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.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Night Before Christmas by Alex PineThis 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.
Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘The Silent Man’ by David FennellI 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.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘Tennison’ by Lynda La PlanteHappy 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.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘Grave Suspicions’ by Alice JamesIt’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.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Second Murderer’ by Denise MinaI was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for ‘Voices of the Dead’, the fourth novel featuring Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher. Thanks for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I’d read and enjoyed ‘The Tattoo Thief’ by Alison Belsham so I came to this book with high expectations. I didn’t realise that this book was a sequel or that I’d actually missed the second book in the series- but all was fine. It helped that I had a vague sense of the relationships between the main characters, but I don’t think it was essential.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Embalmer’ by Alison BelshamLong-standing fans of the DS Maeve Kerrigan series can rejoice – the latest instalment (the tenth) is here and it is a good one!
In this book, DS Kerrigan goes undercover with DI Josh Derwent – they move into Jellicoe Close posing as a couple to investigate some shady goings-on around the death of a vulnerable adult. As they get to know their new neighbours, they start to realise that danger lurks in this most perfect-seeming suburban street. Nothing is as it seems, and peril gets increasingly close to Maeve and Josh’s new domestic set-up.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Close’ by Jane CaseyThanks to the lovely people at Penguin Michael Joseph for my copy of ‘The Night Man’ by Jorn Lier Horst. I was delighted to win this in a giveaway but – as always – opinions are entirely my own.
I love Scandinavian crime fiction and was intrigued by this – especially when I saw that it has been made into a major TV series which will be my next port of call! I came to this expecting a dark, tense thriller and wasn’t at all disappointed.
The story opens with the gruesome discovery of a severed head on a stake in the centre of a small town called Larvik in Norway. Police Inspector William Wisting is called in to investigate, but the media are also circling as they seek out a sensational story – and the media pack are led by Wisting’s own daughter, Line. When a second body is recovered from a lake, Wisting is forced to confront the fact that Larvik has been infiltrated by a dangerous and ruthless criminal network…
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Night Man’ by Jorn Lier HorstThis 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
