I haven’t been great at keeping on top of my blogging recently. Sometimes life just takes over! However, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to highlight some crime fiction and thriller gems that I’ve enjoyed in the past few months.
‘The Dark Hours’ by Amy Jordan
I loved the premise of this novel – seeing a police officer at the very start of her career in 1994, then when she’s called back as a retired detective in 2024 to pick up a case that has echoes of that traumatic first one.
This is the seventh book in the engaging DS George Cross series – thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
‘The Bookseller’ takes us into the (who knew?!) murky world of antiquarian bookshops. When a bookseller is discovered dead in his store, it seems unlikely that brutal murder would strike at the heart of the sleepy, bookish community in Bristol. However, DS George Cross soon discovers that the book world is packed with shifting allegiances, hidden secrets and bitter rivalries – all he has to do is work out who has the motive to kill, picking from a pretty packed field. Add in the multi-generational nature of the family-run bookstores and there’s plenty of simmering resentments for him to examine…
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest in Bonnie MacBird’s brilliant Sherlock Holmes series. ‘The Serpent Under’ is the 6th book in the series and is a great addition.
With thanks to Random Things Tours and Collins Crime Club for my place on the tour and my copy for review. Opinions, as always, are entirely my own.
Cara Hunter is one of my favourite crime writers and a new DCI Adam Fawley book is always exciting! This is the seventh book in a brilliant series – although I think it would work as a standalone. It actually picks up the characters from a previous book in the series, although I didn’t know this until after I’d finished reading as I think it’s the only one of the series I haven’t read!
I’ve followed this series since the beginning and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books – this is the fifth. I was delighted to be granted a review copy by NetGalley and couldn’t wait to read about DI James Walker’s latest terrible Christmas.
Because DI James Walker always has a horrific festive season! All the books take place over the Christmas/New Year period and it seems the only time of year that serial killers appear in (usually sleepy, small-town) Cumbria.
This latest book takes place in DI Walker’s home village, making him the first on the scene as the snow starts to pile up. The deceased – dressed as Santa Claus – is someone he knows and someone who oddly hasn’t been reported as missing, even though he’s been in the snow a while. When another body is found, Walker and his team have to face up to the fact that there is another killer loose in Cumbria – and the villagers aren’t at all happy with the fact. Walker needs to keep his neighbours happy while finding the killer among them…
This series is always entertaining and engaging – there’s always lots of twists but also really solid police procedural elements that keep the story moving forward. I did guess the killer slightly ahead of DI Walker, but I’m quite a seasoned armchair detective these days! I liked the village setting as it put the crime scene/possible suspects/police team all in close proximity – something that made the setting quite claustrophobic as the snow fell and the village was isolated from the outside world.
If you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series, there’s lots to like here – I think this was one of my favourites. If you haven’t discovered DI Walker, these are perfect winter reads and you’ve got 5 to enjoy!
M W Craven’s writing is always a cut above, as anyone who has discovered the brilliant crime series featuring Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw knows. This series (of which this book is the second) takes a different genre – the thriller – and proves that Craven can turn his hand to this genre just as well.
A huge thanks to Random Things Tours and Murdoch Books for inviting me onto the blog tour for this funny, engaging and enlightening little gem!
As always, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
You’re on date #17 since your last relationship ended in flames and within a minute of meeting Tom at a bar you realise you’ve made a huge mistake. You head to the bathroom to text your friend and complain about how your date says ‘aaaahh!’ after every sip of beer, seems to style himself after Boris Johnson and definitely sniffed your hair. Ten seconds later, you realise you accidentally texted Tom instead. You sit frozen on the loo, wondering if there’s a back exit or if you should fake your own death instead of facing the music. You wonder how you ended up here again, locked in a small room, hiding from a man.
Whether it’s dating someone wearing horns and a kaftan, a relationship where blobs of toothpaste are left smeared in the bathroom sink, or being dumped via text with just one word – enough! – the philosophy of the Stoics can help us all navigate the life cycles of love. Across more than 40 rules, from dating tips like Do your due diligence to relationship advice like Don’t tell your partner to calm down to break-up wisdoms like Resist putting your foot in your mouth, Annie Lawson applies ancient wisdom to the modern world of being in love, out of love, lovesick, love-bombed or just love-tired. She reminds us that life is all about change and to keep our focus on the things we can control – like our thoughts and actions – and to let go of the things we can’t, like finding a date’s living room is a shrine to Manchester United. Love and its rocky pursuit often sucks but fortunately, not always, and Stoic in Love helps us realise that we can all use a little help in getting together and staying together. Or getting the hell out of there.
My Review:
I just really loved the sound of this one – funny, relatable commentary on relationships peppered with sage advice from the ancient Stoics. I can’t admit to being an expert on either relationships or the Stoics, so I thought I’d give it a go!
The first thing that really stood out to me was the quality of the illustrations. Most of the chapters have a full page illustration at the start and they’re really well done and cute – the elephant in the room was my favourite. Each chapter ends with a quotation from one of the Stoics accompanied by a picture, so I got very used to my friends Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus turning up with their words of wisdom.
The book is split into 3 sections, covering Dating, Relationships and Breaking Up. In each section, there are a number of short chapters (there are 45 ‘Rules’ covered in total) and each one follows the same formula – a contextualising/explanation of the rule, then the advice from the Stoics and – finally – the ‘Final Word’ from one of the key philosophers. I enjoyed this format as it was so easy to dip in and out of, plus equally quite addictive once you start reading – I didn’t think this would be a book to read from cover to cover, but I ended up doing just that.
Yeah, the Stoics’ advice mapped onto modern relationships is cleverly done and interesting, but the real joy is in Lawson’s writing. She’s hilarious and packs each chapter with anecdotes, case studies, references to popular culture, research and jokes. Although it tackles some tricky topics – the ‘Break Up’ section in particular – it’s all approached with humour and makes everything seem relatable and manageable.
There’s some really good advice too – some of it is obvious stuff (e.g. ‘Avoid red flags’, ‘Avoid the wrong person’), but there’s some really sensible tips too. I liked ‘Remember that you can be happy or you can be right’ and ‘Remember it’s not you, it’s them (actually, it’s probably you)’ – both made me laugh a lot, but also the Stoic advice about taking responsibility for your own actions and the things you can control were food for thought too.
I’d recommend this if you’re after a fun, entertaining read – there’s also the added bonus that you’ll pick up some advice from the ancients that will be useful in more than love. Read and enjoy – and perhaps become a tiny bit wiser!
About the Author:
Annie Lawson is a former journalist who has had a diverse love life, from a first pash as a teenager with braces to several boyfriends including one who alphabetised cereal packets, and finally to marriage, which ended. This all taught her that the key to a good relationship is not only lots of storage, regular holidays at a nice resort and someone who is funny, but finding a partner to do nothing with. She now works on the dark side of the corporate world and is a devoted student of the Stoics, taking every opportunity to apply their wisdom to life’s hard things – from the workplace to matters of the heart.
Cosy crime isn’t my go-to genre – I usually prefer something a bit darker – but I couldn’t resist this book! A fab and festive cover, a female lead character descended from famous Victorian food writer Mrs Beeton and the promise of a twisty mystery – count me in!
Thank you to Rachel Quin and HQ for my copy of the novel for review. It’s published in hardback on 24th October and would make a great Christmas present for the crime fan in your life.
The story centres on Alice Beeton, an older woman running the Good Household Management Agency – if your most famous relative is famous for the Victorian classic ‘Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management’ then why not capitalise on the connection?! Alice provides the best domestic staff to the poshest families in the UK and is known for her discretion and calm competence. Along with her dog, Agatha (named after the best crime novelist, of course), she lives in a basement flat in Kensington and focuses her efforts on her business.
When a well-to-do family need a housekeeper, Alice sends new hire Enya – a woman with perfect references and fluent French who seems ideal. However, a matter of days later, on New Year’s Day, Enya is found dead at the family home. Feeling responsible for Enya’s death, Alice gets herself involved in the police investigation led by the scruffy but slightly clueless Detective Rigby. Can she uncover the killer stalking through high society?
I absolutely loved Alice Beeton and need to read more about her! Initially, she comes across as someone whose life is very ordered and regulated – she has her dog, her flat and her business and that’s the extent of her world. However, being thrown into a murder investigation forces her to broaden her horizons and take risks – from going undercover to dealing with Detective Rigby and his charms. It’s lovely that Alice is an older woman – ‘the wrong side of fifty’ – as it’s rare to read about protagonists of this age and gender (even though women and older people make up a huge proportion of the book-buying public).
Alice’s connections with her famous ancestor are also used well within the novel – as well as the business name, there are Mrs Beeton recipes at relevant points throughout the book. These are (I think) taken from Mrs Beeton’s famous cookery book and are sometimes tempting, sometimes weirdly archaic, but always interesting.
The plotting of the mystery is well done and kept me guessing for quite a while. I did solve the mystery just ahead of Alice, but more through luck than judgement. There were plenty of surprises along the way, as well as a host of engaging characters (Alice’s co-workers are pretty great) and some luxury settings.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first (but hopefully not last) insight into Alice’s world; it’s cosy and festive, but also immersive and engaging. I really hope Book 2 is on the way…
I love this crime series featuring the brilliant DI Grace Archer. This latest book is a great addition to the series and one I recommend fully!
This story opens with the death of a young woman near a stream in North London. The last number dialled on her phone, found nearby, is DI Grace Archer – our hero of the Metropolitan Police who has worked to free women from sex trafficking. Archer wants to take the case because of her personal connection but is refused and instead finds herself investigating the death of a woman left in an abandoned house many years previously. cases have similarities, but Archer’s attempts to make connections continue to be knocked back by her superiors who just want the cases closed as quickly as possible. This leaves Archer with no choice but to toe the line…or break the rules!
As with the previous books, I love that DI Grace Archer is a strong female lead who is unafraid to take on those who don’t have the correct priorities – she believes that the violent deaths of all women should be given equal attention by the police, regardless of the women’s status and activities during life. This gives her a single-mindedness in her investigations and a determination to do her best by the victims which is commendable. Grace’s colleague, DS Harry Quinn, is similarly empathetic and likeable, putting a strong detective duo at the heart of this police procedural.
The plotting is clever and kept me reading – this is one of those books that you won’t want to put down, even as you are also slightly scared to be reading it late at night!
Although this book sits within the DI Grace Archer series, it would work as a standalone too – in case anyone is holding back from reading it because they don’t have the back-story. Each book is gripping in its own right so dive right in!
This is one of my favourite detective series and I love this latest instalment. Fennell can’t write these fast enough for me, so I hope the next book is in the pipeline…
I don’t know why it took me so long to read the second book in Richard Osman’s series about a group of amateur detectives living in a retirement community. It just got pushed down the TBR list and I’ve only just (finally) picked it up.
This book follows the four characters from the first novel – Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibraham – as they embark on a mystery featuring a character from Elizabeth’s past, £20 million of diamonds and a whole host of murders.
As with the first book, the writing is engaging and humorous, although there is a poignant dimension to the story too – in this case, around a knock to Ibrahim’s confidence and also an Alzheimer’s plotline. This makes the novel more than a simple cosy crime novel. The mystery element of the novel is also cleverly done and kept me guessing to the end.
The range of characters is interesting – I loved Elizabeth, with her intriguing past and fierce intelligence. Joyce, whose narrative perspective drives some of the chapters, is also a fabulous character – witty and sharp and learning her true capabilities as the investigation progresses. The police who work with the group are also charmingly portrayed – I like that they all have back-stories and insecurities and flaws in the same way as the main characters do.
I also listened to the audiobook, which is brilliantly read by Lesley Manville. I’d recommend this whole-heartedly as she brings out the warmth of the characters, especially in the Joyce chapters.
This is a strong sequel to ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ and I’ll keep going with the series – hopefully in a slightly more timely way than with this book!
