Tag: crime fiction

DETECTIVE JACK MACINTOSH IS BACK — ON THE TRAIL OF A BRUTAL KILLER.

A punch in the face. A painful visit to the dentist. A summons from his boss. Detective Jack is having a very bad day.

It’s then he gets the call. ‘We’ve got ourselves a murder.’

Jack races to the crime an empty flat on the twelfth floor of a rundown tower block. To be met with a truly shocking sight.

On the kitchen floor are two dismembered human legs. On the shabby sofa in the living room lie three severed arms.

In the bathroom, there’s something even worse . . .

The following day, on a derelict industrial estate, two holdalls are found containing more human limbs.

Then an early morning passenger makes a horrifying discovery on the top deck of the Number 42 bus.

Someone is leaving body parts all over town. But who are the victims — and why have they been targeted? Jack and his team must piece together the parts of the puzzle before more people die.

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Michelle Kidd is a crime fiction author best known for the DI Jack MacIntosh and DI Nicki Hardcastle series. Michelle qualified as a legal executive in the early 1990s, spending ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the first book in what would later become the DI Jack MacIntosh series. 

Michelle now works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 

She enjoys reading, wine and cats — not necessarily in that order.

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My thoughts: this was a gruesome and gory tale, opening with dismembered body parts found in an empty flat, someone has been abducting sex workers, murdering them and chopping them up. Leaving limbs and other body parts all over the place, including on a bus.

As DI MacIntosh and his team investigate and more vulnerable women go missing, they soon have several suspects, each one more dodgy than the previous. The caretaker of the block of flats, the former resident’s son, they’ve both got links to the building and are acting evasively. But could it be someone closer to the team?

Then there’s the gangster who’s trying to either get Jack to work for him or somehow manipulate him, and now he’s broken a dangerous man out of prison with connections to Jack. Can he keep his bosses off his back and get these two men under arrest?

There’s a lot going on, and the longer the case continues, with more women missing, the harder it is to solve. The press are salivating at the story, with its echoes of Jack the Ripper and an apparently ineffective police force. But Jack knows his team are good, and they’ll get the right man given a chance. But it could come at a cost.

Gripping, dark and compelling, with conflicted protagonist Jack, his team and ruthless criminals. Good 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.

A tragic accident or an untimely death?

When Drew Hopgood’s brother, Frank dies whilst out climbing, it’s initially thought his death was simply a tragic accident. But when Frank’s much younger wife, Stella arrives at Hopgood Hall  demanding half of Frank’s inheritance the Hopgoods and Alexi Ellis begin to suspect foul play…

Stella has no claim to Frank’s legacy, but she isn’t giving up easily. And with the reputation of  Hopgood Hall still fragile, Alexi can’t afford to lose any more money because of Stella’s greed.
So Alexi, her partner Jack, and Cosmo of course, decide to dig deeper into Stella’s background. Just how did she meet Frank and were they really as in love as she claims?

As the trio investigate, they discover Stella has her own reasons for being back at Hopgood Hall. And rather than console the grieving widow, Alexi and Jack think they might need to look again at Frank’s
tragic death – because rather than an accident this could have been a deadly fall – planned by his own wife!

A boutique hotel. A feral cat. A recipe for murder!

A gripping murder mystery, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Frances Evesham and Emma Davies.

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Evie Hunter has written a great many successful regency romances as Wendy Soliman and is now redirecting her talents to produce dark gritty thrillers for Boldwood. For the past twenty years she
has lived the life of a nomad, roaming the world on interesting forms of transport, but has now settled back in the UK.

Facebook: @wendysolimanauthor
Twitter: @wendyswriter
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My thoughts: This time the case Alexi and Jack take on is close to home. Drew and his brother might have been estranged but it still hurts that he’s died in a horrible climbing accident, especially as he was such a good climber. And then there’s his horrid wife Stella, who turns up demanding money she thinks Frank is owed. Was his death really an accident? And why hasn’t Stella gone back to Australia?

As the ask questions and learn more about the gold digger with a heart of stone, as well as Frank’s past misdemeanours with women and other people’s money, motives emerge. Alexi is put in danger, but Cosmo and his newest canine chum Silgo are there to save the day!

Another interesting case for the Hopgood Detectives, full of grudges held far too long and secrets. All they really want to do is help their friend, but as always they end up catching plenty of bad people along the way!

*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 DEATHS

Tommy and Markie Jones are found dead at the side of a main road in Scotland.

TWO RIVALS

Detectives Jazzy Solanki and Annie McQueen are on the scene where the bodies are identified as the nephews of Jimmy Nails, head of a notable gang in Glasgow. The turf war between the gangs
of Glasgow and Edinburgh has existed for years, but these murders are seen as an escalation in violence.

ONE UNFORGIVABLE BETRAYAL

As the investigation unfolds, there’s suspicion about a leak within the police force, and to her dismay Jazzy is asked to keep a watchful eye on someone close to her.
With distrust mounting on all sides, can the pair uncover the truth before someone else is killed?

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Liz Mistry moved to West Yorkshire in the late 1980s. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath. Yet, her heart remains in Scotland, where childhood tales of bogey men, Bible John and grey lady ghosts fed her imagination.

Her latest work, The Solanki and McQueen crime series is set around West Lothian, where she uses the distinctive landscape, historic heritage and Scottish culture as a backdrop to her gritty yet often humorous stories.

Struggling with clinical depression and anxiety for many years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits her MA in Creative Writing from Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. The
synergy been creative and academic writing led Liz to complete a doctorate in creative writing researching the importance of representation of marginalised groups within the genre she loves.

Her husband, three children and huge extended British Indian family are a constant support to her.

In her spare time, Liz loves visiting the varied Scottish and Yorkshire landscape, travelling, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her website blog, The Crime Warp.

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My thoughts: The Jazz Queens are back! Jazzy Solanki and Annie McQueen (Queenie) are sort of recovered from the events at the end of their last case and while Jazzy is on desk duty as her physical injuries are still healing, Team D are split up to help cover the rather worrying gang war that seems to have broken out between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Or has it?

The gangsters involved have been receiving messages from someone calling themselves ‘Vengeance’ and killings have taken place in both cities. The police aren’t in the loop, but the Jazz Queens have spotted some oddities in the events that suggest to them that someone else is involved.

As events grow towards a showdown, the team gather information and try to get ahead of the inevitable fall out. There’s also a cold case that needs their help, and may be linked to ‘Vengeance’ too.

DI Dick is still being, well, a dick, and keeps trying to sideline his best team, but DCS Afzal knows their worth, even if Jazzy is still furious with him.

Another absolutely cracking outing for this team of ace detectives and highly enjoyable it is too. I really like Jazzy and Queenie, they’re a great pairing and along with the rest of team Jazz Queens, are amply qualified to take on this complex and messy case, replete with historical abuse and murders. Can’t wait for the next installment.

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

Abbie Thorpe, a confident and ambitious young woman, had dreams of making it big one day; dreams that died with her in a tragic house fire.

Fire investigator Freya Redfern is given the task of determining the cause of the fire. Troubled by aspects of the scene, Freya can’t help but feel there’s more to it than a terrible accident. Detective Sargeant Harry Gardman isn’t so sure. Determined that the case be properly investigated, Freya sets about finding enough evidence to convince him of the fire’s deliberate origins.

Forming an unlikely partnership, the pair work together to uncover a truth which nobody could have foreseen.

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Susan Handley grew up in England, in the Midlands and despite a love of literature, and crime fiction in particular, she never dreamt of being able to carve out a career as a published writer. But the desire to write never left her and after years of writing by night she has at last been able to share the results of her efforts.

Susan now lives in a small village in rural Kent with her husband and two cats. When she’s not indulging in her love of writing crime fiction she loves walking (the hillier the better), bike riding (the flatter the better) and tending her veggie patch.

Susan is the author of two crime series: the DC Cat McKenzie series, which include: A Confusion of Crows, Feather and Claw, The Body Politic, and Close to Death; and the DI Matt Fisher series, of which the first Paid in Blood is currently available. 

Susan has also produced two short story collections: Crime Bites Volume 1 and Volume 2. Full of bite-size crime stories there’s bound to be something to suit all tastes.

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My thoughts: I really liked this book, Freya was a great protagonist with an instinct for the truth, even when she’s the only one who believes it’s murder.

The police are happy to say that Abbie Thorpe’s death was a tragic accident, that drunk and dosed up on tranquilisers, she fell asleep with a lit cigarette and started the fire that killed her. But Freya, a fire investigator, thinks something is not quite right about it. 

She eventually gets the detective on the case, DS Harry Gardman on board with her theory, and the pair start looking into Abbie’s death more closely. Especially when another apparent accidental death takes place in the same house.

Freya is in mourning for her partner Nikki, and during the investigation she finds new friendships with Harry and with Joe, a neighbour of the deceased who agrees it’s not quite right. They help bring her out of her shell, and when someone starts following her and leaving her creepy notes (and dick pics, seriously guys, no one, especially a lesbian, wants those) Harry takes an interest in that for her too.

What they uncover is a pretty ingenious crime but one that had to backfire eventually. And only Freya’s excellent memory and eye for detail can put it all together and catch the perpetrator.

Really enjoyable crime writing with excellent characters and a twisted killer.

*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 Yeovil Literary Prize award winner

A lifeboat is lost off Cornwall’s wild Atlantic coast. All eight crewmen die. The cause is never fully explained.

Ten years later, Kate Tregillis, the editor of a small, struggling newspaper, becomes obsessed with solving the longstanding mystery.
Her investigations provoke a backlash of threats and violence in the insular fishing community of St Branok. In exposing the truth, she risks the future of her newspaper and even her life – and discovers that the man she loves has his own secrets.

Praise for The Echoing Shore:

‘A gripping story full of twists and turns’ – Margaret James, Writing Magazine.

‘An enthralling read that keeps you guessing to the end’ – Victoria Howard, author and judge for the international 2023 Yeovil Literary Prize.

‘I would definitely pick this book up from the bookshop shelf’ – Claire Gradidge, winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.

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Jason Mann is an award-winning journalist and writer living in the South West of England with Nicola, his wife, and their lively whippet, Patch. He is also a shore-based volunteer for the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution.

Jason says: ‘Many of my stories are set in the wonderful county of Cornwall where truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. I have swum and surfed there much of my life. It has been a special place for me with its legends, soaring cliffs, rugged moors and wild seas.
The landscape has a raw, mystical magic. My father and mother’s recollections of rescues and tragedies on the North coast are often the inspiration for my stories. My father became one of the county’s early lifeguards after his predecessor was killed by a strike of lightning while standing in
waist-deep water during a rescue.’

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My thoughts: This was so good, utterly gripping, with well written characters, a real sense of creeping menace and a brilliant plot. Dark deeds done in the deep waters off of my beloved Cornwall. In winter, when the tourists leave and only the locals remain, where the beauty of its coastline is hidden by bad weather and the grinding struggle to get by.

Kate has returned from London and is trying to keep the local paper solvent and a going concern in a time where fewer and fewer copies sell and there’s not much news to print. The arrival of a freelance writer looking into the loss of a lifeboat and it’s crew ten years ago stirs up old pain and new threats.

The boat’s crew were all lost, except one man, who was conveniently unwell and didn’t go, but then promptly left town. This seems suspicious and Kate agrees to help investigate whether it really was a terrible accident or something more sinister. Then the threats begin. Notes left in her cottage, a break in at the paper. Who could be trying to stop them reporting on the tragedy and why?

I was completely hooked, this is the other side of small town life, and Cornwall, where those rugged cliffs and swirling tides turn dangerous. Kate’s attempts to get answers put lives, including her own, at risk, and she could lose the paper too. A real page turner that will keep you up all night, desperate to finish 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.