Category: reviews

Inspector Henry Tibbett is taking a much-needed holiday from his job at Scotland Yard with his wife Emmy. Headed for a spot of skiing in the Italian Dolomites and some first-class people-watching, Tibbett’s worries blissfully melt away. That is, until a fellow guest who boards the ski lift alive at the top of the mountain is found dead when the lift touches bottom. Another dead body turns up, and then another, and it becomes clear that Murder has come to the mountain.

Patricia Moyes (1923-2000) was an acclaimed British mystery novelist, best known for her long running series featuring Inspector Henry Tibbett. The tenth book in the series, Who Saw Her Die?, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe award, and Moyes was inducted into The Detection Club, presided over by Agatha Christie, in the same year. Her early career also included work as a radar operator in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force; as a screenwriter – with credits including the Robert Hamer film School for Scoundrels and Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected –; as an assistant editor for Vogue magazine; and as a translator.

My thoughts: This was a lovely classic crime story, set on a mountain in Italy. Asked to assist when one of his fellow travellers is murdered, DI Tibbett and his wife Emmy start investigating the other hotel guests. Among the people on the mountain is a murderer.

Uncovering all sorts of other dodgy goings on in this supposedly quiet and peaceful place, Tibbett sets a trap for the killer, he’s pretty sure he’s worked it all out.

Highly enjoyable and at times quite funny, I particularly liked Emmy, I can’t wait to see how crime ruins the Tibbetts next holiday.

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

 Atlantic City’s shady history comes to life when a magician with a mysterious past races to discover her friend’s killer before he strikes again, but finds herself falling for the prime suspect, who holds the secret to her true identity. 

ZIGZAG GIRL by Ruth Knafo Setton is a noir-tinged feminist thriller where The Prestige meets Knives Out in Atlantic City’s haunted magic underworld. When brilliant young magician Lucy Moon discovers her best friend murdered inside the infamous sawing box that killed a performer decades ago—a black rose stuffed in her mouth, the same signature from Lucy’s own buried past—she’s thrust into a deadly game where every suspect is a master of deception and the killer seems to know secrets about her she’s spent a lifetime hiding. Racing to unmask a murderer before they strike again, Lucy must navigate Atlantic City’s shadowy criminal networks, resist falling for a charismatic magician who might be the killer, and confront the ghost of a glamorous 1940s assistant whose unsolved murder in that same box echoes through time—all while performing the most dangerous trick of her life: discovering who she really is before her past catches up with her. With its intoxicating blend of illusion, murder mystery, and gothic atmosphere, this cinematic thriller delivers a visually stunning world of stage magic, a complex heroine forced to unmask herself to catch a killer, and a powerful exploration of women who create their own magic to survive in a world designed to make them disappear.

Amazon UK

Born in Morocco and raised on tales of djnoun and desert wonder, I’ve sailed around the world three times teaching university students aboard ships, studying magic and collecting stories of the impossible. I’ve been sawed in half and in thirds, broken free from straitjackets, and learned the art of illusion from masters across the globe. I transformed these adventures into Zigzag Girl, a thriller set in Atlantic City’s glittering casinos and the haunted Pine Barrens of New Jersey—where I stood at the grave of the Jersey Devil and felt the dark heart of my killer. In this shadowy landscape where magic meets menace, my protagonist must use every trick she knows to survive.

Blog

My thoughts: This was a clever and at times chilling murder mystery set amongst the late night magic crowd in Atlantic City. Lucy is the daughter of a famous magician and set to introduce her new act with two of her best friends when one of them is brutally murdered.

Despite being warned off by the cops, Lucy investigates, and as she does, she learns the truth about her own origins and the ghost of a murdered magician’s assistant from the 1940s that haunts her.

Full of twists and turns, untrustworthy people and masks, Lucy must navigate her way between truth and fiction to draw it the killer without falling victim herself.

*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 man’s body is found in a Kentish hop field, his brutal death marked by horrific
injuries.

As Detective Kay Hunter begins to investigate, the case quickly reveals itself to be anything but routine. The local farming community is tight-lipped, the victim’s background is unclear, and the evidence uncovers a trail of conflicting stories and long-held secrets.

With the media and her superior officers demanding answers, Kay must navigate the lies and unravel the truth to solve one of the most complex murder investigations of her career.

In a landscape shaped by tradition and silence, some secrets are buried for a
reason.

What Evil Hides is the fifteenth book in the bestselling Detective Kay Hunter series,
and perfect for readers who love twisty murder mysteries.

Goodreads
Purchase

Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction with over 30 crime novels and short stories featuring spies, detectives, vigilantes, and assassins.
A keen traveller and accidental private investigator, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.
You can find out more about Rachel and her books at http://www.rachelamphlett.com.

BlueSky Facebook Instagram Website

My thoughts: Some farm workers harvesting hops discover a murdered man, his body cruelly disfigured amongst the bines. The police can’t work it out, it looks like it might be ritualistic, but there hasn’t been anything else locally.

As they investigate both the farm where the body was found and the deceased’s life, they’re left with more questions than answers. There are traces of three suspects, and the farm has a few disgruntled former employees. Was the victim chosen intentionally or at random? Is the farm being attacked or something else? An area of poisoned crops raises more questions.

Can the team solve it before headquarters passes it over to another DI to try to unravel the answers?

Another clever and interesting case from Rachel Amphlett, one of the best crime writers around.

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

Someone pushed my boyfriend under a train. Everyone thinks it was me.

The police say he took his own life. But there were four other people at the tube station that day – and I know one of them killed him.

So I flee to Tidesong, my family’s crumbling clifftop house in Cornwall. Here I can grieve Marcus. Come to terms with his betrayal. And work out what really happened.
I think I’m safe here. Then the message flashes onto my laptop: Marcus didn’t jump. He was pushed. I know it was you.
Someone’s watching me. Someone has followed me here. Someone knows my secrets – or thinks they do.
And they won’t stop until I pay for what they think I’ve done.

Goodreads
Purchase

Sadie Ryan is the bestselling psychological author of three novels. Alongside her
writing she works fulltime, and loves to take walks in the Cheshire countryside where  she lives with her rescue dog. In her past re-incarnations she was a model, worked in  advertising and ran a coffee shop. She speaks fluent Spanish a little French and adores  Italy and Italian food—lots of Italian food, and is partial to a an odd glass of wine or two!

Facebook Instagram Twitter Website

My thoughts: This was really good, tense and compelling. Told from multiple perspectives, the narrative builds up to a dramatic confrontation between all our different narrators, bringing their versions of events together, hoping to get at the truth of not just what happened to Marcus on that Tube station platform, but also Sophie, who died in Bibby’s arms some years before and whose death has haunted several people all this time.

Bibby has retreated to her family’s house in Cornwall to mourn but the events of Marcus’ death have followed her and so have the other people who were on the platform the day he died, and they want answers. Can Bibby satisfy their demands or will this sad story claim another victim?

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

Even angels can have a dark side…

As the sticky heat of August settles over Florence, Dan Armstrong is ready for a well-earned break— sightseeing with fiancée Anna, daughter Tricia and her fiancé Shaun. But when a British man is found dead inside the city’s magnificent Duomo, Dan’s plans quickly change.

The victim, Tristan Angel, is a super-wealthy arms dealer with a saintly name and a devilish reputation. But what was he doing in the cathedral, and who decided to make it his final confession?

At Angel’s opulent villa in the hills of Fiesole, Dan and Commissario Virgilio encounter a colourful cast of suspects—each one hiding secrets and none too eager to talk. As tempers rise and the heat
outside grows ever more intense, Dan and his four-legged sidekick, Oscar, must sniff out the truth before the killer strikes again.

Purchase

T. A. Williams is the bestselling author of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mystery series. Trevor studied languages at University and lived and worked in Italy for eight years, returning to England
with his wife in 1972. Trevor and his wife now live in Devon.

Facebook: @TrevorWilliamsBooks
Twitter: @TAWilliamsBooks
Instagram
Newsletter
Bookbub profile: @trevorwilliams3

My thoughts: Yay! Another case for Dan Armstrong and the true hero, canine Officer Oscar (it’s official, Virgilio says he’s a vital part of the police) and he does of course find an important piece of evidence, and is rewarded with steak.

When the owner of an arms company is shot in the confessional of the Florence Duomo, the stunning cathedral, the Santa Maria del Fiore, there are almost too many suspects, and the international spy agencies (the ones with names like MI6 and CIA) are very interested. Angel’s company had some, interesting, clients.

But the main suspects are the group of people he brought with him. Almost all of them are employees of the company in one way or another, and some of their relationships go a long way back. Oh, and his not very happy ex-wife just happens to be in Florence too.

Dan can’t help but get involved, even though his daughter and her fiancé are visiting, as well as Anna and her daughter too. He’s supposed to be looking at wedding venues, not catching criminals. I always feel a bit sorry for Anna, Dan’s priorities go; Oscar, crime, Anna.

Obviously I really enjoyed this – I love this series, and this one reminded me I really must go back to Florence and have a proper look around – I was 14 last time and don’t remember much of our day trip to the city other than how hot and crowded it was! 

So join Dan and Oscar on another fiendish and clever case, filled with some larger than life characters (Eddie), spies, weapons dealers and a very patient fiancée in Anna.  

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