Tag: crime fiction

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a remote Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force, and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens.

But then a local kid comes looking for his help. His brother has gone missing, and no one, least of all the police, seems to care. Cal wants nothing to do with any kind of investigation, but somehow he can’t make himself walk away.

Soon Cal will discover that even in the most idyllic small town, secrets lie hidden, people aren’t always what they seem, and trouble can come calling at his door.

My thoughts:

This was so good, but then it’s Tana French so of course it is. There’s a slight element of an old Western to it – True Grit maybe or another John Wayne film, in the way Cal, with his Southern US lilt and manners, goes about searching for Brendan. Making his enquiries despite not really knowing the lay of the land, calling people sir and ma’am, talking softly but with weight behind his words.

The relationship between Trey and Cal is really interesting too, like he’s slowly bringing a feral animal into his house, gently, laying out crumbs. Like he does with the rooks in his garden, tempting them ever closer.

I could almost see the Western Irish mountains and fields in the pages, the descriptions were so good, the landscape a stunning backdrop to this modern day cowboy alternating between trying to fix up his house and trying to solve the mystery of where Brendan went.

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

A clue is left at a murder scene: a page from a paperback novel. The title of the book is Murder by the Dozen, and local author, T.L. McGinnis, cannot provide any leads. Detectives Josh Riddell and Clint Weller of the Ottawa Police Service are worried about what lies ahead. It soon becomes evident their worst fears have been realized, and a serial killer is using the novel as a guide. It’s impossible to foresee and safeguard all the potential victims, and time is running out. But who is the killer’s real target?

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The figure glided to the bed on soft-soled feet. The face of the intended victim was at ease, lashes dark against her pale cheeks. The curve of her lips suggested a pleasant dream

Jennifer Danvers slept the sleep of the dead, the intruder thought. The pun provoked a smile; a hand stifled a chuckle.

Jennifer’s face was familiar, chosen with great care, and it inspired a sense of excitement; the adventure had begun at last. It had taken months of planning and hour upon hour of research.

A few hiccups were expected along the way, but the killer didn’t question the likelihood of accomplishing the goal.

Despite a sense of elation, the hands were steady as the person leaned over the bed and wrapped latex-covered fingers around Jennifer’s throat. Her lovely blue eyes opened, startled, and her hands grabbed her assailant’s wrists as she struggled to free herself, to no avail.

Training and preparation were on the killer’s side.

“You should be honored.” The words were spoken with a smile, even as the fingers increased their pressure, and terror-filled eyes pleaded for mercy. “You’re perfect. The most perfect I’ve found. We’ll go down together in history.”

It was over within minutes, too quick for the killer’s satisfaction, and the young woman’s body slumped, lifeless, on the bed. The act completed, the murderer took a few moments to relish the sight of her: the slack mouth, the bulbous eyes staring back, as if in wonder.

Exhilaration flowed through the killer’s veins. So powerful, so clever, so much in control. A laugh escaped, a brief staccato burst.

“No one will ever suspect me. They never do. I’m invisible.” The words were addressed to the body on the bed, as if expecting a response. “I may not come across as being special, but I can do whatever I want to, and I’ll prove it. You’ve been an enormous help. Thank you.”

The corpse received a bright grin as a reward. “Oh, I can’t forget. I have a few things to take care of, haven’t I?”

From a pocket, a pair of tweezers were removed. Unzipping a bag pinned to the front of the person’s white coveralls, a small, red plastic heart was extracted. Jennifer’s mouth was opened, and the heart was lodged against her tonsils. Thin lips curved into a smile of admiration before closing the victim’s mouth and blocking the heart from view. Next, the tweezers were used to pull a crisp piece of paper from the bag. The killer squatted, placed it beneath the bed, and pushed it under as far as possible, taking care not to bend or tear it.

“There. Once upon a time.”

A.J. McCarthy grew up with a love for reading, and that love became stronger with the years. Having built a career in finance, she decided to try her hand at writing. To her surprise, she discovered a new passion, and is enjoying the excitement and the challenges which accompanied that discovery.

She tries to blog when the inspiration strikes her, and she continues to write novels.

She lives with her husband north of Québec City, Canada, and is the mother of two wonderful daughters.

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My thoughts:

A murderer copying the killings in a work of fiction, a cop determined to stop them reaching the twelfth victim, an author who might be a target.

This was a really fun and clever read, with Tierney and Josh racing against time to find the murderer and stop him killing twelve people inspired by Tierney’s novel. And falling for each other along the way.

The supporting characters were also interesting, from Matt the retired cop to Cooper the dog, completing an interesting line up featuring a few potential suspects and Tierney’s OTT mother!

The perilous denouement at the quarry was full of tension and risk, but thankfully ended with the villain where he belonged and Josh and Tierney together. I think a sequel could be fun with them teaming up to solve a case not inspired by Tierney’s work but perhaps another writer’s.

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

I can’t forgive myself. Not after what I did. Could you?

This is Claudia Winters’s last chance for a fresh start. Changing her name and leaving her old life behind, she has fled to the small town of Kesterly with her mother and daughter. Here, she hopes they can be safe for the first time in years.

But the past can’t stay hidden forever. And even as Claudia makes new friends and builds a new life, she can’t help feeling it’s all about to catch up with her… Until one disastrous night changes everything forever.

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime, including One Minute Later and Home Truths and My Lies, Your Lies. Susan’s novels have sold nearly three million copies in the UK alone. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s.

Susan has previously worked as a secretary in news and current affairs before training as a production assistant working on light entertainment and drama. She’s lived in Hollywood and the South of France, but now resides in Gloucestershire with husband James, two stepsons and dogs.

My thoughts:

This was really interesting, my husband is a trained Restorative Justice co-ordinator so I know a bit about how it works, and while it’s more often used for so-called lesser crimes like ASB and theft, it can be used, as it is here, for more serious offences, depending on the circumstances and people involved.

The way the novel is constructed, with Archie’s letters in between the chapters about Claudia, Marcy and Jasmine rebuilding their lives, but without giving the context of the letters till later is very clever and kept me engaged, as I wanted to find out the connection and discover who the letters were for.

Building up to the incident and then looking at the aftermath was really compelling and powerful, you feel for everyone involved, having read the letters as well as following Marcy and her family.

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

Animals rule the world. They hit cafes for breakfast then nine to five at the office, and fritter away evenings at jazz clubs. But paradise is still a distant dream, for there are devils amongst the angels.

Lucas Panda is missing; clues on the riverbank suggest he was probably kidnapped.
Enter Frank. Who else you gonna call? Hard-boiled penguin and the finest detective in town.
And meet his new partner, Detective Chico Monkey – yeah, the wisecrackin’ kid with all the snappy suits.

But the stakes have been raised; three more creatures are missing and the citizens of Noah’s Kingdom are faced with possible extinction. Can the grouchy bird and plucky young ape save the city from doom? Or, will evil prevail and escape the claws of justice?

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J T Bird is an award-winning stand-up comedian from North London, where he lives with his wife and child. His humble abode sits neatly between the former homes of HG Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson…so there’s no pressure to write something utterly successful and wonderful. He runs a comedy show for fresh new acts but has taken a break from performing to focus on writing novels – because it’s much more relaxing, and there’s far less chance of being heckled or struck by a bar stool.

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My thoughts:

This was a hardboiled detective noir style story with a twist – all the characters are animals. Walking on two legs and talking animals.

After Detective Lucas Panda goes missing, Chico Monkey is transferred to the city of Noah’s Kingdom to assist Panda’s partner, Frank Penguin, in searching for the missing cop. The unlikely duo, and their colleagues, uncover a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the Kingdom.

This was a lot of fun and once I moved past the fact of everyone being animals, it’s a great crime caper, the characters pop off the page and the plot is clever and engaging.

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

How easy is it for a man to simply disappear?

When rural banker Richard Harper is reported missing, DSS John (Archie) Baldrick and DC Ben Travers are drawn into the tangled details of the man’s life. Would Harper really have chosen to leave his seriously ill wife, and abandon his pregnant girlfriend?

Or is there a real threat behind the
abusive emails he’d been receiving from desperate clients in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis?

On the home front, Archie’s marriage is rocky and his two teenage daughters are giving him all sorts
of trouble. The frail but beautiful Helena Harper and her magnificent house offer an oasis of calm as Archie struggles to discover who is responsible for her husband’s disappearance. Has he really been
abducted, tortured or killed? Or is Richard Harper himself behind everything that has happened?

Archie and Travers ultimately face a race against time as the case descends into a bewildering morass of obsession, violence and murder.
Longlisted for the 2019 Michael Gifkins Memorial Prize for an Unpublished Novel Finalist in the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards for Best First Novel.

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Or readers can email Christina via her website or her Facebook page Christina O’Reilly – Author for a paperback copy.

Christina is an author and proofreader living in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Several of her short stories have been published in anthologies, most recently in Fresh Ink: A Collection of Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand 2019.

Into the Void is her first crime novel and was longlisted for the Michael Gifkins Memorial Prize in 2019. It is also a finalist in the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards for Best First Novel.

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My thoughts:

Considering this is a first crime novel, it is very accomplished, with its cast of possible suspects, red herrings and dead ends, as Archie and his team try to solve a missing person case that has more to it than it first appears.

Clever, gripping and with a chilling psychopath at its core, this is an excellent 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.

Read my review of Blind Witness here.

In 1923 flushed with the success of their last sluething escapade Major Alasdair Charters, a blind WW1 veteran and former intelligence officer and his aristocratic wife The Honourable Melissa, accept an invitation to a country house party on Somerset Levels in Winter.

There they find a dysfuctional family all living in a huge old house on a hill. Overnight the storm brings with it the flood waters and the house becomes surrounded and cut off from the rescue just as a murderer begins to stalk the residents.

An exciting murder mystery in the Golden Age tradition.Will our sleuths discover hidden secrets and unamsk the murderer before anymore else is killed?

This series follows amateur sleuths Major Alasdair Charters and the Honourable Melissa Charters as they inadvertently muddle their way through many investigations but always arrive at the truth. Alasdair was blinded in the First World War and uses his special skills to gain ‘insight’ into the crimes. The Honourable Melissa, who likes to think she is a socialist, has a large family and set of friends who always seem to run into problems. The books are set both in England and abroad.

Having a husband who is blind, author Vicki Goldie likes to explore perceptions about this disability and push the boundaries.

Vicki lives in Poole Dorset with her blind physiotherapist husband. She has a lifelong fascination with the Art Deco period and with books of the Golden Age of Crime. This led her to envision a series featuring a blind detective set in the 1920s. Blind Pool is the second in the series.

She is a co-pioneer for a reading charity Read Easy Bournemouth and volunteers at The Russell Cotes Museum in Bournemouth.

She is currently writing book three in the series Blind Haven set in Bournemouth.

My thoughts:

Another cracking case for the Charters’ to investigate in deepest Somerset.

Invited to a friend’s family home (even though neither is keen on staying at any more country houses, and who can blame them!), to investigate the possibility her grandmother was murdered, there’s soon bodies stacking up as the house becomes cut off by flooding and heavy rain.

I’m rather fond of Melissa and Alasdair, and this, their second outing, is full of the best Golden Age tropes and knowing winks to the crime loving reader, not least the odd mention of the excellent Poirot.

Despite being blind, Alastair sees a lot more clearly than most, and uses his brilliant mind, in conjunction with Melissa’s knowledge of psychology to work through the series of deaths and their causes.

Thoroughly enjoyable and great fun, I think Vicki Goldie may actually be from the Golden Age of Crime and have a handy time machine – these give even the marvellous Mrs Christie a run for her money. Bring on book three!

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