Nicki's book blog

  Death on Cromer Beach by Ross Greenwood- Crime  A woman is walking her dog along the beach when the dog finds two upturned buckets with stones on them. When she takes the stones and buckets off she gets rather more than she bargained for. DS Ashley and new, fast track Hector, and team are assigned to the case. Ashley has passed her inspector exams and is assigned as deputy SIO. Hector, this being his first detective assignment, thinks he knows everything and Ashley is doing her best to gently guide him before he digs himself a hole he can't get out of. The victims are two hippie type characters who would do no harm to anyone. Who would want to do such a heinous crime and why? I very quickly got into this and I always love Ross’s writing style. Despite the subject matter there is an ease of reading and wonderful character development. I found myself rapidly taking to Ashley and smiling at Hector- to me the skill of a brilliant author. , the two of them making a veritable team. The

  The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency by Lydia Travers- Cozy crime A book that is a treasure and a pleasure to read. Maud McIntyre has set up her detective agency and her assistant is her former ladies maid Daisy. Their first case takes them to a country house as jewels have been going missing from house parties and the host is keen that this isn't going to happen this time- or if it does Maud and Daisy can hopefully find the perpetrator. When one of the guests is killed Maud wonders if this is above their capabilities but jewels are missing and she and Daisy are right on hand to find the culprits.  I loved this, I'm smiling as I’m writing this as it's an evocative piece set in 1911 when ladies were just beginning to step out into doing more than being chattels. Maud and Daisy have their wits about them and as lady and maid are perfectly poised to hear any gossip or wrong doings both above and below stairs. There are other small cases and twists and turns making this

  The Librarian by Valerie Keogh-psychological thriller  Ava works as a librarian at the Tate modern- her dream job. When she is asked out for a drink with her close friend, she is approached by a man who won’t take no for an answer and shouts a threat to her down the street . Ava then remembers, as if she could forget, about a man she knew ten years beforehand, where we are only told that something happened which she feels is her fault. She keeps hearing noises at home which is spooking her rather and when something happens at the gallery she is convinced that the man is carrying out his threat. What on earth is going on and what happened all those years ago? As with all of Valerie's books I got into this rather quickly and time and real life slipped away from me- to me the sign of a good book and a skilful author. There’s a wonderful tension without anything being obvious to the reader- clever writing indeed. I like Ava and found myself rooting for her. It's clever, it'

  The Ex Wife by Amanda Ashby & Sally Rigby. Psychological thriller  Blimey Riley! A page turner and a half! The book begins with Alice being on trial and then takes us back to six months earlier. Alice is divorced from her husband Mark and they have a teenage daughter Cassie. Mark now has a fiancée Norah. Norah has a demon from her past, something she thought she had put behind her. When walking the dog one day Alice sees Norah having what looks like an altercation with a man in the park. Cassie’s boyfriend Scott wants her to go travelling with him for a gap year, only neither of her parents are keen on this and she has no money. Scott appears to them to be a phase hopefully one Cassie will quickly grow out of. Cassie however is convinced she is in love.  Alice has her own secret about Cassie, one she hopes will never be revealed but with Norah and Mark looking at IVF this might just come to light. Norah has been getting messages about her past and being blackmailed to get drugs f

  Murder Amongst the Roses by Liz Fielding - Crime Abby is a gardener and is working on her soon to be ex-husband Howard’s garden when she finds human remains- what looks to be a baby from many years before hand. Her ex who now has a pregnant girlfriend has coerced her into doing the work free of charge so that their son can go on a school trip- something Abby has funded via a family heirloom of his and given back. In the supermarket she bumps into an old school friend Jake who was friends of both her and her husband back in the day, who has now returned to the village. When Howard returns back from his trip with his fiancée, his temper is short on several matters. Shortly afterwards Abby finds him kneeling near the site where she found the bones. On approaching him she finds his throat has been slashed and her spade is lying nearby. There are several people who could have wanted Howard out of the way but who and is this linked to the baby bones? I really enjoyed this- it's an eas

  The Wonderland Murders by Millie Ravensworth -cozy crime + GIVEAWAY **** A book I loved from the outset and stepped into a wonderful world! Penny has been asked by her ailing Nan to look after her “Cozy Crafts” shop whilst she recuperates. Penny has recently lost her job in London and so has time on her hands. At the shop she finds her cousin Izzy whom she remembers as being a little odd and full on but soon discovers this is now in a very nice way, she’s just not up to organising things but is second to none with crafts and a sewing machine. Penny drops into the library when exploring the town and comes across some locals. Soon one has been poisoned however he wasn’t popular and Penny’s first impression was rather of a misogynistic bully. Who would want to kill him and why? This is the first in a series (I’m off to get the rest of them asap). Characters I took to from the outset and wonderful descriptions of a traditional small town and old fashioned shop put the reader right in th

  End Game by Liz Mistry- Crime   Liz has done it again- a book with a crime seemingly impossible to solve and keep the reader spinning all the way through. DI Nikki Parekh and team are faced with a crime scene where a family have all been murdered whilst sat at a game of monopoly. There is an extra place and game piece. Who is the extra player and why did they all sit there apparently not moving as each of the four were killed? Meanwhile a girl has been abducted and finds herself in a dark, dank room, her clothes changed. She is then led upstairs to a luxury house to who knows what? OMG! The opening paragraphs are stunning, almost prosaic and within it we get the first crime scenario. I love Nikki and the team and Liz’s writing. There is quickly a drama to draw the reader in and then twists and turns with a double plot, alternate chapters being from the captor of the girl or the girl herself. It’s very cleverly and carefully crafted, done superbly with an easy writing style that meant

  In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern- General fiction A stunning, wonderful, powerful tale: Alice lives with her mother and two brothers, one older and one younger. Alice has synaesthesia (to see or feel in colours)only this isn't recognised until she is older and sadly she is seen as being different and a trouble maker. She sees the anger in her mother and the calm in her older brother. Imagine being able to see and hence make a judgement of someone by the colour surrounding them. When there is a crowd you are overwhelmed, when seeing strangers you can make a call. When Hugo, her older brother, goes to university and her younger brother is on the wrong side of the law it is left to Alice to look after her mother as she is now in a wheelchair. Cecelia has a rare talent. One that has the ability to draw the reader in without them really knowing it. There isn't a plot as such, it is a story of Alice’s life, but you can't help but be drawn to her and knowing you can

  A Good Mother by Patricia Dixon-women's psychological thriller There’s a real joy in opening one of Patricia's books. Always a stunning opening piece, almost poetic and evocative of what is to come to tempt and put the reader gently into things. Trish has a stunning talent with words and even into the prologue, I was so taken with the descriptions I sat and thought and then read again. “ Morning has broken. I know this before I open my eyes because outside the dawn chorus is in full throw. I picture pale sunrays illuminating the sky……. Stubborn beaks and wings spread wide. Joyful in the new day” How wonderful, how prosaic and a stunning use of the English language.  There are three main female characters- Babs, Gina and Robin who all live in a small village. Gina is the youngest and having had a troubled childhood the other two took her under their wing when she was small and there is still a wonderful bond. Only Gina knows a secret about Robin's husband who is the vicar

  MURDER IN THE PARISH By Faith Martin- Crime  I am so very happy- Hillary is back! (One of a series but happily stands alone). How do I explain? Hillary was a DI who is now retired but working on cold cases with a small team reporting to serving officers. She is a wonderful character that shines through the pages- a testament to Faith’s writing. I love “ Puff the tragic wagon” and the reminder of POETS day  (if you know, you know) and although a serious subject this is written in a light hearted style which puts the reader both at ease and very quickly into the frame of things, making it a relaxing, highly entertaining read.  This time the case is of a young Reverend who was killed possibly with a spade in the doorway of his church thirty years ago. It appears he was popular- rather too popular in some quarters but kept himself aloof to this. There was some controversy over land which the church wanted to buy but seemingly nothing worth killing over. Who would want him dead and why? T