Tag: crime fiction

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I had written short stories, poems and travel journals under a pen name, Bianca M., and been published in South African magazines and journals in the 90s. I had also been published in various poetry journals around the same time, in England. But had not been writing steadily for some years, focussing instead on my career and family. Whenever I am in London, I take short courses at the Literary Consultancy. My assessments are also done at the LC.

I have self-published this novel on Amazon in August 2022.

My thoughts: This was really good, Joffe Books often bring new (to me) writers to the fore and this is no exception. I am really pleased that I got to read this for the blog tour and can recommend it to all of you.

Set in 1980s Johannesburg, during apartheid, we first meet Augustine and baby Justice as she runs away from her white boyfriend, her former school teacher Teddy. She’s taken with her some things that could get him into serious trouble – more serious than the law he’s breaking by being with her.

Taken in by the Diamond family as a maid and nanny to their infant son Nicholas, she thinks she landed on her feet. But after Kimberley Diamond dies, she’s in danger again.

Meanwhile Teddy has hired a PI, Segert, to find Augustine and his son. And more importantly the proof of his crimes that she’s stolen. Not that he shares that little detail.

Segert takes over the story as he hunts for Augustine, becoming increasingly concerned that hardly anyone seems to care that’s she gone. Certainly not her parents, but a friend, Rosalind, helps him to search for her.

What he discovers is tragic and criminal and someone will go to great lengths to protect this secret. It will take years to prove the crimes that Augustine unwittingly became a part of. She just wanted a better life for herself and her son, instead she became the victim of terrible men and miscarriages of justice that allowed them to get away with their crimes for a long time.

Shocking, moving and tragic, this was a powerful and intense read that had me hooked from the beginning. I really liked Augustine and Segert too. He was a total slob, but he loved his dogs and was determined and dedicated to his cause. I can’t wait to see what else this author writes.

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

Blog Tour: A Fatal Silence – Rachel Amphlett

Feb 8, 2025Feb 8, 2025 ramblingmads

When the body of a young woman is discovered at an outdoor music festival, Detective Kay Hunter’s investigation stalls almost as soon as it starts.

Because the killer has left no trace, and the victim’s identity is unknown.

Amidst a media backlash, and faced with thousands of potential suspects, Kay must piece together the last hours of the woman’s life before her killer can escape.

But when Kay finds out the truth, her discovery will shake her investigation team to its core…

A Fatal Silence is the 14th book in the Detective Kay Hunter series from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett, and perfect for readers who love fast-paced crime fiction.

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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. 

My thoughts: Musical festivals do suffer from crime, but not like this. When the body of a young woman is found by litter picking volunteers, the police swing into action. Her fingers have been cut, so there’s no prints, and she isn’t carrying any ID.

Unfortunately the sheer number of people in the park makes narrowing down the suspect list a bit tricky. Lots of work for the team, as they try to solve the case.

Full of shocking moments and a huge twist that sends the case national, this is an excellent slice of police procedural crime fiction. The team are hard working and dedicated, determined to solve the case and get justice for their 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.

Blog Tour: The Witness – Sadie Ryan

Feb 8, 2025Feb 8, 2025 ramblingmads

Wife. Mother. Witness. Liar.

Jane has a great marriage and a beautiful teenage daughter. She spends her days illustrating books in her stunning lakeside home. Her life is as close to perfect as she could imagine.

She’s been lying to her husband for a decade.

Ten years ago, Jane witnessed an unspeakable crime. Her testimony put Curtis Murk in prison for manslaughter. She never told her husband.

That’s not the only secret she’s hiding from him.

Now, Curtis is being released from prison. And he’s not willing to let the past rest. He’s searching for revenge. It’s only a matter of time before he finds her.

Her perfect life is built on lies. And it’s about to unravel . . .

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Sadie Ryan is the author of three books. Her latest, Guilty came out in April 2021, a psychological thriller. She loves animals and lives in leafy Cheshire in the North West of England with her daughter and rescue dog. When not writing she spends her time reading, gardening, walking her dog or watching old black and white movies.

When asked where she gets her ideas from, she says, ‘From observation, inspiration and lots of wicked thoughts.’

My thoughts: This was really good, so many twists. Jane can’t prove that she’s being stalked and driven a bit crazy by Curtis, mostly because she’s never told her husband about what she saw or about Curtis at all.

Her perfect life is about to crumble around her and she’s pretty sure neighbour Pauline and her son are somehow involved, but she can’t prove that either.

As things get worse and the family all start to feel the impact of Jane’s secrets, Curtis finally reveals himself and the stage is set for the showdown. That island hideaway becomes a place of danger and Jane’s very life is at stake. The secrets all come tumbling out then. Utterly gripping, clever and twisted.

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

Blog Tour: Strays & Fetch – Janeen Leese-Taylor

Feb 6, 2025Feb 5, 2025 ramblingmads

A murder without evidence, a secret that could topple society and a cop with a bit of a coffee habit!

Three things were certain in the mind of Officer Theodore Night.

There’s a serial killer loose in Portstewart

His new friend is a werewolf

He’s in way over his head

When bloody paw prints at a crime scene leads Officer Night to consider the impossible, he must rely not only on his years of investigative experience, but on the local werewolf pack, for help.

An unlikely friendship gives Night the edge he needs to prevent an all-out war. Has Blair, the mysterious barista from Bean and Gone, caused him to bite off more than he can chew?

Denma Aeoir.

The Devil’s Breath.

The thing that goes bump in the night.

It’s not just a story.

Not anymore.

When modern blades break the God’s seal, it is up to Detective Theodore Night and his werewolf partner, Blair Blackwolfe, to save the North Coast from devastation.

Or die trying.

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Janeen is an Irish author born and raised on the scenic Causeway Coast. Curious, and with a great love for adventure, Jan spent her childhood climbing trees and talking to her imaginary friends, many of whom have now found a home in her writing.

She has a bachelor’s degree in advertising and works for gaming companies around the world. She is a lover of all things fantasy and aims to bring some magic to the places that she visits in her writing. Portstewart, Dublin and Chester City each feature prominently in both her travels and her writing, and her stories often draw from real life places that have captured her heart.

As an ultramarathon runner, Jan often writes on the go, using her trusty phone and stylus to craft scenes that come to her after hours on her feet.

She lives with her husband, Liam, their Border Collie-Cross, Zarya, and their Guinea Pig, (Peek-A) Boo, who they all fear will one day take over the world!

My thoughts: Turns out I’d read and earlier version of Strays before, and so I was really pleased to read it again and to read Fetch, the sequel, for the first time.

In Strays we meet PSNI Officer Theodore Night, who has 7 dogs and is always half asleep due to nightmares that stop him getting a good night’s rest. A strange murder scene, covered in giant pawprints, has him, as the animal expert, called out. But he’s at a loss until he rescues barista Blair Blackwolfe, who is having some sort of medical episode, and learns a huge secret, known to no-one in Blair’s life – he’s a werewolf, from a long line of them and they mostly live in a vast cavern network under the city.

And one of them is killing people.

Blair agrees to help Theo solve the case and stop the horrific murders, especially after meeting the young boy intentionally left alive to report a “really big dog” killed his family. Heartbreaking.

The duo have to involve the local packs, but things get a bit hairy and the case is way more complicated than a lone wolf.

In Fetch, still dealing with the repercussions of Strays, our detective duo are involved in another case with otherworldly connections. Someone, or something, is abducting children for a terrible reason. And it’s up to Blair and Theo to stop it. This time they need help from a few of their friends and colleagues (and Blair’s matchmaking sister Alice) to get to grips with the monstrous kidnapper.

Filled with references to Irish folklore and fantasy tropes (and with a very nice queer will they/won’t they – Blair’s gay but Theo?) this is a series which I really enjoyed and hope there’s more to come from 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

Blog Tour: The Seventh Floor – David McCloskey

Feb 4, 2025Feb 4, 2025 ramblingmads

Six CIA officers. Dear friends and cherished enemies. For a quarter century they have stolen other people’s secrets. Now they must steal each other’s.

A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, operational chief Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat for the disaster and run out of the service. Months later, Sam appears at Procter’s doorstep with an explosive secret: there is a Russian mole burrowed deep within the highest ranks of the CIA.

As Procter and Sam investigate, they arrive at a shortlist of suspects made up of both Procter’s closest friends and fiercest enemies. The hunt requires Procter to dredge up her checkered past in the service of the CIA, placing the pair in the sights of a savvy Russian spymaster who will protect Moscow’s mole in Langley at all costs. What happens when friendships forged by sweat and blood—from the Farm to Afghanistan and the executive “Seventh Floor” of CIA’s Langley headquarters—are put to the ultimate test? What can we truly know about the people we love the most?

Taking readers from Langley to Moscow to Paris and beyond, The Seventh Floor explores the nature of friendship in a faithless business, and what it means to love a place that does not love you back.

My thoughts: Artemis Aphrodite Procter is not someone you cross lightly. Even after getting fired from the CIA and going down to Florida to wrestle alligators (apparently that’s a real thing) she still has the skills, knowledge and connections to investigate her former employer and locate a mole right at the heart of the agency.

I was absolutely hooked, I like Procter from the previous books but this was entirely her story, her rivalry with Debbie Sweet, her close friendships with the men in her life, one of whom might be the mole, her intense focus and ability to get shit done. I love it.

The story was clever and gripping, the Russians weren’t cartoon villains, they had their own motives and ambitions, just like the Americans, Sam and Artemis made a great team, as they borrowed the files from the CIA and dove deep looking for clues, looking for the gaps and mistakes in people’s stories, digging slowly but surely.

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

Blog Tour: Murder in the Tuscan Hills – T.A. Williams

Feb 3, 2025Feb 1, 2025 ramblingmads

It’s murder in paradise!

A picturesque scene…

As grape harvest season rolls around, retired DCI Dan Armstrong and his beloved canine companion, Oscar, are looking forward to a nice quiet September. But when Dan is contacted about a mysterious death out in the Tuscan Hills, it seems that work must come before pleasure.

A suspicious find…

At first it appears that the body found lying outside a prestigious winery has been the result of a tragic hit and run. But then the police discover that this is a cover up for murder…but who would kill
in such an idyllic spot and why?

A face from the past?

As Dan investigates, he meets famous ex rock star, Digger, owner of the winery and prestigious Podere Dei Santi hotel. Digger’s guests include wealthy businessmen, tourists, and, among them, suspected mafia hitmen. But more significant for Dan is a face he knows only too well from his own past and he soon finds that wine isn’t the only thing fermenting around him.

Could this murder be the start of a gangland war, or do the killer’s motives lie much closer to home?

Will complications from Dan’s past return to trouble his future? Either way, Dan and Oscar must work around the clock to solve another mystery.

T A Williams is the author of over twenty bestselling romances for HQ and Canelo and is now turning his hand to cosy crime, set in his beloved Italy, for Boldwood. The series will introduce us to retired DCI Armstrong and his labrador Oscar and the first book, entitled Murder in Tuscany, will be published in October 2022. Trevor lives in Devon with his Italian wife.

Facebook: @TrevorWilliamsBooks
Twitter: @TAWilliamsBooks
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My thoughts: It’s another case for Detective Dan and Officer Oscar in beautiful Tuscany. This time there’s multiple murders to solve and potentially a dangerous mafiosa type is the killer.

Dan’s asked to help out with the translation work at a glamorous hotel and winery, owned by a retired rock star. Among the guests are a suspicious trio of “businessmen” and Dan’s ex-wife, awkward.

Luckily she’s seen and heard pretty much nothing, although her companion, a dodgy Anglo-Italian restaurant owner is a bit suspect, although he hasn’t done anything criminal here (hedgehog salami? No thank you)

It’s also Anna’s, Dan’s girlfriend, birthday, and she’s very understanding about him helping on the case, less so about the presence of his ex, who just seems to be hanging around like a bad smell, worse than wet Labrador (sorry Oscar).

Obviously, my favourite character, the always excellent Oscar, finds several clues and saves Dan (again), whatever would they do without him?

Another excellent, highly enjoyable, fiendish and clever case for the dynamic duo.

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

Blogathon: Buried – Lynda La Plante

Feb 1, 2025Feb 1, 2025 ramblingmads

DC Jack Warr and his girlfriend Maggie have just moved to London to start a new life together. Though charming, Jack can’t seem to find his place in the world – until he’s drawn into an investigation that turns his life upside down.

In the aftermath of a fire at an isolated cottage, a badly charred body is discovered, along with the burnt remains of millions of stolen, untraceable bank notes.

Jack’s search leads him deep into a murky criminal underworld – a world he finds himself surprisingly good at navigating. But as the line of the law becomes blurred, how far will Jack go to find the answers – and what will it cost him?

In BURIED, it’s time to meet DC Jack Warr as he digs up the deadly secrets of the past . . .

My thoughts: Obviously, Lynda La Plante is one of the best crime writers out there, and her quality never lets up.

This series is so, so good. I have raved about it in person already to several friends, in the best way. Now it’s your turn faithful blog readers.

Jack Warr has recently joined the Met from Devon, and is plunged into a complicated case involving murder, robbery and conspiracy going back decades.

The story is so clever and I really love the gang of female crooks he uncovers, who wanted to do something really good with their ill gotten gains, but couldn’t, because the police were already suspicious of them. They’ve waited years, lost several of their original group and now, just as it seems they’ve been forgotten, a dead body and a burnt out cottage might spoil everything. Unless Jack looks the other way.

He’s also dealing with complicated personal issues – his beloved adoptive dad Charlie has terminal cancer and his parents are planning to take an around the world cruise for his final few months. He doesn’t want treatment, and he doesn’t want Jack to be upset.

This triggers a desire to find out more about his biological parents, especially his father. Even though his partner, Maggie, thinks this might not be for the best.

As he investigates his origins, it crosses paths with some of the names in his new case, will learning who his father was lead Jack down a dangerous path?

This is addictive writing, as soon as I finished this book, I was straight into book two, which I will tell you all about very soon.

If you love well written, gripping, intelligent crime writing, get reading!

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

Blog Tour: The Little Girl in the Wardrobe – C.J. Grayson

Jan 31, 2025Jan 30, 2025 ramblingmads

The police receive a call.

‘Please help. He’s coming.’

The small voice is barely a whisper.

‘Who’s coming? Are you in danger?’

‘He has a knife. He killed her.’

The line goes dead.

Nine-year-old Anya crawls into a cupboard in her bedroom and calls the police again. The line connects as the bedroom door creaks open.

‘They’re here . . .’

A blood-curdling scream barrels down the phone, filling the earpiece of the operator.

For the second time, the lines goes dead.

Detectives Tanzy and Byrd are called to Anya’s home, a small, semi-detached property.

They’re hit by the familiar smell of death.

Something terrible happened here — and it’s up to Tanzy and Byrd to pull together the pieces of this terrifying puzzle.

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Chris was born in Darlington, North East of England. He loves spending time with his family which include his three sons. He enjoys walking on the beach, listening to music, going for the occasional run to keep fit, playing football, and coaching his son’s football team.

When he’s not at work and at home, he loves reading (crime), watching engineering and construction programs (he loves how things methodically fit together), likes to immerse himself in horror / supernatural films and series which make the hairs on his neck stand on end, satisfying his strange fixation for unusual escapism, and possesses a disturbing obsession with drinking far too much coffee to feed his writing habits.

My thoughts: This had me hooked from the beginning, who was Anya and why was she so scared? And then when she’s not the only child in peril, but that little girl has vanished, and there’s more murders, plus there’s something weird going on at the rehab/spa place that is suspicious.

I like Tanzy and Byrd, I enjoyed their previous outings, they’re interesting characters, both with full personal lives that often take a back seat to their jobs. Which throws up other issues and they have to balance things. They’re also very good detectives, with the ability to spot the thing that the whole case could hinge on.

Good, solid crime writing, lots of twists and hold-your-breath moments.

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

Blog Tour: Into Thin Air – Ørjan Karlsson, translated by Ian Giles

Jan 30, 2025Jan 29, 2025 ramblingmads

When nineteen-year-old Iselin Hanssen disappears during a run in a popular hiking area in Bodø, Northern Norway, suspicion quickly falls on her boyfriend.

For investigator Jakob Weber, the case seems clear-cut, almost unexceptional, even though there is some suggestion that Iselin lived parts of her life beneath the radar of both family and friends.

But events take a dramatic turn when another woman disappears in similar circumstances – this time on the island of Røst, hundreds of miles off the Norwegian coast, in the wild ocean. Rumours that a killer is on the loose begin to spread, terrifying the local population and leading to wild conspiracies.

But then Jakob discovers that this isn’t the first time that young women have vanished without a trace in the region, and it becomes clear that someone is hiding something. And another murderous spree may have just begun…

Ørjan Karlsson (b. 1970) grew up in Bodø, in the far north of Norway. A sociologist by education, he received officer training in the army and has taken part in many missions overseas. He has worked at the Ministry of Defence and is now head of department in the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection. He has written a wide range of thrillers, sci-fi novels and crime fiction, and been shortlisted for or won numerous awards, with a number of his books currently in production for the screen. He lives in Nordland, where the Jakob Weber crime series is set, and Into Thin Air is the first book in his first detective/police procedural series.

My thoughts: This was a really good, tense crime thriller, with lots of twists and shocking moments, totally gripping.

Set in northern Norway, where the midnight sun makes detective Noora unable to sleep, a young woman goes missing while out on a run. As the police start to investigate her disappearance, questioning her friends and on/off boyfriend, another woman goes missing, but on a small island. Is this the same culprit?

The team step up their investigation, looking for both missing women, and find it has happened before, some years ago. Was it the island’s odd duck doctor or someone else, easily overlooked by the community?

It’s a race against time, the longer the women are gone, the more likely it is they’ll end up dead. When even lead detective Jakob’s dog Garm gets involved, because dogs make excellent investigators, and they’re beginning to lose hope, finally the clues start to stack up and the team have their suspects. Or do they?

An excellent and exciting new voice in translated crime fiction, I cannot wait to read more.

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

Blog Tour: The Baguette Murders – Anne Penketh

Jan 29, 2025Jan 26, 2025 ramblingmads

Meet Pippa. She’s feisty, forty-something — and living her best life in the charming little town of Louennec, Brittany.

Not so long ago, she was a corporate career girl. Now she runs her own bakery — and goes home every night to her dishy gendarme boyfriend and a glass of Merlot.

But murder is just around the corner . . .

Pippa is out on her rounds, delivering delicious crusty bread to her most loyal customers. Her first stop is Derek’s remote gîte. Fitness instructor Derek sees carbs as the enemy. But even he can’t resist Pippa’s signature baguettes.

Pippa cycles to Derek’s door . . . only to discover, someone got there first.

Derek is dead! His body lies slumped across the piano, in a mess of blood and — to Pippa’s horror — breadcrumbs.

He’s been bludgeoned over the head with . . . a lethal stick of bread?

Just like that, Pippa finds the finger of suspicion pointing at her.

Can she follow the trail of breadcrumbs to uncover the true killer — before more of her friends and neighbours die?

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