Sunday Wrap Up: Week ending July 20, 2014

Please see below for the four giveaways this week!

Stuart S. Laing Reviews: The Hanging of Margaret Dickson 

I approached this story thinking I knew the rough background to the legend of Half Hangit Maggie; indeed I have enjoyed a pint in the pub named in her honour on Edinburgh's Grassmarket, but Alison Butler has done a simply wonderful job of adding flesh, blood and bones to the story. Her writing breathes life into a fantastic array of characters who bring real colour and drama to the book, and it is easy to lose yourself in the rich reek of the harbour at Musselburgh as fishwives clean their catch amid the jumble of creels and nets, or the heady stink of Edinburgh where thousands live cheek by jowl in a city with little or no sanitation. 

I found myself being drawn deeper and deeper into the story by the skilful use of fact and fiction to create a satisfying whole. Butler's research and deep love of the story shines through and adds real depth to the book along with a plethora of details which just adds to the overall picture. Wonder no more why women go out on hen nights before their weddings! Or why sailors don't wish to be between the devil and the deep blue sea!

From Maggie's childhood, teenage years and her marriage, at the age of 17 which brings more disappointment than pleasure for the headstrong Maggie, we follow her life through its ups and downs. 

Please note this review comes with a giveaway! To read the rest of the review and comment to get your name in the hat for a gift copy of The Hanging of Margaret Dickson, click here. 

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Beggars Can't be Choosier by D.W Wilkin - A Review by Linda Root

It has been less than five minutes since I finished the first Regency romance I have read since I was in college, and my smile has yet to fade. I am still not certain whether I am in my desert lair or in a drawing room in London waiting for the sweetcakes and

champagne promised to the guests assembled there. It seems that I have been away too long. What a miracle that a gentleman who lives in nearby Hemet by the the name of David William Wilkin could so magically transport a colleague on the far side of Mount San Jacinto all the way to London and into a society where elegance and grace were the talismans, but title and wealth were everything.

It would be dishonest to say I was captured in the first paragraph, or even in the first few pages. But I did get the message that a main character in the story was an earl whose pedigree was more impressive than his bank balance, and who was striving to live within a very limited income while still fulfilling the social obligations of a peer. He is living in what we would call a rooming house and having his shoes resoled, but he still dines with a group of men appropriate to his station. And each and every one of them is hunting for an heiress. That revelation was not especially provocative or new. 

I can site a long list of famous men who were fortune hunters from France’s Henri II who married Catherine de Medici for her fortune, not her looks, and Scotland’s famous roué, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, who seemed to handfast or actually wed women he did not love whenever he was faced with mounting debt. At least in our group of drawing room bachelors, our protagonist Brian, Earl of Alfleck, is the least inspired of his friends when it comes to grabbing the first heiress who crosses his path. In fact, he is rather waiting in the wings for his childhood best friend Lady Sally to grow mature enough to appreciate him in a less platonic light than that of confidante and soul mate.

Enter Katherine.

Enter Katherine, indeed! What will happen next? You may get a bit of a clue at the review, where you can also make a comment to enter the draw for a free copy!

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Bad Boy: The Loving Husband and the Faithful Wife by Kit Power: A review by Anna Belfrage

This little book is too short to qualify as a novel, and given that it contains two stories, it doesn’t quite qualify as a novella either – instead, Mr. Power presents us with two very different long short stories (yes, I know; a contradiction in terms). 

Both stories are told in first person. Both have male protagonists – and that is where the similarity between them ends.

In the first story, we are introduced to a most loving husband. His wife’s every wish he tries to fulfil – preferably even before she has expressed it. He studies her facial expression, registers her tone and analyses absolutely everything she says and does so as to ensure himself he has understood her correctly before deciding on the appropriate action. He knows when she needs tea, when he has to buy her flowers. One gets the impression of a man living very much under his wife’s thumb, eager to please, always attentive.

The man is quietly successful as an accountant. He is promoted and receives a bonus. After some consideration, the man and his wife decide to use the money to build a conservatory. In retrospect, this was a most fateful decision. It will turn our accountant’s life totally upside down, but to say more would be to reveal too much of the plot. Suffice it to say that our accountant definitely has a ruthless streak in him when needed. Very ruthless.

The second story, "The Debt", is much darker. Our protagonist is a working man who has handled unwelcome pay-cuts by maxing out on his credit cards. Months of creative shuffling between one card and the next have resulted in a staggering amount of debt. Poor Del has no idea what to do, so he turns to Tel, childhood buddy, and asks for help. Only problem is, Tel deals on the wrong side of the law, and in Tel’s world there is no such thing as a free lunch. You want money, you deliver…something.

What that might be depends upon. . .something. Go see! Besides--there are TWO free copies of Bad Boy to be had, so comment at the review for your chance to win one of them!

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Last week's Wrap Up can be viewed here.

Beggars Can't be Choosier by D.W Wilkin - A Review by Linda Root.

The author has kindly offered to give away a copy of this book. Please see the instructions at the end of the post.

It has been less than five minutes since I finished the first Regency romance I have read since I was in college, and my smile has yet to fade. I am still not certain whether I am in my desert lair or in a drawing room in London waiting for the sweetcakes and

champagne promised to the guests assembled there. It seems that I have been away too long. What a miracle that a gentleman who lives in nearby Hemet by the the name of David William Wilkin could so magically transport a colleague on the far side of Mount San Jacinto all the way to London and into a society where elegance and grace were the talismans, but title and wealth were everything.

It would be dishonest to say I was captured in the first paragraph, or even in the first few pages. But I did get the message that a main character in the story was an earl whose pedigree was more impressive than his bank balance, and who was striving to live within a very limited income while still fulfilling the social obligations of a peer. He is living in what we would call a rooming house and having his shoes resoled, but he still dines with a group of men appropriate to his station. And each and every one of them is hunting for an heiress. That revelation was not especially provocative or new. 

I can site a long list of famous men who were fortune hunters from France’s Henri II who married Catherine de Medici for her fortune, not her looks, and Scotland’s famous roué, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, who seemed to handfast or actually wed women he did not love whenever he was faced with mounting debt. At least in our group of drawing room bachelors, our protagonist Brian, Earl of Alfleck, is the least inspired of his friends when it comes to grabbing the first heiress who crosses his path. In fact, he is rather waiting in the wings for his childhood best friend Lady Sally to grow mature enough to appreciate him in a less platonic light than that of confidante and soul mate.
Enter Katherine.

Katherine is everything any man in Brian’s tightknit circle of fortune hunters could want. She is beautiful, unencumbered, intelligent, mysterious and incredibly rich—some have said as rich as the royals. But there is more to Katherine than meets the eye—she too has a craving. She is the daughter of a bastard, a self-made man who made a fortune in India and left it to his only daughter, but who never knew or at least did not acknowledge who his father was— Katherine is committed to solve the puzzle. To do so, she needs to be accepted at the higher tiers of police society, the notorious well born, well bred and wealthy social clique know in Regency Romance as the Ton, a term which was as strange to me as the term Sgian Duhb would be to someone who does not read Scottish historicals. Hence, the incredibly wealthy Katherine has come to London shopping for a man of title, and she has done her homework and settled on the earl of Alfleck, our thrifty, reasonably honorable Brian. And here is where the story deviates from the norm. She neither seduces him nor entices him. She invited him to dinner and propositions him. The deal is simple. They marry, she clears his debts so they can regain possession of his family estate which is leased to some who can afford its upkeep, she provides a reasonable allowance and he provides her with his title and a public illusion of wedded bliss until a year after she had whelped a male heir and which time her position in society will be guaranteed and his finances will be substantially repaired. At first our noble peer is aghast at so blunt a  proposal, but then a quick trip to Lady Sally’s estates outside of London to test the waters there and he realizes that he is a valued friend, and nothing more. So Brian excepts the proposition and the real story is launched.

Regency Interior Design

Like most things written in the manner of Regency Goddess Jane Austen, the story suffers because so much of the action occurs in the somewhat stilted environment of the drawing room and club, but that is what the Regency Romance is made of. We glimpse behind the propriety projected by the polite society of the day into some of the more forbidden topics such as childbirth and the female body. We also see some underlying vices exposed, and discourses on the proper role of a woman, and the fine art of gambling sneaks into the story. In Katherine’s almost pathological need to be accepted in a society that without her title would shun her in spite of her wealth, we see some of the same hypocrisy we see in the vestiges of drawing room society surviving in the present day.
The language Wilkin employs in his dialogue, although not stilted, is as appropriate to the early 18th Century setting as is the references to the phenomena of sex. Wilkin lets us know it is happening, but it is happening beneath the sheets, and we can only judge its quality by the fatigue it produces in the actors. This is not a Highland Romance novel. There may be a hint of the forbidden, as in an open dressing gown, but as in an original Austen novel, not a single bodice will be ripped. And yet, Wilkin produces a sexual tension and release that arouses but does not offend the tender sensibilities of the drawing room crowd in the milieu in which he writes.
Once immersed in the story, it moved quite well for me, and I pronounce myself cured of my aversion to this genre. I will indeed visit the drawing rooms of the darlings of the Regency Romance again, and soon. It left me with a nice glow. And yes, a thirst for champagne and a taste for sweet cakes. And a day later, my smile remains.
Mr.Wilkin’s delightful novel is available at : Amazon.uk and Amazon.usReviewers applaud Mr.Wilkin’s high degree of expertise in dealing with the Regency Romance genre.
Reading and reviewing Beggars Can’t be Choosier has been a delight. 
Linda Root


About the author 
D W Wilkin is an author with the Regency Assembly Press. He has written several books and we can expect more to come this year and in the future. A student of history, Mr. Wilkin graduates with a bachelors from UCLA. In later years he continued his studied after college and applied himself as a re-enactor of history. A member of several societies that pursue the study of history through reenacting, Mr. Wilkin is a well known figure in his circles covering history from the middle ages to the present

Linda Root is the author of the epic historical novels of the Queen of Scots Suite,
The First Marie and the Queen of Scots and The Last Knight and the Queen of Scots, with a third one forthcoming, and of the three less biographical but equally researched novels of The Legacy of the Queen of Scots series, all on Amazon and Amazon Kindle. 

For a chance to win a copy of this intriguing Regency novel, please leave a comment here or on this review's associated Facebook thread.

Bad Boy: The Loving Husband and the Faithful Wife by Kit Power: A review by Anna Belfrage

The author is kindly giving two copies of Bad Boy away so see the instructions at the bottom of this post for instructions.

This little book is too short to qualify as a novel, and given that it contains two stories, it doesn’t quite qualify as a novella either – instead, Mr. Power presents us with two very different long short stories (yes, I know; a contradiction in terms). 

Both stories are told in first person. Both have male protagonists – and that is where the similarity between them ends.

In the first story, we are introduced to a most loving husband. His wife’s every wish he tries to fulfil – preferably even before she has expressed it. He studies her facial expression, registers her tone and analyses absolutely everything she says and does so as to ensure himself he has understood her correctly before deciding on the appropriate action. He knows when she needs tea, when he has to buy her flowers. One gets the impression of a man living very much under his wife’s thumb, eager to please, always attentive.

The man is quietly successful as an accountant. He is promoted and receives a bonus. After some consideration, the man and his wife decide to use the money to build a conservatory. In retrospect, this was a most fateful decision. It will turn our accountant’s life totally upside down, but to say more would be to reveal too much of the plot. Suffice it to say that our accountant definitely has a ruthless streak in him when needed. Very ruthless.

The second story, "The Debt", is much darker. Our protagonist is a working man who has handled unwelcome pay-cuts by maxing out on his credit cards. Months of creative shuffling between one card and the next have resulted in a staggering amount of debt. Poor Del has no idea what to do, so he turns to Tel, childhood buddy, and asks for help. Only problem is, Tel deals on the wrong side of the law, and in Tel’s world there is no such thing as a free lunch. You want money, you deliver…something.

Unfortunately (or not), Tel has no need of any services Del can offer, and with this last glimmer of hope quenched, Del is trapped. Del’s desperation is well-described. He has lied to his wife, Pam, about the dire straits they’re in; he is worried sick about what will happen to his daughter if he doesn’t sort the present situation. His brain goes into overdrive as he repeatedly tries to find a way out, but ultimately he is left with one choice: to kill himself in a way that will allow Pam to claim on the life insurance. At this point in time, a harried Tel calls, asking for Del’s help. One minor service, no more, and Del will be paid enough to clear his debts. Minor, of course, is relative…

Given the format, there is little room for the author to truly develop his characters. Instead, Mr. Power creates situations that force his characters – and readers – to revaluate just how far they would be willing to go to safeguard what is theirs. Personally, I felt "The Debt" was by far the stronger of the two stories, mainly because the scenario was eerily realistic. I could well imagine being in a similar position as Del – but I am not sure I would have made the same choices as he did.

I’m not sure I can call this an enjoyable read – in the sense that there was nothing fluffy or light-hearted about it. Instead, it leaves an itch behind, a need to shift restlessly in my seat as I consider the choices the characters make. Would I have been capable of doing the same? Would you?

About the author: Kit Power’s biography on Amazon reveals he lives in the UK and writes fiction that thrives in the borderland of horror, fantasy and thriller. He is also, apparently, in need of a car and a packet of cigarettes, none of which I can help him with. Further to this, Mr. Power has an alter ego as Kit Gonzo, and in this apparition he fronts The Disciples of Gonzo that play “loud, brilliant and energetic rock and roll.”                     
      
                                                         

Kit in a rather unusual pose

Kit can be found on Facebook here.

The Loving Husband and Faithful Wife is available on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

For a chance to win a copy of Bad Boy, please leave a comment below or on this review's associated Facebook thread.

Anna Belfrage is the author of six published books, all part of The Graham Saga. Set in the 17th century, the books tell the story of Matthew Graham and his time-travelling wife, Alex Lind. Anna can be found on amazon, twitter, facebook and on her website. If you would like Anna to review your book, please see our submissions tab above.

                                                                               

                                                                               

Anna Belfrage

Stuart S. Laing Reviews: The Hanging of Margaret Dickson

The author of this book has kindly offered to giveaway a copy to a lucky winner. See instructions at the end of the post on how to enter.


I approached this story thinking I knew the rough background to the legend of Half Hangit Maggie; indeed I have enjoyed a pint in the pub named in her honour on Edinburgh's Grassmarket, but Alison Butler has done a simply wonderful job of adding flesh, blood and bones to the story. Her writing breathes life into a fantastic array of characters who bring real colour and drama to the book, and it is easy to lose yourself in the rich reek of the harbour at Musselburgh as fishwives clean their catch amid the jumble of creels and nets, or the heady stink of Edinburgh where thousands live cheek by jowl in a city with little or no sanitation. 

I found myself being drawn deeper and deeper into the story by the skilful use of fact and fiction to create a satisfying whole. Butler's research and deep love of the story shines through and adds real depth to the book along with a plethora of details which just adds to the overall picture. Wonder no more why women go out on hen nights before their weddings! Or why sailors don't wish to be between the devil and the deep blue sea!

From Maggie's childhood, teenage years and her marriage, at the age of 17 which brings more disappointment than pleasure for the headstrong Maggie, we follow her life through its ups and downs. It is her undoubted desire to enjoy the finer things in life which leads her into flirtations with prostitution but through it all she always finds herself going back to her husband. It is to Butler's credit that she still manages to have you rooting for Maggie despite her wilful and wild ways that could so easily have made her a deeply unlikeable character.

Even though the book is moving towards the inevitable date with the gallows of the Grassmarket you find yourself hoping that somehow Maggie will mend her ways. Unfortunately, history cannot be changed and the descriptions of the Tolbooths in Kelso and Edinburgh will leave you scratching yourself at the image of bodies crawling with filth and lice and chained in unlit, stinking cells.

The Grassmarket

Eighteenth century Scotland lives and breathes through the pages of this book. From the stink of the midden to the tantalising aroma of French perfume this a book which fills your senses, and like a rich broth leaves you satisfied.

Bravo to Alison Butler for a job well done.

The pub named after Maggie

Purchase links: Available n the United Kingdom and USA.

About the author...

Alison Butler was born in Liverpool, England in the 1970s. She's worked as a checkout girl, bar-maid, model and singer. Alison is married to Dave Butler and has four children - Whitney, Belinda, Isabella and Oliver.

Alison worked for over ten years in the entertainment industry, working as a professional singer. Following the birth of her fourth child she gave up singing to study for a social sciences degree.

While researching for her dissertation, Alison stumbled across a small excerpt in a history of crime and punishment book. It briefly described the true story of a woman named Margaret Dickson who survived a public execution. This incredible story inspired Alison to write her debut novel, using 18th century JC court records, broadsheets and marriage/birth certificates.

During a research trip to Edinburgh, Alison visited the National Archives of Scotland to view the original JC Court records of Margaret Dickson's trial. Staff brought out the ancient documents along with an unopened verdict envelope, its red wax seal intact. When asked if she wanted to open up the envelope, Alison declined the offer. After all, it had remained unopened for nearly 300 years.

Alison is currently writing her second novel, The Progress of Magnus, another 18th century Scottish Gothic tale.

To enter the competition to win a copy of The Hanging of Margaret Dickson, simply comment below or at this review's associated Facebook thread.

Sunday Wrap Up: Week ending July 13, 2014

***Please see below for a book giveaway!***

Louise E. Rule Interviews David Procter for The Review's Author Interview

Welcome to The Review's Author Interview, David, thank you for taking the time to chat with me today.

It is a pleasure.

You say in your biography, quoted above, that a customer's words had given you the incentive to write. Had you felt, like so many people do, that you had a book in you waiting to be written?

Oh yes definitely. Mine had been forming for more years than I care to remember. I jotted down scenarios and characters' names, plot lines and twists, until almost the entire book was simply waiting to be written.

It is always interesting to know what an author's inspiration is when it comes to the subject of a book. Could you tell the readers what your inspiration was for writing Dead Men Lie?

Family history, pure and simple. What you have to realise is that until I began my research I knew nothing of the family beyond my parents' generation. So what I uncovered, the people, their stories, opened up this untapped source of inspiration.

Could you tell us about your character, Abigail Wood, please? For example, what are her weaknesses and her strengths?

Dearest Abigail, she has become more like a sister to me rather than simply a character. Her strengths are pugnaciousness, a determination to be heard, the realisation that she has been wronged and the ability to see both good and bad in each of her new friends. She is fallible, perhaps a little naïve, certainly a woman of her time. Yet she is not one to be treated as a skivvy. She has intelligence, the ability to speak with both men and women from all social levels. She is inherently kind and considerate, has the ability to forgive almost anything except what others do to her family. Above all she is no one's fool.

Characterisation is key to a story. Could you tell our readers how you go about building your characters' personalities?

To be honest, I cannot have a character until I have their name. it perhaps seems strange, but I can stare at a page for hours simply deliberating about the title of the story. Until I have that my mind cannot begin to work. Even if that name changes, I have to have something that relates to what I desire to write, the same with the characters. I knew I needed a particularly nasty man, I could see him in my mind, but the name alluded me until Tom Gasson was born; it was as if once the name fell into place he came to life. I could see him, hear him, smell and touch him. I saw the way he walked and the way he twitched, like the rats he caught twitched. When he spoke it was as if we were in conversation, in my head we argued, I heard every word he uttered, his tone, the way his breath hissed through his teeth. I did the same with every character. Each one is the embodiment of how I saw them as they lived their lives in Stormouth.

To check out the rest of Louise's interview with David Procter, click here. 

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Book review: The Light Never Lies by Francis Guenette

Review by Anna Belfrage

Please see below for giveaway details!

In this the second of the Crater Lake series, Ms. Guenette returns to the small community that hugs the shore of Crater Lake. Approximately nine months have passed since the events described in the first book, Disappearing in Plain Sight, and it has not been easy for several of the characters.

Ms. Guenette presents us with a varied cast. First and foremost, there is Lisa-Marie, not yet seventeen and an explosive combination of attitude and vulnerability. Pretty, intelligent and wise beyond her years, Lisa Marie returns to Crater Lake for the summer, causing a major shock when she appears heavily pregnant.
Lisa-Marie’s aunt, Bethany, is an ethereal, waiflike woman who has for years surrendered her independence for protection, allowing her partner Beulah to make all relevant decisions. But when Bethany develops a sudden and desperate need for a child, when Bethany’s neediness drives Beulah to adultery, their previously so-stable relationship starts to crumble at the edges. Having Lisa-Marie show up big-bellied doesn’t exactly make things easier.

When Bethany and Beulah can offer little or no support, Lisa-Marie is fobbed off onto Izzy, her aunt’s closest neighbour, and Liam, Izzy’s partner. Lisa-Marie and Izzy have an edgy relationship. Izzy is too beautiful, too perfect, too likeable, not to grate on Lisa Marie’s nerves, and besides, there’s the infected matter of Justin, the young man Lisa-Marie is in love with, but who spent all of last summer adoring Izzy. Will things have changed, Lisa-Marie wonders, hating that she is bloated and ugly like a beached whale when Justin is all golden hair, golden skin and soft smiles.

Izzy is a caring adult who somehow rises to the challenge of welcoming Lisa-Marie to her home.  Liam is not quite as thrilled: the pregnant teenager is volatile and difficult, and the entire situation is made even more complicated by the identity of the child’s father – it’s like lobbing a stick of dynamite into a fish-pool and watching the consequences come floating up to the surface.

Lisa- Marie – and the baby’s paternity – are not Izzy’s only concerns. Her father, Edward, has come home to die, some of her patients at the youth camp at which she counsels are having some very serious problems,  and as icing on the cake Liam’s long-lost father shows up, bringing Liam’s unknown half-brother, little Robbie, in his wake.

The author has generously offered a free copy of The Light Never Lies to gift one lucky winner: in the US hardcopy, e-book for all other locations. To enter your name in the draw, simply comment at the review or at this review's associated Facebook thread. 

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Book Review: Gimme Shelter by Louis Spirito
Review by Emma Powell

Note: 10% of book proceeds go to animal charities.

‘It’s The Sopranos meets Marley & Me when a volatile, chronically ticked-off writer struggles to help an abused, timid, big-hearted shelter dog'.

That blurb alone grabbed me immediately. A lover of dogs, films and anything thriller related can only be a winner as far as I’m concerned. And I was not disappointed.

This book is, in the author’s own words, a book born ‘ ... Out of a very unstructured, rambling diary’  and took the best part of two years to write. The quality of this input is apparent in the way the author opens each paragraph with a short snapshot of his tough upbringing during the 1950s and 60s. The reader travels through the author’s rather lively, raucous and high-octane lifestyle and you are more than aware you are reading someone’s journal, a very private journey that goes some way to explaining the anger issues that the author has learned to deal with on his journey with his rescued dog. And that is what this book is really about.

Tanner is the rescued pitbull dog that this whole personal journey centres around. The reader is introduced to the author’s early lifestyle that starts with Rebel, an Irish Setter dog that obviously meant the world to him and ends with Tanner. When one thinks of an Irish Setter one doesn’t conjure images of snarling, aggressive dog attacks. But I defy anyone to deny this is what enters their heads, even if only for a second, when the word ‘pitbull’ is mentioned. No dog is born aggressive and no dog is 100% domesticated but the journey in between is up to us. And Tanner shows in this book how pitbulls are malinged, much to media hype, and how dogs can truly help us, teach us in our lives. Tanner is actually a nervous wreck, terrified of anything out of the ordinary and hides a lot!

You don’t have to be a dog lover to appreciate this book. I was happy to review it as I have always had German Shepherds, my latest one a rescue with problems, so can empathise with judgemental attitudes that surround certain breeds. But this book is so much more than dogs; it’s a person’s story of how he developed coping mechanisms, life-changing attitudes and how hard it is to work at changing lifestyles.  By having to work with a dog that had issues, such as fearing everything, surrounded by people with preconceived ideas of the dog, the author cleverly shows how this path forced him to take his own issues to hand. The author is very honest and open that he has anger management problems stemming from childhood and through his 20s and I think this is a very difficult and brave thing to do.

Click here to see the rest of this fab review and the link for updates on Tanner!

Last week's Wrap Up!

Book Review: The Light Never Lies by Francis Guenette

Reviewed by Anna Belfrage

Please see below for giveaway details!

In this the second of the Crater Lake series, Ms. Guenette returns to the small community that hugs the shore of Crater Lake. Approximately nine months have passed since the events described in the first book, Disappearing in Plain Sight, and it has not been easy for several of the characters.

Ms. Guenette presents us with a varied cast. First and foremost, there is Lisa-Marie, not yet seventeen and an explosive combination of attitude and vulnerability. Pretty, intelligent and wise beyond her years, Lisa Marie returns to Crater Lake for the summer, causing a major shock when she appears heavily pregnant.
Lisa-Marie’s aunt, Bethany, is an ethereal, waiflike woman who has for years surrendered her independence for protection, allowing her partner Beulah to make all relevant decisions. But when Bethany develops a sudden and desperate need for a child, when Bethany’s neediness drives Beulah to adultery, their previously so-stable relationship starts to crumble at the edges. Having Lisa-Marie show up big-bellied doesn’t exactly make things easier.

When Bethany and Beulah can offer little or no support, Lisa-Marie is fobbed off onto Izzy, her aunt’s closest neighbour, and Liam, Izzy’s partner. Lisa-Marie and Izzy have an edgy relationship. Izzy is too beautiful, too perfect, too likeable, not to grate on Lisa Marie’s nerves, and besides, there’s the infected matter of Justin, the young man Lisa-Marie is in love with, but who spent all of last summer adoring Izzy. Will things have changed, Lisa-Marie wonders, hating that she is bloated and ugly like a beached whale when Justin is all golden hair, golden skin and soft smiles.

Izzy is a caring adult who somehow rises to the challenge of welcoming Lisa-Marie to her home.  Liam is not quite as thrilled: the pregnant teenager is volatile and difficult, and the entire situation is made even more complicated by the identity of the child’s father – it’s like lobbing a stick of dynamite into a fish-pool and watching the consequences come floating up to the surface.

Lisa- Marie – and the baby’s paternity – are not Izzy’s only concerns. Her father, Edward, has come home to die, some of her patients at the youth camp at which she counsels are having some very serious problems,  and as icing on the cake Liam’s long-lost father shows up, bringing Liam’s unknown half-brother, little Robbie, in his wake.

Ms. Guenette has chosen to tell parts of the stories from Robbie’s viewpoint – and she does so brilliantly, allowing this little boy to regard the unfolding events around him without the normal layers of preconceived notions or social conditioning. Robbie sees people as they are, his innocence the prism through which a person’s inner qualities shine through. An observant child, Robbie picks up on heartache and unease much faster than the adults do, delivering a number of insightful comments that have the reader reflecting on just how much children actually do understand – despite us adults hoping they don’t.

One of my personal favourites is Justin, this young man who is so full of compassion. Well aware of just how attractive he is to the opposite sex, Justin holds himself to a high moral standard. But where a year ago he regarded Lisa-Marie as a kid, this year he realises she is a woman – a very young woman, maybe, but enough of a woman to cause him all sorts of conflicting emotions.

The Light Never Lies has very many point-of-view (POV) characters and at times this causes a fragmented narrative. Some POV characters only have as their purpose to add to the tension of the story – they are interlopers, not part of the Crater Lake community but quite capable of creating considerable havoc and fear. Others are the recurring storytellers, people like Izzy and Lisa-Marie, like prickly Beulah and Robbie, the child who sees the light within each person he meets.
Inevitably, The Light Never Lies marches towards a final crescendo, where the threads of fate of the involved characters end up in quite a messy tangle. As in her previous book, there is a musicality to Ms. Guenette’s prose, and yet again she delivers elegant descriptions and robust dialogue, further bolstered by several well-developed and engaging characters. This reader will definitely keep an eye out for future books by Ms. Guenette, and is glad to report that there will be further instalments in the Crater Lake series.

The author has generously offered a free copy of The Light Never Lies to gift one lucky winner: in the US hardcopy, e-book for all other locations. To enter your name in the draw, simply comment below or at this review's associated Facebook thread. 

About the author: Francis Guenette is a resident of British Columbia, and her love for the region she lives in shines through in her writing. She lives in an off-the-grid cabin which is powered with alternative energy sources and dedicates most of her time to writing with the panorama of the lake spread out before her window. Her location is remote enough for there to be daily bear visits – an ideal environment for a writer! Read more about Francis on her blog.

The Light Never Lies is available on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Anna Belfrage is the author of five published books, all part of The Graham Saga. Set in the 17th century, the books tell the story of Matthew Graham and his time-travelling wife, Alex Lind. Anna can be found on amazon, twitter, facebook and on her website. If you would like Anna to review your book, please see our submissions tab above.

Louise E. Rule Interviews David Procter for The Review's Author Interview

From David Procter's Author Page on amazon.co.uk

Hello my name is David T. Procter, and I am the author of Dead Men Lie.

David Procter

So who am I? Well until recently I was a self-employed plumber. A trade I had been involved in since leaving school at the venerable age of 16. Circumstances made me leave without any qualifications, but that didn't hold me back; the school of life taught me all I needed to know. In fact my writing career began during this period. A customer looked at an estimate I had produced and said, "Are you a writer because this is a work of fiction", or words to that effect. That gave me the incentive to try my hand.

I went back to school to hone my long-forgotten skills and eventually produced my first book. Forgotten Souls, while being a good story, was printed at least three edits too early. My vanity took over and eventually I realised my error and took it out of production. It will return in another guise, but until then I went on to write The Ties That Bind and a short family history. Until eventually Dead Men Lie came along.

Product Detail of Dead Men Lie

["I] curse you once, twice, thric[e!"]

The malevolent spectre of death had been unleashed upon the unsuspecting souls of Stormouth. Those destined to become its disciples waited in fear to taste its foul breath. Reverent Bayles had been seduced by the devil, had tasted its vileness and had a victim of his own in mind. Who then would feel the dark angels touch next? Could anyone avoid its progress?

Stormouth hid many secrets, which men like Joseph Wood desired to keep hidden. Secrets though have a tendency of becoming common knowledge. Burdened by her own desperation Abigail Wood discovers the immoralities hidden beneath the aura of respectability. A story of myriad twists and turns sees Abigail discover, hidden in the depths of depravity, the truth behind the towns success.

Welcome to The Review's Author Interview, David, thank you for taking the time to chat with me today.

It is a pleasure.

You say in your biography, quoted above, that a customer's words had given you the incentive to write. Had you felt, like so many people do, that you had a book in you waiting to be written?

Oh yes definitely. Mine had been forming for more years than I care to remember. I jotted down scenarios and characters' names, plot lines and twists, until almost the entire book was simply waiting to be written.

It is always interesting to know what an author's inspiration is when it comes to the subject of a book. Could you tell the readers what your inspiration was for writing Dead Men Lie?

Family history, pure and simple. What you have to realise is that until I began my research I knew nothing of the family beyond my parents' generation. So what I uncovered, the people, their stories, opened up this untapped source of inspiration.

Could you tell us about your character, Abigail Wood, please? For example, what are her weaknesses and her strengths?

Dearest Abigail, she has become more like a sister to me rather than simply a character. Her strengths are pugnaciousness, a determination to be heard, the realisation that she has been wronged and the ability to see both good and bad in each of her new friends. She is fallible, perhaps a little naïve, certainly a woman of her time. Yet she is not one to be treated as a skivvy. She has intelligence, the ability to speak with both men and women from all social levels. She is inherently kind and considerate, has the ability to forgive almost anything except what others do to her family. Above all she is no one's fool.

Characterisation is key to a story. Could you tell our readers how you go about building your characters' personalities?

To be honest, I cannot have a character until I have their name. it perhaps seems strange, but I can stare at a page for hours simply deliberating about the title of the story. Until I have that my mind cannot begin to work. Even if that name changes, I have to have something that relates to what I desire to write, the same with the characters. I knew I needed a particularly nasty man, I could see him in my mind, but the name alluded me until Tom Gasson was born; it was as if once the name fell into place he came to life. I could see him, hear him, smell and touch him. I saw the way he walked and the way he twitched, like the rats he caught twitched. When he spoke it was as if we were in conversation, in my head we argued, I heard every word he uttered, his tone, the way his breath hissed through his teeth. I did the same with every character. Each one is the embodiment of how I saw them as they lived their lives in Stormouth.

Some authors have a storyline which they follow. Did you have a plan for your story already set out to follow, or did you just let it flow in an organic fashion?

Very organic. That said, Dead Men Lie started with a specific space in time; from there I developed and embellished the rest of the story around it. As each twist emerged I laid it down on paper so I could remember that if Tom Gasson was in the 'Butts' he couldn't be killing rats somewhere else at the same time. However, mistakes did occur and that is where my photographic-memory-editor in Canada came in. She, in fact, can tell you more about the story than I can, especially each character.

I know many authors prefer to write long hand, and then edit their work as they type it onto the computer. What is your preference David, writing long hand, or straight onto the computer?

Straight onto the computer. Those who witnessed my signature at the launch recently will testify my hand writing isn't perfect.

When it comes to the editing process, how do you approach this? Do you edit as you go, or do you find waiting until the manuscript is finished works for you?

I write until the story ends warts and all. Dead Men Lie opened with about 290,000 words, until eventually it ended up at about 200,000. Once it is complete I begin to edit it down chapter by chapter, then it goes to Canada where Lisa begins her magic. She checks initially for errors in time line and so forth, and suggests corrections. That done, we look at spelling, comprehension and grammar. Then we start all over and hone it still further, perhaps removing whole sections or adding new chapters as we see fit. It's a long process. Dead Men Lie underwent, I think, 38 different read-throughs before we ended up with what you see today. Some people will say that's long winded, but it works for us, and if it's not broke we won't fix it.

Trilogies are very popular. With that in mind, do you think that you will write sequels to Dead Men Lie, or do you have something else in mind?

I intend to rewrite Forgotten Souls, and complete a family history so that my granddaughter will know what a rich heritage she has. After that, then yes, I do intend to write a prequel to Dead Men Lie. I have made a start but failed to find the right vehicle in which to set it, so I am taking a short break. I will return and write, perhaps another two or three episodes to Dead Men Lie, simply to explain what happened to various characters and how they all end up.

I would like to thank you for talking with me today, David, it's been really interesting.

Thank you for being very kind with your questions, it's been a pleasure.


David Procter can be found at his Facebook Page.

Louise E. Rule is author of Future Confronted. Louise can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.