The Murky World of Timothy Wall by Ian McFadyen (#BlogTour + #giveaway)

 

"I don't like the sound of him or his murky little world one bit".

The Murky World of Timothy Wall by Ian McFadyen is a gripping crime thriller which combines page-turning edginess with an in-depth portrait of a police team, with its own tensions and rivalries.

This is the 9th book in The DI Carmichael series. I have reviewed the previous book in the series, Blood on His Hands, last year, and was excited to get re-acquianted with the grouchy Inspector, who is known for his abrupt manner of phone conversations and his no-nonsense attitude.

Timothy Wall, a Private Detective, waves his secretary Faye good bye, and asks her to leave the front door open as he is expecting a new client coming later. Faye is surprised, as there is no appointment booked for the evening. She hurries out of the office to meet her boyfriend, not knowing that this is the last time she'd see her boss alive.

When his body is discovered a few days later, Inspector Carmichael is on the case. Carmichael and his team of detectives begin to unravel a web of shocking revelations and baffling contradictions related to the personality and life of Timothy Wall. 

His secretary believes him to have been "a really nice guy. Very friendly, very sociable and a really good boss". Wall helped some of his customers for free, and was actively involved with the Rotary Club, which supports good causes.

But as it happens, this really nice guy has kept a record book of all his partners from the last thirty-odd years, with scores against them on looks, personality and sex. Not so nice then. The more the team dig into the victim's past, the more unsavoury and creepy his behaviour could be described. Yet Timothy Wall also did a lot of good deeds, and despite changing his girlfriends regularly, most of them still hold fond memories of him.

With a whole record book to choose a possible candidate set on revenge from, is Wall's death linked to one of his numerous previous relationships? Or is his death linked to an existing or historical case?

"Carmichael still couldn't work out what sort of man he was. He was clearly a man who could charm people; his engaging, sociable, and friendly manner often enduring after relationships had waned. And he was more than capable of demonstrating kindness... But, in addition to the red book, there was also evidence of a less attractive, almost sinister side to Timothy Wall. The solitary gambler, the philanderer and maybe a secret heavy drinker, too".

The dynamics of the team of detectives is under strain, as DC Lucy Martin is back, and she is intent on showing her mettle. Lucy and Carmichael have a history. On one of the trips abroad they had a brief fling. Their ways have parted, but now that they have to work together, it's not easy for either of them. Lucy is prickly and petulant, and doesn't want to do the tasks which she believes are beneath her status.

She is also at loggerheads with DC Rachel Dalton, the new team member. "It seemed so different there now, with the steady, dependable Cooper not around and with Rachel, the young pretender, hanging on Carmichael's every word, the whole atmosphere in the team had changed from what she'd remembered..."

Rachel thinks highly of her boss, "She loved it when she worked closely with Carmichael, as although he could be demanding at times, occasionally moody and often extremely hard to please, he was the best inspector by far at Kirkwood, and as good a mentor as she could hope to have".

As Carmichael and his team search for answers, it becomes clear that the world of Timothy Wall is murky indeed.

The Murky World of Timothy Wall is a well-plotted police procedural, with engaging characters, a narrative energy and a wry sense of humour.

This is the series that is worth following.

This post if part of the blog tour. Many thanks to Ian McFadyen, The Book Guild Ltd and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

 

Purchase Links

Book Guild – https://www.bookguild.co.uk/bookshop/book/302/The%20Murky%20Wall%20of%20Timothy%20Wall/

Bookshop.org – https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-murky-world-of-timothy-wall/9781913913441

Waterstones – https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-murky-world-of-timothy-wall/ian-mcfadyen/9781913913441

Foyles – https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/the-murky-world-of-timothy-wall,ian-mcfadyen-9781913913441

WHSmith – https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/the-murky-world-of-timothy-wall/ian-mcfadyen/paperback/9781913913441.html

Amazon – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murky-World-Timothy-Wall/dp/1913913449/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Murky+World+of+Timothy+Wall&qid=1632920646&sr=8-1

Book Depository – https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Murky-World-of-Timothy-Wall-Ian-McFadyen/9781913913441

Author Bio – 

Ian McFadyen grew up in Lancashire, the setting for the Carmichael series of detective novels. 

Having studied marketing at Huddersfield University he had a 30-year career in sales and marketing with leading global companies in the electronics industry before switching full-time to writing. 

He has published eight books in the Carmichael series so far, several of which are available in large print, two have been translated and published in Italian and two in Czech. He lives in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts.

  

 

Social Media Links – 

FB : Facebook.com/ianmcfadyenauthor

Twitter : @ianMcFadyen1

If you like the sound of this book, now you have a chance to win one of 5 paperback copies of The Murky World of Timothy Wall.

Giveaway to Win 5 x Paperback copies of The Murky World of Timothy Wall (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –

UK entries welcome.  

Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  

The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. 

If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. 

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. 

This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Please note that this giveaway is being promoted across several blogs as part of the blog tour for the book.

Chez Maximka doesn't have access to any collected data, is not involved in the selection of the winner or dispatch of the prize. I am only hosting the Rafflecopter gadget for free as part of the book promotion.

Good luck!

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Photo diary: weeks 46 and 47, project 365

 "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey" - it's just about right, when you look out at the garden. Most of the leaves are on the ground, dried and shrivelled. There is some greenery though, from the evergreens, like the huge cypress, or blasted climbing shrubs, taking over the stone walls. 

We have a big garden, which borders five different gardens, and only one set of neighbours is keeping their wall clear. 

I tried to chop up some of the overgrown shrubs on the stone wall next to the house, which are hanging from the neighbours' side. One big wheelie bin is packed full, and there is still a lot to chop off. I have collected some of the leaves in the bin bags, and they are waiting for their turn to be emptied.

And while I was working in the garden, I kept singing to myself, All the leaves are brown. Which reminds me, that a while ago, when I was singing California Dreamin' to myself, Eddie asked me, Who is Lisa Brown. So from then on, this song is Lisa Brown for me.

I haven't been taking photos for Project 365 every day, as I'm utterly lacking in motivation. Most of the week I am staying at home now that my big boy is going to college only twice a week. When my husband is around, he takes Sash out. Otherwise, we are doing activities at home, and have some fresh air in the garden.

Some of the days I would have several pictures on the go, some - nothing at all.

We had some beautiful sunsets in November, the colours always make me think that Nature is the biggest artist of them all.

And while we had a relatively mild weather, my brother sent me several photos of their wintery landscapes, including this lion who looks frozen amidst all that snow.

I did a few more pen and ink challenge prompts on Insta, including this little drawing of Sasha. The theme was Picnic. I used an old photo of Sasha from when he was around three years old. He loved boxes, and whenever there was a box big enough for him to climb in, he would do it. In the actual photo he's sitting in a toy chest, but I put him in the picnic basket from F&M.

On Tuesday we watched the semi-finals on GBBO, and were left aghast that Jurgen was voted off, as he did so well in the technical challenge, while Chigs made a total mess with his bake. I have a feeling Paul and Prue didn't like the German baker very much, especially Paul. He gave three contestants his shitty handshake, and left Jurgen out. I could never understand this handshake business, to me it feels super patronising, like a king dispensing a largesse, and the peasants tugging their forelocks in excessive deference. I would be mortified if Paul tried to give me a handshake (you can say, I'm not a fan).

More ink and pen/brush sketches from that week... for no particular reason, just trying a new paper pad, which is supposed to be good for inks.

Another cheeseboard picture... with British and Irish cheeses, like Cashel Blue, Cornish Yarg and Ash Goat's cheese. 

We popped into the lighting shop to get a bedside lamp for Eddie's bedroom. It happened that the choice was made for us, as they only had a sloth lamp left (which was my favourite all along). I took it out of the box to check if it works, and in it went back in the box until Christmas.

My husband looked at it, and commented that it was horrid. Well, Eddie and I like it. Are you camp Husband or Camp Eddie and I? I do know it is pretty kitsch, but also unusual and cute.

So far all the Christmas gifts I bought for Eddie, were bought in his presence. I need to get him some surprise gift too. 

A quick visit to Costa on Sunday: I tried a new After Eight muffin. Don't know why I thought it was a good idea, I don't even like the After Eight chocolates. The chocolate muffin would have been lovely, if not for the mint toothpaste inside.

On Monday my friend Jen took me to the Burford Garden Centre. It was packed full. Too crowded for my liking. I did buy a few sweet treats for Christmas, including some of our favourite Italian chocolate.

Talking of chocolate, don't miss my annual 12 days of Chocolate giveaway, starting on 1 December. Some lucky person will get over 1kg 200g of chocolate with other lovely festive treats. I always enjoy choosing different chocolate bars for each day of the giveaway.

I find Instagram an exciting source of discoveries. A post from BeeHype Honey has appeared on my Insta feed, and being a big honey lover, I checked out their site. 

I ordered a Salted honey (utterly delish!) and a lovely Ultimate Honey lover box, which includes Special Acacia single source raw honey, Dreamy Creamy spreadable raw wildflower honey, Lavish Lavender pure raw honey, It's Nuts mixed nuts in honey, Jammin' Strawberries in acacia honey, a cute mug, a candle, lip balm and beeswax food wraps. The box costs £49.95.

So, if you're looking for more unusual Christmas gifts for a foodie in your life, this artisan raw honey would be perfect. Don't forget to subscribe to their newsletter for their 10% off first order. The postage is free for orders over £30. 

It was the GBBO final the day before. The best baker won, I'm delighted that Giuseppe was crowned the winner, though I wish they kept Jurgen 'til the final, as that would have been an even more competitive event.

Were you pleased with the result (or disappointed)?

When they had to bake the Belgian buns without any instructions, I couldn't even remember what they were supposed to look like. I never buy them, and certainly never baked them in my life. The next day I bought two Belgian buns out of curiosity. They were OKish, but not something I would rush to buy again.

Our little Windrush river is very polluted, as Thames Water keeps dumping untreated sewage in the river. It is slowly dying, and you see less and less wildlife, as their habitat is being poisoned. The locals protest, write petitions, appeal to the local authorities, but nothing is being done. 

If anything, our local Conservative MP (I didn't vote for him) voted down an amendment to the Environment Bill which sought to stop Thames Water and other greedy companies who only care about profit from dumping sewage in the local rivers.

I love this old gate in Puck Lane. It feels like the path might take you to some fairytale destination.

Heritage was one of the prompts for the pen and ink challenge on Insta. As we live in a town with the origins in the Anglo-Saxon times, I decided to do a drawing of King Edgar the Peaceful, trying to imitate the illuminated letter, as in the medieval manuscripts. I used several Diamine inks, with a fountain pen and brush, as well as some markers.

On Saturday we finally had a chance to watch Shang Chi. I would watch anything from MCU, but it's not my favourite MCU film. Surprised to see how much praise it received on Twitter, with some people claiming it to be the best MCU film ever. What? Not the Avengers Assemble, or Endgame, or Thor Ragnarok, or any Spidey movie?! 

It's not that I don't enjoy martial arts films, if anything, I love The house of flying daggers which has an astonishing choreography and stunning scenery, and very beautiful actors. But Shang Chi left me unimpressed. Have you seen it? What did you think?

We woke up to see the first snow of the season, it was dancing in the air in big fluffy clusters, but melted on the ground. 

Eddie and I are still reading The Enemy by Charlie Higson, which was recommended to us at the local book shop. It's the first book in the zombie horror series for pre-teens and teens. Very gory, savage and brutal, but also well-written. I can see why it reached the cult status. I'm not even a fan of zombie books or films, but I am hooked.

At bedtime I am reading See Them Run by Marion Todd, the first book in Detective Clare Mackay series. I bought the kindle book quite a while ago. It's a clever police procedural, with an intriguing plot and a gutsy main protagonist.

Hope you are all keeping well.

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The Custard Corpses by M.J. Porter (BlogTour + Giveaway)

 

"Could this be it? After all this time, could there be possibility of solving the crime that had driven his old Chief Inspector into an early grave? He certainly hoped there was".

The Custard Corpses by M.J. Porter is a remarkably suspenceful historical mystery/crime/police procedural book, set in Birmingham in the 1940s. 

In Prologue we get a feelting glimpse of the macabre topic. An unknown artist is approached with a strange request to paint a morbid work of art, which should be conducted in full secrecy. He is promised to be paid handsomely, but cannot ever disclose what's he painted to anyone. "He should have been going to the police reporting what he'd been asked to do, but the thought of such a considerable amount of money was too great a temptation." The artist believes this sickening project will give him "freedom from drudgery of day to day work, that's all he ever wanted..."

Erdington, October 1943.

Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is unsettled, when he opens his newspaper one morning. He looks at the old black and white photograph of a seven-year-old boy Robert McFarlane who was found dead in the local churchyard twenty years ago. His cause of death was drowning, and he was missing for three days. No one has been arrested for the crime. There's been no closure for the family.

Robert's sister Rebecca posts a reminder in the local newspaper every year, to mark an anniversary of his death.

The previous Chief Inspector, Mason's boss and tutor, was broken by the failure to solve the death of the boy. CI Fullerton "desired to solve the case, to bring the perpetrator to justice. It was a source of unending disquiet that it had never been possible. 

It had marked him from that day he'd found Robert's body to the day of his death".

This unsolved case has haunted Sam Mason ever since. On the day of the sad anniversary, Robert's sister visits Mason and shows a newspaper which she picked up on her trip to Weston, which features another historical cold case. It appears another family is grieving a death of a young boy, found dead in similar circumstances.

The parallels are too worrying to be dismissed. Mason is surprised. Their police station has sent out notices about Robert's death all those years ago, but nothing was ever reported back. The lead is promising, and Mason intends to follow up the Weston case. He travels to the seaside town, and discovers even more similarities.

Mason and his constable O'Rourke collect the information, sending more appeals to the police around the country. More similar cases come to their notice. All victims were drowned, but found on dry land, fully clothed, and in strange poses. The crimes have been spread around the country. 

The Scottish constable gets involved in the investigation, helping with assembling the evidence and creating useful drawings, which will later lead to a very important clue, connecting the crimes. The killing spree went on for many years,

"Sam searched for some sort of pattern, but there was nothing. It all seemed random, just like the dates of the murders".

The investigation takes Mason on a journey to London, with glimpses of the war all around. His own son is fighting on the front. Mason ponders that the victims, if they lived, would have been grown-ups who would most likely fight for their country as well. 

In the age, when information was not available at the click of the keyboard, the investigation team has to rely on gathering information first-hand from the possible witnesses, in the libraries, archives and even art auction.

Both Mason and O'Rourke are filled with fierce resolve. "But, he knew only too well that tenacity didn't solve a crime or a series of crimes. No, he needed to be intelligent in his approach, consider all possibilities". Mason's sidekick, O'Rourke is a smart police officer, compassionate and resourceful.

Will Mason and O'Rourke be able to solve the cold cases and find the killer? 

The investigation is rather clever and creative, with pieces of the jigsaw puzzle being slotted together one by one. The historical background is authentic and well-researched.

I would have liked to have a deeper insight in the perpetrator's mind. Why were they murdering children in the first place, what was their motivation?

The Custard Corpses is written in the style of classic golden age crime fiction. It is dark, bleak, with a sense of rising unease and despair. A gripping twisty mystery, chillingly executed, and evocative of the turbulent days of the WW2. Deftly plotted, well-researched and accomplished murder mystery.

 Purchase Link - mybook.to/TheCustardCorpses

This post if part of the blog tour for The Custard Corpses. 

Many thanks to M.J. Porter and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

Author Bio – I'm an author of historical fiction (Early English, Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest) and fantasy (Viking age/dragon-themed). I’ve recently written a relatively modern mystery novel set in 1943. I was born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since 1066. Raised in the shadow of a strange little building, told from a very young age that it housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia and that our garden was littered with old pieces of pottery from a long-ago battle, it's little wonder that my curiosity in Early England ran riot. I can only blame my parents!

I write A LOT. You've been warned!

Find me at www.mjporterauthor.com and @coloursofunison on twitter.

Social Media Links – https://twitter.com/coloursofunison

https://www.instagram.com/m_j_porter/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7163404.M_J_Porter

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/coloursofunison/_saved/

 

Giveaway to Win 2 x copies of The Custard Corpses (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –

Worldwide entries welcome.  

Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  

The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. 

If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. 

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. 

This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Please note that this giveaway is being run on several blogs, as part of the blog tour.

Chez Maximka blog is only hosting the Rafflecopter gadget for free, and has no access to the data, or selection of the winner. 

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Photo diary: week 45, project 365

 A week of creative projects and even some ghostly shenanigans... 

Last Sunday Eddie and I visited Costa, in between chores. He fancied trying Ruby hot chocolate. It was very pink, with lots of cream, and curly swirly bits of ruby chocolate on top. Even my child who has a sweet tooth pronounced it very sweet but fun. 

I've been admiring neatly arranged stacks of books for #numberstackchallenge on Insta for a while. I finally grabbed as many books with numbers in their titles as I could find at home, and built my own tower. Of course, as soon as I took the picture and disassembled the stack, I realised we have more titles that could have been added. Never mind.

The town is slowly acquiring its Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree is already set up next to the cinema.

I mentioned Abel & Cole Cheese Club already in the past couple of months. This time all cheeses are made in Wales. We had some fruit with the cheeseboard, and a delicious The Cherry Tree Cheeseboard chutney, which is made with mixed fruit like mango, banana, fig, and veg like tomato, onion, garlic and spices. Give me cheese, and I'm on cloud nine.

For my husband's birthday I bought an ice cream cake from M&S. It's basically a vanilla ice cream, topped with mango passionfruit sauce and white chocolate. I wasn't impressed, but all my men enjoyed it. 

This week I have been sketching quite a bit, as I decided to join in #penandinkchallenge. They have a list of daily prompts, and you can pick and choose which days you want to join in. 

The prompt for Friday was decorations, which I interpereted as Christmas decorations, and drew Nordic gnomes. I used a black Parker Jotter pen, and a red marker.

That evening Eddie and I went into the garden to put the remains of the ice cream cake in the freezer which is in the summerhouse. While I was fiddling with the key, he took a few snaps of the garden with his phone. 

We returned back in the house, and Eddie started to enlarge bits and pieces of the photos, telling me how strange it all looks in the dark. Suddenly we saw a creepy face. Goodness, that was a "lovely" surprise. 

It is obviously a play of dark and light, but it does look like some spectre.

Can you see the face?

Talking of supernatural unexplained shenanigans, we live in a very old tow house. When we moved in here over twelve years ago, the first night was a bit of an adventure. We didn't unpack all the boxes and only set up one double bed for three of us. Sasha was already asleep, my husband and I still talked quietly, discussing what needs to be done the next day. The lights were off. Suddenly we heard the sound of someone running up stairs, through the door and the bedroom where we were in bed, and up the stairs going to the attic. These were heavy steps, as if someone was wearing boots. My husband and I looked at each other and said, What was that?! 

We don't hear the neighbours at all, at that point we had two elderly ladies on both sides anyway. Until this day I cannot explain what the heck it was. I remember the next day I walked around each room and said that we are the new owners of the house, we are going to live here, and be nice to us.

Then there was the door into the closet, under the stairs on the ground floor which I closed every evening, and every single morning it would be ajar. A few years later, after we put a toilet into that space, the door stopped opening. We joked that whatever was living under the stairs, didn't fancy staying in the loo.

Our weekend has been rather uneventful. My husband is in Italy for several days, so we stay put. We've been reading, drawing, watching old series of Come Dine with Me on Netflix and gaming (Eddie, not me).

Another prompt from the drawing challenge - Something good.

I thought I could draw Eddie with a hot chocolate (see the photo above).

How did your week go?

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Degustabox Cold Box (Limited edition)

 Oh, the excitement of getting a big box from Degustabox! 

The new Degustabox Cold Box has arrived. It's a selection of products which are found in the refrigerated section of supermarkets. As you might know if you follow my blog, I review Degustabox monthly boxes regularly, but this is the first time I receieved a Cold Box, and I was very eager to discover its contents. Just like a child at Christmas!

Degustabox is a monthly food and drink subscription box. It's an excellent way of discovering new products which have only just appeared in the shops, or those which have been around for a while, but you haven't had a chance to try them yet.

Thanks to Degustabox, I have found new favourites to add to our shopping list, including some products which I otherwise wouldn't have tried.

Each time a monthly box arrives, its contents are a total surprise. You get a good selection of foods and drinks.

If you haven't tried Degustabox subscription box yet, and would like to have a go, I have a £3off discount from your first box (and you can unsubscribe any time), just use code DKRLN when placing an order.

What did we receive in Degustabox Cold Box?

Glorious Super Indian Sweet Potato & Coconut Daal Soup is a delicious Indian-inspired sweet potato soup, combining creamy coconut, yellow split peas, mung beans, mango chutney and traditional spice - lovage, turmeric, pepper, garlic, mace, nutmeg, curry powder, ginger, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon. 

It is warming, sweet and spicy, and really lovely.

It is high in fibre, vegan. gluten free, source of protein, 2 of your 5 a day.

I'm afraid I have de-veganised (is that a word?!) it, by adding a swirl of soured cream, but that's how I like my soups, with soured cream, single cream or Greek yogurt.

La Famiglia Rana Classic Italian Recipe Kit - Tagliatelle Carbonara (serves 1) including fresh eggs pasta ribbons, a pouch of fresh Carbonara sauce (with oven-roasted pancetta), plus garnishes and toppings like grated Parmesan, a small sachet of black pepper and parsley. The pasta is made with free-range eggs.

You are supposed to cook the meal in a provided carton box in the microwave, but as I don't have a microwave, I cooked it on the hob, first cooking the pasta for a couple of minutes in boiling hot salted water, then adding the cream and all toppings. There is a bit too much sauce for one portion. Maybe it would have thickened more in the microwave, but cooked on the hob, it was quite liquid.

It is a tasty, quick and easy meal, on the calorific side - 967kcal per serving.

The Vegatarian Butcher What the Cluck is a vegan meat substitute of soy-based chicken style chunks, high in protein and a good source of fibre. 

Nutritional information: 101kcal and 1.4g of salt per 80g portion.

When uncooked, it looks a bit like ham chunks which have gone off.

I cooked it with carrots, sweet peppers, plums and a pouch of Yo! Honey, soy and miso sauce. 

The taste is not bad at all, though the texture is different from chicken. Take their endorsement on the carton sleeve with a pinch of salt, "Some say that these chunks taste more like chicken than chicken itself". It's a decent source of protein, but don't expect it to taste like chicken.

I'd be curious to try other offerings from the brand, as I know it has acquired quite an iconic status now. The plant-based gastronomy is the next big thing indeed.

Benecol Original Soft Cheese is a tasty lactose free spread, proven to lower cholesterol. It contains plant stanols.

Ingredients: lactose free quark (milk), plant stanol ester, lactose free milk powder etc. A daily intake of plant stanols lowers cholesterol by 7-10% in 2-3 weeks.

I enjoy cream cheese on toast or bagels for breakfast, and Benecol is a tasty alternative to my usual cream cheese. Combined with a smoked salmon on sourdough, it makes a delicious lunch.

We love Müller Light range of yogurts, they are delicous and come in so many flavours to please everyone.

Müller Light Crunch Strawberry Cheesecake Inspired might be my new favourite yogurt. It is low fat (under 99kcal per pot) and is a source of protein.

This strawberry flavoured yogurt with a biscuit crumble will make a lovely breakfast.

Over the Spoon Zingy Lemon Cheesecake is a dairy free, plant-based and gluten free dessert. For me, it hits all the right notes - I love lemon-based desserts, and this one is light and sharp. You'd never guess it's gluten-free and vegan.

As you can see, there is a biscuit base (made with oat flour), layered with a zingy lemon curd and topped with thick creamy Sicilian emon mousse. It is also soya free.

Nutritional values: 231kcal and 22.3g of sugar per serving.

Holy Moly Guacamole Original is one of the best guacamoles that you can find on the supermarket shelves. It's a perfect dip for a movie night with a big bag of Doritos. It tastes like homemade and is 100% natural. 

Ingredients include avocado (87%), tomato, red onion, jalapeno chilli, lime juice, coriander, garlic puree and salt.

Nutritional values: 132kcal and 0.9g of sugar per 100g.

I enjoy it on a slice of bread, topped with Santa Maria jalapeños and pineapple pieces. Utterly divine.

Shaken Udder Salted Caramel is a flavour which I don't tend to buy (my guys love Strawberries & Cream and Vanilla flavours), so it was interesting to try something new. 

This tasty dairy milshake is made with Maldon sea salt, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

There is 51% RI calcium per 330ml serving.

Nutritional values: 61kcal and 6.2g of sugar per 100ml.

I was impressed with Mockingbird Raw Boost Virgin Smoothie. It is made with strawberry, blackcurrant, acai berry, beetroot, spinach, kale, vitamins B6 and C. There is up to 1/2kg of fresh fruit and veg to craft every bottle, hurrah for that. 

It contains spinach and kale, both of which I struggle with generally, but the smoothie version makes it so much easier to consume your five a day. It's cold-pressed raw for the perfect taste.

Nutritional values: 117kca; and 20g of sugar (from the fruit and veg, there is no added sugar) per 250ml.

And finally, Plain Koko yogurt. This is dairy, gluten and soya free yogurt, with added calcium and vitamins D2 abd B12. It contains no artificial flavours, colours of preservatives. 

Nutritional values: 79kcal and 4.3g of sugar per 100g.

It tastes lovely, smooth and creamy, not sweet, with a little hint of saltiness. Perfect as a topping for cereals, fruit, or as an ingredient in dips, smoothies and cooking.

I used about half of the tub for baking a yogurt cake, and it was delicious, moist and light.

All the products were fresh and in perfect condition, and arrived still cold, with the cooler cushions around. 

This was the first time we tried Degustabox Cold Box, and all I can say is it's definitely a bestseller.

Disclosure: We receive monthly Degustabox food box for reviewing. All opinions are our own.