Today I am delighted to join in the Blog Blitz for The Cuckoo Wood by M. Sean Coleman, which is the first in the Alex Ripley Mystery Series. There is also a great Giveaway to enter- details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.
A THRILLING, MELODICALLY CREEPY MYSTERY.
Samantha Jaynes took her life in the cold lake. Now Rosie
Trimble has done the same. Both claimed they had seen an angel. And they're not
the only ones.
A spate of teenage suicides rattles the rural community of
Kirkdale, in England's Lake District. Before they died, each of the girls
talked about seeing an angel. Is this collective hallucination, or is something
more sinister leading these young girls to their deaths?
That’s a question for Dr Alex Ripley, the so-called Miracle
Detective. Brought in to help the police, she finds a community rooted in fear
and suspicion, bound by their strange faith, unwilling to help, unable to
forgive.
Because the people of Kirkdale have buried their dark past
once, and they’re not about to let Ripley dig it up again.
My Thoughts
This is a superb opener to a new series and establishes the central figure of Alex Ripley as an intuitive and intelligent protagonist. She arrives at the village of Kirkdale as an outsider and through her eyes, you feel the closed community where fear and suspicion is rife. Bound together through a fervent religious dogma, the villagers seem to close ranks to stop any questioning. Turning on anyone who is tainted by what they regard as 'sin', they present a cold and cruel view of life.
You have to admire Alex's dogged determination to look for alternative, logical solutions. The story is beautifully plotted and carries you through, page by page. The truth is slowly unpicked from the smoke and mirrors which have stopped it emerging. There is a creepy feel to parts of the story and a hint of the supernatural which keeps you guessing. I am looking forward to reviewing the second in the series, A Hollow Sky on November 28th.
In short: Can the truth emerge from the stranglehold of the past?
Born in the UK and raised in South Africa, M. Sean Coleman
developed a love for reading and writing novels in his early teens, thanks to
two incredibly passionate English teachers who infected him with their love of
words and stories. Over the intervening years, he has written film and
television drama, cross-platform series, an interactive children’s storybook
and a graphic novel series.
He finally found his niche as a thriller writer when he was
asked to write a novel as part of the cross-platform project, Netwars. His
first book, The Code, was published six months later, with the sequel, Down
Time, hot on its heels. There was no going back.
He is obsessed with crime, mystery and thriller stories,
especially those with a fresh or surprising angle. He writes novels from his
home in The Cotswolds, where he lives with his husband and their three red
dogs.
Giveaway (International)
To win a paperback copy of The Cuckoo Wood, a cool
tote bag with book quote from the publisher, a branded bookmark and some
chocolates (Open INT), just follow the link below and good luck!
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box
below. The winner will be selected at
random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter
and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right
to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition
entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties,
with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the
giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time
I will delete the data. I am not
responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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