When an unidentified female body is discovered laid out on a slab in an abandoned butcher’s shop, the cause of death is unclear. Her body bears no marks; except for the fact that her lips have been carefully stitched shut.
It is only when the full autopsy gets underway at the Los Angeles County morgue that the pathologist will reveal the true horror of the situation – a discovery so devastating that Detective Robert Hunter of the Los Angeles Homicide Special Section has to be pulled off a different case to take over the investigation
But when his inquiry collides with a missing persons’ case being investigated by the razor-sharp Whitney Meyers, Hunter suspects the killer might be keeping several women hostage. Soon Robert finds himself on the hunt for a murderer with a warped obsession, a stalker for whom love has become hate.
My thoughts: Another chilling and sinister case for Detectives Hunter and Garcia. Women are being abducted and murdered in horrific ways, and it hasn’t hit the police radar until now when a body is found in an empty old butcher’s shop. There is no obvious cause of death and I won’t tell you what the autopsy reveals, but it is shocking. As is what happens next.
This killer is a monster, and Hunter, the man who can get inside a monster’s mind, is the only one who can catch him. But not before they find more victims.
I was hooked from the beginning. These books are dark and often very shocking but the writing is so good and I can help but root for the detectives to get the killer and save more potential victims from terrible deaths.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
19th-century England. Benjamin Gerard Waldorf, the Duke of Waldorf, has resigned himself to a life of duty and responsibility. But when an antique cameo unexpectedly transports him 200 years into the future, his world is turned upside down.
Isabella Souza Kato, a struggling writer in London, is grappling with creative block after a painful breakup. Just as she’s ready to give up on love, a chance encounter with a man claiming to be from the 1800s alters her life completely.
As they navigate the complexities of time, culture, and their own hearts, Benjamin and Isabella must confront their fears and insecurities if they want to find a future together. Will Benjamin find a way back to his rightful place, or will he choose to forge a new path with Isabella?
Stefany Nunes is a Brazilian writer with degrees in Letters and Brazilian law. She’s been an avid reader for as long as she can remember, and with her passion for romance novels, she often created stories in her mind without ever putting them on paper. After moving to London with her husband, inspired by the city’s atmosphere, she finally found the courage to fulfil her dream of writing.
My thoughts: If you needed further proof that e-scooters are dangerous, then you should read this book, Bella literally crashes into a nobleman from 200 years ago! Terrible.
He turns out to be rather dashing, and very bewildered to be in London several centuries later instead of Bath in the 1800s. At first Bella thinks Ben might be crazy, but as they get to know each other, she realises he might just be telling the truth. But as they fall in love (and lust), will Ben find a way to return to his own time, to his sister and his responsibilities or stay in the 21st century with Bella?
I liked Bella, she was funny and approached the issue of Ben’s time travelling and needing to go back in a way that I might, using books, films and Google to try to find a way to help Ben, even if she really wants him to stay. I liked Ben too. He’s conflicted, but the Duke part of him, the honourable and caring brother and newspaper owner, knows he can’t just abandon the life he had, and especially not Abigail (his sister) without trying everything to go back and set his affairs in order.
A sweet, funny, enjoyable rom com for adult readers as it gets a bit saucy when our time travelling lovers give into their attraction. Plus a cute canine called Duke!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
1990: In a hot, humid Hong Kong summer, three young singers are loving life, performing to packed crowds every night in a swanky hotel bar. Twenty-three-year-old Scottish songbird, Moira Chiles is living the dream alongside Carina Lloyd and Lisa Dixon. They work hard, play hard, and always stick together… until one day Moira has to make a choice that changes everything.
Fast forward to…
2025: In a wet, chilly, Glasgow summer, Moira has just retired after singing in Glasgow pubs and Caribbean cruise ships for three decades. Now she’s ready for a new adventure – one that takes her to Hong Kong to revisit a world she left behind. Moira hasn’t seen Carina or Lisa for over thirty years, but will an invitation to join her on a holiday of a lifetime rekindle the friendships that changed her life? Or will stepping back in time expose secrets that could break their hearts?
My thoughts: I love it when I get to read a new Shari Low book, set in her interconnected world, and this one was a delight. Moira is about to open the drama school her movie star son has named after her, but she’s just got time to squeeze in a trip down memory lane.
At 23 she was singing in a night club in Hong Kong, living the life of an ex-pat, which wasn’t as glamorous as she’d hoped, but she’d found love and more importantly, friendship. And now, years later, she’s hoping those friends will join her in one last hurrah before she takes up teaching.
However, things have gone very differently for the three women who once dressed up as Fleetwood Mac and Cher to entertain crowds, and their very separate paths might not lead back to Hong Kong in quite the way Moira hopes…
Moving between the past and present, we get to see the glory days of Moira, Carina and Lisa, as well as see the more mature, but none the less fun seeking trio as they hunt out their old haunts, and maybe an old flame or two.
Tremendous fun, with lots of heart and plenty of laughs along the way. Moira is very entertaining and the reunited pals get up to all sorts as they relive their youth. A delight.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
SKIN DEEP Star LAPD homicide detective Marcy Kendrick is infamous for killing three serial killers before they could be brought to trial. Marcy knows her actions were in self-defense, but her co-workers wonder if she has a vendetta because Marcy’s mother was brutally murdered by a serial killer. When a series of murders rocks the city, Marcy discovers the killer has the same MO as the man who murdered her mother. Marcy is assigned to the case and the killer immediately taunts Marcy, telling her that they are very much alike. They’re both murderers. Can Marcy catch the killer before another victim meets a grisly end?
BLOOD LINE Det. Marcy Kendrick is feeling the heat from her ex-husband, now her boss. He’s piling on the pressure and she needs a win. Then heiress Audrina Dixon is killed with only her twin sons as witnesses. But the traumatized boys seem to have developed a form of mutism. Or perhaps there’s another reason they won’t speak? Because there’s mounting evidence that the boys may be the killers. As Marcy investigates, she realizes the murder is just one part of a much bigger picture. Behind it, lies a horrifying web of depravity and revenge….
DARK DUTY
Panic grips LA as a cop killer stalks the streets. So far, three officers have been murdered and there are no clues. Det. Marcy Kendrick and her partner Angel are assigned the case but the dead cops’ partners insist they have no idea why the victims were targeted. But Marcy discovers they are lying, that the officers were connected to an unimaginable crime against an innocent girl. As public outrage grows, Marcy and Angel are caught in the middle. Can they find the killer before the city blows up?
KILL COUNT Det. Marcy Kendrick and her partner are called to investigate the murder of a young starlet. They soon discover this was the work of El Gato, an infamous drug lord who has evaded police for years. Marcy soon learns El Gato has secrets. But drug lords don’t want their secrets to become public. Especially not these secrets…
PAY BACK When an affluent woman is murdered, Marcy Kendrick and Angel Reyes are sent to investigate. They soon discover that the victim is no ordinary housewife. She’s connected to an organized shoplifting ring. Now, someone is killing off these women in a series of home invasions. It’s a race against time. Can they stop the killer before it’s too late?
LOST SOULS When Det. Marcy Kendrick and her partner investigate the death of a drug dealer, they discover he was waterboarded – with baptismal water. Then the killer strikes again. This time the victim is a young woman with baptismal water in her wounds. As the death toll rises, it becomes clear the killer is on a religious mission. Marcy has no idea where he’ll strike next. Can she stop him before he kills again?
END GAME Marcy Kendrick is struggling to get her life back to normal when a series of murders thrust her back into the limelight. A serial killer is on the prowl. He calls himself Killer Cache because he posts the geocaching coordinates of the site where he’s left the body of his latest female victim. Leaving no stone unturned in the search for the sadistic killer, Marcy must choose between her own safety and stopping a psychopath before he can kill again.
Theo Baxter loves writing psychological suspense thrillers. It’s all about that last reveal that he loves shocking readers with. He grew up in New York, where there was crime all around. He decided to turn that into something positive with his fiction. His stories will have you reading through the night—they are very addictive!
My thoughts: This boxset was so, so good, gripping, intelligent and shocking. Marcy and Angel (her best friend and partner) track down serial killers in LA. Each case is fiendish and horrifying, but Marcy keeps her cool and the duo dive into the cases, digging into the victim’s lives to find the killer.
They also juggle their personal lives and relationships, which suffer from their all-consuming jobs, the strange hours they work and the danger they put themselves in during the course of their jobs. Unfortunately some of the criminals they come up against take it personally and target Marcy and Angel, making it harder to do their jobs.
They also go after bad cops, the kind that take advantage of the vulnerable and exploit their positions. It might not make them popular in or out of the precinct, but they stand for justice and the victims.
Marcy’s brother Stephen is the most important person in her life, and he has his own demons, but she sticks by him through thick and thin, and he uses his computer skills to help her out from time to time. She also has an ex-husband, who is now her lieutenant and can’t stop losing his temper, he becomes a huge problem that Captain Robinson (their supportive boss) has to deal with.
The crimes are shocking, the interpersonal relationships fascinating, the characters realistic and empathetic, the writing gripping.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Seattle defense attorney Daniel Raine is relentless in his pursuit of justice. And he’s in the right place – the city’s streets provide an endless supply of cunning criminals and high-stakes cases. With his career on the line and justice hanging in the balance, Raine will have to stay one step ahead of ruthless prosecutors and dangerous adversaries – or his next case may be his last.
BURDEN OF PROOF Some people would kill for a fresh start. Attorney Daniel Raine’s law partner is leaving their firm. If Raine can’t find a way to stay afloat, he’ll be practicing law out of his car. Then, rich socialite Abigail Willoughby arrives at his door, wanting to divorce her even richer husband. Raine takes the case but gets forced into an alliance with realtor Rebecca Sommers, who has her own motives for wanting to get close to his client.What seems like a straightforward case turns to chaos when Abigail threatens her husband Jeremy in front of dozens of witnesses. That same night, Jeremy is murdered. Abigail swears she’s innocent and Raine believes her. Together with Sommers, he races to find out who really killed Jeremy and to save his client from serving a lifetime behind bars.
TRIAL BY JURY Murder is an art form. And this one is a masterpiece. When attorney Daniel Raine is invited to a gala at an art gallery, he sees it as a chance to find some new clients. And it works in the most unexpected way when an artist is found dead in the restroom. The police declare it a suicide and the young woman’s parents promptly sue the gallery owner for driving their daughter to take her own life. Raine is hired to defend the lawsuit and embarks on a mission to exonerate his client. He soon becomes convinced that the young artist was murdered. But why? And by whom?
THE SURVIVAL RULE A family on top of the world. With a long, long way to fall. Daniel Raine is hired by Adam Harper, the son of Seattle’s biggest developer. Adam wants to seize control of the family company by declaring his father mentally unfit. There’s only one problem – the old man is very much in possession of his mental faculties and Raine is going to lose the case. Ever the pragmatist, Raine decides to stick with it and rack up some billable hours. But he finds himself in the middle of a deadly dispute as various members of this powerful family fight to gain control. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. Including murder. As Raine closes in on the final truth, he himself becomes a target in this twisted game.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY Murder. Lies. Corruption. Just another day at the office. A young man, Michael, dies while in custody at the county jail. The authorities claim it was a heart attack. His mom thinks it was murder. Daniel Raine agrees to take the case, suing the jail for wrongful death. But no one will talk about what happened in Michael’s cell on that fateful night. Now Raine must unravel the mystery. Did someone order Michael’s murder?
Stephen Penner is an author, artist, and attorney from Seattle. He has written over 25 novels and specializes in courtroom thrillers known for their unexpected twists and candid portrayal of the justice system. Stephen began his legal career as a criminal defense attorney, appearing in federal, state, and municipal courts throughout the State of Washington. After several years, Stephen ‘switched sides’ and became a prosecutor. He has been practicing criminal law for nearly 30 years, working his way up from misdemeanor offenses, to felonies, and finally to homicides. He has conducted over 100 trials and draws on his extensive experience to infuse his writing with realism and insight. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys painting, drawing, and spending time with his family.
My thoughts: I really enjoyed this series, I was only going to talk about the first two books but I read all 4, they were so compelling and well written.
Daniel Raine is down on his luck, his legal partner has recently become a judge, and if he doesn’t get some clients who can pay him soon, he’s going to lose his office space too.
Then the very wealthy Abigail shows up asking if he’ll represent her in a divorce from her controlling husband. At the same time he also meets the fabulous Rebecca Sommers, estate agent par excellence, who agrees to help him out as his investigator. She has incredible connections throughout the city and a nose for finding things out.
Throughout the four stories in this collection, Daniel and Rebecca investigate the cases their clients bring them, even when the clients aren’t the nicest people. He’s a good lawyer, smart and insightful. Rebecca is my favourite character, she’s so well connected and people just seem to want to tell her things.
Daniel is also juggling co-parenting his sons with his ex-wife, who he’s still in love with, and puts himself in danger hunting for the truth for his clients, and himself. The author uses his legal knowledge and expertise to craft clever and intricate cases that keep you gripped and wanting to know what happens next and how Daniel will win in court.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Two souls bound together but lost in time. Until now.
AD 80 Duro of the Iceni tribe escaped life as an enslaved gladiator and is now finally home in Britannia with one thing on his mind: vengeance. For 20 years he has sought the Roman legionary who destroyed his family. What he didn’t expect was Gisel: a fierce Germanic woman with long white-blonde hair, forced into slavery by the Romans. Hypnotised by her spirit and her beauty, Duro frees Gisel and slowly tries to win her trust as they work together to complete his quest.
Present Day Mackenna Jackson returns to Bath with a broken heart, thanks to rockstar Blue Daniels. Luckily she can still count on Blue’s former bandmate Jonah Miller as a listening ear. But Jonah has secretly been fighting stronger feelings, drawn to Mac’s quiet confidence and gorgeous white-blonde hair. As they explore the area, memories they can’t quite explain flood them both. Is the spark between Mac and Jonah in fact a sign of something much deeper – a love enduring through millennia – or can it all be an illusion?
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings.
Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes.
SHADOWS IN THE SPRING (dual time historical romance published by Headline Review 24th April 2025) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
My thoughts: By now, you should know that I’m a fan of Christina Courtenay and her time travelling romances, a history loving nerd and as someone who grew up visiting the Roman ruins of Veralanium (St Albans) this is right up my street. The Iceni are probably the most famous tribe of ancient Britons (Boudicca was their queen at one point and her statue stands on Westminster Bridge) in Roman occupied Britain.
Duro has escaped a life as a slave and gladiator in the Roman Empire, thanks to a handy volcanic eruption (Pompeii) and returned to his home in search of his family. When he was taken his mother was brutally murdered and his sister also taken as a slave by a particularly unpleasant Roman soldier. He has long vowed revenge. And after reconnecting with his brother, he sets out to find his mother’s killer.
Along the way he saves a young Germanic woman from a life of slavery and rape, offering her the opportunity to join him in his journey and be free. Gisel is hesitant at first, but as they travel she sees he is genuinely a good man and they begin to fall for one another.
In the present McKenna too is finding a genuine person in her spoilt ex’s former bandmate Jonah. The two become friends after she moves into her aunt’s former home in Bath, while he lives not far away. They’re both interested in the Roman history in the area and after Jonah’s dog digs up a dead Roman in the garden, start looking into area’s past more closely. They too start to bond and fall for one another. But strange echoes from the past suggest this isn’t the first time they’ve known one another….
Both stories are really enjoyable to follow, although I did enjoy Duro’s travels more than anything else as I recognised a lot of the Roman place names from other things I’ve learnt and being from London, itself a Roman settlement.
Although no one actually time travelled in this book, it was still really enjoyable and I loved all the little things that happened in one storyline and then popped up in the other (like the dead man in Jonah’s garden, and the ring Mac wears).
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
She’s the most scapegoated heroine in Greek mythology, but there’s never just one side to any story. This new framing uncovers the complexities of Helen of Troy–a woman tormented by the blame placed on her by others, and tortured by her own guilt.
“We all blamed Helen”
Haunted by her decision to leave her child behind in fleeing her unhappy marriage, Helen seeks to build a new life in Troy with her lover, Paris. She yearns to recreate the childhood family she lost when she married Menelaus, but her outraged husband vows to regain her by force, at the head of a vast army.
Facing hostility from all sides, Helen must decide where her loyalty–and her safety–lies.
Perfect for fans of Greek mythology retellings, and Madeline Miller’s Circe, Jennifer Saint’s Elektra, and Pat Barker’s The Women of Troy.
My thoughts: Helen of Troy might be one of the most hated women in literature, the face that launched a thousand ships, the woman who cuckolded her husband, ran away with a prince and brought about the destruction of the legendary (and real) city of Troy.
Narrated by the ghost of Achilles, this is Helen’s story.
When Agamemnon and Menelaus arrive at her childhood home, Agamemnon has already murdered her brother-in-law and nephew and forced her sister Clytemnestra to marry him, so she isn’t too favourable. His brother doesn’t appeal, he’s not the handsome prince of her imagination, but her father has little choice, Agamemnon threatens to seize their kingdom too.
Not the most auspicious start to a marriage, but not an entirely unexpected one considering the time. When Helen runs off with Paris to Troy, abandoning her daughter, and leaving her homeland behind, she hardly expects what happens next. King Priam refuses to send her back and the Greeks famously come together to lay siege to Troy for ten long years.
Achilles also tells us about the goings on inside the Greek encampment. Agamemnon rarely leaves his tent, preferring to let the others fight, like generals ever since, which annoys Achilles. Then comes the infamous falling out that results in the death of Achilles’ cousin and closest friend Patroclus, Achilles’ revenge killing of Hector and finally Paris’ cowardly killing of Achilles. Finally the horse makes an appearance.
Some of the most famous events of the Trojan war. I always wondered why Shakespeare never staged this – it feels very in keeping with some of his tragedies.
Obviously Homer (whoever he or they were) got there first, but Susan C. Wilson retells this most famous of stories from new perspectives – Achilles and Helen. Had Helen’s father held out and she married Achilles, none of this would ever have happened, nor any of the resulting events.
Helen’s account of the destruction of Troy is shocking, graphic and you can imagine people’s genuine horror as the Greek soldiers lay waste, killing the men and taking the women to be slaves. King Priam’s death is awful, the proud man reduced to blood and bones in moments.
But Helen’s end is equally gruesome, she won’t be returning with Menelaus, she will never see her daughter again. The Greeks have spent ten long years waiting for this moment. The judgement of Helen.
The title can be seen in different ways – Helen’s own poor judgement in running off with the vapid but pretty Paris, the judgement of the Trojans on her, and that final judgement after the long years of fighting. A fight that doesn’t really have much to do with her, one that feels like an excuse as the Greeks also want access to the Hellespont, and to establish themselves in Asia, beyond the walls of Troy and its allies.
This was a really interesting retelling of this most famous story, one I’ve studied in depth before and often enjoyed, but that gives agency back to Helen, and furthers the story of the House of Atreus from Clytemnestra’s Bind, the first book in this series.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Issey considers himself a masterful and elegant thief. He’s just as meticulous with his lockpicking tools as he is with his ankle boots and slimming turtlenecks. He’s also easily confused, stupid, and maybe not so good at being a thief. Unforeseen circumstances bring him back to his childhood town, the wonderland that is Vermont’s Bell River Valley. With the holidays on the horizon, he sets his sights on the town’s open doors. But just as his thieving begins, with accompanying shapewear and accessories, something unexpected happens—he falls backwards into becoming the town hero. The sudden hero role ushers in wealth, adoration, and a love interest so mysterious he hardly knows her name. However, before he can get too cozy, an uninvited associate from his past reappears—as does every last item Issey has ever stolen. Second Pocket First shoehorns comedy, crime, and small-town charm into this delightful romp as Issey must decide between old habits and a sudden devotion to the town’s goodwill.
Gregory Grosvenor grew up in Ansbach, Germany. He moved to the US, earning an MFA from Old Dominion University. For two decades, he has taught writing and the art of the short story at various colleges in Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Grosvenor currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his three cats, Dinah, Theo, and Bramlet Abercrombie
My thoughts: Required to go home and sort out his mother’s house after she remarries and leaves town, useless thief Issey is stuck in Vermont, where his brother and sister-in-law still live, no car unless he steals one, one old friend he’s not actually that keen on, not much to do. So he starts taking things, stupid, little things, like a lighter, a bracelet, a diary.
Then he’s accused of taking three horses from the local riding school. Except he knows he didn’t do that particular job. After a very confusing night in the snow, he somehow finds the horses and is suddenly the town hero. Except he has no idea how he did that.
The local sheriff is still suspicious of him, especially after he starts “finding” things people have lost, like it’s a magical power. Then his old boss shows up and things just keep getting stranger. Poor Issey has no idea why things keep happening to him, or what his sister-in-law keeps doing showing up at the house. He’s confused, not very bright and everything he returns to its owner, has started reappearing too. What is he going to do?
Quirky, funny and a bit confusing, so you feel like Issey, this was an interesting read about a man who really should find something he’s actually good at.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Step into the sandals of Neferet and Bener-ib — two women doctors in ancient Egypt who never expected murder to become part of their medical routine. With the help of their perceptive teenage apprentice and Neferet’s steadfast father, this unlikely investigative team takes on crimes that shake their community to the core.
Across four rich, standalone books — Flowers of Evil, Web of Evil, Wheel of Evil, and The Melody of Evil — N.L. Holmes brings ancient Thebes to life through everyday lives touched by extraordinary events. There are no pyramids here — just humanity, heart, and a whole lot of suspense.
One of the things about ancient Egyptian society that inspired the character of Neferet is the status of their women. They were freer and more respected than in almost any other contemporary society, even though we’d have to admit that that society, like our own, was basically patriarchal. Apart from being honored as mothers, lovers, and helpmeets, women were legal majors, able to own property, testify in court, bring lawsuits, and conduct business under the same legal protections as men. They could sit on village councils, and we even have records of women who served as the mayor of their village. Although it was definitely the exception, they could rule the entire country in the person of a queen,.and these were very hands-on monarchs with few limits to their authority. In the Old Kingdom, Egypt’s formative period, at least one woman served as vizier or prime minister, and there were classes of priestesses that corresponded to almost every class of priest. Unfortunately, these opportunities for religious authority were restricted in later periods to women of the royal family.
The idea of a female vizier or priest raises the issue of whether women were literate. Only 1% of the population could read and write, and literacy was the key to social status. We have no positive testimony that this golden skill was confided to any but males. However… it’s hard to imagine a vizier who couldn’t read the reports that were brought to her. It’s difficult to conceive how the female stewards of large royal or private estates could supervise the running of palaces without being at least basically lettered. The same is true of female physicians—who did exist— since Egyptian medicine rested upon casebooks based on generations of trial and error. Thus, I think the case of our Neferet, whose menfolk are all literate scribes, isn’t improbable. There must have been women now and again who were trained by their fathers or brothers, even if they didn’t formally attend the scribal school conducted at the temple of Amen-Ra, the House of Life.
That’s why Neferet became the character she is: headstrong, pushy, and unconventional. She does a lot of things that wouldn’t have been common in her day but wouldn’t have been forbidden either. She was lucky enough to live in an age when women were strong and sometimes independent, visible, and fully able to contribute to their society in a variety of ways. She would have had those all-important role models. Some men might have disapproved of her, but others would have accepted her forwardness. And I think the great and proactive goddesses of Egypt’s pantheon would have looked on with affection.
Excerpt
“Can you do anything?” the woman cried tremulously, clutching at Neferet’s arm.
But Neferet could think of nothing encouraging to say. Her insides had that hollow, leaden feeling that meant the worst was about to happen.
“There’s no point in stitching up the outside,” she said gently. “He’s lost a lot of blood, and they’ve chopped him up pretty seriously inside. As the medical books say, ‘This is not a case I will treat.’”
The woman understood and began to whimper. She reached out a hand to touch her husband’s shoulder but then drew back as if she’d just discovered it was someone else. A gloomy silence fell over the group, broken only by the increasingly weak huff of the patient’s breath. His lips moved feebly, and Bener-ib leaned over his face.
“I think you’d better stand with him, mistress,” Neferet said. “His soul is ready to fly. He might have something to say to you.”
The woman drew closer fearfully. “Sen-em-iah, my brother, I’m here.”
At first, Neferet wondered if she’d misunderstood and the woman was really his sister—although from her age she might have been his daughter—but brother and sister were terms of endearment often used by married people. Everyone stood, hushed, waiting for a final word from the threshold of the other world. Sen-em-iah said nothing. His head lolled finally, and a tiny sibilance of breath escaped him.
They all stared at him expectantly until Neferet said in a quiet tone, “I think he’s passed to the West, mistress.”
She took the patient’s hand and pressed her fingers against the inside of the wrist. No pulse.
The woman stared at Neferet as if she couldn’t believe her. She made no move to wail or tear her hair.
“Who is he? Why might someone have done this?”
Since the wife was frozen, one of the servants answered. “Sen-em-iah son of Nakht is—was—Bearer of Divine Offerings of Amen, mistress. Chief florist of the Hidden One’s temple, like his father before him.”
Yahyah. That explains why he was just coming home at this hour of the morning. Florists work all night, while it’s cooler.
“Who would want to kill a florist?” she asked. “They don’t hurt anybody.”
“Maybe it was just a random attack,” suggested another of the servants. “Maybe they were going to rob the master.”
“Were you all with him when he was attacked?”
“Not me,” said an older man. “I’m the steward. I came out with the mistress of the house when the others yelled. These young fellows are the litter bearers and bodyguards. Yes, they were with him.”
No casual robber would have attacked anybody protected by eight stalwart young men. And Neferet knew what the servants didn’t—the attacker had not just stabbed Sen-em-iah but had ripped viciously. He had aimed to kill.
The steward said, “We brought him all the way here because we didn’t know where else a sunu could be found at this hour of the morning. One of these fellows lives in this neighborhood.”
Bener-ib, who had been listening intently, leaned over Sen-em-iah and drew down his eyelids.
That gesture brought his wife out of her shock, and she began to cry, quietly at first, but soon she was howling, keening, raking at her face with her nails.
“Perhaps mistress would like to go home, notify the children?” suggested the steward, taking her by the elbow. “If we could leave the master here briefly until we can call the servants of Inpu…?” He raised inquiring eyes to the two sunets, one after the other. Already, he was edging the distraught widow toward the door. The block of servants crowded after them.
“Of course,” said Neferet. “Is it all right if we come by later to ask a few questions? We’ll have to report this murder, now that we’re involved, and we’ll need to explain what we see’s been done to the body.”
The steward nodded distractedly over his shoulder, and the entire crowd disappeared through the door. The woman’s wails trailed off as they exited the gate, and soon Neferet, Bener-ib, and Mut-tuy were left staring at one another in silence. The young girl’s eyes were round as plates and scalpel sharp.
Mangler had entered and was lapping blood from the smooth plaster floor, his tail wagging in pleasure at the windfall.
Neferet gave her partner a long significant stare. “Do you realize what this is? Our first murder case.”
“Our first? Will there be more?” Bener-ib said faintly.
“Look at that wound. Somebody wanted to be sure this florist died. Somebody who knew what they were doing. A soldier, maybe. A professional assassin.” Neferet turned to the body of Sen-em-iah, whose eyes had popped open a slit. He seemed to be watching them. “If only he could tell us who did this. I feel sure he knew. But he didn’t have any final words.”
“Oh yes, he did,” said Bener-ib, brightening. “I distinctly heard him say something just before you called his wife over.”
Neferet’s heart stepped up its pace. She seized Bener-ib’s hand. “He did? Quick, Ibet! What did he say? This could be the clue to his murder!”
Bener-ib looked around as if searching for witnesses to support her, then she pronounced firmly in her girlish voice, “He said… he said, ‘Sekhat. Rabbit.’”
My thoughts: This series is so good, if you love crime fiction, historical fiction, strong female protagonists, loving families, adventure, cute animal sidekicks, it’s all here.
Hani is an important scribe working in the Egyptian empire for the boy king we know as Tutankhamen. His daughter, Neferet is a sunet or doctor, who along with her partner Bener-if (in life and medicine) provides medical treatment to the people and occasionally animals in their community. She has adopted a family of orphans, and is meant to be training one as her apprentice, only Mut-tay would rather be a detective.
When a man dies in their dispensary, Neferet takes it upon herself to investigate his murder and the series has her and her friends, as well as members of her family, look into suspicious deaths of various people from the community. Mostly people who would be overlooked as not important, like a florist, a musician, a scribe. The medjay (the police) are lazy and corrupt so if Neferet and Hani don’t look into things, no one else will and the dead will never get justice.
The books are really enjoyable and relatable, despite being set thousands of years in the past. The characters and their relationships are fully realised and I really rooted for them, to get justice and to be safe as they often come up against really nasty people. Luckily their canine bodyguard, Brute, is there to save them. There is a fifth book due later this year and I can’t wait!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock are back in a cutting-edge new thriller.
The truth will always come out, but at what cost?
Fresh from successfully closing their first live case, the Future Policing Unit are called in to investigate when a headless, handless body is found on a Warwickshire farm. But as they work to identify the victim and their killer, the discovery of a second body begins to spark fears that The Aston Strangler is back. And as the stakes rise for the team, so do the tensions brewing within it.
When DCS Kat Frank is accused of putting the wrong man behind bars all those years ago, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – pursues the truth about what happened with relentless logic. But Kat is determined to keep the past buried, and when she becomes the target of a shadowy figure looking for revenge, Lock is torn between his evidence-based algorithms and the judgement of his partner, with explosive results.
When everything hangs in the balance, it will all come down to just how much an AI machine can learn, and what happens when they do . . .
Jo Callaghan works full time as a senior strategist, carrying out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce. She was a student of the Writers’ Academy Course (Penguin Random House) and was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Writing Competition and Bath Novel Competition. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019 when she was just forty-nine, she started writing In the Blink of an Eye, her debut crime novel, which explores learning to live with loss and what it means to be human. She lives with her two children in the Midlands, where she spends far too much time tweeting as @JoCallaghanKat and is currently working on further novels in the series.
My thoughts: This series just gets better and better with each book, giving both a cracking read and plenty to think about.
Kat’s in the spotlight as an anonymous podcaster is determined to prove the conviction of The Aston Strangler, a man Kat arrested, was wrong and that Kat make mistakes and manipulated evidence.
With the remains of a young woman found on a local farm, and Lock’s involvement in the autopsy being questioned, could Kat lose her job or will her accuser go too far in their desire for the truth?
The title and the plot ask timely questions about the role of AI, Lock cannot understand why humans behave the way they do, there’s often little or no logic to their actions, he doesn’t understand human emotions.
His actions are also being called into question, the fact he can only really follow instructions to their logical conclusion and can’t deviate or use his own intuition leads to devastating consequences for the team, but is it his fault?
Their victim only came to be on the farm in the first place, following clues to try to find out what happened to her grandfather, who was a POW there but never returned home. Actions have consequences, even decades later, which will destroy two families. Lock can’t really understand the whys of this either, he’s a bit like Spock from Star Trek in that sense, none of the things anyone in this does seem logical, because humans aren’t logical. We act on instinct, emotions, our gut, all sorts of things you can’t define to AI. Even the doctor who designed him is starting to question whether she’s right, and she used to be sure she was.
A truly thought provoking, intelligent read that throws up plenty to chew over once it’s finished.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 