Book Description
All is not well in Castleby.
Her life hangs in the balance… He needs to be sure she’s dead…
Jesse Stevens lies in a coma after being pulled off a cliff by a psychopath who escaped from prison to find her.
He is in hiding, also hurt from the fall, but fuelled with rage. He needs to make sure she’s dead. If she isn’t, he’ll finish the job once and for all.
Military Intelligence Officer, Sam Jones, missing presumed dead, returns from Afghanistan after two years of brutal torture in captivity. Struggling to cope, Sam has no desire to carry on living, or return to family life, with his wife, Sophie, and son, Marcus. Sophie is desperate to help Sam recover and leans heavily on her friend and ex-forces soldier Foxy for support.
Castleby is plagued by a series of unexplained deaths among the elderly and that of a local fisherman. Inspector Steve Miller works closely with the new local GP, Kate Cooper, to try and find an explanation and they eventually uncover the sinister truth.
Intrigue, drama, suspense and a hint of romance continue in the third of the Castleby Series.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Sea Shaken' by J.M Simpson.
Read and reviewed for J.M Simpson and Hashtag press.
Publication date 29th September 2022.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the third book in 'The Castleby Series' series but can be read as a standalone.
I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous cover and gripping sounding synopsis and title.
This novel consists of a prologue and 33 chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in the fictional Castleby which is based on Pembrokeshire and Tenby, Wales 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. The fact that I live in Wales and only live approximately hour away from both of these places, visiting each many times is even better!!! It was so easy to picture many of the places.
This book is written in third person perspective and there are several protagonists. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
What did I just read and why have I not read any of this series before?!?! What an absolutely page turning, heart racing read!!
I cannot belive I have never read the previous books in this absolutely amazing series before!! Well I most certainly will be reading more in the future!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hooked from the first page until the last. The descriptions were so vivid and realistic I felt myself hearing the waves, smelling the sea air and sitting on the edge of my seat throughout. The storyline is packed with tension, suspense, crime, romance, fun, laughter, friendship, community and filled with twists and turns. I was absolutely shocked when everything was revealed and was not expecting it at all!!! A HUGE congratulations to Jo, it is getting harder and harder to shock me but you did it well!!! I also enjoyed the fact that everything was explained at the end as I hate loose ends and when something is mentioned or happens in a book and then is forgotten about. Jo has obviously done her research on police procedurals which is yet another bonus as I've read many crime novels where the authors make massive mistakes due to not doing enough research. The storyline is realistic and I absolutely LOVED the stunning atmosphere at Castleby!! The Carnival of the Sea sounds absolutely amazing and Jo completely brought it to life!! There was so much going on in this book that it doesn't give you a minute to get bored, or able you to put the book down!!! Jo manages to weave the story lines of all the characters romantic, criminal, stressful, fun and action packed lives together ensuring the reader can go from what one character is doing to another without any worry of confusion.
This may be the third book in the series but I had no problems reading it as a standalone. Any relationships, friendships and past cases mentioned are explained in just the right amount of detail so new readers of this gripping series understand what's happened previously but not too much that previous readers get bored by repetition. This is an absolutely unputdownable page turner and I cannot wait to read the previous and future books in what is promising to be an addictive series.
I love that there are so many amazing and colourful characters in Castleby and I became completely invested in each and every one of their lives. They became like good friends, with a pinch of enemies, thrown in and I am going to miss the majority of them. I cannot wait to read the previous two books in this absolutely amazing series as well as any more that come out!! The characters were all realistic and it was lovely to watch all the different relationships and friendships between different characters develop and grow. There was the perfect amount of romance sprinkled throughout to ensure some lighthearted moments in between the crime and darker times. Jesse is just starting her new life with the romantic and sweet Doug after being attacked twice by her psychotic ex husband Chris who is still alive and will stop at nothing until he has his revenge on her. Sophie has just found out her missing presumed dead husband Sam was rescued from two years of being tortured in Afghanistan but he isn't the same man who left her and their son Marcus. Sophie has the stunning Foxy as a friend who has been there for her the whole time but does he want more than friendship? Foxy has also been captured as a soldier and has his own nightmares. Foxy is amazing with Marcus and Sophie so will Sam see him as competition? We also have the lovely Dr Kate who has left her husband Matthew who blamed her for losing their son who wasn't "perfect" and was having an affair with her so called best friend. Kate is moving on with the hunky Chief Inspector Steve but will Matthew change his mind about what he wants? There are also drugs, strange goings on at the vicarage, community deaths and so so much more!! These aren't the only characters and storylines going on in Castleby but if you want to know more you need to grab your copy today. I love the strong female role models, the hunky men and the stunning atmosphere, I just love everything about Castleby and am missing it already!!
Congratulations Jo on what promises to be a huge success!!! I cannot wait to get stuck into more of your books and I would like to welcome you to my favourite author list!!! Here is to your next success 🥂 I'm now off to add every one of your books to my wishlists
Overall an absolutely addictive, heart racing and unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night
Genres covered in this book include Suspense Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Drama, Mystery, Suspense, Indie Author, Crime, Thriller and Romance amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the above as well as absolutely everyone looking for an absolutely addictive and unputdownable page turner.
445 pages
This book is just £2.49 to purchase on kindle free on kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain.
Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@SeaShaken @TheCastlebySeries @JMSimpson @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio
Originally born in Essex, Jo was predominantly raised in the West Country, enjoying a childhood in Devon and Cornwall, never far from a rugged coastline, sandy beach, or harbour.
Jo currently lives in Kent, with her two (occasionally stroppy) teenage daughters, her extremely long suffering husband and her two writing partners Max (who features as Brock in the series) and Merlin, both rescue Border Collie’s.
Jo’s debut set of novels are the Castleby series, set in a coastal community and largely inspired by the plethora of time spent in and around the UK’s coastline, and the never ending visits to RNLI shops that her children insisted on with a regularity. The series seemed a natural progression and the fictional seaside town of Castleby grew with new people and new plotlines.
The first debut novel in the Castleby series was SEA STATE, followed by the second in the series, Sea Change.
Jo is planning a new series set in the Scottish highlands, the first of which will hopefully be published in 2023, as well as a summer thriller for 2023 and a few standalone novels.
In what little spare time Jo has, she spends writing, walking by the ocean, walking the dogs, being an armchair movie critic, and drinking copious amounts of wine in her most favourite pub with friends.
@jmsimpsonauthor
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