Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Miranda Dickinson

Somewhere Beyond the Sea
By Miranda Dickinson
Published by Pan (14 June 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Can you fall in love with someone before you’ve even met?

Seren MacArthur is living a life she never intended. Trying to save the Cornish seaside business her late father built – while grieving for his loss – she has put her own dreams on hold and is struggling. Until she discovers a half-finished seaglass star on her favourite beach during an early morning walk. When she completes the star, she sets into motion a chain of events that will steal her heart and challenge everything she believes.

Jack Dixon is trying to secure a better life for daughter Nessie and himself. Left a widower and homeless when his wife died, he’s just about keeping their heads above water. Finding seaglass stars completed on Gwithian beach is a bright spark that slowly rekindles his hope.

Seren and Jack are searching for their missing pieces. But when they meet in real life, it’s on the opposing sides of a battle. Jack is managing the redevelopment of a local landmark, and Seren is leading the community campaign to save it.

Both have reason to fight – Seren for the cause her father believed in, Jack for his livelihood. But only one can win. With so much at stake, will they ever find what they are really looking for?

My verdict
Somewhere Beyond the Sea was as magical and sparkly as the seaglass that features heavily within the story.

This is a book about family and grief, love and friendship, with a strong heartwarming 'feel good' focus. It provided me with a much-needed break from my usual crime fiction reads at the time. It's sad and moving yet also uplifting and hopeful - a sweet and poignant read that reminded me of a Meg Ryan film, a cross between You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle.

I loved the Cornish setting, and author Miranda Dickinson really brings the location and characters to life with her vivid descriptions. Jack and Seren narrate alternative chapters so I got to know both of them very well, which meant I then cared strongly about the story. I could almost smell the sea and hear the waves, as I imagined myself walking along the beaches in search of seaglass stars.

A perfect book for cold evenings snuggled under a blanket (with a glass of wine and box of chocolates). And yes, it made me shed a few tears by the end!

BEST OF CRIME with Sandie Jones

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

SANDIE JONES

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

I love almost everything that Harlan Coben writes. His narrative is so immersive – he speaks my kind of language, and his plots are so well crafted. I especially enjoyed Six Years as you never know who you’re listening to and who you should trust. The same applies to Clare Mackintosh’s I Let You Go. I love getting to the end of a book and having everything I thought was true, turned on its head.

... FILMS/MOVIES

Primal Fear stayed with me for a long time after I watched it, and clearly still has an effect on me 20 years later! The ending shook me to the core – it was one of those moments when I looked around me with my mouth agape, thinking, ‘what the……..?’ 

It also introduced me to Edward Norton, one of my favorite actors, who, in my opinion, is hugely under-rated.

... TV DRAMAS

Cracker, starring Robbie Coltrane, was a show I never missed in the 1990’s. It was the first time I’d seen a police drama with such an emphasis on the psychology behind the crime. I guess today’s equivalent would be Luther, as Idris (and his coat) seem to know what makes a killer’s mind tick!

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

If it’s allowed, I’d like to say the women of Pirriwee in Big Little Lies. Although we know only one of them is the killer, I love the fact that they stood in solidarity, so the police had to charge them all or none at all. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Julien Baptiste in The Missing is, for me, the epitome of a detective. He’s an old school sleuth, being dragged, kicking and screaming into contemporary crime-solving. There are no airs and graces, no political correctness, no holding back, yet he’s still charm personified and boy, does he get the job done?

... MURDER WEAPONS

The crossbow and arrow used in Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin,for the ultimate heart-stopping moment.

    

... DEATH SCENES

The most bizarre and yet incredibly moving death scene is the jellyfish in the bath in Seven Pounds. The care and attention that is put into creating the perfect death, so that others are able to benefit is extraordinary and had me crying for hours!

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

I’m a late comer to Facebook, but it’s a great source for advice and fact-checking. There are groups and clubs for every subject under the sun, whether it be crime research, writing guidance or if you just want to sound an idea out amongst fellow writers/readers.

I also rely heavily on www.thesaurus.com as I can spend half a day thinking of the word that’s on the tip of my tongue!

... WRITING TIPS

Start. Simple, but true. Every day there will be reasons not to write and every day we berate ourselves for not getting on with it. But once you start, you’re off and away. 

And be open to the idea of writing anywhere. I wrote The Other Woman on an Ipad, in waiting rooms, hairdressers and on public transport!

... WRITING SNACKS

I start off the morning with blueberries, a banana and almonds. By the afternoon, I’m so chuffed with my healthy eating regime that I reward myself with crisps, chocolate and biscuits!

About SANDIE JONES

Sandie Jones is a freelance journalist and has contributed to The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Woman’s Weekly and Hello magazine, amongst others. If she wasn’t a writer, she’d be an interior designer as she has an unhealthy obsession with wallpaper and cushions. She lives in London with her husband and three children.

Find Sandie Jones on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @realsandiejones

About THE OTHER WOMAN

Publisher's description

When Emily meets Adam she knows he is the One. 

That together they can deal with anything that is thrown at them.

But lurking in the shadows is another woman, Pammie. A woman who shares a deep bond with the man she loves. A mother whose love for her son knows no bounds.

Now Emily is about to find out just how far Pammie will go to get what she wants . . .

The Other Woman was published by Pan on 14 June 2018.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

BEST OF CRIME with Fiona Cummins

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

FIONA CUMMINS

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS
There are so many brilliant crime writers out there it's almost impossible to narrow it down to one, but I know I must so I will choose Agatha Christie. She was my introduction to crime novels – I would, ahem, borrow my mum's library books and read them under the covers by torchlight, long after I was supposed to be asleep. Christie had an unrivalled talent for weaving a compelling story within an intricately crafted framework, all while making it seem effortless.

... FILMS/MOVIES
Gah, this is so difficult. But Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill had a profound effect on me. Is there anything more kick-ass than a bride who seeks to avenge the wrongs wrought upon her in the most brutal of ways? I know some will balk at the violence, but there is something incredibly powerful about a woman getting it done (or maybe it's only me who has dark revenge fantasies...).

... TV DRAMAS
I don't watch a whole lot of television but I loved American Horror Story, about a family who move into a house with a dark past. For me, it contained the perfect ratio of psychopathic killings and the supernatural. The opening credits were so creepy I had to fast-forward them, though. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Dr Hannibal Lecter. No-one else comes close. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Hmmm. Tough one. By rights, I should say Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, but I want to spread the love so I'm going to say  John Connolly's Charlie Parker, a private investigator and ex-cop with a tragic past, who has to confront supernatural foes as well as human ones.

... MURDER WEAPONS

Lamb to the Slaughter, a short story by Roald Dahl. Is there anything more genius than a housewife who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb and then serves up the murder weapon to the detectives investigating his violent demise? 

    

... DEATH SCENES
Initially, I was going to talk about the ice pick in Basic Instinct, but that got me thinking about the infamous rabbit scene from the 1987 film Fatal Attraction starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Close's character Alex, who has a fling with happily married Dan (played by Douglas), places his family's pet in a pot of boiling water on the stove. It's not a death scene as such (well, I guess it is for the rabbit), but the threat is so implicit and so shocking that it spawned the phrase 'bunny boiler', dictionary definition: a woman who acts vengefully after having been spurned by her lover.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I often use forensic guides from individual police forces to help me with procedural elements, and the internet is the perfect research tool. That's how I discovered Dr Britt Raubenheimer, an oceanographer who answered some questions for me about tidal patterns in my second novel The Collector.

... WRITING TIPS
Keep going.

... WRITING SNACKS
Biscuits. Or crisps. Or both.

About FIONA CUMMINS

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her bestselling debut novel, received international critical acclaim when it was published earlier this year. It is also in development as a six-part TV series by the producers of Kick-Ass and Miss Sloane. Her second novel The Collector will be published in February. Fiona lives in Essex with her family.

Find Fiona Cummins on Twitter - @FionaAnnCummins

About RATTLE

Publisher's description

A serial killer to chill your bones

A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter.

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he's just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family's macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs.

What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey's father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

Set in London's Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge.

It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it's also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost. 

Rattle was published in paperback by Pan on 24 August 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

Down Among The Dead Men by Kerry Wilkinson

Down Among The Dead Men
By Kerry Wilkinson
Published by Pan (22 October 2015)
ISBN: 978-1509804610

Publisher's description

'I'm going to do you a favour: I'm going to tell you my name and then I'm going to give you thirty seconds to turn and run. If any of you are still here after those thirty seconds, then we're going to have a problem'.

Jason Green's life is changed for good after he is saved from a mugging by crime boss, Harry Irwell. He is then drawn into Manchester's notorious underworld, where smash and grab is as normal as making a cup of tea.

But Jason isn't a casual thug. He has a life plan that doesn't involve blowing his money on the usual trappings. That is until a woman walks into his life offering the one thing that money can't buy - salvation.

My verdict
I have enjoyed Kerry Wilkinson books in the past, so was looking forward to reading another one of his books, expecting yet another brilliant read. And Down Among The Dead Men certainly hit the target for me, although it's very different from his Jessica Daniels series.

You first meet Jason as a young boy. He's escaping from a group of thugs and is rescued by crime boss Harry Irwell. The book then switches between past and present, as you learn more about Jason's background and his current situation. I wondered how his life would have been different if Harry hadn't rescued him that day.

Jason lives with his alcoholic mother and a deadbeat brother. He earns his money in Manchester's underworld, doing jobs for Harry that no one else wants. Robberies and crime are second nature to him. But he also dreams of a better life. So when a mysterious woman offers him a way out, he knows he would be a fool to turn it down.

Down Among The Dead Men was really easy to get into and intrigued me from the start. It's written at a steady place and has some believable and interesting characters, with some great twists and turns. I read it in a couple of hours.

I was fortunate to receive an Advance Reader Copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.