What Will Burn by James Oswald #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the eleventh book in the Inspector McLean series by James Oswald, What Will Burn.

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The charred remains of an elderly woman are discovered in a burned out gamekeepers cottage, hidden away in woodland to the west of Edinburgh.

What is at first assumed to be a tragic accident begins to take on a more sinister aspect as Detective Inspector Tony McLean digs deeper.

There is far more to the victim than her humble surroundings suggest . . .

MY THOUGHTS

James Oswald’s Inspector McLean series is one of my favourites. One of my favourite things about the series is the supernatural element that is always there. In this novel, What Will Burn, Inspector Tony McLean is investigating after an elderly woman’s body is discovered in a horrific state. In the opening prologue, we see what happens to her, and the persons, who commit the awful crime, accuse her of practising witchcraft. You can really see how much they believe what they are saying to her, and this is what makes this particular scene so terrifying. Is there someone else who is behind what these people are doing?

I had to know what was really going on with these people who killed the woman at the start of the novel. There is a really creepy atmosphere to this book as McLean investigates. There is another strand to the book, featuring a man who has been denied visiting rights to his daughter, after he and his partner split up. You can see how angry and upset this has made him, despite him being the one at fault, after he was abusive to his former partner. But it is clear that he might be willing to do anything to get the rights he once had back. I wanted to know how this was going to be connected to the main plot of the book.

I love the characters in this series as well. One of my favourites would have to be Madame Rose, who always seems to be there at the right time for Tony when he needs a friend to talk to. There is always Grumpy Bob as well. Both of these characters have been there, along with Tony, right from the beginning, so it always feels like catching up with old friends again whenever they feature in the book. And of course there is always Mrs McCutcheon’s cat, who Tony took in several years earlier, but has never got round to naming.

I love the dialogue between the characters which James Oswald brings to life so well in his writing. I did like the exchanges between the new police officer in charge of the police team, Chief Superintendent Gail Elmwood – who has been drafted in from the Metropolitan Police – and Tony.

The strands of the book are woven together well, and the creepy factor this book is explored further when more women meet the same fate as the elderly woman in the prologue. This is where you do have to suspend the belief system, but it does make this such an entertaining read, especially that closing chapter which sent shivers down my spine as I read it.

What Will Burn is another thoroughly enjoyable book in this series. I really enjoyed it.

Publisher: Wildfire

Publication date: 18th February 2021

Print length: 461 pages

What Will Burn is available to buy:

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Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new novel by Liz Nugent, Strange Sally Diamond.

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Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don’t always mean what they say.

But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbour seem to be obsessed with her? Sally’s trust issues are about to be severely challenged . . .

MY THOUGHTS

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent is a magnificent book and definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so far. The novel opens in an intriguing way. We meet Sally Diamond, who has spent most of her life without having any contact with anyone, other than her father. She has never mixed with anyone her own age, and struggles with communicating with people, due to her lack of interaction with others outside her own family. So, when Sally’s father dies, she takes one of his old jokes of simply, “putting him out with the rubbish,” when he dies, literally, and gets rid of his body in the incinerator in the back garden. But Sally has no idea how this one act will impact the rest of her life in a massive way.

This is an intricate novel that is one to be savoured. Sally Diamond is one of the most fascinating characters, who I have come across in fiction recently, and her life story is haunting, powerful, and it grips you from the very first page. Liz Nugent portrays her vulnerability so well on the page and this is what really makes her stand out, and makes her character so unique. This is especially the case when she is hounded by the media and when people make cruel remarks about her in the street. I had no idea what direction Liz Nugent was going to take the story, but as more details about Sally’s past emerge, following huge media interest in what happened to her father, the story takes an even darker and more twisted turn.

Liz Nugent paints a vivid portrayal of the horrors from Sally’s childhood, which makes us understand how she has become the person who she is today. I felt really sorry for her, especially because she hadn’t been given the same opportunities other people her age had been given. There are some horrific truths that come to light. It also comes to light that someone is trying to contact Sally from New Zealand, who might be connected to the horrors of her past, and a massive police operation is launched to track him down.

Sally Diamond really is an unforgettable character. This book has been so intricately plotted, especially when Liz Nugent takes us back in time to the 1980s. These scenes can be quite tough to read, but they are important to the story. As the novel flicks back to Sally in the present, I was rooting for her to find happiness in her life.

Strange Sally Diamond is a must read for psychological thriller fans. I really enjoyed it.

Publisher: Sandycove

Publication date: 2nd March 2023

Print length: 384 pages

Strange Sally Diamond is available to buy:

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The Close by Jane Casey #bookreview #blogtour @JaneCaseyAuthor @fictionpubteam @RandomTTours

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new Maeve Kerrigan thriller by Jane Casey, The Close. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together.

But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.

It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.

And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.

MY THOUGHTS

I love Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series, which meant The Close, the latest book in the series, went straight to the top of my TBR pile. In this novel, Maeve is definitely out of her comfort zone, as she takes on an undercover role with her colleague, DI Josh Derwent.

Jane Casey always writes a compelling mystery, but for me, what made this book, was seeing the relationship between Josh and Maeve develop a little bit further, as, for a few weeks, they are living together in a picturesque country village, pretending to be a couple, while they are undercover. For fans of the series, you will know Maeve and Josh’s character’s well. They have always been friends throughout the series, but there is always a slight hint that perhaps there could be something more that might develop between them, and this is what makes this book so fascinating and so addictive.

Maeve is horrified at the prospect of spending time alone with Josh, but she agrees to take the job, even though another big investigation has just begun, following the murder of a young man, a surgeon, but Maeve still finds time to keep up to speed with the investigation while she is away. When they go undercover, they are there to investigate the residents of the village, while portraying to their new neighbours that they are dog sitting for a few weeks, while the dog’s owner is away on business. What I loved about this book, was the sexual tension that existed between Maeve and Josh, while they were living alone together. You can see that there is definitely chemistry between them, even though Maeve insists that she never has and never will have feelings for Josh.

Georgia is another character in the series who always never fails to make me laugh. I always find the conversations she has with Maeve, really entertaining to read, even when they are talking about work. Jane Casey always manages to slip in some light hearted humour into their dialogue.

Some of the residents of the village where Josh and Maeve move to are really creepy. I did get the sense that there were people hiding something here, and Jane Casey does a brilliant job in adding to the tension here, when it feels as though Maeve might be in danger.

Jane Casey really delves deep into her characters in The Close. It makes for a fascinating and a really entertaining read. If you haven’t yet read this series, then you are really missing out.

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication date: 2nd March 2023

Print length: 416 pages

The Close is available to buy:

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Make Me Clean by Tina Baker #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the gripping new thriller by Tina Baker, Make Me Clean.

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She will leave your surfaces sparkling.
But she may well leave you dead…

Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who’s losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Mr Balogan, with the terrible neighbours.

If you’re thinking of hiring her, you should probably know that Maria might have killed the terrible husband, the terrible boss and the terrible neighbours. She may also have murdered the man she loved.

She didn’t set out to kill anyone, of course, but her clients have hired her to clean up their lives, and she takes her job seriously – not to mention how much happier they all are now. The trouble is, murder can’t be washed out. You can only sweep it under the carpet, and pray no one looks too closely…

MY THOUGHTS

Tina Baker knows how to write dark fiction. Her latest novel is Make Me Clean and we are introduced to cleaner, Maria, who has a very dark past. Maria often goes above and beyond for her clients, and that sometimes includes murder, and the book opens up with Maria contemplating what to do with the body of the man she has just killed. Once I read that prologue I was hooked.

Maria is a brilliant character. This novel does make you wonder how much cleaners really do know about their clients, and this part is what makes this novel so compelling as well. Cleaners are often invisible to us, but they may know more about us than we think, and I think this is a really interesting idea to work with for a thriller. It’s part of what gives Make Me Clean such a brilliant hook.

Tina Baker delves into Maria past and she is so fascinating, especially as Tina Baker takes us back in time, when we see Maria with her husband. Tina Baker paints a vivid portrayal of the life she lived with him. You can see here how this has made Maria into the person she is today. You can see that Maria is very caring; even though she has had a difficult life, and you can especially see this with how she cares for her client, Elsie, who has dementia.

I loved how Tina Baker built on the tension in this novel. It isn’t as fast paced as her previous books, but the tension is always simmering away, especially as Maria has no idea how long Elsie will keep quiet about their secret as her condition worsens. Maria murdered Elsie’s abusive husband, Nick and he is buried at the bottom of Elsie’s garden. There is also another client who Maria cleans for who intrigued me, called Balogan, who gave the book a very menacing and mysterious feeling.

Tina Baker rounds off the story in a clever and a satisfying way. Maria’s story is done so well and I really connected to her. Maria is definitely a character who you won’t be forgetting about in a hurry. I can’t wait to read more from Tina Baker. Make Me Clean is engrossing and exceptionally well written.

Publisher: Viper

Publication date: 16th February 2023

Print length: 400 pages

Make Me Clean by Tina Baker is available to buy:

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Twist of Fate by D.L. Mark #bookreview #blogtour @HoZ_Books @RandomTTours

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new novel by D.L. Mark, Twist of Fate 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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She says he’s a victim. They say he’s a killer.

When an armed man massacres several people in central London, Claudine witnesses the whole thing. To her horror, one of the victims is her brother, Jethro.

Riven by grief, Claudine retreats to the family home in the Fens, which is where the police find her. She is left reeling when they tell her Jethro orchestrated the attack. Why would a gentle, if troubled, middle-aged man cause such bloodshed – and why would he include himself in the list of victims?

The truth could lie in Jethro’s research on a mediaeval cult. If Claudine can’t solve the mystery in time, more people will die… and the darkness will claim her too.

MY THOUGHTS

Twist of Fate is the first book by David Mark that I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It begins with a suspected terrorist attack in London, on Embankment Bridge, when several people are killed. The suspect throws himself off the bridge and into the Thames before he can be apprehended, or killed by the police. A man, Jethro, who stepped in to intervene, who sadly dies, is labelled as a hero, but as the police investigation into the attack continues, they find there is more here than what first meets the eye.

As the book gets going, we meet Claudine, Jethro’s sister, who is distraught after witnessing her brother’s death on Embankment Bridge from her office window. They haven’t had the easiest of relationships, particularly as Claudine has had to take charge of everything to do with family matters, and this makes her feel guilty, especially when she thinks that she could’ve done something to save her brother.

I really liked Claudine. I could feel the anguish that she was going through, which made me connect to her character. I absolutely loathed DS Billy Dean, who belittles Claudine when he is speaking to her, even though she is going through unimaginable trauma. He believes Claudine knows more about the alleged attack, and that she may somehow be involved, especially when the police begin to think that Jethro might be behind the attacks on the bridge. Billy is a very interesting character though, and I wanted to find out more about him, to understand why he was being like this.

I was fascinated by the supernatural element to this book, which darkens the plot, as the police look further into Jethro’s life and the people who he was involved with. David Mark does paint Jethro as a very caring individual, in ways how he is described, but there is also a more mysterious and darker side to him that adds to the tension. This part of the plot makes the book so intense, especially as Claudine starts looking for answers herself. I could sense that she was getting closer and closer to danger, and I had no idea how things would pan out. It was really intriguing when the plot delves into the historical elements of the novel.

I finished Twist of Fate in just a couple of sittings. It’s a really gripping read and I’ll definitely be reading more of David Mark’s novels in the future.

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Publication date: 2nd March 2023

Print length: 288 pages

Twist of Fate is available to buy:

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The Mother by T.M. Logan #bookreview #blogtour @TMLoganAuthor @ZaffreBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n

On my blog today, I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new thriller by T.M. Logan, The Mother. With thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to take part.

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Framed for murder. Now she’s free . . .

A woman attends a funeral, standing in the shadows and watching in agony as her sons grieve. But she is unable to comfort them – or reveal her secret.

A decade earlier, Heather gets her children ready for bed and awaits the return of her husband Liam, little realising that this is the last night they will spend together as a family. Because tomorrow she will be accused of Liam’s murder.

Ten years ago Heather lost everything. Now she will stop at nothing to clear her name – and to get her children back . . .

MY THOUGHTS

You can always be guaranteed that whenever you pick up a book by T.M. Logan, you won’t want to put it down. The Mother is his latest gripping thriller.

The story follows Heather as she is released from prison, after spending ten years inside after she was accused of murdering her husband, Liam, who was a Member of Parliament. Now Heather is fighting to prove her innocence, and she will stop at nothing to get the life she had with her children back, and unmask Liam’s true killer.

This book is a high octane intense ride and the tension increases as Heather fights to clear her name. You can clearly see that there is more here than what meets the eye and that someone is keeping secrets, making Heather look like the guilty party. I wanted to know why Liam was killed, and if there was anything that he was involved in, prior to his death, that might’ve been the reason behind his killing, and why someone would’ve wanted to cover it up and pin the blame on Heather. This really adds to the mystery and T.M. Logan keeps us guessing as to what the truth is.  

You can feel the heartache that Heather is feeling as she tries desperately to reconnect with her son’s when she comes out of prison, even though this is proving near but impossible. It is a real struggle for her to get people to listen to her and to prove that she had nothing to do with her husband’s death. I got the sense that she would do anything to prove this. It’s what really raises the stakes throughout the novel and someone is keen to stop Heather from pursuing the case any further and to just accept what has happened. I liked how T.M. Logan flicked between the past and the present. As we visit the past, we see what Heather has missed out on in the ten horrendous years she’s suffered in prison. T.M. Logan paints a clear picture of the life she once had with her boys and husband, and I was gripped to these scenes as I tried to work out what was really going on and who could really be behind the murder .

The finale is so tense as Heather gets closer to knowing what happened ten years previously. I was rooting for Heather all the way to get the answers she wanted. The Mother is an utterly compelling read and it is another winner from T.M. Logan.

Publisher: Zaffre

Publication date: 2nd March 2023

Print length: 432 pages

The Mother is available to buy:

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Gone by Ruby Speechley #bookreview #blogtour @rubyspeechley @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources

On my blog today, I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new novel by Ruby Speechley, Gone. With thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part.

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My son is missing, and everyone is lying to me.

Last night my son, Shay, sneaked out of the house and didn’t come home. He promised not to go to the illegal party in the woods. But someone’s been attacked and Shay has gone missing. The police want to know if he saw what happened. I’m worried he could be involved.

After all the trouble he’s been in lately, mixing with the wrong crowd, coming home beaten up and scared, I thought we’d put it all behind us. Trouble is, Shay resents me moving my new boyfriend into the family home. I found all sorts on his laptop, including a half-written email warning me not to trust David. What does he know that I don’t?

I’m beginning to fear for his safety. What is David hiding from me? Who have I let into our lives?

I don’t know who I can trust. Will I ever see my son alive again?

MY THOUGHTS

Gone is such a tense thriller by Ruby Speechley. This is a book that I did not want to put down, and I was desperate to find out what was going to happen. We meet Rachel, who is facing every parent’s worst nightmare, when her son Shay, is nowhere to be found. But what is even more disturbing, as the police become involved, it maybe the case that Shay himself could’ve been involved in a crime, an attack on a young girl, and this is something Rachel can’t believe her son is capable of.

This is a very dark book and the tension is there on every single page. I could feel the stress and anxiety that Rachel was feeling as she tried to get to the bottom of what had happened to her son, and as she gets closer to the truth, the book gets even darker. I thought it was really clever how Ruby Speechley put all the final pieces of the jigsaw together. There are some real bombshell moments as Rachel desperately searches for her son.  I could sense the time ticking down in the background, and Ruby Speechley makes it clear to the reader, that every passing hour means there’s less of a chance of Shay coming home alive.

I felt I couldn’t trust anyone who Rachel knew in her life, apart from her other son, who is desperate to have his brother back as well. This adds to the tension so well in the book, and it made me sure that there were people, who Rachel knew, who were keeping secrets from her. I felt really frustrated for her as I could see the pain she was going through and how desperate she was to have Shay home. The mystery of Shay’s disappearance and what he was involved in before he went missing kept me utterly gripped. This is definitely a book that will keep you reading well into the early hours of the morning.

Gone is definitely the type of book I would love to see as a television series. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication date: 21st February 2023

Print length: 296 pages

Gone is available to buy:

Amazon UK

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The Night They Vanished by Vanessa Savage #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the latest thriller by Vanessa Savage, The Night They Vanished.

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A family with a secret.
A past about to catch up with them.

At thirty, Hanna has finally decided she’s better off without her family. They hold her responsible for the incident that ruined their lives fourteen years ago and they’ve barely spoken since.

But then, whilst browsing a true crime website, she sees her family home listed as the site of a brutal murder. Number of victims: three. Date of crime: today. When the police investigate, they find no bodies, but the house is abandoned. Hanna’s family have disappeared.


To find them, Hanna will have to confront what happened all those years ago.

And the person determined to make her pay for it . . .

MY THOUGHTS

The Night They Vanished is a twisty thriller by Vanessa Savage. I loved the concept of this book which immediately hooked me. The novel centres on a Dark Tourist Website, a website that explores horrific crimes that have taken place in the UK.

We meet the main character, Hanna, who has become estranged from her family. She now lives at the opposite end of the country to them, having not seen them, or had any correspondence with them for years. When she becomes romantically involved with Adam, after being pushed into going on a date with him by her friend, she discovers his fascination with cold cases, and the website that he has created that revolves around them. As she gets to know him, she is horrified to then find an article on the website showing her family’s home, and stating that her family have been murdered.

Hanna is a character with a really intriguing past. I wanted to know what had happened between her and her family, and why they had no contact with each other. I could see that there was a lot of hurt, particularly as the novel also switches to the viewpoint of her sister, Sasha, showing scenes months before the article appears on Adam’s website, who still lives with Hanna’s dad. She can’t understand why Hanna, who she still adores, has abandoned them, and I could see how much pain this causes her as Sasha tries to work out why Hanna won’t have anything to do with them. Vanesa Savage also paints clearly the affect this has had on Hanna’s father as well.

It is agonising for Hanna when she sees the article about her family’s house on Adam’s website, and even more so, when the police take what has been reported by Hanna seriously. Adam insists that he has nothing to do with the article and that his website must’ve been hacked, but I felt, like Hanna, that I couldn’t trust him and that he knew more than he was letting on. Hanna knows that to get answers she’ll need to revisit her past and this takes her back to the town where she grew up, and where her family have mysteriously vanished from.

It’s as Hanna begins to focus on her past again, that the plot becomes really twisty. I loved how Vanessa Savage totally flipped the novel on its head as the book raced towards its conclusion. This book definitely has a moment that’ll make readers drop the book in shock as they realise what they have just read.

The Night They Vanished is really entertaining and I flew through it in just a few sittings. I highly recommend it.

Publisher: Sphere

Publication date: 5th May 2022

Print length: 385 pages

The Night They Vanished is available to buy:

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The Lonely Lake Killings by Wes Markin #bookreview #blogtour @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources

On my blog today, I’m taking part in the blog tour for the new novel by Wes Markin, The Lonley Lake Killings. With thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part.

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A lonely recluse. A missing girl and a community in fear.

When the body of a young local girl is found next to an isolated lake, the main suspect is the old recluse who has lived next to the lake for many years – especially when the young girl’s purse is found on the old man’s doorstep.

But DCI Emma Gardner and her partner DI Paul Riddick aren’t so sure. Why would the old hermit leave such an obvious clue? And who would want to set the old man up?

As they dig deeper into the murder they discover a community in fear, determined to keep hold of long buried secrets. And Riddick is convinced that his own dark past is somehow linked to this crime, too.

Gardner fears that she may never get the answers she needs, until a break leads her down a path she’d rather not face. One that runs directly to her own front door…

MY THOUGHTS

The Lonely Lake Killings is the second book in the Yorkshire murder series by Wes Markin, and the first book by Wes that I’ve read. Although it is the second book, I felt it could be easily read as a standalone, and I had no problem at all in getting into the story. Wes Markin has created a really intriguing mystery with the murder of a young girl, Tia Meadows, and there are plenty of interesting character’s who had me contemplating who could’ve killed her and why.

Wes Markin creates a fascinating backstory for the character’s, who are the central focus point in this book, and these backstories give the character’s all a potential motive for the murder of Tia, which creates a tense atmosphere. Tia appears to have been involved with a few people in the run up to her death, and this creates a lot of work for DCI Emma Gardener and DI Paul Riddick to sift through. Her father, a multi-millionaire, with a shady background, is distraught about her death. Wes Markin delves into his background as the plot of the novel progresses, and I found these scenes, especially as Wes explored his childhood, very intense.

It took me just a couple of sittings to finish this book. Rick has a very interesting and a heart-breaking backstory as well, and I felt I really connected to his character as I was reading. I could see how much pain he is still in from the horrific trauma he has suffered. I think this is where I may have benefited more from reading the previous book in the series, but Wes Markin does explain what happened to Rick very well for new readers.

There are some shocking reveals about Tia and her father, which deepen the mystery surrounding her death even further, which is part of what makes this story a real page-turner, and why I flew through it so quickly.

This is a series I’ll definitely be keen to return to.

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication date: 15th February 2023

Print length: 373 pages

The Lonely Lake Killings is available to buy:

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Cold Reckoning by Russ Thomas #bookreview

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the latest book in the DS Adam Tyler series by Russ Thomas, Cold Reckoning.

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THE DARKNESS FROM HIS PAST WILL FINALLY COME TO LIGHT

The death of DS Tyler’s father irrevocably changed his life. As a child, he believed Richard had killed himself but, as the years have passed, Tyler has grown convinced he was murdered.   

When a cold case lands on Tyler’s desk, there’s nothing immediately notable about it, apart from the link it has to his father. Richard was investigating the same case shortly before he died.
 
Finally, Tyler has a tangible link to the past, one that could give him the answers he has been looking for. And while there are dangerous people who will do anything to keep him quiet, he knows he has to keep digging.

Because you’d risk anything for your family – even your life.

MY THOUGHTS

The DS Adam Tyler series by Russ Thomas has become one of my favourites. Cold Reckoning is the latest book, and it is perhaps the most personal book yet for Adam, as he grapples with the mystery of his father’s death decades earlier, and the mysterious disappearance of his boss, DCI Diane Jordan. I definitely think this is my favourite book in this series to date.

There are a lot of strands in this novel, but Russ Thomas did a brilliant job of keeping everything flowing smoothly, and I never felt, as I was reading, that I was in anyway feeling lost with the story. The mysteries of what happened to Adam’s father and his boss really pulled me into the book. I could feel the sense of urgency there was for his need to get answers. I was kept intrigued right the way through. I was urging the police to take Diane’s disappearance more seriously, even though she is a police officer, it felt as though Adam was the only one pushing for an investigation.

The pacing never drops. There are some very mysterious chapters where there is an exchange between two unknown individuals, and I wanted to know how this was going to be connected to the rest of the plot. I really liked the way how Russ Thomas brought this all seamlessly together as Adam finds out the truth. There are some brilliant twists as the novel nears its conclusion, and I could not put it down, as we reached this point. There were some tense scenes between Adam and some of the characters in this book, and I’m not going to say who, because I don’t want to spoil it, but it made me unsure of whom Adam could really trust. This is what makes the novel so tense, especially as we get towards the ending. This book will have you looking at every character with suspicion.

Russ Thomas is definitely a writer who knows how to leave his readers wanting more. I’m desperate to find out what happens next in Adam’s journey following the conclusions of this book. I highly recommend this series.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Publication date: 12th May 2022

Print length: 461 pages

Cold Reckoning is available to buy:

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