Boldwood Books – MJ Porter

I’m reviewing Harbour of Thieves by Richard Cullen, a brand new 19th century tale of smugglers and North Yorkshire #historicalfiction #bookreview

I’m reviewing Harbour of Thieves by Richard Cullen, a brand new 19th century tale of smugglers and North Yorkshire #historicalfiction #bookreview @boldwoodbooks @wordhog

Here’s the blurb

An epic NEW historical crime story of treachery and bitter rivalry between Yorkshire’s tough smuggling gangs 💥 Perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series, House of Guinness and Peaky Blinders 🩸⚔️

Can one man forget his past, or will he be dragged back into the world of violence he worked hard to leave behind?

Yorkshire, 1840

Along this treacherous Yorkshire coastline, the cutthroat industry of smuggling thrives, and two rival gangs rule the night… the Stringers of Bay Town and the Lambs of Ravenscar. Waging a war for control of the contraband that flows through England’s northern cities.

After a lifetime of violence and bloodshed, Jim Hood returns to his hometown of Whitby with his friend Samuel Comus, their pockets heavy with prize money from their exploits along the African coast. They dream of respectability, of turning their backs on their past, but old friends and enemies await, and old habits die hard…

When tragedy strikes, and Jim’s well-laid plans turn to ash, Jim is forced to return to the brutal world he’d sworn to leave behind.

Now he must navigate the deadly currents that flow between rival smuggling empires, where childhood loyalties war with newfound enemies, and where the price of survival might be the very soul he’d fought so hard to reclaim.

Perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follett and Dan Jones.

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4n47Yrb

My Review

Harbour of Thieves is a rollicking good read set in the 1840s, in and around the coastline of Whitby and Scarborough (North Yorkshire) and focuses on the underbelly of smuggling as two rival bands face not one, but two enemies, and are riven with discord between each other as well.

We have multiple characters in this thrilling, fast-paced tale, and we also need to give a shout-out to the Yorkshire weather! There are many characters we simply despise, a few we quite like, and others we can perhaps admire, while being grateful never to be faced with the decisions they have to make. We have strong women, even stronger women and those we think we should pity but who, in their own way, are perhaps the strongest of all. We have villains aplenty, from the excise man to the leader of the Lambs, who is a nasty piece of work.

The story is fast and satisfying, as events wrap around our would-be heroes, forcing them to make hard decisions to survive. This is a thrilling adventure of high stakes and high seas, and I devoured it in only 24 hours!

Check out my review for Rebellion, the first book in the Chronicles of the Black Lion series.

Meet the author

Richard Cullen is a writer of historical adventure and epic fantasy. Previously published by Head of Zeus and Orbit Books, his new historical adventure series for Boldwood, Chronicles of the Black Lion, set in thirteenth-century England, will launch in October 2024.

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I’m reviewing the new book in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Italian Mysteries, Murder in Rome by TA Williams #BookReview #BlogTour #CosyCrime #ContemporaryCrime

I’m reviewing the new book in the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Italian Mysteries, Murder in Rome by TA Williams #BookReview #BlogTour #CosyCrime #ContemporaryCrime

Here’s the blurb

The BRAND NEW instalment in the bestselling, beloved Armstrong & Oscar Cozy Mystery series!

A road leading to Rome

Former DCI Dan Armstrong has been living and working in Florence for nearly three years—yet somehow, Rome has always eluded him. That is, until glamorous TV celebrity Tamsin Goodfaith turns up with a request he can’t refuse: investigate her uncle’s suspicious death in the Eternal City.

Murder at the castle

Philip Hastings was a billionaire financier, found dead at his magnificent—if slightly spooky—medieval castle in the Roman hills. Dan and his faithful canine companion, Oscar, soon find themselves surrounded by luxury, secrets and more suspects than sightseeing opportunities.

This time it’s personal. But when a second murder follows close behind, the case turns dangerously personal. With whispers of ghosts and crumbling alibis, Dan and Oscar must sniff out the truth before he becomes the next victim. Harder to crack than castle walls—and harder still than stopping Oscar from stealing snacks—this Roman holiday is anything but relaxing. .

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/MurderInRome

My Review

Murder in Rome is somehow the 15th book in the Armstrong and Oscar mysteries, and I’ve read them all (apart from 1, which I seem to have missed).

This latest outing sees Dan taking a trip to Rome, somewhere he’s not been before, with Oscar at his side. What he encounters is a palatial residence that seems to be hiding its own secrets, but his remit is simple, determine if Philip was murdered, or whether he really did commit suicide. As Dan begins to investigate there are strange goings-on in the dysfunctional, wealthy family.

Murder in Rome unfolds as earlier books in the series. The reader genuinely doesn’t know who can and can’t be trusted until there is a huge breakthrough. For this one, I loved the historical elements as it’s passed time Anna was able to help Dan solve his cases. Of course, Oscar has a starring role once more too.

Always a guaranteed good read, I didn’t guess who did it! I do love this series.

Check out my reviews for earlier books in the series, and be sure to start at book 1, Murder in Tuscany.

Meet the author

I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I studied languages at Nottingham University a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to work in Italy for seven years. My Italian wife and I then came back to the UK with our little daughter (now long-since grown up) where I ran a big English language school for many years. We now live in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. I’ve been writing almost all my life but it was only thirteen years ago that I finally managed to find a publisher who liked my work enough to offer me my first contract.

I started off writing romances but after 28 of them, I knew I wanted to try something different, and so the first of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mysteries, Murder in Tuscany, was born three years ago. I’ve been having a lot of fun ever since getting to know the dynamic duo (and introducing them to people all over the world). These books are cosy crime [a genre I didn’t even know existed when I started writing them). They are murder mysteries, but not gory, over-violent stuff, but stories designed to exercise the brain of the reader and to put a smile on their face. Maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that I feel I need to do my best to provide something to cheer my readers up. My books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations all over my beloved Italy.

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Bookbub profile @trevorwilliams3

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I’m sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery set in 1361 #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease

I’m sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery set in 1361 #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @KeithMorayTales @rararesources #Sacrilege

I’m sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

A nun is found dead.

A priest is horribly attacked.

An evil older than sin is loose in Yorkshire…

Marske, 1361. Sir Ralph de Mandeville with his assistants Peter and Merek have recently come from Reeth to hold a court session in Marske but are pulled away at the news of a most heinous crime having been discovered further down the River Swale.

A boat has been found, floating down the river. Inside is a truly horrifying scene – the body of a nun, her wrists cut and her hands fixed in the sign of benediction… As Ralph uses his astute skills of inspection, his mind asks a most difficult question – is this self-murder or murder most foul? Were her last moments spent in benediction prayer… or malediction warning? With both Marrick Priory and Easby Abbey within a stone’s throw of Marske, it appears something is not quite right in the house of God…

When the body of a priest is found mutilated as if by a wild animal, the villagers fear the nun’s body has opened the gates and let loose a monster from Hell… but Ralph starts to wonder if something much more human is at the root of these evils.

As he follows the grim clues, he fears he knows where this miserable sacrilegious journey will end. The question is, can he catch the murderer and prevent more grisly deaths – his own included?

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/SacrilegeBookSocial

Here’s my review

Sacrilege is the second book in the Ralph de Mandeville historical mysteries. I’ve read the first book, so you can check out my review down at the bottom.

Sacrilege starts quicker than the first book, and our first encounter is with Ralph and his two assistants, Merek and Peter, as Ralph holds court in Marske, but the day quickly takes a turn when the body of a nun is found on the river. And so begins another very grizzly, high-body-count mystery that involves both a priory and an abbey, a nobleman, a queen, and the local villages, and is deeply rooted in the area, with its iron smelting and fast-flowing river.

The mystery is tightly plotted and filled with increasing tension as Ralph finds himself butting heads with an uptight nobility who don’t want his interference, as well as a few jobs-worths along the way. And there are many people with secrets they don’t want Ralph to uncover, as well as a brief appearance from Queen Phillipa.

This is an engaging, if sometimes slightly gruesome, read, with no end of peril for our main characters. It is written in such a way that it feels ye-olde-worldly, and the characters embody the thoughts of the day. You can tell Keith has a great deal of medical knowledge! It will certainly appeal to fans of the genre (me), and I do think it can be easily read as a standalone for anyone keen to jump right in with this second book in the series.

Check out my review for Desolation, the first book in the series.

Meet the author

I was born in St Andrews and studied medicine at the University of Dundee in Scotland. I lived and worked in Wakefield in Yorkshire for 40 years, within arrow-shot of the ruins of a medieval castle, the base for a series of historical novels.

I am a retired GP, medical journalist and novelist, writing in several genres. As Keith Moray I write historical crime fiction in the medieval era and in ancient Egypt, The Inspector Torquil McKinnon crime novels set on the Outer Hebridean island of West Uist, and as Clay More I write westerns. Curiously, my medical background finds its way into most of my
fiction writing.

In my spare time I enjoy the movies, theatre and making bread. I play golf and I run at carthorse speed. As a frustrated actor I have found occasional solace as a supporting artist, but enough said about that!

I now live in Stratford-upon with my wife Rachel and whichever of our children and grandchildren who happen to pop in.

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Storm of Mercia is now available. This is also known as ‘the one on the ship.’ #histficbook #newrelease #authorinspiration

Storm of Mercia AKA ‘the one on the ship’

Every Saxon-era series needs a book where the primary location is a ship and Storm of Mercia sees Icel and some of his allies on board a Viking ship. And it’s not willingly done.

‘If these bastards think they’ve found strong men to row their ship for them, they might be right. If they think we’re going to be any good at it, they’re very, very wrong.’

As someone who doesn’t necessarily like boats/ships, this was a bit of a stretch for me. Not only did I have to ensure I knew which was my bæcbord (left) and which my steorbord (right) and why that might have been (which I did learn for the book and kept on a sticky note). I did have some fun with my characters trying to learn and explain this to one another.

‘I suspect you don’t know your stem from your stern, or your bæcbord from your steorbord.’

‘Why can’t they just use bloody right and left?’ Oswy complains loudly.

I also needed to draw on some of my less pleasant experiences on a boat. Last year I endured a ‘slightly’ rough crossing from Orkney to Mainland Scotland – which took me the whole road journey home to recover from (about 6 hours). But, perhaps my most hated memory is of a trip to the Norfolk Broads in 2024, not my idea of fun. Those long river craft are a nightmare to ‘park’ as it were, not helped by the fact I don’t know my left or my right when under pressure, let alone my bæcbord and steorbord. I can’t take directions, or indeed, provide them. (The bugs were also a nightmare, and that element of the experience made it into the Dark Age Chronicles).

One of Icel’s comments about ‘parking’ his boat is taken directly from my ‘holiday.’

‘The ship’s once more been run aground. I’m starting to think there’s no skill at all to disembarking. Well, aside from trying not to hit something that pierces the ship’s wooden hull.’

That said, the storm which my characters endure isn’t based on my experiences at all but rather on those of a former fisherman turned artist I met in Orkney and whose paintings now adorn my walls. His depiction of the black/green of a terrible storm saw me through those scenes. While I would have been terrified, I suspect he was a little more used to them when he was younger. Go check out this beautiful picture to see how a former fisherman would visualise a terrible storm blowing in.

https://www.seascape-art-orkney.co.uk/gallery/eye-of-the-storm/

Eye of the Storm

You can find a deleted scene from an early version of drafting for Storm of Mercia in Mercia: A Companion’s Guide to the Tales of Mercia.

Storm of Mercia is available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audio. Grab your copy now.

Listen to me talking about Storm of Mercia

Read a nerdy post about the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for AD836

Learn about the inspiration for Wynflæd

Wessex has never been Mercia’s ally, neither has it been her only enemy.

Wessex, AD836

The Viking raiders’ devastation has been halted once more by the shields of Mercia as opposed to Wessex. But their whereabouts are unknown.

King Wiglaf of Mercia is keen to ensure the Viking raiders are swept from his shared border with Wessex but these Viking ships are quick and difficult to track and Icel is once more deployed with Ealdorman Ælfstan warriors to do his King’s bidding. However, Icel’s quest is beset with many more obstacles and it’s not all about the seax and shield.

Worrying news from home overshadows Icel’s every deadly encounter. Will the storms of war keep him away or has he time to make one more desperate journey back to Tamworth?

With raging seas driving him ever further from Mercia’s shores, and the threat of a new conspiracy against the Mercian kingship will Icel overpower the sands of time, or will he be defeated by his deadliest nemesis yet?

https://amzn.to/4a3G1ed

Check out the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles series page

If you can’t get enough of young Icel, you need to try The Mercian Ninth Century Series where he appears as an older character

AND coming May 7th 2026, The Sundered Kingdom (for anyone who’s curious, many of the Easter eggs for Storm of Mercia will show up in The Eagle Will Rise which features an even older Icel).

Sign up to my Boldwood Books newsletter to keep up to date with all things Icel… https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Or, you can order a signed paperback copy directly from me. Check out my bookstore.

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Storm of Mercia is now available. Let’s talk about Wynflæd #histficbook #newrelease #characterinspiration

The inspiration behind Wynflæd in the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles

Young Icel is an orphan in the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, his mother dying when he was born. He knows very little about her, but there are a number of mother-figures in his life. Lady Cynehild is one of them, and she’s the one to spill the beans about the identity of his father, but Wynflæd is perhaps more important, providing him with some stability and the opportunity to pursue his chosen path of becoming a healer, before he must cast it aside and become a warrior.

Wynflæd’s perhaps not the kindest of mother-figures but what she lacks in outright affection, she makes up for in supporting him in his endeavours. That she also knows the truth of his mother’s identity causes a ruction in their relationship, but also accounts for why she’s so involved in his life. The interplay between the two characters has provided moments of light relief throughout the series, but I don’t think it can be denied that the pair are fiercely fond of one another, even if neither of them is very good at showing it. The quote below perhaps best summarises their relationship, as voiced by Icel.

‘She was not my friend through the ties of family, but because she wished to be.’

I suspect Wynflæd’s character possesses a great deal of my grandmother’s fortitude. She was a slight woman (who only grew shorter as she aged) but crikey, she was stubborn, and incredibly skilled in needlecraft (I believe her mother was a milliner) as Wynflæd is in healing. She was also argumentative, she and my grandfather often arguing about politics, to which I was told ‘the ruling party always needs a strong opposition.’ And to her dying day, she stuck to a long-running and bickering relationship with one of her sisters-in-law, which even now we marvel at. She also insisted that Mother’s Day be correctly identified as Mothering Sunday, and it was always with relief that we could find a card with Mothering Sunday on it each year.

She also endured great sorrow, her first child dying at birth (and she never knew where the baby was buried as seems to have been the way these things were done in the 1940s (neither were we able to find any details later on)), and then losing another child (my mother) when my mother was in her 50s. Despite this, my grandmother showed her love through her actions and not through any monetary bribes such as pocket money. I believe it’s in this regard that she and Wynflæd are most alike, and so I hope she won’t mind that I was so heavily influenced by her in creating the crotchety character of Wynflæd.

Wynflæd has her own short story in my new short story collection – Mercia: A Companion’s Guide to the Tales of Mercia. (There is also a deleted scene from an early version of drafting for Storm of Mercia).

Storm of Mercia is available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audio. Grab your copy now.

Listen to me talking about Storm of Mercia

Read a nerdy post about the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for AD836

Wessex has never been Mercia’s ally, neither has it been her only enemy.

Wessex, AD836

The Viking raiders’ devastation has been halted once more by the shields of Mercia as opposed to Wessex. But their whereabouts are unknown.

Worrying news from home overshadows Icel’s every deadly encounter. Will the storms of war keep him away or has he time to make one more desperate journey back to Tamworth?

https://amzn.to/4a3G1ed

Check out the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles series page

If you can’t get enough of young Icel, you need to try The Mercian Ninth Century Series which features an older Icel.

AND coming May 7th 2026, The Sundered Kingdom (for anyone who’s curious, many of the Easter eggs for Storm of Mercia will show up in The Eagle Will Rise which features an even older Icel).

Sign up to my Boldwood Books newsletter to keep up to date with all things Icel… https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Or, you can order a signed paperback copy directly from me. Check out my bookstore.

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It’s happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease #HadPossessionOfThePlaceOfSlaughter

It’s happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease

A nerdy post about the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Who held what now? ‘had possession of the place of slaughter’ in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and what it might mean

We return to Icel in Storm of Mercia and the year is still AD836. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC) records for this year that ‘Here King Egbert fought against 25 (35 in the A Version of the text) ship-loads at Carhampton, and great slaughter was made there, and the Danish had possession of the place of slaughter.’

This turn of phrase ‘had possession of the place of slaughter’ crops up routinely in the ASC. Indeed, it appears only 4 years later under 840, although in the same record it states that one of the Wessex ealdormen ‘made great slaughter there and took the victory.’ Is this phrase ‘had possession of the place of slaughter’ just a way for the chroniclers to record when the enemy had a victory over the warriors of Wessex? (and yes, I do mean only Wessex).

I’ve had a brief glance through the ASC entries from 800 to 870 and there are 6 occasions that the phrase ‘had possession of the place of slaughter’ is used and only one of these isn’t a reference to the Danish being victorious. This is in 860 when Wessex defeated the Viking raiders attack on Winchester, during the reign of Æthelberht, one of Ecgberht’s grandsons who ruled from 860-865.

It’s quite notable to me that the phrase is almost exclusively used to describe a loss for the Wessex forces (aside from the one example). When the Wessex forces were victorious against the enemy, the ASC always clearly states it was a victory (I’ve checked as well. They used victory or victorious when this happened). I haven’t found an entry that states the outcome of a battle for Wessex was a ‘loss.’ Perhaps that was too much for the chronicler to admit to, and they could only write of victories or allude to losses in a different way.

Storm of Mercia is available from today in ebook, paperback, hardback and audio. Grab your copy now.

Wessex has never been Mercia’s ally, neither has it been her only enemy.

Wessex, AD836

The Viking raiders’ devastation has been halted once more by the shields of Mercia as opposed to Wessex. But their whereabouts are unknown.

Worrying news from home overshadows Icel’s every deadly encounter. Will the storms of war keep him away or has he time to make one more desperate journey back to Tamworth?

https://amzn.to/4a3G1ed

Check out the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles series page

If you can’t get enough of young Icel, you need to try The Mercian Ninth Century Series

AND coming soon, The Sundered Kingdom (for anyone who’s curious, many of the Easter eggs for Storm of Mercia will show up in The Eagle Will Rise).

Sign up to my Boldwood Books newsletter to keep up to date with all things Icel… https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Or, you can order a signed paperback copy directly from me. Check out my bookstore.

Posts

I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended

I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended
#BoldwoodBloggers @BoldwoodBooks

I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended

Here’s the blurb

🇬🇧 You won’t be able to put down this latest instalment in the Fairbanks and Flynn Mysteries, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Benedict Brown and T. E. Kinsey 🔎 🔪

Three women hide in Big Ben, only two come out alive…

2 April 1911 is census night, when suffragettes hide overnight in parliament to force census takers to record it as their address – the only way women can have a place in government.

Coral Fairbanks, suffragette, actress, and artist’s muse, is among the women who break into parliament. What she doesn’t know is that Guy Flynn, artist and Scotland Yard detective, has been ordered to guard it that night.

When a suffragette hiding in Big Ben is poisoned, suspicion falls on the residents of two grand houses in Mayfair. The Kesbys are avant-garde artists, the Ashcourts are aristocrats fallen on hard times.

Once again, Fairbanks and Flynn put aside their differences to investigate an astonishing case of deception and murder.

A new historical mystery set in Edwardian London featuring the iconic detective duo Fairbanks and Flynn.

While this novel has the same detective duo as the other books in the Fairbanks and Flynn Mystery series, it can be read as a STANDALONE

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4dGK2as

My Review

Murder at Big Ben is the second book in the Fairbanks and Flynn Mystery series, and it’s another fabulous mystery.

I adore how these books are so deeply rooted in the events of the day, making use of historical events to provide a vivid and very satisfying mystery for the reader to devour (or attempt to solve). The red herrings are placed extremely well. The eventual resolution of the mystery unfolds very smoothly, and when you do know the resolution, you can appreciate how well the author dropped snippets here and there, while ensuring there was never enough to give the mystery away.

Coral and Guy are such great characters. The mystery is top-notch and there are any number of suspects who could be the culprit..

Another fabulous installment in the series which I devoured in just a few sittings.

Check out my reviews for Murder in Trafalgar Square, the first book in the Fairbanks and Flynn Mystery series, and also my reviews for the Iris Woodmore series of historical mysteries Death at Crookham Hall, Murder at Waldenmere Lake, The Body at Carnival Bridge, A Killing At Smugglers Cove, A Corpse in Christmas Close, and Murder at Mill Ponds House.

Meet the author

Michelle Salter is a bestselling author of Edwardian and 1920s murder mysteries featuring female amateur sleuths, suffragettes and Scotland Yard detectives. She combines colourful characters, fascinating British history, and will-they-won’t-they romance in classic golden-age whodunnits.

Each book can be read as a STANDALONE even if it’s part of a series.

Michelle’s cozy crime novels have gained a dedicated following of readers who love her compelling characters and page-turning plot twists.

When she’s not writing books, Michelle enjoys exploring the backstreets of London and sharing fascinating facts from the Edwardian era and Roaring Twenties on her blog and social media.

She lives in Hampshire, England, and loves walking in the countryside and reading crime novels.

Connect with Michelle

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I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour #CollateralDamage

I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour #CollateralDamage #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources

I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

Winter came for the pancakes. Hollowvale fed him the dead.

Dane Winter is unemployed and on a lonely road to nowhere. Riding his motorcycle west from New York, he spots a sign on the Interstate: Hollowvale, Pennsylvania. A place he hasn’t visited since his Redwind Security days. Back then, the town was known for its coal mines and the best pancakes he ever tasted.

A chance encounter with a distraught local woman pulls him into investigating her friend’s disappearance. When Jacob Rhodes’ body is found at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft, the local authorities are quick to label it an accident. Winter isn’t convinced…

Between the death of Jacob and the unexplained illnesses spreading through the local population, it’s clear that nothing is as it seems in the town of Hollowvale. Worse still, Winter thinks it might have something to do with his time there two years earlier.

What starts as a quest for answers becomes a fight to expose a conspiracy that reaches far beyond the small town.

But Winter is never one to give up, and he’s willing to burn it all down in order to uncover the horrific truth.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/CollateralDamageSocial

My Review

This is the first book in the Dane Winter series that I’ve read, although it’s the second book in the series.

Our tale takes us to a small town, Hollowvale, in the US, with a man and his motorbike, and the next few pages feel very Reacher-esque as Dane eats in the diner and then heads out on the road once more. Only then does everything change, and Dane finds himself thrust into a mystery he wasn’t expecting.

There are small-town politics, some nasty bad-guys, a cover-up of something very dodgy, a distressed woman, all coupled with Dane’s desire to uncover the truth about a company he’s worked for in the past (2 years ago).

The story moves fast, and while it might have taken me a while to get into the new character and situation, I was soon flying through the book as the tension and the stakes built.

This is a fun, if sometimes tense tale, with its fair share of jeopardy and ‘fight’ scenes. It is sure to appeal to fans of Jack Reacher.

Meet the author

Sam Cogley is the author of popular action thrillers, melding suspense-laden espionage plots with the mesmerising world of high-tech innovations. He writes the high-octane Dane Winter thrillers for Boldwood Books.

Sam lives in Victoria, Australia with his wife and children.

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

Bookbub profile: @samcogley

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It’s (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease

Listen to me talk about Storm of Mercia (and other books too because it’s hard to stay on track)

Wessex has never been Mercia’s ally, neither has it been her only enemy.

Wessex, AD836

The Viking raiders’ devastation has been halted once more by the shields of Mercia as opposed to Wessex. But their whereabouts are unknown.

Worrying news from home overshadows Icel’s every deadly encounter. Will the storms of war keep him away or has he time to make one more desperate journey back to Tamworth?

Preorder now (releasing on 1st April)

https://amzn.to/4a3G1ed

Check out the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles series page

If you can’t get enough of young Icel, you need to try The Mercian Ninth Century Series

AND releasing on 7th May, The Eagle Will Rise, the first book in The Sundered Kingdom series (for anyone who’s curious, many of the Easter eggs for Storm of Mercia will show up in The Eagle Will Rise).

Sign up to my Boldwood Books newsletter to keep up to date with all things Icel… https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Or, you can order a signed paperback copy directly from me. Check out my bookstore.

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Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada

Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada

Here’s the blurb

Born to be king. Destined to die for glory.

1066 AD, Norway

Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, the Thunderbolt of the North, reigns supreme; undefeated on the battlefield and unchallenged at home. His banner, Land-Waster, flies triumphant everywhere he marches. Everything that was stolen from his brother, King Olaf, has been regained.

But power does not satiate. Glory does not fill the empty void in an ambitious heart. Victory is an elixir that runs dry no matter how freely it flows. No matter the height on which the triumphant stand, there, in the corner of his eye, is the glitter of another conquest.

Harald has achieved more than any man of his time, but fate is not done with him. His destiny lies on the banks of a quiet river in England’s green and pleasant land – Stamford Bridge.

To finish his great story, to forge the empire he always desired, all the last Viking conqueror must do is defeat a worthy opponent; King Harold of England, and seize his country and his crown.

His life changed nations.
His death will change the world.

The thrilling conclusion in the extraordinary tale of Harald Hardrada ‘The Last Viking‘. A formidable warrior king known for his military prowess, ambition, and ruthlessness.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/VikingConqueror

My Review

So here we are. This is the last book in the saga of Harald Hardrada, a man we’ve always known is destined to die at Stamford Bridge in the tumultuous events of 1066.

JC Duncan has spun us a fabulous tale of Hardrada’s life, never stinting to show us what Hardrada was before that fateful day, and this final instalment remains as triumphant as earlier books in the series, even if, Harald as king of Norway isn’t perhaps as filled with such fabulous stories of his brave daring do and his astonishing life as the earlier books. But then, he must earn his title of Hardrada – or hard ruler.

We move inexorably towards the events of Stamford Bridge with the ever loyal Eric returning to Harald’s side. It all seems so easy to accomplish close to Jorvik. So easy, and yet…it is not. Harald, at long last, finds a worthy opponent, one worthy of matching him in battle.

Not only does Harald’s story near its conclusion, but our narrator and his reasons for telling his tale are finally revealed as well.

I’ve loved this series by JC Duncan following the life of Harald Hardrada. It’s been fascinating to learn about his time away from Norway and all about that fateful day in 1066, which is recounted poignantly, and does indeed show Harald as the battle commander he was – ruthless, ambitious. Honourable (mostly). If you’ve not yet started the series, go pick up Warrior Prince now. You will not be disappointed.

Check out my review for book 1, 2 and 3, Warrior Prince, Raven Lord and

Meet the author

JC Duncan is a well-reviewed historical fiction author, with a passion for Vikings. When he isn’t writing or doing his full-time engineering job, James is happiest being an amateur bladesmith