TLC BOOK TOUR: The Long Way Home by Kevin Bannister

Title:  The Long Way Home

Genre: Historical Fiction, Based on Real Events

Author:  Kevin Bannister

Format:  Digital

Publication Date:  September 15, 2016

Synopsis
Follows the lives of Thomas Peters and Murphy Steele who are friends, former slaves, fellows-in-arms and leaders of the Black Brigade. Their real-life story is an epic adventure tale as they battle bounty hunters, racism, poverty and epidemic in their adopted country after the war.

'The Long Way Home' has resonated with readers around the world as an unforgettable account of courage, hope and determination triumphing over despair and injustice. Thomas Peters, thoughtful and charismatic, and Murphy Steele, strong and impulsive, lead their followers on an inspirational search for a place where they can  be free.

My Thoughts
In an impetuous spur of the moment a young Murphy Steele runs with Thomas Peters in an attempt to escape their slave owner. Naivety and lack of planning result in their speedy recapture and sadistic scarring punishment. Quietly seething with resentment and vengeful notions Murphy is obsessed with murder and escape. He has become a frighteningly dangerous, powerfully strong brooding young man. Quite the reverse in attitude has happened to Thomas, now he wants to stay out of trouble and live as safe a life he can, even if that means being an obedient slave...One day circumstances will be right for them to run again.

It is through Murphy’s, at times, rather dry narrative but engaging conversational style that their experiences are shared with us as we follow them in pursuit of regaining freedom.  Two runaway slaves, two unsung heroes, with promises of becoming freemen with land of their own, fought bravely alongside the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. As soldiers they led their men in the ‘Black Pioneers’ unit into horrific bloody battle.  Victory was not delivered and the men who survived faced a difficult choice, to remain as slaves or leave for an uncertain future with the British.

I’ve read a few different titles, fiction and non fiction about the slave trade but not one which gives such a vivid in-depth enlightening perspective from two men such as Thomas Peters who had an influence on many fellow freed slaves some of whom he persuaded to return to Africa where they founded the state of Freetown; and Murphy Steele who was a key component in rounding up Black volunteers to accompany him to Nova Scotia where, once again promised by the British, they would be supplied with everything needed to build a new free state for themselves. This is where the sequel (currently in progress) will pick up from. I sincerely hope it won’t be too long in coming to publication.

Unquestionably brave, charismatic and highly influential men of their time, Bannister’s well researched historical novel gives them a real presence and voice to speak to and remind us about injustice prejudice and the cruelty of enslavement, of denying a race basic human rights and who are deemed an expendable piece of property, of the horror of war, and the reminder that as humans we are fundamentally a selfish animal which will usually choose the best course of action to benefit us personally, culturally and racially, that we will utilise treachery, betrayal or indifference as a means to that end.

The times they haven’t changed that much !

Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary digital copy of the book for my thoughts to be included in this tour. Thank you to the author and TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and take part.

Similar reads:
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
KINTU, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Sugar Money, Jane Harris
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
Underground Airlines, Ben E Winters
12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup (memoir)
Black Boy, Richard Wright (non fiction)
The Free State of Jones, Victoria E Bynam (non fiction)

TLC Book Tour Between The Lies by Cynthia A. Graham

Author: Cynthia A. Graham

Source: Digital ARC

Publisher: Blank Slate Press

Release Date: March 27, 2018

Paperback: 220 pages

Synopsis:
When the corrupt sheriff of Broken Creek, Arkansas detains a young black boy on charges of accidental homicide, his sister asks Hick Blackburn, Sheriff of Cherokee Crossing, to investigate. Hick is reluctant at first. Not only is Broken Creek out of his jurisdiction, but Hick and Sheriff Brewster have a history, and Hick knows Brewster won’t look kindly on his interference. But Hick quickly realizes the boy couldn’t have committed the crime. With the aid of a New York attorney trying to make a name for herself and a shy new deputy who knows the boy’s family, Hick uncovers a conspiracy that goes to the heart of local corruption, nepotism, and racism. But while Hick is working to free an innocent child in Broken Creek, his beloved Maggie, pregnant with their third child, faces challenges of her own back home. This time, will Hick’s dedication to justice extract too high a price?

Heartfelt and poignant, Between the Lies by Cynthia A. Graham handles the complexities of Southern culture and the depths of its racial past with grace and finesse. The character development and plot are deep and complex. This is a novel full of heartbreak, but a story of hope is at its true heart.”–Hunter S. Jones, author of Red Stilleto Strategy

My Thoughts:
‘Between The Lies’ is book three in a southern mystery series set in Arkansas during the 1950’s about small town sheriff Hickory Blackman. In this instalment we follow Hick over the course of four days in July, in an ongoing mental fight with an influential bully in the nearby county of Broken Creek.

Sheriff Brewster has brought into custody a local black child, Thaddeus for the killing of a white man even though, obvious to any ‘dumbass’, that physically Thad is incapable of committing the crime.  Such evidential facts, however, won’t get in the way of Brewster’s objective of obtaining a guilty conviction for such a convenient scapegoat.

A conversation between Hick and Father Grant, pastor of Broken Creek, brings to light the case of George Stinney a 14 year old black boy who was tried for murder, found guilty, and executed.  Now I was intrigued and ‘googled’ George Stinney who from the southern state of Carolina was (rightly or wrongly) found guilty of murder in similar circumstances. I was deeply affected, it was incredibly upsetting and heartbreaking to read about such cruelty, inhumane treatment of a minor and ultimately the horrific execution of a child. Was this a warning of what may be in store for young Thad. Not if Hick has anything to do with it. It’s going to be a fight, but with mental ingenuity to outsmart Brewster it’s not something that Hick will easily allow to happen.

Graham’s style of writing, much like our protagonist, is calm, intelligent and measured.  In contrast to the languid pace she also manages, without being preachy or altering style or pace of the novel, to manoeuvre into place a powerful, poignant nugget of historical fact for the reader to mull over.  Awareness of this event in history added another layer, dimension and understanding of the characters living within a community steeped in racial hatred, and run by a corrupt and bigoted sheriff.  I couldn’t help thinking, with the current worldwide political climate, that we appear to be coming full circle and learned very little if anything from the past.

Now that ending ! Wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and it knocked me for six. A very sad unsettling denouement.  Just another chapter in Hicks life to be overcome and I am keen to see how his character develops and moves on from it.

‘Beneath Still Waters’ is the first book in the series, and although there is a sense of growth in Hick’s character, ‘Beneath The Lies’ could easily be read out of sequence or as a stand-alone. I havn’t yet gotten around to reading ‘Behind Every Door’ but do intend on doing so before the next book.  I highly recommended this series.

Memorable Lines

““You white folks are something else. You like to pretend you know what’s best for us, that you got our interests at heart. But at the end of the day you get to go home and be safe and white. We don’t get to leave. We always black.”

“We all had the same orders. Plant fear in the hearts of the townsfolk regarding colored people, because fear will always turn to hate. After the hate starts to grow, point out things like desegregation will cause inter-marriage and inter-marriage will create a mongrel race of half-breeds. Tell them their women are in danger and that a black man touching a white woman is an abomination.”

“...and Uncle Earl told me to never mention that man’s name again. He said for me to shut my trap and let him run the town as he sees fit. Told me I ain’t nothing but a dumbass anyway and that he only hired me ’cause my mama begged him to.”

Thank you to TLC Book Tours, and Blank Slate Press who provided me with a digital copy in order to take part in this tour.

Cynthia A. Graham’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, August 6th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Monday, August 13th: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, August 15th: Broken Teepee

Friday, August 17th: Write Read Life

Monday, August 20th: Prose and Palate and @prose_and_palate

Wednesday, August 22nd: Patricia’s Wisdom

Thursday, August 23rd: SJ2B House of Books

Friday, August 24th: From the TBR Pile

TLC BOOK TOURS: The Garden of Blue Roses by Michael Barsa

The Garden of Blue Roses by Michael Barsa

Genre: Literary, Fiction, Gothic, Suspense, Psychological
Publisher: Underland Press (April 2018)

Pages: 244

Ratting: 

Disclaimer: A digital review copy was supplied by the author to participate in the tour

Perfect for fans of horror, psychological and suspense thrillers

Description:
“Ominous, fantastic, and wonderfully malevolent…. I felt the spirits of Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Albert Camus’ Meursault, whispering to join the fun.”— Alice Sebold, best-selling and award-winning author of The Lovely Bones
A car lies at the bottom of an icy ravine. Slumped over the steering wheel, dead, is the most critically acclaimed horror writer of his time. Was it an accident? His son Milo doesn’t care. For the first time in his life, he’s free. No more nightmarish readings, spooky animal rites, or moonlit visions of his father in the woods with a notebook and vampire make-up.
Or so he thinks.

Milo settles into a quiet routine—constructing model Greek warships and at last building a relationship with his sister Klara, who’s home after a failed marriage and brief career as an English teacher. Then Klara hires a gardener to breathe new life into their overgrown estate. There’s something odd about him—something eerily reminiscent of their father’s most violent villain. Or is Milo imagining things? He’s not sure. That all changes the day the gardener discovers something startling in the woods. Suddenly Milo is fighting for his life, forced to confront the power of fictional identity as he uncovers the shocking truth about his own dysfunctional family—and the supposed accident that claimed his parents’ lives.

My Thoughts
Milo is pleased that his sister Klara has returned home after the failure of her marriage and attempted escape from their parents hold. There is a real sense of creepiness and unease which seeps from within the claustrophobic familial walls, and of an unnerving comprehension of impending doom.  Shortly after Klara’s homecoming their parent’s are killed in a car accident on their way to a book reading.

‘The bodies were in the basement, on slabs of steel—Mother with shards of her sunglasses still nestled in her platinum bob and Father in his tweedy, seedy best. "I think I see Father breathing," I whispered to Klara. She gave me a stern look and told me to hush. I would not. Instead I began poking him in the face to wake him up. Even when his head flopped to one side and his jaw hung open crookedly, I laughed and said: "What an actor!" I didn't trust his death. Father was an author. He was words. You can't kill words—can't lock them up and drive them off a cliff.’

Full of foreboding benevolence ‘The Garden Of Blue Roses’ is interspersed with a playfulness and dark humour displayed through the odd behaviour and interaction of its socially inept narrator. Milo is naive and unable to function ‘normally’ outside of his family environment. He just doesn’t understand the rules of social engagement and its certainly apparent, almost immediately, that there’s something just not right about him. Is he a creation of his father’s twisted nurturing? Or, perhaps his mother’s distant and neglectful aloofness? Maybe both have played a part.

“Beauty without context. I saw how Klara hung on his every word, how her breath fluttered like an excited bird’s.”

I simply adored the stylishly beautiful writing and above is an example of just one sentence which froze me in motion as I too felt the heart flutter and breath trembling of Klara and her idolatry emotions.

Klara becomes fixated with Henri a gardener she’s hired to transform ‘the grounds’ into something spectacular in remembrance of their parents.  Milo doesn’t like Henri. He doesn’t trust him. He knows he’s an evil character who has climbed out from the pages of his father’s infamous novel about a psychotic murderer.

Barsa has created a haunting, ambiguous tale that kept me second guessing right the way through with such a highly dysfunctional family and unreliable characters. It was impossible to know who or what to believe. This is an exceptionally well written ‘literary’ debut comparable to such titles in the modern gothic genre as, Andrew Michel Hurley’s ‘The Loney’, and the chilling ‘A Headful Of Ghosts’ by Paul Tremblay.

‘The Garden of Blue Roses’ is a gothic novel with a difference.  The subtle fun element lifts the mood in parts. It worked brilliantly and I absolutely loved its uniqueness.

Michael Barsa’s TLC Book Tours Stops:

Tuesday, May 29th: SJ2B House of Books

Thursday, May 31st: Sweet Southern Home

Monday, June 4th: Bewitched Bookworms

Wednesday, June 6th: Write Read Life

Friday, June 8th: Thoughts from a Highly Caffeinated Mind

Monday, June 11th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Wednesday, June 13th: @ladyofthelibrary

Thursday, June 14th: Broken Teepee

Monday, June 18th: Midwest Ladies Who Lit

Friday, June 22nd: From the TBR Pile

Monday, June 25th: @tbretc

Wednesday, June 27th: Books and Bindings

Tuesday, July 3rd: Kahakai Kitchen

Thursday, July 5th: Katy’s Library and @katyslibrary

Monday, July 9th: Patricia’s Wisdom

TEASER TUESDAY: The Garden of Blue Roses by Michael Barsa

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by

 The Purple Booker

It is very easy to play along:

Grab your current read and open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page being careful not to include any spoilers!  Share the title and author, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are my teasers this month:

“Did the officers sense anything amiss, anything strange about the scene? No, they were dull and provincial—they just wanted to get things over with. One of them silently drove Klara and me to the station.”

The Garden of Blue Roses by Michael Barsa

Genre: Literary, Fiction, Gothic, Suspense, Psychological
Publisher: Underland Press (April 2018)

Pages: 244

Description:
“Ominous, fantastic, and wonderfully malevolent…. I felt the spirits of Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Albert Camus’ Meursault, whispering to join the fun.”— Alice Sebold, best-selling and award-winning author of The Lovely Bones

A car lies at the bottom of an icy ravine. Slumped over the steering wheel, dead, is the most critically acclaimed horror writer of his time. Was it an accident? His son Milo doesn’t care. For the first time in his life, he’s free. No more nightmarish readings, spooky animal rites, or moonlit visions of his father in the woods with a notebook and vampire make-up.

My Thoughts:
A very creepy and foreboding atmospheric tale which I’m totally absorbed in, when I get the chance to read what with my job change right now rendering me mentally exhausted by the end of the day.

My review will be kicking off the TLC Book Tour on 23rd May, 2018.
See here for my review See here for the tour schedule.

TLC BOOK TOURS: The RainBirds by Clarissa Goenawan

The RainBirds by Clarissa Goenawan

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Soho Press (March 6, 2018)

Description:
Set in an imagined town outside Tokyo, Clarissa Goenawan’s dark, spellbinding literary debut follows a young man’s path to self-discovery in the wake of his sister’s murder. 

Ren Ishida has nearly completed his graduate degree at Keio University when he receives news of his sister’s violent death. Keiko was stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister’s affairs, failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate place years ago.

But then Ren is offered Keiko’s newly vacant teaching position at a prestigious local cram school and her bizarre former arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician’s mansion in exchange for reading to the man’s ailing wife. He accepts both, abandoning Tokyo and his crumbling relationship there in order to better understand his sister’s life and what took place the night of her death.

As Ren comes to know the eccentric local figures, from the enigmatic politician who’s boarding him to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, captivating young female student, he delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren realizes that Keiko Ishida kept many secrets, even from him.

My Thoughts:
The cover of The RainBirds is enchanting and eye-catching, and from the description appealed to me immensely. The dream sequences are hauntingly beautiful with just a touch of magical surreal creepiness and foreboding. Think of the Japanese horror films such as The Ring’ and you’ll get a sense of the mood. However outside of these genuinely atmospheric, slightly unnerving moments the book didn’t have much hold on me and at 19% I didn’t feel invested or compelled to read any further at this time.

These are only my thoughts and so please read what others have to say from the TLC Blog Tour below.

A Bustle Most Anticipated Book of 2018

“Luminous, sinister, and page-turning all at once. I loved it.”

—Kate Hamer, internationally bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat and The Doll Funeral

“A beautiful mystery setup with a complex, magical love story.”

—Eka Kurniawan, award-winning author of Beauty Is a Wound and Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

“A beautiful, well-crafted story, Rainbirds is an exploration of grief, love and loss. Clarissa Goenawan has written a powerful debut novel that will leave readers craving more.”—Hollie Overton, internationally bestselling author of Baby Doll and The Walls

“Like the imaginary town in Japan in which it takes place, Rainbirds possesses a charm that is at once cloistered, quiet, and mysterious. Carefully crafted and paced, the novel captivates with its reflective, dreamlike tone. A promising debut from Clarissa Goenawan.”—Dee Lestari, award-winning singer-songwriter and author of the Supernova series

“Rainbirds is that rarest of debut novels—confident, transportive, and utterly enthralling. Clarissa Goenawan explores the mysteries of small-town Japan, drawing readers in with understated prose, then ensnaring with a subtle spell, exposing, grain by grain, the secrets behind a young woman’s death.”

—Barry Lancet, award-winning author of The Spy Across the Table and Japantown

“A hauntingly moving story of loss and alienation.”—Jake Arnott, internationally bestselling author of The Long Firm and The House of Rumour 

About Clarissa Goenawan

Clarissa Goenawan is an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer. Her award-winning short fiction has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies in Singapore, Australia, the UK, and the US. Rainbirds is her first novel.

Connect with Clarissa

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Clarissa Goenawan’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, March 5th: SJ2B House of Books

Tuesday, March 6th: Reading Reality

Wednesday, March 7th: @readingbringsjoy

Thursday, March 8th: A Bookish Way of Life

Friday, March 9th: @bookishconnoisseur

Monday, March 12th: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, March 13th: Books a la Mode

Wednesday, March 14th: Spin a Tale Reviews and @spinatale

Thursday, March 15th: Book Chatter

Monday, March 19th: The Literary Llama and @theliteraryllama

Tuesday, March 20th: @athousandbookstoread

Wednesday, March 21st: @ladyofthelibrary

Thursday, March 22nd: Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, March 26th: Write Read Life

TLC BOOK TOURS REVIEW OF The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (16th January, 2018)

Pages: 384

Source: digital copy provided by Publisher/TLC Book Tours

Metal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.

But when she and Maisie accidentally reunite, Katie can’t ignore the familiarity of her child’s compulsive behaviour. Worse, Maisie worries obsessively about bad things happening to her pregnant stepmom. Katie has the power to help, but can she reconnect with the family she abandoned?

To protect Maisie, Katie must face the fears that drove her from home, accept the possibility of love, and risk exposing her heart-wrenching secret.

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this one due to work and personal commitments. Therefore, I  feel unable to comment apart from to say that the short amount I managed to read was an extremely well written and thoroughly engaging story.

For more qualified and informative reviews please check out what other readers on the TLC Book Tour had to say about The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White.


I would like to thank the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a  digital copy to enable me to take part in this tour and to apologise for not being able to fully participate on this occasion.

About Barbara Claypole White

Bestselling author Barbara Claypole White creates hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Originally from England, she writes and gardens in the forests of North Carolina where she lives with her beloved OCD family. Her novels include The Unfinished Garden, The In-Between Hour, The Perfect Son, and Echoes of Family. The Promise Between Us, a story of redemption, sacrifice, and OCD, has a publication date of January 16^th, 2018. She is also an OCD Advocate for the A2A Alliance, a nonprofit group that promotes advocacy over adversity. To connect with Barbara, please visit www.barbaraclaypolewhite.com, or follow her on Facebook. She’s always on Facebook.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 16th: Doing Dewey

Thursday, January 18th: Books and Bindings

Friday, January 19th: Readaholic Zone

Monday, January 22nd: Kritters Ramblings

Thursday, January 25th: Leah DeCesare

Friday, January 26th: What Is That Book About

Monday, January 29th: Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, January 30th: Book by Book

Wednesday, February 7th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, February 8th: Novel Gossip

Friday, February 9th: Thoughts On This ‘n That

Monday, February 12th: SJ2B House Of Books

Monday, February 19th: Instagram: @writersdream

Thursday, February 22nd: The Geeky Bibliophile

Friday, February 23rd: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World

Wednesday, February 28th: Comfy Reading

TBD: Wining Wife

TEASER TUESDAY: The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by

 The Purple Booker

It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read and open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! 

• Share the title & author, too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are my teasers this month:
“Apparently seeing my mother stab my father at the kitchen table was enough to send any future adult loco. According to the professionals, we never escape our childhoods. Mine was short-lived after the kitchen incident. Dad ran off, and Mom prayed and drank, prayed and drank, while I raised my baby sister.”

Title:The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

Published by Lake Union Publishing (16th January, 2018)

Synopsis:
Metal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.

My Thoughts:
So far I have only read the first few pages but 'The Promise Between Us' promises to be a real heartbreaking, tearjerker and one I’m really looking forward to reviewing as part of the TLC Book Tour during February with my blog tour date scheduled for, 12th February.

TLC Book Tours: Hannah Who Fell From The Sky by Christopher Meades

HANNA WHO FELL FROM THE SKY

By Christopher Meades

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Park Row Books (September 26, 2017)

TLC Book Tour September/October 2017

From highly acclaimed, award-winning author Christopher Meades comes a magical, provocative tale of forbidden love and one girl’s struggle for liberation

About Hanna Who Fell from the Sky
Hanna has never been outside her secluded community of Clearhaven. She has never questioned why her father has four wives or why she has fourteen brothers and sisters. And in only one week, on her eighteenth birthday, Hanna will follow tradition and become the fifth wife of a man more than twice her age.
But just days before the wedding, Hanna meets Daniel, an enigmatic stranger who challenges her to question her fate and to follow her own will. Then her mother tells her a secret—one that could grant Hanna the freedom she’s known only in her dreams. As her world unravels around her, Hanna must decide whether she was really meant for something greater than the claustrophobic world of Clearhaven. But can she abandon her beloved younger sister and the only home she’s ever known? Or is there another option—one too fantastical to believe?

With lush, evocative prose, Christopher Meades takes readers on an emotional journey into a fascinating, unknown world—and, along the way, brilliantly illuminates complexities of faith, identity and how our origins shape who we are.

“Beautiful and delicate, Meades has written a powerful meditation on how we define ourselves, the gift and cruelty of faith, and the redemptive act of storytelling. A gorgeous blend of dreamy folklore and gritty reality.” -Erika Swyler, bestselling author of The Book of Speculation
“A strange and beautiful fable with shades of Deliverance, Room, and Winter’s Bone.” -Laline Paull, award-winning author of The Bees
“As she slashes through the mythology that restrains her, Hanna rises like a phoenix. Christopher Meades weaves a feast of paradox and surprise.” -Benjamin Ludwig, author of Ginny Moon
“Compelling and provocative, Meades weaves elements of magical realism into his poignant coming-of-age tale. In Hanna, readers will find a new heroine, one who uncovers the secrets of her repressive society as she journeys toward self-discovery.” -Paula Treick DeBoard, author of The Drowning Girls
“With original characters and graceful prose, Christopher Meades has created an indelible novel about faith, family and love. Your heart will soar and ache for Hanna on her thoroughly original coming-of-age journey.” -Kelly Simmons, author of The Fifth of July

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this one due to work and personal commitments. Therefore, feel unable to comment apart from to say that the short amount I read was well written and definitely had promise.
For more qualified and informative reviews please check out what other readers on the TLC Book Tour had to say about Hannah Who Fell From The Sky below.

I would like to thank the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with an advanced digital copy to enable me to take part in this tour and to apologise for not being able to fully participate on this occasion.

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER  MEADES

Christopher Meades is the author of three previous novels, including THE LAST HICCUP, which won the 2013 Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction. In addition, Meades’s work has appeared in several literary journals including The Potomac Review and The Fiddlehead. He lives in British Columbia, Canada, with his family.

Christopher Meades TLC BOOK TOUR STOPS:

Monday, September 18th: Girls in Books – Instagram

Tuesday, September 26th: Bookworm Everlasting blog and Instagram

Wednesday, September 27th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Wednesday, September 27th: Mama Reads

Thursday, September 28th: Kahakai Kitchen

Friday, September 29th: SJ2B House of Books

Monday, October 2nd: Katy’s Library blog and Instagram

Tuesday, October 3rd: A Thousand Books to Read – Instagram

Wednesday, October 4th: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Friday, October 6th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, October 9th: Caryn, The Book Whisperer

Tuesday, October 10th: The Mind of a Book Nerd blog and Instagram

Wednesday, October 11th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Thursday, October 12th: Blogging with A

Friday, October 13th: A Holland Reads

Monday, October 16th: Books & Bindings

Tuesday, October 17th: Girls in Books blog and Instagram

Wednesday, October 18th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Thursday, October 19th: Suzy Approved

Friday, October 20th: Thoughts from a Highly Caffeinated Mind

Monday, October 23rd: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, October 24th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Thursday, October 26th: Girl Who Reads

Thursday, October 26th: The Sketchy Reader

Friday, October 27th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

TLC BOOK TOUR REVIEW: The Quiet Child by John Burley

 

The Quiet Child by John Burley

Paperback: 304 pages 

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (August 8, 2017)

Rating:

Disclosure: I received an advanced digital copy of the book from TLC Book Tours and the publisher in order to take part in this tour.

Synopsis

From the award-winning author of The Absence of Mercy, comes a gripping and darkly psychological novel about family, suspicion, and the price we are willing to pay to protect those we love the most.

It’s the summer of 1954, and the residents of Cottonwood, California, are dying. At the center of it all is six-year-old Danny McCray, a strange and silent child the townspeople regard with fear and superstition, and who appears to bring illness and ruin to those around him. Even his own mother is plagued by a disease that is slowly consuming her.

Sheriff Jim Kent, increasingly aware of the whispers and rumors surrounding the boy, has watched the people of his town suffer—and he worries someone might take drastic action to protect their loved ones. Then a stranger arrives, and Danny and his ten-year-old brother, Sean, go missing. In the search that follows, everyone is a suspect, and the consequences of finding the two brothers may be worse than not finding them at all.

My Thoughts

Right at the beginning of this story Michael McCray, a quiet, measured man, appears to be mulling something over and that maybe he should pack his family up into the Chevy Bel Air right there and then to move for a fresh start to some place new where things may be better for them. Instead he puts the boys in the truck and drives into town to buy ice creams to celebrate their mother, Kate feeling unusually well that day. A decision he will come to regret.

I really enjoyed this southern gothic atmospheric psychological thriller set in the small town of Cottonwood, California in 1950's.  The Quiet Child, for me, was a captivatingly compelling read about the disappearance of two young boys; ten-year-old Sean and his six-year-old brother Danny, and of the race to find them alive.

The pace at the start is like Michael quiet, and measured, but then the pace and action ramps up and doesn't abate until the finality of the book.

Kate desperately wants her boys back at any cost and demands that her husband find them. This Michael vows to do and makes the decision to 'go it alone', without the help of the authorities. How far will he go to save those he loves the most, and will he be able to live with the consequences of his actions?

In the race to find the boys are Cottonwood's Sheriff Jim Kent, and two Shasta County detectives who are also hellbent on bringing them back alive to their mother.

Danny suffers from selective mutism. He hasn't uttered a word in all of his six years of life. A strange boy that things tend to happen around. From the time of his birth, sickness and death has befallen those around him including his mother, now in the final stages of Lou Gehrig's disease.

Misfortune has plagued anyone coming into contact with young Danny and with a long list of sickness, accidents and deaths, the community believe he has special, poisonous powers enabling him to cause them harm. Are they right to be afraid of him and to believe that it may be better for everyone if Danny is never found.

This is 1954 and without the modern day technology and forensic advancements we've become so reliant upon in our modern world this will be a slow methodical and timely investigative operation. The process feels painstakingly long and drawn out giving a sense of time running out for the boys. One such process which brings home this disadvantage is when a telephone call needs tracing.  Paper records are logged by each busy telephone switchboard operative.  These details then need to be cross checked and referenced with at least two other telephone exchanges across the county. This, just one example of how our lives have changed with our immediate access to internet information and tracking technology and mobile phones, gives an authentic sense of time and place to the narrative.

There are some beautiful touching moments with Michael's bitter-sweet memories of his wife over the years interspersed throughout. It is obvious that he is still as much in love with her as he ever was and will do whatever he can to save her from her inevitable premature death.

Do not expect explanations for the source or cause of the illnesses, Burley only hints at the possibility of supernatural forces at play or even, more plausibly for modern times, chemical pollutants seeping in and poisoning the environment and its residents.  As aforementioned this is the 1950's and a time where environmental issues are less likely to be considered, especially from a small town community heavily steeped in superstitious beliefs.  Read, The Quiet Child' with the mind of someone of the era and you'll not be dissatisfied.

Incorporating a credible cast of characters, scenarios and stunning imagery of the area (well chiefly memories being invoked of vacationing in and around the stunning locations), with several twists and turns, The Quiet Child along with its disturbing conclusion, and final shocking twist was a tense, exciting read.

Perfect for fans of American small town historical drama and equally, due to the slight ambiguity of its genre, I think fans of Stephen King and Paul Tremblay would enjoy this one too.

Highly recommended.

About John Burley 

John Burley attended medical school in Chicago and completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He currently serves as an emergency medicine physician in Northern California, where he lives with his wife and daughter, and their Great Dane and English bulldog.

Find out more about John at his website, and connect with him on Facebook and Twitter

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