The Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale - My review and Blog Tour

The Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale

My Review

The Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale is a great Domestic Noir debut for this new author who has shown she is wickedly capable of the cunningly warped and twisted thoughts fans of psychological thrillers love.

The eponymous Sunday Girl of the title is one Taylor Bishop, a modern girl many readers will find it easy to relate to. She has a successful career and lives in a great area of London, albeit in a minuscule flat. She’s bright, sexy and sassy, she is also ragingly, seriously angry and hurt and about to prove that “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” as the old adage goes.

She has just split up with her long term boyfriend Angus, who she hoped was THE one, her forever man, but turned out to be the boyfriend you really don’t want to be involved with and he’s about to prove he’s an even worse louse than he at first appeared to be.

This book is heart-racingly fast-paced, pulls no punches and reminded me of the original twisty tome Gone Girl. Although this thriller has plenty of twists it is really quite straightforward in that it is a tale of a woman on a mission of revenge who will stop at nothing to get her own back on her nasty ex-boyfriend.

Angus, with whom she has just broken up, really hurt her he treated her very badly, he even took his ex-girlfriend on the holiday which was booked for him and Taylor! The shit! She is still reeling from the break up when she discovers he is even more of a cad than she already thinks when she finds some very private moments between the two of them, splattered all over the internet. These explicit sex tapes can only have been put there by Angus and she sees red. Vowing revenge and setting out to achieve it any way she can with her very own plan of war. Spitting venom and screaming hate she wants him ruined.

As their past together is revealed it becomes obvious that he is a controlling, domineering, excuse for a man and the only reason she stayed with him, despite her best instincts is that she was in love with the swine.

Taylor vows to get her own back and intent on getting back at the guy who’s revealed himself as bad and dangerous to know, she tries to fight fire with a burning flame of her own. 

She sets in motion a series of vengeful events which soon spiral out of control. They say that revenge is a dish best served cold but she dishes it up straight from the oven. She is hurt and on the rebound and totally focussed on revenge and as she begins a series of retaliatory acts to get back at Angus she dives into a night or two of passion of her own, with an ex friend with benefits and a new flame who is set to burn brightly in her future but creates even more problems to pile on her already overloaded plate. 

Her behaviour is excusable and understandable, she has almost lost her reason over this guy but manages to keep her cool, considering how wrong things go! But just how far will she go and will she get away with it? As events gather momentum we are swept along as vengeance is served but it seems as though it might come back and bite the hand that is feeding it.

That’s what kept me turning the pages and I fair rattled through this stunning debut novel.

Contemporary, sexy and all about retribution it’s a well plotted, unpredictable thriller which I devoured.

The Blurb

The Girl on the Train meets Before I Go to

Sleep in this chilling tale of love gone horribly

wrong …

“Some love affairs change you forever. Someone comes into your orbit

and swivels you on your axis, like the wind working on a rooftop

weather vane. And when they leave, as the wind always does, you are

different; you have a new direction. And it’s not always north.”

Any woman who’s ever been involved with a bad, bad

man and been dumped will understand what it feels like to

be broken, broken-hearted and bent on revenge.

Taylor Bishop is hurt, angry and wants to destroy Angus

Hollingsworth in the way he destroyed her: ‘Insidiously.

Irreparably. Like a puzzle he’d slowly dissembled … stolen

a couple of pieces from, and then discarded, knowing that

nobody would ever be able to put it back together ever

again.’

So Taylor consults The Art of War and makes a plan. Then

she takes the next irrevocable step – one that will change

her life forever.

Things start to spiral out of her control – and The Sunday Girl becomes impossible to put down.

Pip Drysdale is a writer, actor and musician who grew up in Africa and Australia. At 20 she moved to

New York to study acting, worked in indie films and off-off Broadway theatre, started writing songs

and made four records. After graduating with a BA in English, Pip moved to London where she dated

some interesting men and played shows across Europe. The Sunday Girl is her first novel and she is

working on a second. She currently lives in Australia.

You can find the book on Amazon or look for it in your favourite bookshop

I'd like to thank @simonschusterUK and Random Things Tours for inviting me along for this roller coaster ride. 

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Take Five - My Top Five anticipated reads from my TBR

Five Books from my current TBR

I'm not nearly as fast a reader as I'd like to be so often days or weeks go by before I have a new review to blog about. So I'm starting a take five post about some of the lovely books which sit on my to be read pile mountain.

Today I share five of my waiting in the wings books I'm finding really tempting right now but that I still haven't got around to reading yet. I hope you find something to tempt your literary tastebuds amongst them.

Ask Again Yes - Mary Beth Keane
Published by Micheal Joseph and out in August find out more here 

The cover drew me to this one and it sounds like an absorbing story.

Description

A gripping and compassionate family drama set between neighbours in suburban New York

Gillam, upstate New York: a town of ordinary, big-lawned suburban houses. The Gleesons have recently moved there and soon welcome the Stanhopes as their new neighbours. Lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend but Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone.

It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another. To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and by the terrible tragedy that will engulf them all. A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . .

A story of love and redemption, faith and forgiveness, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood - villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so. It's a story of how, if we're lucky, the violence lurking beneath everyday life can be vanquished by the power of love. 

The Neighbour - Fiona Cummings

I'm really looking forward to this book I loved this authors chilling Bone Collector books Rattle and The Collector, read my review of Rattle here.

The Neighbour sounds thrilling and twisty and if her previous work is anything to go by I'm in for a treat.

Out in hardback now discover more about it from Pan MacMillan

Description

The gripping crime thriller of the year with a twist you’ll never see coming . . .

FOR SALE: A lovely family home with good-sized garden and treehouse occupying a plot close to woodland. Perfect for kids, fitness enthusiasts, dog walkers . . .

And, it seems, the perfect hunting ground for a serial killer.

On a hot July day, Garrick and Olivia Lockwood and their two children move into 25 The Avenue looking for a fresh start. They arrive in the midst of a media frenzy: they’d heard about the local murders in the press, but Garrick was certain the killer would be caught and it would all be over in no time. Besides, they’d got the house at a steal and he was convinced he could flip it for a fortune.

The neighbours seemed to be the very picture of community spirit. But everyone has secrets, and the residents in The Avenue are no exception.


After six months on the case with no real leads, the most recent murder has turned DC Wildeve Stanton’s life upside down, and now she has her own motive for hunting down the killer – quickly.

Becoming Belle - Nuala O'Connor

Another book where the gorgeous cover drew me in like a moth to a flame. Historical fiction based on a real-life woman.

Find out more at the publishers website, Hachette an imprint of Little Brown

Description:

The true story of a woman ahead of her time . . .

In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.


Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.

One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow - Olivia Hawker

I'm itching to get stuck into this historical novel set in the Wild West of USA, I love books about Frontier life.

This can be pre-ordered on Amazon

Description

Wyoming, 1876. For as long as they have lived on the frontier, the Bemis and Webber families have relied on each other. With no other settlers for miles, it is a matter of survival. But when Ernest Bemis finds his wife, Cora, in a compromising situation with their neighbor, he doesn’t think of survival. In one impulsive moment, a man is dead, Ernest is off to prison, and the women left behind are divided by rage and remorse.

Losing her husband to Cora’s indiscretion is another hardship for stoic Nettie Mae. But as a brutal Wyoming winter bears down, Cora and Nettie Mae have no choice but to come together as one family—to share the duties of working the land and raising their children. There’s Nettie Mae’s son, Clyde—no longer a boy, but not yet a man—who must navigate the road to adulthood without a father to guide him, and Cora’s daughter, Beulah, who is as wild and untamable as her prairie home.

Bound by the uncommon threads in their lives and the challenges that lie ahead, Cora and Nettie Mae begin to forge an unexpected sisterhood. But when a love blossoms between Clyde and Beulah, bonds are once again tested, and these two resilient women must finally decide whether they can learn to trust each other—or else risk losing everything they hold dear.

The Liverpool Nightingales by Kate Eastham

I'm a firm fan of Call the Midwife and I've read a previous nursing saga by Kate Eastham which was lovely, this sounds just as good.

Get your copy from Penguin Random House

Description

In Victorian Liverpool the first Nurses' Home opens its doors to a desperate city. Liverpool, 1870.

One act of kindness will change a young woman's life forever . . .

On the dirty backstreets of Liverpool, housemaid Maud Linklater witnesses an appalling accident. Rushing young chimney-sweep Alfie to hospital, she helps nurse the boy on the overcrowded ward - and finds herself with a new job.

Maud cannot believe her luck at joining trainees Alice and Eddy at the new Nurses' Training School and they form the closest of bonds.

Then one day Alfie is abducted. Maud and the girls know the alleyways and slums of Liverpool are no place for a lost little boy.


Can these determined women find Alfie before it's too late?

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Those Who Are Loved - Victoria Hislop - My Review and Blog Tour

Those Who Are Loved - Victoria Hislop - My Review and Blog Tour

What a pleasure it is to be invited along on the Blog Tour for the latest book by Victoria Hislop which I have read and loved and am delighted to share my thoughts and hope you go on to read and enjoy this lovely new summer title.

My Review

Renowned author Victoria Hislop returns to early to mid 20th century Greece to introduce us to the life of heroine Themis, who begins the story as a young woman and as her life story opens up we follow her into her future as Greece struggles with the occupation of her country by Germans. 

Greece is split in two by politics and war and I wondered if the historic political details may make this book a touch a little heavy going for a summer read as often political details can be complex and confusing. 

However, I found it superbly easy to engage with such a likeable and believable protagonist as Themis and I slid into her life like slipping into a bath of warm olive oil. I was quickly drawn into her world, redolent with the aromas and arguments of Greek family life and swept along by the barrage of events occurring in what begins as a simple life and builds into one of remarkable heroism, determination and selfless compassion.

At the start of Themis' story, she lives in a crumbling old mansion owned by her somewhat flaky Mothers family, but tragedy forces the family to decamp and live in her paternal grandmothers' apartment on the outskirts of Athens. Sibling rivalry is strong in this family and her older sister never misses the chance to tease and taunt her little sister and her two older brothers can never see eye to eye, Themis’ family are divided, by beliefs and politics and there is bickering and sniping at every family meal which eventually turns into bitterness and recrimination. But Themis is a young woman able to make her own mind up and as she decides her path she makes a few brave and one or two rash decisions (Don’t we all at some point?) Her life choices are set to have repercussions which reverberate across the decades. 

When this intelligent but rather lonely schoolgirl finds a new school friend Fotini, the 2 girls become inseparable, despite different backgrounds until again tragedy intervenes and fate begins to show its hand to Themis. 

It’s a story of friendship and atonement, of war and politics and abiding love which transcends class barriers. For anyone who, like me, enjoys holidays in the warmth and conviviality of Greece today it comes as a bit of a shock to read in detail, about the dreadful events in the near distant past, which although I was aware of, hadn’t considered the impact on everyday families trying to get on with their lives.

The Author does a sterling job of combining a gripping beach read with a deeply political statement and historical facts. I mean no disrespect when I say this is the thinking-womans chick-lit.


A wonderfully engaging summer read drenched in Meditteranean sunshone, redolent of Greek coffee, in an era blighted by dreadful deeds, war and dire poverty.

The Blurb

Those Who Are Loved is set against the backdrop of the German occupation of
Greece in World War II, the subsequent civil war and a military dictatorship, all of
which left deep scars.

Athens 1941. After decades of political uncertainty, Greece is polarised between
Right- and Left-wing views when the Germans invade. Fifteen-year-old Themis comes
from a family divided by these political differences. The Nazi occupation deepens
the fault-lines between those she loves just as it reduces Greece to destitution. She
watches friends die in the ensuing famine and is moved to commit acts of resistance.
In the civil war that follows the end of the occupation, Themis joins the Communist
army, where she experiences the extremes of love and hatred and the paradoxes
presented by a war in which Greek fights Greek.

Eventually imprisoned on the infamous islands of exile, Makronisos and then
Trikeri, Themis encounters another prisoner whose life will entwine with her own
in ways neither can foresee. And finds she must weigh her principles against her
desire to escape and live. As she looks back on her life, Themis realises how tightly
the personal and political can become entangled. While some wounds heal, others
deepen.


This powerful new novel from Number One bestseller Victoria Hislop sheds light
on the complexity and trauma of Greece’s past and weaves it into the epic tale of an
ordinary woman compelled to live an extraordinary life.

The Author

Victoria Hislop

Inspired by a visit to Spinalonga, the abandoned Greek leprosy colony, Victoria Hislop wrote The Island in 2005. It became an international bestseller and a 26-part Greek TV series. She was named Newcomer of the Year at the British Book Awards and is now an ambassador for Lepra. The Island has sold over 1.2million copies in the UK and more than 5 million worldwide.

Her affection for the Mediterranean then took her to Spain, which inspired her second bestseller The Return, and she returned to Greece to tell the turbulent tale of Thessaloniki in The Thread, shortlisted for a British Book Award and confirming her reputation as an inspirational storyteller. It was followed by her much-admired Greece-set short story collection, The Last Dance and Other Stories. The Sunrise, a Sunday Times Number One
bestseller about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, was published to widespread acclaim in 2014. Victoria’s most recent book, Cartes Postales from Greece was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller and one of the Top Ten biggest selling paperbacks of 2017. Her novels have sold 10 million copies worldwide.

Connect with the author
Twitter: @VicHislop • www.facebook.com/OfficialVictoriaHislop • www.victoriahislop.com

My thanks go to the publishers Headline for including me on the Blog Tour and Randomthingstours for organising it. 

Book link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Those-Who-Loved-Victoria-Hislop/dp/1472223241/

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My Review - Death and the Harlot by Georgina Clarke

My Review - Death and the Harlot by Georgina Clarke

I was completely absorbed into this book which I received through Netgalley, with its extremely likeable heroine Lizzie Hardwicke, Harlot of the title.

A high-class London prostitute working out of a mid 18th century Soho pleasure house. When one of her "customers" is found murdered she faces inevitable suspicion, so, keen to clear her name she joins forces with an investigator and becomes amateur sleuth.

Set in the back streets of London, among the seediest pubs, the coffee houses and bathhouses where no respectable girl would be seen, as a lady of the night Lizzie can pass through, if not completely unnoticed, at least accepted. She uses her keen skills of observation and an understanding of peoples motives gained from her questionable trade, to great advantage.

What emerges is a complicated tale of blackmail, and revenge, where everyone has either a hidden past or leads a double life, nobody can be taken at face value and murder takes in the stinking filth at the bottom of every dark alley. As a Notorious Highwayman awaits sentencing nearby everyday life carries on in its bustling noisiness and everyday struggles to make ends meet any way possible.

Lizzie, despite a hardened nature through the life she has been pushed into by circumstances, still has a tender heart. Deep down she longs for love and friendship. She takes pity on a couple of younger women one of whom she hopes to prevent being forced to make the same choices which led her where she now resides, on the wrong side of respectability, and the other who has already fallen far below this, yet still manages to touch Lizzies toughened heart. It is this caring nature which made me warm to Lizzie, the original tart with a heart.

The story fairly gallops along, it is exciting and well written and filled with great characters, none of whom you quite know whether to trust or run like hell from.

Following Lizzies adventures allows us to vicariously tread paths we'd never dream of setting foot on and I could see and smell the whiff of roasting chestnuts, vying with the odour from a greasy mutton pie vendor overlying the ordure of the sewage-laden River Thames and its surrounding courts and alleyways.

I loved it and can't wait for further adventures with Lizzie Hardwicke.

The Blurb

A gripping historical crime debut from an exciting new voice. ‘It’s strange, the way fortune deals her hand.’

The year is 1759 and London is shrouded in a cloak of fear. With the constables at the mercy of highwaymen, it’s a perilous time to work the already dangerous streets of Soho. Lizzie Hardwicke makes her living as a prostitute, somewhat protected from the fray as one of Mrs Farley’s girls. But then one of her wealthy customers is found brutally murdered… and Lizzie was the last person to see him alive.

Constable William Davenport has no hard evidence against Lizzie but his presence and questions make life increasingly difficult. Desperate to be rid of him and prove her innocence Lizzie turns amateur detective, determined to find the true killer, whatever the cost.

Yet as the body count rises Lizzie realises that, just like her, everyone has a secret they will do almost anything to keep buried…

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The Den by Abi Maxwell - My Review and Blog Tour

Blog Tour The Den Abi Maxwell

Hello, readers, I have a treat for lovers of dual time/ contemporary/ Historical fiction, Women's fiction and coming of age stories as this versatile books fits all of those briefs.

My Review of The Den – Abi Maxwell

The Den is probably best described as a dual-time coming of age story, as it tells the stories of 2 pairs of sisters living about 150 years apart in the same farming area of New Hampshire. It gently bestows on the reader a sense of long hot summer days and the thrill of self-discovery and growing passions, it explores the need to be needed and what it’s like to grow apart from a much-loved sibling and touches on the different rules and restrictions placed on women.

The main portion of the story is that of 12-year-old Jane and her older sister teenage Henrietta. Often left to their own devices the two girls are very close as children, until Henrietta begins to develop an interest in boys and sex, as she begins to go off the rails somewhat it causes a rift between the two youngsters. They grow apart as Jane yearns to stay close to Henrietta but is viewed increasingly as a nuisance by her increasingly reckless sibling, who begins to change into a much less lovable girl than the childhood companion Jane has always looked up to. I felt Janes anguish and frustration at being unable to maintain the closeness with her elder sister, which causes her to make a bad decision which is to haunt her all her life.

The Den of the title is the ruined remains of an old homestead which lies on the farmland where the girls live, it is a place they are drawn to and which is to be pivotal in their lives.

150 years earlier the “Den” was occupied by a young couple, Elspeth the wife newly arrived from Scotland had to leave in a hurry to join her husband who had come out to seek new opportunites.

Pregnant and lonely, she is very homesick and misses her little sister Claire with whom she maintains contact through letters. She is very isolated and her husband never seems to quite make the most of the opportunities he planned to, he works long hours and she has few friends apart from an elderly neighbour who becomes a good friend and almost a surrogate father to her and encourages her to write stories, keeping her mind occupied. One such story become a local urban legend, a story about a family who may or may not have been eaten by, or even turned into, coyotes and it is this story which Jane and Henrietta discover over a century after it is written and which places the Den as a location of importance to both parts of the story.

The parallel stories run alongside each other, with many similarities, both address sisterhood relationships, loneliness and isolation, puberty and the dawning of sexual awareness and forbidden relationships.

It’s quite a laconic tale and plays out gradually with the growing maturity and sexual dawning of the 4 girls at its centre.

I must confess, being a historic fiction aficionado, I would have favoured the historical timeline being introduced into the story much earlier and to have been given more emphasis on the lives of the two sisters rather than concentrating a lot on the Coyote tale written by the historical character, which I found somewhat mystifying. Though overall the book is an extremely satisfying read which draws the reader in beautifully and keeps you wanting to know what happens, or happened next.

The Blurb

A hypnotic story of YOUTH, SEX and POWER

A story of two women cast out by the same community though separated by a hundred years

A story of two extraordinary, magnetic women and their disappearances - a hundred years apart - from the small New England town they call home.

Henrietta and Jane are growing up in a farmhouse on the outskirts of town, their mother a remote artist, their father in thrall to the folklore and legend of their corner of New England. When Henrietta falls under the spell of Kaus, an outsider and petty criminal, Jane takes to trailing the couple, spying on their trysts, until one night, Henrietta vanishes into the woods.

Elspeth and Claire are sisters separated by an ocean. Elspeth’s pregnancy at seventeen meant she was quickly married and sent away from her Scottish village to make a new life in America. When she comes to the attention of the local mill owner, a series of wrenching and violent events unfolds, culminating in her disappearance.

As Jane and Claire search in their own times for their missing sisters, each uncovers the strange legend of Cold Thursday, and of a family apparently transformed into coyotes. But what does his myth really mean? Are their sisters dead, destroyed by the men who desired them? Or have they made new lives, elsewhere, beyond the watchful eyes of the community they longed to escape?

You can find the book now on Amazon and other good bookstores.

The Author

Abi Maxwell is the author of an acclaimed story collection, LAKE PEOPLE, and her fiction has also appeared in McSweeney’s. She studied writing at the University of Montana and now lives in New Hampshire, where she grew up, with her husband and son.

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The Daughters of Ironbridge - Mollie Walton - My Review

The Daughters of Ironbridge - Mollie Walton - My Review

My thoughts:

The Daughters of Ironbridge is an already well-known authors diversification into historical saga's under a new pseudonym and as expected she adapts to this style of writing extremely well. 

This is women's fiction which will appeal to fans of authors such as Diney Costelloe and Katie Flynn, which explores aspects of friendship and life on both sides of the class division of the early 19th century The story begins when an uncommon friendship springs up between two young women from very different backgrounds. Working class Anny, daughter of an ironworker is thrown in the path of wealthy Margaret and surprisingly, against all odds the girls soon become staunch allies. 

Despite their huge lifestyle differences the girls find a lot in common and soon decide to band together as a force to be reckoned with. Strong feisty women, a great historical setting in an inimitable location in Shropshire combine to make this book a sure-fire winner. It is easy to relate to the women within these pages, enough historical detail so you know it's been very well researched but don't feel as though you're being educated and above all a lovely warmth which makes it a feel-good read.

Secrets and lies are uncovered in the kind of novel often described as gritty and definitely authentic to the period it is set in and there are plenty of twists and heart-wrenching scenes to keep the reader enthralled.

This is the first in a planned trilogy which I am sure will be a great success with wide subject appeal for many women readers.

You can find The Daughters of Ironbridge on Amazon or in your favourite bookshop.

The Blurb:

1830s Shropshire.

Anny Woodvine's family has worked at the ironworks for as long as she can remember. The brightest child in her road and the first in her family to learn to read, Anny has big dreams. So, when she is asked to run messages for the King family, she grabs the opportunity with both hands.

Margaret King is surrounded by privilege and wealth. But behind closed doors, nothing is what it seems. When Anny arrives, Margaret finds her first ally and friend. Together they plan to change their lives.

But as disaster looms over the ironworks, Margaret and Anny find themselves surrounded by secrets and betrayal. Can they hold true to each other and overcome their fate? Or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of the past?

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The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh Blog Tour extract

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh Blog Tour & extract

Please join me today on the Blog Tour for The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh. Published by Sapere Books it is an exciting historical novel which is inspired by the Women of the Tudor Court and is part one of The Marquess House trilogy which sounds amazing and fab for anyone enthralled by Tudor history.

I have a free extract for you to read and enjoy before you rush out and buy the book. I'm not kidding it makes me want to read on and I just long to lounge around on a sunny beach reading this.

Extract

Chapter One

Catherine shivered as she waited. The corridor in Whitehall Palace was a thoroughfare bustling with people, but it was draughty and the icy wind cut across it like a shining blade. She hugged her new shawl more tightly around her, glad of its warmth. As she did, she admired the soft leather gloves her uncle had given her as a gift before she left home.

“Soft gloves to protect your soft hands,” he had murmured. He had always singled her out for attention, been kinder to her than any of the other Howard girls, and he had arranged for her to be a maid to the new queen, the Lady Anne of Cleves. It was an honour but now she was here, her excitement was turning to nervousness.

She had grown up in her step-grandmother’s house a few miles away in Lambeth. A ramshackle home full of orphans like her and other members of the hugely extended Howard clan. She had innocently thought that the court of King Henry VIII would be like that, only with more jewels. Now as she watched the parade of courtiers, she realised she could not have been more wrong. People hurried busily to and fro. Yeoman guards marched past in their daunting green and white Tudor uniforms, pikes aloft, metal-heeled boots ringing with a chilling authority. The women in their elaborate dresses, the men equally as ornate: it was an endless visual feast.

Court was more intense, more splendid and more glamorous than anything she had ever imagined and she was only on the edges; a mere nobody waiting with her trunk for her elder half-sister, Lady Isabel Baynton, to collect her. As she glanced up the corridor searching for a familiar face, a tall, good-looking man dressed in a sumptuous velvet cloak caught her eye and winked. Glancing over her shoulder to see if the true recipient of his intended favour was behind her, she heard the man laugh and blushed furiously as he walked by, still chuckling.
“Kitty!”

To her relief, she saw Isabel hurrying through the courtiers. Torches guttered casting shadowy light on her as she approached. It was early afternoon but the weather was cold and stormy and the sky had barely lightened all day. Taller than Catherine, with dark hair and dark eyes, Isabel was married to Sir Edward Baynton, who was to be vice-chamberlain to the new queen.

He was an important man, having worked for each of the king’s wives — including Catherine’s cousin, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second bride. Now Edward was once again to hold this important role in the new queen’s household and his stature was reflected in Isabel’s dress, demeanour and, to Catherine’s surprise, her spectacular jewels.

“Isabel!” exclaimed Catherine, curtseying to her half-sister as etiquette required, before being swept into a warm embrace. “Your diamonds! Did Edward give them to you?”
Isabel laughed and turned her head so the magnificent diamond drops in her ears shimmered with cold fire in the winter light.
“An early Christmas gift,” she smiled. “We have a present for you to welcome you to court but we’ll give it to you when you’re settled. Is that yours?” She pointed to the trunk.
Catherine nodded. “Although, there isn’t much in it,” she admitted.
“Never mind,” said Isabel. “We’ll organise a new wardrobe for you. We must maintain the Howard family name. Cox, take my sister’s trunk to the maids’ rooms,” she said to the servant standing respectfully behind her. Then, tucking her hand under Catherine’s arm, she led her along the busy corridor. “What do you think of court?”
“I’ve been here barely half an hour but it seems, well…”
“Daunting?”
“Yes,” agreed Catherine.
“Don’t worry, my dear, we’re all here to help you; myself and Edward, your Uncle Norfolk and, of course, our brother Charles. Although, he seems rather preoccupied at the moment.”
“Is he in love again?” asked Catherine, grinning.
“Yes, but this is a little different from his usual infatuations.”
“You mean the object of his affection isn’t married?”
“She isn’t but, well, there are other complications. However, it’s never wise to discuss such things in the open court, even in jest, remember that, Kitten,” said Isabel. “The court has ears everywhere and like the smiling serpent who was the undoing of Eve, there are endless charlatans lurking in unexpected places in this merry Eden.”

Catherine nodded, but she was disappointed. She always enjoyed hearing about her brother’s latest romantic escapades. The true chivalric and charmingly penniless knight, Charles Howard was always infatuated with someone, and Catherine suspected he was more in love with the idea of romance than the most recent recipient of his amour.

As they walked, she tried to memorise the winding route, wondering if this sprawling building would ever feel familiar. Eventually, they arrived in a quieter, but even more beautifully decorated section of the palace.

“These are the queen’s new rooms,” explained Isabel. “And along here are the maids’ rooms. I’ve arranged for you to share with our cousin, Kathryn Carey. She’s an old hand and will look out for you if neither Edward nor I are available to help.”
“And Uncle Norfolk?” Catherine asked.
“He’s a very busy man but I’m sure once he knows you’re here, he’ll invite you to his rooms to keep you up-to-date with family business.”
Catherine laughed but she was secretly delighted.
“Hardly, Issy,” she said. “I’m far too lowly for such important conversations.”
“Don’t underestimate your new status, Mistress Howard,” said Isabel. “The position of maid of honour is not one given lightly and there were many noblemen fighting for places for their daughters. Enjoy your rise in status and use it wisely. You’ll need a husband soon and being at court will improve your prospects of a lucrative match.”

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The Author

From tales spun for her teddies when she was a child (usually about mermaids) to film scripts, plays and novels, Alexandra Walsh has always been a storyteller. Words are her world. For over 25 years, she has been a journalist writing for a wide range of publications including national newspapers and glossy magazines. She spent some years working in the British film industry, as well as in television and radio: researching, advising, occasionally presenting and always writing.

Books dominate Alexandra’s life. She reads endlessly and tends to become a bit panicky if her next three books are not lined up and waiting. Characters, places, imagery all stay with her and even now she finds it difficult to pass an old wardrobe without checking it for a door to Narnia. As for her magical letter when she was 11, she can only assume her cat caught the owl!

Alexandra’s other passion is history, particularly the untold tales of women. Whether they were queens or paupers, their voices resonate with their stories, not only about their own lives but about ours, too. The women of the Tudor court have inspired her novels. Researching and writing The Marquess House Trilogy (Book One: The Catherine Howard Conspiracy) has brought together her love of history, mysteries and storytelling.

Find out more about the Author on her website  or find her on Twitter 

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