I have absolutely no intention of ever climbing a huge mountain – entering the ‘death zone’, needing oxygen, fighting altitude sickness, etc. Not for me at all – which is why reading this book was such an adventure!
Cecily Wong is a journalist with a pretty dodgy track record of mountain climbing – which is why she faces the ultimate challenge when asked to join legendary alpinist Charles McVeigh and his team as they tackle one of Nepal’s highest mountains. However, the attempt seems doomed from the start and Cecily is soon fighting for her life against the elements and an altogether more sinister – and more human – enemy.
I’ll admit that this isn’t my first trip to DI James Walker’s Lake District – I read and enjoyed ‘The Killer in the Snow’, the book prior to this one in the series, so I was pleased that NetGalley granted me access to this one.
As with the previous books, it’s winter and Cumbria is icy and treacherous – but the surroundings present minimal danger compared to the humans existing in the bleak landscape who have immense capacity to harm.
You pretty much know what you’re getting with an M. J. Arlidge crime novel – a high body count, scary and gruesome murders, lots of twists and DI Helen Grace doing her maverick thing along the way! This one is no exception and it’s a satisfying addition to the series.
In this book, a killer is targeting people in their Southampton homes – attacking when they are alone or vulnerable. DI Grace and her team are called in to investigate, but immediately struggle with finding the link between the victims. As the murders continue, the police investigation seems to be going nowhere and the stakes continue to rise. With DI Grace in danger herself, it’s a race against time to stop a killer.
A new book by M W Craven is always a treat – usually a gory, gruesome, twisty treat, but a treat nevertheless!
This book – the fifth featuring Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw – is another excellent addition to the series. Regular readers will not be at all disappointed, but if you haven’t made the acquaintance of Poe and Bradshaw before then I’d recommend that you start with Book 1, ‘The Puppet Show’. This novel makes total sense as a standalone, but you really don’t want to miss the rest of the books!
Thanks to Rosie at Headline for my copy of this tense thriller! As always, opinions are entirely my own.
I loved the premise for this book! A murder at midnight on Hogmanay in Edinburgh – we know there’s a body right from the start. But whose is it? And why has this New Year’s Eve party led to murder?
Fennell’s first book, ‘The Art of Death’, was one of my top crime books of last year so I was eagerly awaiting this sequel and a chance to follow the story of DI Grace Archer of London’s Metropolitan Police. Thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for my copy for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.
Thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours for inviting me to take part in this very exciting blog tour – ‘A Life for a Life’ by Carol Wyer is the third book in the excellent series featuring DI Kate Young.
Blurb:
Nobody can get into the mind of an erratic killer—except an unpredictable detective.
When a young man is found lying on a station platform with a hole in his head, DI Kate Young is called in to investigate the grisly murder. But the killing is no one-off. As bodies start to pile up, she is faced with what might be an impossible task—to hunt down a ruthless killer on a seemingly random rampage.
Meanwhile, Kate has her own demons to battle as she struggles to come to terms with her husband’s death. And she is hell-bent on exposing corruption within the force and bringing Superintendent John Dickson to justice. But with the trail of deception running deeper—and closer to home—than she could ever have imagined, she no longer knows who she can trust.
With her grip on reality slipping, Kate realises that maybe she and the killer are not so different after all. But time is running out and Kate is low on options. Can she catch the killer before she loses everything?
My Review:
I’ve followed this series from the start and so was very keen to read the latest instalment – thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours and Carol Wyer for my opportunity to read and review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
This story falls into two main strands and both are pretty tense!
The first is DI Kate Young’s investigation into seemingly random murders happening on her territory. After the first murder – a young man with a hole in his head abandoned at a station – the killings don’t stop and there doesn’t seem to be any pattern in terms of location or victim. How can she catch a killer when they are so unpredictable?
Alongside this, Young is also still continuing her ongoing crusade to get vengeance for her husband’s murder. She has uncovered police corruption at the highest levels and now is unsure of who she can trust – and how she can bring down the man at the heart of the problem.
The police corruption element has been a feature of the past two books so – while it was good to see the climax of that story – it was refreshing to get such an involved and complex serial killer plot alongside. The murder mystery was well-plotted, pacey and hard to look away from – especially when the police team start staking out possible crime scenes and waiting for the killer’s next strike.
DI Kate Young remains an engaging character at the heart of the books. Her grief is portrayed with suitable complexity and her lack of certainty on where to turn for support make her an isolated figure at times – albeit one with steely determination and a willingness to bend rules when needed. Her police team are a mostly likeable bunch – but she is very much the main player in these books.
As always, I really appreciate the setting of these books around Staffordshire, not far from my home. It’s quite engaging (and a bit disturbing) to read about places you know and so I was pleased to see Trentham Shopping Village and Blythe Bridge make an appearance – I’ll never look at these places quite the same again! And I’ll definitely watch out for people lurking with bolt guns!
I’d recommend this to those who are familiar with the series so far – although this would work as a standalone, I think it is much more impactful when viewed within DI Young’s back-story. If you like well-written, tense police procedurals then this is a series that you should not miss.
About the Author:
USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer’s crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages.
A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.
February 2021 saw the release of the first in the much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young. An Eye For An Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.
Carol has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post. She’s also been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television.
She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr. Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy. When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.
To learn more, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter: @carolewyer
I’ve developed a bit of a taste for Scandinavian crime thrillers – so I was very pleased to be introduced to Anne Holt’s writing by Readers First. Thank you to them and Corvus for my review copy. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
The book starts with the assassination of a Norwegian MP in a cafe – an attack in which private investigator, Selma Falck, is also hit. Looking for answers about who killed her friend, Selma works sometimes alongside the police, sometimes with journalists and her own contacts to piece together a puzzle that has far-reaching implications for her country. In doing so, she finds her life in danger again as yet more killings threaten to undermine the stability and peace of Norway…
