I liked the main detective in this story, retired Warren Carter, and I liked the female sergeant Becky Harris. Becky and Warren respect each other and they've worked together before. Warren has been brought back from retirement to take on an internal affairs case - the warrant card of an officer has been found at the scene of a crime - Why? Whose card is it? Is an officer involved in a cover up?
As the story unfolds Warren's and Becky's two separate cases seem to be linked, and they collaborate to uncover a corrupt officer. I always admire authors who choose to cover difficult themes. We get to know one of the victims and her hopes for her future. This could be harrowing but in the context of the story as a whole I thought it worked well. A good read and I hope to read more of Warren and Becky in the future.
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SIX MONTHS TO KILL by Enzo Bartoli
Regis has just been told he has six months to live when he is approached by a young woman who wants him to kill someone who is ‘bad’. Regis gets sucked in by the woman’s charisma. He’s lonely and is facing a boring, painful end to his life. He likes her and maybe he falls in love with her a little? Regis agrees to do the job and so begins a trail of murder where Regis ends the lives of several people who he is told are the vermin of society. Of course, all is not as it seems. When the police become involved, Regis finds himself getting in deeper. Alongside this, there is the miracle cure for his cancer, which his own doctor offers him ‘off the record.’ Is there a possibility he might be cured? The best thing about the story was the set-up. What would we do if we knew we would die in six months? This makes it intriguing to follow Regis and his thoughts. A bit more character development would have made the story more believable for me. Regis was a bit took quick and easy in his decisions. He’s highly intelligent but he’s a loner and was easily persuaded to cross the line. This was an easy read, and it was entertaining and original. My thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. This is my honest review. PERFECT CRIME by Helen Fields
The crimes in this one are pretty gruesome, as with the earlier books in the series, so enjoy it and be prepared to cringe. There are surprises as Luc and Ava hunt down a killer who is targeting people committing suicide or wanting to commit suicide. I really enjoyed the hunt for the killer. In the background, Luc is tracking a man who attacked his mother in the past. This lands Luc in trouble. Ava is questioning her new role as DCI and as Luc's boss. And a woman from Luc's past turns up again. The thriller part of the book worked well and it's five stars for me. It’s full of action and I kept turning the pages to find out what happened next. What worked a bit less well for me was the number of times Ava took her clothes off in front of Luc, and then said they were only good friends. Could a woman really sleep naked next to a man she likes (twice) and nothing happen? I guess I'm not a romantic suspense fan however the crime part was fantastic. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. This is my honest review. HOLD YOUR TONGUE by Deborah Masson
DI Eve Hunter returns to work after an incident in which one of her colleagues was injured. Her team don’t trust her and she’s not sure she trusts herself. When the bodies start piling up she needs to get her team on board and push through them blaming her for past mistakes. Be prepared for some gritty and gruesome murders in which the victims lose a body part. Plus we get to meet the killer and hear their thoughts. This added a lot of tension because the killer really is merciless and clever. I enjoyed the second half of the story more than the first. There’s more action, the team dynamics aren’t so prominent and there are some great twists. I had no idea who the killer was and the reveal was a good one. In the first half Eve’s difficulties felt a bit laboured but I have to say I ended up liking her. I’ll definitely look out for the next in the series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book. This is my honest review. PLAY DEAD by Angela Marsons #BookReview I missed this one out in the Kim Stone series and I went back to read it.
The team are after a crazed killer who is snatching young women. We get to know the killer's story before the detectives and this makes for riveting reading. The crimes are pretty gruesome and take place at a Body Farm where scientists are studying the decomposition of corpses. This makes it an excellent place to conceal victims and several are going to turn up. Kim's old enemy, journalist Tracy Frost, is a strong character and we learn some surprising truths about her. We also get to see more of Kim's human side when we learn about her foster parents and this made me like her even more than I already did. I enjoyed this one. Another great book in the series. Eight different passengers are stuck in their self-drive cars, heading for a collision course.
This is a thriller with a sci-fi feel to it. There’s a ‘jury’ which had been convened to debate another issue involving self-drive cars and is rail-roaded into becoming the grand jury for deciding who should survive the collision. We also have the participation of the public via social media, with voting and liking of various passengers. There is a secret operator behind the whole set up and no one knows who this is. Each of the passengers has a secret. Some of these secrets are dark and they are not all as they seem. The secrets are revealed to the public and this influences the voting. The story was an easy read. It has a nice style which skips from page to page and I finished it quickly. The only part which didn’t work for me was the romance between one of the jury and one of the passengers. This author gets a lot of praise so I was probably expecting more substance and more tension, but it was original and a good light read. Well done, Louise Penny. This was another great read in the Three Pines series.
This book started off slowly and I thought I was going to be disappointed - that's not how it turned out. I really loved it. Its the third in the series and we meet some new residents of Three Pines as well as old friends. Easter has come and the villagers are organising an egg hunt for the children. For the adults, things take a spooky turn when they organise a séance with a visiting psychic/witch called Jeanne. They go up to the old Hadley House to contact the dead. This was very well done and believable and someone actually ends up dead. Inspector Gamache and his team turn up to try to find out who did it. In this book, we get the whole story about the sordid Arnot affair and Gamache's part in it (this story begins in book 1 and 2). His team will each be tested to the full - their loyalties, their rivalries, their belief in him. Gamache will find out a horrible truth and his life will be changed forever. This Arnot story plays out alongside the day to day worries and concerns amongst the villagers and the hunt for the killer. It made a very enjoyable read. In places I laughed out loud. In the closing passages I didn't let my own family to interrupt me because the pages were so tense and so emotional. Well done, Louise Penny. (P.S. You can check out all my 2019 book reviews - here) Ann Girdharry is an Award winning author of the Kal Medi crime thriller series. The twenty-year old remains of Tracy’s sister are going to let us know all their secrets...
Years ago Tracy’s sister went missing and was never found. A man was convicted of her murder. Tracy is now a policewoman in Seattle and when her sister’s body turns up on an isolated hillside, she goes back to her hometown to find out the truth. The small town feel of this story appealed to me and I liked the main characters – especially the Sheriff and the local law men, and Tracy’s (now deceased) father. Tracy herself was a bit of a less well drawn character. We know her through her loss and her memories of her sister, and her drive to find the truth. We also get glimpses of Tracy’s current life as a police officer in Seattle, and the team she works with, but they don’t come much in to this story. I guess this is to set-up the rest of the series. The twenty-year old remains of Tracy’s sister are going to let us know all their secrets. One by one we suspect all the main characters of having taken part in some kind of conspiracy. Why was Edmund House, a convicted rapist, so easily condemned when the evidence against him was so minor? And why has the body only come to light now, so many years later? I enjoyed the ride. Even the romance, between Tracy and an old school friend, worked for me – and I often don’t like romances stuffed into thriller books. I also enjoyed the winter setting and the last few chapters which take part in a snow storm and see the main characters split up and working alone against the freezing temperatures and against the clock and - against the killer. A great book. Ann Girdharry is the Award winning author of the Kal Medi crime thriller series. |
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