A Dark Death by Alice Fitzpatrick - #bookreview

Kate Galway stopped to catch her breath and stretch out her tight muscles. As a woman of a certain age with a waistline that was expanding at an alarming rate, she'd decided to walk from her cottage to the other side of the island...

The Blurb

Kate Galway is looking forward to a quiet summer working on her latest novel at her home on Meredith Island. For a place hardly anyone has heard of, her sleepy Welsh island is attracting a lot of visitors, including a conman posing as a psychic and group of archaeology students who believe they've unearthed evidence of a Roman temple. Part-way through the dig, however, the students make an even more startling discovery: a body ritualistically laid out in their trench. While intrigued by the murder, amateur sleuth Kate decides to leave this investigation to the professionals. However, when she learns that both the island mechanic and her university friend's son are prime suspects, she and hedonistic artist Siobhan Fitzgerald feel they have no choice but to get involved.

 My Review

When I was asked if I would review this book, I could not have been more pleased. I have previously read and reviewed the first book in this series, Secrets in the Water, which I had really enjoyed. You can read my review by clicking here. However, this book works very well as a standalone novel.

Set on a Welsh island, there lives a small, tight-knit community. It is a place where everyone knows each other and what is going on. The main character, Kate Galway, is a retired teacher who seems to have taught most of the younger people on the island at some point, and therefore, knows them all well. Nowadays, she is writing a novel whilst being an amateur sleuth alongside her friend, Siobhan.

There are a group of archaeology students and their lecturers on the island who discover evidence of a Roman settlement. Add into the mix a suspicious psychic who is visiting the island along with his PA Willow, and we have the perfect melting pot for murderous crime and for Kate to become involved in its solution.

I enjoyed this book very much. There were sufficient twists and turns to keep me gripped to the story. I also enjoyed getting to know the characters. I was already familiar with Kate from the previous book, and I was very happy to spend more time with her in this novel. The author has done a fantastic job in creating her character, and she is utterly believable and easy to engage with. 

Equally, the secondary characters are also well portrayed. The islanders are a quirky group of people who are all familiar with one another. It was great having some new characters join this story too in the form of the students, teachers and the psychic. They all came together very well and made this a brilliant story to read.

The island setting was beautifully depicted. Add to that a strong and riveting plot, a group of engaging characters with secrets, and the result is this brilliant addition to the cosy crime genre.

I very much hope that there will be more books in this series that I can enjoy as much as I did this one.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1988754628

Publisher:  Stonehouse Publishing

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  300 (paperback)

Series:  A Meredith Island Mystery Book 2

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon CA

Blackwell's

About the Author

Alice Fitzpatrick has contributed various short stories to literary magazines and anthologies and has recently retired from teaching in order to devote herself to writing full-time. She is a fearless champion of singing, cats, all things Welsh, and the Oxford comma. Her summers spent with her Welsh family in Pembrokeshire inspired the creation of Meredith Island. The traditional mystery appeals to her keen interest in psychology as she is intrigued by what makes seemingly ordinary people commit murder.

 Alice lives in Toronto but dreams of a cottage on the Welsh coast. 

You can also find Alice at:

Author Website

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(book and media courtesy of the publicist)

(all opinions are my own)

The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook by Tessa Barrie - #bookreview #blogtour

Edna Fowler scurried across the sweeping gravel drive and up the wide stone steps to the solid oak front door of Didsbrook Manor. It was slightly ajar, and when she banged the gothic cast iron knocker against it, it groaned open...

The Blurb

The remote village of Didsbrook is thrown into turmoil after its best-known resident, the former actress turned best-selling novelist Jocelyn Robertshaw, is found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Villagers are appalled to learn that the charismatic Jocelyn died from Hemlock poisoning. Police claim she shot and ate a quail that had ingested hemlock. A theory disputed by all who knew her well. The animal-loving Jocelyn would never kill anything, but due to the lack of forensic evidence, police rule death by misadventure.

Jocelyn’s young protégée, Lucy Fothergill, determined to discover the truth about what happened to her mentor, discovers a hidden stash of Jocelyn’s notebooks, revealing jaw-dropping secrets from Jocelyn’s past. The impression Jocelyn gave the world that she lived a near-perfect life was an Academy Award-winning performance.

Believing the events from Jocelyn’s past may have led to her death forty-eight years later, Lucy begins to piece together the clues that lead to the truth.

The sleepy village of Didsbrook is about to wake up!

My Review

This novel contained so many wonderful characters. I enjoyed becoming acquainted with them all.

The book opens with the discovery of the body of Jocelyn Robertshaw, a former actress, writer, and philanthropist to the village of Didsbrook. She is well loved and respected by her friends and the villagers. When the police declare her death a suicide, her friends refuse to believe it.

Lucy, the young protegee of Joc, as she's referred to throughout the book, sets out to find evidence that this was not a suicide but murder. Lucy was a likable character. She is young, genuine, and at times a little naive about the world.

It is a dialogue-led book, and I could very well imagine this book being on stage. The author used the conversation between the characters to move the story along perfectly.

There were times when the book was a little predictable, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of it. That said, I did not work out who had committed the crime until the reveal, and sometimes, predictability can be a good thing. 

I enjoyed the humour that the author sprinkled throughout the novel. It made for a fun and entertaining book to read. It is a nice cosy crime novel which lovers of the genre will enjoy.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1036920968

Publisher:  My Alter Ego and Me Press

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

No. of Pages:  305 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Tessa Barrie was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and despite her parents uprooting her at the age of three and moving her down south, she is proud of her Yorkshire heritage. Growing up, she recalls her family life being more Little House on the Prairie than The Waltons because her early years were fraught with drama. However, intermingled with all the emotional disruption, she remembers humour squeezing its way through the frayed feelings.

So, incorporating humour in her writing has become very important to her as she believes that, however dark a story gets, there should always be a subtle sprinkling of humour.

In June 2021, Tessa self-published her debut novel, Just Say It, a bittersweet family saga, and her second novel, The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook, a quirky murder mystery, and was published on 1st July 2025. 

Her third novel, The Rebuilding of Freya Michaels, will be published in 2026.

You can also find Tessa at:

Author Website

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

(author photo courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

Books I Want to Read in August 2025

 

I love it when a new month arrives as I know there are lots of books that I am looking forward to reading.

Here are just ten that I would like to read in August.

 The Hollywood Runaway by Alexandra Weston

Liverpool, September 1932.

Miner's daughter Olivia Swift believed her future was clear-cut: a steady husband, a home, and a family of her own one day. But when a shocking secret shatters her wedding plans, Olivia makes a desperate, irreversible choice. With a one-way ticket to America, she abandons everything familiar for a terrifying unknown.

Far from England and her family, Olivia is adrift in a strange new world, the promise of excitement overshadowed by a growing dread. Can this runaway forge a new life from the ashes of her old one, or will her American dream remain just out of reach?

A reckless journey of escape...or a chance to start living again?

 Ciao, Amore, Ciao by Sandro Martini

In the winter of 1942, an Italian army of young men vanishes in the icefields of the Eastern Front. In the summer of 1945, a massacre in Schio, northeastern Italy, where families grieve the dead, makes international headlines.

In present-day Veneto, an ordinary man is about to stumble onto a horrifying secret.

Alex Lago is a jaded journalist whose career is fading as fast as his marriage. When he discovers an aged World War II photo in his dying father’s home, and innocently posts it to a Facebook group, he gets an urgent message: Take it down. NOW.

Alex finds himself digging into a past that needs to stay hidden. What he's about to uncover is a secret that can topple a political dynasty buried under seventy years of rubble. Suddenly entangled in a deadly legacy, he encounters the one person who can offer him redemption, for an unimaginable price.

Told from three alternating points of view, Martini’s World War II tale of intrigue, war, and heartbreak pulls the Iron Curtain back to reveal a country nursing its wounds after horrific defeat, an army of boys forever frozen at the gates of Stalingrad, British spies scheming to reshape Italy’s future, and the stinging unsolved murder of a partisan hero.

 Daughters of Tarot by Clare Marchant

1644: Portia is living in London, having escaped an abusive man in Italy, with just baby Vittoria and the clothes on their backs. Making her living reading tarot cards, she starts to realise there are other women like her – who need help. As she delivers the Devil card to their door, each has the chance to escape… But to what future? Because Portia is a woman with secrets. And they are about to come back to haunt her.

Now: After her mother’s death and father’s hasty plans to remarry, Beatrice has left home to open a tarot shop in London. But when she’s unpacking, she finds a set of cards she’s never seen before, one that’s evidently been handed down through generations of her family. It’s a set that is missing a card though… the Devil’s Card. She begins to search for the lost card, but she also starts to hear rumours of that very card being linked to a series of murders of women in 17th century London…

Will she find the truth… or will she only see the illusions the cards are suggesting?

The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook by Tessa Barrie

The remote village of Didsbrook is thrown into turmoil after its best-known resident, the former actress turned best-selling novelist Jocelyn Robertshaw, is found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Villagers are appalled to learn that the charismatic Jocelyn died from Hemlock poisoning. Police claim she shot and ate a quail that had ingested hemlock. A theory disputed by all who knew her well. The animal-loving Jocelyn would never kill anything, but due to the lack of forensic evidence, police rule death by misadventure.

Jocelyn’s young protégée, Lucy Fothergill, determined to discover the truth about what happened to her mentor, discovers a hidden stash of Jocelyn’s notebooks, revealing jaw-dropping secrets from Jocelyn’s past. The impression Jocelyn gave the world that she lived a near-perfect life was an Academy Award-winning performance.

Believing the events from Jocelyn’s past may have led to her death forty-eight years later, Lucy begins to piece together the clues that lead to the truth.

The sleepy village of Didsbrook is about to wake up!

Wedding Bells for the East End Library Girls by Patricia McBride

The library girls are determined to keep their community’s spirits high.

With their beloved library damaged by bombing, they’ve found a temporary home in the local school, but they long to return to the place they love.

Mavis’s wedding should be a time of joy, but beneath the celebrations, she carries a secret. Determined to stay strong, she refuses to dampen the happiness of those around her.

Jane is finally stepping into the life she deserves. After years of self-doubt, she is beginning to find her confidence and – with the support of her two best friends – perhaps even an opportunity she never thought possible.

And for Cordelia, hope is also on the horizon. As the war winds down, her partner Robert may finally return from Africa. For the first time in a long time she is looking forward to a future filled with love and joy. But dare she dream of more wedding bells?

The Orphan's Promise by Lindsey Hutchinson

A legacy of lies, a promise of love...

Orphaned at a young age, Rose Hamilton can barely remember a mother’s warmth or a father’s protection. Instead, she has endured the cold, loveless rule of her embittered Aunt Win, a woman who seems to take pleasure in making Rose’s life as difficult as possible. The only comfort Rose has ever known comes from the loyal household staff—Jackson, the butler, Mary, the cook, and Katy, the housemaid—who have become the family she never had.

But as her twenty first birthday draws near, Aunt Win is determined to see Rose married off—to any man who will have her. Rose, spirited and independent, refuses to be bartered away like chattel and makes a promise to herself – she will only ever marry for love.

As Rose fights to take control of her own future, she stumbles upon a long-buried secret—a revelation so shocking it threatens to unravel everything she has ever believed about her past, her family, and even herself. And when a connection sparks with a man her aunt vehemently opposes, another promise takes root within Rose – to wait, no matter the cost, for the hand her heart truly desires.

Can Rose uncover the truth before it’s too late? Or will her aunt’s scheming change the course of her life forever?

 In Berlin by Eric Silberstein

Software engineer Anna Werner lives at a rapid clip, relishing her work and adopted city as much as her early morning runs. All comes undone on a sweaty August evening when, in the course of a 20-minute commute, Anna goes from worrying vaguely over a sore shoulder to staggering her way into an ambulance. She has suffered a spinal stroke. Over the coming months, her parents join the insurance man in telling her to get ready for life in a group home.

The only person who recognizes what Anna is still capable of is Batul al-Jaberi, a recent Syrian immigrant who meets Anna while doing her rounds as a janitor at the hospital. Batul is applying to medical school, where she hopes to regain control of a life hijacked by her family's flight from persecution in the early days of the Arab Spring.

At first the friendship is what Anna and Batul each need to regain mobility. But as their relationship deepens, Batul finds she must choose between her family and Anna-a choice that will force both women to rewrite their notions of loyalty.

In Berlin is a work of empathetic precision, exploring both the unpredictable nature by which geopolitics and scientific breakthroughs touch our lives, and the brave, bold, and sometimes quiet ways in which people reassert agency in the face of loss. Most of all, it taps a throughline of emotion that binds characters and readers alike across geographies, cultures, and ambitions.

  The Secret Librarian by Soraya M. Lane

New York, 1942: Avery is engaged to be married. Longing for adventure instead, she jumps at an unexpected offer to trade her library job for undercover intelligence-gathering in Portugal. But her new life in Lisbon, known as the Capital of Espionage, challenges everything she thought she knew about herself.

Local bookshop owner Camille, a French widow with access to the enemy newspapers and magazines Avery needs, befriends her. But are the rumours that swirl around Camille true—does she really have a Nazi boyfriend? And what secrets did she bring with her when she fled France? Avery must decide—fast—if she can fully trust Camille. Millions of lives depend on it.

As Avery discovers more about Camille’s world, she realises that living in a city of spies will take all her courage. With suspicions growing, they are both playing a terrifyingly dangerous game. And not everyone will live to tell their story. Can Avery and Camille stay far enough ahead of their enemies to survive?

Threaded through with daring, sacrifice and love, this is the inspirational story of two women prepared to risk everything to help others survive the horrors of World War II.

  All Mine by Pippa Nixon

Isabella Tucci is not looking for love. Leaving London and her cheating ex far behind to open her dream restaurant, she's promised herself: no men, and no distractions.

Chef Etienne runs his own place, right across the square. And he'd be more than happy to show the new girl in town around. After all, he's never met a woman he couldn't charm. But he's never met anyone quite like Isabella.

Between long days of renovations and late nights with new friends, Isabella tries to steer clear of her blue-eyed, strong-jawed neighbour. But it's a small town, and the more she gets to know Etienne, the more Isabella begins to wonder if some rules were made to be broken . . .

 The Herb Knot by Jane Loftus

Rafi Dubois is five years old when his mother is murdered after the Battle of Crecy in 1346. Alone and lost, Rafi is given a token by the dying Englishman who tried to save his mother’s life: a half-broken family seal which he urges Rafi to return one day to Winchester.

Years later, when Rafi saves a wealthy merchant’s wife from a brutal robbery, he is rewarded with the chance to travel to England, taking the seal with him.

But when he reaches Winchester, Rafi finds himself in a turbulent world full of long-held allegiances, secrets and treachery. His path is fraught with danger and with powerful enemies working against him, Rafi falls in love with Edith, a market apothecary. But in doing so, Rafi unleashes a deadly chain of events which threatens to overwhelm them both…