HF Virtual Book Tours Review & Giveaway: The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies That Outlast War

By Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Publisher: Whole Sky Books (November 2015)

Source: Author/Historical Fiction Virtual Tour Books

Pages: 356

Rating:

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Phyllis Edgerly Ring for gifting me a copy of her book and HF Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to take part in this book tour.

"Anna Dahlberg grew up eating dinner under her father’s war-trophy portrait of Eva Braun. Fifty years after the war, she discovers what he never did—that her mother and Hitler’s mistress were friends. The secret surfaces with a mysterious monogrammed handkerchief, and a man, Hannes Ritter, whose Third Reich family history is entwined with Anna’s. Plunged into the world of the “ordinary” Munich girl who was her mother’s confidante—and a tyrant’s lover—Anna finds her every belief about right and wrong challenged. With Hannes’s help, she retraces the path of two women who met as teenagers, shared a friendship that spanned the years that Eva Braun was Hitler’s mistress, yet never knew that the men they loved had opposing ambitions. Eva’s story reveals that she never joined the Nazi party, had Jewish friends, and was credited at the Nuremberg Trials with saving 35,000 Allied lives. As Anna's journey leads back through the treacherous years in wartime Germany, it uncovers long-buried secrets and unknown reaches of her heart to reveal the enduring power of love in the legacies that always outlast war."

My Thoughts:
The Munich Girl is primarily a story of self discovery and the importance of being true to ourselves told through the narratives of three women from present day and 1940's timelines.

In part, it tells the story of Anna Dahlberg, and her journey of uncovering the story behind her mother's portrait of an enigmatic pretty young woman.

It is through her diaries that Peggy, (Anna's mother) tells of how she comes into possession of the painting and becomes the unlikely friend of Ava, (Eva Braun).  It gives us a fascinating imagined glimpse of the world of Hitler's secret mistress.

I loved the writing style, the pace was perfectly timed with scenes flowing effortlessly through each timeframe. Yes, it's beautifully written with meticulously drawn characters, I truly believed in them, and that's where my problem with it lies. It bothered me that the lines between fact and fiction were so exquisitely blurred that I believed in the premise that Eva was an innocent in her naivety and worship of her abuser. I was confused and didn't feel comfortable with it.

Eva Braun was the 'highly kept secret' mistress of Adolf Hitler and yes she was a woman in her own right who under different circumstances may have been all the book portrays of her. She is not to be blamed for the evil acts this man was responsible for, however she did love him and chose to stay with him with the full knowledge of his monstrous beliefs and actions.  No, we shouldn't demonise her, but nor too can I accept a romanticised fairytale version of her. I tried but I failed. Had this been a work of pure fiction I would not fault it.

This isn't a negative review but I do have an opinion that could be perceived as such so I hope it won't dissuade anyone from reading it as Phyllis Edgerly Ring has written an exemplary piece of historical fiction which I truly enjoyed reading. It was just the portrayal of the little known about, factual character I found hard to come to terms with.

Perfect for fans of historical fiction that address history in some form and book groups as I think it could generate some lively debate.

Praise

“I was drawn in by Phyllis Ring’s economical and expressive language. Then the story took over! Protagonist Anna Dahlberg must face the emotional fallout from a traumatic plane crash, while simultaneously uncovering the first clues in a shocking generational mystery involving key players in the Third Reich. Everything’s complicated by a new romance that may help her overcome the past and find her true inner strength. But is it real? Love can manifest itself in enigmatic–and unexpected–ways.” -Elizabeth Sims, author and contributing editor at Writer’s Digest magazine
“… fresh perspective of German women at opposing ends of the warring spectrum … a beautiful story of enduring friendship and the lengths people will go to for love.” -The Stellar Review
“So persuasive is this novel that, before I could believe it was in fact a piece of fiction, I contacted the author and asked where she did her research and where she came up with the idea.” -Leslie Handler, The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Author Phyllis Edgerly Ring writes fiction and non-fiction. She left a part of her heart in her childhood home of Germany, which she visits as often as she can.

Her newest release, The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies That Outlast War, follows the lives of three women there before, during, and after the Second World War. The novel’s protagonist begins a journey that links past and present when she discovers that her mother shared a secret friendship with Hitler’s mistress, Eva Braun.

The New Hampshire author loves writing, travel, and the noblest possibilities in the human heart and is always curious to discover how history, culture, relationship, spirituality, and the natural world influence us and guide the human family on its shared journey.

For more information, please visit Phyllis Edgerly Ring’s website. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Giveaway - Open Internationally

To enter the giveaway for a paperback copy of 'The Munich Girl', please click here:

Two copies are up for grabs!

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 1
 Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Tuesday, August 2
 Review at Creating Herstory

Thursday, August 4
 Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, August 5
 Interview at Dianne Ascroft’s Blog

Monday, August 8
 Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, August 9
 Review at First Impression Reviews

Wednesday, August 10
 Guest Post at Let Them Read Books

Friday, August 12
 Spotlight at Just One More Chapter

Monday, August 15
 Guest Post & Excerpt at The Silver Dagger Scriptorium

Wednesday, August 17
 Review at A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, August 18
 Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Friday, August 19
 Review at Book Nerd

Monday, August 22
 Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Friday, August 26
 Review at SJ2B House of Books

NUDGE NB Newbooks Review: The Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock

The Heavenly Table

Donald Ray Pollock

Pages: 384

Publisher: Harvill Secker

Souce: NUDGE, NB Newbooks

Genre: Historical Western Noir

Rating:

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of The Heavenly Table

from NUDGE NB Newbooks in exchange for my honest review.

A classically written western with a contemporary noir twist
Read in July 2016

Synopsis:
Cane, Cob and Chimney Jewett are young Georgia sharecroppers held under the thumb of their domineering, God-struck father Pearl. When he dies unexpectedly, they set out on horseback to rob and loot their way to wealth and infamy, inspired by a lurid dime novel that only one of them can read. But little goes as planned and soon they're pursued by both the authorities and by stories that make them out to be the most fearsome trio of bank robbers and murderers around. The truth, though, is far more complex than the legend. And the heaven they've imagined may in fact be worse than the hell they sought to escape. The Heavenly Table is gritty, electrifying and weirdly funny. It cements Donald Ray Pollock's place among America's best contemporary novelists.

My Thoughts:
My first encounter with Donald Ray Pollock was with 'Kockemstiff' and 'The Devil All The Time'. I just love the gritty hillbilly, redneck storylines. I just love his twisted, cruel sense of humour. Peppered throughout with the worst acts of human kind, moral angst and a just a sprinkling of goodness or innocence, Pollock does not write comfortable easy reading material. So then, with 'The Heavenly Table' I knew what I was likely to be getting and was not disappointed.

Set against the backdrop of Alabama and Meade in 1917 and the beginning of America's involvement in WWI, 'The Heavenly Table' is an epic family saga with the Jewett family at the heart of the story, with Pearl a fanatically religious hardworking farmer and his sons, Cane the oldest, wisest and literate, Cob the 'dummy' and Chimney the rebellious youngest and least moral of the three sons.

We also hear about the Fiddler's; Ellsworth who has lost the family's life savings to a travelling con artist, Eula his long suffering, all forgiving wife, and Eddie their good for nothing drunk of a son.

Initial chapters give alternating perspectives of the families with a build up of characters adding their own distinctive points of view along the way. These seemingly unrelated storylines will eventually converge with an exciting explosive climax.

The Heavenly Table's titular phrase comes from a mystical drifter Pearl encounters one day, who tells him to, “welcome all the suffering that comes your way” and preaches that if he does so, one day he will “eat at the heavenly table.”  Well darn it if Pearl and those boys haven't suffered enough already, but Pearl believes they can and must suffer more to do whatever it takes to be worthy of sitting at that table some day.  Fortunately for Pearl his suffering is soon over and the boys decide that they've had enough and want something better while they're still alive.  With the influence of an old dime novel and its violent tales of 'Bloody Bill Bucket', a hero they will aspire to more and more, the boys set off on their adventurous, often disastrous, road to to seek their fortunes.

This is gritty western noir at its best with impeccably placed humour with gruesome graphic scenes, one such as a parasitic worm vacating the dead body of the Jewett boys' mother.

Pollock writes with such fluidity and emotive intensity about his deprived and often depraved characters, about the hardship and savagery in their lives, and of their grit and determination to better themselves.  So fabulously drawn that at times it feels as if the Jewett boys could just ride off the pages in a blaze of dust and played out for me like a Cohen Brother's movie.  Surface to say, it's deliciously dark, mean and cruel with a smattering of good old religious comeuppance and plenty of brutal black humour.

Perfect for fans of Bill Frank, Joe R Lansdale, Patrick de Witt, and because I don't think it has quite the same level of violence as in his previous books, it would make an excellent introduction for newcomers to the world of Mr Pollock who is in my opinion a cracker of a story teller.

Favourite Character/Scene: I loved all the characters and far too many scenes were memorable so I'll go with...the image of a drunken Eddie Fiddler accidentally blasting his mom's cat Pickles to Kingdom Come.

Least liked character: ohh it’s got to be the big 'Bad Bob' psycho killer.

TLC BOOK TOURS REVIEW: The Ninja's Daughter by Susan Spann

The Ninja's Daughter : A Hiro Hattori Novel

by Susan Spann

Publisher : Seventh Street Books (August 2, 2016)

Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Genre: Crime Mystery set in 16th Century Japan

Rating:

Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for my complementary digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review and to take part in this book blog tour.

Read in July, 2016

Synopsis:
Autumn, 1565: When an actor’s daughter is murdered on the banks of Kyoto’s Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo are the victim’s only hope for justice.
As political tensions rise in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, and rival warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the killing, to keep the peace–but Hiro has a personal connection to the girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto’s theater guilds, where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With only a mysterious golden coin to guide them, the investigators uncover a forbidden love affair, a missing mask, and a dangerous link to corruption within the Kyoto police department that leaves Hiro and Father Mateo running for their lives.

My Thoughts:
The Ninja's Daughter by Susan Spann is the latest novel in the Hiro Hattori detective mystery series set during 16th century Japan.  Having not read any of the other books in the series, I don't think this detracted any from my enjoyment or understanding of the characters or their history together, as Susan supplies the pertinent information without going overboard to understand what is going on within the context of current storyline.

The case the duo are investigating is that of a young girl who shows definite signs of having been murdered. However, being from the low born status of an actress she is classed as 'a nobody' and therefore 'nobody' has been killed and no crime committed. To complicate matters further the victim happens to be the niece of Father Mateo's bodyguard.  The formidable duo, Father Mateo and Hiro Hattori his bodyguard and translator certainly have their work cut out for them in solving this mystery.

An enjoyable quick satisfying read with a little Japanese cultural history to boot, 'The Ninja's Daughter' is an engaging story with a likeable and quirky cast of characters from the main duo, to Ana the very cranky landlady, and Gato the adopted cat. I really liked this one and will definitely look at the previous books in the series.

Highly recommended for fans of the cosy crime genre and wanting or maybe willing to try something a little different, and exotic blended into the mix.  Fabulous fun, great for book group reads too.

A glossary of the cast of characters and Japanese words are included to enrich the readers experience and understanding.

About Susan Spann

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. Susan has a degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where she studied Chinese and Japanese language, history, and culture. Her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses.

Here's a link to the schedule of reviewers participating in the TLC tour for THE NINJA’S DAUGHTER by Susan Spann: TLC BOOK TOUR schedule

Susan Spann’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Monday, July 25th: Buried Under Books

Tuesday, July 26th: Reading Reality

Tuesday, July 26th:Book Dilettante

Wednesday, July 27th: In Bed With Books

Thursday, July 28th: Worth Getting in Bed For

Friday, July 29th: Wordsmithonia

Friday, July 29th: Write Read Life

Sunday, July 31st: Write Read Life – author interview

Monday, August 1st: Hoser’s Blook

Wednesday, August 3rd: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, August 4th: A Holland Reads

Thursday, August 4th: Book Dilettante – author guest post “Swords & Crosses: Jesuit Missionaries in Japan”

Sunday, August 7th: Buried Under Books – author guest post, “How I Decided to Murder The Ninja’s Daughter”

Monday, August 8th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Tuesday, August 9th: Open Book Society

Thursday, August 11th: Luxury Reading

Friday, August 12th: SJ2B House of Books

Monday, August 15th: Books and Tea

Monday, August 15th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Tuesday, August 16th: A Fantastical Librarian

Wednesday, August 17th: Broken Teepee

TBD: Lavish Bookshelf

TBD: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

The Atomic Weight Of Love by Elizabeth J Church

Title: The Atomic Weight of Love

Author: Elizabeth J. Church

Publisher: Algonquin Books (3 May 2016)

Pages: 320 pages

Source: ARC via NetGalley

Genre: historical fiction, womens fiction, WWII, Vietnam War, women's studies

Rating:

Disclaimer: A complementary copy of The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J Church was provided by the Publisher for an unbiased honest review.

Read in July, 2016

Synopsis:
In her sweeping debut novel, Elizabeth J. Church takes us from the World War II years in Chicago to the vast sun-parched canyons of New Mexico in the 1970s as we follow the journey of a driven, spirited young woman, Meridian Wallace, whose scientific ambitions are subverted by the expectations of her era.

In 1941, at seventeen years old, Meridian begins her ornithology studies at the University of Chicago. She is soon drawn to Alden Whetstone, a brilliant, complicated physics professor who opens her eyes to the fundamentals and poetry of his field, the beauty of motion, space and time, the delicate balance of force and energy that allows a bird to fly.

Entranced and in love, Meridian defers her own career path and follows Alden west to Los Alamos, where he is engaged in a secret government project (later known to be the atomic bomb). In married life, though, she feels lost and left behind. She channels her academic ambitions into studying a particular family of crows, whose free life and companionship are the very things that seem beyond her reach. There in her canyons, years later at the dawn of the 1970s, with counterculture youth filling the streets and protests against the war rupturing college campuses across the country, Meridian meets Clay, a young geologist and veteran of the Vietnam War, and together they seek ways to mend what the world has broken.

Exquisitely capturing the claustrophobic eras of 1940s and 1950s America, The Atomic Weight of Love also examines the changing roles of women during the decades that followed. And in Meridian Wallace we find an unforgettable heroine whose metamorphosis shows how the women’s movement opened up the world for a whole generation.

My Thoughts:
On Meri's 10th birthday her father gives her a book, 'The Burgess Bird Book for Children'.  For her 11th birthday he gives her, Darwin's 'On The Origin of the Species'. Six months later her father dies leaving both Meri and her mother utterly devastated.
At 17 years old Meri leaves her hometown of Pennsylvania and attends Chicago University with a fierce ambition to earn an advanced degree in ornithology.  She sits in on one of Professor Whetstone's physics lectures and is completely smitten by this man old enough to be her father. This is what she says about seeing him at that first lecture, ' I was in awe of Alden. I could only sense the very fringes of concepts that his intellect grasped with such easy, ready fingers. I worshipped his knowledge, his aloof independence and greater world experience. He was my teacher; he led me, and I followed gladly.'  They embark on an affair fuelled, not by passion or lustful recklessness, but of joint admiration of intellectual minds. They marry and Alden takes her away to Los Alamos, New Mexico.

At the commencement of each chapter there are ornithological terms of reference which cleverly shadow Meri's experiences within the chapter they refer to.
The writing style is gently paced, and intelligent, with beautifully constructed sentences and phrases such as,"I watched the first snowfall begin as a light, dry powder and morph into those luscious, fat, lazy flakes that sashay downward and accumulate into weighty drifts." I fell immediately under the authors spell of words and eagerly devoured the pages of the book. In another poignantly beautifully written scene where the crows say farewell to one of their own, I cried as the loss and feeling of loneliness was utterly palpable and I truly believed I understood how Meri was feeling at that particular stage of her life.

The Atomic Weight of Love is primarily a love story written and voiced by Meri about the ever changing, evolving love she feels for Alden, and then in her 40's of her love for a much younger man.  I found it in turns to be heartbreaking, and infuriating due to the out dated attitudes of the times, but above all an uplifting read.  There is a bittersweet quality to the story and at times it simply broke my heart.

Elizabeth Church’s debut novel is an exquisite poignant tale of loyalty, trust and knowing when to let go. I truly hope there's a lot more to come from her as a writer.  I'd recommend it for readers who love beautifully written literary historical fiction that will make them question their own sacrifices and accomplishments.  I would also suggest it for book group readers as the multitude of topics raised throughout the book could generate some lively discussion.

The Far Empty by J Todd Scott

The Far Empty, J Todd Scott
Publisher: G P Putnam's Sons (9 June 2016)
Pages: 448

Source: Publisher/Edelweiss
Genre: Contemporary Western Crime Noir, Fact Based Fiction

Themes: Mexican Drug Gangs, Graphic scenes of violence, Abuse of every kind...

Rating:

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of The Far Empty was provided by G P Putnam's Sons via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

Synopsis:

Todd Scott s "The Far Empty" is so good I wish I d written it. The poetic and bloody ground of west Texas has given birth to a powerful new voice in contemporary western crime fiction. Craig Johnson, "New York Times" bestselling author of the Walt Longmire series

In this gritty crime debut set in the stark Texas borderlands, an unearthed skeleton will throw a small town into violent turmoil.

Seventeen-year-old Caleb Ross is adrift in the wake of the sudden disappearance of his mother more than a year ago, and is struggling to find his way out of the small Texas border town of Murfee. Chris Cherry is a newly minted sheriff s deputy, a high school football hero who has reluctantly returned to his hometown. When skeletal remains are discovered in the surrounding badlands, the two are inexorably drawn together as their efforts to uncover Murfee s darkest secrets lead them to the same terrifying suspect: Caleb s father and Chris s boss, the charismatic and feared Sheriff Standford Judge Ross. Dark, elegiac, and violent, "The Far Empty" is a modern Western, a story of loss and escape set along the sharp edge of the Texas border. Told by a longtime federal agent who knows the region, it s a debut novel you won t soon forget."

My Thoughts:
So much time and effort goes into getting a book cover right so when one catches my eye I think it deserves a mention. The cover has to convey something about the book, as well as making sure it appeals to a potential reader, because if it's not right it can be the death of a book. I always tell customers (especially if they're looking at a book with a spectacular cover) that, you can tell a publisher believes in the author from the quality of the cover... So to The Far Empty... I love the cover artwork for this gritty, crime debut.  It certainly gives a clue as to what the book is about...Mexican border gun culture, drug cartels with a murder or two.

If you find scenes of graphic violence abhorrent then move away from this one and if the cover is right I think you'll have done that anyway.

The Far Empty is a fictional piece based on actual violent drug related incidents and on a corrupt local sheriff from a drugs task force in Texas.
J Todd Scott, a federal agent with the DEA for many years has drawn on his experience to pen this gritty, brutal debut and with twenty years experience in the force investigating smuggling, domestic meth lads and Mexican cartels, he knows what he's writing about.

Ok so Caleb Ross, he's 17 and his father is the charismatic, influential Sheriff Stanford 'Judge' Ross and in Celeb's own voice he says this of him, 'My father has killed three men. My father . . . that f*****g monster . . . also killed my mother'.
So Caleb doesn't like his father...He even feels uneasy turning his back on him. Why would he feel such hatred for, and fear of his own father, unless of course he has reason. Caleb 'knows', that his mother wouldn't have run out on him with no word for the last thirteen months, and that his father killed her. He just cannot prove it.

Chris Cherry, after a knee injury ends his promising football career, returns to Murfee taking on the role of sheriff's deputy.  His girlfriend Melissa is not so sure that its such a good move when they arrive.

When skeletal remains are unearthed out in the 'badlands' Cherry wants to do everything he can to put a name to this poor soul. However it's not going to be easy with the apathetic, unwillingness to investigate on the part of Sheriff Ross and his psychotic chief deputy Duane Dupree. After all it's probably just another dead Mexican in the desert so who cares.  Well, Cherry does and so too does Caleb who's convinced it's his mum that's been lying out there all this time.

Into the mix we have, another missing person Rudy Ray a border patrol officer; the arrival of Anne the mysterious new teacher at Caleb's school; América Reynosa Caleb's Mexican friend whose brother Rudy Ray has gone missing, and Maximo a young teen 'hired Killer' for one of the drug cartels.

Each character gets their own chapter to tell us about their history and their thought process throughout the story, but its only Caleb's narrative which is in the first person, lending his voice focus and impact.

The Far Empty is dark, brutal, menacing and exceedingly violent with all of the unsavoury characters you'd expect to find involved in Mexican border gun culture, and some ignorant or down trodden towns folk living within an environment where the law is just as feared as the drug run cartels. There are some shocking and unexpected surprises along the way with one big shocker I didn't see coming.

If you read to escape reality and whats really going on in the world then steer very clear, this one really is not for you.  However, I really enjoyed The Far Empty and fully believed in the depraved characters and the world within which they resided. I'm so looking forward to reading his next offering.

Perfect for fans of James Ellroy, Donald Ray Pollock, Frank Bill and Don Winslow.

Most memorable character:  Maximo, frighteningly all too real, desperately unsettling as it is an all too real scenario and inescapable reality for many kids like him.

Characters disliked: The callous cruel remorseless and calculating Sheriff 'Judge' Ross; his sidekick Deputy Dupree and most of the seedy darn right despicable townsfolk.

TLC Book Tours Review: The Monster's Daughter by Michelle Pretorius

The Monster's Daughter by Michelle Pretorius

Publisher: Melville House (19th July 2016)

Source: Publisher/TLC Book Tours

Pages: 465

Rating:

Disclaimer: Thank you to the Publisher and TLC Book Tours for a complementary D-ARC in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Synopsis:
THE MONSTER‘S DAUGHTER is a tale of race and murder that takes readers through South Africa’s remarkable history. It’s a mix of the personal and the political, the past and the present.

After a fling with one of her superiors, young policewoman Alet Berg is reassigned from her big city beat to a small village in the country, where she makes a horrific discovery: the body of a young woman, burned beyond recognition. None of the villagers are willing to speak, especially to a transplant from the city whose stubbornness rubs even her colleagues the wrong way. But it’s also a dangerous case for reasons that Alet can’t know — reasons that go back one hundred years to the height of the Boer War, and a British doctor who conducted a series of grim experiments on Boer concentration camp prisoners. His work ended in chaos, but two children survived.

Pretorious was born and raised in South Africa, and she wrote the novel partly as a way to understand her country’s history, a history that her family (like many others) didn’t discuss. THE MONSTER‘S DAUGHTER is a gripping thriller, and a fascinating look at 100 years of buried history.

“Michelle Pretorius is a funny, surprising and fearless writer. The Monster’s Daughter is at once a historical thriller that reckons seriously with South African politics, an imaginative piece of speculative fiction, and a stereotype-busting roller-coaster ride of a novel. I loved it.”
—Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife—Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife

My Thoughts:
Well it's day two of the TLC Book Tour for Michelle Pretorius' 'The Monster's Daughter and here's what I thought of it.  2010 - Modern Day (Post Apartheid South Africa) Constable Alet Berg has been demoted and relocated to serve her probation on traffic duty in Unie a small quiet, 'out of the way' town. At the discovery of a badly burned body, and desperate to get into something more exciting, Alet deviously manoeuvres herself into position to assist Mathebe the local chief investigating officer in solving the crime.  During the course of the investigation she will unwittingly uncover involvement of prominent townsfolk in crime and corruption on a vast scale, spanning several decades.

1901 - At the height of the 2nd Boer War the British are destroying all property, land and livestock belonging to any Boer they encounter under 'the scorched earth' policy.  Jooste is one of the marauding party and he relishes in the destruction and pillaging opportunities.  Although a Boer himself, Jooste has no loyalty to anyone but himself and will change allegiance to whomever he will best profit from. At one such farm raided is a young girl, Anna, and her little brother who are rounded up and imprisoned at one of the British run concentration camps. It was heartbreaking to hear about the horrendous camp conditions and the inhumane treatment that the women and children, who were the majority of the prisoners, received from their captors and from each other in their struggle to survive. Sanitary conditions were appalling and disease rife and of which many would succumb and with many more dying the lingering agonising slow death of starvation.

We meet up again with Jooste in his search for young healthy looking girls, to abduct and hand over to a doctor for his secret genetic medical research. Anna is one of his victims but in exchange for submitting to the experiments she receives food and a safe place to sleep. Anna and the other girls at the doctor's mercy may just survive the horror of the concentration camp.

Two surviving children are the result of these latest experiments, Tess and Benjamin, both with strange characteristics and suffering from what is thought to be stunted growth. We follow them as they mature to adulthood and find their way in a country full of prejudice and violence.

The first part of the book resonated with me so powerfully and was the most compelling and unsettling to read.  Dialogue runs smoothly and believably and with the full bodied development of key characters I found it highly plausible and indicative of the times portrayed. With all too vivid imagery the characters felt real and I absolutely believed in them, so much so I was devastated when the story moved on without them.

The Monster's Daughter is narrated in dual timelines with the majority unfolding progressively from the 1900's through to 2010 where Alet's investigation will lead her to research back in time in order to solve the present day murder.

An hugely ambitious multi genre, part speculative, part historical political fiction, all encompassed into a murder mystery thriller, this debut is a credit to the author and one I highly recommend.  Book groups would find 'The Monsters Daughter' of particular interest as there would be a fantastic amount of content to discuss.

About Michelle Pretorius

MICHELLE PRETORIUS was born and raised in South Africa. She received an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago and is currently a PhD candidate at Ohio University. She has written for numerous publications, including Bookslut, Word Riot, and the Copperfield Review. She is a recipient of the John Schultz and Betty Shiflett prize and lives in Athens, Ohio.

TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for The Monster’s Daughter:

Tuesday, July 19th: Kahakai Kitchen

Thursday, July 21st: SJ2B House of Books

Tuesday, July 26th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, July 28th: Crime Segments

Monday, August 1st: Helen’s Book Blog

Tuesday, August 2nd: 5 Minutes for Books

Monday, August 8th: Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, August 9th: Travelling Birdy

Wednesday, August 10th: Booksie’s Blog

Monday, August 15th: Dreaming Big – author Q&A

Thursday, August 18th: The Book Whisperer

Nina Is Not OK (Debut) by Shappi Khorsandi

Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi

Publisher: Random House/Ebury Publishing (28 July 2016)

Source: Publisher/Netgalley
Pages: 352

Genre: New Adult, Older Teen, Adult, Teen Issues

Rating:

Disclaimer: Thankyou to the Publisher for the D-ARC

in exchange for my unbiased, honest review

Synopsis:
Nina does not have a drinking problem. She likes a drink, sure. But what 17-year-old doesn’t?
Nina’s mum isn’t so sure. But she’s busy with her new husband and five year old Katie. And Nina’s almost an adult after all. And if Nina sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before , then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks. Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend.  But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…
A dark and sometimes shocking - coming of age novel from one of the UK’s leading comedians. NINA IS NOT O.K. will appeal to fans of Caitlin Moran and Louise O'Neill.

My Thoughts:

I am so excited about this one...This is going to be big ... big !

Sometimes an author can get writing about troubled teens so wrong.  For instance, characters are written to be way too angsty and antagonistic with explicit, and sometimes laughable sex scenes, and using a barrage of crass language just for shock value can really be a turn off for a mature reader; or writing in too literary 'a style', again may put off its intended Teen/YA audience by boring them half to death with preachy dialogue.

Shappi hits it right on target every time with just the right balance of crude, lewd behaviour from its rebellious, antagonistic (inwardly desperately confused and unhappy) teen for both an Adult and Teen/YA reader to want to read.

We first encounter Nina, in a seriously drunken state, in a taxi with her knickers in her hand.  Nina cannot remember very much at all after being thrown out of a club for giving a 'blow job' to someone at the bar.

I only intended to peruse the blurb to find out about the book. I finally put it down two days later after I'd finished it.

Nina was like watching a car crash, I wanted to look away but just couldn't do it, I had to keep watching as she spiralled into a never ending whirling dark hole.

At times I thought out loud 'no Nina don't ...oh too late you did', and 'O.M.G. I can't believe you just did/said that'

The second half does ramp up on the emotion side with things becoming rather more darkly disturbing. That said, 'Nina Is Not OK' is full of hope, forgiveness and surviving to maybe screw up another day, but luckily Nina has some great friends and with support from people who love her hopefully Nina Will Be OK.  With wit and humour laced throughout, with one or two cringe worthy laugh out loud moments, and considering the subject matter, Shappi has written a positive uplifting tale about an out of control teen learning to live with, and respect herself and to not allow others to treat her so badly.

In 'Nina Is Not OK', Shappi's writing style is full on hectic and I wondered if she could sustain the pace without it becoming monotonous, but she did and it didn't. It was brilliant and fabulously written and I loved it !

I know it's probably not going to be for everyone due to the sexual content and bad, very bad language and lewd situations but because of the seriousness of the subject matters involved including, slut-shaming, alcoholism, and social media bullying, to mention just a few, it's one I'd wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who is or ever was, or just needs a reminder of just how difficult it is to be, a teen.

Favourite Character: I absolutely loved the 'too honest for anyone's good' Trish, the hopelessly tactless 'stand-by' friend of Nina's

Least Liked Character (understatement !) : ALEX !

The Wolf Trial: a novel by Neil Mackay

The Wolf Trial by Neil Mackay (Read: April 2016)

Pages: 352

Publisher: Freight Books (21 April 2016)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Rating

Sheer breathtaking brilliance ... a near perfect 5 ... Oh why not...the perfect 5 !

Where do I start with this one ? There is just so much going on in this 16th Century historical fact based novel.  I kid you not, here is a teaser of what's going on in this blockbuster:

Gothic horror, cruelty and debauchery

circus freak shows

witch, and dog trials, including graphic execution scenes

vampires and werewolves

serial murder of women, men, children and babies

cannibalism

anti-semitism

torture and more executions

oh and a smidgen of romance !

Written in the 1st person narrative, Neil Mackay's 'The Wolf Trial' is an uncomfortable, absolutely compelling tale set in Bideburg, Germany during the 16th Century about the first documented case of a serial killer who was also believed to be a werewolf.

Peter Stumpf, the accused, makes no bones about his guilt of the murders but as a man and not as a werewolf.  However, his crimes are just too horrific for the townsfolk to accept that a human being could commit such crimes that they choose to believe in the supernatural and for him to be a werewolf.

Paulus Melchior and Willy Lessinger are to be witnesses to this trial and subsequent punishment of Stumpf.  It is from William Loos' (the scribes) documentation some 60 years later that we hear about Paulus' childhood and events that shaped him into the man he became; such as his first public execution and watching his father beheading a woman found guilty of being a witch. The horrific scene unfolds and he watches as other children delightedly play football with the severed woman's head.

Many scenes in this book are shocking and vividly depicted, another of which includes the accused's rendition of a game he played as a child called 'frogging', which again is pretty horrific, especially for the frogs. Frog lovers be warned!
There is however, a touching, love affair between Willy and a young girl from the town, albeit with a tragic outcome.

The punishment is brutal, torturous and unbelievably barbaric, the unnecessary violence metered out to Stumpf is almost unbearable to read. It is hard to feel pity for a person who has committed such horrendous crimes but it is abhorrent and frightening to believe the extent humans will go to inflict pain on each other.  The crowd's vengeance and excitement is whipped up to such a crescendo, and to the point of sheer boredom, that they finally lose interest when nothing more can be done to prolong the agony of dying a slow, brutally degrading death.

The real horror for me is that we all have the potential to be monsters and that in today's world where videos are frequently uploaded showing the most horrific scenes of violence, torture and murder, with a majority in the name of religion or honour, I fear that we've not moved much farther forward than our medieval predecessors and that these practices are still all too evident in today's world.

The Wolf Trial is hugely rich in historical detail and also a coming of age tale during violent medieval times. I thoroughly enjoyed all it had to tell me and found it to be an engrossing read.  It is brutal, blood thirsty and bloody brilliant ! Definitely not for the squeamish but if you have a strong stomach you'll definitely not want to miss out on this one.

Perfect for fans of atmospheric reads such as Umberto Ecco's, In The Name of The Rose.

Disclaimer: I received a digital advanced readers copy (ARC) of 'The Wolf Trial' by Neil Mackay from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Coming Review: The Wolf Trial: a novel by Neil Mackay

The Wolf Trial: a novel by Neil Mackay

Freight Books (21 April 2016)

Sheer breathtaking brilliance ... a near perfect 5 ... Oh why not...the perfect 5 !

Read My Thoughts Here

Description:
Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose meets Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho in this brilliant historical epic.
Inspired by an extraordinary true case - the first ever documented account of a serial killer in world history.
In the second half of the 16th century, Paulus Melchior, lawyer, academic, and enlightened rationalist, travels with his young assistant Willy Lessinger to the isolated German town of Bideburg where local landowner, Peter Stumpf, is accused of brutally murdering dozens of people. A society still trapped in a medieval mindset, the townsfolk clamour for the killer to be tried as a werewolf. If their demands are met, his blameless wife and children will also be executed in the most barbaric way imaginable as agents of Satan and creatures contaminated by wolf blood.
Paulus and Willy must fight superstition, the cruelty of those who fear what they don't understand, and a zealous church determined to retain its grip on the souls of Bideburg in this compelling, utterly unforgettable, shocking tour de force.

A Note From the Publisher
Neil Mackay is a multi-award winning investigative journalist, newspaper executive, non-fiction author, radio broadcaster and film-maker. He has won around two dozen national and international awards for his newspaper journalism. Mackay was a launch editor of the Sunday Herald newspaper, and has subsequently been the paper’s Crime Editor, Investigations Editor and Head of News. His last film, an investigation into the rise of the far right in Europe and America, was nominated for a BAFTA. His book, The War on Truth, which investigated the roots of the invasion of Iraq, was published in the UK and USA. He has written for the Sunday Herald, The Observer, Scotland on Sunday, Ireland’s Sunday Tribune, Australia’s The Age and most newspapers in Northern Ireland. His debut novel was All The Little Guns Go Bang Bang Bang.

Advance Praise
'A great storyteller.' Louise Welsh

'First, a warning. This novel isn’t for the squeamish. Then again, neither was 16th century Germany, yet Neil Mackay brings its crimes and cruelties, heresies and horrors to life with all the manifold skills of a natural-born story-teller. A frighteningly impressive achievement. Imagine a land in which Christianity is as bloodthirsty as Isis, and where the punishments heretics face make Bosch’s nightmares look timid. That’s what Neil Mackay has done here, turning back to 16th century Germany and the world’s first recorded trial of a serial killer for an impeccably crafted story that also never stops rooting out answers to the question of evil.' David Robinson, author of In Cold Ink

'The tale is gripping, the violence extreme, and the storycraft utterly superb... The Wolf Trial will be one of the landmark texts of the year, without a shadow of a doubt.' Sogo Magazine

'The Wolf Trial is an audaciously imaginative novel, as haunting and atmospheric as The Name of the Rose, as beautifully written and finely plotted as An Instance of the Fingerpost. It is a novel to savour, to relish its fine and beautiful sentences, its cunning plot, its rich evocation of a brutal time and place. A joy to read... this is historical crime fiction at its very finest.' ES Thomsom, author of Beloved Poison.

TLC Book Tours Review: Disappearance At Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay

Disappearance at Devil's Rock, Paul Tremblay

Hardcover: 336 pages


Publisher: William Morrow (June 21, 2016)

Genre: Horror

Source: TLC BOOK TOURS/Publisher (D-ARC)

A family is shaken to its core after the mysterious disappearance of a teenage boy in this eerie tale from the author of A Head Full of Ghosts.
“A Head Full of Ghosts scared the living hell out of me, and I’m pretty hard to scare,” raved Stephen King about Paul Tremblay’s previous novel, which received widespread critical acclaim. Now Tremblay returns with another disturbing tale just as powerful and unsettling.
Late one summer night, Elizabeth Sanderson receives the devastating news that every mother fears: her thirteen-year-old son, Tommy, has vanished without a trace in the woods of a nearby state park.
The search isn’t yielding any answers, and Elizabeth and her eleven-year-old daughter, Kate, struggle to comprehend Tommy’s disappearance. Feeling helpless and alone, their sorrow is compounded by anger and frustration. Neither the state nor local police have uncovered any leads. Josh and Luis, the friends who were the last to see Tommy before he vanished, may not be telling the whole truth about that night in Borderland State Park, when they were supposedly hanging out at a landmark they have renamed Devil’s Rock.

Living in an all-too-real nightmare, Elizabeth is wholly unprepared for the strange series of events that follow. She believes a wraithlike apparition of Tommy materializes in her bedroom, while Kate and other local residents claim to see a shadowy figure peering through their windows in the dead of night.  Then, random pages torn from Tommy’s journals begin to mysteriously appear—entries that reveal an introverted teenager obsessed with the phantasmagoric; the loss of his father, killed in a drunk-driving accident a decade earlier; a folktale involving the devil and the woods of Borderland; the coming zombie “pocketclips”; and a horrific incident that Tommy believed connected them all.
As the search grows more desperate, and the implications of what happened become more ominous and sinister, no one is prepared for the shocking truth about that night at Devil’s Rock.
Tremblay deftly blends literary fiction, psychological suspense, and supernatural horror into an absorbing tale that illuminates a parent’s darkest fears . . . and an adolescent’s darkest secrets. Eerie, thought-provoking, and soul-shattering, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock will haunt you long after Tommy’s final journal entry is read.

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately I did not get through this one and therefore unable to say very much about Disappearance At Devil's Rock except that maybe it just wasn't for me.  I did try but nothing seemed to happen, I didn't connect with any of the characters and I wasn't a fan of the writing style either. I gave up at 40%.

Paul Tremblay has amassed a huge amount of 5 star ratings and rave reviews so I am certainly in the minority here  in my opinion, therefore please do not let me put you off this one and do read what others in the TLC Book Tours have to say.

Disclaimer: Thank you to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for my copy of the book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

About Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay is a multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist and the author of the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. He has served as the president of the board of directors of the Shirley Jackson Awards, and his essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and numerous year’s-best anthologies.

TLC BOOK TOURS STOPS:

Tuesday, June 21st: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Wednesday, June 22nd: A Bookworm’s World

Thursday, June 23rd: SJ2B House Of Books

Friday, June 24th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Monday, June 27th: The Reader’s Hollow

Tuesday, June 28th: Booked on a Feeling

Wednesday, June 29th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Wednesday, June 29th: A Wondrous Bookshelf

Thursday, June 30th: Ms.Bookish.com

Tuesday, July 5th: A Dream Within a Dream

Wednesday, July 6th: The Year in Books

Thursday, July 7th: WildmooBooks

Friday, July 8th: Beauty in Ruins

Monday, July 11th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Tuesday, July 12th: Queen of All She Reads

The Girls by Emma Cline

The Girls by Emma Cline

Random House UK Vintage (16 June 2016)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (d-ARC)

Genre: Adult, Cults, Psychological, Coming of Age

Disclaimer: I received an ARC copy of The Girls
from the publisher for my unbiased opinion

Rating:

Synopsis

California. The summer of 1969. In the dying days of a floundering counter-culture a young girl is unwittingly caught up in unthinkable violence, and a decision made at this moment, on the cusp of adulthood, will shape her life....
Evie Boyd is desperate to be noticed. In the summer of 1969, empty days stretch out under the California sun. The smell of honeysuckle thickens the air and the sidewalks radiate heat.
Until she sees them. The snatch of cold laughter. Hair, long and uncombed. Dirty dresses skimming the tops of thighs. Cheap rings like a second set of knuckles. The girls.
And at the centre, Russell. Russell and the ranch, down a long dirt track and deep in the hills. Incense and clumsily strummed chords. Rumours of sex, frenzied gatherings, teen runaways.
Was there a warning, a sign of things to come? Or is Evie already too enthralled by the girls to see that her life is about to be changed forever?

Advance Praise
'The Girls is a brilliant and intensely consuming novel -- imposing not just for a writer so young, but for any writer, any time' - Richard Ford
'I don't know which is more amazing, Emma Cline's understanding of human beings or her mastery of language.' - Mark Haddon
'Emma Cline’s first novel positively hums with fresh, startling, luminous prose. THE GIRLS announces the arrival of a thrilling new voice in American fiction.' - Jennifer Egan

My Thoughts
First off, my thoughts on the two very different cover images:
UK Cover (above) : Reminiscent of a Summer during the '60's era of flower power and hippy peace and love. This image has a rather sinister ambience because of the subject matter of the book being loosely based on the Manson family murders. It gives a macabre feel juxtaposed against the floaty dreamy innocence of the girls. I prefer this one for its creepier atmospheric vibe.

US Cover (below) : With vivid bold dual colours, a striking image evocative of youth, this cover evokes an image of vibrancy power and defiance.  A little more disturbing is the image of the heart on the girls forehead instead of a cross which the Manson girls carved into theirs.

I am so very excited about 'The Girls' by Emma Cline. Written exceptionally well with understanding far beyond Ms Cline's 27 years, my mind boggles at the thought that this is her debut novel. It is a masterpiece in character analysis and insight of teens psyches, of sociopathic manipulative individuals, and the coming to terms with what one might have done if circumstances had turned out differently.

Most of us are familiar with the Manson family murders of the late '60's but what we don't really understand is how seemingly normal young women would commit such horrendous violent murder, without any feeling of remorse or guilt.  Emma Cline in her fictional account of the events, has gone to extensive lengths to show us that it is all too frightening easy and that with the right set of circumstances and without a stable grounding of family or peers, young minds are ripe for manipulation, and moulding.

Rather than making the killings the focal point of the book the story centres around the impressionable 14 year old Evie Boyd.  The narrative is told in elliptical format in the first person present tense over two timescale shifts, Summer of 1969 and 2010 four decades later as relived by the now middle aged Evie. The pace of the narrative is thoughtful, steady and analysingly retrospective. It is a poignant, and compelling read and as mentioned earlier Cline concentrates on the girls and the complexity of their relationships within the group dynamic rather than on the charismatic (much older) unstable leader Russell.

After a series of events which leave young Evie feeling rejected, and pretty much alone she befriends Suzanne a member of a hippy commune.  Evie becomes a frequent visitor to the run down ranch where Suzanne lives with the other members of the group and revels in the freedom and intimacy they enjoy.

Through varying stages of manipulative control, frequent drug use, violence and sexual abuse the girls undergo changes in their thought processes and shifts in perceptions. With long term nutritional deprivation (verging on near starvation) and increased drug use, Russell is able to persuade his girls to do whatever he wants without question.

Exceedingly well written with vividly drawn flawed characters, and an incredible wealth of knowledge of what makes teens tick, Emma Cline has written a powerful cautionary coming of age tale and absolutely deserving of all the praise and hype, which in my opinion is justifiable.

Not one to miss out on this Summer.

HOT Summer Reads : Girls on Fire, Robin Wasserman & The Girls, Emma Cline

Two 'Sizzling Hot Summer Reads' that you simply must not miss this year are:

 'Girls on Fire' by Robin Wasserman (see review here:)

and the incredible debut novel 'The Girls' by Emma Cline (review to follow).

Both are available right now at all good bookstores.

TLC Book Tours Review: Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Genre: Adult (Mature YA), Fiction, Good Girl Bad Girl,

Pages: 368 (Hardcover)

Publisher: Harper (May 17, 2016)

Source: Publisher/TLC Book Tours

Rating:

Synopsis:
Three girls went into the woods; two came out.
It sounds like a joke, or a riddle. But it was only, would ever after be, the rest of our life.
Shortly after Halloween, 1991, the local high-school basketball star is found in the woods near Battle Creek, Pennsylvania, with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand—a discovery that sends tremors through this conservative community, already unnerved by growing rumors of satanic worship in the region.

In the wake of this incident, bright but lonely Hannah Dexter is befriended by Lacey Champlain, a dark-eyed, Cobain-worshipping bad influence. Lacey forges a fast, intimate bond with the impressionable Dex, making her over in her own image—and unleashing a fierce defiance with unexpected and harrowing consequences. By turns a shocking story of love and violence and an addictive portrait of the intoxication of female friendship, Girls on Fire is an incendiary and unforgettable snapshot of girlhood: girls lost and found, girls weak and strong, girls who burn bright and brighter—and girls who flicker away.

Excerpt:
This is not a cautionary tale about too much - or the wrong kind - of fucking. This is not a story of bad things happening to bad girls.

Welome to the final stop of the TLC Book Tour for Robin Wasserman's latest novel, 'Girls on Fire'

First off, I love the fragmented edginess of the US cover (top) which I think is indicative of the troubled girls' characters. I'm not so sure about the cover for the UK publication (above)  as I don't think it says anything about the book or of who its target audience is.

Hannah is a rather nondescript, uninteresting kind of girl who meets Lacey, an intoxicatingly exciting bad girl. They form an unlikely relationship which becomes intensely obsessive and increasingly unsettling.

'Girls on Fire', told in alternating first person narratives is a coming of age tale in which each of the girls recount, in their own words, their perspective of the events leading up to the final confrontation. Their personal POV's are what gives the story such powerful raw energy, and impact.

Robin Wasserman has constructed a very real and scary portrayal of troubled teens living in small town in the US during the 1990's. I certainly remember the gothic phase of the 90's, the music of Nirvana, and the obsession for teens with anything supernatural or demonic, so I, in the main, believed in the characters and their behaviour.  However, there were a few hilariously 'over the top' scenes which had me chortling, 'oh come on'...'oh too much'...'how's that work then?'.  I can't say anything about the scenes to which I refer due to giving away spoilers but you'll know them if you read the book. This is but a minor gripe and it certainly didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the book.

If you have to like your main characters, or crave a happy outcome, you will be in for one hell of a disappointment and a scary unrelenting ride with this telling of sick, twisted and manipulative girls. I always remember some guy telling me when I was in my teens, 'if you girls only knew what power you held over us (men)...' yeah pretty scary now I know, but fortunately for everyone most girls don't have the self awareness or confidence to know how to use this power and by the time we realise what it is, it's gone.

Anyway back to it, with crass and vulgar language these girls are hugely unlikeable with little redeeming features. There are references to rape, sexual encounters, toxic relationships, heaps of profanity, teen angst, and of course lots of bad behaviour throughout.

At times I did feel too old for what I perceived to be a YA novel. It felt perverted and voyeristic to be reading a confessional piece, however Wasserman reeled me in until I was hooked and unable to get free, until I was fully invested in the girls and their chaotic world, and until I reached the highly sensational conclusion.

The target audience, to my surprise, is the adult market and not YA.  For me 'Girls on Fire' didn't quite have the maturity of writing style and was at times reliant on coincidence and a certain amount of belief suspension for a successful crossover to an adult audience. Younger readers may not question the scenarios but most adults almost certainly would.

That gripe out of the way, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Girls on Fire' an intensely twisted, well written compelling story and one I'd definitely recommend. I will be taking a look at Robin Wasserman's previous YA novels on the back of this one.

Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a complimentary copy of Girls on Fire in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

About The Author:

Robin Wasserman is a graduate of Harvard University and the author of several successful novels for young adults.  A recent recipient of a MacDowell fellowship, she lives in Brooklyn, New York. Girls on Fire is her firs novel for adults.

Tour schedule:

Tuesday, May 17th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World

Wednesday, May 18th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Thursday, May 19th: Book Hooked Blog

Friday, May 20th: A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, May 23rd: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, May 24th: 5 Minutes For Books

Wednesday, May 25th: Thoughts On This ‘n That

Thursday, May 26th: Booksie’s Blog

Monday, May 30th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Tuesday, May 31st: The Book Diva’s Reads

Tuesday, May 31st: A Soccer Mom’s Book Blog

Thursday, June 2nd: Ageless Pages Reviews

Monday, June 6th: Lilac Reviews

Monday, June 6th: Booksellers Without Borders

Monday, June 6th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, June 7th: StephTheBookworm

Wednesday, June 8th: A Book Geek

Thursday, June 9th: SJ2B House Of Books

Quick Review: They Are Among Us by C Bryan Brown

THEY ARE AMONG US

C. BRYAN BROWN

Genre: Vampire Thriller

Publisher: Post Mortem Press (15 April 2016)

Pages: 268

Source: Purchased

Rate:

Synopsis:
Special Agent Alexandria Maxell believes in human monsters, those whose soul is tainted by the desire for torture, rape, and murder. However, the discovery of a burned body may change her mind as all the evidence indicates the victim and the killer are creatures that exist on human blood. As the body count rises, Alexandria and her team initiate a desperate manhunt to bring the killer to justice, only to uncover a plot to decimate mankind and enslave the survivors. 

Jack Damage has hunted humans for centuries, preying on them at will. Now, twice betrayed by his own kind, Jack is conscripted into the impending human genocide, and he must fight the war on two fronts if he hopes to preserve anything from his old way of life. When the return of a vicious, unrelenting enemy threatens the future of both races, Jack must shift his focus from preservation to survival.  

Out of time and options, Alexandria and Jack both realize that truth and salvation will only exist when they are among us.

My Thoughts:
Ok...this started off brilliantly. The tension build up was superb (tantalising and teasing) and the characters well drawn and above all believable with the unbelievable happenings going on around them.

I loved it..then came the second half and that's where, for me, it fell apart. It almost felt as if this part was written by someone else or that the storyline was running away with itself, out of control.

The potential was huge on this and I'm definitely going to give this author another go.

NOMAD by James Swallow

If, like me, you've been waiting for the follow up to Terry Hayes' fabulous I Am Pilgrim you'll know the frustration of having to wait until next year for its publication.  However, here is a another thriller in a similar vein to tide you over.

Right now NOMAD is available for just 99p today! Get your copy here: amzn.to/1UtJzYu

NOMAD is a fast-paced, pulse-racing terrorist thriller - perfect for fans of I Am Pilgrim, Bourne, 24 and Homeland. It is an espionage thriller for the digital age, inspired by the works of Ludlum, Fleming and Clancy, and is firmly set in a Post-WikiLeaks world.

Praise for NOMAD:

‘An intelligent, likeable and, above all, believable hero is faced with a frighteningly credible threat in a thriller that hits the tarmac running and doesn't stop accelerating until its terrifying conclusion.’ - Ben Aaronovitch

‘A terrific white-knuckle, lip-chewing thriller. Marc Dane is the British Jason Bourne. About bloody time!’ - Rhianna Pratchett

‘Exciting and thought-provoking in equal measure, NOMAD is a thinking reader’s white knuckle thrill ride. James Swallow has written a benchmark technothriller for the 21st century, one that’s as engrossing as it is plausible.’ - Richard Dansky

About The Author:

James Swallow is a veteran scriptwriter and is the three-time New York Times bestselling author. He was nominated by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for his writing on the critically acclaimed DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION, 2013’s blockbuster videogame with over 2.18 million copies sold.