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The Teacher's Secret by Lauren North
Published: 23rd February 2024

Monday 31 August 2015

REVIEW: The Magpies by Mark Edwards


The Magpies by Mark Edwards
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Read: 31st August 2015
Purchase: Amazon

★★★★★ 5 stars!

I started this book around 11pm and finished it at 5am. I really hadn't intended to read through the night in one sitting - and I'll pay dearly for it tomorrow (or rather, later today) - but I really couldn't put it down. It was easy to read and didn't drivel on about useless shite but stuck with the story. It was psychological without being cerebral. It was brilliant! I loved it. Though I was saddened by the outcome of the major players, after all they'd been through together. But I still shake my head at a man's need to be a man and get bitten on the arse for his troubles. He should've gotten out while he could instead of trying to "fix things". Still I enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down. Maybe now that I have finished it, I can put my head down and sleep before I need to get up...lol

Sunday 23 August 2015

REVIEW: The Cleansing by Bill Rogers


The Cleansing by Bill Rogers
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Read: 23rd August 2015
Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon

★★★ 3 stars

** spoiler alert **
It's hard to rate a book you've enjoyed but still found difficult to get through. The original synopsis for the book was a little misleading in saying someone dressed as a clown was killing in Manchester, or words to that effect. Yes, he was dressed as a clown - but for the first murder only. When the second one came around you would expect him to don the clown costume again and leave his mark once again. But he did not. Especially disappointing since a whole rigmarole was spent in investigations that lead to a delivery of a clown costume, making it seem a significant part of the story. But it didn't amount to anything more than that. That aside, however, my biggest problem with the book was the fact that it was far too wordy. The author went into too much description about things where I felt fewer words were needed. When they visited Soaper's apartment I had to wonder if Caton was in the market for an investment property, the way every room and its furnishings were described. It was redundant. Dialogue and character thoughts trump furnishings. I'm reading a murder mystery, not a prospectus for inner city living.

But in all having said that, I did enjoy the book. I merely skimmed over the "too wordy" areas and concentrated on what I felt was more in line with the story. I did enjoy the relationship between Caton and Kate, and was pleased that there no descriptive focus on the bedroom. Again, this is a murder mystery not a Mills and Boon, so I was pleased on that score. They had good chemistry and flirting, but it wasn't overdone. 


Three stars I think is fair, though I would lean towards three and a half, but not enough for four. There are many more books I've read and enjoyed a whole lot more worthy of a four, so three is fair.