Hinton Hollow Death Trip by Will Carver, published by Orenda Books. @will_carver @OrendaBooks #blog #review @annecater

Another exciting tale from a brilliant writer! A gripping read that explores the nature of evil and his relentless pursuit to stir the pot. While the small town of Hinton Hollow’s residents smolder with renewed passion, energy and vice, the story takes one twist after another until reality itself is called into question, and everything they knew about love and hope will change.

Book Description

Five days in the history of a small rural town, visited and infected by darkness, are recounted by Evil itself. A stunning high-concept thriller from the bestselling author of Good Samaritansand Nothing Important Happened Today.

It’s a small story. A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened.

Hinton Hollow. Population 5,120.

Little Henry Wallace was eight years old and one hundred miles from home before anyone talked to him. His mother placed him on a train with a label around his neck, asking for him to be kept safe for a week, kept away from Hinton Hollow.

Because something was coming.

Narrated by Evil itself, Hinton Hollow Death Trip recounts five days in the history of this small rural town, when darkness paid a visit and infected its residents. A visit that made them act in unnatural ways. Prodding at their insecurities. Nudging at their secrets and desires. Coaxing out the malevolence suppressed within them. Showing their true selves.

Making them cheat.
Making them steal.
Making them kill.

Detective Sergeant Pace had returned to his childhood home. To escape the things he had done in the city. To go back to something simple. But he was not alone. Evil had a plan.

Review

Hinton Hollow Death Trip follows Detective Sergeant Pace to his old stamping ground. He is hoping for peace. But peace is the last thing he is going to get. Something sinister follows him there, blowing in on an ill wind. And it’s here to stay.

This book, written from the perspective of Evil itself, is a dark, brooding tale that casts a malevolent pall around the residents of Hinton Hollow. A select group of people whose secrets are laid bare and whose lives are tossed into the air as if they were dice.

Evil is the game show host. He dishes out strife and turmoil at the drop of a hat. And he’s very good at it.

Little Henry Wallace, alone on the train, isn’t afraid. Like a good boy, he’s not to talk to anyone. The note around his neck says it all. Darren works in an abattoir but are his vile actions his own, or has evil whispered in his ear? Dorothy Reilly is eating her way to heart failure. It’s only a matter of time. The Hardings don’t interact, until Evil waves a hand. Why did Annie throw a brick through the florist window? The most frightening of these is the Brady family and the man with a gun.

DS Pace is apprehensive about returning to Hinton Hollow, and I don’t blame him. There’s a lot to greet him when he gets there. Will he return Maeve’s call? Or will she be permanently banished to voicemail? He can’t forget the people who jumped from Tower Bridge and he’s running with no idea Evil is right there with him, the invisible shadow behind him.

All the people who are affected by this blast of doom are somehow intertwined, from the flower arranger — who prepared the wreath for Oz’s father’s grave four years ago — to the unsuspecting Faith Brady where nothing important had happened that day. But it would, something so horrific and something you’d never imagine because Evil dances around them all.

To me this book has a Dekker-esque feel. I’m thinking of Showdown in his Paradise series and almost eerily reminiscent of Peretti’s This Present Darkness. Where it differs, is that Hinton Hollow Death Trip is psychological warfare rather than spiritual, and takes place in a secular, true-to-life setting. Strong, unforgettable characters and a carefully constructed plot make this the next HUGE bestseller in its genre. A wickedly smart page-turner that reveals the thin line between psychosis and insanity. It will keep you glued to its pages and guessing wrong until its breathless ending.

So many thanks to Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books, Will Carver and Anne Cater for allowing me the privilege of reading this book.

What other people are saying:

‘Carver as one of the most exciting authors in Britain. After this, he’ll have his own cult following’ Daily Express

‘Weirdly page-turning’ Sunday Times

‘Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review

‘Arguably the most original crime novel published this year’ Independent

‘At once fantastical and appallingly plausible; this mesmeric novel paints a thought-provoking if depressing picture of modern life’ Guardian

‘This book is most memorable for its unrepentant darkness’ Telegraph

‘Unlike anything else you’ll read this year’ Heat

‘Utterly mesmerising;’ Crime Monthly

About the Author:

BLOG TOUR: Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver - NBWill Carver lives in Reading, though his younger years were spent in various parts of West Germany. He is the author of four books in the JANUARY DAVID thriller series – GIRL 4 (UK: Arrow, 2011), THE TWO (UK: Arrow, 2012), DEAD SET (UK: Arrow, 2013) and THE KILLER INSIDE (UK: Arrow, 2013).

Carver likes to work his body as much as his mind and runs his own fitness and nutrition company, though he prefers to talk about his writing more than how he consumes adequate protein as a vegan. 

‘I was blown away by this gripping book. I sense Carver will break out of genre boundaries and become a literary voice to be reckoned with.’ —Sarah Pinborough

‘There is a vivid – almost cinematic – quality to the writing. It is intense and makes for uncomfortable yet compulsive reading.’ — News of the World

 

Will Carver other books

 

Claire’s 10 FAVORITE books this year! #blog #review #books #simplythebest!

WOW! What a fabulous reading year! Thanks to authors and publishers who have allowed me to not only read their fabulous books, but have provided an advance reader copy before publication. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel!

In this list you’ll find slick psychological thrillers, deliciously dark that keep you guessing until the end. Police procedurals with flawed but completely relatable characters and heartbreaking women’s fiction with resolutions and twists you don’t see coming. All of them exceptional. Un-put-downable. Highly addictive and superbly written.

This list is by no means complete. I had to pick out ten that stuck out in my mind and wouldn’t let go. But there are others I would have gladly added. So next year, instead of blogging in December, I’ll be blogging in June too!

Books and Descriptions:

Oh, I just finished The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor. WOW, bloody WOW!  It blew my mind, and should also be added to this list. But there isn’t room, so I’ll cheat and add it here instead.

The Chalk Man: The Sunday Times bestseller. The most chilling book you'll read this year by [Tudor, C. J.]

It was only meant to be a game . . . None of us ever agreed on the exact beginning. Was it when we started drawing the chalk figures, or when they started to appear on their own? Was it the terrible accident? Or when they found the first body? Print Length: 342 pages. Publisher: Penguin (11 Jan. 2018).

After The End by Clare Mackintosh – From New York Times bestselling author Clare Mackintosh comes a deeply moving and page-turning novel about an impossible choice—and the two paths fate could take. Print Length: 400 pages. Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons (June 25, 2019)

Violet by SJI HollidayWhen two young women – strangers – end up sharing a cabin on the Trans-Siberian Express, a strange friendship develops, one that can only have one ending … a nerve-shattering psychological thriller from bestselling author SJI Holliday. Paperback: 276 pages. Publisher: Orenda Books (November 14, 2019)

The Marriage Trap by Sheryl Browne – My husband has been keeping secrets for a long time. He thinks I don’t know what he does outside of this house. But I know everything… Print Length: 300 pages. Publisher: Bookouture (July 30, 2019)

Nine Elms by Rober Bryndza – From the breakthrough international bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice, a breathtaking, page-turning novel about a disgraced female detective’s fight for redemption. And survival… Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory suddenly turned into a nightmare. Print Length: 392 pages. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (December 1, 2019)

Our House by Louise Candlish – On a bright morning in the suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought on Trinity Avenue. Nothing strange about that. Except it’s your house. And you didn’t sell it. Print Length: 426 pages. Publisher: Berkley (August 7, 2018)

Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir – The prison doors slam shut behind Agla when her sentence ends, but her lover Sonja is not there to meet her. As a group of foreign businessmen tries to draw Agla into an ingenious fraud that stretches from Iceland around the world, Agla and her former nemesis María find the stakes being raised at a terrifying speed.  Print Length: 276 pages. Publisher: Orenda Books; None edition (August 17, 2019)

Dead Inside by Noelle Holten – The killer is just getting started… When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet. Print Length: 293 pages. Publisher: One More Chapter (May 31, 2019)

Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver – When strangers take part in a series of group suicides, everything suggests that a cult is to blame. How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member? Print Length: 276 pages. Publisher: Orenda Books (September 14, 2019)

Dead Memories by Angela Marsons – She ruined their lives. Now they’re going to destroy hers. ‘Someone is recreating every traumatic point in your life. They are doing this to make you suffer, to make you hurt and the only possible end game can be death. Your death.’ Print Length: 400 pages. Publisher: Bookouture (February 22, 2019).

I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll – Every Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns. It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice. Print Length: 317 pages. Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (October 10, 2019)

Top 10 Books 2019

My reviews on each of these amazing book are available on this blog under the book title. All of them are high star reads and highly recommended. I hope you enjoy them too!

Special thanks go to the Blog Tour Organizers, Sarah Hardy (@sarahhardy681) and Anne Cater, (@annecater) who have tirelessly and professionally given up their time to support writers, and @Netgalley for providing readers with a place to request copies to try out new authors.

Thank you!

And Happy Christmas to all.

Claire

 

Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver @OrendaBooks @will_carver #blog #review #Contemporary #Urban #Fiction

This HAS to be one of the most memorable books I’ve ever read. But it’s also one of the hardest. Extraordinarily well written and typical of the high standards we’ve come to expect from Orenda Books. I couldn’t wait to dive in and I don’t believe I came up for air until the very end.

Book description:

When strangers take part in a series of group suicides, everything suggests that a cult is to blame. But how do you stop a cult when no one knows they are members? A shocking, mesmerisingly original and pitch-black thriller from the critically acclaimed Will Carver.

Nine suicides
One Cult
No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of The People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe: a decapitation in Germany, a public shooting at a university in Bordeaux; in Illinois, a sports team stands around the centre circle of the football pitch and pulls the trigger of the gun pressed to the temple of the person on their right. It becomes a movement.

 

 

Paperback: 276 pages

Publisher: Orenda Books (November 14, 2019)

ISBN-10: 1912374838

ISBN-13: 978-1912374830

Links US and UK

Review

The saying ‘you never really know what goes on behind closed doors’ is true in the case of Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver. Because something very important did happen to 9 people, nine very unsuspecting, seemingly unhappy people but with one thing in common. A drive to end it all and in a way that will shock thousands.

What really happened forced me out one rainy day to a coffee shop, where I could read this book in the safety of a crowded room. To say the writing style is addictive would be an understatement. I had to know what happened at the end. It’s not often I find the subject matter of a tale unforgiving, and sometimes a little uncomfortable. But this is a train-wreck of a book where you can’t look away. One that talks of ‘nobodies’ — dissatisfied and directionless, all running away from something. Shockingly, even DS Pace is trying to escape from something, and what makes it psychologically realistic is that we all are. Let’s not forget, this is not Pace’s case. He is merely drawn to it — as I was drawn to him to solve these bizarre and chilling deaths.

The writing is tense, dark and broody, and whenever someone new comes on scene, there is a high probability he/she will buckle under this terrifying ‘thing’ that has blighted the 9. All over the world people have been selected, ripping themselves from their families and we are left wondering how children, husbands, wives and dogs will cope without them. How many more will die in horrific self-inflicted deaths and in public places to an audience of horrified onlookers? Because any one of them could be next.

But who is behind The People Of Choice? Or The People Of No Choice. And how are these victims linked?

This is one of the most twisted stories I’ve ever read and probably one of the darkest. Too many scenes to count that are heinously graphic, namely the car and the rope, although there are a few others that made me want to stop, drop and roll.

The thing about this book is that it’s memorable. The residue sits with you for days and you’ll go over it in your mind, especially the final words that bring a high-five moment at the end of a very depraved few hours of reading. Definitely one of a kind, brutal, thought provoking and with a pace that leaves you breathless.

A brilliantly, twisted story that will make your toes curl!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for allowing me a place on this blog tour, Orenda Books and the lovely Will Carver for a copy of this brilliant book. Many apologies for missing my stop! But here it is.

About the Author

Will Carver pic

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

More books by Will Carver

will carver

Praise for his books:

‘Will Carver has taken the rules of a serial killer novel and ignored every single one of them … A twisted and twisty thriller. This book will mess with your head’ Michael Wood

‘A literary thriller with the darkest storyline and the most ingenious execution I’ve ever read. If you think you know what’s going on in this book, you’re wrong; and when it all unfolds, your jaw will drop. This book is incredible, and Will Carver one of a kind’ SJI Holliday

‘I’ve never read such an original, stunning, clever, literary thriller. I’m absolutely blown away. This deserves so much success’ Sarah Pinborough

‘Will Carver redefines crime fiction with a twisted slice of literary noir that breaks all the rules. This is a gloriously melancholy, twisted and twisty, with so much to say on modern lives it’ll stay with me for a very long time. Wow’ Tom Wood

‘It’s darkly twisted and deliciously distorted, shocking and completely mind warping!’ Book Obsessed

‘It’s beautifully written. The writing is staccato – quick, fast-paced and compelling’ Off-the-Shelf Books

‘This is stylish and extraordinary writing. It’s puzzling and perplexing but so damn good. There is something quite mesmerising about this story that defies genre and quite frankly, logic. Stunning … this will linger in my mind forever’ Random Things through My letterbox