The Holocaust: An Unfinished History by Dan Stone - #BookReview

Ideology does not come from nowhere. The history of ideas is crucial, though it is insufficient for explaining the historical origins of Nazism. Ideas that seemed marginal at one moment became decisive at another, following the German defeat in the First World War and, especially, after the terrible effects of the Great Depression. In order to grasp the power of the forces that fuelled the Holocaust, we have to understand the toxic mix of ideas and events which propelled an apocalypic movement to the fore. Nazism was not merely a political programme but sought to be, as Goebels put it, "the very air which we breathe". It was not just an ideology but a... worldview.
 

***

An authoritative, revelatory new history of the Holocaust, from one of the leading scholars of his generation

The Holocaust is much-discussed, much-memorialized and much-portrayed. But there are major aspects of its history that have been overlooked.

Spanning the entirety of the Holocaust and across the world, this sweeping history deepens our understanding. Dan Stone reveals how the idea of 'industrial murder' is incomplete: many were killed where they lived in the most brutal of ways. He outlines the depth of collaboration across Europe, arguing persuasively that we need to stop thinking of the Holocaust as an exclusively German project. He also considers the nature of trauma the Holocaust engendered, and why Jewish suffering has yet to be fully reckoned with. And he makes clear that the kernel to understanding Nazi thinking and action is genocidal ideology, providing a deep analysis of its origins.

Drawing on decades of research, The Holocaust: An Unfinished History upends much of what we think we know about the Holocaust. Stone draws on Nazi documents, but also on diaries, post-war testimonies and even fiction, urging that, in our age of increasing nationalism and xenophobia, we must understand the true history of the Holocaust.

***

The Holocaust is a topic that we have become very familiar with although its ability to shock never lessens.  We all like to assign this level of barbarity to the distant past; something that happened a long time ago in history. 

However, the truth is that this happened less than a century ago and that fact alone is horrifying. It is beyond disturbing that ordinary people, fathers, sons, husbands and brothers were complicit in this.

Dan Stone's book sets out to explain how this, amongst other things were able to happen.  Of Hitler he says:

"This total absence of compromise, an inability to regard anything or anyone other than himself as correct, was why Hitler was so impervious to criticism, so assured of his own destiny - and why so many Germans were attracted to him.

The author goes on to explain how it was not the Nazi's alone, but other European countries that were compliant in the killing of the Jews and this was one factor towards the acceptance of killing on such a huge scale.  It was... "a continent-wide crime with many perpetrators, not just Germans."

As the book progresses the author looks to the way is which the Holocaust in remembered. He writes that this perception of the Holocaust as solely a German atrocity, and the downplaying of the involvement of other European nations has distorted history.

Just when we think that there is nothing to add to the canon of books on the Holocaust, a work such as this comes along and presents many new and challenging ideas. Personally, I learnt much that I had not considered before.  

Outstandingly researched and written, this book is a worthy addition to this particular field of study and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

ISBN: 978-0241388709

Publisher: Pelican

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardcover

No. of Pages: 464 (hardback)

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About the Author:

Dan Stone is one of the foremost experts on the Holocaust of his generation. He is Professor of Modern History and Director of the Holocaust Research Institute (Royal Holloway, University of London), and was on the advisory panel for the Imperial War Museum's new Holocaust Galleries. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Histories of the Holocaust and The Liberation of the Camps.

(ARC and author info courtesy of the publisher)

(author image courtesy of University of London)

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Surviving the Holocaust and Stalin by Vanessa Holburn - #bookreview

Izabella Tauber stepped down from the train and instinctively put her hand out to steady herself against the steel pillar of Kistelek stations. She was aware her other hand was shaking. She looked at it, willing it to stop, willing herself to gather the strength to walk on. To finally walk home.

***

The horrors of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and labour camps were just the beginning of the struggle to survive for the Seiler family. As Hungarian Jews, they faced persecution of the very worst kind both from their own government and Nazi Germany. After liberation by the Soviets at the end of WWII they endured further punishment from the Stalinist regime concealed behind the Iron Curtain. 

This memoir is drawn from a recently re-discovered cache of precious family letters and exclusive interviews with Marta Seiler, who translated those letters for the first time. Marta has supplemented the account with childhood memories and original photos. 

The narrative is told through the voices of Marta, her mother Izabella and her father Lajos on a journey that takes us from 1935 to the present day. The reader is able to piece together the family's personal challenges set against the backdrop of international political conflict. Exploring themes of resilience, identity and inherited trauma, by the end of the book we learn how Marta rediscovered her forbidden Jewish identity, found her place within the community and has moved toward a place of tolerance. In the tradition of oral history, Marta told her remarkable family story exclusively to journalist Vanessa Holburn. For Marta it's important we learn the lessons of the past before they are lost for good.

***

This non-fiction title is an excellent example of how a horrific family story can be conveyed. The narrative is told succinctly and eloquently, and without recourse to dramaticism. The author has enabled the telling of Marta's family history, which she discovered through a collection of letters, photos and documents kept by her aunt.

Marta had been aware of these but it took the lockdown during the covid pandemic to make her focus on them and familiarise herself with the lives endured by her parents. 

Like so many people, following their internment in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen they did not want to talk about their experiences. They wanted to look to the future and not to the past, and so Marta had never been made aware of how they suffered in the concentration camps, and later in Soviet occupied Hungary.

Not only did they endue the horror meted out by the Nazi's in the concentration/death camps but on returning to their homeland they further endured anti-semitism, Soviet occupation and Stalinism.

However, the overriding thing I took away from this book is that the Seillet's were not victims but survivors, and anyone who reads this book will be inspired by the way in which they were able to move forward whilst dealing with such a traumatic past.

Publishing in the UK today, I highly recommend this book.

ISBN: 978 1399062992

Publisher: Pen & Sword History

Formats: Hardcover

No. of Pages: 224

About the Author:

Vanessa Holburn is an author and journalist living in Berkshire in the UK.

Her publishing experience stretches over 24 years and her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers and digital outlets. Her consumer press credits include The Daily Telegraph, Private Eye, The Mirror, The Sun, The Independent on Sunday, The Express, Vegan Living, Woman's Own, Yours, Bella, Dogs Today, Wunderdog and Ask The Doctor.

She is the author of three previous titles, How To Pick A Puppy, How to be an Activist and The Amritsar Massacre. 

(ARC courtesy of NetGalley)

Top Ten New Releases in February 2023

Each month I get really excited about the books which are being published the following month. This month it has been particularly difficult to choose just ten as there are some amazing titles due to be released. However, here are my top ten.

Anne Boleyn: An Illustrated Life of Henry VIII's Queen by Roland Hui

'If you remember my love in your prayers as strongly as I adore you, I shall hardly be forgotten, for I am yours,' - Henry Rex, forever

Written by King Henry VIII to his sweetheart, the seductive and vivacious Anne Boleyn, his passion for her would be so great that Henry would make Anne his queen, and change the course of English history.

But the woman whom Henry had promised to love for all time would go from palace to prison, charged with heinous crimes. Her life ended on a bloody scaffold in the Tower of London.

Explore the incredible story of Anne Boleyn, the most famous and controversial of Henry VIII's six wives, in this exciting new account of her life told in words and pictures.

Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Baja California, 1979: Viridiana spends her days under the harsh sun, watching the fishermen pulling in their nets and the dead sharks piled beside the seashore. Her head is filled with dreams of romance, travel and of a future beyond this drab town where her only option is to marry and have children.

When a wealthy American writer arrives with his wife and brother-in-law, Viridiana jumps at the offer of a job as his assistant, and she's soon entangled in the glamorous foreigners' lives. They offer excitement, and perhaps an escape from her humdrum life. When one of them dies, eager to protect her new friends, Viridiana lies - but soon enough, someone's asking questions. It's not long before Viridiana has some of her own questions about the identities of her new acquaintances.

Sharks may be dangerous, but there are worse predators nearby, ready to devour a naïve young woman unwittingly entangled in a web of deceit.

This Could Be Everything by Eva Rice

It’s 1990. The Happy Mondays are in the charts, a 15-year-old called Kate Moss is on the cover of the Face magazine, and Julia Roberts wears thigh-boots for the poster for a new movie called Pretty Woman. 

 

February Kingdom is nineteen years old when she is knocked sideways by family tragedy. Then one evening in May she finds an escaped canary in her kitchen and it sparks a glimmer of hope in her. With the help of the bird called Yellow, Feb starts to feel her way out of her own private darkness, just as her aunt embarks on a passionate and all-consuming affair with a married American drama teacher.   

 

THIS COULD BE EVERYTHING is a coming-of-age story with its roots under the pavements of a pre-Richard Curtis-era Notting Hill that has all but vanished. It’s about what happens when you start looking after something more important than you, and the hope a yellow bird can bring… 

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald by Neil Buttery

The great Elizabeth Raffald used to be a household name, and her list of accomplishments would make even the highest of achievers feel suddenly impotent. After becoming housekeeper at Arley Hall in Cheshire at age twenty-five, she married and moved to Manchester, transforming the Manchester food scene and business community, writing the first A to Z directory and creating the first domestic servants registry office, the first temping agency if you will. Not only that, she set up a cookery school and ran a high class tavern attracting both gentry and nobility. She reputedly gave birth to sixteen daughters, wrote book on midwifery and was an effective exorciser of evil spirits. These achievements gave her notoriety and standing in Manchester, but it all pales in comparison to her biggest achievement; her cookery book The Experienced English Housekeeper. Published in 1769, it ran to over twenty editions and brought her fame and fortune. But then disaster; her fortune lost, spent by her alcoholic husband. Bankrupted twice, she spent her final years in a pokey coffeehouse in a seedy part of town. Her book, however, lived on. Influential and often imitated (but never bettered), it became the must-have volume for any kitchen, and it helped form our notion of traditional British food as we think of it today. To tell Elizabeth's tumultuous rise and fall story, historian Neil Buttery doesn't just delve into the history of food in the eighteenth century, he has to look at trade and empire, domestic service, the agricultural revolution, women's rights, publishing and copyright law, gentlemen's clubs and societies, the horse races, the defeminization of midwifery, and the paranormal, to name but a few. Elizabeth Raffald should be revered, not unknown. How can this be? Perhaps we should ask Mrs Beeton...

What Remains of Elsie Jane by Chelsea Wakelyn

Sam is dead, which means that Elsie Jane has just lost the brilliant, sensitive man she planned to grow old with. The early days of grief are a fog of work and single parenting. Too restless to sleep, Elsie pores over Sam's old love letters, paces her house, and bickers with the ghosts of Sam and her dead parents night after night. As the year unfolds, she develops an obsession with a local murder mystery, attends a series of disastrous internet dates in search of a "replacement soulmate," and solicits a space-time wizard via Craigslist, convinced he will help her forge a path through the cosmos back to Sam.

Examining the ceaseless labour of motherhood, the stigma of death by drug poisoning, and the allure of magical thinking in the wake of tragedy, What Remains of Elsie Jane is a heart-splitting reminder that grief is born from the depths of love.

A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis

Haworth 1847 - Anne and Emily Brontë have had their books accepted for publication, while Charlotte's has been rejected everywhere, creating a strained atmosphere at the parsonage.

At the same time, a shocking court case has recently concluded, acquitting a workhouse master of murdering his wife by poison. Everyone thinks this famously odious and abusive man is guilty. However, he insists he is many bad things but not a murderer. When an attempt is made on his life, he believes it to be the same person who killed his wife and applies to the detecting sisters for their help.

Despite reservations, they decide that perhaps, as before, it is only they who can get to the truth and prove him innocent - or guilty - without a shadow of doubt.

Clara and Olivia by Lucy Ashe

I would kill to dance like her.

Disciplined and dedicated, Olivia is the perfect ballerina. But no matter how hard she works, she can never match identical twin Clara's charm. 

I would kill to be with her.

As rehearsals intensify for the ballet Coppélia, the girls feel increasingly like they are being watched. And, as infatuation turns to obsession, everything begins to unravel.

Not That Kind of Ever After by Luci Adams

One damsel + one wolf + many, many, many frogs = DISTRESS

Gloriously fun, romantic and feel-good, discover a 21st century London fairytale with an unforgettable twist . . .

Bella Marble is a true, hopeless, despairing romantic. Above all things, even above her wish to be a writer, she wants love.

But when her beautiful best friend moves out of their flat share to live with the most boring ogre in history, and her perfectly paired parents tell her their own love story is coming to an end, Bella's illusions of a happily ever after start to shatter. If they can't find 'the one', what chance does she have?

Disenchanted, Bella throws herself into looking for love in all the wrong places. London may be fresh out of knights in shining Armani, but it's got a surplus of frogs - and as Bella learns, kissing frogs can be extremely fun.

But Bella is forgetting the essential rule of all fairytales.

There is nothing more powerful than a first kiss . . .

Red Dirt Road by S. R. White

One outback town. Two puzzling murders. Fifty suspects.

In Unamurra, a drought-scarred, one-pub town deep in the outback, two men are savagely murdered a month apart - their bodies elaborately arranged like angels.

With no witnesses, no obvious motives and no apparent connections between the killings, how can lone police officer Detective Dana Russo - flown in from hundreds of kilometres away - possibly solve such a baffling, brutal case?

Met with silence and suspicion from locals who live by their own set of rules, Dana must take over a stalled investigation with only a week to make progress.

But with a murderer hiding in plain sight, and the parched days rapidly passing, Dana is determined to uncover the shocking secrets of this forgotten town - a place where anyone could be a killer.

A gripping and vividly atmospheric story from the international bestseller, this is a searing story perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Garry Disher.

The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy

Blood and power bind three generations of women in the Ozark Mountains. So does an evil that’s followed them across the decades.

1931. Gracelynn Doherty lives peacefully on Tin Mountain, helping her adoptive granny work her cures. Despite whispers that the women are witches, the superstitious locals still seek them out, whether to remedy arthritis or a broken heart. But when evangelist Josiah Bellflower comes to town promising miracle healing, full bellies, and prosperity, his revivals soon hold Tin Mountain in thrall―and Granny in abject fear.

Granny recognizes Josiah. Fifty years ago, in a dark and desperate moment, she made a terrible promise. Now Josiah, an enemy, has returned to collect his due.

As Granny sickens and the drought-ridden countryside falls under a curse, Gracelynn must choose: flee Tin Mountain and the only family she knows, or confront the vengeful preacher whose unholy mission is to destroy her.

A Distant Voice in the Darkness by Leela Dutt - #blogtour #spotlight

 

I am delighted to be part of the blog tour for this book and am bringing you a short extract of A Voice in the Darkness by Leela Dutt. Hope this whets your appetite.

Blurb

Eleanor walks out on her student boyfriend Alec in Cardiff in order to seek the life she really wants, publishing sketches of everything that interests her.  Beginning in Rome, this takes her to Copenhagen and eventually to India, South Africa, New Zealand, Finland, Iceland, the USA and beyond.  Meanwhile Alec becomes a TV presenter who also travels the world, leaving his vulnerable young family behind. Eleanor, travelling with Alec’s teenage daughter, is caught up in an armed invasion of Lesotho, and is shot at a road block while they try to escape…

Published by 186 Publishing Limited 

Length 262 pages

Genre: Travel, Romance

Age category: 14 – 99

Date published: August 2022

Extract

What the hell is that hideous smell? Overpowering – burning, surely? But a hint of orange in it, surely – or am I imagining that?

Pause to get my breath back at the top of the stairs. I’m here in this hall of residence to return a book I borrowed, but the pesky girl isn’t in; it’s Friday night, she’s probably out clubbing. All right for some.

I can see smoke in the corridor now. Must be a fire. Let’s see, kitchen at the far end. Hurry, there’s someone coughing.

Open the door carefully – oh God a fog!

There’s someone in here; a very young man, peering at me through the mist. He must be a First Year student, like me, but eons younger than me. Tall, with an untidy mass of black hair that sticks straight up like a cartoon. And the most peculiar eyebrows, like a gable. He’s taken off a large pair of NHS glasses, all steamed up, and put them on the work top.

‘Oh hi,’ he says. ‘I’m not sure what’s gone wrong. I was only trying to cook a chicken for my mates…’

I barge past him and open the over door gingerly. Yes, he’s right, that blackened corpse must have been a chicken once. I grab a couple of cloths that someone’s conveniently left next to the stove and lift the dish out gently.

‘Oh, thanks! I wasn’t sure what… My name’s Alec Jenkins, by the way.’

About the Author:

Leela Dutt grew up in Golders Green with an Indian father and a Danish mother. After reading history at Oxford, she sold dress fabrics and became a teacher and a journalist, eventually running a database on housing research at Cardiff University. She writes novels and short stories, and has lived in Cardiff most of her life.

The Notekeeper by Hannah Treave - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

The lights of the runway dazzled up ahead. It was as though the twinkling blue and white lights had been arranged especially for her - a reminder that she had made the right choice. As the twin engines roared into life, she took a deep breath. The rumble of power beneath her would carry her thousands of miles away. This was it. No going back.

As the aircraft accelerated, she fixed her gaze on the lights. They flashed past so quickly they looked like one great line rather than individual dots. And then they were up, the plane soaring into the Australian night sky with all the grace and elegance of a leaping ballet dancer. She let out a loud gasp, the realisation of what she had done hitting her with such force she disturbed the sleeping passenger beside her.

***

In order to love again, first she’ll need to learn how to live again...

Following a tragedy, Zoe flees Australia and makes a life for herself in the UK. Two years later, working as a care nurse in Bath and knowing just how much comfort last words can bring, Zoe has taken it upon herself to become a notekeeper - writing down the final thoughts of her patients and delivering them to their loved ones.

Zoe’s new boss, Ben, isn’t happy about her getting so involved in the patients’ lives. Even as they clash, they both begin to realize that facing one’s past is the only way to move on. But life is never straightforward, especially for Zoe. In finally opening up her heart after all these years, is she about to have it broken all over again?

***

I enjoyed reading this book very much and becoming aquainted with the cast of characters.

The main character, Zoe, is multi-faceted and her journey to healing is a heartfelt and moving one. Running away from grief, and working as a nurse in a hospice she is constantly reminded of her own loss. However, this is not a depressing book but is thoughtful and sensitive, although many readers may do well to have a handkerchief tucked into their sleeve. 

The author handles the subject matter carefully and skillfully. The main theme in the book is that of dying and bereavement but ultimately it is an uplifting and hopeful novel. There were many joyous moments in the book, with the other characters playing a vital, and meaningful role. I particularly liked Miles, Zoe's colleage and fellow Australian. He brought humour and fun to the story.

Written in a light and accessible style this is a book that can be read in a two or three sittings. I certainly found myself being lured back to it when I had to put it down and I definitely read past my bedtime.

I will read other books by this author. This is the first book published under the pseudonym of Hannah Treave but she has released several books under the name of Fiona Ford, of which I soon hope to become acquainted. 

ISBN:978 1804361290

Publisher: Canelo

Formats: e-book, audio, paperback

No. of Pages: 352 (paperback)

Triggers: Death of a child, dying, grief, bereavement, cancer.

About the Author:

Hannah Treave is the pseudonym for Fiona Ford, an experienced freelance journalist and prolific novelist. She has written for the national press for many years (far too many to count) and is the author of the bestselling Liberty Girls series published by Penguin Random House. She lives in Berkshire with her husband and two cats and when she's not writing can be found in the gym desperately trying to exercise her way out of diet that is filled with just a little bit too much cake.

(ARC courtesy of Love Book Tours)

(author photo courtesy of Blake Friedmann)

(author bio courtesy of Amazon)

The Testing of Rose Alleyn by Vivien Freeman - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

Along with grey clouds and a consequent drop in temperature, there comes the return of what is never far away in these parts, a keen easterly breeze. Borne upon it, the plaintive sound of a concertina makes me think of the cold sea even further east. The tune reaches its conclusion as I draw level with the church and glimpse beyond it, in the school playground, a Maypole with its rainbow of ribbons. The end of each ribbon is held by a child who stands still in his or her starting place, returned from all the weaving intricacies of dance.

***

After her mother's death in January, late in her twentieth pregnancy, sixteen-year-old Rose had resolved never to marry. Defying expectations, she has escaped the same fate as her siblings in service, and left her rural home for the market town of Widdock. Here she now works as the assistant in a bookshop owned by inspiring and charismatic Leonard Pritchard, with whom she shares a love of poetry. At Apple Tree House, where she lodges, Rose has forged strong friendships with the other young women residents and with the hostel's cultured owner, Mrs. Fuller.

Rose enjoys her independence. But as her relationship with her employer deepens, her joy is tempered by reawakening fears about the reality of women's lives. Preoccupied, Rose is unprepared for trouble when it strikes. Coming from the least likely source, one in which she has always found solace, it threatens the very person now closest to her heart. How can words prove to be so damaging and dangerous? What can she do? As the storm gathers, will she ride it?

***

Set in 1900 the author has captured the period perfectly. It is slow paced to echo the time period and it would be easy to believe that this had been written contemporaneously.

Rose is a very likeable character and it is easy to sympathise with her fear of pregnancy and child birth. Consequently, when she falls in love and she is forced to confront those fears, the reader can engage with and understand her apprehension.

The setting is nicely described, and the author provides telling descriptions of the environment. It was very easy to share Rose's appreciation of the rural countryside. When there is a heatwave it was easy to identify with the feelings that they all shared.

I enjoyed reading about her life in the young woman's hostel. Mrs. Fuller, the proprieter, was an enjoyable character to get to know, as were the other young ladies who resided there.

For me, the main theme of the book was that of a young woman of her class and experience being able to break free of the expectations that were placed upon her. Like the rest of Rose's family, she had been expected to go into service. That she was able to secure employment as a book shop assistant speaks volumes about her character.

I think anyone who enjoys the gentle pace of fiction set during the turn of the twentieth century will enjoy this book.

ISBN:  979 8770841268

Publisher: 186 Publishing

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  269

About the Author:

Vivien Freeman grew up in North London and graduated in Art History from the University of East Anglia before settling in Ware, Hertfordshire. A published poet as well as a novelist, she taught Creative Writing for many years and has an M.A. in Scriptwriting from Salford University. She now lives in rural Wales in the Vale of Glamorgan with her husband, the poet, John Freeman.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett - #BookReview

 

WhatsApp messages between me and my agent Nita Cawley, 26 May: 

Amanda Bailey - The murder cases I've covered so far are all the same. Dead blonde, media frenzy, police fumblings, lucky psychopath.

Nita Cawley - It's our bread and butter.

Amanda Bailey - Already chewed over and spat out by every newspaper and crime reporter in the land. Same old, same mould.

Nita Cawley - I hear you. What do you have in mind?

Amanda Baily - Something else. Different. New. Oh, I don't know ... a novel?

***

Everyone knows the sad story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl and convinced her that her newborn baby was the anti-Christ. Believing they had a divine mission to kill the infant, they were only stopped when the girl came to her senses and called the police. The Angels committed suicide rather than stand trial, while mother and baby disappeared into the care system.

Nearly two decades later, true-crime author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the Angels. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed; if Amanda can find them, it will be the true-crime scoop of the year, and will save her flagging career. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and is also on the baby's trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong. The truth is something much darker and stranger than they'd ever imagined. And the story of the Alperton Angels is far from over.

***

Written as a series of WhatsApp messages, emails and interview transcriptions, Janice Hallett's unique expression of writing presents us with another extraordinary book. She is a breath of fresh air in the crime writing genre due to her singular approach. I very much enjoyed her book, The Appeal, last year, and if you would like to read my spoiler free review you can do so by clicking here.

The main character, Amanda Bailey, is a true crime writer. Even though she is presented to the reader entirely through a succession of short messages, she is a fully formed and well rounded character.

She is persuaded by her agent to collaborate on the story of the Alperton Angels with a fellow writer, Oliver Menzies. Watching the development of the two characters and their working relationship is gripping.

Another character who leaps off the page is Ellie, Amanda's editorial assistant. Her personal comments dotted throughout the transcriptions were one of my favourite parts of the book. She brings humour into what is essentially a dark and disturbing plot and adds a lighter aspect to the story.

There are plenty of twists and turns throughout and I really did not anticipate the ending. I shall say no more as I would hate to give anything away but I highly encourage you to read this book for yourself.

ISBN: 978 1800810402

Publisher: Viper

Formats: e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 432 (hardback)

About the Author:

A former magazine editor and award-winning journalist, Janice has written speeches and articles for, among others, the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Department for International Development. In screenwriting, Janice's first feature film RETREAT was released by Sony Pictures (co-written and directed by Carl Tibbetts) which starred Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell. Janice’s stage plays have been performed at Theatre503, The White Bear, Hen & Chickens and TheatreN16. She was also one of six female playwrights selected by All The Rage Theatre for its Seize The Stage festival at Rich Mix. Her play NETHERBARD has twice been performed by Budding Rose Productions. Janice has had television scripts in development with Slim Film & TV and with Retort (part of FreemantleMedia). Her sitcom TWO LADIES was  performed at the Museum of Comedy in June 2019.

​

Janice was selected for the Triforce Creative Network year-long mentoring scheme and featured on the BBC New Talent Hotlist. She won Best New Screenplay in the 2014 British Independent Film Festival.

Janice's debut novel, The Appeal, was published by Viper (Serpent's Tail) in January 2021 and hailed as 'dazzlingly clever' by the Sunday Times. It went on to be the biggest selling debut novel of that year, was  a bestseller for many weeks in The Times and the Sunday Times, was shortlisted for Watersones Book of the Year 2021, shortlisted in the crime and thriller category of the British Book Awards, was the Sunday Times crime novel of the year, and won the Crime Writers Association New Blood Dagger for debut fiction in 2022.

Janice's second novel The Twyford Code, was an immediate Sunday Times bestseller in hardback and paperback on publication in 2022.

(author photo and bio. info courtesy of the author's agent)

(ARC courtest of NetGalley)

Unanimity by Alexandra Almeida - #Spotlight #BlogTour

 

Blurb

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Shadow is a reluctant god with a broken mind and a death wish. He used to be Thomas Astley-Byron, an affluent young screenwriter whose creativity and idealism saved a world from the brink of collapse. Together with Henry Nowak, an AI expert, Tom created heaven on earth by inventing a Jungian simulated reality that helps humans confront their dark sides. The benevolent manipulation platform turned the two unelected leaders into beloved gods, but now everything is failing. The worlds suffer as a sentimental Tom descends into his own personal hell, becoming the embodiment of everything he despises and a shadow of his former self.

His journey from an optimistic, joyful Tom to a gloomy Shadow is paved with heartache and sinister interference from emerging technology. Humans and bots fight for his heart, but their aims differ: some want to own it, some to dissect it, and others to end its foolish beat. Still, the biggest threat comes from within—none of the sticky stories that steer Tom’s life end well.

Who’s pulling on Shadow’s heartstrings? Are their intentions malign or benign? It’s all a matter of perspective, and Shadow has none left.

Now, a young goddess—Estelle Ngoie—has been appointed to replace him, and unlike Shadow, Stella takes no prisoners, and her heart bleeds for no one.

Genre: Science Fiction

Length: 570 Pages

Published: 18th October 2022

About the Author:

Alexandra Almeida has over 25 years of experience in technology, strategy, and innovation. In her role as Chief Transformation Officer, she acts as a senior advisor to enterprise executives. Alexandra is an experienced speaker at events such as SXSW, and the Women in Tech Series.

For the time being, and to protect her creative freedoms, Alexandra prefers to write using a number of pen names.

​Her debut fantasy novel, released under another pen name, has received the following awards and recognition:

Reader’s Favorite Awards - Gold Medal Winner - Young Adult - Fantasy - Epic

Reader Views Awards - 1st Place - Fantasy

CIPA EVVY Book Awards - 2nd Place - Fiction - Mythology

B.R.A.G. Medallion Recipient

Eric Hoffer’s Da Vinci Eye Awards Finalist for Best Cover Artwork

The Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist - Books for Adults

Awesome Indies Approved

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Finding Ruby Draker by Marianne Scott - #BlogTour #Extract

 

I am delighted to be able to bring you an extract from Finding Ruby Draker by Marianne Scott, as part of the blog tour.

The Blurb

Kathleen Jones has lived a protected and typical suburban life, nothing unexpected in her carefully controlled and planned existence. She’s about to complete her college degree and is ready to start a successful career but after completing her last exam she comes home to find her world has been turned upside down. Her home has been torched and her parents and little brother killed. If that’s not bad enough, she is kidnapped and drugged unconscious by strangers posing as police officers. When she awakes she discovers that everything has changed – her face, her name, and everything she believed to be true. But things get worse. Hardly recovered from surgery, she is whisked away under the cover of darkness as more men storm the clinic with guns. It seems that the men who abducted her are not her greatest threat. Now on a private charter on its way to Nice, France, her abductors are calling her Ruby – Ruby Draker! 

Extract

It all ended with a fire that took away my parents, my little brother, and everything I was or ever knew. That part of me is gone, but now and then I’m haunted by brief incomplete memories that fade away as quickly as they appeared.

The day was otherwise unexceptional except for the fact that I was very happy knowing that I was going to have my last final exam ever that morning. My internship would start in the fall and I was looking forward to this next phase of my life.

Earlier that morning, I did some times tables with my brother before he went off to school, then cleaned my room, promised my mom I’d pick up her stuff at Rite Aid, and started out toward the city. I had Pink blasting on the car radio and I was amped and ready to conquer Soc. Neuroscience at 11 a.m. Wouldn’t you know it, when I got to the room and saw that they’d switched the time to 2 p.m. due to ‘last minute problems with the lighting’ according to the sign posted on the door, I just kept cool. I went and got my mom’s things and made it back with lots of time to double-check my notes.

Finally, when my exam was done, I burst from the building onto Broadway into the warm spring air. It had gone well; I was sure I’d aced it. I could have cared less if there was traffic, or if Brittany still hadn’t called about shopping tomorrow, or if the stoned wierdo weaving through the lanes of cars, dancing with his eyes closed to the honking horns, was holding things up. I was going to celebrate with my family. 

Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir - #BookReview

Anna peered through the window of the gatehouse, watching the chariot trundling through below, enjoying the rich sensuousness of the new silk gown she was wearing, and conscious of her parents' expectations of her. At fourteen, she should have learned all the domestic graces, and to impress their guests with her virtues.

Every summer, Vater - or Duke Johann III, as his subjects knew him - broght his wife and children here to the Schwaneburg, the great palace that towered on a steep rocky hill, dominating the mighty River Rhine and the fair city of Kleve. Joining them today for a short visit, were Onkel Otho von Wylich, the genial Lord of Gennep, and Tante Elisabeth, who never let anyone forget that she was the granddaughter of Duke Johann I. With them would be Otho, Onkel's bastard son...

***

This is the fourth part in the Six Tudor Queens series. I have read it's three predecessors and thoroughly enjoyed them all. However, I think that this one has been my favourite so far as Anna of Kleves (which has been anglicised to Anne of Cleves) is probably the one of Henry VIII's queens which I knew least about.

I think that the author, Alison Weir, does a marvellous job of taking the historical facts and then weaving a fictional story around them. There is much poetic licence applied to this book and Ms. Weir provides an interesting author's note at the back in which she explains her use of fact and fiction. 

However, it is this use of fiction which makes this an engrossing and entertaining read. The author is a well respected historian who has many non-fiction titles in her canon, but it is her skill as a storyteller that makes her historical re-tellings so accessible to the reader.

Having read this book my respect for Anna increased enormously. She handled being set aside by Henry with dignity and wisdom, and was known as his 'sister' henceforth. I should imagine that Henry's relief of her willingness to accept the situation after his experience with Katherine of Aragon was enormous. Consequently, Henry treated her well and provided for her financially in every area until the time of his death.

The thing that I have enjoyed enormously in this series is the overlap of Henry's Queens. Anna comes to her marriage with the knowledge of Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon, the execution of Anne Boleyn and the death of Jane Seymour. During this book we meet Katherine Howard and witness Anna's reaction to her execution. She also witnessed Henry's sixth marriage to Catherine Parr and her death in 1548. Anna outlived all five of the other queens, dying in 1557 and being the only one of the six to be buried in Westminster Abbey.

I am very much looking forward to reading the next volume in this series, Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen.

I did not review the first volume at the time of reading but if you would like to read my review of Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession or Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen you can do so by clicking on the titles links.

Buy from Bookshop.org

About the Author:

Alison Weir is a British writer of history books and has sold over 2.7 millions books worldwide. She has published eighteen history books, including her most recent non-fiction book, Queens of the Conquest, the first in her England's Medieval Queens quartet. Alison has also published several historical novels, including Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth. 

Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets is her third novel in the Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, which was launched in 2016 to great critical acclaim. Alison is an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

The Devil's Slave by Tracy Borman - #BookReview

The amber seemed to glow as Frances held it up to the candle that burned on her dresser. The beads were perfectly smooth and round, yet as the light shone through them, she could see the myriad dark flecks and shadows that made each one unique.

The rosary had been a gift from Queen Anne, who had slipped it quietly into her hands as Frances had taken her leave from court. "Keep faith," she had whispered, bending forward to kiss Frances on both cheeks. As she slowly threaded the beads through her fingers now, Frances wondered if Anne, too, would continue to abide by the faith that had bound her to the plotters - had made her countenance the murder of her husband and son.

***

Frances Gorges was accused of witchcraft - and she survived. But if her torturers at the court of King James discover she is pregnant with the child of Tom Wintour, her lover executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, it will mean certain death.

Then Frances is offered an escape: marriage. She will not be expected to sleep with her new husband, only to give up the cause for which Tom died.

But even when she is surrounded by the venomous dangers of life at court, Frances finds old loyalties hard to deny...

Compelling, sensual, suspenseful, The Devil's Slave is a novel of family, power and heartbreaking dilemmas. It is also a surprising, thrilling love story.

***

I actually finished reading this at the end of last year but have not had a space on the blog in which to upload it. This is the second part of the Frances Gorges trilogy, and follows on from The King's Witch which I have previously read and enjoyed.

The book begins sedately with Frances living a quiet life in the countryside, along with her husband and young son, George. Together, they return to the court of King James I where the plot gains both pace and tension, right through to the final chapter. As the book progresses, I wondered how all of this would end for Frances, and the author maintained the tension right up to the denouement.

As would be expected from the pen of Ms. Borman, who is a well-respected historian and the author of several non-fiction titles, it is obvious to the reader that this novel, along with it's predecessor, has been written following extensive research. As an academic the author has been able to use her skills and knowledge and has crafted her novel with intelligence and prowess. 

The characters in the novel are based on real historical figures and the author has brought her characters to life on the page in a way that makes them utterly believable.

I am so pleased that there is another book in this series, The Fallen Angel, as I am already keenly anticipating what happens in Frances' story next.

ISBN: 978 1473662513

Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 432 (paperback)

About the Author:

Tracy studied and taught history at the University of Hull and was awarded a PHD in 1997. She went on to a successful career in heritage and have worked for a range of historic properties and national heritage organisations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Archives and English Heritage. She is now Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, a charity that encourages children to visit and learn from historic properties through the Sandford Award scheme. She is also joint Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, the Banqueting House, Whitehall and Hillsborough Castle. In July 2022, she was nominated Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln.

She often appears on television and radio, and is a regular contributor to history magazines, notably BBC History. She gives talks on her books across the country. 

She is proud to be a trustee of The Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust and The National Archives Foundation, as well as a Patron of Lavenham Library, the Friends of Marble Hill House and the Chalke Valley History Festival, and Patron (Historical) of the Vectis Archaeological Trust.  In 2017 she was awarded an honorary degree (DLit) from the University of Hull; in 2020  was made an Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary University of London; and in 2021 she was made an Honorary Professor at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

(author photo and bio info courtesy of the author's own website)

Dead Man's Creek by Chris Hammer - #BookReview

 

She moves through the night, the forest dark, the trees gathered and whispering support. She passes through them, relying as much on memory as the shielded light from her torch. Her mind is alive, her senses alert. A brief hesitation, then the decision to take a shortcut, leaving the ridge and cutting across a small lagoon, now empty, following a wallaby path. Above the trees the sky is dark, clouds skimming low and quick, as if infused with her urgency. An owl swoops, a flash of white against the grey-black, and is gone, She stops, turns off the torch, feels the blackness move in, enfold her. Comfort her. She breates it in, the smell of it, the odour of this world. She can feel its desire, its thirst, the longing for water. She closes her eyes, then opens the again...

***

Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.

But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult - and dangerous - than she'd ever expected.

The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more treacherous her path becomes. Can she survive to root out the truth, and what price will she have to pay for it?

***

Dead Man's Creek, which has also been published under the name, The Tilt, is the second book in the Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan series. As much as I like to read a series in order, this worked perfectly well as a standalone novel.

Set in Tulong, Australia this novel is richly atmospheric and the author describes the environment of rural Tulong perfectly. It is every bit as important as the characterisation and is integral to the book.

There are multiple threads running throughout this book. Dotted throughout is the continuing police statement of James Waters. It is not evident at the beginning how this will tie in with the rest of the book but it does all fall nicely into place.

Running alongside this we witness events from the perspective of Tessa in the 1950's. Tessa is the mother of the main character, Nell, who has returned to her home town as part of an investigation. The majority of the story is told from Nell's point of view and she is an excellent, likeable and well rounded character

In the front of the book, the author has helpfully provided a map of Tulong, along with the family tree which links all of these characters together, and which I found enormously helpful.

The author has a real gift for storytelling, and this book had me gripped throughout. He has skilfully woven the various threads together and produced a well plotted and cohesive novel.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written crime thriller.

ISBN: 978 1472295668

Publisher: Wildfire

Formats: e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 496 (hardback)

About the Author:

Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver and Trust.

Now Chris has started a new series, beginning with Treasure & Dirt (Australia & New Zealand) / Opal Country (UK & international) and followed in 2022/23 by The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek.

Scrublands was an instant bestseller upon publication in 2018, topping the Australian fiction charts.

It was shortlisted for major writing awards in Australia, the UK and the United States. In the UK it was named the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year 2019 and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.

Scrublands, Silver and Trust all feature troubled journalist Martin Scarsden and his partner Mandalay Blonde, while Treasure & Dirt follows homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan.

All of Chris’s books have atmospheric Australian settings, a range of colourful characters, intricate plots, descriptive language and emotional depth.

Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He reported from more than 30 countries on six continents for SBS TV. In Canberra, roles included chief political correspondent for The Bulletin, senior writer for The Age and Online Political Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Chris has written two non-fiction books The River (2010) – winner of the ACT Book of the Year – and The Coast (2012), published by Melbourne University Press.

He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master’s degree in International Relations from the Australian National University. He lives in Canberra, Australia.

(author photo and bio info courtesy of the author's own website)

(ARC courtesy of the publisher)

My Top Ten Most Anticipated New Book Releases in 2023

 

2023 looks like being a great year for readers if some of the books which are due to be released are anything to judge by. There are loads that I would really love to read but I have whittled it down to just ten. 

Which books are you looking forward to reading this year?

A Winter Grave by Peter May

Due for release in January.

A TOMB OF ICE

A young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station in Kinlochleven discovers the body of a missing man entombed in ice.

A DYING DETECTIVE

Cameron Brodie, a Glasgow detective, sets out on a hazardous journey to the isolated and ice-bound village. He has his own reasons for wanting to investigate a murder case so far from his beat.

AN AGONIZING RECKONING

Brodie must face up to the ghosts of his past and to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that his investigation threatens to expose.

Trying Times for Sebastian Scattergood by Keith Rylands-Bolton

Due for release in January.

Sunday, October 28th: I have discovered failure and found that it is like goose grass. It clings still and I cannot shake it off. 

2012 is a disastrous year for Sebastian Scattergood, who has recently retired from the pharmaceutical industry after thirty-seven happy and uneventful years as a Health and Safety officer. Despite his eternal optimism, however, all the earmarked projects of his newly earned freedom crumble into dust, each one faithfully recorded, warts and all, in his diary. Building firms go bust on him, landscape gardeners do a runner, and his cultural tours company is sabotaged by a couple of naked German students smoking cannabis on a night walk. It is only when he has been driven into hibernation by a savage attack in the press that salvation finally arrives, in the form of Alfred Lord Tennyson. 

Set in a small village in the Lincolnshire Wolds, 'Trying Times for Sebastian Scattergood' is a chronicle of a horrendous year, narrated by an earnest and pompous man who lacks any sense of self-irony. Part disaster diary, part social satire, it is a novel of literary fiction which is both humorous and moving in equal measure.

Strictly Friends by Frances Mensah Williams

Due for release in March.

One island paradise. One hell of a choice.

When Ruby Lamont’s young son Jake starts telling tall tales about the dad who walked out on them six years ago, she realises that, for her son’s sake, it’s time to find out the truth. It’s not that she wants Kenny back in her life—her best friend, charming commitment-phobe Griffin, has always been more of a father-figure to Jake—but if she can understand once and for all why Kenny broke her heart by leaving her, perhaps she and Jake can finally move on.

Their journey takes them to heart-shaped Sorrel Island, a Caribbean paradise that according to legend was created as an enchanted refuge for lovers. For no-nonsense Ruby, romance is the last thing on her mind. Spoiling for a fight, she confronts her runaway ex, but he’s a changed man, or so he claims. Just as Ruby’s starting to remember what she saw in Kenny, gorgeous American portrait artist Mac propositions her for a role as his muse, or more…and when Griffin shows up out of the blue, seemingly with more on his mind than friendly moral support, the tropical heat builds to an inferno.

With sparks of lust and jealousy flying in all directions, Ruby has to wonder whether the magic of Sorrel Island is more than just a legend. As the truth of Kenny’s departure—and Griffin’s arrival—spills out, she seems destined for another devastating heartbreak. Shaken out of her state of romantic limbo, Ruby must discover whether people really can change—or if paradise has been on her doorstep all along.

Death of a Book Seller by Alice Slater

Due for release in April.

Roach - bookseller, loner and true crime obsessive - is not interested in making friends. She has all the company she needs in her serial killer books, murder podcasts and her pet snail, Bleep.

That is, until Laura joins the bookshop.

Smelling of roses, with her cute literary tote bags and beautiful poetry, she's everyone's new favourite bookseller. But beneath the shiny veneer, Roach senses a darkness within Laura, the same darkness Roach possesses.

As Roach's curiosity blooms into morbid obsession, it becomes clear that she is prepared to infiltrate Laura's life at any cost.

Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Due for release in April.

In 1969, two sisters from rural Việt Nam leave their parents' home and travel to the bustling city of Sài Gòn. Soon their lives are swept up in the unstoppable flames of a war that is blazing through their country. They begin working as 'bar girls' in one of the drinking dens frequented by American GIs, forced to accept that survival now might mean compromising the values they once treasured.

Decades later, two men wander through the streets and marketplaces of a very different Sài Gòn: modern, forward-looking, healing. Phong – the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman – embarks on a search to find his parents and a way out of Việt Nam, while Dan, a war veteran, hopes that retracing the steps of his youth will ease the PTSD that has plagued him for decades.

When the lives of these unforgettable characters converge, each is forced to reckon with the explosive events of history that still ripple through their lives. Now they must work out what it takes to move forward in this richly poetic saga from Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai at her very best.

Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton

Due to be released in April.

An intimate look at the domestic lives of enslaved women, Night Wherever We Go is an evocative meditation on resistance and autonomy, on love and transcendence and the bonds of female friendship in the darkest of circumstances.

On a struggling Texas plantation, six enslaved women slip from their sleeping quarters and gather in the woods under the cover of night. The Lucys―as they call the plantation owners, after Lucifer himself―have decided to turn around the farm’s bleak financial prospects by making the women bear children. They have hired a “stockman” to impregnate them. But the women are determined to protect themselves.

Now, each of the six faces a choice. Nan, the doctoring woman, has brought a sack of cotton root clippings that can stave off children when chewed daily. If they all take part, the Lucys may give up and send the stockman away. But a pregnancy for any of them will only encourage the Lucys further. And should their plan be discovered, the consequences will be severe.

Swan Light by Phoebe Rowe

Due for release in May.

A sweeping, emotional tale of hope and perseverance, Swan Light weaves together the stories of two people separated by a century but connected by family, purpose, and one extraordinary lighthouse.

1913. Eighty-three-year-old Silvestre Swan has dedicated his life to the care of his Newfoundland lighthouse. His petition to relocate Swan Light from its precarious cliff’s edge is going unheard by town patriarch Cort Roland―that is, until a terrible storm brings an unlikely ally into Swan’s life. But is it too late for the stone lighthouse?

2014. Marine archaeologist Mari Adams’s attempts to fund her search for the notorious SS Californian are realized when she accepts a job to find the remains of Swan Light, rumored to have collapsed into the sea one hundred years ago. She teams up with salvager Julian Henry, and the pair unearth more than they bargained for in their search for the ruins. But when a group of treasure hunters threatens their mission, their hunt for the truth turns dangerous.

As past and present collide, the secrets hiding on the ocean floor begin to surface. Can Mari find the answers she is looking for―and at what price?

Ghost Girl, Banana by Wiz Wharton

Due to be released in May.

1966: Sook-Yin is exiled from Kowloon to London with orders to restore honour to her family. As she strives to fit into a world that does not understand her, she realizes that survival will mean carving out a destiny of her own.

1997: Sook-Yin's daughter Lily can barely remember the mother she lost as a small child. But when she is unexpectedly named in the will of a powerful Chinese stranger, she embarks on a secret pilgrimage to Hong Kong to discover the lost side of her identity and claim the reward. But she soon learns that the secrecy around her heritage has deep roots, and good fortune comes at a price.

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

Due for release in July.

Mayfair, 1905. The grandest house on Park Lane has just dismissed its housekeeper.

All manner of treasures lie behind the pillared doors - and scandalous secrets too. With the event of the season looming, nothing must go wrong.

But what no one knows is that Mrs King will be back at Park Lane on the night of the ball. She has an audacious plan in mind... and knows just who to recruit to help her clean up.

Housekeeper. Sewing maid. Kitchen girl. Thief.

Never underestimate the women downstairs.

IT'S YOUR HOUSE. BUT IT'S THEIR RULES.

Dazzling, stylish and wildly entertaining, The Housekeepers lets loose an outlandish alliance of women you'll never forget.

The Beasts of Paris by Stef Penney

Due for release in July.

A diverse group of characters find themselves in Paris during the build up to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, connected by their proximity to the Menagerie in the Jardin des Plantes, home and prison to the glamorous predators that draw visitors from all walks of life.

Anne is a former patient from the women's asylum, La Salpetriere, trying to carve out a new life for herself in a world that doesn't understand her. Newcomer Lawrence is desperate to develop his talent as a photographer and escape the restrictions of his puritanical Canadian upbringing. Ellis, an army surgeon, has lived through the trauma of the US Civil War and will do anything to avoid another bloodbath.

The Franco-Prussian War ended in humiliating defeat for the French after the Siege of Paris in which civilians were subjected to sustained bombardment, barely surviving a long winter of hunger and bitter cold. This terrible time was followed by yet more bloodshed: the socialist government of the Paris Commune that briefly seized power was crushed by the French Army with devastating violence.

Against this tumultuous backdrop our characters meet, fight their demons, lose their hearts and find love against the rules. We witness the ebb and flow of history and the characters whose lives are forever changed by it. And though set in the past, the novel explores contemporary issues of gender, sexuality, inequality and race. This eagerly awaited novel will delight Stef Penney's legions of devoted fans.