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Book Review: ‘Death on the Pier’ by Jamie West

Regular readers of my blog know that I love historical fiction, crime fiction, and anything with an intriguing setting. This one hits all three!

It’s 1933 and off-season in Brighton, never busy, but definitely not the best time for opening night of a play in the theatre at the end of the Palace Pier. The writer of the play, Bertie Carroll, has popped in to see how it is going – and, along with an old school friend who is now a police detective, witnesses a murder live on stage. It’s left to Bertie and his friend, Detective Hugh Chapman, to try to uncover what happened when the famous leading lady died in front of a (hardly packed) theatre audience.

Surely the culprit is the cast member who fired the gun at the famed Celia Hamilton on stage?

Book Review: ‘The Detective’ by Ajay Chowdhury

I didn’t know that this was book three in the series featuring Kamil Rahman when I picked it up – credit to Ajay Chowdhury as it was easy to read as a standalone. However, fans of the series will – no doubt – appreciate the character development across the books as Kamil progresses on his path to being a British police detective (something he has achieved at the start of this book).

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: ‘Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six’ by Lisa Unger

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three couples rent an isolated luxury cabin for the weekend. It seems like the perfect opportunity to relax and escape the everyday stresses of high-powered jobs, parenthood and modern life. However, they didn’t bank on quite how remote the cabin is…especially with a violent storm on the way. Sinister elements from the past of the cabin – and its current residents – soon begin to surface. And there is no escape.

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: ‘Dying Breath’ by Liz Mistry

Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. Opinions, as always, are entirely my own.

Book Review: ‘Hope to Die’ by Cara Hunter

A new Cara Hunter book is always a treat – and this is no exception. I read A LOT of crime fiction and think that Cara Hunter’s books are among the best.

This is the sixth book in the series featuring DI Adam Fawley and his team – although there are some plotlines that run across the books (mainly to do with the team’s personal lives and relationships), I think this could be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

Tag: crime fiction