#AnAlmondforaParrot #WrayDelaney #BlogTour #Review #Extract

London, 1756: In Newgate prison, Tully Truegood awaits trial. Her fate hanging in the balance, she tells her life-story. It's a tale that takes her from skivvy in the back streets of London, to conjuror's assistant, to celebrated courtesan at her stepmother's Fairy House, the notorious house of ill-repute where decadent excess is a must...Tully was once the talk of the town. Now, with the best seats at Newgate already sold in anticipation of her execution, her only chance of survival is to get her story to the one person who can help her avoid the gallows. She is Tully Truegood. Orphan, whore, magician's apprentice. Murderer?



I am delighted to be on the Blog Tour for An Almond for a Parrot which is published by HQ on 27th July 2017. My huge thanks to the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest review.

An Almond for a Parrot is written by Wray Delaney which is the pen name for children's author Sally Gardner. Gardner is one of my favourite children's authors; I love her writing so I was delighted to receive an advanced copy of her new novel - her first for adults. And if that wasn't exciting enough, what a stunning and eye catching cover - this book was begging to be given some special attention!

From the very opening I relaxed and settled into the arms of Delaney's narrative, knowing from the outset that I was going to enjoy this tale. Immediately I felt a great interest for the main character Tully who narrates the tale with a bold, original and honest voice.

"I would like to make myself the heroine of this story and my character to be so noble that you could not help but be in love with me."

Well, noble or innocent victim she may not be, but I did fall in love with Tully. I fell in love with her humour, her outlook, her engaging recount of her life to the point at which we meet her (prison), her astute observations, pertinent comments on people and behaviour and, well, everything really. Delaney's writing is well paced yet full of historical detail, fluent and compelling. It is full of life, colour, intrigue, drama and well crafted characters. There is plenty of story and plenty of incident, there are plenty of characters and plenty of themes and ideas but ultimately this is a character driven novel that offers one of the most fascinating and imaginative voices I have come across in a while.

This novel has some strong female characters and I did enjoy Tully's stepmother who stated that wives and husbands who "slept in separate beds had healthier nerves and stronger spirits that those who slept together." I laughed as her "father roared like bedlam and fell to swearing, but all for naught." Delaney cleverly captures the world through Tully's eyes and presents a character who is continually observing, thinking, watching and learning from all she sees around her, reporting back with a candid, wry sense of humour. Tully's life is not without hardship and challenge but I enjoyed every moment, every twist, turn, obstacle and opportunity. This is a novel about coming of age, sexual awakening, propriety and society, women and men, love and marriage, action and consequence and it is truly compelling and captivating.

Delaney's evocation of London in the 1750s is incredibly convincing and underlines her flair, talent and accomplished skill as a writer. In an "age of deception, of wigs, paints and patches....where most of hide behind the painted visage...." Delaney relishes in Tully's "naked" account. I think she has had a lot of fun writing this novel.

Although there are moments of tragedy and sadness, unhappiness and danger, Tully's attitude that the world is a stage and life is a play without rehearsal ensures a buoyant and uplifting atmosphere throughout, alongside a witty sense of acceptance and inevitability. Tully plays a lot with the reader, often speaking directly to the audience which results in a compounding sense of intrigue, a need to turn the page faster and making Tully much more likeable. It is impossible not to feel empathetic towards her, sympathetic to her plight but also at times shocked by her. I also admired her. She is not afraid to speak up for women and defend the choices she has made.

"Women have no money in their own right and many are subjected to the tyranny and cruelty of neglected fathers and husbands. If a woman leaves this so-called protection, she finds the road to virtue closed to her by poverty and necessity. Her body is the only currency she possesses." 

The story flits backwards and forwards through Tully's life taking us back to her past and also reminding us of her bleak future as she awaits trial. We are introduced to characters who weave their way in and out of her life and I definitely had favourites who I was pleased to see returning at various stages of Tully's life. I thought each scene was well constructed and Delaney strikes the perfect balance with pace, fluency, description and dialogue. In conclusion, this book is an absolute treat. I loved it. It is a murder story, a story of grief, loss and love. It is a story of magic and faith. It is the story of Tully Truegood.

And if this review hasn't convinced you to go out and buy the book immediately then perhaps reading this extract of the opening chapter will entice you even further!! My thanks to the publisher for this extract to use alongside my review! 

AN ALMOND FOR A PARROT: OPENING EXTRACT......

Fleet Marriages

One of the most disgraceful customs observed in the Fleet Prison in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the performance of the marriage ceremony by disreputable and dissolute clergymen. These functionaries, mostly prisoners for debt, insulted the dignity of their holy profession by marrying in the precincts of the Fleet Prison at a minute’s notice, any persons who might present themselves for that purpose. No questions were asked, no stipulations made, except as to the amount of the fee for the service, or the quantity of liquor to be drunk on the occasion. It not unfrequently happened, indeed, that the clergyman, the clerk, the bridegroom and the bride were drunk at the very time the ceremony was performed.

Appendix VI, The Newgate Calendar

Chapter One

Newgate Prison, London

I lie on this hard bed counting the bricks in the ceiling of this miserable cell. I have been sick every morning for a week and thought I might have jail fever. If it had killed me it would at

least have saved me the inconvenience of a trial and a public hanging. Already the best seats at Newgate Prison have been sold in anticipation of my being found guilty – and I have yet to be sent to trial. Murder, attempted murder – either way the great metropolis seems to know the verdict before the judge has placed the black square on his grey wig. This whore is gallows-bound.

‘Is he dead?’ I asked.

My jailer wouldn’t say.

 I pass my days remembering recipes and reciting them to the damp walls. They don’t remind me of food; they are bookmarks from this short life of mine. They remain tasteless. I prefer them that way.

A doctor was called for. Who sent for or paid for him I don’t know, and uncharacteristically I do not care. He was very matter of fact and said the reason for my malady was simple: I was with child. I haven’t laughed for a long time but forgive me,

the thought struck me as ridiculous. In all that has happened I have never once found myself in this predicament. I can hardly believe it is true. The doctor looked relieved – he had at least found a reason for my life to be extended – pregnant women are not hanged. Even if I’m found guilty of murder, the gallows will wait until the child is born. What a comforting thought.

Hope came shortly afterwards. Dear Hope. She looked worried, thinner.

‘How is Mercy?’ I asked.

She avoided answering me and busied herself about my cell.

‘What does this mean?’ she asked, running her fingers over the words scratched on a small table, the only piece of furniture this stinking cell has to offer. I had spent some time etching them into its worm-eaten surface. An Almond for a Parrot.

‘It’s a title for a memoir, the unanswered love song of a soon to- be dead bird. Except I have no paper, no pen and without ink the thing won’t write at all.’

‘           Just as well, Tully.’

‘I want to tell the truth of my life.’

‘Better to leave it,’ she said.

‘It’s for Avery – not that he will ever read it.’ I felt myself on the brink of tears but I refused to give in to them. ‘I will write it for myself. Afterwards, it can be your bedtime entertainment, the novelty of my days in recipes and tittle-tattle.’

‘Oh, my sweet ninny-not. You must be brave, Tully. This is a dreadful place and…’

‘And it is not my first prison. My life has come full circle. You haven’t answered my question.’

‘Mercy is still very ill. Mofty is with her.’

‘Will she live?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘And is he alive?’

 ‘Tully, he is dead. You are to be tried for murder.’

‘My, oh my. At least my aim was true.’

I sank back on the bed, too tired to ask more. Even if Hope was in the mood for answering questions, I didn’t think I would want to know the answers.

‘You are a celebrity in London. Everyone wants to know what you do, what you wear. The papers are full of it.’

There seemed nothing to say to that. Hope sat quietly on the edge of the bed, holding my hand.

Finally, I found the courage to ask the question I’d wanted to ask since Hope arrived.

‘Is there any news of Avery?’

‘No, Tully, there’s not.’

I shook my head. Regret. I am full of it. A stone to worry one’s soul with.

‘You have done nothing wrong, Tully.’

‘Forgive me for laughing.’

‘You will have the very best solicitor.’

‘Who will pay for him?’

‘Queenie.’

‘No, no. I don’t want her to. I have some jewels…’

I felt sick.

‘Concentrate on staying well,’ said Hope.

If this life was a dress rehearsal, I would now have a chance to play my part again but with a more favourable outcome. Alas, we players are unaware that the curtain goes up the minute we take our first gulps of air; the screams of rage our only hopeless comments on being born onto such a barren stage.

So here I am with ink, pen and a box of writing paper, courtesy of a well-wisher. Still I wait to know the date of my trial. What to do until then? Write, Tully, write.

With a hey ho the wind and the rain. And words are my only escape. For the rain it raineth every day.

Thanks again to the publisher, HQ, for a copy of the novel and a spot on the Blog Tour. Don't forget to look up the other bloggers on this tour!



For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#Unforgivable #MikeThomas #BlogTour #GuestPost

 I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Mike Thomas to my blog today! Mike's novel, Unforgivable is published by Bonnier Zaffre on July 27th 2017. Here's a bit about it to wet your appetite! 

Bombs detonate in a busy souk, causing massive devastation.
An explosion rips apart a mosque, killing and injuring those inside.
But this isn't the Middle East - this is Cardiff . . .

In a city where tensions are already running high, DC Will MacReady and his colleagues begin the desperate hunt for the attacker. If they knew the 'why', then surely they can find the 'who'? But that isn't so easy, and time is fast running out . . .

MacReady is still trying to prove himself after the horrific events of the previous year, which left his sergeant injured and his job in jeopardy, so he feels sidelined when he's asked to investigate a vicious knife attack on a young woman.

But all is not as it seems with his new case, and soon MacReady must put everything on the line in order to do what is right.

So without any more delay, I'm going to hand straight over to Mike for his guest post written just for BibliomaniacUK! 

Crime series or standalone novels – which are easier to write?

Entertainment, and how we consume it and what form it comes in, is changing. Cinema is no longer king, and actors who just ten years ago wouldn’t entertain an appearance on the small screen are increasingly turning to television, with its rich, long-form storylines and returning series – fuelled by the likes of Netflix and Amazon – proving incredibly appealing.

Yet in the book world, certainly where genre novel series once ruled the roost, it seems in the last few years there has been a shift in the opposite direction: a massive increase in the popularity of standalones. I recently spoke to Sarah Hilary, author of the brilliant Marnie Rome novels, and she told me that even established ‘series’ authors are being pushed by their agents and publishers to write standalone crime or psychological thrillers.

‘Gone Girl’, it appears, still reverberates.

            As we all know, standalones are just that: self-contained stories. Series can be either serialised (with a narrative that runs through multiple books, such as Harry Potter) or formula (where with each novel there is a fresh story for established characters to ‘star’ in and where readers get to experience familiar ‘actors’ taking part in a different mystery, for example).

So with crime series and standalone novels, which are ‘easier’ to write?

            My experience: there was a point, during the first major redrafts of ‘Unforgivable’, when I finally (it was a bugger to write) thought I had a readable book on my hands. You know: the story worked, the reveals did the business. There were narrative hooks, the characters were fully formed and ‘sounded’ realistic when they talked or bickered or discussed the ongoing case.

I was pretty chuffed with it, to be honest.

            And then my editor – my thorough, pragmatic, far-cleverer-than-me editor – emailed to ask: ‘How are the readers supposed to know about Will’s background? Or how Charlie became injured? Or why Will turns heads wherever he goes in the force?’

            And I replied, “Because they’ll know all that from the first book. Won’t they?”

            Ahahahahaha.

            No. No, the readers won’t. Because lots of them – lots and lots and lots of them – won’t have read the first book (cough, ‘Ash and Bones’ by the way, cough). They’ll have picked up ‘Unforgivable’ with its lovely, striking cover and decided to give it a go, not knowing what has gone before. And if the manuscript had been left as it was – when I was rather chuffed with it, and before my editor stepped in – not one of those readers would have had a clue what was happening. Why my protagonist’s name was known by everyone in the force he worked for. Why his supervisors viewed him not with suspicion, as such, but certainly concern for what he was going to go off and do next. Why Charlie – or DS Charlotte Beck, to give her full name – walks with a limp now, thanks to young DC Will MacReady.

            I had – after ten years in the ‘author biz’ – made a rookie mistake and assumed readers would know what I’d been thinking as I wrote.

The shame.

            And that was when it hit me: this crime series writing lark isn’t a doddle after all. My twenty plus years in the police, along with previous standalone novels, counted for nothing. What I had to do, and it made my head hurt to do it, was go back into the draft and add… backstory. Exposition, when all I had ever been advised – by writing groups, tutors, published authors – was to cut back on the ‘telling’. And stuff. Lots and lots of stuff had to be added.

            Stuff I hadn’t even realised was needed.

            Here’s a quote from novelist Rebecca Forster:

“Writing a series is like when a dinner guest becomes a roommate. Writing the first book is like having a dinner party with exciting and stimulating guests, carefully planned menu, atmosphere – but the guests get to go home. And you get to put your feet up and relax. Writing a series, the guests stay permanently. You have to think of exciting things for them to do, vary the menu, invite different guests for them to play with.”

                       

And that, for me, says it rather nicely indeed.

My first two books were self-contained, with a beginning, middle and end. I killed off major characters. I made it clear one or two of them would end up in prison. I finished writing them and mentally put my feet up, because I’d never have to write about those characters again. The novels were tough to write, sure. But one was a debut, the next was written around shift work and babies and life, and by the time I came to write about MacReady and co fighting crime I thought I was set for a relatively easy ride.

Nope.

Let’s just get this out there: writing any novel is never easy. It is by turns exciting, boring, tedious and lonely. It can feel like forever. The internet becomes incredibly alluring when you’re sitting at a desk for six hours straight, staring at a blank page and blinking cursor. Every author I know hits ‘the wall’ when they have no idea what is going on in their story or if it works (mine is around 30 to 40 thousand words in, without fail). And I don’t care what anybody says, writing 400 or 500 pages of prose is a mammoth achievement.

What I can say is: writing them is different, much as readers will enjoy them differently. They are what they are. A standalone can be sleek and complete, a self-contained unit of story where space often forces you to be clever with backstory and potted character histories and plot. With a series you have time to breathe. To allow your characters to grow, for their lives and circumstances to change, for your protagonist and their supporting cast to become constants while each new tale unfolds around them.

Think, then, of Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’. Then think of ‘The Wire’.

Both excellent pieces of work, both different in form and each exactly as long as they need to be.

Thanks so much Mike for this really entertaining and insightful post! Thanks ever so much for coming along today and talking about writing your crime series! 

Don't forget to follow the rest of the Blog Tour! 

And don't forget to buy Mike's book Unforgivable or to start at the beginning with Ashes and Bones! 

Amazon: Ashes and Bones

Amazon: Unforgivable

For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#AuthorEvent #CrimeAuthorPanel #WaterstonesCrouchEnd

I had the absolute honour of chairing a panel event at the beautiful, newly opened Crouch End Waterstones last Thursday evening. It was a gorgeous venue - absolutely perfect for author events and a real treat to visit just as a book lover! 

The event was organised by author Jennie Ensor and it was a huge success. I was extremely flattered to be invited along and was thrilled to get the chance to speak to Jennie and Kerensa in more detail about their books having met them at a Bibliomaniac event at the beginning of July. It was a real treat to meet Ian Skewis for the first time and he was absolutely charming!  

All three authors are debut authors and are all published with Unbound. All three authors have written about crime and their novels are all categorised as crime thrillers, but each author has written about crime in a very different way. It was great to be able to chat about their inspirations, motivations, purposes, goals and writing styles as well as raising some more complex questions about the concept of evil, the depths to which characters under pressure can sink and how far and to what degree the author has a responsibility to the reader when depicting violent crimes or crimes of a sexual nature. 

It was a fascinating evening; myself and all those in the audience could have listened well into the night and probably until the early morning as Ian, Jennie and Kerensa talked with passion about their novels and their characters. We were treated to an extract from each of the novels and each author managed to cast us under their spell - the atmosphere at the end of each reading was one of breathlessness and to be honest, we were all keen to hear more and read each book for ourselves!

Huge thanks to Jennie for her organisation of the entire event and all the hard work she put into advertising and promoting it. And a massive thanks to Waterstones for being such accommodating hosts - sorry for waylaying your staff with chat about our favourite books (yes, absolutely fatal and they are lucky I ever shut up and left at all!). And finally yet more huge thanks to Jennie, Kerensa and Ian for letting me chair the event. It genuinely was a great evening and I loved having the chance to delve a little deeper into the psychology behind the psychological thrillers and the workings of the minds of their fascinating characters! 

If you haven't read any of their books then I highly recommend them all. Ian's book is now on my bedside table waiting to be read- I was captivated by the extract he shared. Below you can find links to my reviews of Jennie and Kerensa's books and a few photos of the evening! Happy reading!

Can you ever truly know someone? And what if you suspect the unthinkable? 

London, five months before 7/7. Georgie, a young woman wary of relationships after previous heartbreak, gives in and agrees to sleep with close friend Julian. She’s shocked when Julian reveals he’s loved her for a long time. 

But Georgie can’t resist her attraction to Nikolai, a Russian former soldier she meets in a pub. While Julian struggles to deal with her rejection, Georgie realises how deeply war-time incidents in Chechnya have affected Nikolai. She begins to suspect that the Russian is hiding something terrible from her. 

Then London is attacked... 

Blind Side explores love and friendship, guilt and betrayal, secrets and obsession. An explosive, debate-provoking thriller that confronts urgent issues of our times and contemplates some of our deepest fears. 

1950s England. Five-year-old Gracie Scott lives with her Mam and next door to her best friend Billy. An only child, she has never known her Da. When her Uncle Joe moves in, his physical abuse of Gracie’s mother starts almost immediately. But when his attentions wander to Gracie, an even more sinister pattern of behaviour begins.

As Gracie grows older, she finds solace and liberation in books, poetry and her enduring friendship with Billy. Together they escape into the poetic fairy-tale worlds of their imaginations.

But will fairy tales be enough to save Gracie from Uncle Joe’s psychopathic behaviour – and how far will it go?

Seas of Snow is a haunting, psychological domestic drama that probes the nature and the origins of evil. 

Bibliomaniac: Mini Review Seas of Snow and Blind Side

The most violent thunderstorm in living memory occurs above a sleepy village on the West Coast of Scotland.   

A young couple take shelter in the woods, never to be seen again... 

DCI Jack Russell is brought in to investigate. Nearing retirement, he agrees to undertake one last case, which he believes can be solved as a matter of routine. 

But what Jack discovers in the forest leads him to the conclusion that he is following in the footsteps of a psychopath who is just getting started. Jack is flung headlong into a race against time to prevent the evolution of a serial killer...

For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#TheUnquietDead #AusmaZehanatKhan #Review #BlogTour

*My thanks to the publisher from whom I received this book in return for an unbiased and honest review*

A compelling and provocative mystery exploring the complexities of identity, loss and redemption. 

The Unquiet Dead is a contemporary mystery based on actual events that occurred during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. It is impeccably researched and includes actual passages based on the testimonies of witnesses of the massacre of Srebrenica. 

Christopher Drayton's body is found at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs and Detective Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty are called to investigate. But this is a very complex case as once the investigation begins, secrets of Drayton's role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre surface. It's difficult to remain objective and in a community so haunted by war, anyone could be a suspect. And also, as this victim is a man with so many deaths to his name, could it be that justice has at long last been served? 

The blurb reflects the intensity and complexity of this book's themes and setting but Khan's skilful writing ensures that The Unquiet Dead is an accessible and highly readable novel. Although there are a lot of distressing passages, it is an important story and one that is well worth making the time to read. 

I think one thing that creates an impact from the very beginning is the line of italics that starts each chapter. These are lines taken from witness statements and testaments from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as well as other legal documents and historical records (all listed at the back of the book). 

"Whoever was on the list to be killed would be killed."

Her inclusion of these lines is purposeful and effective. Not only does this show the depth and detail of Khan's research and her passion for wanting to tell this story accurately even though she has weaved it into a fictionalised story, but it also adds a chill to the pages. Khan's balance between using real events, telling a devastating story but also writing a modern mystery thriller which grips the reader is perfect. This is an author with a great skill for language, structure and story telling. This is a striking novel and The Unquiet Dead will leave its mark on any reader. 

Khan's main characters are engaging, very well developed and crafted. I liked Rachel a lot, she had her own personal issues to deal with, a colleague to learn to work alongside effectively with and also her own personal emotions connected to the crime. She's thoughtful, calm, intelligent and focussed. I liked the way Khan revealed her ability and skill, the dynamics between herself and Khattak which were not always easy and her approach to solving the mystery of the dead body.

"She would tell him, she decided. This mucking about in the dark was pointless. It was getting them nowhere." 

Her relationship with her brother is very well crafted and explored. Khan expands this exploration of family dynamics with the introduction of a few different families and quite a large cast of characters. There are conversations and observations about siblings, motherhood and parenting. This helps not to only to add more layers to the novel but also make it more universal. 

Although predominately told from Rachel's point of view, there are also some short chapters written in italics. These sections increase towards the end of the novel but are well timed and well balanced. I actually found them incredibly moving but also fascinating as they evoked the emotion, horror and atmosphere of the events so vividly. 

"Noise. Chaos. Terror. Misery. Four words that now made up his world."

I have read painfully evocative novels set in WW2 which have never left my memory and for me, these passages from The Unquiet Dead will join them. Perhaps there is something a little more terrifying here because I was less familiar with the events on which they were based and it was harder to process that this massacre actually happened. The themes of hatred, fear, redemption and justice are universal themes that repeat themselves throughout history and throughout the history of literature and Khan shows herself to be able to write as beautifully, as poignantly and as confidently as any other novelist tackling controversial and complex topics. 

I think the other thing I really found fascinating in the novel was the role of Christopher Drayton and his duplicity and outward presentation of the person he wanted everyone to believe he was while duping everyone and disguising his past. This was really intriguing and I was captivated by the unravelling of his public persona as the truth was gradually uncovered. In terms of mystery and suspense, this was highly effective. 

"People were full of contradictions, bewildering even unto themselves." 

"We owe the living the truth. It's the only coin of justice left to offer."

The Unquiet Dead is powerful and unforgettable. It is a book to be devoured in the same way we devour other contemporary authors who produce thought provoking novels. 

I highly recommend The Unquiet Dead which is published on 27th July by No Exit Press. 

My thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review and for the stunning PR campaign of mysterious postcards that arrived before the copy of the book! 

DON"T MISS THE BLOG TOUR FOR THE UNQUIET DEAD! HERE ARE ALL THE OTHER STOPS SO DO TAKE A LOOK!!! 

For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#SummerReading #Recommendations

Summer Reading Suggestions

So what books are you taking away with you this summer? Which books will you indulge in and enjoy while relaxing at the beach? Here's a few that I would recommend! 

Click on the links to see my reviews! 

A Room with a View: Beautiful Books

The Summer of Impossible Things
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
The Expatriates
The Night Rainbow
The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde





Time Out: Stories you will not be able to put down until you've finished them!

Last Seen Alive
Don't Close Your Eyes
The Roanoke Girls
The Girls
Sometimes I Lie



Early Bird Bonus: A few more suggestions .....
Exquisite
Fierce Kingdom
A dangerous crossing
Seal Skin
Unravelling Oliver



Luggage Allowance: What will I be reading on my holiday?



Look forward to hearing all about your summer reading! Wishing you all a very lovely summer break and fingers crossed you're all able to enjoy a book or two along the way!



For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk