Friday 30 June 2017

Book of the Month - The Shame of Innocence



The Shame of Innocence

has been AWARDED


BOOK OF THE MONTH

June 2017


Stage-struck teenager Emma Sherman is found dead on a Wiltshire golf course – no witnesses, no suspects. Detective Inspector Jeff Lincoln gets little help from Emma’s neurotic mother, but he’s sure she knows something. When explicit photos of Emma are found hidden in an abandoned summer house, Lincoln’s sure they hold clues to her murder. But who was the photographer, and why doesn’t Lincoln’s boss want him to find out?

Days later another teenage girl is brutally murdered and her body is dumped in a country lane. The disappearance of a third teenage girl makes Lincoln realise he’s facing a more dangerous enemy than he first imagined.




This book has also received....










Wednesday 28 June 2017

The Embroiderer by Kathryn Gauci




The Embroiderer

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


Set against the mosques and minarets of Asia Minor and the ruins of ancient Athens, 'The Embroiderer' is a gripping saga of love and loss, hope and despair, and of the extraordinary courage of women in the face of adversity. 1822: During one of the bloodiest massacres of The Greek War of Independence, a child is born to a woman of legendary beauty in the Byzantine monastery of Nea Moni on the Greek island of Chios. The subsequent decades of bitter struggle between Greeks and Turks simmer to a head when the Greek army invades Turkey in 1919. During this time, Dimitra Lamartine arrives in Smyrna and gains fame and fortune as an embroiderer to the elite of Ottoman society. However it is her grand-daughter, Sophia, who takes the business to great heights only to see their world come crashing down with the outbreak of The Balkan Wars, 1912-13. In 1922, Sophia begins a new life in Athens but the memory of a dire prophecy once told to her grandmother about a girl with flaming red hair begins to haunt her with devastating consequences. 1972: Eleni Stephenson is called to the bedside of her dying aunt in Athens. In a story that rips her world apart, Eleni discovers the chilling truth behind her family's dark past plunging her into the shadowy world of political intrigue, secret societies and espionage where families and friends are torn apart and where a belief in superstition simmers just below the surface.


The Embroiderer was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you tell your friends?



Monday 26 June 2017

Legacy of Mist and Shadow by Diana L Wicker




Legacy of Mist and Shadow

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


Old relics and have stories of their own. Sometimes they contain adventures waiting to be sparked and journeys bursting to begin.

The Box of Melodies was left with Clan Caris by Lady Oyisha, daughter of the mists, for care and keeping. A series of visions revealing the last desperate moments of a forgotten clan - the loss of their gateway to Feyron and the escape of a lone traveler holding the box - spurs a handful of adventuresome youth on a trek through the Lesser Forest where they inadvertently cause a ripple through the mists with unintended consequences.

A few of the youth find themselves on an unexpected journey to a World Beyond, lost in mist and shadow, where misunderstanding and suspicion lead to danger and darkness. Forgotten histories are discovered, clan secrets are revealed, and old alliances are remembered as the families of the lost seek to discover where the youth have been drawn by the memories within the Mists of Time.



Legacy of Mist and Shadow was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you tell your friends?



Legacy of Mist and Shadow has also received....






Tuesday 20 June 2017

A Minger's Tale by R B N Bookmark




A Minger's Tale

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award



If only he knew where God lived, he would urinate in his letterbox!
Growing up is a difficult time in the life of Ribban Bookmark, this book traces his journey down a Minger Highway, signposted with humour and littered with roadkill oneliners.



A Minger's Tale was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you tell your friends?



Tuesday 13 June 2017

The Shame of Innocence by Nikki Copleston




The Shame of Innocence

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

and

PB Special Award


Stage-struck teenager Emma Sherman is found dead on a Wiltshire golf course – no witnesses, no suspects. Detective Inspector Jeff Lincoln gets little help from Emma’s neurotic mother, but he’s sure she knows something. When explicit photos of Emma are found hidden in an abandoned summer house, Lincoln’s sure they hold clues to her murder. But who was the photographer, and why doesn’t Lincoln’s boss want him to find out?

Days later another teenage girl is brutally murdered and her body is dumped in a country lane. The disappearance of a third teenage girl makes Lincoln realise he’s facing a more dangerous enemy than he first imagined.



The Shame of Innocence was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?



Saturday 10 June 2017

The Mask Revealed by Julia Brannan




The Mask Revealed

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


The second in the fascinating series about the lives of the beautiful Beth Cunningham, her family and friends.

Britain moves ever closer to the 1745 rebellion and the impending attempt to restore the Stuarts to the British throne.

With no other options available to her, Beth marries the effete and tedious social butterfly Sir Anthony Peters.

She resigns herself to a future of formal parties and dismal social gatherings, whilst accompanying a husband who is both tiresome and physically repellent to her, but consoles herself with the thought that if she is not to know love, then at least she will have a secure and comfortable life. It may be uneventful, but she will be free of her brother.

The ink on the marriage contract is hardly dry, however, when Beth makes a shocking discovery, one that turns her world upside down and throws her whole future into doubt once more. 

Almost immediately she must make a decision. Will she opt for the safe but dreary life her husband wishes her to lead, or will she fight for a life of passion, adventure and excitement, knowing that in doing so, she risks not only her own life, but the lives of those she loves?

Join the rebellion of one woman and her fight for freedom in…

THE JACOBITE CHRONICLES



The Mask Revealed was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?




The Mask Revealed has also received...









Friday 9 June 2017

The Bride's Trail by A A Abbott




The Bride's Trail

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


Who will find Kat first - her friends or her killer?

This great story, packed with twists and turns, begins in London's smart Fitzrovia and ends in secret tunnels below central Birmingham.

Ross has a swanky penthouse and a high-flying job in the City. When he meets Kat, a glamorous blonde croupier, he starts to plan a future. Now she’s disappeared, he’s devastated. 

Casino boss Shaun realises it’s not just Kat who’s vanished - £20,000 is missing too. He wants his money back and he’s after Kat’s blood.

Young graduate Amy has discovered Kat’s stolen her ID for a sham marriage. She can't stand Ross, but only he will help her find Kat and clear her name.

High stakes, twists, action and suspense keep the pages turning in A.A. Abbott’s crime thriller, the first in the Trail Series.



The Bride's Trail was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?



Thursday 8 June 2017

Delphi's Dilemma by Ros Rendle




Delphi's Dilemma

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

Having fled the wrath of her sister and certain disgrace in 1917, ten years later, Delphi is now returning from Australia so that her daughter may meet her English relatives.
She is beset by demons from her past as well as her future but determined, as always, to make amends.
When she meets Rainier Harman on the ship home, her life takes another twist where loyalty and duty are at odds with desire yet again. For him too, there are responsibilitiesto which he must attend in France.

This novella completes the story of Delphi and her sister Rose which is told in the 5* ‘Flowers of Flanders’, available from Amazon or in paperback from the author.


Delphi's Dilemma was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?



Wednesday 7 June 2017

A Life Between Us by Louise Walters




A Life Between Us

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

Tina Thornton’s twin sister Meg died in a childhood accident, but for almost forty years Tina has secretly blamed herself for her sister’s death. During a visit to her aging Uncle Edward and his sister Lucia, who both harbour dark secrets of their own, Tina makes a discovery that forces her to finally question her memories of the day her sister died. 

Who, if anyone, did kill Meg? As Tina finds the courage to face the past, she unravels the tangled family mysteries of her estranged parents, her beautiful French Aunt Simone, the fading, compassionate Uncle Edward, and above all, the cold, bitter Aunt Lucia, whose spectral presence casts a long shadow over them all. 

A Life Between Us is a beautifully evocative story of a family torn apart at the seams, which will appeal to readers who enjoy family sagas and modern-day mysteries.


A Life Between Us was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?