Category: Blog Tour

Blog Tour/Book Review: Manipulated Lives by H. A. Leuschel

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Manipulated Lives

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Manipulated Lives by H. A. Leuschel. Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the tour and to the author for my review copy.

WinTo enter the giveaway (open internationally) for a chance to win a paperback copy of Manipulated Lives click here

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  • Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Worldwide entries welcome.
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ManipulatedLivesAbout the Book

Five compelling true-to-life stories each highlighting a narcissist’s manipulative mind games

Narcissists are everywhere. They can be witty, charming and highly charismatic. Anyone can be their target.

At first their devious, calculating mind games can be hard to spot because they are masters of disguise, but then they revert to their true self of being controlling and angry in private. Their main aim: to dominate and use others to satisfy their needs, with a complete lack of compassion and empathy for their victim.

All the stories highlight to what extent narcissistic abuse can distort lives and threaten our self-worth yet ultimately, also send a positive message that once the narcissist is unmasked, the victims can at last break free.

Format: ebook (273 pp.)     Publisher:
Published: 8th June 2016    Genre: Short Stories, Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Manipulated Lives on Goodreads

My Review

In this collection of compelling short stories, the author puts the reader inside the minds of five people who have either suffered psychological manipulation at the hands of another or been responsible for it.  The book persuasively illustrates that anyone – young or old, male or female – can fall prey to manipulation.  For instance, in the story ‘Tess and Tattoos’, we meet Tess, a charming, kind old lady, who was unlucky enough to form a relationship with someone who abused her physically and psychologically.  Incidentally, I was so glad that Tess found a friend to provide comfort to her as she unburdens herself of her traumatic memories.

In all the stories, the reader is witness to the internal dialogue of the characters as they reflect on their experiences and try to make sense of how they were manipulated or, in one case, to justify (unsuccessfully to my mind) their actions. The bleak nature of their experiences can make difficult reading at time.  By the time I got to the story of ‘The Narcissist’ I felt myself in sympathy with the thoughts of his psychiatrist: ‘It is tiring, exhausting, and in cases like this, downright gruelling to observe the human mind at its worst.’

The author clearly has a gift for creating memorable characters, believable situations and stories that often have a surprising sting in the tail.  Readers with an interest in psychology or who like to inhabit the minds of characters (and don’t mind if some of these are unlikeable) will find Manipulated Lives a fascinating and compelling read.   I also think the book might be helpful for anyone trying to understand the experiences of someone who has been subject to coercive control or manipulation.

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In three words: Dark, intense, thought-provoking

H A LeuschelAbout the Author

Helene Andrea Leuschel grew up in Belgium where she gained a Licentiate in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. When she is not writing, Helene works as a freelance journalist and teaches Yoga.

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Blog Tour/Book Review: Motive X by Stefan Ahnhem

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Motive X Blog Tour Poster

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Motive X by Stefan Ahnhem. Thanks to Vicky at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy.

Praise for Stefan Ahnhem

‘Stefan Ahnhem is more gripping than Jo Nesbo, blacker than Stieg Larsson and more bleakly human than Henning Mankell’ Tony Parsons

Motive XAbout the Book

He strikes at random. His motive unknown. No one is safe…

Helsingborg police must solve the unsolveable. A wave of apparently random homicides is sweeping through their idyllic seaside town. The murders have no pattern, no order, no reason. The perpetrator is immune to psychological profiling; forensically untraceable; utterly invulnerable to modern police techniques.

The body count is growing. But lead investigator Fabian Risk is distracted by his mission to expose a corrupt colleague, and his boss Astrid is spiralling back into addiction. As the hunt for the solution becoming ever more desperate, their tight-knit team begins to unravel…

Motive X is both an explosive, multi-layered thriller and a fearless exploration of the darkest side of human nature. To enter Stefan Ahnhem’s world, with its interwoven plotlines and sprawling cast of characters, is to put yourself in the hands of a master storyteller.

Format: Hardcover, ebook (552 pp.)    Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2nd May 2019    Genre: Thriller, Crime

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Motive X  on Goodreads

My Review

I don’t read a lot of crime thrillers, especially those involving serial killers and gruesome murders (unless they’re set in a historical time period). However,  you don’t need to be an expert in the genre to recognise an author who’s a master in the art of creating a gripping and skilfully plotted story. Such is the case with Motive X by Stefan Ahnhem, translated by Agnes Broome.

Motive X is the fourth in the series (if you count the prequel, The Ninth Grave) featuring Swedish police detective, Fabian Risk. I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series and, while Motive X can be read as a standalone, it appears to pick up almost seamlessly from the end of the previous book, Eighteen Below. (More on that subject later.) In addition, there are frequent references to events in that book and its predecessor, Victim Without A Face, so for those inclined to read the whole series, I’d say it’s essential to  start from the beginning otherwise you’re likely to feel as if you’ve come into the cinema part way through a movie.

In Motive X, private and professional lives overlap and collide as the investigations being conducted by Risk and his colleagues tip over into personal missions to expose wrongdoing. Of course, with that comes danger, possibly from unexpected directions. After all, investigating crime is a risky business. (Sorry, couldn’t resist that pun.)

The book weaves together multiple story lines and the short chapters create a feeling of pace throughout. The author is also adept at crafting a compelling last sentence of a chapter before switching the focus to a different story line, leaving the reader in a state of suspense. Throw in a serial killer whose next move may literally depend on nothing more than chance and you have a book that kept this reader turning the pages right to the end. Ah, the end. Well, you know what I said earlier about the book picking up seamlessly from its predecessor? So don’t expect everything to be neatly wrapped up at the end of this one.

Motive X sheds a light on an unexpectedly dark side of Swedish society: racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, far right extremism, Islamophobia and paedophilia.  At just under 560 pages, Motive X is a book to get your teeth into but which will more than repay the time investment. It’s a dark, enjoyably complex and gripping read.

Motive X is book 8 of my 20 Books of Summer. I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Head of Zeus.

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In three words: Fast-moving, complex, compelling

Try something similar…Killed by Thomas Enger or Faithless by Kjell Ola Dahl (click on titles to read my review)

StefanAhnhemAbout the Author

STEFAN AHNHEM is the internationally bestselling author of the Fabian Risk thrillers. He has worked as a screenwriter on Mankell’s Kurt Wallender series and serves on the board of the Swedish Writers Guild. He lives in Copenhagen.

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