Nicki's book blog

  The Fire Killer by Ross Greenwood-Crime  DI Barton is investigating a fire where a skip has been set alight and a body was found within it. Years beforehand a young man wakes to smoke and pulls his mother downstairs. His abusive father is still asleep. What transpires is more than arson- or is it pyromania? The latter may well prove a  far more complex case to solve than arson where the person generally has something to gain from the fire. The leads take the team to drugs and a possible country lines trail but what has this to do with the death in the skip? I really enjoyed this and quickly got between the pages. There is a very clever plot line with a few twists thrown in that I wasn't expecting. DI Barton and the team are very likeable with good camaraderies and some appropriate humour thrown in. A little backstory to me always helps shape characters and the dog rescue was wonderful. Love Gizmo! A wonderful read that enveloped me and I soon came to care for the characters. A br

  A Long Way from Home by Brian W. Caves A book that grabbed me and took me back in time, it will enthral you ★★★★★ Outstanding! Caves has weaved a gripping story. I simply could not put it down ★★★★★ A powerful read ★★★★★ Thought-provoking and unmissable from the first page until the last Here’s the blurb: A sleepy town in 1960s South Georgia, where to some residents, segregation is more important than catching a killer. An ex-homicide detective from Chicago called to honour an old promise. With a rising body count and a community guarding their secrets more fiercely than  their children, asking questions could prove deadly for the outsider… About the Author I started out as an engineer, then an estate agent, followed by senior management roles in cable TV and telecoms. Spent a few years as a management consultant and now work in the language translation industry. I have played music all my life. Classically trained on the clarinet from the age of eight until fourteen when my world to

  Good Neighbours by Mary Grand-psychological thriller Nia is staying at her aunt's to house sit and have a break from her life for a while. Her aunt lives on the Isle of Wight in a small close where everyone knows and looks out for each other so she is soon swept into the group who each have their own issues.  Nia is not sure if her husband has been having an affair- she has followed and asked him but he says she is getting confused about things and denies any more than a professional relationship with the other woman. Nia is sure of what she thinks but has no way of proving it as things changed in her house. On the Island she meets a young woman Ruby who is rather suspicious of the others in the group as she has received a voodoo doll and is sure it is from one of them. When Nia then finds a body on the beach things take a turn for the worse. Has Ruby killed herself and what are the secrets everyone appears to be hiding? This is skillfully written and quickly drew me in. There i

  The Memory Keeper of Kyiv- Erin Litteken- historical fiction/dual timeline   A share of proceeds will be donated to DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The author began this story after the Russian invasion of Crimes in 2014 and today it is even more poignant. Set in two timelines this alternates between 1930’s Ukraine and early 2000’s in Wisconsin USA. In modern day  a little girl,Birdie lives with her mother and hasn't spoken in over 14 months. 18 months ago she lost her father in an accident when she was in the car with him. They have moved in with Birdie's grandmother Bobby, who is getting rather forgetful- but remembering things from her past that no one knows about. In the 1930’s, Stalin is trying to make all the farmers pool their resources- together they would be better- an early stance for communism and the villagers are understandably not happy about this. Anyone defying the rules is likely to be shot- people are disappearing in the middle of the night, no one k

  Kiss of Death- Adam Croft- Crime             We are back in Rutland  and DI Caroline Hills is happy to be having a quieter time of things. Not too far away a woman feels ill whilst in church and collapses and dies. When there is another apparently unconnected but unexplained death, things don’t quite add up.  This is the fourth in the Rutland crime series but happily stands alone. I love this series- they are an easy, page turning read that quickly enveloped me into the pages. The characters come across brilliantly and are well rounded having that extra backstory enhancing their police persona. Anyone knowing the Rutland area will quickly envisage some of the place names and perhaps smile at the misdemeanours- as Adam says we really don’t know who we are standing next to at the supermarket- a thief, a burglar or worse- they still go about most of their everyday lives just like anyone else and Rutland is no different albeit a scenic rurality. A wonderful, highly entertaining read wit

  Thrown- Sara Cox- Women's fiction Oh I loved this- a wonderful smile from the very beginning. This tells of a group of people who get to know each other through a pottery class. Each of the group has their own issues- Becky lives with her son, her ex husband being in prison. Jameela has had a string of miscarriages and her husband has up sticks and left. Sheila is retired and would love to move to Spain only her husband isn't that keen. Louise and Danny are a couple, Louise being a little fed up with Danny's “happy to settle, not push for things” in life. I had a good feeling with this book very early on when I read ( she) “ squeezed the extra bit of fat that had taken up residence over Christmas and had made itself so at home that it seemed set to stay through spring”. This to me gave a hint as to not only the humour which is nicely woven throughout the book, but also that life experience which you can't buy. The one that enables us to perhaps laugh at ourselves when

  The Gathering Storm- Alan Jones- (The Sturmtaucher Trilogy #1) pre/WW2 historical fiction- This is set in the early 1930s (and onwards) when Hitler had just come to power. Germany has been suffering high unemployment and poor housing and many see him as a possible saviour to improve Germany once and for all. The Kastners are a prominent military family and have the Nausbamms working for them as they have for many years. The men even went to school together. Whilst the Nausbamms have always suffered the occasional taunt from being Jewish, things are now beginning to heat up and it appears that this is fuelled by Hitlers National socialist party. I found it interesting to read that Hitler was tried and found guilty (in 1923) for treason but was so successful at his trial that he pretty much came out of it unscathed. He dictated Mein Kampf whilst in prison and was already the leader of the National German socialist workers party. This is the story of the two families living and working

  I'll be home for Christmas- M Arnold- (broken wings bk3). Historical mystery We are back with the ladies of the ATA and another mystery has landed at their feet. Betty has a mysterious key which she believes belonged to her deceased sister. Unravelling the mystery has caused some unwanted attention and resulted in the women being followed. Penny has her own issues of a more personal nature and of course the planes still have to be delivered- there is a war going on after all. I love this series. This is the third one and for the ladies' pasts and relevance to the war effort to make sense the others in the series should be read first (both 5* from me- bk 1- A Wing and a Prayer, bk 2- Wild Blue Yonder). There are clearly hours, make that days or weeks of research gone into these books which shines through the pages to make it a very realistic read. There is really a little of everything in there- mystery, drama, saga, romance- all the things that take us through life very well

  The Secret Voices by MJ White (Cora Lael#1) - Crime            A young girl has gone missing in the town where not so long ago, a young boy went missing and then his body was found. The Police really don’t want the same thing to happen. Acting DS Rob Minshull has his hands full- his first major case in the role. Alternate chapters tell us of Hannah and “ the small space”- somewhere she is stuck and really wants to go home. Cora works at the university- where a close friend is studying her emotional synesthesia as part of a study. (she can sense emotions from objects). She is getting bored of the repetitive experiments and would relish something different. When her boss suggests that she could use her gift to help the police, she gets more than the challenge that she was after. I quickly got into this and enjoyed it being a different crime read. Emotional synesthesia isn't apparently a real thing, despite being a small number of studies on this, colour synesthesia is the real one

  Guests- Stewart Giles- Crime/psychological thriller Wow! One compelling read. Henry and Rebecca Gree n have always dreamt of living by the sea. The time has come now they are in their sixties to sell their outer London home and make the move. Henry is a little suspicious of the estate agent who is rather keen to sign them up. Rebecca has seen a house she loves, one that is almost too good to be true so wants to get moving (literally!). When they discover that next door is a rental for holidays at first they aren't too worried. When it turns out to be a weekend party house things take a turn for the worse. Fortunately Rebecca has a trick up her sleeve from her past occupation which quietens things down for a while. When the noise is ramped up again her daughter intervenes with eerie good intention. When the police arrive due to three deaths, who is to blame?  OMG! I couldn't put this down, it's so well written I wanted to find out more and more which kept the pages flying

  Queens of Themiscyra By Hannah Lynn Press Release New book, ‘Queens of Themiscyra’ , brings mythological legends to life.  Released May 1st, 2022 With her latest book in the Grecian Women series, Queens of Themiscyra: The enthralling rise and fall of the Amazons most fearsome daughters, author Hannah Lynn delves deep into the past and pulls forth a remarkably relatable tale of sisterly loyalty and family duty. Many of us are familiar with Wonder Woman and all the other references to this legendary race of women scattered liberally through pop culture and popular literature - but this book delves so much deeper. Queens of Themiscyra brings context to this extraordinary group of women, arising from Ares, God of War, himself. Yet, it is the complexity of characters themselves and their interpersonal relationships that hold the reader, and although men of fame and renown play significant roles, throughout the text it is the women - and more importantly the Amazon women - who carry the st