Synopsis

From No.1 Private Detective to No.1 Suspect

A cryptic message from an old friend leads Joe Grabarz to an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of the South Downs. But Joe is too late, someone else has got there first: his friend is dead, and all the evidence points to him.

Ten years ago the farmhouse was the scene of three infamous murders when a young boy killed his mother, father, and little sister. Now an adult, he was released from prison with a new identity. Could he be involved? The farmhouse also sits on valuable land, fought over in a struggle between building houses and drilling for shale gas. But could it really be worth killing for? Whatever is going on, Joe knows one thing for sure: his friend’s murder is just a tiny part of it.

To bring the killer to justice Joe must dig up the past, and reckon with his own, because no matter how hard you work, it never goes away.

Purchase Link – https://tomtrott.com/inga

My review

Wow! This trilogy has been great from the start, and this last book provides a really polished and exciting finish to the series. The author’s books are always complex and intriguing, and this one is especially so.

Joe has had to deal with a few demons in the previous two books but now he really has to face his past head on, and it isn’t easy. There is a definite air of menace in this novel, more so than before. Brighton has always been intrinsic, and we’ve got to know it quite well. We’ve seen its seedier side, but here we discover new disturbing depths.

I shall miss Joe! I feel I’ve got to know his as well as he’ll allow us too over the series. He has many good qualities alongside the less pleasant ones that are essential for him be ‘hard boiled’ enough to do the job he does. He’s a fascinating, flawed character, and I’ve no doubt you’ll thoroughly enjoy his company too. You’ll certainly admire the work of a talented author, whose sharp observations and equally sharp but dry wit are always wonderful.

Author Bio – Born in Brighton, I went to school in here, worked many jobs here, and have never lived anywhere else. I first started writing at school, where I and a group of friends devised and performed comedy plays for assemblies, much to the amusement of our fellow pupils. The young ones would cheer (and the old ones would groan) as we stepped up onto the stage, the buzz was tangible. It has been with me ever since.

As an adult I have written a short comedy play that was performed at the Theatre Royal Brighton in May 2014 as part of the Brighton Festival; Daye’s Work, a television pilot for the local Brighton channel; and won the Empire Award (thriller category) in the 2015 New York Screenplay Contest. I published my first novel, You Can’t Make Old Friends, in 2016; my second, Choose Your Parents Wisely, in 2017, my third, The Benevolent Dictator, in 2018, and now my fourth, It Never Goes Away, in 2019. When I’m not writing books, I’m writing about writing, books, and film on Medium.

My inspirations as a writer come from a diverse range of storytellers, but I have a particular love for the works of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Joel & Ethan Coen, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Bryan Fuller, Ira Levin, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, JRR Tolkien, and many many more books and films beside. If you can’t find me, or I’m not answering my phone, I’m probably at the cinema.

Social Media Links – www.twitter.com/tjtrott, www.facebook.com/tomtrottbooks, www.tomtrott.com,

Keep up with the rest of the tour!

Synopsis

Nineteen-year-old year old Sean hasn’t seen his father since he was twelve. His mother has never really explained why. An argument with her leads to his moving to the other side of the country.

Martin, his father, has his life thrown into turmoil when the son he hasn’t seen in nearly eight years strolls back into his life immediately killing his dog and hospitalising his step-daughter.

The one thing they have in common is the friendship of a girl called Rhiannon.

Over the course of one summer Sean experiences sexual awakenings from all angles, discovers the fleeting nature of friendship and learns to cope with rejection.

Martin, meanwhile, struggles to reconnect with Sean while trying to delicately turn down the increasingly inappropriate advances of a girl he sees as a surrogate daughter and keep a struggling marriage alive.

Gap Years is an exploration of what it means to be a man in the 21st Century seen from two very different perspectives – neatly hidden inside a funny story about bicycles, guitars and unrequited love.

My review

This is another sharply satirical novel from this author about false expectations and the sub-optimal lot of humankind. Sean expects all will be well when he leaves his mum to move in with his father, despite not seeing him for eight or so years. If one parent proves to be a pain, the other will be fine, surely. Dad Martin is more clued up as he’s apprehensive about the arrangement, and, as it turns out, rightly so.

Sean comes across as a very convincing, confused teenager, still idealistic and under the impression that the world owes him a favour. He gradually comes to learn, to his surprise, this isn’t the case. And things aren’t helped by a decidedly mixed-up femme fatale sticking her oar in.

Both father and son develop and grow in the novel. They learn a lot about themselves and each other, not all good, but they manage to deal with it. It’s thus actually quiet a moving novel, although that edge of dark comedy one associates with Dave Holwill is always there.

It’s very much a novel for modern times with a dysfunctional family at its heart, full of good intentions but also teetering on a cliff edge. The writing sweeps you along through the chaos and is immensely entertaining. A quirky, absorbing read.

Purchase Links:

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gap-Years-Dave-Holwill-ebook/dp/B07MQFLDKX

 US – https://www.amazon.com/Gap-Years-Dave-Holwill-ebook/dp/B07MQFLDKX

Author bio

Dave Holwill was born in Guildford in 1977 and quickly decided that he preferred the Westcountry – moving to Devon in 1983 (with some input from his parents).
After an expensive (and possibly wasted) education there, he has worked variously as a postman, a framer, and a print department manager (though if you are the only person in the department then can you really be called a manager?) all whilst continuing to play in every kind of band imaginable on most instruments you can think of.
Gap Years is his third novel – following on the heels of Weekend Rockstars and The Craft Room, and he is currently working on the fourth (a folk horror set in his native mid-Devon) and a sequel to Weekend Rockstars.

Social Media Links –

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584279.Dave_Holwill

https://www.instagram.com/dave_holwill/

http://davedoesntwriteanythingever.blogspot.com/

http://daveholwill.com/

The Migraine Relief Plan: An 8-Week Transition to Better Eating, Fewer Headaches, and Optimal Health

In The Migraine Relief Plan, certified health and wellness coach Stephanie Weaver outlines a new, step-by-step lifestyle approach to reducing migraine frequency and severity.

Using the latest research, her own migraine diagnosis, and extensive testing, Weaver has designed an accessible plan to help those living with migraine, headaches, or Meniere’s disease. Over the course of eight weeks, the plan gradually transitions readers into a healthier lifestyle, including key behaviors such as regular sleep, trigger-free eating, gentle exercise, and relaxation techniques. The book also collects resources—shopping lists, meal plans, symptom tracking charts, and kitchen-tested recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner—to provide readers with the tools they need to be successful.

The Migraine Relief Plan encourages readers to eat within the guidelines while still helping them follow personal dietary choices, like vegan or Paleo, and navigate challenges, such as parties, work, and travel. A must-have resource for anyone who lives with head pain, this book will inspire you to rethink your attitude toward health and wellness.

Purchase Link – http://bit.ly/MRPlan

My review

I’ve also been prone to headaches so although not a migraine sufferer I was interested to see if there was advice that might apply to me. And there was – plenty! As a result of her health afflictions, the author has done extensive research into foods that might be complicit in contributing towards headaches of all types and intensities.

And more than just food, the author considers lifestyle. The whole book is intended to realign not only unhelpful eating habits, but also our general approach to health and well-being. I’ve made some tweaks to my lifestyle and am starting to see some benefits.

The 8-week plan is just the first stepping stone. The author offers further advice and goals to achieve for the following months and even years. Change won’t happen in five minutes – it’s a steady progression, that may falter occasionally but that’s OK because we’re all only human. The author herself had setbacks, but she gives advice on how to get back on track again.

The author is very upfront and approachable. She gives her own medical history, and always gives the impression of being in the room with us, chatting through ways we can improve our health, identify those headache triggers and organise ourselves and our food shopping a bit better.

There are loads of recipes and meal plans, and most of all encouragement to persevere at every turn. You really feel that the author has your best interests at heart. All in all, a helpful, interesting and inspiring book.    

Author Bio –

Stephanie Weaver, MPH, CWHC, is an author, blogger, and certified wellness and health coach. Her recipes have been featured in Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Parade, and more. She lives in San Diego, CA. 

Social Media Links –

Twitter.com/sweavermph

Instagram.com/sweavermph

It’s Never Too Late To Look Great by Maggie Cox

The book’s subtitle is ‘Style for the Young at Heart’, which is, of course, a nicer way of saying ‘for the over-fifties’!

It is easy to get complacent appearance-wise when you hit middle age. You tend to go for comfort and practicality over high fashion, or actually any fashion at all. In my case, with a very large smallholding and a carp fishing business, I generally live in scruffies and wellies. But when I started nipping into the tiny supermarket in our local small market town in these same scruffies, and even once in the wellies, I realised I was letting things go a bit too much.

Hence reading this book. I was a bit wary to start with, as what one person might consider highly fashionable, someone else would refuse to be seen dead in. However, I quickly realised that the author wants us to preserve our uniqueness, for us to relish what is ‘us’ about us, but merely to step out of the shadows and be seen. We’re too young to disappear into the background just yet.

At the heart of the book is the author’s idea of STAR qualities. The second of these, and for me the most crucial, is  ‘True to Yourself’, but I shan’t reveal the others. You’ll have to treat yourselves to this excellent book to find out! ‘True to yourself’ is about nurturing our personality in what we wear. We should go for things we feel comfortable in and in which we can be ourselves. I’ve attempted some ‘relooking’ in the past and failed, I realise now, because I was going for an image that just wasn’t me. The author tells us how to identify what our ‘thing’ is and build on it in fashionable and interesting ways. She takes us through all four of the STAR qualities, and advises us on how to pull all these aspects together and be proud to be seen.

We hear from fashion designers and snappy dressers in the book, and there are plenty of photos to inspire. The author points us firmly in the direction of where to find inspiration. There’s also a quick look at the fashion faux pas which are the author’s pet hats, and that’s fun. ‘Badly packed parachute’ and ‘wrinkly teenager’ are two of the looks not to go for!  

This is a clever and inspiring book from a lively and encouraging author. I’m taking her tips on board and promise faithfully that I shall never be seen in public in clothes that I milk llamas in (no, you didn’t read that wrong) or wear when chasing escaped piglets.

And should you need any more encouragement to read this book for yourself, then I must tell you that Maggie Cox reveals that Cleopatra is her no. 2 style icon. Now, how can you not want to hear more from this person! Mediu

The Hourglass by Liz Heron

Unbound

25 October 2018

ABOUT THE BOOK:   Spring 2000. Paul Geddes visits Venice to research the fin-de-siècle opera singer, Esme Maguire, seeking out a cache of papers held by Eva Forrest, the widow of a collector. What he reads begins in the 1680s, moving through the city s later history of Enlightenment and Revolution, describing a life stretched beyond human possibilities.

She travels across Europe to sing in Regency London and Edinburgh, then Belle Epoque Paris, always returning to Venice, its shadows and its luminosity, its changes and its permanence.

What would it be like to live for nearly 300 years, as an exceptional being who must renew herself time after time, as those she has loved age and die? Could this story be grounded in reality or be merely the product of an ageing woman s delusion, as Paul suspects.

Warily, Eva and Paul fall in love, their tentative emotions bringing them closer until, on a trip to the Dolomites, Eva s past catches up with her.

My review

It’s true that it’s often the simplest ideas that work the best. The idea of if not eternal life then at least a much elongated one is to be found in a lot of literature. But that’s not to denigrate this author’s talent since she uses this idea and gives it a unique and fascinating setting in the world of Italian opera. Thus a simple concept becomes a vibrant, hugely enjoyable novel.

I love it when I can take more than just a story away with me from a work of fiction. This book has given me plenty of ‘did you know’ material concerning opera, music and Venetian history to casually drop into conversations, or just to think ‘well, I never knew that’ about.

What it might be like to be immortal, the good and the bad of it, is given much focus and thoughtfully dealt with in the novel. Changing viewpoints in the narration keep the reader on their toes, and inject even more freshness into the story.

Beautiful, descriptive abounds from an author who has a sharp eye for detail and for the very ‘soul’ of a place. Her characters, both past and present, are also intriguing and carefully depicted and thus totally convincing.

There is much to enjoy and discover in this very interesting, complex novel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Liz Heron grew up in Scotland and studied at Glasgow University. After living in Paris, Madrid and Venice, she embarked on freelance life in London, contributing arts and literary journalism to Spare Rib, The New Statesman, The Listener, The Village Voice, New Society, The Guardian and many other publications. Her literary translations from French and Italian range from Georges Bataille and Giorgio Agamben to the novels of Paola Capriolo. Her own books include Truth, Dare or Promise, a compilation of essays on childhood, and Streets of Desire, an anthology of women’s 20^th-century writing on the world’s great cities, both published by Virago, as was her short-story collection, A Red River (1996).

Liz began researching her novel, The Hourglass, during her second spell of life in Venice.

Her website is lizheron.co.uk

She writes a blog, mainly on film: lizheron.wordpress.com

Do follow the rest of the tour and look back to see what other readers think about this absorbing novel:

Synopsis

Choose Your Parents Wisely

One missing girl and the whole city goes crazy.

It’s been three days, and now everyone in Brighton is looking for her. There is an army of police searching, her picture is on every front page, and the public can’t get enough of it. Gangs of good citizens are going door to door, turning their neighbours’ houses upside down, but still no one can find her.

For Brighton’s No.1 Private Detective, Joe Grabarz, it brings back too many memories of his first case, another missing girl, when he learnt too many lessons the hard way. No one was going door to door then. No one cared. But her mum and dad weren’t nearly as photogenic, nor quite so saintly.

It’s a lesson Joe learnt long ago that has come back to haunt him: choose your parents wisely.

Puchase Link: https://tomtrott.com/cypw

My review

This is the second book in the Brighton’s No. 1 Detective series (‘You Can’t Make Old Friends’ being the first) and it maintains the high standard set by the first book.

There’s a lot happening in this novel. Blink and you might miss it, so the book demands and deserves your full attention. There’s some jumping between storylines, but everything is well explained and it all falls into place as you read. The plot is excellent, as you’d expect from this author, and the novel is thoroughly compelling.

Joe develops as a character as we find out more about his background and what makes him tick. I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s more of an anti-hero than a hero, but that just makes him all the more engaging. He may cut corners legal-wise here and there in his investigations, but he’s upfront with us and straightforward with the people he encounters. There is a heart lurking under that ‘whatever’ exterior!

Very enjoyable.

Just to mention the classy cover too. The author is very professional in every respect and has produced a very impressive looking exterior for a top class story.

Author Bio – Born in Brighton, I went to school in here, worked many jobs here, and have never lived anywhere else. I first started writing at school, where I and a group of friends devised and performed comedy plays for assemblies, much to the amusement of our fellow pupils. The young ones would cheer (and the old ones would groan) as we stepped up onto the stage, the buzz was tangible. It has been with me ever since.

As an adult I have written a short comedy play that was performed at the Theatre Royal Brighton in May 2014 as part of the Brighton Festival; Daye’s Work, a television pilot for the local Brighton channel; and won the Empire Award (thriller category) in the 2015 New York Screenplay Contest. I published my first novel, You Can’t Make Old Friends, in 2016; my second, Choose Your Parents Wisely, in 2017, my third, The Benevolent Dictator, in 2018, and now my fourth, It Never Goes Away, in 2019. When I’m not writing books, I’m writing about writing, books, and film on Medium.

My inspirations as a writer come from a diverse range of storytellers, but I have a particular love for the works of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Joel & Ethan Coen, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Bryan Fuller, Ira Levin, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, JRR Tolkien, and many many more books and films beside. If you can’t find me, or I’m not answering my phone, I’m probably at the cinema.

Social Media Links – www.twitter.com/tjtrott, www.facebook.com/tomtrottbooks, www.tomtrott.com, an

Synopsis

Betrayal on Every Level

Marley Bennington had brutally murdered her older sister Samantha in a drug fueled rage. Only two people know that fact as true. One of those two people, was sitting in a state prison, serving a sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Who was that unfortunate person? Alex Clarke, Samantha Bennington’s husband, the man so buried in circumstantial evidence that he confessed to a crime he didn’t commit, rather than face a trial. He was now trapped with no way out.

It all began as sibling rivalry and jealousy, as so many tales of treachery do. Now, that intense jealousy had ended in her sister’s murder. Once Alex was tucked safely away in prison, Marley was set to inherit millions of dollars tainted with her sister’s blood. But suddenly, two obstacles stood in her way preventing her from quickly obtaining the reward for her well executed plan. One obstacle was her brother, and the other a nosy little old lady. But for Marley, this wasn’t a problem. She had killed twice already and cheated the justice system. What were a few more bodies? 

Justice delayed is justice denied. Can Marley be trapped by the very people she tried to deceive? Will karma finally visit her door? Another gripping, tangled tale from the author of Facing A Twisted Judgment.

Purchase Links

UK – https://amzn.to/2GkM5lG

US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLYZC4L

My review

This is the third book in the excellent Lies and Misdirection series, which just keeps getting better and better. That said, the book works perfectly as a standalone, although I’m sure that once you’ve discovered this author, you’ll want to devour her other books.

What is particularly enjoyable about this complex novel, that twists and turns in ways you simply can’t foresee, is the informed legal background that comes from the author’s professional training. Reasoning is explained and this lends a very methodical, logical element to the story – apart from when Marley is taking her turn as narrator. With her mental and criminal problems, she makes for an utterly fascinating unreliable narrator. Such a narrator is to be found in many thrillers and psychological thrillers these days, but in this author’s hands there seems to be extra, alluring menace about her, and this literary convention is thus handled freshly and uniquely.

The setting involves the art world and it is incredibly interesting to peek behind the scenes. Who’d have guessed so much skulduggery went on!

Other important characters are investigators Tallulah, who’s an attorney, and octogenarian Mary, who as usual quietly steals the show. She’s a fabulous character. My favourite line from the whole book is where Tallulah matter-of-factly reports to the police that ‘Mary felt it necessary to shoot him’! (She was quite right to, by the way!) Throw in some Mafia heavies and we have an intriguing set of people to meet in this novel.

It’s a riveting read and immensely enjoyable. Absolutely to recommend.    

About the author

K. J. McGillick was born in New York and once she started to walk she never stopped running. But that’s what New Yorker’s do. Right? A Registered Nurse, a lawyer now author.

As she evolved so did her career choices. After completing her graduate degree in nursing, she spent many years in the university setting sharing the dreams of the enthusiastic nursing students she taught. After twenty rewarding years in the medical field she attended law school and has spent the last twenty-four years as an attorney helping people navigate the turbulent waters of the legal system. Not an easy feat. And now? Now she is sharing the characters she loves with readers hoping they are intrigued by her twisting and turning plots and entertained by her writing

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/KJMcGillickauthor/

Kathleen McGillick

@KJMcGillickAuth

Synopsis

Bestselling Brianna Middleton has won the hearts of millions of readers with her sweeping – and steamy – love stories. But the girl behind the typewriter is struggling… Not only does she have writer’s block, but she’s a world-famous romance author with zero romance in her own life.

So the opportunity to spend the summer teaching at a writer’s retreat in an idyllic villa on the shores of Lake Garda – owned by superstar author Arran Jamieson – could this be just the thing to fire up Brie’s writing – and romantic – mojo?

Brie’s sun-drenched Italian summer could be the beginning of this writer’s very own happy-ever-after…

Escape the January blues with this sun-drenched, heart-warming story from the bestselling author of Snowflakes Over Holly Cove.

Purchase Links:

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Summer-Italian-Lakes-bestselling-feel-good-ebook/dp/B07HPD2KNV

US – https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Italian-Lakes-bestselling-feel-good-ebook/dp/B07HPD2KNV

My review

This fabulous author has done it again! Here’s yet another wonderfully entertaining novel that shares Lucy Coleman’s hallmark energy, humour, romance and liveliness with her other stories, but that’s all because each of her books is totally original and distinctive. You never know what enjoyable tale she’ll serve up next, or who she’ll create for us to meet.

Here we have Brianna who’s at a personal and creative low. Since she failed to quite fit in with her rock star boyfriend’s  brand image, he dumped her and poor Brie wallowed for a while. She’d still be wallowing if loving friends, family and publisher hadn’t given her a kind but stern talking to and made her grab hold of herself by the scruff of the neck and shake herself back into shape. Part of that process is a season at a writing retreat in Italy. I think it’s fair to say that the healing process goes extremely well… apart from a few little hitches on the way! But the course of true love never did run smooth…

The setting is truly idyllic, and you can feel the warmth and smell the flowers at the villa. Italy is essential to the story as this story simply couldn’t take place anywhere else. The characters we meet are fascinating and intriguing – even the unlikeable ones! – and make for great company for our heroine. She’s utterly sympathetic and charming, and always dignified, even when life serves up lemons. You’d love to have her as your best friend.

I adored this book, and I’m sure you will too. It makes for perfect summer reading, and spring, summer and autumn too!

Author bio

From interior designer to author, Linn B. Halton – who also writes under the pen name of Lucy Coleman – says ‘it’s been a fantastic journey!’

Linn is the bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and is excited to be writing for both Aria Fiction (Head of Zeus) and Harper Impulse (Harper Collins); she’s represented by Sara Keane of the Keane Kataria Literary Agency.

When she’s not writing, or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture or working in the garden.

Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award; her novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards.

Living in Coed Duon in the Welsh Valleys with her ‘rock’, Lawrence, and gorgeous Bengal cat Ziggy, she freely admits she’s an eternal romantic.

Linn is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and writes feel-good, uplifting novels about life, love and relationships.

Social Media Links –

Website: http://linnbhalton.co.uk/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucyColemanAuth

And look, there’s a giveaway!

Giveaway – Win a Chocolate dipping set (UK only)

*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.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494194/

Synopsis

Blacklisted by the police. Being sued by a client. And broke. Things can’t get any worse for Brighton’s No. 1 Private Detective, Joe Grabarz.

That’s when his best friend’s body washes up on the beach.

Could it really have been ten years? What happened? How could his life have ended like this? He needs answers.

But with the city in the grips of organised crime, and struggling to deal with an influx of legal highs, who cares about just another dead drug dealer?

Joe, that’s who. After all, you can’t make old friends.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2Dohb8j 

My review

This is the first book in the Brighton’s No. 1 Detective series,and it makes for a great start.

Joe is in many ways your typical sardonic, damaged private detective. It goes with the territory that private eyes are hard characters, at least on the outside although usually all the way through, and impervious to pity, sympathy and any other good sort of emotion. Joe does betray the odd glimmer of humanity now and again, and he realises he could and should be more caring, which is what makes him likeable. He’s a loner with no apparent family and scarcely any friends. And he’s constantly hard up.   

This mystery is an intriguing one and introduces us to the low life of Brighton. This story couldn’t have been set anywhere else, since this seaside town, with its screaming gulls and stiff, salty onshore breeze, plays an intrinsic part in the novel. It’s almost a character itself, as are Joe’s assorted demons.

The book makes for a quick but absorbing read. There’s plenty of wry humour in the succinct and pithy imagery and observations. There’s pathos too, but we don’t have time to dwell on it as the action moves at a swift pace. All in all a very intelligent and polished novel.

Author Bio – Born in Brighton, I went to school in here, worked many jobs here, and have never lived anywhere else. I first started writing at school, where I and a group of friends devised and performed comedy plays for assemblies, much to the amusement of our fellow pupils. The young ones would cheer (and the old ones would groan) as we stepped up onto the stage, the buzz was tangible. It has been with me ever since.

As an adult I have written a short comedy play that was performed at the Theatre Royal Brighton in May 2014 as part of the Brighton Festival; Daye’s Work, a television pilot for the local Brighton channel; and won the Empire Award (thriller category) in the 2015 New York Screenplay Contest. I published my first novel, You Can’t Make Old Friends, in 2016; my second, Choose Your Parents Wisely, in 2017, my third, The Benevolent Dictator, in 2018, and now my fourth, It Never Goes Away, in 2019. When I’m not writing books, I’m writing about writing, books, and film on Medium.

My inspirations as a writer come from a diverse range of storytellers, but I have a particular love for the works of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Joel & Ethan Coen, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Bryan Fuller, Ira Levin, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, JRR Tolkien, and many many more books and films beside. If you can’t find me, or I’m not answering my phone, I’m probably at the cinema.

Social Media Links – www.twitter.com/tjtrott, www.facebook.com/tomtrottbooks, www.tomtrott.com,

Molly’s dream of taking over her childhood home at Withrin Hill Farm with husband Pip and their three children has finally come true. And, as they settle into the stunning Georgian farmhouse, with their plans to diversify into glamping nicely taking shape, the family couldn’t be happier.
But tragedy suddenly strikes, and Molly’s world is turned upside down.

Heartbroken and devastated, she struggles to face each day. True to form, her fiercely loyal best friends, Kitty and Violet, rally round offering love and support, but Molly doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to smile again. Until the day a tall, dark stranger with twinkly eyes arrives…

Follow Molly’s story in book 2 of the Life on the Moors Series set in Lytell Stangdale, a picture-perfect village in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors, where life is anything but quiet.

A heart-warming story of love, friendship and hope.

Purchase Links

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MJ7PPXP

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MJ7PPXP

My review

This is a book that is both easy and not easy to read. Let me explain. The author writes beautifully and sweeps you away with her story, and that’s why the book is a pleasure to read. However, the story is very moving and our heroine Molly battles through some very tough times. That’s the less easy part. However, do tuck a tissue up your sleeve in readiness and immerse yourself in this compelling but challenging book, which will stay with you for a long time.

Molly is resilient and courageous, and we really feel for her and love her. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s obvious that life is not going to be easy for her in the short term. Yet life goes on, and it carries Molly with it, however unwilling. Slowly, thanks to the support of family and friends, she begins to rebuild her life and gradually the sun starts to shine on her again.

This is part of a series but works well as a standalone. You quickly work out the back story and how the characters interact. Rural village life is charmingly depicted and there’s a wonderful sense of community that is very comforting, for the reader as well as the characters. This is a thoughtful, gripping and rewarding book. dp

Author Bio – Eliza lives in a 17th-century cottage on the edge of a village in the North Yorkshire Moors with her husband, their two daughters and two mischievous black Labradors. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden. Eliza also enjoys bracing walks in the countryside, rounded off by a visit to a teashop where she can indulge in another two of her favourite things: tea and cake.

Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heart-warming stories with happy endings.

Social Media Links –

Blog: Eliza J Scott – elizajscott.com

Twitter: Eliza J Scott – @ElizaJScott1

Instagram: Eliza J Scott – @elizajscott

Facebook: Eliza J Scott – @elizajscottauthor

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/ElizaJScott

Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/eliza-j-scott ?-x

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