If She Wakes by Erik Therme

Today I'm helping to close the tour for If She Wakes by Erik Therme. Thanks to Zoe at Zooloo's Book Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

Who do you trust when everyone is lying?

My name is Tess Parker.

Two days ago, I was in a car accident with my sister-in-law, Torrie. Before she slipped into a coma, she asked my husband and me to care for her four-month-old son, Levi.

Yesterday, a woman claiming to be Torrie’s estranged sister knocked on our door. But Torrie has no siblings . . . or so she said. She and my brother were only together a short time before he left, and Torrie has clearly been keeping secrets.

Today, another of Torrie’s 'sisters' has come to town. Both say the other is lying about who they are.

Neither of them is telling the truth.

Both of them want Levi.

If She Wakes is published by Thacker Books and came out last week on 20th February 2022.


Buy Links

Amazon UK 
Amazon US 

My Review

This is, I think, the fifth book of Erik's I've read and the follow to last year's If She Dies. 

Torrie is the wife of Tess's late twin brother Colin. Tess and her husband Josh hadn't really got to know her very well before Colin's death but are trying to support her as best they can, particularly as she has a baby son. Following a car accident which leaves Torrie in a coma, Tess and Josh take Levi into their care, because Torrie has no other family. At least, that's what they thought... 

After a pretty sad and downbeat prologue, but one that sets the scene perfectly and covers some of the back story from If She Dies, there is a complete change of tone for the first chapter, which opens with

'The first thing I see when I open my eyes is blood; running down my left forearm, glazing the backside of my hand and dripping from my fingers.'

The car crash is the beginning of a crazy chain of events for Tess. Before Torrie loses consciousness she says some strange things. Tess doesn't really know her well and is confused and alarmed by what she hears. Once home, she struggles to find with baby Levi, the reasons for which are explored in the book, whereas Josh seems to love every moment with him. Having Levi at home causes a flood of emotions for Tess, which the author gently explores. She keeps it all together well until a woman claiming to be Torrie's sister, after Torrie had said she had no family, turns up. Then trust issues, fear and paranoia start to bubble to the surface, threatening her sanity and her marriage. 

The plot twists and turns and is full of tension. It's maybe a bit far fetched but this is fiction, after all. There's a sub plot running throughout, relating back to Tess and Josh's previous trauma and events in the first book, which I was keen to follow. It runs alongside the main storyline until they come together in the most awful way, and everything makes sense. But I didn't see it coming. 

What I like about Erik's books is that they're very character driven. The whole cast seems very real, Tess particularly. It's hard not to feel for her, she's fair been through the mill. I liked Josh a lot less in this book than in If She Dies though - I hope that was the intention! Other characters, particularly Jessie and Mia, were difficult to warm to because we don't know if they're being honest, or manipulative, or what. So, whilst it was difficult to feel strongly either way, I like the confusion that Therme puts into the reader's mind (well, mine anyway).

If She Wakes is a fast moving, tense and sometimes uneasy thriller. I love that it's very character focused and feelings and emotions are explored. It's a story of love, loss, grief and healing and a great follow up to If She Dies. And the ending means there could possibly be a third in the series. Fingers crossed...

The Author

Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature. Join Erik’s mailing list to be notified of new releases and author giveaways: http://eepurl.com/cD1F8L


Author Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErikTherme.writer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eriktherme
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErikTherme
Website: https://www.eriktherme.com

Off Target by Eve Smith

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Off Target, a chilling look at a possible near future. My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

What if your future was just one modification away?

Critically acclaimed bestseller Eve Smith returns with a terrifying, cautionary glimpse of what the future may hold, with a startlingly thought-provoking blockbuster of a thriller.

In an all-too-possible near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm for humans, parents are prepared to take incalculable risks to ensure that their babies are perfect - altering genes that may cause illness, and more…

Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when an impulsive one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to keep her daughter and ensure her husband doesn’t find out … including the unthinkable. She believes her secret is safe. For now.

But as governments embark on a perilous genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms – even taking their own lives – something truly horrendous is unleashed. Because those children have only one thing in common, and people are starting to ask questions…

A disturbingly relevant literary thriller with the speculative power of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, and all the tension of a nail-biting medical thriller. Off Target comes from Orenda Books and was published on 17th February 2022.

My Review

Off Target is Eve Smith's second book, following her 2020 debut, The Waiting Rooms. Like that one, this book is set in the near future.but unlike The Waiting Rooms, which focused more on later life, Off Target talks about birth, or more accurately pre birth, and, for me at least, this makes it all the more chilling. And the knowledge that it talks about scary science that could feasibly happen in the not too distant future, we're not that far off now. Terrifying. 

Susan is happily married to Steve but they have, thus far, been unable to conceive, even though there appears to be no medical issues. Susan wants to try IVF but, due to his experiences in his first marriage, Steve is adamant they should keep trying to conceive naturally. Their lives are ruled by Susan's cycle, working out when she's at her most fertile and making sure they give the themselves the best chance for a baby. An impulsive night out ends with her getting pregnant and a test shows that Steve cannot be the father. Desperate to keep the baby, but also keep her secret safe, she travels abroad for a risky procedure she believes will help her do that. In a second timeline, we jump forward and meet daughter Zurel who is approaching her teenage years. She's struggling, she hates the regular tests she has to have and has become an elective mute. The only person she feels really comfortable with is the school guidance teacher...

Wow, where to start? So much to unpack in this fascinating novel. Already, we see babies screened in the womb for certain conditions. In Off Target we see them screened for everything, including depression and excessive alcohol consumption. And, at a price, a solution is possible, with just a couple of DNA samples needed. But it isn't clear what the long term effects on these children might be. However,a lot of people are going for these procedures, in the hope of getting a perfect, happy child. Unassisted, natural conceptions, pregnancies and births are almost unheard of. 

I'm not really sure what I thought of Susan. As a mother myself, I understood her desperation to have a child and her frustration at Steve when he won't even consider IVF (personally, I just wanted to shake him!). I even understand her need for a carefree, drunken night out. But I struggled with her decisions from them on. And that's the point of the book, I think - to raise moral issues and questions, open up discussions. It's easy for me or any of us to say 'I would never do that' but, actually, given the science and the  opportunity, would it be such a clear cut decision? But Susan's decisions have an impact on Zurel, and others, and it was really interesting to unpack all of that. 

There is a lot of science in the book, which seems to be very well researched. It's heavy stuff but presented in such a way that it weaves into the story and so doesn't ever become too overwhelming. What frightens me is that we really might not be that far away from this kind of science, and all the questions and debates that that will bring. And outrage too, probably. I loved that in the book we saw two sides of the argument, not everyone agrees with Susan and others like her. So we see angry demonstrations and rallies, similar to ones we saw against abortion not so long ago. As a reader, it was great to be presented with both sides of the argument, much food for thought. 

It's easy to forget that at the centre of all of it is a child, but Zurel's chapters brought that sharply back into focus. My heart just ached for her as I felt her struggles, her upset, her confusion. And she has so much to deal with, so much, at such a young age. 

Off Target is one of those books you just need to read. As well as being a cracking, edge of your seat story, it also asks big, big questions. What would you do to have a child? How far would you go to hide a mistake? How long can you keep a secret? It makes you question what you think you know, what moral and ethical choices you would make. Whilst this is a work of  fiction, the science discussed is probably not that far away which is both amazing and terrifying. The story made me feel uneasy at times because what's being discussed is so huge, and feels so real, but it never takes away from the pace and tension. I have been thinking about it a lot since I finished it and would highly recommend it to you. Bravo Eve Smith. 

The Author

Eve Smith writes speculative fiction - mainly about the things that scare her – which she attributes to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and black-and-white Edgar Allen Poe double bills. Previously COO of an environmental charity, she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.

 

Author Social Media Links

Twitter: @evecsmith
Instagram: evesmithauthor
Facebook: EveSmithAuthor
Website: www.evesmithauthor.com.

To Love and Be Loved by Amanda Prowse

What could be better on Valentine's Day (other than a card, flowers and a romantic dinner, of course) than sharing the love for a book about love? It's my stop on the blog tour for To Love and Be Loved by Amanda Prowse anf. Big love to Kelly Lacey at Love Books Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

The Blurb

In this life-affirming tale from bestselling author Amanda Prowse, one woman built a new life to escape her humiliation. Now, can she put the shame behind her and finally find happiness?

Young and desperately in love, Merrin had the whole world ahead of her. But just as her new life was about to start, the ground beneath her feet was cruelly swept away. Devastated by the humiliation, she ran far away from the beloved fishing village she had always called home to lick her wounds and escape her gossiping friends and neighbours.

It hasn’t been easy, but six years later Merrin has forged a new life for herself far from the sea, burying the impulsive girl she once was. But when tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to return to the village she swore she’d never set foot in again.

Reluctantly back in the arms of her community, Merrin begins to realise what she’s been missing out on all these years. As she begins to remember the person she used to be, she is forced to make choices about her future, and to question the past. What does she want from her life? Who is important to her? Who is to blame for everything that went wrong? And can she forgive them, let old wounds heal and finally be her true self again?


Buy Links

Amazon

My Review

This is my first fiction by Amanda Prowse but I loved the book she wrote with her son, Josh Hartley, about his depression and the effect on the whole family. The Boy Between is a very honest, emotional and affecting book, well worth a look. You can check out my review here. 

As many of you will know I'm normally one for the darker side of life with my crime and psychological thrillers but everyone needs a bit of love in their life, right? To Love and Be Loved tells the story of Merrin, a young woman from a loving family who lives in a tiny Cornish seaside village of Port Charles. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone gets along and it's picture perfect gorgeous. Merrin is head over heels in love with Digby and they're planning a beautiful wedding day. But when the day goes catastrophically wrong Merrin is embarrassed, ashamed and just can't face anyone. So she leaves the place she loves to start a new life and it's a fair while before she summons up the courage to return.

Merrin is very easy to like. She's bubbly and happy, at first, anyway, and secure in the love of her family and her man. But after that disastrous day she is a changed woman, sad and lonely. My heart went out to her then. She is so beautifully described that I could feel the ache in her heart, just as I could feel her joy in the happy times. I really warmed to her and understood her need to run away. But she made one decision I didn't agree with, not returning home for a significant event. Part of her worry was people talking about her and that awful day but I wonder if they wouldn't have talked more about her not returning for this particular event.

Port Charles is absolutely a character in its own right. It sounds absolutely gorgeous, just as you'd imagine a traditional seaside village - beautiful views and kind -hearted, hard-working folk. A place to belong, to be part of something. And throughout the story, it's not only the pull of her family and friends that Merrin feels, but the pull of Port Charles itself. 

This is an easy to read and enjoyable tale of self discovery, friendship, grief, family and love in all its forms. And about the pull of the people and places that really matter to you. I've been quite emotionally fragile recently and I was in pieces more than once. But I think anyone reading this will be moved by Merrin's ups and downs. Oh, and by the beautiful words of wisdom dispensed by her parents. It felt good to leave the crime behind just for a bit and come into the light for a while. 

The Author

Amanda Prowse is an international bestselling author of twenty-eight novels published in dozens of languages. Her chart-topping titles What Have I Done?, Perfect Daughter, My Husband’s Wife, The Coordinates of Loss, The Girl in the Corner and The Things I Know have sold millions of copies around the world. Other novels by Amanda Prowse include A Mother’s Story, which won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the Year Award. Perfect Daughter was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016. She has been described by the Daily Mail as ‘the queen of family drama’. Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today. Her titles consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres. A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show, as well as featuring on numerous daytime ITV programmes. She also makes countless guest appearances on national and independent radio stations, including LBC and talkRADIO, where she is well known for her insightful observations and infectious humour. Amanda’s ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning off the bedside lamp at night, that ensure you walk every step with her great characters, and tales that fill your head so you can’t possibly read another book until the memory fades…

The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville

I'm excited to be reading and reviewing my first Stuart Neville book, and I'll tell you what - it won't be my last! The House of Ashes came out last week on 3rd February, published by Zaffre. Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

For Sara Keane, it was supposed to be a second chance. A new country. A new house. A new beginning with her husband Damien.

Then came the knock on the door.

Elderly Mary Jackson can't understand why Sara and her husband are living in her home. She remembers the fire, and the house burning down. But she also remembers the children. The children who need her, whom she must protect.

'The children will find you,' she tells Sara, because Mary knows she needs help too. Sara soon becomes obsessed with what happened in that house nearly sixty years ago - the tragic, bloody night her husband never intended for her to discover. And Mary - silent for six decades - is finally ready to tell her story . . .

The House of Ashes is the stunning new 2022 thriller from the award-winning master of the genre, Stuart Neville - perfect for fans of John Connolly, Alex North and Brian McGilloway.

My Review

Sara's father-in-law has gifted her and husband Damien a house in Morganstown, Northern Ireland. He's even done it up for them. It's supposed to be a fresh start in a new town in Damien's homeland after Sara's breakdown. But a few days after moving in an elderly, bewildered woman arrives, freezing cold with bleeding feet, confused why someone is in her house and worried about the children. Before Sara can find out who she is or what children she's referring to, Damien bundles the woman in the car and drives away. This one event stirs something in Sara and as she seeks to find the truth about terrible events in the house sixty years earlier she finds a strength she didn't know she had. 

I found it easy to empathise with Sara. It becomes evident to the reader pretty quickly that Damien is controlling and a bit of a bully. Sara knows it inside but doesn't want to admit it to herself or others. It was impossible not to feel for her, uprooted from the city she knew and all her friends and put down in a place where she knows nobody. She already feels like there is something odd about the house when Mary turns up that morning. And when it becomes clear that Damien might know more than he's let on, it lights a fire of determination in her.

Mary. Oh, Mary. I don't have the right words for her, to do her character justice. She is exquisitely written. The majority of the book is told from the viewpoints of Sara and Mary, and in Mary's chapters we slowly learn of her early life in the very house in which Sara now lives. I loved that these chapters, essentially narrated by Mary, are told using local dialectal words and phrases, it really adds to the authenticity of it all. I don't want to say to much about her story so that you can discover it yourselves, but it's horrific. It wasn't what I was expecting but I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and my heart went out to Mary, and others.

The story is told in a dual timeline, Sara in the present day, Mary sixty years ago, and the two women share both a vulnerability, and an inner strength, even if Sara is only just finding hers. And it is Mary who helps her to do that. But they are also linked by the things they've seen, the things no one else has. Shadows against the walls, movements in the corner of the eye...

As much of the action takes place in the house and its environs, this novel has a very claustrophobic atmosphere to it, totally fitting for the subject matter. The scene setting is perfect, with the rooms in the house easy to picture. The chapters are short, helping an already pacy story zip along. I read it over two days - if I could've done it in one, I would have! 

In The House of Ashes Stuart Neville has delivered a tense, chilling, fast moving story of the secrets of one house and the repercussions six decades later. It is a tale of abuse and coercive control and won't be for everyone. But it's beautifully written and sensitively handled. This is the story of two women, two beautiful, strong women, and I love that. It's dark, troubling and uncomfortable to read in places but you will also find yourselves cheering for these women. In fact, you'll go through pretty much every emotion reading this - I was so angry for much o f it! On the strength of this, I can't wait to read my next Neville book - absolutely loved it! Highly recommended. 

Oh, and I promise you, you will be thinking about the children long after the end of the book...

The Author

Stuart Neville's debut novel, The Twelve (published in the USA as The Ghosts of Belfast), won the Mystery/Thriller category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was picked as one of the top crime novels of 2009 by both the New York Times and the LA Times. He has been shortlisted for various awards, including the Barry, Macavity, Dilys awards, as well as the Irish Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year. He has since published three critically acclaimed sequels, Collusion, Stolen Souls and The Final Silence.

His first four novels have each been longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and Ratlines was shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.

Stuart's novels have been translated into various languages, including German, Japanese, Polish, Swedish, Greek and more. The French edition of The Ghosts of Belfast, Les Fantômes de Belfast, won Le Prix Mystère de la Critique du Meilleur Roman Étranger and Grand Prix du Roman Noir Étranger.

His fourth novel, Ratlines, about Nazis harboured by the Irish state following WWII is currently in development for television.

Unhinged by Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger (translated by Megan Turney)

I'm delighted to be taking part in another Orenda blog tour (there are a few coming up). This time it's for Unhinged, the latest in the Blix and Ramm series, by Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger. Big thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

His colleague is dead. His daughter may be next. It’s time to do things his way…

Two of Nordic Noir’s most accomplished writers return with the explosive, staggeringly complex and unbearably emotive third instalment in the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series.

When police investigator Sofia Kovic uncovers a startling connection between several Oslo cases, she attempts to contact her closest superior, Alexander Blix, before involving anyone else in the department. But before Blix has time to return her call, Kovic is shot and killed in her own home – execution style. And in the apartment below, Blix’s daughter Iselin narrowly escapes becoming the killer’s next victim.

Four days later, Blix and online crime journalist Emma Ramm are locked inside an interrogation room, facing the National Criminal Investigation Service. Blix has shot and killed a man, and Ramm saw it all happen.

As Iselin’s life hangs in the balance, under-fire Blix no longer knows who he can trust, and he’s not even certain that he’s killed the right man…

My Review

It's great to be spending time with policeman Alexander Blix and investigative journalist Emma Ramm once again. This is the third in the series after Death Deserved and Smoke Screen. If you haven't read those two you can absolutely read this as a standalone. But you're going to want to go back And read the others. 

Whilst giving a talk, Blix misses several calls from his colleague Kovic and also his daughter Iselin. Before he has chance to return any of the calls he learns that Kovic has been attacked and killed in her home. His first thought is for Iselin who rents a room from Kovic... This event starts a catastrophic chain of events that ends with Blix and young Emma Ramm being interrogated at the police station following a shooting. Much of the early part of the book is told in flashbacks (to a few days earlier). As Blix and Emma answer questions we are taken back to the time of the shooting and we learn more about the events leading up to this point. 

I think this is a much darker book than the previous two, certainly felt like that way to me. It's a much more personal book with events hitting both Blix and Ramm hard. In the previous books I worried about Blix - he really has no life outside of work, no friends, no hobbies, etc. I figured he must be lonely. I worried about him more here. He's never been the most extroverted character but here we really see him pull back. From everyone. Our two main characters spend a lot of the time apart, which I hadn't expected, and we see them struggle with their thoughts and feelings about the other. For anyone unawares, this isn't a romantic or sexual relationship, more like a father/daughter thing. But events impact them so deeply, they both have real pause to consider their friendship. 

The strength of this series lies with its characters, particularly Blix and Ramm. They are beautifully written and I loved reading their ever changing relationship and the impact that events have on them, Blix particularly. Until now, we haven't spent too much time and detail on his life outside of work, but here we see much more of him and learn more every chapter about his life, his love for Iselin and the maelstrom of feelings and emotions he goes through. And I went through them with him, I can tell ya! This book put me through the emotional wringer from beginning to end. My heart was in my mouth much of the time and occasionally lying broken on the floor. 

This is more Blix's story than Emma's but, as usual, he finds her in his corner, encouraging him, helping him, whether he wants it or not. Whilst the two of them work independently and their relationship is complicated,  I've always seen them as a wee team. For reasons that will become obvious if you read the book, there is less of that in this book which felt strange and a little uncomfortable, which I'm sure the authors were aiming for. 

I loved the backwards and forwards way the story was built up in the first half of the book. Short, snappy chapters and a change of time and scenery help keep the reader's attention. And there is plenty going on here which makes it tense and engrossing. But the focus is Blix as he struggles to do what he's told. It's personal for him. I thought his inner, and outer, turmoil was written beautifully - my heart went out to him. I'm so wary of spoilers that I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining things. The ending, though! Wasn't what I expected. 

Unhinged is a dark, chilling and tense crime thriller. It's atmospheric and beautifully written - the joins between Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst are absolutely seamless. And a big shout out to Megan Turney for her excellent translation. This is a book that touches on love, friendship, anger, grief, coercive control and abuse of power. It's intense, personal and painful in places but I loved it. Probably the strongest in the series so far. I'm not sure if there is more planned for Blix and Ramm, I hope so but, whatever, I really hope these two authors continue to do some work together, they make a great team! 

As a postscript I'll say the same thing that I said about the last two books, I think. If you're not someone who usually reads the author acknowledgements at the end of a book, do make an exception here because they're a lot of fun!

The Authors

Jørn Lier Horst

Thomas Enger

Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger are the internationally bestselling Norwegian authors of the William Wisting and Henning Juul series respectively. A former investigator in the Norwegian police, Horst imbues all his works with an unparalleled realism and suspense. Thomas Enger is a journalist-turned-author whose trademark has become a darkly gritty voice paired with key social messages and tight plotting. Besides writing fiction for both adults and young adults, Enger also works as a music composer. Death Deserved was Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger’s first co-written thriller, closely followed by Smoke Screen, and the series has sold more than two million copies worldwide, outselling Jo Nesbo in their native Norway, Sweden and Germany. You can find them both on Twitter @LierHorst @EngerThomas.