Guest Review: Date with Malice by Julia Chapman

It’s dark in the Dales this winter . . .

When Mrs Shepherd arrives at the Dales Detective Agency on a December morning, quite convinced that someone is trying to kill her, Samson O’Brien dismisses her fears as the ramblings of a confused elderly lady. But after a series of disturbing incidents at Fellside Court retirement home, he begins to wonder if there is something to her claims after all . . .

With Christmas around the corner, Samson is thrown into a complex investigation. One that will require him to regain the trust of the Dales community he turned his back on so long ago. Faced with no choice, he enlists the help of a local – the tempestuous Delilah Metcalfe.

Against the backdrop of a Yorkshire winter, Samson and Delilah must work together once again if they are to uncover the malevolence threatening the elderly residents of Bruncliffe. Could the danger be perilously close to home?

Review: This is the second book in the Dales Detective series from Julia Chapman. I found the first in the series (Date With Death) very enjoyable and was looking forward to publication of this new title. As before, the action takes place in the Yorkshire Dales, an area of great natural beauty that I know well. Also in common with the first book, this one has a most attractive cover, illustrating various aspects of the story. 

This tale once again unites the characters Samson O'Brien and Delilah Metcalfe. Both have business premises in the village of Bruncliffe, where Delilah runs not only the Dales Dating Agency, but also a web design company. Samson has returned home to the village after a long absence to open the Dales Detective Agency. Mysterious goings on at the Fellside Court retirement home in the village bring the pair together when Samson is asked to investigate. In addition to Samson and Delilah, there is a delightful collection of elderly residents from the home and local residents from the village playing roles in the story, many adding a touch of humour. Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention Delilah's faithful hound, Tolpuddle the Weimaraner, who helps with the inquiry as well. 

I very much enjoyed this story. It drew me in from the start and kept me guessing all the way through with respect to what was going on and how it was all going to end. It was very skilfully written to put the reader off the scent at a few junctures. Of course, the lovely Yorkshire Dales scenery was brought to life in the narrative. Although not obviously a festive tale, it was nice that the action took place in the run up to Christmas, with all the preparations going on in the background. This would certainly be a good book to pop into someone's Christmas stocking, but don't forget to buy a copy for yourself as well. 

Click here to order your copy: UK or US

Guest Review: Date With Death by Julia Chapman

Samson O'Brien has been dismissed from the police force, and returns to his hometown of Bruncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales to set up the Dales Detective Agency while he fights to clear his name. However, the people of Bruncliffe aren't that welcoming to a man they see as trouble.

Delilah Metcalfe, meanwhile, is struggling to keep her business, the Dales Dating Agency, afloat - as well as trying to control her wayward Weimaraner dog, Tolpuddle. Then when Samson gets his first case, investigating the supposed suicide of a local man, things take an unexpected turn, and soon he discovers a trail of deaths that lead back to the door of Delilah's agency.

With suspicion hanging over someone they both care for, the two feuding neighbours soon realize that they need to work together to solve the mystery of the dating deaths. But working together is easier said than done . . .

Review: This book is the first in the Dales Detective Series, by Julia Chapman, an author new to me. It appealed to me as a lover of detective stories, and also someone familiar with the Yorkshire Dales, where the action is set. The book has an extremely eye-catching and colourful cover, featuring some items and scenery typical of the area. The story drew me in from page one and was a quick and easy read. 

The story revolves around Samson O'Brien, returning to his home town of Bruncliffe after a long absence, and Delilah Metcalfe, a member of a well established local family and proprietor of the Dales Dating Agency. After having left under a cloud, Samson isn't welcomed back with open arms by many of the townspeople, but he and Delilah soon find their paths crossing as he establishes the Dales Detective Agency and sets out to investigate some suspicious goings-on. Although these are the central characters in the story, there is also a full cast of interesting and amusing people typical of those you might find in such a community. It would be wrong not to mention Delilah's lovely and ever present Weimaraner dog, Tolpuddle, a big softie. 

I really enjoyed this story, with its tense moments and sprinkling of humour. The characters were genuine and believable, while the plot was clever and kept me guessing for quite a while. Even once I'd guessed 'whodunnit' there were still some surprises round the corner. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit of mystery and adventure. I'm certainly looking forward to reading the next book in the series, due out later in the year. 

To order your copy now, just click the link! UK or US

Review: The Queen of Wishful Thinking by Milly Johnson

When Lewis Harley has a health scare in his early forties, he takes it as a wake-up call. So he and his wife Charlotte leave behind life in the fast lane and Lewis opens the antique shop he has dreamed of. Bonnie Brookland was brought up in the antiques trade and now works for the man who bought out her father’s business, but she isn’t happy there. So when she walks into Lew’s shop, she knows this is the place for her.

As Bonnie and Lew start to work together, they soon realise that there is more to their relationship than either thought. But Bonnie is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and Lew and Charlotte have more problems than they care to admit. Each has secrets in their past which are about to be uncovered. Can they find the happiness they both deserve?

Review: This was such a fabulous book to be absorbed in over a weekend and definitely one to banish those rainy springtime blues. Milly Johnson has a great gift of being able to weave serious issues and humour together with the help of characters you can easily relate to and relationships you can easily fall in love with and this book is a great example of that. This is a great book for die-hard Milly fans but also fabulous if this is your first foray into the wonderfully Yorkshire world that this author creates!

I was definitely hooked on this story right from the word go and found it really difficult to put down once I had picked it up. The story surrounds two people who are going through a great deal of changes in their lives and they each get a chapter at a time to deal with their own personal stories and then sometimes their tales overlap and we get to see the way they react to each other as well as the way they deal with their issues on their own, I loved this structure and it made for a very easy read. 

This book also deals with the antiques business and a little bit with the law, both of which I have limited knowledge of, but this wasn't a problem, as I was afraid it might be. I came away from the book feeling like a knew a little bit more about both and I really do look at the antiques industry in a completely different light now. I think if you have any interest in the business of antiques then this is definitely a must-read for you, but if you are new to that whole aspect of life, Milly will guide you through it, don't you worry. 

The issues of domestic violence, divorce, miscarriage and starting again from scratch are all covered in this book and yet you don't feel like this is a book about 'issues' and those things aren't forced down your throat at any point. Because this book has such strong main characters, these things are happening but are just a part of their lives and you get to deal with them alongside the characters so nothing seems to heavy or unnecessarily dramatic. 

Speaking of those characters, I loved those two main characters. Bonnie is a woman who is stronger than she realises and it was wonderful watching her grow and develop over the course of the book. She doesn't appreciate the sunshine that she brings into the lives of those around her and it is great seeing how she affects her friends and colleagues. Lew also doesn't seem to realise how strong he is. I loved how laid back he was throughout the whole of the book. I would love to have a boss like him and I really enjoyed seeing his transformation as the book went on. 

There were some seriously funny moments in this bit, particularly the misprinted newspaper headlines and captions that are interspersed throughout the pages. There were also a few moments when this book made me cry, sometimes through happiness and sometimes through sadness, but being able to laugh and cry at the same read is the sign of a truly good book and that's just what this is! I love how typically Yorkshire some of the phrases are and they were just the icing on the cake for me in what was a fantastic read and another win for Milly Johnson. 

To get your fabulously Yorkshire copy, click here!

Review-One Night in Italy by Lucy Diamond

If journalist Anna had to write up the story of her own life, it wouldn’t make for a great headline: Dull Journo Has Dull Boyfriend! The only mystery in Anna’s life is that she’s never known who her dad is but with her mum refusing to tell her more she’s at a dead end. When she accidentally comes across a clue that her father is Italian, it opens up a burning curiosity in Anna. Soon she’s cooking Italian food, signing up for an Italian class and even considering dusting off her passport to go and find her dad in person… 

Sophie is serving gelato to tourists in Italy when she gets the call that her father has had a serious heart attack. In a rush, she grabs her well-worn backpack and heads back to the one place she’s been avoiding for so long – home. Living with her mum again while her dad recuperates, and taking a job teaching Italian to make ends meet, Sophie has to face up to the secrets she’s kept buried in the past. 

Catherine has no idea what the future holds. Her children have left for university, her husband has left her for another woman and her bank account is left empty after dedicating her life to raising her family. She needs a job and an identity all of a sudden. At an Italian evening class she makes a start in finding new friends Anna and Sophie. And she’s going to need good friends when she discovers her husband’s lies run even deeper than his infidelity… As Anna embarks on the trip to Italy that could answer all of her questions, will the truth live up to her dreams?

Review: ooo this was a lovely lovely book. I connected with the characters and the storyline right from the word go. I loved the setting, I loved the structure and I loved the way everything was resolved at the end. Because this book centres around three different women, initially the book is structured so we visit one woman at a time and see her storyline (Anna's was my favourite storyline intially because I loved the connection that she had with Italy) but of course these women's lives become intertwined and so we get to visit them altogether after a point as well as sometimes apart when they are off gallivanting on their own. Although it as a little predictable that they would all end up joking together, I really needed that predictability and so I loved it, and I really enjoyed the way the story was structured, it made it very clear whose storyline was being addressed. The storyline I liked the least intially was Spphie's but I grew to enjoy seeing her continue to build upon her relationship with her parents as the book went on. 

The characters in this novel were really believable and easy to like, the whole book had a real Milly Johnson feel about it and although I'm not normally one to compare authors, she is one of my favourites and so I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much! Sophie has been living the dream, travelling the world and the reality when she comes back hom hits her hard. Think this is something we can all identify with, even if it's just from having been on holiday, but those people who have travelled or have worked abroad will be able to connect with the lovely Sophie too. Anna's story is lovely, she seems to get the break at work which is fab, there's definitely romance in the air for her too and then there's her mysterious connection with Italy. She handles all the is thrown at her extremely well and I really liked her and her storyline because of this. Someone else who has a lot thrown at her is Catherine. I don't think initially she handled all that she had to cope with as well as Anna but it was really interesting to see her grow and blossom as the book went on and I think, in the end, I was rooting for her the most! 

There are a host of fabulous supporting characters as well, my favourite of these was Pete with his interesting array of spreadsheets. I loved the way this author wrote him and gave him his comeuppance in the end!  The book ties everything altogether nicely in the last few chapters and then in the wonderful epilogue and so some might find the predictability of this a little too much and too full on, but this was just the kind of book I wanted to read and so I loved the fact that everything was tied off neatly, I wouldn't have gone to a book like this if that wasn't what I fancied but predictability is on the high side, so if that's not what you're in the mood for then save this book for another time. 

For a book with Italy in the title, very little of it is actually set in Italy, but a lot of it is set in the north with I loved. I like being able to identify landmarks and towns (as well as shopping centres) when I'm reading a novel sometimes and so the setting for me was absolutely perfect! This book gave me a real warmth of feeling and was just the right amount of coziness for a summer novel. If you are a fan of Lucy Diamon then you won't be disappointed by this latest offering and if you're looking for a real solid, fun, feel-good women's fiction read then this novel is for you-it may even improve your Italian! Now I am gong to go and add a couple more Lucy Diamond books to my collection!