Category: Blog Series Page 172 of 230

Saturday Miscellany—3/14/20

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On March 14, 2020

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I crashed hard last night minutes before I was supposed to write my Fridays with the Foundling post (which means I didn’t do the reading for next week’s, either). But apparently, I needed it.

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
          bullet 9 Ways to Support Your Independent Bookstore During Coronavirus—Yeah, I agree, many of the ways Americans are reacting to this are silly. But small businesses (and those who work for them) are getting hit hard. If I talked about things other than books, I’d talk about helping them. But I don’t. So, here, go help a bookstore.
          bullet Need cheering up right now? Try reading a romance novel: Bestseller Milly Johnson calls the genre ‘aloe vera on anxious lives’ – and it has kept me going sometimes. Here are my favourites to swoon over—I won’t be doing this, but I appreciate the approach.
          bullet How Flawed is Acceptable?—I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get the same result as this Book Riot piece does, but it’s a good thing for people to talk about
          bullet When Not to DNF—This Book Riot piece, on the other hand, I think is a pretty good approach.
          bullet Why Slow Reading Is Perfectly Okay: The author of Do Nothing calls for enjoying words as a luxurious meal, rather than a hurried buffet.—Sure, as someone who can’t stop obsessing about how much/little I read in a month, this may seem hypocritical, but Headlee is on to something here. I should probably try her book…
          bullet Jeremy Billups—I’ve talked about his children’s books (click here), and now you can read them for free (before buying them and helping the guy out, is what I’d recommend).
          bullet Did I miss the announcement that this is Historical Fiction Week? I kept stumbling across things about it, like: Adventures in Historical Fiction: History is Everywhere (And Full of Surprises)
          bullet And: How historically accurate does historical fiction have to be?—Personally, I like extremely accurate, or not at all. The stuff in the middle annoys me.
          bullet And again (sure, same blogger, but…) Some Fun Alternative History I Actually Like
          bullet BOOK TROPES—A Fangirl gives her Personal Opinions…most of which I agree (especially the Miscommunication bit…). However, when done really, really well, I won’t complain about any of these.
          bullet Where I’ve Been—the Tattooed Book Geek took a breather recently and talks about it here.

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
          bullet The Guardian’s books podcast featured Ben Aaronovitch on Rivers of London—great interview

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
          bullet Dead Wrong by Noelle Holten—Her arrest led to his conviction and imprisonment already, so why are his victims dying now? I blogged about it yesterday
          bullet Madam Tulip and the Serpent’s Tree by David Ahren—Derry and Madam Tulip dip their toes into a pop musician’s life and find a whole lotta trouble. I blogged about it Monday
          bullet The Starr Sting Scale by C.S. O’Cinneide—A retired(?) hitwoman helps the police. I talked about it on Tuesday.
          bullet Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole—”The Coast Guard must prevent the first lunar war in history”. Cole brings his real-world experience in the Guard to SF in what looks to be a great read. I couldn’t even to begin to guess when I’ll talk about this.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to imyril, KetoJENic Vibe, Shreya Roychoudhury, tiffosaur, *Flora*, posssumpapaya, and Shayleene MacReynolds for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

A Few Quick Questions With…Noelle Holten

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On March 13, 2020

In A Few Quick Questions With..., DC Maggie Jamieson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Noelle Holten

Struck by inspiration a couple of days ago, I hit Holten up with a last-minute request to participate in this, which she graciously agreed to and found time in her busy schedule. Hope you enjoy this half as much as I did.

In case you haven’t read my posts about her books, Dead Inside and Dead Wrong, you should before (or after) you read this, so you have a clue what we’re talking about.

So what was it that flipped the switch for you to move from Award Winning Book Blogger to Crime Fiction Writer?
I’ve been an avid reader of crime fiction for so many years – too many to mention. In the back of my head I had always wished I could write a book but never thought I could string a story together. I was encouraged by other writers who I had met at various festivals and then in 2017 I attended Crime & Publishment run by Graham Smith with Michael J Malone. All I had was the prologue to Dead Inside and when I finally showed it to both of them (separately) and got the same reaction – ‘Wow. That’s powerful’ I thought maybe I could actually write a book… 12 weeks later, the draft for Dead Inside was complete!
If that draft prologue was close to the published version, I can easily see why they’d react that way. I did. 🙂

Technically, Dead Inside was a Maggie Jamieson book, but it was Lucy Sherwood’s just as much (if not more). Was the plan all along to slide into Maggie’s series like or did Dead Inside evolve into a story focusing on Lucy?
Dead Inside had always been Lucy’s story. In fact, Maggie had originally only played a small part in the book and the whole series I had mapped out in my mind. I always saw this as an ensemble series – many, if not most of the main players would be introduced in Dead Inside and then each of the following books would focus on someone else – with the police & Maggie solving any crimes that came up. My publisher felt that a police procedural would be a better focus and so I brought DC Maggie Jamieson more into the story. Dead Wrong was/is her story and we see much more of her in the other books that follow.
How was the experience of writing Dead Wrong different than Dead Inside? Having the confidence from one under your belt, was it easier? Or was it like starting from Square One again?
I think writing Dead Wrong was much harder. Although I had an idea mapped out, I had Dead Inside in my head for a few years – or at least an outline of it. I also didn’t have deadlines to meet! That makes a huge difference no matter how disciplined you are! I still feel very much a newbie to the game and love learning more about writing as each book comes alive. I don’t think it will ever get easier for me as I am always worried that I won’t write a story that people will want to read – the whole imposter syndrome sets in.
Obviously, you’re a Crime Book Junkie, but is there another genre you’d like to try your hand at?
If I had to choose another genre it might be horror – as I definitely would have no chance at writing a rom com or sci fi – I know I couldn’t do it! I do have an idea for a stand alone psychological thriller – so I might try that one day.
Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I’ve recently invented). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like Dead Inside? [N.B. I meant to ask about Dead Wrong, whoops.]
Oh this is a tough one! Ok, I have some series in mind so I will choose one book from those I guess!
Silent Scream by Angela Marsons
Somewhere to Hide by Mel Sherratt
A Suitable Lie by Michael J MaloneI can’t really think of others off the top of my head but the above I think each have a similar feeling to Dead Inside that I think readers would enjoy if they enjoyed these books.
What’s next for Noelle Holten, author?
I have a few crime festivals I will be attending either as an avid fan of crime fiction or on a panel. I am currently editing the third book in the series (cover and title to be revealed soon I hope – woohoo!) and that should be out towards the end of this year. I’m also about 20k into writing Book 4. I work full time as well and although blogging itself has taken a back burner, I am still reading and reviewing too. Somewhere in between all that I try and sleep too!
It’s Release Day Eve for Dead Wrong. How nervous are you? How’s it compare to Dead Inside?
I am EXTREMELY nervous. I think I feel exactly the same as I did when Dead Inside came out but maybe even a little more nervous. I mean, what if people don’t like Dead Wrong?! What if they were expecting something exactly the same as my first book – and it’s not the same – oh my god, the nerves!! So yeah, I don’t think it gets any easier.
Thanks for your time—and thanks for Dead Wrong, I’m really enjoying it, and hope you have plenty of success with it.
Thank YOU for having me and after your incredible review of Dead Inside. I am SO NERVOUS to hear what you think of Dead Wrong.

COVER REVEAL: Murder in the Chowdhury Palace by Sharmishtha Shenoy

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On March 13, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

~ Cover Reveal ~
Murder in the Chowdhury Palace
by Sharmishtha Shenoy

 

 



About the Book:

What if someone you loved… was murdered? How far would you go to bring a killer to justice?

Orphaned in her childhood, Durga has always longed for wealth, security and, above all, a sense of belonging. She finds it all when she marries Debnarayan Chowdhury, heir to an immense, multi-crore estate. But the Chowdhury family has been under a curse that dates back to the British era. The first-born of each generation dies young, purportedly killed by the spirit of Kadambari, a young woman murdered by the notorious Shankar Dakat, the founder of the Chowdhury family and their Zamindari. When her father-in-law Birendranath dies unexpectedly, Durga and Debnarayan come down to the ancestral home in Kakdihi, a small village near Kolkata. The moment Durga enters her new palatial home, she crosses a threshold of terror. She loses her husband within a month of her marriage and finds herself a widow in a house full of strangers. Are Debnarayan’s and Birendranath’s deaths accidental? Everyone in her new family and the neighborhood appear to be friendly. Most of them have a motive to kill her. A well-meaning neighbor tells her, ‘Run from this place. You have no friends here.’ Is she, the current owner of the estate, now on the murderer’s radar?

Read an Excerpt from Murder in the Chowdhury Palace

The trees were denser beyond the pond on the northern side, and the area was unkempt and full of thorny bushes and nettles.  Debu remarked, ‘Not many people venture into the northern part of the woods from this point because the haunted house is less than a mile from here. So this part of the estate is in a rather wild state.’
‘Yes, I can see that nature has completely taken over this part. But still, let’s go there.’ I said excitedly.
‘Some other day…,’ Debu murmured. His face was slightly pale.
‘Debu! You really seem to believe in these ghosts and all that nonsense…,’ I said rather incredulously.
‘No… no… of course not!’ Debu exclaimed.
‘Then prove it! Let’s go and visit the house.’
‘Look… it won’t be very safe. The walls are crumbling, and I am sure that bats have made their home there.’
‘Please, Debu, let’s go, I have never seen a haunted house,’ I said, cajolingly. I gripped his hand and almost dragged him towards the house.
We came upon the abandoned temple first. The plaster was coming off the walls, and the aerial roots of a huge banyan tree had encroached upon the temple and gone in through the walls causing rainwater to leak into the walls and damage them further. The house was located a further quarter kilometer away.
There was a strange, sinister silence all around. Even the birds did not twitter in this part of the woods. The house with its closed shutters and peeling walls was a one-storey medium-sized building. It was dark and uninviting, steeped in shadow due to the jungle of trees that had flourished around it. Darkness echoed and folded upon itself. I walked resolutely to the main door, only to find it locked.
‘Where is the key to this door?’
‘I don’t think anybody has it.’
I was in a naughty mood. ‘Then let’s break it open. I really want to see what’s inside.’
In spite of Debu’s protests, I picked up a heavy rock and hit the rusty lock with it. The lock broke easily.
We stepped inside a large hall. It was full of cobwebs and broken dilapidated furniture. Suddenly, a bat swept past my face. I let out a startled cry and drew back. I would have fallen to the ground had Debu not caught me.
‘Let’s get out of here. You shouldn’t be so adventurous in your present condition. The baby might get hurt,’ he said in a quavering voice.
‘Oh come on… please Debu…let’s explore a bit more.’
I went further in and switched on the torch of my mobile to see better. At the center of the hall, were the remains of a havan done a long time back. The bricks used for the havan were blackened, charred and crumbling with spiders spinning their webs over the layers of dust. There was a portrait of Shankar Dakat and another of a woman on a wooden platform near which the havan had been performed.
‘This is, of course, Shankar Dakat’s portrait. And this must be Kadambari…,’ I said. ‘Who painted this?’ The painting of Kadambari mesmerized me. She was little more than a young girl in a green sari, worn without a blouse in the traditional fashion. Her big eyes were strangely life-like and sad and her long, thick, curly hair cascaded down her bare shoulders like a cloud.
‘I don’t know who painted this, nor do I care. Let’s go, Durga. I feel really uncomfortable here.’ Debu said a little impatiently. I started coughing because of the dirt. ‘Durga, you know you are allergic to dust. Come away now. I don’t want our baby to get hurt.’ He clutched my hand in a death grip, and almost dragged me out of the house.
The fear in his voice was contagious. Also, to be honest, the life-like painting had spooked me. We hurried back towards the pond. As we almost ran back and neared our home, there was a shout from the ground-floor east-wing balcony. It was Kanak. She shouted, ‘Who goes there?’

About Sharmishtha Shenoy:

Sharmishtha Shenoy is the author of the Vikram Rana Mystery series. The books under the series are “Vikram Rana Investigates,” “A Season for Dying,” “Behind the Scenes” and “Fatal Fallout”. She has also published a book of short stories, “Quirky Tales.”
Her short stories have been published in efiction magazine and Woman’s era. She loves writing murder mysteries, the kind of books that she likes to read. Her favorite authors are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. She also likes the work of Satyajit Ray – especially the Feluda Series.
Before starting to write, she had been an IT professional and had worked in TCS, Satyam, Infosys, and Microsoft.
She is a big foodie and enjoys Biriyani (both Hyderabadi and Awadhi versions) and rasgullas like most Bengalis. She is also a lusty singer of the bathroom singing variety.
Though she is happily married to Mr. Shenoy in real life, in her fantasy world she is wedded to her creation Vikram Rana.  You can get to her blog by typing the word “Sharmishtha Rana” into Google. No, seriously, try it.
She was born in Calcutta. She is an M Tech from the University of Reading, Great Britain and had received a 100% British Government Scholarship to study there. She lives in Hyderabad.

Sharmishtha on the Web:

WWW Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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On March 11, 2020

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

Hey, it’s that day after Tuesday and before Thursday–must be WWW Wednesday!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

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

Easy Peasy George & Weezy, no?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Dead Wrong by Noelle Holten (so different than the first in the Maggie Jamieson series, but just as good) and am listening to The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, James Cameron Stewart (Narrator)—Pro Tip: don’t start that audiobook on a day when you’ll be interrupted at work 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Never a good way to start an audiobook, but with this one, it’s worse than normal.

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished C.S. O’Cinneide’s The Starr Sting Scale and my last audiobook was Venators: Magic Unleashed by Devri Walls, Daniel Thomas May (Narrator).

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The K Team by David Rosenfelt (as part of my great NetGalley Catch-Up). I’m not sure what my next audiobook will be. Maybe Cursor’s Fury by Jim Butcher, Kate Reading (Narrator).

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

Saturday Miscellany—3/7/20

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On March 7, 2020

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I knew this week was a busy one and that I hadn’t had a lot of downtime for goofing around/finding stuff for this post (yeah, the two go hand in hand). But I was pretty surprised when I pulled up the list of things I saved to My Pocket this morning. This is going to be a tiny post. Also, today ended up mirroring the week in the way I couldn’t actually do anything beyond look at that list until now. I now realize that this is on the verge of becoming one of those rambling intros a food blogger puts before they cough up the recipe.

So, without further ado (and I had a bit in mind), here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    I didn’t see any New Releases this week that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon—w00t! A chance to make progress on the old lists!

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK IV., i.-iv.

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On March 6, 2020

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
Tom Jones Original CoverWe left off last week with the promise to meet

the intended Heroine of this Work, a Lady with whom we ourselves are greatly in Love, and with whom many of our Readers will probably be in Love too before we part

Before we meet her, we open Book IV with a little commentary on the Arts, how Heroes and Heroines are depicted and the like as a way to show us the excellency of this Heroine—Miss Sophia Western. Fielding goes on and on for pages about her—an introduction to her character, a description of her and all the wonderful things about her.

Then he recounts a story about young Tom, Sophia and Master Blifil. Blifil acts like a conniving bully, Tom does the right thing and Sophia suffers from the former’s antics and is comforted by the latter. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the beginning of a trend.

I enjoyed the introduction to Sophia and am looking forward to getting to know her better. I really don’t have much else to say about this week’s installment.

Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin: Past Mistakes and Crimes Come Back to Haunt Dumfries

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On March 6, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Avenge the Dead

Avenge the Dead

by Jackie Baldwin
Series: DI Frank Farrel, #3

eARC, 310 pg.
One More Chapter, 2020

Read: March 4-5, 2020


Okay, I literally just finished this book—it’s been one of those weeks—about 30 minutes after my self-imposed “you have to start writing at this point” rule. So you’re getting pipin’ hot opinions here, fresh from the oven. I haven’t had a chance to reflect too much on the book as a whole, but I think I can find a thing or two to say. Because of my time crunch, I’ll leave the synopsis bit of this post to the Book Spotlight that I posted—it’s brief, but it does the trick:

DI Frank Farrell and DS McLeod are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a defence solicitor’s wife in Dumfries.

It’s been over a year since they left the town after an investigation robbed them of a dear friend. But now they’re back and must find a way to move on.

When the son of another defence solicitor is murdered, a strange tattoo etched on his body, the case takes them into darker, more disturbing territory.

It leads them back into the past – to a horrific fire in a cottage that took a woman’s life, to four friends harbouring dark secrets – and finally to a killer waiting patiently for revenge.

Like many other police procedurals from the other side of the Atlantic despite being called the DI Frank Farrell series, it’s about several characters—most of the investigative team. Honestly, I’d rather read about Mhairi McLeod or a couple other minor characters than Farrell—she seems more complex and interesting than he does. That’s more of a commentary on her than him (and I think if I’d been around for the whole series, I’d appreciate him more). But you spend enough with the team as a whole, that it’s simple enough to get your fill with all the characters.

Baldwin’s prose is pretty bare and straight-forward, making it easy to read this. Things keep moving smoothly, and the juggling of the many witnesses, potential victims, personal lives and investigative lines doesn’t feel too much like juggling. However, particularly at larger moments—pivotal scenes—I think she drifts toward over-writing in the way she works to emphasize how important the scenes are. I’m not sure how well the story is actually served with the Prologue, set ten years before the action kicks off, I think it distracted me, as I kept waiting for elements discussed in it to be brought up later (much later, it turns out)—and I can’t help but wonder if just starting after it would’ve been better.

This is the third in a series, and it’s pretty clear that the first two installments were pretty eventful. Baldwin does an adequate job of catching the new reader up to where they need to be, but I think she could’ve given us a little more. This can be read as a stand-alone just fine, but to fully appreciate everything, you’re going to have to go back and read the first two, I think.

Overall this is a satisfying read with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, a handful of characters I’d like to get to know better. Avenge the Dead sucked me in , deeper than I’d have guessed with the characters—can’t complain about that. I’d gladly read others in this series or by this author, and I bet you would, too.

3 Stars

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin (AND GIVEAWAY)

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On March 6, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the police procedural Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin. Along with this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. Be sure to check out the Giveaway at the bottom of this post. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?


Book Details:

Book Title: Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin
Release date: 28th February 2020 (Ebook); April 2020 (Paperback)
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 310 pages

Book Blurb:

Sometimes murder is the only way to get even…

Four friends with dark secrets. One killer out for revenge.

DI Frank Farrell and DS McLeod are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a defence solicitor’s wife in Dumfries.

It’s been over a year since they left the town after an investigation robbed them of a dear friend. But now they’re back and must find a way to move on.

When the son of another defence solicitor is murdered, a strange tattoo etched on his body, the case takes them into darker, more disturbing territory.

It leads them back into the past – to a horrific fire in a cottage that took a woman’s life, to four friends harbouring dark secrets – and finally to a killer waiting patiently for revenge.

About Jackie Baldwin:

Jackie BaldwinJackie Baldwin is a Scottish crime writer. Her debut crime novel, Dead Man’s Prayer, was published by Killer Reads on 2nd September 2016. The second in the series, Perfect Dead was published on 15th June 2018. For most of her working life, she has been a solicitor specialising in Family and Criminal Law. She later retrained as a hypnotherapist. Married with a grown family, she recently moved from Dumfries to East Lothian.

Social Networks:

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Waterstones ~ Hive.co.uk ~ Google Books ~ Blackwells

Giveaway:

WIN an Avenge the Dead Prize Bundle featuring all three books in the DI Frank Farrell series signed by the author plus extra treats!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

If the Rafflecopter widget doesn’t work there, simply click here.

Terms and Conditions
The giveaway will end at 00:00 (GMT) on Sunday 15th March 2020 and is open internationally. The winner will be contacted by email on Monday 16th March 2020 and will need to provide their postal address which will be passed to Jackie Baldwin for dispatch of the prize. No personal information will be stored as a result of this giveaway. There is no cash alternative. Good luck!


My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

COVER REVEAL: The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant

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On March 2, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Alex Bryant’s The Identity Thief! Thanks to Time Zones and whatnot, this isn’t so much a Cover Reveal as much as it is a Cover Confirmation at this point, but that’s being a little pedantic. There’s a spiffy looking cover down below, but before that, I’ve got a few words to share about the book. Probably my favorite bit of marketing material I’ve received to date here at this blog. Hope you enjoy it half as much as I did as you scroll your way to the cover…

Book Blurb

A shapeshifting sorcerer called Cuttlefish unleashes a terrifying wave of magical carnage across London. A strange family known as the River People move into Cassandra Drake’s neighbourhood. Are the two events connected?

Spoiler alert: no.

Reasons to buy this book:
✔ Good cover.
✔ Cheap. Seriously, the Kindle version only costs as much as about 3 mangoes. What would you rather have – 10 hours of gripping urban fantasy, or 30 minutes of biting into sweet, succulent mango flesh?
✔ OK, I shouldn’t have used mango, objectively the best fruit, as a comparison. But buying this book doesn’t stop you from buying mangoes, if that’s what you insist on doing.

Public praise for the advance readers’ edition:
“I was barely even a few sentences in and I was already hooked! This is such an interesting book, I really hope it gets published so I can read more of it!” ★★★★★ – Lottie Carmichael

“This book is perfectly suitable for younger readers, but still enjoyable for older. The premise is new and intriguing, while the writing style is entertaining and fresh. I loved the heroine. She was relatable, strong, and yet imperfect. You untangle the very complicated plot-line alongside her. I also enjoyed the deeper ideas, the writer was expressing that tie-in with current events. Very thought-provoking.” ★★★★★ – Carolyn Sachs

“This was a lot of fun to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the published version.” ★★★★★ – Declan Tarstie

“Better value for money than three mangoes.” ★★★ – Alex Bryant

Buy Link

https://amzn.to/3aclT7I

Without further ado…

The Cover


I should know the name of that style of cover art (I assume there is one), because I really dig it. Anyway, it’s the kind of cover that would make me do a double-take at the bookstore.

You can get your hands on this cover (and the novel it goes with!) at https://amzn.to/3aclT7I. I know I will.

If you’ll excuse me, I have to stop on the way to work and buy some mangoes. I have a sudden hankering…


My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

Love Books Group

(belated) COVER REVEAL: Living Candles by Teodora Matei

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On February 29, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Teodora Matei’s Living Candles! I don’t know why my [expletive deleted] scheduled post didn’t go up yesterday like it was supposed to. I apologize to Lonescue, Corylus Books, and Love Books for not noticing that until this morning–this makes the 3rd tour I’ve ever missed (and the second in a row for Corylus Books, when I mess up, I go big), and it’s not the way I try to run around here. “Irresponsible” is supposed to refer to my reading ethos, not my approach to commitments.

Technically, this isn’t so much a Cover Reveal as much as it is, “here’s a nifty cover for a book that looks promising from a publisher that has a great idea”. Hope you enjoy!

Book Blurb

The discovery of a woman close to death in a city basement sends Bucharest police officers Anton Iordan and Sorin Matache on a complex chase through the city as they seek to identify the victim. As they try to track down the would-be murderer, they find a macabre trail of missing women and they realise that this isn’t the first time the killer has struck. Iordan and Matache hit one dead end after another, until they decide they’ll have to take a chance that could prove deadly.

Buy Link

https://amzn.to/2HT6MnD

Corylus Books

Corylus Books is a new venture aiming to publish fiction translated into English. The people behind the company have very different backgrounds, but what brings us together is a deep appreciation of crime fiction and a strong interest in books from countries that so have been under-represented in English.

It took a while before it turned out that everyone’s thoughts had been on similar lines – that we wanted to take a chance on presenting some of the great European crime fiction that wouldn’t normally make its way into English. With a mixture of language, translation and other skills between the four of us, it seemed the logical next step to take.

The first Corylus books are a pair of Romanian crime novellas, Living Candles by Teodora Matei and Zodiac by Anamaria Ionescu.

There’s more to come in 2020 – starting with Romanian novelist’s Bogdan Teodorescu’s Sword, a powerful political thriller that has already been a bestseller in Romania and in its French translation. Sword will be available in May and will be followed later in the year by the first of two books by Icelandic crime writer Sólveig Pálsdóttir. The Fox will be available in the second half of this year, followed by Shackles in 2021.

And there’s more to come, with a novel by Bogdan Hrib set partly in Romania and partly in the north-east of England, a second novel from Teodora Matei, and we’re talking to more exciting writers from across Europe about what we can do together…

Without further ado…

The Cover


That cover just promises a creepy read. I can already feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up without reading a word. Looking at that cover makes me want to dust off my hands and look out for spiders.

You can get your hands on this cover (and the unnerving novel it goes with!) at https://amzn.to/2HT6MnD and keep an eye on Corylus Books, I think it’ll be well-worth your time.



My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

Love Books Group

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