murder Archives - Page 2 of 13 - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘The Last Word’ by Elly Griffiths

Ahhh, it is so lovely to be back in Shoreham in Sussex with Natalka, Edwin and Benedict! I first met them in Elly Griffiths’ ‘The Postscript Murders’ and this is another mystery all twisted up with books and writing and authors. Perfect for a bookworm and crime-fiction fan like me!

This is (I think) the fourth mystery in the detective Harbinder Kaur series, but some of the books are set in London and don’t feature the rest of the gang. They’re all brilliant and all can be read as standalones, but it is great to be back by the sea in Edwin’s retirement flat and ex-monk Benedict’s coffee shack. This story does pick up some of the themes from ‘The Postscript Murders’ but everything is explained so you don’t need to have read it.

Book Review: ‘The Dirty Dozen’ by Lynda La Plante

It’s time for my review of Book 5 in the Jane Tennison crime series by Lynda La Plante!

Thanks to Compulsive Readers for inviting me to read the series as part of #TeamTennison and Zaffre Books for my review copy of the book. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

I’ve really enjoyed this series to date, so I was looking forward to see what came next in Jane Tennison’s (1970s) Metropolitan police career before the events of the ‘Prime Suspect’ TV series with Helen Mirren. Each of the books have been so different, with Jane involved in traditional police procedures, forensic murder investigations, undercover police work, lots of different teams in different areas of London and even the aftermath of a major bombing.

In this instalment, WDS Jane Tennison has finally gained a spot in the famous Flying Squad, also known as ‘The Sweeney’. She knows it’s going to be tough, especially as the first female detective there, but nothing can prepare her for the dramatic events of his first day when she attends the scene of an armed robbery on a bank. As the investigation progresses, it seems both that the gang involved have a bigger target in mind, and that Jane’s maverick policing techniques may just get her in a lot of trouble…

Blog Tour: ‘Last to Leave’ by Lucy Martin

Thanks to Random Things Tours for my place on the blog tour and copy of this book for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.

The Blurb:

When Hannah Lloyd falls from her third-floor balcony at the end of her birthday lunch party, suspicion falls immediately upon the three guests who had only just left the apartment, alongside Hannah’s estranged husband Adam and a jealous neighbour with an axe to grind. But as the investigation develops, so does the network of suspects, eventually revealing a chilling connection between the crime and those in charge of preventing it. Forced to work alongside her arch-nemesis DCI Matt Preedy, DS Ronnie Delmar finds herself looking over her shoulder at her own colleagues and questioning the motives of those she thought she trusted.

My Review:

Book Review: ‘The Night Before Christmas by Alex Pine

Happy publication day to this Christmassy crime novel!

It always feels a bit weird reading Christmas books in early autumn, but I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in the latest book in the series featuring DI James Walker of Cumbria Police. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this before publication – as always, opinions are entirely my own.

Book Review: ‘Jackdaw’ by Daniel Cole

Having read ‘Ragdoll’, I thought I knew what to expect of Daniel Cole’s books – and I went into this anticipating something twisty, gruesome and fast-paced. I wasn’t disappointed!

In this book, Detective Scarlett Delaney is on the trail of the killer they call ‘The Jackdaw’ – a murderer who seems to commit impossible crimes and then disappear with a sparkly memento. Delaney is a maverick and finds herself in a tricky situation with the charming Harry Devlin, a deadly criminal himself. The pair join forces to track down the Jackdaw, but it’s a dangerous and volatile pairing that puts them in danger. Can Scarlett really trust her attractive partner or is she unwittingly exposing herself to his lethal underworld bosses?

Book Review: ‘Hidden Killers’ by Lynda LaPlante

Today, I’m delighted to share my review of ‘Hidden Killers’, the second in the series to feature the early career of Jane Tennison.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for my review copy of the book – opinions are entirely my own. Thanks also to Compulsive Readers for asking me to join #TeamTennison and read the whole series!

Blog Tour: ‘The Silent Man’ by David Fennell

This is the third in the series to feature DI Grace Archer, following on from the brilliant ‘The Art of Death’ and ‘See No Evil’. I’ve followed this series – breathlessly, sometimes peeking through my fingers, with a pounding heart – from the beginning. This third instalment is another terrifying, gruesome and twisty tale.

Thanks to Compulsive Readers and Zaffre Books for my place on the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are my own.

Book Review: ‘Tennison’ by Lynda La Plante

I was absolutely delighted to be asked to join #TeamTennison and read the whole series featuring Jane Tennison from the start! Thanks to Compulsive Readers for my spot on the team and for my copies of the books.

This review is for ‘Tennison’, the first in the series – most people will be familiar with DCI Jane Tennison from the ‘Prime Suspect’ series featuring Dame Helen Mirren, but this series takes us back to 1973 and the very start of Tennison’s career.

Book Review: ‘Grave Suspicions’ by Alice James

Happy publication day to ‘Grave Suspicions’ by Alice James. This is the third in the series to feature Lavington Windsor, everyone’s favourite estate agent by day and necromancer when the sun goes down!

I was incredibly lucky to be gifted a copy of this book by the author after I raved about the previous books in the series – you can read my reviews here. Anyway, you know the deal – opinions are still entirely my own, no matter how I got the book.

Book Review: ‘The Second Murderer’ by Denise Mina

It’s a brave author that takes a beloved character and creates a new story for them – and that’s exactly what Denise Mina has done here with Raymond Chandler’s famous private detective, Philip Marlowe.

Marlowe is mulling over a case that he’s closed that doesn’t feel right when he gets a summons to the sprawling Montgomery estate set high above Beverly Hills. The young heiress to the family fortune, Chrissie Montgomery, is missing and Marlowe is asked to find her. However, her elderly and dying father isn’t taking any chances – he’s hired another private detective who Marlowe knows well in order to set the rivals against each other in finding his daughter. As Marlowe gets nearer to the truth, a murder is committed and Marlowe has to consider whether Chrissie really is safest returning to her family.