Book Review Archives - Page 12 of 43 - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘The It Girl’ by Ruth Ware

I’ve got a bit of a confession here. I know I like Ruth Ware’s books but I’d kind of…put this one off. The title made me think it was going to be about wealthy people living Instagrammable lives – not that I have a problem with that at all, but I kind of need to be in the right mood.

I was wrong and should have read the blurb.

This book is actually about a murder at a fictitious Oxford University college. It centres on Hannah and the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of her discovery of the body of her roommate, April, in their shared rooms. April is the ‘It Girl’ of the novel’s title, bringing champagne, designer clothes and luxury furniture to their digs, but this is much more the story of a friendship group and a university experience gone tragically wrong.

Book Review: ‘A Stranger on Board’ by Cameron Ward

I was looking for something immersive, tense and action-packed to keep me turning the pages. I definitely found it in ‘A Stranger on Board’, and was just sorry that I didn’t pick this up before now.

The plot follows Sarah, an ex-Royal Marine suffering from PTSD and trying to carve out a career for herself as a security expert after leaving the Navy. She is persuaded to join the crew of ‘The Escape’, a luxury superyacht being moved from Spain to the Caribbean at the request of the mysterious owner. However, once they leave the relative safety and calm seas of the Mediterranean, Sarah soon learns that this voyage will not be the cushy job she thought. As the conditions on the open Atlantic worsen, the crew suffer a series of setbacks which suggest that this journey will have a tragic end for them all – one orchestrated by someone in their midst.

Book Review: ‘The Night Man’ by Jorn Lier Horst

Thanks to the lovely people at Penguin Michael Joseph for my copy of ‘The Night Man’ by Jorn Lier Horst. I was delighted to win this in a giveaway but – as always – opinions are entirely my own.

I love Scandinavian crime fiction and was intrigued by this – especially when I saw that it has been made into a major TV series which will be my next port of call! I came to this expecting a dark, tense thriller and wasn’t at all disappointed.

The story opens with the gruesome discovery of a severed head on a stake in the centre of a small town called Larvik in Norway. Police Inspector William Wisting is called in to investigate, but the media are also circling as they seek out a sensational story – and the media pack are led by Wisting’s own daughter, Line. When a second body is recovered from a lake, Wisting is forced to confront the fact that Larvik has been infiltrated by a dangerous and ruthless criminal network…

Blog Tour: ‘Becoming Ted’ by Matt Cain

For anyone who loved Matt Cain’s recent novel, ‘The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle’, here’s another dose of uplifting, heartwarming and charming storytelling!

Thanks to the lovely people at Headline for my copy of the book and my spot on the blog tour – as always, opinions are my own.

This book is published on 19th January in hardback, ebook and audio.

Book Review: ‘The Night Watch’ by Neil Lancaster

This was my first book by Neil Lancaster – and I don’t think it will be my last!

The reviews for this series are amazing, so I was pleased to be granted a copy by NetGalley so that I could make up my own mind.

The book opens with the deaths of a high-profile lawyer and one of his past clients, one of Scotland’s most notorious criminals who has just been released from prison. As the bodies begin to stack up, DS Max Craigie starts to suspect that they have a murderer taking revenge on those who have done bad things – a vigilante killer who seems to have insider knowledge of the police’s methods and processes. The investigation team is forced to face the fact that the culprit may be one of them – but how are they going to uncover someone who knows their every move?

Book Review: ‘The Sanctuary’ by Emma Haughton

I absolutely loved Emma Haughton’s first fiction book for adults, ‘The Dark’, set in a research centre in Antarctica. This was the perfect claustrophobic locked-room mystery with the inhospitable surroundings meaning escape was impossible.

I gulped that book down in one – so I was thrilled that NetGalley granted me access to Haughton’s next book, ‘The Sanctuary’.

In this book, Zoey wakes in an unfamiliar environment – she doesn’t remember much about the night before, a night out in New York, aside from a few troubling flashbacks. Now she’s in the desert in The Sanctuary, a high-end establishment helping people to kick their various addictions and face their problems. Zoey doesn’t want to be there…but how can she escape when the centre is miles from anywhere and surrounded by the threats of the endless, empty desert? Instead, she begins to get to know the other residents and participate in some often-unorthodox treatments. But is the desert really more of a threat than the perils lurking within The Sanctuary’s walls?

Book Review: ‘Murder on the Christmas Express’ by Alexandra Benedict

I’d not read anything by Alexandra Benedict before but this book ticked a lot of boxes for me – a sleeper train, a whole load of shady characters thrown together and murder! Add in Christmas and I hoped for a lovely festive crime novel with shades of Agatha Christie.

Book Review: ‘The Secret of Matterdale Hall’ by Marianne Ratcliffe

Happy publication day to ‘The Secrets of Matterdale Hall’ by Marianne Ratcliffe!

Thanks to Bellows Press for my copy for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

Book Review: ‘Bleeding Heart Yard’ by Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths writes lots of great crime books – but I do have the softest spot for this series which features DI Harbinder Kaur.

In this book – the third in the series – Detective Kaur has moved to London and is finding her feet with new flatmates, colleagues and city crime. When a school reunion ends in a suspicious death, DI Kaur and her team find themselves investigating some high-profile school alumnae and links to a murder many years previously. Their work is hindered by the fact that one of their team – DS Caitlin Fitzgerald – is one of the suspects…

(Audio)book Review: ‘A Restless Truth’ by Freya Marske

The first book in this series – ‘A Marvellous Light’ – introduced a glorious, vibrant, historical world and a gorgeous romance between (non-magical) aristocrat Robin Blyth and the man trying to help him navigate the magical world, Edwin Courcey. I read it, loved it, and wondered very much how Freya Marske was going to follow it up given that it was touted as ‘The Last Binding, Book 1’.

In my review, I wrote about Maud, Robin’s unconventional and sassy sister who refused to accept the limitations placed upon her as a woman in Edwardian England. I hoped I’d read more about her in the sequel.

It’s fair to say that all my wishes came true – Maud Blyth is the central character in ‘A Restless Truth’ and I could not be happier! Especially as it also features some of my other favourite elements – a murder mystery, a cruise liner, characters breaking society’s rules, lots of humour and even a touch of scandal.