The Staffymum's Book Nook: Crime Fiction

Published: 6th February 2025

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Every family’s worst nightmare…

Three-year-old Rosie Logan is missing. Her mother, Maria, turned away for just one moment and now her life is changed forever. It falls to PC Lucy Halliday and her police dogs, Moss and Iggy, to find the girl, under the direction of Lucy's boss and friend, DCI Jack Ellis.

The case brings up old trauma for Jack. His childhood best friend, Theo, went missing when he was eleven and was never found. This is Jack’s chance to make things right. He won’t fail Rosie like he failed Theo.

But the investigation doesn’t go smoothly. The Logan family have been keeping secrets. And every time Lucy and Jack think they’re making progress, they’re hampered by yet another one. Can they find the truth, and Rosie, before it’s too late?

The next thrilling instalment in the new British crime fiction series featuring dog handler PC Lucy Halliday. Perfect for fans of Jane Casey, Robert Bryndza and Cara Hunter.

MY THOUGHTS:

I didn't know this was part of a series when I requested this book but it didn't matter anyway as it can easily be read as a standalone. There's several references to past cases and the like but whether they took place in the first book or are just the backstory for this one I don't know. Either way, it makes an enjoyable foray into crime fiction...even when I'd shelved the idea of any more police procedurals. This one was different. It has dogs.

PC Lucy Halliday is called to Memorial Park on the morning of Valentine's Day. Three year old Rosie Logan has gone missing and her mother Maria is frantic with worry having taken her eyes off her little girl for just a few minutes when a phone call dragged her attention away. A passerby noticed Maria's distress and calls 999 whilst Maria frantically searches and calls out for Rosie.

The police soon arrive, Lucy and her dogs Iggy and Moss in attendance, to help search the surrounding area for the little girl. But very few clues are found. The investigation leads them to the family - mother Maria, father Tony and brother Eddie - but the deeper they dig, more questions are thrown up. And it appears the family are hiding more secrets than they are telling.

DCI Jack Ellis takes over investigations when it's clear that the on site SIO hasn't got a clue. But then the waters muddy when a cold case rears its head involving Jack and questions are soon raised. What happened to 11 year old Theo in the summer of 1994? And what has Rosie's disappearance got to do with Theo's?

This book maybe 390 pages long but it certainly didn't feel like it. The chapters are short and snappy, keeping the pace moving along nicely. I love the central characters - Lucy, Jack, Pete, Amrit, Fran - but don't much care for the family of the missing girl. The style is easy and the pace is steady throughout without bogging us down with too much procedural. I think I am going to like Louisa Scarr. I shall definitely have to try the first book "Gallows Wood" which I note is recommended.

Overall, an enjoyable and entertaining read with crime and dogs! As a dog lover, I'm all for a procedural series featuring police dogs - why there aren't more, I don't know! And I can't wait to read more.

I would like to thank #LouisaScarr, #Netgalley and #CaneloCrime for an ARC of #MemorialPark in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Louisa Scarr studied psychology at the University of Southampton and has lived in and around the city ever since. She is a full time writer, and when she's not at her desk, she can be found pounding the streets in running shoes or swimming in muddy lakes.

She is the author of the Butler and West crime series, published by Canelo Crime, beginning with Last Place You Look and ending with Out of the Ashes. A new series, about a police dog handler, launched in July 2024 with Gallows Wood. The second, Memorial Park, is out now and will be followed by Broken House in October.

She also writes as Sam Holland and is the author of the award-winning Major Crimes series, following detectives as they investigate murders committed by brutal serial killers in the south of England. The latest, The Countdown Killer, is out now.

Her DS Kate Munro series, Ask Me No Questions and Nowhere to be Found, have been republished by Canelo Crime.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Sunday, 15 December 2024

REVIEW: The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

The Ice Cream Girls (Poppy & Serena #1) by Dorothy Koomson

Genre: Contemporary fiction, Drama, Crime

Read: 15th December 2024

Published: 1st March 2010

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

As teenagers, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed 'The Ice Cream Girls' by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried - and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again. . .

Gripping, thought-provoking and heart-warming, THE ICE CREAM GIRLS will make you wonder if you can ever truly know the people you love.

MY THOUGHTS:

I first read this book about ten years ago and it resonated with me then. I decided to read it again because I wanted to read the sequel and found myself a little puzzled at its beginning because the story I remembered was the TV adapation which I have only recently rewatched for about the third time. It was picking up the sequel that I realised the TV adaption of the first book bore some striking differences to what actually happened in the book. And so I decided to read it again.

Reading it the second time around gave me a fresh understanding of the plight of both women. As teenagers in the 80s, they had the misfortune of falling in love with the same man. Their teacher. Most of us have had a crush on a teacher at some point in our lives, but this went way beyond that. And their teacher, Marcus Halnsley, abused his position of trust and authority by preyinh on, grooming and abusing these girls.

Poppy and Serena were not friends. Their paths may never have crossed had it not been for Marcus. And because each were sleeping with the others' boyfriend, they also hated one another. But Marcus played them against each other. And as a predator, he was charming, clever and manipulative. Poppy and Serena fell for his charms and were lulled into a false sense of security, believing the lies he fed them, playing them against the other. He made them into the women they were to become...and continued to haunt them from beyond the grave.

The story begins with Poppy's release from prison after twenty years for Marcus' murder. But she is single-minded in her purpose upon freedom - to find Serena and make her confess. Because if Poppy didn't kill Marcus, Serena must have.

It's a shame that Poppy and Serena weren't friends because they were so alike in many ways, yet so different in others. Serena had a strength that Poppy lacked but she had a naivety about her. They both did. That's what attracted Marcus to them in the first place. But I think Poppy was even moreso.

I liked Poppy and felt for her having not only suffered at Marcus' hands but then the justice system. I believed in her innocence. I also felt for Serena but thought she should have been honest with her husband from the beginning. I understand her reticence but Marcus couldn't hurt her any longer. These two women suffered sexual, physical and psychological abuse for over two years at his hands. Their scars ran deep.

The story unfolds in alternating chapters from Poppy and Serena's perspectives as they struggle to move on with their lives but find themselves reliving the past. This is a very dark and emotional tale that exposes the heart and soul of the characters.

I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time around. However, I must point out a constant mistake Ms Koomson made throughout the book. She referred to the girls having broken the first commandment - citing it as being "Thou shalt not kill". It is not the first commandment - which is actually "Thou shalt not have any gods before me" - but rather the sixth commandment. An error that should have been picked up and rectified upon editing. But still a brave and heartfelt story nonetheless.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Books and reading have been a huge part of Dorothy Koomson's life since she was very young. Her mother taught her – and her siblings – to read and write when she was in nursery. As she got older, she used to go to the library every day after school to read books where she used to write short descriptive passages all the time. Whiling away many, many hours daydreaming and creating stories in her head.

At the grand old age of 13, she wrote my first novel called "There’s A Thin Line Between Love And Hate". She would write a chapter every night in her exercise books then pass it around to her fellow convent school pupils the next morning.

Dorothy grew up in London and then grew up again in Leeds when she went to university at Trinity and All Saints College (as it was then). She later returned to London to study for her masters degree in journalism at Goldsmiths University. She had various temping jobs and eventually became a journalist and editor working on various women’s magazines and national papers.

While working as a journalist, Dorothy continued to write short stories and novels in every spare moment – like on the train to and from work – as way to achieve her goal of becoming a published novelist. In 2001 she had the idea for "The Cupid Effect" and signed up with her first publisher a year later. In 2003 "The Cupid Effect" went on sale and her career as a published novelist began.

In 2006, her third novel, "My Best Friend’s Girl" was published. It was incredibly successful – selling nearly 90,000 copies within its first few weeks. Six weeks later, it was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads Book Club and the book went on to sell over 500,000 copies. Because of its huge sales, it won an award. Her fourth novel, "Marshmallows for Breakfast", also won an award for selling over 250,000 copies.

In 2005 Dorothy moved to Australia and spent two years living in Sydney. When she returned to England in 2007 she moved to the south coast, namely Brighton. She love living by the sea. There’s nothing like a good walk along the seafront to clear your head or to work out the knots in a plot.

Those who’ve read her later books will know that a lot of them have been set in Brighton and its surrounding area, often with a good dose of Leeds and South London thrown in.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Monday, 11 November 2024

REVIEW: Dead at First Sight by Peter James

Dead at First Sight (Roy Grace #15) by Peter James

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedural

Read: 10th November 2024

Published: 14th May 2019

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

You don’t know me, but I thought I knew you . . .

A man waits at a London airport for Ingrid Ostermann, the love of his life, to arrive. Across the Atlantic, a retired NYPD cop waits in a bar in Florida’s Key West for his first date with the lady who is, without question, his soulmate. The two men are about to discover they’ve been scammed out of almost every penny they have in the world – and that neither women exist.

Meanwhile, a wealthy divorcée plunges, in suspicious circumstances, from an apartment block in Munich. In the same week, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is called to investigate the suicide of a woman in Brighton, that is clearly not what it seems. As his investigations continue, a handsome Brighton motivational speaker comes forward. He’s discovered his identity is being used to scam eleven different women, online. The first he knew of it was a phone call from one of them, out of the blue, saying, ‘You don’t know me, but I thought I knew you’.

That woman is now dead.

Roy Grace realizes he is looking at the tip of an iceberg. A global empire built on clever, cruel internet scams and the murder of anyone who threatens to expose them.

MY THOUGHTS:

You don't know me...but I thought I knew you...

This is my first foray into reading Roy Grace, though my first was actually Sandy's Story "They Thought I Was Dead". I fell in love with the TV series and while I have way too many books on my TBR list I just went and added Roy Grace because he is just so lovely. Nothing at all like detectives that we normally come across. So maybe this wasn't the best book to begin with but as I have seen all four series so far and I read that this is one of those they are adapting in Season 5, it intrigued me so I thought I would begin with it. Some of the characters revisit with us, such as Tooth, the contract killer that has eluded Grace on a number of occasions...no thanks to his superior ACC Cassian Pewe, who is just as detestable here as on TV.

There are soooo many characters in this one that does make it hard to keep up with them. But I love James' short snappy chapters which helps keep the pace moving and at over 500 pages, that is some feat! I can't compare it to previous Grace mysteries as I have yet to read them. But what intrigued me was the romance fraud storyline scamming lonely vulnerable people online.

We meet Johnny Fordwater, retired Major with the British army who was widowed four years previously, who waits in the arrival lounge at Gatwick Airport, awaiting the love of his life Ingrid Ostermann who is due to arrive from Munich at any moment. In his arms is a ridiculously oversized bouquet of pink roses as she had said they were her favourite.

Across the Atlantic, retired NYPD cop Matt Sorokin sits in a dive of a bar awaiting his true love Evelyne with whom he'd arranged to meet after arriving from Sao Paolo. He had booked the honeymoon suite in a nearby hotel with petals scattered over the bed spelling out her name. He can't wait to meet her.

In Brighton, Toby Seward is cooking up a storm for his husband when he receives a phone call from a Suzy Driver who claims that she, along with ten other women, are in love with him - or rather the man they thought he was though with different names.

Also what does a murdered woman in Munich have to do with a suspected suicide in Brighton?

This book is jam-packed with lots going on while Grace juggles caseloads from previous investigations as well as what is looking suspiciously like an internet dating scam where innocent people's identities and photos are used to scam lonely vulnerable people out of their life savings. We see the return of contract killer Tooth but will Grace be able to outsmart him once and for all?

Despite its length and complex web of happenings, I still managed to read it in a day...but only just. It is a compelling police procedural that is gritty opening our eyes to the disturbing underworld of cybercrime.

I think going forward I should begin at the beginning with "Dead Simple". Only reason I didn't is because I'd seen all those stories in the TV series. But I think it might be easier to follow from the beginning plus from what other reviewers have said, some say that this isn't as good as previous ones.

Still, a compelling enough read that is intriguing, fast paced and gritty throughout.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Peter James (born 22 August 1948) is a British writer of crime. He was born in Brighton, the son of Cornelia James, the former glovemaker to Queen Elizabeth II.

Peter James is an international best-selling crime thriller novelist who has had his books published in 36 languages. His series featuring Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has sold 17 million copies worldwide and has given him eight consecutive UK Sunday Times number ones.

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.

During his childhood Peter attended Charterhouse School and then, in later years went on to study at Ravensbourne Film School. As a result of his training there, he travelled to North America, and spent several years as a screenwriter and film producer. It was in 1994 however, that Peter’s name became known worldwide due to the controversial publication by Penguin of his novel, Host, officially “the world’s first electronic novel” on two floppy discs (a far cry from a Kindle!). Peter has since become a media spokesperson for electronic publishing. When he’s not writing his international bestselling stories of Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, Peter has many hobbies, one of which means that Peter holds an international racing licence and often competes in the Britcar Racing Series!

Peter currently divides his time between his Sussex home, a Victorian Rectory, and his apartment in Notting Hill.

Social Media links:

Thursday, 23 May 2024

REVIEW: Her Last Goodbye by Carla Kovach

Her Last Goodbye (DI Gina Harte #15) by Carla Kovach

Genre: Crime thriller, Crime fiction

Read: 17th May 2024

Published: 17th May 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Her small hands tremble and tears run down her cheeks. Shivering in the dark, damp storeroom, the little girl clutches her favourite toy dog. She cries out for help, but nobody answers. Her mother went missing last night and, as dawn breaks, there is still no sign of her.

Four-year-old Cleo shakes with fear as she tells the police that her mother, Darcie, was taken by a man on their way home last night. Darcie told Cleo to run and hide, and the last thing she saw was Darcie being pushed into the back of a car.

When police look into Darcie’s life, they discover a drunken argument with her best friend hours before she went missing, a dark figure seen loitering near where Cleo was found, and a recent assault allegation against a customer at Darcie’s work.

It seems like everyone around the young mother was keeping secrets, but Darcie had a dark secret of her own – one she hasn’t dared tell a soul.

Did Darcie’s deadly past finally catch up with her? And will she find the strength to fight for her life and keep her promise to return for her beloved daughter?

If you enjoy reading Angela Marsons, J M Dalgliesh and Mark Edwards then you’ll absolutely love this addictive page-turner.

MY THOUGHTS:

She thought she was safe...she was wrong...

Gina's back. This time with missing mother Darcie kidnapped in front of her four year old daughter Cleo. The little girl is able to describe in fairly good detail what happened but is scared the "bogeyman" will return for her. Then when a finger is found, Gina is resigned to the fact that this means there is another missing woman out there too.

Within a few days, soon after questioning her, Darcie's friend Shannon is abducted from outside her place of work with yet another finger to be found. And then an emaciated woman nearing death is found...and Gina is left wondering is this the other missing woman?

Nothing about this case makes sense to Gina and her team though they work tirelessly investigating the past and the present surrounding each of their victims and wondering how they are all linked. Can Gina find the person behind these abductions before they take another...or before someone dies?

Another great crime thriller from Carla Kovach in the Gina Harte series. I can't believe this is book 15! Where did that time go?

A multilayered story with great characters and a riveting plot. I had no idea who the villain was or how the prologue fitted into the present day crime. But this was another pageturner, to be sure.

I would like to thank #CarlaKovach, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerLastGoodbye in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carla Kovach was born in Birmingham, UK and now resides in Redditch, Worcestershire. She started writing more seriously ten years ago after having flirted with musical theatre and occasional writing in her youth.

Since then she has written & produced several stage plays, has four self-published books, has acted in several independent films and is currently in the final stages of production of her feature horror film, Penny for the Guy.

She now writes full time as well as co-owning a film, photography & video production company located in the heart of Redditch town centre.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Sunday, 11 February 2024

REVIEW: Save Her Twice by Helen Phifer

Save Her Twice (Detective Morgan Brookes #11) by Helen Phifer

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Mystery, Police procedural

Read: 11th February 2024

Published: 7th February 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Morgan shivers in the darkness as she walks through the park towards the abandoned building. She sees the body and the blood dripping onto the cold, frosty grass. A beautiful teenage girl is dead. Morgan feels rage build inside of her as she realises who it is…

Arriving at a quiet family home on the outskirts of the Lake District, Detective Morgan Brookes must deliver devastating news to a heartbroken mother. Seeing Lexie’s pink boots against the side of the house, she remembers the girl’s happy face and can’t help but think of her carefree childhood. Three years ago, Morgan saved Lexie from a serial killer, who is now behind bars. But this time, she’s failed to protect her.

Certain a new and more terrifying killer is at large, Morgan finds a neighbour who claims a man in a silver car was watching Lexie’s house. Then she discovers that Lexie was meeting other survivors of serial killers at a local victim support group. Another girl, Milly, thinks she has been followed by the same silver car.

But just as Morgan rushes to warn the other women, the case takes an even more sinister turn. One of them is found dead, posed in a chair with her hands tied in prayer. Flames engulf the church where the victims usually meet, with several of the others trapped inside.

Morgan manages to save the women just in time, but she knows this killer will never give up. To find him, she must relive every terrifying case she’s ever worked on. Somewhere in her history lies the key to saving more lives, but Morgan has no idea that this dangerous individual wants her as his final victim…

A dark, gripping and twisty new thriller in the Morgan Brookes series that will have you racing until the final page. For fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Rachel McLean.

MY THOUGHTS:

Sometimes I think Morgan thinks she's a one-woman band. Although in this book she does tame it down a little, she still faces off with the killer at the end. At least this time she didn't go out looking for him...yet.

This is the eleventh book in the Detective Morgan Brooks series complete with her entourage of colourful characters from Susie to Declan to Theo to Cain. Not to forget Ben either who I'm sure is on his way to a heart attack with constantly looking out for Morgan.

This time round Morgan is called out to the discovery of blood at one woman's front door, frantic that she's unable to raise her daughter Lexie. Some years previously, Morgan saved Lexie and her mother from near death, both of them barely escaping with their lives. As it turns out, Lexie is one many young women in a survivors support group who call themselves "the final girls", having all survived the grip of a killer.

When Lexie's body is discovered soon after, another young woman from the group Milly confides that she believes she is being followed and describes the car she has seen on a number of occasions. Is the killer stalking these survivors to finish what their would-be killers never could?

But as Morgan delves deeper, she begins to realise that she too is in the killer's crosshairs.

As with the rest of this series, I enjoyed this mystery despite how predictable Morgan is becoming. The chapters are short and snappy keeping the pace moving along steadily. Actually this one was a quick read I managed to finish in just a few hours.

Overall, another exciting installment for Morgan and her team.

I would like to thank #HelenPhifer, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SaveHerTwice in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin and Beth Adams series.

Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District.

She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learnt how to in infant school. She loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to go to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. She is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years.

Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.

Social Media Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Wednesday, 31 January 2024

REVIEW: A Soul for a Soul by Carol Wyer

A Soul for a Soul (Detective Kate Young #5) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedural, Mystery

Read: 24th January 2024

Published: 30th January 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The syndicate have taken everything from her. It’s time to take them down—or die trying.

DCI Kate Young never meant to shoot Superintendent John Dickson at the reservoir that night—even if, as a scheming corrupt cop and head of the shady syndicate, he probably had it coming. But now Kate has photographic evidence that someone else knows her terrible secret…

Tormented by guilt and the voices of the dead, Kate is desperate to unmask the rest of the corrupt officers before her own sins catch up with her. When DI Harriet Khatri, awaiting trial for the murder of Kate’s mentor, claims she was framed by Dickson’s syndicate, Kate reluctantly agrees to help in the hope of finding answers.

Meanwhile, DI Emma Donaldson finds herself on the hunt for a double murderer—a man who incapacitates his victims with a powerful narcotic called Devil’s Breath. Desperate to measure up to her role-model boss, Emma finds herself hurled into the deep end in more ways than one…

While Kate’s grip on reality wavers and the syndicate closes in, and with the mystery killer taking a special interest in Emma, could this be the case that defeats both detectives?

MY THOUGHTS:

Where to even begin?

I have followed this series from the start so I'm familiar with Kate's flaws and foibles. Does she get on my nerves? A little. Especially with the constant monologuing with the dead William and Dickson. Chris' dialogue was enough but now we have her mentor and her nemesis to battle it out in her head!

OK, so if you haven't read any of the previous books, don't start this one until you have done so as the culmination of events and everything that went beforehand will make absolutely no sense. Some series you can pick up here and there and read without missing out on anything else. But this series is not one of them. In fact, the entire series hinges on Kate's relentless investigating into a corrupt syndicate involved in sex trafficking, drugs and murder - and that of the murder of her husband Chris. A syndicate compromised of corrupt police officers, some of whom were at senior level. It's like a series of "Line of Duty"...lol

Since the previous book, Kate has been promoted to DCI and taking the place of her mentor and friend William Chase who was brutally murdered by one of the syndicate, DI Harriet Khatri. Harriet, however, is protesting her innocence loudly though no one is listening. Least of all Kate who was not her biggest fan in the first place. But Harriet calls on Kate with a special request...but how will Kate react?

Since Kate's promotion, it has left room for her previous position as DI open as well as Harriet's also, since she now sits under house arrest with strict bail conditions awaiting trial for William's murder. And so Kate handpicks her two DS's, Emma and Morgan, to step into the Acting DI role until they can take their Inspector's exams.

Emma's first big case comes along investigating a killer who maims his victims with a psychoactive drug, leaving no trace in their systems. Or so he thought. It seems he is cockier than he is clever. But will he outsmart Emma before she can uncover the truth?

Meanwhile, Morgan has been tasked to Operation Moonbeam who are investigating the people trafficking and with a mole in their midst, Morgan is feeling frustrated with the slow progress, despite months of work. And it's affecting his home life with Emma.

On top of it all, Kate must maintain a professional integrity in overseeing her teams but she misses being in the thick of the investigation. But under the mantle of DCI she is also able to continue looking further into the syndicate and its remaining members, and attempt to bring it all down once and for all.

Then just when you think that's the end of it...Wyer delivers those final lines. Is this the end? Or is it not?

I admit to having further suspicions but in hindsight, I'd like this to be the end for Kate. To sit back and relax and just let it all go. To remain and continue digging would just be tempting fate.

The twists are delivered with fervour in this story but alas, I could not be hoodwinked. I correctly figured two out of three. That last one had me surprised. But the identity of the killer nor the first of the remaining syndicate members revealed were not. Sorry (not sorry!).

This series is so different from Carol Wyer's others and I could see how it could be so all-encompassing, when she locks herself away in her office for hours on end leaving Mr Grumpy to fend for himself. I think I'd be exhausted with navigating all this!

Overall, an entertaining taut crime thriller that will have you turning the pages until the very end, and then leaving you scratching your head.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #ASoulForASoul in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye, a second, A Cut for a Cut, published on 24th June 2021 and a third A Life for a Life to be published 15th March 2022. An Eye for an Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Tuesday, 28 November 2023

REVIEW: The Altar Girls by Patricia Gibney

The Altar Girls (Detective Lottie Parker #13) by Patricia Gibney

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Mystery, Police procedural

Read: 27th November 2023

Published: 9th November 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The little girl looked like an angel in her thin white robe, her long black hair spread around her head like a dark halo on the snow. Her hands rested on her chest, fingers interlaced as if she had fallen asleep while praying. But she would never wake up again…

When Detective Lottie Parker receives news that a child’s body has been found in the frozen grounds of the cathedral, a shiver runs down her spine. She’s terrified it will be eight-year-old Willow Devine, reported missing that morning.

But when she arrives at the cathedral, holding a photo of Willow with her blonde ponytail and gap-toothed smile, she gets a terrible shock. The body is a young girl, wrapped in a white shroud, a rosary clutched in her frozen fingers. But her hair is dark, not fair. This girl isn’t Willow but another eight-year-old, Naomi.

Desperate to find a connection between the two girls and to find Willow before it is too late, Lottie speaks to the girls’ families and discovers that both girls were altar servers at the cathedral. The charismatic priest Father Maguire has a watertight alibi for the time the girls went missing, but Lottie suspects the confused old lady traumatised by the discovery of Naomi’s body is hiding something…

A day later, Willow’s little body is found wrapped in a white robe in the snowy grounds of a church across town. Lottie is devastated, convinced now that she can’t trust anyone, least of all the girls’ parents. Why did Willow’s mother claim the girls didn’t know each other? And why are there no photos of Naomi in her mother’s shabby house?

But when a little boy from the choir goes missing too, Lottie realises she must spread her net wider. Can she stop this twisted killer before another precious life is stolen?

A completely compelling page-turner from bestselling author Patricia Gibney. If you like Rachel Caine, Kendra Elliott and Robert Dugoni, The Altar Girls will have you hooked.

MY THOUGHTS:

The thirteenth installment of the Lottie Parker series, I'm beginning to wonder if Lottie and Boyd are ever getting married. They've been engaged forever. But then again, life hasn't gotten easier either.

Last book Boyd had brought his 8 year old son Sergio to England to live with him...until Boyd's ex-wife Jackie returned and snatched him back, thus scarpering and living in hiding for the past three months. Boyd has spent the past three months searching for them to no no avail. Jackie and Sergio had vanished.

As for Lottie, her mum's dementia is progressing and this time I am finding that part of the storyline a little confronting as my own dad suffers from dementia and we have just put him in a care facility kicking and screaming, so it was just a little too close to home for him this time round. Of course, I don't see why her children don't help out a little more. They are all living at home and are better placed to do so rather than Lottie who works 20 hour days, especially when on an investigation.

This time the case at hand are two little girls found within hours of each other in the midst of a snowtstorm in the cathedral ground, clasping a hymn sheet in their hands. Why would someone kill two 8 year old girls? They were both in the choir there and from single parent families struggling to make ends meet. Is this a coincidence? The more Lottie digs, the answers keep coming back to Father Keith Macguire and the cathedral. Is he as innocent as he claims?

A parallel story is one of a car crash in Ballina in the north of the country with the body of an unidentified woman inside. No one knows who she is. There was no handbag, no identification, nothing to indicate who she might be. What has she to do with the case in Ragmullin?

This is one of the longer tales Gibney has spun at over 500 pages but it didn't feel as such with the short snappy chapters that kept the pace moving steadily along. But every time I pick up a book in this series it always seems to be snowing and is perpetually freezing. I know they have a totally different climate to me but it can't always be that cold ALL THE TIME. hahaha. I have friends from Northern Ireland and it rains...a lot...but they do get blue skies and the occasional nice day. Every book in this series seems to be shrouded in snow.

Anyway, it is another exciting addition to the series and wrapped up nicely by the end. I do have to wonder will Boyd and Lottie ever get married? They very nearly made it twice but now life just seems to get in the way. Ms Gibney, please give them their happy ending.

Overall, another compelling and enjoyable addition to the series.

I would like to thank #PatriciaGibney, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheAltarGirls in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Patricia Gibney is an Irish author of crime fiction who sold 100,000 copies of her first crime thriller as an e-book, and had total sales exceeding 500,000 copies in 2018. By 2019, total book sales had passed one million.

Patricia is from Mullingar, County Westmeath and has lived there all her life. She spent 30 years working with Westmeath County Council.

When her husband died in 2009, aged 49, three months after a diagnosis of cancer, Patricia turned to art and writing, self-publishing a children's book entitled 'Spring Sprong Sally'. She then started writing crime fiction and created her first novel in that genre featuring DI Lottie Parker with 'The Missing Ones'. She worked with the Irish Writers Centre to improve her writing. Eventually she began a second novel 'The Stolen Girls' and through that acquired an agent and a publishing contract with Bookouture.

Patricia currently has 11 DI Lottie Parker novels to date, with the eleventh 'The Guilty Girl' to be published in June 2021, and is set in the fictional Irish town of Ragmullin, which is an anagram of the real-life town of Mullingar, where Patricia lives.

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Monday, 2 October 2023

REVIEW: Stolen Darlings by Helen Phifer

Stolen Darlings (Detective Morgan Brookes #10) by Helen Phifer

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedurals

Read: 29th September 2023

Published: 29th September 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The girl’s body is lying still and the crown of rare darling roses is perfectly positioned in her beautiful auburn hair. Morgan thinks she looks picture-perfect. Until she notices the blood dripping down one side of the boulder beneath her…

Following her colleague Ben up to Castlerigg Stone Circle, Detective Morgan Brookes is shocked at what she finds. A young woman has been killed, left on display at the top of the hill with a crown of roses on her head. As the team race to get the popular tourist spot cordoned off, Morgan hears the heartbroken sobs of the woman who found the body, as she identifies the victim as her best friend Cora Dalton.

Morgan can already see that Cora didn’t struggle when her throat was cut. There’s no blood on the beautiful white gown she was wearing, which means that Cora knew her killer. But everyone, including her boyfriend Jay, has an alibi. As a local shopkeeper, Cora was a huge part of the community, and her neighbours are devastated to lose such a sweet soul.

Then Morgan’s team discover that a local photographer had arranged to meet Cora, and it’s clear from his messages that he chose her elegant white dress. Could their photoshoot have taken a sinister turn?

But when another body is found at another stone circle, wearing an identical flower crown, while the photographer is in custody, Morgan loses the only lead she has. Tracking down the florist who made the crown, Morgan pores over their records and realises the killer purchased three circles of roses…

Certain another innocent life is at risk and with the killer already steps ahead, can Morgan find the connection between these girls before another life is stolen?

An unbelievably gripping new crime thriller in the Detective Morgan Brookes series. Readers of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Lisa Regan will be holding their breath as they race through the pages to the final, epic conclusion.

MY THOUGHTS:

Can you believe we're up to book 10 of this exciting series already? I have followed the exploits of Morgan, Ben and their team since the second book "The Killer's Girl" and it has been tension-filled and not-so-smooth-sailing from the start. Since the brutal murder of one of their own, they have recruited one of their favourite uniforms into CID and he has made himself right at home and has quickly made his mark with them.

In this installment, we see Morgan and Ben called out to Castlerigg Stone Circle with the murder of twenty eight year old Cora Dalton, a young woman who owned a witchcraft shop Black Moon in Kewsick High Street. Cora was found by her friends on the morning of what was to be a yoga outing to mark the Ostara (something I'm not at all familiar with but something to do with stars and spring or something). What they find on the flat stone is Cora's body with her neck slashed and dressed in a sheer white gown wearing a floral crown of roses and a garland of oak leaves.

The area is cordoned off and the team get to investigating the murder. They are quick to suspect the boyfriend who is a history teacher at a nearby school, particularly when it comes to light that he has something of a temper on him. Had he been violent towards Cora? Did she fear for her life?

While the team are busying questioning him and a local photographer, Morgan received a call from a neighbouring unit about a similar attack on another young woman. This time she survived thanks to an off-duty paramedic walking her dog who was quick to administer first aid and call for help. Tabitha King is rushed to surgery but is not out of the woods yet. Will she live long enough to give Morgan the breakthrough that they need?

Then they receive the disturbing news that the young man who works in the bookshop next to Cora's nan has gone missing. Morgan isn't worried as the woman is 68 and the killer's MO is that of young women. But then Lewis reveals that she runs a witchcraft shop nearby. Could this just be a coincidence? Both Cora and Tabitha ran similar types of shops. Should they be worried? Has the killer gone after the young man's nan this time?

With no shortage of suspects, the team are left racing for time to uncover the killer before he kills again. He'd purchased three rose crowns, two of which have been used. So he has one more left. Will Morgan and her team find him in time?

Another super read by Helen Phifer though once again Morgan continues to go in gung-ho to apprehend any suspect single-handedly that it is becoming a bit predictable. I enjoy this series but would prefer a little less predictability when it comes to Morgan as we all know what she's going to do and that it will always be her left chasing down the villain at the end of the day, sometimes to her own detriment. But what makes this series so enjoyable is the camaraderie within the team. I love reading their banter which I often enjoy more than than the investigation. It makes the series a pleasure to read. But please, make Morgan a little less predictable.

Overall, another cracker read and addition to the series. I love the Lake District setting. A normally tranquil setting rocked by the deluge of murders penned by Phifer.

I would like to thank #HelenPhifer, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #StolenDarlings in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Helen Phifer is the #1 Bestselling crime and horror novelist of the Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin and Beth Adams series.

Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District.

Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.

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Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.