The sun has arrived at last! Just in time for me being stuck in an exam room the next 6 weeks! Luckily earlier in the week I was able to spend lots of time in the garden with the guinea pigs who have loved the fresh grass. Here are most of the girls mowing the lawn for us:
Even I got in on the action. I gave in on Thursday and got out my t shirts, and the weekend saw the abandonment of socks and my legs appeared! Only downside is the bug bites 🙁
Autumn has defied the odds. A teen mum, she stayed with her boyfriend and they have a stable happy home life. Now she has successfully applied to be a deputy head teacher. Things couldn’t be better, but then she wakes to find her partner Marc has vanished taking half their savings with him. She can’t afford to stay in their rented property so she has to move in with her mum, forfeiting her dream job…
My (Not So) Perfect Summer is a gentle but emotional romantic comedy set in Kent.
This one’s a bit of a rollercoaster! Autumn and Marc bucked the trend and stayed together after their teen romance and pregnancy. But the feelgood doesn’t last. Marc walks out on his girlfriend and daughter and I was incandescent with rage at his selfish behaviour. Poor Autumn is left to pick up the pieces and make the most of a bad situation.
Thankfully there is light relief. Autumn finds herself helping local baker Jake after an accident and falling in love in the process. Her mum and daughter are also healing their hearts with new love opportunities. Then there is the cantankerous busybody Joan and the wider village gossip machine which springs into action frequently.
I found myself completely absorbed by the lives of Autumn and her family. She has so much upheaval to deal with but doesn’t dwell on the negatives. Her pragmatism and energy see her through difficult times but she also has a fantastic family to support her. Marc doesn’t have a single redeeming feature as far as I could see while Jake is trapped in the past and I was eager for him to break free.
My (Not So) Perfect Summer is a warm and emotive romance with bucketloads of family drama and a light hearted tone.
My (Not So) Perfect Summer
Autumn’s summer is off to a smashing start… sort of.
Earlier this year, Autumn’s life looked great: she had a great relationship with her brilliant teenage daughter Chloe and from September she was all set to be Deputy Head at the London school where she works. And with a pay rise on the cards, she was excited for her and her long-term boyfriend Marc to buy their first home.
But Autumn’s barely opened the estate agent’s website when Marc vanishes with half their savings, leaving her no choice but to move into grandma’s rural home in Kent. And things go from bad to worse when Autumn is involved in an accident during the move, leaving the village’s dashing new baker Jake in plaster cast, and making her a local outcast before she’s even unpacked her bags.
Determined to put things right, Autumn offers to help Jake in the bakery over the summer holidays. But as things heat up in the kitchen, Autumn can’t help noticing that Jake is a lot more Paul Hollywood and a lot less Mr Kipling than she originally thought.
Maybe this summer isn’t such a write off after all?
Phoebe MacLeod is the author of several popular romantic comedies. She lives in Kent with her partner, grown up children and disobedient dog. Her love for her home county is apparent in her books, which have either been set in Kent or have a Kentish connection. She currently works as an IT consultant and writes in her spare time. She has always had a passion for learning new skills, including cookery courses, learning to drive an HGV and, most recently, qualifying to instruct on a Boeing 737 flight simulator.
Phoebe loves watching people and observing social interaction. In fact she nearly got into trouble once when a man in a shopping mall thought she was staring at him! As well as curling up with a book, she loves good food, good wine and good friends – especially when all three come together!
A young man wakes in a shallow grave in a wood. He manages to escape being buried alive but disappears from hospital before he can be interviewed properly by police. His friend Max is still missing and the police call the cadaver dogs in to search the woods…
Death in Bacton Wood is the third book in the Norfolk Murders series. I have previously read and reviewed the first two books in the series (Death on Cromer Beach and Death at Paradise Park) but it is not necessary to have read the earlier books and there are no spoilers.
DS Ashley Knight is ready for the next stage in her career and also moving forward with her relationship with a colleague. But her focus in entirely on her new case. The opening chapter is pretty horrific as a man wakes to find he has been buried alive. Thankfully he escapes but the police are frantic to locate his friend who may not have been so lucky.
Ashley and her team find themselves working against an Italian family with criminal gang connections. Drugs, people trafficking and gang rivalry all add to the potential motives and suspects for the police to investigate. Most of the book is written in the present day to show the developments in the case but there are some very emotive chapters set in the past that show the desperate struggle of migrants to reach the UK.
The pace of the plot is rapid and the chapters are reasonably short. This maintains the tension and I liked that the twists kept surprising me and sustained the mystery until the end. The writing style brought events and characters to life and there are some big emotional scenes that were utterly gripping.
Death in Bacton Wood is a tense and engaging police procedural.
Death in Bacton Wood
A family’s secrets lie buried. The time has come to uncover the truth…
When a mud-splattered man staggers from Bacton Wood with a terrifying tale about being buried alive, DS Ashley Knight and her team are called in to investigate. Soon, another victim is found, and more men are missing – all with connections to the well-known Vialli family.
The Major Investigation Team find themselves attempting to untangle a case that stretches from Eastern Europe through to North Norfolk. Along with rookie detective, the whip-smart Hector Fade, Ashley is in a race against time trying to help a family who seem determined to take matters into their own hands. And when Ashley suspects there is a department rat, the stakes get even higher.
As the evidence continues to point in different directions, and as new victims are uncovered thick and fast, Ashley and Hector begin to fear they have finally met their match in a killer too ruthless and clever to be caught.
I was born in 1973 in Peterborough and lived there until I was 20, attending The King’s School in the city. I then began a rather nomadic existence, living and working all over the country and various parts of the world.
I found myself returning to Peterborough many times over the years, usually when things had gone wrong. It was on one of these occasions that I met my partner about 100 metres from my back door whilst walking a dog. Two children swiftly followed. I’m still a little stunned by the pace of it now.
Fifty Years of Fear book was started a long time ago but parenthood and then after working in sales management all my life, i randomly spent four years as a prison officer. Ironically it was the four a.m. feed which gave me the opportunity to finish the book as unable to get back to sleep I completed it in the early morning hours.
It’s surprising for me to realise I’ve written ten books now. There are two strands, one where the books concern lives affected by prison, and then my detective series starring DI John Barton. The first Barton book, The Snow Killer hit the coveted number one spot on KOBO, with the second and third in the series not far behind.
Years ago, Dan Armstrong was involved in a case that saw Bianca Moretti jailed. Now she turns to him when a murder takes place on her father’s retreat. Dan is surprised but accepts the case. Will he agree with local police that the death was an accident or with Bianca who is convinced it was murder…?
Murder on the Italian Riviera is the 7th book to feature private detective Dan Armstrong and his labrador Oscar as they investigate crime in Italy.
Bianca is certain that a death on her father’s property was murder but the local police have dismissed it as a tragic accident. Dan agrees to help her as he feels some regret about his part in her being imprisoned in the past. There is plenty of humour and self conscious detail for Dan as he discovers the Moretti’s retreat is for naturists. To fit in and investigate he needs to strip off!
I really like Dan’s character. He is written very naturally and I could identify with him as he second guesses himself, makes a mess with his girlfriend, and attempts to rein in Oscar’s exuberance. Dan has to rely on his own investigative skills now that he does not have an official police role and resources to support him. The Italian setting beyond the nudist location is brought to life with descriptions of places and food.
Murder on the Italian Riviera is an enjoyable crime and private detective novel and I loved the humour that came from the reaction to the naturist retreat.
Murder on the Italian Riviera
A brand-new cozy crime series set in gorgeous Tuscany…It’s murder in paradise!
An ex-con…
Private investigator Dan Armstrong is no stranger to working with criminals, but when he’s approached for help by Bianca Moretti, he’s on high alert. Bianca is intelligent and beautiful, and Dan likes her, but he also once sent her to prison…
A suspicious death…
Bianca explains that a guest has been found dead at her father’s luxurious and private retreat on the beautiful Italian Riviera. The police are sure the death is accidental, but Bianca is convinced the man’s been murdered. Dan’s sure he can get to the bottom of things…as long as Bianca is telling him the whole truth.
A very revealing case!
But when Dan arrives at the resort, he’s in for a shock. He finds that the place is a naturist retreat, and everybody is walking around stark naked! Dan is determined to discover the truth, but this is going to mean revealing a whole lot more of himself than he expected.
Can Dan sniff out the truth about this case before Oscar’s cold wet nose causes havoc?
I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn’t possibly comment. Ask my wife…
I’ve written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories and now I’m enjoying myself hugely writing romance and whodunnits. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. Murder mystery is all very well, but it needs to put a smile on your face, so that’s why I like to inject some humour. I’m having a lot of fun writing the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mystery series set in sunny Italy. They are all standalone books but if you really want to do it properly, start with the first one in the series, Murder in Tuscany. If my books can whisk you away to gorgeous locations, put a smile on your face and maybe give your heartstrings a tug, then I know I’ve done my job.
I‘ve lived all over Europe, but now I live in a little village in sleepy Devon, tucked away in south west England. I love the place. That’s why you’ll find leafy lanes and thatched cottages in many of my books. Oh, yes, and a black Labrador.
I’ve been writing since I was 14 and that is well over half a century ago. However, underneath this bald, wrinkly exterior, there beats the heart of a youngster. My wife is convinced I will never grow up. I hope she’s right.
It’s been quite a pants week. My cough came back and then was followed by a stonking cold. I have also had loads of work on so have had to power on through feeling grot. But let’s focus on good things! Starting with me reaching 1000 days continuous play on Duolingo. My French, German and Italian understanding is good but I worry about speaking them if I do ever go abroad.
Bank holiday weekend has arrived and I’m looking forward to an extra day off to get better. But being a mum doesn’t take a break and, despite wanting to be in bed, I made a cauliflower and broccoli cheese and need to go shopping for school shoes for the kids. On a happy note though, making the cheese sauce has inspired me to get back in the kitchen again and start experimenting with vegan and gluten free versions as I’ve become a bit stuck in a rut.
