BLOG TOUR: The Lost Man - Jane Harper

Synopsis:

Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelendting sun of the outback Queensland, in this stunning standalone novel from New York Times bestseller Jane Harper.

They are at the stockmans grave, a landmark so old, no can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did her lose hope and walk to his death? Becuase if he didnt, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects.

Reivew:

I dont think its any news that I'm a huge fan of Jane Harper and her work, The Lost Man doesnt change that fact either. This is a stand alone compared to her other two books which are a part of a series. I first heard of this book way before it got its name, before it was even written, back when Jane was off on a journey to research which already had be hooked with her tales and photos of her journey.

Her fantastic atmospheric way of writing pulls you in to the setting, holding you there, making you feel the blaring heat of the outback heat, the isolation and her character driven plots are incredibly engaging. Jane is for sure one of the finest writers.  Although I fell in love with Janes books that are part of a series, hearing this was going to be a stand alone book gave me hope to see  what Jane could come up with and how it would effect its readers. 

The book follows Nathan, one of Camerons brothers and he searches for an answer, was Cameron murdered or was it suicide? Well throughout the book there is nothing that points to the deininte answer, not until the very end, nothing comes across as something that an ammetur couldnt do, it was al so realistic.

There is no chance for you to not be shocked by this book, its unepected twists will floor you. Although i have read psychological thrilllers that i have beena ble to solve and ride out the twisty plots, Harper managed to yet again create another book with an journey and ending i couldnt see coming. The Lost Man is a tale of family dynamics, all too familiar abuse and a minimal list of people for you to choose from to guess the final outcome before the reveal. It's nothing new for me to aboslutely suck at guessing before the reveal. 

Theres so many things to this book that make it amazing, at some point you suspect everyone, and the passing between past and present brings the reader to an emotional climax after a tense journey alongside Nathan and his family. Jane hasnt dissapointed in transporting me as a reader to places I could only dream of visiting. If you enjoy emotionally charged, character driven stories do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of The Lost Man. Its only the begining of February but this book will remain int he top 10 best books ir ead in 2019 without a doubt. It's a 5/5 from me.

Blog Tour: A Single Journey - Frankie McGowan

Book Synopsis:

Harriet has begun to despair of her life.

With a failed relationship behind her, a business on the rocks and a flat that’s falling apart around her ears, she could really use some luck.

Elena Banbury, née Guseva, an elderly but imposing Russian woman who is Harriet’s neighbour and landlady, frequently entertains the punters at Harriet’s jewellery stall with tales of the palaces of St. Petersburg and the treasures of Fabergé. But Harriet sometimes feels, guiltily, that she could do without the endless errands that seem to fall to her as Elena’s friend.

Then, unexpectedly, when Elena dies, she leaves all her worldly goods to a grateful Harriet. In time, however, it becomes clear that others are shocked by Harriet’s good luck, too. Shocked… and very, very unhappy.

Challenged in court by Elena’s family who live in Berlin, Harriet is forced to give up her inheritance and long-dreamed-of plans for a new business, and start her life again. But with her reputation in tatters and the memory of Elena tainted, Harriet knows a great injustice has been done.

Against the advice of her friends, family and lawyers, Harriet sets off on her own, very singular journey to Berlin.

In the weeks that follow she meets rich and poor, the glamorous and the criminal, the honest and the secretive, and begins to see that perhaps she has something to learn from them all. Something to learn about herself, and something to learn about her priorities.

She knows she has to fight for justice. But, when she meets the scholarly, perceptive Neil, who generously tries to help Harriet in her mission, but who is struggling with a complicated marriage, she must also decide if she’ll fight for love, too. 

Review:

So I'm absolutely honoured to be a part of the blog tour for A Single Journey, I begun reading my copy of the book a little while ago but thanks to some unknown glitch I encountered, I was unable to fully read the book. Thankfully Hannah came to my rescue and provided me with another copy n a different format that allowed me to continue my reading. I must let you all know that due to the glitch and date limit on this post, I feel as though I may have missed things here and there because I had to speed read but hopefully, with all things crossed, that this all still makes sense.

I don't really want to be giving away too much of the plot away so I wont explain it in all of the detail I know, but as the story goes, Harriet rents a flat from aging Elena Banbury who spends her time entertaining customers that visit Harriet's failing stall and the others around her with tales of her childhood in Russia. It is only when Elena passes away that Harriet find out how she was really seen by her. 

As far as our main character Harriet goes, she feels extremely real to me, beyond likable in my eyes and with her own flaws, it adds to the realistic feel of her. As the story progresses I begun to feel more attached to her, rooting for her at every moment she needed me to, wanting her to be successful when a challenge came to her, she was just so real for me.

The amazing thing about A Single Journey is that as our main character dives deeper into Elena's life we get to see how the tale passes by generation by generation, crossing numerous countries. It's a greatly pulled off intricate plot that must have been thought through superbly well and because of that as a reader, I was hooked throughout and I have no doubt other readers would be/have been too. The plot is jam packed but easy to follow throughout and as each chapter closes and the next begins, you are drawn more and more into the book being unable to stop yourself from at points beginning to take guesses at what is coming next (but as always I'm so far off) 

As I've seen on The Writing Greyhounds blog tour post, Lorna talks of things that are in the book that are maybe morals and important messages within the book which I wanted to share with you too.

"there are also several important points, or perhaps even morales, that are addressed in the book. A Single Journey reminds us about the importance of following our dreams and staying true to ourselves; all too often, we can find ourselves bogged down in the mundanities of day-to-day life and realise that we are living without really living. Harriet's journey to come to terms with the events of the story perfectly encapsulate this and represent the fact that sometimes, we must listen to our hearts rather than our heads.

Another important message to take away from the book is the way that older people are treated in our society. With the UK's over-worked care system, it's all too easy for vulnerable elderly people to fall through the cracks and end up with their struggles going unnoticed, as portrayed by Elena's situation at the beginning of the book. In real life, there may not always be a Harriet around to help, and A Single Journey helps to highlight the very real issue of the UK's elderly care crisis."

I think what she says makes perfect sense, they are also things I also picked up on, I also like the idea that the message about the UK's elderly care crisis is really a great message to me sharing and showing through such a book in the way it is. 

A Single Journey was a great read for me even though I may have missed things via speed reading but maybe I'll revisit the book and update this review sometime soon. From what I got from it, as Lorna says, It's a moving, heartfelt story about love, loss and staying true to yourself.

I cant give the book anything less than a 4 out of 5, I simply loved Harriet just that much and loved how the tale within spanned so far. Please don't forget to visit the other blogs taking part in this tour and it's also the time to mention that for the duration of the blog tour, A Single Journey is at the discounted price of only 0.99.

Purchase A Single Journey Here

Social Media Links

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EndeavourQuill, and www.twitter.com/endeavour_media

Instagram: www.instagram.com/endeavour_media

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EndeavourMedia1

Website: www.endeavourmedia.co.uk

Death In The Stars - Frances Brody Blog Tour Review

Synopsis:

Yorkshire, 1927. Eclipse fever grips the nation, and when beloved theatre star Selina Fellini approaches trusted sleuth Kate Shackleton to accompany her to a viewing party at Giggleswick School Chapel, Kate suspects an ulterior motive.
During the eclipse, Selina's friend and co-star Billy Moffatt disappears and is later found dead in the chapel grounds. Kate can't help but dig deeper and soon learns that two other members of the theatre troupe died in similarly mysterious circumstances in the past year. With the help of Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden, Kate sets about investigating the deaths - and whether there is a murderer in the company.
When Selina's elusive husband Jarrod, injured in the war and subject to violent mood swings, comes back on the scene, Kate begins to imagine something far deadlier at play, and wonders just who will be next to pay the ultimate price for fame . . .

Review:

So you all know I absolutely loved Death at The Seaside by Frances Brody when I read it what feels like such a long time ago now, so when I was approached to take part in the Death In The Stars Blog Tour providing a review I simply could not pass the opportunity up.

It feels great to be seeing the familiar faces once again, like a reunion party of sorts. I still love Kate, she remains as intelligent, blunt and beautiful as she was when I last saw her. We also meet some great characters, Selina for starters is an amazing singer, elegant and beautiful and yet i was suspicious about her from square one. Billy is a comedian/performer and hes bubbly and lovely and i warmed to him and felt quite attached to him unaware of his fate. I felt a punch to my gut and heart when I read it. Quite emotional for a character I had only known of for a short time. There are more to talk of but I don't wish to make this paragraph too long. Each character intrigued me and found a part in my heart no matter the outcome of te book which sounds odd but its the way it is.

Upon opening the book i was instantly sucked in, its was incredibly hard to put it down and rest or anything of the sort. Frances has once again created a gripping book, one of which takes ahold of you and refuses to relieve its grip until the very end. My mind was constantly going into overdrive, trying to put the puzzle together before I was told of anything, i admit i was only slightly capable of that. Frances is a great writer, her plots and characters are beautiful, unique and immersive. What is also lovely about this book is how well Frances was able to portray the stage/theatre life back in the 1920's it's beautiful and she did a great job at bringing it back to life for us as readers.

I must delcare this but in my review of Death by the Seaside i said the following:

I didn't feel very connected to any character in the book at all, although Kate is really vivid in my head, I just didn't forge any connection with her, she was just an important role in the book. To find out Kate has a series really makes me wonder if I read more about her will I make connections. It's a really big issues with me, if I can't forge a connection then I really find it hard to read these characters for a long time. Kate is clearly intelligent and resilient and those qualities are great to have I just wished I loved her as a character as much as other have said they do.

Every inch of me takes that back, I fell for Kate and Its undeniable. I'm lookig forward to seeing her again in any books to come.

Frances Brody is a great addition to the Crime writing business, bringing unique and complicated plots to the table. Its a 5/5 from me, a reccomendation to all who love twisty turny plots and crime novels and maybe crime novels with twisty turny plots.

 About The Author

Frances Brody is the author of the Kate Shackleton mysteries, as well as many stories and plays for BBC Radio, scripts for television and four sagas, one of which won the HarperCollins Elizabeth Elgin Award. Her stage plays have been toured by several theatre companies and produced at Manchester Library Theatre, the Gate and Nottingham Playhouse, and Jehad was nominated for a Time Out Award.

Want to see the other posts this blog tour? check them all out by using the banner below.