CM Blanchard
mystery & fantasy books​
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In the small Czech town of Vinice the mayor has been found dead in his wine cellar.
Detectives Jana Dvorska and Ivan Dambersky are called to the scene and soon realise that despite appearances, Mayor Slansky’s death was most definitely not from natural causes.
Almost immediately, the close-knit community closes ranks to try and brush the unexplained death under the carpet with the minimum of fuss.
Dvorska & Dambersky are drawn deeper and deeper into secrets that many hoped would remain buried forever and they’re forced into pursuing an investigation where their own lives are put in danger.
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The Tainted Vintage is the first book in a wonderful new series set in and around the
Czech Republic, an area rich in history, literature and culture that still remains largely unexplored by contemporary crime fiction fans.
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“Readers are going to have to hang on because they are going to be taken on a twisted ride that connects atrocities of history with horrific dealings in the present…”
“Set in the prestigious wine growing district of the Czech Republic, The Tainted Vintage delves into the realms of both the Nazi occupation and the Communist regime, giving the reader a spine chilling insight into best forgotten history…”
“The plot twists were truly surprising, and I can’t say I guessed at all, who did it or why until it was explicitly laid out in the big reveal at the end…”
“A very good crime read, perfect for fans of Forbrydelsen or Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano…”
“Absolutely brilliant. I was hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down…”
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Finally relaxing on a long overdue vacation in Spain, a seasoned detective gets an unwelcome phone call.
A woman's body has been found in a local Spanish orange grove.
What starts out as the death of a young call girl from Dambersky's home town in Central Europe spins into a spider's web of murder, high-end art theft and international intrigue that Dambersky, ironically enough, is unusually well qualified to handle.
The trail will lead him back to some exclusive spa towns, the city of Berlin in Germany, and to Scotland.
Will he and his colleague Dvorska be able to find the link between a dead call girl, an international art theft ring and high-stakes political espionage?
Their skills are going to be tested to the limit on this case.
fantasy & sci fi books​
Sylvia's life is long on stress and short on meaning.
There seems to be a hole in the middle of her life.
Then things take an unexpected turn.
Her enigmatic mother, Svetlana, born in Prague, gives Sylvia a gemstone ring allegedly made in the laboratory of the famous alchemist John Dee.
Sylvia notices the ring having strange effects on her life, some liberating, some disturbing.
Gradually, the missing pieces of her life start to form a pattern.
But there are dark shadows in that pattern that threaten to pull her downwards.
Will Sylvia be able to find her way out of the shadows before it is too late?
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Brenda Parker’s review of The Accidental Alchemist:
"A beautiful and thought-provoking novel...."
The Accidental Alchemist is an intriguing novel, which opens in medieval Prague, a city at the heart of Bohemia, with its unique source of moldavite, a green gemstone laid down by a meteorite at the dawn of history. Sylvia, the protagonist, has an instinctive affinity to the city, which is where her own mother was born. But in modern Britain this is at odds with her burgeoning career at a prestigious girls' boarding school - an institution steeped in hierarchy and eccentricity, which CM Blanchard describes with an irresistible meld of humour and satire. Woven into her tale are two stories of struggle to retain sanity. One of Sylvia's colleagues suffers a nervous breakdown from overwork. However, gradually her affection for Prague draws her back again and again and she discovers that there are unexpected links between the old city and those ancient Etruscan civilizations that instigated the spread of culture and architecture across continents. She learns also that many of these legends stretch back to biblical times, and that there are even connections pulling at her own roots. Her life and purpose are transformed by these revelations.The Accidental Alchemist takes you on a satisfying journey, providing food for thought long after the book is closed - a journey well worth travelling.
Brenda Parker, author of The Cilento Dove and Anya Paris
Moribund Vanpyre, a wealthy banker, is bankrolling a top-secret genetic engineering project designed to resurrect the Nephilim, financed through a web of payday loan sharks, offshore shell companies and digital currencies.
The future of humanity is hanging in the balance.
Vanpyre's bookworm, gaming son is having a meltdown after some idiot put something in his drink a couple of nights ago.
He's having a lot of trouble working out what is real and what isn't.
Meanwhile his two wayward sisters, Taffeta and Amphetamine, are wreaking havoc at their boarding school, Oldmoney's.
It will be down to these three teenagers, with a lot of help from their mysterious genius butler, to put a stop to this disaster.
Will they be able to restore order and a sense of reality?
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Contact me to get a free ARC copy in return for a review!
CM Blanchard is an author of fantasy, mystery and detective fiction stories set mainly in beautiful places in Europe.
She has a strong connection to history and landscape and a rather quirky sense of humor that comes out in unexpected places.
Whether it's a murder mystery such as The Tainted Vintage, an urban fantasy such as The Accidental Alchemist, or a sci fi novel such as Genesis Unbound, expect the unexpected!
When she isn't writing, she loves working with children to encourage a love of reading for life.
And when she isn't doing that she's probably out in the garden, knitting socks for Christmas presents, or making bookmarks that actually stay in books.
