Nicki's book blog

  Unjust Bias by Liz Mistry- Crime DI Gus McGuire is one of those characters that you can't help but like. He's a no nonsense type of guy but underneath has a heart of gold, someone you would definitely want on your side. He has that right mix of determination to do justice and a very human emotional side that only shows in certain circumstances and in this book this latter part is shown through both personal wrangles as well as work where it is usually lurking under the surface. Who couldnt help have a human side when there are murders especially of young innocent people? This time it's about conversion therapy linked to a church- something that sadly still exists and this is well researched and sensitively treated. Of how some people can't accept others and believe it is “ God's will” that they intervene.  This is a competent, compulsive thriller that had me engrossed. There's more than one line of crime and the characters as ever with Liz’s books shine throug...

  The Roommate by Caroline Macon Fleischer- psychological thriller Donna has inherited a house from her grandmother. To keep the wolf from the door she takes in a lodger. When she interviews him he says the only thinking he is uncomfortable with is that he would be paying rent and she isn't. The very first morning that Joshua has moved in he goes out for a walk and comes in through the side door- a door she doesn't have a key to. When the lodger begins taking over and treating it as his own property, Donna knows things have to change. This quickly built the tension and grabbed my attention. I  got Donna's thrill of a place to call her own and the practicality of a lodger- for her not only help with the bills but a little company- but not too much as she likes her own space. Omg! What a thriller, what a terrible situation! Despite Donna's naivety, the lodger from hell and then some. How to get out of a situation that Donna so easily got into? A tense thrilling read. For ...

  T he Lodger by Valerie Keogh- Psychological Thriller  Leigh works as a trader in the city, a high pressure environment. One day Gina, a barista she sees most days, tells her that she has nowhere to stay as her flat mate needs her out as she is getting married. On a whim Leigh offers her her spare room. When Leigh goes away for a course, on her return Gina has left.  They had a disagreement before she left and there's a note which simply says “sorry, Gina”. Where has Gina gone, how did she know that Leigh had inherited the house without her saying anything,  and has Philip  the creep Leigh met on her course who hand delivered her kindle back to her,  anything to do with Gina's disappearance? Oh wow! Very quickly I found myself immersed in this not wanting to put it down.  There is a clever tension in what at first appears to be almost a domestic drama and then spins into something more.  There are several twists and turns and… I won’t spoil anyth...

  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 dif...

  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 ...