Blog Tour: Girl 99 by Andy Jones - Extract

Hey everyone 

I am so excited to be able to part of a publication day tour and share an extract from Girl 99 by Andy Jones. I am lucky enough to have read The Two of us by Andy previously and can honestly say I loved it! I have also heard great things about Girl 99 and am looking forward to reading it myself. 

Whats the book about?

When Tom’s girlfriend walks out on him the day before Christmas, he feels humiliated but not necessarily heartbroken. Sadie wasn’t, after all, The One. If we’re being precise, she was number eighty-five.

And so, for reasons that are only mostly wrong, Tom embarks on a mission to bring his number of encounters up to a nice neat one hundred.

Over the course of his quest he sleeps with a colleague, a colleague of a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a friend’s wife, the estate agent selling his flat and several more besides.

Everything is going, if not well, then at least according to plan…and then Tom meets Verity. Whether she’s The One remains to be seen, but she’s certainly more than just another number.

Girl 99 is published by Lake Union and is out today as an eBook, paperback and audiobook:  http://amzn.to/2jSGPec

Before reading the extract lets just set the scene: Tom's Downstairs neighbour and good friend, Doug, is a widower close to 70. He has been dating Eileen, a lady in her late 60s who lost her husband a few years ago. Eileen has been ready to take hers and Doug's relationship to a more intimate level for a while now, but is becoming frustrated by the lack of action.

Girl 99 - An Extract - Viagra

By Andy Jones

Eileen reaches into her handbag and produces a box of Viagra. She puts them on the table between

us.

‘There’s three left,’ she says, tapping the box, once, twice, three times.

‘Listen, Eileen, no offence, but I . . . I don’t . . .’

‘Not for you, Thomas. For Douglas.’

‘Eileen, I’m not sure this is any of my . . . I don’t understand.’

‘I want you to give them to him, love.’

‘Does he need them?’

Eileen sips her tea. ‘I think so, sweetheart. We haven’t actually . . . Me and Doug have been together for six months. We’ve kissed and canoodled, of course, plenty of canoodling, but we haven’t actually . . . you know.’

‘I see.’

‘Bonked.’

‘Right.’

‘Now, six months is a long time to wait. A person gets frustrated, Thomas. So I suggested Lyme Regis. I assumed Doug was either shy or just being a gentleman, but I thought a weekend away might, well, open the window, so to speak.’

‘More tea?’

‘I’m fine, love. Too much and I get cystitis.’

‘Is it hot in here?’ I ask. ‘I’ll just open the w— Just let some air in.’

Eileen continues as I open the window and briefly contemplate jumping out of it and running away.

 ‘So you’re going to . . .’ I nod at the pills. ‘Give him the . . .’

Eileen laughs. ‘He won’t hear it from me, love.’ And she stares hard at me.

‘Me? No, no way.’

‘Well, there’s no way I can give him my dead husband’s leftover dicky pills, is there?’

Dicky pills?

‘So what do you want me to do?’

‘Tell him they’re yours.’

‘Mine?’

‘Well, he knows what you get up to, love. He’s heard all your comings and your goings. Drop it into conversation. Tell him you swear by the Viagras. Offer him a couple.’

There is nowhere to hide in my living room, no cupboard to climb into, no curtains to conceal me, no trapdoor; all I can do is hunch my shoulders around my ears, hide my face in my hands, and hope Eileen will get bored and let herself out.

If you want to read more why not check out extracts on other blogs today:

About Andy

Andy Jones lives in London with his wife and two little girls. During the day he works in an advertising agency; at weekends and horribly early in the mornings, he writes fiction.

You can find Andy on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram as andyjonesauthor

Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

Out Now

Published by Simon & Schuster

Purchase from Amazon here

What’s it all about?

The Moonlight Hotel sits on the shore of England’s best-loved lake, Windermere, exuding vintage glamour.

Lauren loves the hotel, for hidden inside its faded walls is the key to her most precious memories. So, along with her best friends, Cate and Emily, she signs up to a new dance class in its gorgeous ballroom. They aren’t going for the men, they’re going for a laugh – although a little romance wouldn’t hurt . . .

But then a chain of events off the dance floor puts their friendship to the ultimate test, and makes Lauren question everything she holds dear.

Put on your dancing shoes and escape to The Moonlight Hotel, for Jane’s funniest and most poignant novel yet…

What did I think?

Hooray for Jane Costello! An author who is always guaranteed to write a book that puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step! Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel is no exception to that. With a gorgeous cover that screams pick me up and devour me, that’s exactly what I did!

Ever watched Strictly Come Dancing and wanted to learn to dance like they do? Ever wanted to to escape men and have laugh with your girlfriends? If so Lauren is the girl for you to meet. Things haven’t worked out quite as she had hoped, and she is sworn off men. She wants to inject more fun into her life while she plans her next moves and so signs up for salsa lessons at a local hotel. The hotel has just been bought by a property developer and things may be changing a lot which is hard for Lauren as her Dad used to work there and it holds lots of sentimentality for her.

Cue fun, shenanigans and a touch of romance thrown into the mix. This book has a bit of it all, as well as being deeper than just a ‘feel good’ easy read. Don’t get me wrong, it is still both of those, but it feels more than that, and shows the importance of friends, and of dreams.

As you would expect from Jane Costello, the book is well written with characters who develop along with the plot, and made me want to become friends with them also. It makes you laugh, smile, feel like the world is good, and that life can be great fun. The book is more than just the story of Lauren and her exploits, we also find out more about her friends and what is going on in their lives that add another depth and dimension to the book.

A fab read that I would highly recommend. I will definitely be looking out for her new work along with any of her older books I have yet to read.  

Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton

Out Now

Published by Transworld

Purchase from Amazon here

What is it about?

Famous killers have fan clubs.

Hamish Wolfe is no different. Locked up for the rest of his life for the abduction and murder of three young women, he gets countless adoring letters every day. He's handsome, charismatic and very persuasive. His admirers are convinced he's innocent, and that he's the man of their dreams.

Who would join such a club?

Maggie Rose is different. Reclusive and enigmatic; a successful lawyer and bestselling true-crime writer, she only takes on cases that she can win.

Hamish wants her as his lawyer, he wants her to change his fate. She thinks she's immune to the charms of a man like this. But maybe not this time . . .

Would you?

What did I think of it?

Ooh ooh ooh what a fantastic book this is! I cannot rave highly enough about it. The plot is superb and something that always intrigued me. What would possess anyone to befriend and write to a prisoner – particularly one that has committed serious crimes like Hamish in this book who is a convicted serial killer?

The thing is that Hamish maintains his innocence and asks ex-lawyer and crime writer Maggie Rose to take on his case. At first she has no interest as she doesn’t believe he could possibly be innocent, but when the detective responsible for his conviction appears and urges Maggie Rose not to get involved it has the opposite effect, and she begins to speak with Hamish. It’s not long before Hamish is getting into her head. But what else is happening that un-nerves Maggie making her wonder about Hamish’s guilt, and also fearful for her safety.

With twists and turns, the plot is dark and uncertain which left me on the edge of my seat. Even better, we don’t just hear the authors narrative, we also see letters and reports from different bodies and authorities which make it at times feel a bit more like a non-fiction book about a serial killer.

I loved this book and have been telling readers who like thrillers to get this on their to read list. I want to tell you so much more but am fearful of giving something away that might ruin it for future readers.

This is the first book I have read by Sharon Bolton but it certainly won’t be my last. I have heard great things about her Lacey Flint series and after lapping this book up they have been downloaded on to my Kindle and close to the top of my list of books to get stuck into.

I don’t feel like I am really doing this book justice in this review because to do so would reveal bits of the plot and risk spoiling what is a fascinating and edge of your seat thriller. But trust me when I say, you need to read this book. It is fast paced, entrancing and dark, with twists and scenes that will make you wonder just what is going on and who you can trust.