Left on the Shelf

About the Author

A M Belsey was born in Arkansas but moved to the United Kingdom at age 21. She ain’t never looked back.

You can also find her at:

Substack

(ARC and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

Wednesday, 15 April 2026

Twenty Six Years Living a Lie by Gina Cheyne - #authorQ&A #authorinterview

I am super pleased to be welcoming the author of Twenty Six Years Living a Lie, Gina Cheyne, to the blog today. Gina is going to be answering some questions about her book.

First, a little about the book...

The Blurb

In 1997, high in the alpine resort of Tignes, Cecily celebrates her third wedding anniversary with a night of passion. But in the morning her happiness turns to misery and shock when she find her husband Nick dead in the bed beside her, the victim of a sudden heart attack.

Six weeks later, Cecily learns she is pregnant.Twenty-six years later, her son Charlie takes a DNA test alongside his uncle Adam, Nick’s identical twin. The results shatter everything he thought he knew: Charlie is not related to Adam. If Nick wasn’t his father, then who was?Cecily insists she was faithful, and the timing points only to that single night in Tignes. Desperate for answers, she turns to the SeeMs Detective Agency. Could someone have entered her room that night without her knowing? And if so—who? And why?As the detectives dig deeper, they uncover a web of conflicting memories, buried secrets, and dangerous lies. Slowly they discover other people are in danger and if they don’t find out very soon what really happened in that wonderful night in Tignes two, or maybe more, lives will be lost.

Welcome to the blog Gina. It's lovely to have you here.

Thank you for much for giving me a chance to appear on your blog. I enjoyed answering the questions and I hope you enjoy reading them.

Q What is your favourite part of writing a book?

A Developing the idea into a novel. With this one, Twenty-Six Year Living a Lie, I had the idea and it developed speedily and was extremely enjoyable to write. I was awake in our completely dark room in Tignes with the balcony door open and the wind blowing the curtain and I thought, someone could climb into my bed, we could have a night of passion, and I would never know it was not my husband. And the book was born.

Q Are some books harder to write than others?

A Yes, most definitely so. With some, like this one, I had an inspiration and I had to stop everything I was doing write it down. The book was finished in 3 months, which is fast for me. However, there are some other books where I think the idea is good, but when I sit down to write inspiration deserts me, the idea turns turgid and I limp slowly along. Occasionally, I get a second wind, if that is the right description, and suddenly I re-find excitement and can write fluidly again. This happened with Murder in the Cards, my second book. But sometimes, for example the book I am currently writing about countryside crime, inspiration has been replaced by hard graft and I seem to be progressing very slowly.

Q Why do you write books?

A This is a question asked me very often by my more financially orientated friends. Why do you write books when writing makes so little (if any) money. But, at least for me, writing is not about making money it is for enjoyment and the thrill of being able to express what you think about various events or happenings in words. Of course I love it when readers buy my books and it would be fantastic to make a living from writing, but I have always had another job which gives an income and allows me to write freely.

Q Would you consider writing in a different genre in the future?

A Yes, I am already thinking about a historic novel which may or may not have a who dunnit in it. My idea is about someone from the Victorian era who arrives in the twenty first century and how she processes the shock of such a different world. A sort of time travel experience with hopefully lots of humour involved. However, I do often have lots of ideas about books I would like to write which do not come to fruition, so let’s hope this one soars above the crowd.

Q Which of the characters in Twenty-Six Years Living a Lie stand out as fun?

A One of the Beta readers highlighted Boy, Cecily’s brother, as being a particularly charming character. His lazy young boyish attitudes contrast well with his sister’s more anxious and needy personality and his wife’s down-to-earth hard working character. He and his wife have had four children despite having almost no money between them. However, he says, it will all be OK in the end, just wait and see, while she says, don’t worry my little charmer, you look after the baby but I’ll get a job!

Q Do you write for yourself or for the reader?

A There was a time when I would have said for myself, but as I write more books, read the reviews, and think about the comments of readers, I have changed. All my stories and their inspiration are written from my experience and knowledge, so in that way I am writing for myself, but I have also become much more aware of how a reader digests information.

I write in an English, rather than a USA style. English writing tends to be slower and more thoughtful whereas US writing has more excitement and punch. Oddly, most of my readers are from the USA. I don’t know if this is just because the population is larger or because a lot of American readers like the British writing style or because they are more curious and experimental. Whatever! I have become aware that I probably need to make my writing more exciting and less thought based, so in that way I am changing, if not what I write, but at least the style to adapt to the reader.

Thank you so much for being on Left on the Shelf today Gina. It has been a delight to have you.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1915138255

Publisher: Fly Fizzi Ltd

Formats: e-book, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 284 (paperback)

Series: Book 7 of the SeeMS Detective series

Purchase Links

About the Author

This is Gina Cheyne’s seventh novel in the SeeMs Detective series (the agency that looks behind what seems to be true). Gina’s family are keen and dedicated skiers and this book was inspired by a holiday in Tignes in France.

Gina has worked as a physiotherapist, a pilot, freelance writer and a dog breeder.

As a child, Gina's parents hated travelling and never went further than Jersey. As a result she became travel-addicted and spent the year after university bumming around SE Asia, China and Australia, where she worked in a racing stables in Pinjarra, South of Perth. After getting stuck in black sand in the Ute one time too many (and getting a tractor and trailer caught in a tree) she was relegated to horse-riding work only. After her horse bolted down the sand, straining a fetlock and falling in the sea, she was further relegated to swimming the horses only in the pool. It was with some relief the race horse stables posted her off to Thailand... after all what could go wrong there?

In the north of Thailand, she took a boat into the Golden Triangle and got shot at by bandits. Her group escaped into the undergrowth and hid in a hill tribe whisky still where they shared the 'bathroom' with a group of pigs. Getting a lift on a motorbike they hurried back to Chiang Rai, where life seemed calmer.

After nearly being drowned in a fiesta in Ko Pha Ngan, and cursed by a witch in Malaysia, she decided to go to Singapore and then to China where she only had to battle with the language and regulations.

Since marrying life has been calmer. She became a writer because her first love was always telling a good yarn!

You can also find Gina at:

Substack

(media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

Lochbound by Rebecca Templeton - #bookreview

Autumn steals through the highlands towards the village of Kilmara. A haze of drizzle obscures the topmost branches of the pine forest and the heather that flares over the hills surrounding Loch Moine...

***

The Blurb

There is no happily-ever-after . . .

Kilmara, Scotland. 1725. For fifty years, Iris has accepted the curse that blighted her life. By night, she is a heartbroken woman, destined to walk the misty shores of Kilmara without growing older. By day, she is Moireach, a terrifying monster imprisoned in the murky depths of Loch Moine.

When bodies begin appearing on the shore, the villagers are convinced Moireach is responsible. So a hunter - the rugged, ruthless Henry Carver - is summoned to slay the monster of the loch.

Iris must break her curse before she is killed for crimes she cannot believe she has committed. But as Kilmara's hunt for the monster becomes ever more fevered, she and Henry are drawn together in a dangerous game of impossible attraction.

And when a figure from Iris's past suddenly reappears, she must choose what - or who - she is willing to sacrifice to win her freedom.

. . . when you are the monster.

My Review

Every now and then, I read something outside of my usual reading fare. It is so easy to read within the genres that we know we like. This one isn't my usual cup of tea, but I am so pleased that I read it as it was a fabulous read and I gave it five shiny stars. What's more, I got to read it ahead of publication, which, even after all these years of blogging, still gives me a thrill. The book is being released on the 16th April so there's not long to wait to get your hands on a copy. It is a dark reimagining of The Little Mermaid set in Scotland. However, get the Disney image out of your head immediately, as this is something very much different, darker and better in my opinion.

Iris is the main character in the book. By night she is human, forever in her twenties, but by day she is a monster who is bound to the loch. Iris traded her fully human form to be forever young with the man she loved.

The author has crafted her story beautifully. It was a joy to read as the writing was perfect. It has a dark, gothic feel to it which is steeped in Gaelic folklore with its tales of kelpies and seelies hidden in the lochs and forests respectively.

There is a mystery element within the story as bodies are being found with their hearts ripped out. Everyone suspects Iris of these murders and even she doesn't know if she is responsible. When the Laird hires Henry, a hunter, to find and destroy the monster, it would seem that her days are numbered. However, whilst he is intent on his task, even he questions whether she is indeed responsible for the deaths or if there is a murderer within the village.

Furthermore, both Iris and Henry are attracted to one another, which adds a romantic element to the story. However, Duncan, who was her childhood friend, has cared for her and helped her hide her secret since their youth.

Whilst the majority of the chapters are told from Iris's perspective, some are told from Henry and Duncan's points of view, which added another dimension to the book.

The setting was well described and added to the eerie atmosphere of the book. The descriptions of the mist rolling in from the loch were visceral and gave me the occasional shudder.

I thought this was a fantastic book to read and I highly recommend it. Even if you are like me and monsters and folklore aren't your cup of tea, this is well worth reading and I suspect you will enjoy it as much as I have.

I am going to Scotland in a couple of weeks' time and I shall be keeping a careful eye on the lochs and the forests, as who knows what may be lurking within!

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1408724873

Publisher: Sphere

Formats: e-book and hardback

No. of Pages: 400 (hardback)

Preorder Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Rebecca Templeton has had a love of books from a very early age and had lofty childhood aspirations of being a writer, though she ended up joining the legal profession instead. When her husband encouraged her to start writing again, she re-discovered her creative outlet and hasn't looked back since.

When not writing or working, Rebecca can usually be found crocheting giant blankets, baking or watching Gilmore Girls. She is also owned by a couple of very energetic children.

You can also find Rebecca at:

(ARC and media courtesy of the publicist)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Thursday, 9 April 2026

No More Tomorrows by Olivia Lockhart & Hal Lambert - #bookreview #blogtour

The door creaked as it begrudgingly opened. A flurry of dust, mingled in history, flew up from the unacknowledged mail gathered around its base, and I cringed at the sound. It had taken quite a shove from both me and Linda to get it moving, but then, I guess it hadn't been in regular use for some time...

***

It has recently come to my attention that I must make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

Two eras. One aching heart.

1917 – At Cambridge University, American scholar Harry Turchin never expects to lose himself to desire. But Annie Mackenzie—soft-spoken, grieving, and luminous—claims his heart from their very first kiss. Their love is swift, fierce, and intoxicating. Married just days before Harry is sent to war, their passion is ripped apart when the trenches claim everything he knows, and Harry is thrown into a future that should not exist.

1967 – The free-spirited sixties are alive with rhythm, rebellion, and possibility. Harry awakens to a world he doesn’t recognise—and to Annalise Taylor, as bold and captivating as the era itself. Brilliant, independent, and achingly alive, she rouses a desire he thought belonged solely to the past.

Caught between the love he was ripped away from and the passion he cannot resist, Harry is torn between two women, two lives, and two versions of forever. Because time will not bend twice … Or will it?

Sweeping from the blood-soaked battlefields of World War One to the fevered nights of the swinging sixties, No More Tomorrows is a sensual time-slip romance about desire, devotion, and the devastating power of love that refuses to be bound by time.

My Review

This book has a dual timeline and moves between the past and the present seamlessly.

The main character, Harry Turchin, has time-travelled from the battlefields of World War One in 1917 to the swinging 1960s. In the earlier part of the novel we meet American student Harry as he marries Annie just days before he leaves to fight on the front.

Believed to be missing in action by Annie, Harry actually finds himself transported to 1967. Disorientated, Harry is taken in by a French farmer and his wife who nurse him back to health. Eventually, he returns to England to search for Annie. There, he is befriended by Annalise, who had previously found and read Harry's letters to Annie in the attic, so already knows something of his past.

This was a lovely book to read and I could empathise with Harry's dilemma. Stuck in the future with the passionate and feisty Annalise, who is helping him to find Annie, it isn't too long before the chemistry between him and Annalise becomes apparent. He asks himself whether he is betraying Annie by loving Annalise.

The chapters are narrated by both Harry and Annalise in turn. Both were strong and distinct voices, and I adored them both as characters. They were each a product of their times and the authors did a great job of contrasting the roles of men and women in the two time periods. They were both easy to engage with as characters and I was rooting for them all the way.

The question of whether Harry would somehow return to the past and thus to his wife, Annie, was in the air throughout. I couldn't predict which way this book would go until the final pages. Neither could I decide if I wanted Harry to stay and love Annalise or whether I wanted him to return to his past to be with his wife and baby.

This was a lovely historical romance with a time-travel element and I enjoyed reading it very much. I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8272427007

Publisher: Independently published

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 410 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

Olivia Lockhart (Livvie to her friends) is an English author who can’t quite decide if she wants to write contemporary romance, historical romance, or paranormal romance. So she writes them all, because it HAS to be romance!

She loves to write about the underdog, the one who got away, the bits of love stories we can all relate to.

When not writing she can be found drinking wine, cuddling with her beloved pooch, or with her head in a book.

You can also find Olivia at:

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Michael Without Apology by Catherine Ryan Hyde - #bookreview

Michael was walking through the quad, cutting across grass - anxious to get to his film-workshop class even though he was too early - when his phone rang in his pocket...

***

It has recently come to my attention that I must make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Netgalley. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

Michael Woodbine was seven years old when a near-fatal fireworks accident scarred him and led to his placement in foster care. Now a college freshman, he is still trying to hide the effects of his trauma from his classmates, his adoptive family, and himself.

When Michael signs up for a film class, he meets Robert Dunning, a teacher who wears his own scars unapologetically. Robert encourages Michael to make a documentary that explores body image and self-perception. Michael places an ad seeking people who feel unattractive and rejected by society—and is surprised to learn that this is essentially everyone. Although some participants are recovering from injuries or surgeries, others are dealing with more everyday factors like aging or the changes to a body from giving birth.

As he collects these stories—and finally tells his own—Michael feels more connected to the world than he ever has before. But he knows his journey of self-acceptance has one more obstacle: his crushing doubts about why his birth parents wouldn’t fight to keep him.

My Review

This was a fabulous book to read and it had me engrossed.

It has two timelines running through it: one when the main character, Michael, was a child and the other when he begins college. Michael's backstory is told through the chapters from his childhood.

He has had a difficult start to life. First, he is badly injured by a firework and is left both physically and mentally scarred. He is then placed into care — fostered and later adopted. However, Michael's birth parents make the decision to keep his older brother with them. Unsurprisingly, this leaves him with rejection issues. The author portrays him as a multi-faceted character and I enjoyed the time I spent with him in this book.

Michael's film teacher has a significant part to play in his life. He encourages him to express himself in film, becomes his mentor and eventually his friend. It is through him that Michael begins his journey of self-acceptance.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is an exceptional storyteller and understands both her characters and readers very well. She writes in a way that grabs the reader's attention and ensures that they are fully invested in her story.

It is a brilliant coming-of-age story and has much to say about family, self-acceptance and body positivity. As Michael brings together people who dislike the way they look, he begins a journey of not only understanding his own body issues but understanding that other people have the same issues for a myriad of different reasons.

The author has a significant back catalogue. I have read one of her titles prior to this book, Dreaming of Flight, and you can read my review by clicking here. I fully intend to read more of her work too. I highly recommend this excellent novel to anyone who enjoys character led fiction.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1662522291

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited

No. of Pages: 288 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 50 published and forthcoming books.

She is co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age: a Self-Help Guide.

Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward was made into a major Warner Brothers motion picture. It was chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in over 30 countries. Simon & Schuster released a special 15th anniversary edition in December of ’14.

Pay It Forward: Young Readers Edition, an age-appropriate edited edition of the original novel, was released by Simon & Schuster in August of ‘14. It is suitable for children as young as eight.

You can also find Catherine at:

(ARC courtesy of NetGalley)

(author photo courtesy of the author's website)

(author bio courtesy of Goodreads)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Wednesday, 8 April 2026

A Taste of Evil by N.L. Holmes - #bookspotlight #blogtour

I am very happy to be shining the spotlight on this book today. A Taste of Evil by N.L. Holmes is set in Ancient Egypt and is part of the Hani's Daughter Mysteries series.

The Blurb

In Tutankhamen's Egypt, the vizier's head cook dies suspiciously, and it looks like murder to Neferet and Bener-ib. Only, who would want to kill a cook, a man admired by all?

Perhaps he has professional rivals or a jealous wife. But she is the longtime cook of Neferet's family, a dear retainer above reproach. Was her husband the good man he seemed to be, or did he have the shady past our two sleuths begin to suspect?

They'd better find out soon before the waters of foreign conspiracy rise around Neferet and her diplomat father. If they can't find the killer, it could mean war with Egypt's enemy, Kheta -- and someone else could die. Maybe one of our nosy sleuths...

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8989905775

Publisher: Wayback Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 247 (paperback)

Series: Book 5 in the Hani's Daughter Mysteries series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

About the Author

N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin used to write stories for fun.

These days she lives in France with her husband, two cats, geese, and chickens, where she gardens, weaves, dances, and plays the violin.

You can also find her at:

Author Website

(media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

Thursday, 2 April 2026

10 Ten Books I Want to Read in April 2026

Hello April. It's lovely to welcome you again with your promise of tulips and sunshine.

What are your reading plans for this month? Here are ten books that I would like to read this month.

Six Mile Store by A.M. Belsey

SOMETHING UGLY’S WAITIN’ FOR YOU

She finds a friend in her new colleague Lisa, but when one of their regular customers turns up dead, everything goes sideways faster than a greased hog at the county fair…

Purchase Link - Amazon

Fruit Fly by Josh Silver

Anyone can write a bestseller. Here’s how.

GO GAY

It’s been seven years since Mallory shot to fame as a literary sensation. But after years of struggling with writer’s block, she’s desperate to resurrect her career before it spirals into obscurity. She needs inspiration to strike – and fast.

GO SAD

Enter Leo – a young struggling addict sleeping under bridges and trading sex for survival. He’s vulnerable. He’s enigmatic. He’s exactly what Mallory has been looking for.

GO DARK

Mallory needs Leo if she wants another bestseller. Authenticity sells, and there’s nothing more authentic than real life. She’s the perfect person to tell Leo’s story. Gay, sad, dark – just what the world needs right now. But as secrets threaten to unravel more than just her career, Mallory must decide: just how far will she go to pen the perfect story?

Preorder Link - Bookshop.org

Story of a Murder : The Wives, the Mistress and Doctor Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold

No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim's story …

On 1 February, 1910, vivacious music-hall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild who demanded an immediate investigation.

They could not have known what they would provoke: the unearthing of a gruesome secret, followed by a fevered manhunt for the prime suspect: Belle’s husband, medical fraudster, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen.

Hiding in the shadows of this evergreen tale is Crippen’s typist and lover, Ethel Le Neve – was she really just ‘an innocent young girl’ in thrall to a powerful older man as so many people have since reported?

In this epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, prizewinning social historian Hallie Rubenhold gives voice to those who have never properly been heard – the women.

Featuring a carnival cast of eccentric entertainers, glamorous lawyers, zealous detectives, medics and liars, STORY OF A MURDER is meticulously researched and multi-layered, offering the reader an electrifying snapshot of Britain and America at the dawn of the modern era.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org

The Other Killer by Heidi Field

You can change your name. Change your life. But someone knows exactly who you are.

Twenty years ago, Mason Tucker was tried and convicted as the teenager who helped lure young boys to the serial killer known as the Pied Piper of Peasedale. After serving his twenty-year sentence, Mason is freed and hopes to remain invisible while he rebuilds his life as an adult, hoping to become a man he can be proud of. A new town, a new flat, a new job and a new purpose.

But living with secrets is challenging, and protecting his anonymity, the woman who stood beside him, and her child becomes impossible when the past pushes back. Hard. Within days of his release, Mason suspects he’s being stalked. He’s threatened and twice attacked. He never imagined being outside would be more dangerous than being in prison. The police aren’t an option. One headline will destroy him.

Someone wants him punished, not redeemed, and as danger closes in, you will never suspect where the next threat comes from.

Purchase Link - Amazon

1984 by George Orwell

A dystopian masterpiece - the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century.

The year is 1984. War and revolution have created an unrecognisable world. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, is ruled by the Party, led by Big Brother. Mass surveillance is total and The Thought Police ensure no individual thinking is allowed.

Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history. But Winston dreams of freedom, and of rebellion. It is here that he falls in love with Julia, and starts a secret, forbidden affair with her - but in this world nothing can be kept secret, and they are forced to face consequences more terrifying than either of them could have ever imagined.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben

The present day is hard enough for former Detective Sami Kierce, but his past isn’t through with him yet…

Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He begins to scream - and then he runs.

Twenty two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. But as soon as he makes eye contact with her, she bolts.

For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.

His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past. Soon he discovers that some secrets should stay buried...

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org

The Body That Floats by Jayne Chard

TWO RETIRED SISTERS

ONE DEAD BODY

Julia, a retired head teacher with a fondness for order, and her half-sister Frankie, who believes that rules are more like vague suggestions, are back—this time in the picturesque Cornish village of Portscatho.

Their morning swim off Tatum’s beach is rudely interrupted by a floating corpse. The police declare the death accidental, but the sisters have other ideas.

Soon, they’re knee-deep in smugglers’ tunnels, taking a bumpy ride in the back of a builder’s van, and facing down a gun-toting local with questionable fashion choices.

Can the sisters keep their heads above water long enough to uncover the truth or will the killer make sure they sink without a trace?

The Body That Floats – the mystery’s deep, the water’s cold, and the locals are packing more than just fishing gear. The second charming and witty adventure in the Julia and Frankie mysteries.

Preorder Link - Bookshop.org

The Spirit Guide by Bridget Walsh

Tragedy strikes Minnie Ward's beloved Variety Palace Theatre when a man is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Along with private detective Albert Easterbrook, she investigates. The trail leads them from the streets of London to a grand country house in the Suffolk countryside, home of the shadowy Spirit Sisterhood, who promise their clients an audience with the deceased.

Minnie isn't buying it. She goes undercover within the Sisterhood and enters an eerie world of seances and mediums. But unravelling their secrets will bring Minnie face-to-face with ghosts from her own past. Can she get to the truth before the murderer kills again?

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org

The Witch by Marie NDiaye

In a small, sleepy town, a mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes immediately apparent, have skills far beyond her own.

Lucie comes from a long line of witches, powers passed down from mother to daughter. Her own mum was formidable in her powers, but ashamed of her magic. Perhaps as a result, Lucie's own gift is weak: she can see into the future, sometimes - but more often, she can only see the present of some other location. Not very useful. And the worst part? All she can ever see are insignificant details - a scrap of outfit, the colour of the sky.

Lucie's own children are initiated into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach twelve years of age, and in a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying the curious tears of blood that denote their magical powers. Having learned, they take off quickly and fly the nest. Literally.

Witty, dreamlike, vaguely unsettling, and utterly enchanting (pun intended), The Witch brings the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood into sharp relief and leaves us teetering on the edge, unbalanced by questions as seemingly unbreakable relationships break down left and right.

Who is to blame for family failures? And how can you - can you? - build a nest that no one wants to fly?

More Than Just a Dog : Understanding, Loving and Living with Dogs : An Essential Guide for Humans by Simon Wooler

This book explores what every dog owner knows – that a dog is never just a dog.

They are our companions, best friends, members of the family and for some the most important part of our lives.

Our ability to make meaningful connections with other animal species and their ability to return the favour is, perhaps, never more beautiful than the bond we have with dogs.

Simon Wooler, trainer to Sophie from Romania, social media’s most famous fearful canine, unlocks the heart of the special relationship we have with dogs.

He explores how, over millennia, they have inveigled their way into our homes and hearts and evolved to live alongside us. Demystifying the science behind dog behaviour, he explains how they learn (and why they sometimes seem immune to our efforts to train them), how they communicate and what influences the powerful bond they form with their people.

(header photo courtesy of Elin Melas at Unsplashed)

Wednesday, 1 April 2026

New Harmony by Leon E. Pettiway - #bookreview

The day belonged to the dead, and our lamenting floated down the worn steps of Calvary Baptist Church, past grave markers and upturned stones, drifted down Chestnut Street and onto Main, around the bend, and down into the next hollow. From where I sat on the front pew, I heard Pastor Jones scream...

***

It has recently come to my attention that I must make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Author Marketing Experts. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

This moving work of African American women's fiction honors resilience, belonging, and the complicated inheritance of love.

Nestled in the quiet beauty of New Harmony, South Carolina, a family saga unfolds against the backdrop of the deep-seated memories of Jim Crow in the 1950s. Margaret grows up in a family where she learns what it means to be both "colored" and female—first as a daughter discovering the harsh injustices around her, and later as a mother fighting to protect her own. When violence tears her world apart, the murder of her son tests the limits of her love, faith, and resilience.

As Margaret reckons with loss, this story of small-town grief turns toward community, memory, and the fragments of hope found in storytelling. This stunning work of literary fiction explores themes of cultural heritage and long-held family secrets that shape her understanding of the past— and guide her toward healing in the present. The result is a thought-provoking, poignant, emotional portrait of one woman refusing to be erased.

In a blend of Southern and historical fiction based on real-life themes, New Harmony illuminates the lived experiences of black women in the Jim Crow South.

New Harmony: A Mother's Story of Love and Loss is Pettiway's debut novel and the first in a series of thematically linked works exploring community, identity, and the enduring bonds of family.

Come home to New Harmony— where healing begins.

My Review

There is so much to unpack in this amazing story that I hardly know where to start.

The book begins with the main character, Margaret, grieving for her murdered teenage son during the 1940s in America's South Carolina. The narrative then moves back in time to the late 19th century and we follow Margaret from childhood. We walk beside her as she encounters injustice, bigotry and racism. However, we also rejoice with her as she falls in love, gives birth to her children and ultimately finds inner peace. That's not a spoiler as it is obvious that is where the book is heading from the very beginning.

We see her grow from child to woman; we watch her experience both joy and heartbreak, and it was impossible not to feel empathy for this character. She carries the burden of her forebears who were enslaved on the very plantation where she still lives. She is shored up by her faith and it was this, alongside the love and support of her family and friends, which enabled her to emotionally survive.

The author has put together a powerful story with such multi-faceted characters that I felt that I knew these people personally. I was slightly bereft when I turned the final page and had to leave them behind.

The novel contains a good mix of prose and dialogue, both of which move the story on at an appropriate pace. The setting is atmospheric — the superiority in the Big House is palpable, especially when contrasted with Margaret's loving home.

The book provoked quite a reaction in me, just as an excellent and well-written book should do. I was angered on behalf of Margaret and her friends and family when they experienced such bigotry and racism.

This was a five-star read for me. Whilst I found the ending a little long-winded, I nonetheless felt it deserved a top-score rating for the powerful emotion that it caused in me as a reader. It was an excellent book to read and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Please be aware that the book contains outdated derogatory language which was common to the time period.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8989182053

Publisher: Melshin Press

Formats: e-book, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages: 374 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Author Website

About the Author

Leon E. Pettiway, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), the Venerable Lobzang Dorje, is Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has conducted research that integrates geographical and criminological theories to explain crime patterns in urban areas. In that regard, he has published articles on the impact of race and ghettoization on patterns of crime participation, the role of environmental and individual factors in arson, the relationship between an individual's drug use and criminal participation in the formation of crime partnerships, and the criminal decision-making process of addicts and nonusers in light of various environmental cues. Upon the conclusion of a major field research project funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, he completed Honey, Honey, Miss Thang: Being Black, Gay, and on the Streets, a Finalist for the 9th Annual Lambda Literary Award (Temple University Press), which examined the lives of drug addicted, gay transgender women who commit a variety of crimes, and Workin' It: Women Living Through Drugs and Crime (Temple University Press) which chronicled the drug use and crime participation of a group of inner-city women. Before his retirement, his intellectual work centered on the construction of knowledge and how Eastern and Western philosophical traditions might be integrated into criminological theory and the administration of justice. His upcoming publication, Only for the Brave at Heart: Essays Rethinking Race, Crime, and Justice, critiques the ways the American mind has thought about race, crime, and justice. In using the Buddhist and Afrocentric perspectives as a vehicle for social commentary, he provides a path to liberate our thoughts concerning these important issues.

He is a fully ordained Buddhist monk, one of only a handful of African-American monks in the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In retirement, he focuses his attention on his spiritual practice, teaching Buddhism, and writing.

You can also find Leon at:

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