Keep Your Friends Close by Joanne Ryan

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Keep Your Friends Close by Joanne Ryan, a new author to me. Many thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

The Blurb

She knows your darkest secret… Can she keep it?

It’s a normal sunny day when Mia sees her ex-boyfriend on the street where she lives. But she knows that’s crazy. She knows it can’t possibly be him. She knows… because she killed him.

Mia and Carrie have been best friends since school. They share everything: clothes, shoes, a home… and their secrets.

Only Carrie knew what Mia did that night. Where everything went wrong and Mia’s boyfriend attacked her, so she attacked him right back.

Carrie made the problem go away. Like she always would for her best friend. They’ve got on with their lives. Mia’s even met someone new – a man she thinks she could be with forever.

But now it looks like her ex is back. Alive and well. So either Mia is losing her mind, or somebody very close to her has been lying…


Purchase Link 

My Review

Carrie has been Mia's best friend for years, despite the difference in their backgrounds. And Carrie has always been there for Mia, especially at her worst moments. Like when she killed Marco in self defence. She was such a mess, Carrie took over and sorted everything out despite her own shock at what had happened. Eight months on, life has moved on, but Mia owes Carrie so much for the support she gave her that night. And Carrie can't understand why Mia thinks she's seen her ex when it just can't be true... 

So, Mia is not that easy to like, or she wasn't for me anyway. Financially comfortable, she is enjoying life and living it to the full. Which would be fine if she hadn't killed someone less than a year earlier, but she seems to have conveniently pushed that to one side. She's beautiful, got an often glamorous job (that she doesn't need), a handsome beau and loves to party. It would seem that Carrie is still the responsible one in the relationship! All of that said, when things start to turn a little strange for Mia I did really feel for her. Something is clearly very wrong but the only person she can turn to is Carrie because she's the only one who knows the truth. If I'd been in that situation, I'd have struggled not to spill the beans to anyone else! 

Conversely, I really felt for Carrie. She's had to work so much harder than Mia to succeed in life, and continues to work hard to get to improve her situation. And she carries as much of a burden of responsibility for some of the events of eight months previous as Mia does, and it seems to weigh heavier for her. It's clear she doesn't approve of some of Mia's current lifestyle decisions but she's her best friend, and always stands by her. 

Whilst there are other characters involved in the story, although special mention to Sebastian, who I initially loathed but grew fonder of, this is very much about these two friends, and the depth of their relationship - its strengths and weaknesses. As a result, it feels quite claustrophobic, which I felt suited the storyline. 

I can't go into too much detail about the plot without giving away spoilers, which I obviously don't want to do! But I felt that Liz's growing sense of confusion and unease was nicely handled, and really helped to ramp up the tension. I did guess some of what was going on but there were still surprises aplenty! Keep Your Friends Close is a neatly written quick read - a tale of friendship, trust and betrayal. 

The Author

Joanne Ryan is the author of several well-reviewed psychological thrillers. Previously published by Tamarillas Press, she lives in Wiltshire. Her first thriller for Boldwood is Keep Your Friends Close.


Author Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1929779393871097/user/100089068085573/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorjoanneryan/
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/joanne-ryan

Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald

Today I'm sharing my review of Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald for my stop on the blog tour. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

They’re the housemates from Hell…

When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.

Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…,

And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.

Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breathtaking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…

Halfway House is published by Orenda Books and comes out on Thursday of this week.

My Review

This is the fourth book I've read by Helen Fitzgerald. You can read my reviews of Ash Mountain and Keep Her Sweet but I am still to review Worst Case Scenario.

Lou's relationship with a married man in Australia has ended. She had been a waitress, but more recently hadn't worked and had a lifestyle, and apartment, funded by her lover. Now it's over, she's heading to Scotland, her cousin Becks, and a fresh start. The only job she's been able to get is in a halfway house for offenders, and even that was achieved with a slightly dubious reference. She throws herself into life when she arrives, even meeting a new lover. Then when the time comes to start her job, it doesn't seem that hard. Until the third night, when things quickly unravel...

Lou is not likeable. I couldn't really find one redeemable thing about her. She's selfish, entitled, ungrateful to those around her. She is particularly bad with her cousin, who has shown her nothing but kindness. Although, I must say, Becks's flat does sound a bit of a nightmare, given her penchant for collecting waits and strays. But I was still invested in what happened to Lou, because all the unlikable stuff about her contributes to making her a disaster waiting to happpen! The majority of the characters are male - I particularly liked Tim, also Neil and Cam. But all the characters are described vividly, particularly, of course, the residents of the halfway house. Even though you know they're a bad lot, they're a joy to read because they are just so colourful and interesting. And either creepy or threatening!

The author sets the scene well, with Lou's arrival in Scotland, settling in to Beck's flat, finding a lover, preparing for the new job. And then the largest part of the book takes place over just three shifts as we can't help but be carried along with the action as things get stickier and stickier for Lou. I enjoyed the madness of it all. There was a slightly cartoonish feel to some scenes which meant I was smiling as well as grimacing at the whole situation. Bonkers. It does end quite suddenly, I felt, and would've loved to know what the future held in store for some of these characters.

Halfway House is a madcap, darkly funny tale of one unprepared young woman's experience with a colourful group of desperate men... It's a lot of fun and I enjoyed it but don't think I'll be taking a job in a halfway house anytime soon! Not one like this, anyway! 


The Author 

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of thirteen adult and young-adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons
Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and adapted for a major BBC drama. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in the Literary Review, Herald Scotland, Guardian, Sunday Times, The Week and Daily Telegraph, shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and won the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award. The critically acclaimed Ash Mountain (2020) and Keep Her Sweet (2022) soon followed. Helen worked as a criminal-justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.

The Guests by Agnes Ravatn (translated by Rosie Hedger)

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you are all well, had a great Christmas if you celebrated and have had a good start to 2024. In true Suze Reviews style, I will be sharing my end of year review late. 😂 But in the meantime, I have a review for you lovely people! Today I'm helping to open the blog tour for The Guests by Agnes Ravatn and translated into English by Rosie Hedger. My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

An exquisitely dark, sharply funny psychological drama by the international bestselling author of The Bird Tribunal.

It started with a lie…

Married couple Karin and Kai are looking for a pleasant escape from their busy lives, and reluctantly accept an offer to stay in a luxurious holiday home in the Norwegian fjords.

Instead of finding a relaxing retreat, however, their trip becomes a reminder of everything lacking in their own lives, and in a less-than-friendly meeting with their new neighbours, Karin tells a little white lie…

Against the backdrop of the glistening water and within the claustrophobic walls of the ultra-modern house, Karin’s insecurities blossom, and her lie grows ever bigger, entangling her and her husband in a nightmare spiral of deceits with absolutely no means of escape…

The Guests is published (in English) by Orenda Books and comes out on 18th January 2024.

My Review

This is the first book by Agnes Ravatn that I've read, (although you can find an extract from The Seven Doors here), so went into this not knowing what to expect, which is always an adventure! The first thing I noticed was that Ms Ravatn doesn't use speech marks around dialogue. It's not the first time I've seen this, of course, although I tend to avoid it. So it threw me a little and I wasn't sure I could enjoy the book but was surprised how quickly I forgot about it and got involved in the story. 

Karin and Kai's two boys are staying with their grandparents so the adults have a week to themselves and have been offered the use of a cabin on the coast. When I say cabin I don't mean a basic log affair but a luxury one with top quality furnishings. It will be a bit of a working holiday for Kai but with plenty of time to enjoy himself. But Karin is strangely reluctant to head to this coastal idyll. However, she does, and on a walk one day encounters their nearest cabin dwelling neighbour Per, and tells a small lie. But as they interact more with Per and his wife, the lie becomes  bigger and bigger...

I struggled to warm to Karin, I must admit. I understood some of her insecurities but not others, and thought she probably wasn't the most likeable of people. All that said, for a large portion of the book she isn't herself, and she never relaxes, so that will all be part of it. Kai, on the other hand, is wonderfully relaxed and laid back, and very likeable, regardless of the face he wears. Per and Hilma  were very interesting characters - initially slightly closed off, as they open up a bit more we find out their outwardly lovely life is not without its problems. 

All the action is centred around these four characters and takes place in the two cabins and surrounding area, other than a bit of backstory, so there is a bit of a claustrophobic feel to things. The area sounds beautiful, though, the scene setting is descriptive and vivid. The storyline pulls us along as the lie gets bigger and I was dying to see how it all ended up. And that ending wasn't what I expected at all. 

The Guests is a really interesting study of emotional fragility and the feelings we get that somehow we're not enough. It's also a cautionary tale about lying, and where that can lead you! An interesting, funny, well written and very enjoyable book, and a slightly different kind of read for me, and that can only be a good thing! 

The Author

Agnes Ravatn is a Norwegian author and columnist. She made her literary debut with the novel Week 53 in 2007. Since then she has written a number of critically acclaimed and award-winning essay collections, including Standing, Popular Reading and Operation Self-discipline, in which she recounts her experience with social-media addiction. Her debut thriller, The Bird Tribunal, won the cultural radio P2’s listener’s prize in addition to The Youth’s Critic’s Prize, and was made into a successful play in Oslo in 2015. The English translation, published by Orenda Books in 2016, was a WHSmith Fresh Talent Pick, winner of a PEN Translation Award, a BBC Radio Four ‘Book at Bedtime’ and shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the 2017 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. Critically acclaimed The Seven Doors was published in 2020. Agnes lives with her family in the Norwegian countryside.

Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson (translated by David Warriner)

One Christmas gift I hadn't bargained on and could really, really have done without is Covid, so feeling very sorry for myself just now! But one Christmas present that I was delighted to treat myself to was a copy of the new book from one of my favourite authors. Welcome to my blog tour stop for Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson and translated into English by David Warriner. Huge thanks Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review ebook.

The Blurb

The number one bestselling, haunting new gothic thriller from the 'Queen of French Noir', this is the first in a series and based on true events.

Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she's asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.

Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?

As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.

When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman's tragic death somehow hold the key?

Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia's deepest, darkest winter….

My Review

Johana Gustawsson is one of my go to authors, an automatic buy, because I've loved everything of hers I've read. So much so that I bought a limited first edition hardback copy of Yule Island, having not read it first (as I did with her previous book, The Bleeding). Yes, I was excited. She is also just one of the loveliest people too, although her books are, by contrast, very dark and often chilling. And as this one is set in the dead of winter, it is even more so! 

The book opens in 2012 with policeman Karl Rosén heading to Storholmen, a small island just a short crossing over the water from Stockholm where the body of a young woman has been discovered. Fast forward to 2021 and art and antiquities expert Emma is apprehensive about heading over to Storholmen to value the contents of the Gussman manor house as she knows they are one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. And the whole country knows of 'The Hanging Girl' from nine years earlier, a story which causes Emma to shiver. Settling into regular visits to the island and her work there she is struck by just how silent it is. It's quite unnerving in the early days. A shocking discovery in the manor house leads her to cross paths with Karl, back on the island to investigate the death of another young woman. Events lead them down a path they could not have foreseen...

It's not often I lead with scene setting over characters but I want to give special mention to the island of Storholmen, because it absolutely makes for a character itself, and to know it's a real place only makes it better. Some of the characteristics of the real island may have been exaggerated here, but I was struck by its seemingly overwhelming silence, eerie at the beginning, more comforting as time goes on. I know there are no cars on the island but there seems to be an absence of most noise. Perhaps because there is nowhere for visitors to stay not much for them to do. But it really piqued my interest.

Emma is young and enthusiastic but professional, determined to make a good impression with her new clients despite a certain sense of imposter syndrome. She doesn't seem to have many friends, save for the fabulous Lulu, but warms to a few islanders - l loved water taxi pilot Lotte. Emma makes discovery upon discovery in the manor house, many of which she really struggles with, and it's really no wonder! Karl has been a policeman for a good while, knows the law, knows right from wrong. He's full of sadness over an unsolved murder from the past and can't help fearing that this one is related in some way. But both of the main characters have their own demons to deal with, and their stories are skilfully teased out through the book. 

I'm sorry, this review is clunker than I'd hoped cos I've got brain fog but will aim for a neater wrap up! Whilst there are shocks early on, the full horror of the story builds throughout the book meaning the tension ratchets right up. And due to the insular nature of the setting, it feels very claustrophobic. I tell you, you won't want to put it down! It's beautifully written with endearing, well drawn protagonists from very different worlds. I know this is the beginning of a series but I don't know if either or both will be making a return in the follow ups but I would to see this. Whilst it's well known I like my crime on the dark side, I can only enjoy if it's balanced by some light moments. There aren't loads here, particularly with the sense of mounting dread, but they are handled well with some genuinely touching moments. 

Full of twists and turns, Yule Island had me wincing, grimacing, even gasping out loud. A tale crossing time, it touches on family, relationships, love and folklore. And it's dark. Devilishly dark. I loved it, easily one of my favourites of the year. 

I'm not organised enough to have posts already scheduled and given as I'm not well, there is unlikely to be anything from me before next Monday, so I'll take this opportunity to wish those of you who celebrate a very happy Christmas and best wishes to everyone for the new year, in case I'm not back before then! 

The Author

Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number one bestseller in France and received immense critical acclaim across the globe. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.

Dead Sweet by Katrín Júlíusdóttir (translated by Quentin Bates)

Come with me as I travel to Iceland for today's blog tour stop. Debut novel Dead Sweet is written by Katrín Júlíusdóttir and translated into English by Quentin Bates. The death of a notable man is just the start of the mystery. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invite and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

A murder is just the beginning…

When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn't until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.

As Óttar's shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís's own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…

Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.

Dead Sweet is published in the UK by Orenda Books and came out on 7th December 2023.

My Review

Óttar Karlsson's partner has gone out of her way to make his surprise 50th birthday party perfect in every way, so when he doesn't turn up for it she is devastated. More so when he is found murdered. But as the investigation into his death progresses, it seems there was a lot more to Óttar than she, or most people, in fact, realised. And not necessarily in a good way. Keen to be actively involved in this case is young policewoman Sigurdís who has been assigned to limited duties following a violent altercation with a member of the public. But she has good instincts, something her boss can't ignore forever, especially after she discovers a well hidden safe in the dead man's apartment... 

The investigation into Óttar's death is complex, interesting and intriguing. He was a popular, well liked man, but seemed to have very few, if any, real friends. There are secret business dealings, a web of financial transactions, a secret life in America, several suspects and a number of red herrings. Sigurdís's work on the case is consistently good and it was great to see that she wasn't afraid to take the initiative when she felt it as necessary, even if she knew she might get into trouble for it. 

I loved getting to know Sigurdís and learning what has brought her to this point, and  looking a little bit as to why she lashed out in public. She has experienced significant trauma in her life and struggles to relax, particularly around colleague Unnar. Speaking of colleagues, as well as wanting to keep Sigurdís out of trouble, boss Garðar clearly has her best interests at heart, with a sometimes almost paternal attitude, and it was interesting to see just how that has come about. And, throughout, I was rooting for her to succeed.

There are some dark themes explored here but never in a gratuitous way. Everything fits into the story. There were moments, and revelations that made me angry, and some that made me sad. Interspersed amongst the main chapters are short passages from an unknown narrator and these made me uncomfortable and desperate to know how they tied in with the main storyline. 

Whilst this isn't a high action storyline, there is plenty going on and the momentum does let up. There are a lot of police procedures out there but this feels fresh. That's thanks to the writing and the excellent translation from Quentin Bates but in Sigurdís, Katrín Júlíusdóttir has created an engaging protagonist with her own strengths and flaws. An assured debut and an assured start to a new series. I look forward to reading more about Sigurdís in the future! 

The Author

Katrín Júlíusdóttir received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-seller lists in the first weeks after publication. Katrín has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took night time shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. She was raised in Kópavogur, about 15 minutes' drive from downtown Reykjavík. She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.

Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver

I'm helping to close the blog tour for the fabulously dark Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver, a prequel to The Beresford which came out in 2021. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

THERE ARE WORSE PLACES THAN HELL…

Hotel Beresford is a grand, old building, just outside the city. And any soul is welcome.

Danielle Ortega works nights, singing at whatever dive bar will offer her a gig. She gets by, keeping to herself. Sam Walker gambles and drinks, and can’t keep his hands to himself. Now he’s tied up in a shoe closet with a dent in his head that matches Danielle’s broken ashtray.

The man in 731 has been dead for two days and his dog has not stopped barking. Two doors down, the couple who always smokes on the window ledge will mysteriously fall.

Upstairs, in the penthouse, Mr Balliol sees it all. He can peer into every crevice of every floor of the hotel from his screen-filled suite. He witnesses humanity and inhumanity in all its forms: loneliness, passion and desperation in equal measure. All the ingredients he needs to make a deal.

When Danielle returns home one night to find Sam gone, a series of sinister events begins to unfold. But strange things often occur at Hotel Beresford, and many are only a distraction to hide something much darker…

Upstairs at the Beresford is published by Orenda Books and came out on 9th November 2023. 

My Review

I love Will Carver books, he's now a go to author for me. But I hate that they are so hard to review! If you've read The Beresford you'll have a wee idea of what you're letting yourself in for here. If you haven't read it, don't worry, this is a prequel and you don't need to have read The Beresford. But I bet you'll want to after reading this one! 

The Beresford is a large, magnificent building at the edge of the city. We don't know which city and it doesn't matter, it could be anywhere. Full of fading grandeur, this establishment is owned by Mr Balliol, resident in the tenth floor penthouse, and managed incredibly efficiently by Carol, who lives off-site but has a room on the ground floor she can use if she wants. The Beresford is always full and how long someone needs to stay dictates the floor they end up on. In the book, we mainly focus on the longer term residents on the seventh floor but with visits both up and down the way, including to the sales conference taking place on the lower floors. This is the life of the hotel in full swing, full of colourful characters,  and things gets very dark indeed. 

We meet several residents of the seventh floor, one of whom is jazz singer Danielle. I loved the descriptions of her, how music seems to accompany her every move. And Odie, little bookworm and son of Diana and Sam Walker, and the purest thing in this book. He'll be your favourite character, I'm sure, he was mine. A young boy who has had to grow up quickly seeing his violent father take things out on his mother and what she'll do to get the money together to escape him. He's just a wee soul. We meet IP Wyatt, a reclusive author staying in an upper floor, who deletes what he's written at the end of the day. Until he gets out right. And Carol. Of indeterminate age, she's been there pretty much since the beginning, managing the hotel with a smooth efficiency, turning rooms around so they are ready for occupancy with incredible speed. But there is a deep sadness to Carol which we learn more about as the story progresses. She was a standout character for me. And Mr Balliol. What to say about him? All seeing, all knowing, he revels in people's misery, finds violence entertaining. Is he just an evil man or is there more to him? 

Because he is interested in the lost souls, the desperate, those that what something really, really badly and what they are willing to do to get it. And they don't necessarily need to be bad people. We meet the Mays who aren't residents of the hotel, a sweet older couple who live close by. Mrs May is praying hard to God for what she wants but he's just not listening. Mr Balliol is though, and willing to help. At a cost. Back in the hotel, The third floor is full of salespeople, mainly men, here for their annual conference, hosted by the genial Mr Balliol. The after party is something else - dark and grotesque, verging on horror. 

There are segments where Carver directly addresses the reader, as in previous books, and these are often angry, but address big issues. In this one, God and religion generally get a hard ride but also it shows the disconnectedness (is that a word? Don't think so but you know what I mean) in society. We don't connect with each other any more, not properly. We don't look out for each other. But here, if God isn't listening to the lost souls then someone else is. As I said when I opened, Will Carver's books are really hard to review. But they are always entertaining, challenging and thought provoking and Upstairs at the Beresford is certainly that. It makes us consider what we really want and what we would be willing to do to get it. Would we go as far as some do here? Or should we be thankful about what we already have and less greedy? As always with his books,  Carver has left me with questions about myself and the world around me. And that's got to be a good thing, especially when it came via an absolutely cracking novel.


The Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series, which includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the mainstream international press. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2020 and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize, and was followed by four standalone literary thrillers, The Beresford, Psychopaths Anonymous, The Daves Next Door and Suicide Thursday. Will spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his children.

Tuscan Enchantment by Kate Zarrelli

So, something a bit different today. Well, quite a lot different really from my usual digest of crime and darkness. I'm visiting the light side with a little bit of romance. And who doesn't like a happy ending? Especially when you haven't had one! 😂 Although I had no idea going into Tuscan Enchantment by Kate Zarrelli whether I would get my perfect ending or not! Many thanks to Kelly Lacey at Love Books Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

Librarian Antonia Gray has fled England for northern Tuscany to recover after an unhappy love affair and to work on the archive of a 17th century Italian explorer, a member of a centuries-old aristocratic family. There she meets his descendent, Lorenzo Quattromani, rich, arrogant, handsome - and engaged to the beautiful and ruthless Austrian Giselle. The last thing Antonia wants is to fall in love, least of all with someone so incredibly dangerous. His engagement, though, is not what it seems, but while Lorenzo breaks down Antonia’s resistance Giselle has other ideas.


Buy Links

Romaunce Books 
Amazon UK 
Amazon US 

My Review

Regular visitors to this blog will know that romance isn't really my thing. Well, let me rephrase that - romance books don't feature heavily for me but I certainly wouldn't say no to an actual bit of real life romance! But I had previously read Kate Zarrelli's erotic novel, The Casanova Papers (being republished by Romaunce Books next year), and loved it so thought I'd take a chance with this one. Just to be clear, though, Tuscan Enchantment is not erotica (so please don't be concerned if that's not your thing) but lovely romance. 

Librarian Antonia has left the UK following a break up and headed to Italy to focus on work. She is helping the elderly Countess Laura Quattromani catalogue the family papers, specifically those of ancestor Gianluca Quattromani. The countess is visited by her handsome nephew with his glamorous fiancée and their arrival turns Antonia's life upside down. 

This is a quick read, just around two hours for me, but a wonderful bit of escapism. The Italian countryside and the faded grandeur of the villas are beautifully described. Lorenzo sounds gorgeous, as does Antonia, in a more earthy way. But I was ready to punch Giselle! You will be too. Although not central to the love story, I think the countess was my favourite character. Crotchety and sharp - she has some great retorts - but also kind and knowing. I'd love an aunt like her (although I love the aunts I have, of course)! 

You need to suspend disbelief a little bit for this story  (or maybe things like this do happen in real life), but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It's going back to what I said earlier about escapism - it's good to do sometimes! And it's a lovely story, full of ups and downs, love, heartbreak and sunshine. Tuscan Enchantment is the perfect read for a chilly autumn/winter day - get a fluffy blanket, a hot drink and a snack and while away a few hours in sunny Tuscany! Lovely and very enjoyable. 

The Author

Kate Zarrelli is a pen name of Katherine Mezzacappa, an Irish author who lives with her Italian husband and Iris the cat, in northern Tuscany, between the Apuan Alps and the Tyrrhenian Sea - the setting for Tuscan Enchantment. As Katie Hutton she has published The Gypsy Bride, The Gypsy's Daughter and Annie of Ainsworth's Mill with Zaffre, with The Maid of Lindall Hall to follow next year. As Katherine Mezzacappa, her The Ballad of Mary Kearney will be published by Addison & Highsmith in 2023 and The Virgin of Florence with Fairlight Books the year after. Her short fiction has been published in a range of magazines worldwide. She is also a manuscript assessor for a major London literary consultancy. Kate has worked as a management consultant, a museum curator, a seamstress and a care assistant. In her spare time, she volunteers with a second-hand book charity of which she is a founder member. Kate's next title for Romaunce is an erotic love story set in Venice, The Casanova Papers, for publication January 2024.