Big Sister – Gunnar Staalesen (translated by Don Bartlett) #BlogTour #VargVeum @orendabooks @annecater

Sitting at your desk you hear a strange sound from the other side of the door leading into your office. To your alarm a piece of folded paper is slowly pushed under it. You get up quickly and take the sheet of paper as you hear someone run away on the other side. Pulling the door open there is no one there. You open the paper and there, in letters cut out from magazines and newspapers, is a blurb….

“PI Varg Veum receives a surprise visit in his office from a woman who introduces herself as his half-sister, and she has a job for him. Her god-daughter, a nineteen-year-old trainee nurse from Haugesund, moved from her bedsit in Bergen two weeks ago. Since then no one has heard anything from her. She didn’t leave an address. She doesn’t answer her phone. And the police refuse to take her case seriously. Veum’s investigation uncovers a series of carefully covered-up crimes and pent-up hatreds, and the trail leads to a gang of extreme bikers and to a shadowy group, whose dark actions are hidden by the anonymity of the Internet. And then things get personal… Chilling, shocking and exceptionally gripping, Big Sister reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world’s foremost thriller writers.”

Cuttin’ Heads – D.A. Watson @davewatsonbooks @rararesources #blogtour #cuttinheads

Inspiration just isn’t coming to you today. You sit there, the lyrics failing to materialise on your notebook. Closing your eyes, you let yourself fall into a trance-like state and then, as if from nowhere, the words fall from your fingers. Afterwards, rising from your stupor you look at what you’ve written and realise, with some measure of disappointment, that what you have written are not song lyrics, but a blurb:

“Aldo Evans is a desperate man. Fired from his job and deeply in debt, he struggles to balance a broken family life with his passion for music.

Luce Figura is a troubled woman. A rhythmic perfectionist, she is haunted by childhood trauma and scorned by her religiously devout mother.

Ross McArthur is a wiseass. Orphaned as an infant and raised by the state, his interests include game shows, home-grown weed, occasional violence and the bass guitar.

They are Public Alibi. A rock n’ roll band going nowhere fast.

When the sharp-suited, smooth talking producer Gappa Bale offers them a once in a lifetime chance to make their dreams come true, they are caught up in a maelstrom of fame, obsession, music and murder.

Soon, Aldo, Luce and Ross must ask themselves: is it really better to burn out than to fade away?”

Cover Reveal – Gone To Ground @rachelamphlett

There are many things that I have never done in my 47 years upon this earth.

I have never:

• Been to Mars.
• Wrestled a Great White Shark in a tub of jelly – lime flavour, since you asked.
• Completed a Legend Of Zelda game.
• Hopped on one leg for 24 hours without stopping whilst eating noodles with chopsticks.
• Won the heart of a fair maiden. Still.
• Successfully looked after a plant without it dying before its time.
• Ridden a mammoth.
• Ridden a prehistoric creature of any kind.
• Pushed the button at a level crossing and have the light change immediately.
• Put 6 ping pong balls into my mouth and recited a poem without dribbling.
• Put 6 ping pong balls into my mouth.
• Been bitten on the bum by a bullet ant.

None of these things has ever bothered me before. And, if I’m honest, they still don’t.