Hello bookish friends and welcome to damppebbles. I am very excited to have something a little different for you today. Having gazed lovingly at other bloggers’ book subscription boxes over the years, I was delighted when the fabulous Louise at My Chronicle Book Box asked if I would like to receive the August Crime box for review. I jumped at the chance (of course I did, I would have be bonkers not to!) and the box arrived earlier this week.

Let me tell you, it’s absolutely gorgeous 😍. The first thing which struck me was how beautifully wrapped and presented the contents of the box were.

The contents were all contained in dark blue tissue paper fastened with a My Chronicle Book Box sticker (with shredded paper and extra packing to make sure it was protected in transit). I already knew by this point that this was going to be something very special indeed.

On tearing open the tissue paper I found a note explaining the contents and August’s theme, which is Detective Stories and the Golden Age of Detectives. The note also gave more information about the other delights contained with the box which made my bookish heart skip a beat (what many of you may not realise is that I’m also a stationery nerd so it felt like this box was made for me!).

Inside the box I found some beautiful notelets and a couple of pads of writing paper along with envelopes all designed by artist, Laura Crow (@itslauracrow). All of these items are high quality and absolutely gorgeous. Louise asks in her note ‘who will you be writing to?’. The answer is no one, Louise. I’m keeping these babies to myself, so I can gaze lovingly at them over the years and maybe occasionally stroke them (stationery nerd, told you!).

Also included in the box was a fantastic fountain pen which I will treasure. To make it even more special, it has the words ‘amateur sleuth’ printed on its barrel! Again, it’s like it was made for me 😂. I haven’t owned a fountain pen since school! My kids were completely entranced by it, having never seen one before.

But let’s get down to the nitty gritty. The extras in the box are very special and really add to the experience. But this is a book box so let’s talk books.

When I opened the box I was greeted by what was obviously a hardback novel, wrapped in high quality, thick, red paper and tied beautifully with string.

Unfortunately this is best photo I have of the book as it arrived 😦

The time and the care that has gone into making the unboxing experience something memorable is just wonderful. Inside I found a signed first edition of EIGHT DETECTIVES by Alex Pavesi (published by Michael Joseph) which I have been desperate to read.

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi:
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules.

Grant McAllister, an author of crime fiction and professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked them all out.

But that was thirty years ago. Now he’s living a life of seclusion on a quiet Mediterranean island – until Julia Hart, a sharp, ambitious editor, knocks on his door. His early work is being republished and together the two of them must revisit those old stories.

An author, hiding from his past, and an editor, probing inside it.

But as she reads the stories, Julia is unsettled to realise that there are parts that don’t make sense. Intricate clues that seem to reference a real murder.

One that’s remained unsolved for thirty years . . .

If Julia wants answers, she must triumph in a battle of wits with a dangerously clever adversary.

But she must tread carefully: she knows there’s a mystery, but she doesn’t yet realise there’s already been a murder . . .

I absolutely adore this book box. As a crime fiction reader it was a very special experience from start to finish. I can’t wait to make a start on Eight Detectives so look out for a review coming to the blog soon.

Based on everything received in the August box I would heartily recommend My Chronicle Book Box. Louise is very kindly offering 10% off your first subscription box. All you have to do is enter the code PEBBLES10 at checkout and a gorgeous box of goodies will be winging it’s way to you. Don’t forget to have a good look around the My Chronicle Book Box website as there are a number of options including monthly and quarterly boxes, as well as Fantasy/Sci-Fi boxes available. Plus you can see what has been included in past boxes to get a feel of what’s to come.

My enormous thanks to Louise for sending me the August Crime/Mystery box for review. I am completely and utterly in love with what you do 😍

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