Tag: crime fiction

DS Regan Carter never imagined she would end up in the Major Crime Unit, surrounded by the one thing she despises most: death. But when a young mother is brutally killed and her baby kidnapped, Regan is thrown into a terrifying battle with a local organized crime group. As she closes in on the gang-members, she must also face the horror of her own past. Regan struggles to keep her head above water.

But this is just the beginning. As the OCG begins to crumble and secrets are revealed, Regan finds herself facing a threat that hits dangerously close to home. With her job, her reputation, and her life on the line, she must use all her skills and ferocity to take down the criminals before they take her down first.

For fans of gripping police procedurals, and crime thrillers with strong female leads, A Random Kill is a must-read. Don’t miss out on this heart-pounding debut in the DS Regan Carter series.

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Andrew Barrett has been a CSI since 1996, and one way or another, his life has revolved around crime ever since.

In 1997 he finished his first crime thriller, A Long Time Dead, and it’s still a readers’ favourite today, some 150,000 copies later, topping the Amazon charts several times. Two more books featuring SOCO Roger Conniston completed the trilogy.

Today, Andrew still produces authentic crime thrillers with a forensic flavour that attract attention from readers worldwide. He’s also attracted attention from the Yorkshire media, having been featured in the Yorkshire Post and interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds a couple of times.

He’s best known for his lead character, CSI Eddie Collins, and the acerbic way in which he roots out criminals, and administers justice. Eddie’s series is seven books and five novellas in length, and there’s still more to come.

There’s a new trilogy featuring feisty DS Regan Carter due out soon.

He’s a proud Yorkshireman and sets his novels there, using his home city of Leeds as another major, and complementary, character in each of the stories.

You can find out more about him and his writing at http://www.andrewbarrett.co.uk

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My thoughts: Regan Carter has been reassigned following her divorce (from her senior officer  – oops) to the Major Crime Unit where she’ll have to deal with the one thing she hates – death and dead bodies.

Called out to the scene of a terrible incident – a murdered young woman and her baby missing, taken by the person who killed her, Regan has to prove herself to her new team and to her new bosses.

The case gets more and more complicated, as the detectives dig into it, nothing is as straightforward as it seems and there are more bodies to come, the gang at the centre of the case is unravelling, and someone in the police might be passing on info.

Smart and fast paced, this book cracks along, with twists and turns at every step.

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

In a charming seaside town, secrets don’t stay buried for long…

Body of Chef Found in Wall Three Years After He ‘Left to go to Australia’

Human remains found inside the wall of a disused building have now been identified as those of Victor Blackwell. He was the head chef at Windstanton’s The Seaside Lounge until just over three years ago, when, according his friends, he left for a job in Australia. Detective Inspector Albert Finch from Fenshire’s Cold Case Unit has asked for anyone who has information about the chef’s movements three years ago to come forward.

We have no choice! With only three weeks until the Grand Opening, the last thing Bea and Perry need is the grim discovery of a skeleton in the wall of Simon and Ryan’s soon-to-open restaurant, SaltAir. But when it’s designated a crime scene, and the policeman in charge of the investigation into Vic’s murder refuses to let them have access to continue the refurbishment, they have no other option than to investigate the murder themselves or risk letting Simon and Ryan down.

But in a town where everyone harbours secrets, can they uncover the truth in time or will SaltAir’s opening be a damp squib?

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Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two
dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.
I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.
It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a
lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.

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My thoughts: We’re back in Fenshire with Lady Beatrice and the gang getting ready for the opening of Simon and Ryan’s new restaurant. Bea and Perry are handling the makeover and as a false wall is knocked down to reveal the sea view – a grisly find is discovered. The remains of the former head chef, supposedly in Australia for the last three years. Grim. And totally against hygiene rules.

Time is short and the detective assigned the case, head of the cold case unit, Finch, doesn’t seem too inclined to investigate. So, despite promising to stay out of murders, Bea and Perry (along with Simon, Rich and Ryan, not to mention Daisy the dog) have no choice but to run their own investigation.

They uncover a rather different version of events to those that supposedly happened when the chef first went missing. There’s an ex-girlfriend, former colleagues and a rather panicked ex-boss, running for local MP, to interview. But something isn’t quite right. Luckily Bea’s brother Fred has a good eye for dodgy accounting.

Bea and Rich are also about to go public, Bea’s grandmother, aka the Dowager Queen, is keen to meet him and Bea’s son is home for the holidays, so it’s all happy families at the royal estate.

Daisy does her canine detective best and finds a vital clue – dogs (and cats) often make excellent crime busters. And there’s lots of very tasty sounding food being eaten. Fun as ever and highly entertaining.

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

When your boss is at a conference in a city where there’s a suspicious death, it’s unlucky.

If it happens twice, it’s odd.

But when she’s in the same city at the same time as a third unexplained death . . .

Could she be a stone-cold killer?

Millie’s always known her boss Freya is a psycho – the demanding and ever-changing coffee orders, the cryptic instructions, the apparently expected mind reading and don’t even start on the insistence that Millie wears heels . . . All. The. Time.

But it only extends as far as exacting office standards. Right?

As Freya’s assistant, Millie has privileged access to her diary and travel history and when a pattern emerges of men (who seem to have no connection to each other) dying in cities where Freya is travelling, Millie is determined to figure out what’s going on.

After all, a stone-cold killer could be exactly what Millie needs . . .

A sharp, funny and deliciously dark thriller that fans of Katy Brent, Bella Mackie or Killing Eve will love.

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Sarah Bonner is the author of several bestselling psychological thrillers.

Facebook: @sarah.bonner.35574
Twitter: @sarahbonner101
Instagram: @sarahbonner101

My thoughts: Millie’s boss is demanding, exacting and something of a nightmare. But is she also a serial killer?

Getting a promotion (with no pay rise, or new job title) means suddenly having to travel to Paris, where Millie sees something a bit odd, why is her boss scaling the hotel balconies?

Doing some digging into a series of deaths that match Freya’s travel plans and even the hotels she’s stayed in leave her with more questions than answers, so she starts snooping. 

Millie has her own secrets and plans, and this might actually work in her favour, if her boss doesn’t kill her first.

This is really funny, pitch black humour, which I love, it’s smart and a bit silly. I really enjoyed it. Millie’s not a great detective even though she does uncover some interesting things. But Freya is genuinely stone cold, terrifying psychopath material. There’s a lot of twists, especially towards the end, as things head to a point of no return. Great stuff.

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

Derbyshire, England 1977

Marie is a girl with strange obsessions and a free and often wayward spirit.

Anna is shy and bookish, kept on a short rein by her repressive parents.

An unlikely alliance. A friendship forged in blood. Families intertwined forever.

Autumn 2010

A brutal murder is just the case chain-smoking detective Kate Fox has been waiting for, except her nemesis has other ideas.

Newton is struggling to live up to his own high standards. As he grapples with chronic pain and a hidden phobia, his wife leaves him and things begin to unravel.

As Anna comes to terms with her father’s murder, Marie returns after more than 30 years, sending her well-established drink problem spiralling out of control.

Set in a fictional town in Derbyshire, England, this gripping saga takes you on an emotional journey, with an abundance of twists and turns…

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Rachael Holyhead was born in the industrial heart of Sheffield. She grew up in South Yorkshire, at the edge of the Peak District.

She attended Carter Lodge Comprehensive School and read History at the University of Liverpool.

A lifelong Sheffield United supporter, she also loves snooker and is an all-round armchair sports fan.

Still passionate about history, she has eclectic reading tastes, enjoying everything from the Brontës and Wilkie Collins to more modern writers of mystery, horror and crime.

As a child, Rachael began writing stories and letters for her Uncle, who was stationed overseas with the army.

She considers Liverpool her second home and loves the city’s music, culture and maritime heritage. Her roots remain in Sheffield, where she lives with her sons and her pet cat, Luther.

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Blossom Spring Publishing

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My thoughts: the murder of a local business owner has complicated links to the past for his daughter Anna, who has never quite put the past behind her.

The police are looking for someone with a reason to kill, and after a neighbour also dies, seemingly of a heart attack, Kate I’d sure something more complicated and connected to the secrets that lie in the past.

Anna’s friend Marie has returned to town, armed with knowledge Anna doesn’t have, does she have any connection to the deaths or at least some idea of who Anna’s father really was.

A clever, knotty story with lots of twists, moving back and forth as the truth slowly reveals itself, both Anna and Kate are drawn into the things bubbling below the surface of the town.

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