Category Archives: debut novels

“99 Red Balloons” by Elisabeth Carpenter – Book Review

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Fictionophile

“The past is always part of my present.” Emma – is in her late thirties and is mother to eight year old Grace. Every mother’s worst fear is realized when Grace does not return home from school one day. Emma’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Edelweiss, Psychological thrillers | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Twelve Secrets” by Robert Gold – Book Review

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Fictionophile

“Secrets are a dangerous thing” Ben Harper – is in his mid-thirties and is a prize winning investigative journalist. When he was just eight years old, his older brother was murdered. His father made himself scarce, so it was just … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, debut novels, NetGalley | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

“Looking For Jane” by Heather Marshall – Book Review

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Fictionophile

Present – Angela Creighton Angela works in a book/antique store in downtown Toronto. One day she discovers a lost letter, still sealed, some seven years after it should have been delivered. She opens it and reads – only to find … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Canadian fiction, debut novels, Historical fiction, NetGalley, Women's fiction | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

“Beneath The Stairs” by Jennifer Fawcett – Book Review

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Fictionophile

Set in a mill town in Upstate New York, the novel captures the desolate feel of a mill town without a mill – because the mill poisoned the town, in more ways than one. The town, which was nestled under … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Edelweiss, NetGalley, Suspense | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

“The Keeper of Stories” by Sally Page – Book Review

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Fictionophile

Janice – is ‘only a cleaner’. Her husband is fond of reminded her of this – despite the fact that she is the major breadwinner of the family. She is in her late forties and cannot remember a time when … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Literary fiction, NetGalley, Women's fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

“Note To Boy” by Sue Clark – Book Review

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Fictionophile

Eloise Slaughter – an aging, crotchety, overweight and infirm former fashionista with a penchant for Sapphie (Sapphire gin). Lonely, betrayed, and abandoned my her former friends, Eloise lives in squalor. She fancies herself an author and wants her story told … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Literary fiction | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

“The Girl Upstairs” by Georgina Lees – Book Review

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Fictionophile

The story of two young women living in an Islington house. Both single, they antagonize each other as neighbours. Both seem lonely in the congested metropolis that is London. Suzie, our protagonist, complains to the Council about the anti-social behavior … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, NetGalley, Psychological thrillers | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

“The Girl In The Maze” by Cathy Hayward – Book Review

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Fictionophile

“We are shaped by our mothers, and, if we lack them we are shaped by that loss.” “I once read that motherhood is your heart forever walking around outside of you.” Emma 2019 – our protagonist travels from her family … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, NetGalley, Women's fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Madam” by Phoebe Wynne – Book Review

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Fictionophile

“…she’d taken the woman’s job, her role, her flat. Her curse.” Rose Christie – is a talented Classics teacher in her mid twenties. She has a terminally ill mother and she has the responsibility of paying the fees for her … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, NetGalley, Suspense | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“Please See Us” by Caitlin Mullen – Book Review

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Fictionophile

The once vibrant and bustling New Jersey hot spot is now tawdry and in a sharp decline. The once thriving casinos and hotels are starved for business – at least the ones that are left. The economy is in free … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, NetGalley | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

“The Love Story Of Missy Carmichael” by Beth Morrey – Book Review

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Fictionophile

“The outcome was always the same, alone in my barren old house, thinking of the people who’d gone.” Missy Carmichael – lives alone in a large house in Stoke Newington, London. The rooms echo her loneliness. Her husband is gone. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Edelweiss, Women's fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

“Just What Kind of Mother are You?” by Paula Daly – Book Review

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Fictionophile

This novel is told via three voices: Lisa Kallisto – a married mother of three who never has the time she needs for all she wants to do. Harried and often overwhelmed by her busy life and her job in … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Page turners, Psychological thrillers | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

“Winter Witness” by Tina deBellegarde – Book Review

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Fictionophile

“For a community so social and connected it seemed that there remained a great many secrets.” An elderly nun walks the convent’s cocker spaniel beside a rural lake. She is struck down with a rock. Another dog walker discovers her … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, debut novels, Mystery fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

“Big Girl, Small Town” by Michelle Gallen – Book Review #ReadingIrelandMonth21

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Fictionophile

Majella lives a routine-filled, rather bleak existence in a small town in Northern Ireland. She is twenty-seven years old and lives with her mother who is a depressed, and depressing alcoholic. Majella’s Mother is not a widow, but she doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, debut novels, Edelweiss, Literary fiction, Reading Ireland | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

“The Northern Reach” by W.S. Winslow – Book Review

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Fictionophile

This is a series of interrelated stories about families in a small Maine fishing community. It follows them all, the ‘haves‘ and the ‘have-nots‘ over a span of time from 1907 to 2017. The characters are related by blood or … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Tour, Book Reviews, debut novels, Literary fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments