#BookBirthdayBlitz #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #Review : The Automobile Assassination (The Erdington Mysteries #2) – M.J. Porter @coloursofunison

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘The Automobile Assassination’ blogtour, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing my review, but first I have some information

About the Author :

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, as well as three twentieth-century mysteries. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author’s writing destiny was set.

Social Media Links:
Website
Twitter 
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Pinterest
BookBub
Amazon Author Page
GoodReads
Linktree

About the Book :

Erdington, September 1944
As events in Europe begin to turn in favour of the Allies, Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is once more prevailed upon to solve a seemingly impossible case.
Called to the local mortuary where a man’s body lies, shockingly bent double and lacking any form of identification, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves at Castle Bromwich aerodrome seeking answers that seem out of reach to them. The men and women of the royal air force stationed there are their prime suspects. Or are they? Was the man a spy, killed on the orders of some higher authority, or is the place his body was found irrelevant? And why do none of the men and women at the aerodrome recognise the dead man?
Mason, fearing a repeat of the cold case that dogged his career for two decades and that he’s only just solved, is determined to do all he can to uncover the identity of the dead man, and to find out why he was killed and abandoned in such a bizarre way, even as Smythe demands he spends his time solving the counterfeiting case that is leaving local shopkeepers out of pocket.
Join Mason and O’Rourke as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

Purchase Link

And now it’s finally time for my

Having read ‘The Custard Corpses’ I couldn’t wait to dive into ‘The Automobile Assassination’ and luckily for me I had the Audible version right at my disposal.
Starting to read, euhm listen, I was immediately hooked not only by the storyline, but also by the voice.
I never heard of Matt Coles before, and although a bit slow for my liking (I read faster!) he’s a terrific voice actor, even when it comes to female voices.
He made all the characters come so alive it was easy to keep on going and even like Mason and O’Rourke even more.
They form a formidable team together and O’Rourke is definitely a woman to be reckoned with in this all male police team.
Another lovely mystery set during WW2 with more of an historical experience for me than the first book as I now learned more about stuff like the Automobile Association and couponing during the war.
If they found out the culprit(s) of the multiple cases on their plate I’m not going to spoil, but I can say it was a nicely tied up story that has a lot going on to keep you glued from start till finish.
I definitely hope there will be more books to follow in this 1940s mystery series!

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#Recensie : Toetanchamon: de farao, het graf en de ontdekking – Dick Harrison @uitg_omniboek

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds blog is een hobby, recensies en andere boekgerelateerde berichten worden gratis geplaatst.
Ik ben dankbaar voor het ontvangen van een gratis boekexemplaar van de auteur/de uitgeverij in ruil voor mijn eerlijke mening. –

Vandaag ga ik ter promotie mijn recensie van ‘Toetanchamon: de farao, het graf en de ontdekking’ met jullie delen, maar eerst wat informatie over

De Auteur :

Dick Harrison is hoogleraar geschiedenis aan de Universiteit van Lund in Zweden. Hij schrijft blogs, artikelen, romans en non-fictieboeken en maakt tv-documentaires over Europese en Zweedse geschiedenis. Zijn werk is vertaald in het Deens, Noors, Duits en Nederlands. Eerder verschenen van Harrison bij Omniboek onder andere De Dertig Jarige Oorlog en De Zwarte Dood.

Het Boek :

Honderd jaar na de ontdekking van het graf van Toetanchamon
In november 1922 stuitte Howard Carter op de verloren graftombe van de mysterieuze farao Toetanchamon, die in de veertiende eeuw v.Chr over Egypte heerste. Het graf, inclusief de grote hoeveelheid extravagante grafvondsten, was bijna volledig intact en daarmee wereldnieuws. Dankzij deze ontdekking is de kennis over de oude Egyptenaren en hun doodscultuur enorm gegroeid. Het bekende dodenmasker van Toetanchamon is sindsdien hét symbool van het oude Egypte.
Aan de hand van het graf en de grafvondsten van Toetanchamon wijdt Dick Harrison uit over de farao en zijn familie, de oud-Egyptische cultuur en religie. Hij vertelt over farao’s, de verschillende dynastieën en de bestuurssystemen, en hij gaat in op het Egyptische volk, hun levenswijze en hun technologieën. Ook beschrijft Harrison het moderne fenomeen van egyptomanie, wat leidde tot roofzuchtige opgravingen, en hoe dit de westerse (pop)cultuur heeft beïnvloed. Dit rijk geïllustreerde boek geeft een kleurrijk beeld van de oude Egyptenaren, hun land en hun gebruiken, en laat zien dat ze sinds hun ontstaan tot de dag van vandaag invloed hebben gehad op iedereen die toen en nu met hen in aanraking kwam.

Uitgeverij Omniboek

En dan is het nu eindelijk tijd voor mijn

Ik herinner me nog goed de eerste kennismaking met het Oude Egypte en dan specifiek met Toetanchamon.
Het zaadje was meteen gepland en sindsdien ben ik een beetje zoals Alice in Wonderland die steeds dieper en dieper valt.
Ik kan dus zeggen dat ik gebeten ben om alles te zien en lezen wat deze historische periode aangaat en dat ik razend enthousiast was toen ‘Toetanchamon’ van Dick Harrison op de mat viel.
Mijn verwachtingen werden echter niet helemaal ingelost, want dit boek is niet echt specifiek over deze farao.
Het is meer een korte kennismaking met het Oude Egypte in het algemeen en hier en daar wat raakvlakken / anekdotes over andere culturen.
Zo doen we een uitstap naar Scandinavië, waar de auteur vandaan komt, Troje, Griekenland,… en de omliggende beschavingen van Egypte.
Allemaal zeer interessant weliswaar, want het is zeer toegankelijk geschreven en mooi voorzien van prachtige kleurplaten, maar het is niet enkel over onze geliefde Toet.
Jammer, vind ik persoonlijk, omdat het qua titel wat misleidend overkomt, maar toch een boek die iedereen die interesse heeft in het Oude Egypte in huis moet hebben.
Dit niet alleen voor de mooie foto’s, maar ook voor de informatieve aard van dit werk.

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#Recensie : Schaduw van Toet – Lida Dijkstra @lsamsterdam

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds blog is een hobby, recensies en andere boekgerelateerde berichten worden gratis geplaatst.
Ik ben dankbaar voor het ontvangen van een gratis boekexemplaar van de auteur/de uitgeverij in ruil voor mijn eerlijke mening. –

Vandaag ga ik ter promotie mijn recensie van ‘Schaduw van Toet’ met jullie delen, maar eerst wat informatie over

De Auteur :

Lida Dijkstra studeerde kunstgeschiedenis en archeologie in Leiden. Ze werkte in een museum, maar is inmiddels fulltime schrijfster. Ze heeft boeken voor alle leeftijden geschreven en won tweemaal een Vlag en Wimpel en eenmaal de eerste prijs van de Vlaamse Kinder- en Jeugdjury.
Eerder verscheen van Lida Dijkstra en Djenné Fila (ill.) Het beest met de kracht van tien paarden, een wervelende jeugdroman over Theseus en de Minotaurus (genomineerd voor de Boekenleeuw 2020 en de Kinder- en Jeugdjury Vlaanderen). Lida Dijkstra schreef ook De ring van koning Salomo, met illustraties van Martijn van der Linden.

Het Boek :

In stilte zwoer ze een eed:
Ik zal op je passen en
tussen jou en je vijanden staan.
Ik zal je beschermen tegen
het luipaard, de scborpioen,
tegen priesters, bedienden, mijn moeder,
en het allerbelangrijkste: je opa.
Ik zal je schaduw zijn,
dag en nacht aan je zijde,
zelfs als je het niet weet.

Amany groeit op aan het hof van haar vader, farao Achnaton, en haar moeder, de wonderschone Nefertiti. Ondanks de luxe van een mooi nieuw paleis is haar leven niet gemakkelijk. Haar vader maakt zich niet geliefd bij het volk en haar opa heeft honger naar macht.
Amany heeft al vijf zusjes als ze er een halfbroertje bij krijgt: Toetanchamon, een zwak jongetje met een scheef voetje – de toekomstige farao. Ze werpt zich op als zijn beschermer en leert hem alles wat hij moet weten. Als een schaduw leeft ze aan zijn zij, tot het noodlot toeslaat en haar eigen leven in groot gevaar is…

Luitingh-Sijthoff

En dan is het nu eindelijk tijd voor mijn

Over de jaren heen, en nu zeker, zijn er al heel wat boeken verschenen rond Toetanchamon en zijn familie.
Toch heeft Lida Dijkstra met haar ‘Schaduw van Toet’ een unieke invalshoek gevonden door niet Toetanchamon zelf, maar zijn zus / vrouw Anchesenamon aan het woord te laten.
Door dit te doen laat ze niet alleen een meisje / vrouw de historie vertellen, maar kan ze ook de bredere geschiedenis rond deze tijdsperiode schetsen.
Dat het niet allemaal even correct is wat er in het boek staat, wil ik gerust stiekem onder de mat vegen, want wat is juist wanneer het over deze familie gaat?!
Er zijn namelijk heel wat theorieën en geen enkele, of toch bijna geen enkele, geschiedkundige is het met een andere eens.
De schrijfster heeft, in mijn ogen, misschien degene genomen waar zij het meest in gelooft, mee is opgegroeid of wat het best paste in dit zeer mooie geschreven verhaal.
Ik ben dan misschien al lang geen beginnende tiener meer, maar ik heb genoten van dit boek, niet alleen van de teksten, maar evengoed van de prachtige tekeningen.
Verder ben ik er absoluut zeker van dat de doelgroep dit pareltje zeker zal smaken en iets zal bij leren over het Oude Egypte.
Want naast het relaas van Toetanchamon en Anchesenamon leer je ook bij over de goden, de cultuur, het mummificeren,… in dit boek.
Toen ik, als tiener, mijn eerste stapjes in de wonderlijke wereld van de farao’s zette, had ik met heel veel goesting dit verslonden.
Het is immers zeer zeker een mooi opstapje naar het aanwakkeren van de interesse in de geschiedenis van het Oude Egypte bij kinderen!

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#Review : The Forgotten Gun (A DCI Steve Burt Mystery #1) – John Reid @BurtDci

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to promote ‘The Forgotten Gun’ by sharing my review of this book, but first I have some information

About the Author :

John Reid is the creator of the DCI Steve Burt series of thriller and suspense crime fiction at its very best.
Retirement has given John the time to fulfil his passion for writing, creating the mystery series through his unique creative process. Each main character is fully developed at the beginning of the writing process, with the part they play in each journey evolving organically within the confines of the underlying plot line. This freedom and flexibility creates inventive and compelling story telling that keeps the reader intrigued throughout.
John was born in Scotland and, after serving in the Army, embarked on a career in industry. He has worked in several different sectors in senior roles and was latterly CEO of a large international data capture company. He retired for the first time in 1995 to take on a consultancy designed to help new businesses become established. In 2018 he finally retired from business life to become a full-time author. John lives in Scotland and Portugal with his wife, and they have two grown-up sons.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Facebook | DCI Steve Burt IG

About the Book :

A Metropolitan Police detective about to be dismissed is given a second chance by his old boss, who is now a police commander. He’s given a new unit to run and two misfit detectives to assist him. All three know their status is temporary.
Their first case together is an impossible double murder. Each murder is identical. Both victims are expertly shot in the head from long range, but the post-mortems reveal no bullets were used in the shootings. The CSI teams calculate that in both cases there was no place for the marksman to have fired from, unless suspended over busy roads.
Although it’s a case apparently impossible to solve, DCI Steve Burt reluctantly agrees to investigate with his new team. Their enquiries lead them into the murky world of greed, corruption, fraud and money laundering, but they are no nearer solving the murders.
The team is stumped until the DCI meets a retired army major and a WW2 veteran who unwittingly hold the keys to solving these impossible murders.

Amazon

And now it’s finally time for my

After reading some of John Reid’s DCI Steve Burt books, thanks to R&R Book Tours, I was curious about the beginning of this series.
Needless to say I was more than excited when this book was delivered by the postman and I couldn’t wait to dive in.
Unfortunately there’s something called life and it took me a while before I could start this book, but once I started I couldn’t stop reading!
Not only was it great to see how it all began for DCI Steve Burt and the other characters in this series, but there was also a very interesting case going on.
It all seemed quite impossible to find the culprit of these well executed and very strange shootings, but this gang of very lovely misfits took on the job with much gusto.
If they found out who did it I won’t be sharing, but I can say it’s a bit of a roller-coaster ride with a lot of twists and turns and some very fine humor.
I was, again, impressed with this clever written novel and I still can’t believe how the author can write such intricate tales without losing the plot and keep us, readers, engaged and interested from beginning to end.
A series every lover of crime novels definitely needs to read in my opinion, I promise you won’t be disappointed by any of them.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#Review : The Custard Corpses (The Erdington Mysteries #1) – M.J. Porter @coloursofunison

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to promote ‘The Custard Corpses’ by sharing my review of this book, but first I have some information

About the Author :

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, as well as three twentieth-century mysteries. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author’s writing destiny was set.

Social Media Links:
Website
Twitter 
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Pinterest
BookBub
Amazon Author Page
GoodReads
Linktree

About the Book :

Birmingham, England, 1943.
While the whine of the air raid sirens might no longer be rousing him from bed every night, a two-decade-old unsolved murder case will ensure that Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is about to suffer more sleepless nights.
Young Robert McFarlane’s body was found outside the local church hall on 30th September 1923. But, his cause of death was drowning, and he’d been missing for three days before his body was found. No one was ever arrested for the crime. No answers could ever be given to the grieving family. The unsolved case has haunted Mason ever since.
But, the chance discovery of another victim, with worrying parallels, sets Mason, and his constable, O’Rourke, on a journey that will take them back over twenty-five years, the chance to finally solve the case, while all around them the uncertainty of war continues, impossible to ignore.

Purchase Link

And now it’s finally time for my

As I’m on the ‘The Automobile Assassination’ tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources and I don’t have enough books on my to read list 😂 I thought it would be a good idea to read the 1st book in this series too.
I’m glad I did as it’s a great read and a lovely murder mystery set in the 1940s which I couldn’t put down from page one.
It’s an old case that needs to be solved and to come up to speed with the whole thing you’re getting it told by the lead investigator through his memories.
A great way to do so, but the whole thing really gets going when the actual investigation starts and Mason and O’Rourke get together.
They, with the help of some other excellent characters, form a great team and by getting around the country they piece everything together in a nice way.
I maybe wanted some more on the motive part of the killer, but otherwise it’s a very good tied up story with some interesting main characters I would love to read more about.
Lucky for me of course I’m still up for book 2 on Rachel’s Random Resources blogtour soon! 😉

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #BooksOnTour @bookouture / #Review : Murder on Board – Helena Dixon @NellDixon

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘Murder on Board’ blogtour, organised by Bookouture.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing my review, but first I have some information

About the Author :

Helena Dixon splits her time between the Black Country and Devon. Married to the same man for over thirty five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, and a crazy cockapoo. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 and Love Story of the Year 2010 as Nell Dixon. She now writes historical 1930’s set cozy crime. Nell enjoys hearing from readers and you can read her news and contact her via her
Website
Twitter
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Bookouture Email Sign Up

About the Book :

Kitty Underhay is drowning… in murder.
Kitty Underhay hopes for plain sailing as she caters a 21st birthday party for the Chief Constable’s daughter aboard a luxury paddle steamer. So her heart sinks when she learns that the man her fiancé Matthew has been tailing on orders from Whitehall, Gunther Freiburg, is aboard. And she’s even more horrified when she steps below deck to discover Gunther, dead in the engine room. One of the Chief Constable’s party must be responsible for his demise, but who, and why?
And the evening is on course for further disaster. As the lights go out around the candlelit cake, a terrible scream rings out over the merry hubbub. A priceless diamond necklace has been snatched from around the birthday girl’s neck… Something fishy is going on, but is this the work of the same sailing assassin, or is it a red herring?
With the local inspector in deep water having to investigate his own boss, Kitty and Matt dive in to help. But when Kitty’s eavesdropping puts her in mortal danger, will everything turn out shipshape, or will it be her turn to go swimming with the fishes…?
A totally cozy, absolutely gripping historical murder mystery! The perfect read for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.

Buy Link

And now it’s finally time for my

‘Murder on Board’ is the 10th book of the ‘Miss Underhay Mystery’ series and in my opinion it’s still going strong.
Not only the covers are having a great 1930s look about them, but also the stories are very much set in that time frame and I love it!
I can’t really say anything more than that, as I thoroughly enjoyed every single mystery Kitty and Matt (and of course others in their ‘gang’) try to solve in these stories.
Everything happens at a very good pace so you can get to know who is who and play detective yourself on the way.
There are also a good amount of twists and turns to keep you going and root for a ‘happy ending’.
Another beautiful written, unputdownable cozy mystery with some very lovely characters who every time leave me wanting for more about them.
I, for one, can’t wait for the next installment as this promises to be the one we, fans, have been all waiting for. 😉
A job well done, once again, Helena Dixon!

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #Review : Betrayal – Kerry Kaya @KerryKayaWriter @BoldwoodBooks

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘Betrayal’ blogtour, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing my review, but first I have some information

About the Author :

Kerry Kaya is the hugely popular author of Essex-based gritty gangland thrillers with strong family dynamics. She grew up on one of the largest council estates in the UK, where she sets her novels. She also works full-time in a busy maternity department for the NHS.

Social Media Links:
Facebook
Twitter
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Newsletter 
BookBub

About the Book :

Meet the Tempest family – and get ready for the storm.
Tracey Tempest adores her husband, Terry. But when on his 50th birthday, tragedy strikes, Tracey must face the terrifying prospect of a future without him. Desperate for answers and boiling with rage, Tracey wants revenge…
Together with her beloved sons, Ricky and Jamie, the Tempest family dig deeper into Terry’s past – who would want to kill him, and why?
But what they discover changes everything they knew about the man they loved and risks tearing their own family apart.
Can the Tempests weather the storm or will the past destroy them all?

Purchase Link

And now it’s finally time for my

‘Betrayal’ by Kerry Kaya is my first experience with the ‘gangland’ genre and although recommended by a friend, who thought it would be right up my alley, I’m not that sure after closing this book.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a smooth read and the author really paints a picture when it comes to tough, rough blokes and the whole gangland world, but I don’t know.
I’m probably not the woman who wants to know the culprit even before the murder actually takes place.
Also the reason why was very obvious and although the main characters still need to figure everything out, there were no real surprises on the way.
However, I must say that the book certainly lives up to it’s title as it all about betrayal and how people in that kind of world react on it, with a lot of ‘fucks’ and fists! 😉
So I believe it’s fair to say the author knows how to write, and because of that other readers will definitely enjoy this fast paced story, but unfortunately it wasn’t my cup of tea.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #RRBookTours @RRBookTours1 / #Review : The Maze Cutter #TheMazeCutter – James Dashner @jamesdashner @KeriBarnum

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘The Maze Cutter’ blogtour, organised by R&R Book Tours.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing my review, but first I have some information

About the Author :

James Dashner is #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series, including The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Kill Order, and The Fever Code, and the bestselling Mortality Doctrine series (The Eye of Minds, The Rule of Thoughts, and The Game of Lives). Dashner was born and raised in Georgia, but now lives and writes in the Rocky Mountains.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

–

About the Book :

Title: The Maze Cutter
Expected Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Genre: YA Dystopian / Teens
Publisher: Akashic Media Enterprises

Seventy-three years after the events of THE DEATH CURE, when Thomas and other immunes were sent to an island to survive the Flare-triggered apocalypse, their descendants have thrived. Sadina, Isaac, and Jackie all learned about the unkind history of the Gladers from The Book of Newt and tall tales from Old Man Frypan, but when a rusty old boat shows up one day with a woman bearing dark news of the mainland–everything changes. The group and their islander friends are forced to embark back to civilization where they find Cranks have evolved into a more violent, intelligent version of themselves. The islanders are hunted by the Godhead, the Remnant Nation, and scientists with secret agendas. When they cross paths with an orphan named Minho from the Remnant Nation, the dangers become real and they don’t know who they can trust. The islanders will have to survive long enough to figure out why they are being targeted, who is friend or foe, and what the Godhead has planned for the future of humanity.

GoodReads

Amazon | B&N | Waterstones | Bookshop | Kobo | iBooks

And now it’s finally time for my

As a fan of ‘The Maze Runner’, both as books and as movies, I was definitely excited to be able to read a new book set in the same-ish world, only 70+ years later.
I must immediately admit that after the prologue, which felt like a sort of coming home, I was feeling quite lost.
Not that I didn’t like the new kids in town, so to speak, but I felt confused about some stuff and people.
I guess you could say I had a lingering feeling that I had missed out on a book, although I was pretty sure I did read everything available at the time.
It’s not the greatest of feeling to have, but whilst reading further on I did get some pieces of information, just like the main characters, which was enough to keep me going and become more and more invested in the story.
In the end it was, for me at least, a nice adventure, with some twists and turns to keep your attention and to keep you wondering what will be in store for these people in the next installment.

P. S.
After writing this review I went to check the few pages left with ads in this book and there I found out there’s a novella called ‘Crank Palace’.
It’s advertised as the bridge between ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘The Maze Cutter’.
To avoid the feelings I had, maybe try that one first?!

The Magic of Wor(l)ds