Category Archives: Rachel Abbott

#AndSoItBegins by Rachel Abbott #BlogTour @RachelAbbott @annecater

Today I’m over the moon  to be opening the blog tour for Rachel Abbott and her latest book And So It Begins. If you love a twisted psychological thriller then you need to buy this one immediately. Before I share my review here’s the book description……..

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Cleo knows she should be happy for her brother Mark. He’s managed to find someone new after the sudden death of his first wife – but something about Evie just doesn’t feel right…

When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned. Could Mark be causing her injuries? Called out to their cliff-top house one night, Sergeant Stephanie King finds two bodies entangled on blood-drenched sheets.

Where does murder begin? When the knife is raised to strike, or before, at the first thought of violence? As the accused stands trial, the jury is forced to consider – is there ever a proper defence for murder?

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There’s nothing more thrilling than reading a psychological thriller that is deliciously twisted, one that literally leaves your head in a spin, and a plot that’s big on the unpredictable And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott fits the bill perfectly. Evie Clarke meets Mark, a reclusive widower, and they soon become a couple. Mark starts to feel he has a future after the accidental death of his first wife. There’s only one fly in the ointment, and comes in the shape of Cleo, Mark’s overprotective sister, who is is mistrustful of Evie from the start. What first appears to be a fairly straightforward story of a marriage gone wrong soon ascends into something darker and far more disturbing. 

As the reader you are privy to details of the couples personal struggles, at times this made for a disquieting read, but you can’t help but read on in fascinated horror as Rachel Abbot reveals more details about the couple and Cleo’s past. Now normally I have to feel some connection to the characters to invest in their story, both Evie and Cleo had qualities that made them impossible to like, but if anything it actually made the story far more interesting as I only took them at face value. I do love an unreliable narrator and in this book you don’t get one but two! and so I  found myself constantly questioning their involvement and motives. There is an undercurrent of lies and deception throughout the book and it is not clear until the very end where the deceit lies.

I was surprised when I realised this novel was Part court room drama, but if anything this was the part of the book I enjoyed the most, as the author deftly reveals more details about the damaged characters within the book.  And So It Begins Is a book that is guaranteed to keep you guessing it’s not about the “who” as that’s revealed early on in the book it’s the complexities of the “why” that make this book such an exciting read. With themes of jealousy, violence, toxic family relationships, and damaged characters, it’s one of those books that holds surprises at every deviously twisted turn. I must mention I love the fact that author Rachel Abbott manages to maintain the element of surprise right up to the last page, making this novel a thrill a minute read. Highly recommended 

  • Print Length: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Wildfire (11 Oct. 2018)

Buying links:  Amazon UK 🇬🇧       Amazon US 🇺🇸

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Rachel Abbott’s debut thriller, Only the Innocent, was an international bestseller, reaching the number one position in the Amazon charts both in the UK and US. This was followed by the number one bestselling novels The Back Road, Sleep Tight, Stranger Child, Nowhere Child (a short novel based on the characters from Stranger Child), Kill Me Again and The Sixth Window. Her most recent novel, Come a Little Closer, is available from February 2018.

Rachel’s novels have now been translated into over 20 languages and her books have sold over 3 million copies in the English language. 

In 2015 Amazon celebrated the first five years of the Kindle in the UK, and announced that Rachel was the #1 bestselling independent author over the five-year period. She was also placed #14 in the chart of all authors. Stranger Child was the most borrowed novel for the Kindle in the first half of 2015.

Rachel splits her time between Alderney – a beautiful island off the coast of France – and the Le Marche region of Italy, where she is able to devote all her time to writing fiction. For more information, see Rachel’s website, or follow her on Twitter.

Rachel’s website can be found at 

Website : http://www.rachel-abbott.com 

Blog : http://rachelabbottwriter.com/

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/RachelAbbott1Writer

Twitter: @RachelAbbott

Follow the blog tour…… 

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Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott

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Book description

When your life is a lie, who can you trust?

When Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the right move for her family. The children have settled well although her husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced.

But nothing prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone. His phone is dead, and she has no idea where he has gone, or why. And then she discovers she’s not the only one looking for him.

When a woman who looks just like Maggie is brutally murdered and DCI Tom Douglas is brought in to investigate, Maggie realises how little she knows about Duncan’s past. Is he the man she loves? Who is he running from?

She doesn’t have long to decide whether to trust him or betray him. Because one thing has been made clear to Maggie – another woman will die soon, and it might be her.

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Kill Me Again has been on my TBR pile for a while now, and despite Rachel Abbott being one of my favourite authors I just couldn’t find a slot to fit it in to my schedule. Well I’m glad to say I’ve finally read Kill Me Again, and Rachel Abbott certainly hit the mark in this compelling crime thriller. In this book we meet up with one of my all time favourite detectives Tom Douglas, he’s not your usual stereotype detective for a crime thriller as he’s sensible, smart and level-headed, you won’t see Tom break rules, or go all “gung ho” on a case. I like the fact that Tom is credible and a very likeable character, as we learn more of his background story in Kill Me Again, I found this made him all the more intriguing.

Maggie Taylor was another intriguing but complex character, we are introduced to her when her husband Duncan goes missing, she has to make some very difficult choices throughout Kill Me Again, and I’m not sure I would have made the same ones if I were in her situation, at times I felt sorry for her, and at other times I just wanted to shake her and tell her “to get a grip”! This is what I find with Rachel Abbott’s writing she is able to create multi dimensional characters which draw the reader in, and then adds a plot with twist and turns galore, which keep you reading late into the night. As the plot progresses it looks like the recent murders are connected to previous crimes twelve years ago, the pace picks up momentum and the tension mounts.

Kill Me Again is Delivered in Short concise chapters that are guaranteed to keep the reader wanting “just one more chapter”. The plot has multiple strands, so many in fact it began to feel like spaghetti junction! But Rachel Abbott managed to tie them all together effortlessly, into a riveting “edge of your seat” read. In my opinion Rachel Abbott goes from strength to strength Kill Me Again had all the ingredients I could wish for in a crime thriller, I found it well crafted and it certainly delivered on tension, suspense and intrigue. When Rachel’s next book is released it will be going to the top of my TBR pile that’s for sure.

My thanks to Ceri Chaudry and Rachel Abbott for my copy of Kill Me Again in exchange for an honest review.

5☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ out of 5

Publisher: Black Dot Publishing (17 Feb. 2016)

Kindle

Paperback 

 

**WWW Wednesday**

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It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. You can find Sam HERE, and it’s a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

Blanket Of Blood by Eileen Wharton

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Book description

The gripping first novel in an explosive new crime series.

The body of a baby is found in the woods. But all is not as it seems…

A twisted serial killer is targeting young, pregnant girls.

Senior Investigating Officer, D.I. Gary Blood, must use all his powers of deduction to bring to justice the most sadistic murderer his force has ever seen. A killer unlike any he has hunted before. But Blood has problems of his own. Can he stop his private life interfering with the case?

To find the killer Blood needs to understand the motive. But this is a place full of secrets, where dark pasts lie buried.

Will Blood catch The Crochet Hook killer before it’s too late?

The truth is closer than you think.

I have only just started reading The Blanket Of Blood, but its certainly started off well and I’m intrigued by the story line

Print Length: 349 pages

Publisher: Bloodhound Books (1 April 2016)

Kindle

What did you recently finish reading?

Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott

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Book description

When your life is a lie, who can you trust?

When Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the right move for her family. The children have settled well although her husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced.

But nothing prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone. His phone is dead, and she has no idea where he has gone, or why. And then she discovers she’s not the only one looking for him.

When a woman who looks just like Maggie is brutally murdered and DCI Tom Douglas is brought in to investigate, Maggie realises how little she knows about Duncan’s past. Is he the man she loves? Who is he running from?

She doesn’t have long to decide whether to trust him or betray him. Because one thing has been made clear to Maggie – another woman will die soon, and it might be her.

Publisher: Black Dot Publishing (17 Feb. 2016)

Kindle

I loved this book and I’m a big fan of Rachel Abbott and she does not disappoint with this latest offering.  Great characters well plotted and full of surprises. My review to follow shortly

What do you think you’ll read next?

Daisy In Chains by Sharon Bolton


Book description

Hamish Wolfe is no different. Locked up for the rest of his life for the abduction and murder of three young women, he gets countless adoring letters every day. He’s handsome, charismatic and very persuasive. His admirers are convinced he’s innocent, and that he’s the man of their dreams.

Who would join such a club?

Maggie Rose is different. Reclusive and enigmatic; a successful lawyer and bestselling true-crime writer, she only takes on cases that she can win.

Hamish wants her as his lawyer, he wants her to change his fate. She thinks she’s immune to the charms of a man like this. But maybe not this time . . .
Publisher: Bantam Press (2 Jun. 2016)

Kindle

Please feel free to leave a comment about the books you are reading this week

**WWW Wednesday**

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It’s WWW Wednesday time.
The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @Taking on a World of Words. https://samannelizabeth.wordpress.com/ and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

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Bone by Bone by Sanjida Kay

Book description
Laura loves her daughter more than anything in the world.
But nine-year-old daughter Autumn is being bullied. Laura feels helpless.
When Autumn fails to return home from school one day, Laura goes looking for her. She finds a crowd of older children taunting her little girl.
In the heat of the moment, Laura makes a terrible choice. A choice that will have devastating consequences for her and her daughter…

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Corvus; Main edition (3 Mar. 2016)

Kindle

 

What did you recently finish reading?

Web Of Deceit by M A Comley and Tara Lyons

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Book description 

DI Sally Parker is called to one of the best hotels in the area after one of the guests, Megan Carmen, reports her friend, Tina, missing.

Sally investigates Megan’s background when the woman reveals that she has just arrived from France and Tina is a woman she met on the Internet. Do genuine people truly arrange to innocently meet people they’ve only just met online? Or, in light of Tina’s disappearance, is there something far more sinister afoot?

Print Length: 70 pages

Publisher: Jeamel Publishing Limited (20 Jan. 2016)

Kindle

What do you think you’ll read next?

Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott

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Book description
When Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the right move for her family. The children have settled well although her husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced.

But nothing prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone. His phone is dead, and she has no idea where he has gone, or why. And then she discovers she’s not the only one looking for him.

When a woman who looks just like Maggie is brutally murdered and DCI Tom Douglas is brought in to investigate, Maggie realises how little she knows about Duncan’s past. Is he the man she loves? Who is he running from?

She doesn’t have long to decide whether to trust him or betray him. Because one thing has been made clear to Maggie

Paperback: 348 pages

Publisher: Black Dot Publishing (17 Feb. 2016)

Kindle

Please feel free to leave a comment about the books you are reading, or books you have read this week

 

**Stacking The Shelves**

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Here’s my round up of stacking the Shelves hosted by http://tyngasreviews.com/. Stacking the Shelves highlight books which have been received In a week. Paper books, e-books, ARC’s received, books bought or borrowed, are all included.

ARC

Blue Wicked by Alan Jones

 

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Blue Wicked is Alan Jones’ second gritty Glasgow crime novel. The tortured corpses of young alcoholics and drug addicts are turning up in Glasgow and only unlikely investigator Eddie Henderson seems to know why. When he tries to tell the police, his information is ridiculed and he’s told to stop wasting their time. One officer, junior detective Catherine Douglas, believes him, and together they set out to discover why the dregs of Glasgow’s underbelly are being found, dead and mutilated.

The Cabinet Maker by Alan Jones

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Book description 

The cabinetmaker, Alan Jones’ first novel, tells of one man’s fight for justice when the law fails him. When his only son is brutally murdered, and the thugs who killed him walk free, he devotes his life to bringing the killers to justice. It’s young Glasgow detective John McDaid’s first murder case. He forms an unlikely friendship with the cabinetmaker, founded on their desire to see the killers punished, their love of amateur football, and by John’s introduction by the cabinetmaker to a lifelong passion for fine furniture. This is the story of their relationship, the cabinetmaker’s quest for justice, and the detective’s search for the truth.

Bone By Bone by Sajida Kay

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Book description

Laura loves her daughter more than anything in the world.

But nine-year-old daughter Autumn is being bullied. Laura feels helpless.

When Autumn fails to return home from school one day, Laura goes looking for her. She finds a crowd of older children taunting her little girl.

In the heat of the moment, Laura makes a terrible choice. A choice that will have devastating consequences for her and her daughter…

The Wrong Hand by Jane Jago

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Book description

We all make mistakes. Moments that change us and the path we are on irrevocably. For Rachel Allen it was the moment that she let her son’s hand slip from hers. For Danny Simpson and Graham Harris it was the moment one of them took it. Seven years ago Danny and Graham were just children themselves, angry, marginalized and unguided. That was, until they committed a crime so heinous that three families were left devastated. They were no longer just boys. They were monsters. Released from juvenile detention, it is time for the boys, now men, to start again; new names, new people. But they can never escape who they are or what they did. And their own families, now notorious; the Allens, destroyed with grief; and the country at large have never been able to forget. They will always be running. They will always be hiding. But are some mistakes too large, the ripples to far reaching, to outrun forever?

See How They Run by Tom Bale

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Book description

How far would you go to save your family?

In the dead of night, new parents Alice and Harry French are plunged into their worst nightmare when they wake to find masked men in their bedroom. Men ruthless enough to threaten their baby daughter, Evie.

This is no burglary gone wrong.
The intruders know who they’re looking for – a man called Edward Renshaw.
And they are prepared to kill to get to him.

When the men leave empty handed, little do Alice and Harry realise that their nightmare is just beginning. Is it a case of mistaken identity? Who is Renshaw? And what is he hiding?

In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes

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Book description

The compelling new psychological suspense novel, from the author of Until You’re Mine, Before You Die and You Belong to Me. Perfect for fans of S J Watson and Sophie Hannah.

Your husband goes out to buy a newspaper. He never comes back.

Months later, an unexpected phone call puts you and your daughter in unimaginable danger.

Even if he were still alive, your husband can’t save you now.

He told you way too many lies for that.

The Blood On My Hands by Shannon O’Leary

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Book description

Set in 1960s and ‘70s Australia, The Blood on My Hands is the dramatic tale of Shannon O’Leary’s childhood years. O’Leary grew up under the shadow of horrific domestic violence, sexual and physical abuse, and serial murder. Her story is one of courageous resilience in the face of unimaginable horrors.

The responses of those whom O’Leary and her immediate family reach out to for help are almost as disturbing as the crimes of her violent father. Relatives are afraid to bring disgrace to the family’s good name, nuns condemn the child’s objections as disobedience and noncompliance, and laws at the time prevent the police from interfering unless someone is killed.

The Blood on My Hands is a heartbreaking—yet riveting—narrative of a childhood spent in pain and terror, betrayed by the people who are supposed to provide safety and understanding, and the strength and courage it takes, not just to survive and escape, but to flourish and thrive.

When I Lost You by Kelly Rimmer

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Book description

Do you ever wish you had the chance to meet someone again for the first time?

When Leo and Molly met and married, they believed they were invincible. Together they could take on the world. But Leo,a war correspondent, lives for life on the edge, and when he takes a step into the unknown, tragedy strikes and he loses his memory. Molly rushes to help him fill in the gaps and soon they start falling in love all over again.

The trouble is, Molly is hiding something. Something big. The devoted wife at Leo’s bedside is a sham; Leo and Molly’s marriage was on the rocks long before Leo’s accident.

The closer Molly gets to her husband the more scared she becomes that he will remember. As Leo’s memory begins to trickle back will Molly lose the man she loves for a second time?

Book Post

The Missing by C.L. Taylor 

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Book description 

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them.

But should you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire, blames herself. She’s not the only one. There isn’t a single member of Billy’s family that doesn’t feel guilty. But the Wilkinson’s are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn’t until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.

A mother’s instinct is never wrong. Or is it?

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones with the most to hide…

Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott

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Book description 

When Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the right move for her family. The children have settled well although her husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced.

But nothing prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone. His phone is dead, and she has no idea where he has gone, or why. And then she discovers she’s not the only one looking for him.

When a woman who looks just like Maggie is brutally murdered and DCI Tom Douglas is brought in to investigate, Maggie realises how little she knows about Duncan’s past. Is he the man she loves? Who is he running from?

She doesn’t have long to decide whether to trust him or betray him. Because one thing has been made clear to Maggie – another woman will die soon, and it might be her.

Books I won

Over on Crime Book Club I won not one but two books by L J Ross and lots of other goodies, I just had to include a photo of my prize’s don’t you just love them? Many thanks to Shell Baker and LJ Ross for my fab prize

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These are the two books I won and book descriptions

Holy Island by LJ Ross

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Book description
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory.

When former local girl Dr Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface making her confront her difficult past. She and Ryan struggle to work together to hunt a killer who hides in plain sight, while pagan ritual and small-town politics muddy the waters of their investigation.

Murder and mystery are peppered with a sprinkling of romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set on the spectacular Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne, cut off from the English mainland by a tidal causeway.

Sycamore Gap by L J Ross

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Book description

Detective Chief Inspector Ryan believes he has put his turbulent history behind him. Then, in the early hours of the summer solstice, the skeleton of a young woman is found inside the Roman Wall at Sycamore Gap. She has lain undiscovered for ten years and it is Ryan’s job to piece together her past.

Enquiry lines cross and merge as Ryan is forced to face his own demons and enter into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who seems unstoppable.

Murder and mystery are peppered with a sprinkling of romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular scenery of Hadrian’s Wall country in Northumberland.

I have been really good this week and not bought one book, so I have kept to my “not buying any more books until my TBR piles gone down”…. Mind you looking at all the fantastic ARC books I’ve received this week my TBR pile won’t be diminishing anytime soon.

Please feel free to leave a comment, have you read any of the above books? Did you love/hate them? Which ones would you like to read?