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The Castle in the Bay by Margaret Amatt #Review #BarraSeriesBook1

  We are travelling to the beautiful island of Barra for Margaret Amatt's new Barra Series, The Castle in the Bay. The first in this new series was published on 12th April by Leannan Press .   What if the castle has the key to mend their broken hearts? After a miserable few years, fun-loving Iona McKenzie tossed her corporate job to the wind, swore off long-term relationships, and escaped to the Hebridean island of Barra to teach water sports. Recently dumped by an ex who labelled him 'boring', Monty MacNeil is having a tough time. When he's tasked with carrying out his late father’s last request to scatter his ashes at Kisimul Castle – the famous castle in the bay – he doesn't expect his trip to Barra to begin by running smack bang into a feisty and gorgeous woman, knocking her off her bike, and almost dropping his father’s urn into the sea. Iona turns out to be the person he needs to take him over to the castle, but Monty soon sees another way she ca...
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The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola *Blog Tour Review*


    I am delighted to be the next stop on Anna Mazzola's Blog Tour for The Unseeing. It is her debut novel and quite  an amazing one at that. I always enjoy historical crime fiction and this one captures the sights and smells of Victorian London. Inspired by the real life case of the murder of Hannah Brown, which became known as 'The Edgware Road Murder', the author's research shines through. You have a real sense of the physical surroundings where the different characters reside and how they impinge on their lives.  

    Set in the 1830's, Sarah Gale has been sentenced to hang for her part in the murder of Hannah Brown who has been dismembered and her body parts scattered through the city. Sarah's ex-lover, James Greenacre is to be hung, accused of the murder. Sarah's case has been passed to Edmund Fleetwood, a barrister, to review. We soon discover that we cannot take at face value the known facts of the case. Sarah is reticent as to what actually happened, leading the reader to feel unsure, as Edmund must be. Building on actual source material, Anna Mazzola has written a fictional account which weaves together a complex web of relationships. We are kept guessing as to how reliable some of the accounts are, even finding Edmund's motives for continuing his investigation open to question.

    I found the descriptions of life inside Newgate Prison both vivid and chilling. Anna Mazola's eye for detail means that the reader has a strong visual image of the world she has created and you come to care about the people in it as you are so thoroughly immersed in it all. Well paced and expertly plotted, it really is a page turner. This is a book which immerses the reader in the Victorian period and keeps you guessing to the end.

In short: A book which oozes with authenticity and intrigue.

My thanks to the publishers, Tinder Press for a copy of the book via Bookbridgr. 

You can connect with the author on her website, Facebook and Twitter.
 

                                     Follow the rest of the Blog Tour





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