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Blog Tour: ‘Eye for an Eye’ by M. J. Arlidge

With many thanks to Compulsive Readers for inviting me on the blog tour for the new standalone M. J. Arlidge book.

Thanks too for my copy of the book for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.

Blog Tour: ‘The Poison Machine’ by Robert J. Lloyd

I was delighted to be asked to join the blog tour for ‘The Poison Machine’ – the second historical thriller featuring Hunt and Hooke. This book follows on from last year’s excellent ‘The Bloodless Boy’, although can be read as a standalone.

Thanks to Nikki at Melville House Press for my spot on the tour and the copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

Book Review: ‘Murder in the Family’ by Cara Hunter

I love Cara Hunter’s police procedurals (featuring DI Adam Fawley) so I was thrilled to get my hands on ‘Murder in the Family’, Hunter’s first standalone novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy – opinions are entirely my own.

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 Retreat’ by Sarah Pearse

I liked Pearse’s first book – ‘The Sanatorium’ – because of the claustrophobic atmosphere and the edge-of-your-seat tension levels. I had high hopes for this book, ‘The Retreat’, as this marks the return of detective Elin Warner in a different but equally remote setting.

Book Review: ‘The Embalmer’ by Alison Belsham

I’d read and enjoyed ‘The Tattoo Thief’ by Alison Belsham so I came to this book with high expectations. I didn’t realise that this book was a sequel or that I’d actually missed the second book in the series- but all was fine. It helped that I had a vague sense of the relationships between the main characters, but I don’t think it was essential.

Book Review: ‘Fatal Witness’ by Robert Bryndza

I’d heard so many good things about Robert Bryndza’s series featuring DCI Erika Foster – but I’ll admit that I was irrationally put off by the book cover (I am a bit freaked out by photos of people staring at me!) I was wrong to judge a book by the cover – this is a really good police procedural and everything I love in a crime novel.

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.

Non-Fiction Audiobook Recommendations

Regular visitors to my blog know that I’m an insomniac with an audiobook habit! Here’s some of the best I’ve listened to recently…

Book Review: ‘The Paris Apartment’ by Lucy Foley

Having read and enjoyed Lucy Foley’s previous books, ‘The Hunting Party’ and ‘The Guest List’, I was pleased to pick up ‘The Paris Apartment’ – another standalone mystery/thriller. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

The story centres on Jess, a young woman visiting Paris to stay with her half brother, Ben (as well as running away from her life in England). He lives in a luxurious apartment block but – when she arrives – Ben is missing. The other residents of the block are not helpful – and some are downright hostile to Jess and about Ben. As Jess struggles to piece together the events surrounding Ben’s disappearance, she also begins to uncover some shady secrets about the residents of 12 Rue des Amants…