Publication Date: Out now!!!
Formats: Paperback & Ebook
Price: Pb £8.99/ Ebook £1.99
Publisher: Independent
I would like to say a huge thank you to Heather Fitt for inviting me to take part on this thrilling book’s tour. I would also like to say a huge thank you to J.S.Savage for creating such a fun, gripping and compelling read, about deception, lies, betrayal and murder in the sun. Where what should have been a perfect holiday turns out to be highly charged and deadly for some. Intrigued? Let’s head to the blurb and find out a bit more.
Two baffling murders. A hotel full of suspects. One secretive sleuth.
The guests at the Orange Tree Hotel arrive looking forward to a holiday filled with sun, fun, and sangria. But when Russell Aspell, the hotel’s owner, is found dead inside a locked room, any hopes of a relaxing break under the Spanish sun are ruined. Soon, each of the guests will become suspects as their lies and secrets are uncovered.
Then, when a guest is murdered in plain view of everyone else, it’s clear the murderer is not only ingenious but utterly ruthless too.
In order to catch a killer, some perplexing questions will first need to be answered….How did the killer get in and out of a locked room? What is the significance of the mysterious notes found in Russell’s office? What happened to the money in the hotel safe? And why is someone stealing guest’s mobile phones?
Only a special type of investigator with a unique skillset will be able to piece together the clues to stop the killer before they strike again…..
Enter Penny Haylestone…..
As soon as I started this book, I was instantly hooked. The title, Sun, Sea and Murder is perfect for an escapist read. Set in a Spanish Hotel, where the sun shines and the sangrias are plentiful… you wouldn’t think murder would be on the menu. But like all good murder mysteries, holidays are the perfect places for some dark, murderous antics. We follow a cast of characters from two old friends wanting to reunite and get better acquainted with each other again, to a couple who need to this holiday, one being an ex union leader and the other the wife both with secrets to hide and uncover. To another couple wanting to keep their marriage afloat or will this holiday end it? All the way to an old friend of the hotel’s owner who knows more secrets both deadly and top secret. All mixed together in one place, everything is going just as you would expect on holiday, some tensions until the first death happens and then fear, guilt, lies and accusations start to cloud this sunny haven.
With a local detective being both hostile and slightly combative, it’s up to the close friend of the dead man to work out what is going on and why? With the help of a young assistant it seems it should be easy enough… till another death adds panic to the mix.
I really enjoyed this perfectly fun and entertaining read, it has a similar atmosphere to that of Thursday Murder Club and a nod to the greats of the golden age of crime fiction and if you love those suggestions you will enjoy this brilliant book. The way it’s written like you have all the suspects notes written in diary form is a wonderful way to tell the story without giving too much away and makes it easier to hoodwink the reader. I don’t want to go into too much detail as I don’t want to spoil anymore of this fabulous book, sometimes you go on holiday and leave your past behind but sometimes it comes with you. Definitely one to sit and read by the side of a pool or on the beach.
Ratings: 5 🌟s with a large 🍹 or two.
Author’s Blurb:
J.S.Savage is a London-based author who specialises in impossible crime. His debut novel, The Mystery of Treefall Manor, nods to the golden age of detective fiction where the tyrannical master of Treefall manor is found stabbed to death inside his locked study. J.S. Savage has also written a second locked-room mystery novel, Sun, Sea, and Murder, in which a group of British holidaymakers find themselves to be suspects when two murders occur at a luxury Spanish hotel. Sun, Sea, and Murder will be published on 1st April 2024. Savage has been shortlisted for numerous short story prizes and can usually be found plotting murders with a pint of ale at his elbow.
I hope you have enjoyed this dark little holiday, with hot sun, fun and murderous shenanigans to whet any crime aficionados appetite. If you are wanting a copy , you can find this on Amazon either a paperback or ebook copy. I will leave you now to say Happy Reading and see you soon!!!
Zoe's Book Nook 