Author: ramblingmads

Nobody is safe…

When the murdered body of a woman is found in a Sheffield carpark, former cop turned private investigator Matt Forrester finds himself embroiled in the case, because the last call the victim made
was to him…

But the case isn’t as simple as the drug theft it looks like, and – when a young boy becomes the next victim – Matt and his life partner, DI Karen Nelson, realise they’re investigating a terrifying series of
revenge killings.

Arrests start to be made, but enemies are being made. And, as the killings continue, nobody is safe…

A totally unputdownable crime novel, from bestselling author Anita Waller, guaranteed to keep readers up all night.

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Anita Waller was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1946. With many books to her
name, she feels she has finally realised her dream. In 2021 Waller signed a five book deal with Boldwood Books, and currently has six published books with them: One Hot Summer, The Family at No.12, Fatal Secrets (the first in a new series set in Sheffield), The Couple Across the Street, Fatal Lies, the second in the Forrester series and The Girls Next Door. The Family at No.12 reached #2 in the Amazon Kindle charts. The final book in the Forrester series, Fatal Endings, is to be launched on 13 November 2024.

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My thoughts: the final book in the trilogy about former DI Matt Forrester turned PI brings various cases to their end and has a big shock twist that alters the lives of the characters forever.

A young boy is murdered and his older brother vows revenge, the police are keen to talk to him but he’s disappeared, could his drug trafficking grandfather be helping him stay out of sight? Karen and her team are tracking him down after the chief suspect in the younger brother’s murder is killed, when tragedy strikes.

Meanwhile Matt is looking into a wealthy woman’s husband after he starts taking sums of money out of their joint account and making her suspicious. He’s also looking after Harry, who’s returned to school after his running away, and needs some gentle support.

This series has been really enjoyable, the author’s books are always engaging and clever, with well written and interesting characters. This is a big case, with lots of complications and ends the series dramatically.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

After learning of a suspicious attempt to burn down a beloved old pub, The Crooked Horse, Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran reluctantly agree to investigate.
But when a local antiques dealer mysteriously disappears after apparently taking out his boat, it appears there are dark and sinister forces at play.

Can Libby and Fran uncover a connection between the fire and the missing man? And will unravelling a deadly case put them in terrible danger?

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Lesley Cookman writes the Libby Sarjeant Murder Mysteries and the The Alexandrians, an Edwardian Mystery Series. She lives on the south east coast of England, and is a former model, actor, and journalist. Her four adult children are all musicians and writers.

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My thoughts: I really like this series, Libby and her “Loonies” as her friends call themselves. Solving crimes involves a lot of time spent in pubs it seems as Libby and Fran do some digging into the attempted destruction of the titular Crooked Horse and a missing local antique dealer.

Ian, Libby’s police detective friend, asks her to ask around about the incidents, but she uncovers a conspiracy involving stolen Anglo-Saxon treasure, a local building contractor, and some rather nasty criminals.

This was another excellent addition to the series, with Libby pursuing possibly her most dangerous case yet.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

We regret to announce the tragic death of Phoebe Fredericks…

When crime novelist Phoebe opens the post and receives an invitation to her own funeral, she’s horrified. Not least because the date of her death is marked as tomorrow.
Deciding it’s nothing more than a prank from an enemy from her past, she determines to put it to the back of her mind.

But the next morning, when her completely infuriating postman (who likes to think himself her no.1 literary critic) rings her doorbell, a parcel of poisoned pen-nibs explodes in his face. Forced to
confront the fact her correspondence is more RIP than RSVP, Phoeve realises someone must want her dead.

Together with the newly-formed Village Detectives – Juno, Mil and Felix – Phoebe resolves to find out who is behind the poison pen letters before they strike again and her fate is signed, sealed and
delivered!

A totally hilarious, modern cozy crime mystery, from million-copy bestselling author Fiona Walker, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janet Evanovich and Janice Hallett.

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Fiona Walker is the million copy bestselling author of joyously funny romantic comedies. Most recently published by Head of Zeus, she will be turning to cozy crime for Boldwood. The first in her new Village Detectives series, The Art of Murder, will be published in May 2024.

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My thoughts: This is such a fun series, I love Juno and her determination to be a detective, despite not always getting it right. She wants to help Phoebe so much, but her instincts are not always spot on. As she and Felix hurtle around in her mother’s rather battered old car, including a jaunt to Paris, Phoebe herself is looking a little closer to home.

The Twitter accounts that harassed her once before might be connected to the shocking death of the postman on the doorstep and the horrible things she’s been receiving in the post, but Phoebe reckons it’s someone in the village, it doesn’t feel quite the same to her. What she uncovers is a sad and rather different story than the one Juno and Felix are following.

Lots of fun and all carried out in Juno’s unique chaotic style, with help from her son Eric, and of course the delightful Mil, pub landlord and protector of potential murder suspects.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

The BRAND NEW Barton thriller from the bestselling Ross Greenwood.

After three years behind a desk, Inspector John Barton wonders if he’s still got what it takes.
An opportunity arises to return to Major Crimes, so he jumps at it, after all he’s been around the block a few times. When he and his team are called in to investigate an attempted murder which seems to be linked to the case of a missing child, Barton is immediately thrust back into the life of a detective – early mornings, late nights and endless pressure to get to the truth.
Then a man dies.

Something deadly is going on behind the high walls and imposing gates of the mansions in the sleepy village of Castor. The locals are keeping each other’s secrets and if Barton doesn’t find out why soon,
the bodies will start mounting up.
The Village Killer knows who’s next, and the clock is ticking…

The book all Ross Greenwood fans have been waiting for – Barton is Back! Ross Greenwood returns to his bestselling series, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Ian Rankin.

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Ross Greenwood has had an eclectic career, ranging from financial advisor to Prison officer. The advent of parenthood and the terrifying rise of Spice in prison led Ross to become a stay -at-home parent and a novelist.

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My thoughts: DCI Barton returns to his former team at the MIT to lead them in searching for a missing fourteen year old girl, whose mother seems rather blasé for someone whose only child has disappeared.

There’s also the near miss of a local woman, who thinks someone tried to run her over while she was out jogging. Then her neighbour dies in suspicious circumstances, what is going on in the village of Castor ? Behind their gates, in their fancy houses, there’s secrets that could prove deadly.

Barton slots back into his old team pretty neatly, giving Zander some much needed time off means he’s actually out interviewing and being involved in the case, not just overseeing it from the office. This gives him a way to reconnect with his colleagues. It also puts him front and centre as they try to sort out the incidences in Castor and find a precocious teenager, who might not exactly be in the trouble they think.

Clever, compelling and really enjoyable, the Peterborough MIT team are diligent and dig into the lives of the people who live in these posh houses, and those who work there too. Someone has a vendetta and as lives unravel, Barton and his team of detectives must work to catch a killer and help those who need it.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour,but all opinions remain my own.

A mysterious bequest and the legacy of a tragic love – only one person can unravel the hidden secrets of the past before it’s too late…

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is…

Elisabeth’s family turn to Touissants detective agency for help but, when Mila Shepherd and Carter Jackson try to track Astrid down, their frustration soon mounts. Their only clue is a photo of two
young women holding the hands of a tiny child. The women are smiling but Mila is haunted by the sadness in their eyes. Is this Astrid and Elisabeth and if so, who is the child? And why are there signs
everywhere in Elisabeth’s home that the old woman was frightened despite her living a quiet life with no known enemies?

As Elisabeth and Astrid’s story slowly unfolds, Mila feels the walls of her home The Sea House closing in. And as the secrets finally begin to reveal themselves, she is ever more determined to carry out
Elisabeth’s final wishes. Because what is inside that unprepossessing parcel might just save a life…

Louise Douglas is back in the Brittany seaside town of Morranez with a heart-stopping, heart-breaking, brilliantly written and utterly compelling mystery. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Eve Chase and Lucinda Riley.

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Hello! I’m Louise, author of 12 novels mostly set in the Somerset countryside close to where I live and Sicily. I’m thrilled to have won the RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller award 2021 for The House by the Sea which has sold more than a quarter of a million copies.

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My thoughts: I’ve read some of the previous books featuring Toussaints investigators but you can read this as a standalone.

An unusual bequest in a will leads Mila to the wilds of Yorkshire’s moors in the quest for a woman no one remembers seeing in years. At the same time the results of the DNA test carried out on the body found in a sea cave are due – is it her brother-in-law Charlie? If it is, how will his daughter Ani, Mila’s niece, react?

Travelling back and forth from France to Britain, attempting to trace the life of the missing Astrid Oake and the woman who left her the bequest, Elisabeth Quemener, as well as prepare for Christmas with fiancè Luke, still living in Bristol, means Mila has a lot on her plate. Will something have to give?

Another clever and complex riddle for the team at Toussaints to unravel, how do you find someone who seems to have vanished into thin air? And while dealing with the ongoing tragedy of Sophie and Charlie’s accident at sea. Ani is turning sixteen, and needs Mila both more and less than before, leaving Mila torn between raising her niece and marrying the ever patient Luke.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.