I am delighted to be on another great Orenda tour to celebrate Michael J Malone's gothic thriller, The Murmurs . There is also the chance to win a print copy (UK only). Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.
In the beginning there was fear.
White-hot, nerve-shredding fear.
Terrifying premonitions of deaths.
And then they started…
The Murmurs…
On
the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for
the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she
arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going
to die.
How she knows this is a terrifying mystery,
but it is the start of horrifying premonitions … a rekindling of the
curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a
wicked gift known only as 'the murmurs'…
With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson.
And this time, it will never let go…
A
compulsive gothic thriller and a spellbinding supernatural mystery
about secrets and small communities, about faith, courage and
self-preservation, The Murmurs is a startling and compulsive read from one of Scotland's finest authors…
My Thoughts
Written with such an effortless style, this thriller flows from start to finish. A dual timeline, you follow Annie's story in the present and some years back, as well as discovering more about the curse which has haunted her family from centuries ago, told through a journal. This make for a story which is rich in atmosphere, with credible characters who find themselves in a web of intrigue, secrets and subterfuge. Annie has to try to make sense of what appears to be inner voices which warn of death and danger. Her family dynamics are difficult to decipher, both by her and the reader, for much at the book but there is a satisfying explanation by the end.
You cannot escape the sense of foreboding throughout the story with nothing quite what it seems. At the centre, Annie's relationship with Lewis, her twin brother, is a steadying influence. With death, murder, disappearance and deceit, overlaid with a supernatural flavour, I found this to be an intriguing read. With devout evangelism and hints of witchcraft side by side, the story plays out largely against an isolated backdrop where no questions are asked. Just as Annie avoids looking at people's faces for fear of what she will see there, there is a sense of fear niggling away on the sidelines, throughout.
In short: a gothic thriller full of twists and turns
About the Author
Michael Malone is
a prize-winning poet
and author who
was born and
brought up in
the heart of
Burns’ country. He
has published over
200 poems in
literary magazines throughout
the UK, including
New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood
Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish
Association of Writers. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a
number-one bestseller, and the critically
acclaimed House of
Spines, After He Died
and In the Absence
of Miracles soon
followed suit. A
former Regional Sales
Manager (Faber &
Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in
Ayr.
You can read my review of House of Spines here and After He Died here and In the Absence of Miracles here. and A Song of Isolation here and Quicksand of Memory here.
Thanks to Michael Malone, and Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Follow the rest of the tour!
Giveaway (UK only)
To win a print copy of The Murmurs just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!
Closing date is October 1st 2023 and there is one winner.
*Terms and Conditions – UK only. The winner will be selected at
random via a random retweet selector such as,Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by X (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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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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