Category Archives: Book Review

Ghost and Ragman Roll by Pete Adams

by in Blog Tour, Book Review, Damp Pebbles Book Tour and tagged , , | 1 Comment

4 Stars from me

I’ve committed the worst of crimes and read this book without having read books 1-3 of the Kind Hearts and Martinets series, however I am relieved to say that it works really well on it’s own.

Being new to the series, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect and was therefore surprised by the level of humour within the book as we follow main character DCI Jack Austin being virtually Clouseau-esque during his Paris escapades while he is meant to be off duty on his honeymoon.

This unusual take on a crime thriller with entertainment throughout from DCI Jack (Jane) Austin made for a dollop of light relief in my usual dank murder-filled to be read pile!

My thanks to Damp Pebbles blog tours for letting me take part.

#GhostandRagmanRoll #KindHeartsandMartinets @Peteadams8 @nextchapterpb @damppebbles @DamppebblesBTs #damppebblesblogtours

Synopsis: Ghost and Ragman Roll is Book 4 in the bestselling Kind Hearts and Martinets crime series, featuring the eponymous Portsmouth detective DCI Jack (Jane) Austin. DCI Jack Austin is trying to enjoy his honeymoon with Detective Superintendent Amanda Bruce. But it soon becomes a busman’s holiday (or the crime busting equivalent) with news of a turf war in Portsmouth, a missing obese gangster who turns up skinny, and the seemingly unconnected murder of a banker in Paris. When an ambitious new detective arrives on Jack’s patch and starts making waves, he knows the time has come to get back to Southsea and protect not just his rather tarnished reputation, but those who truly matter to him. Ghost and Ragman Roll is another criminally funny romp with the world’s greatest – or is that worst? – police detective, DI Jack (Jane) Austin.

 

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I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll

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5 Stars from me!

Oh that poor little boy, that ‘brave little soldier’ on his own while his Nan goes out to work. Oh my heart broke for him and I just wished they’d asked the teacher, or found a nice neighbour to help out. I found that whole bit of the story utterly heart-wrenching – very emotive and powerful. I know it’s just words on a page but I still feel so sad for him!

I liked Alice, although blimey some people just attract bad luck don’t they! I thought Matthew was a great character and definitely someone I would like looking after me in a similar situation!

I thought all the characters were very well defined and I enjoyed all the different threads within the story – Alice’s own family dynamics with her mum and her sister were a sweet interlude among all the fear.

As for the fear, it was great, really palpable and effective – had I have read this book alone at night I am pretty sure there were many sections where I would have slept with the lights on 🙂

Teresa Driscoll has done a great job with I Will Make You Pay, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Synopsis: Every Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns.

It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.

Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.

With every passing Wednesday the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?

Justice Gone by N Lombardi Jr

by in #amreading, Blog Tour, Book Review, Damp Pebbles Book Tour and tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

5 Stars from me

I am honoured to be opening the blog tour for Justice Gone by N Lombardi Jr for it feels like an ‘important’ book which contains a stark tale about humanity wrapped up inside an engrossing legal thriller. It is truly shameful that our war veterans return home to job instability, often homelessness and a lack of regard for their mental health.

After a phone call from a hot and bothered businessman draws the police to speak with a homeless veteran on the streets of Bruntfield, New Jersey – purely because he doesn’t like the man being near his business – a terrible crime is committed. Despite the best efforts of the war hero ‘Jay’ to cooperate and reason with the police, he is mercilessly beaten to death by six police officers who not only kill him in broad daylight with no cause, but also have the wherewithal to speak phrases into their recording equipment suggesting that the man is resisting arrest.

Dr Tessa Thorpe dedicates her life to counselling war veterans and Jay was one of her clients. When she hears about his death she immediately fears for another veteran ‘Donald’ who she knows is extremely close to Jay and in fact feels he owes him his life.

An initial court case, in which Tessa is called upon to provide evidence, sees the 6 police officers walk free.

The initial act of sheer police brutality is caught on video and shared and before long a sniper kills the guilty police officers. Focus then turns to missing veteran Danny who is soon found and arrested.

Like most people, I have seen/heard similar claims of police brutality but have to say I’ve always thought there were ‘two sides to every story’ however now I am not so sure! Justice Gone offers a glimpse into the American legal system and some gripping courtroom scenes. I’ve no intention of spoiling the ending, the only way for you to find out is to pick up this book and find out for yourself!

Worth adding too, this book is written with real imagery – you can visualise the streets, the trees, the opulence or not of rooms – it is more like reading a film and I am sure Justice Gone would make for a great one.

My thanks to Damp Pebbles blog tours for letting me be a part of this tour.

Synopsis: When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase. Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers get there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture. Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge? Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans. N Lombardi Jr. is the author of compelling and heartfelt novel The Plain of Jars.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nick.lombardi.9400
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6982373.N_Lombardi_Jr_
Website: http://author-n-lombardi-jr.com/

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK:

A Deathly Affair by Leigh Russell

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5 Stars from me

Although there is clearly a hell of a back story here that I am missing (I only say that as it is book 13 in a series), I truly feel that A Deathly Affair worked well as a standalone book. Actually, I’m pretty stunned that it is book 13 as it really is gripping and doesn’t smack at all of ‘just the next one in the series as I’ve got deadlines to meet’.

I greatly enjoyed the relationships within this book. The husband/wife, the affair that isn’t quite what it seemed and also the dynamics within the police force were all very engaging.

I liked the police procedural elements and the methodology behind the investigative routes.

I also really like how the story highlights the plight of the homeless – something which I feel is all too easily ignored, yet most of us are only a few steps away from it at any time. A wrong decision, a loss of income, a relationship breakdown, an addiction, a twist of fate or circumstance can all very quickly lead to homelessness.

Synopsis: Four dead bodies. But who is guilty in this deadly web of secrecy and lies?

When two homeless men are strangled to death, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel is caught off guard by the cold-blooded nature of the crimes. However, her suspicions are raised as two more bodies are found, forcing her to question the motivation behind the murders.

Plagued by countless red-herrings, the investigation drags Geraldine into the lives of three people caught in a toxic triangle of love and dishonesty. Is this a crime of passion, or is there more to this case than meets the eye? 

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

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4 Stars from me

Being a long term lover of shows like Vera and Midsummer Murders, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read The Long Call by Ann Cleeves as it is the first in a new series; featuring Detective Matthew Venn and set in North Devon.

Matthew Venn is a very likeable character who lives in an idyllic cottage by the sea with his (too perfect?) partner. The Long Call features a search for a missing girl and a murder enquiry both of which seem destined to draw Matthew back into a community – and a myriad of painful memories – that he sought to leave behind.

There is a nice mix of complexity and simplicity throughout the book and Ann Cleeves doesn’t shy away from a fair few contentious subjects as the story unfolds.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Long Call and can’t wait to see it on the TV when it is inevitably made into a tv series.

Synopsis:

The Long Call is the captivating first novel in a brand new series from Sunday Times bestseller and creator of Vera and Shetland, Ann Cleeves.

In North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. The day Matthew turned his back on the strict evangelical community in which he grew up, he lost his family too. Now he’s back, not just to mourn his father at a distance, but to take charge of his first major case in the Two Rivers region; a complex place not quite as idyllic as tourists suppose. A body has been found on the beach near to Matthew’s new home: a man with the tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

Finding the killer is Venn’s only focus, and his team’s investigation will take him straight back into the community he left behind, and the deadly secrets that lurk there.

A Window Breaks by C M Ewan

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4 Stars from me

This is a really solid good old fashioned edge-of-your-seat style thriller.

It really is one of those books that has everything – a fractured relationship, deep emotional baggage, remote setting, a pet, a secret, a few red herrings, a hero and some bad guys – add to that a massive dollop of sheer fear for virtually all the flipping pages and you’ll get the general idea!

Lovely suspense building, great characters – really strong and well defined, clever plot, believable actions and motives.

I really enjoyed A Window Breaks and I won’t be staying in any remote lodges for a good while!

 

Synopsis:

It’s 2am.

You are safely asleep in bed.

A noise wakes you.

You stir, unsure why, and turn to your partner.

Then you hear it. Glass. Crunching underfoot.

Someone is inside your home.

You can stay and fight. Or run.

What would you do?

In C. M. Ewan’s thrilling novel A Window Breaks, can a family survive being targeted for death at a remote Scottish hideaway? Perfect for fans of T. M. Logan’s Lies and Mark Edwards’ The Retreat.

A Litter Of Bones by JD Kirk

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5 Stars from me!

THIS IS SO GOOD! I genuinely can’t recommend A Litter of Bones highly enough, I was absolutely blown away by this debut novel and if I didn’t know better I would have sworn it was written by one of the crime thriller greats.

It is so good in fact that I can almost (almost) forgive JD Kirk for calling his main character DCI Logan. I say that because, for me, there is only one Scottish detective called Logan…

DCI Logan is a great character, he has the right balance of flaws and assets to make him a great lead and the supporting cast of his temporary team was equally well constructed.

Clever and innovative storyline, yes I guessed ‘whoduunit’ but that didn’t spoil anything for me – if anything it added to the build up. I raced through the book and loved (almost*) every second of it as the story unfolded. It was well observed, had tangible and likeable characters, had an intense build up of suspense and was peppered with intelligent humour in among the gloom – literally the perfect book?

If you like Stuart MacBride you will love this book, in fact if you are fan of crime thrillers you will love this book.

*If you are a mad ole crazy cat lady then there are a couple of pages you may want to skip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author bio: JD Kirk lives in the wilds of Scotland, where he spends his days making stuff up and writing it down. He lives with his wife, two children, one dog, and – if his daughter has anything to do with it – a cat in the very near future.

Having been writing in various genres for over a decade, JD turned his attention to crime fiction in May 2019, and hasn’t looked back. A Litter of Bones is his first crime novel, and the first of his hundred-plus books that his wife could bring herself to read.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jdkirkbooks/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jdkirkbooks

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19106689.JD_Kirk

Website: http://www.jdkirk.com

Synopsis: Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made?

Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed ‘Mister Whisper,’ earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process.

Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow’s Major Incident Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw.

And what he did.

When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home.

But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago?

And, if so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?

A Litter of Bones is the explosive debut crime thriller novel from JD Kirk, an exciting new voice in Scottish crime fiction.