigator and YouTuber Tom Isaac is on the case. He's determined to find out what really happened to Bradley - he just needs to read between the Lancasters' lies . . .

Because when the cameras are always rolling, it won't be long until someone cracks.

Review

The Lancasters are notorious or rather they have created a version of themselves that has become so, which people want to see and buy into. When things go a little quieter a convenient scandal, mystery or controversial topic catapults them back into the limelight. True crime investigator Tom aka a Tubie detective decides he is going to bring the truth to the people, well what functions as the truth nowadays, which is at the core of this story.

With a storytelling style that has a Hallett and Wesolowski vibe to it - modern communication, social media and the new version of fame meets infamy, makes this crime thriller not only a must read, but also a read that is a sign of the times.

Tapping into the melding of black and white into a vast variety of what right or wrong may or may not be. Guilt becomes obsolete when the court of mass opinion matters more. Equally the mass opinion is merely about popularity, clicks, likes and how much money you can earn at the end of the day. 

North definitely hits the right notes and captures the nature of the beast. There is definitely a correlation between creating false narratives and drama to gain traction on social media and in the news, then to rinse and repeat ad infinitum - controversy and scandal sells. News as we know it no longer exists, facts have become secondary to the opinions of everyone, including so-called journalists.

Buy Clickbait at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bantam, pub date 11th April 2024 - Hardback | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Honour Among Spies by Merle Nygate

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Honour Among Spies by Merle Nygate.

About the Author

Merle Nygate is a screenwriter, script editor, screenwriting lecturer and novelist; she's worked on BAFTA winning TV, New York Festival audio drama and written original sitcoms; previously she worked for BBC Comedy Commissioning as well as writing and script editing across multiple genres. Most recently, Merle completed her first espionage novel which won the Little Brown/UEA Crime Fiction Award. It was described by the judge as 'outstanding'. Follow @MerleNygate on X

About the book

Eli Amiram – Mossad's star spy runner – returns in this fast-moving and international spy thriller which sees two complex plots collide with a potentially apocalyptic outcome.

At the heart of London's spy operations, Mossad head of station Eli carries the scars of a past disaster while grappling with the turbulent political landscape back home. His resolve to uphold his duty and keep his job is tested like never before.

Desperate to tip the scales in the espionage game, Eli concocts a risky plan involving tampered drones destined for Russian hands. But to execute this plan, he has to exploit those closest to him. Eli's moral compass clashes with the mission, leading him down a treacherous path of betrayal.

As the stakes escalate, Eli finds himself embroiled in a deadly web, racing to foil an apocalyptic agenda. With the clock ticking, alliances are tested, sacrifices are made, and Eli must confront the consequence of his actions head-on.

Eli and his team must navigate a shadowy underworld to prevent a terrorist plot from unleashing chaos on a global scale. Will they emerge victorious, or will the darkness consume them all?

A must-read for fans of Homeland and NCIS, it will also appeal to readers of Charles Cumming and John le Carré.

Review

I enjoyed the way the two plots or threads came together, and also that one of them has a very distinct question of loyalty and truth attached to it. Ironically not necessarily the one you might expect. The story, which is a non-stop fast-paced story about the murky world of spydom. Not the raincoat meet on a foggy bridge and exchange prisoners kind of cold war world of spies, but the new cold war - an underbelly of politics and profit that really does not have much time for honour.

Although I am sure perpetrators would shout their grievance at that perception, they are of course in their own eyes driven by a code of honour, regardless of whether the core is religion, misogyny, racism or political affiliation. Can there be a honour or code as such between the people tasked with fighting this underbelly of threats, can it exist in this new version of cold war? The keeping countries, who are on the possible brink of starting the unforgiveable from breaking fragile peace - or what is called peace nowadays.

I have to admit I was fascinated by the title, perhaps more so because my brain automatically allocated a No to the title, which then made me wonder why I had that inner instinct. In this often brutally honest story, which is carried by the tactical ruthless characters, there is a glimpse of the humane and compassionate side of them they have to pack into a wee locked box, because the truth has to stay hidden at all times.

This brings me to the ethical compass Eli, and others, have to balance when it comes to their personal relationships. Can you ever live in a relationship of any kind when everything is based on lies and more lies? If you lie about who you are and what you do 24/7, then how can anything you say or do ever be trusted?

Of course that doesn't make Eli any less of a great asset in the world of espionage, but perhaps that world will always take centre stage, whilst everything and everyone else falls to the wayside.

It's a story that never stops moving, gaining impetus as grey areas become more frequent in this riveting spy thriller - in a story where good, bad, right or wrong are merely words and no longer have any meaning.

Buy Honour Among Spies at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : ‎No Exit Press; pub date 11 April 2024. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky. From Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time and winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Lords of Uncreation is the final high-octane instalment in The Final Architecture space opera trilogy.

About the Author

Adrian Tchaikovsky lives in Leeds, with his wife and son. Adrian is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor. He has also trained in stage-fighting and keeps no exotic or dangerous pets of any kind - possibly excepting his son.

Adrian is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short-stories. the Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel and Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction. Follow @aptshadow on X

About the book

He's found a way to end their war, but will humanity survive to see it?

Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything - the Architects' greatest weakness. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But be. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy's great powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand together against this shared terror.

Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris's discovery, a= as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive and self-defeating war. The other great obstacle to striking against their alien threat is Idris himself. He knows that the Architects, despite their power, are merely tools of a higher intelligence.

Deep within unspace, where time moves differently, and reality isn't quite what it seems, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity's daring - and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.

Review

Coming into this third book in the series I felt as if the worldbuilding was so intricate that the previous books were a must, however 'the story so far' part of the book also gives a non-previous reader a decent structure to engage with the story on a level that allows them to step straight into the story.

It did feel as if at times the character development suffered a wee bit under the weight of the multitude of both human, alien and the in-between species come existential components with strong survival and often almost innate push to control and conquer. This third book also begins with an almost imperceptible nudge nudge wink to the readers 'can I bring it all together or not' and then it's up to the reader to decide whether the author does.

Make no mistake though you have to bring your braincell a-game to the table or this complex sci-fi space opera might just eat you up and spit you back out. I wonder if the author has that at the back of their mind whilst writing - layer upon layer of structured worldbuilding, let's see who makes it to the final round of the Architecture. It will either consume you or you will inevitably learn to comprehend and battle.

Buy Lords of Uncreation at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Tor; pub date 11 April 2024 - PB £9.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Grand Illusion by Syd Moore

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Grand Illusion by Syd Moore, who is back with a thrilling new series set in WW2.

About the Author

Syd Moore is currently Essex Libraries’ first Author in Residence. Twice shortlisted for a CWA Dagger, she is best known for her Essex Witch Museum Mysteries, a series that explores the witch trials in Essex between 1560 to 1680.  The series was shortlisted for the Good Reader Holmes and Watson Award in 2018 and 2019.  Syd founded the Essex Girls' Liberation Front and successfully got the term ‘Essex Girl’ removed from the Oxford dictionary in 2020. Her debut screenplay, Witch West will go into production in 2024.  She lives in Essex. Follow @SydMoore1 on X

About the book

JUNE 1940.  As Hitler prepares to invade Britain, a secret office hidden away in Whitehall is catapulted into a frenzy of activity and expansion.  Aware of the Nazis’ obsession with the occult, the British Secret Service sets out to exploit this potential weakness in the enemy’s high command.

Twenty-two-year-old Daphne Devine is performing on the London stage as assistant to magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka ‘The Grand Mystique’, when the secret service calls.

Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison.  Here they join secret ranks of astrologers, illusionists and other theatre performers co-opted to the war effort.

Soon Daphne realizes she must risk everything if there is any chance of saving her country…

In the opener to a new historical fiction series Syd Moore brings her unique perspective to a different period - the Second World War. The Grand Illusion is inspired by an event alleged to have taken place in the New Forest in the summer of 1940 - a spectacular magical ritual -  “The Cone of Power” - that would be witnessed by German agents in the area and reported back to the Führer.  Its goal: to avert invasion on British shores.

Review

Can you even imagine being recruited to help save your country, to be part of the greater and wider war efforts to deter the enemy. Oh, and your talents are being a magician and his glamourous assistant. Yeh, either the math ain't mathing or this is going in a very interesting direction. How are you supposed to save everyone? Perhaps with the bunny in a hat trick?

I have always been intrigued by the strategic decision making during WW2 by Germany or Hitler and his leadership team. Just leaving aside the horrific obsession the man had with eugenics and his planned genocide of the Jewish population and just looking at his strategy to occupy one country after the other. From a strategic point of view the choice to focus on Russia and come back to Britain at a later date is what cost him the war. He overestimated his resources and their ability to stretch, supply across such a vast area, and underestimated the country.

By taking the what can only be described as one of many unusual approaches to saving Britain from an invasion or becoming one of the many occupied countries during the Nazi regime, the combination of fact and fiction come together to create this remarkable and interesting story. I kind of love the thought that this could have a smidgen of truth at the core. I've read other books that mention a certain obsession with the occult and asking for direction, which would have made a specific person susceptible to being led in decision making.

It has the old-school charm of Foyle's War with the chaotic element of wartime Jonathan Creek with Daphne as the driving force of the story. She is the glue that keeps Jonty upright, on task and from self-destructing. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.

Buy The Grand Illusion at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Magpie, an imprint of Oneworld, pub date 18 April 2024 - Hardback £16.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Romanov Brides - A Novel of the Last Tsarina and Her Sisters by Clare McHugh.

About the Author

Clare McHugh is the author of A Most English Princess, a historical novel about the family of Queen Victoria, and The Romanov Brides. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, McHugh graduated from Harvard College with a degree in European history. She currently lives in London and in Amagansett, NY. Follow @Claremch on X

About the book

From the author of A Most English Princess comes a rich novel about young Princess Alix of Hesse—the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family changed history. They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe.

Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs.

Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Cultivated, aloof, and proud, Serge places his young wife on a pedestal for all to admire. Behind palace gates, Ella struggles to secure private happiness.

Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away. Their fateful decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences for not only themselves and their families, but for millions in Russia and around the globe.

The Romanov Brides is a moving and fascinating portrait of two bold and spirited royal sisters, and brings to vivid life imperial Russia—a dazzling, decadent world on the brink of disappearing forever.

Review

This is the story of how Princess Alix and Princess Ella shape not only a shift in political landscape of Imperial Russia, but also become tragic symbols of said change. One could argue that sometimes the last drop in the overflowing barrel is the perhaps not the most significant drop, but certainly the trigger that tips the scales.

I wonder how many of the decisions Alix made in relation to her son and his healthcare, which ultimately contributed to putting herself and her family in a dangerous position, were driven by her experiences as a child. The trauma of losing a parent and a close sibling must have left scars and perhaps the haemophilia in her young son triggered a response that was not very rational.

I admit it's hard not to think of the fates Alix, Ella and their family members meet whilst reading about the paths they wandered to get to that point. Ultimately the connection both sisters create with the people and country of their choosing, costs them their lives. The inability to read the room/country and perhaps learn from history.

Kudos to the author for including genealogy and family origins, it creates a better understanding of the bigger picture. The way the monarchies are interlinked, related and the power base was spread across many countries. It's a good read, perhaps more so because the moments the sisters are most known for - their deaths - become secondary to the lives they led before.

Buy The Romanov Brides at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎William Morrow Paperbacks pub date 28 Mar. 2024. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher, this is book 1 in the Elemental Emergence series.

About the Author

Paranormal & fantasy romance author Aurora Ascher loves misunderstood mythical monsters, redeemable anti-heroes, and epic happily-ever-afters.

A woman of many creative pursuits, Aurora is also a professional musician and visual artist. She currently resides in Montreal with her trusty espresso machine and her endlessly patient husband, whom she sometimes doesn't see for hours until she emerges from her writing cave like a bear in springtime.

About the book

Enter the circus at your own risk… and discover the greatest show on earth in this explosive and darkly magical fantasy novel.

For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder and amazement. For Harrow, it's a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. Disguising her abilities as part of her act has kept her true identity safe for years. Until he arrives.

A strange new attraction with no name, no memory of who – or even what – he is, let alone an explanation for his odd yet deadly powers. But beneath the layers of anger and isolation, one glimpse into his inky eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in her own. And so, she chooses him.

Harrow is drawn to the darkness, to her insatiable need to soothe the beast who threatens their very existence. But with every secret she unlocks from his past, another from hers is revealed – luring enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she's afraid she's given them the perfect weapon against her because he's not what he seems.

But maybe it's time they finally learn neither is she…

Review

I loved the idea of oddities and on-show being a feared, forbidden and yet similar entity to the human element. You fear the difference, love the sameness, The divide creates an insurmountable wall between the two fractions. The negativity they receive both cements the feeling of being other and widens the divide.

It's a fascinating work of fantasy with main characters often walking both sides of the light and darkness. That is especially evident in the beginning when Harrow senses impending doom, when Salizar appears to be both a strong leader and a man who caters for the thirsty public, and of course Raith who may or may not be darkness personified.

Looking forward to seeing where this one goes. The intricate world-building is built upon a bed of ruthless rivalry and war, which has split into rivets of separation and mistrust. Somewhere behind the ever shifting construction of the circus is a spark of hope, and danger.

I hope that this constant moving variable of past and present remains a part of the story. The way it impacts the characters, their interactions and their stories.

Buy Sanctuary of the Shadow at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publication: pub date28th March 2024 | Hardback | Bantam | £18.99 retailer. Buy at Amazon com.