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?

Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Night Watch’ by Neil Lancaster

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.

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘The Politician’ by Tim Sullivan

Book Review: ‘Bleeding Heart Yard’ by Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths writes lots of great crime books – but I do have the softest spot for this series which features DI Harbinder Kaur.

In this book – the third in the series – Detective Kaur has moved to London and is finding her feet with new flatmates, colleagues and city crime. When a school reunion ends in a suspicious death, DI Kaur and her team find themselves investigating some high-profile school alumnae and links to a murder many years previously. Their work is hindered by the fact that one of their team – DS Caitlin Fitzgerald – is one of the suspects…

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Bleeding Heart Yard’ by Elly Griffiths

Book Review: ‘The Winter Killer’ by Alex Pine

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.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Winter Killer’ by Alex Pine

Blog Tour: ‘Dying Breath’ by Liz Mistry

Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. Opinions, as always, are entirely my own.

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Dying Breath’ by Liz Mistry

Book Review: ‘Cat and Mouse’ by M J Arlidge

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.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Cat and Mouse’ by M J Arlidge

Book Review: ‘Hope to Die’ by Cara Hunter

A new Cara Hunter book is always a treat – and this is no exception. I read A LOT of crime fiction and think that Cara Hunter’s books are among the best.

This is the sixth book in the series featuring DI Adam Fawley and his team – although there are some plotlines that run across the books (mainly to do with the team’s personal lives and relationships), I think this could be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Hope to Die’ by Cara Hunter

Blog Tour: ‘From the Ashes’ by Deborah Masson

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest in the series featuring DI Eve Hunter – ‘From the Ashes’ by Deborah Masson.

Thanks to Compulsive Readers/Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – as always, opinions are entirely my own. The paperback will be published in August 2022 by Penguin Books, although I believe the Kindle edition is available before this.

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘From the Ashes’ by Deborah Masson

Blog Tour: ‘Bad for Good’ by Graham Bartlett

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this brand new, debut police procedural.

Thanks to Helen Richardson for inviting me on the tour, and to Allison and Busby for my review copy of the novel. As always, opinions are entirely my own.


Regular followers of my blog know that I love a crime novel. A debut crime novel? Even better – a chance to find a new favourite! A debut crime novel written by someone who really knows his stuff? Better still – and crime novelists probably don’t come much better qualified than Graham Bartlett, former Chief Superintendent and Police Commander of Brighton and Hove.

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Bad for Good’ by Graham Bartlett

Book Review: ‘Under the Marsh’ by G R Halliday

This was my first introduction to DI Monica Kennedy – but I hope I’ll meet her again! Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is due to be published in July 2022.

The story opens with a notorious female serial killer asking to see DI Kennedy from her jail cell. The killer – Pauline Tosh – reveals the whereabouts of a body buried deep in the tidal marshes. Assuming this locates one of Tosh’s own victims, the police team rush to uncover the grave…and discover that things are far from as simple as they expect.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Under the Marsh’ by G R Halliday