Category: Book Blitz

#Spotlight Christmas Past by John Adcox @TheStoryPlant

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I was recently contacted by Elizabeth Long at The Story Plant to let me know about one of their forthcoming books, Christmas Past by John Adcox, illustrated by Carol Bales. Unfortunately, my overflowing TBR pile meant I couldn’t commit to reviewing it but in case there are others with more space in their reading schedule than me you can find out about the book below. You can read also an excerpt from Christmas Past here.

Christmas PastAbout the Book

The winter holiday season is a time for gifts and music, for snow and miracles, and for family and going home. For Jessie Malone, it’s a time for sorrow.

Jessie is a graduate student living in London, where she hopes to be one of the first folklorists ever to trace an urban legend back to its original source. She’s also a grieving young widow unable to heal from the agony of her life-shattering loss.

In the bleak midwinter, Jessie learns of an urban legend about a lonely, wandering ghost, a British sailor named Sam who promised his bride that he’d be home for Christmas. The legends say he’s been trying to make it back to her since World War II.

As she investigates, Jessie learns that Sam’s story defies the patterns of how urban legends are supposed to work. It’s a puzzle she can’t let go. To solve the mystery, she must confront the impossible and, just perhaps, discover a miracle of Christmas love that survives beyond the grave.

Find Christmas Past on Goodreads

Pre-order/Purchase links
Amazon UK
Link provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

John AdcoxAbout the Author & Illustrator

After a 30-year career in new media, where his titles have included VP, Digital Media, VP, Creative, Executive Producer, and even CEO, John Adcox is now concentrating on storytelling. In addition to his writing, he is the CEO of Gramarye Media, Inc., the “next generation” book publisher, game developer, and movie studio of the future. More of his books are coming soon.

​Carol Bales studies, works, and teaches in a place where technology and creativity intersect. Educated in painting at the University of Tennessee and Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech, she works as a senior User Experience Researcher for The Weather Company and teaches at Georgia State University.

​The couple lives in Atlanta, Georgia. (Bio/Photo: Publisher author page)

Connect with John
Website | Twitter | Goodreads

#BookReview Wolf at the Door (A Bradecote and Catchpoll Investigation 9) by Sarah Hawkswood @AllisonandBusby

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I’m delighted to be joining other book bloggers in celebrating publication today of Wolf at the Door, the ninth in Sarah Hawkswood historical mystery series.

Wolf at the DoorAbout the Book

All Hallow’s Eve, 1144. The savaged body of Durand Wuduweard, the solitary and unpopular keeper of the King’s Forest of Feckenham, is discovered beside his hearth, his corpse rendered barely identifiable by sharp teeth.

Whispers of a wolf on the prowl grow louder and Sheriff William de Beauchamp’s men, Hugh Bradecote and Serjeant Catchpoll, are tasked with cutting through the clamour. They must uncover who killed Durand and why while beset by superstitious villagers, raids upon manors and further grim deaths. Out of the shadows of the forest, where will the wolf’s fangs strike next?

Format: eARC (288 pages)                Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication date: 19th August 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Mystery

Find Wolf at the Door (A Bradecote and Catchpoll Investigation, #9) on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I’ve become a big fan of Sarah Hawkswood’s historical mystery series set in medieval Worcestershire and featuring Hugh Bradecote, Undersheriff of Worcestershire, his assistant Serjeant Catchpoll, and Catchpoll’s protege, Walkelin. Luckily new books in the series are coming thick and fast with River of Sins published in November 2020 and Blood Runs Thicker in March this year.

Although the ninth in the series, I can reassure readers that Wolf at the Door can definitely be enjoyed without having read any of the previous books. The references to earlier events and to the back stories of the leading characters will help to bring new readers up-to-date.

As with previous books, Wolf at the Door has all the features of a police procedural but transported to medieval times: examining crime scenes (rather gruesome ones in this case), gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and identifying possible suspects. Walkelin even tries his hand at the odd spot of surveillance.

Bradecote and Catchpoll make a great team. Catchpoll has an in-depth knowledge of their patch, the ne’er do wells who reside in it and possesses the keen eye of a detective. He also has a reputation for taking no nonsense. For example, when Catchpoll states his intention to have ‘interesting words’ the following morning with a suspect taken into custody, the thought of it makes several observers shudder and thank their lucky stars it’s not them. And we shouldn’t forget Walkelin, Catchpoll’s apprentice, who adds youthful enthusiasm and some keen observational skills to the mix.

Bradecote may not have the detective nous of his sergeant but he has the ability to use his status to gain access to people and places that would otherwise be denied, or to intimidate others. In fact, he and Catchpoll often use not so much a ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy as a ‘toff cop, common cop’ approach with advantageous results. As Catchpoll grudgingly concedes, Bradecote’s ‘high-and-mighty arrogance laid on thick, works a treat’.

This time Bradecote and Catchpoll don’t just face the challenge of investigating a murder seemingly without motive but doing so within a community terrified by talk of wolves or, even worse, werewolves. Furthermore, Bradecote has a particular reason for wanting to solve the case quickly.

As the investigation progresses, there are tantalizing clues and false trails many of which seem to lead to nearby Feckenham Forest. The author keeps the tension building with some dramatic scenes as Bradecote and Catchpoll close in on the culprits and the reader discovers just what lengths they are prepared to go to.

Wolf at the Door is another skillfully crafted mystery that moves at pace and has plenty of period detail. I’m already looking forward to the next investigation for Bradecote and Catchpoll due to be published next year.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Allison & Busby via NetGalley.

In three words: Intriguing, atmospheric, assured

Try something similar: The Monastery Murders by E. M. Powell

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Sarah HawkswoodAbout the Author

Sarah Hawkswood describes herself as a ‘wordsmith’ who is only really happy when writing. She read Modern History at Oxford and her factual book on the Royal Marines in the First World War, From Trench and Turret, was published in 2006. The Bradecote and Catchpoll series are her first novels.

She takes her pen name from one of her eighteenth century ancestors who lived in Worcestershire, and selected it because the initials match those of her maiden name. She is married, with two grown up children, and now lives in Worcestershire.

She is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, the Historical Writers’ Association, and the Historical Novel Society.

Connect with Sarah
Website | Goodreads | Twitter