Nicki's book blog

BLOOD ON THE ISLAND – Detective Liam O’Reilly by Stewart Giles -Crime DI O’Reilly has just arrived in Guernsey after a rather hasty retreat from his hometown of Dublin. He is straight into work when a body is found in a boat on the beach. Murder is something that doesn’t happen in these islands ever and when a second one is found a few days later with a very similar M.O he wonders whether coincidence plays a part or is it something to do with him. He recently lost his wife and to try and fund a trip to possibly cure her he borrowed a lot of money from the wrong people. People who are now threatening both him and his daughter and may want more than just money to repay the debt. I love Stewarts style of writing. All his books I find are easy and comfortable to get into (Ok maybe the odd scene of murder- nothing too descriptive in a good way) and characters you quickly take to.   A good solid plot line and that something more about the characters to

Broken Silence by Liz Mistry  Crime On her way home from a conference, police officer Felicity Springer is slightly worse for wear after a celebration and more. She sees a hand dangling from the light fixture of a van in front of her almost waving to attract attention. She follows the van and puts out a call, however she crashes into the van as they abruptly stop and she is shot, captured and held hostage to be disposed of. DS Nikki Parakh is on the case but is rather wary of Archie , the DCI as he is acting rather oddly and unknown to him she knows that he has requested the CCTV footage of where Detective Springer was at the conference even before the crime was committed. What is going on? When the body of a young woman is found something is rather awry in the crime, drug and perhaps trafficking world. Where is Felicity and does the other woman have anything to do with her going missing? I love Liz’s books. There is a special magic in her talent of

I Know You Lied by Lesley Sanderson psychological thriller    Nell lived with her grandmother Lillian whilst growing up, her parents having died in a car crash when she was small. She moved away aged 16 needing to get away from Lilian's overprotective clutches. She has a job and a flat and is surprised one day to receive a letter from a solicitor telling her about her mother's will and recent death. She has only sporadically kept in touch with Lillian and on going back to the family house finds a stranger there who turns out to be a relative and Lillian for now, living elsewhere. Why has Lillian hidden the fact that her mother was alive all these years? Nell feels robbed of the chance that she could have met her as she lived not too far away. Alternate chapters take us back to around the time that Nell was born. I liked Nell and her tenacity to find out what had happened. Lilian is really not a nice person and only has her own motives at he

Agony Auntics by Julie Butterfield - Romantic/Contemporary comedy. Fliss writes an agony column for an online paper. On replying to one of her customers she puts her thoughts on paper and accidentally sends it  and so begins an interaction between herself and Ellie who wrote to her. Ellie asked about a man she had seen at work- Logan, and how to go about getting to know him as she already felt she was in love with him. Fliss has been married for an age and whilst writing to Ellie realised that things were not quite as they used to be, her husband now appearing to be more married to his phone and job. This is the story of two relationships. One a tentative one at best and one of a marriage that for an unknown reason has become stale. I enjoyed this as I think most women will, having been in one situation or another themselves (or both perhaps?). As with all Julia’ books there is so much more than “just” a story. There is something to think about, a reflect

I Know The Truth by M.A. Comley -Psychological thriller Lucy has a past that she would rather not think about. A violent husband that she managed to walk away from. We know there are secrets but not what. Five years later and she is about to move in with her best friend and she meets Matthew who blows her away. He treats her right, doesn’t push her but still she is very careful as Patrick was the same when they first met. She then has an accident- only it appears someone caused it deliberately. She has a feeling of being watched at times but puts it down to her nervousness at the whole situation. Matthew has a brother, Jake, who warns Lucy to stay away from Matt. Rather difficult as they are in love and he has just proposed. Whatever is going on and why?  I loved this One of those reads that makes you slightly anxious (in a good way) and turning faster and faster to find out what's next. I liked Lucy and Trish, a solid friendship that had stood t

The Patient Man- Joy Ellis-Crime              “ Jackman and Evans' most dangerous enemy is back to finish things off.” There are some strange goings on in the fens. Some guns have been stolen but not the most expensive or all of them. Some pigs have also been stolen…. but not all of them. DI Jackman and DS Evans then have reports of a shooting- the victim being someone who was suspected of running over a young girl and killing her. The missing guns belong to her father. Marie receives a text and knows whom it is from. Ashman is back on the scene- a man wanted by the force over the years but never apprehended. He has threatened Jackman and Evans several times over the years and this could be the time to set a trap perhaps? I love this series. A good plot, wonderful characters and a read you can totally relax with- pardon the pun but a real joy to read. This is part of a series(Number 6) and whilst may stand alone the others are best read beforeha

The Old Girls’ Network by Judy Leigh Womens Contemporary Fiction Barbara is staying with her sister after having a fall due to low blood pressure. Both ladies are in their seventies, Barbara never having married and Pauline now a widow. On a trip one day  Pauline knocks over what she thinks is a drunken vagrant. Enter Bisto- so named as a child he loved to smell the cooking just like the kids in the advert of the same name.  He says he was on his way to his chateau in France and has lost his belongings and wallet. He is filthy and stinks of drink. Pauline is more trusting and Barbara maybe like most of us thinks “ yeah right- not!”.  She is a rather reserved solitary type of person, different from her friendly, gregarious sister who knows and interacts with most people in her village. Pauline insists on taking Bisto in for a while whilst he recovers, and so begins some adventures both with Bisto and of Barbara wondering if how she has led her life has