Tuesday 31 March 2020

March Reads 2020

A Window Breaks by CM Ewan
Published 20th February 2020

If your family was targeted in the middle of the night, what would you do?
You are asleep. A noise wakes you.
You stir, unsure why, and turn to your partner.
Then you hear it.
Glass. Crunching underfoot.
Your worst fears are about to be realized.
Someone is inside your home.
Your choices are limited.
You can run. Or stay and fight.
What would you do?


Knock Knock by Chris Merritt
Published 17th March 2020

Natasha Mayston wasn’t expecting anyone to knock on her door so late at night. And she has no idea that the face staring back at her is the last one she’ll ever see…

As Detective Dan Lockhart is called to a wealthy London street to investigate Natasha’s death, he’s startled by the similarity to a previous case. Noticing the cable-tie restraints and the tiny scratches on Natasha’s wedding finger, Dan already knows what he will find if he looks in her mouth – the metal ball which choked her to death. He knows Natasha isn’t the killer’s first victim and is certain that he will strike again.

Months earlier, Kim Hardy was found in the same position in a run-down hotel across the city – an identical silver ball in her throat. But Kim’s murderer was caught and sent to prison – did they arrest the wrong man? And what connects the two victims? Fearing that he’s dealing with a psychopathic serial killer, Dan calls in psychologist Dr Lexi Green to help him to get into the perpetrator’s mind. Tough and smart, Lexi will stop at nothing to hunt down the man responsible for the deaths.

Then, another body is discovered, just as Lexi finds a clue online leading to the killer. Dan’s team aren’t convinced, but in pushing Lexi away from the investigation, they force her to dig further into the case on her own. Convinced that she’s on to something, she puts herself in unthinkable danger… but can Dan piece together the clues and identify the killer before it’s too late?


The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
Published 25th June 2020 (paperback edition)
Kindle edition out now

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, you see your husband only one day a week. Thursday. But you don’t care, you love him that much. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself…
And then, one day it all changes.
You thought you were fine with this, with only having a fraction of a husband. But you can’t help yourself, you start to dig. Begin tracking them down, the other days… Who is Monday and why does she have bruises on her arms? Is she being abused? By who? Her husband? Your husband?
What else is he keeping from you?
And who is he, really?


The Garden of Lost Memories by Ruby Hummingbird
Published 1st April 2020

Sixty-two-year-old Elsie knows what she likes. Custard creams at four o’clock, jigsaw puzzles with a thousand pieces, her ivy-covered, lavender-scented garden.

Ten-year-old Billy would rather spend his Saturdays kicking a ball, or watching TV, or anything really, other than being babysat by his grumpy neighbour Elsie and being force fed custard creams.

If it was up to them, they’d have nothing to do with each other. Unfortunately, you can’t choose who you live next door to.

But there is always more to people than meets the eye…

Elsie doesn’t know that Billy’s afraid to go to school now, or why his mother woke him up in the middle of the night with an urgent shake, bags already packed, ready to flee their home.

Billy doesn’t know that the rusting red tin he finds buried in Elsie’s treasured garden is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode her carefully organised life. And that when he digs it up, he is unearthing a secret that has lain dormant for twenty-eight years…


Spider Games by K J McGillick
Published 27th January 2020

Kate O’Brien is pure dedication; she believes in the justice system. This feisty, no-nonsense attorney works herself to the bone every day, tirelessly building her reputation and career. She is on the path to being a legal star. That is until her corrupt law partner, Bill Brown, a criminal defense attorney, achieves a degree of notoriety which attracts the interest of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
When the inconceivable happens, Bill is arrested, charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and money laundering leaving the law firm in chaos. As Kate slowly digs her way out, what she finds sends her down a dark path that could lead to her imprisonment or death. Bill has meticulously set her up to pay for his malevolent crimes. His cohorts, fearing she knows too much, have marked her for death. Can she stay ahead of the FBI and unravel crimes that reach as far as China and Russia? Or will she need to assume a new identity to save her own life?


The Prison Doctor by Dr Amanda Brown
Published 13th June 2019

Violence. Drugs. Suicide. Welcome to the world of a Prison Doctor.
Dr Amanda Brown has treated inmates in the UK’s most infamous prisons – first in young offenders’ institutions, then at the notorious Wormwood Scrubs and finally at Europe’s largest women-only prison in Europe, Bronzefield.
From miraculous pregnancies to dirty protests, and from violent attacks on prisoners to heartbreaking acts of self-harm, she has witnessed it all.
In this eye-opening, inspirational memoir, Amanda reveals the stories, the patients and the cases that have shaped a career helping those most of us would rather forget.
Despite their crimes, she is still their doctor.


Firewatching by Russ Thomas
Published 20th February 2020

ONE WRONG MOVE
A body is found bricked into the walls of a house. From the state of the hands, it’s clear the dead man was buried alive. Soon, the victim is linked to an old missing person’s case and DS Adam Tyler is called.
WILL IGNITE
As the sole representative of South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit, Tyler recognises his role for what it is – a means of keeping him out of the way following an ‘incident’. When this case falls in his lap, he grabs the opportunity to fix his stagnating career.
THE CITY
And then Tyler discovers he has a connection to the case that hopelessly compromises him. He makes the snap decision not to tell his superiors, certain that he and only he can solve the crime. But now Tyler must move carefully to find out the truth, without destroying the case or himself.

Meanwhile, someone in the city knows exactly what happened to the body. Someone who is watching Adam closely. Someone with an unhealthy affinity with fire. . .

Sunday 22 March 2020

Knock Knock by Chris Merritt #BlogTour @bookouture #review @DrCJMerritt #KnockKnock

Knock Knock by Chris Merritt (Book One in Lockhart & Green Series)
Published by Bookouture
Publication Date: 17th March 2020
Genre: Crime

My thanks to Noelle Holten from Bookouture for the invitation to be part of the blog tour.
All views and opinions are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

Natasha Mayston wasn’t expecting anyone to knock on her door so late at night. And she has no idea that the face staring back at her is the last one she’ll ever see…

As Detective Dan Lockhart is called to a wealthy London street to investigate Natasha’s death, he’s startled by the similarity to a previous case. Noticing the cable-tie restraints and the tiny scratches on Natasha’s wedding finger, Dan already knows what he will find if he looks in her mouth – the metal ball which choked her to death. He knows Natasha isn’t the killer’s first victim and is certain that he will strike again.

Months earlier, Kim Hardy was found in the same position in a run-down hotel across the city – an identical silver ball in her throat. But Kim’s murderer was caught and sent to prison – did they arrest the wrong man? And what connects the two victims? Fearing that he’s dealing with a psychopathic serial killer, Dan calls in psychologist Dr Lexi Green to help him to get into the perpetrator’s mind. Tough and smart, Lexi will stop at nothing to hunt down the man responsible for the deaths.

Then, another body is discovered, just as Lexi finds a clue online leading to the killer. Dan’s team aren’t convinced, but in pushing Lexi away from the investigation, they force her to dig further into the case on her own. Convinced that she’s on to something, she puts herself in unthinkable danger…but can Dan piece together the clues and identify the killer before it’s too late?


Fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Cara Hunter will love this thrilling new series from Chris Merritt. From an explosive start to a heart-stopping finale, you will not want to put this book down!

My Thoughts:

I love to come in to a series right at the start so I can get a feel for the characters, their backgrounds and personalities.  This is a very strong start to the series with Dan Lockhart being called in as the SIO in the murder of Natasha Mayston who has been discovered murdered in her own home, a large steel ball forced down her throat rendering her unable to breath.  He feels there are similarities to another recent murder however the team investigating that case have a man awaiting trial and Dan's superior officer won't give him permission to interview the suspect.

Lockhart's team include DS Maxine Smith, a single mom who is determined to prove her worth on the team. She goes above and beyond to follow her hunches - and doesn't always disclose these activities until after she's discovered evidence to back up her thoughts.  Also on the team is relative newbie Mo Khan who is young, enthusiastic but still wet behind the ears. Lockhart needs to keep him in line or he could become a bit of a liability.

As is often the case, Lockhart has his own demons in his personal life and is seeking counselling to try to make sense of life without his wife who went missing one night and hasn't been seen or heard of since. He's been seeing Dr Lexi Green, an American psychologist in a professional capacity and despite struggling to adjust to sharing his inner thoughts on his personal life he respects her and comes to the conclusion that her input would be helpful in profiling the person responsible for his latest case at work.  His team are less than supportive, many of them not holding much faith in psychological profiling and Lexi feels very much out of her depth as she presents her professional assessment of the type of personal capable of murdering Natasha. She ups her efforts in line with the rest of the team when another body turns up in identical circumstances only a matter of weeks later. She feels she has to prove the value of profiling to the cynical police team. But how can she get them to listen to her?

There are multiple persons of interest in the book and I felt very much part of the investigations as the different officers went about their lines of questioning, analysing each of the suspects and their alibis as events unfolded. This is not a fast paced thriller but a steady police investigation until the climax of the book when I found my heart racing very much faster as the pieces of the mystery suddenly clicked into place and one of the team suddenly found themselves next on the killer's hit list. Would the rest of the team work things out in time to foil the Throat Ripper's master plan?

The author has clearly spent considerable time researching a very unpleasant section of society who hold women in very low regard and are very vocal in their online chatrooms. It is scary to think such groups exist and not only with women as their target group. I will be very interested to see where Chris Merritt takes this series as I feel he will keep things very contemporary as to the types of crime this team will be investigating.  Plus there is the personal side of Lockhart's story - and Maxine Smith has lots more to offer us yet as well. Both officers have proven that they will push boundaries to get results which always makes a series that bit more interesting from a reader's point of view. And will Lexi Green be figuring in any future cases? We will have to wait and see.

I am very much looking forward to the next instalment.







About the Author:





Chris Merritt is a British author whose crime thrillers combine psychology, suspense, and characters you care about.

All his novels are set in London, where he lives. He began writing fiction in 2014, after previous careers as a diplomat, based in Iraq and Jerusalem, and later as a psychologist working with victims and perpetrators of crime. He specialised in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which sparked his interest in telling stories about how people cope when faced with extreme adversity.

Now he spends most of his time writing novels and drinking coffee while *thinking* about writing novels. When he's not writing, he loves climbing and playing basketball.






Author Social Media Links:





Wednesday 18 March 2020

Some Days Are Dark by Miranda Smith @bookouture #BlogTour

Some Days Are Dark by Miranda Smith
Published by Bookouture
Publication Date: 16th March 2020

My thanks to publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication as part of the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

When you have nothing to lose, how far will you go to save yourself?

Everyone in Whitaker was sure Olivia Miller shot her husband, until Marcus Rowe confessed. But a month before the trial, Marcus has been proved innocent—putting Olivia back in the frame.

Olivia is the first to admit she isn’t perfect. She’s made a lot of mistakes in her life, the worst of which was marrying Dane Miller. She fell for his kind eyes, his lack of judgement—she thought she could be free with him. That was before the chaotic parties, the dangerous friends, the lies… But one bad choice shouldn’t mean a life sentence. Now her friends are turning away from her, gossiping about her wherever she goes, wondering when she’ll be arrested this time.

Olivia isn’t going to run from the stares, from the whispers, from the doubts. She won’t leave her beloved son behind, or give her ex-husband Frank and his new wife any excuse to stop her seeing him. And if the police and the world think she’s guilty, there’s only one thing she can do—prove her innocence herself.

But if Marcus didn’t murder her husband, then the real killer is still out there.

And they’re not going to want Olivia stirring up the past…

An absolutely gripping, heart-pounding suspense novel about bad choices and second chances. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gray.
  


My Thoughts:


I have mentioned before that fiction based in the USA is not my go-to option but Miranda Smith has impressed me with her writing so much that the setting was not an issue for me.

The story is told from Olivia's point of view and relates how she should be happy and settled in her marriage but has become restless and feels unfulfilled with her life.  Husband Frank works hard to provide all they could possibly want in life albeit in modest ways. But Olivia's head is turned by Frank's employee Dane and soon the cracks in her marriage are sufficient to break it apart. 

Olivia moves in with Dane and it's not long before he proposes and Olivia certainly gets the exciting lifestyle she has been craving.  Dane certainly mixes in different social circles to those Frank did, but Olivia soon realises that she should have been careful what she wished for.  While Olivia and Dane have been partying hard and their house guests have been pushing the boundaries of social acceptability, Frank has met and married Julie a dedicated nurse who has taken on Olivia and Frank's son as her own.  Their life together is a picture of respectability, in stark contrast to Olivia's.


Dane is murdered one night when Olivia is allegedly out of the house and the local police are quick to suspect her.  Dane has few close friends and Olivia struggles to name any of the people who frequented their regular house parties which makes the police suspicious but suddenly a local homeless man has been arrested and charged with murder.  None of this makes sense to Olivia but the investigating officers are not confident with her alibi.

The book follows the people involved in the murder investigation and Olivia's reaction to the information she discovers along the way. The officers aren't keen to share much information with her as she is still a possible suspect in their eyes but fortunately for her there is someone working on her behalf in the background to discover the truth.   Can they prove her innocence in time or will they tread on the wrong toes in their quest to bring the right person to justice?

An interesting insight into how as a society we judge people on first impressions and preconceived ideas when sometimes it's those who appear to have their ducks in a row who are the most messed up.
Buy Links:

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Q9xGwa



About the Author:


Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children. 


Social Media Links:





Sunday 15 March 2020

Unexpected Lessons in Love by Lucy Dillon #NetGalley #UnexpectedLessonsInLove @lucy_dillon @randomhouse

Unexpected Lessons in Love by Lucy Dillon
Publication Date: 9th January 2020
Published by Black Swan
Romance/Womens Fiction

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this title via NetGalley

Book Description:


What happens when 'I do' turns into 'I don't know'?
Jeannie always wanted to fall in love, and now she’s finally got the whirlwind romance she dreamed of. Dan’s gorgeous, he’s a successful young vet, and he flew her to New York and proposed on Brooklyn Bridge. Jeannie has to remind herself this is actually her life. It seems too perfect, too magical, to be real. Yet it is.
But now she’s on her way to the wedding she can’t shake off the tight sensation crushing her chest. Is it just nerves . . . or is this all happening a bit too fast?
Jeannie has one last chance to shout, ‘Stop!’ But just as she grabs it, a twist of fate throws everything she knows into the air like confetti. What Jeannie learns about Dan, about her own heart, and about the power of love itself, will change her world for ever . .

My Thoughts:

I am a huge fan of Lucy' Dillon's writing, but as a cynical divorcee I am not a great believer in romance. I have to say what grabbed my attention to read this book about a wedding was the tag line 'what happens when "I do" turns into "I don't know". That's far more interesting to me.
Dan and Jeannie met on an online dating app, the majority of their courtship has been spent on weekends away doing all the fun stuff. They haven't really gone into the deep conversations or had humdrum daily discussions on whose turn it is to put the bins out. Which is what suddenly strikes Jeannie as she sits in the back of her beautiful wedding car on her way to marry Dan: she doesn't really know him at all. In a panic, she tells her dad she can't go through with the ceremony and stops the car to try to make a phone call to Dan - but the call goes to voicemail. That sets in motion a whole new course for the day, as just moments later she receives a phone call telling her that Dan has been hit by a bus on his way to the ceremony. Was Dan listening to her message when he stepped out in the road? Does anyone else know? With Dan unconscious in hospital who can she ask?

My favourite character of the book is best man Owen; reliable, organised and thoughtful he is a godsend to Jeannie as he handles all the practicalities of calling off a wedding under tragic circumstances - but does he know about Jeannie's phone call? And where is Dan's phone? Dan's mum Andrea is understandably broken by what has happened to her son and leans heavily on Jeannie for emotional support - so it's obvious she doesn't know - but how can Jeannie tell her when her son is teetering between life and death? The story continues with Jeannie's dilemma, and she feels a complete fraud as she fits in to village life at the vet's house where she and Dan were moving in to after the wedding. Her feelings are explored and her torment continues as the community happily accept her into their fold.

Even with all the emotion involved in this story it didn't feel all gloom and doom, it came across as a very realistic dilemma for someone to find themselves in. All the characters were believable and with back stories of their own there is plenty going on to detract from Jeannie's story. As she unpacks their belongings into their new home it soon becomes clear that Dan too has been withholding information and Jeannie has to try to quiz Owen on what Dan might be hiding, whilst still keeping her own secret. Not as easy as it first might appear - especially once Owen starts getting shifty in his responses.

As is always the case with Lucy's books there is a canine component to the tale which I think reflects life perfectly: you need a dog in your life to keep things in perspective. Keep your tissues handy though as Jeannie's experiences at the vet's house will tug at your heartstrings, whatever the outcome between her and Dan.


About the Author:



Lucy Dillon grew up in Cumbria and read English at Cambridge, then read a lot of magazines as a press assistant in London, then read other people's manuscripts as a junior fiction editor. She now lives in a village outside Hereford with a Border terrier, an Otterhound and her husband.

Lucy won the Romantic Novelists' Association Contemporary Romantic Novel prize in 2015 for A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME, and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2010 for LOST DOGS AND LONELY HEARTS.

You can follow her at her website www.lucydillon.com, on Twitter @lucy_dillon



Sunday 8 March 2020

My Perfect Wife by Clare Boyd @bookouture #BlogTour #Review @ClareBoydClark

My Perfect Wife by Clare Boyd
Published by Bookouture
Publication Date: 4th March 2020
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

My thanks to publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication and review as part of the blog tour.

Book Description:


I finally have everything I ever wanted. A home with floor-to-ceiling windows, a devoted husband who dazzles everyone he meets, and two angelic children I adore. But as I watch my husband chatting with the girl next door, I wonder if anyone can see the sadness in my pretty pink smile, or hear the scream behind my straight white teeth?



I know I’m crazy to think there’s a hint of desire in his eyes.



I know it’s madness to see a flicker of fear in hers.



I know all this, because I’ve been wrong before.



And if I’m wrong again, he’ll try to take my children away.



The party is my last chance to prove to my husband that I’m on the mend, that I can handle something as simple as a drinks reception without snapping under the pressure. It’s all going perfectly, until I see something in the swimming pool that changes everything. But if I can’t trust myself to believe it’s real, who will?



A totally unputdownable page-turner about the darker side of love and what really goes on under the surface of perfect-looking lives. Clever and unexpected, this book will have you gripped from the very first page until the dramatic final twist. Fans of The Wife Between Us and The Mother-in-Law will be hooked.


My Thoughts:

This book is set at the mysterious Copper Lodge in Surrey, owned by prestigious couple Lucas and Elizabeth Huxley.  Lucas inherited the land on which Copper Lodge is built from his parents when their previous home stood upon it. He went on to have the new structure built in impressive materials and design so that it stood out from its neighbours.  Lucas is all about appearances and how people rate him in society.  Behind closed doors, wife Elizabeth is a bundle of nerves, always having to live up to Lucas's exacting standards, but instead of letting people see this she makes out that she is a capable, strong woman and because of this comes across as being stern faced and impersonal.

Next door neighbours Gordon and Sally work in the grounds of Copper Lodge, keeping the gardens and property maintained to the highest standard while their own property gets neglected.  They don't like extravagance and are strident supporters of the local soup kitchen, providing food and emotional support to the local homeless community. This belief that they should not over indulge has been drummed into their daughter Heather all her life so when she gets called back to her childhood home to support her father when Sally has to go away from home to support her sister in her last weeks, her sense of duty means she cannot say no.

With flashbacks to Heather's childhood throughout the book we get a glimpse into Lucas and Heather's younger years.  Lucas certainly seems to have had a big influence in Heather's formative years but the extent of this shocked me.  Lucas has a reputation to maintain in the world of international business and he pressures all his employees to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect for the garden party he is hosting to - hopefully - celebrate the union of his and international businessman Walt Seacart's companies.  This will be a major coup, but only Elizabeth knows just how important it is to Lucas.  Can she cope with the pressure?

"Smoke and mirrors" is the name of the game in Lucas's world and he needs to portray a certain lifestyle to the Seacarts in order to seal the deal. Luckily for him Elizabeth's brother can help him out here. But is he willing to? The more we find out about Lucas as the book goes along the more I disliked him. He stands for everything I dislike about the world of big business and the secrets that lurk under the surface.  Heather has the scales torn from her eyes and is shocked to hear very unsavoury things about her parents' neighbour who has been such a big part of her life. She is torn between the evidence she has been shown and the man she thought she knew. But if this is all true then why have her parents shown him so much loyalty over the years?

There are shocks and revelations throughout and the impact of Lucas's actions send ripples across the lives of many.  I switched allegiance between the characters as the different versions of the truth came out so I was definitely kept on my toes with the plot in this book.  Clare Boyd is definitely a master of mystery writing.




About the Author:




Author Bio:

Clare lives with her husband and their two daughters in Surrey, where her little green shed at the bottom of the garden provides a haven for her writing life. Before becoming a writer, she enjoyed a career in television, as a researcher in documentaries and then as a script editor in drama at the BBC and Channel Four, where her love of storytelling took hold.







Author Social Media Links:




FACEBOOK: clare.boyd.14
TWITTER: @ClareBoydClark
INSTAGRAM: claresboyd