Nicki's book blog

  Killing Evil- John Nichol- Crime/psychological thriller A book you may not want to put down! Written in the first person, this tells the story of Alice (not her real name as she tells us), her life and her becoming a “hunter rather than the hunted”. As a child she was abused by her father and saw the looks he was giving her younger sister- who was now at the age when Alice first had those gruesome night visits. Alice plots her fathers death but then learns about post mortems in suspicious deaths and so her plot is foiled. When an unforeseen opportunity presents itself she takes the chance. Years later having graduated with a course in computer sciences she is working for the probation service and other chances present themselves for her to rid the streets of the “monsters”.  I have an issue with John’s books- albeit a good one. I cant stop turning the pages and a chapter turns into 10 and time and real life disappear- so easy is it to be immersed in the book.  Brilliantly

  The Rainbow by Carly Schabowski-WW2 historical fiction Based on a true story this tells of Isla and her grandparents. Alternate chapters take us back to 1930 in Poland. Whilst looking for something in the attic for her grandmother, Isla stumbles across a picture of two men in German army uniform. The name of one is her grandfather, someone she believed had fought for the allies and won medals. When she asks her grandmother she denies who it is and says Isla must never ask her now rather confused grandfather about this. She also finds an old rainbow coloured scarf with the picture and hangs on to it. Her grandfather has a brother still in Poland so she ventures to find out more from him, but he himself is elderly but he does have some diaries of his brothers from the war period and gives them to Isla so that she can find out more for herself. I really enjoy this type of novel- it's not only a story but a wonderful way to learn what life was like and what went on in that time p

  Code of silence- Phillip Jordan - police procedural Gordon Beattie has a large empire much of which is  sadly on the wrong side of the law. He smuggles in drugs hidden inside concrete which is then smashed open to gain access and for the remains to be used for roads. He is not averse to putting people in line if they cross him- a rather mild description of what his organisation gets up to. DI Veronica Taylor is called in when there is a report of a man brutally killed and a young woman severely beaten. A gritty crime thriller set in Northern Ireland. Beattie has just escaped prosecution- the case having collapsed so the police are determined to get justice. There is mention of “ The troubles'  which some of us remember and the fall out in the years following. Written in a brilliant way and incorporating some local dialect (but easy to understand) we follow Ronnie and her team across drugs, trafficking loyalist gangs and organized crime and the violence that comes with it.

  The Box Hill Kille r (Detective Rob Miller #4) - Biba Pearce- Crime       Twelve years ago four men were killed by what was dubbed “ The pentagram killer” as this was inscribed on their bodies. Today there has been a robbery at a jewellers and inadvertently a sixteen year old girl got caught up in the melee. Her DNA provides a familial link to DNA found on the last victim's body- what is the link? Although number four in a series this will happily stand alone. The old case is reopened despite not having a whole lot to go on other than the DNA link. DI Rob Millar and team take the case and begin to uncover more than was originally found. When there is a twist the whole thing is turned on its head as there is someone possibly in the picture who is now in the limelight and the higher ups are keen to quash as involvement for political reasons. How can Rob and his team proceed if their hands are tied? I loved this, it's a well thought out plot and lots going on. Just as o

  The Night She Disappeared- Lisa Jewell- psychological thriller        It's 2017 and Talullah has a baby and for the first time leaves Noah with her mother Kim to go with her boyfriend Zach to see some friends. When the next morning she hasn't returned Kim is understandably worried and sets out to find her. She is devoted to Noah and would never leave him. Back in 2019 Sophie has just arrived at the school where her boyfriend has just got a position as head and is getting to know both the staff and the area. When she finds a sign in the garden saying “ dig here ” with an arrow pointing downwards,  she is intrigued and being a detective writer she has to pursue it which leads her to the reopening of a case never finalised. I always enjoy Lisa’s books, there is always that air of mystery and tension in a good way building as you go through the book. A cleverly crafted plot from a master writer and planner.  Enough to keep the grey matter active, nothing to give you nightm

  A Light in the Window: WW2 historical novel by Marion Kummerow  Margerete finds herself in the rubble of a bombed house where she worked, albeit unpaid as a maid/housekeeper. This is wartime Germany and Margerete has to wear a yellow star on her jacket to show she is of the Jewish faith. As she crawls through to get out she sees the daughter Annegret of the family she worked for, laying dead with her papers sticking out of her pocket. Margarete takes a chance and the papers and becomes a non jew to protect herself from the atrocities of war. Meanwhile in Paris the son Wilhelm is working for the SS but goes back to Berlin to attend the funeral of his parents with his brother Reiner who is doing his best to work his way up in the SS. Reiner has even named his children Adophina and Germania to try and impress his peers.  Wilhelm learns something about his brother- how he treats women and how he raped their servant but sadly she died in the bombing as far as he knows. Wilhelm goes

  The Woman in the Painting by Jane Adams- crime             Rob has been painting a woman he briefly met years ago for as long as he can remember. Anna featured little in his life but very much in his head and he is now well known for the Anna paintings. His agent and a TV show decide it’s time he re-met Anna and set up the meeting. A few days later Anna is found dead and Rob literally has blood on his hands but he found her dead. What secrets was Anna keeping and when everyone thinks he is the killer how is he going to prove them wrong? DI Marris and team are on the case but it's not quite as straightforward as once thought as Rob’s agent has a thing or two up his sleeve. I enjoyed this- it's an easy straightforward read with the odd twist to keep the action moving. I liked that Rob although the chief suspect wasn't the usual “type” ( if there is one?)  and was rather eccentric in some ways- for example having three identical jackets as he hated shopping (I can re