Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan @JoCallaghanKat @simonschusterUK #LeaveNoTrace #bookreview

Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan

Publication Date 28th March 2024

Published by Simon & Schuster

Book Description:

One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic.
It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . .
 
When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case.
 
But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started. With the police warning local men to be vigilant, the Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots and prevent another death.

My Thoughts:

The good part about not reading the first in a series until quite late is that you get to read the sequel almost straight away! After the success of In the Blink of an Eye, I couldn't wait to dive into this one. With characters and plotlines fresh in my mind, I dropped straight into Kat and Aide's world but this time Kat has managed to persuade her boss that they need a live case to test the usefulness of the artificial intelligence detective.

The humour that peppered the original storyline continues throughout this second book, and it was interesting to see how the 'technology' had moved on in the short period since the previous cold cases were worked. Aide has become a strong character in itself (checks pronouns) and these books have opened my mind to the possible applications where AI could potentially save hours of mind-numbing admin work for the police, also eliminating the possibility of human error due to fatigue.

The cases presented are shocking yet realistic and kept me engaged throughout. I will definitely be signing up for a third instalment (no pressure, Jo!) - I'm sure Aide will present Kat with plenty more chances to press the 'off' button and thus keep me and many other readers amused!

About the Author: 

Jo works full-time as a senior strategist, where she has carried out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019, she started writing In The Blink of An Eye. She lives with her two children in the Midlands, where she is currently writing the third novel in the Kat and Lock series.

Libraries Unlocked - a new system and a fresh haul of books to read.

 Libraries Unlocked

As regular readers of my blog, and anyone else who knows me personally, will know I love to support my local library. Services in my local area are making a gradual move to the Libraries Unlocked system, where you can access the library buildings between 8am and 8pm, Monday to Saturday with just a tap of your library card and a PIN number. While this enables users of the library more flexible access to collect and return books, it also has a detrimental effect on the physical staffing levels at the library which means I am torn in my opinion of whether it's a good thing or not. I recently used the facilities for the first time during 'Unlocked hours' and I have to say I felt rather awkward being in the building without any library personnel on site. I'm sure this will gradually become the norm, and I was pleased to be able to pick up my reservation at a time when previously it would have been inaccessible, but I still say you can't beat having a smiling face greet you as you peruse the shelves. Someone to put new customers at their ease, or to help long-standing customers like myself who are looking for recommendations of a new author or genre to spice up their reading habits. The youngsters - new to the endless choice of books available, who just need a bit of guidance to find their favourite authors - and the older generation, or those with accessibility issues, who just need a helping hand to access books in either large print/audio format or via the BorrowBox digital lending library service. Essentially, libraries need people - both sides of the counter. Use them or lose them!

Does anyone else have the Libraries Unlocked facility in your area? What are your thoughts and experiences - good, bad or indifferent. Let me know in the comments section below.

The Books

So, what did I find during my out of hours visit? My purpose for visiting was to collect Jo Spain's latest novel The Trial which was published in April, which I have been patiently waiting for having reserved it round about publication day. I've dived straight into this one, and I'll let you know my thoughts once I've completed it - I'm about a third of the way through so far. It's centred around St Edmunds college in Dublin and a student named Dani whose student boyfriend Theo disappeared in 2014. She's back at the college 10 years later as a tutor and she wants answers - and not just to the obvious questions either.

The second book I picked up, The Verdict, is by a new author to me, Nick Stone and was written in 2017. It's a courtroom thriller (one of my favourite genres) although I have been warned that the said Verdict takes a while through the book to arrive, so I'll need to soak up all the clues along the way to see whether it goes the way I think it might. 

I also chose 3 others by popular authors David Jackson, BA Paris and Sophie Hannah. Whether or not I manage to read all these before the loan period expires (or my mood swings and I fancy something lighter for a change) remains to be seen, but my gut is leading me towards reading The Prisoner by BA Paris next. A sneak peek at the first chapter has piqued my interest in that one so I need to go and get my head into a book and read some pages to even stand a chance of getting to it. 

If you have any thoughts either on the libraries unlocked system or any of the books I've mentioned, please drop me a comment :-)

The Dream Home by TM Logan #TheDreamHome

 

The Dream Home by TM Logan

Published by Zaffre Books

Publication Date: 29th February 2024

Book Description:

Adam and Jess move into a new house with their three young children: a rambling Victorian villa in a nice neighbourhood right at the very top of their price range. Before long Adam discovers a door hidden behind a fitted wardrobe, concealing a secret room . . .

Inside Adam discovers a collection of forgotten items: a wallet, an expensive watch and an old mobile phone. Jess thinks they should simply throw them away. But Adam resists. He is fascinated by these items and how they came to be inside the hidden room.

But like the house, Adam has his secrets too. And soon he will find himself setting in motion a series of events that will place his family in terrible danger . . .

My Thoughts:

I was looking forward to reading this book so much, I reserved it pre-publication from my library (the book buying restrictions are still going strong at the moment!). But sadly, I have to say I was really disappointed. Whether it's the fact that I have a lot of distractions happening in my life at the moment, or whether it just didn't hit the spot I'm not sure.

The idea of a young couple discovering a secret room in the house they've just bought - their dream home - filled me with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Then the discovery of locked drawers hiding seemingly random, boring items added to the curiosity factor. The premise was good. But 300 pages of story telling, a lot of which seemed to be the same facts being presented in various different ways, together with a main character who was too spineless to tell his wife he'd lost his job just before they took on the most expensive mortgage and house renovation project of their lives, just didn't hit the spot for me. The rest of the book gradually picked up to a decent climax, but it didn't have me on the edge of my seat.

Other readers clearly love this book - 4.4/5 stars on Amazon is usually a great endorsement, so it obviously works for the majority of people. But, as I say, maybe it just fell at the wrong time for me. Which was extremely disappointing as the author was holding a signing event at a bookshop local to me, which I had intended to go to. But I'm afraid I stayed away, purely because of this book. I wish I had left reading this one until after the signing, so I could meet the author and shown my appreciation of his previous work that I've read but I didn't feel it was right to attend and risk expressing my genuine thoughts and take the shine off his event. I can't enthuse over a book I'm not that into. It's not fair to give a less than honest opinion - I don't want to mislead other people. I still have other books of his on my TBR - 'The Mother' being the most prominent of those awaiting my attention. Fingers crossed I have more luck with that one and please let me know if you had a more positive experience.

About the Author:

TM Logan's thrillers have sold more than two million copies in the UK and are translated into 22 other languages for publication around the world.

Tim's brand new novel, THE DREAM HOME (published Feb 2024) follows Adam, Jess and their three children, who find the family home they’ve always dreamed of and move in full of plans for the future. But it’s not long before they start to discover their perfect new place is full of secrets, and stirring up the past can be a dangerous game . . .

THE MOTHER, is a twisty, fast-paced thriller about a woman betrayed and her search for redemption against all the odds. She has to discover who framed her for murder - or she will never see her sons again.

THE HOLIDAY was a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and spent ten weeks in the Sunday Times paperback top ten. It has since won a Nielsen Bestseller Award and been made into a four-part TV drama with Jill Halfpenny.

THE CATCH has also been made into a TV drama for Channel 5, starring Jason Watkins, Poppy Gilbert, Aneurin Barnard and Cathy Belton - currently available on Netflix UK. His other books are THE CURFEW, TRUST ME, LIES and 29 SECONDS.

A former national newspaper journalist, Tim lives in Nottinghamshire with his family and writes in a cabin in the corner of his garden.

For exclusive writing, new releases and a FREE deleted scene from Tim, sign up to the Readers’ Club at TM Logan dot com. You can also follow him on Twitter @TMLoganAuthor, find him on Facebook at /TMLoganAuthor, on Instagram @TMLoganAuthor

They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy's Story by Peter James @peterjamesuk @panmacmillan #NetGalley #TheyThoughtIWasDeadSandysStory

 

They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy's Story by Peter James

Published by Pan MacMillan

Publication Date: 9th May 2024

Book Description:

My name is Sandy.

My husband is Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.

But when I disappeared, even he couldn't find me . . .

This is my story.

There's more to Sandy than meets the eye. A woman with a dubious past, a complicated present and an uncertain future.

Then she was gone.

Some will think they know how it ends . . .

Her disappearance caused a nationwide search. Even the best detective on the force couldn't find her.

They thought she was dead.

But nobody knows this . . .

Where did she go? Why did she run? What would cause a woman to leave her whole life behind and

simply vanish?

For the first time the truth behind Sandy Grace’s dramatic disappearance is revealed. They Thought I Was Dead will thrill fans and new readers alike with its gripping story of a woman on the run. This is Sandy's story.

My Thoughts:

First of all, my huge thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication via the NetGalley platform. All opinions here are my own.

The first book in this series, Dead Simple, was the book that got me hooked on police procedurals, thrillers and more gritty reads back in 2005. After losing my reading my mojo due to having my children (not enough hours in the day where I still had more than one active brain cell left) I had finally put a toe back in the water with some chick-lit, light reads but was finding them lacking somehow. With this very different genre Peter James changed all that, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As the followers of the series will know, Sandy Grace's character has been a presence from the start - or should I say an absence? Nobody has known what happened to her, least of all her detective husband Roy. She just vanished as if into thin air. If anyone had the resources available to find her it would be a leading detective, but sadly for Roy this just didn't happen - there were several potential sightings over the years, but no evidence to back these up. But now, in this latest novel, we all get to find out what happened, together with all the whys and hows that go with the facts from Sandy's point of view. I think this is a very well-timed novel, having spoken to several people who have invested in the series they are ready to have their questions answered. 

I think it's safe to say that having now read Sandy's story she really wasn't the person Roy thought she was. There are some pretty unsavoury characters involved here, so it was just a matter of time before Sandy got her fingers burned. It's very much a tale of the grass being greener on the other side however some of the decisions Sandy made had me shouting at the pages at her naivety. As the wife of a detective whose job it was to catch these people, she really should have known better. I love that Peter James has blended some of the characters from Roy's investigations into Sandy's story, which helped with the strands of story in previous books where there were possible sightings of her.

By the end of the story, I was torn between my loyalty to Roy but wanting a decent outcome for Sandy after all she'd gone through. I don't think she really knew what she was looking for, but the people she encountered on her search for a happy life certainly made it an eventful journey. 

Overall I found this book tied up a lot of loose ends, but it didn't (except for a couple of sections) get my heart racing as much as I expected. I'll be interested to see how the Dead series either continues or concludes now we have a lot of the answers.

About the Author:

Peter James is a UK No.1 bestselling author, best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, now a hit ITV drama starring John Simm as the troubled Brighton copper.

Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern day policing, he has won over 40 awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger.

To date, Peter has written an impressive total of 19 Sunday Times No. 1s, sold over 21 million copies worldwide and been translated into 38 languages. His books are also often adapted for the stage – the most recent being Looking Good Dead.

Visit Peter James www.peterjames.com

Follow Peter on Instagram > @peterjamesuk

Follow Peter on Twitter > @peterjamesuk

Follow Peter on Facebook > www.facebook.com/peterjames.roygrace

The Family Experiment by John Marrs #Netgalley #TheFamilyExperiment @panmacmillan @johnmarrs1 #bookreview

 

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

Published by Pan Macmillan

Publication Date: 9th May 2024

My thanks to the publisher for allowing me access to this book prior to publication via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and are unbiased.

Book Description:

Some families are virtually perfect . . .

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality tv show. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby . . .

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate 'tamagotchi' - a virtual baby.

My Thoughts:

My first piece of advice regarding this book: read the author's other speculative fiction books in order prior to diving into this one, it will make far more sense and you will understand the characters personality traits and how their life experience influence decisions they make. 

So, in order: The One, The Passengers, The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment.

It's been a few months since I read The Marriage Act, and even longer since I've read the other books, so I had to dig deep to recall some of the returning characters but this didn't spoil my enjoyment of this latest book from John Marrs. In a nutshell, this novel follows the contestants who have been signed up for a reality TV show called The Family Experiment. As detailed in the description of the book, these 11 people are the chosen ones who are competing to have a virtual child of their own, with cameras following their attempts to nurture a child from birth to 18 years of age, but condensed into a nine-month period. Viewers get to vote on the highs and lows of their experiences, the losing competitors have their "child" dissolved into the millions of pixels that construct them. Harsh, and heartbreaking in equal measure.

It quickly becomes obvious that not everyone is cut out to be a parent, and that some of the contestants have their own agenda, whether that is as the couple they are part of, or as individuals. The cash prize is all that some of them are chasing, whereas for others it's a way to raise their own on-line profile and popularity. Is there a single one of the contestants who signed up with the pure intention of having a child of their own, which would not have been possible otherwise? This is just one of many questions you'll be asking yourself along the way.

The chapters gradually peel back the layers of secrets, lies, and deception that seem to be an inherent part of the contestants lives and there are shocks aplenty along the way as we have come to expect from Mr Marrs. For me this book worked so much better than its predecessor and, with hindsight, it feels to me like the author had to create the world needed for this novel by writing The Marriage Act. As a series the whole thing works brilliantly and my intention is to re-read the whole series from the start at some point as it is so impressive and I want to try and pick up on some of the more subtle details which I'm sure I missed on my first reading of the books. Knowing how the world is going to progress in future books will make the earlier books feel completely different a second time around, I think.

I would say that this would make for a brilliant TV mini-series, but having experienced Netflix's attempt to televise The One, I know I would be disappointed so I'll stick to reading the books and trying to encourage everyone to share the experience with me.

About the Author:

John Marrs is an author and former journalist based in London and Northamptonshire. After spending his career interviewing celebrities from the worlds of television, film and music for numerous national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time author. His books include No1 bestseller and Netflix series The One, The Passengers, award winning What Lies Between Us and The Good Samaritan.

Follow him at www.johnmarrsauthor.co.uk, on Twitter @johnmarrs1, on Instagram @johnmarrs.author and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johnmarrsauthor.

In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan #libraryloan @JoCallaghanKat #InTheBlinkOfAnEye @simonschusterUK

 

In The Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

Published by Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 19th January 2023

Book Description:

In the UK, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds.

Just gone. Vanished. In the blink of an eye. 

DCS Kat Frank knows all about loss. A widowed single mother, Kat is a cop who trusts her instincts. Picked to lead a pilot programme that has her paired with AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) Lock, Kat's instincts come up against Lock's logic. But when the two missing person's cold cases they are reviewing suddenly become active, Lock is the only one who can help Kat when the case gets personal. 

AI versus human experience. 

Logic versus instinct.

With lives on the line can the pair work together before someone else becomes another statistic? 

My Thoughts:

I put off reading this book for so long. Me and "sci-fi" don't go well together, but my interest was piqued because so many of my reader friends were shouting loud about how good this book is. So I decided to borrow it from my local library - I didn't want to invest money in a book that I was fairly sure I wouldn't be a fan of. How wrong could I be? I was absolutely drawn in to the storyline right from the off. 

Kat Frank is a recent widow; she's devastated but determined to try to stay positive in order to focus her 18 year old son who has just finished his A levels. She decides it's time to get some semblance of normality back in her life and return to work. However, her boss has decided that the best way to ease her back in to detective work is to put her on a new project looking into cold cases but with the added assistance of new technology: AI. Artificial Intelligence. This is the part that had turned me away from this book for so long, and Kat isn't too thrilled with the idea either. The team of traditional detectives is to join forces and trawl a selection of cold cases and come up with a plan of whether any or all of them have sufficient clues to afford a reopening of the case. The AI detective is known as Locke and, rather than being a dull computer program where you push buttons to get a report, is a holographic data crunching device which unknowingly has a great sense of humour. If you've ever watched Star Trek you will recognise the style from characters such as Spock and Data.  After several clashes of "personality" and opinions, Kat and Aide soon begin to find some common ground - Locke's ability to trawl CCTV footage and phone records at superhuman speeds soon have Kat wondering whether it has earned its place on the team already, but all the credit earned is lost in an instant when a huge error of judgment is made due to Locke's lack of understanding of human emotions.

I don't want to give too much of the storyline away but suffice to say things get extremely personal when Kat's son goes missing, and she's asked to step away from the case they are investigating when links are made between him and the previous evidence. Her team are dedicated enough to her to hold her ideas in mind as they continue to investigate, but will it be enough for AI to become a regular part of police work, and Kat's son to be found before the it's too late?

I absolutely love this book, and am looking forward to my turn in the queue at the library for Jo Callaghan's follow up novel Leave No Trace which has also recently been released. If, like me, you're really unsure whether this is the book for you, but you enjoy a good old police procedural novel with a touch of humour thrown in, I'd say give it a try - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

About the Author:

Jo Callaghan works fulltime as a senior strategist, where she has carried out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce.

She was a student of the Writers’ Academy Course (Penguin Random House), was long listed for the Myslexia Novel Writing Competition and Bath Novel Competition. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019 when she was just forty-nine, she started writing IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, her debut crime novel, which explores learning to live with loss and what it means to be human. She lives with her two children in the midlands, where she spends far too much time tweeting as @JoCallaghanKat and has recently released the second novel in the series, Leave No Trace.