Month: November 2017

THREE GREAT NEW CRIME BOOKS: IT’S #CRIMEOCLOCK! WITH SUSI HOLLIDAY, CORRIE JACKSON AND JENNY BLACKHURST

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Fantastic crime novel alert! Out in paperback today are three fantastic new crime thrillers from Susi Holliday, Corrie Jackson and Jenny Blackhurst.

To celebrate, Susi, Corrie and Jenny are doing a live Twitter Q&A today – Thursday 16th November – from 6pm to 7pm – you can ask them anything using the hashtag #crimeoclock

And, in addition, you can win all three books by taking part in the giveaway on my Stephanie Marland Facebook page. Just like my page and let me know in the comments when you prefer to read – what time of day is crime o’clock for you? Click HERE to follow a link to the competition.

Here’s some more about the books and their authors:

THE DEATHS OF DECEMBER by SUSI HOLLIDAY

Here’s the blurb: “It looks like a regular advent calendar. Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors… and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one. The police hope it’s a prank. Because if it isn’t, a murderer has just surfaced – someone who’s been killing for twenty years. But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station? As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them… It’s shaping up to be a deadly little Christmas.”

Three fun facts about Susi Holliday:

What was your favourite snack while writing this book? Chocolate oranges (that’s a fruit, right?)

What’s your favourite drink to celebrate on publication night? Prosecco (with a blood-dripping raspberry in it)

Describe your book in three words: Dark Christmassy murders.

THE PERFECT VICTIM by CORRIE JACKSON

Here’s the blurb: “Charlie and Emily Swift are the Instagram-perfect couple: gorgeous, successful and in love. But then Charlie is named as the prime suspect in a gruesome murder and Emily’s world falls apart. Desperate for answers, she turns to Charlie’s troubled best friend, London Herald journalist, Sophie Kent. Sophie knows police have the wrong man – she trusts Charlie with her life. Then Charlie flees. Sophie puts her reputation on the line to clear his name. But as she’s drawn deeper into Charlie and Emily’s unraveling marriage, she realizes that there is nothing perfect about the Swifts. As she begins to question Charlie’s innocence, something happens that blows the investigation – and their friendship – apart. Now Sophie isn’t just fighting for justice, she’s fighting for her life.”

Three fun facts about Corrie Jackson:

What was your favourite snack while writing this book? Lindt chocolate balls (don’t ask – I started writing it eight weeks after my daughter was born. I needed an incentive)

What’s your favourite drink to celebrate on publication night? Gin, preferably via intravenous drip

Describe your book in three words: Pants-wettingly creepy (I know that’s officially two. And that ‘wettingly’ isn’t a real world but JUST READ THE BOOK)

THE FOSTER CHILD by JENNY BLACKHURST

What the blurb says: “When child psychologist Imogen Reid takes on the case of 11-year-old Ellie Atkinson, she refuses to listen to warnings that the girl is dangerous. Ellie was the only survivor of a fire that killed her family, Imogen is convinced she’s just a sad and angry child struggling to cope with her loss. But Ellie’s foster parents and teachers are starting to fear her. When she gets upset, bad things seem to happen. And as Imogen gets closer to Ellie, she may be putting herself in danger…”

Three fun facts about Jenny Blackhurst:

What was your favourite snack while writing this book? Mature cheddar and caramelized onion chutney toasties

What’s your favourite drink to celebrate on publication night? Hot chocolate and marshmallows (yes, I am that rock n roll)

Describe your book in three words: Chilling, evil, disturbing

To find out more about these three brilliant new releases, link on the book titles below to check them out on Amazon:

THE DEATHS OF DECEMBER

THE PERFECT VICTIM

THE FOSTER CHILD

WHOOP! DEEP BLUE TROUBLE (LORI ANDERSON BOOK 2) OUT IN EBOOK TODAY!

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I’m so excited!

DEEP BLUE TROUBLE – the second book in the Lori Anderson action thriller series – is published today in eBook.

Following on a few days from where the first book in the series – DEEP DOWN DEAD – ended, DEEP BLUE TROUBLE is the next instalment in the life of kick-ass single mom Florida bounty hunter Lori Anderson. It’s a book about being taken seriously as a woman in a male dominated profession, protecting your child, getting revenge, and seeing just how far someone will go to protect the ones they love…

Here’s the blurb:

How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Single-mother Florida bounty hunter Lori Anderson’s got an ocean of trouble on her hands. Her daughter Dakota is safe, but her cancer is threatening a comeback and Lori needs JT – Dakota’s daddy and the man who taught Lori everything – alive and kicking.

Problem is, he’s behind bars, and heading for death row.

Desperate to save him, Lori does a deal, taking an off-the-books job from shady FBI agent Alex Monroe. Bring back on-the-run felon, Gibson ‘The Fish’ Fletcher, and JT walks free.

But this is one job she’s got to get right, or she’ll lose everything…

Breathlessly paced. High-voltage action. Edge-of-your-seat jeopardy. DEEP BLUE TROUBLE marks the return of the most memorable and fearless female characters in crime fiction.

You can buy it now from Amazon UK: HERE

You can buy it now from Amazon US: HERE

[If you prefer your books in hard copy, DEEP BLUE TROUBLE will be out in paperback on 15th January 2018 in the UK and in May 2018 in the USA]

CTG REVIEWS: THE DEATHS OF DECEMBER by SUSI HOLLIDAY

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Here’s the blurb: “It looks like a regular advent calendar. Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors… and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one. The police hope it’s a prank. Because if it isn’t, a murderer has just surfaced – someone who’s been killing for twenty years. But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station? As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them…”

I’ve never read a serial killer book set at Christmas time before, but there’s something creepily macabre and don’t-you-dare-look-away compelling about the combination of Christmas tunes, tinsel and blood splatter.

In The Deaths of December, Susi Holliday introduces a great new police pairing – DC Becky Greene and DS Eddie Carmine. Becky is fresh into the job and as enthusiastic as she is tenacious. Eddie has more experience, and is more measured, thorough – or at least he believes he always has been. They make for a great duo, not always seeing eye-to-eye, but getting on and recognizing each other’s strengths nonetheless. And that’s important, because the case they’ve been assigned is a tricky one.

How do you catch a serial killer who’s been killing for twenty years undetected? He doesn’t have a specific victim ‘type’ and he kills in different ways, in different towns, on different days. The only thing that seems to connect the crimes is the gruesome advent calendar he sent to the police – but why send it?

As Becky and Eddie investigate the case it takes them away from their loved ones just as the festive period is beginning in earnest. They’re focused on the case, on catching the killer before he strikes this Christmas. They assume that there’ll be able to spend time with their families afterwards. But will they? Because the closer they get to the killer, the closer he gets to the ones they love…

Peppered with sharply observed Christmas holiday and habit references, this is a sparkly and blood-splattered read. It’s the perfect antidote to too much turkey and Christmas pudding – creepy, tense and twisty-turny as hell. I loved it!

Fans of police procedurals are going to want to make sure they’ve got a copy of The Deaths of December in their Christmas socking.

THE DEATHS OF DECEMBER is out on 16th November.

You can pre-order it from Amazon HERE

And find out more about Susi Holliday and her books by hopping over to her website and blog HERE

THE CTG CRIME THRILLER CLUB NOVEMBER GIVEAWAY: FEARLESS FEMALES BOOKS & GOODIES

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This month the CTG Crime Thriller Club member exclusive giveaway is all about FEARLESS FEMALES.

The prize is a set of four thrillers featuring fearless female main characters – The Freedom Broker by KJ Howe, Deep Down Dead by Steph Broadribb, Born Bad by Marnie Riches, and Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff – plus a ‘Born Bad’ baseball cap, a Jessica ‘Into The Wild’ nail polish trio, a pair of Ann Summers handcuffs, a Deep Down Dead keyring bottle opener, and a bookmark.

The giveaway is exclusively for members of the CTG Crime Thriller Club. All members are automatically entered, and the winner will be drawn on 30th November 2017.

If you’re not already a member but would like to be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is sign up before 30th November by filling in your name and email HERE

Here’s a bit more about the books…

THE FREEDOM BROKER by KJ HOWE: “At eight years old, Thea Paris watched her brother being snatched from his bed. Her inability to save him has haunted both their lives ever since. Twenty years later, the unthinkable happens when her billionaire father is abducted. But this time, she is prepared. Now, Thea is at the top of her game as a freedom broker, negotiating for the release of kidnap victims around the world. And she has only one objective: Find him or die trying…”

DEEP DOWN DEAD by STEPH BROADRIBB: “Lori Anderson is as tough as they come, managing to keep her career as a fearless Florida bounty hunter separate from her role as single mother to nine-year-old Dakota, who suffers from leukaemia. But when the hospital bills start to rack up, she has no choice but to take her daughter along on a job that will make her a fast buck. And that’s when things start to go wrong. The fugitive she’s assigned to haul back to court is none other than JT, Lori’s former mentor – the man who taught her everything she knows … the man who also knows the secrets of her murky past.”

BORN BAD by MARNIE RICHES: “When gang leader Paddy O’Brien is stabbed in his brother’s famous nightclub, Manchester’s criminal underworld is shaken to the core. Tensions are running high, and as the body count begins to grow, the O’Brien family must face a tough decision – sell their side of the city to the infamous Boddlington gang or stick it out and risk losing their king. But war comes easy to the bad boys, and they won’t go down without a fight. So begins a fierce battle for the South Side, with the leading Manchester gangsters taking the law into their own hands – but only the strongest will survive…”

HUNTRESS MOON by ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF: “FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can’t believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of ‘accidents’ and murders, an who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.”

CTG’S BOOK NEWS: #MyLittleEye out in ebook now!

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Yesterday my first book under the pen name Stephanie Marland was published. It was thrilling to see the ebook delivered to my Kindle first thing in the morning (yes, I bought my own ebook!) and it’s so exciting to see the story out there in the world. I spent the day on Twitter, FaceBook and Instagram, and the night drinking prosecco!

It’s the first in the Starke and Bell crime thriller series and is published by Trapeze (who are part of Orion). The paperback will be out in April 2018.

HERE’S THE BLURB:

Can a group of true crime addicts take on the police to catch a serial killer?

Could you catch a killer?

Clementine Starke thinks she can. As a string of young women are found dead in their homes surrounded by rose petals, it’s becoming clear that London has a new serial killer; ‘The Lover’. Reeling from her own disturbing past, Clementine bands together with an online crime collective and immerses herself in the case, desperate to beat the police and catch The Lover before he kills again. But with the body count rising, Clementine discovers that trying to catch a killer is safer from behind a keyboard.

HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

‘The first novel in what promises to be a riveting new series, My Little Eye is a one-sitting read: gripping, clever and worryingly plausible.’ Mick Herron author of REAL TIGERS and SPOOK STREET

‘My Little Eye is an enthralling, intriguing and twisty tale for all of us armchair detectives who think we know it all.’ Liz Nugent, author of LYING IN WAIT and UNRAVELLING OLIVER

‘A clever, twisting, nightmare-inducing read, I couldn’t put this one down’ Chris Whitaker, author of ALL THE WICKED GIRLS

‘Ingeniously plotted and perfectly chilling, Marland knows how to ratchet up the tension and keep her readers balancing on the edge. A dark, mysterious thriller with characters you can’t wait to meet again. I loved it.’ Susi Holliday, author of THE DEATHS OF DECEMBER

‘A masterclass in pacing & such an original take on the serial killer thriller’ Eva Dolan, author of THIS IS HOW IT ENDS

‘This is a multi-layered, gripping read steeped in authenticity that will keep you up at night.’ Catherine Ryan Howard, author of DISTRESS SIGNALS

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE? 

Hop over to Amazon UK HERE or Amazon US HERE