Day: July 15, 2020

Posted in Book Review, Crime, New Books, Noir, Psychological Thriller, Suspense

The Heatwave Katerina Diamond 4*#Review @AvonBooksUK @TheVenomousPen #PsychologicalThriller #suspense #noir #CrimeFiction #SurviveTheHeatwave #BookReview #TheHeatwave

Posted on by jolliffe01

One summer. One stranger. One killer…

‘It can’t happen here…’

But what if it does – twice?

In their sleepy seaside town, Jasmine and Felicity have only ever felt safe.

Until Jasmine’s parents invite a stranger to stay, and they sense something about him isn’t right.

Tim is watching them both.

And then their community is rocked by a disappearance…

Years later, a second girl goes missing in her hometown, and Felicity is forced to return to face the truth.

A predator is stalking the streets. And only she holds the answers.

The unmissable new standalone thriller from the bestselling author of The Teacher and Woman in the Water

Amazon UK

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts…

Intense and immersive, this psychological thriller is suspenseful and twisted. Told from dual points of view Felicity in the present and Jasmine in the past it reveals a shocking story of betrayal and horrific crime.

Felicity has anxiety and keeps secrets about her past from her husband and children. An incident in her hometown draws her into the past. Felicity is an unreliable protagonist. Jasmine is a young girl confused by her feelings. The dual stories twist as they gravitate together.

The pacing increases with the impact of the reveals. The similarities between the past and present increase the suspense and make the story claustrophobic in its intensity.

The final twists in the past and present unify the viewpoints in a climactic way.

Psychological suspense tinged with noir.

Posted in Book Review, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Historical Crime Fiction, Murder Mystery

Death at the Dance Verity Bright 4* #Review A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Book @BrightVerity @bookouture #Historical #1920s #cozymystery #MurderMystery #ALadyEleanorSwiftMystery #BookReview

Posted on by jolliffe01

A masked ball, a dead body, a missing diamond necklace and a suspicious silver candlestick? Sounds like a case for Lady Eleanor Swift!

England, 1920. Lady Eleanor Swift, adventurer extraordinaire and reluctant amateur detective, is taking a break from sleuthing. She’s got much bigger problems: Eleanor has two left feet, nothing to wear and she’s expected at the masked ball at the local manor. Her new beau Lance Langham is the host, so she needs to dazzle.

Surrounded by partygoers with painted faces, pirates, priests and enough feathers to drown an ostrich, Eleanor searches for a familiar face. As she follows a familiar pair of long legs up a grand staircase, she’s sure she’s on Lance’s trail. But she opens the door on a dreadful scene: Lance standing over a dead Colonel Puddifoot, brandishing a silver candlestick, the family safe wide open and empty.

Moments later, the police burst in and arrest Lance for murder, diamond theft and a spate of similar burglaries. But Eleanor is convinced her love didn’t do it, and with him locked up in prison, she knows she needs to clear his name.

Something Lance lets slip about his pals convinces Eleanor the answer lies close to home. Accompanied by her faithful sidekick Gladstone the bulldog, she begins with Lance’s friends – a set of fast driving, even faster drinking, high-society types with a taste for mischief. But after they start getting picked off in circumstances that look a lot like murder, Eleanor is in a race against time to clear Lance’s name and avoid another brush with death…

A tremendously fun cozy whodunnit, full of mystery, murder and intrigue!

Amazon UK

I received a copy of this book from bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts…

This cosy mystery is full of vivid imagery it’s characters, conversation and setting all draw the reader into the 1920s, from the first page. Historically authentic characters and an engaging mystery plot make this an enjoyable read.

Events and people, in the wrong place, may seem insignificant, but they might not be. So if you are trying to solve the murder mystery be observant. The story is well-paced and not hampered by the impressive amount of character and historical detail.

This story is the second in the series but reads well as a standalone. Eleanor is a likeable amateur sleuth, and there is a diverse cast of characters that make reading the first book in the series a good idea too.

Despite the murders, this story captures the frivolity of the 1920s. It largely ignores the aftermath of the great war in keeping with the attitude of the bright young things that epitomised the period.

This mystery interlude is irreverent and irresistible a fun way to escape for a few hours.

Posted in Book Review, Crime, Family Drama, Noir, Suspense

Somebody’s Daughter Carol Wyer 5*#Review #DetectiveNatalieWard @carolewyer @bookouture #CrimeFiction #Detective #SomebodysDaugther #BookReview

Posted on by jolliffe01

One by one the girls disappeared…

When the frail body of a teenage girl is discovered strangled in a parking lot, shards of ice form in Detective Natalie Ward’s veins. As Natalie looks at the freckles scattered on her cheeks and the pale pink lips tinged with blue, she remembers that this innocent girl is somebody’s daughter…

The girl is identified as missing teenager Amelia Saunders, who has run away from home and her controlling father. Natalie’s heart sinks further when it becomes clear that Amelia has been working on the streets, manipulated by her violent new boyfriend Tommy.

A day later, another vulnerable girl is found strangled on a park bench. Like Amelia, Katie Bray was a runaway with connections to Tommy, and Natalie is determined to find him and track down the monster attacking these scared and lonely girls.

But when a wealthy young woman is found murdered the next morning, the word ‘guilty’ scrawled on her forehead, Natalie realises that the case is more complex than she first thought. Determined to establish a connection between her three victims, Natalie wastes no time in chasing down the evidence, tracing everyone who crossed their paths. Then, a key suspect’s body turns up in the canal, a mole in Natalie’s department leaks vital information and everything seems to be against her. Can Natalie stop this clever and manipulative killer before they strike again?

An unputdownable crime thriller from an Amazon bestselling author that will have you sleeping with the light on.

Amazon UK

I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts…

Natalie’s life is more settled, living with Mike, and in a new role. Still not sure if she can take a step away from the investigative arena, she finds herself at the sharp end again, overseeing her colleagues investigation. The murder of young, vulnerable women resonates with Natalie. She’s committed and determined to find the killer, but things are not as they first seem and someone is out to make trouble for the new team.

The balance of character development, team dynamic and police procedural is, as always perfect. The personal focus is more on DI Lucy Carmichael as she gets to grips with her new job. The investigation is meticulous, and the noir crime element ensures the edge of the seat suspense.

The Detective Natalie Ward series is addictive crime detection with a human touch.

Posted in Blog Tour, Book Review, Espionage - Spy - Thriller, International Thriller, Political Thriller

The Englishman David Gilman 5*#Review @davidgilmanuk @HoZ_Books #Raglan #TheEnglishman @midaspr @amberchoudhary @SophMidas #BookReview #BlogTour #Thriller #Spy #Political #Military

Posted on by jolliffe01

A clandestine war on the desert border of Mali and Algeria; murder and kidnap on the suburban streets of West London; a Moscow CID police inspector investigating the assassination of four of her fellow officers by the Russian mafia; a young MI6 officer facing the possibility that a long-running operation has been fatally compromised: connecting them all is the Englishman – Dan Raglan, outsider, exile, one-time member of the French Foreign Legion, fully trained killer. Raglan’s quest for answers will become a quest for vengeance. It will lead him to the winter-ravaged wasteland of the Sverdlovskaya Oblast and Penal Code #74, a place that holds Russia’s most brutal murderers. A place of death and retribution.

Amazon UK

I received a copy of this book from Head of Zeus in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts…

The Englishman is a nail-biting fusion of action and intrigue. Raglan, the protagonist, has lived so many lives and seen too much. Orphan, French legionnaire and master of the deniable operation Raglan is dragged out of retirement by a series of violent attacks and a persuasive messenger.

This international thriller spans the globe and has an engaging sense of place which draws the reader into the story with its sensual imagery. Intricate plotting reveals some of Raglan’s past and secrets. The action is uncompromising with collateral damage that is both realistic and unsettling.

The climactic mission into the depths of Russia is authentic and gritty. Here again, the use of sensual imagery is notable and makes the action and the setting easy to imagine, even if you’d rather not.

If you like your escapism raw and relentless, this is the perfect book for you.

David Gilman

David Gilman is an award-winning author and screenwriter. David enjoyed many careers – including firefighter, paratrooper and photographer – before turning to writing full time in 1986.  He has written many radio and television scripts including several years of A Touch of Frost. In 2007 his Danger Zone trilogy for YA was sold in 15 countries