Tag: reading

Posted in Reading, Reviews

Blurb is the word – The Bone Field – Simon Kernick

Posted on by J

“If you go down to The Bone Field today, you’re in for a big surprise…”
“If you go down to The Bone Field today, you really should close your eyes”

A NEW TWIST TO A DECADES OLD MYSTERY

1990
A young woman goes missing while backpacking in Thailand.

She is never seen again.

2016
Her bones are discovered 6000 miles away in an English field and, within hours, the boyfriend who reported her disappearance all those years ago is dead.

So begins a hunt to solve her murder that will take DI Ray Mason and PI Tina Boyd into a dark and terrifying world of corruption and deadly secrets, where murder is commonplace, and nothing and nobody is safe…

 

Grab yourself a stiff drink, settle yourself down, and prepare for a dark and twisty read that is one hell of a journey….

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#BlogTour The Man Who Died – Antti Tuomainen

Posted on by J



A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he’s dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists. 



Darkly comic, The Man Who Died is a cracking one sitting read that will have you falling over yourself to decide what emotion you want to feel next…..

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#Blogtour Death In The Stars – Frances Brody

Posted on by J

Yorkshire, 1927. Eclipse fever grips the nation, and when beloved theatre star Selina Fellini approaches trusted sleuth Kate Shackleton to accompany her to a viewing party at Giggleswick School Chapel, Kate suspects an ulterior motive.

During the eclipse, Selina’s friend and co-star Billy Moffatt disappears and is later found dead in the chapel grounds. Kate can’t help but dig deeper and soon learns that two other members of the theatre troupe died in similarly mysterious circumstances in the past year. With the help of Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden, Kate sets about investigating the deaths – and whether there is a murderer in the company.

When Selina’s elusive husband Jarrod, injured in the war and subject to violent mood swings, comes back on the scene, Kate begins to imagine something far deadlier at play, and wonders just who will be next to pay the ultimate price for fame . . .

This may well be the ninth book in Francis Brody’s series featuring Kate Shackleton, but as I have discovered with both Death In The Stars and indeed with each of the previously delightfully written Shackleton mysteries I have read, this is no barrier to picking up this book to read as someone new to the series.

Suspenseful, and living every bit up to the description of ‘mystery’, it keeps you guessing all the way between clues, red herrings, characters complicit in the story and those included to misguide you along the way.

With a background that clearly creates the atmosphere of this twenties tale, this charming read is a great way to while away a pleasant few hours.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

# Blogtour Snare – Lilija Sigurdardottir

Posted on by J

After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland, and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer, whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies. Things become even more complicated when Sonia embarks on a relationship with a woman, Agla. Once a high-level bank executive, Agla is currently being prosecuted in the aftermath of the Icelandic financial crash.

I could explain all the following with many, many words, but as I discovered as I devoured Snare, sometimes, less is more, let’s leave it at this……

Slick. Pacy. Emotional. “Unputdownable” Would You Like To Know More?

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardottir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series, hitting bestseller lists worldwide. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja has a background in education and has worked in evaluation and quality control for preschools in recent years. She lives in Reykjavik with her partner.

Posted in Blogging

I’m sensing a bit of a theme here…

Posted on by J

Let’s see, one I’m currently listening to, one I’m currently reading, and the third recently catapulted itself to the top of the TBR pile.

I’m guessing there’s a bit of a theme to my reading of late 🙂

*sings*

 

 

 

“Them bones, them bones, them dry bones, them bones, them bones, them dry bones, them bones, them bones, them dry bones, now…”

 

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#Blogtour The Secrets You Keep – Kate White

Posted on by J

You’ve lost your memory. A woman has been murdered. Your husband is keeping secrets. How do you know who to trust?

Months after a being involved in a terrible car crash, Bryn Harper is physically healed but her emotional scars remain raw. She has no memory of the accident and is plagued with bad dreams.

When Bryn and her husband, Guy, host a dinner party Bryn swears money has been stolen while Guy seems unfazed. Bryn confronts the caterer that night and is horrified to discover the woman’s brutally slain body the next day.
As the case is investigated, Bryn is dragged into a fresh nightmare and learns that Guy is keeping things from her. Another murder occurs and Bryn realises the danger is getting ever closer to home. How well does Bryn really know the man she loves?

Another page turner of a read I’ve picked up in the last week or so.  I’m often confounded by female characters who have whirlwind romances and end up married to someone they don’t truly know, but then their stories often make for compelling reading.

The Secrets You Keep was no exception to this rule. The difference being that in this tale Bryn has not just the mystery of her own husband to unravel, but also the mystery of her missing memory.  Fighting nightmares, trying to make new friendships in her summer home town,  all while discovering the brutally murdered body of her caterer, and trying to get to the bottom of the inconsistencies and concerns she faces in her life.

It’s got a delicious twist on the killer and it was someone I didn’t see coming from a mile away, I had it pegged as a whole different character for most of the book, and if you can get one past me you’re on a major winner. 🙂

Highly recommended.

Posted in Reading, Reviews

A Justifiable Madness – A B Morgan

Posted on by J

Can you really tell the difference between madness and sanity?

Mark Randall goes to great lengths to get himself admitted to an acute psychiatric ward and, despite being mute, convinces professionals that he is psychotic. But who is he and why is he so keen to spend time in a psychiatric hospital?

When Mark is admitted, silent and naked, the staff are suspicious about his motives.

Dealing with this, as well as the patients on the ward, Mark’s troubles really begin once he is Sectioned under the Mental Health Act. When decisions about his future are handed to Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Giles Sharman, Mark’s life is about to go from bad to worse.

Drugged, abused and in danger, Mark looks for a way out of this nightmare. But he’s about to learn, proving that you are sane might not be easy as it seems…

Flippin’ eck! What a rush! Another one of those books that is both good and not so good for insomniacs…. Picked it up to read one night when I couldn’t sleep, and then couldn’t go back to sleep because I just could not put it down.

What is really creepy about this book is that whilst it is something that should never happen in modern society, it is equally something the could happen. Cleverly written with all sides misreading the words and actions of others, simply due to their differing points of view of the same subjects, and the belief that the intentions of others are honourable.

A Justifiable Madness contains moments of subtle humour, that shine a light on a dark and troubling situation, a story that has some roots in truth, and shows how easily power can be abused, and people can come to believe that what they’re being told is the truth, even when it’s not.

 

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

Degrees of Darkness – Tony J Forder

Posted on by J

Pre-teen girls are being abducted from their homes and their families murdered. When Frank Rogers, once a DI with the Met and now running his own debt collection agency, is told that his own daughter is missing, his son murdered, he naturally wants to become involved with the case.

Soon Frank’s face is all over the news. In an unexpected turn of events, the killer contacts the police and says he is willing to talk, but only to Frank.

When the body of the first abducted girl is discovered, Frank realises it is a race against time to save his daughter.

In order to solve the case, Frank must work out how the killer is picking his victims.

But how do you catch a murderer who is hiding in plain sight? And can Frank solve the mystery, when he has so much to lose?

This is one of those fabulous books that just worms its way under your skin as you turn the pages.  Aptly titled, it creeps you out by degrees as one of the most heinous of serial killers I’ve read in months and one tenacious ex-cop play cat and mouse as Frank tries to locate his daughter.

Brilliantly written, and superbly paced it carefully takes you down dark corridors in your mind,    as you contemplate the cruelty of the killer.  I absolutely loved this book, and whilst it only took a couple of days to read I savoured every chapter.  In a genre that is currently filled with fast paced, race to the end it was a delight to read something different.  Whilst it is still a race against time thriller, it gives a really genuine feel for the passage of time, building the tension carefully.

It’s not an easy book to read, as it can be quite disturbing in places, but that is what makes it all the more compelling.  Highly recommended as a deeply dark and disturbing read for anyone who loves being entirely absorbed in a difficult world.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#blogtour Little Boy Found by L K Fox

Posted on by J

WHEN HE FOUND HIS LITTLE BOY, NICK THOUGHT THE NIGHTMARE WAS OVER . . . IT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

One rainy morning, just after Nick drops off his young son Gabriel outside the crowded school gates, he has a minor collision with another car. The driver won’t surrender his insurance details, so Nick photographs the licence plate. When he gets home, he enlarges the shot on his phone and spots something odd about the picture – Gabriel in the back seat, being driven away by a stranger. Nick needs to know what happened to his boy, but losing Gabriel turns out to be far less terrible than the shock of finding him. Now, to discover the truth, he must relive the nightmare all over again…Be warned, this is not another missing child story: what happened to Nick and his son is far more shocking.

 

When you hear one of your favourite authors has taken up a pen name and written a new book, in a different style it often casts the authors shadow over your thoughts, when you decide to read the new novel.  So I was really happy that I was already over half way through my advance copy before I became aware that it had been written by Christopher Fowler. It was great to be able to form my opinions without prior knowledge and meant I had a genuine feel for the writing and its flow.

With a distinctly different take on the usual crime of a missing child, Little Boy Found is a gripping read, that really didn’t take long for me to become completely addicted to with regard to discovering what really happened to Nick’s son, and determined not to put the book down until I knew the truth for myself.  I felt I was just as determined as Nick was to put the pieces together and solve the riddle of Gabriel’s last day, and often as amazed by each revelation along the way.

Little Boy Found is told from the perspective of two central characters, both of whom are broken, struggling with their lives,  their relationships with family, friends and partners whilst trying to understand and come to terms with the tragedies that have befallen them. It’s a well paced read and has plenty twists and turns to keep you off kilter as you try and figure out who was responsible for what happened, how and why.

If you are looking for your next lazy day read Little Boy Found comes highly recommended by me.

 

 

 

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#BlogTour A Deadly Game by Joanne Griffiths

Posted on by J

Kate Palmer, an undergraduate student, discovers that she is pregnant and makes the decision to drop out of university. However, on the evening before she returns home, her body is discovered in Aston park. She is the first victim of several murders that will rock the city of Birmingham.

Detective Sergeant James “Jim” Wardell, who has his own issues to contend with, is given the case.

When Eddie Carter, a popular talk show host on Birmingham’s Radio Station, is contacted by someone claiming to be the killer, it is the start of a cat and mouse game between a deranged killer and the police.

After a second body is discovered the pressure mounts on the police to capture the man responsible.

Who is killing these women and why?

Can Jim capture the twisted killer before more innocent women are murdered?

Totally addictive….

I’ve been struggling with catching up on my reading of late, picking books up and discarding them after just a few pages.  A Deadly Game, has just fixed the problem  😉

It’s really easy to get engrossed in this book after just a few short pages, and that addiction stays with you. I sat up all night to get to the end because I just didn’t want to put it down until I had finished, a good job I wasn’t working the next day!

It’s a fantastic police procedural, I’m not quite sure if I’ve made up my mind about Jim yet, but that’s just me.  I tend to prefer the usual ‘broken’ detective and whilst his lack of failings is promising, I”m always waiting for the fall.

What I must say, is how well written the representation of an abusive relationship is.  It’s an often tackled subject in crime novels, but one which doesn’t always give a true reflection of the beliefs of the partner on the receiving end.

I genuinely loved reading this book, and I’m honestly looking forward to how the writer develops Jim as a character, it could be fun, depending on how evil Joanne decides to be on her protagonist 😉

Enjoy all.