Review: Viral by Helen FitzGerald

Title: Viral
Author: Helen FitzGerald
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication Date: 4th February 2016
Pages: 272
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 2/5
Purchase: Amazon

So far, twenty-three thousand and ninety six people have seen me online. They include my mother, my father, my little sister, my grandmother, my other grandmother, my grandfather, my boss, my sixth year Biology teacher and my boyfriend James.

When Leah Oliphant-Brotheridge and her adopted sister Su go on holiday together to Magaluf to celebrate their A-levels, only Leah returns home. Her successful, swotty sister remains abroad, humiliated and afraid: there is an online video of her, drunkenly performing a sex act in a nightclub. And everyone has seen it.

Ruth Oliphant-Brotheridge, mother of the girls, successful court judge, is furious. How could this have happened? How can she bring justice to these men who took advantage of her dutiful, virginal daughter? What role has Leah played in all this? And can Ruth find Su and bring her back home when Su doesn't want to be found?

Review: Last Prophecy of Rome by Iain King

Title: Last Prophecy of Rome
Author: Iain King
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 28th January 2016
Pages: 440
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon

NEW YORK: A delivery van hurtling through Wall Street blows up, showering the sky with a chilling message: America is about to be brought down like the Roman Empire. And there’s only one man who can stop it.

ROME: Maverick military historian Myles Munro is on holiday with girlfriend and journalist Helen Bridle. He’s convinced a bomb is about to be detonated at the American Embassy.

When a US Senator is taken hostage, Myles is caught in a race against time to stop a terrorist from destroying America in the same way ancient Rome was thousands of years ago.

As Myles hurtles from New York to Iraq, Istanbul and Rome, he’s desperate to save the world’s superpower. But can he stop a terrifying threat from becoming reality before it’s too late?

Review: The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan

Title: The Little Shop of Happy Ever After
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publisher: Sphere
Publication Date: 11th February 2016
Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon

Given a back-room computer job when the beloved Birmingham library she works in turns into a downsized retail complex, Nina misses her old role terribly - dealing with people, greeting her regulars, making sure everyone gets the right books for their needs. Then a new business nobody else wants catches her eye: owning a tiny little bookshop bus up in the Scottish highlands. No computers. Shortages. Out all hours in the freezing cold; driving with a tiny stock of books... not to mention how the little community is going to take to her, particularly when she stalls the bus on a level crossing...

Review: After You Die by Eva Dolan

Title: After You Die
Author: Eva Dolan
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date:
Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4.5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Dawn Prentice was already known to the Peterborough Hate Crimes Unit.

The previous summer she had logged a number of calls detailing the harassment she and her severely disabled teenage daughter were undergoing. Now she is dead – stabbed to death whilst Holly Prentice has been left to starve upstairs. DS Ferreira, only recently back serving on the force after being severely injured in the line of duty, had met with Dawn that summer. Was she negligent in not taking Dawn’s accusations more seriously? Did the murderer even know that Holly was helpless upstairs while her mother bled to death?

Whilst Ferreira battles her demons, determined to prove she’s up to the frontline, DI Zigic is drawn into conflict with an official seemingly resolved to hide the truth about one of his main suspects. Can either officer unpick the truth about mother and daughter, and bring their killer to justice?

Hall of Fame Review: Deadly Obsession by Nigel May

Title: Deadly Obsession
Author: Nigel May
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 19th February 2016
Pages: 380
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Sex, money and obsessive love – welcome to the marriage of millionaires Amy and Riley

Amy Barrowman grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. So when she marries millionaire Riley Hart, she can’t believe her luck. Not only does she have wealth and security for life, she has found true love. Or so she thinks…

Riley Hart is a Millionaire Man about Town. Men want to be him and women want to bed him. But to achieve Riley’s status, you have to tread on a lot of toes and make a lot of enemies.

When Riley is gunned down at the nightclub they own, Amy is determined to avenge his death. She receives a mysterious letter detailing a list of suspects including Riley’s sworn enemy, actor Grant Wilson. But with an obsessive passion brewing between her and Grant and a dangerous assassin trailing her every move it would seem Amy has opened a deadly and tempting Pandora’s Box. As Amy gives into temptation, the scene is set for a stunning climax.

Lose yourself where you don’t belong in the world of DEADLY OBSESSION.

Guest Post: The Power of a Woman by Nigel May

Anybody who has read one of Nigel May's exciting and addictive bonkbusters will know that he has created some incredible female characters, female characters who feel real and leave an impression long after you've finished reading. Today I'm excited to be sharing a guest post from Nigel where he discusses his female characters. Nigel's latest (and greatest) book, Deadly Obsession is released this week and I've got one hell of a review for it coming up later this week.

What would you do if you saw your husband killed right in front of you … identified his body … had him cremated … then six months later received a letter written by him two days ago?

Amy Barrowman grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. So when she falls in love with millionaire Riley Hart and he asks her to marry him she can’t believe her luck. She has found true love and her happy ever after.

Riley Hart is a Millionaire Man about Town. Men want to be him and women want to bed him. But to achieve Riley’s status, you have to tread on a lot of toes and make a lot of enemies.

When Riley is gunned down at the nightclub they own, Amy is determined to avenge his death. She receives a mysterious letter detailing a list of suspects including Riley’s sworn enemy, actor Grant Wilson. But with an obsessive passion brewing between her and Grant and a dangerous assassin trailing her every move it would seem Amy has opened a deadly and tempting Pandora’s Box. In settling the score for her husband has Amy put herself into terrible danger?

Review: The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza

Title: The Girl in the Ice
Author: Robert Bryndza
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 12th February 2016
Pages: 396
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4.5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice… She is not the only one. 

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding? 

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong… resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she’s faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?