Tag: crime fiction

A murdered boy disowned by his family.
A teen terrified his past will catch up with him.
A girl with nowhere to go.
Men with rage so visceral they will do anything.
With the unsolved murder of a homeless boy still preying on his mind, DI Gus McGuire is confronted with a similar murder, a missing teen and no clues.
Does the answer lie with an illegal dark web site where ‘slaves’ are auctioned off? Or with an online forum for teens?
How can Gus keep people safe when unjust bias rears its head and being different could cost you your life…?

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Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with
three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats and a huge extended family later, Liz uses
her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. 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.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity
University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts
herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also
teaches creative writing too. Liz has completed a PhD in Creative Writing on Diverse voices in crime fiction.
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire
landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
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My thoughts: dark deeds online and in person for DI Gus McGuire and his team in this next installment. A dark web site is hosting a “slave” auction, queer teenagers are ending up dead and no one is talking.

While trying to find out what has been happening at a local church, which seems welcoming and accepting on the surface, but gay and trans people linked to it have been killed. There’s also the need to protect a young girl from online predators and her gangster father.

Stretched thin by the two cases, and worrying about his young son, Gus is running out of time and trying to remain focused. His team have his back, as he has theirs as they unravel the identity of a killer.

Dark, shocking and utterly gripping. Another slice of Northern noir.

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

Quarter to Midnight is the first thrilling novel in a brand new series by Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose, set in New Orleans.

Rocky Hebert walks into his death at quarter to midnight one New Orleans night.

His son Gabe cannot accept the official verdict of suicide and enlists the help of the Burke Broussard Private Investigation Agency to discover the real cause of death.

PI Molly Sutton knows what it’s like to lose a father in tragic circumstances and will go to any lengths to crack the investigation, as she tries to fight off her growing feelings for Gabe.

They soon realise Rocky was working on an investigation of his own; one that threatened to expose the deep corruption going all the way to the top of the police department. And that the key to the puzzle lies with a young witness to a murder that happened years earlier: Xavier Morrow.

Just what did Rocky know? And who might have shut him up?

As they get closer and closer to the truth, they realise that the killer is not going to stop at Rocky. And that Xavier is in very real danger. Someone will go to any lengths to protect what he witnessed that night coming out…

Karen Rose was introduced to suspense and horror at the tender age of eight when she accidentally read Poe’s The Pit and The Pendulum and was afraid to go to sleep for years. She now enjoys writing books that make other people afraid to go to sleep.

Karen lives in Florida with her family, their cat, Bella, and two dogs, Loki and Freya. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, and her new hobby -knitting.

My thoughts: I knew this was going to be good, it’s Karen Rose after all, but this was so good, so compelling. I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading the whole book in one go – and it’s not a small book.

There’s basically two investigations. The one into Rocky’s death and then into the murder case he was looking into when he was killed. They tie together nicely, as it becomes clear whoever is targeting Gabe and Xavier is responsible for the murder during Katrina.

The PI team headed by Burke, with Molly assigned to Gabe, are clever and know how to get answers, aided by Xavier and his family, I loved Willa Mae. As they dig deeper into the case, they uncover corruption in the NOPD and ADA’s office that has been hiding a killer in plain sight.

The case is so compelling, and Gabe and Molly’s romance is pretty hot too. As the start of a new series, set in New Orleans, this is a fantastic introduction to the team and to the city. I cannot wait for more.

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

With a reputation for solving bizarre murders Detective Inspector Jonah Pennance, recently transferred to the National Crime Agency, is brought in to investigate the mysterious death of celebrity fund manager, Grady Carnegie – choked to death, then his body arranged and ready for a wake.

Then a second corpse turns up under identical circumstances – that of washed-up investigative reporter, Stan Thewlis. But how are the two men connected?

Soon, Pennance’s partner, Sergeant Simone Smithson, comes under suspicion for the deaths – the evidence seems overwhelming. To save her Pennance must determine what role the shadowy organisation Blackthorn plays and who is in the background, pulling all the strings…Buy

Keith Nixon is the best-selling author of sixteen novels and one million words in print, including the Margate based Solomon Gray series of over 250,000 copies in circulation and reached no.1 on Amazon in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Keith lived near the gritty seaside town of Margate, where many of his novels are based, for 17 years before relocating to the edge of the Peak District with his family where he lives today. Keith works in a senior sales role within a high-tech industry and has regularly travelled all over the globe.

His novels are published by Gladius Press and Bastei Lubbe (German)

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My thoughts: financial crimes can be a bit boring, so I’m glad this had several weird murders to liven things up. A man choked to death on cheap white bread forced down his throat, no one quite gets the symbolism, but then it turns out, after another victim is killed the same way and two more are almost poisoned to death with salt, that it’s all smoke and mirrors. Something has prompted the killer or killers to carry out these very specific crimes. Can DI Pennance put the pieces together, work out how the victims are connected, sort out his love life, and prevent any more tragedies?

Racing back and forth across London from crime scenes to interview witnesses, sometimes on the tube and sometimes on foot (someone get this man a car!), going into strange old buildings you might walk past every day and huge glass towers where the wealth management play brings Pennance into contact with an interesting cast of characters. And somewhere in amongst them could be the killer.

I’m not entirely sure many of the characters, especially the cops, have anything approaching normal lives – no one seems to sleep much or eat proper food – certainly vegetables don’t play a role. I do sometimes wonder how fictional detectives don’t all fall down at their desks. The adrenaline alone must come crashing down – Pennance seems to do everything at breakneck pace. But then again lives are at stake, plus the British economy and his romantic future. I suppose he doesn’t want to slow down.

Intelligent and enjoyable, with some very quirky characters, this was a nice introduction to a series I’d not yet come across but will certainly be searching out the back list for.

*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 ex-convict. A dead body. A Women’s Institute meeting like no other…
It’s an unusually challenging meeting at the Wasby Women’s Institute, with local resident and former drug-dealer Adam Fleetwood talking about his crimes and subsequent rehabilitation…but
events take a gruesome turn when prospective member Grace Thoresby is discovered murdered in the kitchen.
The case is particularly unwelcome for investigating officer DCI Jude Satterthwaite. Adam was once
his close friend and now holds a bitter grudge, blaming Jude for landing him in jail in the first place.
To complicate things further, the only thing keeping Adam from arrest is the testimony of Jude’s former girlfriend, Becca Reid, for whom he still cares deeply.
As Jude and his colleague and current partner, Ashleigh O’Halloran, try to pick apart the complicated tapestry of Grace’s life, they uncover a web of fantasy, bitterness and deceit. Adam is deeply
implicated, but is he guilty or is someone determined to frame him for Grace’s murder? And as they close in on the truth, Jude falls foul of Adam’s desire for revenge, with near-fatal consequences…
A traditional detective mystery set in Cumbria.

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Jo Allen was born in Wolverhampton and is a graduate of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and the Open University, with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in geography and Earth science. She’s
been writing for pleasure and publication for as long as she can remember. After a career in economic consultancy she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young, in genres of short stories, romance and romantic suspense. She wrote online articles on travel and on her favourite academic subject, Earth science. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read — crime.
Jo lives in the English Lakes, where the DCI Satterthwaite series is set. In common with all her favourite characters, she loves football (she’s a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.

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My thoughts: I do enjoy this series, I like Jude and his world weary understanding of human nature. After a body is found at a WI meeting, by Jude’s ex Becca no less, an investigation is launched. Adam – a former drug dealer, and former friend of Jude’s, is in the spotlight but might Grace’s murderer be closer to home?

Digging into a family’s lives and complicated relationships isn’t easy, especially one that’s prickly and dysfunctional. But after another death, there’s not much choice.

Adam has it in for Jude and seems determined to cause him misery and harm. Popping up everywhere and never missing a chance to be nasty. Even though Jude never rises to it. There’s a rather hairy (or should that be “dairy”) moment for Jude, but luckily he’s quick.

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

The back yard is full of balloons and streamers, and a piñata hangs from a tree branch, circling lazily in the breeze. But beneath the table of party food, a body lies half-covered by a brightly coloured tablecloth, blood seeping onto the floor…

A child’s birthday party ends in chaos when one of the parents is found brutally beaten to death. With no way for anyone to leave unnoticed, it’s clear the killer must be another guest, but with twenty high-spirited children as a distraction, anyone might have had the opportunity to slip away from the rest of the party.

Detective Meredith Somerset soon discovers the victim had no shortage of enemies, and everyone has a potential motive. Fractured marriages, jealousy and betrayals all come to light but Meredith can’t seem to cut through the lies and find the truth.

When another party-goer disappears Meredith knows the clock is ticking before the killer strikes again. But when everyone has a motive, how can she be sure who was the one who struck the fatal blow? Who is innocent—and who is out for blood?

My thoughts: Detective Meredith Somerset is back. She’s still following the clues to her sister’s kidnapping, still keeping her investigation a secret from everyone but needs to put it to one side as she and partner Tyler need to look into the violent murder of a man at a children’s party.

Everyone is keeping secrets – the wife, the employees, the former business partner, and some of those secrets are worth killing for. There’s an entire nest of snakes to sort through and find the venomous one.

Tyler’s sister Hannah isn’t doing too well, and he’s a bit distracted too. Otherwise he might have spotted Meredith’s rising paranoia before her daughter does. Things are coming to a head and Meredith needs to start talking.

There’s a lot happening here and it’s really interesting, the character development is great, to be honest Tyler and Meredith’s lives are far more intriguing than the case they’re on. Next book I want more of the detectives and fewer murders!

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