Maltese Steel by Stuart Field - Blog Tour + Guest Post

I am thrilled to be involved in the Blog Tour for Maltese Steel (A John Steel Thriller) ..... check out the guest post by author Stuart Field on why he set his latest novel in Malta

A woman is found dead on the island of Gozo. The cops say she fell from the Azure Window tourist spot, but her father thinks otherwise.

CIA Section Chief Foster needs help to prove it was murder, so he turns to the only person he knows can get the job done: John Steel.

The Hive, securely seated under the US Embassy on the island of Malta, is an operation that monitors all passage from North Africa and the Middle East into Europe and the US. A platform that requires the latest in technology and facial recognition.

In seven days, that software will be updated. In two days, all hell will break loose. And the clock is ticking for an attack on American soil.

Together with the beautiful Sammara Malk of Mossad, can Steel find out who killed Lucy - and stop whoever is behind the impending attack?

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maltese-Steel-John-Book-ebook/dp/B08X393QRM/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Maltese-Steel-John-Book-ebook/dp/B08X393QRM/ 

GUEST POST BY AUTHOR STUART FIELD

The fifth novel of the John Steel thriller series, Maltese Steel, is set on the fantastic island of Malta and the island of Gozo.

Why did I choose Malta? When I had the idea for the fifth book of the series, I knew I needed somewhere special because it would be a new chapter in the series. This was the one that would see John Steel break away from the NYPD team and go it alone.

Before I wrote Maltese Steel, I had already been there on holiday. I discovered how fantastic and awe-inspiring the island was. Its rugged landscape was beautiful yet, harshness to it. 

We took a tour of the island with a brilliant chap who does a film tour guide. He took us around to the other cities, each one just adding to the brilliants of the island. Then sometime later, we went over to Gozo on the ferry. We were lucky enough to have seen the Azure Window, one of the places I felt I had to put into the story. Unfortunately, years later, it collapsed in a storm.

I felt Malta was like John Steel in a way. It was harsh but beautiful, where Steel is dangerous but handsome. They are both independent souls but find strength when partnered with the right group or person. They have both seen many hardships but become stronger for them.

When I have a story in my head and discover the right setting for the story, I feel I have to go there. Sure, the internet can show you things, but you don’t get the feel of the place. You don’t experience the smells and tastes, the temperature, the sounds of the birds (the cries of the local seabird, which sounds like the cries of a baby – very strange).

Malta is a brilliant island with fantastic people, including the hotel that I stayed in and also features in the book. The hotel is spectacular, and the staff are the best. Little wonder it is called the Excelsior. 

Both Malta and Gozo have it all. Culture, the beaches, fantastic food, sites to see. Or just a nice place to relax.

For a writer of either a thriller, historical or even a romance, Malta and Gozo, I would say, is a must. For a holiday, they are an absolute must.

Meet the Author

Stuart Field is a veteran who now works in security after serving twenty-two years in the British Army. As well as working full time he writes in his spare time. Stuart was born and raised in the West Midlands in the UK. His love for travel has been an inspiration in some of his work with his John Steel thriller series. As well as future John Steel novels, Stuart is working on a new series and standalone novels.

https://twitter.com/StuartField14

www.facebook.com/stuart.field.5811

www.stuartfieldcrime.com

www.goodreads.com/user/show/36446907-stuart-field

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Body on the Rocks by Rachel Green - Blog Tour

I am delighted to be involved in the blog tour for Body on the Rocks by Rachel Green

Mourning the death of her police inspector husband, Margot Renard moves to a small seaside town in the south of France. But when the body of a small boy washes up on a beach, Margot is drawn into a dangerous world of drug smugglers and people trafficking, and forced to cross paths with two feuding gangsters.

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Rocks-France-Madame-Investigates-ebook/dp/B08X1GJ9GX

US -  https://www.amazon.com/Body-Rocks-France-Madame-Investigates-ebook/dp/B08X1GJ9GX 

Meet the Author

Rachel Green is the pen name of a writer from the UK. Rachel has twice been longlisted for both the Bath Novel Award and the BPA First Novel Award, as well as being on the shortlist for the Capital Crime New Voices Award. Rachel lives in a tiny village in England, but travels frequently to the south of France where the stories from the Madame Renard Investigates series are set.

Social Media Links – Twitter: @AuthorRachelG  Facebook: AuthorRachelG

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Retribution by Christina O'Reilly - Blog Tour + Extract

I'm thrilled to be involved in the blog tour for Retribution by Christina O'Reilly with an exclusive extract

A young woman has been murdered on Ripton Beach. 

    DSS ‘Archie’ Baldrick and DC Ben Travers eventually identify the body as that of Lucy Martin, who has been renting a bach in the area. Her husband, Oliver, seems to know very little about his wife or her background. 

     What was Lucy hiding? Why has she no family or friends?

     As the number of suspects mounts up, Archie begins to conclude that the real answer lies in Lucy’s dark and mysterious past, and that the murderer may be just a little too close for comfort …

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Retribution-Christina-OReilly-ebook/dp/B08M5XX5V6/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Retribution-Christina-OReilly-ebook/dp/B08M5XX5V6/ 

EXTRACT

Notes: This scene takes place in the mortuary where Archie and Travers are awaiting confirmation of the young woman’s cause of death and any other personal details that may help them discover her killer.

Archie stood surreptitiously leaning against the wall of the mortuary. The old mattress on the motel bed had been soft and lumpy and now his back ached without mercy. Or is it really because you hate mortuaries? The gentle but persistent voice of Dr Rach echoed at the back of his mind.

‘I was right,’ Vincent Sharpe said with jolly satisfaction. ‘She was indeed drowned, by person or persons unknown. But that’s your job.’ He grinned ghoulishly at Archie. ‘There was seawater in the lungs and fresh bruising to the back of the neck and the tip of her nose.’ He stood over the slender form of Lucy Martin, laid out beneath a pale green sheet on the slab. ‘No obvious distinguishing marks like tattoos. But her hair was dyed blonde − quite a feat as her natural colour was quite dark. It would have to have been stripped of its colour first and then dyed. She’s also had some pretty expensive dentistry: there are crowns on most of her front teeth. No defence wounds,’ he added, uncovering the body to the waist, ‘but that’s hardly surprising.’

Archie levered himself away from the wall to take a closer look at the corpse, and it struck him again what a lack of colour there was in death. Travers was already leaning hunched over the table, his arms crossed in front of him. He looked up at Vincent, a puzzled expression on his face.

‘What are we looking at?’

Dr Sharpe lifted one of Lucy’s arms. ‘See this? Fine hairs on the forearms, except around the wrist area. Odd, don’t you think?’

Meet the Author

Christina is a writer and professional proofreader living in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Four of her short stories have been published, one in a magazine and the others in anthologies produced by Page and Blackmore, Rangitawa Publishing and most recently in Fresh Ink: Voices from Aotearoa, produced by Cloud Ink Press. 

As well as being a finalist in the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards, Christina’s first crime novel Into the Void was longlisted for the 2019 Michael Gifkins Memorial Prize for an unpublished novel. 

Social Media Links – https://www.facebook.com/Christina-OReilly-Author-102419694721372/ 

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After the Storm by Isabella Muir - Audiobook Mini Review

 

When a violent storm blasts England’s south coast, it’s up to retired Italian detective Giuseppe Bianchi to sift through the devastation and piece together the tragic events left behind in the storm’s wake.

Giuseppe Bianchi’s brief visit to Bexhill-on-Sea has become an extended stay. He is loath to return to his home in Rome because of the haunting images that made him leave in the first place. 

During his morning walks along the seafront with Beagle, Max, he meets Edward Swain, who becomes Giuseppe's walking companion. They form a friendship of sorts and find they have a similar outlook on life.1

But the devastating events of a single night lead Giuseppe to question the truth about Edward Swain. Teaming up with young journalist Christina Rossi - his cousin's daughter - Giuseppe learns about the brutal reality lurking behind the day-to-day life of families in the local community. And as the story unravels Giuseppe is reminded how anger and revenge can lead to the most dreadful of crimes.

After the Storm is the second novel in the Giuseppe Bianchi mystery series - the much-awaited sequel to Crossing the Line.

Grab your copy today, and enjoy the intrigue of traditional English mystery, cleverly combined with a continental twist.

Purchase Link - http://viewbook.at/Afterthestormaudio

My Thoughts

After the Storm is, like the storm itself that batters the small seaside town, a rollercoaster of a read as the truth is gradually uncovered about the guests in the lodging house that Guiseppe's friend Edward owned.

I enjoyed the setting of the sixties, and found this to be a slow and steady read, with the lyrical tones of narrator Charles Johnston who made it a very enjoyable and compelling story.

I loved the relationship between the methodical thinker, Guiseppe, and his niece, Christina, the local newspaper reporter as they begin to unravel the many secrets that people in a small town keep, they really complemented one another.

A gently-paced, enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a new mystery author.

Meet the Author

Isabella is never happier than when she is immersing herself in the sights, sounds and experiences of the 1960s. Researching all aspects of family life back then formed the perfect launch pad for her works of fiction. Isabella rediscovered her love of writing fiction during two happy years working on and completing her MA in Professional Writing and since then she has gone on to publish six novels, three novellas and two short story collections.

Her latest novel, After the Storm, is the second novel in a new series of Sussex Crimes, featuring retired Italian detective, Giuseppe Bianchi who is escaping from tragedy in Rome, only to arrive in the quiet seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to come face-to-face with it once more.

Her first Sussex Crime Mystery series features young librarian and amateur sleuth, Janie Juke. Set in the late 1960s, in the fictional seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, we meet Janie, who looks after the mobile library. She is an avid lover of Agatha Christie stories – in particular Hercule Poirot. Janie uses all she has learned from the Queen of Crime to help solve crimes and mysteries. As well as three novels, there are three novellas in the series, which explore some of the back story to the Tamarisk Bay characters.

Isabella’s standalone novel, The Forgotten Children, deals with the emotive subject of the child migrants who were sent to Australia – again focusing on family life in the 1960s, when the child migrant policy was still in force.

Social Media Links – 

https://isabellamuir.com/ 

https://twitter.com/SussexMysteries 

https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaMuirAuthor 

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A Knot of Sparrows by Cheryl Rees-Price - Book Blog Tour

I'm delighted to be involved in the blog tour for A Knot of Sparrows by Cheryl Rees-Price

Welsh detective Winter Meadows takes on a new murder case

There were a lot of things you could call Stacey Evans. And many of them would be true. And unprintable. But did she deserve to be murdered?

DI Winter Meadows has no doubt of the answer when he takes on the case. The crime was violent. The victim helpless. But the motives are many, and the only clue is a strange word left on Stacey’s body.

DI Meadows struggles to pierce the secrecy surrounding the teenager’s busy love life. Was the killer one of her pursuers acting out of jealousy? Maybe someone’s wife seeking revenge?

But as each suspect is excluded from the enquiry, and other markings turn up, Meadows is convinced that something more sinister is afoot.

When another body is found, a veil of silence descends like a fog upon Gaer Fawr. What more will it take for the village to give up its secrets?

A KNOT OF SPARROWS is the fourth standalone title in a series of murder mysteries by best-selling author Cheryl Rees-Price. It will appeal to fans of David Pearson, L J Ross, John Dean, Joy Ellis, and Pippa McCathie.

The full list of books is as follows:

1. THE SILENT QUARRY

2. FROZEN MINDS

3. SUFFER THE CHILDREN

4. A KNOT OF SPARROWS

Cheryl Rees-Price is also the author of the standalone thriller BLUE HOLLOW.

All of these books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited and available in paperback from Amazon.

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08XQS6219/ 

US -  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XQS6219/ 

Meet the Author

Cheryl Rees-Price was born in Cardiff and moved as a young child to a small ex-mining village on the edge of the Black Mountain range, South Wales, where she still lives with her husband, daughters and cats. After leaving school she worked as a legal clerk for several years before leaving to raise her two daughters.
Cheryl returned to education, studying philosophy, sociology, and accountancy whilst working as a part time book keeper. She now works as a finance director for a company that delivers project management and accounting services.

In her spare time Cheryl indulges in her passion for writing, the success of writing plays for local performances gave her the confidence to write her first novel. Her other hobbies include walking and gardening which free her mind to develop plots and create colourful characters.

Social Media Links – 

The Book Folks | Facebook

Cheryl Rees-Price | Facebook

https://twitter.com/CherylreesPrice

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Paparazzi by Jo Fenton - Blog Tour + Giveaway

I'm thrilled to involved in the blog tour for Paparazzi by Jo Fenton and I have a fabulous Giveaway below

A stalker. A popstar’s family murdered. A terrified photographer.

 

It’s thirty years since Becky White joined the police. Now, six months after leaving the force, she is suffering from PTSD, when an old friend turns up with a tempting offer. 

 

Following the creation of The White Knight Detective Agency, their first client is a press photographer – a member of the Paparazzi – a young woman with a mysterious and troublesome stalker.

 

But as the case develops, Becky and Joanna find themselves embroiled in murder. When they are unable to prevent further deaths, their investigation takes them down an unexpected path.

 

But can they trust their instinct? And will they identify the killer in time to save a child’s life?

 

Paparazzi, the second instalment in the bestselling Becky White Thriller series. takes you on a journey into the deceptive world of superstars – and those who follow them! 

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08ZCK7S37/

US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZCK7S37/

Meet the Author

 Jo Fenton grew up in Hertfordshire, UK. She devoured books from an early age, particularly enjoying adventure books, school stories and fantasy. She wanted to be a scientist from aged six after being given a wonderful book titled “Science Can Be Fun”. At eleven, she discovered Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, and now has an eclectic and much loved book collection cluttering her home office.

Jo combines an exciting career in Clinical Research with an equally exciting but very different career as a writer of psychological thrillers.

When not working, she runs (very slowly), and chats to lots of people. She lives in Manchester with her husband, two sons, a Corgi and a tankful of tropical fish. She is an active and enthusiastic member of two writing groups and a reading group.

Website www.jofenton137.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jl_fenton

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jofenton137/

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of Revelation by Jo Fenton (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Glasshouse by Morwenna Blackwood - Blog Tour + Extract

I'm delighted to be involved in the blog tour for Glasshouse by Morwenna Blackwood

‘Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me.’
~ from the Hippocratic Oath (translated by WHS Jones)

Psychiatrists, Drs Whittle and Grosvenor, have dedicated their lives to helping their patients, but their approach, and the complications it reveals, lead them into relationships that harm not only themselves. 

As their lives entangle, both men find that doing no harm is not as cut-and-dried as they perceived.

Can the patients in their care really trust them? Or are more sinister motives at work?

Delve into the dark world of psychiatric institutions where doctors and residents play a dangerous game where no one is infallible!

Purchase Link - http://mybook.to/glasshousenovel

EXTRACT

This extract may only be short, but it says a great deal about Dr Sasha Grosvenor...

The gleaming silver balls of my Newton’s cradle clack together with purifying violence. I stare at them while my mind clears, and pour a second strong black coffee from the pot.

I’ve disinfected the bathroom, and my effects have been returned to their proper positions. The laundry is clean and is in the tumble drier. The wood-burner has fresh wood, I have polished every surface, and all the windows are open. I have showered with tea tree shower gel to disinfect myself, and I have used a considerable amount of mouthwash. I had to get every trace of that woman – and by default, that man – off me. It is exhausting, but I will not stop.

I will not stop until Erazmus Whittle is dead. 

Meet the Author

When Morwenna Blackwood was six years old, she got told off for filling a school exercise book with an endless story when she should have been listening to the teacher/eating her tea/colouring with her friends. The story was about a frog. It never did end; and Morwenna never looked back.

Born and raised in Devon, Morwenna suffered from severe OCD and depression, and spent her childhood and teens in libraries. She travelled about for a decade before returning to Devon. She now has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Exeter, and lives with her husband, son and three cats in a cottage that Bilbo Baggins would be proud of. Her debut psychological thriller, The (D)Evolution of Us, is published by #darkstroke, and has become an Amazon best-seller. When she is not writing, Morwenna works for an animal rescue charity, or can be found down by the sea.

She often thinks about that frog.

Social Media Links – 

Twitter - @MorwennaBlackw1

Instagram – morwennablackwood_

Facebook – Morwenna Blackwood page

Website -  www.morwennablackwoodauthor.com 

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