YvonneUp this week – Goodreads Giveaway competition win number eleven – Thanks to everyone involved, the storyline sounds great, I can’t wait to read more š
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‘THIS THING OF DARKNESS’
A security guard who tumbles off a cliff path on a windy night. A burglary where everything taken was returned by the thief. The suicide of a man in love with life.
An accident, a mystery, and unexplained tragedy. And nothing at all to connect them. Until, that is, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths, searching for something – anything – to take her mind off the tedium of a routine assignment, starts to wonder if all three incidents are not quite what they seem.
It could just be her imagination. After all, she’d be the first to admit that she isn’t exactly in the prime of psychological health right now: the darkness she’s held at bay ever since she joined the police force now laps dangerously at her door. But something tells her there are invisible threads linking the crimes and, as she investigates further, she starts to see the outlines of a conspiracy so unlikely and on such a vast scale, that it takes her breath away.
And that’s when they come for her.
…
HARRY BINGHAM
Harry Bingham, is a forty-something British author, married with children and living in Oxfordshire, UK.
He began his career as an investment banker, then turned to writing full time and now finds himself a critically acclaimed crime novelist, whose work has been published all round the world. He has also written fiction and non-fiction for a variety of major international publishers.
Harry created the Writers’ Workshop in 2005 by spending Ā£800 on a website offering editorial services. He thought he might earn a little pin money on the side. Trouble was, people kept sending him manuscripts, rather more than he felt able to deal with. So he hired an editor to assist him. Then another, then another …
The WW is now the largest editorial consultancy in the UK. The Festival of Writing is the biggest and best writers’ conference in the UK, and Agent Hunter is the UK’s premier online literary agent search tool.
Harry is still very much involved with WW, but now also finds time to indulge in his hobbies of rock-climbing, walking and swimming.
I like the structure of the crime story, but most of all I like the ecosystem in which the genre flourishes: the festivals, the websites, the fans, the fact that you have your own special section of the bookshop. And crime is cool, too. Itās dark and edgy and funny and intelligent. I love it.
Harry does however, remain very pragmatic about the challenges of writing, whatever the genre
Itās a hard industry. Whether youāre conventionally published or indie or whether (like me) a mixture of the two, itās a tough way to make a living. The simple truth is that most books donāt sell very many copies and most good books donāt sell very many either. That fact isnāt going to change ā and the price of books isnāt suddenly going to skyrocket ā so any writer just needs to accept that this is a hard way to earn a buck. My instinct is still to advise writers, if they can, do get a literary agent and get an advance from a regular publisher. Easier said than done!
Keep up with all the latest news at Harry’s website .. here
Check out Harry’s work with WW .. here
Follow Harry on Twitter .. here
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Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week. Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home, where links may be added each week. So why not stop by, leave a link to your own Mailbox Monday post, oh! and donāt forget to leave a comment for our three new joint administrators, after all, we all like to receive them ā¦ āMailbox Mondayā
Leslie of āUnder My Apple Treeā
Serena of āSavvy Verse & Witā
Vicki of āIād Rather Be At The Beachā
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as wellā¦ you never know where that next āmust readā book will come from!
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Congratulations on your win! Looks good!
Hi Sam,
I can’t believe how lucky I have been with my wins, especially since I cut back on the number of entries I make, I can go for days and not see anything on offer that I really fancy reading!
What with those and and all the fantastic authors and publishers who trust me with their books, I am having a ball, even if it is a bit of a struggle to keep up with everything and juggle work and home life.
I do love my crime thrillers and even though this one is a bit of a chunkster read, I get the feeling I am really going to enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great New Year š
Oh my, that last line of the description – “And thatās when they come for her.” – really piques my interest. It sounds like you’re in for a page turning read!
Hi Kathy,
I am wondering if the line you quote, is linked to one of the previous lines …
“But something tells her there are invisible threads linking the crimes and, as she investigates further, she starts to see the outlines of a conspiracy so unlikely and on such a vast scale, that it takes her breath away.
And thatās when they come for her.”
Might it possibly be that the conspiracy is within Fiona’s police colleagues?
Just a thought, but it will have me turning the pages just a little faster to find out!
Thanks for stopping by and have a very Happy New Year š
It sounds like an exciting book, Yvonne. I hope you love it!
Hi Mary,
I love a good thriller, be it an edge-of-the-seat psychological kind, or a solid crime/police procedural variety.
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it and I hope that you have a great 2016 š
Sounds quite good and different.
ENJOY, and have a great last week of 2015.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
Hi Elizabeth,
It sounds as though Fiona is no different to just about every other fictional detective out there, in that her personal life seems to be something of a disaster area! …. I am intrigued as to what the darkness is, she has held at bay!
Thanks for visiting this week. I hope that you had a good Christmas and that 2016 is a better year for you … I for one, will be only too pleased to get the New Year celebrations over and done with and get back to something like normal.
All Best Wishes š
It’s so great when you get a book you’re really excited to read. I hope it’s as good as the synopsis.
Hi Laura,
Whilst the three individual crimes appear rather inocuous and totally unrelated, it would seem that there is definitely more going on than meets the eye.
I shall be intrigued to discover what has alerted Fiona to the possibility of a connection between them all and just how her psychological health influences her decision making processes.
Thank you for stopping by this week. I hope that you enjoyed your Christmas reunion and all Best Wishes for the New Year š
This sounds wonderful! Is it part of a series or a stand-alone?
You truly are lucky in the world of winning books! š
Hi Kelly,
I generally don’t have much luck with winning things, however Goodreads Giveaways have been amazing for me. It’s not that I enter for anything and everything either. I am careful only to apply for books that I really would like to read, which means that I can sometimes go for days without coming across a title which captures my imagination!
I’m probably not going to be too popular when I tell you that this is indeed the fourth book in the Fiona Griffiths series! These books are definitely readable as stand alone stories, however, given the extreme nature of Fiona’s personality and behaviour, I am probably going to try and order the previous three installments and start the series from the beginning, so that I am up to speed about what caused her fragile state of mind … Fiona is definitely one of the most damaged detectives I have ever come across before and I am seriously wondering how she manages to carry out her work on a day-to-day basis!
Sorry to have taken so long in getting back to you, however things have been pretty full-on here, with all the seasonal rush …. I shall be glad when next week gets here and everything is finally back to normal.
Meanwhile I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year and to thank you for your friendship over the past months. It is always lovely to catch up with you š
Rats. I could have guessed as much. You know me – it takes an act of congress to get me to read a series out of order and hearing you say that even you plan to go back and catch up before reading this one…well, I’ll just put the series on hold for now.
Sounds like an intriguing read, I hope you enjoy it. My best to you in 2016.
Hi Mary Ann,
Both the storyline itself and the lead character Fiona, have intrigue and mystery surrounding them and I hope that I shall be able to discover the connection before the author reveals the end-game.
I don’t mind working out the outcome of a storyline, so long as the interest and intrigue can be maintained to the end .. just to sow that little seed of doubt in my mind!
I hope that you had a good Christmas and I am sending Best Wishes to you and yours for a Very Happy New Year š
You must be lucky. Enjoy!
Hi Carol,
I only wish I could win the lottery, the same way as I seem to win Goodreads Giveaways. It isn’t as though I enter for anything and everything either, I am quite choosy about my entries. No matter how many times that congratulations email lands in my inbox, there is always that feeling of elation and surprise.
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a nice comment, I truly appreciate it.
Have a very Happy New Year š
Well you’ve got me interested with this one – I do like a bit of psychological disturbance mixed in with my crime fiction.
Hi Cleo,
Isn’t it generally the criminal who has the psychological problems though and not the detective? š
Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year to you and yours š
I was hooked at “a burglary where everything that was taken by the thief is returned”…what is that all about? lol Great, great hook! Signed on for his free book on his website and now to save the pennies for the one above :0)
Hi Susan,
Thanks for stoping by this week. I always enjoy meeting new people, so your visits and comments will always be welcome š
All three of those initial incidents, by themselves sound rather pedetrian and routine, so I shall be really interested to see how Fiona links them all together and then comes up with the notion of a conspiracy around them as well!
I’m guessing, that given her psychological state of mind, she isn’t going to be believed when she first floats her idea ….
Unfortunately NetGalley have already archived the couple of Harry Bingham titles which were up for review and I see what you mean about the pricing of his books being still quite high. I hope you manage to add this one to your list soon.
I hope that you enjoyed your Christmas and that 2016 is going to be a good year for you š
I hope its a good read
Hi Serena,
Thanks for helping to host MM and for taking the time stop by contributor’s blogs. I always appreciate your comments and would like to wish you a very Happy New Year š
This does sound good and it seems like once she finds out about that conspiracy they will really be after her. That’s always the way though right? Enjoy it!
Hi Naida,
The character of Fiona is a difficult one to assess ahead of reading the book, as her psychological problems obviously play quite a large part in her day to day life and career. I wonder whether the police service is really the right job for her, especially when she is so obviously going to be hunted down by this gang of conspirators!
I am still working on the idea that it might be best to start this series right from the beginning, if Fiona’s character is really that complex.
Thanks for stopping by š