Don’t Tell- Paul Williams- Crime  

Girls are going missing in a small town in Australia and being found mutilated,

trophies having been taken from them. Carrie has accidentally found a single

earring in her husband Steve’s car and he denies all knowledge of where it

could have come from. Her radar is peaked when she then finds condoms in

his drawer- they never use them. She asks him if he is having an affair-

something again he denies all knowledge of. Meanwhile a man is basing

himself on the Marquis de Sade and “120 days of sodom” - Sadism. He has

a young girl captive and is enjoying torturing her. Carrie confides in an off

duty policeman and is persuaded to do a little investigating herself.

I enjoyed this however two things slightly marred it- how terribly naive Carrie

was and who the perpetrator was. That said I found it quite captivating and

page turning to see if I was right (I was). It's a well written book and has

some excellent descriptions. It is quite a gritty crime read in some ways so

may not suit all tastes but that said it comes across well and doesn't linger

on anything unpleasant. Good solid foundations for future books.

One to build on. 

For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

 

BODY LANGUAGE- AK Turner- lifestyle/forensic           

“ THE DEAD CAN TALK - WE JUST NEED TO LISTEN .”

Cassie Raven is a mortuary assistant having turned her life around thanks to a

chance meeting of a former teacher from being on the streets and a drug fueled

life. She is talented and has insights sometimes where the pathologists are stumped-

something some are rather put out by. When a body arrives and it is her old teacher

Mrs E she wants to treat it with the very greatest of respect as she does every

body but she also wonders how Geraldine E got there- she was healthy and not

that elderly. A little digging and she finds that Geraldine had a fiance- someone

neither they or the funeral directors have heard from, only her estranged alcoholic

son. I really enjoyed this to the point of almost racing through it- I say almost as

I was enjoying it so much I wanted to savour it. Despite the subject matter (and

I find pathology/forensic medicine very interesting) it made me smile- Cassie

has a certain “ je ne sais quoi” about her, that certain something in her attitude

to life and death and someone you would want as a friend. This is almost a cozy

crime mystery- there is that warm familiarity and nothing to put you off your

dinner (other than the odd “ brain in formaldehyde ” mention of autopsy type

thing). A wonderful read, an excellent plot, one I thoroughly enjoyed. 

For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

---------------------

A.K. Turner's first foray into crime fiction was a detective thriller trilogy, written under the pen name Anya Lipska, following the adventures of Janusz Kiszka, a fixer to London's Polish community. All three books won critical acclaim and were twice optioned as a possible TV series. In her other life as a TV producer and writer, A.K. makes documentaries and drama-docs on subjects as diverse as the Mutiny on the Bounty, the sex lives of Neanderthals, and Monty Don's Italian Gardens.

Murder Unjoyful- Anita Waller-  Mystery/crime (cozy)

Fifteen years ago a woman was kidnapped whilst shopping and forced to shoot

someone after being kept naked and without food or water for three days. She was

chosen for her shooting skills and also shot at the scene. She has now come to

Connection -the PI agency run by Kat, Mouse and Doris to try and get closure.

The man who shot her has been released on licence and has fled- she is sure that

he will try and finish what he started all those years ago. Doris pulls in some old

favours and gets rather more than information in a very good way. Meanwhile

the perpetrator is on the loose and causing havoc seemingly slipping under the

radar every time. I really love this series. Despite the subject matter(which

won’t put you off your dinner) this is a wonderful comfortable read. I’ve loved

Doris from the very beginning of the series. This will stand alone but why miss

out on the other 5* reads in the series?  A few smart twists and turns along the

way to keep the grey matter active which I loved. A cleverly crafted plot,

wonderful characters and a smile along the way. What's not to like? 

For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

--------------

Anita Waller was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1946. She married Dave in 1967 and 

they have three adult children.
With many books to her name, she feels she has finally realised her dream. She writes mainly psychological thrillers, but was commissioned in 2018 to write a cosy mystery series, the Kat and Mouse trilogy. By November 2020 this will have grown to five books, plus a spin-off standalone novel called Epitaph, featuring Doris, one of the characters from the series.

She is now almost seventy-five years of age, happily writing most days and would dearly love to plan a novel, but has accepted that isn't the way of her mind. Every novel starts with a sentence and she waits to see where that sentence will take her, and her characters.

In her life away from the computer in the corner of her kitchen, she is a Sheffield Wednesday supporter with blue blood in her veins!

Her genre is murder - necessary murder.

The Twins by J.S. Lark -psychological thriller

“From the moment they are born, twins Susan and Sarah are inseparable.

Through good and bad, the girls will always be together…forever.” 

Sarah and Susan were very close as children until something happened

in their early teen years. Twenty five years later Sarah is married to

Jonny who when children was the love of both of the girls. We go back

in time in alternate chapters and it is a young Susan who is seeing

Jonny. Present day Sarah and Jonny run a cafe and have an adult daughter

Lucy having not seen or talked about Susan for all that time. One day

Susan arrives on the doorstep having found them both and so sets off

memories forgotten and things that neither Lucy or Jonny were aware

of.  The book begins with a car crash with Lucy and Susan in it. I

enjoyed this however my one criticism of this is that the chapters were

not labelled as to whose perspective we were about to get or which

timeline which at times made it a little confusing. I had to work out

who was telling the story and it would have been easier

to have a timeline and person's name at the beginning of each chapter

which would have made things clearer. That said it was a good read,

well written and kept the grey matter active.

A very clever concept that really made me think and an excellent plot line which

kept me within the pages. A mind thinking read!

For more reviews please see my blog

http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

------------------

The Twins

If you liked Blood Orange you will love this!

From the moment they are born, twins Susan and Sarah are inseparable. 

Through good and bad, the girls will always be together…forever.

  Until they meet Jonny.   Older, charming and handsome, Jonny offers the girls the much-needed

love and attention they crave.  But he can only choose one and for the

first time in their lives the girls find themselves split apart – the invisible

thread that binds them severed. Set-free from her twin, Sarah builds a

new life for herself, marries, has a daughter.  But Susan’s life spirals

further and further out of control.And now Susan is back.  And she’s

determined to reclaim everything she feels Sarah has taken from her. 

Her home, her husband…her life? Purchase Links UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twins-J-S-Lark-ebook/dp/B07Z5K6TPB US - https://www.amazon.com/Twins-J-S-Lark-ebook/dp/B07Z5K6TPB

Author Bio – Jane is a coffee, chocolate and red wine lover, and a late-night writer

of compelling, passionate, and emotionally charged fiction.

Jane's books may contain love, hate, violence, death, passion, a little

swearing, and an ending you are never going to forget.

Social Media Links – Website: www.janelark.co.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JS-Lark-2288653328057315 Twitter: @JaneLark Instagram: @Jane.Lark BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-s-lark Sign up for Jane’s New Letter: https://www.janelark.co.uk/contact

 Forgive Me by Susan Lewis

Forgive Me by Susan Lewis -womens psychological fiction

A very interesting informative, inspirational  read. Claudia and her daughter

Jasmine along with Claudia's mother Marcy have escaped. Escaped from

their past life- they have changed their names and moved to another part of

the country making up a new history for themselves. Behind them is an

abusive husband who is now in prison for insider information and money

laundering but they fear recriminations as they have some important

documents which could infer others in the case. After a while and

beginning to make new friends and lives for themselves Claudia and

Marcy independently tell the police as there is a search on for them

as missing persons. They know that they have nothing to do with

the case but are aware that there may be repercussions. I enjoyed

this- its a well crafted and cleverly thought out plot. I liked Claudia

and shuddered at her hearing the abusive voice from her past.

This is about restorative justice- something I only partly knew

about. Wow! What a powerful and interesting way to put this across.

For those not in the know this is where, in the right circumstances

(very much analyzed before hand), the victim(s) of crime meet

the perpetrator with the end goal being that there is benefit and closure for

both parties- a controversial topic of conversation Im sure- but this story does

show how it can very much be used for the good and from personal

experience I can see that it would, for me, have brought some closure and

possibly healing. This made me smile and it made me cry.

One of my 5** reads- about 10% of what I read in a year ( about 220 books )

only earnt by the very special ones and this one deserves it in spades. Loved it .  

For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

---------------

Susan Lewis Forgive Me 12th November 2020 | Hardback| £12.99 An emotionally gripping story about love, family and restorative justice from the Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Lewis. ‘A master storyteller’- Dianne Chamberlain ‘Full of drama, intrigue with so many twists and turns, I promise you'll be surprised and captivated right to the end!' Carmel Harrington ‘Instantly engaging characters and a thrilling denouement’ Lisa Ballantyne Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime, including One Minute Later and Home Truths and My Lies, Your Lies. Susan’s novels have sold nearly three million copies in the UK alone. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Susan has previously worked as a secretary in news and current affairs before training as a production assistant working on light entertainment and drama. She’s lived in Hollywood and the South of France, but now resides in Gloucestershire with husband James, two stepsons and dogs.

About Forgive Me: I can’t forgive myself. Not after what I did. Could you? This is Claudia Winters’s last chance for a fresh start. Changing her name and leaving her old life behind, she has fled to the small town of Kesterly with her mother and daughter. Here, she hopes they can be safe for the first time in years. But the past can’t stay hidden forever. And even as Claudia makes new friends and builds a new life, she can’t help feeling it’s all about to catch up with her… Until one disastrous night changes everything forever.

 

The Lockdown Diary of Tom Cooper by Spencer Brown - humorous literary fiction  

A truly laugh out loud read. It’s the beginning of lockdown and single parent

Tom now has his “ single digit aged two children '' Carrie and Arthur at

home to cope with as well as his job as an advertising executive. I wasn’t

sure how I would take to this as we all remember the anxiety and panic

many of us went through in the early days and I hoped that it would

make me smile- I wasn't disappointed- it made me laugh so many

times. Tom buying hair dye when everyone else wanted pasta and

then wondering how many loo rolls a day him and the kids would get

through. ( A day??) . Fending off competition from a neighbour for

rainbow support for the NHS posters and dealing with the idiots in

the supermarket. To look back even now and realise that others saw

the world the same during lockdown (idiots and madness) is not only

reassuring but done in a humorous way perhaps brings it all down to

earth that little bit more. A wonderful read that I highly recommend

and one we will look back on in a few years to remind

ourselves what it was like and how we reacted. A brilliant read. 

For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

------------------------

THE LOCKDOWN DIARY OF TOM COOPER by Spencer Brown Publishing date: 5th November2020 ISBN: 978-1-9161526-5-6 £7.99 FICTION – HUMOUR ‘So very funny’ Jenny Colgan, ‘A joy-seeking missile’ Richard Ayoade One man vs the coronavirus 2020 was supposed to be a great year. Unfortunately, Tom Cooper, like the rest of the world, has found himself stuck in the middle of a pandemic. He’s going to be spending the next few months trapped inside a small flat with sole responsibility for his two singledigit children. Separated from his girlfriend (and any possibility of help with childcare), Tom is plunged into a world of home schooling, awkward Zoom calls, supermarket feuds, al fresco workout sessions, cashstrapped tooth fairies, aging parents who won’t stay home and competitive clapping for the NHS. Not to mention the problem of trying to fulfill his girlfriend’s request for an erotic selfie of his rapidly deteriorating body… Join Tom as he navigates the lockdown in the stand-alone sequel to last year’s hilarious The Rebuilding of Tom Cooper. Laugh-out-loud with real heart. Lockdown has never been so entertaining.

PRAISE FOR THE REBUILDING OF TOM COOPER

‘A gloriously self-aware, satirical romp through the terrors of relationships, family life and survival. Philip Roth meets Cold Feet!’ Helen Lederer (Absolutely Fabulous, Losing It (P.G.Wodehouse Award nominee)) ‘An aspirational figure for the men of today’ Omid Djalili (Live at the Apollo, The Infidel) ‘Hilarious and heart-warming’ Andi Osho (Live at the Apollo, Curfew) Spencer Brown began performing comedy with the Cambridge Footlights alongside John Oliver (HBO’s This Week Tonight) and Matthew Holness (Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace), before becoming an internationally acclaimed stand up. He has performed everywhere from London’s The Comedy Store to Mumbai and the USA, TV credits including Nathan Barley (Channel 4), Edinburgh Comedy (BBC 2), Last Comic Standing (NBC), his own special on Swedish television. As a TV presenter, he fronted ITV’s Lip Service alongside Holly Willoughby and Five’s The Sexy Ads Show. He is also the writer-director of the multi-award-winning film The Boy with a Camera for a Face. The Lockdown Diary of Tom Cooper is his second novel. SALES: Signature Book Ltd Tel: 0845 862 1730 Email: sales@signaturebooksuk.com DISTRIBUTION: Central Books Tel: 0845458 9911 Email: orders@centralbooks

 

Trust no-one Keri Beevis- Psychological thriller

“A long, long time ago, you did a bad, bad thing. And now it’s time to pay.”

Olivia has been receiving notes which are rather disturbing- telling her she will

suffer for what she did in the past- something that doesn't make any sense to her.

She works as an estate agent and on one viewing she finds a man bound and

gagged in a house and on fire. She flees in terror as she has suffered trauma in

the past and it is all she can do to save herself. Janice and an old school friend

Fern are also receiving notes - only they know they did do something but it

was such a long time ago. Olivia is getting spooked as more things begin to

happen and she is sure that someone is entering her house or the restaurant

when she stays with her mother. Her new boyfriend Noah is protective but

also a little suspicious as she realises that she knows very little about him.

Who is after her and why?

OMG! This is one of those reads that you happily sit down with for a chapter or

so and several hours later emerge wondering where the time went.

A brilliantly written, cleverly thought out novel with that air of tension to make

you turn and turn- and then a twist to keep you that bit further from finding

out and keeping your brain whirring- just as I like it. I thought I knew who the

perpetrator was and changed my mind several times- again the sign of a

clever well crafted plot to send the reader here, there and everywhere!

A roller coaster of a read that I can't recommend highly enough.

For more reviews please see my blog

http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/

or follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog

---------------

Keri Beevis is the internationally bestselling author of Dying To Tell and Deep Dark Secrets. Her brand new psychological thriller, Trust No One, is released November 2020.

Keri lives in Norfolk, England, with her two naughty kitties, Ellie and Lola, and a plentiful supply of red wine (her writing fuel). She loves Hitchcock movies, exploring creepy places, and gets extremely competitive in local pub quizzes. She is also a self-confessed klutz.

Find out more about Keri and her books at www.keribeevis.com or you can follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/allaboutbeev 

Twitter at www.twitter.com/keirbeevis