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My Chance to Fly by Samantha Tonge #Review #PublicationDay

  A BRAND NEW sparkling, uplifting story about love, friendship and learning to spread your wings from Samantha Tonge ✨🦋 Perfect for fans of Shari Low, Faith Hogan and Evie Woods! Una Lowe lives a perfectly edited life in London. Other than her best friend, she’s careful about who she lets in. Emotional complications are just that – complicated. That is, until she rescues a rare white swallow… who might have just flown in to change her life. Because, when her beloved swallow fails to return from migration one year, Una’s world crumbles. But a viral social media campaign brings a miraculous response from a man in Bavaria named Konrad, who claims the bird has also visited him. Which leads him to invite Una to his picturesque village for the chance to see their shared feathered friend together. Stepping out of her comfort zone, Una flies to Germany. Amidst snow-dusted streets, local festivals, and Konrad’s undeniable charm, Una’s protective walls begin to fall down. But wh...
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The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen translated by David Hackston **Blog Tour Review **

I am so pleased to be the latest stop, along with Crime by the Book , on the Orenda blog tour for The Man Who Died. I loved The Mine and couldn't wait to read more by Finnish writer, Antti Tuomainen. The Man Who Died is a thriller edged with black humour.

 A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he’s dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists.
My Thoughts
 
What a clever book this is!  The beginning of the book could be used as a teaching aid in how to open a crime book. It is shocking, cuts through to the core of the main character and sets off the reason for the book beautifully- to find out who has poisoned Jaakko. I loved it. Antti Tuomainen manages to keep the tension going throughout yet weaves in black humour and over the top characters. In the very worse of predicaments, Jaakko can look wryly at his situation and without pomposity, think about what is really important in life. 

    Love and betrayal are important themes running through the story. Some of the scenes are visually strong and stay in your mind after the story has finished, I am not surprised to read that all of his books have been optioned for TV or Film. This is a book which has it all- joy and sadness, loyalty and betrayal, wit and slapstick, life and death - just like life itself.
 
In short: superb, superb, superb. 
   
About the Author
 
 
 Finnish Antti Tuomainen (b. 1971) was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. The critically acclaimed My Brother’s Keeper was published two years later. In 2011 Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. The Finnish press labelled The Healer – the story of a writer desperately searching his missing wife in a post-apocalyptic Helsinki – ‘unputdownable’. Two years later in 2013 they crowned Tuomainen ‘The King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. The Mine, published in 2016, was an international bestseller. All of his books have been optioned for TV/film. With his piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen is one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and The Man Who Died sees him at his literary best.
 
 
Thanks to Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the Blog Tour. 
 
Here's more great bloggers to check out!
 
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