I am delighted to join in with Zoe in her fabulous Author Take Over, a fabulous idea that allows us readers to showcase some of the wonderful Authors out there. Over the past few days Zoe has been sharing reviews and posts for Amanda James and you can check out the posts on her blog at – Zooloo’s Book Diary.

Yesterday I listed three books that I have read you can read that post HERE.

So to continue with Mandy’s book. I read The Cornish Retribution

A snippet of my review… Samantha (Sam) is recently widowed and struggling to deal with various things. She decides to attend an school reunion and meets up with Penny and Dan. They haven’t seen each other for many years and when Penny and Dan decide to visit. They find Sam isn’t quite as financially secure as she thought she would be and so a business partnership is arranged though not everyone is quite so keen …

One thing I have discovered with this author, no actually there are two things… one is the ability to keep me dangling as she weaves her story and the other is the spectacular setting descriptions.

As the characters were gradually introduced I did wonder how the connections would be made, they came across as nice, normal people…but what is normal? By the end of the book I had been manipulated into various beliefs and thoughts that had me chopping and changing as I read. I have to say the baddie was one that made my skin crawl as I discovered who they were and why they were doing the things they did. You will certainly work out your favourites.

Next up was The Feud

Here is part of my review… There is such an underlying sense of malice throughout this story, it gives it such a suspenseful edge. Using the feud as the basis for the story, then adding and expanding on it makes it such a compelling read. The malice gradually increases as the story progresses and it made me wonder how far a person would actually go.

I loved the way this author took the feud to various extremes. She uses family members and friends like chess pieces and has a fabulous way of moving and manipulating them into place. I found friends were manipulated, the truth was distorted and twisted in this old vendetta. On Matt’s arrival in the village sparks off the revenge and family honour and it is just the tip of the iceberg as revenge turns in vengeance.

The I read Dark Deception

And yes part of my review… What starts as a basic story about a married couple gradually turns into something far deeper, each chapter seems to add more intrigue and the suspense is slowly and surely ramped up.

I did have a couple of theories as I was reading, I will admit one of those theories turned out to be right. But the journey to whittle my theories down to the right one was fabulous. Even when I proved right there was more to come, more twists and turns than one of our Cornish lanes!

This is such a brilliant read and I think the author has definitely created a fabulous psychological thriller. The storylines are wonderfully interwoven with the characters involved. Even when I thought I had a handle on the story the author deftly sidestepped me and had me avidly turning pages to discover what was going to happen next.

Now this is also another favourite one. I did mention that The Calico Cat was my favourite, but this one was as well. But they are two very different reads, so I am having two favourites, just because I can 😁

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Now there is a further book to add to my list, but I’m not sharing or showing you anything abut it as it has not yet been released. I have read it and it is fabulous and dark and twisty and I loved it. You will have to wait until the beginning of May xx

Amanda has written since she was a child, but never imagined that her words would be published, given that she left school with no real qualifications of note apart from an A* in how to be a nuisance in class. Nevertheless, she returned to education when her daughter was five and eventually became a history teacher. Then in 2010, after many twists and turns, the dream of becoming a writer came true when her first short story was published. Amanda has written many short stories and has six novels currently published.

Amanda grew up in Sheffield but now has realised her lifelong dream of living in Cornwall and her writing is inspired every day by the dramatic coastline near her home. She has sketched out many stories in her head while walking the cliff paths. Three of her mystery/suspense novels are set there, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Summer in Tintagel and the Behind the Lie. Rip Current is also set in Cornwall and will be published by Bloodhound Books in April 2018.

Amanda, known to many as Mandy, spends far more time than is good for her on social media and has turned procrastination to a fine art. She can also usually be found playing on the beach with her family, or walking the cliff paths planning her next book.

Follow Amanda James on – Website – Twitter – Facebook

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx