The Truly Devious series is one of my favourite YA mystery series of all time. It is constructed with such care, compelling characterisation and twists that devastate you. With The Velvet Knife, Stevie Bell is back with a vengeance.

Stevie is such a fantastic protagonist with brilliant observational skills and a deep, fierce love for those she loves. She is very much carrying the weight of her previous cases in this book though and grappling with an immense guilt for those who have died, for what she perceives as her fault. Also within this, she is dealing with the disintegration of her relationship and how this has completely knocked her worldview. Her love was all-consuming and now has nowhere to be channelled into. This is possibly one of the lowest points where we’ve met Stevie and that funk is palpable from the opening chapters. Through a series of events, she ends up in New York City and is confronted with yet another murder but she might be one of the only people who sees it that way. Throughout the story, she is trying to battle with her trauma and the way it has sharpened her instincts, dialling up paranoia and those existing feelings of abandonment and fear that have shaped her. Your heart just shatters for her, paying testament to how well Johnson has developed this character over the series.

In fact characterisation is such a strength of these books with a brilliant cast of supporting characters, both old and new faces gracing the pages. The inter-personal arcs in the series are a shining light and I enjoyed how they appeared in this book, getting developed further and encountering interesting beats for these characters we have come to know and love. Of course, Stevie and David’s relationship is a prominent focus as Stevie reels from the emotional explosion in her life. However, I did also like how Johnson explicitly confronts the way Stevie is treating both herself and those around her in the aftermath. Difficult conversations are had and she must face the consequences of her actions. Johnson also excels at deftly sketched characterisation through the historical timeline. That storyline is dark and draws you into its world quickly, grounding you in an immersive sense of time and place. You can see the net start to close in on some characters and it has a genuinely chilling atmosphere. The consequences of actions taken in that timeline are also still rippling through into the present. Johnson seems to be grappling with guilt and trauma as key themes, especially how we may choose to confront them, and asking if people truly have the capacity to make amends.

This is not a book that plays around. The opening chapter is instantly chilling and sends your heart to the pit of your stomach. As usual, Johnson has created a true puzzle-box of a book that rewards attention to detail and has such powerful parallels with real-life historical cases and the state of our current world. There is a palpable rage within these pages. It is a book very much preoccupied with the abuse of power and manipulation. The series has never shied away from these themes but this is a new angle on them and feels cognisant, especially in terms of controlling and twisting the narrative.

The Velvet Knife shows that Johnson will knock it out of the park every single time.

The Velvet Knife is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up The Velvet Knife? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

Return to the world of Truly Devious as Stevie Bell and her friends travel to New York to solve a murder in the next standalone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Stevie might be the greatest teenage detective Ellingham Academy and the world has ever seen, but even she can’t figure out what happened with her boyfriend, David. What she needs is a distraction: a good old-fashioned murder. Stevie is much happier dealing with dead people. They’re a lot less confusing—they don’t send cryptic texts and make out with other girls in British pubs.

But then Stevie gets exactly what she wanted when a dead body turns up in the middle of a Manhattan apartment complex, and this one is . . . complicated. Caught in a web of messy alive-people feelings, Stevie finds herself questioning all human connection. Is magnetism only manipulation? Can you trust anyone? Does anyone realize that they’re joining a cult—before it’s too late? And are things with David really over?

The post Review: The Velvet Knife by Maureen Johnson appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

This is one of my favourite YA horror series – it just has everything with great characterisation, tight plotting and a wonderful balance of heart, humour and horrific moments. It has buckets of blood and genuinely feels scary but also has plenty of dark comedy and warmth. Wood toes the line expertly and that initial pitch of Scream meets Scooby Doo still holds up for me.

We open with quite a campy cold open of another case (which did feel very tongue-in-cheek Scooby-Doo-esque) and immediately you feel like you are home. The characterisation in this trilogy has always been stellar but Wood goes up another gear in this book. These are not the same people we met at the start of Let’s Split Up, for better or for worse. Their friendship is a brilliant bond, but it is also fracturing as they each try and live with the events of the previous two books. The ramifications are keenly felt here and I liked that Wood very much grapples with the concept of guilt as a central theme. They are dealing with the weight of lives lost and the personal consequences of certain actions, but ultimately what happened was not their fault. Survivor’s guilt is devastating and Wood explores this with nuance.

Because you have taken these characters into your heart, there is so much more to lose in this final chapter. The story Wood has crafted is tense and spine-chilling. I mean an abandoned theme park in the cold and darkness is eerie enough on its own, before you add in isolation and bodies starting to stack up. Every page is drenched in blood and you can really feel the evolution of the trilogy as the core four face possibly their darkest times yet.

The twists in this book are next-level. It dials up the stakes to eleven and somehow makes the atmosphere even more terrifying than the previous books. Nothing and no one is safe as this isolated scarefest starts to bring the nightmares to life for real.

A throughline in this trilogy that I have really enjoyed is an exploration of the true crime industry and how it exploits real-life suffering into neatly packaged and sensationalist tales. Since Let’s Split Up, it has been present through the media interest in these cases and in a meta way with the in-universe books about their previous stories. We go one step further here with the choice of location and the secrets buried within there. While I won’t reveal exactly what Wood is discussing, there is a really nuanced thread about the ongoing impact of trauma and the different ways people may confront it. Our core four have stared into the face of evil and lived to tell the tale but the scars it has left on each of them are still throbbing. How each of them has chosen to continue their life after the events of book two is fascinating, particularly as they come back together for this final adventure. By choosing to set this trilogy before the incredible rise of the Internet, Wood shows the groundwork for the true crime stories we are all familiar with now. There is plenty to delve into around the power of the press, the manipulation of narratives but primarily the way in which we confront real-life horrors.

One Last Scare is an excellent conclusion to a standout trilogy, packed full of thrillers and chills. I have thoroughly loved this series and am sad to bid goodbye to the Sanera Four. Wood is an exceptional talent and I cannot wait to see what he turns his hand to next.

Will you be picking up One Last Scare? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

When Cam, Jonesy, Amber and Buffy are invited to experience a new theme park called Chillshore, the gang jump at the chance of some down-time together. They can kick back on this remote island, check out the rides, no chance of any gruesome murders or mystery-solving in sight. Right? Wrong.

Death has come to Chillshore, with creepy cabins in the woods, gruesome discoveries lurking beneath frozen water, decades-old secrets cracking open like black ice. None of their fellow guests can be trusted and no-one is safe.

As the body count rises, can the Sanera Four survive, or will this be their One Last Scare?

The post Review: One Last Scare by Bill Wood appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Eda and Kit burst off the page and straight into your heart. The characterisation is such a strength of this book, feeling three-dimensional and well-crafted. You can very much see the journeys each of them embarks on in this book and time is given for particular character beats to play out and breathe a little. Both of them are complicated characters, forced to become what they are by a cruel and unrelenting world. The dynamic between the two of them is immediately electrifying and it grows and shifts in exciting ways. Plumb keeps you on your toes but there is plenty of excellent dialogue and flirty moments between the two. It is an actual enemies to lovers to something else arc with stakes, tension and hatred seeping through their skin.

I loved how Gothic this book was with a wonderful command of darkness in the story. You are grappling with the corrosive nature of power, all-consuming ambition and the prices people might be willing to pay to hold onto their power. There is a ripple effect and plenty of the monstrosity on display is that of humanity with those they deem lesser in some way. It is a book with plenty of bloodshed and truly terrifying moments that stick with you long after the final page. Plumb balances that darkness perfectly, ensuring you understand this world and the stakes but also keeping it within a crossover space.

At the heart of it all are the Pacts that Eda and her brothers have as their only way of survival. These are a fascinating concept and an interesting take on the classic devil’s bargain, trading away years of your life for a boon. However there is precision needed or you will be deeply disappointed with the details. This is a world that despises weakness and will stop at nothing to get what it wants. It is brutal and we explore the consequences of some of these Pacts throughout the story. They speak to the wider world-building Plumb is deftly crafting, which was one of the highlights for me. There is a bigger magic system and indeed political power plays in store that have ripple effects that will carry over. I really enjoyed drilling down into this, while also leaving plenty of intrigue for future stories. There is a particular character bound up in this that I cannot wait for readers to fall in love with and I demand to know more of their story, if Plumb ever decides to share. It is a richly imagined world and I adore the level of detail and lore we get here. This feels like a world that has truly been inhabited.

It is a tense read with palpable stakes at all times and even in the moments of levity, you are keenly aware of the ticking clock. Plumb creates a paranoid atmosphere dominated by this religious fanaticism that Eda has been crushed under for her whole life. She has had to pay the price for the decisions of those who came before her and now her brothers are in deadly peril too. There is this sense of history repeating itself that feels chilling. Everything builds to a fantastic and heart-wrenching finale but do not allow yourself to relax until after the final page. Without giving anything away, it is a brutal ending and the final lines of the story have rung in my head ever since. I was delighted to hear that there is a sequel coming but I also fear what Plumb might have up her sleeve.

Reap & Sow was such a gorgeous romantasy with a real sense of darkness and heart.

Reap & Sow is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Reap & Sow? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

A young woman bargains with a demon to save her brothers, only to lose her heart in this slow-burn romantasy about dark magic, unlikely love, and the imperfect beauty of mortality.

The penniless in Blackbridge have only two choices: Sell the body or sell the soul. And thanks to Eda Shaw, business is booming.

Indentured to a capricious demon known as Mr. Night, Eda and her brothers arrange illicit Pacts on his behalf, luring the city’s most desperate into trading years of their lives for their deepest desires. When a Pact goes awry and her brothers are arrested, Eda realizes she’ll need an infernal ally of her own: Kit’rath, an infuriating demon with a curious penchant for humanity and the only being in Blackbridge that Mr. Night seems to fear. As they race to rescue her family and save the city from ruin, an undeniable connection sparks between mortal and demon.

But Kit’s help doesn’t come cheap. Now Eda risks losing her heart to the one who claims her years—and saving herself may prove the steepest cost of all.

Rich with gothic atmosphere, sharp wit, and simmering romantic tension, Reap & Sow is a fantasy debut and the first in a duology, perfect for fans of Rachel Gillig, Hannah Whitten, and Heather Fawcett.

The post Review: Reap & Sow by Charlotte B. Plumb appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi Bill, thank you for joining us again today to celebrate the final chapter of the Let’s Split Up trilogy. Please could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your latest book One Last Scare?

Thank you for having me back! I’m Bill and One Last Scare is the final book in the Let’s Split Up trilogy. It takes the Sanera Four out of California and to the wintry Chillshore. It’s home to a creepy old theme park where tragedy once struck and is being revitalised for a new audience… What could go wrong, right?

This marks the end of the story of the Sanera Four and I was wondering, did you always envision this as a trilogy, or has it evolved alongside the story?

I didn’t always envision it as a trilogy but I did always have ideas for sequels. As soon as Let’s Split Up released and sequels were on the table, I planned out how I wanted it all to end and was able to leave clues (very fitting). Fun fact, actually – if you go back and read Let’s Split Up again, you’ll find all the titles of the trilogy written in there.

How does it feel to be bringing this trilogy to a close?

Bittersweet! This series and these characters have been my entire life for the past six years. I started writing Let’s Split Up in 2021 and I couldn’t have imagined where it has led. Despite this, I’m really proud of where it’s ending. I think there’s definitely more stories to tell in this world, but for now I really hope people love One Last Scare as much as the first two books.

As always, the characterisation is such a strong point in this book with the Sanera Four but also both some new and familiar faces. What key elements make a good character for you and who was your favourite character to write in One Last Scare?

It’s so easy for characters to meld into one, especially in novels, so it’s so key to make them distinct. Whether that’s by their name, their dialogue, their actions or anything that might set them apart. Because of that, Rick was actually my favourite character to write in One Last Scare. He’s just so different from the main four and sometimes it’s really fun to write someone who’s a bit of a meanie. Haha!

How has the writing process changed for you from Let’s Split Up to One Last Scare?

It’s changed a lot! I’ve definitely become more of a plotter as I’ve grown as an author and have developed how I write. Also, writing mysteries is so much easier when you know what you’re planning for. That being said, while I do plot my books out thoroughly now, if inspiration strikes I do let myself adjust the plot to keep things fresh while drafting.

I have always enjoyed the balance of dark comedy and horror in this trilogy; how do you strike that balance and also ensure it is always appropriate for the YA audience?

Thank you! It’s definitely just experimentation. It became clear after the first draft of Let’s Split Up that I wanted to have that balance of genres because that’s what I love to consume. This book is probably the darkest of the trilogy, and after finishing it, I realised I needed to go back and inject some of the humour into it again to keep it in line with the other books. In terms of going too far with the horror, I’ve never really had that issue because the humour always counteracted the scarier moments.

Off the back of that, how did your approach differ with your adult debut and what was that experience like?

Honestly, it was a real learning curve. I’ve been so used to writing short and snappy prose for my YA books so it took me a minute to write anything but that. My adult books are definitely more descriptive because that’s what the genre wants. With thrillers, especially YA, you’ve got to keep things short and leave the reader constantly on the edge of their seat.

Without giving anything away, this has a brilliant and very fitting ending. Was this always the plan or did the ending change through the editing process?

Yes and no! I’ve been so nervous about it so thank you for that! I knew how I wanted the book to end from the very start of drafting. But I did go back and forth on the final couple of paragraphs. I think I’ve just become so protective of the characters so I wanted to make sure they had the best send off possible.

How did you decide which narrative arcs you wanted to prioritise over the trilogy and without spoilers, what has been your favourite one?

The one I want to talk about is one I definitely cannot, hahaha! Once you’ve read One Last Scare you’ll know which character I’m hinting at. But Cam and Jonesy’s relationship will always be really special to me. It’s been super cathartic to write their journey but it’s also been incredible to see the reader’s reactions to their relationship as well.

If you had to place the Sanera Four in a different horror franchise (book and/or film), which would you choose and how would they fare?

I think they’d slot right into the Clown in a Cornfield series (love those books, by the way) and be able to help those guys out a lot. In terms of film, they could definitely hold their own in the Scream films. The amount of times the Sanera Four have survived… Ghostface has nothing on them.

What is one message or lingering thought that you’d like readers to take away from this trilogy?

I think I would just say a big thank you. I’ve said it before how much these books mean to me and now they’re the same books that enable me to write full time. On top of that, seeing how much people love them makes it ten times better. I’ve seen these books on people’s favourites of all time lists, there’s tattoos of my books, cosplays, fan art… it blows my mind.

What books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

I’ve recently finished Tempest by Victoria Aveyard which I thoroughly enjoyed and I’m really anticipating book two next year. But my favourite of the year has been Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, which really surprised me. It isn’t something I’d usually pick up but I absolutely adored it.

If you were ever to return to the world of Let’s Split Up, what would be your choice of spin-off story or primary character? Would you prefer to pick a familiar face or create a whole new chilling story in a shared universe?

Oh, that’s so hard. I want to come back to this world so bad already and, if I did, I do think it would be the original characters. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of following the Sanera Four’s kids twenty years on or making a ‘requel’ like so many modern franchise reboots, but I’d want to make something a bit more unique.

Finally if you could only use five words to describe One Last Scare, what would they be?

Death. Rollercoaster. Mannequin. Ice. History.

Will you be picking up One Last Scare? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Bill Wood, Author of ‘One Last Scare’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Ava Reid takes a fantastic idea and imagines it in unexpected ways. This is really a rollercoaster of a book with surprises around every corner. You’ll be pulled in by the intrigue and backstabbing but you will stay because of the layered and interesting characters at the heart of the story.

In this book, the characters really shone for me. Klaudia, Julian, Giselle, and Nadiya feel distinctive and three-dimensional and I enjoyed moving between each of their perspectives. They all bring their own abilities to the table, but also shoulder their own secrets and traumas. These are deeply damaged teenagers forced to become weapons for their country. Their intellect is deadly but the situation they end up in might just cause the world to implode. I did have a particular love for Giselle’s ability, which is an eidetic memory. This is something so fascinating and I loved how Reid explored its uses and potential exploitation. It is a blessing and a curse, combined with a sharp mind and the way everyone makes assumptions about Giselle. In fact the story loves to play with expectations and go beneath the surface of the carefully constructed facade you may see at first.

Of course, this is fitting for a story often preoccupied with deceit and games within games. Not everything as it seems here. The primary story is very compelling within the walls of the shadowy and all-powerful Valeran Academy. A secret base that pushes its students to their limits and often forces them to attend to save themselves. The stakes are high but Reid pushes them even higher as this dangerous conspiracy starts to unfold. This is an alternative world where the paranoia and tension of the Cold War never ended. That heightened state of claustrophobia is palpable as this conflict continues to rage on in the background.

This is a fantastic book that takes me right back to the heyday of YA dystopian and I think might just usher in a renaissance. It is so cleverly put together, it really feels like a puzzle box for you to solve. There are so many layers to the story with the characters, the central mystery and the political machinations moving beneath it all. It is a refreshing take on the idea of gifted kids and speaks to the intense burnout and pressure. This is a pressure cooker like no other with the constant competition a microcosm of the warfare going on under the surface of the world. Reid weaves this in with political parallels to our own world and the increasingly polarised nature of society. Here, the truth shall come to light but the cost of it will not be light. I liked how Reid wove in these political elements, making the entire story feel like ripples in the water. These actions will have consequences, but who knows how far they may reach and what knock-on effects they will have. You feel like you’ve scratched the surface of this intense world and leaves plenty of room for an excellent sequel. Reid certainly leans towards this with a devastating and explosive ending that leaves you demanding answers immediately.

Winterveil is the whisper in the darkness, walking on a knife edge with intrigue, political moves and world-shattering revelations.

Winterveil is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Winterveil? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

Bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Fable for the End of the World Ava Reid is back with a thrilling new duology unlike anything you’ve read before.

It’s a game—until it’s war.

• A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.
• A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.
• A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.
• An expert female soldier with an enigmatic past—and a dangerous secret.

In an alternate future where the Cold War still rages, four precocious teenage criminals with dark skills and darker secrets are offered a fresh start at a secret military academy. But instead of training to end the war, they find themselves on a mysterious mission that will test loyalties, forge romances, and maybe end the world as they know it.

The post Review: Winterveil by Ava Reid appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

We focus on the story of Ariadne and Dionysus here. Both of them are fantastically three-dimensional characters that evolve over the course of the way in surprising and heartfelt ways. The characterisation truly shines, you are so connected to their voices and those glimpses of joy, love and vulnerability. You start from a familiar touchpoint and then where we go from there is a rollercoaster that you do not want to end. The dynamic that grows between the two of them is also stellar. It is so rich and complicated, with dialogue that zings off the page and an undeniable chemistry. This is a gorgeous relationship and I really loved the message Fitzgerald is conveying through their stories. This quartet has always played with established tropes so well with a cheeky wink in their eyes. There is clear love and respect but also a distinctive twist. It mirrors the way Fitzgerald plays with the original myths that inspire these tales too. You can recognise her distinctive style and instantly fall head over heels for each character, as well as the brilliant found family around them.

Alongside the heart and romance, there is true darkness in this story. It explores monstrosity in different forms, abuse of power and sexual assault. The cultural conversations around these mimic that of today’s society and there is a clear political message being shouted through these pages. It is anger-inducing but also reminds you of the power of collective action, hope and love. Both Aridane and Dionysus have endured true horrors and Fitzgerald explores this with sensitivity and nuance. A particular focus is the enduring impact of trauma and how it reverberates through someone’s life. I liked that love did not magically heal them but it did complement a healing journey they have both embarked on. There is such power in that commitment to each other, to stay together through the storm and be a true shelter for one another. Life will not be kind to them and tribulations will still come their way, but their love will endure and manifest in their care and support for one another. Mental health is such a key theme of this story, portrayed in different ways and a language that makes sense for this universe. It feels raw and poignant but also truthful in a way that readers will connect with.

Something I have always enjoyed about Fitzgerald’s work in the YA space is her active decision not to patronise her readers. These are difficult topics but ones that teenager readers might be grappling with and she delivers stories that are full of nuance, acknowledge the darkness but also give you hope. You leave them feeling inspired and with a wonderful new twist on a familiar tale that serves a modern day audience. They feel timeless but also very much of our current time, imbued with love, rage and passion. This quartet of stories together defines what YA retellings can do for me. They work as standalones but there’s also subtle details and cameos woven between them, which make it feel like a cohesive shared universe.

This Divine Revelry is a heartfelt story that lands with its readers and reminds you of light in the darkness. It may mark the end of an era but what an empowering and empathetic one.

This Divine Revelry is available from Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up This Divine Revelry? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

When Ariadne, Princess of Crete, vows to help free the Athenian prince, Theseus, and his fellow tributes – sacrifices for the monster which allegedly lurks beneath her palace’s floors – she hopes she will free herself from the savage rule of her father, too.

Instead, she finds herself abandoned on an island the morning after Theseus has sworn love and marriage – watching his ship sail away without her.

In return, Ariadne swears revenge. Which is all very well – except for the aforementioned being abandoned on an island thing. Luckily for her though, the island happens to belong to a god. Alright, currently a fairly minor one (though only if you think wine and partying are minor concerns) – but it quickly turns out Dionysus and Ariadne may be able to help each other.

Dionysus needs followers to maintain his fragile, threatened power. Ariadne wants to stop Theseus from spreading rumours of his own greatness any further. Together, they may be able to make a story so powerful, it will elevate them both to the status of legends.

Ariadne isn’t interested in real love any more – of course – which is a shame, as there’s something irresistible about the pull between her and Dionysus – even if he is completely infuriating. And he is the first person to agree with her that women can be more than just footnotes in men’s myths.
They have a power of their own.

And once that power is unleashed – the men of Ariadne’s story, and even the gods themselves, should prepare to tremble . . .

The post Review: This Divine Revelry by Bea Fitzgerald appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hallett just captures that suffocating small town feeling so well. There is that sense of being in everyone’s business while trying your best to appear above it all. That gossip and paranoia feeds into the central investigation and as a reader, you are swept up in the miniature of life while also knowing a crime is due to come and knowing Hallett, it will be deadly.

The framing device is just as brilliant as in the original. You have the Fairway Players preparing to perform Christie’s The Hollow but behind it all is a tangled web of secrets and lies. The nod to Christie from a potential spiritual successor is tinged with love and respect, even carefully avoiding spoilers. Right from the first page, you are back in that warmly funny, gossipy world of amateur theatre and their tangled interpersonal relationships. There is an ongoing reference to an OBE that made me chuckle in particular. Within the Players, we have both familiar faces returning (and dynamics shifting) and new characters joining the cast too. This keeps it fresh and brings new dynamics into play, which ebb and flow as the story keeps moving relentlessly along. What Hallett is choosing to explore is often entering around the tricky business of love in all its forms here. It is heart-breaking and joyful in different measures as relationships are formed and broken. This is such a unifying topic as we all long to have and keep love in our lives, be that platonic, familial or romantic.

Outside of the Fairway Players, Femi, Charlotte, Roderick and the long suffering Sharon return to unpick this case and slowly reveal to the audience just what happened and who stands accused. This allows you as the reader to play detective alongside them and their text conversations can often echo theories you might have yourself. Of course, by giving the story piecemeal, Hallett can lead you down countless rabbit holes. This keeps the tension sky-high, as you are always trying to piece it together before the big reveals. As usual, I devoured the book and then immediately wanted to reread it to catch everything I missed first time around. These books are deftly crafted stories with so many ingenious details and hidden clues that rewards keen attention to detail and multiple returns to Lower Lockwood.

Hallett’s use of the epistolary format is incredibly clever and the way she updated it for the modern age makes her work so distinctive. It feels immediately authentic and believable. There is this weird delight in being able to see how each person changes depending on who they’re talking to and how quickly they will betray one another. How they talk to one person is immediately undercut by the way they talk to another about the conversation that has just occurred. It is the ultimate people watching and it is so reminiscent of small town gossip. At times, it is frivolous and playful, but at others, it takes on a far more sinister tone. Hallett also delights in double meanings and wordplay. It is a clever manipulation of language that brings new light to scenes when revisited. Seemingly innocuous messages can suddenly have a chilling tone to them and certain reveals have a timely impact amplified by recent events in society.

The Silent Appeal is another example of compelling and consummately excellent cosy crime from a queen of the genre. Long may Hallett continue this vein of stories, as I will continue to enjoy reading each of them.

The Silent Appeal is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up The Silent Appeal? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

A New Play. Another Murder. Who Will Speak the Truth?

It’s a new theatrical season in Lower Lockwood, and the amateur thespians of the Fairway Players are starting rehearsals for their production of Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. Despite divisive new arrivals, countless petty jealousies and a near-fatal accident with the lighting rig, surely this will be their greatest show to date?

But someone isn’t going to make it to opening night. Could it be producer Sarah-Jane’s mysterious sister, lately arrived home after twenty years abroad? New member Lucas, whose shady business dealings may be his downfall? Or perhaps once-convicted murderer Issy Beck, recently acquitted but still up to her old tricks?

Lawyers Charlotte and Femi must sift through the emails, texts and police reports to identify the victim and find out why the person convicted of the murder refuses to speak out in their own defence… Will they uncover the truth in time? Will you?

The post Review: The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

What Foley has done here is nothing short of a spectacular magic trick. She has deftly paid homage to one of the most iconic detectives of all time while also delivering a story that fits within her own distinctive style. It lives up to Christie’s legacy without trying to replicate it.

Speaking of the iconic woman herself, Foley makes some fascinating and smart decisions with Marple’s characterisation. While we do not directly go into Marple’s perspective, she is such an undeniable force in this story. Initially she is this dismissed figure on the periphery of some characters’ perspectives but you quickly get a sense of her sharp intellect and ability to discern the truth in someone’s heart. Foley highlights her shrewd powers of observation, insights into human nature and worldly wise sense of being. Interestingly there is occasionally a hint of a darker side, a vengeful spirit on the side of justice. It is a light touch but a deeply interesting one in conversation with Christie’s characterisation.

This is crafted with such clear love and reverence for Christie’s work and legacy. You have all the hallmarks and Foley plays with the expected tropes, often subverting them and surprising you along the way. This is a story where not everything as it seems and you are in for some brilliant twists and turns. Like Christie, Foley also has this wonderful sense of place that anchors you into the story. The setting is used to glorious effect with a touch of old Hollywood glamour and the creeping dread as this place of extravagance becomes a place of death. Foley ensures the period plays a large role too and this setting embodies that idea of papering over the cracks. This is a place that has very recently seen blood, death and war and is trying to hide behind a facade of beauty and happiness. The spectre of the war looms over each character, the place and the narrative itself.

Something I deeply loved about this book was the atmosphere. Underneath this glittering glamour of the Alps is a chilling reminder of nature’s power and humanity’s capacity for evil. This is a world recently scarred by the horrors of the first ever World War. I think it is difficult to comprehend the sheer scale and destruction caused by this all-consuming war that forever changed the path of history. On a political level, the global implications are gigantic and the personal effects are felt just as keenly. This is a book deeply concerned with the horrors of war and how the story is written by the victors. Acts of barbaric violence are swept under the rug in tales of heroism. Foley ensures that isn’t the case as certain events have cataclysmic consequences. They haunt the narrative and as a reader you are intrigued and horrified by their secrets until the truth is finally unveiled. All of this feeds into an ever tightening atmosphere of paranoia, heightened by these very recent experiences and deep-seated feeling of loss that affects every character. This murder upends everything and reminds them of what they have just lived through.

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel brings the classic Christie feel into the modern day with a wonderful homage and a thrilling new story. It is a layered and psychologically rich rollercoaster ride that brings a new treasure to a brilliant canon.

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 22nd 2026.

Will you be picking up Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

High in the Swiss Alps, with glorious mountain views and exclusive access to powdery slopes, the Grand Alpine Hotel draws guests from far and wide.

The notorious actress

The high-flying politician

The inscrutable political wife

The reckless friend

The shrewd doctor

But when a guest enters a gondola alive, only to be found dead at the top of the mountain, it’s clear there’s a killer in their midst.

As tensions rise, and old grudges emerge like cracks in the ice, someone watches from the shadows. An unassuming woman with an extraordinary mind: Miss Marple.

She suspects everyone in the hotel, and she’s right to. For it isn’t just a question of who has a motive, but who’s next…

Arriving 50 years after Agatha Christie’s last MISS MARPLE novel was published, Lucy Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel is a landmark event.

The post Review: Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

I have an incredible personal connection to Harrison’s previous book Play Nice. Sometimes you just read a book at the right time and it leaves an indelible mark on your heart. That was one of those books for me, particularly within the voice, characterisation and overarching exploration of grief. Needing to consume more of her work, I was drawn to Kiss, Slay, Replay. This is Harrison’s take on the time-loop and this narrative device takes us to some unexpected and brilliantly bizarre territory. We get to cram in a bucketload of horror tropes but also play with them in sometimes unexpected and subversive ways. As with her previous work, she deftly weaves together these stomach-churning moments and these deeper themes that underscore the story. There is plenty of dark humour and gory beats here with some deaths that I do not think I can scrub from my mind.

At the centre of it all, we have Willa. She is heart-broken and forced to confront her ex at the wedding of her longtime friends. This is enough of a nightmare and then the killing begins. Because of the time-loop of it all, the story becomes a character study of Willa and the journey Harrison takes her is extraordinary. You connect with her immediately from those small flashes of humanity, the loneliness and hurt behind the facade of humour and coping mechanisms. When she is taken into this new space, you are rooting for her to succeed and I liked how realistic her character arc felt in this extreme scenario. She is not a final girl and makes plenty of meta references to horror, which adds this extra dimension to the work. In part this story works so well because her voice is arresting and pulls you completely into the story. You become immersed with these scenes playing out like short films before your eyes. The smell of fear is palpable as we go through the familiar moments again, but you cannot rest easy. Around every corner, Harrison has a surprise and it is usually not the sweet and cute sort. The twists are played brilliantly, placed at just the right moment and land with greater emotional impact because of the stellar character work that has been going on.

Ultimately this is a story about mental health and the fierce grip illness can have on you. For me, the way Harrison chooses to tell this story was profoundly moving and inspired. This embodies what horror can be. At times it is campy and gore-filled, but at others, it stares into the pit found within us and asks us to confront that darkness. That endless void of existence can be a heavy weight to carry but Harrison leaves us with room to sit with this, if only for a second within the carnage. What is being delivered here uses the horror framework to explore something deeply human, impactful and introspective. I enjoyed how existential it got at times and the philosophical elements interwoven with the blood and violence. Everything builds to an unforgettable conclusion. Without giving anything away, it is somewhat ambiguous, bittersweet and leaves plenty of room for discussion but also tinged with hope.

Kiss, Slay, Replay was extraordinary. It takes a staggering concept and weaves it into a story that I cannot get out of my head. This was clever, moving and everything I love with horror.

Kiss, Slay, Replay is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore!

Will you be picking up Kiss, Slay, Replay? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

Will this nightmare ever end?

It’s the picture-perfect wedding weekend—the venue is dreamy, the weather is beautiful, love is in the air, and Willa Sullivan is having a bad time. She’s excited to celebrate her best friends finally having the big wedding they always wanted, but this is the first time she’s seeing her ex-fiancé in months, and he brought a date. Everything feels off, like she stumbled into an alternate universe. But things start to look up when Willa meets Danny, the groom’s charming and single childhood best friend. When they sneak off together, their rendezvous is interrupted by a masked killer terrorizing the reception. Willa and Danny fight to save the ones they love and survive the night, but the killer is unrelenting. A final girl, Willa is not.

Or is she? She wakes up and it’s the morning of the wedding. She just had the most intense nightmare of her life. Only as the day unfolds, there are some uncanny coincidences that make her question if it was really a dream, déjà vu, or something more sinister. After a horrifying turn of events, Willa comes to understand that she’s stuck in a loop of carnage and terror that she must learn how to escape or suffer a fate worse than death—being an eternal wedding guest.

The post Review: Kiss, Slay, Replay by Rachel Harrison appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Kathryn Foxfield consistently delivers excellent concepts, layered characterisation and interesting twists. I have enjoyed her work for a long time and am so delighted to see her getting the love she deserves. Her work builds on those brilliant ideas and turn them into chilling stories that leave a trace on your skin. This latest book continues that trend with possibly my favourite story from her yet.

This is a thrilling read with a well-constructured plot and whodunnit at its core. Foxfield carefully paces it with an atmosphere that keeps bearing down on you. It feels relentless and you cannot tear yourself away, mirroring Cicely’s increasing desperation to beat the clock and unveil the truth. This also felt like such a rich world with plenty more stories you could wander off and uncover. For example, I really loved the magic system in this book. It feels ancient and sprawling with this intensely privileged family exploiting this for their own ends. There is this history that we tap into a little but feels like there’s further depth to explore. With the magic, the way each gift manifests and informs that person’s way of navigating the world is fascinating. The characterisation is intertwined with their gift and that speaks to the way the power we hold shapes us.

Cicely’s gift is the perfect choice to place her as the protagonist with the ability to uncover secrets. While this may make her the perfect detective, it has far-reaching consequences for the way her family view her and her relationship with each of them. The journey she goes on through this book is delectable and something that I hope will land with the readers who need it. I also enjoyed the various relationships she has within the story and how they shift. Around her is this complicated, fractured family of the incredibly wealthy whose hands are drenched in blood. They are all fully aware of the cost of their luxurious lives and the power they wield. Foxfield has a fascinating thread of the idea of complicity and the way guilt affects us all in different ways. Cicely’s investigation unearths a lot of buried secrets and forces confrontations with actions that they would have rather ignore. It takes a familiar trope and takes it to totally new territory. There is also a romantic thread that I enjoyed and it adds even more emotional intesnity to the story. It feels believable and grows into something that makes your heart flutter but also exposes it to new danger.

Of course, the Winter family then starts meeting their demise in rather gruesome ways. There is this sense of dark humour that I thoroughly enjoyed and Foxfield balances it well in terms of tone. The horror is palpable but it is also evident in the sheer monstrosity of humanity you are grappling with, before you even start weaving in the speculative elements. That deal may end up being more of a curse and requires reckoning with your own place in the world, specifically what was sacrified for you to stand there. Everything builds to a brilliant conclusion that shatters your heart but may also give you a little hope.

Our Wicked Gifts is a brilliant mix of genres and delivers this wonderful Gothic romantasy thriller that puls you into its dark heart.

Will you be picking up Our Wicked Gifts? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

The post Review: Our Wicked Gifts by Kathryn Foxfield appeared first on The Nerd Daily.