Two new reviews

I’ve written before about how crucial – and uplifting – reviews are for authors.  Sadly, just as the rich get richer, the well-reviewed attract more reviews, while for those of us who are generally unknown in the writing world every single review is hard-won and treasured.  Friends and family are usually marvellous at leaving reviews when a book is first published and then it’s a matter of hoping that future readers are sufficiently moved to express their thoughts on Amazon or Goodreads.

Maybe it was lock-down boredom, or maybe people are finally getting to the piles of books they have meant to read, or maybe it’s just good luck, but I have had two new reviews in the past fortnight.  One appeared on “Fatal Forgery” whose heading made me laugh (“Nothing to add”); the review itself said “Good book with an unusual twist at the end” and awarded five stars.  Short and sweet – but five stars, and every review (even a single line) brings the book to the attention of the Amazon ranking bots.

And now a new review of “Heir Apparent” has appeared, again five stars (*smiles smugly*), calling it a “thoroughly engrossing story”: “This time Constable Sam Plank is investigating a possible case of identity theft, but as usual, that’s only the start.  I am very sad to hear that there is to be only one more book in this series.  I shall miss Sam Plank, his wife Martha, Constable Wilson, and all the other regular characters who make these books so enjoyable, and also the vivid evocations of the darker side of Regency London.”

So thank you, reviewers – you cannot over-estimate how important your comments and ratings are to us.