The Party

When Bessie and her friends decide to attend a secret party at a remote and desolate castle, they are looking forward to a brilliant weekend. However, things quickly start to go wrong and as the weather worsens, one of their number dies…followed by another…and another… Left suspecting everyone, is there anyone one Bessie can trust and will she get out alive?

I’ll just read a couple of pages before getting on with some work, I said to myself! However, once I started reading ‘The Party’ there was no way I was going to stop until I’d finished.

Trapped in the castle by the storm and the flooding moat, a group of friends from boarding school quickly find themselves facing danger. The castle is owned by the parents of twins, Allegra and Fergus, whose plans to develop the building into luxury flats has caused outrage and hostility from the locals. When exploring the (vividly described!) castle, Bessie is unsettled to discover threatening graffiti in the cellar which she ascribes to this group. Her feelings of unease are shared by the reader as tension quickly mounts and the situation moves from bad to worse.

As ever when reviewing a book like this, it is really hard find a balance between doing the book justice whilst not spoiling it for those yet to read it, but I’ll try to be careful. After a steady start, scattered with details and hints about the group and their relationships, the story builds quickly, gaining pace as the suspense and action mount. There are plenty of red herrings as the reader is left guessing and second guessing as the death count mounts in a scenario reminiscent of ‘And Then there were None’ as you find the very person you thought was doing it couldn’t have- or could they?! It’s a real page turner, leading to a very satisfying and unexpected conclusion.

If you enjoy a good murder mystery, ‘The Party’ is a must read!

The Party

Natasha Preston

Hot Key Books ISBN: 978-1471418266

Murder at Wintertide

George and his father are heading for Lyme Regis for a family gathering to celebrate both his grandfather’s birthday and Christmas where the two halves of his step-family are coming together. This includes Isla, his slightly terrifying, very intelligent step-cousin. When a body washes up on the beach, George is convinced it has something to do with some strange lights he saw on the cliff top and together with Isla, he finds himself investigating the mystery. However, someone is determined to stop them…

Once again, Fleur Hitchcock delivers an excellent murder mystery! ‘Murder at Wintertide’ is a completely absorbing and entertaining read, every bit as enjoyable as the previous ‘Murder…’ books.

Perfectly pitched for Y6/7 readers, ‘Murder at Wintertide’ offers a captivating thriller complete with red herrings, plenty of peril and ‘pesky kids’ determined to solve the crime. Readers familiar with Lyme Regis, where the action is set, will recognise many of the details Fleur adds to the story, including the sculpture of ‘some famous fossil hunter’, and the descriptions of a seaside town in winter add much to the atmosphere of the story.

George makes an appealing main character and the complexities of his blended family life add plenty of substance and realism to the story. As his friendship with Isla develops, George realises that he has misunderstood someone who actually makes a brave an loyal friend, showing how easy it is to misjudge people. They make quite a team and it would be great to see them make a reappearance in a future book!

It is always hard to review this sort of story without giving too much away and spoiling it for others, but anyone who reads this (and everyone should!) will instantly recognise the skill with which Fleur writes these stories, making them every bit as enjoyable for older readers as for those they are officially aimed at! Thoroughly enjoyable, endlessly readable… another triumph!

Murder at Wintertide

Fleur Hitchcock

Nosy Crow ISBN: 978-1805132233

Published 10th October 2024

You can read my review of ‘Murder at Snowfall’ here, ‘Waiting for Murder’ here and ‘Murder in Midwinter’ here.

Love You To Death

Someone is obsessed with Mia Hawkins…

I normally offer a summary of the book before a review, but this is one that I am not going to do that for in case I spoil the plot for anyone who has not read it! Having finished this a while ago, I have been waiting to review it until reading all of Gina Blaxill’s books- and I can confirm that they are all excellent!

‘Love You to Death’ is a gripping, unsettling read about obsession and stalking. As the story progresses, the tension is palpable, compelling the reader to keep turning the pages as the claustrophobic feeling of threat surrounding Mia mounts.

Having her own style and wearing clothes she is comfortable in should be Mia’s right- as it should be for everyone- yet the story highlights how some people- mainly men- seem to feel entitled to comment, or worse, on a woman’s appearance. The story is thought-provoking (and anger provoking!) in places as Mia (and others) wonder whether she has done something to attract the unwanted attention of her stalker, if she is in some way to blame for being too friendly, for sending the wrong message… My blood was boiling in places and there are many red flags in the story about controlling behaviour and ‘toxic’ relationships.

The story also offers the mystery of who Mia’s stalker actually is. Red herrings abound as suspects appear to be the guilty party yet when the final reveal came, I had only just cottoned on. Once everything is solved, Gina Blaxill does a good of showing the aftermath of such an experience, not offering a neat, tidy solution where everyone goes back to normal, unaffected.

Now I have caught up, I can’t wait to see what Gina Blaxill writes next!

Love You to Death Gina Blaxill

Scholastic ISBN: 978-0702325434

Murder at Snowfall

On Tuesday evening, I had the great pleasure of joining the loveliest group of people to celebrate the launch of ‘Murder at Snowfall’, Fleur Hitchcock’s thrilling new murder mystery story. Damp and drizzly though the evening was, Bath looked as atmospheric and beautiful as ever- very appropriate as it is the backdrop to the novel with familiar places such as Mr Bs and Waterstones featuring in the story.

There was a lovely atmosphere at Waterstones as everyone gathered. There was even a surprise acting element to Fleur’s reading and plenty of snow flake shaped snacks and mulled wine. Time flew by and a wonderful time was had by all to celebrate a wonderful book! Here’s my review!

Ruby’s mum is preoccupied. There has been a fire at the surgery where she works, her boss, Dr Price, has gone missing and she is convinced someone has been following her. As the snow falls and odd things keep happening, everyone is jumpy. So when Ruby’s ‘Step’, Lucas, dares her to open an abandoned cabinet they walk past on their way home from school, she soon wishes she hadn’t as a gruesome discovery sets off a chilling chain of events and a mystery which they must solve.

Fleur Hitchcock is an incredible writer. No matter what she tackles, the result is an absorbing, exciting story. With her ‘Murder’ stories, she achieves the perfect balance of thrills and chills for anyone looking for a compelling mystery with enough bodies, clues and red herrings to please Poirot yet keeping the story appropriate to the target audience. ‘Murder at Snowfall’ is her most sinister yet- and makes an excellent read!

Full of action, the story has plenty of tension, offering frissons of fear as the children tackle the mystery surrounding the events at Ruby’s mother’s work. There are twists and turns aplenty with some real surprises and miscues to take the reader down the wrong path, but everything comes together brilliantly in the end. Snow gives Bath an eerie feeling as the weather adds much to the atmosphere of the story, but readers who know the city will still recognise it in the story.

As well as the murder mystery, the story shows the development in the relationship between Ruby and her ‘Step’. When her mother married Paolo, Ruby hadn’t really understood that this would mean the addition of a strange, extremely intelligent boy who she views with suspicion and who seems to barely acknowledge her existence. However, as the novel develops, she comes to appreciate him, showing the importance of getting to know someone, being there for them and becoming family.

Brilliant!

Murder at Snowfall Fleur Hitchcock

Nosy Crow ISBN: 978-1839945908

You can read my review of ‘Mouse Heart’ here.