mystery Archives - Page 5 of 13 - The Quick and the Read

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 Watch’ by Neil Lancaster

This was my first book by Neil Lancaster – and I don’t think it will be my last!

The reviews for this series are amazing, so I was pleased to be granted a copy by NetGalley so that I could make up my own mind.

The book opens with the deaths of a high-profile lawyer and one of his past clients, one of Scotland’s most notorious criminals who has just been released from prison. As the bodies begin to stack up, DS Max Craigie starts to suspect that they have a murderer taking revenge on those who have done bad things – a vigilante killer who seems to have insider knowledge of the police’s methods and processes. The investigation team is forced to face the fact that the culprit may be one of them – but how are they going to uncover someone who knows their every move?

Book Review: ‘The Sanctuary’ by Emma Haughton

I absolutely loved Emma Haughton’s first fiction book for adults, ‘The Dark’, set in a research centre in Antarctica. This was the perfect claustrophobic locked-room mystery with the inhospitable surroundings meaning escape was impossible.

I gulped that book down in one – so I was thrilled that NetGalley granted me access to Haughton’s next book, ‘The Sanctuary’.

In this book, Zoey wakes in an unfamiliar environment – she doesn’t remember much about the night before, a night out in New York, aside from a few troubling flashbacks. Now she’s in the desert in The Sanctuary, a high-end establishment helping people to kick their various addictions and face their problems. Zoey doesn’t want to be there…but how can she escape when the centre is miles from anywhere and surrounded by the threats of the endless, empty desert? Instead, she begins to get to know the other residents and participate in some often-unorthodox treatments. But is the desert really more of a threat than the perils lurking within The Sanctuary’s walls?

Book Review: ‘Murder on the Christmas Express’ by Alexandra Benedict

I’d not read anything by Alexandra Benedict before but this book ticked a lot of boxes for me – a sleeper train, a whole load of shady characters thrown together and murder! Add in Christmas and I hoped for a lovely festive crime novel with shades of Agatha Christie.

Blog Tour: ‘The Politician’ by Tim Sullivan

From the Publisher:

A ransacked room. A dead politician. A burglary gone wrong–or a staged murder?

THE DETECTIVE

DS George Cross loves puzzles–he’s good at them–and he immediately spots one when he begins investigating the death of former mayor Peggy Frampton. It looks like a burglary that went horribly wrong to most but George can see what others can’t–that this was murder.

(Audio)book Review: ‘A Restless Truth’ by Freya Marske

The first book in this series – ‘A Marvellous Light’ – introduced a glorious, vibrant, historical world and a gorgeous romance between (non-magical) aristocrat Robin Blyth and the man trying to help him navigate the magical world, Edwin Courcey. I read it, loved it, and wondered very much how Freya Marske was going to follow it up given that it was touted as ‘The Last Binding, Book 1’.

In my review, I wrote about Maud, Robin’s unconventional and sassy sister who refused to accept the limitations placed upon her as a woman in Edwardian England. I hoped I’d read more about her in the sequel.

It’s fair to say that all my wishes came true – Maud Blyth is the central character in ‘A Restless Truth’ and I could not be happier! Especially as it also features some of my other favourite elements – a murder mystery, a cruise liner, characters breaking society’s rules, lots of humour and even a touch of scandal.

Blog Tour: ‘What Child is This?’ by Bonnie MacBird

I’m delighted to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for ‘What Child is This?’, the fifth book in Bonnie MacBird’s excellent Sherlock Holmes series.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and Collins Crime Club for my place on the tour and copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. As always, opinions are my own.

Blog Tour: ‘The Butcher and the Wren’ by Alaina Urquhart

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Butcher and the Wren’, a tense and terrifying serial killer mystery set in the bayous of Louisiana.

Thanks to Sriya at Michael Joseph for inviting me onto the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – opinions are always my own.

Book Review: ‘The Cruise’ by Catherine Cooper

Having read Cooper’s previous books – ‘The Chalet’ and ‘The Chateau’ – I knew what to expect. Glamorous settings, a small cast of seriously dodgy people and a twisty mystery that I wouldn’t be able to predict!

I wasn’t wrong!

Book Review: ‘The Cliff House’ by Chris Brookmyre

I started reading this book on Pigeonhole, a chunk at a time, released daily. This is definitely one you don’t want to read in small chunks – to keep up with everyone and to not constantly be on a cliffhanger, you need to devour this in one sitting! Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.