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#SkelfSummer The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone #Review #Repost

  I am delighted to take part in the #SkelfSummer celebrations showcasing all things Skelf in the run up to the publication of Book 6 in the series, Living is a Problem . Over the next few weeks I will be reminding you about the series by Doug Johnstone with a repost of Skelf novels.  Book 5  in the series is called The Opposite of Lonely .   Even death needs company… The Skelf women are recovering from the cataclysmic events that nearly claimed their lives. Their funeral-director and private-investigation businesses are back on track, and their cases are as perplexing as ever. Matriarch Dorothy looks into a suspicious fire at an illegal campsite and takes a grieving, homeless man under her wing. Daughter Jenny is searching for her missing sister-in-law, who disappeared in tragic circumstances, while grand-daughter Hannah is asked to investigate increasingly dangerous conspiracy theorists, who are targeting a retired female astronaut … putting her own life at risk. With a
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Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver #Review #Giveaway


Today's featured novel is a complete change of tone and one of the most disturbing and original books I have read in a long time. Will Carver's Nothing Importanat Happened Today is published on November 14th by Orenda Books. 

There is also the opportunity for you to win a print copy of the book. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post and the Giveaway is open internationally. 
 
A shocking, mesmerisingly original, pitch-black thriller, which, following the critically acclaimed Good Samaritans, confirms Will Carver as one of the most imaginative, innovative and exciting authors in crime fiction.
 

HOW DO YOU STOP A CULT WHEN NOBODY KNOWS THEY’RE A MEMBER?




Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But, at the same time, they leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.



That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of The People of Choice: a mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.



Thirty-two people on a train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People of Choice are appearing around the globe. It becomes a movement. A social-media page that has lain dormant for four years suddenly has thousands of followers.



The police are under pressure to find a link between the cult members, to locate a leader who does not seem to exist …

My Thoughts

Alienation, fractured lives and manipulation are all words which come to mind when I think back over Nothing Important Happened Today. In style and tone, it is an original and unique experience. It has unsettled me as no other book has in a long time. I think one of the reasons for this is because of the references within it to real life murderers. These are people who have had actual victims, with their own families. I can remember some of them from my lifetime. The blurring of the edges between real life and fiction is disturbing. 

    The book deals with the difficult subject of suicide. As each of the numbered victims is described, you see how unrelated to each other they are. They all have their own stories but are dismissed as 'nobodies'. There is a sense of futility running through their actions. Written in a level, unemotional tone, their actions are shocking and inexplicable. This is a novel which will challenge you. It has a dark, dark heart.

In short: Not for the faint hearted. 
 
About the Author


Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

You can read my review of Good Samaritans here.

You can follow Will here:  Twitter  |  Facebook

Book link - you can pre-order here: Amazon UK

Thanks to Will Carver, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

                                      Be sure to check out the rest of this tour!

  Giveaway (International)


To win a paperback copy of Nothing Important Happened Today, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings.  Closing Date is 12th November 2019 and there is one winner.


*Terms and Conditions – International.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw 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. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.


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