Tag: crime fiction

An unsolved mystery ignites a deadly game of chess in this scorching thriller from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

A year after the infamous arsonist Nero was found dead in one of his latest fires, journalist Darcy Sampson receives a tip that the body found at the scene wasn’t Nero at all. Determined to solve the case, Darcy heads to her small hometown in Virginia to track Michael Gannon, an arsonist investigator who refuses to believe that Nero is dead.

But when a new series of fires in the area have a remarkable resemblance to the arsonist’s previous work, Darcy and Gannon are in a race against time to put a stop to Nero once and for all.

But Nero is ready and waiting for them, and he intends on teaching both Gannon and Darcy one last, fatal lesson.

Previously published as The Arsonist

My thoughts: Darcy returns to her hometown on the trail of both arsonist Nero and arson investigator turned mechanic Gannon. She thinks she’s just after a story but once she and Gannon meet, sparks fly, and not the fiery kind.

As buildings burn and the press starts to descend, Darcy struggles to help her alcoholic brother and emotionally detached mother keep the family diner afloat, and help Gannon search for Nero – who might be someone close by.

I liked Darcy, I liked Gannon even though he doesn’t give much away about himself. I think this could grow into a series where the two of them seek out dangerous criminals using their investigative skills.

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

They said they’d keep me safe.
They said, ‘It’s okay, Hannah. You know you can trust me.’
They lied.
When eight-year-old Hannah Perry goes missing in the small Suffolk village of St Just, the community is rocked. Heading up the investigation is Acting DS Rob Minshull, but he’s out of his depth in a case
that seems to mirror the disappearance of a young boy, seven years ago. That search ended in unimaginable tragedy…and Minshull is praying that history won’t be repeated.
But with an investigation full of dead ends, and a kidnapper taunting the police with sinister deliveries of Hannah’s belongings and cryptic notes, the young girl’s life hangs perilously in danger.
Until Dr Cora Lael enters the picture. A psychologist with a unique ability, Cora’s rare gift allows her to sense emotions attached to discarded objects. When she is shown the first of Hannah’s belongings,
she hears the child’s piercing scream.
With few leads on the case, could Cora prove Hannah’s only hope? And as time runs out, can they find Hannah before history repeats itself…?
A twisty, original and utterly gripping detective thriller that fans of James Oswald and LJ Ross will love.
Don’t miss the crime thriller debut from the bestselling women’s fiction author, Miranda Dickinson.

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MJ White is the crime pen name of the internationally bestselling author Miranda
Dickinson. To date she has sold over one million books worldwide and has been translated into sixteen languages. Miranda has always been a huge fan of crime fiction and The Secret Voices marks the start of a new and exciting departure for her writing.
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My thoughts: When an 8 year old is abducted in broad daylight from a Suffolk village, the police lurch into action. They know they don’t have long – sadly this has happened before and it ended badly.

But this time they have a rather unorthodox secret weapon – Dr Cora Lael can “read” objects – a sort of emotional synaesthesia, and tell them about the emotional state of the owner and in Hannah’s case, whether they’re still alive. She is, and fighting back, all she wants is to get home to her mum and sisters. And that’s what Cora and acting DS Rob Minshull want too.

Clever and with a surprise twist or two thrown in, this is a confident and assured debut crime novel from a very talented author. I’ve read some of Miranda Dickinson’s rom coms and this is a very different book, although Rob and Cora definitely have a connection. I look forward to the next in this series – where hopefully the duo solve more cases and get to know one another better.

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

Ladies. Are you a perfect wife wanting to live in suburban utopia?
Then Crimson Avenue is for you!
Come and join other like-minded women in our idyllic community.
We might even let you into our little secret…

When a striking young woman turns up to Adele Love’s antique shop acting suspiciously and gives her a cryptic message …

Tell Sam that they know…

On leaving the shop, to Adele’s horror, the woman is bundled into a white van and abducted.

Beginning a search for the missing woman, DI Vincent Sullivan and DS Josephine Jenkins conduct their house-to-house investigations, which lead them into a sinister world of diamond smuggling and drugs, all happening behind the perfect façade of Crimson Avenue.

As the pressure mounts with the severity of the crimes committed, the wives close ranks and deny all knowledge.

But just as cracks begin to appear and the women start to turn on each other, they realise there’s also the small problem of Adele’s secret, which could get them all killed…

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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.’

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My thoughts: I’m not entirely sure the four friends at the centre of this book are really friends, as things unravel around them and their stupid act lands them in shark infested waters, their resentments and petty squabbles come to light and maybe they need to all find new pals.

Adele’s in the worst fix – her diamond dealer husband is missing, a strange woman just got kidnapped right in front of her and a Russian gangster is after some diamonds her stupid husband stole from him. And now the police are asking questions.

DI Sullivan and his team know the four women, the wives of Crimson Avenue, know a lot more than they’re saying, their strange behaviour is giving them away. He’d like to get home in time for dinner with his wife but until they start telling the truth, it’s going to be a long shift. Then the bodies start turning up.

Clever, more complicated than it first appears and with smart, savvy cops hot on the heels of the gangsters and certain the women are involved more seriously than as mere witnesses, this was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

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

An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.

A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.
Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?
His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?
She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?
In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?
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When Miriam Drori says she loves to perform, people don’t believe her. When she says she’s not shy, they think she’s delusional. The fact is, things ain’t what they seem. A witch called social anxiety
took away her ability to be spontaneous, but it didn’t change her exhibitionist nature. You need to watch her dancing or speaking before an audience to understand that.
Fortunately, she has found an outlet for her thoughts in writing, a solitary activity with multiple recipients. She never doubted her ability to write, but only in recent years has she managed to gather her views and observations together into papier-mâché balls worth throwing far and wide.
If you ignore the witch, life has been good to Miriam, especially since she made the decision to move from the UK to Israel. She has a wonderful husband, three lovely children and a delightful house. She
loves to read, travel, hike and dance. She has worked in computer programming and technical writing, and now enjoys the freedom and versatility of creative writing. And she believes passionately in raising awareness of social anxiety.

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Giveaway to Win 5 x PB copies of Cultivating a Fuji by Miriam Drori (Open INT)

My thoughts: this was an interesting take on Beauty & the Beast, set in modern day Jerusalem. My mum lived in Israel for a bit before she married my dad and would probably recognise a lot of the roads and neighbourhoods that the characters traverse as they investigate a terrible murder in their workplace.

Nathalie is a French emigrè who worries her Hebrew isn’t very good but does her best to interview people connected to the crime. She doesn’t believe the police have the right man in her quiet colleague Asaf, despite him being found with the murder weapon in hand.

Asaf struggles to socialise, he’s quiet and studious, good at his job but his colleagues feel like they don’t really know him. Which makes him, a loner, the perfect suspect in many ways.

Nathalie determines to help him, she knows there’s more to Asaf, and her faith in him pays off, her investigation unveils the real killer.

This is a clever and intelligent story exploring social anxiety in its different guises.

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

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The water ripples as the girl’s body escapes the reeds and floats silently upwards. Her beautiful face—blue eyes frozen open, skin as white as snow—breaks the surface. But it’s too late, this innocent soul has taken her final breath…

When camp counselor Carolyn Sable’s body is found floating in a lake beside Eagle Ridge Summer Camp, Detective Katie Scott must dig deep to stay focused. As a child, Katie spent many happy weeks at that camp toasting marshmallows on the fire with her best friend Jenny… until the day Jenny disappeared. The loss will always haunt Katie, but Carolyn’s inconsolable family need answers.

Searching the area, the devastating discovery of two more bodies sends the case into a tailspin. Suddenly on the hunt for a serial killer, Katie’s blood turns to ice when she finds newspaper clippings about her own past cases planted near one of the bodies. Was this twisted killer banking on Katie taking the lead? And why?

Carolyn was adored by children and staff at the camp, so Katie thinks her sudden resignation is key to cracking the case. Uncovering a tragic accident involving a group of children the weeks before Carolyn left, Katie knows she’s getting close.

But when the carefully laid trap Katie sets to catch Carolyn’s killer backfires, Katie finds herself in unthinkable danger and unable to even trust her own team. Can she stay alive long enough to crack the toughest case of her career, and how many more innocent lives will be lost before she does?

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Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning and best-selling crime fiction author, as well as a consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master’s degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent psychopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells.

In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists, and member of the International Thriller Writers.

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My thoughts: this was really good, as with the rest of the series, it’s action packed and the case is really compelling. Bodies found mutilated on an old campground, related to a terrible accident twenty years before.

Katie and McGaven are on the case, but in danger as the killer seems to be happy to set off explosives and start fires to stop them from finding him. Katie’s K9 Cisco is the real hero in the book though, with an action scene perfect for Hollywood. What a good boy.

There’s several suspicious characters and the trail seems cold when they find out their chief suspect is dead, but could someone be carrying out these horrific crimes on their behalf? And Katie keeps seeing the ghost of her childhood friend Jenny, abducted from the same campsite when they were children. Is her PTSD going to stop her from solving this one?

As always the writing and research is meticulous and hooks you instantly into the story, though I’m glad we don’t have summer camps in the UK, nothing good seems to happen at them. The detectives risk their lives a fair amount and the sheriff, who’s also Katie’s uncle, must have a lot of grey hair from all the worrying he does.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour