MJ Porter, author

I’m reviewing Afua by Karl Drinkwater and Christoffer Petersen #blogtour #scifi #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

Afua is a promising acolyte of the Shanta Order, on the densely forested planet of Nuafri.

She volunteers to educate orphans – her lively ophanti – every ninth day. When one of her wards goes missing in a dangerous area full of sinkholes and deadly fauna, Afua knows the authorities won’t do anything about a single lost child.

Luckily for the orphan, Afua will.

She is armed only with her knowledge of wildlife, and implanted augmentations that can sometimes deter attacks. But she is not alone. The sentient, insect-like Dooga she has bonded with, named Akalie, will follow her anywhere, despite being heavily pregnant.

An unforgettable Amazofuturist adventure about compassion, courage, and finding your way in life.

Cover image for Afua by Karl Drinkwater and Christopher Petersen

Purchase Links

https://books2read.com/b/Afua

https://www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk/collections/vendors?q=Organic%20Apocalypse

My Review

Afua is a fabulous sci fi tale set in the Lost Solace universe. The reader is treated to a strange new world in dazzling glory, and to a strong-willed and determined main character in Afua.

While a novella length story, this is deeply engrossing and I was disappointed to reach the end. It certainly made me want to know more about the Lost Solace universe (I’ve read the first book. Check out my review here). Much is hinted at, and some things are made very clear to the reader. It really does feel as though I’ve stepped into a fully-formed and functioning location. It is enthralling, and not a little ‘weird.’

I thoroughly enjoyed Afua and look forward to reading more of the Lost Solace books.

About Karl Drinkwater

Karl Drinkwater writes dystopian space opera, dark suspense and diverse social fiction. If you want compelling stories and characters worth caring about, then you’re in the right place.

Karl lives in Scotland and owns two kilts. He has degrees in librarianship, literature and classics, but also studied astronomy and philosophy. Dolly the cat helps him finish books by sleeping on his lap so he can’t leave the desk. When he isn’t writing he loves music, nature, games and vegan cake.

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About Christoffer Petersen

Christoffer Petersen lives in a small forest in Jutland, in southern Denmark. He hasn’t always been Danish; in fact, he borrowed his pseudonym surname from his Danish wife, Jane. Chris writes all kinds of stories in different genres, but is best known for his crime books and thrillers set in Greenland.

While living in Greenland, Chris studied for a Master of Arts in Professional Writing from Falmouth University. Chris graduated with a distinction in 2015. He has been writing full-time since January 2018.

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I’m spotlighting Murder at the Crooked Horse by Lesley Cookman #blogtour #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

After learning of a suspicious attempt to burn down a beloved old pub, The Crooked Horse, Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran reluctantly agree to investigate.

But when a local antiques dealer mysteriously disappears after apparently taking out his boat, it appears there are dark and sinister forces at play.

Can Libby and Fran uncover a connection between the fire and the missing man? And will unravelling a deadly case put them in terrible danger?

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Crooked-Horse-whodunnit-countryside-ebook/dp/B0DBPC7RX8

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Crooked-Horse-whodunnit-countryside-ebook/dp/B0DBPC7RX8

Meet the author

Lesley Cookman writes the Libby Sarjeant Murder Mysteries and the The Alexandrians, an Edwardian Mystery Series. She lives on the south east coast of England, and is a former model, actor, and journalist. Her four adult children are all musicians and writers.

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I’m reviewing the fabulous Arden by GD Harper, an intriguing story of Shakespeare’s earliest years #blogtour #histfic #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

Alice Arden, idealistic and wealthy beauty, burnt at the stake for killing her husband, the former mayor of Faversham in Kent. But was she really the one responsible for the most scandalous murder of the sixteenth century?

William Shakespeare, England’s greatest playwright, born thirteen years after Alice’s execution. Why does his first-ever play, written about this murder, not bear his name?

This is a story of two people – one reviled, one revered – whose fates become linked in a tale of corruption, collusion and conspiracy. Based on historical documents and recently published academic research, Arden unveils shocking new evidence about the murder of Thomas Arden and reveals, for the first time, a remarkable new theory about Shakespeare’s early years.

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arden-astonishing-untold-story-Shakespeares-ebook/dp/B0DFBV9YSB

https://www.amazon.com/Arden-astonishing-untold-story-Shakespeares-ebook/dp/B0DFBV9YSB

My Review

Arden by GD Harper is a beautifully crafted tale of two individuals, separated by forty years, with the one entirely unaware of the other, that reimagines the hows, whats and ifs of Shakespeare’s earliest efforts to become a playwright and the story that ‘called’ to him to enable him to do so.

Offering us two points of view, that of Alice Arden, and Shakespeare himself, we travel through the years that lead to Alice’s crisis and see how Shakespeare was himself plagued by her story. To begin with, Alice is the most likeable character. Young, bright, and vivacious, she pulls the reader along through the years when Shakespeare is not at all the man we might expect him to be. His life is difficult (perhaps because he makes it so, to be honest), but soon his dreams of being an actor and writing plays becomes his driving force. At the same time, Alice’s life is blighted by her marriage to a man of ambition but no regard for the life of his wife, who is deeply unhappy. Shakespeare’s life improves as events rumble towards their awful conclusion for Alice. But he is still somewhat haunted by the tale of Alice Arden, and I adored how her final narrative is teased from those who have knowledge of it that isn’t known by all. It is horrific.

This was such an engaging narrative. I liked neither character at points, but they both had endearing qualities that made it a joy to read this fictionalised account of what might have been.

It’s a fabulous story.

Check out my review for The Maids of Biddenden.

Meet the author

I have written four novels in the last eight years under the penname GD Harper.

My last novel, The Maids of Biddenden, the imagined biography of real-life conjoined twins born in 12th-century Kent, was featured on BBC TV News and was the winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the historical fiction category, shortlisted for the 2022 Selfie Award at the London Book Fair, and shortlisted or longlisted for five other awards.

It has over a thousand ratings on Amazon UK and Goodreads, with an average score of 4.3. Across the major Amazon markets, it reached number sixteen in overall paid-for e-book sales, number two in historical fiction and number one in medieval historical fiction.

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I’m sharing my review for The Poison Pen Letters by Fiona Walker, the second book in her The Village Detectives series #blogtour #cosycrime #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

We regret to announce the tragic death of Phoebe Fredericks…

When crime novelist Phoebe opens the post and receives an invitation to her own funeral, she’s horrified. Not least because the date of her death is marked as tomorrow.

Deciding it’s nothing more than a prank from an enemy from her past, she determines to put it to the back of her mind.

But the next morning, when her completely infuriating postman (who likes to think himself her no.1 literary critic) rings her doorbell, a parcel of poisoned pen-nibs explodes in his face. Forced to confront the fact her correspondence is more RIP than RSVP, Phoeve realises someone must want her dead.

Together with the newly-formed Village Detectives – Juno, Mil and Felix – Phoebe resolves to find out who is behind the poison pen letters before they strike again and her fate is signed, sealed and delivered!

An totally hilarious, modern cozy crime mystery, from million-copy bestselling author Fiona Walker, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janet Evanovich and Janice Hallett.

Cover image for The Village Detectives and the Poison Pen Letters by Fiona Walker

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/poisonpensocial

My Review

The Poison Pen Letters is the second book in The Village Detective Series (or the VDs, as Juno somewhat unwittingly terms them). I’ve read book one and really enjoyed it. Book two is even stronger, perhaps because I know the characters, but also, I think because the plotting is even more secure. I genuinely had no idea who the real culprit was, which was fabulous.

Book 2 sees our intrepid foursome tackling the problem of who murdered the local postie on Phoebe’s doorstep with the use of a poison pen letter – a crime that, even though you know it’s coming at some point, is still quite shocking. While Pheobe’s husband is determined it’s someone outside the village from their past, Pheobe has other ideas. But of course, she is once more penning one of her crime novels (the little additions of that novel are delicious) and has no real time to focus on what’s happening. Juno is as outrageous as ever, and her mother is such a fun character as she dips in and out of the narrative, as does her creaky car.

The personalities of a small village are lovingly brought to life, and I appreciated all the N gauge model railway comments, as I once spent some time selling off a set. It was also good to see @VeryBritishProblems mentioned as part of the social media universe that makes up a large part of the novel.

The Poison Pen Letters is brimming with fabulous characters and a perplexing crime, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Meet the author

Fiona Walker is the million copy bestselling author of joyously funny romantic comedies. Most recently published by Head of Zeus, she will be turning to cozy crime for Boldwood. The first in her new Village Detectives series, The Art of Murder, will be published in May 2024.

Connect with the author

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/FionaWalkerNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/fiona-walker

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I’m sharing my review for the thoroughly atmospheric, The Crash by Kate Furnivall #newrelease #histfic

Here’s the blurb

If you were given the opportunity to disappear and start your life again, would you take it?

Paris 1933. Four people’s lives are dramatically torn apart by a single terrifying event. Two days before Christmas the express train to Strasbourg crashes into a local train in the winter darkness outside Paris. On board is Gilles Malroux, a man with a shady past and a strong reason to avoid the police. In the mayhem of the crash he is badly injured but to avoid capture by the police he swaps identity papers with one of the other victims of the impact. Gilles tries to flee in the dark but finds himself taken to the house of a woman he doesn’t know but who calls him Davide. She nurses him. But is the bitter medicine in the spoon she puts to his lips healing him or harming him?

Camille Malroux is Gilles’ sister. She works for the French Civil Service and is trying to climb the ladder of respectability after a childhood in poverty. When she is informed by police that her brother is seriously injured in hospital, she rushes to his bedside, only to discover it is not Gilles. It is a heavily bandaged stranger. He is unconscious and has her brother’s identity papers in his locker. Only by digging to discover the true identity of the bandaged man in the hospital bed can she hope to trace Gilles.

But Gilles is sinking into further danger. He is drugged. A priest and a doctor hover over him, as if waiting for him to die, and constantly the woman who calls him Davide is at his side. What is it she wants from him?

The Crash is thrilling historical fiction about identity, revenge and survival.

Cover image for The Crash by Kate Furnivall

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/3AAfiXE

My Review

The Crash by Kate Furnivall is a thrilling historical mystery set around Christmas 1933 in Paris, and follows the events after a horrific train crash in which Camille fears her brother has died. What ensues is a thrilling investigation to uncover what exactly her brother, Gilles, was involved in, taking many unexpected twists and turns along the way (no spoilers here).

It is thoroughly atmospheric, the chill seeping into my bones.