Avonna

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Wishbone by Stuart Giles

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for WISHBONE (A DS Jason Smith Thriller Book #15) by Stuart Giles.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

‘BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.’

These seemingly innocent song lyrics are about to send Detective Jason Smith over the edge.

Still traumatised after a harrowing trip back home, Smith is sent headlong into the stuff of nightmares when he returns to work. When a woman is found dead with her spinal cord severed Smith and his team are thrown into the most disturbing investigation ever.

Then another body is found and when Smith realizes what this woman was subjected to he knows he’s on the trail of the most sadistic killer he’s ever come across.

All clues point to a death metal band.

Wishbone are in town for a few shows and when Smith realizes all the murders bear striking similarities to their song lyrics he starts to wonder if there is something more to this band than meets the eye.

This is the most horrifying case of Smith’s career and one the people of York will never forget.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57756546-wishbone?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=AJlpkvhXzE&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

WISHBONE (A DS Jason Smith Thriller Book #15) by Stuart Giles is the latest thriller/British police procedural with DS Jason Smith and his family back in York from their trip to Australia and trying to return to normal. Five-year-old Laura is still traumatized, DC Erica Whitton is not yet ready to return to work, but Jason cannot stand another minute of leave. All the books in this series can be read as standalones, but I know you will want to read many more.

DS Jason Smith is on the hunt for a sadist killer. He comes back to work with his team and is called to the scene of a woman found in her bedroom with her spine severed in two places. Then a second mutilated body is found. As Jason is at the new murder scene, he is called back to the station to hear a story from two members of a death metal band called Wishbone. At first, it does not seem connected to his present case.

Then a USB is anonymously left for Smith at the police station which seems to connect the sadistic murders to the disturbing lyrics of Wishbone’s songs. Smith and his team work to uncover the clues to lead them to a sadist killer who could be a fan, roadie or even a member of the band.

I read through this DS Jason Smith thriller at warp speed! I was glad that Mr. Giles exposed Laura’s continuing problems which are from her time in “Australia” and did not just gloss over the realistic expected trauma. Smith is his usual workaholic self, and this case throws some very gruesome crime scenes his way. The violence in this book is graphic and not for the faint of heart, but it does not feel exploitive due to the subject matter. This story, like all the other DS Jason Smith thrillers, is fast paced, well plotted and gives a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.

I highly recommend this new thriller in the series and the entire DS Jason Smith series!

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Author Bio

After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.

In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.

3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.

The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.

I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.

After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.

The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.

The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow with book 16 coming soon. In addition I have an new series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey. The first 4 books in the Detective Liam O’Reilly series are now available.

Social Media Links

Website: www.stewartgiles.com

Twitter: @stewartgiles

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stewart.giles.33

A New Feature on Avonna Loves Genres

Hi, everyone!

Today I am excited to “Welcome” and share the news that my friend Elise Cooper will be sharing some of her wonderful author interviews on Avonna Loves Genres!

I know you will find them as entertaining and informative as my Feature Blog Posts and Book Reviews. I hope with Elise’s help to add this as a once weekly Author Interview blog post.

Below you will find Elise’s Biography.

Elise’s Bio

Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

WELCOME ELISE!

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: A Cut for a Cut by Carol Wyer

A Cut for a Cut (Detective Kate Young #2) by Carol Wyer

#ACutForACut #DetectiveKateYoung @carolewyer @AmazonPub @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

I am excited to be included on this Damppebbles Blog Tour and sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for A CUT FOR A CUT (Detective Kate Young Book #2) by Carol Wyer.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate’s past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56879257-a-cut-for-a-cut?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=aTfUyp3Bzl&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A CUT FOR A CUT (Detective Kate Young Book #2) by Carol Wyer is the second mystery/British police procedural that I have been waiting for. I loved the first book “An Eye for an Eye” with the introduction to DI Kate Young. The crime investigation in this book can be read as a standalone, but these books are better read in order due to the continuing personal investigation by Kate into her investigative journalist husband, Chris’ murder.

DI Kate Young and her team are called to a crime scene where a woman was brutally raped, marked and then thrown away like trash. Even after more violent rapes occur with the same M.O., Kate and her team have very few clues or viable suspects. When Kate’s stepsister finally shares a long-buried secret, she realizes her stepsister is the missing link in her case. Now she has to find the proof and catching the killer has become imperative.

At the same time, during the investigation for the serial rapist and killer, Kate is also privately learning more about the murder of her husband. Still battling her own personal demons since his death, she is convinced her superior and several others on the police force are behind his murder and are involved in an illegal conspiracy revolving around underage sex trafficking.

I find Kate to be a very compelling character. Ms. Wyer has brought Kate to life with her extreme grief that continues, but it also begins to turn to guilt as she moves on with her every day living as she begins to realize she does not think of him every minute of every day and she is afraid of losing his memory. I liked the addition of Kate’s stepsister and nephew to give Kate a reason to start to live a balanced, normal life and help with her grief. Kate’s team is also becoming more fully fleshed and complex characters as the series continues.

I very early on guessed the connection between the serial rapist and killer with the person he considered his first true love, but it did not take away from my racing to the exciting climax. The intertwining plot arc of Kate’s personal investigation into Chris’ murder will once again be carried over into the next book and once again I am anxiously waiting for its publication.

I highly recommend this main character, the series and this author!

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About Carol Wyer

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in LITTLE GIRL LOST and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 750,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media Links

Website www.carolwyer.co.uk

Blog www.carolwyer.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolEWyer/

Twitter https://twitter.com/carolewyer

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/carolwyer

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/carolewyer

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-wyer-407b1032

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14925467.Carol_Wyer

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5O-lvkAYO19S0AMW8VqJQ

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3pCnXyX

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2TXmOGn

Publishing Information:

Published by Thomas & Mercer in paperback, audio and digital formats on 29^th June 2021

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart

Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SILENT LISTENER by Lyn Yeowart.

Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

AN UNFORGETTABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER SET IN THE DARK, GOTHIC HEART OF RURAL AUSTRALIA

The moment he dies, the room explodes with life.

Joy Henderson returns to the family farm to nurse her dying father. To the outside world, George is a pillar of the community, but to Joy and her siblings, he’s a monster. As children, they lived in constant fear of the punishments he dished out to his “dirty, filthy sinners who are going to rot in Hell”. Then, the day after George finally confesses to a horrific crime, Joy finds him dead — with a belt pulled tight around his neck . . .

Senior Constable Alex Shepherd, summoned to the scene by George’s doctor, is suspicious: did Joy murder her father? If so, why?

The more Shepherd digs the more questions he raises. Will the truth finally be revealed?

Effortlessly propelling the reader back and forth between three timelines, Lyn Yeowart’s unforgettable debut richly rewards the reader with its explosive, pitiless conclusion.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55439152-the-silent-listener?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=xXSeiROICC&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE SILENT LISTENER by Lyn Yeowart is an intense, dark atmospheric family drama suspense. This debut author follows a family over several decades by intertwining three timelines. This is a slow burn suspense and it does take a while to sort out, but it is so well written it is difficult to put down even with the difficult subject matter and well worth your time.

Set in rural Australia, one timeline is set in the 1940’s when George Henderson meets his future wife Gwen and after a whirlwind romance marries her. George is not the man he pretends to be and Gwen does not realize the direction her marriage will take. They have three children, Mark, Ruth and Joy. The second timeline is told in Joy’s perspective. Joy in the 1960’s when she is age 11 and her neighbor’s 9-year-old daughter, Wendy disappears. Joy returns home in 1983 to take care of her dying father and Senior Constable Shepard investigation is the focus.

When George Henderson dies, it is under suspicious circumstances and Senior Constable Shepard is called to the home. He was part of the search for the missing Wendy all those years ago and now as he investigates George’s death and learns more about the Henderson family, nothing is as it seems.

This is a story that is difficult to read and yet difficult to put down. Even with the slow set-up, there are so many things that you question and that you are intrigued by. The plotting has subtle red herrings in the first part of the book and then as secrets begin to unravel and be revealed the pacing picks up to a conclusion that was very surprising and satisfying. Trigger warnings for readers: Domestic violence and child abuse.

I can recommend this dark family domestic suspense for an intense read by this debut author.

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Author Bio

Lyn Yeowart is a professional writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience in writing and editing everything from captions for artworks to speeches for executives. Her debut novel, The Silent Listener, is loosely based on events from her childhood in rural Australia. She is now happily ensconced in Melbourne, where there is very little mud, but lots of books.

Social Media Links

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
GOODREADS

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Dead Sorry by Helen H. Durrant

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEAD SORRY (Calladine & Bayliss Mystery Book #11) by Helen H. Durrant.

Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

THE PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT THEM

Twenty-five years ago a schoolgirl was attacked by three bullies in her home where she lived with her grandmother.

Now, the mother of one of those bullies is found murdered on the Hobfield housing estate. Written on the wall in the victim’s blood is the word, “sorry.”

There is a link to the discovery of bones at an old house up in the hills — the home of the teenage girl who was attacked.

Detective Tom Calladine and his partner DS Ruth Bayliss have more than this puzzling case on their hands. Arch-villain Lazarov is threatening Calladine’s granddaughter and a valuable hoard of Celtic gold is coming to a local museum.

The pressure is on, and this time Calladine is cracking . . .

THE DETECTIVES

Tom Calladine is a detective inspector who is devoted to his job. His personal life, however, is not so successful. Having been married and divorced before the age of twenty-one has set a pattern that he finds difficult to escape.

Ruth Bayliss is in her mid-thirties, plain-speaking but loyal. She is balancing her professional life with looking after a small child.

THE SETTING

The fictional village of Leesdon is on the outskirts of an industrial northern English city. There is little work and a lot of crime. The bane of Calladine’s life is the Hobfield housing estate, breeding ground to all that is wrong with the area that he calls home.

THE CALLADINE & BAYLISS MYSTERY SERIES

Book 1: DEAD WRONG

Book 2: DEAD SILENT

Book 3: DEAD LIST

Book 4: DEAD LOST

Book 5: DEAD & BURIED

Book 6: DEAD NASTY

Book 7: DEAD JEALOUS

Book 8: DEAD BAD

Book 9: DEAD GUILTY

Book 10: DEAD WICKED

Book 11: DEAD SORRY

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58090110-dead-sorry?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=9FBtZoSYqT&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEAD SORRY (Calladine & Bayliss Mystery Book #11) by Helen H. Durrant is a smartly plotted mystery/British police procedural in an ongoing series that I cannot believe I have not read before now. This book can be read as a standalone because the author fills the reader in on the characters’ backstories that are relevant to interactions in previous books.

DI Tom Calladine and DS Ruth Bayliss are called to a brutal murder scene at the crime ridden Hobfield housing estate. When the victim is identified, Ruth realizes it has similarities and family ties to an old case from her school days. As they begin the investigation, Calladine receives a call from an old nemesis who threatens the lives of his daughter and new granddaughter if he interferes in his return to the area.

Calladine and Bayliss need to find out which suspects are tied to which case as more people end up dead or are the two cases somehow tied together?

The author does a great job of mixing in red herrings and twists that continued to surprise me. When I was two thirds of the way through the book, I thought I had it all figured out. NO, I did not. The two main detectives and their whole team make this an enjoyable character read and the two plot lines are expertly paced with a balanced amount of intrigue and surprises. Also, make sure you read to the very last page. (That is all I can say about that.) Time for me to go back and catch up with Calladine and Bayliss from the very beginning.

I can highly recommend this mystery/British police procedural and author!

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Author Bio

Helen is one of the ‘baby boomer’ generation and began writing when she retired from her job at a local college. Born in Edinburgh to an English father and Scottish mother the family settled in a Pennine village between the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It is an environment which has shaped her stories. Writing is a second career and, despite having a bus pass, keeps her busy, and tuned in.

Helen’s children are all grown-up and she has five grandchildren.

Social Media Links

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
GOODREADS

Book Review: The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE WOMAN WHO SMASHED CODES: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone is a literary nonfiction WWII biography novel which brings to light the major contributions of the amazing female half of a married couple who both invented many aspects of the modern science of cryptology.

Elizebeth Smith wanted a job in literature. She is hired by an eccentric millionaire who brings the best minds of 1916 together on a large farm outside of Chicago and tells them to be the best they can be. Elizebeth becomes disillusioned with the project she was hired to work on, but she is intrigued with the young man, William Freidman she meets who is helping with the project.

The two get married and begin working together on breaking coded messages that are brought to them from various government and law enforcement agencies. They soon build a reputation and are instrumental in building the strategic texts for codebreaking that they and others use throughout WWI, Prohibition and WWII while William is in the Army and Elizebeth works for the Coast Guard.

While history hails William’s accomplishments of being a groundbreaker and innovator in cryptology and at breaking the Japanese version of Enigma, there is little praise given to Elizebeth’s own contributions from breaking Prohibition gangsters’ codes to breaking the Enigma code German spies were using all over South America.

This book brings Elizebeth’s accomplishments and contributions to light. Mr. Fagone brings Elizebeth to life from her professional publications and personal writings. I was truly amazed by how her and her husband’s brains worked to decode so many secret code systems without using mathematics or having the use of the just being invented computer. The only problem I had with the book was the inclusion of some codes that were used and/or broken by the duo because while I know some would work to solve the puzzles, it just interrupted the flow of the story for me. Otherwise, Elizebeth’s personality comes alive in this story and her story just leads you to wonder how many other brilliant women have been overlooked by history.

I recommend this literary nonfiction WWII biography of a brilliant mind and woman!

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Author Bio

I’ve written about science, sports, and culture for Wired, GQ, Men’s Journal, Esquire, NewYorker.com, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, Philadelphia, and the 2011 edition of The Best American Sports Writing. A few years ago, I wrote a book called “Horsemen of the Esophagus,” about competitive eating and the American dream. For the last three years, I’ve been working on my next book, “Ingenious,” which will be published this November. It’s about inventors and cars. I live outside of Philadelphia with my wife and daughter.