Nicki's book blog

On Borrowed Time- Adam Croft- Crime “ As Rutland Police fight to catch the killer, a group of friends is left with an even more shocking realisation. One of them is the murderer. And one of them will be the next to die.”   We are back in Rutland and a man has been found hanging from a railway bridge. Suicide possibly? DI Caroline Hills and her team are rather cautious as things don’t quite add up. Caroline has her own issues with her health and is determined that the case isn’t going to be passed on to the east midlands team as can happen when you are the smallest county and force in the UK. A group of old school friends  are rather shaken when a second body is found and yet again it is one of their group. I love this series. There is something quite comfortable about it despite being about murders if that makes sense. Excellent characters that you take to and a well thought out crafted plot to keep the grey matter nicely ticking along with the turning

What She Saw by Diane Saxon-Crime /psychological thriller                  " Who set the fire? Who wanted this family extinguished beyond recognition?" A man has shot all the members of his family before setting fire to the house. A house purchased through ill gotten gains behind the veneer of his estate agent business. His teenage daughter Poppy however, although shot has managed to escape and believes she is to blame for the carnage as she snuck her boyfriend into her bedroom and thinks this was the cause of her father's rage- a man known for being dominant and not nice with it. DS Jenna Morgan now has her sister back with her after she was kidnapped and the case is about to come to court. Meanwhile she is investigating the fire which looks non accidental from the speed and ferocity at which it caught. The next morning getting a coffee for her and  a colleague she witnesses something that puts a whole new lead and spark into the day

  Christmas in Cockleberry Bay **COVER REVEAL ************ Meet old and new characters in the Bay for Christmas fun and frolics. With both the Corner Shop and Cockleberry Café in safe hands, Rosa turns her attention to Ned’s Gift, the charity set up in memory of the great-grandfather whose legacy turned her life around. Over at the Ship Hotel, Lucas has his work cut out with his devious new girlfriend and the mystery poisoning of an anonymous hotel inspector. Will the hotel still get its 3-star Seaside Rosette? Will Mary find true love at last? Can Titch cope with the demands of the shop and being heavily pregnant. And can Rosa, with a baby of her own, pull off the Cockleberry Bay Charity Christmas Concert in time? Christmas in Cockleberry Bay is a festive delight for fans of Rosa and her cheeky mini dachshund Hot, delivering a feast of unpredictable events and surprises. Pre-order Links Kindle – UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08JHJKLQF/ Kindle - .com - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08

Heads or Tails- Rob Ashman- Crime Valerie tosses coins… to see if that day she will kill again. She plans meticulously- location being all important. She has a pet at home- one who is shackled and cuffed, thin and weak who is making noises that James her neighbour is complaining about. Malice and Peitersen have what at first appears to be a roof jumper but with cutting edge computer equipment and other oddities things don’t add up to a suicide. Meanwhile someone's boss is trying to work out why he is dead when in the middle of an operation- one far too valuable to lose someone over. Agencies collide and Malice and Peitersen try not to step on toes but are determined to get to the bottom of this. I love the relationship between Malice and Peitersen. There is respect, humour and that “get it done” attitude. Rob has a wonderful style of writing that is gritty at times and with that well placed humour at others “ her fringe looked like it had been cut with

Resistance- Patricia Dixon-  Historical/contemporary  fiction  “ Will her final mission be one of revenge or, can she forgive and forget?” Dottie is on a holiday with her granddaughter Maud in France. Maud now has a fiance whom she is a little unsure about. Dottie is mighty sure- that he isn't the man for her granddaughter! Dottie has a past- some of which her family know and some they don’t. She is very close to Maud and they go off to discover more about Dotties secret life in the war. She is rather a character- she has been married four times and is one tenacious determined lady. She begins by telling Maud of the friend that she was named after- a woman she shared a room with in training. We are taken through both Dotties story and present day in alternating chapters to get both ends of the story. I loved Dottie. Someone you would always want by your side. Caring yet fierce(in a modern day parlance). A heart of gold and steely determination again

Little Book of Hope by Louise Hall This is as it says a little book of hope in every way. A perfect gift or pick-you-up in printed format. Of all types of hope and why it should be a part of our lives. “When you have hope you will realise that you are stronger than you think, cleverer than you think and loved more than you’ll ever know”. Sometimes we or others we know need some affirmation in life to get us over those bumps that life throws at us. Those life changing events when we can’t see clearly. Reading this I have a friend in mind who may be receiving this book, just because. Because we care about others and what happens in their lives and we can't always put into words our own feelings , not wanting to either reopen wounds or to upset the other (already upset)party. We just want to let them know that we care and that there is hope out there, there really is. “Where there is life there is hope” Stephen Hawking.  For more reviews please see my blo

COMING HOME TO HOPE STREET - Marcie Steele  "Can Livvy convince her sister, and her new friends, that her intentions to return were good ones? Or will her dreams of settling down and being happy again become nothing but a closed book?  " Livvy has her tail between her legs and has returned to her childhood home of Hope Street as she has nowhere else to go. Her and her daughter Pip have arrived on the doorstep of her sister Hannah just as Hannah is starting her own new life after the death of their mother. Each has a story to tell of the twenty years since they last saw each other- Livvy left leaving Hannah to pick up the pieces and look after their mother and she has had her own fair shar e of woe- something Hannah is keen to find out but not push too much. Livvy’s ex Keiran has been in and out of her life and left her with more than a broken heart, Livvy having done everything she could to pick up the pieces in order to keep a stable environmen

The Minders- John Marrs-Dystopian Science fiction " Five strangers guard our secrets. Only four can be trusted…" John's books are set in the future- this one being later this century. There are driverless cars and other advances in technology that we can easily see happening from today's perspective. The government has a scheme to keep vital information secure as the last one was attacked and although no information was ceased it showed a weak point. An online test has been sent which is only solvable by people with synesthesia- whereby information to stimulate one of the senses in fact stimulates more than one (eg people hear something and see a colour associated with it). Successful test subjects are offered to start their life again. They hold in their brains the sensitive information and for five years they begin a new funded life with no internet access, no family contact, no alcohol and other strict rules as these could jeopardiz

Life After You by Sian O’Gorman- Womens fiction "What if the one you've lost, is the one person you need to find?" Milly lost her father five years ago and still really misses him. What didn’t help was the boyfriend she thought was standing by her at this difficult time, Darragh, then left the week after the funeral to pursue his dream of living and working in Italy without having told her beforehand. He is now back and has opened a wine bar near where Milly works as a corporate lawyer dealing with developers. One developer is her current boyfriend Ryan however it is a very tentative and fairly new relationship however his mother Carole has much to say about Milly and her presentation. When Milly's boss gives birth and she deals with a customer well, the top boss gives her a side project- one very much where feelings and emotions come into play rather than the corporate world she is used to. This time it is to try and save an old lady’s flat fro