Meet Me On Platform 3 by Zara Stoneley @ZaraStoneley @OneMoreChapter_ #MeetMeOnPlatform3 #NetGalley #bookreview

 

Meet Me On Platform 3 by Zara Stoneley

Published by HarperCollins, One More Chapter

Publication Date: 30th August 2022

Genre: Rom Com

My thanks to Sara Roberts at One More Chapter for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

Millie loves her city life, her city friends and writing her true(ish) confessions column – but she’s starting to wonder if the grass really is greener on the other side, or if her heart really belongs back in Northumberland, with her mum who is struggling after the death of Millie’s dad.

Since leaving home Joe’s lived believing that looking back means you’ve failed, and life is about taking chances and seeing the world.

So when the two meet up surely it can never work, their lives are moving in opposite directions. On different tracks…

My Thoughts:

Headline: Cupid strikes Capital commuters! 

Joe & Millie are relative newbies to living and working in London, still making the regular trek back home to see their families back "up North". Millie is off to see her mum on the second anniversary of her dad's death when Joe accidentally showers her in water off his umbrella during a downpour as they both make their way to the platform.  Neither of them is prepared for the connection they feel when their eyes meet and they each spend the journey home plus the following days thinking about their encounter.

Millie is a journalist whose writing is falling short of the mark and whose boss is just waiting for an excuse to let her go. Her mind is so totally consumed by her experience at the station that she feels compelled to write an article about whether she could ever bump into her handsome stranger again. 

Joe is an IT geek who has had a bad experience with his ex-girlfriend and, whilst smitten with thoughts of the pretty girl at the station, tells himself that the chances of ever meeting her again are slim and she'd probably not be as wonderful as he was imagining her to be anyway. We follow the couple as they make their journeys up and down the country, each looking out for the other along the way. Will they or won't they meet up again - and will Millie's ramblings about her commute be enough save her job?

I very much enjoyed learning more about each of the characters and their families and while maybe there were a few too many coincidences, this is fiction after all and we all need a good love story to escape from the drudgery of daily life. A fun read especially if you have a long train journey on the cards.

As a follow up to Zara's previous book Hot Desk - which I loved - this certainly didn't disappoint. 

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Zara Stoneley was born in a small village in the UK. She wanted to be a female James Herriot, a spy, or an author when she grew up.

After many (many) years, and many different jobs, her dream of writing a bestseller came true, and more than half a million copies of her books have now been sold worldwide.

She writes about friendship, dreams, love, and happy ever afters, and hopes that her tales make you laugh a lot, cry a little, and occasionally say 'ahhh'.

Zara now lives in a Cheshire village with her family, a lively cockapoo and a cocker spaniel. Her bestselling novels include 'Bridesmaids', 'No One Cancels Christmas', 'The Wedding Date', 'The Holiday Swap', 'Summer with the Country Village Vet', 'Blackberry Picking at Jasmine Cottage' and the popular Tippermere series - 'Stable Mates', 'Country Affairs' and 'Country Rivals'.

Your Word or Mine by Lia Middleton #NetGalley #YourWordOrMine @liamiddletOn @MichaelJBooks #bookreview

 

Your Word Or Mine by Lia Middleton

Published by Penguin, Michael Joseph

Publication Date: 18th August 2022

Genre: Legal Thriller

Huge thanks to the publisher for the opportunity via NetGalley to discover another excellent writer in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Description:

Ava Knight, a brilliant young prosecutor, always follows the rules. Until she meets Lily Hawthorne - a troubled fifteen-year-old, accused of stabbing charismatic hotel magnate Michael Osborne in cold blood.

From the outside, it seems a tragic, hopeless case. But Ava suspects something everyone else does not: MICHAEL OSBORNE IS LYING.

Because eighteen years ago, Ava was brutally assaulted. She identified her attacker; the case went to trial. But the jury let him go. His name? Michael Osborne

Back then, it was Michael's word against Ava's.

Now another girl's future hangs in the balance, how far will Ava go to be believed?

My Thoughts:

Wow! What a book! This novel had me holding my breath at more than one point, my pulse racing as I turned the pages. The main character put herself in such dangerous situations I really couldn't see a positive conclusion.

Ava Knight hasn't always been her name. The events of one terrible evening led to her changing everything about herself, even her identity. But as terrible as those events were, Ava decided to channel her experiences into becoming a stronger person, someone who would fight for justice every single day. All within the rules of course, because if you break the rules that's when things go wrong.

That is until that same man who turned her life upside down, Michael Osborne, turns up in Ava's new world eighteen years later. In a courtroom where Ava wasn't even scheduled to be. In a twist of Fate she is called in as a substitute barrister to attend a plea hearing in the case of a teenage girl charged with stabbing Mr Osborne. Her gut feeling is that the young girl is under duress to plead guilty for reasons unknown. Ava makes it her business there and then to find out more so that Michael Osborne does not escape justice a second time.

From that moment on Ava breaks just about every rule in the book on both personal and professional levels. She puts herself in ever more precarious positions, lying to her friends and family about where she is and with whom, building a relationship with the one man she once vowed she never wanted to set eyes upon ever again. I did ask myself a couple of times whether a professional person would really risk everything they've ever worked for purely on the grounds that they had a suspicion that something wasn't right. I suppose none of us could say for certain unless we had gone through all that Ava and her family had experienced.

The characters are all expertly drawn, the plot is tightly woven and I was shocked by the eventual conclusion. Suffice to say it's not just Ava who is withholding the truth of who they are. I very much enjoyed this novel from start to finish. The author's background in the legal world shines through and gives the whole story so much more credibility. This is the first of Lia Middleton's books I've read but it won't be the last. She joins Imran Mahmood in the heady ranks of strong new voices in the world of the legal thriller genre.

An outstanding 5 stars from me.

About the Author:

Lia Middleton is a barrister who specialises in criminal law, public law and offender management. She lives in Beaconsfield with her husband and their two children. Her first novel, When They Find Her, was published in May 2021.

Hope to Die by Cara Hunter #NetGalley @penguinrandom @PenguinUKBooks #HopetoDie #bookreview @CaraHunterBooks

 

Hope to Die by Cara Hunter

Published by Penguin General UK, Viking

Publication Date: 18th August 2022

Adam Fawley #6

Genre: Crime, Mystery & Thrillers

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this title ahead of publication via NetGalley.

Book Description:

Midnight. A callout to an isolated farm outside Oxford. A body, shot at point blank range in the kitchen.

It looks like a burglary gone wrong, but DC Adam Fawley suspects there's something more to it. Who exactly was the aggressor here?

When the police discover a connection to a high-profile case from years ago, involving a child's murder and an alleged injustice, the press go wild.

Suddenly Fawley's team are under more scrutiny than ever before. And when you dig up the past, you're sure to find a few skeletons...

My Thoughts:

One of my favourite authors, Cara Hunter keeps up her reputation as the Queen of Contemporary Crime Writers with this new instalment in the DI Fawley series. 

Hope to Die is written in what has become recognisable as Cara's signature style, with copies of police interview transcripts and social media quotes dotted in among the narrative. These give the reader little insights into the background of the story, a feel for how the public are reacting to events as they are reported which gives a real-time feel to the book. There's a great resume of who's who and how they fit in at the start of the book so if you've picked up this without having read any other books in the series, you do get a great overview of the story so far.

Adam Fawley has recently become a dad again which if you have been following the series so far you will know is a significant event in his personal life. The events which kick off the book couldn't have come at a worse time for him; the shooting of an alleged intruder at an isolated farmhouse in the depth of the night seems fairly straightforward at first but when the team attend the scene there's definitely something "off" about the whole thing. The reports of what happened are not adding up and Fawley's instincts are telling him there's more to this than meets the eye.

Once the intruder is identified things get even trickier when it becomes clear that a previous police investigation by a neighbouring force has led to a terrible miscarriage of justice. The pressure is on to establish what went wrong in the original investigation - but why won't the wronged prisoner, who has spent much of their adult life behind bars, speak out and help solve the mystery?

Although I did work out "whodunit" quite early in the book (hence the deduction to a 4 star read), the journey of explaining how things went so horribly wrong for everyone involved was so intricately plotted that I was fully invested in the characters and how things would pan out for them all.

Roll on book 7!

About the Author:

Cara Hunter is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling crime novels Close to Home, In the Dark, No Way Out, All the Rage and The Whole Truth all featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team. Close to Home was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and was shortlisted for Crime Book of the Year in the British Book Awards 2019. No Way Out was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 best crime novels since 1945. And The Whole Truth was a Richard and Judy pick in 2021. Cara's novels have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and the TV rights to the series have now been acquired by the Fremantle group. She lives in Oxford, on a street not unlike those featured in her books.

The Guilty Couple by CL Taylor @callytaylor @AvonBooksUK #bookreview #booktwitter #TheGuiltyCouple

 

The Guilty Couple by CL Taylor

Published by Avon

Publication Date: 23rd June 2022

Genre: Crime/Thriller

Book Description:

Five years ago, Olivia Sutherland was convicted of plotting to murder her husband.

Now she’s finally free, Olivia has three goals. Repair her relationship with her daughter. Clear her name. And bring down her husband – the man who framed her.

Just how far is she willing to go to get what she wants? And how far will her husband go to stop her?

Because his lies run deeper than Olivia could ever have imagined – and this time it’s not her freedom that’s in jeopardy, but her life…

My Thoughts:

First of all I have to say that I deliberately bought the hardback copy of this book because I love both the "naked" version of the book (as in the picture above) and the printed dustjacket. I can't decide which I prefer, they're both nice on the shelf.

The concept of the book is excellent, with Olivia Sutherland being framed by her husband for plotting to murder him. Five years in jail has certainly toughened her up and helped her make connections with exactly the kind of people Dominic accused her of having dealings with in the first place. Perhaps Mr Sutherland didn't think things through far enough as the one thing Olivia has had plenty of during her prison sentence is time to think, and to plan: Revenge. After spending many hours locked away with actual criminals Olivia has discussed her options with them and worked out a plan. A way to make Dominic pay. And it turns out that convicted criminals are some of the best at working out how to successfully make this happen.

What Olivia hadn't calculated into the equation during her time inside though was who helped Dominic put her away in the first place. Who could possibly have made it so easy for Olivia to be convicted in the first place? It is this information which makes her plan for revenge a tad more difficult to execute. But there is also a lot more happening "behind the scenes" than Olivia could possibly have even contemplated and, luckily for her, the tip of the scales might just be heading in her direction if Dominic doesn't come good on his side of the bargain.

In trying to work out the depths to which the various players are involved, and ultimately whose side they're on, I was drawn well and truly into the story. By the end of the book I had seen sides to all the characters which were not very likeable - and some were just downright horrible. I whizzed through this book in an incredibly short amount of time by my standards and was left wondering when the next Cally Taylor book would be out as I just want more!

About the Author:

C.L. Taylor is an award winning Sunday Times bestselling author of eight gripping psychological thrillers including SLEEP, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for autumn 2019. Her books are not a series and can be read in any order:

2014 - THE ACCIDENT / Before I Wake (U.S. title)

2015 - THE LIE

2016 - THE MISSING

2017 - THE ESCAPE

2018 - THE FEAR

2019 - SLEEP

2020 - STRANGERS

2021 - HER LAST HOLIDAY

2022 - THE GUILTY COUPLE

She has also written standalone two Young Adult thrillers: THE TREATMENT and THE ISLAND.

C.L. Taylor's books have sold in excess of a million copies, been number one on Amazon Kindle, Audible, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play and have been translated into 25 languages and optioned for TV.

C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol in the UK with her partner and son.

www.cltaylorauthor.com

www.twitter.com/callytaylor

www.Instagram.com/cltaylorauthor

www.facebook.com/callytaylorauthor

www.youtube.com/cltaylorauthor

The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @HarryTwittaker @panmacmillan #bookreview #TheMurdersAtFleatHouse

 

The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley

Published by PanMacmillan

Publication Date: 26th May 2022

Book Description:

The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s – a small private boarding school in deepest Norfolk – is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident.

But the local police cannot rule out foul play and the case prompts the return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. Jazz has her own private reasons for stepping away from her police career in London, and reluctantly agrees to front the investigation as a favour to her old boss.

Reunited with her loyal sergeant Alastair Miles, she enters the closed world of the school, and as Jazz begins to probe the circumstances surrounding Charlie Cavendish’s tragic death, events are soon to take another troubling turn.

Charlie is exposed as an arrogant bully, and those around him had both motive and opportunity to switch the drugs he took daily to control his epilepsy.

As staff at the school close ranks, the disappearance of young pupil Rory Millar and the death of an elderly classics master provide Jazz with important leads, but are destined to complicate the investigation further. As snow covers the landscape and another suspect goes missing, Jazz must also confront her personal demons . . .

Then, a particularly grim discovery at the school makes this the most challenging murder investigation of her career. Because Fleat House hides secrets darker than even Jazz could ever have imagined . . .

My Thoughts:

Never having read any of Lucinda's other books I really didn't know what to expect. But I was certainly not disappointed - well, only because I realised that unfortunately this book will not be followed up with any sequels as the world lost an incredible writer when Lucinda sadly lost her battle with cancer in 2021.

The Murders at Fleat House is neatly plotted around the deaths of school bully Charlie Cavendish, who could also charm the birds from the trees where most of the masters were concerned. His demise is shortly followed by the apparent suicide of a teacher at the school. DI Jazz Hunter is brought in to investigate and immediately smells that something is off with the whole school. Staff closing ranks or being evasive, an incompetent head teacher who is more concerned about the public image of the school and how it will reflect on him and then the arrival of Jazz's ex-husband who takes it upon himself to take control of the investigation and almost derails the whole thing.

There is however far more than initially meets the eye in this case. With her eye for detail and a strong gut instinct for the truth Jazz luckily manages to peel away the layers and get to the crux of what has gone on at the school - and there are many layers to probe but without becoming overwhelming. There is also a great red herring which very nearly leads both the reader and the investigation heading up a blind alley but it's best I say no more on that one as I don't want to give any spoilers.

Overall a good storyline, some interesting characters (I have my favourites, but I'll let you decide who they were when you read this for yourself) and a suitably satisfying ending. If only Lucinda had penned us some more instalments...

About the Author:

Lucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with all cultures around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre, and there are plans to create a seven-season TV series.

Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella prize, The Lovely Books award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – an award last won by J K Rowling for Harry Potter.

In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote a series of books for children called ‘The Guardian Angels’ series.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written.

Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on June 11th 2021, surrounded by her family.