The Murmurs by Michael J Malone #Review #Giveaway

 

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.

You can follow Michael here: Twitter  |  Website  |  Facebook 

Book link: Amazon UK 

 

 

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.