BLOG TOUR: One Day in Winter by Shari Low

On a cold December’s morning…
Caro sets off to find the truth: has her relationship with her father been based on a lifetime of lies?
Cammy can’t wait to surprise the woman he loves with a proposal. All he needs is the perfect ring. 
Lila can no longer hide her secret. She has to tell her lover’s wife about their affair. 
After thirty years, Bernadette knows it’s time. She’s ready to leave her controlling husband…And  never look back.Over the course of twenty-four hours, four lives are about to change forever…

Head of Zeus, 449

One Day in Winter by Shari Low was a hugely enjoyable read. Set just before Christmas, it is perfect to read at this time of year as the night’s begin to draw in and you want to settle down with something cosy. 

I was surprised to see a list of characters at the beginning of the book and a little worried that I wouldn’t keep track of them all but I needn’t have been concerned. There are a fair few characters in this book but I soon got to know who they were and the ways in which they were connected to each other. 

Caro and Lila are the central female characters and they could not be more different. Lila likes to be the centre of attention and lives her life through her glamorous (and photoshopped) Instagram pictures. She has been with Cammy for a little while and is happy to keep that relationship ticking over whilst she secures her future with the married man she has been seeing behind his back. Caro on the other hand is caring and kind, she has been taking care of her sick mother whilst also searching for the father who walked out on them both years ago. Some careful internet research leads her to believe that he may have been leading a double life with another family, if she can find him then it is confrontation time. 

Cammy is the beleaguered boyfriend of Lila; his closest friends have been warning him off her but he is sure she is the one and that it is time to pop the question. He has been in love in the past and his relationship with Lila feels completely different  but he is sure he has made the right decision to ask her to be his wife. 

Bernadette has been married to surgeon Kenneth (Lila’s man on the side) for many miserable years. He has made her life hell with his controlling behaviour and constant put-downs. She has always stayed as she wanted her two children to have a father-figure plus they know nothing of his treatment of her. However, her children are now grown up and Bernadette cannot take it any longer so she makes a secret plan to leave him for good. But she has no idea that Kenneth has a secret himself in the form of a spoilt Instagram princess who he has been seeing on the side. 

The book is set over 24 hours which is a great device as it means the story maintains good pace and momentum. It is split into parts spanning 2 hours at a time so each time I reached the end I wanted to continue to the next part to see what would happen next. Each individual chapter is told from either Caro, Lila, Cammy or Bernadette’s point of view, I loved getting to know each of them plus seeing how they would react once they discovered the truth about each other. Bernadette was my favourite from the very beginning, I was willing her to leave Kenneth and the horrible life she was leading. I felt that Shari Low explored the subject of psychological abuse so well, we quickly build up a picture of how Kenneth has slowly chipped away at his wife, taking her confidence and enjoyment of life. It goes some way to explaining why she has stayed for so long.

I could not stand Lila, she is selfish and ruthless; she doesn't care about Cammy even though she is fully aware of his feelings for her. Low uses this character to look at social media and the way in which someone is able to present their life in a certain way rather than the reality. Lila cares more about her social media following rather than the real people in her every

day life. 

One Day in Winter was witty, entertaining but also contained enough to make me think. It is not a full on festive read but would be a good book in the run up to Winter. I enjoyed the plot and characters and I was particularly taken with the way in which the whole book took place in 24 hours. This is one I can highly recommend.

Many thanks to Head of Zeus for gifting me a copy to review, it is out now! 

BOOK REVIEW: The Christmas Cafe by Amanda Prowse

She had decided to wish for a happy, independent widowhood, for a life in which she could honour Peter's memory. But in a flash her dream resurfaced, and it was as if her subconscious made the wish for her: I want to see him, just once, to know he is happy. I want to know that he really did love me.
Bea Greenstock sits next to her husband's hospital bed, waiting for death. As midnight approaches, he passes away, and so almost ends thirty years of marriage.
Life must go on. Bea is fifty three and suddenly alone but she refuses to bow to a wave of depression and loneliness. To distract herself from grief, she throws herself into her work running the Reservoir Street Kitchen in one of Sydney's most fashionable districts. But then an email from a cafe owner in Edinburgh prompts her to take a trip to Scotland in the depths of Winter. Her journey will be one of self-discovery as she is drawn back to a secret past and a secret love- that she has tried to forget.
Set between Sydney and Edinburgh at Christmas, this is a is story of family ties, lost love, and the power of the past. 

Publisher: Head of Zeus

The Christmas Cafe by Amanda Prowse is my second festive read of the year and I very much enjoyed it.
The story revolves round Bea, she is 53 and we meet her at her most vulnerable as she is seen saying goodbye to her husband as he passes away after thirty years of marriage. Considering what she has gone through, Bea is very stoical and determined to keep busy running her business, The Reservoir Street Kitchen in Sydney. However, it is when she is not busy that reality hits, she is terribly lonely and uncertain of how she will cope in the future.
However, two things happen, Bea gets an unexpected house guest in the form of her granddaughter Flora and then she receives a letter from the owner of The Christmas Cafe in Scotland. All of a sudden Bea and Flora are off on a little adventure to the other side of the world where hopefully Bea will get some ideas as to what her future will hold. 
I loved the two very different locations in this book; The Reservoir Street Kitchen and The Christmas Cafe are entirely different  but they are both run by very dedicated women who just want to make their customers' day a little brighter.
My favourite part of the book was the relationship between Bea and Flora. They are both desperately in need of each other without even being aware of it. I think this is where Amanda Prowse's strengths lie; she creates characters that you quickly care deeply about so you are more than happy to invest your time and emotion in the book.
The Christmas Cafe is another excellent festive read, it makes you think about what really matters in life and Christmas is the perfect time to do that.

Many thanks to Midas PR for sending me a copy of this book to review. 

Book Review: The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell

Highgate Cemetery December 1907
In the chill confines of a Victorian family tomb, a group of men crane their necks to peer inside a rank smelling coffin...
What it's lead-lined interior revealed would solve a riddle that had gripped the British public for a decade, calling into question the very identity of one of the most respected peers of the realm.
In 1897, a widow named Anna Maria Druce had applied for the exhumation of the grave of her late father-in-law, Thomas Charles Druce. Behind her application lay a sensational claim that Druce, a furniture dealer, had been the alter-ego of the eccentric 5th Duke of Portland; and that the Duke had, in 1864, faked the death of his middle-class doppelgänger. When opened, Mrs Druce contended, her father-in-laws coffin would be found to be empty. And her fortunate children would be heirs to the Portland millions.
The 'Druce-Portland case' proved to be one of the most drawn out and tangled legal sagas of the era. And its eventual outcome- reached only after multiple court hearings and a cats cradle of police and private investigations- revealed a dark underbelly of lies and secrets beneath the gentle facade of late Victorian England. 

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Pages: 336

I haven't read any non-fiction for ages so this book made a refreshing change and I found it fascinating. It is very much a historical mystery and I don't want to give the game away so I won't include too many spoilers in this review.
Piu Marie Eatwell's account of the Portland-Druce case is brilliant, at points you cannot believe that it actually happened. Some of the events that take place are truly shocking and I liked how the author put everything in context of the time period. She explains how the legal system worked at the time, monetary values, commonly held beliefs and so much more. All of this gives you a greater understanding of the case but it also gives you a great insight into Victorian England.
So many notable people pop up in this book which made it even more interesting. I loved the anecdotes about Charles Dickens in particular.
This book had me gripped throughout, although non-fiction, Piu Marie Eatwell maintains a fast pace, the chapters do not become bogged down in irrelevant detail but instead keep you wanting to read more.
If you like a good mystery then I highly recommend this brilliantly researched book. Eatwell brings the facts to life and the mystery of the dead Duke is not one to miss.