Bob and Shirley's Guide to Murder by Suzy K. Quinn - #bookreview #blogtour

Shirley - Murder? In our quiet, little English village?

Great Oakley is a place of hanging baskets, tearooms and riverside walks. We've won 'Britain's safest village' 10 years running...

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I am required to 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.

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The Blurb

Bob and Shirley run a lovely country pub. They also solve murders ...

A warmly funny, gloriously British cozy crime and murder mystery series that can be read as standalones or part of a series. Set in a village where the pub is the heart of country life and served with warmth, wit and a very good Sunday roast.

“Murder? In our quiet, little English village?

Great Oakley is a place of hanging baskets, tearooms and riverside walks. We’ve won ‘Britain’s safest village’ 10 years running. I keep three pound coins, a box of toffees and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on my dashboard at all times, and I’ve never needed to lock my car.

Certainly, Bevvy Hogg was disliked. She ran the local Waist Watchers group, yet came to our pub for fish and chips, treacle tart and a bottle of Chardonnay every Friday. But I don’t think she was murdered …”

When Bevvy Hogg is found dead in the Goose and Gander pub garden, with an empty treacle tart plate beside her and several dress sizes slimmer than anyone remembers, Great Oakley’s winning streak as Britain’s safest village comes to an abrupt end.

My Review

This amusing cosy crime mystery is entertaining to read.

Bob and Shirley are a married couple who run a village pub. When a customer is discovered dead and the reputation of the pub's treacle tart needs to be defended, Bob and Shirley investigate how she was killed.

The chapters alternate between Bob and Shirley, so we are able to see the same occurrences through both pairs of eyes. 

There were times that I found this book very funny and it caused me to chuckle on occasion. It was a light-hearted read, and those who enjoy cosy crime might well like this book.

The book is the first in a planned series, which will thrill those who enjoyed this book. It is a funny, quick and easy read and can easily be read in a couple of sittings.

For me, I found it hard to engage with but reading is very subjective and I have read many good things about it. So, do give it a go and let me know what you think.

Book Details

  ISBN: 978 1999866396

Publisher: Book Club Ltd

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

No. of Pages: 286 (paperback)

Series: Book 1 in the Bob and Shirley Cozy Mystery series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Suzy K Quinn (hello – it’s me!) is writing this bio in the third person. Which feels duplicitous and also a little egotistical. But here goes ... 

Suzy K Quinn writes book club books and murder mystery series, and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. She's a bestselling author in the US, UK and Germany and will soon, very possibly, have written more books than she's read.Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author. When Suzy isn't writing in cafes, she is walking around woods dictating like a lunatic.

You can also find Suzy at:

Author Website

Facebook

Instagram

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My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

Love or Your Money Back

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Silent Women by Tara Lynn Masih - #bookreview

Black Sunday 1945, Guymon, Oklahoma

The calm before the storm. Everyone knows the truth of this...

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I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the author. 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.

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The Blurb

Oklahoma, 1935. Black Sunday. From the moment a wall of black dust devours the plains and buries her world, Song Holloway’s life is marked by dislocation and loss. Even in the rural New England town she now calls home, that dark cloud continues to follow her.

Then the army asks her to take up work at a classified facility in the muddy outpost of Oak Ridge, a city that doesn’t appear on any map. Trained to test pipes, Song searches for leaks in a system no one will explain. The work is dangerous. People vanish. Yet it’s here, behind the barbed wire and watchtowers, that she finds what the dust storm stole: a place to belong and women who become her second family. And there is Hol—a gentle soldier who gives her, for the first time, peace.

Until she’s summoned. A small room. Two agents. Men with power she will never have. Song is given a command: spy on the women in your life. In a city built on secrets, keeping quiet used to be enough. Now it makes her complicit. But Song’s choices will haunt her long after she learns what flowed through those pipes.

My Review

I was already a fan of Tara Lynn Masih's award-winning books, so when she offered me the opportunity to review her latest book, The Silent Women, I accepted joyfully.

This book made for great reading. The Silent Women is based on the true story of the Manhattan Project's secret women during World War II. Women were recruited to join the war effort in a highly secret project.

When the main character, Song Holloway, is approached and recruited, she accepts with no knowledge of what she will be asked to do. In fact, whilst working on the project, she still has no idea what the assignment actually is or what she is working towards. However, with a proud sense of patriotism, she works away and asks no questions. I can't say too much more without giving it away, but when the reveal comes and we, alongside Song, learn of the project, it is well worth waiting for. US readers may already be familiar with the history surrounding this program but for me I found it informative as I was unaware of the project so came to it with fresh eyes.

With each of the novels that Ms Masih has written, I have sensed a maturity in her writing. She skillfuly brings both her story and characters alive on the page in this novel. I particularly enjoyed reading of the friendships she formed whilst at the classified facility, and how this enabled Song's character development. She was a great character to read of.

It has been well researched, and this really shows in not just the broader time and place but also in the minutiae of Song's life. I was fully invested in reading this novel as it is a compelling and engaging read. 

Published just yesterday, the author states that it took her seven years to completely put this together. Personally, I think it was well worth waiting for and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1837005536

Publisher: Storm Publishing

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 392 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Tara Lynn Masih grew up on Long Island’s north shore, in the small harbor town of East Northport. A bicultural author, she is the daughter of Lalit K. Masih (the first prominent Indian-American watercolorist) and Sandra Kolyer (who descends from many European ethnicities, including the first White Knight in Ireland). 

Much of her writing is set within the framework of nature and place, a result of the years she spent outdoors in the woods, meadows, swamps and on the shores of Long Island Sound. She LOVES history, flowers, anything vintage, the beach, the marshes, chocolate, and family time. She now lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

You can also find Tara at:

Author Website

Instagram

Linked In

Facebook

Bluesky

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

How We Disappear

My Real Name is Hanna

Guest Post

Desert Island Books

(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

A Calamity of Waters by Chloe Turner - #bookreview

Later, they would talk of mighty hills of water tumbling one over another. Of smoke spilling from great waves... a sight which dazzled every one of those who looked upon it...

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I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the publicist. 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.

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The Blurb

JANUARY 1607. THE SEVERN VALLEY. THE GREATEST FLOOD IN LIVING MEMORY.

Habren has never quite forgiven herself. Her father only sings bawdy carols for farthings these days, none of the sweet songs he used to sing their mother, and perhaps it’s no wonder her sisters Syble and Margret have put many leagues between themselves and their old home. But then Syble summons her to Gloucester, and if Habren can keep on the right side of their pin merchant master, perhaps it’s the chance she needs to make up for the past.

Then the river rises. In a single January morning, the Severn floods the vale and upends every life in it. And somewhere down that swollen estuary is Ambrose, the man Habren loves.

With Syble and new friend Raynould beside her, Habren sets out for Bristol to find him, through a city the flood has torn apart. And as they search, secrets they have kept close to their hearts begin, one by one, to surface.

My Review

This was one of those books that I wanted to read slowly, to linger over every word and sentence because it has been so beautifully crafted.

The author has taken an authentic historical event, setting her book during the early part of the seventeenth century when the Bristol Channel flooded, and many drowned.  Homes, farmland and even entire villages were flooded, leaving both the human and animal populations depleted.

The book oozes period detail, demonstrating the extraordinary amount of research that went into the writing of this book and, thus, making her characters utterly believable.

The main character is Habren, the youngest of three sisters. She, along with  her sister, Syble, works for Alderman Taylor manufacturing pins. He is uncaring and abusive to his workers. Accompanied by their friend, Raynould, they flee his employment after almost losing their lives due to his negligence. What follows is a journey where secrets unfold and they come to understand one another more.

This book is up there with the best I have read this year. It was a gripping, immersive story which I didn't want to put down. Its pace is gentle and perfectly appropriate for the genre. I was fully engaged throughout and was sorry when the book had to end. I highly recommend this compelling book to fans of historical fiction.

As if the fact that this is a brilliant novel to read isn't a good enough reason to buy this book, all profits from the sales of A Calamity of Waters will go to the author's local charity, Stroud Valleys Project (https://www.stroudvalleysproject.org/), for their river restoration and other local nature works. Founded in 1988, Stroud Valleys Project's aim is to support people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities to connect with and nurture green spaces to keep people and nature thriving.

Book Details

ISBN:978 1917090223

Publisher: Deixis Books

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

No. of Pages: 320 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Waterstones

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Chloe Turner’s short stories have been widely published, including in Best British Short Stories 2018. Her debut collection, Witches Sail in Eggshells, won the 2020 Saboteur Award for Best Short Story Collection. In 2019, the Yeovil Literary Prize awarded third prize to Blue Hawk. 

A Calamity of Waters is her second novel. Set around the devastating Bristol Channel floods of 30 January 1607, where it is estimated that 2,000 or more people drowned. It was, according to modern historians and scientists, the deadliest sudden natural disaster to hit Britain in 500 years. The 420th anniversary is this coming January, 2027.

Chloe mixes extensively-researched historical fact with imagination to tell engrossing stories, intertwining actual events and places to bring her local history to life. 

You can also find Chloe at:

Author Website

Instagram

(ARC and media courtesy of the publicist)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer - #bookreview

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I am required to 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.

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The Blurb

Rainy March is a proud third-generation book witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps into and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and wrangle characters that go off-script.

Book witches live by a strict code: Real people belong in the real word; fictional characters belong in works of fiction.... Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don't even think about it.

Except Rainy has fallen hard for the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite noir series. After their illicit romance is exposed, Rainy is forbidden from ever seeing her fictional lover again, lest she be expelled from her book coven-and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.

When a priceless book is stolen from her home, there's only one person she trusts to help her get it back: the Duke. Thus their shared quest begins through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets.

My Review

This book has a fun premise which was entertaining to read.

Haven't we all wanted our perfect fictional romantic partner to step from the pages of a book at some point in our reading lives? I've been awaiting Atticus Finch since I first read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was thirteen!

For the main character in this book, Rainy March, that very thing happens when fictional detective, the Duke of Chicago, steps from within the pages of his book series, along with his cat, Koshka. It's just as well, as she soon needs his detective skills in attempting to find her missing grandfather.

The role of a book witch, such as Rainy, is to prevent 'burners' from deleting characters from books. Her mother and grandfather were also book witches, and so her destiny was already mapped out for her.

I loved the way the author took us into some classic literature. We follow Rainy into Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby and the Nancy Drew books. It was wonderful to experience these books through Rainy's eyes while she was within their pages.

The book was imaginative and creates a world of escapism for the reader. Ms Shaffer is a great storyteller and I felt very involved in the story.

I adore books about books. However, books of this genre aren't my usual reading fare, but I enjoyed this and I feel encouraged to perhaps dip my toes further into the genre.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1529443868

Publisher: Arcadia Books

Formats: e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 320 (hardback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Meg Shaffer is the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist, a Book-of-the-Month finalist for Book of the Year, a #1 Barnes & Noble bestseller, and a Reader’s Digest Best Book of the Year. 

She holds an MFA in TV and Screenwriting from Stephens College. Her second novel, the instant national bestseller The Lost Story, is available now from Ballantine.

Shaffer lives in Kentucky with her husband and two cats. The cats are not writers.

You can also find Meg at:

Author Website

Instagram

Facebook

(media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Irish Ties That Bind by Michael J. Hopkins - #bookspotlight #blogtour

I am delighted to be shining the book spotlight on this book today. The Irish Ties That Bind by Michael J. Hopkins is historical fiction and sounds fascinating.

The Blurb

From the green hills of southern Ireland to the heartland of America, four families are united by faith, perseverance, and an enduring legacy that spans generations.

As famine and hardship drive Irish immigrants across the Atlantic in the mid-nineteenth century, the Power and Coughlin families plant new roots in the American Midwest. Their daughters answer a higher calling, joining the fledgling Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Through the remarkable leadership of Sister Emily and Sister Samuel, these women help shape a religious community that will educate thousands and leave an indelible mark on the nation.

Their story intertwines with those of the Cullen and Hynes families, whose lives are transformed by the sisters’ influence. Seeking refuge from the unrest of postwar Chicago, they settle in Dixon, Illinois, where friendship, faith, and family bind them to another rising family—the Reagans. As Ronald Reagan grows from a small-town boy into a radio broadcaster, actor, and emerging public figure, the lives of ordinary and extraordinary Americans intersect in unexpected ways.

Set against the backdrop of immigration, the Great Depression, two world wars, and the dawn of the Cold War, The Irish Ties That Bind is a sweeping historical saga of courage, devotion, and the families whose quiet strength shaped generations. It is a powerful testament to the bonds of family, faith, and heritage that endure long after history's tides have turned.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8950078163

Publisher: Historium Press

Formats: e-book, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages: 324 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

A lifelong resident of Wisconsin, Michael J. Hopkins earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Beloit College, subsequently obtaining a degree in history from Arizona State University and the University of Wisconsin–Platteville. He furthered his academic pursuits by completing a Master of Arts in the Humanities at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mr. Hopkins concluded a distinguished forty-year tenure in secondary education, having served as a social studies instructor at Darlington High School for thirty-nine years.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he dedicated many years to coaching basketball, baseball, and football at the same high school. His contributions to athletics were formally recognized in 2021 with his induction into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. 

Following his retirement from education, he has transitioned into a career as an author. In 2025, he published his autobiographical memoir, Embracing A Competitive Life: Trials, Triumphs, and 150 Life Lessons in Six Decades of Competition, which chronicles his experiences as both an athlete and a coach.

My Other Blog Posts Featuring Historical Fiction Set in Ireland

Maid of Steel by Kate Barker

The Midnight House by Amanda Geard

Witchcraft: A Graphic History: Stories of Wise Women, Healers and Magic by Lindsay Squire

My Heart Went Walking by Sally Hanan

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

(media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)