Her Perfect Girl by Nicky Downes

                                                    

Ebook:  388 pages      

Genre:    Crime, Mystery, Fiction                                    

Publisher: Storm Publishing  July 12th 2024

Source: NetGalley

First Sentence: With a roar, the support band, Headsticks, played their final song.

Review Quote:  'A must-read for anyone who enjoys a meticulously crafted mystery that explores the darkest corners of human nature.’ Reader Review

My Opinion: 

It is the first time I have read anything by this author. 'The Perfect Girl' was in my opinion not the psychological thriller I was expecting from the blurb but more of a crime novel which was disappointing.

Written from the perspectives of not only the police investigating team and the parents of the missing girl, but also that of the murderer.  An intense storyline that unfolds in a large number of chapters, probably intended be short and sharp and therefore add to the urgency. For me though it just made the novel feel disjointed. To be honest I found the format spoilt the read for me.

Although not for me, I imagine ' The Perfect Girl' will appeal to fans of the genre and style. It is with thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley that this title was made available for me to read and review.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Trees rustle behind the empty park. The swing creaks in the breeze. Caught on its rusted chain is a pink hair ribbon. Charly only wore it to make me happy. Now it’s all I have to remember her by, my perfect girl...

A murder that shocks a small town…

Pictures of the missing girl Charly Dean are plastered across every newspaper and television screen in the country until a dog walker discovers her body in the woods. A chilling detail at the crime scene leads the local police to believe they have a serial killer on their hands, and he’s just getting started.

A killer with unfinished business…

Months later, with Charly’s murder still unsolved, her parents can hardly look at each other, torn apart by grief, blaming themselves – and each other. Then a second victim is found in the same woods. Charly’s parents will stop at nothing to find justice for both girls. But that means facing the shocking truth that the killer didn’t pick Charly at random. She was carefully chosen. And the sinister reason lies somewhere in their past…

Author Profile:                

                                                             

                                                        Courtesy of Goodreads Profile

Nicky Downes lives in Coventry, where she works as an education trade union officer. When she isn't working, or writing, you can often find her cruising the canals in the Midlands on her narrowboat, Chanelle. Nicky says, "I find it so relaxing at the tiller. It's where I get the best ideas for my novels."From an early age, Nicky spent hours in her local library devouring all the Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, being a huge fan of crime novels. Her favourite authors are Val McDermid, Mark Billingham and Fiona Cummins.Nicky has self-published four novels: a psychological thriller, Bat Girl, and a series, Traffic, Consent and Chained, featuring DI Amelia Barton of the National Crime Agency. Readers have described these books as "fast-paced, unputdownable thrillers." She is currently writing a police procedural series of books featuring mountaineer DI Jacqueline Kent, set in Birmingham.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Twitter Profile.    Goodreads Profile.   Amazon Profile

The Household by Stacey Halls

 

                                              

Hardback:    372 pages                                                                                                 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Manilla Press 2024

Source: Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: Martha is quite alone in the house. Another girl, Mrs Holdsworth said at breakfast, will arrive before supper.

Review Quote:  'Absorbing . . . Halls weaves together the elements of her story with great skill' Sunday Times

My Opinion: 

I have been reading Stacey Halls' novels since her debut was published in 2020 and with this latest, have now read and enjoyed all four.

In 1847 the author Charles Dickens helped his friend Angela Burnett-Coutts of the banking family set up Urania Cottage. It was a social experiment to give homes to young women living, for whatever reason, on the fringes of society. The idea was to give them a basic education and life skills before helping them emigrate to the colonies. This brilliant novel tells us the story of these young women and their benefactor Angela. A rich cast of characters whose lives unfold into an authentic feeling period novel, with plenty of intrigue.

In my opinion 'The Household' uses historical facts and real people to weave a compelling tale. Highly Recommended.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

From the Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the Women's Prize Futures Award, the captivating, highly anticipated new novel, inspired by real historical figures and events.

In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life - but how badly do they want it?

Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . .

As the women's worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .

The Household is the new novel from the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars , The Foundling and Mrs England. Set against Charles Dicken's home for fallen women and inspired by real figures from history, it is Stacey Halls' most ambitious and compelling novel yet.

Links to my reviews of her previous novels: 

The Familiars   The Foundling.   Mrs England

 

Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has written for publications including the Guardian, Stylist, Psychologies, The Independent, The Sun and Fabulous. 

Her first book The Familiars was the bestselling debut novel of 2019. 

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Author Profile    Instagram Account    Twitter Profile   Author Website

Amazon Author Profile

The Lucky Widow by Samantha Vérant

                                                     

Ebook:  418 pages      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller,                                          

Publisher: Storm Publishing  July 5th 2024

Source: NetGalley

First Sentence: I'm a woman on the verge of reclaiming her life.

Review Quote:  Sucked me in from the start. So many twists and turns I didn't want to put it down. Reader Review.

My Opinion: 

It was the title and blurb that drew me to wanting to read 'The Lucky Widow' by new to me author Samantha Verant.

The novel is told from two very different points of view, that of Emma who finds her deceased husband and Rossi the detective assigned to the case. With the dual time line of past and present events the complex storyline unravels to expose so many lies and secrets. There are certainly some despicable characters and events involved and one wonders why Emma allowed her life to sink to this level, why did she stay with her husband?

Cannot say more, you need to read this and find out for yourself. If you are a fan of mysteries it is probably one you will enjoy. For me at times the credibility felt over the top, though sadly these sort of events do take place. Especially the human trafficking, what a mixed up world we live in.

It is with thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley that this title was made available for me to read and review.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Wishing your husband dead isn’t a crime...

When you return from a work trip to find your husband dead in the pond, it’s best not to call him a liar and a cheat in front of the cops. Especially when you’ve spent the last few years telling anyone who’ll listen that you sometimes fantasize about killing him. It makes you look kind of, well, guilty.

Now I’m suspect number one for Nathaniel’s murder and the police are snooping around our perfect home. And the house is perfect because I designed it, down to the last marbled detail. You could say I designed our marriage, too. As soon as I saw Nathaniel—so handsome, successful, a surgeon—I knew I wanted him. Sadly our marriage wasn’t quite as perfect as our house. But whose is?

The cops want to talk to our daughters, our friends, even our staff. There’s the housekeeper, the cook, the pool cleaner, the dog walker. But like me they were all out of town when he died. They won’t have anything to say about what happened. Certainly nothing that will suggest I had something to do with it…

Author Profile:                

                                                                                  

                                                        Courtesy of Goodreads Profile

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, at-home French chef. Over the years, she’s visited many different countries, lived in many places, and worked many jobs— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her. Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for: a passion for the written word and true love. Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France, where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met over twenty years ago, a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to one ridiculously adorable Charteux cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, tasting wine in American-sized glasses, or embracing her inner Julia Child while deliberating what constitutes the perfect boeuf bourguignon, Samantha is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Official Author Website  Goodreads Profile.  Twitter - Samantha Verant

The Florence Letter by Anita Chapman

 

                                                

Ebook:  343 pages      

Genre: Historical Fiction                                           

Publisher: Bookouture 24 June 2024

Source: NetGalley

First Sentence: Margaret Anderson sat at the desk, her dear cat, Mr Emerson, curled up in  the basket beside her.

Review Quote: ‘I was captivated from the very first page… Fascinating… Drew me into the book and kept me riveted to the page… So vivid and compelling, Anita has a real talent for creating wonderfully atmospheric dual timeline stories… Romantic and intriguing!’ Nicola Cornick, 

Setting: Surrey, England and Florence Italy

Main Characters: Margaret During WWII and Claire in 2015.

My Opinion: 

I have been following Anita Chapman on Social Media, as an aspiring author for some years. Just last year she had her debut novel  The Venice Secret  published, which I throughly enjoyed. So I am delighted that The Florence Letter has followed quickly.

A dual narrative with two female protagonists, Margaret during WWII and Claire in 2015. Their stories are a delightful romantic tale with some fabulous characters that together uncover some intriguing family secrets. To add to my reading pleasure both settings Florence and Surrey are familiar to me. I happen to have very fond memories of the property that the fictional Gatley Hall is partly based upon.

The author has certainly established herself as a writer of captivating stories with her first two novels. If you are a fan of historical fiction I can recommend you add her to your favourites list of authors.

It is with thanks to Bookouture, NetGalley and Anita Chapman that this title was made available for me to read and review.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Looking out over the twinkling city lights of Florence, Claire thinks of the letter that has brought her here. Written by a woman who escaped the Blitz, it holds a secret kept for a lifetime… but can Claire make the woman’s dying wish come true?Claire arrives at her new job as researcher at a grand English country house, nursing a broken heart. But tucked into the back of a long-forgotten drawer she finds a letter written in an elegant hand. It tells of a wartime secret about the beautiful Lady Violet – whose passionate affair with an Italian prisoner of war scandalised the village and ended in tragedy.Captivated, Claire promises to find Violet’s daughter, Tabitha, and reunite her with a priceless piece of her mother’s jewellery. With only the name of an Italian bakery, Pasticceria Mancini, to guide her, and the help of her handsome neighbour Jim, Claire travels to Tabitha’s last known location – Florence.Winding through the colourful streets, the sun warm on her bare shoulders, a tantalising scent of freshly baked bread floats on the air and Claire’s heart leaps at the sight of an ageing bakery Mancini. Although she learns that Tabitha hasn’t been there for many years, Claire refuses to give up. And as she and Jim talk late into the night over glasses of local chianti, Claire looks into his piercing blue eyes and finds herself growing closer to him…But when they finally track Tabitha down, it isn’t the happy reunion she expected and Claire is left reeling in the wake of discovering a devastating family secret.Violet’s story has an ending – but will the truth lead to forgiveness, or will it only bring more pain? And will Claire be forced to walk away from a chance of happiness with Jim at last?Escape to Italy in this gorgeous story of past and present colliding. 

Previous Review:  The Venice Secret

Author Profile:                

                                                                                                           

                                                        Courtesy of Amazon Profile

Anita Chapman enjoyed writing stories from a young age, and won a local writing competition when she was nine years old. Encouraged by this, she typed up a series of stories about a mouse on her mum’s typewriter and sent them to Ladybird. She received a polite rejection letter, her first.

Many of Anita’s summers growing up were spent with her family driving to Italy, and she went on to study French and Italian at university. As part of her degree, Anita lived in Siena for several months where she studied and au paired, and she spent a lot of time travelling around Italy in her twenties. 

Anita likes to read journals and diaries from the past, and one of her favourite pastimes is visiting art galleries and country houses. Her first published novel, The Venice Secret is inspired by her mother taking her to see the Canalettos at The National Gallery in London as a child. 

Since 2015, Anita has worked as a social media manager, training authors on social media, and helping to promote their books. She’s run several courses in London and York, and has worked as a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Twitter Profile.  Anita Chapman - Facebook Profile.   Author - Official Website