Tuesday 31 October 2017

Book of the MONTH Joint Winners - Conspiracy of Lies by Kathryn Gauci & When the Mermaid Sings by Helen Hollick


Book of the Month

 October

Joint WINNERS







From the author of The Embroiderer comes a powerful account of one woman’s struggle to balance her duty to her country and a love she knows will ultimately end in tragedy.

1940. With the Germans about to enter Paris, Claire Bouchard flees France for England. Two years later she is recruited by the Special Operations Executive and sent back into occupied France to work alongside the Resistance.

Working undercover as a teacher in Brittany, Claire accidentally befriends the wife of the German Commandant of Rennes and the blossoming friendship is about to become a dangerous mission.
Knowing that thousands of lives depended on her actions, Claire begins a double life as a Gestapo Commandant’s mistress in order to retrieve vital information for the Allied invasion of France, but ghosts from her past make the deception more painful than she could have imagined.

Part historical, part romance and part thriller, Conspiracy of Lies takes us on a journey through occupied France, from the picturesque villages of rural Brittany to the glittering dinner parties of the Nazi elite, in a story of courage, heartbreak and secrecy.





An early coming-of-age tale of the young Jesamiah Acorne set in the years before he becomes a pirate and Captain of the Sea Witch.

Throughout childhood, Jesamiah Mereno suffered the bullying of his elder half-brother. Then, not quite fifteen years old and on the day they bury their father, Jesamiah hits back. He flees his home, changes his name to Jesamiah Acorne and joins the crew of his father’s seafaring friend Captain Malachias Taylor aboard the privateer Mermaid.

Jesamiah makes enemies, sees the ghost of his father and hears the mysterious voice of a Cornish girl in his mind. But can he avoid the beguiling lure of a sensuous mermaid…?










Monday 30 October 2017

PB AWARD for Tabula Rasa by Gordon Bickerstaff



Tabula Rasa

has RECEIVED a


PB special AWARD


“Tabula Rasa is a well written page turner with a clever plot that left you thinking, could this really happen?”


A hundred years ago, a wealthy family of visionaries prophesied the devastation that global warming would bring to world food supplies in the 21st century. They decided to prepare for the worst, and embark on an ambitious plan of revolution.

Lambeth Group agents, Zoe Tampsin and Gavin Shawlens, prepare to investigate the unusual death of a government defence scientist. Someone is determined to stop them before they get started. Zoe uncovers two unfamiliar words, Tabula Rasa. The only other clue is the curious behaviour of the dead scientist's son, Ramsay.

Posing as a couple, Gavin and Zoe enter the secret and dangerous world of Ramsay's aristocratic guardians, headed by philanthropist billionaire, Lord Zacchary Silsden.

What Gavin uncovers, shocks him to the bottom of his soul. Does he have the courage and the conviction to stop the greatest revolution in human history?

What Zoe discovers about Gavin—words can't describe. Zoe is faced with an impossible choice, but one thing is certain, she will not hesitate to do her duty, no matter the cost.


Tabula Rasa has also received a Chill with a Book Readers' Award



Saturday 28 October 2017

PB Award for Spark Out by Nick Rippington



Spark Out

has RECEIVED a


PB special AWARD


One a gangster, the other a soldier: War is about to change two brothers' lives forever...

MAURICE ‘BIG MO’ DOLAN is prone to headaches and there is one main cause: his family. Eldest son Chuck, 7, needs toughening up, wife Beryl is too lenient, his career-criminal father has no respect for him and his younger brother Clive is about to join the army.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. With Margaret Thatcher’s government backing initiative and suggesting people get ‘on their bikes’ to find work, Mo believes it is the perfect time to expand his business... into armed robbery.

As he plans the ultimate raid to drag him out of the poverty trap, he believes his fortunes are bound to get better. But with the Falklands War just around the corner they are about to become a whole lot worse...

A hard-boiled thriller that's not for the faint-hearted, Spark out is the second book in the Boxer Boys series, a prequel to Crossing The Whitewash


Spark Out has also received a Chill with a Book Readers' Award



Sunday 22 October 2017

When The Mermaid Sings by Helen Hollick



When The Mermaid Sings

has RECEIVED a


Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


An early coming-of-age tale of the young Jesamiah Acorne set in the years before he becomes a pirate and Captain of the Sea Witch.

Throughout childhood, Jesamiah Mereno suffered the bullying of his elder half-brother. Then, not quite fifteen years old and on the day they bury their father, Jesamiah hits back. He flees his home, changes his name to Jesamiah Acorne and joins the crew of his father’s seafaring friend Captain Malachias Taylor aboard the privateer Mermaid.

Jesamiah makes enemies, sees the ghost of his father and hears the mysterious voice of a Cornish girl in his mind. But can he avoid the beguiling lure of a sensuous mermaid…?


When The Mermaid Sings was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?








Wednesday 18 October 2017

House of Grace by Patricia M Osborne


House of Grace

has RECEIVED a


Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


It’s 1950 and all sixteen-year-old Grace Granville has ever wanted is to become a successful dress designer. She dreams of owning her own fashion house and spends her spare time sketching outfits. Her father, Lord Granville, sees this frivolous activity as nonsense and wants to groom her into a good wife for someone of his choosing...

Grace is about to leave Greenemere, a boarding school in Brighton. She’s blissfully unaware of her father’s plans when she embarks on a new adventure. The quest includes a trip to Bolton’s Palais where she meets coal miner, Jack Gilmore. Grace’s life is never the same again.

Travel with Grace through two decades as she struggles with family conflict, poverty and tragedy. Is Grace strong enough to defy Lord Granville’s wishes and find true love? Will she become a successful fashion designer? Where will she turn for help?


House of Grace was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?







Tuesday 17 October 2017

The Man in the Needlecord Jacket by Linda MacDonald


The Man in the Needlecord Jacket

has RECEIVED a


Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


The Man in the Needlecord Jacket follows the story of two women who are each struggling to let go of a long-term destructive partnership. Felicity is reluctant to detach from her estranged archaeologist husband and, after being banished from the family home, she sets out to test the stability of his relationship with his new love, Marianne.

When Felicity meets Coll, a charismatic artist, she has high hopes of being distracted from her failed marriage. What she doesn’t know is that he has a partner, Sarah, with whom he has planned a future. Sarah is deeply in love with Coll, but his controlling behaviour and associations with other women have always made her life difficult. When he becomes obsessed with Felicity, Sarah’s world collapses and a series of events is set in motion that will challenge the integrity of all the characters involved.

The Man in the Needlecord Jacket is a thought-provoking book, written from the perspectives of Sarah and Felicity. The reader is in the privileged position of knowing what’s going on for both of the women, while each of them is being kept in the dark about a very important issue.

Inspired by the work of Margaret Atwood and Fay Weldon, Linda explores the issue of mental abuse in partnerships and the grey area of an infidelity that is emotional, not physical. The book will appeal to readers interested in the psychology of relationships, as well as fans of Linda’s ‘Lydia’ series.


The Man in the Needlecord Jacket was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?







Monday 16 October 2017

Conspiracy of Lies by Kathryn Gauci


Conspiracy of Lies

has RECEIVED a


Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

From the author of The Embroiderer comes a powerful account of one woman’s struggle to balance her duty to her country and a love she knows will ultimately end in tragedy.

1940. With the Germans about to enter Paris, Claire Bouchard flees France for England. Two years later she is recruited by the Special Operations Executive and sent back into occupied France to work alongside the Resistance.

Working undercover as a teacher in Brittany, Claire accidentally befriends the wife of the German Commandant of Rennes and the blossoming friendship is about to become a dangerous mission.
Knowing that thousands of lives depended on her actions, Claire begins a double life as a Gestapo Commandant’s mistress in order to retrieve vital information for the Allied invasion of France, but ghosts from her past make the deception more painful than she could have imagined.

Part historical, part romance and part thriller, Conspiracy of Lies takes us on a journey through occupied France, from the picturesque villages of rural Brittany to the glittering dinner parties of the Nazi elite, in a story of courage, heartbreak and secrecy.


Conspiracy of Lies was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?





This book also received...





Sunday 15 October 2017

Tabula Rasa by Gordon Bickerstaff


Tabula Rasa

has RECEIVED a


Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


A hundred years ago, a wealthy family of visionaries prophesied the devastation that global warming would bring to world food supplies in the 21st century. They decided to prepare for the worst, and embark on an ambitious plan of revolution.

Lambeth Group agents, Zoe Tampsin and Gavin Shawlens, prepare to investigate the unusual death of a government defence scientist. Someone is determined to stop them before they get started. Zoe uncovers two unfamiliar words, Tabula Rasa. The only other clue is the curious behaviour of the dead scientist's son, Ramsay.

Posing as a couple, Gavin and Zoe enter the secret and dangerous world of Ramsay's aristocratic guardians, headed by philanthropist billionaire, Lord Zacchary Silsden.

What Gavin uncovers, shocks him to the bottom of his soul. Does he have the courage and the conviction to stop the greatest revolution in human history?

What Zoe discovers about Gavin—words can't describe. Zoe is faced with an impossible choice, but one thing is certain, she will not hesitate to do her duty, no matter the cost.



Tabula Rasa was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...


Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?