#and so much of style IMHO is just. writing a lot of sentences and seeing what works

[rotzaprachim]

anyone have recs for fics from any fandom that have really good prose and writing style AND/OR writing styles that play with canon in interesting ways, either through imitation or purposefully making the style diverge? 

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

In the scenario that you were given KAA's blessing to write an official Animorphs sequel, would you do it? How long after 54 would it take place? Who would the main characters be?

Answered here!

This question made me chuckle aloud when I read it.  I started this blog as a bit of side-scaffolding for Eleutherophobia, and yet it has undeniably become its own thing.  As this question proves.

To explain my definitely-unofficial Animorphs sequel a little further:

How close a sequel?

How closely my own writing matches Applegate’s is for fic readers to decide.  When writing Eleutherophobia, I definitely try harder to emulate her style — short sentences, subtly biased narration, unflinching gore, unapologetic absurdity, onomatopoeias — than I do when writing anything that isn’t Animorphs fan fiction.  Some of the fics depart further from the style of Animorphs (A Straight Line, most notably).  Some of them are a lot closer: The Thing is definitely the closest I’ve come to writing my own Animorphs book.  It’s about the same length as most of the books, features an old-school sci fi plot, leans heavily into action sequences and political wrangling, has the same team-plot structure as the books themselves, and contains the most homages to my favorite moments from canon.

Generally speaking, I choose to stick close to canon any time I’m not making a deliberate decision to depart from canon.  I’m happy to make things up any time a facet of the universe goes unestablished in canon, but whenever possible I copy K.A. Applegate’s homework.

How long after?

I chose to pick up during the first chapters of #54, and go through most of the events of that book, because that book alone is almost ridiculously rich.  There are a ton of enormous plot events (the kids’ post-war readjustment, the hork-bajir’s fight for human rights, the massive American culture shift) that covered in a sentence or two but could contain entire novels, and some enormous plot events (the hosts’ post-war readjustment, the struggle to tell the story of the war, the fraught legal shifts necessitated by the reality of yeerks) whose existence remains only implied.  I have ideas that go further forward into the future, but even those first three years after the end of the war are so fascinating and rich that one almost doesn’t need to go any further.

Who to focus on?

This is probably a false-consensus attribution, but a part of me can’t believe that more people haven’t written about Tom.  He’s a controller and a part of the extended Anifamily.  He’s a morpher and a host to a yeerk visser.  He’s got the insider perspective of living in the same house as the Animorphs’ prince, and the outsider perspective of attending the Yeerk Empire’s leadership meetings.  Tom Berenson is brimming with potential, from a fan fiction writer’s standpoint.

He’s also the doorway for me to explore the other characters — mostly Jake and Eva, but to a lesser extent Cassie, Jean, Chapman, Jordan, Alloran, Taylor, and Tobias — whose post-war lives fascinate and confound me.  I briefly considered using either Alloran or Eva as a narrator, but also concluded that neither one of them is as intimately connected to the personal family lives of the Animorphs that so fascinate me.  I could have just had Jake or Cassie tell the story, but that felt too much like tracing over the existing lines of Applegate’s work.  Tom has a little bit of everything, the guy who sees every single side of the war and yet ultimately contributes nothing to either side.  IMHO, he’s practically overflowing with stories that need to be told.

[vikingsong]

Thoughts on SPN 14x17

In the midst of what appears to be a general fandom freak-out about the promo for 14x18, Id like to offer a few thoughts on 14x17 from both fan- and writing- perspectives:

1) I liked a lot of things about this episode. Will it make the highlight reel of best episodes in the entire series? No, but it is a pretty solid one and much better writing than a lot of episodes have been, especially in the past 5+ years. I appreciated that the main trio each had individual quests/arcs in this episode during which they each display moments of character development. It felt relatively balanced, structurally speaking.

2) Castiel’s convo with Anael: Cas has wrestled with his faith in his father, since, oh, /Season 4/. He has struggled again and again to reconcile his general sense of abandonment by his father against the handful of instances where his father has decided to intervene to either resurrect Cas or otherwise save the day. It’s not a once-and-done issue for Cas; he’s gone the full spectrum from blind faith, to trying to replace Chuck as a new-and-improved, more involved (read: more smiting) version of his father, to cynicism and depression. So—whether one agrees with his theology/worldview or not—it’s a big deal for Cas to say to Anael that they are not alone, even if Chuck doesn’t respond. He’s still willing to reach out to Chuck, but this time it doesn’t utterly crush him when Chuck doesn’t immediately answer (though I think Chuck could still show up eventually, but that’s just a vague theory). And in a sense, Cas is summarizing a major theme of the entire series: community and teamwork vs isolation and conflict. This theme is represented in the Winchester view of family, which “don’t end with blood,” and it’s represented in all of the plot arcs where each member of the ensemble characters has, on at least one occasion, rejected another ensemble character out of lack of trust (usually following some kind of betrayal). So it seems fitting to me that Cas is sharing that view of community with Anael, even in the midst of yet another solo side-quest to try to fix everything...again. Humans are contradictory creatures a lot of the time, and Cas is too, now, by extension of his interactions with the Winchesters. He’s sharing the things he’s learned from his human family with a member of his angel family. I’d love to see more of that dynamic in the future.

3) Anael’s character gets some development, too. It still feels a bit slap-dash and contradictory to me as it stands now, but I think it has a lot of potential if it’s handled well in future episodes. It investigates the question of what happens when someone cares too much and punished for that? What exactly does that do to them and, more importantly, how do they respond (another major them in the show)? It’s an interesting contrast to the way that Lucifer was originally presented. He was said to have loved Chuck more than humanity, so he disobeyed the direct order to be more devoted to humanity. Now it appears that Anael loved humanity too much, so she rejected Chuck because he refused to “meddle.” Both Anael and Lucifer were punished for their actions. Lucifer responded by creating demons and embarking on a world-domination spree for millennia, but Anael chose to go around healing people while also indulging her taste for luxuries. So how exactly did she get from point A to point B? It brings to mind Rowena’s story arc as well. How might Anael grow as a result of interacting with Cas and his human family? I’d personally like to see that character arc. And I also think she and Rowena might get along splendidly.

4) Head injuries!: I know I’m not the first person to make this observation, but head injuries are a big deal and—demon-blood, Mark of Cain, and archangel vessels aside—the Winchester brothers are still human. And the reality of life as hunters is that a routine job could kill you, not just the jobs that involve saving the world. So it seems this season someone finally pointed out that something like that is enough to break any human, even a Winchester. Yeah, I know they have a habit of getting resurrected so it lacks true dramatic tension, but it injects a healthy reminder back into the show that one day—say, end of next season?—the time will come when the Winchesters won’t actually survive dying. (Only in SPN does that sentence make sense...)

5) I like the Jack-teetering-on-the-brinck arc and I personally think he’s been heading toward being the S14 big bad all season. Michael was a diversion. Lucifer was a diversion. Both have been beaten before (see Season 5). And both have served to set up just how much of a threat the fandom’s favorite smol nougat-loving son actually is. The moment Jack destroyed Michael—at the cost of most of his soul—I just knew that was where this was headed. It’s Buffy Season 6 all over again...the obvious threat for the first half of the season—which is actually a valid threat on its own—is the one the protagonists focus on so much that they can’t see one of their own going off the rails until it’s almost too late. When that happens, it comes down to connection and relationship to save the world, not just winning by wasting the bad guys. I’m eager to see if SPN has a similar “yellow crayon” scene.

6) Dean’s convo with Mary. I particularly liked that Dean recognized that he and Mary are alike—it was a brief line, but it shows a lot. He’s gotten to know Mary as a person, not just his idealized memory of her. We know he has already forgiven her, which is huge. (Btw, that scene where he tells her he loves her and hates her, but most importantly, he forgives her is one of the most powerful scenes in the entire series, IMHO. Seriously. The writing was great and Jensen Ackles’ delivery was flawless. JA also made some really great observations in an interview or something about why he felt that scene made so much sense in Dean’s character arc.) So to have Dean be able to recognize that his mom is a complex person, too, and that not all of his problematic traits are from his dad or because of the bad things Dean’s been through—well, that feels like personal and relational growth to me.

7) Sam’s convo with Mary: He’s still dealing with survivor’s guilt, so it naturally hits him extra hard when he learns yet another person is dead because of the domino effect of his choices. It takes his mom—whose approval he still craves, in a way, since he grew up without it—telling him that he’s a good man (after so many people have told him over the years that he was tainted, an abomination) and that he made the choices he made for the right reasons, even though they didn’t turn out the way that he’d had wanted. (I personally think he should have shot Nick promptly in the fight scene in 14x17, both because self-defense and because the Winchesters have killed threats, even human ones, for a lot less than what Nick is trying to do, so it feels a bit strange character-wise to me that he didn’t. But I digress.)

8) Last but not least, Jack’s arc: It’s so much more interesting that he’s trying to figure out how to be good while still effectively going to the dark side than if he suddenly went 100% soulless and evil without remorse. Because this still feels like Jack, and that’s the source of tension for the ensemble of characters who know and love Jack. They fear for him and well as fear the threat of what he could become. There’s much more depth there to explore as well as the potential for a very Winchester-style redemption arc.

So yeah, 14x18 looks like it has plenty of tension and angst and such, but l just wanted to pause and recognizes the plot and character developments of a solid episode this week. </rant>

[dachi-chan25]

So I clearly played myself *sigh* some of this books weren't what I expected and I still need to read a shit ton of sequels to series i fricken loved.

1.-Marked (House of Night #1) by PC Cast /Kirstin White

🌟🌟

So clearly I knew this book was gonna be silly and stuff, like it got me cringing so hard at all those 'not like the other girls' super speshul girl and it has low key a lot of cultural appropiation, so yeah, still was a really quick read and what the heck I'll try the next one to see if it gets better than this. I mean there has to be a reason why someone wants to turn this into a tv series right??

2.-Día de Muertos: Antología del cuento mexicano de V.A

🌟🌟🌟

Realmente siento que es una antología muy inconexa, el título y la portada indican claramente una relación directa entre los relatos y el día de Muertos, sin embargo el espíritu de la festividad solo es capturado en un puñado de historias que es lo que me hizo dar tres estrellas al libro, porque aunque el resto de los cuentos no son malos siento que entraron a la antología con calzador pues no tenían nada que ver con día de muertos .

3.- Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

🌟🌟🌟

Ok, I did not disliked it, the book manages to be very atmospheric and really create some plausibility among all the whimsy but the characters were never really developed much?? And some were tragically underused (the Aunts) I just think the movie made the story/characters much better.

4.- Society of Wishes (Quartet of Wishes #1) by Elise Kova

🌟🌟

I had totally forgot I owned this book (I bought it cuz I knew the MC was a latina girl and yah) and well it is what it is, just a mess filled with hunky ass time wizards or some shit like that with barely any plot, development or much of anything really, definitely not reading the next ones.

5.-Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy

🌟🌟

I am heart broken, I wanted to like this book so badly, but it was all over the place imho, the narrative style was plain out confusing at times (like it threw me back to that time when I was a pretentious ass 15 yo trying to read Ulysses by James Joyce) and don't get me wrong I like writers who spice things up with the flow of their sentences like Chuck Palahniuk but I just couldn't get into it, I feel the series managed to tell this story in a much more organized and in depth fashion.

6.- Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead

🌟🌟🌟

I expected nothing of this, and I actually kinda enjoyed it because I think the book it's true to itself, it sets a tone from the beginning and doesn't deviate from it . Is it predictable? As fuck Is it full of every single trope under the sun? YUP, but it never pretends otherwise and it's fine (also I am a thot for vampires so idc) I will continue this series.

7.-Battle Royale by Koshun Takami

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I LOVED it, I had watched the movie, but oh boy it doesn't build the characters the way the book does. It's brutal, dynamic full of optimism even in such a hopless horrific situation. The only thing that kinda had me in stiches was the fact that nearly every damn female character wanted to get it on with Shuuya.

8.- Tale of the Body Thief (Vampire Chronicles #4) by Anne Rice

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is my frist re-read of this book and damn, Lestat is truly a himbo, he just makes the most idiotic desisions and then is upset because they come to bite him in the ass but he is also kinda charming so what the hell?? David, poor summer child he really thought Lestat would respect his desision 😂😂 this is a real fun book (I mean the whole ass discussion about Faust is as fake deep as u can get) and it really drives home how much of a hot mess is Lestat. (Also Louis u bitch!!! How dare u betray him it's not like u had tried to kill him before multiple times xD honestly Lestat's logic)

9.-The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I adored this, the atmosphere Neil created in this book is absolutely beautiful, every detail and character Bod meets in the cementary adds so much to a rather simple story, the world building, the sense of magical realism it's just something I always appreciate in Neil's books, this really has become one of my faves and I will try and re-read this very soon.

10.-Dracul by Dacre Srocker

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I was on the fence about this one, like Dracula is one of my all time favorite books, and when I found out his great grand nephew was writing a precuel of Bram's most famous work I felt it was an easy money-grab scheme but then I heard a lot of positive reviews and people started talking how this book gives a back story to one of Dracula's brides and that it was based on some notes Bram left behind I decided to try it, and I don't regret it. I mean it wasn't what I expected, the book is more historical fiction and Dacre tries perharps a little too hard to emulate Bram's writing style/structure but the plot really managed to trap me and it was quite an intresting story.

11.-Bone Music by Christopher Rice

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is the frist book I read from him (like even tho I like her books a lot i don't fucks with Anne Rice cuz she is awful to anyone who critisizes her books or tries to write fanfic of em so yeah I wasn't so keen in reading her son's work) but it was a very pleasant surprise, those twist he makes at the very beginning of the book left me gaping like a fish, I was emotionally involved with the characters and I definitely look forward to read more books on the Burning Girl series.

12.- Final Girls - Riley Sager

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Slashers are some of my favorite things in the world, and this book gets a lot of the tropes/atmosphere right and still, manages to be original and deconstruct them, turn the reader on his expectations and deliver a great ending, will definitely continue with the series.

13- Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Joe Goldberg is a punk ass bitch and I hope the ending stays as it was, like how lucky is this bastard, and at one point I was like, no way are all this people around him so dumb likeeeeeee he is such an unreliable narrator that idk if the things he say are really happening or all is part of his self important delusional mind, I really liked this sequel even if Joe barely struggled until the end (he was living the Life u guys) it was a fun read.

14- The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is Hercule Poirot's frist book, and he is so different from the books I have read, but still brilliant and with his quirks, it really captured me, I always enjoy a good murder mystery and Agatha Christie always delivers.

15.- The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

King is back in my good graces, this book is terrifying it really takes u along Trisha's emotional journey, all the desperation, the defeat,the hope, really is such a complex beautiful emotional ride of this amazingly brave little girl, and damn Stephen u can write female character's well y u wrote that mess in Bag of Bones like whyyy dude? ?? I simply loved this one, made me cry so much.

16.-#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was such a fun dynamic read, I finished it in one sitting. The whole concept of Alcatraz 2.0 was pretty darn great, the painiacs, ahhh so good, I wished the rest of the characters apart from Dee were more developed but I know it would have given the plot twist away if they had so it's fine, I am really looking forward to reading Murderfunding.

That was it, my reads were either meh or omgggg I loved it!!! I hope this months my reads are all good.

[alienor-woods]

I want to publish and illustrate my own children's books!! I majored in illustration for this reason and I have a great idea for a character already- but I'm just abysmal with writing and prose! I worry about if the book is easy to understand and how to make sure I'm not losing or changing my style/narration/POV. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve??? D: I have a draft written, but I'm not in love with it yet.

I have a very limited knowledge of children’s picture books, but I do think a lot of them are double credited -- “story by Mary, Illustrations by Jody.” So, I think that my advice to you would be to focus on the illustrations! If that’s what your passion and your strength is right now, then dig into that. If you have the draft, and you know how the story will go, then (if I were you, and this is all IMHO of course) I think that you should do your illustrations as if the prose is already finished and on the page with the art. If you think of two POVs for a scene, then do both! Storyboard that shit, gurl.*~

Keep working on your draft, particularly as a narrative outline to accompany your illustrations. Revise it if you feel the story changing as you sketch and draw. I have no idea what age group you’re aiming for, but if the prose is limited enough that the focus of the book would be on the art (i.e., Yoga Bunny, the Kraken’s Rules for Making Friends, Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea) then I think your illustrations + draft/outline for the book would get you far enough to at least start testing the waters with agents and getting some feedback. Agents also work with you on how to strengthen your drafting -- I know that even though I have 300+ pages written and several drafts done that I’m STILL going to be fussing with stuff on my agent/editor’s recommendations. 

If you really do want to work on your writing, my biggest recommendation is to pay attention to how sentences and dialogue is written in the books in your age group. Are the sentences short or long? Do they use comma splices? Once you hit a certain reading level, you can start varying the sentence length. (I.e., two short sentences, then a longer sentence, then a short sentence again, etc. It varies the rhythm for the reader.) Practice turning two sentences into one sentence. Take long sentences of another author’s and practice cutting them into two shorter sentences. Read other writers’ dialogue aloud to yourself -- read your OWN dialogue aloud. Does it feel natural? Why not? People tend to speak in much more clipped, short, direct sentences than that which we would write. Look away from your draft and see if you can reword sentences different ways from memory. If you come across other authors’ writing that speaks to you, go back and read it again. Does the author change the way the sentences start each time? What is about that writing that draws you in -- is it imagery? Is it emotional depth? What words and sentence structure does the author use to get that idea across? Always be asking yourself HOW the authors turned their thoughts into words, because I can guarantee that they’ve re-written a lot of their project several times! 

YOU CAN DO ITTTTTTTT.

[jenmedsbookreviews]

You have to admit – this is not a bad way to start a week huh? It was lush if somewhat sickly but highly recommended. I love Ole & Steen on Haymarket. Best Danish pastry I have tasted. If you are in London then you simply must go. Their sandwiches and coffees aren’t bad either.

After starting last week’s post with a puppy picture, I was asked for a cat this week so here you go.

Not what you were expecting? He’s still pretty cute though. For those wanting a kitty of a slighter small size and shape here’s one for you.

None of this has anything to do with books but then what is new. Well … the cake kind of links back to books as I did eat it prior to heading on over to City University and First Monday Crime last week. A wonderfully bookish night of entertainment courtesy of Barry Forshaw, Stuart Turton, Leigh Russell and john Connolly. Sadly, thanks to the sudden descent of fog upon the country Rachel Abbott didn’t make it but the panel still kept us wholly entertained with discussions on why kids don’t read much, whether Stuart Turton loves or hates Agatha Christie and whether John Connolly writes horror or crime or a hybrid. For more on the evening as a whole I recommend that you read Joy Kluver’s write up here. I was far to enthralled and entertained to take decent notes but I did grab a couple of pictures.

Now, you may or may not have worked out from my overly gushing post the other week about The Woman in the Woods that I’m a small fan of John Connolly’s Charlie Parker books. I did the thoroughly bookishly geeky thing of queuing to get my copy signed (even though I have a signed copy on the way from Goldsboro books anyway – this was personalised) and unlike me, I managed to get out more of a sentence than ‘I liked your book’. When Mr C remarked that I had already read it, I explained that I’d reviewed it the previous week. After a surprised ‘that was you!’ I got a totally unexpected and unsolicited hug of thanks from the man himself.

Now I am not prone to the old huggage, hand shakes are still somewhat of a necessary evil IMHO, even for work. I want to die when I meet my European colleagues with their strange air kiss/cheek rub ways. I can never remember which is which and who is going to fire in for one, two or even three kisses. Three!!! I mean, what the heck?Where I come from that’s borderline asking for your hand in marriage or at the very least an indecent proposal!

Those who know me well know that this hugging phenomenon is something I am struggling to come to terms with about the bookish world. You lot are very huggy people. This one though I did not mind at all. Not in any weird kind of freaky stalkerish way I hasten to add, but it was just so surprising as I am sure that authors such as John Connolly and the rest of the panel get hundreds of reviews and kind comments all the time, so to know that he read and was genuinely thankful for the review makes this whole blogging thing worth while. In it’s own odd way it’s kind of different to greeting people who you may have conversed with a bit on line or perhaps met before too as that’s where you expect a kind of happy but strange hug/air kiss/pre proposal type scenario 😉😬. I mean I’d have been as happy with a genuine and enthusiastic thank you but I’m not complaining.;) And I now have another book in my signed collection which also contains huge hugs (at least this is what we deciphered it as saying lol)!!! Good night out.

This was the most exciting thing to happen to me all week as other than this I have had a trip just south of Lille for another two hour meeting (and the kiss/don’t kiss, one two or three nightmare) and a lot of work twaddle to contend with. I completed week 4 of my Forensic Psychology – Witness Investigation course and week 1 of the Forensic Science course that I am trying to undertake alongside blogging and working and travelling and occasional sleeping so that is a bonus. I also got two other new signed books this week. First up was a copy of DM Mark’s The Zealot’s Bones (warning to the sensitive the cover has a scary rat and you may wish to scroll on) and a second signed copy of Written in Bones by James Oswald, simply because it was signed and dated on my birthday last year. That seemed like fate to me so it had to be done.

Ahhh. Book. Heaven. Not too shabby a week huh? Well apart from work but we can gloss over that part …

New book wise I have been ordering from Goldsboro again. This time it’s a signed copy of The Blood Road by Stuart MacBride which is released in June. Happy bunny time over here then. From Amazon my purchases have been limited (yeah right) and I only ordered the US hard cover of Ragnar Jonasson’s Black Out because it is stunning (and I have the first two in the set so it seemed rude not to). From the UK I ordered The Zealot’s Bones by DM Mark (I can’t read a signed copy…); Down To The Woods by MJ Arlidge; Counting the Dead by Victoria Jenkins and No Turning Back by Sam Blake.

Netgalley wise I have had a few books. It’s a mixture of tour requests, direct invites to review in the case of Peter James and Ruth Dugdall and ‘I just want to read these’ requests. I picked up Body and Soul by John Harvey; The Things You Didn’t See by Ruth Dugdall; The Retreat by Mark Edwards; Dead If you Don’t by Peter James and One Little Lie by Sam Carrington. I was also sent an early copy of The Chosen Ones by Carol Wyer which is absolutely bloody fabulous I might add.

Reading wise I’ve not had too shabby a week all things considered. I am still shattered so i think to have finished reading four books again this week is quite pleasing.

Books I have read

The Ice Swimmer – Kjell Ola Dahl

When a dead man is lifted from the freezing waters of Oslo Harbour just before Christmas, Detective Lena Stigersand’s stressful life suddenly becomes even more complicated. Not only is she dealing with a cancer scare, a stalker and an untrustworthy boyfriend, but it seems both a politician and Norway’s security services might be involved in the murder. 

With her trusted colleagues, Gunnarstranda and Frølich, at her side, Lena digs deep into the case and finds that it not only goes to the heart of the Norwegian establishment, but it might be rather to close to her personal life for comfort.

Dark, complex and nail-bitingly tense, The Ice Swimmer is the latest and most unforgettable instalment in the critically acclaimed Oslo Detective series, by the godfather of Nordic Noir.

My review of this brilliant novel will be out later this week but I truly love the writing style and the feel of this Oslo based thriller. Slower in pace than most Detective novels it is still engaging and has so many hold your breath moments that you won’t be able to turn away. You can buy your own copy here.

…

Body and Soul – John Harvey

From the master of British Crime Writing comes Frank Elder’s last case.

‘The heavy manacles around the girl’s wrists, perhaps not surprisingly, looked very much like the ones that had been found on the studio floor. For a moment, she had a vision of the chain to which they were attached being swung through the air, taking on force and speed before striking home.Then swung again.’

When his estranged daughter Katherine appears on his doorstep, ex-Detective Frank Elder knows that something is wrong.

Katherine has long been troubled, and Elder has always felt powerless to help her.

But now Katherine has begun to self-destruct.

The breakdown of her affair with a controversial artist has sent her into a tailspin which culminates in murder.

And as Elder struggles to protect his daughter and prove her innocence, the terrors of the past threaten them both once more …

The last in the series this is the first book I have read by John Harvey. Nothing new there for me. Fast paced and gripping from the off, it does contain spoilers for prior novels so be aware before setting off, but as a first read it also gives enough back ground to put everything in context and keep you on edge all along. My review will be posted later this week and you can buy your own copy here.

…

The Chosen Ones – Carol Wyer

They had not been forgiven. And they would never be forgotten …. When a doting young father is murdered and his body discovered in a cornfield for his family to see, it’s a harrowing new case for Detective Robyn Carter. But just as Robyn starts to investigate, a popular local doctor and young mother, is found dead outside her surgery.

As Robyn tries to find the link between the victims, she uncovers a dark web of secrets. Were these much-loved members of the community as innocent as they seemed? 

The killer has a message for Robyn and the carefully chosen victims. Can Robyn get to the truth before she becomes the next target? 

If you love Angela Marsons, Patricia Gibney and Rachel Abbott, you’ll love the latest pulse-pounding thriller from Carol Wyer. The Chosen Ones will keep you guessing until the very last page.

What I love about this series, aside from the great characters and the brilliant writing, is that it is set very locally to me and I always chuckle when I see local references. Plenty of that in this book, alongside a chilling set of murders which will make your toes curl and keep you right at the edge of a very uncomfortable seat. Loved it. My review will be a long time coming as publication isn’t until later next month, but you can preorder a copy here. Totally worth it.

…

The Girl Who Got Revenge – Marnie Riches

Revenge is a dish best served deadly…

A twelve-year-old girl is found dead at the Amsterdam port. An old man dies mysteriously in a doctors’ waiting room. Two seemingly unconnected cases, but Inspector Van den Bergen doesn’t think so…

Criminologist George McKenzie is called in to help crack the case before it’s too late. But the truth is far more deadly than anyone can imagine… Can George get justice for the dead before she ends up six-feet under too?

A heart-racing thriller packed with secrets, lies and the ultimate revenge, perfect for fans of Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbo.

Love this series, loved this book. George McKenzie and her lover Van den Bergen are back and boy what a case they are faced with. Human trafficking and unexplained deaths of admittedly quite aged men. Full of the humour, darkness and brilliant plotting that threads through this series, fans will not be disappointed. My review and an extract from the book will be up on the blog this weekend, but you can order your own copy here.

…

Busy week on the blog so here is a recap:

A Grand Old Time by Judy Leigh

My Little Eye by Stephanie Marland

Too Close To Breathe by Olivia Kiernan

The Summer Theatre By The Sea by Tracy Corbett

Deadly Secrets by Robert Bryndza

Keeper by Johana Gustawsson

Cover Reveal: The Picture – Roger Bray

The week ahead is pretty tame in comparison although I do have a few tours on the cards for the Ice Swimmer by Kjell Ola Dahl; Body and Soul by John Harvey; The Dark Web by Christopher Lowery; East if India by Erica Brown (Mandie’s review) and The Girl Who Got Revenge by Marnie Riches.

Do have a fabulously bookish week everyone. I will be mostly reading, studying and possibly (maybe) thinking about starting writing myself. Only possibly maybe ish. But probably not. Bust, busy and all that.

Jen

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 15/04/18 You have to admit - this is not a bad way to start a week huh? It was lush if somewhat sickly but highly recommended.