The Final Vow by M W Craven #TheFinalVow @MWCravenUK @LittleBrownUK @mwcraven.bsky.social‬ #WashingtonPoe #PoeandTilly

 

An invisible killer with a 100% success rate. No one is safe. Not even those closest to Washington Poe . . .

A shooting at Gretna Green. A bride is murdered on her wedding day, seconds after she slips on her new ring. It's brutal and bloody but she isn't the first victim and she won't be the last. With the body count now at 17, people are terrified, not knowing where the sniper will strike next.

With the nation in a state of panic, the police are at a loss and turn to Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw - the only team who just might be able to track down a serial killer following no discernible pattern and with the whole country as his personal hunting ground. Can Poe and Tilly stop an unstoppable assassin, who never misses his mark and never makes a mistake? Or will he find them before they find him...

The Final Vow by M W Craven is published by Constable on 14 August 2025 and is book seven in the Washington Poe series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

The problem any reviewer has when talking about books in a series is that we begin to run out of words to use to describe how much we enjoy them.  It is no secret that the Washington Poe series from MW Craven is my favourite crime fiction series out there. Poe and his sidekick Tilly Bradshaw are the most incredible duo. Two characters who really shouldn't work well together, but are completely perfect. As the series progresses, so does their friendship. It's wonderful to watch and follow. 

The last book in this series; The Mercy Chair was bleak and dark and really emotional. Whilst The Final Vow still features murder and danger and the author throws things at us that are so shocking, it's not as dark as its predecessor. The darkest wit and the blackest of humour are cleverly interwoven throughout, alongside the introduction of new characters who will bring a smile to the reader's face (Uncle Bertie will make you howl!). 

Washington Poe and his team are brought back together after a period of being forced to work apart. Some sort of punishment, that really didn't work out. When things are tough and there's a sniper serial killer out there who is currently on victim seventeen, with no misses, it's clear that Poe, Bradshaw and Flynn need to be called in. 

This is an utter joy to read. We have Poe and his grumpiness, his love for a pie and his loyal dog Edgar. We see him as he prepares to marry Doyle, and is living on a grand estate so very different to his isolated shepherd's cottage. Tilly is pure Tilly. Using her magnificent brain to work out the mathematical clues to where the murderer may next strike, and also continuing to be innocent, straight talking and often hilariously funny. 

Prepare to feel as though your heart has been ripped out at one point in the story though. Everything will slow down around you as you take in the words on the page. And breathe ...... 

How an author can make a novel frightening, gripping and laugh out loud funny at the same time is just genius. Compelling, inventive and sophisticated, this is crime writing at the highest level. Highly recommended. 

Multi-award winning author M. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in
Newcastle. 

He joined the army at sixteen, leaving ten years later to complete a degree in social work. Seventeen years after taking up a probation officer role in Cumbria, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. 

The Puppet Show, the first book in the critically acclaimed, best-selling Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw series, was published by Little, Brown and went on to win the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger in 2019. 

Black Summer, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Gold Dagger as was book three, The Curator. 

Dead Ground won the CWA Steel Dagger in 2022 and book five, The Botanist, won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2023. 

Dead Ground and 2022’s The Botanist were both Sunday Times bestsellers. 

The series has now been translated into twenty-seven languages. 

Fearless, the first thriller in the new US-set, Ben Koenig series, was published in June 2023 by Flatiron Books in the US and by Little, Brown in the UK. 

Fearless will soon be a major TV series.

M. W. Craven lives in Carlisle with his wife, Joanne. When he isn't talking nonsense in the pub, he can usually be found at punk gigs and writing festivals up and down the country.

www.mwcraven.com

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The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware BLOG TOUR #TheWomaninSuite11 @ruthwarewriter @simonschusterUK @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

Paradise comes at a price . . .

The stunning mountain views. The beautiful shore of Lake Geneva. The terrified woman held in the suite belonging to the hotel’s millionaire owner.

Lo Blacklock’s all-expenses paid trip to a luxury Swiss chateau should have been the ideal return to work. But as her past catches up with her, the millionaire’s mistress demanding that Lo help her escape, and a body turning up in the room next door, forces Lo to ask how far would she go to help someone she’s not even sure she can trust… 

The gripping follow-up to multi-million bestselling author Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 – coming soon to Netflix, starring Keira Knightley.

The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware was published on 17 July 2025 by Simon & Schuster and is the follow up to The Woman in Cabin 10. My thanks to the publishers who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

I have a real soft spot for Ruth Ware's The Woman in Cabin 10 which I read and reviewed almost ten years ago, in June 2016. I'm delighted that it's being adapted for screen and am looking forward to watching it. This author doesn't usually write sequels, so I was fascinated to hear about this latest book. 

I was not disappointed. It's another unsettling read, full of suspense and mystery and re-introduces the reader to Lo Blacklock; the star of the first book. However, don't worry if you haven't read The Woman in Cabin 10 because this one is a total standalone novel. Yes Lo is the main character again and we do come across some other familiar faces, but the story is totally on its own. 

Lo has moved on. She's now married with two children but is having itchy feet. She really wants to get back to her old job as a travel reporter but has suffered with her mental health now for a while, after the events on that cruise ship almost ten years ago. 

When a totally unexpected invitation arrives from multi billionaire Marcus Leidmann, asking her to attend the launch of an ultra fabulous hotel in Switzerland, Lo is intrigued. She's not sure how she's been invited, but when her old boss asks her to get an interview with Leidmann himself, she is determined to show them that she's still got it. Off she goes. 

Lo faces far more than she expected when she arrives. With faces from the past, people who need her help and danger around every corner. The pace is excellent and the tension increases with each chapter. 

Ruth Ware creates characters and settings that somehow feel very real, despite the fact that I've never been to a top class Swiss hotel!  I always feel comfortable in her stories and this one is an excellent read. Highly recommended. 

Ruth Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language
and a press officer before settling down as a full-time writer. 

She now lives with her family in Sussex, on the south coast of England. 

She is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail (Toronto) bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; One by One; The It Girl and Zero Days. 

Visit her at RuthWare.com or follow her on Threads @ruthwarewriter

Instagram @ruthwarewriter

The Betrayal of Thomas True by A J West PAPERBACK BLOG TOUR #TheBetrayalofThomasTrue @AJWestAuthor @OrendaBooks #BookReview

 

The only sin is betrayal…

It is the year 1715, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London's hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses.

Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his double life as Lotty, the molly's stoic guard. When a young man is found murdered, he realises there is a rat amongst them, betraying their secrets to a pair of murderous Justices.

Can Gabriel unmask the traitor before they hang? Can he save hapless Thomas from peril, and their own forbidden love?

Set amidst the buried streets of Georgian London, The Betrayal of Thomas True is a brutal and devastating thriller, where love must overcome evil, and the only true sin is betrayal…

The Betrayal of Thomas True by A J West was published in paperback by Orenda on 3 July 2025. The hardback was published in July 2024. As part of this Blog Tour to celebrate the paperback publication, I am delighted to share my original review with you again. 

Marketed as a 'historical thriller', this novel covers so many genre. It most certainly is a wonderfully researched historical story, with a mystery that runs throughout it. It is also a love story, a tale that explores love that is forbidden by law but becomes so strong that rules and laws have to be ignored. 

This novel explores a part of London that I knew nothing about prior to starting the book. It is clear that the author feels passionately about the subject and his immaculate and detailed research into the city, it's occupants, the design and the way of life adds so much to the narrative. 

I have never really considered the history of the gay movement in England. Of course I know that homosexuality is no longer a crime, and there does seem to be a more open and tolerant atmosphere around the issues. However, we all know that nothing is perfect and there are comparisons to be made with issues in the novel, and things that are happening in our world today. 

Thomas True has left the brutality of his life with his religious family and arrived in the frantic streets of London in the year 1715. Thomas knows that the life that he really wants is seen as sinful by his father. He will stay with his relatives and make his own way in the big city. 

It is not long before Thomas finds himself involved in the Molly movement. Mollies are homosexual men who, when not leading their 'normal' lives, dress in women's clothes, call themselves names more associated with females and visit the Molly houses. This is Thomas' dream, and despite his innocence at times, he knows that he has found his crowd. 

Gabriel Griffin is the guard Mother Clapp's Molly House, he's known there as Lottie. Gabriel is a large, very masculine man who is grieving the death of his wife and children. However, Gabriel knows that he truly is a Molly, and Thomas intrigues him. Before long, they have a close, if difficult relationship. 

However, there is 'a Rat' amongst the Mollies. There is a traitor who is exposing the men, reporting them to the authorities. Mollies who are caught, are executed by the state, no questions asked. Gabriel and Thomas make it their mission to track down the Rat, to ensure the safety of their friends, to protect those who are left. 

This is a highly descriptive novel that will delight lovers of historical fiction. The sights, sounds, smells, streets of London are brought alive by this author's clever use of words. The reader is taken on a journey through streets that seem familiar, yet are very different to the London of today. 

A brave, and ambitious story that deals with a part of history that seems to have been hidden away before now. Colourful characters and a captivating mystery too. 

A.J. West's bestselling debut novel The Spirit Engineer won the Historical Writers'
Association Debut Crown Award, gaining international praise for its telling of a long-forgotten true story.  

His second novel, The Betrayal of Thomas True, was published July 2024.

An award winning BBC newsreader and reporter, he has written for national newspapers and regularly appears on network television discussing his writing and the historical context of contemporary events.

A passionate historical researcher, he writes at The London Library and museum archives around the world.

The Serial Killer's Party by Amy Cunningham BLOG TOUR #TheSerialKillersParty #AmyCunningham @PenguinUKBooks @RandomTTours

Welcome to the party of the year.

You’ve been invited to an exclusive, luxury event in Norway, hosted by a billionaire. Your moment has finally arrived. But you’re not going for the canapes and champagne. You’re going for revenge.

Where anything is possible.

You’ve spent months preparing for this moment. Because you know that beneath the host’s polished public persona, he’s a vicious killer who has murdered several innocent people, including your sister.

Even murder...

Then a guest dies in mysterious circumstances, and you begin to wonder... is this a trap? Why does it feel like you're being watched? And will you ever escape?

The Serial Killer's Party by Amy Cunningham was published on 17 July 2025 by Penguin. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

There has been much debate about prologues in novels. Personally, I love them, and can never understand why a reader would skip them, it's a bit of a mystery to me! 

Anyway, do not skip the prologue in The Serial Killer's Party - it's fairly lengthy but it is the perfect set up for the rest of the novel which takes place a year later than the prologue. We find out that the narrator, Amelia has a sister, Rose, who is missing. Whilst the sisters were always close, they'd recently fallen out and now Rose has disappeared. Despite Amelia constantly getting in touch with the police, there's no sign of her ..... until now. 

It appears that Rose attended a party hosted by a billionaire at his luxury home in Norway. Now, a year later, Amelia has managed to get herself an invitation to this yearly event, in the hope that she can find out more about her missing sister. 

Tense and with some clever twists, this one is a destination thriller with a difference. The Norway setting is unusual for this genre and I loved it. It felt like the perfect place to plot a murder! 

Amelia is a complex character, and at times I think she made dubious decisions, but she's certainly entertaining and often surprising. A cleverly interwoven plot that keeps the reader guessing and moves at a steady pace throughout. 

Glamour, revenge and privilege, what more could you ask for?? 

Amy Cunningham is a novelist who grew up in rural Hertfordshire and now lives in
Cornwall. 

She has an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and has published novels across genres which include; crime fiction, contemporary women’s fiction and horror.

Amy has previously worked as a concierge for luxury apartments and as a maid in a 5* hotel, and so is no longer surprised at what the rich and fabulous get up to when they think no one's watching.

A Perfect Year? by Ruth Foster #APerfectYear #RuthFoster #BookReview

 

1990s England. Ali and Caroline are neighbours but not friends in leafy Upley Rising. Ali battles with money troubles and multiple children while Caroline has rock star connections and always gets what she wants. Then there’s respectable Robert, the third neighbour, whose life takes an unexpected turn.

Every December Ali, Caroline and Robert write up their year’s news into cheery round robin newsletters for everyone they know. What a wonderful year it’s been: Charles has been promoted twice, Max is the school orchestra’s top tuba player and Clementine’s child modelling career progression is meteoric. But what about the longstanding local murder mystery? Or the strange goings on at Upley Rising’s 300 year-old summer festival?

Whose letters can you really believe?

A Perfect Year? by Ruth Foster was published on 17 October 2024 by Ollerford Publishing. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I read this one whilst on holiday in Rhodes last month and it was the perfect sun bed companion. It's an easy, entertaining read, well written with humour and style.

I've always been fond of stories told in the form of letters and Ruth Foster does this particularly well. I have never written or sent a Christmas Round Robin letter, but have received a few over the years. I've always found the whole concept of updating people about your family, once a year, quite strange. I think it is similar to those people who insist on showing you all 276 of their holiday photos! 

The three characters; Ali, Caroline and Robert, all live in the same area but they don't associate with one another, they are completely different in their family set up, their outlook and their social standing. However, because they live near each other, they all relate stories about the same things in their letters and it is fascinating to see the differing points of view of each writer. 

This is a novel for those of us who are nosey!  Those of us who are interested in ordinary people and their lives. The characters are great and the writing really flows so well. I enjoyed this and would recommend. 

Ruth Foster is from London. She studied law and qualified as a barrister, before
branching into publishing and communications. She has spent her working life creating successful books and published works. She writes plays, articles and short stories.

A Perfect Year? is her first novel. She was inspired to write it by the round robin letters she still receives every year, and the stories they tell about all our lives.

She has two grown-up children, and lives on a smallholding in Devon with her husband, two hens and cat.

www.ruthfosterauthor.com

Instagram @ruthfosterauthor

One Summer in Provence by Carol Drinkwater BLOG TOUR #OneSummerinProvence @Carol4OliveFarm @RandomTTours @CorvusBooks #BookReview

 

A season of secrets...

Celia Grey appears to have the perfect life: married to Dominic, the man of her dreams, and living on a glorious, thriving vineyard in the south of France. To celebrate their good fortune, she decides to throw a huge party.

When she is contacted by a stranger who claims to be her long-lost son, David, the newborn she gave up at twenty and has never spoken of since, Celia impulsively invites him for the weekend of celebrations - without mentioning it to her husband.

Despite his surprise, Dominic graciously welcomes David and his unexpected companion - but secretly he harbours doubts. Is David really Celia's son? And who is the mysterious young woman travelling with him?

Only Celia can decide how far she will go to hold everything together, to keep her perfect life from unravelling...One Summer in Provence is a story of betrayal and belonging, and of discovering love in unexpected places.

One Summer In Provence by Carol Drinkwater was published on 3 July 2025 by Corvus. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

Over the years,  I have read quite a few books by Carol Drinkwater. I've enjoyed her non-fiction Olive Farm series and equally loved her fiction. It has been a joy to discover her latest novel, and despite the fact that it's a hefty one at almost 500 pages in my paperback proof copy, I flew through it in a few days. 

The novel opens with a quite shocking prologue, taking place in England in the summer of 1976. We are then taken to the South of France in the present day where Celia and her husband Dominic live on a vineyard. They are throwing a party, the weather is stifling hot and they are getting over the disappointments that occurred in their marriage before they moved out to France. 

However, Celia has had a secret - one that relates to the prologue mentioned, dating back fifty years. She had a child and gave him up, and he's written a letter to her. Celia is very impulsive and although she's never told Dominic about the child, she invites David to their party. He doesn't attend alone. 

This is a complex family drama set in such a glorious place. It is the ideal summer read, and the reader is transported to the French vineyards and the stifling heat 

Beautifully written, evocative and emotionally rich. Drinkwater examines the intricacies of relationships and the effect of hidden secrets so well.  Recommended by me. 

Anglo-Irish actress Carol Drinkwater is perhaps still most familiar to audiences for her
award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. A popular and acclaimed author and film-maker as well, Carol has published nineteen books, and one Kindle Single, for both the adult and young adult markets. She is currently at work on her twenty-first title.

When she purchased a rundown property overlooking the Bay of Cannes in France, she discovered on the grounds sixty-eight, 400-year-old olive trees. Once the land was reclaimed and the olives pressed, Carol along with her French husband, Michel, became the producers of top-quality olive oil. Her series of memoirs, love stories, recounting her experiences on her farm (The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest and Return to the Olive Farm) have become international bestsellers. Carol's fascination with the olive tree extended to a seventeenth-month, solo Mediterranean journey in search of the tree's mythical secrets. The resulting travel books, The Olive Route and The Olive Tree, have inspired a five-part documentary films series entitled The Olive Route.

Carol has also been invited to work with UNESCO to help fund an Olive Heritage Trail around the Mediterranean with the dual goals of creating peace in the region and honouring the ancient heritage of the olive tree.

www.caroldrinkwater.com

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The Girl in the Doorway by Louise Mangos BLOG TOUR #TheGirlintheDoorway @LouiseMangos @RandomTTours @louisemangos.bsky.social

 

A bookseller, a homeless student and a sassy sleuth chase clues for a crime from the streets of London to the Swiss Alps.

The stakes are high, but can they trust each other?

When bookseller James meets homeless student Emma on a London street, the attraction is instant. But after a magical Christmas break in the Swiss Alps, they return to find his flat has been burgled, and the police want to question James about the suspicious death of another homeless person.

As he and his friend Sally chase clues from the West End of London to the snow-laden mountains of Switzerland to solve the mystery of his stolen antique books and family heirlooms, James is forced to ask himself whether he has been desperately unlucky, blinded by love, or worse.

Will rescuing the homeless student be his greatest mistake?

The Girl in the Doorway by Louise Mangos was published on 10 July 2025. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

I have read and reviewed a couple of Louise Mangos' books in the past, and enjoyed them. I think that The Girl in the Doorway is her best to date. I was totally hooked from the explosive prologue, right through to the really classy, if unexpected ending. 

The prologue takes place in the Swiss Alps and it's clear that something tragic has happened. The author then takes us to the streets of Piccadilly in London as we learn more about bookseller James, and Emma; the girl in the doorway. 

James is a great character, lovingly created, he's an absolute joy to discover. A little innocent at times, his good nature can often cause problems for him. He's a book lover as well as a Waterstone's bookseller, he's kind and keeps an eye on the homeless on the streets. When he notices that the place in a doorway across the road usually taken by an elderly Scottish guy is now occupied by a young girl, he cannot stop himself and goes to find out more about her.  Emma is a street artist, and gives very little away, at first, James is not actually sure if she stays in the doorway all night. Gradually, they develop a relationship which becomes more than just benefactor and friends.  As this happens, they are watched by James' colleague Sal - certainly a woman scorned. 

James and Emma travelled to St Moritz in the Swiss Alps and this is when this author's description of place and area really comes into force. She is so adept at creating a real sense of place, as a reader, I really felt as though I were in Switzerland! 

There are twists and turns a plenty, this is, after all, a crime thriller.  It is quite tense in places and I feel that the short chapters really do add to the pacing. The various voices and points of view work so well, enabling the reader to get a different side to a dark story. 

A enjoyable and entertaining thriller and recommended by me. 

Louise Mangos grew up in the UK but has spent more than half her life in Switzerland. 

Her debut psychological thriller "Strangers on a Bridge" was a finalist in the Exeter Novel Prize and long listed for the Bath Novel Award. 

The psychological thriller "The Beaten Track" and her historical mystery "The Secrets of Morgarten" were both finalists in the Page Turner Awards, while her novel, the psychological whodunnit "Five Fatal Flaws" reached the shortlist. 

She also writes short stories and flash fiction which have won prizes and been published in various anthologies. 

She holds an MA in crime writing at UEA. 

Louise lives on an Alp with her Kiwi husband and two sons, and when she's not writing you can find her on the cross-country ski trails or wild swimming in the lake, depending on the season.

www.louisemangos.com

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Instagram @louisemangos

Bluesky @louisemangos.bsky.social‬