Not my usual read but thoroughly enjoyable, full of twists and turns to keep you guessing, would definitely read more from this author.

I would like to thank Netgalley & Blackspot Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This fascinating new novel from relative newcomer Windwalker is a treat and gem for readers who like a story to feed the mind and the soul. This is a writer with real talent and one that boggles the mind on the different levels that partake on the different platforms which present itself.

Starting out as regular novel, the story of Jefferson Payne begins in bed with a girlfriend who decides that she has had enough of the small town life and is going to start anew without her boyfriend. Jeff than carries on with his life as the editor of a small town newspaper and this is where we have a story that thrives on the mundane and quaintness of small town living.

The novel is a slow burn but this is where the author crescendos with her work because she doesn’t write throw away narratives but gives us a narrative where not much happens with bite. The first person narrative enters us into this world with vim and verve creating a tongue in cheek monologue of small town life.

The characters are very well developed and their personalities react in a realistic manner. They have quirk but they have real human endurance when faced with small town politics within the community. Jeff’s narrative is never cruel when faced with external characters and his point of view carries the proceedings to its unexpected conclusion.

Windwalker weaves a critical study of the world around us through the use of media and political circumstances. There are some hidden gems when the main character oversees the world at large through politics and news media as a whole that gives the reader food for thought. This works wonderfully within the premise of the novel and lifts the work to an even higher quality.

The plot is exciting and my mind never wandered as nothing really happens until the final third. The novel never dips in perspective or interest. Every word is savoured and digested within the readers mind. This is a novel that really caught me by surprise and there are so many more things I would like to reveal but that would ruin the novel for potential readers. As each person reads this novel, there will be a kaleidoscope of information that everyone will pick up separately based on their own experiences.

Excellently written, thought provoking, mind filling prose in a tight novel that will feed the mind and the soul in equal measures. This is an author to look out for. This is a definite must read that demands conversation after the final pages. A must for all reading circles and book clubs. A definite winner for the summer reader.

This book managed to inch out a three star rating because it is creative. The writing itself was enjoyable, but I found the narrator to be unreliable and frustrating. The format of the story was also a bit unusual and hard to follow. Not a book for me but I can understand why orhers would enjoy it. I would recommend to someone looking more specifically for this style.

Summary: A newspaper editor begins a social experiment using his newspaper and embedded advertising.

What I liked: After finishing Bury the Lead I had a deep and unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just like a thriller should. Windwalker's writing delivers this unsettling feeling with flair and style. Her writing is witty and biting. The storyline was pertinent to what is going on in society today. The ending was deliciously dark and left me scratching my head. I loved that the ending wasn't laid out on a silver platter. It left a bit to my imagination and with a surreal feeling which was perfect for what I wanted.

What I didn't like: Nothing there was nothing I didn't like about Bury the Lead.

Star Rating: 5

Excellent!! I had to keep changing my guesses and in the end they turned out to be sort of right. Terrific plotting

I couldn’t finish this book! I tried but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Thank you for the opportunity to pre-read it.

I love the cover art. So that's the good part. But something about this writing style didn't engage me at all. I felt dragged through it and mostly got lost, my eyes skimming the same paragraph over and over.

Sorry, but this one really wasn't for me. I think I also expected something completely different from that synopsis. Maybe more Clare Mackintosh sort of thing. I don't know.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

I read about 20% of the book and decided I was not enjoying it enough to continue. I didn't like the headlines peppering the narrative, and it seemed like something more should have happened by that point in the book. I'm not eating this anywhere else since I didn't finish it.

I received an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) from Black Spot Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!

This is a novel about a small town newspaper editor whose girlfriend leaves him at the start of the novel. At the same time, the town begins experiencing a number of unusual incidents that he reports in the newspaper. Both the reporter and his readers begin to make connections between various events that may or may not be actually related.

I don’t want to say anymore for fear of spoiling the fun of this short and enjoyable novel. It is well-written, with an interesting insight into the state of journalism in the era of “fake news.” Windwalker does a good job of creating a distinct characters without leaning too hard on the standard tropes of quirky small town novels.

The reason that I am only giving it 3 stars is because this is just not my kind of story. The main character is an unreliable narrator, and I spent the entire novel feeling as if I had accidentally skipped a few pages, because he would describe other character’s reactions to something he had done without taking the reader along with him while he did it. Partway through the novel, he begins posting numerous headlines on the wall of his office, and I didn’t understand why anymore than his colleagues did.

All of this is inherent in books with unreliable narrators, and probably a major element of fun for people who enjoy this type of fiction more than I do. For me, however, it makes me feel a bit as if I read the book while suffering from a high fever, and is not an experience I relish. The fact that I enjoyed the read as much as I did is due to the overall quality of the writing and the story. For readers who enjoy unreliable narrators and feeling slightly off balance throughout a story, I think this will prove an enjoyable read.

In one word: AMAZING

Highly entertaining and thrilling, full of twists and turns. I would absolutely love to read more from this author!