Tag: thrillers

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Heights – Parker Bilal*

ramblingmads

What starts with the gruesome discovery of a severed head on the Tube soon becomes personal for former DI Cal Drake.

After one betrayal too many, Drake has abandoned the police force to become a private detective.He’s teamed up with enigmatic forensic pathologist Dr Rayhgana Crane and it’s not long before the case leads them to the darkest corners of the nation’s capital and in dangerously close contact with an international crime circuit, a brutal local rivalry and a very personal quest for retribution. With the murder victim tied to Drake’s past, his new future is about to come under threat.

Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of Jamal Mahjoub, the critically acclgaimed literary novelist. He is the author of the Makana Investigations series, the third of which, The Ghost Runner, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. The Divinities, the first in his Crane and Drake London crime series, was published in 2019. Born in London, he has lived in a number of places, including the UK, Denmark, Spain and, currently, the Netherlands.

Twitter Website

My thoughts:

A gruesome discovery on the Tube, of a woman’s head in an IKEA bag, kicks off several investigations. Who was she? Is she connected with the case that derailed former DI Drake’s career?

Meanwhile Crane and Drake have been hired to find a missing young woman, but all is not as it seems. Did she really get abducted by her uncle and taken back to the Middle East or is her aristocratic author boyfriend hiding something?

As the pair hurtle around London following various clues and red herrings, they deal with suspicious coppers and dodgy gangsters, uncovering more than they planned.

This was a really fast paced, gripping thriller, complete with untrustworthy and unsavoury figures, both criminals and police. A few innocent people get entangled along the way, but justice is served as the former police detective and criminal psychologist run the guilty parties to ground.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Truth Be Told – Kia Abdullah*

ramblingmads

ARE YOU READY TO START THIS CONVERSATION?

Kamran Hadid feels invincible. He attends Hampton school, an elite all-boys boarding school in London, he comes from a wealthy family, and he has a place at Oxford next year. The world is at his feet. And then a night of revelry leads to a drunken encounter and he must ask himself a horrific question.

With the help of assault counsellor, Zara Kaleel, Kamran reports the incident in the hopes that will be the end of it. But it’s only the beginning…

Powerful, explosive and important, Truth Be Told is a contemporary courtroom drama that vividly captures today’s society. You will not stop thinking about it for a long time to come.

My thoughts:

This author seems to specialise in plots where secular society and the criminal justice system butt the Muslim community. She examines not only the crime and its impact, but the shame and anger that accompany it, the sometimes toxic masculinity that families see as traditional.

Her previous book, Take It Back, was shocking and this one is too.

Following lawyer turned ISVA Zara Kaleel as she supports vulnerable victims of horrific crimes, in this case a teenage boy assaulted at school, you see the process of reporting and then the secondary trauma of a court case through both Zara and the victim’s eyes.

Dealing with sex crimes is heavy stuff (I used to work for a victims support service) and Zara has to battle her own demons to stay strong enough to support her clients. It makes her a more interesting, rounded character.

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

books, reviews

Book Review: The Boy in the Woods – Harlen Coben

ramblingmads

I was sent a copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A man with a mysterious past must find a missing teenage girl in this shocking thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away.

Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn’t know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.

No one seems to take Naomi Pine’s disappearance seriously, not even her father — with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde — with whom she shares a tragic connection — to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can’t ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it’s too late.

My thoughts:

The title is a little misleading, you only learn tiny snippets about the titular ‘boy’, now a man called Wilde, it’s actually mostly about the hunt for two missing teenagers, one a probable runaway, the other’s disappearance a bit more sinister.

I liked Hester a lot, I can imagine her as an elderly wise cracking femme fatale, a bit Lauren Bacall. Wilde was interesting – I would have liked more of a focus on him and his past, perhaps in another book.

I knew that the plot would be less straightforward than the blurb suggests, having read a few of the author’s other books (and watched The Stranger on Netflix during lockdown like everyone else).

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Gilding the Lily – Justine John*

ramblingmads

A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies.

An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics.

Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her…

When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits’ end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…

Amazon

After thirty years in corporate life in London, half of which was running a successful events company, I decided to take a chance to write the novel that was ‘in me’ since I was a child. Gilding the Lily is the result of this and is a domestic noir story which I hope will keep you on the edge of your chair/sofa/bed/train/plane-seat…

Website

My thoughts:

This was a clever, twisted thriller about family and gaslighting and getting even.

Evelyn is a monstrous creation, gold digging (although she owns about 8 homes), probably murdered her last 2 husbands, possibly poisoning Roger, definitely twisting the truth and manipulating the situation.

Luckily Amelia and Jack see right through her lies and deceptions, and eith the help of a few friends determine to sort her out.

I did not see the twist at the end coming at all, it was very well played. An enjoyable read, and seeing the villain get her comeuppance is always satisfying.

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

books, reviews

Book Review: One Love Chigusa – Soji Shimada

ramblingmads

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A love story that explores the mechanics of the heart and humankind’s inevitable evolution.

The year is 2091 AD. A horrendous motorcycle accident leaves Xie Hoyu coming to terms with his new cybernetic body. Reconstructed from the latest biomechanical prosthetics, he is discharged from hospital and tries to return to his life as an illustrator after many weeks in recovery.

But something isn’t quite right. Xie is plagued with inexplicable auditory and visual hallucinations and feelings of despair. He fears he is losing his mind and the desire for life itself until he notices a beautiful woman on the street – his sole reprieve from the madness.

Possessed by her beauty and desperate to understand what is happening to him, Xie follows her in the hope of finding answers that only she appears to offer. But not all is as it seems.

An homage to the great artist and creator of Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka, One Love Chigusa by Soji Shimada, one of Japan’s most famous authors, is a tale of obsessive love in a world where technology has crept into the very heart of humanity.

Translated by David Warren, it offers a glimpse into a possible future and questions the purpose of humanity in a manner that only Japan’s master of the postmodern whodunnit can do.

The Author

Soji Shimada’s debut novel, The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, is ranked among the ‘top five best locked-room mysteries published worldwide’ (Adrian McKinty, The Guardian).

An instant classic, it transformed him into ‘Japan’s Man of Mystery’ and one of the country’s bestselling authors. His novel Murder in the Crooked House was a Sunday Times Best Book of the Year.

He is also known for his Detective Mitarai series (published by Pushkin Vertigo) and the Detective Yoshiki series.

Shimada is the recipient of the Japan Mystery Literature Award and the founder of three literary awards: Amateur Mystery Novel contests, The City of Roses Fukuyama Mystery Award and the Soji Shimada Mystery Award.

The Translator

Sir David Warren was British ambassador to Japan from 2008 to 2012, having served twice before in the British Embassy in Tokyo during his career as a British diplomat.

He is now honorary professor at Sheffield University, a member of the Board of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures at the University of East Anglia, and was Chair of the Council of the University of Kent until July 2020. From 2013 to 2019, he was chairman of the Japan Society, the leading independent body in the United Kingdom dedicated to UK-Japanese cultural, educational and business contacts.

One Love Chigusa is part of Red Circle Minis, a series of short captivating books by Japan’s finest contemporary writers that brings the narratives and voices of Japan together as never before. Each book is a first edition written specifically for the series and is being published in English first.

My thoughts:

This was an interesting short story about love, Hoyu is recovering from a terrible accident that meant his body and brain were repaired using cybernetics. His memories are fractured and the people he sees all look like terrible monsters.

Traumatised and struggling to recover, he wanders the city, taking refuge in a coffee shop where he sees a beautiful woman, who doesn’t turn into a monster.

He starts following her, desperate to connect and learn about her. His loneliness and despair lead him all over the city on her trail.

When he finally finds her and tries to form a connection, she seems confused and struggles to understand him.

The ending is tragic and leaves poor Hoyu with more trauma.

The suggestion that humanity’s evolution does not lead to happiness is a dark, morbid one.

A strange, unsettling story of love that ends without redemption. Incredibly well written, you follow Hoyu, desperate to find out more about Chigusa and who she is, winding through the city, trying not to look at the monstrous faces of humanity as he does.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Ruined Girl – Kate Simants*

ramblingmads

TWO BOYS LOVED HER.
BUT WHICH ONE KILLED HER?

On a dark night two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into a house. They beat and traumatised the occupants, then left, taking only a bracelet. No one knows why, not even Luke, Rob’s younger brother and Paige’s confidant. Paige disappeared after that night. And having spent her life in children’s homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her.
Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige, and hiding a lifetime of secrets from her heavily pregnant wife, Wren’s obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart…

My thoughts:

This was a tense thriller, full of secrets and twists. As Wren tries to unravel the mystery of what happened to Paige and keep everything from her wife, she might have bitten off more than she can chew.

The writing is concise and compelling, the mystery of what happened to Paige and why she and Rob conducted their burglary are revealed slowly and add to the mystery, leaving more questions than answers as the plot unrolls.

Clever, gripping and with an ending you won’t see coming, this is a smart, modern thriller.

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

books, reviews

Book Review: Titanborn – Brian Schutter

ramblingmads

I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“No more death.”

In Titanborn, Schutter weaves the vivid world of Shangri-La — a colony living in isolation on Saturn’s moon, Titan — and the genetically-engineered humans known as Titanborn, whose task is simply to prove they can survive.

Meera is just one cog in the wheel of Shangri-La. Assigned to fulfill a role, Meera struggles to find a place for herself and overcome the trauma of loss as Titan casually takes the lives of her fellow colonists.

When a friend goes missing, Meera must choose to face her fears to save not just him, but all of the Titanborn, as the colony begins to unravel.

Can Meera and her people overcome the dangers of the inhospitable moon, or will the Titanborn fall to an enemy closer to home?

My thoughts:

This was really interesting, an action packed thriller set on Saturn’s moon, Titan, where AIs are so commonly used that those without implants and augmentations are seen as backward and a bit weird.

After her friend goes missing, Meera joins a mission to rescue him and uncovers a rogue AI system that is slowly taking over all the robots the Titanborn use, including the ones in their implants.

The five rescue team members have to learn to work together, and without relying solely on technology to defeat this threat and find their missing friend. The motto is No More Death, and they’re running out of time.

Despite being set in space, this story is more about human relationships and determination than aliens or space ships. It is the very human desire to stay alive and help one another that enables the five Titanborn to survive the inhospitable environment and take the fight right to the heart of the destructive AI.

Gripping, engaging and fast paced, an excellent addition to the new sci-fi thrillers of recent years.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Man I Married – Elena Wilkes*

ramblingmads

You love him. You’ll do anything for him. But do you really know him?This is the story of Lucy and Paul.

They met. They fell deeply in love. They got married.

Lucy thought that she had everything she wanted.

Until she found the photograph from Paul’s past life, read the text messages he’s so desperately trying to hide. Until she uncovered Paul’s darkest secrets.

Now Lucy realises she doesn’t really know her husband. She doesn’t know if she can trust her own mind. She doesn’t know the lengths Paul would go to keep his perfect life.

And worst of all, she doesn’t know that she’s in danger…

A gripping, dark psychological thriller with an absolutely nail-biting ending that will keep you hooked – the perfect read for fans of Behind Closed Doors, Mark Edwards and Lisa Jewell.

Elena Wilkes grew up in Walsall in the West Midlands. After eighteen years of working in H.M Prisons, she emigrated to New Zealand. She now lives in Shropshire. ‘The Man I Married’ is the author’s debut novel and will be published by Hera Books in August 2020.

Twitter Facebook

My thoughts:

What seems like a whirlwind romance deteriorates into a gaslighting nightmare, with a dangerous and controlling man manipulating everything.

Paul is a psychiatrist and knows exactly how to pull the strings and cause Lucy to doubt herself and her grip on reality. He plays games with her, lies, tells her best friend conflicting stories, slowly breaking down her resilience.

As Lucy’s mental state grows more fragile and she can’t trust the people around her, Paul claims more power, sending her to the mental health unit and making sure no one will believe her.

This was gripping, shocking and frustrating (I really hate men like Paul and he just seemed to keep getting away with it) and the ending was a twist I did not see coming.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Dead After Midnight – C.P. Daly*

ramblingmads

Suzie Q is a prostitute and determined to get out of her current line of work and excited for a fresh start with best friend Lucy by her side. Her dreams come to an abrupt halt, when, during a night of turning tricks, she stumbles upon Lucy’s brutally murdered body. Fearing for her life, Suzie runs to her neighbor, Luke’s, to regroup, where she discovers he’s not just a creepy client, but an undercover FBI agent.

He blindsides her when he reveals that she’s mixed up in an FBI investigation, and that she’s been unknowingly working for Johnny Stone, New York’s notorious crime boss.

Suzie flees from New York, hiding in a quaint seaside town in Maine. She changes her identity and her life. Now she has to survive, to keep the life she has come to love.
Fearing for her life, Suzie runs to her neighbor, Luke’s, to regroup, where she discovers he’s not just a creepy client, but an undercover FBI agent.

He blindsides her when he reveals that she’s mixed up in an FBI investigation, and that she’s been unknowingly working for Johnny Stone, New York’s notorious crime boss.

Suzie flees from New York, hiding in a quaint seaside town in Maine. She changes her identity and her life. Now she has to survive, to keep the life she has come to love.

This is the first novel in the Kelsey Woods thriller series.

Goodreads

Buy

CP’s reading tastes are an eclectic mix of thriller, crime, romance, and the occasional fantasy novel. But, when she puts pen to paper, she can’t resist the intrigue of a thriller.

CP has written two novels in The Kelsey Woods series, Dead After Midnight (debut novel, released in May 2020) and Dead Before Sunrise – which is scheduled for release in the fall of 2020.

A true east coaster from beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada, CP is happily married to her high school sweetheart. She’s been blessed with a wonderful family, including six adorable grandchildren.

CP loves hearing from readers, connect with her via email or Twitter.

Website Twitter

My thoughts:

This was a really interesting thriller, with Suzy Q fleeing for her life and reinventing herself in a small town in Maine, before her past catches up with her.

There’s a lot happening when Luke and the bad guys roll into town. The pace switches from easy living and a happy life, into high octane nightmare of armed gangsters and terror.

I loved the Peters family, who basically adopt Julia when she arrives, a warm mix of slightly over the top Italian mama and a chilled out dad and they run a restaurant.

Thankfully there is a sequel, as the ending is left with lots of possibilities hanging.

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

books, reviews

Book Review: Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

ramblingmads

I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley with no requirement to review.

The acclaimed author of Gods of Jade and Shadow returns with a mesmerising feminist re-imagining of Gothic fantasy, in which a young socialite discovers the haunting secrets of a beautiful old mansion in 1950s Mexico.

He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.

When glamorous socialite Noemí Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it’s clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but her claims that her husband is poisoning her and her visions of restless ghosts seem remarkable, even for her.

Noemí’s chic gowns and perfect lipstick are more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she immediately heads to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin.

Tough and smart, she possesses an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerised by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind . . .


My thoughts:

What seems like a stereotypical Gothic novel, complete with large remote house and creepy occupants becomes something far more disturbing and sinister, worthy of a horror film or my nightmares.
The house is menacing and malevolent, the servants mute, the family vicious in their manner, with unbreakable rules that fashionable, fun Noemi breaks with no regard, finding them stuffy and backward.
Uncle Howard’s obsession with eugenics is creepy too, and the reason behind it all was honestly so sinister and sent shivers down my spine.
This was a book that made me wonder how the author could dream up such a nightmarish plot. But at the same time it was a brilliant read, expertly plotted and delivered.