Sleep by C.L. Taylor #bookreview blog tour @callytaylor @AvonBooksUK

I’m delighted to be kicking off the blog tour for Sleep by C.L. Taylor today on my blog, I’ve been a fan of her novels for a while now, but this one I think, is her best yet.

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All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…

To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare.

Each of the guests have a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they’re on the island. There’s a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they’ve set their sights on Anna.

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie.

Someone’s going to sleep and never wake up…

MY THOUGHTS

Sleep is my favourite book yet by C.L. Taylor. It’s a dark, claustrophobic read that will keep you gripped right from the first page.

C.L. Taylor always manages to hook me very early on in her novels, and she manages tension so well. The end of each chapter always leaves me wanting more. The novel opens as a horrific car accident takes place, taking the lives of two people and severely injuring another. Anna is the person who was at the wheel of the car involved in the accident. She is haunted by the deaths of her colleagues who were in the car with her and blames herself. Desperate for a fresh start, Anna relocates to a remote Scottish island. But someone is keen to make sure Anna hasn’t forgotten what she’s done, and they are eager to make sure that she pays for her role in her colleague’s deaths.

The claustrophobic setting of the hotel on the Scottish island, where Anna starts a new job made this book a real winner for me. There was a growing sense of alarm and danger, especially as they realised they were beginning to run out of food. The group of guests all have their own, well-crafted backstories and as Anna started to believe that she was being targeted, I didn’t know who I could trust. C.L. Taylor created a splendid locked room mystery, and she brought to life a truly isolated setting, especially when the storm struck leaving the guests and Anna stranded in the hotel.

This is an absolutely must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. I remember how chilling I found the ending of C.L. Taylor’s last book and she delivers another brilliant one here, after finishing it I’m still thinking about the characters and what they’re all getting up to. And I think I’m going to be thinking about them for a while.

A top read from C.L. Taylor. I was never sure how this book was going to pan out, and the tension kept me glued to the pages.

Thank you to Sabah Khan at Avon Books for the invitation to join the blog tour and for sending me a copy of the book to review.

Publisher: Avon

Publication date: 4th April 2019

Print length: 368 pages

If you would like to purchase Sleep, you can do so by clicking on one of the following links below.

Amazon UK  Kobo  Waterstones

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The Neighbour by Fiona Cummins #bookreview @FionaAnnCummins @panmacmillan

I’m absolutely delighted to be sharing my thoughts on Fiona Cummins brilliant new crime novel The Neighbour on my blog today.

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FOR SALE: A lovely family home with good-sized garden and treehouse occupying a plot close to woodland. Perfect for kids, fitness enthusiasts, dog walkers . . .

And, it seems, the perfect hunting ground for a serial killer.

On a hot July day, Garrick and Olivia Lockwood and their two children move into 25 The Avenue looking for a fresh start. They arrive in the midst of a media frenzy: they’d heard about the local murders in the press, but Garrick was certain the killer would be caught and it would all be over in no time. Besides, they’d got the house at a steal and he was convinced he could flip it for a fortune.

The neighbours seemed to be the very picture of community spirit. But everyone has secrets, and the residents in The Avenue are no exception.

After six months on the case with no real leads, the most recent murder has turned DC Wildeve Stanton’s life upside down, and now she has her own motive for hunting down the killer – quickly.

MY THOUGHTS

I absolutely loved this one. Having been a fan of Fiona Cummins’ first two novels, I was more than intrigued to see what she would write next, and the answer is The Neighbour which is a crime novel of pure brilliance. Fiona’s writing makes her books exactly the type of read you could race through in one sitting. Genuinely chilling and with short, snappy chapters that will have you itching to read the next, this is top-rate crime fiction.

Fiona develops her characters so, so well. We have the Lockwood’s who have just moved into The Avenue and the creepy neighbours who will have you examining and thinking about each and every one of them. I had so many suspicions about all of them, and I loved how Fiona led me down several different paths and how she then thwarted my thoughts at the end as the final truths were revealed, and this was done so very brilliantly.

There is such a creepy premise to this book that will have you looking at your own neighbours with suspicion, perhaps, depending on how well you get on with them I suppose and how well you know them. We hear from the killer’s thoughts throughout the book, and there were some lines in these scenes that did give me chills. The characters will also have you thinking just what lengths will you go to protect your loved ones, especially from the secrets you hide. You will see what I mean when I say that this is a genuinely chilling read.

The Neighbour is a novel I did not want to put down. The only problem I have now is that I have to wait a while for Fiona’s next book. This is very much a character-driven crime novel, and they will all stay in your mind for a while after you read it. This definitely comes highly recommended from me.

Publisher: Pan

Publication date: 4th April 2019

Print length: 416 pages

If you would like to purchase The Neighbour you can do so by clicking on one of the following links below.

Amazon UK  Kobo  Waterstones

 

 

Miranda by Stewart Giles blog tour #guestpost @stewartgiles @Books_n_all

On my blog today I’m sharing a guest post from author Stewart Giles about his new crime thriller, Miranda as part of the blog tour.

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‘My name is Miranda. I’ll be twenty-eight-years old soon, and I’m a serial murderer.’

‘I might just kill again!’

From #1 bestseller Stewart Giles comes a completely stand-alone psychological thriller that you don’t want to miss.

Miranda is a unique read, the best book yet by Stewart Giles.  Sentenced to life in a secure hospital for the murder of 12 people Miranda tells her story.

In the meantime, the reader is transported back to the time of the murders as we follow DI Keene and her team along the many twists, turns and dead ends as they try to find the murderer of several unrelated victims.

This is an edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline pumping read that will have you turning the pages all the way to the totally unexpected ending.

Buckle up this is a bumpy ride

 

GUEST POST BY STUART GILES – MIRANDA AND DI KEENE

Miranda is a ruthless killer, yet I still believe one can still feel some sympathy for her. We never really know whether to side with her or not and I think that’s what makes the book different. She’s also a bit of an enigma, in that we never really understand what turned her into what she became. She’s a highly intelligent, if somewhat devious woman, but she also shows moments of extreme empathy towards those who have been wronged.

Detective Inspector Patricia Keene is not unlike Miranda in many ways. Driven and determined, she refuses to stop until she’s found out the truth.

Her team respect and admire her, and she will never ask anything of anybody she’s not willing to do herself.  She’s totally dedicated to her work, and I believe if the circumstances were different, Keene and Miranda could actually become good friends.

My aim with Miranda was to create a scenario where there are actually two protagonists and you are never really sure which one you ought to root for.

 

Thank you to Jill at Books n All Book Promotions for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and to Stewart for taking the time to write a guest post.

If you would like to purchase Miranda, you can do so by clicking on the following link below. 

Amazon UK

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His Perfect Wife by Natasha Bell #bookreview blog tour @byTashB @MichaelJBooks

I’m delighted to be sharing my review of His Perfect Wife by Natasha Bell on my blog today. This book was previously titled Exhibit Alexandra.

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She was his perfect wife, until she went missing . . .

Alexandra Southwood has vanished. Her husband, Marc, is beside himself. It isn’t long before the police are searching for a body.

But Alexandra is alive – trapped, far away from her husband and young daughters.

Desperate, Marc will stop at nothing to find the woman he loves. Even if it means discovering that he never really knew her at all.

Because Alexandra is no ordinary missing person – but then neither is she quite a perfect wife . . 

MY THOUGHTS

His Perfect Wife by Natasha Bell is an utterly immersive novel that thinks outside the psychological thriller box. This was a pacy, quick read and I loved the style in which it was told which I thought made it feel very different to what I have read recently in this genre.

There are some very intriguing aspects to this story. In the set-up, we have the disappearance of Marc’s wife, Alex and we can see that he can’t bring himself to even comprehend what has happened, especially when the police begin to believe that Alex is dead. But the story is told partly from her perspective, as though she is looking in on her husband’s life in the aftermath of her going missing. I thought this was very unusual and it made this book feel very different.

I found the plot of this book to be very unpredictable, and I never could quite see where the story was heading. I had so many thoughts and different scenarios going around inside my head as to what could have happened to Alex, and it does take a very twisty turn which will have you thinking about what you have missed, and how Natasha has cleverly placed all of her clues throughout the book. I’m not going to talk any more about the plot as I don’t want to spoil the story as it is very difficult to talk about without giving anything away.

Natasha also takes us back to the time when Marc and Alex first got together and it was fascinating to see their relationship develop.

This is a thriller that will keep you thinking all the way through about what really is going on here and Natasha’s writing makes it a very addictive read. There are lots of secrets to be uncovered and nothing is as it seems. His Perfect Wife is a really well written and a compulsive read that will keep you hooked.

Thank you to Sriya at Michael Joseph for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for sending me a copy of the book.

Publisher: Penguin

Publication date: 21st March 2019

Print length: 400 Pages

If you would like to purchase His Perfect Wife, you can do so by clicking on one of the following links below.

Amazon UK  Kobo  Waterstones

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Sea of Lies by Rachel McLean spotlight post @rachelmcwrites @rararesources

I’m delighted to be bringing you a spotlight post today for Sea of Lies by Rachel McLean, her latest thriller which is a standalone sequel to her previous novel, which was also released this month, Thicker Than Water.

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He abducted her. He fell in love with her. He helped her escape. Can she trust him?

Sarah Evans has returned home after being abducted and held in a dilapidated farmhouse by a group of men.

With her is Martin, who turned against the other men to help her escape. He says he’s not like them, and claims to be in love with her.

Can Sarah trust Martin? Does she share his feelings? Or should she listen to her father, himself deceitful and abusive, and turn her back on the relationship?

Sea of Lies is a chilling psychological thriller about secrets, trust, and a family falling apart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name’s Rachel McLean and I write thrillers that make you think.

What does that mean?

In short, I want my stories to make your pulse race and your brain tick.

Do you often get through a thriller at breakneck pace but are left with little sense of what the book was really about? Do you sometimes read literary fiction but just wish something would damn well happen?

My books aim to fill that gap.

If you’d like to know more about my books and receive extra bonus content, please join my book club at rachelmclean.com/bookclub. I’ll send you a weekly email with news about my writing research and progress, stories and bonus content for each book. And I’ll let you know when my books are on offer.

If you would like to purchase Sea of Lies, you can do so by clicking on the following link below. 

Amazon UK

He Will Kill You by Charlie Gallagher #bookreview blog tour @Gloriouscharlie @Books_n_all

I’m thrilled to be joining the blog tour today for He Will Kill You by Charlie Gallagher which is a gritty police procedural.

BLURB

MEET DETECTIVE MADDIE IVES IN THIS NEW SERIES THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM THE EXPLOSIVE START TO ONE OF THE MOST SHOCKING ENDINGS OF THE YEAR.

Grace Hughes: kicked to the bathroom floor by her partner, her back and side aching from where he slammed the door on her frail body, fighting to regain her breath, she can no longer ignore a simple truth: 

SHE MUST LEAVE OR HE WILL KILL HER

Grace is a prisoner in her own home but she has a plan to get free. Detective Sergeant Maddie Ives is going to help her. Maddie now works with a team specialising in getting abused women to safety. She tells Grace to keep a diary, to write everything down so it forms part of the compelling evidence needed to send her abuser to prison.

The detective doesn’t know how bad it’s got. Grace hasn’t been completely honest. But Grace wants to tell her everything, and Maddie will get her safe.

Maddie has a lot on her mind. A dead boy in a bath, a car bomber who wants to make a statement, and the return of a scarred DI Harry Blaker.

Can he and Maddie stop the bomber, find a killer and get Grace safe — whether she helps herself or not?

GRACE’S TIME IS RUNNING OUT. SHE MUST ESCAPE OR DIE.

MY THOUGHTS

He Will Kill You is a gritty crime thriller from Charlie Gallagher that had me hooked from the first page. It is the second book in the Detective Maddie Ives series, but it can be read perfectly well as a standalone. I haven’t read the first book in the series yet, but I had no problem at all in getting into the story, and now that I’ve read this book I think I will definitely be catching up as there are some brilliant characters here.

Charlie Gallagher is a serving police officer and this gives this story a real sense of authenticity. There are some quite tough themes that he explores in his latest book, including domestic abuse and terrorism, but the plot is so exciting, and with action, right from the first page I was kept on the edge of my seat. This book will also make you think a little bit more about what is going on behind closed doors.

He Will Kill You opens up with an explosion in a tunnel, killing and injuring many people as explosive devices are detonated. But what is the connection of this to a case of domestic abuse, and the targeting of a man, who is on the verge of taking an important position that deals directly with the police force? And soon everything does take a really sinister turn.

At first, you can’t quite see how the different strands in this book are going to come together as the victims and the scenarios they find themselves in are all very different. This is what kept me reading as I raced to get to the conclusion and Charlie Gallagher continues to build on the suspense throughout the book as you get to learn more about the characters. The case Maddie is investigating currently involves a young woman called Grace who has been suffering from abuse at the hand of her partner. You can see that this is a subject that Charlie has in-depth knowledge about as I found these scenes very believable and well written. Maddie cares a lot about Grace and has been persuading her for a while to leave her partner and to report what has been happening to her to the police, which Grace has been very reluctant to do.

Maddie is a character who I really liked. She is a strong lead; she’s tenacious and she really cares about the victims in the cases she is investigating. She and Harry make for a brilliant team who work together really well; I loved the humour that was often there in their conversations which brought their personalities and characters to life. I think what I liked about them both is neither appeared to stick to the rules, and this made them very unpredictable. I did agree with a lot of the decisions they took.

This is a pacy, highly intriguing crime thriller. Charlie’s writing makes it a very addictive read, and he kept me wondering just how everything was going to come together, and I was shocked by the twist towards the end which completely surprised me. This is a new series for me, and I’m sure I am going to be following it. It’s top crime fiction at its very best. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Jill Burkinshaw at Books n all Book Promotions for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and to the publisher for sending me an advance review copy.

Publisher: Joffe Books

Publication date: 15th March 2019

Print length: 314 pages

If you would like to purchase He Will Kill You, you can do so by clicking on the following link below.

Amazon UK

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Retriever of Souls & Children in Chains by Lorraine Mace #extract #giveaway @lomace

I’m delighted to be bringing you an extract today from the first two books in the DI Sterling Series, Retriever of Souls and Children in Chains. Lorraine’s books are published by Accent Press. Lorraine is also giving away a paperback copy of Children in Chains. To enter the competition all you need to do is leave a comment at the end of the blog post and I’ll choose one winner at random. The deadline to enter is midnight Friday, 22nd March 2019. Good luck!

     

Retriever of Souls

The first title in a dark and gritty crime series. 

Brought up believing that sex is the devil’s work, a killer only finds release once he has saved his victim’s souls. Abiding by his vision, he marks them as his. A gift to guide his chosen ones on the rightful path to redemption.

Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is out to stop him, but Paolo has problems of his own. Hunting down the killer as the death toll rises, the lines soon blur between Paolo’s personal and professional lives.

Children in Chains

The second gripping instalment in the DI Paolo Sterling crime series. 

Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is determined to shut down the syndicate flooding Bradchester’s streets with young prostitutes.

When a child is murdered, Paolo becomes aware of a sinister network of abusers spread across Europe, and spanning all levels of society. But Joey, the shadowy leader of the gang, always seems to be one step ahead in the chase.

Has Paolo come up against a criminal he cannot defeat?

 

RETRIEVER OF SOULS – EXTRACT

“Please, no. Oh God. No more. Please.”

Excited by her pleading, he pounded his fists into her face. He craved release, but couldn’t give in. Not yet. Not while she could defile him. Only when her swollen lids meant she could no longer see did he allow himself to take her throat between his hands and free her soul.

He waited for her death throes to pass, then relaxed his grip and moved down the bed to suck and caress her breasts. His heart pounded. Now. He had to move now before it was too late. Shifting position, he straddled her body. Arching his back, he emptied his hatred onto her breasts.

Shuddering, he slid from the bed and fell to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “So sorry, so sorry, so…”

His throat constricted. As tears flowed, he screamed. Thrashing wildly, he knocked against the chair holding the woman’s clothes. Her tights fell across his neck and he panicked, clawing himself free.

Fucking whore!

“God forgive me,” he sobbed. “She made me. Forgive me, God. Forgive me.”

Crawling to the corner cupboard, he opened the door and reached for the scourge. He braced himself, then flicked the nine-tailed lash, the tiny spiked ends digging into his flesh.

Each strike lifted him closer to purity, until he collapsed. Exhausted, he slept.

He woke at first light, ready for the next stage. Filling a bowl with water, he brought it to the bed, then scraped under each of the woman’s nails before washing most of her body in the warm water. He swabbed above and below her breasts, careful not to disturb his gift, the sign of her salvation. From under the bed he brought out a small black leather casket. He removed a fine-toothed comb and ran it through her pubic hair, placing the loose hairs in the envelope he’d already marked with a number four.

Retriever of Souls can be purchased from the following link below.

Amazon UK

 

CHILDREN IN CHAINS – EXTRACT

Joey held the blade against Edona’s neck. A tiny line of red trickled down, collecting on the edge of her blue sweatshirt. He didn’t want to kill her. She’d always been one of his best money earners, still looking like a schoolgirl even though she was almost twenty.

“Make the call,” he whispered. “Make the call and you can live.”

He could feel her trembling against his body as he pulled her closer.

“Make the call,” he repeated.

She nodded and dialled. Her fingers shook so much Joey wondered if she’d hit the right buttons. He’d know when the call was answered. His head was close enough to hers to hear the ringing tone and then the copper’s sleepy voice.

“Sterling.”

The call had obviously woken him. Not surprising. It was five in the morning.

Joey released the knife just enough to enable Edona to speak. If she tried anything stupid, he’d put an end to her before she had chance to betray him again.

 “It’s me. I …”

Joey touched the knife gently against Edona’s neck; a reminder of what they’d agreed.

“I’m listening,” Sterling said. “What have you got for me?”

“Some girls, they come tonight.”

“Where? What time?”

“I not know what time, but they bring them to motorway. Change van in car park outside restaurant and shop.”

“Tell me who is bringing them in. Who are you working for? I can protect –”

Joey took the phone and ended the call.

“What a kind man! He wants to protect you. It’s a bit too late for that, Edona. I wonder what else you’ve told him. I don’t suppose I’ll ever find out. Not that it matters to you now, but I’ve always been very fond of you. What I have to do to you breaks my heart.”

“No hurt me. Please no. You say me, I make call, you forgive.”

“And you believed me? Shame on you, Edona. I could never forgive such a betrayal. You’ve been working against me for too long now. I’ve heard you telling the young ones that they’d get free, someday.” He laughed. “You’re such a fool. For girls like you, someday never comes.”

He felt her tears dripping onto his hand.

“Ah no, don’t cry. I don’t like to have my girls crying. No more tears.”

He pulled the knife across her throat. As the blood spurted, he pushed her away, smiling as her body tumbled into the foundation pit.

“Edar, Bekim!” he called to the two men waiting by the car. “Cover her up.”

They moved forward and began shovelling rubble and sand. Joey watched for a while, but soon got bored. He went and leaned against the car until Bekim signalled for him to come back and approve what they’d done.

He looked down into the pit and smiled. There was no trace of Edona. He glanced at his watch. It was now five-thirty. The concrete was due to be poured in three hours’ time. Perfect.

“That’s cleared up that loose end. I’d wondered how Sterling seemed to know so much, but without you two pointing her out, I’d never have guessed it was Edona. Good work,” he said, smiling at the two men. He passed her phone to one of them. “Get rid of that, Bekim. Make sure it can’t be traced back to us. Right, let’s get everything in place for tonight’s delivery. Now that we know Sterling will be on the other side of town, the transfer will be, as the Brits like to say, a piece of cake. I wonder what the fuck that means, a piece of cake.” He grinned. “Talking of cake, it’s time for breakfast.”

Children in Chains can be purchased by clicking on the following link below.

Amazon UK

 

 

The Lost by Mari Hannah #bookreview

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‘He was her child. The only one she’d ever have. It would kill her to learn that he was missing.’

Alex arrives home from holiday to find that her ten-year-old son Daniel has disappeared.

It’s the first case together for Northumbria CID officers David Stone and Frankie Oliver.

Stone has returned to his roots with fifteen years’ experience in the Met, whereas Oliver is local, a third generation copper with a lot to prove, and a secret that’s holding her back.

But as the investigation unfolds, they realise the family’s betrayal goes deeper than anyone suspected. This isn’t just a missing persons case. Stone and Oliver are hunting a killer.

MY THOUGHTS 

The Lost is a very twisty crime novel from Mari Hannah which delves into a family’s secrets when a ten-year-old child disappears.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s the first one by Mari Hannah which I have read and I was really impressed by how Mari drew everything together, especially as this was a very complex investigation that her police team were investigating. I thought it was brilliant how Mari completely threw me with the twist towards the end which was so chilling.

I think what made this novel so intriguing from the beginning was the family who were involved and at the centre of the case the police team are investigating. For me there was something that just didn’t sit right about them. I really wanted to get to the bottom of who these people were and there were so many different aspects about their personalities which kept me intrigued and searching for answers.

This book did take a very different direction to the one which I was expecting it to. We are first introduced to one of our main characters, Alex, when she is on holiday in Majorca with her sister, only to come back to the UK to discover that her son is missing. But as Mari’s two new lead detectives, David Stone and Frankie Oliver investigate; they discover that there is more to this family than meets the eye and they have to unpick the layers to get to the heart of what is really going on in the lives of the people involved.

Detectives Stone and Oliver are a welcome addition to the crime fiction world. There is a strong working and friendly relationship between them and it’ll be interesting to see how they progress from here. I suspect that there is more about Frankie to be discovered as there is a hint about something in her past which I am definitely interested to find out more about.

With a brilliant, cleverly thought out plot and addictive writing, I can’t recommend this book highly enough for crime fiction lovers. It’s a book that I found very difficult to put down. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Publisher: Orion

Publication date: 22nd March 2018

Print length: 416 pages

If you would like to purchase The Lost, you can do so by clicking on one of the following links below. 

Amazon UK  Kobo  Waterstones

A Body in the Lakes by Graham Smith #bookreview blog tour @GrahamSmith1972 @bookouture

On my blog today I’m sharing my thoughts on Graham Smith’s gripping new thriller, A Body in the Lakes, the second book in the DC Beth Young series.

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The woman’s limbs were so thin; the skin on her arms as translucent as tracing paper. Around her neck lay a faint string of purple bruises. In one so frail, darker, angrier marks might be expected but Beth knew the bruising would have stopped the moment her heart stopped beating.

When a hiker finds the body of a woman by the shores of Lake Ullswater, the police are put on high alert. Felicia Evans was known to be a tough character, but who would have strangled her?

Detective Beth Young quickly spots the links to three cold cases. Three women strangled and discarded in the stunning, wild hills of the Lake District.

As Beth begins tracking down witnesses, the team receives an anonymous letter claiming the charming mayor of Carlisle is behind the murders. There’s pressure from the top to clear his name. But Beth is determined to find the truth no matter whose feathers she ruffles in the process.

Beth knows the clock is ticking. The killer is hunting again. And it’s down to her to find who’s responsible before another woman becomes his prey…

MY THOUGHTS

A Body in the Lakes is another gripping crime thriller by Graham Smith set within the surrounding area of the Lake District. DC Beth Young returns in his latest novel, and she is investigating the shocking murder of an elderly woman who has been given weeks to live due to her cancer diagnosis. What is even more shocking to Beth is the lengths the killer has gone to, and she realises that this is the work of a dangerous and callous individual. But as Beth and the rest of her team begin to investigate, they realise that it could be linked to other murders that have taken place, which no one has ever thought of connecting before.

This is developing into an exciting crime series that I am certainly keen to follow, and it is interesting to see Beth grow. Beth is a character who stands out among her team, she has caught the attention of the press in this latest book, and she seems like a breath of fresh air to the media and the public. She is sharp, intelligent and tenacious. She certainly catches the eye of the mayor who becomes involved in the case when his name crops up as a possible suspect.

We do get to learn a lot more about Beth in this latest instalment and about the events which have scarred her in the past. She does come across as the strongest character in the book, and you can really sense the connection that she feels towards the victims, and she is desperate to make sure that this killer doesn’t strike again. She certainly isn’t afraid of putting herself in danger as she fights for justice, and she isn’t a character who will sit quietly, she wants to make her voice heard in the loudest way possible.

I really liked the way how Graham cleverly mislead me as I thought I could see who the murderer was, but the final chapters took me by surprise. Again I felt nervous for Beth as she grew closer and closer to unravelling what was going on and who was behind the attacks. But I’m not going to go into any more detail here; you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out what happens. You don’t need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one, but once you’ve read it, you’ll definitely want to catch up.

If you’re looking for a gripping police procedural, look no further than Graham Smith’s books. A Body in the Lakes is a crime novel that will keep you hooked and on the edge of your seat.

Thank you to Noelle Holten at Bookouture for inviting me to take part in the blog tour, and for providing me with an advance review copy.

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 15th March 2019

Print length: 372 pages

If you would like to purchase A Body in the Lakes you can do so by clicking on one of the following links below. 

Amazon UK

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Past Life by Dominic Nolan #bookreview blog tour @NolanDom @headlinepg

BLURB

Waking up beside the dead girl, she couldn’t remember anything.
Who she was. Who had taken her. How to escape.

Detective Abigail Boone has been missing for four days when she is finally found, confused and broken. Suffering retrograde amnesia, she is a stranger to her despairing husband and bewildered son.

Hopelessly lost in her own life, with no leads on her abduction, Boone’s only instinct is to revisit the case she was investigating when she vanished: the baffling disappearance of a young woman, Sarah Still.

Defying her family and the police, Boone obsessively follows a deadly trail to the darkest edges of human cruelty. But even if she finds Sarah, will Boone ever be the same again?

MY THOUGHTS

Imagine having your past torn away from you and not being able to connect with your own family. That is the situation Abigail Boone is faced with in Past Life by Dominic Nolan, and it makes for an utterly engrossing read.

Abigail is a very intriguing character. We know she has suffered from a horrific accident leaving her with very limited memories from her past life, when she worked as a detective, specifically on missing person’s cases. But she doesn’t seem to want to go back to the woman who she was before, leaving her husband and son frustrated. There is one thing that is driving Abigail though. She knows that before her accident she was attempting to solve the disappearance of a young woman, Sarah Still and she knows she was on her trail in the days leading up to her accident. Abigail is determined to find out what happened to the young woman, in the hope that it will answer some questions for her as well.

I think what intrigued me most about Abigail is the fact that she didn’t seem to want to try and connect with her family. It almost felt as though at times that she wanted them to remain strangers to her, and this did have me asking so many questions about her family life and her character. Was there anything that she was frightened of? I could easily imagine how her family must be feeling about this as I thought about how I would react in their shoes.

The mystery element here was so engaging. We know that Abigail was working on Sarah’s disappearance who has been a missing person now for six years. She decides to continue investigating, even though she is no longer a serving police officer, and her investigations take her close to some dangerous individuals who are intent on causing her serious harm. Dominic Nolan kept turning up the tension as she continued to try and find out what had happened to Sarah, and I feared that something terrible was going to happen to Abigail again and that this time she wasn’t going to get away.

Roo was another fantastic character in the book who is a firm friend of Abigail’s. It seems that Roo is the only person who she can rely on at times; I really liked their interactions with each other. All the characters in this book are well drawn and they are what made the story so engaging and especially the landscape which was described so well.

I’m not sure if this book is part of a planned series, but I would definitely like to return to find out how Abigail is getting on. Past Life is an absolutely riveting debut thriller. You won’t be able to forget about the characters once you have read it. It comes highly recommended from me.

Thank you to publishers for sending me an advance review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.

Publisher: Headline

Publication date: 7th March 2019

Print length: 432 pages

If you would like to purchase Past Life, you can do so by clicking on one of the following links below.

Amazon UK  Kobo  Waterstones

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