Ten Days by Mel Sherratt #bookreview #booksontour @writermels @bookouture

On my blog today, I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new novel by Mel Sherratt, Ten Days

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‘Let me out! Please!’ I shouted, banging on the door. How had I got here? What day was it? I couldn’t remember anything. But I knew I had become the fifth woman to be abducted.

As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I’m filled with dread. Everything looks just like the others described: a small hole in the door, a mattress and a narrow window allowing only a small chink of light. The jewellery given to me by my loving husband has gone and I’m in someone else’s clothes.

Just days before, I had interviewed the third victim for the local paper. She couldn’t stop shaking. Her story was the same as those before her: an ordinary woman, locked away for ten days then released with no explanation, and nothing – nothing she could think of – to link her to the others. Throughout the ordeal, her abductor stayed eerily silent.

I tell myself I’ll be safe in ten days. But I can’t help thinking of the fourth victim who is still missing. And then I hear the voice coming through the door. ‘You said everything would be fine. But it wasn’t was it?’ It is then that I realise. If I am to make it out alive, I need to revisit a dark secret of my own that I have spent a lifetime trying to forget.

MY THOUGHTS

What a book! I’ve become a huge fan of Mel Sherratt’s work recently, so I couldn’t wait to read her latest, Ten Days, and it’s such an incredible read. If you’re looking for a thriller that is chilling and will keep you utterly gripped right the way through, then I highly recommend it.

In Stoke on Trent, women have been disappearing off the streets and have been found ten days after they first went missing. The police can’t work out who is doing this and why. Are more women going to be taken?

Mel Sherratt delves into the psychology of her characters in her latest book. This is the part of the plot which I really loved. She explores just what made them into the person they are today. This is what I found really fascinating. It also made me think more about the person and their motives. This is especially the case when it comes down to the person who is responsible for the crimes. This is where it becomes so had to talk about the plot without giving any of it away.

The woman at the centre of the story is Eva, a journalist who has become the latest victim of the perpetrator whose crimes she has been reporting on. I felt her fear as she was being held captive and as she wondered who it was who was keeping her prisoner. Although Eva believes that she will be released after ten days like the other women and clings to this, this is not guaranteed. When we are first introduced to the person behind the kidnappings, you can see that their next moves are totally unpredictable. Eva, herself, begins to realise this as well, which heightens the tension all the more. I was desperate to know what was going to happen.

Ten Days is such a good read and a top notch psychological thriller. This is one of Mel Sherratt’s best books to date!

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 28th June 2021

Print length: 296 pages

Ten Days is available to buy:

Amazon UK

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A Cut for a Cut by Carol Wyer #bookreview #blogtour @carolewyer @AmazonPub @damppebbles

I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new novel in the DI Kate Young series by Carol Wyer on my blog today, A Cut for a Cut. With thanks to Emma Welton from Damppebbles Blog Tours for inviting me to take part.

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DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate’s past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

MY THOUGHTS

It’s always exciting whenever Carol Wyer has a new book out. I loved the first book in this series, so I couldn’t wait to start A Cut for a Cut. This is such a gripping police procedural. I think it does help to have read the first book in the series. There is a strand of the story, which carries on from the first book. But I think it is possible to read it as a standalone; there is an individual storyline that is new. DI Kate Young is facing another tough investigation, and it is about to hit very close to home for her.

Kate is a fascinating and a very real character. She is still grieving the loss of her husband, who was killed in a terrorist attack a short while ago. However, this time, she now has her sister and her nephew for company, who are visiting. I thought the scenes in which Carol Wyer explored their relationship were done very well, and I thought it helped develop Kate’s character further.

Kate and her team are on the hunt for a very deranged rapist and killer. There have been several attacks on young women. Kate feels sure that the same person has committed the crimes. But Kate is also having to deal with corruption within her own team, and she is fighting to bring the person involved in this corruption to justice. You can clearly see her frustration that this person has been able to get away with what they have done for so long. She has a lot on her plate, but she is determined to see both cases through, and nothing is going to stop her. It’s what makes both books in this series so pacy and gripping. You have no idea how things are going to pan out for Kate, she’s aware that she is putting her career at risk, but she is willing to do that to get justice. She also finds it harder to trust the members of her team. She doesn’t know who else could be involved.

I’m sure that when the next book in the series is released, it will be shooting straight to the top of my TBR pile.  I can’t wait to read more from this series.

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication date: 29th June 2021

Print length: 365 pages

A Cut for a Cut is available to buy:

Amazon UK

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Truth or Dare by M.J. Arlidge #bookreview #blogtour

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on the new novel by M.J. Arlidge on my blog today, Turth or Dare. With thanks to Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me to take part.

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A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.

And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .

MY THOUGHTS

Helen Grace is back in M.J. Arlidge’s latest crime novel, Truth or Dare. Once again, Helen certainly isn’t given an easy ride. When I first started this series when the first book was released, Eeny Meeny, I knew it was going to be one I would be sticking with. I can’t believe that we’re now ten books in. With all the Helen Grace books, M.J. Arlidge always manages to create utterly gripping and unputdownable reads.

In this book, not only does Helen have to deal with a rise in crime in Southampton, but one of her colleagues, DS Hudson, is desperate to bring her down. This causes further tension in their team as Helen becomes aware of what is going on. It made me wonder just how far DS Hudson would be willing to go to achieve their goals and if Helen would be able to come out the other side this time. For all that she has been through over this series, it made me feel angry that someone would want to treat her like this. And of course, journalist Emilia Garanita is back on the scene and keen to find whatever she can on Helen to damage her career.

The current spate of rising crime is bothering Helen. There appears to be nothing to connect them, and they all seem to be just random attacks. If they are just random attacks, it makes it a much more terrifying prospect. It’s what makes this book such a tense read as well, as we have no idea will happen next.

Once again, M.J. Arlidge delivers on pace and tension, and his writing quickly absorbs you into the story. It feels as though Helen is on her own in this book, battling against a heavy storm that is coming her way.  Although all of M.J. Arlidge’s books are very dark, I think it makes the tone even darker.

M.J. Arlidge really does ratchet up the tension in Truth or Dare, especially as Helen begins to understand why these crimes have been happening. I really wanted to know what the link was, if there was a link, and when the revelations come, they are chilling.

I’m a huge, huge fan of this series. I’m always impressed at how M.J. Arlidge always manages to create another exciting, tense read. Reading these books makes you feel as if you’re discovering the series for the first time with each new book. The ending always leaves me desperately wanting the next book. Truth or Dare is another brilliant addition to the series!

Publisher: Orion

Publication date: 24th June 2021

Print length: 367 pages

Truth or Dare is available to buy:

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Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica. I saw this book all over Instagram and the high praise it was getting meant that it shot right to the top of my TBR pile.

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You’ll never find her. Don’t even try.

When a local mother and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, suddenly vanish, their close-knit suburban community is rocked by fear and suspicion. How could such a terrible thing have happened in their small town?

Then, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly reappears. Everyone wants to know what really happened to her. But there are secrets hidden deep in the past – and when the truth about those missing years begins to surface, no one is prepared for what they’re about to find out.

MY THOUGHTS

After seeing all the rave reviews about Local Woman Missing, I knew I had to read it as soon as I got my hands on a copy. This is the first book by Mary Kubica that I have read, and I was so impressed. The writing is gripping; the plot is twisty and compelling. I loved it

The plot is so well thought out, and it is very cleverly pulled together. Mary Kubica’s prose is very tight, and I was kept utterly gripped. For eleven years, the police have been searching for Delilah after she vanished with her mother. In a miraculous turn of events, a young girl has appeared, claiming to be her. But something feels off. It is Delilah’s younger brother, Leo, who first suspects this. Leo struggles with his sister’s return. He has just started bonding with his father again, and Delilah’s return throws everything off-kilter. He feels guilty for thinking this. Is it just jealousy because she is getting more attention than him? Or is there something more here?

All the characters in this book are well rounded, and Mary Kubica brings them to life. The scenes in which we see the young woman at the beginning of the book being held captive are horrific. I could feel her fear, and these chapters felt very claustrophobic. I was rooting for her to escape, and the scenes in which she does break free are so tense. I kept expecting at any moment for her to be caught.  

But as Mary Kubica takes us back in time to eleven years before, when Delilah and her mother first disappear, things really begin to heat up. We begin to see a different picture begin to emerge. As Mary Kubica reveals what happened to Delilah and to her mother, a shocking picture comes to light. I had no idea where this book was going to go, and the truth is devastating. I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

I’m definitely really excited to read more books by Mary Kubica. If you’re looking for an intense psychological thriller, then this is the book for you. Local Woman Missing is an exciting and a highly entertaining read.

Publisher: HQ

Publication date: 18th May 2021

Print length: 352 pages

Local Woman Missing is available to buy:

Amazon UK Kobo Waterstones

The Great Silence by Doug Johnstone #bookreview @doug_johnstone @OrendaBooks

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the latest book in the Skelfs series by Doug Johnstone, The Great Silence.

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Keeping on top of the family funeral directors’ and private-investigation businesses is no easy task for the Skelf women, and when matriarch Dorothy discovers a human foot while walking the dog, a perplexing case presents itself … with potentially deadly results.

Daughter Jenny and grand-daughter Hannah have their hands full too: The mysterious circumstances of a dying woman lead them into an unexpected family drama, Hannah’s new astrophysicist colleague claims he’s receiving messages from outer space, and the Skelfs’ teenaged lodger has yet another devastating experience.

Nothing is clear as the women are immersed ever deeper in their most challenging cases yet. But when the daughter of Jenny’s violent and fugitive ex-husband goes missing without trace and a wild animal is spotted roaming Edinburgh’s parks, real danger presents itself, and all three Skelfs are in peril.

Taut, dark, warmly funny and unafraid to ask big questions – of us all – The Great Silence is the much-anticipated third instalment in the addictive, unforgettable Skelfs series, and the stakes are higher than ever.

MY THOUGHTS

The Skelf family are back in Doug Johnstone’s latest book, The Great Silence. This is such an original crime series, and this is one of my favourite books of the year so far. I couldn’t resist starting it as soon as my copy arrived. I have heard that this is the last book in this series, but I am really hoping that the Skelfs will return.

It’s fair to say that the Skelf family have been through a lot over the three books. There is intrigue right from the start in the latest book in this series, and Doug Johnstone certainly knows how to hit the ground running. When Dorothy is out walking her dog, Einstein, he comes across an embalmed human foot in a local Edinburgh Park. Hannah, her granddaughter, is asked to help out a friend of hers, who may or may not be in contact with aliens, as part of his research into possible life elsewhere in the universe. He thinks someone is deliberately targeting him. Things take an even darker turn when the daughter of Jenny’s violent ex-partner goes missing. And big cats are also stalking the city.

The Skelf women are still reeling from the events at the end of the last book. This doesn’t stop them from carrying on investigating the strange events that are taking place. Only the Skelf family could come across an embalmed human foot and not be particularly perturbed. I wanted to know just what was going on in Edinburgh, particularly with the reports of the big cats as well. It makes for a very chilling atmosphere which Doug Johnstone writes so well.

This story really gets dark as the events which are happening in the city are explored further. It is perhaps their most challenging case to date. In the Skelf family, Doug Johnstone has created a unique set of characters. They’re what makes this series so good and so original. I think Dorothy, in particular, is my favourite. You can see how they have developed over the course of the series and I have really grown attached to them.

What I loved particularly about this book and the last book in the series are the discussions Hannah has with her friends about exoplanets, which is a topic I am fascinated by. The nerdy part of my brain was buzzing when they talked about Seti and the exoplanets discovered so far in the universe.

This is a series which you really must read if you haven’t read it already. It’s dark, intriguing, and so, so original. Doug Johnstone is such a brilliant writer and he knows how to create unique and unforgettable characters. I highly recommend it.

Publisher: Orenda Books

Publication date: 19th June 2021 (kindle) 19th August 2021 (paperback)

Print length: 300 pages

The Great Silence is available to buy:

Amazon UK Kobo Waterstones

Fragile by Sarah Hilary #bookreview #blogtour @sarah_hilary @panmacmillan @RandomTTours

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on the new standalone novel by Sarah Hilary, Fragile, on my blog today as part of the blog tour. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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Everything she touches breaks . . .

Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperate to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong.

So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands.

But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven that she was hoping for. Her employer lives by a set of rigid rules and she soon sees that he is hiding secrets of his own.

But is Nell’s arrival at the Villas really the coincidence it seems? After all, she knows more than most how fragile people can be – and how easy they can be to break . . .

MY THOUGHTS

I’m a huge, huge fan of Sarah Hilary’s writing, having loved her DI Marnie Rome series, which I’m hoping Sarah Hilary will return to at some point. I was really intrigued to see that she was releasing a new standalone novel. Fragile is her latest book, and it is an intense, beautifully written psychological thriller.

We meet Nell, who has recently applied to work for a Robert Wilder at his home in London, Starling Villas and eventually becomes his housekeeper. Nell is a former foster child, but lately, she has been living on the streets. But Nell also has a dark secret, and there is a reason why she has applied for the position at Starling Villas.

Ever since I read Sarah Hilary’s debut, Someone Else’s Skin, she has been an auto-buy author for me. I always recommend her work when people ask me to recommend them a good book to read. I connected to Nell straight away. I wanted to know why she specifically wanted to come to Starling Villas and what it had to do with her childhood. Sarah Hilary builds on the atmosphere as the novel progresses and things become darker and more intense, particularly when Robert’s wife arrives on the scene.

Robert, who Nell works for, is a very strange character. I did find him unnerving as well when Nell firsts comes to his house, and I wanted to learn more about who he was. I felt fearful for Nell when she first arrived as I wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into here. Any minute I kept thinking that something terrible was going to happen to her, or she was going to uncover a dark secret. It’s clear from the outset that she is here on a mission and she is determined to see it through. I wanted to find out what it was she wanted to achieve by coming here.

Sarah Hilary’s writing draws you into the story from the very first page. As the plot unfolds, we begin to learn more about Nell and her childhood. Sarah Hilary reveals what Nell went through when she was a child living in foster care, and it makes for gripping reading. We know that something terrible happened when she was living in foster care, but it’s only when we reach the chapters, do we understand the full, terrible truth.

If you haven’t yet discovered Sarah Hilary’s writing, this is the perfect time to do so. Fragile is a haunting, exceptionally well written novel. I highly recommend it!

Publisher: Macmillan

Publication date: 10th June 2021

Print length: 352 pages

Fragile is available to buy:

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20/20 by Carl Goodman #bookreview #blogtour @Carl201010 @HeraBooks @BOTBSPublicity

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on the first book in the DI Eva Harris series, 20/20 by Carl Goodman on my blog today as part of the blog tour. With thanks to Sarah Hardy from Books on the Bright Side Publicity for inviting me to take part.

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Can you see a killer before it’s too late?

On the first day of her new job, D.I. Eva Harris is called to the scene of a brutal murder at the heart of Surrey society. A shocking crime by a meticulous killer – who escaped with the victim’s eyes.

With the body drained of blood and no forensic evidence left at the scene, Harris’ efforts to find the killer becomes desperate. But as her investigation is complicated by corruption at the heart of the police, she doesn’t know who to trust on her own team.

As the pressure mounts, Eva realises the murder is even more horrific than it seems, and her own dreadful history threatens to be drawn out with it…

MY THOUGHTS

20/20 by Carl Goodman is a fast paced, exhilarating and a really exciting read. This is the first book in the DI Eva Harris series, and I can’t wait to see her return.

This is a police procedural novel that is not for the faint hearted. The opening scene is very gruesome, and the police officers who are attending fear they are dealing with a sadistic serial killer. Right from this moment, I wanted to know what prompted the killer to kill their victims in this way. I was desperate to know who they were. I also wanted to know if they were going to kill again.

DI Eva Harris is a great lead character, and I was rooting for her from the start. She herself is in a precarious situation. Eva is a former computer analyst, and her expertise has seen her career fast tracked. I can imagine this would annoy other police officers who have been working in the force longer has, and this does create some animosity. She has been sent to the current team she is working with to gather intelligence; a police officer is suspected of being corrupt. So from the first day she arrives, there is tension. She knows that she can’t trust anyone, and as the reader, I could feel that. It made this book even more tense. It made me wonder if the person who she was looking for knew what she was up to.

The plot is so well structured and cleverly put together. There is lots going on here. Eva is a character who will throw herself into unpredictable situations which may put her life at risk. She is a determined police officer who will see a case through no matter what. She will make sure that the right people are put behind bars. As Eva gets closer to finding out what the killers motives are here, we are introduced to some quirky characters who made me feel nervous. As I was reading, I had no idea how the plot was going to unfold. She is definitely a police officer who you would want to have on your side.

There is a very cinematic feel to this book, and I think it would translate really well to the screen. 20/20 is a thrilling read that will capture the interest of reader’s right from the first page. I can’t wait to see where Carl Goodman takes this series next. This is a must read for police procedural fans.

Publisher: Hera Books

Publication date: 16th June 2021

Print length:

20/20 is available to buy:

Amazon UK

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WWW Wednesday – 16/06/2021

Welcome to this week’s WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What have you finished reading?
What will you read next?

What am I currently reading?

When single mother Maríanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she’s taken her own life … until her body is found on the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected fifteen-year-old daughter Hekla has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

Fifteen years earlier, a desperate new mother lies in a maternity ward, unable to look at her own child, the start of an odd and broken relationship that leads to a shocking tragedy.

Police officer Elma and her colleagues take on the case, which becomes increasingly complex, as the number of suspects grows and new light is shed on Maríanna’s past – and the childhood of a girl who never was like the others…

Breathtakingly chilling and tantalisingly twisty, Girls Who Lie is at once a startling, tense psychological thriller and a sophisticated police procedural, marking Eva Björg Ægisdottir as one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

Why would you pretend your life is a dream when you’re living a nightmare?

Annie and Dom lead perfect lives in a lovely cottage in a quiet village by the sea, with flowers at the front gate and an apple tree in the garden. Everyone knows them: generous, loving Dom, creative, joyful Annie.

But their neighbours don’t see Annie as she sits waiting for Dom well into the night. They don’t see her smiling through her tears. They don’t know what the perfect couple are hiding.

They just hear the sirens that break the silence of the night and see the flames that rise against the dark sky.

And the morning after, what everyone wants to know is – which one was to blame?

What have I finished reading?

Just outside the city – any city, every city – is a grand, spacious but affordable apartment building called The Beresford.

There’s a routine at The Beresford.

For Mrs May, every day’s the same: a cup of cold, black coffee in the morning, pruning roses, checking on her tenants, wine, prayer and an afternoon nap. She never leaves the building.

Abe Schwartz also lives at The Beresford. His housemate, Sythe, no longer does. Because Abe just killed him. 

In exactly sixty seconds, Blair Conroy will ring the doorbell to her new home and Abe will answer the door. They will become friends. Perhaps lovers.

And, when the time comes for one of them to die, as is always the case at The Beresford, there will be sixty seconds to move the body before the next unknowing soul arrives at the door.

Because nothing changes at The Beresford, until the doorbell rings…

You come to Soul Shrink to be healed. You don’t expect to die.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.

Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third victim: Jenna.

Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release – and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden?

What will I read next?

One little girl.
Mirabelle’s mother loves her. She’s her ‘little doll’. Mother dresses her, paints her face, and plaits her hair. But as Mirabelle grows, the dresses no longer fit quite as well, the face paint no longer looks quite so pretty. And Mother isn’t happy.
 
Two little girls.
On Mirabelle’s 13th birthday, Mother arrives home with a present – a new sister, 5-year-old Clarabelle, who Mother has rescued from the outside world.
 
But Mother only needs one.
As it dawns on Mirabelle that there is a new ‘little doll’ in her house, she also realizes that her life isn’t what she thought it was. And that dolls often end up on the scrap heap…

A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.

And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .

In Her Bones by Kate Moretti #bookreview

In Her Bones by Kate Moretti has been on my TBR pile for some time now and I’m so pleased that I’ve finally read it. I’m sharing my thoughts on my blog today.

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Fifteen years ago, Lilith Wade was arrested for the brutal murder of six women. After a death row conviction and media frenzy, her thirty-year-old daughter Edie is a recovering alcoholic with a deadend city job, just trying to survive out of the spotlight.
Edie also has a disturbing secret: a growing obsession with the families of Lilith’s victims. She’s desperate to discover how they’ve managed—or failed—to move on, and whether they’ve fared better than her. She’s been careful to keep her distance, until the day one of them is found murdered and she quickly becomes the prime suspect. Edie remembers nothing of the night of the death, and must get to the truth before the police—or the real killer—find her.

MY THOUGHTS

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get round to reading In Her Bones. I loved Kate Moretti’s The Blackbird Season,but I think this book is even better. I’ve read a few books where the story is told from the perspective of the daughter of a serial killer, but this book had a really interesting hook that grabbed my attention. Edith, the main character in this book, is the daughter of a serial killer, Lilith, who is currently serving time in prison for the murders she committed. In recent years, Edith, now thirty, has been looking into the families of her mother’s victims. And soon, she is about to become embroiled in a murder investigation, and she’s the prime suspect.

I thought Edith was such a fascinating character. I wanted to understand her obsession with the families of her mother’s victims more and why she wanted to get to know them. It made me think about what I would do if I was in her position. I loved how Kate Moretti delved into her psychology, and you can see that she is a writer who really understands her characters and their motivations.

When things take a more sinister turn for Edith, I couldn’t understand why she didn’t just want to go to the police and tell them the information she knew. Edith sets out to find out who is responsible for the murder of one of the family members of her mother’s victims. I wanted to know if she was potentially being set up because of who her mother was. But also, I felt I couldn’t entirely trust Edith as I was reading. I kept wondering if perhaps there was something that she wasn’t telling us.

We also get to read extracts from a book written about Edith’s mother, and I thought this was really fascinating as well. It allowed us a glimpse into Edith’s childhood.

The tension in this book continued to heat up, and I was desperate to know who was behind the murder. In Her Bones is very well plotted and I was kept hooked right the way through. Now I need to catch up on Kate Moretti’s other books, which I’ve missed.

Publisher: Titan Books

Publication date: 2nd October 2018

Print length: 321 pages

In Her Bones is available to buy:

Amazon UK Waterstones

Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the gripping debut novel by C.L. Taylor, Her Last Holiday.

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You come to Soul Shrink to be healed. You don’t expect to die.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.

Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third victim: Jenna.

Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release – and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden?

MY THOUGHTS

I’m a huge C.L. Taylor fan, so I couldn’t wait to start her latest book, Her Last Holiday. As I have found with all of her books, I was desperate to keep turning the pages once I got to the end of each chapter. This is the type of book which you can quite happily lose an afternoon to.

I was intrigued right from the beginning when Tom Wade was released from prison. He was arrested for the deaths of two people at one of his wellness retreats. I wanted to know more about what had happened at that time and who this man really was. But it’s also revealed that another woman, Jenna, also disappeared. He has never said what happened to her. What is he keeping secret?

I really wanted to get to the bottom of what had happened to Jenna. When Tom is released from prison, his wife, Kate, is desperate to get their business up and running again. Tom is reluctant to go ahead with it, but it’s Kate, who is really driving his return to the business. I didn’t know what to think about Kate. There’s no way I would feel comfortable in going along to an event run by a man who has just served time in prison for being responsible for two deaths. There is tension right from the start, but what can Tom do now that guests have arrived?

But there is someone among the guests who wants to find out what happened to Jenna and what Tom knows. Fran is Jenna’s older sister, and she is desperate to find out the truth. Fran has no closure; she has no idea if Jenna is alive or dead. There are some very tense scenes when she tries to confront Tom, and I had no idea just how dangerous he was. I could never predict how he was going to react.

There are some bombshell moments when the truth is revealed as C.L. Taylor wraps the plot up. She brings everything altogether very well, and I loved how she gradually did this. Her Last Holiday isn’t an action-packed book, but it is very gripping, and I love C.L. Taylor’s writing. If you’re a fan of her books, then you are in for a treat. I loved it.

Publisher: Avon

Publication date: 29th April 2021

Print length: 388 pages

Her Last Holiday is available to buy:

Amazon UK Kobo Waterstones