Tag: DS Nikki Parekh

January Wrap-Up and February TBR

It has been – quite simply – the longest month ever. I’ve found it hard to concentrate on reading at times and have fallen back on the genre that I know keeps me engaged – crime fiction!

I’ve read 10 books this month, of which 7 were crime novels.

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January Wrap-Up

I started the month with the rather interesting ‘How Not To Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind’ by James O’Brien. I loved his previous book (‘How to be Right’), but was particularly fascinated by O’Brien’s exploration of his own prejudices and entrenched beliefs. It certainly gave me food for thought and I would recommend it.

Next up were a slew of brilliant crime novels that I would recommend whole-heartedly.

I read ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry, the latest in the DS Nikki Parekh series set in the seedy underworld of Bradford. This is a shocking tale of crime and abuse, but the fabulous Parekh/Malik investigative team at the heart of the novel makes it compelling. My review (for a blog tour for Rachel’s Random Resources) is here.

Another blog tour read was ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby and this proved another excellent police procedural. Although is the 9th book in the Cavendish and Walker series (a female duo of investigators), I think it works well as a standalone. In this book, West Mercia Police are grappling with a historical case as two skeletons turn up on a building site. You can read my blog tour review (for Damp Pebbles) here.

This was followed by ‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett which I read as a buddy read organised by Viper Books. Along with the lovely LockyLovesBooks, I tried to guess the murderer in this innovative and engaging crime novel – a novel presented through the emails, voicemails and texts of its main protagonists. I proved a terrible detective but had a lot of fun – you can read my review here.

Next up was ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie. I read this with my blogger friends at The Write Reads and we had a lot of fun discussing it – although, once again, I got nowhere near the solution! A classic crime novel with such clever plotting – Christie really was a master of her craft!

After this, I had a brief break from crime to read Margaret Atwood’s new poetry collection, ‘Dearly’. This is a beautiful and insightful book about loss, grief, ageing, female bodies and the environment – and I loved it. I was lucky enough to have both the hardback (purchased) and audiobook (from NetGalley) – you can read my review about both formats here.

Following this, I went back to crime for the tense and pacey ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson – I won a copy of this from the publisher and was so excited to read it ahead of publication. This serial killer crime novel is gruesome and terrifying – and I raced through it. My review will follow nearer publication later on in February.

Another blog tour read followed, ‘Bad Habits’ by Flynn Meaney. This is a very funny and lively YA comedy which sees its heroine, Alex, try to stage a version of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ at her strict Catholic boarding school. Thanks to the publisher (Penguin) and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review. My review, for The Write Reads, will be on the blog tomorrow.

My last books of the month took me back to crime fiction (of course!).

I read ‘An Eye for an Eye’ by Carol Wyer for a Damp Pebbles blog tour – this is another brilliant police procedural with a female lead, in this case the damaged but insightful DI Kate Young. The plotting of this one, based around a serial killer in Staffordshire, is so clever and it is an absolute page turner. My review is due up on 7th February.

I finished this month with ‘Dark Truths’ by AJ Cross, another cleverly-plotted police procedural featuring DI Bernard Watts and his rookie sidekick, PC Chloe Judd investigating the brutal murder of a jogger on a rural trail. They are being helped in their investigations by forensic psychologist Will Traynor, but he seems to have his own agenda… This is the first in a series featuring Traynor and I look forward to reading more. The paperback is published on 4th February and my review will follow on the blog.

As always, thanks to blog tour organisers, publishers, authors and NetGalley for granting me access to books in exchange for an honest review.

February TBR

As always, I have more books to read than I can possibly get through! Any TBR I write is always a small proportion of books I have to read for blog tours, books I should read for NetGalley and a wish list of many other fabulous-looking reads. I am never accurate in predicting what I will actually read!

So, here is my best guess of books that have caught my eye for February. Affiliate links are at the end of the list for anyone who likes the look of any of these…

  • I have a blog tour for ‘Botanical Curses and Poisons’ by Fez Inkwright in February and am looking forward to diving into this beautiful book about the darker side of plants.
  • I also have a blog tour for ‘Old Bones’ by Helen Kitson (published by the excellent Louise Walters Books) in February too – this looks to be a gorgeous and gentle story of a group of older women.
  • My final blog tour for the month will be ‘Seven Days’ by Michelle Kidd. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, ‘The Phoenix Project’, and look forward to another lively thriller.
  • I also want to read ‘Ruthless Women’ by Melanie Blake, sold to me by NetGalley as a thriller about ambition on the set of a soap opera. I’m looking forward to glamour, glitz and some…ruthless women!
  • NetGalley have also granted me the fabulous-looking ‘Circus of Wonders’ by Elizabeth Macneal. I loved her first book, ‘The Doll Factory’, and cannot wait to read this new slice of quality historical fiction.
  • I’m also going to be reading ‘Paris by Starlight’ by Robert Dinsdale with my lovely blogger friends in the Tsundoku Squad. This is a new writer to me but I look forward to chats and lots of fun with them.
  • Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ is also on my February list as I join a Poirot readalong with The Write Reads crew. I need to catch up this book – Poirot Book 1 – before I can join the chat there!
  • Finally, I really want to clear some of my NetGalley shelf – it has more fabulous books in it than I can list and I am determined to make some headway this month. If only I can keep away from the ‘Request’ button…

That’s the plan anyway. See you here in a month’s time when I reveal that I actually read 10 more police procedurals because I am OBSESSED…

Header photo with thanks to Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash.

Have a fab Feb – K x

WWW Wednesday – 13th January, 2020


WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.

Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)

What have you recently finished reading?

Since my last update, I finished ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry, the third book in the series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and her partner DC Saj Malik. This is a nail-bitingly tense instalment in which the Bradford-based detectives rush to uncover the links between a sequence of brutal murders – and is seems the connection is closer to Nikki than she would like. This is – as the title suggests – incredibly dark, but the lead detectives are a fabulous pair and this is a pacey and lively read.

A full review will follow on my blog later in the month as this is a blog tour book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Also for a January blog tour, I read ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby, a crime fiction novel in the Cavendish and Walker series. Although this is the ninth book in the series (but my first), I had no problems with immersing myself in the world of Lanchester Police and their investigation into a double murder that took place in 1980 but only uncovered 40 years later.

The lead characters, DCI Whitney Walker and Dr Georgina Cavendish, are a formidable pair – both prickly and tough – and this is a solid police procedural.

My review will follow later in January – with thanks to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours and the author for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rounding off my week of obsessively reading crime fiction, I also finished ‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett. This is a hugely inventive murder mystery where the reader is put into the position of investigator! Alongside two legal trainees reviewing the case notes, the reader works their way through emails, voicemails, texts and notes from all the key characters. It’s immersive and mind-boggling and I loved it!

I read this as a buddy read with Locky Loves Books and my review will be on the blog on the book’s publication date (tomorrow!). With thanks to the kind people at Viper Books for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

What are you reading now?

As crime fiction seems to be the thing that is cutting through my brain fog, I’m reading ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson. I was lucky to win a proof copy of this book which is due out in February 2021. So far, it’s thrown me in the deep end with a whole load of gruesome discoveries – and I can’t wait to read on!

I’m still reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie as a readalong with my blogger friends at The Write Reads. I had to stop halfway through so we could discuss it and that was so hard to do – I need to read the rest!

I’m also still reading ‘Maiden Voyages: Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel’ by Sian Evans. I absolutely love this book – it is a fascinating insight into the history of women at sea, from those working as stewardesses on the huge ocean liners to those enjoying the luxuries afforded to the first class passengers. The accompanying pictures in my hardback edition are also interesting. This book has already sent me off on several Google trips to find out even more about these amazing women.

What do you think you will read next?

I really need to clear some of the NetGalley shelf, but I’m finding it harder to read electronically at the moment. I’ve got my eye on ‘Dark Truths’ by AJ Cross (a forensic mystery) and ‘Bad Habits’ by Flynn Meaney (YA humour) as books that I think will keep me going!

So that’s me for this week! As always, thanks for reading and please do follow my blog for more updates.

Header photo with thanks to waad samah on Unsplash.