Book review : A Change In Plans - Mike Martin

 

Settling down with a new Sgt Windflower mystery always feels like sharing a hug with a well-loved family member that you haven't seen for a while or sitting down for a natter with a long-lost friend. Despite constantly finding himself in dangerous situations and scary crime scenes, Winston Windflower's home life is a reassuring bubble of good food, family discussions, looking after the pets and cheeky childish mischief. It was a bit of a shock to see that his two daughters, Stella and Amelia Louise, are approaching the pre-teen years, with Stella starting to put in her moody demands for her first telephone ! Time has flown but this is book 17 in the series so it's hardly surprising that they are growing up.

In this book, Winston is dragged into a case involving a hit-and-run accident that, as often happens in Grand Bank and Marystown, turns out to be something deeper and darker. As a murder investigation is launched, Winston and his team of Mounties join forces with the police in Southern Ontario to take down an international drug-smuggling ring. Things don't really go to plan and an undercover Mountie, Fil Romano, is kidnapped. As always, Winston depends on his family, his friends and his departed loved ones through his dreams, to help give him the strength to fight on and help keep his beloved Newfoundland a safe place to live.

I always love the way that Windflower fully represents both sides of his life, taking out the bad guys and protecting the innocent civilians and colleagues of Newfoundland with a bullet-proof vest and a gun in his hand, but also taking his beloved dog on coastal walks, picking wild blueberries and discovering new music passed on by his friend Herb Stoodley.

As always, Sgt Windflower does it again. There is no need to lose any sleep as Grand Bank is in safe hands !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £17.95

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 18 April 2026
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 268 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990896391
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896392

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Christmas in Newfoundland 3 : Sgt. Windflower Holiday Tales - Mike Martin

 

Certain things instantly make me feel Christmassy. The smell of a warm mince pie, the glimpse of a string of fairy lights flashing in a window, the sound of a children's choir singing Christmas carols under the Christmas tree in the middle of town, ... For the last few years, there has been a new festive trigger, helping to get me into a Christmassy mood - reading a couple of chapters of the latest Christmas in Newfoundland book.

This third instalment arrives like a perfectly gift-wrapped present. Instead of a sparkly bow and well-chosen wrapping paper, the book is tucked away inside a feel-good festive cover. Complete with snowy streets, front doors festooned with holly wreaths, passers-by, wrapped in thick coats and scarves, walking dogs and children, a lighthouse and old-fashioned street light reflected in the icy water and a frosty moon and stars highlighting Santa and his sleigh flying over the town. It's a festive work-of-art !

The book itself is equally heartwarming, looking at Christmas traditions in Newfoundland past and present. While Winston Windflower gets tied up in his usual policing, his family and friends get gaily involved in festive pastimes. Many of them reminded me of my own childhood memories - festive baking, preparing pies and cookies to leave out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve (and to munch on ourselves in front of the TV), visiting friends and family to exchange presents, ... Other traditions are more local to the Newfoundland setting, such as mummering, where people dress up to hide their identities then visit from house to house, singing, dancing and telling tales, before eating Christmas fayre and waiting to see if their hosts can guess their identities.

Whether the book reminds you of things from your own Christmas memories or shows you a glimpse of festive traditions in other parts of the world, this sneaky peek into the lives of the familiar characters from Grand Bank will leave you reflecting on the most important things at this time of year : family, togetherness and little moments of fun and laughter to look back on throughout the coming year.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £19.95

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 27 Oct. 2025
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 152 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990896340
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896347
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 286 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 0.97 x 22.86 cm
• Book 3 of 3 ‏ : ‎ A Sgt. Windflower Christmas Mystery

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Friends Are Forever - Mike Martin

 

I did a bit of a double-take when I started writing this review. I went to check which number book this one is in the Sgt. Windflower series and discovered that it is number 16. How is that even possible ?! Yes, our friendly, kind, even-tempered Mountie hero has already starred in an amazing 15 other books. This surely explains why readers (or at least I) have a real sense of coming home and catching up with a family member or friend when a new Sgt. Windflower book hits the shelves.

If you have yet to read any of the books in the series, let me explain the homely setting and its heart-warming main character. Sgt. Windflower is a RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) officer who lives in the small town of Grand Bank. Imagine beautiful sea views disappearing in the swirling fog that also hides the numerous giant moose lurking on the fringes of the roads, with a distinct scent of por'cakes and curried salmon wafting along on the breeze. As well as being a police officer, Sgt. Windflower is a big-hearted family man, husband to Sheila and daddy to two daughters, Stella and Amelia Louise, as well as guardian of two pets, a dog named Lady who loves to go for walks with Windflower and a cat called Molly who is far too important to cast a look at her master if he doesn't come bearing salmon-flavoured gifts ! Sgt. Windflower also shares some elements of his Cree heritage, whether through his smudging rituals or his dreamweaving, where he catches up with his family members who have passed on.

Sgt. Windflower has a close-knit group of friends and workmates who pop up in the various novels. Colleagues Eddie and Carrie Tizzard, along with their growing brood of children, Herb Stoodley at the local diner The Mug-Up and the whisky, food and literary quotation-lover Doc Sanjay, who sadly puts in his final appearance in this novel.

Despite all the good times in Newfoundland (the novel begins with a celebration for the newly promoted members of Sgt. Windflower's team), criminal shenanigans are never far away and this book throws Windflower into a series of violent bank heists, involving international mobsters and local biker gangs. As the body count starts to rise, Windflower realises that these crimes are the test run for a bigger crime spree, probably based in Toronto. 

While he doesn't hold back, even willing to put his own life on the line, it's the warmer, more comforting moments of his life that will keep me coming back for more tales of his life - a catch-up with friends, a good meal shared with loved ones or a witty battle of Shakespearean quotes with his friends. Bring it on, Sgt. Windflower, bring it on !

star rating : 4/5

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 May 2025
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990896308
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896309

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Too Close For Comfort - Mike Martin

 

With the temperatures dropping outside, along with bone-chilling winds and constant drizzly rain leaving you feeling damp and dejected all day long, it was the perfect time to get my hands on the latest Sgt. Windflower mystery. Reading the stories of the permanently good-natured Mountie and his friends and family, it feels like the literary version of a soft blanket around the shoulders and a decadent mug of hot chocolate, topped with gooey marshmallows and cinnamon, to warm the cockles of your heart. His wife, Sheila, keeps busy looking after their home and providing Winston with delectable food, his fun-loving daughters Stella and Amelia Louise enjoy their new hobbies in their figure skating and dance classes, Dr Sanjay invites the family over for whisky tasting and an Indian feast, Eddie Tizzard is wrapped up in a bubble of domestic bliss with his wife Carrie and young children, ...

Despite the happy times and well-adjusted households, all is not well in Grand Bank though. A string of  unexplained fires have been damaging some of the local properties and the finger of suspicion points in an unexpected direction. Worse still, a dead body is discovered in one of the ruined houses. Windflower cannot resist digging into every nook and cranny and ends up making a surprising discovery : traces of gold, presumably linked to a major gold heist on the mainland. With major criminals suddenly thrown into the mix, things take a turn for the worse, especially when Windflower receives a message from beyond, warning him that his friend and colleague Eddie Tizzard may find himself in danger. If only Eddie would believe the warnings from his good-hearted friend.

As always, the novel offers the perfect balance of dangerous and exciting work business and a happy and carefree home life. Windflower knows how to maintain the perfect equilibrium, working hard to keep everyone happy at home ad beyond.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : $24.95 CAD

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery (1 Oct. 2024) 

Language ‏ : ‎ English 

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 430 pages 

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990896227 

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896224 

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 2.74 x 22.86 cm

Available on amazon

Disclosure : I received a review copy in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Better Safe Than Sorry - Mike Martin (Sgt Windflower Mysteries #14)

 

When life gets hectic and it feels like things are starting to spin out of control, I have the perfect solution for you : settle down in a comfy corner with a mug of hot chocolate and the latest adventures of Sgt Windflower. Whatever dark deeds are going on in Newfoundland, his level-headed way of thinking, combined with his deep love for his family, his enjoyment of tasty food and his links to his Cree culture, will reassure you that everything is under control with Winston in charge.

I have to admit, I was disappointed when Winston Windflower retired from the RCMP in one of the previous books and settled into a less dangerous role in his community. While he enjoyed having the opportunity to focus more of his time on his wife and children (Stella and Amelia Louise, now aged six and four) it seemed that there was something missing in his life and, when his young replacement Eddie Tizzard started to feel slightly overwhelmed and wanted to step back, who better to fill his boots and take up his former role in the RCMP? Why, Sgt Windflower of course! But only if his wife Sheila gave her approval. (Luckily for Sgt Windflower, and for us readers, he managed to convince her.)

Despite the setting in the sleepy backwater of Grand Bank, a big new crime spree has kicked off, evolving around a dangerous new drug called Green Monsters. As well as being a risk in the nearby high schools, these drugs seem to set off a serious of strange events. Winston has to deal with the wrong body showing up in a hearse, followed by another mysterious corpse. Warily, Windflower steps back into his role as the big-hearted Mountie, taking care of his Newfoundland community. I can't wait to see what he gets up to in the next book.

This is book 14 in the series and you can read my reviews of the rest of the series, as well as check out my recipes for some of Sgt Windflower's favourite foods, here on my blog. The book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel, but half of the fun is following Winston's progress through life.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : $24.95CAD

Available on amazon UK for £19.95

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery (7 May 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 258 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990896200
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896200
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 1.65 x 22.86 cm

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book, in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : It Began With A Ghost Story - Jean Harrod

 

When I was recently approached to review Jean Harrod's latest novel, I was intrigued. I've already read and reviewed the books in her Diplomatic Crime Series, Deadly Diplomacy, Deadly Deceit and Missing In Shanghai (click through to read those reviews) but her latest novel moves into the ghostly thriller genre.

The inspiration for the novel is a legend from the North York Moors. It tells the tale of Kitty Garthwaite, a young servant girl who, having discovered she was pregnant, was abandoned by her lover, Willie Dixon, and ended up dead in the nearby river at Hutton-le-Hole. The next day he was discovered dead in the same stretch of water and over the next twenty years, sixteen more men lost their lives in the same stretch of river. Kitty's ghost was blamed for the deaths, assuming she was taking revenge on the local men for their indiscretions.

In It Began With A Ghost Story, we follow the tale of Grace Winter, a young doctor whose mother has recently died. After her death, Grace inherited a house on the North York Moors that she knew nothing about, so she decides to go and visit to try to unearth this secret part of her mother's life. She takes her two best friends, Samantha and Evie, along with her. Both of the girls seem to have their own problems. Samantha seems to be hitting the drink a bit heavily and Evie is very fragile, having been left by her husband after several years of trying unsuccessfully to start a family.

Grace loves the house and explores its contents, trying to uncover her mother's secrets, but the girls are concerned when they encounter spooky visions. When a young man is found dead in the river, the girls become the focus of the police investigation, especially when Evie is discovered in the area. Do they really have anything to do with the murder or is there a ghostly killer in the area?

It's an enjoyable read with just the right degree of spookiness. You can read it as a sceptic, assuming that all the other-worldliness can be explained away or you can accept, with a tingle down your spine, that Kitty really did continue to haunt the area. Either way, the ending will probably come as a complete shock. I was pleased to see that this book is the first in a new Grace Winter series. I look forward to finding out more about this character in the upcoming novels as I'm sure she has a lot more to give.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £8.99

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ York Authors Coffee Shop Ltd; First Edition (15 Aug. 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 329 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1739671201
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1739671204
• 
  

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : All That Glitters - Mike Martin

All That Glitters is the thirteenth book in the series by Mike Martin featuring Winston Windflower and his life in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. (Click here to see my reviews of the other books in the series.) Up until now, as well as being a married father of two, Winston has been an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but this book sees a new beginning for him as he starts a new job as a Community Safety Officer in his small town. As the book begins, he is about to start his first day in his new position and he is not at all sure how his role will develop. It turns out that nothing much changes at all though as he is swept into a new police case involving many of his friends and former colleagues.

Things begin at the guest house run by Winston and his wife, Sheila. A dead body is uncovered in one of the rooms and the victim is soon discovered to be involved with a diamond smuggling operation, having ingested a quantity of jewels. The lovely Dr Sanjay, fan of fine whiskey and chess games with Winston, is brought in to examine the body and ends up getting kidnapped by another group of diamond smugglers, keen to recover the gems. They want no police involvement in the exchange of jewels for Dr Sanjay so, obviously, Winston is the perfect choice.

Due to various departures and transfers at the RCMP, the newly promoted Corporal Eddie Tizzard is brought in on the case and works alongside Winston. It is lovely to catch up with him and his wife, Carrie, along with their growing son. Winston's own children, the cheeky Stella and Amelia Louise, are growing up too. Now aged six and three and a half, they love playing together and baking cookies with their mother Sheila, but they are also great at squabbling and fighting with each other. The numerous references to Winston's mealtimes and the moments that he spends with his family add another focus to the stories and frequently reminded me of the time when my own children were small.

While Winston's life is deviating from his career as a Mountie, his new professional horizons look equally exciting and unpredictable. Grand Bank is a lovely, charming small town with a close-knit community feel, but that doesn't stop it having its fair share of dangerous criminals and dodgy goings-on for Winston to help stamp out. I look forward to seeing where his new life takes him next.

star rating : 4.5/5

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery (19 May 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 199089609X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896095
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 1.65 x 22.86 cm

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Evergreens - Liam Brown

If asked to look back at the best moments in my life, I would probably list off a whole host of memories of unforgettable nights out in my student days, exotic travels, falling in love, having my children and seeing them grow up. All of these things happened in my twenties and early thirties but would I have liked time to stop for me back then? Such is the hefty question put to the characters in Liam Brown's Evergreens.

After attending a free lecture about a clinical trial called Evergreens, twenty-something Ben decides to sign on the dotted line, happy to have the opportunity to never grow old. On-off girlfriend Sophie is not part of the project though so while Ben stays young forever, she ages as she moves through her life, taking steps to fill her time with happiness and personal progress. While Ben would seemingly have more potential to live the ultimate life, he doesn't manage to find his own definition of happiness, shifting from one unfulfilling job to the next and consuming vast quantities of beer.

I found it hard to really warm to Ben, who has this great gift and fails to take advantage of it. While Sophie starts off the same as him, living through a pandemic and becoming dissatisfied with her life means that she takes control of her situation and makes changes to provide herself with a happy life. I felt much more inspired by Sophie and her less-is-more outlook rather than Ben who had it all and totally wasted it.

While the book features on the past experiences of Ben and Sophie, some parts, written in italics, show us where they are now, in the year 2070. Ben is in a coma in a hospital bed with his ageing life partner Sophie looking over him. This peek into the future is not very reassuring, with mentions of climate change and environmental problems but also AI nurses replacing real human health care. I don't think I'd sign up to the Evergreens project in these conditions !

star rating : 4/5

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Legend Press (15 Jun. 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 302 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 191564383X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915643834

Disclosure : I received a free copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : In The Shadows - Jane Isaac

 

The recently released In The Shadows is the fifth book in the series by Jane Isaac, featuring the determined female police officer, DCI Helen Lavery. I have yet to read the others but nevertheless really enjoyed this book and I felt as if I really understood the lead character and her motivation.

As a popular school reunion disco at a busy pub winds to an end, all hell breaks loose as some of the guests head outside. With gunfire puncturing the stillness of the night, five victims are left lying on the ground and the assassin has fled into the shadows. Who is behind these murders and why has the peaceful town of Hampton been targetted ? Could this be linked to the past investigations of DCI Lavery and her detective father and the criminals they put behind bars?

Helped by the counter-terrorism unit, Lavery leads the investigation into this bloody crime. But that is not all she has on the cards. The trial of Chilli Franks is being arranged and this organised crime boss has Lavery and her family in his sights as revenge for being put in prison back in the 1990's. Helen's teenaged son Robert is best friends with Zac, who just happens to be the nephew of Chilli Franks. DCI Lavery has her hands full, trying to solve the case, track down the criminal but also look after her family. 

With short chapters packed full of action, the tension builds as the narrative progresses. The constant references to the issues going on in DCI Lavery's personal life help to see her as more than just a police inspector and help us to understand the stresses that she is going through.

It's a gripping read and has definitely made me want to go back and catch up with the previous titles. The only bad point in my view is that I frequently read way past my bedtime and felt tired the next day, but it was definitely worth it !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £8.99

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Legend Press (25 May 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915643899
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915643896
• 
  

 

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : The Brink - Jamie Fewery

The Brink is being promoted as an addictive love story told in reverse. It kicks of with the main characters, Dan and Anya Moorcroft, heading into a legal discussion to sort out their divorce. Surrounded by lawyers and paperwork, they start out on a painful journey through couples' mediation, looking at the high and low points of their marriage in order to find an itinerary towards the future.

The couple have two young children and many of the mediator's questions lead to both of them opening up about specific key moments throughout their marriage, leading to poignant and emotion-filled personal stories. There are the light-hearted and happy looks back at their first dates, worrying times that problems came up with the kids and circumstances that threw their happily-made life plans off track. For example, just as the young couple were excitedly planning a new life in the exciting city of New York, Dan's friend/boss/landlord unexpectedly died in an accident and left his house and music shop to Dan, making the trip Stateside an impossibility as they struggled to get everything under control. The trip to America was what had prompted Dan to propose to Anya, to make it possible for him to accompany her without a job set up, but even as their life was thrown off course, they seemed able to create a new happy life journey together.

Obviously, if divorce is on the cards, it wasn't all happy times though and both of the spouses strayed from the nest, embarking on affairs that stoked up a whole host of negative emotions that it was hard to work through. The couple want to stay friends though and are trying to work things out fairly, until Anya suddenly announces out of the blue that she plans on taking the kids back to Ireland, so that she can be closer to her dying dad, and things suddenly get more complicated.

Working through the old stories of times past leads to some emotional rekindling of long lost feelings, but is that really enough to give their marriage one last chance or is it too little too late? Working through to the end of the mediation is the only way that they will find out.

Prepare for an emotional trip as you watch this couple retell the story of their life together, looking at the bad times and the good. It's impossible to tell how things will turn out until the very end and even then, we have no idea if they have made the right decision or not.

star rating : 4.5/5

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Legend Press (4 May 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915643872
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915643872

RRP : £8.99

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Cuckoo In The Nest - Fran Hill

 

Just one look at the colours swirling around on the front cover of the book was enough to take me back to my 1970's childhood. I'm actually about a decade younger than the central character, a 14-year-old girl going through her troubled teens, but even so, I could recognise the meals, the music and the family pastimes from my own childhood. The seventies was a long time ago but it is a great book for bringing up old memories of what now seems like such a simple lifetime.

Things are not quite so simple for Jackie Chadwick though, the lead character. Since her mother died of cancer several years before, her father has gone off the rails. He's lost his job as a fireman and fallen into a hopeless life as an alcoholic, leaving Jackie to keep the family going by providing food however she can and avoiding her father's belligerent attacks. A broken wrist leads her to reveal details of her unsatisfactory home life which makes Social Services step in and whisk her away to a foster family, the Walls.

Uncle Nick, a supply teacher, and Bridget (who Jackie can't manage to call Auntie Bridget), along with their daughter Amanda, also fourteen like Jackie, make up her new family, along with the dog, a dalmatian called Spotless. While things seem pretty perfect for a while, cracks start appearing in the surface of the family unit, but Jackie, supported by her social workers, seems ready to accept that life and families (or foster families) don't need to be 100% perfect for everything to turn out ok.

Despite some of the darker moments in the story, it's ultimately a positive, uplifting book, showing how life can get better and people can find their happy ending however much of a bad start in life they were dealt. The book is based on author Fran Hill's own experiences of being fostered in the 1970's, which is probably why it seems so historically and personally precise and believable. For me, it was an enjoyable step back in time.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £8.99

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Legend Press (26 April 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915643910
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915643919

Disclosure: I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six - Lisa Unger

The title of Lisa Unger's latest novel - Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six - sounds vaguely like an Airbnb advert. It's bland, benign, unworrying, appealing to anyone with a busy life who wants a much-needed chance to get away from it all for a while. It settles you into a (false) sense of security, imagining a nice break in the woods, surrounded by birdsong, clean air and the soothing scent of pine.

This was undoubtedly the thinking behind a weekend getaway, booked in a luxury cabin in the woods for a group of friends. High flier Mako has paid for it all and, alongside his wife Liza, they have invited his sister Hannah and her husband Bruce, alongside Hannah's best friend (and Mako's ex/bit on the side, just to add some extra tension), Cricket and her new boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong ?!

Well, quite a lot really, but not in the ways I was expecting ! Bruce and Hannah have a baby daughter and this is the first time that they are leaving her behind for some us-time. Hannah is unsurprisingly ill-at-ease about how her daughter will get on without her. Liza seems on-edge too, so nobody is sure if her sudden migraine is real or just a handy excuse to spend some time alone in her room. Then there's Cricket's boyfriend. Hannah is sure she knows him from somewhere, but where ?

With a severe storm rolling in and the mobile phone signal at best very glitchy, even the hot tub and the private chef aren't enough to have everyone feeling relaxed. What's with the spine-tingling stories of the cabin's past? And the slightly intrusive rental host who has the women feeling unsettled ? Then they have the off feeling that someone is watching them from the woods ...

It's a book that has you nervously nibbling your nails as you proceed, trying to work out who the bad guys are and who are just the hapless victims who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. All of the characters are described in the early chapters as having a character flaw or a personality that leads you to think that they could be a secret serial killer or stalker. The over-anxious mum, the insecure wife, the secretive husband, ... Ultimately, I thought I had it all sorted out in my mind but I was completely wrong !

This is Lisa Unger's twentieth novel so I think I may have to go looking for some more. I did review one other, In The Blood, on my blog and I was surprised to see that that was almost ten years ago - wow ! 

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £8.99

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Legend Press (28 Feb. 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915643988
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915643988

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.

Book review : Let It Rain - Marcela Mariz

Looking at the front cover of Let It Rain by Marcela Mariz, my first thought was that it would appeal to a young adult audience - maybe late teens and twenty-something women. However, it turned out that as a woman in my fifties, I loved it and felt like it was focusing in on my own memories of growing up in the eighties and nineties. I loved all the little flashbacks to my formative years and the references to various song lyrics frequently had me humming eighties classics all day long !

The story focuses on Mandy Olsen, a 26-year-old woman who lives and breathes the eighties. Her choices of music, her lifestyle reminiscent of a Brat Pack movie and her favourite clothing (yes, she still wears legwarmers and probably also has batwing jumpers and mismatched fluorescent socks !) all hark back to the time of her life when she was the happiest. Sadly, those times didn't last.

Now an adult, she is back at her old high school, this time working in the office. The atmosphere seems very reminiscent of teenage years though, with the "cool clique" and their mean comments and low-level bullying taking on the outsiders, including Mandy. Her deep dark secret is about to be revealed and ridiculed : she still lives as if she is in the 1980's, back in the time when her life was carefree and fun and her favourite people, her mum and her best friend Joshua, were still around to support her.

Author Marcela Mariz explains that "the inspiration for Mandy came from a family friend. She was the most high-spirited and cheerful person I knew. She had this idiosyncratic way of dressing and talking, even her house was decorated as if she was still living in the 1960s. I was always fascinated by her. But when I got older, I discovered she had some heartbreaking losses in the 60s. So she preferred to pretend she was still living in the best years of her life. Behind her joyful smile, she hid a profound sadness."

As in all the best movies from the eighties and nineties, the underdog ends up coming out on top and it is heartwarming to see Mandy face her demons and turn her life around. When her life seems to be at its lowest point, she finds some much-needed support from some new friends and a few shocking discoveries reveal that life back in the eighties maybe wasn't the best time for everyone. 

It's an enjoyable read, especially if you can relate to your own memories of growing up in the eighties, but younger readers will still find Mandy's tale relevant and life-affirming.

star rating : 4/5

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B7QC5H6J
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (1 Aug. 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 303 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8839798373

 

 

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.

Book review : Christmas in Newfoundland 2 : Memories and Mysteries - Mike Martin

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

There's something about that song in particular that really brings out the essence of Christmas in my mind. It's not one specific memory. It's more like a layering of festive feelings and mental snapshots of Christmases past. I can remember singing it at primary school assemblies in the run up to the Christmas holidays. I can hear the delicate, seemingly fragile notes echoing around the old town church as the school choir sang during a carol service. I can remember it playing on a CD (or probably a cassette back then !) in the background as we giggled and squealed and ripped open our childhood presents that we'd been desperately trying to define by touching the packages under the tree for the past few weeks. I can picture it on the CD player in the kitchen as I rustled up another batch of mince pies, peppermint cremes and cinnamon cookies. Mike Martin's book is very similar in that it layers up stories and specific memories that give a real sense of Christmas through the years in the small town of Grand Bank.

Fans of the Windflower series will enjoy catching up with the main characters from the books. We watch Winston, Sheila and their two daughters in the run up to the big day, dealing with the girls' bad behaviour (as a parent, I couldn't help but smile, both at the overexcited little girls and their parents' clever way of dealing with it). Eddie Tizzard has to deal with the bad weather and try to make it home in time for Christmas with his wife and their new son. Herb Stoodley, all-round good guy and provider of multiple muffins and cheesecake at The Mug Up, has a bigger delivery on his hands in the middle of a snowstorm and comes out as a touching, sensitive hero.

But there is more to it than that. You will also get a general overview of Christmas past, with delicate hints of Newfoundland lore thrown into the mixture. The youngsters of Grand Bank back in the 1950's and 60's, dreaming of getting their hands on a new pair of ice skates so that they could go back down to the lake and play hockey with their friends ... the Mummers going round from house to house sharing a drink and a song and waiting to see if they would be recognised ... Tibb's Eve, marking the (for some very welcome !) start to Christmas drinking.

This is a heartwarming, nostalgic collection of festive-themed stories, perfect for getting into the Christmassy mood in the run up to the big day. Old-timers (like me and the generation before me) will enjoy a peek back into the family-focused festive memories of their own childhoods, but younger readers will do well to look back on times past, relive the uplifting feelings of spending time with your friends and neighbours and maybe put the technology away for a while to create some satisfying memories of their own for years to come.

RRP : $19.95 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing (26 Sept. 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990896030
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896033
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 1.02 x 21.59 cm

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest review.

Book review : The Maids of Biddenden - G D Harper

When I was offered the chance to review a new book, The Maids of Biddenden, I was instantly intrigued. Biddenden is a village in Kent not that far from my home town of Hastings and, although I've never had any reason to go there, I've seen road signs pointing to it. The book, inspired by a real-life story, is set in the year 1100, not that far from the 1066 battle that my hometown is famous for. While the epic tale of King Harold receiving an arrow in his eye and William the Conqueror taking over as king are well known, I'd never sat down and thought about the living conditions of real, normal people residing and working  in the south east of England at that time. This glimpse into their daily lives and the mentalities of the time was fascinating.

I was intrigued to catch up with the latest book from author GD Harper too. In the past, I have read and reviewed two of his books, Love's Long Road and A Friend In Deed, but this newest book moves away from the world of politics and crime fiction into historical fiction. It is inspired by the real-life story of conjoined twins Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst, who were born into a wealthy family in 1100.

While modern medicine and biological knowledge now mean that many conjoined twins can be separated and live pretty normal lives, this was certainly not the case for the Chulkhursts. Not only were they destined to spend their lives side by side, they also had to fear for their lives, with many of their contemporaries, including some members of the clergy, seeing them as abominations surely created by the devil and therefore undeserving of life. The sisters spent their early years kept out of sight and raised by the nuns at Malling Abbey.

The abbey, however, is running out of money and the new prioress, Mother Avicia, contacts the girls' father to ask for more money. Despite their step-mother's reticence and hostility, it is decided that the girls will venture into the outside world and live alongside their father. It is fascinating to see the girls' boisterous, fun-loving nature. They frequently argue with each other and fall to the ground if one decides to run off or jump about excitedly without warning the other. Having witnessed many of the nuns in their individual bodies, they have decided that everyone is born with a conjoined twin and eventually grows to an age when they will be separated. As they move out of the convent and into their new life in Biddenden, they realise though that they were wrong and that nobody else looks like them. They are horrified, but maybe not as much as the locals, who are shocked when they catch sight of them. Their father goes through official channels, requesting permission from the church and the village elders for his daughters to live in the community, and this is ultimately allowed, with the girls put on display at various local events, with throngs of people gawping at them in complete shock. 

The girls play the game, appearing at public events and learning to co-exist, both with each other and also the rest of the villagers. While Mary enjoys showing off her musical talents to the crowds, writing and singing songs and playing the lyre, her sister Eliza is fascinated by plants and their medical virtues, creating a healing garden inspired by the one at the nunnery they spent their early years at. They may be in the same body but their personalities are very different, especially to begin with, with Mary dominating her painfully shy sister.

I had never heard of the Biddenden Maids and it is unknown if they genuinely existed or were created as folk figures, but either way, their story is enchanting. The author has woven a captivating web of characters around the sisters, who open your eyes to the way people lived back then. The hostility and lack of compassion shown by the villagers, and even from within the church, is hard to accept but ultimately completely believable. I would like to think that society has evolved for the better, but even today, many people still see "different" as inferior, whether in relation to migrants, the homeless or those with physical or mental disabilities.

The girls ultimately find their happy ending, coming out as winners, whatever life can throw at them. It's definitely a great lesson for us all !

star rating : 4.5/5

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ginger Cat (2 May 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0993547877
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0993547874
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.85 x 2.74 x 19.84 cm
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 Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.