West Words Publishing Services
@westwords.bsky.social
Book reviewer, graphic designer, proofreader and copy editor. Crime Fiction Lover reviewer. Ngaio Marsh Awards and Petrona Award judge.
http://sonjavanderwesthuizen.wordpress.com
http://sonjavanderwesthuizen.wordpress.com
Penny Zang’s atmospheric and claustrophobic debut novel, Doll Parts, has it all: suspicious deaths, a fractured female friendship and a Sylvia Plath suicide club set in the angsty, grunge-driven 90s.
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/d... @sourcebooks.bsky.social #BestBooks2025
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/d... @sourcebooks.bsky.social #BestBooks2025
Doll Parts | Penny Zang
Penny Zang’s atmospheric and claustrophobic debut novel has it all: suspicious deaths, a fractured female friendship and a Sylvia Plath suicide club set in the angsty, grunge-driven 90s. So let’s d…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Penny Zang’s atmospheric and claustrophobic debut novel, Doll Parts, has it all: suspicious deaths, a fractured female friendship and a Sylvia Plath suicide club set in the angsty, grunge-driven 90s.
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/d... @sourcebooks.bsky.social #BestBooks2025
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/d... @sourcebooks.bsky.social #BestBooks2025
On today's #BestBooks2025 menu: A Korean crime fiction novel that puts a spin on the classic gothic novel. A Twist of Fate by Se-Ah Jang westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/20/a... #koreancrimefiction
A Twist of Fate | Se-Ah Jang
South Korean author Se-Ah Jang’s crime debut, A Twist of Fate, draws inspiration from classic gothic fiction. While utilising many of the genre’s tropes—family secrets, unexplained deaths, and a si…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:39 AM
On today's #BestBooks2025 menu: A Korean crime fiction novel that puts a spin on the classic gothic novel. A Twist of Fate by Se-Ah Jang westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/20/a... #koreancrimefiction
Next up on #BestBooks2025 is Fox by the sometimes controversial, always outspoken Joyce Carol Oates. A truly unsettling read. @4thestatebooks.bsky.social westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/f...
Fox | Joyce Carol Oates
Francis Harlan Fox is a popular literature teacher at the elite Langhorne Academy in New Jersey, beloved by scholars and admired by colleagues. Francis Harlan Fox is also a sociopath, paedophile an…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Next up on #BestBooks2025 is Fox by the sometimes controversial, always outspoken Joyce Carol Oates. A truly unsettling read. @4thestatebooks.bsky.social westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/f...
A wonderfully creepy gothic tale (with eels!) for today's #BestBooks2025: The Homecoming by Zoë Apostolides. Published by @saltpublishing.com. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/t...
The Homecoming | Zoë Apostolides
Zoë Apostolides’s debut novel, The Homecoming, is a gothic tale that masterfully blends a strong sense of place with a classic horror atmosphere. It follows Ellen, a ghostwriter sent to a remote ma…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:16 PM
A wonderfully creepy gothic tale (with eels!) for today's #BestBooks2025: The Homecoming by Zoë Apostolides. Published by @saltpublishing.com. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/t...
From Iceland to Japan. My next #BestBooks2025 is Japanese puzzle mystery meets time-loop caper, Yasuhiko Nishiza @pushkinpress.com @pushkinpress-us.bsky.social
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/t...
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/t...
The Man Who Died Seven Times | Yasuhiko Nishizawa
Japanese puzzle mystery meets time-loop caper in Yasuhiko Nishizawa’s first novel translated into English. Japanese novels playing with the concept of time have been popular recently. Last year, we…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:21 AM
From Iceland to Japan. My next #BestBooks2025 is Japanese puzzle mystery meets time-loop caper, Yasuhiko Nishiza @pushkinpress.com @pushkinpress-us.bsky.social
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/t...
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/t...
Stellaaaaa! Yes, today's #BestBooks2025 is none other than the mysterious @stellablomkvist.bsky.social with Murder Tide. If you enjoy strong female characters you'll love Stella. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/.../murder-t... @corylusbooks.bsky.social #icelandnoir
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Stellaaaaa! Yes, today's #BestBooks2025 is none other than the mysterious @stellablomkvist.bsky.social with Murder Tide. If you enjoy strong female characters you'll love Stella. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/.../murder-t... @corylusbooks.bsky.social #icelandnoir
Too many #BestBooks2025 to share, so I've started up doubling up my daily shared reviews! Next up, Julie Clark's The Ghostwriter, because who doesn't love a book about writers? westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/t... @crimefictionlover.bsky.social @sourcebooks.bsky.social
The Ghostwriter | Julie Clark
Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter, but a public spat with another writer has left her career in ruins. Her luck changes when acclaimed horror author Vincent Taylor requests Olivia to ghostwrite his me…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Too many #BestBooks2025 to share, so I've started up doubling up my daily shared reviews! Next up, Julie Clark's The Ghostwriter, because who doesn't love a book about writers? westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/t... @crimefictionlover.bsky.social @sourcebooks.bsky.social
Tartan noir with a distinctive Scottish setting, endearing characters, a strong plot and some of that sardonic, self-effacing Scottish humour. Today's #BestBooks2025 is Andrew Raymond's Bonnie Dead. @crimefictionlover.bsky.social #crimefiction
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/t...
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/t...
The Bonnie Dead by Andrew Raymond
Glasgow author Andrew Raymond is well-known for his political and spy thrillers, but The Bonnie Dead is his first venture into the crime genre – a police procedural set in his home city. You’ll fin…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Tartan noir with a distinctive Scottish setting, endearing characters, a strong plot and some of that sardonic, self-effacing Scottish humour. Today's #BestBooks2025 is Andrew Raymond's Bonnie Dead. @crimefictionlover.bsky.social #crimefiction
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/t...
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/t...
Nabokov meets Highsmith meets Hitchcock in Yiğit Karaahmet's Summerhouse, one of my top 5 Crime Fiction Lover reads of 2025. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/18/s... #crimefictionbooks #BestBooks2025 @sohopress.bsky.social
Summerhouse | Yiğit Karaahmet
Translated by Nicholas Glastonbury — It’s not often we come across Turkish crime fiction, much less examples influenced by Nabokov and Highsmith, but Yiğit Karaahmet has produced an original, atmos…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Nabokov meets Highsmith meets Hitchcock in Yiğit Karaahmet's Summerhouse, one of my top 5 Crime Fiction Lover reads of 2025. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/18/s... #crimefictionbooks #BestBooks2025 @sohopress.bsky.social
Some authentic Nordic Noir on today's #BestBooks2025
Jón Atli Jónasson's Broken is published by Corylus Books. A breath of fresh air in an often saturated crime genre. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/b... #iceland
Jón Atli Jónasson's Broken is published by Corylus Books. A breath of fresh air in an often saturated crime genre. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/b... #iceland
Broken | Jón Atli Jónasson
Translated by Quentin Bates— In Broken, the first instalment of a trilogy set in Iceland, Atli Jónasson introduces two new, flawed and multi-layered characters to the Nordic Noir landscape: Dóra an…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Some authentic Nordic Noir on today's #BestBooks2025
Jón Atli Jónasson's Broken is published by Corylus Books. A breath of fresh air in an often saturated crime genre. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/b... #iceland
Jón Atli Jónasson's Broken is published by Corylus Books. A breath of fresh air in an often saturated crime genre. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/b... #iceland
Previously available only in South Africa, Irma Venter's Red Tide can now be enjoyed by UK and US readers, thanks to Catalyst Press. #IrmaVenter westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/r... #BestBooks2025
Red Tide | Irma Venter
Renowned South African crime author Irma Venter plunges readers into the arid expanse of the Great Karoo where the little town of Carnavon harbours old grudges, secrets and an unsolved murder that …
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Previously available only in South Africa, Irma Venter's Red Tide can now be enjoyed by UK and US readers, thanks to Catalyst Press. #IrmaVenter westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/r... #BestBooks2025
For three consecutive years,
@juangomezjurado.com 's Antonia Scott series has made my annual list of favorite reads. This year, the trilogy concluded with the publication of White King. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/w... @panmacmillan.bsky.social
@juangomezjurado.com 's Antonia Scott series has made my annual list of favorite reads. This year, the trilogy concluded with the publication of White King. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/w... @panmacmillan.bsky.social
White King | Juan Gómez-Jurado
White King concludes Spanish crime author Juan Gómez-Jurado’s the popular trilogy featuring Antonia Scott, which was adapted for television in Amazon’s Red Queen series last year. Is it a goodbye …
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
For three consecutive years,
@juangomezjurado.com 's Antonia Scott series has made my annual list of favorite reads. This year, the trilogy concluded with the publication of White King. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/w... @panmacmillan.bsky.social
@juangomezjurado.com 's Antonia Scott series has made my annual list of favorite reads. This year, the trilogy concluded with the publication of White King. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/w... @panmacmillan.bsky.social
In the mood for a closed circle mystery? The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey might hit the spot. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/27/t...
The Wolf Tree | Laura McCluskey
An isolated island, a lighthouse, and an unexplained death – what more could a crime fiction reader ask for? Perhaps some secrets or even pagan rituals? And surely, a threatening storm leaving ever…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:10 AM
In the mood for a closed circle mystery? The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey might hit the spot. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/27/t...
Still not sure what to read this holiday season? Here are a few suggestions: crimefictionlover.com/2025/12/sonj... @crimefictionlover.bsky.social @catalystpress.bsky.social @panmacmillan.bsky.social @sohopress.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Still not sure what to read this holiday season? Here are a few suggestions: crimefictionlover.com/2025/12/sonj... @crimefictionlover.bsky.social @catalystpress.bsky.social @panmacmillan.bsky.social @sohopress.bsky.social
Going local for my next #BestBooks2025 Deon Meyer's Leo sees Griessel and Cupido once again in Meyer's hometown, Stellenbosch. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/07/l... @groveatlantic.bsky.social #deonmeyer
Leo | Deon Meyer
Six months ago, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido were demoted from their posts as part of Cape Town’s elite crime-fighters, The Hawks, after an incident with the corrupt State Security A…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Going local for my next #BestBooks2025 Deon Meyer's Leo sees Griessel and Cupido once again in Meyer's hometown, Stellenbosch. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/07/l... @groveatlantic.bsky.social #deonmeyer
Brooklyn native William Boyle's Saint of the Narrows has the hallmarks of a classic, reminiscent of great American novels like Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River. And it's one of my top 5 of 2025. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/03/s... #WilliamBoyle Published by Soho Press.
Saint of the Narrows Street | William Boyle
Brooklyn native William Boyle sets his latest novel in Gravesend, a changing part of the New York borough. It has the hallmarks of a classic, reminiscent of great American novels like Dennis Lehane…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Brooklyn native William Boyle's Saint of the Narrows has the hallmarks of a classic, reminiscent of great American novels like Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River. And it's one of my top 5 of 2025. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/03/03/s... #WilliamBoyle Published by Soho Press.
Reposted by West Words Publishing Services
BOX SET DEAL! ❄️🔍
For a LIMITED TIME only, you can get the FIRST FIVE books in Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir's award-winning, chilling and twisty #ForbiddenIceland #Series in one GREAT-VALUE Box Set, for ONLY £1.99!
🇮🇸 Translated by Victoria Cribb
Just call us crime-cringle 🎅
🔍 bit.ly/48FCVwF
#BookSky
For a LIMITED TIME only, you can get the FIRST FIVE books in Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir's award-winning, chilling and twisty #ForbiddenIceland #Series in one GREAT-VALUE Box Set, for ONLY £1.99!
🇮🇸 Translated by Victoria Cribb
Just call us crime-cringle 🎅
🔍 bit.ly/48FCVwF
#BookSky
December 9, 2025 at 7:52 AM
BOX SET DEAL! ❄️🔍
For a LIMITED TIME only, you can get the FIRST FIVE books in Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir's award-winning, chilling and twisty #ForbiddenIceland #Series in one GREAT-VALUE Box Set, for ONLY £1.99!
🇮🇸 Translated by Victoria Cribb
Just call us crime-cringle 🎅
🔍 bit.ly/48FCVwF
#BookSky
For a LIMITED TIME only, you can get the FIRST FIVE books in Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir's award-winning, chilling and twisty #ForbiddenIceland #Series in one GREAT-VALUE Box Set, for ONLY £1.99!
🇮🇸 Translated by Victoria Cribb
Just call us crime-cringle 🎅
🔍 bit.ly/48FCVwF
#BookSky
I do love a dark academia thriller, and Jacqueline Faber's The Department did not disappoint. #BestBooks2025
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/t... #JacquelineFaber
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/t... #JacquelineFaber
The Department | Jacqueline Faber
Jacqueline Faber’s debut novel is a dark academic thriller perfect for readers who enjoyed Joanne Harris’s St Oswald trilogy or Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House and Hellbent. The story centers around th…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:27 AM
I do love a dark academia thriller, and Jacqueline Faber's The Department did not disappoint. #BestBooks2025
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/t... #JacquelineFaber
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/t... #JacquelineFaber
Today's #bestof2025 is another Nordic Noir. Arne Dahl's Within the Circle. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/w...
Within the Circle | Arne Dahl
Popular Swedish novelist, Arne Dahl, is back with a new series revolving around Detective Eva Nyman and a team of investigators known as the NOVA squad. The story kicks off with seemingly accidenta…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Today's #bestof2025 is another Nordic Noir. Arne Dahl's Within the Circle. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/w...
Reposted by West Words Publishing Services
The Kill Clause by Lisa Unger @launger @lisaunger.bsky.social @leheny_leheny @brilliancepublishing #TheKillClause bluemoodcafe.com/2025/12/05/t... @bluemoodcafe.bsky.social
The Kill Clause by Lisa Unger @launger @lisaunger.bsky.social @leheny_leheny @brilliancepublishing #TheKillClause
the setup… It’s the week of Christmas but the holiday season isn’t any reason for Paige, a professional assassin, to slack off on the job. But when she enters the home of her target, she’s surprise…
bluemoodcafe.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:14 AM
The Kill Clause by Lisa Unger @launger @lisaunger.bsky.social @leheny_leheny @brilliancepublishing #TheKillClause bluemoodcafe.com/2025/12/05/t... @bluemoodcafe.bsky.social
Can we please stop shaming people who read 100+ books a year? Yes, it's possible. We make different choices, e.g., watching fewer series and carrying books everywhere, reading instead of being on our phones. It's not that difficult.
December 5, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Can we please stop shaming people who read 100+ books a year? Yes, it's possible. We make different choices, e.g., watching fewer series and carrying books everywhere, reading instead of being on our phones. It's not that difficult.
Reposted by West Words Publishing Services
New review! #Blackwater by #SarahSultoon (pub'd @orendabooks.bsky.social thx @annerandomthings.bsky.social) - "I put the book down and was left unsettled and uncertain ... It's a powerful, atmospheric story, let yourself sink into it"
#BooksSky
#BooksSky
Review: Blackwater
Sarah Sultoon - Blackwater (blog tour) Published by Orenda Books, paperback £9.99, also available in ebook. I received a proof copy of the novel from the publisher for review purposes. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. You can buy the book direct from the publisher here: …
crimebookgirl.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:28 AM
New review! #Blackwater by #SarahSultoon (pub'd @orendabooks.bsky.social thx @annerandomthings.bsky.social) - "I put the book down and was left unsettled and uncertain ... It's a powerful, atmospheric story, let yourself sink into it"
#BooksSky
#BooksSky
Today's #BestBooks2025 is a slow-burn, domestic Nordic Noir. The Widow by Helene Flood is published by MacLeHose Press and distributed in South Africa by Jonathan Ball westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/t...
The Widow | Helene Flood
Helene Flood’s new novel, translated by Alison McCullough from Norwegian, centers on Evy, a woman in her early sixties whose husband, Erling, unexpectedly dies while cycling. On the surface, …
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Today's #BestBooks2025 is a slow-burn, domestic Nordic Noir. The Widow by Helene Flood is published by MacLeHose Press and distributed in South Africa by Jonathan Ball westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/t...
For today's #BestBooks2025 we're off to Japan with Tomihiko Morimi's Tatami Time Machine Blues. A fun, quirky and entertaining read that doesn’t take itself too seriously. @jonathanball.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/07/t...
Tatami Time Machine Blues | Tomihiko Morimi
Translated from the Japanese by Emily Balistrieri—Imagine you stumble upon a time machine and can travel to any place and time in the past. What would you do? Go back to change history, meet your g…
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:59 AM
For today's #BestBooks2025 we're off to Japan with Tomihiko Morimi's Tatami Time Machine Blues. A fun, quirky and entertaining read that doesn’t take itself too seriously. @jonathanball.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/07/t...
#BestBooks2025 It's back to crime fiction with Sara Sligar's twisty family drama, Vantage Point. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/04/v... @panmacmillan.bsky.social #SaraSligar
Vantage Point | Sara Sligar
Subterfuge, deep fakes, grisly deaths and a family curse. Californian writer Sara Sligar whiplashes between Gothic family drama and outrageous high-tech caper in Vantage Point, her latest thriller …
westwordsreviews.wordpress.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:01 AM
#BestBooks2025 It's back to crime fiction with Sara Sligar's twisty family drama, Vantage Point. westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/02/04/v... @panmacmillan.bsky.social #SaraSligar