The Staffymum's Book Nook: Whitecliff Bay

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Tuesday, 18 April 2023

REVIEW: The Ones Who Are Buried by Kerry Wilkinson

The Ones Who Are Buried (Whitecliff Bay mysteries #3) by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Cosy mystery

Read: 13th April 2023

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Published: 17th April 2023

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Up on the desolate moor, she tightens her coat against the bitter wind. The man she followed here points to a rock embedded in the mossy earth. ‘This is the place.’ But when they dig, what will they find?

Everyone in the small seaside town of Whitecliff knows the name Kevin Ashworth. Two boys disappeared thirty years ago – and although local teacher Kevin never admitted to knowing where their bodies are, he’s been in prison ever since.

Now, Kevin is finally ready to talk: but only to amateur sleuth Millie Westlake and journalist Guy Rushden. With the families of the boys desperate for answers, Guy and Millie are led to a lonely spot on the moors above Whitecliff. They’re on the moors expecting to find bodies… but what if they find something even more terrifying?

Reeling from their discovery, as Millie scours the local countryside and speaks to heartbroken families what she discovers changes everything she believes about Whitecliff and the people who live here. With rumours about her own dark past still haunting Millie, can she ever get justice for a decades-old wrong? Or as she gets closer to finding out who else Kevin has hurt, will she learn that some secrets are destined to stay buried?

An absolutely addictive mystery read that fans of LJ Ross, Mary Burton and Faith Martin won’t be able to put down.

MY THOUGHTS:

The third in Kerry Wilkinson's new Whitecliff Bay mysteries series, THE ONES WHO ARE BURIED is so far my favourite of the three as each one has progressively gotten better. Maybe that's because the characters are evolving more and we are learning a little more about them or whether the mysteries are more interesting...I don't know. But this one also ended on something of a cliffhanger. And one I'm itching to find out more about...

Millie and Guy have been asked to accompany the police, a killer and the prison officers guarding him up to the moors in the hope that Kevin Ashworth will finally reveal the final resting place of the two boys he went to prison for killing nearly three decades before. He's never told them where they are buried and their bodies have never been found, leaving the families without closure. But now Ashworth wants to talk...but only to Guy Rushden.

Ashworth leads them to a remote clearing on the moors where a discovery is made. But not one they were expecting. Millie and Guy continue to ponder over the mystery and what this latest discovery means and if Ashworth will ever truly reveal the whereabouts of the missing boys' bodies.

Meanwhile, Guy and Millie have been tasked with a delicate investigation of sorts for a former girl band member, Zoe. It seems a very large and very revealing photo of her has been stolen from her house and Zoe doesn't want the police involved as that will surely mean publicity which is the last thing she wants. Guy doesn't do investigating, he reports but Millie steps up and offers to help find the missing photo. She keeps Guy updated but in the end proves her worth and that she really is a natural when she acts on a hunch which proves right. Well done, Millie!

The ongoing saga of Millie's acrimonious relationship with her ex Alex and his horrid fiance Rachel continues but in this installment they up the ante. Their wedding is finally going ahead...on Christmas Eve, of all days...and what a spectacular event that turns out to be! In more ways than one. But I can't help but feel things have only been made worse for Millie who, actually, hasn't done anything. Rachel is just purely spiteful for spite's sake and just couldn't resist having the last word which I fear will come back to bite Millie.

But in the midst of all this, Millie meets someone. Someone she thinks she could like...that she may even like, should she dare. Luke is down to earth, funny and isn't at all bothered by what other people think or what they think they know. He likes Millie, and it's as simple as that.

We see more of Jack and Rishi, who have now adopted a four year old boy Isaac...which comes with a whole new set of problems. And then there is the mystery of Millie's parents' suicide. Did they really make a pact? Or was Millie somehow involved? The water continue to be murky in this regard but more questions are raised leaving the reader pondering if she really is guilty or innocent. There are loads more secrets that we are drip-fed, including the cliffhanger ending. Didn't see that one coming...which totally blindsided the questions that were raised leading up to that moment.

So now having read all three books this one is my favourite of them so far. I love the character development between them all - the love, the hate, the laughter, the angst. And of course Kerry's witty prose keeps me coming back for more. I love that Guy featured more in this story. He really is a loveable character. While Millie is still an enigma.

For new readers, I recommend beginning with the first book "The One Who Fell" followed by "The One Who Was Taken" before delving into this one. While each one has a standalone story and mystery, the underlying themes throughout continue to develop and readers would miss that without starting from the beginning.

So now I have a conundrum. Do I move on to my next read (which is not by Kerry) or do I go with the fourth installment of this exciting new series (of which I do have a copy already)? And if I do, will I finish it in time before I need to finish my next read? Decisions decisions...

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

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 crime bestsellers in the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States. His book, Ten Birthdays, won the RNA award for Young Adult Novel of the Year in 2018 and Close To You won the International Thriller Award for best ebook in 2020.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

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

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

REVIEW: The One Who Was Taken by Kerry Wilkinson

The One Who Was Taken (Whitecliff Bay mysteries #2) by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Cosy mystery

Read: 11th April 2023

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Published: 17th April 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

In the darkness, the girl slumps against the rough tree bark. Her eyes are closed, her wrists tied. As consciousness fades, her last thought is of her best friend, and how much she regrets what she did…

Seventeen-year-old best friends Nicola and Millie were supposed to have a summer night of fun and freedom in the local park. But when dawn comes Millie realises Nicola is missing. Distraught, she searches for her alone: and finds Nicola tied to a tree, her purple Converse shoes missing, her long hair cut and scattered on the ground. With no memory of what happened, terrified Nicola begs Millie never to speak of this again…

Fifteen years later. With countless secrets and hurt between them, Millie and Nicola have not spoken in over a decade. But now Nicola has found her old purple Converse strung up in her garden. Is her attacker sending a message? Why now, after all this time?

In the small town of Whitecliff, people have long memories – but Millie is the only one who can help get answers. And, as she asks questions of their school friends, she realises one of them knows more than they should about her own family secrets…

Not knowing who to trust, and knowing Nicola’s kidnapper is still out there, Millie must ask: how far will they go to keep the truth buried forever?

Fans of Faith Martin, Ann Cleeves and LJ Ross won’t be able to put down this addictive mystery read set in the small seaside town of Whitecliff, where nothing is as it seems.

MY THOUGHTS:

The second in Kerry Wilkinson's new cosy Whitecliff Bay mystery series, THE ONE WHO WAS TAKEN follows on some six months or so after the first one "The One Who Fell". You can read the book as a standalone but I do recommend reading them as a series as you get to see the character growth and their relationships develop...or dwindle.

In this second book, a mystery which took place some two decades ago comes back to haunt Millie. A mystery which only two people knew about. Now she receives a phone call from an unknown number but upon answering she hears the familiar "Mills..." and knows at once who is on the other end of the line. Millie hasn't heard from Nicola in fifteen years - not since their falling out - but now she is pleading with Millie to come quickly.

As 17 year olds, Millie and Nicola were inseparable. But in the final year of school and on the cusp of adulthood, the world outside beckoned as plans were made for university, travelling or the like. Things were changing for their group of friends and in one night, everything changed for these two. After walking home together, Nicola decided to head back to the park in the hope of catching boyfriend Charlie while Millie went home. The following morning, Millie received a vague text message from Nicola which lead her to the woods and thus finding her best friend handcuffed to a tree in a field. Her coveted purple converse and Nokia phone with the pink case were missing. Her hair had been cut off in chunks and was strewn about her. Nicola had no recollection of what happened to her...only waking up tied to the tree. She was unmolested but swears Millie to silence and the two friends hatch a plan to cover the sudden haircut, then go about their lives until other events six years later tears them apart.

Now fifteen years after cutting Nicola from her life, her old friend has reached out to her again. She is so distraught she is barely able to talk. So instead she shows Millie. Outside on the clothesline...hangs Nicola's distinct purple converse. The very same shoes that disappeared the same night Nicola had. And now they have reappeared again two decades later. Why? Who wants to taunt Nicola after all these years? Millie has no idea how she can help her friend. But she knows someone who may be able to. And so she calls on Guy and confides everything in him. Who knows? Maybe Guy can sift through his archives and find something that will help piece this puzzle together. And then Nicola can finally put the past to bed forever.

And then the old Nokia phone with the pink case is pushed through Nicola's mailslot one morning...

Meanwhile, the continuing backstory with her ex-husband (the snake), his new girlfriend-now-fiance, her relationship with her son Eric...all continues to be a big jumbled mess as only broken marriages with kids involved can be. Alex and Rachel are both snakes and their behaviour leaves a lot to be desired. I cannot believe some of the things that came out of their mouths at Eric's birthday party! I just wish Millie would reveal Alex's secret to the way-too-smug Rachel and wipe that smug smile off her face! Even an anonymous note would do. Anything. Alex cannot be made out to be the good guy here with sole custody because of her affair! How can he not feel guilty? And how can she not tell him what she knows? And how can he threaten her relationship with her son if she dare to make waves? Honestly, Alex and Rachel make my blood boil. And I can't wait to see them fall from their high horses...preferably on black ice.

As an aside to the main story and the continuing theme of her broken marriage, is the sit-in/live-in protest of a squat in which someone from Millie's old group of friends is involved. In part, I agree with their stance - that being that this is their town and rich folk come swanning in with their millions, buying up properties, knocking down the old and building their new McMansions with a view and thus sending up prices throughout town that locals can barely afford. These people who are only their seasonally. Whitecliff is home to many locals who can't afford the rents these rich folk incur. So I do agree with what they are saying...but the whole protest thing is not my thing. I didn't like Will one bit. He dangled a bit of information he'd garnered from another old friend in front of Millie with the threat of exposure. But what does he really know? If anything?

The book hints a little more about Millie's parent's suicide but not much more, leaving us wondering if there is something more to uncovered about it. From what we know about Millie thus far, it doesn't seem as if she would have had anything to do with it. But then the most unlikely answers are often the correct ones in the world of mystery fiction. But as yet, we are still none the wiser as to what really happened with her parents beyond their suicides. We don't even know why...yet.

And yet Millie herself is a woman of mystery. She is a bit of an enigma. So what do we know about Millie? One, she had an affair that ended her marriage and cost her the custody of her son. Two, the reason why she had the affair is known only to her and the reader. Why? Three, she moved home with her parents who did nothing to hide their disappointment in her and yet she remained in her childhood home. Four, her parents then die in a suicide pact afterwhich rumours are rife and continue to be so a year later that she killed them. Five, she has very few friends - Jack (and his partner Rishi) and now Guy (and his dog Barry). Six, her relationship with her ex is acrimonious at best and her relationship with her son is based on alternate weekend access. Seven, she reveals nothing on the subject of her parents' deaths leading readers to speculate wildly as to why. What really happened to her parents? And why?

THE ONE WHO WAS TAKEN holds something of a different mystery which thus presents with an interesting and unusual solution. I did guess it by my own process of elimination as it was the only one to make sense...even though in the end it didn't. On the whole, the story was an interesting stroll down memory lane...and thus building a broader picture of Millie. I also love the relationship and camaraderie between Millie and Guy.

I enjoyed this book and thought it was marginally better than the first due to the previous one's slow start. And after the cliffhanger this one provides, I'm keen to dive into the third one "The Ones who are Buried". The question is...do I start now or wait till morning? lol

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

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

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

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

REVIEW: The One Who Fell by Kerry Wilkinson

The One Who Fell (Whitecliff Bay Mysteries #1) by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Cosy mystery

Read: 8th April 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Audio Links

Listen to Sample

Published: 17th April 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

In the seaside town of Whitecliff, everyone looks out for each other. Everyone knows your name. And everyone knows your secrets…

Moonlight falls on the figure of the girl standing on the red-tiled roof. Her white dress and blonde hair flutter in the freezing night wind. And suddenly – she is gone.

Volunteering at the local nursing home is Millie Westlake’s one escape from the rumours that swirl around Whitecliff about her past. But speaking with elderly resident, Ingrid, as they play board games, Millie gets chills at her strange story about a young girl being pushed from a roof, somewhere across the valley…

Everybody thinks Ingrid is confused: but Millie knows how it feels to not be believed. Her parents died a year ago, and the residents of Whitecliff – such a quiet place, other than crashing waves and cawing seagulls – are convinced Millie killed them.

Desperately searching for evidence to find the girl Ingrid saw, a broken roof tile could prove Ingrid was telling the truth. But when strange footprints appear in Millie’s garden, she’s certain someone out there is watching.

Have Ingrid and Millie stumbled across something terribly dangerous? And with the town against her, will Millie have to face up to her own secrets to solve the mystery before it becomes deadly?

An utterly compelling, character-driven mystery by bestselling author Kerry Wilkinson, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Mary Burton and LJ Ross.

MY THOUGHTS:

In the seaside town of Whitecliff, everyone looks out for each other. Everyone knows your name. And everyone knows your secrets...

Kerry Wilkinson has long been a favourite author of mine who I auto-request without even reading the description. When I learnt he was publishing a new series, with the first three books on the same day, I didn't think twice. But the Whitecliff mystery series is far removed from his usual psychological thrillers that I have come to know and love...but it still didn't disappoint. Despite its slow start I was pleasantly surprised at how adept Kerry is at trying his hand at a slightly different genre. Last year it was a rom-com; this year its a cosy mystery series. While the rom-com wasn't my thing it did highlight his skillful storytelling. And now THE ONE WHO FELL deftly moves into the cosy niche with its main character, Millie Westlake, at the forefront of the story.

Millie is a woman with a past and not an altogether happy one, if slightly colourful. A year ago she was outed as having an affair with a high profile Member of Parliament which thus was the end of her marriage and seeing her back in her childhood home with her parents, who did not hide their disappointment in her from her. But Millie had no time to make amends with her parents for she'd barely been back home when they were found dead and she was taken in for questioning. And Whitecliff being the small town (with small minds) that it is, gossip was rife. And despite her not being charged or even being a suspect, there are some folk in town who still think she murdered her parents.

And now, she lives in the house that was her childhood home which now belongs to her alone. Some people still think she killed her parents; others don't even care. But there are always those who are quick to frown and judge and point their fingers with a quick word to say. But Millie no longer cares what people think of her. All she cares about is moving on with her life, such as it is, and to spend as much time as she can with her seven year old son Eric...or rather when ex-husband Alex allows. When Millie had her affair, Alex was humiliated he says. But it seems what's good for the goose is not always what's also good for the gander. And that really stuck in my craw. The man is a two-faced lying hypocrite and I wanted to smack his condescension off his smirking face. Why Millie didn't is a mystery.

Anyway, I digress...

Millie works as a dog groomer and obedience trainer (which Alex continually sneers at not being "a real job") and volunteers at the local nursing home. There she spends time with the old folk, talking with them, playing games and basically keeping them company. One day, one of the residents Ingrid tells her she saw a girl being pushed from a roof of a house outside her window a short distance away. Millie doesn't know whether to believe Ingrid or not because one day she's lucid and the next she's foggy. Though Ingrid was adamant in her assertion of what she saw. When someone else says they saw a woman fall from a roof on the same night, Millie knows that this is not a coincidence. Ingrid HAD seen something that night. And Millie set out to find out exactly what that was.

Her investigations lead her to Dean Parris, the owner of the house from which the girl was seen falling from. But he is not forthcoming. If anything he is intimidating and when Millie sees him outside her house, she begins to wonder if he is a threat. But why is he following her? What does he want from her?

Along the way, Millie teams up with retired reporter Guy Rushden who had been a long-friend of her father's. He has the contacts and the resources, not to mention the four decades of archives nestled about in his house that can help Millie get to the bottom of this mystery. Did a girl really fall from the rooftop? Or was she pushed? There was no sign of someone having fallen, no emergency services, ambulance or police...so was there even a girl at all? And what of Millie's parents? Did she kill them? Or did they really commit suicide? What is Alex's deep dark secret that, if made known, could ruin him? And what secrets is Millie hiding?

THE ONE WHO FELL is a compelling tale that, while it is did start of a little slow, it did pick up around 40% and I found myself swiping the pages to find out what really happened. I did figure it out as the pieces slowly came together...a lot quicker than Millie did, but maybe she'll be quicker on the uptake in the following books with Guy at her side. They make a great team and I hope to see more of Guy. I like his wit and his fatherly nature. I think they are the perfect crime fighting duo for this series.

I love that the chapters are fairly short and snappy. They kept the pace moving once it picked up. There aren't a whole lot of characters but the handful there are are a mixed bag of either loving or hating them. I look forward to the reading the next two subsequent installments and the fourth one publishing next month.

A compelling start to a new series, it is perfect for fans of cosy mysteries.

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

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

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

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram