Category: reviews

Sunday lunch goes cold when a body is discovered in a charming Somerset mill…
Julia Ford — part-time PI, full-time chaos magnet — and her terrier, Rumpkin, are in
the picturesque village of Ablebridge for a family meal. But instead of enjoying roast
pork, they find themselves staring down at a body, wedged awkwardly in the local
heritage water mill.

The police soon write it off as an accident, leaving the mill at risk of closure. But
Hannah, a local volunteer at the mill, is not convinced. With no faith in the local law
enforcement, she and the mill trust committee hire Julia to uncover the truth.
Soon, Julia and Hannah are knee-deep in village politics, cider scandals and bickering committee members. But with threats of more ‘accidents’ on the horizon, they must solve the mystery before another body turns up.

A charming, witty cozy mystery full of eccentric villagers, rural mischief and a dog with no boundaries.

Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Jeanne M. Dams and Faith Martin.

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Jon Harris grew up in the West Country just outside Bristol before moving to Cardiff to study physics and then Durham where he studied for a PhD in astronomy. After spending a few years staring into space he returned to the West Country for work and took up writing. His first novel, Murder on a Country Lane, was published in 2023.
He now lives in a village in North Somerset with his wife, son and pet tortoise. He’s happy to report that the village is far less murderous than its fictional counterpart.

My thoughts: The Water Mill of the title is used by a small collective of community businesses to sell their produce and by one to actually mill flour, unfortunately their handy man is found dead in the mill pond, meaning the police shut everything down. 

So now, the sellers must find a new market, and the police, who don’t seem that interested in the case, are in control. Hiring a PI seems like a good idea, maybe Julia and her very nosy dog might get answers faster than the distracted detective supposedly on the case.

I enjoyed this crime caper, I liked Julia and Hannah very much, as they attempt to get to the bottom of who on earth might want to kill a genial carpenter and Hannah tries to decide whether she’s actually attracted to a rich celebrity farmer (read less annoying Clarkson) or just overwhelmed.

*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 deadly pattern: Jenny Flynn, Chelsea Hobbs, Sophie Miller. All three children were snatched from the streets of Lincoln, England years apart. All stolen in the bitter chill of winter. All on their way home from school. Then Sophie Miller is found. She’s not speaking, but she may hold a clue to the whereabouts of the missing girls, if someone can get her to open up.

Somewhat reluctantly, Detective Swann calls in his not-quite ex-wife, the perfect woman for the job: Finnish Crime Inspector Elea Baker. No one knows the cases of the Ice Angels better than Elea, and no one is more invested in solving them. Ten years ago, Elea’s daughter Liisa was taken under similar circumstances, from Helsinki, and Elea has never believed her daughter is dead.

Alternating between Elea and Liisa’s perspectives, The Ice Angels is a propulsive and twisty crime novel of spine-chilling quality, exploring the darkest and most twisted of minds. The isolation and cold of the English and Finnish landscapes permeate the book, immersing the reader in Elea’s world as she desperately searches for the connection between the missing girls, clinging to the hope she can bring her own home.

Caroline Mitchell is a New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and international #1ebookbestselling author. A former police detective, she originates from Ireland and now lives in a woodland village outside the city of Lincoln, England. Her backlist has been translated into fourteen languages.

My thoughts: I really liked this, it was intelligent and gripping. Moving between the two cases, the first in Finland, then the current English one. We also see it through the perspective of one of the missing girls in Finland, which was horrifying, so creepy.

As the detectives in England search for Chelsea, with the limited help of Sophie – who is still traumatised and unable to tell them much, Elea is still determined that her daughter, Liisa, the last missing Finnish girl, is alive and out there somewhere. It affects her judgement and behaviour, putting her participation in the case at risk, and causes further issues in her relationship with Swann – in charge of the case, and her ex-husband.

The case is complex, not least because of its geographic shift, but also in the relationships between the detectives, and whether or not Elea is helping or hindering, she’s so close to it and possibly too much so. Victims’ parents aren’t usually allowed so much access. But her commitment might also help solve this case at last.

*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 gripping crime thriller in the popular Detectives Roy and Roscoe series.

A murdered beauty influencer. A buried secret waiting to surface. A killer who’s already one step ahead.

In the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge, a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room looking for peace from the chaos of her great-nephew’s rowdy thirtieth birthday party. But to her horror she witnesses a brutal crime from her balcony — a young woman strangled in the room opposite.

Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy — staying at the same hotel after attending a nearby wedding — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.

Roy’s boss, DCI Gavin Roscoe, takes charge of the investigation, and as the pair follow the trail, another brutal killing tears through the town. Roy is sure there’s a link between both murders, but Roscoe isn’t convinced.

But as Roy digs deeper, she closes in on a secret so dangerous someone will kill to protect it.

Because in this town, the past never stays buried — and even the dead still have a voice.

Amazon UK
Amazon US

Tony Bassett is a former journalist who worked on regional and national newspapers in Britain for more than 40 years. He mainly reported on crime, show business, human interest and consumer
topics. Now retired, he writes crime fiction.

Tony is best known for his series of novels set in the West Midlands featuring Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man, and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.

His latest novel, VOICES FROM THE DEAD (Book 8) begins in the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge where a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room from a rowdy birthday party, looking
for peace. But to her horror, through a window, she witnesses a brutal crime — a young woman being strangled in the new wing of the building.

Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy —attending a wedding in the same hotel — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.

The fifth book in the series, HEIR TO MURDER, was judged first in the Mystery and Suspense (Police Procedurals) category in the American Fiction Awards in June 2024.
Other books in the series (in order) are: MURDER ON OXFORD LANE; THE CROSSBOW STALKER; MURDER OF A DOCTOR; OUT FOR REVENGE; and IT NEVER RAINS.

A collection of the first three books was published in May 2024 under the title THE MIDLANDS  MURDERS: Detectives Roy & Roscoe box set (Books 1 – 3). The whole series has been released by  London publishers The Book Folks, part of Joffe Books.

Tony has also written a stand-alone thriller, SEAT 97, about a man shot dead at a London concert hall  (published by The Book Folks) while two further works (the crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway and
the spy novel The Lazarus Charter) were published by The Conrad Press.

Tony first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he produced a junior school magazine.
A few years later, his local vicar in Tunbridge Wells staged his play about Naboth’s Vineyard. At Hull  University, Tony was judged Time-Life Magazine student journalist of the year in 1971.

Tony, who has five grown-up children, is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists. He lives  in South-East London with his partner Lin.

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My thoughts: Witnessing a murder through her hotel window is a shock, but the witness, a retired nurse, has the presence of mind to call for help. Luckily DS Roy, Sunita, is at a wedding in the same hotel and is first on the scene. A young woman has been strangled.

She’s a local hairdresser and influencer, last seen very drunk in the hotel bar earlier that day. The police find DNA linked to a supposedly dead man at the scene, which sends them in the wrong direction, but they quickly get back on track.

Why would anyone want to kill Candy? She might not have appealed to everyone, but she wasn’t a terrible person. Her two friends/employees are at a loss. Her husband and her boyfriend have alibis, and her husband would more likely do away with his rival than his wife.

It must be someone in her circle. Could it date back all the way to her school days?

When a retired teacher from the same school is found murdered in her home with a nail gun, the police wonder if there is a link between the two killings. It seems slim, but as they dig into the past, certain things come to light that suggest someone with plenty to hide.

A satisfying ending, with twists and turns along the way for the team of detectives. The motives are dark and the means rather ad hoc but they get their man in the end. Very enjoyable.

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