The Other People by C B Everett

 

Well, I guess this is my first 5* read for 2025.

10 people wake up in a big sprawly house, in rooms that seem pretty much like their own and with no idea of how they got there. The doors are locked, the windows are shuttered and they have 12 hours to find a missing girl.

All while they are being picked off, one by one.

Billed as 'And Then There Were None meets Shutter Island' I had a pretty good idea of what was going on and while I was correct to a point I was also way off the mark as well. There is a lot going on here and some truly heartbreaking moments (Cerys - you'll know when you get there).

This book had me hooked from day 1

Thanks to Jamie-Lee and Black Crow PR for allowing me early access to this book

Paths Not Yet Taken - Philip Rennet

 

From The Back Page

'A ministerial visit to a Midlands food distribution centre goes badly wrong. The prime minister vanishes without trace. As the security services and police launch a frantic search for the missing PM, the government scrambles to maintain its composure and manage the situation.

One man - warehouse worker Simon Pope - inadvertently ends up at the centre of things. Just where he's dreamt of being... and now wishes he wasn't. Pope harbours a secret life and a dark past, putting the unsuspecting, missing politician at risk of losing more than his job. The resolution of the crisis is threatened by assorted bureaucrats, trying to manage a situation that a rigidly structured system is not designed to accommodate, by identifying and looking to eliminate a useful scapegoat.

If you like drama, romance, dogs or drink, this book definitely has plenty for you. If not, there's always the ongoing chaos, the political shenanigans and the relationship intrigues to hold your interest.

Ultimately, one spur-of-the-moment decision is the catalyst for others - including the reader - to reflect on their own lives and to consider decisive actions of their own.'

My Thoughts 

I must say, this is not the kind of story that would usually get my attention (there's more than enough about politics on the news, on social media, down the pub etc) but something about 'Paths Not Yet Taken' intrigued me so I went with it - and I'm rather glad I did. The start had the feeling of an old 70s/80s style British Sit-Com but as the story developed it became much more than that. 

The author wrong footed me several times and I always rather enjoy that. Shortish chapters kept the flow going and all in all I found this a quite satisfying read

4/5 stars

The First Widow by Rob Starr

.                               BLURB

Over a hundred husbands dead.

Countless secrets.

The most horrifying case of Kiara Fox’s career…

Kiara Fox leads a relatively ordinary life as a fraud investigator, looking into life insurance claims. With a loving husband and twin daughters, her world seems close to perfect. But when a case involving a wealthy businessman named Martin Powers lands on her desk, she senses something is off.

After her bosses put undue pressure on her to pay the claim quickly, she is convinced foul play is at work and begins a clandestine investigation. She discovers that Powers was not the pillar of the community he was cracked up to be but, rather, a controlling abusive husband who died in questionable circumstances, and she suspects this may not be the first such case her company has settled.

As she delves deeper, innocent people begin to die and Kiara finds herself in dangerous territory. Torn between protecting her own family and uncovering whoever is behind the killings, she faces an impossible choice and will have to confront her greatest fears.

MY THOUGHTS

Rob Starr is an author that is new to me and so is, I believe, having a lead that is a fraud investigator so I thought I'd give it a go. 

Glad I did too, The First Widow was an absolute, edge of the seat belter. I wasn't 100% sure when I started but it quickly built up pace to become, as they say, un-put-downable. In Kiara Fox we have a tough and determined investigator who is pretty much put through the wringer by author Starr.

Action, dead bodies, fraud (obviously 🙄), The First Widow is cited on the front cover as 'THE BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER OF THE YEAR' and in this instance I'm going to agree with that statement.

My hope now is that Rob Starr is going to be able, if that is his plan, to build a series round Kiara Fox - I for one certainly want more.

 

To Kill Two Birds - M K Turner

 

Welcome to the final stop on the blog tour for M K Turner's To Kill Two Birds.

From the blurb:

Armed only with his camera, JJ Jenson is determined to catch a dangerous and desperate murderer.

Seven-year-old Daniel Boyd was murdered, and DI JJ Jenson watched his killer, Bryn Jenkins, walk away from court a free man. The police had failed Daniel, and the already devastated Boyd family.
The murder of Daniel, and the destruction of the Boyd family, has haunted JJ. But now, ten years later, someone is sending JJ photographs.
Could the photographs hold the clue to putting Jenkins behind bars where he belongs? JJ knows he has to try, and sets off to get find Jenkins with his new partner, Davie George, determined that this time he will see Jenkins locked up, and get justice for Daniel and the Boyd family.
Jenkins has powerful and dangerous friends, and now armed, Jenkins knows they’re on to him and takes flight, determined to remain free – whatever it takes. But JJ isn't the only one who wants Jenkins.
Has JJ taken on too much? Is he putting Davie’s life at risk too?

MY THOUGHTS:

I'll be honest, I was up for reading/reviewing this as soon as I heard about it. The only concern was that it was book 2 in a series but luckily it works just as well as a stand alone story (although I will hitting up Amazon for book 1 very soon).

Telling the tale across two timelines can be tricky but Turner pulls it off well. The murder of Daniel Boyd and the release of his murderer is what led JJ Jenson to leave the police ten years ago. In the present JJ is now a Private Investigator and someone is sending him photo's that may be just the thing to put Bryn Jenkins (the murderer) where he belongs - behind bars.

The thing I thought Turner did really well with this story was in conveying just how much this kind of case can eat away at people over the years. A decade has passed but the ripples from the original case are still there.

The action is well paced and made this a book I was eager to pick up every opportunity I had. The character development was spot on and JJ and his assistant Davie were ones I enjoyed spending time with and look forward to reading more of in the future.

In M K Turner I think I have found another author to stick on my Must Read list.

Thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto this tour. The other bloggers on it are in the image below, please have a look at their posts as well if you have the time.

Guilty by Definition - Susie Dent

 

What an absolute joy!

I'll admit, words have always been a favourite thing of mine so all the new, seldom used and oft unknown ones in this Oxford based mystery were an extra bonus.

The basic bones of the story - Years ago Martha's sister disappeared and now someone is sending mysterious riddle and word play based puzzles to her and her colleagues at the Clarendon English Dictionary suggesting they know what actually happened. . .

To be fair it took me a couple of chapters to get into the flow of the story (hence the 4 stars instead of 5) but once I hit the groove it just flew by. It may not be to everyone's taste as it gets quite wordy in places but as Dent is the lexicographer's lexicographer that's only to be expected really.

Very much recommended 

Miss Harris In The New World by Peter Maughan

From the back page . . .

 'The Red Lion production of Love and Miss Harris is booked to tour America, opening in Manhattan.

On arrival the group finds that it’s not the Manhattan with the Great White Way of Broadway at its glittering heart, but the part between the Bowery and the East River, on the Lower East Side, in a vaudeville venue owned by a local mobster. And when members of a rival gang decide to disrupt the play, the action shifts from the theatre’s state to its auditorium…

Determined to fulfil the rest of their tour dates, the company heads west from New York. Try as they might to shake it off, trouble seems to follow them wherever they go.'

Review

Set just after WW2 Miss Harris In The New World follows the adventures of The Red Lion Players as they take the play "Love and Miss Harris" to from the UK to New York. Alas, as is often the case, things get muddled along the way and the Broadway they were expecting was not the Broadway they got.

They are soon embroiled with local mobsters and when they head out into New England and beyond the mobsters and trouble follow in their footsteps.

For me it was the Red Lion Players that made this for me. Many years ago I did a few years backstage at our local community centre moving scenery (and one year I even got to be main spotlight operator - but that's a story for another day and yes, I still bear a grudge 😂) so the behind the scenes behaviour and carrying on felt quite familiar. 

The author, in my opinion, made a good job of bringing post war America to a believable kind of life which certainly added to the enjoyment. Apparently this is the second book in a series but as I haven't read the first one yet (this will be amended soon, never fear) I can certainly say that it works as a stand alone novel.

Now That I Have Your Attention

 

Nicolas Hamilton has been exceeding expectations since day one.

Born with a form of cerebral palsy, Nicolas was told that he would never walk and would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Today he not only walks everywhere but he is the first disabled athlete to ever compete at the top level of British motorsport, The British Touring Car Championship, where he lines up on the grid alongside some of the world's best drivers.

Now That I Have Your Attention follows Nicolas's remarkable journey and shares the valuable, tough, and often surprising lessons learned throughout his life.

Nicolas's journey has at times been hostile and has forced him to navigate periods of anger and resentment, but by building his mental strength and pushing himself beyond the physical limits of what anyone had ever expected of him, Nicolas has changed his life - and believes you can too.

With each of these 7 Lessons, Nicolas's message is simple and universal: with self-discipline and self-compassion you can defy the limitations imposed upon you.

 I'll come right out and say it, Self Help books are not usually my thing. I occasionally read biographies and autobiographies but it has to be someone who interests me. Also, I had never heard of Nicolas Hamilton before seeing this book. I'm glad I took a chance on this though as this guy is a true inspiration.

 As it says in the blurb above Nicolas Hamilton was born with a form of cerebral palsy and I think it is safe to say he has been fighting since Day 1. After being told he would most likely never walk and would need a wheelchair he basically said "yeah, right, let's see about that."

 To get to where he has is no easy task even before you take his disability into consideration and with the 7 lessons in this book he passes on his knowledge, his experience and his 'Life doesn't need to hold you back' attitude to the reader. Not all of the lessons will be for everyone but if even just one speaks to you Hamilton and his book will have done what they set out to achieve and it's certainly left me with a few things to take away from it.

 Now That I Have Your Attention is not always an easy read but it is certainly a worthwhile one and one I will be recommending to others.

 Nothing less than the full 5* for this.

Thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for inviting me onto this blogtour and to Octopus Books for providing me with a review copy (all views and opinions are my own).

Below is the blogtour poster so please, if you can, have a look at what the other bloggers have to say.