Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 January 2024

LIE OR DIE

 

by A. J. CLACK;  

                                                                                       



An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my first weekend Book Review of the year, featuring this week a YA/Adult Adventure in Fiction. (Scroll on down for the selfie & bloghop.)
 
And my, this is a real winner. So, without further ado, let's get on with the show. This is a story, one most clever and dark, where the game contestants are dying and lying to get the prize . . . .


 



AUTHOR:  A. J. Clack

 

Cover art by: N/A

 

Published by:  Firefly Press

 

Publication date Paperback:   7th March 2024

 

 

Paperback ISBN:  978-1915444417

UK Cover price for Paperback:  £8.99

 

Pages: 367

 

Age range:  YA Thriller/Murder Mystery



 

 

SPOILER ALERT


Some as to early plot, direction and characters.

 

 

Thank you to...  


We are exceedingly grateful to Firefly Press Publishers for reaching out to us to see if we would like to Read and Review this much-anticipated book before publication. 


Having read the advance press release, we were only too pleased to read this. I do hope you will be, too, after the review.  


As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review. 


First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy. 


The plot

 

A little preamble. In this book's scenario, Lie or Die is a new reality T.V. show based on the real-world social gathering/party game Mafia, or in some circles, it is known as Werewolf.

 

The game, usually played with 10 players, is that the assembled group is split into two sides - Mafia and Townspeople. The Mafia tries to bump off the Townspeople whilst the Townsfolk try to get shot of the Mafia. There is also a Detective and a Doctor in the mix. Their roles are pretty straightforward. The detective seeks to detect a Mafia member in each day and night cycle of the game, whilst the Doctor can save a Townsfolk member each cycle. 

 

Each player is given a role to play. But, nobody knows who or what any other players are until they are eliminated. 

 

Now, during the day period of the game, the players can nominate someone to eliminate from the game, to send to the electric chair if you will. The nominated person is then put on trial and, if found guilty, removed!


During the Night segment of the game, the Mafia can eliminate a player. And so the game goes on.  


In Lie or Die, the story focuses on three late teenage pals, our key protagonist, Kass, and her best mates, Lewis and Thea. Kass has fallen out with Thea after having kissed Thea's ex-boyfriend. It is a silly rift that seems to be splitting the girls apart, big time. When an audition is held for Lie or Die, Thea says that Kass going for it with Thea is the only way she can trust Kass once more. Kass wants to put the whole mess behind her, so she is pressured into doing it. It turns out Thea has already entered them both, and the interviews take place soon after.


When Kass fails to pass the test, she is secretly relieved. After all, she has shown she is supportive of Thea. But, when on accompanying Thea to the studios, one of the contestants is bizarrely poisoned with seafood (even though there is none in the building), and her EpiPen is nowhere to be found; Kass, being already on the ground, is enlisted into the game. 

 

Her fellow players are an interesting mix of quiet, calm and outright play-to-win types that would do anything in the game to win the £50,000 prize and the social media stardom that could rocket their future careers. Everything goes, especially lying. In fact, daubed across all the studio walls is the phrase "Trust no one"!


Kass is considered the 'Girl Next Door' type. Bland and boring and not the likely fav of the audience that the show is being streamed to. What Kass does have in her favour is the ability to spot if people are lying. Telltale signs or tics that will give away their role. Also, none of the other players know she and Thea are besties. 


So, with an immediate ally, things get off to a good start. But then, the rules change from the perceived norm. First, a manakin is spotted hanging from a tree in the set garden. In its leg, Kass spots the EpiPen of the now-gone contestant. When that evening/night, one of the players is carded and seemingly killed by an agent, there is surprise amongst the players as only one kill a night is expected (the manakin being the first). The acting looked so real, even down to the drool from the contestant's lips, and later on the finding of a poison bottle.


The players are, for want of a word, 'controlled' by an A.I. personality called Cohin. It appears hooded in a hologram projection unit where the players are forced to congregate when commanded. The projection actually morphs into various characters that have exited the game as it progresses. So, when Kass has her doubts, especially as none of the others are aware of the truth regarding the girl she has replaced, she is soon assuaged when the poisoned girl appears to speak to them via the hologram and puts the recent realistic poisoning down to epic acting. 


I think by now, you can maybe see where this is going. 


The action takes off from here as the players accuse and prosecute one of their housemates. 


In the surprise outcome, which I won't spoil for you as it is a pivotal point, one player goes to the chair and, with a ghastly scream, exits the game and the house. Or do they???


As the game progresses, the ante is upped, and the contestants become more stressed, sleepless and, dare I say it, paranoid. With loud sounds and flashing bright lights, who wouldn't be? 


If you can take a breath, you should do so here before the book's second half. You won't want to leave this until the very last full stop.

 


So, what did we think?


The reality Television Mrs H and I know of is some of the worst T.V. out there. Has beens and wannabes, shameful and shameless. At least, that is our view. 


The book pulls apart from the inside what reality and reality T.V. is and means, and what it can do. But it also shows the fragility and underlying motivations of the players, some worthy, some not so. 

 

I love that Lewis points out that it is a beast we create, and whilst we may outwardly reject it, there is something that draws folks in. Maybe it's the fact that it's not them on the receiving end – voyeurism.


The author has skilfully manipulated our protagonist, labelled 'as the girl next door' by the other competitors, into the ultimate detective. Fighting to support Thea and survive and escape a deadly sealed studio.

 

Mrs H read this to the end, where I got so far and the tension and dread was so much that I have to admit to sneaking a look at the ending. But even then, I was surprised.

 

Let me tell you, this is one doozy of a read. Well paced and delightfully cast. Not only are there shock revelations but also extra double twists right down to the closing sentence. 

 


So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

 

The ultimate locked room mystery – twisted, deadly, dark and seriously addictive. Turning the banal T.V. genre into a must-read hit! Thank goodness this ISN'T on T.V.!


A must-read, and one Mrs H and I both feel far exceeded our expectations to become the brilliant and gripping read it was. 

 

Would we watch reality T.V. now? Absolutely NOT. 

 


Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, please place advance orders with a local bookshop; that way, you're helping maintain local shops and economies. 

****** GIVEAWAY ******

One lucky commenter on this blog will receive a copy of this book thanks to Mrs H dipping into her pension and sherry fund. 

To be eligible, commenters on this post will need to be in an area covered by Amazon and be able to take receipt of a package from them with a suitable delivery address. They must also be willing to furnish Mrs H with their address if they win. This address will be deleted after the successful delivery of the package. 

Given the nature of the book theme, Mrs H and I are limiting this giveaway to those we know are over 18.

Comments must be made before midnight (GMT) on Saturday 13th January 2024.

 


A.J. CLACK's Twitter/X page can be found HERE or type this: https://twitter.com/alisonclack1?lang=en-GB

 

 

FIREFLY PRESS'S web page can be found HERE. or type this https://fireflypress.co.uk/




We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue in America.

 

Small image. The Cat on My Head Sunday Selfies Blog Hop badge. Features a yellow-haired lady with a tuxedo cat on her head.




This is as close to reality and prying cameras as we want to get . . . .

 






Till laters!

ERin 💙

 



Saturday, 11 September 2021

'A Spoonful of Murder.'

 'A Spoonful of Murder' by Robin Stevens; a Murder Mystery book review by Erin the Cat Princess

Erin the cat; Addicted to Murder Mystery & Mice!


Well, what a funny old summer it has been, and strangely my thoughts are, if not exactly heading to Christmas time, then thoughts of Halloween. Brrr, doesnt it just make you shiver and send the staff heading off to dig out the winter duvets!
 

Well, I say duvets, but this year we are trying something different. Mrs H is trying a weighted blanket, and a sensory sheet. Now if you havent heard of such things then do look them up as they help restless sleepers get a good nights sleep. Why she wants a weighted blanket when she has me to pin her to the bed I don't know, but hey ho, the ways of housekeepers are sometimes beyond not so mere princesses as I.

OK, enough of the pre-amble and lets get on with the show!

 


 


This week we are reviewing the next book in the 'Murder Most Unladylike' series, A Spoonful of Murder', By the fabulous Robin Stevens.


The Plot:

This time around Hazel becomes the lead detective when she and Daisy venture to Hazel's birthplace and home in Hong Kong. 

When Hazel's beloved grandfather passes away, Hazel, as much through love as duty, travels home by boat to be with her father and mother, as well as her father's second wife and her two incorrigible younger half-sisters, May and Rose.

Don't worry, family structures in Hong Kong are very different to those in the west, as Daisy soon realises. Daisy, the archetypal British aristocratic daughter of a lord, also realises that she is a fish out of water and that Hazel, who has never made much of her family wealth and standing, is actually a bit of a 'dark horse'. But, in true Daisy-like fashion, she aims to make the most of the trip and learn as much as she can to fit in.

-setting, and there is NO mystery in Hazel's Grandfathers death. But, there is a surprise that triggers the series of events that creates a fantastic adventure for the girls. On arriving home, Hazel discovers that she has a new baby brother! A stepbrother by her father's second wife. Hazel is devastated, not least because she hasn't been told before now. But things run deeper than just that. With a new baby brother, her place as the eldest child and apple of her father's eye is automatically usurped in favour of Teddy, the baby. Despite his age, he will rule the roost as the son. 

Emotions run high for Hazel, as I am sure you can imagine. But, these get put, if not completely to one side, then slightly out of focus when Teddy is kidnapped, and his nursemaid, who was Hazel's own whilst she was growing up, is murdered.

Now at this point, things really do take off. There is, like all of these books, a great selection of characters and events and clues to be considered by the two detectives. Add to this that the girls get embroiled with the local Triad gang, risking their own safety in the process, then we have a bowlful of even more Murder Mystery and Suspense to captivate the avid reader.

I shall leave it there for the review, as to go further will, I think, spoil the fun.

 

What did we think?

This is a wonderfully crafted continuation of the series, that touches on many aspects of society, values and prejudices, as well as emotions and driving forces. It is also a jolly good read!

Mrs H and I both loved this new and original adventure, especially meeting May and Rose, Hazel's sisters. We will, I promise, get to hear and see more of them as time goes by. I have to say I learned a lot from this book, and think a younger reader will too. Most of all we both loved the way the plot accelerated and developed as the girls fought against the clock to get Teddy back and solve the murders!

It is also heartwarming, and gratifying. We truly cant praise this book enough for what it brings to this genre, and the age range – and beyond. The series, which I must confess Mrs H has now read up to date, but keeping the endings to herself, has been a constant bedside companion.


 

Want to buy a copy?

 

If you'd like a Spoonful of Crime with your morning oats, muesli or granola, please do support your local bookshop first. 

 

If you would like something extra spiffing, Round Table Books, here in the UK, can offer special editions, signed copies and pre-orders. I believe they do ship internationally too. A link to Round Table Books special orders can be found HERE.

 

Round Table Books is "an Inclusion-led book shop" based at the heart of Brixton, London, UK. Its purpose, as shown on their website, is to highlight and celebrate underrepresented children's books, writers and illustrators, and draws from as wide a range as possible of UK and Irish publishing houses. Mrs H says, in an age when small or minority is often pushed to one side by the big, shops across the world like Round Table Books, should be encouraged by us all, so we can nurture great new diverse talent.


Next time I will be reviewing the next major book in the series 'Death in the Spotlight'.

OK, so that is it from us here at the Palace. We will return, editorial work on our own adventure novel permitting, in a week or so time.

 

Till then, we hope your own spoons will be filled with nothing more sinister than lukewarm porridge!

Till later.

Toodlepip and Purrs!

ERin