Blogiversary Giveaway: Win a bundle of Halloween themed goodies

As it's Halloween this week it seemed only fitting to include a Halloween themed giveaway as part of this year's blogiversary celebrations but as per usual it took me until the last minute to decide what to include.

In the end I settled on including a copy of Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie (Confession time I have never read an Agatha Christie book although have seen many of the Miss Marple and Poirot films adapted from her books).

When a Hallowe’en party turns deadly, it falls to Hercule Poirot to unmask a murderer…

During a night of party games, Joyce Reynolds boasts that she once witnessed a murder. No one believes her, but then she is found drowned, face down in an apple-bobbing tub.

Set against a night of trickery and the occult, Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver must race to uncover the real evil responsible for this ghastly murder.

The Write Stuff with... Victoria Walters

You may have noticed that the blog has been a little quiet of late as I've been struggling with a few things that have seriously affected my energy levels and in turn my reading mojo. Thankfully things look to be sorting themselves out and I'll hopefully have a few reviews to share soon but in the meantime I put a shout out on Twitter offering authors the chance to host some guest features on the blog. 

Today it's my pleasure to kick off the latest features with a guest post from Victoria Walters, who I first met 5 years ago, to talk about some of her favourite cosy mysteries.

The best cosy mystery books to curl up with this autumn 

I love reading cosy mystery novels, and watching cosy crime on the TV, so much so I decided to write my own! Thank you, Sharon, for inviting me on to your blog to share my favourite mysteries that you can curl up with and get cosy reading this autumn….

The Thursday Murder Club

I think everyone has heard of Richard Osman’s debut novel! It’s a fun mystery about four friends living in a retirement village who meet weekly to discuss unsolved murders, and then one happens on their doorstep! Quirky and charming, it’s been a huge hit and I think the rest of the series will be too. 

And Then There Were None

No cosy mystery list is complete without Agatha Christie, aka the queen of crime! This is an ingenious standalone mystery about ten strangers invited to an isolated island in 1939. And one by one they are murdered! I definitely didn’t see the twist ending coming and it really has a creepy atmosphere so it's perfect for Halloween reading. 

Festive Fun: My Fantasy Christmas Dinner by Cressida McLaughlin

It's the final night of the Fantasy Christmas Dinner parties and it's time to find out just who author Cressida McLaughlin has invited for her evening of entertainment.

There are so many authors I admire and fangirl over on a daily basis, so the thought of having to only invite five to my fantasy Christmas dinner party is properly difficult –  though I guess if I had any more all the cooking and entertaining would start getting too complicated. 

My first author guest is escapist fiction superstar Karen Swan. Her books are an absolute must-read for me, and they’re full of beautiful locations, glamorous people and twisty, emotional storylines. I am sure she’s led a fascinating life, so having her at my dinner party would be wonderful, not least because it would be lovely to finally meet her. She also writes wonderful Christmas books that always fully immerse me in a festive wonderland, so she might even be able to give me a few tips on how to maximise the Christmassy feel of my dinner party. 

Second on the list is Elly Griffiths. I’ve met her quite a few times at events, and she is so lovely. She writes brilliant books set in Norfolk, and it would be lovely to have her back in Norfolk for my dinner party, though I’d have to resist asking her to give me plot spoilers for the next Ruth Galloway book, as I am desperate to know what happens. 

Festive Fun: My Fantasy Christmas Dinner Party by LM Milford

Today it's my pleasure to welcome author L M Milford back to the blog for the latest in these fun festive features... over to you Lynne to describe your dream Dinner Party table.

The first seat at my table would be given to my heroine Agatha Christie. I’ve always wanted a chance to sit down with her and discuss how she managed to come up with so many different plots, without seeming to repeat herself. I’ve also always wanted to have a murder mystery dinner party and Agatha would be able to help me come up with a cracking story for that.

Sitting next to Agatha would be Jane Austen. She’s another of my favourite authors and her wit would help the party to go with a swing. I’d also like to have a chat with her about publishing a book at a time when it was very much a man’s world. Given the fact that she self-published, I’d love to know how she decided when her books were ready and how she felt about sending them out.

Next to Jane sits someone who isn’t technically an author. Victoria Wood has been a favourite of mine for years, making me howl with laughter on a regular basis. For all she’s quite a quiet person in private, I’m sure she could be relied on to tell us a few funny stories. I’ve always wanted to meet her to ask about how she comes up with the brilliant dialogue that is a key feature of all of her work. She also achieved a great deal, having covered almost all aspects of TV from sitcom to sketch show to documentary. I’ve always wondered what she would have done next if she had lived.

Crime Fiction Month Giveaway: Win a copy of Closed Casket: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie Hannah

This Crime Fiction month hasn't gotten off to a good start on the reading and reviewing front  as I had planned to do a review and giveaway today but sadly I've not had as much reading time this week as I had hoped.  But fear not as I've just brought forward one of the other giveaways I had planned for later in this feature month.

Are you an Agatha Christie fan?  Today you could win a copy of Closed Casket, the new Hercule Poirot mystery which has been written by Sophie Hannah.

Hercule Poirot returns in another brilliant murder mystery that can only be solved by the eponymous Belgian detective and his ‘little grey cells’.

‘What I intend to say to you will come as a shock . . .’