Tag: reviews

Where do you hide an escaped prisoner? On a wheelchair holiday perhaps. Like a spoke in a wheel, the villain is seen but not seen.

Aspiring writer Sandy Blee is stuck in a dead-end receptionist job until she wins a working holiday to Jordan, pushing a wheelchair for Wheelchair Warriors Holidays. Even though she quickly realises she was the only entrant in the Blerglergle writing competition she is extremely excited about leaving England for the first time.

However, after arriving in the pink city of Petra she discovers her fellow travellers are not all they seem, and most are not who they claim to be. Moreover, the whole group is under investigation by the SeeMs Detective Agency who have been sent out to search for an escaped convict.

When members of the group are kidnapped and one mysteriously dies, Sandy finds herself pulled into the SeeMs detectives’ investigation. Is she, who so wants to write bestselling crime stories,
ready to take on a real-life mystery – one that might just turn deadly?

This book will be enjoyed by readers who like travel crime, plus devotees of Agatha Christie, Grease the movie and MM Kaye

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Like many authors, Gina has had a lot of different jobs and careers. She has been a
physiotherapist, a flying instructor and pilot, a dog breeder, and a journalist. This is her sixth book in the SeeMs Detective series: the agency that looks behind what seems to be true.
Gina had two lengths of time when she was in a wheelchair (after a car crash and a helicopter accident) and having experienced the difficulties of wheelchair travel firsthand she wanted to write a book that showed the challenges for wheelchair users when travelling, not just steps and narrow doorways, for example, but unexpected things like the difficulties of traversing cobbles.
When not writing or travelling Gina lives in Sussex with her husband and dogs.

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My thoughts: The SeeMS Detective Agency are sent to Jordan to apprehend a familiar villain, mistress of disguise and Stevie’s former girlfriend Bella Chantry, they also uncover another criminal on the run – Lady Bumstead.

But before that, a member of the travelling party with Wheelchair Warriors Holidays is tragically murdered and Cat and Miranda must help the local police identify the killer after a botched hostage taking.

The trip’s organiser Miss Abbey is at her wits’ end with the group, mostly elderly, mostly impossible to manage – like herding cats. The majesty and beauty of Petra seem lost on them as they bicker and gossip their way through the desert. But who hated Mrs Cox enough to kill her?

I do wonder if the detectives are a little bit hopeless, they get distracted from their task a bit too easily and I figured out who the disguised criminals were in about thirty seconds. But the hostage taking, murder and all the other secrets the tourists are carrying were quite gripping and intriguing.

I have first-hand knowledge of how difficult it can be to travel with a wheelchair and negotiate awkward terrain (Cyprus FYI is a great place to go if you are looking for a holiday that’s pretty good on access – the beach even had a ramp and a sort of chair lift into the sea) so I understood how tricky finding willing “pushers” could be and although most wheelchair users would far rather take their own chair, how difficult it is to load and unload transport while travelling.

Overall I enjoyed the book, and wonder whether the detectives will ever catch Bella or whether they’re destined to chase her around the globe, always one step behind.

*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 brutal murders. One glass house with a sinister past. And a ruthless killer who’s
ready to throw the first stone . . .

To step into Hollingrove Palm House is to step into another world, filled with tropical blooms, lush foliage and six ancient stones. Flash tycoon Tony Pardoe, the house’s owner, doesn’t believe the old wives’ tales that swirl around these stones. A mistake he won’t live to regret.

Pardoe’s body is found, sprawled across the stones like a sacrificial offering. Now it’s up to Detective Markham and his team to solve the twisted puzzle of Pardoe’s killing.

The only clue? Another mysterious death, under the same roof. Thirty years ago, little Mary Priddy suffered a fatal fall among the stones. Markham doesn’t believe in that kind of coincidence.

But the roots of these murders are buried deeper than he could ever imagine . . .

While Markham’s grappling with his own, more personal demons, a third body falls.
Can he unravel the mystery — more tangled than the palm house foliage — before the killer escapes into the shadows a second time?

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Catherine Moloney is a Liverpool writer of Irish-American heritage. After graduating in Jurisprudence from Jesus College (University of Oxford), she was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn. Despite qualifying as a barrister, her first love was English; this led to a PhD in English Literature at Birkbeck College (University of London).
In her academic career, she lectured and published widely on the subject of tuberculosis and nineteenth-century literature, but somehow managed to avoid contracting galloping hypochondria and turned her attention to crime fiction.

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My thoughts: DI Markham’s team are called to the gardens of Hollingrove House, a museum in a stately home that has links to Richard II. The CEO has been murdered by the ancient standing stones, his body laid out in a strange fashion, could a modern believer in ancient Druidic rites be the killer?

The only previous time the police had investigated the house was thirty years before when a little girl died, the detectives at the time ruled it an accident, but there were always questions it was murder. Could there be a connection to this case?

With more questions than answers, the team delve into the lives of the staff and volunteers at the house. At the same time Markham and his able fellow DI Bishop are both dealing with personal relationship issues, but they need to focus after another person is killed. Just what is going on?

Clever, with a rather chilling folie a deux, lots of literary and historical references to keep you focused, and enjoyable characters (I’d forgotten how much I enjoy grumpy old Yorkshireman Noakes) this is another excellent slice of crime writing.

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

He freed a monster. Now the city wants his head.

Mitchum Sweeney is fifty, divorced, and one bad hand away from financial
ruin.

By day, he’s a judicial staff attorney at Oakland’s Superior Court. By night, he’s dodging creditors and chasing lost causes. But when his expert testimony sets cartel kingpin Paco Castillo free, Mitch becomes a target — for the union, the FBI, and Paco himself.

Castillo has one final demand: find his missing wife, and Mitch’s mountain of gambling debt disappears.
But when Mitch’s search uncovers evidence of a child trafficking ring
buried in the justice system itself, the stakes turn lethal.

As bullets fly and bodies drop, Mitch is forced to reckon with his past and confront impossible choices — because the truth won’t set him free, and saving the people he loves might mean damning himself for good…

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Dylan H. Jones is the author of the best-selling Detective Tudor Manx
series, set on the idyllic Welsh island of Anglesey.

A native Welsh speaker, Dylan was born on the Isle of Anglesey and left at the age of eighteen to study at Leeds University. His love of storytelling and writing began at a young age when he slipped a copy of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock from his father’s bookshelf.

Dylan’s debut novel, Anglesey Blue, was an immediate hit, taking the Amazon #1 spot in Welsh Crime on the first day of release. The novel was also long listed for the Guardian Newspaper’s prestigious readers’ choice award, Not the Booker Prize.

His following two novels, Doll Face and Shadow Soul soon became firm, crime fiction fan favourites, and established DI Manx as a fresh, compelling protagonist in Welsh Noir.
His standalone thriller, What Follows, set in Oakland CA, was published in 2021.

Dylan is also a creative director and ad agency copywriter, and now lives in Oakland, California with his wife Laura and daughter Isabella. Dylan loves great coffee and fine wines, and can often be found around the coffee shops of Oakland conversing with the locals and seeking inspiration in his next shot of espresso.

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My thoughts: Mitch Sweeney is having a very bad day. Called to testify on the stand as an expert witness during the trial of a crime kingpin, he’s now in the sights of everyone, from the furious man who blames that criminal for his niece’s death, to the cops who pulled him over, and the very happy to be found innocent gangster.

Now he apparently owes Paco Castillo a favour – find his missing wife so she can sign the divorce papers and he can marry his Russian ballerina girlfriend, Oksana. Or at least that’s what he tells Mitch.

He finds himself caught up in the middle of a turf war, and that Paco is guilty of much more severe and awful crimes than he could possibly know. There’s also dodgy dealings at the court house to investigate and a bent cop to bring to justice. All in a day’s work, right.

His personal life isn’t in much better shape, and his wife and son have gone to her mother’s, in Mexico, which puts them in danger as Mitch gets dragged further into chaos and villainy. And then the FBI want his help too.

Blackly comic, as Mitch’s life falls apart and he tries his best to stay alive and not get arrested for his part in the gigantic mess he’s in.

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

Detective Mike Nash thought that moving back to Yorkshire from London would give
him a quieter life. But evil still lives out on the windswept Yorkshire moors — and so does vengeance.

A killer calling in their own crime? DI Mike Nash never thought he’d see the day. Until he gets a call that makes his blood run cold.
If you go to the woods on Stark Ghyll, you’ll find a man hanging from a tree. He’s dead, and in hell where he belongs.
Nash races to the scene to find the killer’s as good as their word. And they’re not done yet.

A second corpse surfaces at the foot of treacherous Black Fell cliffs.
Elsewhere Sammy Rhodes, a promising teen gymnast, is missing. She never came home from training, and her parents are frantic with worry.
The clock is ticking for Nash to bring her home alive. With no idea who — or what — he’s up against. A ruthless killer who’s waited decades for a taste of sweet revenge.

Only Nash can stop them now. Or die trying . . .

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Bill Kitson was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, a wool merchant, was a fan of crime books giving Bill access to his diverse thriller collection from a young age.
Educated at Ashville College, Bill worked in the family business before spending over thirty years as a bank executive. A keen cricketer and sportsman, the highlight of his career came when he umpired a one-day international at Lords.
He and his wife now live in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where he writes crime, romance, and general fiction. Bill’s interests include Cricket, Crime, Crete, Cookery, Cryptic crosswords – and also Alliteration.

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My thoughts: Mike Nash is back and this is a dark, twisted case he has on his hands. Someone is killing paedophiles, and even Mike’s team aren’t sure they want to solve this one. But their job is to catch killers, not pass judgement, so they begin to investigate.

Whoever is luring these men to their deaths on Mike’s patch hasn’t left much to go on. And then a child goes missing, and the team have a whole second case on their hands, or do they? Could missing Samantha be linked to their murders?

A dark, twisted tale of pain and revenge, as Mike and his team hunt for someone who’s killing some of the worst criminals the team have ever encountered.

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

It’s been a busy year for Alice Carroll, with her Curiosity Shop opening for business, and not one but two murders shaking things up in her quaint Cotswold village.

She’s looking forward to her first
countryside Christmas, complete with traditional Christmas Fair and Santa Run.
But her hopes for innocent festive fun are thwarted when one of the Santa Runners steals something from her mum’s knitting stall. His festive outfit makes him hard to spot, until he’s found fatally injured outside the village hall with the stolen item.

Despite what the police say, Alice suspects there’s more to his murder than meets the eye. She’s determined to solve the mystery – including why, once more, a stranger thought something from her Curiosity Shop was worth killing for.

With the help of her charming neighbour Robert Praed, can Alice find the killer before the bells ring out this Christmas?

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Debbie Young is the much-loved author of the Sophie Sayers and St Brides cosy crime mysteries. She lives in a Cotswold village, where she runs the local literary festival, and has worked at Westonbirt School, both of which provide inspiration for her writing.

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My thoughts: It sometimes feels a bit funny reading Christmas books in a heatwave, and all the talk of jumpers and scarves in this did make me feel a bit warm, but thankfully there’s murder and a missing little bear to find.

It’s all a bit odd as a man steals a five pound knitted scarf from Alice’s mum’s stall (I love that little Laila calls her “Alice’s mummy”) with a curious bear shaped button attached. He then promptly gets strangled with said scarf and the bear vanishes. Only all is not what it seems and the little bear turns out to be far more valuable and important to the case than anyone realises.

Both victim and whoever killed him were dressed as Santa, so that’s really helpful in soliciting possible witnesses. But on checking the register of Santa Run runners, Alice spots that the victim and the most likely suspect didn’t use their real names…conspiracy!

It’s a really fun read, and funny, I enjoy this series, although, I too miss the donkeys from the first book, and I did enjoy how Wendy, Alice’s mum, manages to get to know more about the villagers in a few hours than Alice has ever managed in almost a year. Right, off to sort through the button box in case there’s something priceless lurking in there…

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

Life couldn’t be sweeter for Honey Driver, floating around the Med on her own private yacht, with her dishy detective husband Steve. But dark clouds are gathering on Honey’s perfect horizon. And the forecast looks like murder!

When Honey’s love boat sinks in a freak accident, she has no choice but to return to rain-drenched Bath. But now that Honey needs him, her insurance broker, silver-tongued Norman Glendower, is nowhere to be found.

He’s not at his luxury offices in town and he’s not answering his phone.
Honey could kill Norman for leaving her in this fix. But what if someone got there first?

Behind the gates of leafy Regency Gardens, the exclusive complex where Norman lives,  something is terribly amiss. Norman’s mewling cat leads a curious neighbour straight to  his dead body!
He’s been bludgeoned and left for dead on the pristine tiles of his designer kitchen.

Which of his many enemies was the one to strike the fatal blow?

Honey’s on the case — with a killer watching her every move . . .

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Jean, the alter ego of bestselling historical author Lizzie Lane, has lived in and around the Bath area for some time and was indeed a member of Bath Hotels and Restaurants Association — so well in touch with the hospitality trade in that fair city. However, unlike Bath hotelier Honey
Driver, she was never asked to be Crime Liaison Officer and neither does she collect antique underwear! However, her daughter assures her she is just as zany as the quirky Honey Driver and will never grow old gracefully.

My thoughts: This is why I don’t trust boats, I don’t get seasick or anything like that, but they do seem very fragile for things you trust not to dump you into the sea where you might end up getting eaten!

After Honey and Steve’s adventures return them to solid ground rather abruptly, it turns out that for a police detective, Steve is incredibly naive, he trusted a man he only met in a pub to insure the boat, and now it looks like it might have been a scam. Oh, and the man in question? He’s been murdered. But which one of his many shady acquaintances and unneighbourly neighbours did it?

Honey and her mad psychic friend borrow the deceased’s cat, interrogate the neighbours, there’s another death and a bit of arson to go with it, Steve is investigating officially, but obviously the unofficial pair get a lot further, and Honey’s mother inadvertently helps them out.

And for now it looks like drifting about is off the table for Honey and Steve as there’s no pay out coming their way, good thing there’s always crime to solve!

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