Nicki's book blog

  THE SCARECROW by Stewart Giles (Jason Smith #18) When a body minus hands and feet dressed like a scarecrow DS Jason Smith knows he and his team will have their hands full. Who would do such a thing and why? The policeman keeping the crowd back isn't too helpful and Smith finds his superior to get rather a surprise. When another similar murder comes through it appears the killer may be a do gooder albeit of a murderous nature. Why on earth are they dressed like this and why are there missing parts? This is one of a series but would stand happily alone, that said why miss out on the others?  Oh boy! Stewart has done it again. Within a few pages I'm hooked, drawn in and not wanting to put this down (real life sadly gets in the way sometimes). The skill of a brilliant author to create not only tension but something that grabs you, hook, line and sinker. I like Jason and Whitton (as he insists on calling his now wife) and there's a wonderful backstory to give depth to the two

  The Orphan's Mother by Marion Kummerow- WW2 (post) historical fiction It’s 1945 Emma has had to leave her home as the Russians are advancing towards the town of Lodz.  She has joined a caravan of people heading to a cousin of the organiser Agatha. Her husband is away fighting and the journey with two small children is traumatic and cold and debilitating. Her son Jacob takes ill and on arrival she rushes him to the already overcrowded hospital and isn't allowed to stay. The hospital was one which took the Polish. Now the Germans have cleared it of “subhumans” for their own “upstanding German citizens”. Emma returns the next morning to find the hospital has been evacuated as the Russians are almost upon them- her son Jacob having disappeared. She too has to leave and for the sake of her daughter Sophie must get them both to safety. How is she going to find Jacob and who would have taken him or looked after him? I quickly got into this and found it interesting as it gives a diff

  The Other Girlfriend by Alex Stone-psychological thrille r Lizzie had a friend in Tom since she was small, they did everything together. They even arranged it so that they went to the same university. At uni, Tom met Hannah whose father owned the company he had always dreamt of working for and so began a relationship. Tom kept telling Lizzie this was all for their future and it is her he really loves. Alternate chapters are present day and back at university where something happened that both Lizzie, who now calls herself Beth, and Tom have kept quiet for ten years. Tom has now turned up on her doorstep by chance finding her living in her parents home and invited himself to stay.- she hasn't seen him and he hasn't contacted her since it happened. She always wanted him to come back but at the same time finds it rather unsettling as she has kept herself to herself and pretty much hidden away since that fateful day. What is Tom after and is Beth safe from whatever the truth is?

  Dead Real  by Helen Durrant- Crime           Tom Calladine is back after his illness and there is soon a call about a cat having found a foot- sadly a human one. Tom and his sidekick Bailey soon find the rest of the body when there is a report of a smell. for some reason the victim who was off the Hobfield estate- not known for anything high end, was wearing some rather expensive trainers. He also has an X carved into his skin- something Tom remembers from a perpetrator many years before who was never caught. Could the shadow be back and what is the link to the trainers and Kitty , a PI who is Tom's other half,  who is being coy about the whole thing? Although one of a series this happily stands alone.I really enjoy Helens books and find myself racing through them. There are very likeable characters and an excellent plot line which keeps me intrigued and buried between the pages. I like characters with a little back story to give them depth and Helen always does this very well wi

  Sleeping Dogs- Wendy Turbin- crime/cosy mystery  I won this book and so pleased I did,  it's a treasure of a read.  A crime mystery with some ghostly characters albeit silent ones as " the dead don't speak". It's based around a failing PI agency and cases of an errant husband and a dog who has been run over.  On the subject of dogs,  I was thrilled to read about dog blood donors.  For anyone not in the know dogs like humans can give blood if they are over a certain weight/ size. Pet blood Bank is the service in the UK, not many people realise that dogs too may require transfusions when ill or during surgery so thank you Wendy for mentioning this.   A treasure of a read that made me smile so many times. 

  Liar Liar  by L. G. Davis-psychological thriller Tess has been married to Oliver for the last few months. They care for a young boy  and appear to have a secret, as they discuss being cautious with people. Tess thinks that she is being watched and also wonders if her husband is having an affair as he is spending more time away and being rather secretive with his phone. Alternate chapters take us back to Tess being a nanny for Oliver's wealthy brother Henry and her being enticed by his wieldy ways. Oooh! This is one of those reads that begins almost “ domestic” and you wonder where it is going. There are a few hints at something but nothing specific which gives it a brilliant air of tension. Tess is very wary, Oliver less so but it appears that Tess has more to lose. Stunningly written I found myself enveloped between the pages not wanting to stop. A cleverly thought out plot which does not reveal until the very end. Really enjoyed it. For more reviews please follow me on Twitter@

  The Waitress by Nina Manning-psychological thriller. Kit is working as a waitress which she loves. She has just won a house in a raffle- a house worth £2 million and some cash to help keep it going. We know she has done something that has changed her life as she mentions an incident and has left her old job and boyfriend behind and not spoken to her parents in a long while- something she wouldn't normally do. She begins hearing noises in the house and already has had a pipe leaking. When things take a turn for the worse, she has her suspicions. Is her past catching up with her or is someone out to get her and why? OMG! One that put me on the edge of my seat and kept me there. This is brilliantly written and the tension is almost palpable at times- a woman on her own in a new large house hearing things almost made me listen out myself (and I’m not on my own!). Kit is likeable, although perhaps a little naive at times, but in a way this made me like her more as like all of us we ea

  The Last Restaurant in Paris by Lily Graham WW2 fiction /dual timeline A very different story of wartime that I really loved. 1987 and Sabine is rather surprised when she gets a call informing her that there has been a restaurant left to her.  It turns out that her mother was adopted and her true grandmother was the owner of Luberon, a restaurant that had rather a history.  It was opened during the occupation and closed when the owner was executed for poisoning her customers.  Sabine is put in touch with someone who worked at the restaurant in his teens and remembers the incident.  George finds he can remember far more than he ever thought.  This is the story of their discovery and of a curious incident during the occupation. Wow! This is such a captivating enchanting story that quickly drew me in. It's a cleverly thought out, well honed plot line that nicely alternates between two time lines- 1987 and before/during the war. It's hard not to admire these stories and although