The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West

I know I've been very quiet on here - just life stuff, I'm afraid, but aiming to do better! And, oh my heart, it's an emotional one in the blog today! Welcome to my stop on the tour for The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West. I hadn't read The Spirit Engineer, the author's debut novel, so didn't know what to expect, but the blurb looked fascinating. I wasn't disappointed. Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour and to the publisher for sending my review copy.

The Blurb

It is the year 1710, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London's hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses.

Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his double life as Lotty, the molly's stoic guard. When a young man is found murdered, he realises there is a rat amongst them, betraying their secrets to a pair of murderous Justices.

Can Gabriel unmask the traitor before they hang? Can he save hapless Thomas from peril, and their own forbidden love?

Set amidst the buried streets of Georgian London, The Betrayal of Thomas True is a brutal and devastating thriller, where love must overcome evil, and the only true sin is betrayal.

 

My Review

Thomas True arrives in London, just 18 and fresh faced. Very handsome too. He has left home to escape his strict parents and to find his true self. But it was such a rush he left in he's forgotten his luggage and when he is accidentally thrown from the carriage he has no idea where he is, what to do, or how to get to his cousin's house. Fortunately, someone is on hand to help and Thomas is introduced to the world of molly houses, specifically Mother Clap's Molly House, the biggest, the busiest, the best and the most colourful. And here Thomas meets Gabriel and both their lives change forever... 

Well, this is a real rollercoaster of emotions! From the moment Thomas arrived in London we're taken on a journey with him full of ups and downs. Naive, innocent and a little frightened when he arrives, he knows there is something different about him, and London is the place where he comes into his own. Seeing him find himself, and the freedom that comes with that is an utter joy. But the freedom isn't a real one, as his love is forbidden and illegal. And there are viscous gangs and a couple of nasty law men determined to put an end to such filth (in they die opinion). Reading about some of the men seeking out medical treatments to try to suppress their urges was heart breaking. 

But behind the doors of Mother Clap's Molly House the men could truly be themselves. The descriptions of the place are so vivid and colourful - the set up, the dancers, the costumes, the alter egos - it's some place! And Mother Clap herself - a woman providing a safe haven for all these men - brilliant. And so many fabulous characters - Jack, Fump, Vivian, the Duchess and, of course, Gabriel. Oh, he especially, tugged at my heart strings. So tortured, so sad, but so beautifully written. And trying to do the right thing, even when it might be the worst thing for him... Gabriel was my standout character in this book. An honourable mention for Harry, Gabriel's long time friend and a decent, stand up kind of guy.

I loved all the descriptions of London, the filth, the smells, the colours, the places and the people. So well illustrated and easy to picture. The story itself made me angry, happy,  grief stricken, filled my heart with joy, broke it, made me cry. I was telling someone today that I had cried at this book and she commented that I must have a good imagination to feel that way. Maybe, but for me, it's because of was so beautifully written that I really didn't have to try too hard to picture it all. 

The Betrayal of Thomas True is a truly emotional read - it's violent and brutal in places, gentle and loving in others. It will make you angry, so angry, in places, then make your heart soar in others, right up to its bittersweet ending. I was left in tatters. It's definitely one to beg, borrow or buy - I promise you, you will be moved. Highly recommended. I'm off to find a copy of The Spirit Engineer...

The Author

A.J. West's bestselling debut novel The Spirit Engineer won the Historical Writers'
Association Debut Crown Award, gaining international praise for its telling of a long forgotten true story.

An award winning BBC newsreader and reporter, he has written for national newspapers and regularly appears on network television discussing his writing and the historical
context of contemporary events.

A passionate historical researcher, he writes at The London Library and museum archives around the world.

To connect with AJ and discover more about his research, visit www.ajwestauthor.com


Bookshop Tour

The Blade in the Angel's Shadow by Andy Darby

Something a wee bit different from me today. Well, a big bit different, really! Regular visitors to my blog will know that fantasy is not a genre I usually read, with the exception of work by the late great Terry Pratchett, of course. However, is a new book from Andy Darby, the author of the bonkers Me and The Monkey: Chronicles of the Monkey God, Vol 1, which I read and reviewed back in 2021, and absolutely loved (I've since enjoyed more madness in Vol 2, but am still to write my review). I was delighted when he asked me to be a beta reader for this novel, a very different book from the Monkey God Chronicles, and am pleased to share my thoughts on it as part of the blog tour. Many thanks to Maia Gomez at Silver Dagger Book Tours for including me and to Andy for sending me a signed copy of the book. And look out at the end of the post for details of a giveaway! 

The Blurb

An Empire born through Angelic magic, or a hell on Earth? One woman’s sword may decide it all.

The Angels want to usher in Revelation, and what better way than through the creation of the British Empire?

Infamous swordswoman Captain Lament Evyngar awaits execution in the Tower of London, charged with heresy and attempted regicide, but all is not as it seems. Unwittingly entangled in the schemes of the Angels, she recounts her tale to the Queen's sorcerer, Dr Dee, who is more than a little responsible for her predicament.

Dr Dee has designs for a British Empire that will dominate the world for ages to come, and with the aegis of the Angels, he has the power to make it a reality. But, two elements are missing, and through blackmail and occult ritual, Lament and her giant Dutch comrade are forced to journey to the war-ravaged Spanish Netherlands on a quest that will reveal the truth about strange entities that use humans to fight out their eternal conflicts and in doing so alter the course of history forever.

So, a bargain is made, a child is created, and death is no longer an option for Lament as she is swept back and forth through time and space, her identity suddenly made fluid until she can at last return to the London of Queen Elizabeth I and face the cosmic horror that is unveiled in the royal court.


Book Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US 
Apple 
Barnes & Noble 
Google 

Kobo 

Waterstones
Blackwell’s

Bookbub

Goodreads

My Review 

We first meet Captain Lament Evyngar as she awaits her death, and then hear her story as she gives her final confession to Dr Dee, the astronomer to Queen Elizabeth I, who played a large part in bringing her to this end. When she is wrongly accused of a crime, Dee essentially blackmails her into working for him by threatening not only her life and reputation, but also those of her family and her loyal companion and friend, giant Dutchman, Sergeant Pieter Hertgers. He also insists on performong a ritual on her, which he claims will aid her in her quest. So Lament and Pieter set off for the Netherlands to steal magical items for Dr Dee but it proves to be a much more epic and terrifying journey than either of them could have possibly imagined. 

Lament and Pieter are engaging leads. Lament is charismatic and interesting, a skilled soldier and swordswoman, at a time when such a thing was almost unheard of. It was particularly interesting seeing her learn to control her more otherworldly abilities even if she perhaps doesn't understand them. And her interactions with Beatris were fascinating. Lament's relationship with Pieter is purely platonic, which I loved, but they are pretty devoted to each other, each always looking out for the other, fighting side by side. He is a much more straightforward character than Lament but no less interesting because of it. 

The story is both a bloodthirsty swashbuckling tale of hand to hand combat, eating, drinking and whoring and a completely otherworldly fantasy of angels, demons and inhuman monsters. And the two combine seamlessly to form a novel that grabs you from the get go and keeps you hanging on, tension always high As I mentioned, I don't have much experience with fantasy, but this worked for me. It is written in the present tense which helps keep it t air and exciting but maybe not so much in that we know Lament is relaying these events after they happened. There are a some moments when Lament slips between time and place which I felt could have been better highlighted and a couple of points that could've done with tighter editing, but these things were just niggles for me and didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book at all.

The Blade in the Angel's Shadow is a hugely entertaining novel with two hugely engaging leads. Action packed, tense throughout, full of a variety of antagonists - human and (very vivid) ethereal ones. There is an exciting denouement and a thrilling, explosive conclusion, each of which includes a heart breaking moment. I very much enjoyed it - more than I thought I might to be honest, which I'm delighted about - and I sincerely hope this isn't the last we've  seen of Captain Lament Evyngar!

The Author

Andy is a lifelong fan of fantasy, swords and sorcery, and weird tales. He also has a bit of an obsession with historical fiction/fantasy and alternate histories.

Andy lives on the north coast of Cornwall in the UK with his artist wife, teenage daughter, three cats, and two ponies. He is contantly running out of shelf space for the ever-increasing book collection.

Other books by Andy:
Me and the Monkey: Chronicles of the Monkey God Vol 1 & 2
The Paddington Incident


Author Social Media Links

Facebook
X/Twitter
Instagram
Bookbub
Amazon
Goodreads


Giveaway

$20 Amazon 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Rogue Hero by Rob Sinclair

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Rogue Hero by Rob Sinclair, a fab thriller I consumed in a couple of days. My thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

When a mystery bystander stops an assassination attempt on a prominent politician, it sparks a national search that captivates the nation…

Curtis Delaney watches the footage play out on the news, and immediately recognises the unidentified hero. He hasn’t seen his brother Finn in six years. He doesn’t know where he’s been in that time, or what he’s been doing. But there’s one thing he does know: Finn is no hero.

Curtis is determined to find his brother, but equally, Curtis is no detective. A husband and lawyer (and not the 'good' kind), with a mortgage and responsibilities, Curtis isn’t cut out for delving into whatever seedy business Finn has gotten involved with. But when armed men turn up on his doorstep, claiming to be FBI, he quickly realises he's been left with no choice.

The hunt for the truth will take them from the Capitol building in Washington, to the sun-kissed beaches of Mexico, and the cold streets of London, uncovering secrets of fraud, blackmail and murder. Can the brothers reunite before the real hero is discovered by the wrong people?


Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/rogueherosocial

My Review

A wee while back, well, five years ago actually - no idea where the time went, in the early days of this little blog, I read Sleeper 13 and Fugitive 13 (really must finish the trilogy) by Rob Sinclair and enjoyed them very much. His name stuck in my mind and I was pleased to have the chance to review this one, his latest - Rogue Hero.

Curtis has a nice life, a good job and a lovely wife. A news item on TV about a foiled shooting catches his eye when he realises The hero is his estranged brother. Seeing Finn unlocks something in Curtis - a need to find Finn, know he's OK. But also it makes him realise things about his work, marriage and life generally. As well as a search for Finn, this is also the story of a man finding himself. But there is excitement and danger along the way for everyone involved...

The story is told in a dual timeline and from two points of view. I thought this was very effective as we saw Curtis reaching conclusions and making decisions in the present, then learning the back story of how things came to be that way. I loved seeing Curtis coming into his own as he discovers skills he didn't really know he had. On the flioside, we learn that Finn frequently uses his skills in an underhand way, as long as he achieved his desired outcome. That said, though, there were streaks of decency through him, they just weren't very obvious.

The plot is satisfying, the action exciting and fast moving, particularly in Curtis's timeline where he crosses paths will all sorts of shady types. The back story has a different kind of action - scheming & underhand business practices. And the denouement is explosive and a little emotional.

Rogue Hero is a solid, well written thriller. It's a page turner that will suck you in and hang on to you - I read it in a couple of days. Very enjoyable.


The Author

Rob Sinclair is the million copy bestseller of over twenty thrillers, including the James Ryker series. Most recently published by Bloodhound, Boldwood publish his latest action thriller, Rogue Hero, this month and will be republishing all the James Ryker series over the coming months.

Author Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robsinclairauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSinclairAuthor
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/RobSinclairNews
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rob-sinclair

Do check out the other bloggers on the tour! 

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen (translated by Megan Turney)

I am delighted to share my review of Thirty Days of Darkness, written by Jenny Lund Madsen and translated into English by Megan Turney, for my stop on the blog tour to  celebrate the paperback release of the book this month. But thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my gorgeous review copy (complete with spredges, what a treat!). 

 

The Blurb

A snobbish Danish literary author is challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days, travelling to a small village in Iceland for inspiration, and then a body appears … an atmospheric, darkly funny, twisty debut thriller, first in an addictive new series.

Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually reads them, and frustrated by writer's block, Hannah has the feeling that she's doing something wrong.

When she expresses her contempt for genre fiction, Hanna is publicly challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjöður – a quiet, tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colourful local characters – for inspiration.

But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman's young son is pulled from the water … and what begins as a search for plot material quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to uncover secrets that put everything at risk … including Hannah…

The paperback edition of Thirty Days of Darkness comes out this Thursday, 9th May 2024, and is available here and will also be stocked by Sainsburys supermarkets in the UK.

My Review

Hannah Krause-Bendix writes literary fiction. She is confident her novels are brilliant, she just needs people to read them. Although she seems to have no time for readers. She is contemptuous of crime fiction and its authors, although I sense she would have no time for any genre that actually sold books which appeal to large numbers of people. So to not accept a challenge to write such a novel, something that is obviously so easy to do, in a month, would be to risk humiliation. However, she doesn't factor in being in a different country, a host who doesn't speak Danish or English, or a complicated relationship. Oh, and a murder and significant personal risk.... And she still has a book to write! 

When we first meet Hannah, she is not likeable. At all, really. Her only real friend is Bastian, her editor. She thinks pretty much everything and everyone is beneath her but is very much the tortured writer, agonising over her words whilst consuming alcohol and cigarettes in excess. She does acknowledge, at least though, that she really needs to start selling some books. But her frustrations at this and contempt for a popular Danish crime author who does sell books, and lots of them, lead her to the small Icelandic fishing village of Húsafjöður for a month - fishing boats, snow and not a lot of daylight. 

There are certainly many colourful characters for her to be inspired by. Stand outs for me were Ella, Hannah's host for the month. Welcoming and accepting, she doesn't bat an eyelid at her guest's odd and often rude behaviour. She is a model for how Hannah could be. I loved her part Danish, part English notes. Another character I liked was the barman at the village's only bar whose name we never learn but who proves to be a handy man to have around. And I can't forget about lovely Jørn.  The interesting thing about seeing these folk through Hannah's eyes is that she views them all as inferior to her in some way. Also, she doesn't really get relationships, possibly because she's not very successful at her own. The Icelandic landscape and the weather also play important roles here, but despite the cold, we do see Hannah beginning to thaw just a little. 

But this is a novel about writing a crime novel. And what more inspiration could Hannah want than a murder? But she is unprepared for the impact the crime has on her, the people around her and the book she is trying to write. Inspiration comes thick and fast, but she discovers she wants a satisfactory conclusion for more than the story. Even if her crime investigation skills leave much to be desired.

I haven't really conveyed how clever this book is. As someone whose first love is crime fiction I know it's a genre that tends to be looked down on by some of the wider fiction community, not classed as 'real' literature. Nonsense, of course, but I love how this book plays with that whole idea. It's self aware, a bit meta, humorous,  but tense in all the right places, and the tension just ramps up as the book progresses. Thirty Days of Darkness is a crime novel about writing a crime novel whilst investigating a crime. It's totally entertaining and absorbing - I read it in one sitting - and a very assured fiction debut. Highly recommended. And a big shout out, as always, for an excellent translation, this time provided by Megan Turney.

The Author

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of one of Denmark’s most acclaimed scriptwriters (including the international hits Rita and Follow the Money) and is known as an advocate for better representation for sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. She recently made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater) and her debut literary thriller, Thirty Days of Darkness, first in an addictive new series, won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year and was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key Award. She lives in Denmark with her young family.

My Second Life by Simon Yeats

Today is my stop on the blog tour for My Second Life by Simon Yeats, which focuses not on his many travel adventures but, rather, his battle for access to his son. My thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation and to the author for my review copy of the book.

The Blurb

Right at this moment, my abducted son is being abused in another country and there is nothing I can do about it other than write this book to get publicity for his story.

We all have two lives. We only get to experience living in the second after we realize we only have just one.

I have my first real scare in life when I get attacked by a kangaroo when I am seven. My first brush with the cliff-face edge of death comes when I am 12. My dad drives the family down the dangerous Skipper’s Canyon dirt road in New Zealand in a rented minivan.

Including the occasion I am almost involved in two different plane flight crashes in the same night, there have been at least a half dozen more occasions when I have been within a moment’s inattention of being killed.

However, none of those frightening incidents compare to what I experience after my son is abducted.

This memoir is the story of how I used the traumatic experiences of my life to give me strength to forge on during a 13 year fight to be a father to my son.

What did it take for me to get to my second life?
It took me to truly understand what fear is.


Purchase Links

Amazon UK 
Amazon US 
Barnes & Noble 
Kobo 
Smashwords 

My Review

I recently read one of Simon Yeats's travel memoirs, How to Start a Riot in a Brothel in Thailand by Ordering a Beer..., so know that he could tell an entertaining yarn, but this book has a very different tone. The title comes from the Confucious saying 'We all have two lives. And the second one begins when we realise we only have one' and this is Yeats's story of the extraordinary circumstances that brought him to his second life.  

Before I start, I will say there were a couple of things I struggled with. It is written entirely in the present tense even though much of what is being described took place in the past, which does lead to some confusion here and there. And as with his travel memoir, this book would've benefited from a much tighter edit. 

But these things don't detract from what he is saying. A lot of what is written sounds unbelievable, but Yeats is aware of this and reassures us that every word is true. Much of the first half of the book is dedicated to some of Yeats's terrifying brushes with death - I was slightly confused though when he was about to plunge down an almost sheer cliff of snow and ice at the end of one chapter and in a car accident in the next - and they are incredible to read, real heart in the mouth stuff. His point in telling us though, is that none of these brought him to his second life. 

The second part of the book is the real story here - Yeats's long, arduous and ongoing battles for access to his son, who is currently with his mother in Brazil - Yeats is an Australian living in the US. I won't go into detail here about it, you'd not believe me anyway if I did, but it's utterly heartbreaking to read, with occasional utterly joyful moments on the odd time he has been able to see his son. I was moved to tears many times. I am aware, of course, that we are only hearing one side of a story here but it would seem that there has been no level of justice given in this case and Mr Yeats does not seem to have been given any opportunity to state his case or mount any meaningful legal battle. And there is much, much more than that, as you will see if you read this book. 

I must also mention a couple of things from Yeats's work as a physical therapist. This is a dedicated man with a calling to his job. I had wet eyes reading about David and Jacob, whose father first made Yeats aware of the Confucious saying. You will be touched by these stories, as well as the main, important one here. I was also moved by the author's stories of his own father, the love he has for him and strong model of fatherhood he has obviously set. 

My Second Life is a hard to read in places, shocking in many and almost unbelievable in plenty of others. It's a tale of one man's long hard fight to see his son that will resonate with many but particularly those of us who.are parents. I cried for him and I cried for his son but it's a book I am glad to have read. 


The Author

Simon Yeats has lived nine lives, and by all estimations, is fast running out of the number he has left. His life of globetrotting the globe was not the one he expected to lead. He grew up a quiet, shy boy teased by other kids on the playgrounds for his red hair. But he developed a keen wit and sense of humor to always see the funnier side of life.

With an overwhelming love of travel, a propensity to find trouble where there was none, and being a passionate advocate of mental health, Simon’s stories will leave a reader either rolling on the floor in tears of laughter, or breathing deeply that the adventures he has had were survived.

No author has laughed longer or cried with less restraint at the travails of life.


Author Social Media Links

Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@authoryeats
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authoryeats/?hl=en

 

The Alliance by Matt Brolly

It's my pleasure to share my review for a book that just grabbed me as soon as I read the blurb - The Alliance by Matt Brolly. Big thanks to Zoe at Zooloo's Book Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour And to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

Four cities, four killers, four murders. The Alliance is just getting started.

When four unconnected serial killers simultaneously commit identical murders across four different US cities, FBI Special Agent Shannon Wallace faces an unprecedented threat—a cooperative of killers working in unison. Each homicide is witnessed by a survivor, and now these lucky ones need to decide how to tell their stories to the world.

Their posts about the horrific murders create a media storm and a new term is soon coined for the killers: The Alliance. As they recruit new killers into their ranks and more innocent people linked to the initial murders are killed it becomes clear that Wallace is dealing with an unprecedented threat—a deadly alliance formed to terrorize the nation with coordinated strikes.

With the killers always one step ahead, the very fabric of society threatens to unravel and Wallace battles to decipher The Alliance’s endgame before they dismantle civilization city by city. In a desperate race against time, can Wallace uncover the members and motives of the Alliance and end their reign of terror before more victims wind up dead.

Book Links

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199135685-the-alliance
Buy Links - https://mybook.to/thealliance-zbt

My Review

I read and reviewed one of Matt Brolly's earlier US set books, The Controller, a few years back and really enjoyed it. So that fact, along with the blurb (shown above) piqued my interest in this one. I wasn't disappointed. 

Icarus (Ike) Glass - great name - is a Brit who came to the US years ago, settled in San Antonio and became a journalist. He's pretty washed up and definitely drinks too much. One evening he shares a few beers with a man he meets in a bar - it turns out not to be a great idea...

I didn't find Ike Glass particularly likeable but it was hard not to feel sorry for him as he gets caught up in a bizarre string of events. Shannon Wallace was much more relatable - in her forties, a strained relationship with her son and trying to establish herself at Quantico after years of working in the field. She's in the Behavior Analysis Unit (the one often imagined on the small screen), specifically the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, which I imagine is a tough gig at the best of times. But here she is presented with a case like no other, with identical incidents across the US - it's unprecedented. But I think my favourite character was Lieutenant Michael Boyd, who takes initial charge of the San Antonio crime scene. He's world weary, mourning the death of his wife but there seemed a gentleness around him. I liked him a lot. 

I really liked the idea of crimes taking place simultaneously across the US. And ones that are creatively staged too. Yes, they are far fetched but suitably creepy and pretty darn scary! For various reasons that become clear as the book progresses much of the action here is in San Antonio but we hear plenty of details of incidents happening across the country. 

I loved the use of both more traditional media and social media in this novel. It shows both how quickly news can travel - instantly, really - and people's fascination with the darker side of human nature. As events build and the Alliance themselves make more use of social media, there is no shortage of folk ready and waiting to watch whatever horror is perpetrated. And I really don't know if that wouldn't be the case in real life - there seems to be a real appetite for true crime. It's funny, as regular visitors here will know, I read (and watch) a lot of fictional crime but very rarely the true life stuff. But plenty of people are fascinated by it. So is it such a big leap to imagine us watching it on our screens in real time? Subscribing to social media accounts set up by killers? I'm not so  sure.

The Alliance is a hard book to review in detail without giving plot spoilers, which, of course, I'm not going to do. It's tense almost from the get go and only gets more so until we reach a denouement full of surprises. The writing is tight - there's always something going on, moving the plot forward. It's exciting and I was genuinely invested in what happened in the end. And more than a little shocked. Worth a read. 

The Author

Matt Brolly is the Amazon number one, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the DI Blackwell novels set in Weston-super-Mare, as well as the DCI Lambert crime novels, the acclaimed near future crime novel, Zero, and the US thrillers, The Controller, The Railroad, and The Running Girls. His books have sold over one million copies in 16 countries. 

Matt lives in London with his wife, their two children, a dog called Herbie, and a cat called W.G Snuffy Walden.

Author Social Media Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattbrollyuk

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

Twitter : https://twitter.com/MattBrollyUK

Website : https://mattbrolly.com/

Maman by FE Birch

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Maman by FE Birch. I love the cover on this one! My thanks to Heather Fitt at Overview Media for the invitation and to the author for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

A twisted suspense novel

DS Joanna Armstrong, a top child protection detective, becomes the accused when one of her twin babies develops facial bruising - sending her into a spiralling post-natal psychosis.

Her life falls apart in an instant. Her team are torn, the doctors think she’s fabricating her illness, and even one of her own colleagues appears hell bent on destroying her.

Can Joanna clear her name when everything seems stacked against her? Can she break through all the prejudice before time runs out? Or is she really mad like they all say?

Maman is a gripping tale of family, loyalty, and integrity, but most of all, truth and justice.

My Review

Jo Armstrong's nightmare begins one afternoon when she suddenly finds herself filled with confusion and fear as she doesn't understand how she got where she is, what is happening or why her police colleagues in the child protection team are behaving the way they are towards her. And there will be a lot of time, pain and heartache before everything is resolved one way or another.

Jo's decline in mental health is well described, as is her confusion at all going on around her. We see her thoughts whirring about, all over the place and her self doubt, a hatred for herself, even. It's sometimes a hard read but often relatable for anyone who has struggled with their mental health to any degree. 

I loved Jim, Jo's husband. Equally confused by the events that have taken place and the situation in which he finds himself, he never once doubts Jo, and never stops fighting for things to be resolved. Also very likeable is social worker Effie (now there's a name that's a little familiar...!). She's warm, approachable and compassionate whilst remaining professional. She's wonderfully described and I could picture her perfectly. Jo's police colleagues, on the other hand, are anything but sympathetic and understanding, particularly DC Claire Bristow, who is pretty openly hostile towards Jo and Jim. Happily, I have no experience of anything like this in real life but I'd like to think (hope) there is a little more compassion is offered to families whilst the truth is being established - innocent until proven guilty and all that. 

Maman is a story about depression, grief and trauma, love, a fight for justice and a spotlight on hidden illnesses. It is tense throughout and an interesting read. 

The Author

FE Birch is an ex-cop from the North East but she’s not a Geordie. She is a prolific short story writer with a trail of pseudonyms and publications behind her. With a penchant for dark, deep and the disturbing, her crimes are rarely cosy. She has self-published two collections of competition winning short stories and her debut novel, She’s Not There was published early 2023 by Red Dragon. She is also published by Harper Collins (2013) with stories about being an undercover cop …

With a bendy EDS body, GSOH and a little bit of clumsiness, she wears many hats and loves wigs. Her friends call her Effie.