Sally Rigby Archives - The Quick and the Read

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

Blog Tour: ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Sally Rigby’s ‘Silent Graves’, the ninth book in the Cavendish and Walker crime fiction series.

This tour was organised by the lovely Emma at Damp Pebbles and I’d like to thank her and the author for my free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was published in paperback and digital formats on 15th January 2021.

Book Blurb:

Nothing remains buried forever…

When the bodies of two teenage girls are discovered on a building site, DCI Whitney Walker knows she’s on the hunt for a killer. The problem is the murders happened forty years ago and this is her first case with the new team. What makes it even tougher is that with budgetary restrictions in place, she only has two weeks to solve it.

Once again, she enlists the help of forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish, but as she digs deeper into the past, she uncovers hidden truths that hurtle through the decades and into the present.

Silent Graves is the ninth book in the acclaimed Cavendish & Walker series. Perfect for fans of L J Ross, J M Dalgleish and Rachel Abbott.

My Review:

I love police procedurals and doubly so when there’s a strong female lead – so I jumped at the chance to join this blog tour.

I hadn’t read any of this series before (this is the ninth book) but I managed just fine with it. This book works well as a stand alone – everything relevant is explained.

The opening pages introduce us to DCI Whitney Walker who is about to meet her new team in the shiny new Lenchester police station. She’s worked with some of them before, but there are new additions and she has a new boss – all very unnerving for her, but useful for those of us catching up with who’s who!

The team’s first case comes about when two bodies are found on farmland that is being developed for a housing estate. The two skeletons present a problem – this is clearly a historical case and there will be limited forensic evidence. When the bodies are established to be connected to the 1980 disappearance of two teenage girls, Walker and her team are faced with the difficulties of investigating a cold case with limited time – Lenchester Police are unwilling to fund a long investigation that might ultimately lead nowhere…

This is a solid police procedural with a good range of characters – Walker’s team are an interesting bunch, all recognisably real and human, from the slightly cocky new DS who has big career plans to the timid researcher whose brilliant work gets overshadowed by her more confident teammates.

Walker herself is also engaging – although she is slightly prickly and would be terrifying to actually work for, I think! Her friendship with Dr Georgina Cavendish, a forensic psychologist and another spiky character, is well developed and the two women have complementary skills that further the investigation.

I have no clue as to whether this is a realistic portrayal of police work – I did have a few questions – but it is an enjoyable and well-plotted police procedural. I thought there would be issues with keeping the momentum going on a 40 year-old case, but this is well managed and I was keen to keep reading.

I would recommend this to lovers of crime fiction with a strong (female) detective at the helm. It isn’t gruesome or full of peril, but it is an engaging and interesting read – and equally accessible whether you are a die-hard Cavendish and Walker fan or (like me) brand new to the series.

About the Author:

Sally Rigby was born in Northampton, in the UK. She has always had the travel bug, and after living in both Manchester and London, eventually moved overseas. From 2001 she has lived with her family in New Zealand (apart from five years in Australia), which she considers to be the most beautiful place in the world. After writing young adult fiction for many years, under a pen name, Sally decided to move into crime fiction. Her Cavendish & Walker series brings together two headstrong, and very different, women – DCI Whitney Walker, and forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish. Sally has a background in education, and has always loved crime fiction books, films and TV programmes. She has a particular fascination with the psychology of serial killers.

Check out her website for a FREE prequel story….. www.sallyrigby.com

Social Media:

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Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/373TnGQ

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/39ZDwL1

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.

WWW Wednesday: 6th January, 2021

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 reading ‘The Art of Death’ by David Fennell, a serial killer crime novel with a female detective, DI Grace Archer. It is such a tense thriller, although definitely quite gruesome at times as Archer and her team find victims’ bodies turned into art installations on the streets of London. This is definitely a brilliant book for keeping readers turning pages – my review will follow

I also read ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’ by Grady Hendrix. Although it was nothing like I expected (I wanted a middle-aged, book club version of ‘True Blood’!), I did find it engaging.

I loved the idea of a group of women, brought together by their love of books, standing together against a vampire in their safe, middle-class neighbourhood. However, I was less prepared for the quite extreme horror elements – a bit beyond what I’d signed up for with its rats, bugs and dead animals.

Still, it kept me reading as I wanted to see the women – not a cohesive or cosy group by any means – triumph.

Then I read ‘How to Solve a Murder’ by Derek and Pauline Tremain, a rather gruesome but interesting book about forensics. The Tremains worked in the forensic department at Guy’s Hospital (where they met) and this book is packed with information about how deaths are investigated. I’d hoped for some insights into specific cases, but this was more about the science and the people doing the work – recommended for crime fiction fans.

My first book of 2021 was James O’Brien’s ‘How Not to be Wrong: The Art of Changing your Mind’. I really liked this non-fiction look at how broadcaster O’Brien has been led to shift his own world views by callers to his radio show or through the process of therapy. It’s an engaging and lively read, packed with O’Brien’s own reflections, transcripts of his radio show and plenty of food for thought.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading the new Liz Mistry book on NetGalley (‘Dark Memories’) – I loved the previous book in this series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and have so far been caught up in this story about Parekh investigating murders that have connections to her own poverty-stricken childhood in Bradford. The friendship between Parekh and her sidekick, Saj, is just lovely in this book and offsets some of the bleak themes.

I’m also reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie as a readalong with my blogger friends at The Write Reads. I’m only a few chapters in and remembering all the reasons I loved reading Christie’s books when I was a teenager – the characterisation, the fiendish plotting, the red herrings… I love it all!

‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett is also on my current reading pile – I’m reading this as a buddy read with Locky Loves Books. It’s a really unusual crime fiction book in that it is all written as emails, voicemail transcrips, texts and notes between the main protagonists surrounding a murder in a small community (and the lawyers who are trying to piece together the solution at the same time as the reader). Highly original and absolutely brilliant!

And (because three books on the go isn’t enough!) I’m also reading ‘Maiden Voyages: Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel’ by Sian Evans. This is a very readable non-fiction book about women travellers mainly between the wars. The opening chapters deal with the Titanic and the ‘Unsinkable’ Violet Jessop before moving on to war time and the tragedy of the Lusitania. It’s fascinating stuff so far!

What do you think you will read next?

I have so many books, thanks to Christmas and my Waterstones’ sale spree – I am very lucky to be drowning in books. My husband is less happy about the amount of books in our house right now…

I do have a book to read for a blog tour – ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby, a crime fiction novel in the Cavendish and Walker series. I haven’t read previous books but I am totally intrigued by the fact this is a female DCI partnered with a female forensic psychologist to solve the historical murders of teenage girls who were killed in 1980.

Aside from this, I’ve got my eye on some more crime fiction – it’s becoming a bit of an obsession! I’m tempted by ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson as I won a proof, plus ‘One by One’ by Ruth Ware (who has been described as a modern-day Christie – perfect!)

So that’s me for this week! As always, thanks to NetGalley, publishers, my family and my ever-dwindling bank account for keeping me in great books.