Blog Tour – ‘Plenty Under the Counter’ by Kathleen Hewitt ~#RandomThingsTours @annecater @I_W_M @angelamarymar

I am beyond thrilled to be kicking off this blog tour together with Short Book and Scribes.  ‘Plenty Under the Counter’ was originally published in 1943 and has now been published in paperback by the Imperial War Museum along with three other wartime classics to mark the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.

I would like to thank Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this tour.  Thanks also to Anne and the publisher for my review copy.

You will find out my thoughts on ‘Plenty Under the Counter’ in a minute.

 

 

Book Blurb

London, 1942. Flight-Lieutenant David Heron, home on convalescent leave, awakes to the news that a murder victim has been discovered in the garden of his boarding house. With a week until his service resumes, David sets out to solve the murder. Drawn into a world of mystery and double-dealing, he soon realises that there is more to the inhabitants of the boarding house than meets the eye, and that wartime London is a place where opportunism and the black market are able to thrive. Can he solve the mystery before his return to the skies?

Inspired by Kathleen Hewitt s own experience of wartime London, this new edition of a 1943 classic includes a contextual introduction from IWM which sheds light on the fascinating true events that so influenced its author.

‘With a dead body on the first page and a debonair RAF pilot as the sleuth, this stylish whodunit takes you straight back to Blitzed London and murder most foul. Several plausible suspects, a femme fatale, witty dialogue, memorable scenes and unexpected twists it boasts everything a great whodunit should have, and more.’ ANDREW ROBERTS, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

 

My Review

I really enjoyed reading ‘Plenty Under the Counter’. I thought the introduction to this story was just wonderful. I also loved the cover and spent quite a while looking at it. I think that this book being republished along with three other wartime classics by the Imperial War Museum is such a good idea.

I found it very interesting reading a story that was originally published in 1943. I love fiction that is set during or after the war, but to read a book that was actually written all those years ago was actually pretty amazing, especially as the author herself experienced life in London during the Second World War. I really liked the style of writing and the way the words just flowed.

The story opened with Flight-Lieutenant David Heron waking up to the news that a murder had taken place in the back garden of where he was staying. From then on, his interest was piqued, and he was determined to help solve the crime before his service resumed.

There was much more to things than just the murder and I felt that I got quite a lot out of this story. The black market played a big part as well.

There were quite a number of interesting characters in the story. My favourites were David and his girlfriend, Tess. I found it hard to like many of the others though.

This was a classic whodunnit and it had me trying to work out who the murderer was. It was nice seeing all the pieces of the puzzle coming together and as David’s investigations progressed, I started to suspect at least a couple of people. I wasn’t overly surprised at who the killer turned out to be I have to say.

If you like classic crime, then I recommend you read ‘Plenty Under the Counter’. You will find yourself hooked.
 

‘Plenty Under the Counter’ is available to purchase from Amazon UK:-

https://amzn.to/2lOgzUn

 

~~~~~

I hope my review has left you wanting to read ‘Plenty Under the Counter’.  Below is some information about all four titles.

 

The Four titles are:

From the City, From the Plough by Alexander Baron – A vivid and moving account of preparations for DDay and the advance into Normandy. Published in the 75th anniversary year of the D-Day landings, this is based on the author’s first-hand experience of D-Day and has been described by Antony Beevor as ‘undoubtedly one of the very greatest British novels of the Second World War.’

Alexander Baron was a widely acclaimed author and screenwriter and his London novels have a wide following. This was his first novel.

 

Trial by Battle by David Piper – A quietly shattering and searingly authentic depiction of the claustrophobia of jungle warfare in Malaya described by William Boyd as ‘A tremendous rediscovery of a brilliant novel. Extremely well-written, its effects are both sophisticated and visceral. Remarkable’, and VS Naipaul as ‘one of the most absorbing and painful books about jungle warfare that I have read’ and by Frank Kermode as ‘probably the best English novel to come out of the Second World War.’

David Piper was best known as director of the National Portrait Gallery, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The novel is based on his time serving with the Indian Army in Malaya where he was captured by the Japanese and spent three years as a POW. His son, Tom Piper, was the designer of the hugely successful Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London to commemorate the First World War Centenary.

 

Eight Hours from England by Anthony Quayle – A candid account of SOE operations in occupied Europe described by Andrew Roberts as ‘As well as being one of our greatest actors, Anthony Quayle was an intrepid war hero and his autobiographical novel is one of the greatest adventure stories of the Second World War. Beautifully written and full of pathos and authenticity, it brings alive the terrible moral decisions that have to be taken by soldiers under unimaginable pressures in wartime.’

Anthony Quayle was a renowned Shakespearean actor, director and film star and during the Second World War was a Special Operations Executive behind enemy lines in Albania.

 

Plenty Under the Counter by Kathleen Hewitt – a murder mystery about opportunism and the black market set against the backdrop of London during the Blitz. ‘With a dead body on the first page and a debonair RAF pilot as the sleuth, this stylish whodunit takes you straight back to Blitzed London and murder most foul. Several plausible suspects, a femme fatale, witty dialogue, memorable scenes and unexpected twists – it boasts everything a great whodunit should have, and more.’ Andrew Roberts.

Kathleen Hewitt was a British author and playwright who wrote more than 20 novels in her lifetime. She was part of an artistic set in 1930’s London which included Olga Lehman and the poet Roy Campbell.

 

 

IWM

IWM (Imperial War Museums) tells the story of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the First World War.

Our unique collections, made up of the everyday and the exceptional, reveal stories of people, places, ideas and events. Using these, we tell vivid personal stories and create powerful physical experiences across our five museums that reflect the realities of war as both a destructive and creative force. We challenge people to look at conflict from different perspectives, enriching their understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and its impact on people’s lives.

IWM’s five branches which attract over 2.5 million visitors each year are IWM London, IWM’s flagship branch that recently transformed with new, permanent and free First World War Galleries alongside new displays across the iconic Atrium to mark the Centenary of the First World War; IWM North, housed in an iconic award-winning building designed by Daniel Libeskind; IWM Duxford, a world renowned aviation museum and Britain’s best preserved wartime airfield; Churchill War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; and the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast.

 

 

Guest Post by Claire Boley

I am delighted to welcome Claire Boley to my blog today.  Her novel, ‘If Only I’d Listened’ was published last year in paperback and as an eBook by Olympia Publishers.  Claire has written a lovely guest post which I really hope you enjoy reading.

~~~~~

Hello everyone,

First I must thank Sonya for hosting my guest post and to say that I have never met her in person but on social media she comes over as a very approachable lady who has been kind enough to do a post about me and my second book which is my debut novel. The first book I wrote was a craft book which I was commissioned to write in 2011, title Hand Spinning and Natural Dyeing.

When I was at secondary school and in between lessons while waiting for the teacher to arrive I used to make up stories for my school mates who enjoyed sitting and listening to me telling them.

It was not until I retired from nursing that I thought about writing and decided the best way to start was to write articles for magazines which I did for a number of years on different subjects including hand spinning, natural dyeing, pottery, gardening to name just a few. After a year of writing articles I was approached by The Good Life Press to write my first book.

My debut novel – If Only I’d Listened is based in 60s’ London when 16 year old school girl Samantha Smithson gets pregnant by her 6^th form boyfriend Peter Knight in an era when pregnancy outside of marriage and especially when still at school carried a stigma.

The reason the story of Samantha and Peter is based in London is because I lived there from 1964-68 and know different areas well. I wrote about a school girl getting pregnant as I was a nurse in London in this era and heard quite a lot about pregnancy outside of marriage and how it upset family life.

Samantha spent most of the nine months in and out hospital due to high blood pressure caused by her parents behaviour over the pregnancy and not wanting Samantha to live with them once she had become pregnant – they felt that Peter’s parents should look after her and take full responsibility for her. All of this upset Peter’s mother and made her ill.

Peter spent his time going out and about in the West End of London to pubs and clubs and was encouraged by his mates to get drunk and meet other girls, all of this was in between studying for his A levels which he lost interest in.

There may be a sequel to If Only I’d Listened this won’t be until I have finished my second novel – False Teeth.

 

Book Blurb

IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND PREGNANT? How ready are you for that? How would you deal with becoming a parent before you’ve left school? One thing’s for sure, you can’t unmake babies. A fact that’s borne in on Peter Knight and Samantha Smithson, sixth formers at the South East Comprehensive in Deptford, living at a time when many parents are still of the old school and pregnancy outside marriage carries a stigma. Having to face their parents, their school friends, teachers and gossip is only the beginning. Pete’s plans for university are scotched as he must seek work and accommodation suitable for a young family. And all the time he still wants to have fun, with friends’ quite happy to tempt him to do it. As for Samantha, abortion is no easy option. Yet as her health and her faith in Peter goes up and down, she may have to think the unthinkable.

‘If Only I’d Listened’ is available from Amazon UK – http://amzn.to/2vG4AvX

 

About Claire Boley

I was born in Exeter during the war. Aged five my parents and I moved to Buckinghamshire where my father worked at Bletchley Park.

While at school in Aylesbury and in between lessons I used to tell stories to my school mates, looking back this must have been the beginning of my story telling. After leaving school I left home to train as a nurse so the stories went on the back burner until I retired.

One afternoon I visited W H Smith and read an article written by a friend and decided that perhaps I could write. From that day I have been writing articles on different subjects – hand spinning, pottery, gardening, natural dyeing and also cooking for many national magazines. In 2011 I was commissioned and given an advance to write my first book – Hand Spinning and Natural Dyeing. After finishing this book I decided to see if I could write a novel – it took three years. Once it was completed I soon found a publisher.

My debut novel – If Only I’d Listened is a family saga based in 60s London. Samantha Smithson a 16 year old school girl gets pregnant by her 6^th form boyfriend – Peter Knight, in an era when pregnancy outside of marriage carried a stigma. Having to explain to their parents, school friends and teachers about the pregnancy is just the beginning for Samantha and Peter. Along the way Peter is encouraged to go out and about enjoying himself with his mates in between studying for his A levels while Samantha spends most of the pregnancy in and out of hospital getting more and more upset by Peter.

 

Links

Hand spinning and natural dyeing – http://amzn.to/2DAe5Rp

Twitter – https://twitter.com/claireboley?lang=en

Facebook – https://facebook.com/claireboley

 

Blog Tour – ‘Doorways’ by Robert Enright

I am absolutely thrilled to be helping Robert Enright with the relaunch of ‘Doorways’.  I read and reviewed this book back in 2016.  Ever since then I have been waiting patiently (or trying to) for the next book in the series.  Here is my review.

Franklyn ‘Bermuda’ Jones was born with the ability to see the truth; a gift and also a curse.  Declared insane by psychiatrists, Bermuda was admitted to hospital for three months.  The only human to have passed to The Otherside and returned, he is now an agent for the BTCO, a highly secret government agency.  Bermuda is stuck between both worlds and pining for the life he has had to leave behind.  Everyday things which people take for granted mean the world to him.

Teamed with Argyle, an enigmatic Otherside warrior, Bermuda is assigned the case of a missing woman who seems to have disappeared into thin air.  As Bermuda is soon to discover there is more to things than meets the eye.  With Argyle’s help will he be able to solve the case before it’s too late?

I am not a fan of science fiction as such but I wanted to give ‘Doorways’ a go having heard so much about it.  You know what?  I’m so pleased that I did because this book is actually a mixture of genres, not just sci-fi.  I was totally hooked from the start and found it so very hard to put down.  I loved the writing style and found that the words bounced right off the pages.  I also really like how ‘Doorways’ is set in different parts of London including a place I love going to.

I found myself getting really involved in the story, so much so that I wanted to scream at the woman who went missing not to walk through the alleyway.  I felt sad for Bermuda and the fact that he couldn’t lead a normal life.  It must have been so hard having to cut himself off from loved ones.  I adored Argyle, his protector and saviour.  The things he did to distract the police; brilliant!

‘Doorways’ took me on an exciting and unstoppable journey.  I didn’t want it to come to an end and I am so looking forward to the second book in the series.  I only hope there are no Others lurking in the shadows watching my every move.  Oh wait, this is fiction isn’t it?  Isn’t it??

Thanks for a great read Robert.

I give this book 5 out of 5.

 

~~~~~

Hopefully my review has left you wanting to, no NEEDING to read ‘Doorways.  It is available to purchase from Amazon UK and as you can see above it’s just 99p.  So why not treat yourself this weekend!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doorways-First-Bermuda-Jones-Casefile-ebook/dp/B07813HWTB/ref=pd_sbs_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WWYXCGK6GCGWQD2C0CJJ

 

About Robert Enright

Robert Enright was born and raised in North London and resides in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Working as a HR System Manager by day, he spends his evenings and weekends writing (or binge watching TV with his fiance).

Robert first self published One by One in March 2016 and saw it published by Britain’s Next Best Seller in October 2017.

In early 2018, DOORWAYS will be re-released as an ebook, paperback and audio book under Robert Enright’s management. The sequel, THE ABSENT MAN will also be released in early 2018. The third in the series, WORLDS APART, is set for a late 2018 launch. A prequel, titled BERMUDA, is in the works for a 2018 launch also.

Robert can be contacted via:-

Website – http://www.robertenright.co.uk

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/robenrightauthor

Twitter – https://twitter.com/REnright_Author