Thankfully a more restrained week than last week and a noticeably, but purely coincidental Cornish theme going on. This week also saw the arrival of my Urbane book box, details of which can be found here.

Review Copies

Under an Amber Sky by Rose Alexander (due out 24 May 2017)

When Sophie Taylor’s life falls apart, there is only one thing to do: escape and find a new one.

Dragged to Montenegro by her best friend Anna, Sophie begins to see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. But when she stumbles into an old, run-down house on the Bay of Kotor she surprises even herself when she buys it.

Surrounded by old furniture, left behind by the former inhabitants, Sophie becomes obsessed by a young Balkan couple when she discovers a bundle of letters from the 1940s in a broken roll-top desk. Letters that speak of great love, hope and a mystery Sophie can’t help but get drawn into.

Days in Montenegro are nothing like she expected and as Sophie’s home begins to fill with a motley crew of lodgers the house by the bay begins to breathe again. And for Sophie, life seems to be restarting. But letting go of the past is easier said than done…

Kindle Purchases

Living la Vida Loca by Belinda Jones (99p)

Carmen has been feeling the need to break free for Too Darn Long. So when her equally frustrated friend Beth suggests the ultimate escape — dancing their way through a series of scorchingly-hot countries — she can’t resist! There’s just one catch…they can only go on this adventure if they participate in a reality TV show, one intent on teaching them the mournful tango in Argentina, the feisty flamenco in Spain and the sassy, celebratory salsa in Cuba! As they travel from Buenos Aires to Seville and ultimately steamy Havana, each dance has a profound effect on the girls — and indeed the sexy gauchos, matadors and dirty dancers who partner them…But, when the sun goes down, do they have what it takes to go beyond the steps and free their hearts for love?

The Moment by Claire Dyer (99p)

Paddington station, nine a.m., rush hour. As the crowds ebb and flow, time suddenly stands still for two people: Fern and Elliott, ex-lovers who parted twenty-five years before and never expected to see each other again.

But here they are, face to face, and the connection is as powerful as it was the day they first met. Their lives have moved on – to marriage, children and divorce – yet neither has stopped regretting the day that drove them apart.

Fern gives Elliott her number and they tentatively arrange to meet again that evening when both will be travelling back through the station. And, as the day ticks on, and the memories resurface, both Fern and Elliott reflect on the past. As their emotions go round in circles, so does the Paddington clock, counting down the minutes to eight p.m. – and the moment the future is in their hands.

The Cornish Escape by Lily Graham (99p)

Victoria Langley’s world crumbles when her husband leaves, but she knows exactly where to go to mend her broken heart. The rugged shores of Cornwall will be her perfect sanctuary.

In the quaint, little village of Tregollan, nestled in the sea cliffs, Victoria is drawn to Seafall Cottage, covered in vines and gracefully falling apart. Inside she finds a diary full of secrets, from 1905.

Victoria is determined to unravel the diary’s mystery, but the residents of Tregollan are tight-lipped about Tilly Asprey, the cottage’s last owner. Just as she reaches a dead end, Victoria meets Adam Waters, the lawyer handling the cottage’s sale. He’s handsome, charming, and has a missing piece of the puzzle.

Tilly’s diary tells a devastating love story that mirrors Victoria’s own. Can Victoria learn from Tilly’s mistakes, and give herself a second chance at love? Or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Death Rains Down by Kevin McManus (FREE)

Detective Ray Logue is a maverick.

He is stationed in Superintendent Jim Mulcahy’s police department, having never quite got over the death of his wife 8 years earlier.

Logue is now a hard-drinking and damaged cop, a loose cannon, a thorn in Mulcahy’s side, apt to take the law into his own hands – but he always gets results.

So when faced with the murder of an attractive Polish girl in Port Ard, Co Mayo during the week before Halloween and the subsequent chain of killings that follow, Logue stubbornly refuses to let go even when his Super takes him off the case.

Set in Ireland at the peak of the Celtic Tiger era, Death Rains Down is a dark story of murder, organised crime and political corruption.

Ashes and Bone by David McGlone (now 99p was FREE)

Dr Aldous ‘Al’ Andrews is psychologist famous for a book he’s written on serial killers…

In 1998, he helped DCI Peter Marlin catch Mark Rennie, a serial killer, who targeted young women at the University of East London.

Now Dr Al spends his time in the company of prostitutes and drinking far too much.

Then one day, DCI Marlin reappears, needing help.

A series of murders is rocking London, and the only thing they have in common is how cleanly they have been executed.

The Fundamentals of Murder by William F Love (FREE)

New York City is on edge…

Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Regan, a frustrated crime-solving paraplegic with an IQ of 220, and his special assistant Davey Goldman, a New York City cop-turned-private-eye, once more find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes case of murder and embezzlement.

A serial killer, dubbed Strangler John by the media, has been terrorizing the streets for weeks.

On four consecutive Friday nights, a woman has been murdered, her garroted body discovered the next day with a card reading REPENT! thrust into her mouth.

Despite enormous amounts of public pressure, the police have no leads…at least until Jerry Fanning arrives in the Big Apple …

The Traveller’s Daughter by Michelle Vernal (99p)

Her mother’s secret…

For fifty years Rosa kept the secrets of her past hidden from her beloved daughter, Kitty. The hurt and pain, the guilt over what she’d done, was something she could never face. But now the time has come to share the truth of Kitty’s heritage…

Her daughter’s discovery…

Kitty never knew anything about her mother’s early life. But after her death, the discovery of Rosa’s journal opens Kitty’s eyes to a whole new world—a family she’s never known and a love she’s never dreamed of…

The fate of a family…

Now Kitty must travel to her mother’s homeland, but after fifty years, can the sins of the past be forgiven? Or will history repeat itself? With a decades-old family feud threatening her future, can Kitty put right what once went so wrong?

Join Kitty on her journey as she follows in her mother’s footsteps from the south of France to Ireland, discovering who she is along the way in this beautiful tale of forbidden love and fancy cupcakes!

A Cornish Affair by Liz Fenwick (99p)

Running out on your wedding day never goes down well. When the pressure of her forthcoming marriage becomes too much, Jude bolts from the church, leaving a good man at the altar, her mother in a fury, and the guests with enough gossip to last a year.

Guilty and ashamed, Jude flees to Pengarrock, a crumbling cliff-top mansion in Cornwall, where she takes a job cataloguing the Trevillion family’s extensive library. The house is a welcome escape for Jude, full of history and secrets, but when its new owner arrives, it’s clear that Pengarrock is not beloved by everyone.

As Jude falls under the spell of the house, she learns of a family riddle stemming from a terrible tragedy centuries before, hinting at a lost treasure. And when Pengarrock is put up for sale, it seems that time is running out for the house and for Jude.

Giveaway Wins

This week I was the lucky recipient of a signed copy of The Cornish Guest House by Emma Burstall.

A new couple have arrived in Tremarnock, but will these glamorous strangers fit into village life?

Tremarnock is a small fishing village, crowded with holidaymakers in the summer, but a sleepy Cornish backwater at other times of the year.

Here Liz has found refuge with her young daughter, Rosie, after her relationship with Rosie’s father came unstuck. Now happily married, all seems set for a quiet autumn and merry Christmas. But strangers have bought the local guest house and seem to have big plans. Why is he so charming and confident, but she so frightened? Are they who they say they are? And what are they really doing with the guest house?