#BookReview PSYCHOPATHS ANONYMOUS by WILL CARVER @BlackCrow_PR

ABOUT THE BOOK

Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home, a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict: A functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men. 

When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve. 

Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules, and when a reckless member raises suspicions with the police, Maeve’s drinking spirals out of control. 

She needs to stop killing. She needs to close the group. 

But Maeve can’t seem to quit the things that are bad for her, including her new man…

A scathing, violent and darkly funny book about love, connection, obsessions and sex – and the aspects of human nature we’d prefer to hide – Psychopaths Anonymous is also an electrifyingly original, unpredictable thriller that challenges virtually everything.

PUBLISHED BY ORENDA BOOKS

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

What must go on in the mind of an author to come up with a character such as Maeve??!! Probably best not to ask! And to just to enjoy the madness of his creation!!

I loved the way this story was told. We’re in the mind of Maeve – not a sane place to be! – but we hear every train of thought as she process her life, her encounters and everything in between! She’s a woman with zero empathy! Her views are cynical, cold and calculating! Yes she can appear ‘normal’ on the outside, but that illusion is quickly shattered when you’re alone with her!

We follow her in this story as she seeks to quench her thirst for all the bad addictions in her life – drugs, drink, sex and killing! She is very careful with who she picks out as a victim, and the more she gets away with the more driven she becomes! You wonder just what it is she is looking for throughout this journey, and to be fair, I don’t think she knows either! She just has a need to be in control, like a true psychopath!

You’re always wondering if her way of dealing with life is going to catch up with her, and the author does a fantastic job of immersing you in her world and watch her playing with fire – with very little concern for the outcome! She’s the kind of killer who will judge the goings on in reality tv while torturing a victim! Zero F’s given for any of her victims!!

There’s a ton of sex, drugs and violence (not rock and roll!), and it’s a book that stays long in the mind for very dark reasons!! Will Carver is a master at creating such twisted and insane offerings – and as a reader I am very thankful!!!

★★★★★

My thanks to Jamie and the team at Black Crow PR for the e-copy in return for a fair and honest review.

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#BookReview GOOD SAMARITANS by WILL CARVER

ABOUT THE BOOK

One crossed wire, three dead bodies and six bottles of bleach

Seth Beauman can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.
But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker, when Seth brings Hadley home…
And someone is watching…
Dark, sexy, dangerous and wildly readable, Good Samaritans marks the scorching return of one of crime fiction’s most exceptional voices.

PUBLISHED BY ORENDA BOOKS

MY REVIEW

I listened to the audio version of this book.

If you are looking for a book to uplift you, fill your soul with cheer then this is NOT the book for you!! It is dark, moody and very, very bleak!! But if you’re after an absorbing story that leaves you shocked and chilled to the core! It explores characters who play on the insecurities of humans at their lowest point, with no remorse.

There is Ant who works for the Samaritans – looking for a way to get over the death of his close friend who had killed himself – and what better way than to listen to others who are just reaching out for someone to listen to them in their hour of need.

Then there is Seth, who seems bored with life and finds his only joy is to make random phone calls late at night saying he has nobody to talk to. His wife, Maeve, hears him downstairs and knows he speaks to strangers but says nothing to him that she knows about his secrets.

Hadley is a young woman who is struggling with life, so she reaches out to the samaritans – one night she talks to Seth though and instantly connects with him, so when she calls the samaritans again to talk to him, she gets Ant instead and he becomes intrigued by this Ant person she talks about as nobody who works there has that name.

And then there’s Detective Pace who is investigating some unexplained murders – brutal crimes that shock those who discover the bodies – and there are just no links or leads forthcoming.

What follows is a messed up, twisted exploration of human interaction. There is an awful lot of graphic sex scenes which I did find a little distracting and unnecessary, when there’s far more twisted goings on at work in the minds of some of these characters!!

I read this series back to front and this was my least favourite of the Pace books, but still a chilling and explosive start to a very twisted series!!

★★★★

#BookReview NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY by WILL CARVER #AudioBook

ABOUT THE BOOK

When strangers take part in a series of group suicides, everything suggests that a cult is to blame. How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

Nine suicides
One Cult
No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of the People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe; it becomes a movement. A social media page that has lain dormant for four years suddenly has thousands of followers. The police are under pressure to find a link between the cult members, to locate a leader that does not seem to exist.

How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

A shocking, mesmerisingly original and pitch-black thriller, Nothing Important Happened Today confirms Will Carver as one of the most extraordinary, exciting authors in crime fiction.

PUBLISHED BY ORENDA BOOKS

MY REVIEW

I listened to the audio version of this book.

Holy crap!! This was bloody brilliant! Yes it’s very dark, deals with an extremely sensitive topic (suicides), and is properly twisted BUT once you are under the spell of the writing you’ll find yourself absolutely chilled and spellbound and just amazed at how well the story is constructed and executed!!

It’s a book like no other I’ve read, especially in the way it unfolds. It starts with the mass suicide of 9 people at a bridge in London, witnessed by unfortunate commuters on a train passing by. What follows is a chain of events that leads to more suicides in seemingly random fashion, bringing together total strangers and leads those investigating the deaths scratching their heads trying to make any sense of it all.

The author does a brilliant job of giving you little flashes into the lives of those brought together through ‘The Chosen Ones’ – they receive a letter in the post, carry on with their day as normal and then all come together at various times and locations to end it all. But what drives them to take the word of a letter as gospel? And who is pulling the strings behind it all to make it happen?

It explores how cults survive in the world and how they choose their members wisely. We see personal stories of people struggling inwardly, believing that they’re ‘nobody’ and not making an impact on the world around them – easier enough to do nowadays in this social media obsessed world where we all filter out the negative and only portray the positive. Where the badly behaved are indulged, the lack of parenting skills are exploited, someone else is always to blame, the reality of life is airbrushed to within an inch of its’ life – the world we live in is laid bare in this book and it was stunning to see it so brazenly ripped apart!

As Detective Pace becomes more and more involved with trying to understand these deaths, we are able to see his life behind the image he portrays, and the darkness that follows him around explored.

I was totally transfixed by this story. It also looks at famous real life killer and how they got away with their crimes for so long, or what drove them to it and this added an even darker undertone to the story. What is it that turns people so evil or so negative?

This was a chilling, perceptive and exceptional story!

★★★★★

#BlogTour BROKEN FLOWERS by KATE MCQUAILE #BookReview @QuercusBooks #BrokenFlowers @KateMcQuaile

A huge delight to be part of the Blog Tour this weekend for BROKEN FLOWERS by KATE MCQUAILE. My thanks to Katya for the copy of the book and putting everything together.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Your mother. The one person you trust. What if you’re wrong?

Widowed Nan is on her way to her beloved son’s wedding. She should be excited, but she is dreading her return to Paradise Place – a small area of Notting Hill that she hasn’t dared set foot on for decades. Nan had arrived there as a young girl in the late seventies, desperate for freedom and a career as an artist. But, drawn into a dark obsession that spun out of control, Nan was forced to flee.

And while the only thing seemingly connecting her son’s wedding and her old secret life is Paradise Place, Nan quickly gets the impression that someone is watching her every move . . . someone she thought was dead.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Paperback £8.99

hive.co.uk  £8.15

Blackwell’s  £7.99

MY REVIEW

Dark.  Twisted.  Enthralling!!  The perfect read for making time disappear fast!!  The more you find yourself getting involved with these characters, the more you find yourself turning the pages to find out what happens next!! I loved it!

The character of Nan, is the centre of this book, and boy what a story she has to tell!! When she finds herself heading to London to see her estranged son ahead of his wedding,  the more you find yourself wondering what has kept her away from London for so long, and why her relationship with her son is so strained…. nothing is going to prepare you for the truth!!

The story then flashes back to the 1970’s and Nan arrives in London as  a young artist.  On her own for the first time she finds herself drawn into a world of dark obsessive love – a far cry from her ‘normal’ life back home in Yorkshire.  When things spiral out of control she is left suffering mentally and her life is never the same again despite her best efforts to live life the normal way.

Returning to London she finds herself back at places she tried very hard to put out of her mind, and those flashes from the past begin to take over her every moment again.  Is her mind playing tricks on her, or is the past she thought she’d left behind finally catching up with her?

I loved the pace of this story! It felt really unsettling at  times when things were happening to Nan and the shocking events of the past were brilliantly played out to keep the tension up!  The fact that she hid so much of her past from those around her really seemed to mess her up and cloud her judgement and thought process in knowing how to move on.  Sticking her head in the sand wasn’t going to work for the situation she found herself in!  And now it’s come back to bite her big time!!

I really enjoyed the twists and turns and can’t wait to read more from this author in the future!  

★★★★

#BOOKREVIEW THE RECOVERY OF ROSE GOLD by STEPHANIE WROBEL

ABOUT THE BOOK

A chilling exploration into obsession, reconciliation and revenge in 2020’s must-read.
Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years. She thought she needed the feeding tube, the surgeries, the wheelchair . . .

Turns out her mum, Patty, is a really good liar.

After five years in prison Patty Watts is finally free. All she wants is to put old grievances behind her, reconcile with her daughter and care for her new infant grandson. When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty move in, it seems their relationship is truly on the mend.
But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty won’t rest until she has her daughter back under her thumb. Which is a smidge inconvenient because Rose Gold wants to be free of Patty. Forever.
Only one Watts will get what she wants.
Will it be Patty or Rose Gold.
Mother, or daughter?

PUBLISHED BY MICHAEL JOSEPH

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon
Goldsboro Books – signed edition
hive.co.uk

MY REVIEW

One of the most disturbing, twisted, compelling books I’ve ever read – and I loved every single minute of it!! It explores the relationship – if you can call it that! – between mother and daughter and a long history of abuse and control issues, all wrapped up under the cloak of ‘love’ and showing just how that affects those involved. Prepare yourself for very mixed emotions reading this book!

It’s difficult to know how to review this without giving too much away, but we join the story as the mother – Patty – is being released from jail, where’s she’s been serving a sentence for abuse as her daughter – Rose – has lived her life believing she was very sick, but found out not to have anything wrong with her. What did the mother do to her? And why? But it appears Rose has forgiven her mother for all that she did to her and is waiting for her mother as she’s released and wants to help with her rehabilitation.

What follows is a twisty tale of wondering just who is in control in this relationship – has the mother changed her ways and wants to make things right? Has Rose really moved on especially now that she’s a mother herself so can understand just how much that bond between mother and child is so overwhelming, that even when you’re doing wrong you think you’re only doing the best for that person?

I loved the different aspects and the examination of the family relationship over the years. We get to look back over the childhood of Rose, and see how she’s coping in the world now as a mother, and also get to see life from the point of view of Patty and how motherhood brought out her anxieties and how prison life has maybe affected her mind. With young Adam being the centre of both of these womens’ world now, there’s a very disturbing feeling that you get reading about these women and their past experiences are shaping their outlook on care – for themselves and those around them.

This book isn’t for everyone! But if you like your characters a little darker and a storyline that will shock you then I highly recommend it!!

★★★★

#BookReview VIOLET by SJI HOLLIDAY #LibraryLoveChallenge

ABOUT THE BOOK

When two strangers end up sharing a cabin on the Trans-Siberian Express, an intense friendship develops, one that can only have one ending … a nerve-shattering psychological thriller from bestselling author SJI Holliday

Carrie’s best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they’d planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone.

Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is also desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available.

When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend’s place.

Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond. But as the journey continues, through Mongolia and into Russia, things start to unravel – because one of these women is not who she claims to be…

A tense and twisted psychological thriller about obsession, manipulation and toxic friendships, Violet also reminds us that there’s a reason why mother told us not to talk to strangers..

published by Orenda Books

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon

hive.co.uk

whsmith

MY REVIEW

Seeing these characters evolve and show their true colours throughout this book has been the icing on the cake for me in this very twisted thriller, and although it might have put me off ever going off on back packing holiday on the Trans-Siberian express, I’ve loved every single minute I spent on this ‘journey’!!

Carrie is travelling alone around the world and has a spare ticket for the Trans-Siberian Express, so when she meets Violet, another lone traveller, it seems that fate has brought them together. They seem to share the same sense of humour and outlook on life so it seems the perfect plan for both of them! But what should be the perfect trip soon turns to something a wole lot more sinister and that darkness kept me turning the pages to discover just how twisted the outcome would be!

We get to see the emails that Carrie sends to her friend Laura back home, telling her of the experiences she’s having and the new friend she has met along the way. And Violet just seems besotted with her first impressions of Carrie – she seems to have that kind of ‘can do’ attitude that rubs off on all those around her, and even when some of the stops along the way aren’t what Violet imagined Carrie being part of, she goes along with it and there are many very’ interesting’ experiences and characters that they meet along the way!

And then it all starts getting messy! You get drawn in by the darker thoughts that Violet seems to have – past experiences and encounters!, and even she becomes a little shocked when Carrie starts to act irresponsibly so you’re never really sure which girl is the worst influence on the other.

As a fly on the wall with these girls, you are really never sure where the story will take you next and the twists along the way were really shocking! The hints and teases of darker thoughts are really cleverly played and just when you think you’re getting a handle on how the story will play out then bang, you’re wrong!!

If you love your thrillers slightly twisted and a little bit messed up, then this is the book for you! Really enjoyed it!

★★★★

The Visitors by Catherine Burns #bookreview

THE BLURB

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar.

Until, suddenly, John has a heart attack and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden.

As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn’t the only one with a dark side

Amazon UK

Hive.co.uk – buy online and support your local bookstore

Book Depository

MY REVIEW

My obsession for reading all things dark and twisted continues, and this ‘experience’ was one of the twisted , unnverving and creepiest I’ve ever had the pleasure (!) to embark on!! If you’re looking for a book full of fluffy, heart melting moments then this is NOT the book for you! But if you’re looking for a book to give you chills, repulse you and be completely disturbing then BUY THIS BOOK!!

The story focuses on Marion who is one of those characters you don’t know whether to feel outright sympathy for, or just lose patience with! Her life has been a hard one living amongst a completely dysfunctional family who treated her like dirt, and there was no escape from her lousy upbringing at school, where she was teased by pupils and teachers alike. But Marion seemed to accept her fate, and found her refuge in her attic bedroom amongst her cuddly toys who were her friends and always there for her.

Since the death of her mother, she has lived in the 6 bedroom home with her domineering, freak of a brother who she is in complete fear of due to his strange and violent behaviour – and is under strict control never to go in the cellar where John keeps ‘the visitors’. This is the start of the chilling side of the story as Marion often hears cries from the cellar but ignores them!! As you do!! I’m so glad I don’t have a cellar

As the story develops, Marion starts to slowly come out of her shell, even with just walking around the town she lives, revisiting an Aunts’ house that she finds up for sale which brings back worrying memories and constructing fantasy lives for herself based on people she meets. But things begin to change more when John has a heart attack and she has to confront her fears in the cellar – it is fascinating how she reacts when she has been so put upon her whole life and now she has an insight into her brothers’ hidden life..

I find it a little disturbing that I enjoyed this book so much!! The characters were strange creatures, and as you looked into their past you could begin to understand how they turned out the way they did!! The Visitors don’t really feature in the book until well past halfway, so that means you get more time delving into Marion and Johns’ upbringing and their outlook on life and people. There are also some fascinating email messages in between certain chapters, which don’t begin to make any sense until towards the end!

A fabulously dark and twisted debut from an author who I will definitely be following for future releases!!

thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced readers copy in return for a fair and honest review.