Murder In The Family by Cara Hunter #NetGalley @CaraHunterBooks @HarperCollinsUK #booktwt #bookreview #MurderInTheFamily

 Murder In The Family by Cara Hunter

Published by Harper Collins

Publication Date: 20 July 2023

My thanks to publisher Harper Collins for the early review copy of this book via NetGalley

Book Description:

IT WAS A CASE THAT GRIPPED THE NATION
LUKE RYDER’S MURDER HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED

In December 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home in London, leaving behind a wealthy older widow and three stepchildren. Nobody saw anything.

Now, secrets will be revealed – live on camera.

Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence on Infamous, a true-crime show – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?

Or does the truth lie closer to home?

Can you solve the case before they do?
The truth will blow your mind.

My Thoughts:

My first observation of this book is that the author has taken a break from writing her Adam Fawley series, which I was in a way pleased about - my TBR pile stands taller than mount Everest, and the possibility of novels in a series coming out in quick succession bothers me (I use the MJ Arlidge series purely as reference. I was thoroughly enjoying the early instalments however they were being released so frequently that I totally lost track and have therefore abandoned the series as a lost cause).

The "main character" in this book, if you can call him that being as he's been dead for 20 years, is a young man named Luke Ryder. Killed in the garden of the home he shared with his older wife and family, the crime was never solved. Now 20 years later his step-son Guy Howard, a filmmaker, wants to make a mini-series re-opening the case to look into the evidence and maybe even find out who was responsible. The program makers have brought together a team of "experts" to analyse the official documents and interview relevant witnesses.

The chapters are similar in style to Cara Hunter's previous books: short, sharp, information-heavy, laden with distracting red herrings - or are they? It's the reader's challenge to work out what is relevant and what is speculation and guesswork. The interspersed sections of social media posts relating public reaction to the episodes of the mini-series as they are released feed in between the main chapters are typical of Hunter's style but if you've not read her books before they can take a bit of getting used to.
There's plenty of finger pointing between the experts on the show - everyone has a pretty strong opinion, and this raises tempers and some interesting questions which were never raised in the first police investigation. Apart from Guy, nobody is quite who they first appear to be, and this keeps the tension going right to the end.

Another resounding success from Cara Hunter in my opinion - I don't know how she plots and twists her storylines as intricately as she does.

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, The Whole Truth and Hope to Die, all featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team. Close to Home was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick (as is her latest) 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. Cara's novels have sold over a million copies worldwide, and the TV rights to the series have been acquired by the Fremantle group. She lives in Oxford. Murder in the Family is her first stand-alone crime novel. The Fawley series will also continue.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes @MichaelJBooks @jojomoyes #booktwt #bookreview #SomeoneElsesShoes

 

Someone Elses's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

Published by Penguin Michael Joseph

Publication Date: 2nd February 2023 (hardcover)

Book Description:

MEET SAM
She's not got much, but she's grateful for what she has: a job she's just about clinging on to and a family who depend on her for everything. She knows she's one bad day away from losing it all - and just hopes today isn't it . . .
MEET NISHA
She's got everything she always dreamed of - and more: a phenomenally rich husband; an international lifestyle; and . . . she's just been locked out of all of it after her husband initiates divorce proceedings...
Sam and Nisha should never have crossed paths. But after a bag mix-up at the gym, their lives become intertwined - even as they spiral out of control.
Each blames the other as they feel increasingly invisible, forgotten, lost - and desperately alone.
But they're not.
No woman is an island. Look around. Family. Friends. Strangers.
Even the woman you believe just ruined your life might turn out to be your best friend.
Because together you can do anything - like take back what is yours...

My Thoughts:

I've not read a Jojo Moyes book for a fair few years now but have always enjoyed those that I have. My partner bought me this one for my birthday - he always says he never knows which ones I've already got on my TBR mountain, so I specifically asked him for this one as it always feels good to receive a book on your special day. I liked the idea of this story: two very different women accidentally exchange bags in the changing room of their local gym and from there on their lives take on a very different path.

Sam is very down to earth. Mum of one, shops at Primark and whose husband is struggling with his mental health following the loss of his dad and his job in quick succession. This leaves Sam to take on the lion's share of keeping the family on track.

Nisha lives in a very different world. She's from the USA, only in the UK to accompany her very wealthy husband on his latest business trip. She's a kept woman, with access to all the trappings her husband's credit card will allow. Until it doesn't, and Nisha finds herself literally out in the cold. In a "borrowed" spa dressing gown and flip-flops. 

Sam and Nisha visit the same spa on the same morning - an everyday trip for Nisha, but a special treat for Sam which she's just about managed to squeeze in before her gift card expires. Little do the two women realise just how entangled with one another's lives they are about to become.

Some people have said that this book is a little far-fetched at some points, and yes, I suppose you could say that - but hey, this is the world of fiction and you can give a little in order to make a good story.  I'm not sure whose world falls apart the most out of the two women - Sam is accused of theft, adultery and goodness knows what else along the way whereas Nisha has to go back to a place in her past that she thought she'd long left behind across the pond. 

I loved most of the characters in this book - even the not so pleasant ones as karma is a wonderful thing in the fictional world. There are some fantastic moments of comedy throughout this book as the women's world cross paths more and more as time goes on and Nisha fights tooth and nail to get back what is hers.  My favourite characters were those with more supporting, yet pivotal roles in the story. The staff at the hotel where Nisha's husband is holed up, and Sam's best friend who is battling cancer, together with some of her colleagues at Uberprint, all made their mark on me to the point where I can't choose a favourite amongst them. 

There's definitely a moral message in this book, but not to the point of being preachy - it's too much fun for that. This was the perfect book to get me away from the psychological thrillers and crime novels which I had embedded myself amongst recently. 

A shiny 5 stars for this one, which I wholly recommend.

About the Author:

Jojo Moyes is a novelist and screenwriter. Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me, The One Plus One, The Giver of Stars, the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes and her short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories. Jojo's novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit the number one spot in twelve countries and have sold fifty-one million copies worldwide. Me Before You has now sold over fifteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Jojo lives in London.

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas @Dougieclaire @MichaelJBooks #booktwt #bookreview #TheGirlsWhoDisappeared

 

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

Published by Penguin, Michael Joseph

Publication Date: 15th September 2022

Book Description:

Three girls missing...

Twenty years ago: One rainy night, Olivia Rutherford is driving three friends home when a figure in the road causes her to swerve and crash. Regaining consciousness, she finds herself alone in the car - her friends have vanished.

They are never seen again...

Now: Journalist Jenna Halliday visits the close-knit community of Stafferbury to persuade Olivia to talk and solve the mystery of the girls' disappearance. But Olivia won't speak.

What happened?

Is Olivia hiding something?

Why are the people of Stafferbury so frightened?

How many secrets can one small town hide?

My Thoughts:

The first thing to say about this book is that it's definitely a book of two halves; the first part is a slow burner, setting the scene of the town of Stafferbury with its mysterious goings-on and local myths. I recommend you bear with this slower part of the book in order to get to the action. Olivia has lived here her entire life, a life which was irrevocably changed one night not long after she passed her driving test and was taking her friends home after a night out partying. The survivors guilt she suffers from is due to the fact that every one of the people in the car with her that night vanished. There has been no sign of them ever since. Some of the locals don't believe that when she came round after losing consciousness her friends had gone; surely she knows something?

Journalist Jenna Halliday has been tasked with creating a podcast to try to discover more about what happened that night, where the missing girls could possibly have gone. But Olivia's not talking - she has never given any interviews to the media regarding the tragic events of that night. The more Jenna digs into the small community, the more closed it seems to become. But there are a few people who are willing speak out, sufficiently so that Jenna's interest is piqued by some of the suggestions they come up with. Then the threats to Jenna start: leave the past where it belongs. But who is making the threats? What happened back then which needs to remain hidden? 

Also thrown into the mix, and the chapters which didn't seem to fit anywhere, is a trip to Thailand for a group of young friends: all of them are pretty skint, but one of them has a contact in Thailand who has offered the use of a plush villa if they can afford the flights there and back. These chapters threw me completely. None of the names linked with the Stafferbury story...so what is the relevance? 

There's a definite small-town feel to this book, and certain points in the story gave me that feeling of when you walk into a pub in an area unknown to you and the entire place goes silent, with everyone inside turning to look at the stranger who dares to encroach on the locals' favoured drinking hole. The whole atmosphere is very shifty and outsiders are not welcomed in. Too many secrets over too many years. That said though, the whole house of cards which has been standing since the night of Olivia's accident very quickly starts to shake on its foundations once Jenna is in town and the truth begins to come out.  My main criticism of this book is that the majority of the reveal comes in one huge information dump which I found quite overwhelming after the pace of the previous chapters. Some of the facts I had sketchily worked out, other parts were still quite surprising. Because of the structure of this book I'm not sure everyone will be patient enough to get to the reveal - it's not a format for everyone. If you want quick-fire action, you're not reading the right book.

My daughter and I picked this as a buddy-read and I'm really glad we opted for this one, as the pace worked well for us discussing all the possible directions the story could go. Whether it would work on a larger scale as a book club read, I'm not so sure. Don't let me put you off reading this one though, if you have a buddy to read it with, I would certainly recommend it. Otherwise I'd say be prepared for the slow-paced start.

About the Author:

Claire Douglas always wanted to write novels and, after many years of trying to get published, her dream came true when she won the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award in 2013 with THE SISTERS.

Her second and third novels, LOCAL GIRL MISSING and LAST SEEN ALIVE, are Sunday Times bestsellers.

Don't Look Back by Jo Spain #bookreview #libraryloan #hardbackbooks @QuercusBooks

 

Don't Look Back by Jo Spain

Published by Quercus Books

Publication Date: 11th May 2023

Book Description:

For one week, everything in Luke Miller's life is perfect. Surprised with a belated honeymoon by his wife, Rose, he's had seven days with her in a Caribbean paradise. It's more than he ever thought he'd deserve.

But as they pack their bags, Rose breaks down, confessing that on the day they left London, a violent man from her past tracked her down and broke into their home. He wasn't expecting her to fight back. And, in her terror, Rose killed him. Now there's a dead body in Luke's apartment, and only one person he can think to turn to.

Mickey Sheils never expected to hear from Luke again, not after he disappeared the first time. Luke knows Mickey can't deny a woman who needs help, so she promises she'll deal with things - she'll make sure Rose doesn't have to keep running.

But it turns out, some lies are too big to run from.

My Thoughts:

This is only the second of Jo Spain's novels I've read - the first one made a massive impression on me with its opening lines, so much so that I have almost her entire backlist on my shelf waiting until I can commit a good chunk of reading time to consume them. This one opens only very slightly less dramatically, in that the first few paragraphs lull you into a sense of relaxation on a Caribbean island, waves at the feet of one of our main characters as he sips at his beer. Pure bliss - until he returns to the villa where they've been staying for the last week and his wife drops the bombshell that the real reason they are here is not as he thought, an impromptu late honeymoon, but because she left a dead body in their apartment back in London and had to get the two of them out of there quickly. **cue the sound of a needle skittering across a vinyl record rather abruptly**

Luckily for Luke and his wife Rose there are people back in London who can assist in tidying up this mess. But only if the information they are given is accurate. It quickly becomes obvious that Rose has not been entirely honest with Luke, however he seems very twitchy too and seems to be holding something back from Rose. But whose lies are the most dangerous? 

Jo Spain works her magic brilliantly in planting seeds of doubt in the reader's mind about who is telling the truth, what secrets they hide, who is blameless in the whole situation, whether any of them can escape the island of Saint-Therese in one piece; these and oh, so many more questions flood this novel but never to the point of losing the thread of the story. 

I love the characters of Mickey, Elliot and especially the policeman from Saint-Therese, Inspector Alleyne, who become entangled in the whole situation. They are so well drawn I could see pictures in my mind of each of them as I read. My opinions of Luke and Rose changed dramatically as the book progressed and did a couple of pendulum swings as the facts were drip-fed in. Do they deserve each other? Quite possibly, in my opinion.

I would recommend this as a great book to take on your summer break, ideal for curling up on your sunbed and losing yourself in for hours at a time. Because you will get so immersed in trying to figure out the truth of the situation, the time will fly. Just remember to put your sunscreen on before you start!

About the Author:

Jo Spain is the author of the bestselling Tom Reynolds detective series and several No.1 bestselling standalone thrillers. She began writing full-time when her first book, top ten bestseller With Our Blessing, was chosen as one of 7 finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.

Jo is a full-time screenwriter. Her first show, critically-acclaimed crime series 'Taken Down', aired in 2018. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with its creator, Emmy-award winning David Logan (to air 2022). She is currently working on several international productions, including adaptations of her own novels.

A graduate of Trinity College, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.

The Trial by Rob Rinder #NetGalley #TheTrial @RobbieRinder @centurybooksuk #booktwt #bookreview

 

The Trial by Rob Rinder

Published by Century

Publication Date: 22nd June 2023

Book Description:

ONE MURDER. ONE IMPOSSIBLE CASE. WHO IS GUILTY?

When hero policeman Grant Cliveden dies from a poisoning in the Old Bailey, it threatens to shake the country to its core.

The evidence points to one man. Jimmy Knight has been convicted of multiple offences before and defending him will be no easy task. Not least because this is trainee barrister Adam Green's first case.

But it will quickly become clear that Jimmy Knight is not the only person in Cliveden's past with an axe to grind.

The only thing that's certain is that this is a trial which will push Adam - and the justice system itself - to the limit . .

My Thoughts:

A fabulous insight into the goings-on behind the scenes in the world of the justice system! I know The Trial is a work of fiction, however Rob Rinder is a highly respected barrister with many years' experience so I suspect there are a few characters within its pages who could possibly be based loosely on real people who he has crossed paths with over the years. 

The focus of this book is a young man, Adam Green, who is in his first year of pupilage in Chambers - he's basically there to prove his worth over the 12-month period and in return, if he passes scrutiny of the "higher-ups" he earns himself a proper job as a junior barrister. The book begins with him chasing his tail constantly, propping up the ego of his mentor, the bouffant-hairstyled and extremely arrogant Jonathan Taylor-Cameron; the pupil master is more than content for Adam to do all the donkey work while he takes the plaudits in court when their case is successful. Then the chief clerk, who allocates the caseloads to the various legal teams, ups the ante by setting Jonathan and his staff the high-profile case of defending Jimmy Knight, who is accused of murdering top police officer and public favourite Detective Inspector Grant Cliveden.  Jonathan is apoplectic with rage at being allocated such a "lost cause" of a case which will be the top story in all the media. He only likes to be seen as a winner, so thus it falls to Adam to fight Jimmy's corner.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Adam grow as a person throughout this book, his moral dilemmas based on his personal life experience often clouding his judgment. The narrating of his day-to-day workload is hilariously interspersed with the regular phone calls he receives from his mum, who is desperate to find him a suitable young lady with whom he can tie the knot - I can imagine that these chapters could well be based on the author's own experiences as a young man! 

There are some juicy twists to this excellent debut novel, and there's an interesting slant on whether the truth or a different kind of justice is the most important outcome in some situations. I can imagine lots of book clubs choosing this for their reading lists - and I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear the ensuing discussions! I very much look forward to further instalments in the life of young Adam Green soon.

About the Author:

Rob Rinder is a barrister turned writer and broadcaster. In 2014, while still a practising Barrister, he began starring in his reality court show Judge Rinder, and now uses his legal knowledge working in the media to make the law more accessible. He is also the author of two books and a columnist for The Sun and the London Evening Standard newspapers. His participation in Who Do You Think You Are? retraced the story of his Holocaust survivor Grandfather received a BAFTA. The BBC series he presented 'The Holocaust, My Family & Me' was aired to wide critical acclaim. In 2020, Rob was awarded an MBE for his services to Holocaust education and an honorary doctorate for his legal work.