It’s a volatile mix and it’s going to end in murder. The question is – who? And then we must find out why?
This story follows the lives of a small group of Bristol residents. Joey (woman) has just come back from working in Ibiza and she's brought her new husband, Alfie, with her. They’ve no money and they’re looking for work. They stay at Joey’s brother’s house. Joey’ brother, Jack, is a successful heart surgeon and it seems he has everything – a sunny personality, money, a wife he adores and a baby on the way. Their next-door neighbours are head teacher Tom Fitzwilliam and his wife Nicola. Tom’s son, Freddie, has a habit of watching people through his digital binoculars and taking photographs of them. He likes to log the details of people’s lives - the times they leave, the route they take to work. He’s particularly interested in three girls from the local school. The story starts with a murder and, in the background of the story, we follow the police interviews of each of the suspects. Tom Fitzwilliam is the top suspect (but is he also the victim? We must wait until the end to find out). He’s suspected of having affairs with previous students of his schools. Joey is having second thoughts about her whirlwind marriage and falls headlong in lust with dashing headteacher Tom. She keeps encountering him, at first by chance and then deliberately, and it seems he feels the same way about her… It’s all a volatile mix and it’s going to end in murder. The question is – who? And then we must find out why? There's a knotted history between some of the characters that gradually unfolds as the story builds in tension. My favourite character was Jenna. Jenna is fifteen years old and living with her mother who has mental health issues. Jenna has her head screwed on and will prove key to the solving the whole tangled mess. All the characters were very well written – they had depth and interest and real life dilemmas and troubles which made them feel ‘real’. The plot pulled me in from the beginning and kept my interest to the end. This one is the real deal – a great page turner, with some creepy aspects and utterly absorbing at the same time. A very enjoyable read and highly recommended. Stop - Press I have a Free Giveaway running until 1st July - Prize is 25pound Amazon Gift Card OR your name as a character in my next crime thriller! Check it out on my blog or my Facebook Author Page
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Dead Cold by Louise Penny Definitely a top read. This is a really enjoyable, cozy mystery, starring the wonderful Inspector Armand Gamache.
In this second book in the series, Gamache and his team and called back to the small village of Three Pines to investigate the murder of CC Poitiers. It’s Christmas time in the quiet Quebec village and everyone is enjoying the festivities and an abundance of food and good will and neighbourly good deeds. The winter landscape plays an important part in the story as they cope with plummeting temperatures and outside conditions which threaten the life of the frail. We meet the eccentric and wonderfully portrayed characters we met in the first book, plus some newcomers including CC Poitiers, her shy husband and her nervous daughter. When CC Poitiers is murdered on the curling rink, one wintry morning, the whole village could have been a witness, yet they all claim to have seen nothing. The real stars of this book are the three Graces – three old women who have been friends forever and around whom this mystery seems to revolve. Everyone loves Gamache and is charmed by his calm temperament and determination to find the truth. However, there is a background mystery rumbling around, to do with an old case (the Arnot case) which keeps surfacing in this book but is never explained. Gamache is implicated and members of Gamache’s team are also implicated in this case, which involved corrupt officers. I expect more will be revealed in later books in this series. The quality of the writing is great, as is the atmosphere and the plot. (The only tiny thing which didn’t suit me were the massive amounts of food and drink which seemed to be in overabundant supply, and the author did rather go on about that aspect and the gourmet food on offer at the local brasserie – still, I know I am being picky when I point this out). To keep up to date with my book reviews remember to follow my Facebook Author Page :) Facebook Author Page Lucas has come to stay at a cottage in Wales where he joins fellow writers for a writing retreat.
Lucas is a horror writer and he’s searching for inspiration for this next best seller. The other guests at the house are a mixed bag with their own worries and emotional baggage. The host of the retreat centre is Julia. Julia lost her eight year old daughter, two years ago. The girl was presumed to have drowned in the local river, along with her father who dived in trying to save her. The body of the father was found but not that of the daughter, and, against all the evidence, Julia has clung to the belief that her daughter, Lily, is still alive. Lucas is attracted to Julia and a romance blossoms. He also becomes obsessed with Lily and he hires a private detective to dig around and find out more. He begins to question the police findings. He becomes suspicious of several members of the close-knit, local community, of which his own mother and father were a part. Lucas has suffered a loss himself, and this gets thrown into the mix. Strange things start to happen at the house – noises in the night, sounds of someone coming and going, ghostly singing. A couple of the other guests start cracking up. Lucas doesn’t believe in ghosts but the horror writer in him is hooked on the incidents and he begins to wonder what is real and what is imaginary. It’s all pretty spooking stuff. I thought the author did the supernatural element extremely well and we see how each guest is weakened by the weird events. (I think that’s all I can say about the story – if you want to find out more you’ll have to read it.) My favourite parts of the book were the first third, when we are getting to know the retreat group and the villagers, and the middle part where the spooky events really ratchet up. In summary – this book is a great mystery, supernatural suspense and the author has a lovely, fluid writing style. A highly enjoyable read. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. This is my honest review. To keep up to date with new book reviews - follow my Facebook Author Page or follow me on Goodreads Another great thriller starring DI Kim Stone and her team.
This story addresses difficult issues- including sex workers, child prostitutes and the exploitation of immigrant workers. Well done to Angela Marsons for pulling it all together into a fast read that had me turning the pages. As usual, Kim is outstanding in her morals and has to (occasionally) go against the rules in the name of justice. The members of her team get a bigger share of the story in this one, with Dawson and Stacey involved in the case of an abandoned baby and migrant workers, whilst Kim and Bryant are investigating the murder of a number of women. There’s also the case of a missing teenager that is thrown in and we follow the teenager’s story which becomes more and more gripping as time goes on. All of the threads come together in surprising ways and Kim has the insight to join up the dots and find out the real killers. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry In this thriller, we know who the killer is right from the beginning. The story is about how he selects and then reels in his next victim. The tension mounts as he gets closer to his goal.
His next victim is going to be Emily. Emily is the daughter of DI Gravel. DI Gravel has been investigating the murder of a string of young women and the detective has no clues to the identity of the killer. The police are sure the same person raped and murdered all of the women, and it seems he dyed their hair and dressed them in old-fashioned clothes, before dumping them in the countryside. DI Gravel is pleased when his daughter, Emily, tells him she has decided to move back to his area. She has been taken on at a respectable, local solicitors - not knowing that the killer is the main partner of the practice. We watch as Grav’s daughter steps closer and closer to tragedy. The solicitor is charming and seductive and she almost falls for his charms, even though her instincts are telling her to keep her distance. They work together, they date, and he manipulates her into situations she can’t avoid. There are some graphic, violent scenes. The author is an expert at crawling inside the mind of the killer and this was the part of the book that I found the strongest (in fact, it made the police procedural aspects fade into the distance.) A fast-paced thriller and a quick, compelling read. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry A death takes place in the small village of Three Pines in the Canadian countryside.
The death could have been a hunting accident but murder is suspected. The man in charge of investigating is Chief Inspector Gamache. Gamache reminded me of Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie), because he is older, a little old-fashioned and a little quirky/eccentric. People admire Gamache and he’s well known for solving difficult cases. Gamache is joined in Three Pines by his loyal assistant, Beauvoir, and a new recruit, Yvette Nichol. Yvette is complicated and headstrong, yet keen to impress the Inspector. She will bring an extra layer of intrigue to the case. Gamache and his team set up their base in Three Pines. We get to know the small, close-knit group of residents. They all knew the victim, Jane Neal. Jane was well-liked and popular and she grew up in Three Pines. Some of the residents are new and some of them were born there. We will get to know each of them and their strengths, kindnesses, lies and secrets, as Gamache and his team unravel what is really going on in the small village. This is a slow-paced, really well written book. There are lots of details and humorous moments. The birds-eye view of Three Pines and the history and secrets that lie behind the lives of a bunch of seemingly ordinary people, are as important, and enjoyable, as the mystery itself. A great discovery and I look forward to reading more in this series. 5 stars. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry Carl Logan is a covert operative working for the Joint Intelligence Agency.
Logan is also a damaged man, described as ‘unhinged and unstable’ by one of his unsympathetic bosses. There’s a reason he’s not the man he once was – Logan has been damaged by a run-in with a terrorist named Selim and it’s left him anxious, traumatised and questioning the meaning behind his work. Most of the story is made up of the chase to find kidnapped American Attorney General Modena. The action takes us from Paris to New York and to rural France. Logan teams up with an FBI Agent, Angela Grainger. He’s got revenge on his mind as it turns out Selim might be involved in Modena’s kidnapping. Grainger also has other motivations for her involvement that will play out later in the book. Full of action and with a rising body count, the plot gallops along. Logan and Grainger make a good team, and a romance begins between them. There are some scenes where Logan’s luck, and over use of muscle and gunmanship, make it a tad hard to swallow, but overall this was an entertaining read. The emotion works well as we realise that the ulterior, dark motives of both Logan and Grainger might be set to derail both their romance and the main operation to save Modena… At the beginning of the book, I didn’t much like Logan but about half way through I was completely on side. I think that’s because he comes across as a moral man with terrible choices to make. For that, he had my sympathies. Overall an easy and entertaining read. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry Cork O’Connor sets off into the Minnesota wilderness in search of a missing woman named Shiloh.
With the approach of winter, the woman has little chance of survival. Cork is joined by two FBI agents, a Native American man and his son (the son accompanied his uncle to visit the missing woman earlier in the season) and the missing woman’s father. But they aren’t the only ones looking for Shiloh. Someone else is tracking the young woman. Members of Cork’s group are picked off one-by-one. Everyone is under suspicion. No one is safe. The atmosphere in this book is very strong. We get to feel the wilderness where personal skills and personality traits can make the difference between life and death. We get to know each member of the group. We know their bravery and their weak points and what they're made of. Native American folklore and legend are mixed in, especially during the nights. I really enjoyed these aspects of the story. The reader also follows the story of Shiloh, who originally asked to be taken into the wilderness so that she could go back to song-writing. She is attacked and manages to escape by canoe but she cannot find her way out of the network of lakes and rivers. Someone is pursuing her and she knows, whoever it is, they want her dead. An excellent read. 5/5. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry Kim and her team investigate the kidnapping of two little girls. Karen, the mother of one of the girls, was in foster care with Kim and has requested that Kim take on the case. The police set up their base in Karen’s luxury home and the four parents, who are friends, stay there for the duration of the case.
There are several threads to this story – the abduction of the girls, the history and complications between the parents, the history of the abductors, the interference of a reporter and a psychic, and the addition to Kim’s team of a negotiator and a behaviour specialist and the difficulties this brings. All the elements come together to create a build up of tension, as things go from bad to worse to even worse. Kim shows her strength of character, dedication and leadership skills, and the members of her team are outstanding in working around the clock to try to secure the girls’ release. A great thriller, well told. 5/5 stars. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry The story follows Jenna as she tries to put her life back together.
Jenna has run away after a terrible tragedy in which a young boy was killed by a hit-and-run driver. She finds an isolated beach and rents a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Her only friends are the owner of the caravan park, Bethan, and the local vet, Patrick, but she doesn’t want to tell them anything about herself or the reasons why she is alone. Meanwhile, the police are trying to track down the hit-and-run driver. Detective Ray Stevens, and his young sergeant Kate, are investigating. Ray is not getting on well with his wife, Mags, and the lines start getting blurred between him and Kate. They get nowhere with their investigations but Kate keeps the case open and pursues it in her ‘spare’ time. She will find a lead that takes them to where Jenna now lives. In the second half of the book, we slowly learn the details of Jenna’s previous life. The first half is a tad slow but it really picks up pace and complexity in the second half of the book. There is a twist in how the past and the present are mixed up and the way the characters are presented - of course I won’t reveal it, because it would totally spoil the ending. What I want to say is that I felt this aspect has been horribly overhyped, and the real power of the book comes way before the twist, and comes from real-life characters and the details of the story. A good read. Overall, 4/5 stars. |
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