Fresh Catch: A Thomas Reeve mystery by David Haviland

There’s something entertaining about a private detective who can face down dangerous criminals while remaining concerned about the quality of his coffee!

In Fresh Catch, Thomas Reeve is hired to investigate the disappearance of £150,000 worth of seafood. What begins as a straightforward fraud case soon leads him into the murky world of local gangsters, hired thugs, and suspicious businessmen. But appearances can be deceptive, and Reeve discovers that the obvious villains aren’t necessarily the whole story. The investigation builds towards an epic chase, where survival may depend on making a deal with the devil you know rather than the one you don’t.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. Haviland’s eye for human absurdity and Reeve’s wonderfully dry humour make for entertaining reading.

Beneath it, however, there is a well-constructed investigation. Reeve makes intelligent, sometimes difficult choices, and is faced with the uncomfortable compromises that real life occasionally demands.

Fresh Catch is a quick, fun read. For a novella, it has a satisfying story with a genuine start, middle, and finish, memorable characters, and an ending that gives the reader plenty to think about.

Thanks to Loudhailer Books and the author for the ARC copy (posted on Goodreads).

Wild Things Never Die by Sally Andrew

Description from Amazon:

Tannie Maria is wrestling with a fear of the dark and Henrietta has PTSD. But this doesn’t stop the intrepid agony aunt – and her hen – from going undercover with Maria’s fiancé, Detective Henk Kannemeyer, to the Karoo Wilderness Reserve. Their mission: save the vetplantjies! At the luxury game lodge, they spy on guests and support the Anti-Poaching Unit in a battle against dangerous gangsters. Jessie attends the Succulent Symposium, which is tackling the poaching problem internationally.

Then, there is a murder ...

Our favourite Ladismith sleuths engage with some colourful suspects, including a barefoot artist, a botanist cowboy, a singing gardener, and a sangoma. Between solving murders, writing agony-aunt letters, eating spectacular food, and having spiritual epiphanies, Maria and Henk get fashion tips from a couturier and his Baroness.

But fashion is forgotten when their own lives are at stake.

 

Having read the previous four books in the series, I was looking forward to the saga continuing. However, this was the least favourite in the series for me. It had all the elements of undercover intrigue and a mystery, but it felt different from the others. Maybe the Irish accent in the series on TV keeps that actress in my head as I read, but Maria seems to be using a lot more Afrikaans phrases too often. Almost as though the author is saying the book is set in South Africa so here are words people use.

What I like about the book is that all the characters are important and that they are not just in there to further the story. Even though in this book some of the characters who had bigger roles previously play much smaller ones.

I did appreciate all the knowledge that the author imparted regarding plant poaching and the sterling work that people do to protect plants and animals, but Maria also took every opportunity to use a Latin name for a plant, and that also became confusing. The inclusion of the recipes at the back is always a bonus.

Overall, it was a good read, and I’ll definitely read the next, but it didn’t blow me away. It felt rather drawn out and in some places hard to believe, and there was just too much about Henrietta.

But I’ll keep rooting for Maria and the advice she gives in the newspaper!

The Familiar by Diana R. Bascarau

Description from Amazon:

Beth Clarke came to Los Angeles to become an actress.

Instead, she became a vampire’s familiar, managing Elias von Martyrom’s life, cleaning up after his parties, and waiting six years to be turned.

Then, one day, Elias’s most important guest is found dead.

Murdering another vampire is one of the few crimes the vampire world takes seriously. Elias is arrested, locked beneath the Council chambers, and scheduled for execution in one month.

Beth knows he didn’t do it.

Unfortunately, knowing and proving are two very different things.

With a bizarre list of suspects, an aristocratic vampire council, and a charming historian who keeps asking dangerous questions, Beth has one month to solve a murder she has absolutely no idea how to investigate.

And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she begins to wonder whether saving Elias is really the same thing as saving herself.

 

This sounded like an interesting angle on a vampire story as you never really get to “find out” what a familiar actually does. And it turned into less of this and more of a traumatic bonded story.

The rules that Elias has Beth following are ridiculous and the fact that she accepted them as she did, showed the level of abuse (yes I’ll describe it like that) she was willing to endure all to be turned one day as well as to be accepted by Elias.

Once the murder has occurred and Beth moves through the investigation she does, the book has me divided. For one thing, I admire her tenacity, but personally, I didn’t enjoy the victim she became. I understand that this is what the author was trying to show about Beth’s character, but I couldn’t connect with her decisions, and this made the story less enjoyable for me. I also figured out Damian’s part very early on, and even though he was eventually trying to throw her a lifeline, I understood the direction she took with him.

However, the ending was rather unfulfilling. I think I expected something huge to happen that would change what had been occurring through the years, but it was almost like saying you can’t win no matter how hard you try. And I know some have agreed with Beth’s final decision, but I just want to shake her and say why? I suppose that’s what makes everyone different.

Due to the editing mistakes, and while I appreciate what the author was trying to show in a different way, it just didn’t work for me in the way I wanted it to, so I give this three stars.

Thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for the ARC. 

Year One by Nora Roberts

Description from Amazon:

As this world ends, a new one begins.

With one drop of blood, the old world is gone for ever. And in its place, something extraordinary begins...

They call it The Doom - a deadly pandemic that starts on a cold New Year’s Eve in the Scottish countryside. There’s something mysterious about the virus and the way it spreads. As billions fall sick and die, some survivors find themselves invested with strange, unexpected abilities.

Lana, a New York chef, has the power to move things and people with her will. Fred can summon light in the darkness. Jonah, a paramedic, sees snatches of the future in those he touches. Katie gives birth to twins, and suspects that she has brought fresh magic into the world, along with new life.

But The Doom affects people differently. Along with the light, a dark and terrifying magic will also rise. As the remaining authorities round up the immune and the ‘Uncannies’ for testing, Lana, Katie and others flee New York in search of a safe haven. The old world is over, and Year One has begun.

 

I had not read Nora Roberts or her other penname, JD Robb, before, and with a tagline like this, I just had to read it.

The pandemic has an eerie COVID feeling to it, but it’s a lot more extreme and wipes a lot more people out. It also turns people feral. It’s as though there is a feeling of hatred unleashed, and those willing to embrace the hatred turn the landscape into a dystopian wasteland by stealing and killing and destroying. If you felt the desperation people experienced to stay alive in the movie The Purge, then this is what it’s like on another level. It does move from dystopian to more fantasy, but I had no problem with this.

I enjoyed the magical elements to the story, where the “Uncannies” have incredible abilities and many are just learning to use them. You have humans with simple abilities, while others have become faeries or elves. There are also those without abilities who are merely immune to the virus wiping everyone out. In some humans the abilities have turned dark, and this darkness fuels an evil that threatens to wipe out all that is good.

The survivors have banded together in groups, much like in The Stand, and in one particular group, some of the members may have something that will turn the tides in years to come. But the waiting might kill more people than the world can afford.

I loved the writing, and the tension and sections of happiness are well placed. The author has you thinking one thing at one stage, and then BAM! Something so unexpected happens so quickly I actually went back to read it again to see if I’d made a mistake. There are sections that do seem a little slow when concentrating on the babies or the cooking or the provisions, but I think these made the hills and valleys of the book interesting.

There are plenty of elements that have not been addressed like how the Raiders came together, what the deep dark is, and how the prophet is going to get involved, but I think this will be one of the bases for the full series.

I look forward to the rest!

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Description from Amazon:

My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.

On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons’s life seems idyllic. Her husband, Andrew, is a prosperous, respected judge; they live in the spacious, comfortable, well-appointed house where she was raised. And she is utterly, obsessively devoted to her son, Laurence—her adored only child, her pride and joy.

But Andrew’s murder of Annie Doyle, accidental or not, sets into motion a dark downward spiral. It doesn’t take long for Laurence to suspect that something is very, very wrong in the Fitzsimons household—and he is determined to discover the truth.

This was a new author for me, and she sure knows how to craft a tale!

The story starts off with a bang, and what helps it along is that each section comes from a different POV, so we get to see the hows and the whys from multiple angles. The main event in the story comes to you early, so what the rest does is explain the peripherals and how people deal with it. Adding to the tension is not just the family that does the killing, but the family affected by it, and as the truths unfold, the layers reveal things buried even deeper throughout the years. With the book taking place in the 1980s in Dublin, the scenes and settings are all very real to the time period.

The author goes deep into the characters, and here they are not just people willing to do deeds, but actually willing to manipulate people emotionally, psychologically, and physically for the good of their own futures. Lydia is an especially creepy character in that she looks like the perfect old-money genteel woman on the outside, but her scheming in order to make sure that what she wants is paramount is diabolical. And the sad thing is that she believes that what she is doing is right.

You vacillate over whether Laurence is doing the right thing as you follow his decisions, starting with thinking he is a mommy’s boy, then cheering him on as he strikes out on his own, and then disliking him once more with later actions.

The tragedy lies in what people are willing to do for their own gain and using others they see as less than themselves.

The ending is like knowing an accident is coming but being unable to look away, and the simplicity of the actions to accomplish this makes you feel a little sick to your stomach. When you close the book, you are going to feel rather icky.

An Inheritance of Curses by Dee J Holmes

Description from Amazon:

The Four Houses of Magic—light-seeking fae, blood-fueled vampires, loyal werewolves, and power-driven witches—barely survived a century of conflict. Now they exist divided, bound by a single promise: never The Four shall meet.

That rule has just been broken.

Heir to a brutal legacy, witch Rose LeFey is determined to confront her aunt and prove she’s finished with blood magic. Instead, she finds the basement full of prisoners: a sarcastic vampire staked to a table; a beautiful, defiant fae princess in an iron cage; and an insanely attractive werewolf chained to the wall.

He’s massive, covered in fur, and furious at being held captive.

She can’t look away—even if she should.

Contact between the Houses is strictly forbidden. But Rose can’t leave any of them at her aunt’s mercy.

Except the werewolf is a trap. As soon as Rose touches him, a mate-bond snaps between them. Curses. She walked right into a spell designed to tear apart her self control—and drive her straight into her aunt’s clutches. Her aunt has unleashed war on the magical Houses and humans alike—and she wants Rose’s magic at her side.

Hex that.

To stop her, Rose must risk everything and strike a bargain with the former captives. Tricky, as the vampire wants revenge, the fae to save her mother’s life, and the werewolf to protect his pack at all costs.

Yet working together might not be enough. Not when the true threat might be Rose’s deadly powers and her growing desire to make the false-bond real.

 

I was in the mood for a bit of urban fantasy and found this on my kindle. Contrary to what a lot of reviewers are saying, I rather enjoyed it!

From the offset you can feel how the story is going to be told and it is true to an urban fantasy book. When Rose reaches the basement, you are actually thrown into a conundrum trying to work out who is telling the truth and who she will save.

I think this is one of those books where you don’t need to take it apart for the story or writing but just read it in the spirit it was intended. Especially the false-mate bond between Rose and Dar and how extreme and repetitive it is.

What the author does well is not give each character equal weight, so we only get a glimpse into Sebastian (I enjoyed him!) while moving through others’ stories a lot more. I’m hoping these will be equalled out in further books. The story itself and the fight against dark magic is intense, with many of the scenes being so action filled you want to turn the pages as quickly as you can. But then there were scenes that felt repeated, especially with the bond and the werewolves and trust issues. Some scenes definitely bordered on the “is this age appropriate for everyone?” steamy!

What constantly stopped my reading, though, was the POV jumps with no clear break as to who was speaking. The problem with the sections was that some could not even be regarded as full sections as they were thoughts broken into another, and an omniscient narrator would not have worked here. And typos... far too many.

I did like that the story ended without ending. There was some form of resolution, but it’s not over and yet does not finish on a cliffhanger. It’s a “turn your brain off” kind of read, and sometimes that’s just what you need!

I'll Smile More When You're Dead by Sarah K. Stephens

Description from Amazon:

IT TOOK HER 10 MINUTES TO LOVE HIM...
AND 10 YEARS TO KILL HIM.

Another gripping thriller from the author of It Was Always You, The Girl in the Fire, and The Good Life, I’ll Smile More When You’re Dead will keep you guessing until the final twist!

When Lauren Hearst discovered her book club was special—as in, they-can-rid-the-world-of-terrible-men-without-leaving-the-couch special—she brought a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a list. But when their group of vigilante feminists choose Lauren’s brother-in-law as their next target, she realizes her book club might be more about causing trauma than healing it.

Professor Lauren Hearst is getting by just fine, thank you very much—if you call being addicted to sleeping pills, avoiding your twin sister’s husband because you’re in love with him, and bottling up an indeterminate rage ‘fine’. When fellow academic Sybil Fellcourt invites her to join her book club, Lauren considers it a good opportunity to expand her horizons. What she doesn’t realize is these women chose her for a reason—and that they’re not a book club. As violent men on campus start dying from supposed suicides, Lauren realizes Sybil and her fellow book club members have a collective power born of their own traumas. A power they believe Lauren also possesses, given her past. As the book club’s goals become more destructive and Lauren considers leaving them behind, Sybil discloses their next target: Lauren’s brother-in-law, Arne. The man Lauren has secretly loved for ten years. As she sets out to exonerate him from Sybil’s accusations, Lauren uncovers secrets long hidden in her town, her family, and her own mind. When it becomes clear Arne isn’t the man she thought he was, she must decide whether she’ll let her newfound power transform her life or destroy it.

 

The premise sounded very interesting, and while the idea of collective powers manifesting physically isn’t entirely new, it was used here in a fresh way. It also pulls you in two directions. Punishing wrongdoers can seem like the right thing to do, but the way they went about it—and the fact that they took on the roles of judge and executioner themselves—felt wrong.

Lauren’s past is laid out well, and the incident that forms the basis of her anger sets the scene for many of the decisions she makes. I liked the glimpses into her childhood, particularly her relationship with her twin sister and their mom using the fact that they were twins to help pay the bills, followed later by their involvement in studies. It created an interesting foundation, and yet we find out how much of it was manipulated.

None of the characters are quite who you initially think they are, and my feelings about them changed throughout the book, which I enjoyed.

I did find it very odd, however, that Lauren kept jumping to the conclusion that women she had only just met were sexually interested in her. The first time it happened it felt strange, and when something similar happened again, it almost felt as though the author had tried the idea once and then hurriedly decided to use it again because it turned out not to be true. Neither interaction felt particularly real to me.

The pacing also became too frenetic at times. There were sections I wanted to settle into and enjoy, but things kept happening so quickly that some scenes didn’t have the detail or breathing room needed to round them off properly. Characters repeatedly told Lauren that they would explain things later, and after a while the repetition became frustrating. Although explanations eventually came, it often felt as though Lauren was being brushed off—and, by extension, so was the reader.

I also found it frustrating that Lauren’s twin, Claudia, so often seemed to know that things were about to happen before they did. Twins are often portrayed as having an almost magical connection, but for me this was pushed a little too far.

There are some very dark aspects of human nature explored in the book, though, and I thought the author did a good job of shining a light on them.

Unfortunately, there were also quite a few typos and editing issues that let the book down. These ranged from missing commas before direct address, missing quotation marks, to ellipses being broken across lines, inconsistent use of “ok” and “okay,” and words such as “breaks” being used instead of “brakes.” There were also unnecessary hyphens in words or phrases such as “follow-me” and “pick-up,” and occasionally even missing spaces between words. Individually these may seem like small things, but together they interrupt the flow of the reading experience.

Overall, this was a mixed bag for me. There were parts I genuinely enjoyed and others that worked less well. It was clearly a tricky story to bring together at the end, and at times events seemed to have to be manipulated into place to make everything fit. That said, the story ultimately ended the way I felt it should.

I received this prerelease from the author as an arc read.

Live Bait by PJ Tracy

Description from Amazon:

When elderly Morey Gilbert is found, lying dead in the grass by his wife, Lily, it’s a tragedy, but it shouldn’t have been a shock - old people die. But when she finds a bullet hole in his skull, the blood washed away by heavy rain, sadness turns to fear. It looks like an execution...

Soon a whole city is fearful as new victims are found, killed with the same cold precision. All elderly. All apparently blameless.

Detectives Gino and Magozzi, race to uncover a connection and their best hope of doing so may be Grace McBride, beautiful, damaged survivor of an earlier killing spree. And the answers, it seems, are buried in a terrible past.

 

I enjoyed the first book so thought I’d continue with this second one, but I must say I didn’t find it as good as the previous one. Considering it is the second book in the Monkeewrench series, it felt like they didn’t feature as much as a group in this. The premise sounds promising – elderly people being murdered with no obvious connection. Until the Nazi camp tattoos they have that link them somehow.

 Morey’s son-in-law, Marty, watched his own wife get killed in front of him without being able to stop it from happening. He has spiralled into a trap of alcohol and is ready to kill himself. Luckily, he is prevented just before this happens, only to find out his father-in-law, who is apparently the saint of all saints, has been murdered. Marty must choose whether to spiral further or rise up and help the detectives solve why the murders occurred and who did it.

Magozzi is still besotted with Grace, and Grace is softening ever so slightly towards him. But she has news for him that could change the dynamic of their relationship. The Monkeewrench group have set off to apply their new programming skills elsewhere, but Grace is able to use part of their genius programming to help the case, so they are only touched on briefly. However, yet again, Annie is spoken of as fat and obese and can turn heads wherever she goes. It’s just too many times!

As the detectives delve deeper into Morey’s son – a rather unhinged personal injury lawyer – it turns out he may know more than he is letting on. And the connection isn’t just about these bodies, but extends around the globe.

The idea behind the killings was not new and I felt you’d really have to buy into this just as a story without thinking about the improbabilities of pulling this off. As usual, there is a twist at the end and some of the next book that takes up space.

It wasn’t bad... just not as good as the first and put me off reading on in the series.

Holmes, Marple & Poe by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

Description from Amazon:

Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple and Auguste Poe run the most in-demand private investigation agency in New York City.

The three detectives make a formidable team, solving a series of seemingly impossible crimes which expose the dark underbelly of the city - from a priceless art theft, high-stakes kidnapping and a decades-old unsolved murder, to a gruesome subterranean prison and corruption and bribery at the highest levels of power.

But it’s not long before their headline-grabbing breakthroughs, unconventional methods - and untraceable pasts - attract the attention of the NYPD and the FBI.

After all, it’s no surprise that there’s a mystery or two to unravel in the city that never sleeps . . . not least, who really are Holmes, Margaret and Poe?

 

Oh how the title drew me in and how disappointed I was with this.

I haven’t read a decent Patterson for a while. In fact, I swore off them as soon as the ghostwriting became generic and all the books sounded the same. But I figured this was the start of a new series that connected a horror/mystery writer and two fictional detectives' names so there must be some goodies inside. The combination of characters and author was a bit odd, though.

So... three detectives who set up shop to solve cases. A lot of cases. Bits and pieces scattered throughout. It was like a bunch of short stories thrown together to create a novel, and while murders don’t necessarily need to be connected, there were so many in this book that the reader kept being sent on different threads. The stories were not deep, the clues not difficult, and no twists or shocks forthcoming.

Then to the characters. If you are going to name them and have them somehow associated with famous figures then just saying one is a drug addict, the other an alcoholic, and the third an old lady who knits in a corner is not enough. Even with Holmes’ hyperosmia allowing him to smell things out at a distance. That in itself felt odd as sometimes it affected him and sometimes not. Even though it’s the start of their arcs, you never connect with them, their backstories, or what drives them (solving cases doesn’t count). I never got a full sense of any of them and only really enjoyed Veronica the receptionist and the cat!

I’m all for a good “just enjoy the plot for the sake of the plot” book, but this just had me closing the book at the end and going “Oh...”

Want to Play? by PJ Tracy

Description from Amazon:

A small American town.

A brutally cold autumn.

A killer is at work.

Two bodies are found; two slayings that the police treat as unrelated. But games-creator Grace MacBride knows different.

The murders are exact copies of those in a game she’s designing - one that already has hundreds of eager players.

As the copycat killings mount up, Grace knows that she is both suspect and potential victim.

And with the serial killer getting closer, she is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse . . .

 

This is the first book I have read by this author(s) and I enjoyed it! I know it’s rather old and I seem to have somehow missed the series, but I must say that it had a quirk to it that made it fun to read.

Not that reading about murders should be fun. But I liked how the sets of detectives were brought together over shared cases and how the murders were based on the levels within the game. The way the murders were pulled off was quite ingenious but you could tell that the book was older in how the characters interacted.

Speaking of characters, the whole Monkeewrench group is such a diverse bunch with fabulous characters. And their backstory about protecting Grace and the history they share makes for an intriguing element. However, the descriptions of Annie... really? Apparently she is large. Very large. In fact, she is described as obese and fat, and having men fall at her feet at the way she walks. And this is said over and over again. Enough already. But Charlie the dog? Super sweet...

I enjoyed the slight romantic element of it and how the author did not hold back on whether it was good or bad guys who died. The layers of the book are good, so the backstories, the murders, the connection between detectives who get to meet, and how it all plays out keeps you going until the end. With a twist, of course.

And while I appreciate when authors put in a chapter of the next book to entice you to buy the second one, for me it’s a bugbear as I think I still have more to read in the book and the next thing it’s done. Oh well... I’m going to try the second book in the series too.

Return to Breakneck Island by Tom Ryan

Breakneck Island: nestled precariously off the coast of Maple Bay, the lighthouse atop this rocky outcrop is all that stands between safe passage and nautical disaster.

For generations, the MacLeary family lived on Breakneck Island in an isolated and physically-demanding existence. One night in 1932, after a ruthless storm battered all of Maple Bay, the MacLearys disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only whispers of a missing fortune. 

Nearly a century later, three people are drawn to Breakneck Island and its perplexing past: Peter Barnett, a recent Maple Bay transplant who’s piecing his life back together and possibly catching feelings for a charming professor; Dandy Feltzen, a wistful teenage girl searching for new beginnings while juggling the arrival of an unexpected visitor; and Cass Jones, a successful author given a cryptic tip for a haunting new story.  

As Peter, Dandy, and Cass are drawn into the orbit of one of Maple Bay’s darkest mysteries, dangers past and present collide on the rocky shores of Breakneck Island, and the real story of the MacLearys finally comes into focus. But if the island is to reveal its oldest secrets, it may demand fresh bodies in return.

 

This was a fun sequel to the previous book and brings the gang back together, even if they don’t get to spend too much time with one another throughout the book. Since the characters and their backstories are from a previous book, it does help to have read it since the treasure and their exploits and the book written about it need context.

Cookie Dodge (what a name!) has some information for Cass about a secret treasure and a family that disappeared, but she vanishes before she can share it. Also entering the picture is Dandy’s deadbeat dad, Dodge, and Dandy is not happy to see him.

Peter is still trying to sort out Bellwoods and an artefact coming from there could point them to the answer of the family from the lighthouse’s disappearance. Plus he is dealing with the tension between Victor and Kate with the job tasks he has given them and the signals that Victor seems to be sending his way.

Dandy and Parker’s relationship is growing closer, and Bryson needs to sort out the fallout from the diving incident.

Add in the Obelisk Treasure that is still missing and you have a treasure mystery galore!

I enjoyed the two timelines and how they intersected and the mystery of the MacLearys is well thought out.

The writing is so easy to read and you can literally fly through it. The places are well depicted and when the rocks are described around the island, it feels as though you are there rowing and trying to navigate the swells. The characters feel real, as though you have been invited into their lives and are not just reading a book, and even though you have to take some incidents with a pinch of salt, it’s still well worth the read.

The book ends with a setup for the third, so we know we are in for another adventure. I can’t wait!

Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and the author for an advanced reader copy.

Dead Famous by Ben Elton

Description from Amazon:

One house. Ten contestants. Thirty cameras. Forty microphones.

Yet again the public gorges its voyeuristic appetite as another group of unknown and unremarkable people submit themselves to the brutal exposure of the televised real-life soap opera, House Arrest.
Everybody knows the rules: total strangers are forced to live together while the rest of the country watches them do it. Who will crack first? Who will have sex with whom? Who will the public love and who will they hate? All the usual questions. And then, suddenly, there are some new ones.

Who is the murderer? How did he or she manage to kill under the constant gaze of the thirty television cameras? Why did they do it? And who will be next?

 

I really wanted to love this as I’ve found some of his other books funny and this plot sounded good. But honestly, it was a slog to read it. I kept going just to find out who the murderer was.

It’s basically Big Brother with a murder and you’ve got the police looking at all the footage of the show that was not aired, trying to figure out what happened. Reading it thus is two timelines as you have the police watching it now, with what is happening in the house on the recordings in the past. However, the rest of the cast are still in the house as the show went on even after the murder.

What’s frustrating is you don’t find out who was murdered until quite far into the book, and unless you are open to some crude language and actions this one is not for you. Picture a bunch of drunk people naked stuck tightly in a hot box together for four hours in the dark and what they could get up to.

When the murderer is caught it’s a proper “raise your eyebrows” moment because it’s quite a lot to swallow. The edited footage also goes to show what gets manipulated for the public but to have the reader buy into what happened takes it a bit too far.

The characters themselves are all unlikable and their dialogue childish. This could have been done so well but it feels like a good plot wasted.

South of Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver

Description from Amazon:

When a levee collapses in Hinowah, a small town in Northern California, Colter Shaw is brought on by his sister, Dorion, a disaster response specialist, to help locate a family swept away by the raging water, with mere hours to survive.

But after a surprise attack along the river obstructs Colter's urgent search, the siblings are forced to consider a new reality: Is the levee at risk of failing from natural causes, or is someone sabotaging it? Colter and Dorion must race against a ticking clock to uncover the truth and save the citizens before the village washes out completely, destroying everything and everyone in its path.

 

Okay, I admit that the Colter Shaw character has grown on me. I think it’s because the survivalist rules his dad imparted are not used as often in the later books – it felt like the first book was full of them.

But in saying that, this felt a little all too over the place. Part of the story here and part of the story there. In fact, it seems that there were about five subplots to the main one and yet Shaw manages to solve them all! There was a lot of technical stuff about the flooding and it did feel like wading through the flood reading parts of it.

Getting to know Dorion more helped the story along, but Mary’s response to the new family member seemed too easy. I guess each to their own.

The author in the car at the front before the collapse has an interesting storyline, but adding in so much of her book took me out of the actual book, so going from action and shooting and chasing people on bikes to chapters from a fantasy book was odd.

All in all, the usual twists and turns and misdirection but this is becoming predictable too. And as for the character who is the mayor and temporary police chief who has to be told not to fiddle with the loaded weapon in his holster? Um, nope.

The ending sets it up for a new story. But this was an average one for me...

Missing Person by Sarah Lotz

Description from Amazon:

Missing-linc.com comprises a group of misfit sleuths scattered across the States. Their macabre passion is giving names to the unidentified dead. When Ellie Caine starts investigating the corpse known as the Boy in the Dress, the Boy’s killer decides to join the group. The closer they get to the truth, the closer he will get to them.

The Boy was Teddy Ryan. He was meant to have been killed in a car crash in the west of Ireland in 1989. Only he wasn’t. There is no grave in Galway and Teddy was writing letters from New York a year after he supposedly died. But one night he met a man in a Minnesota bar and vanished off the face of the earth.

Teddy’s nephew, Shaun, is no hero, but he is determined to solve the thirty-year-old mystery. He joins forces with the disparate members of Missing-linc to hunt down the killer. The only problem: the killer will be with them every step of the way . . .

 

It sounds like a fabulous idea, right? A decade’s-old mystery suddenly getting a new lead, with the possibility of the mystery being solved. But there is just something missing to tie it all together.

You are introduced to the members of Missing-linc, all of whom have usernames without actually knowing each other in real life. And of course, each person in real life has their own issues. Early on we know that the killer is one of them and it becomes a race to see whether they can solve the case and unmask the killer, or whether the person will use the clues to try to lead them astray, or indeed get rid of one of them or Shaun, who has come over from Ireland.

Little red herrings are thrown into the mix to make the public want revenge for the killing and then finding out that the victim might not be who everyone thinks he is. So each page is a bit more of a is he / isn’t he and will they figure it out.

There are plenty of odd characters, from ordinary next-door neighbours to outright “ijits”, and in my book if you kick a dog, you on my list of evildoers!

There is a big clue as to how the book will end – if you read into it carefully. But by the time it ends it feels rushed and like it wasn’t properly finished off. Most of the characters’ issues are dealt with throughout the book, so at least it’s not just a book based on one plotline alone.

The idea behind amateur sleuths solving crimes that the police can’t is not new but this is an interesting take on it. The story needed more to finish it off (round it off) and insert the characters more to the point where I believed their individual stories. Unfortunately, just average for me. A long haul for an ending that petered out... 

The Three by Sarah Lotz

I wrote this review in 2015 but didn't put it on my blog and since I've just finished another of hers, I thought I'd post it here for context.

Four simultaneous plane crashes. Three child survivors. A religious fanatic who insists the three are harbingers of the apocalypse. What if he's right?

The world is stunned when four commuter planes crash within hours of each other on different continents. Facing global panic, officials are under pressure to find the causes. With terrorist attacks and environmental factors ruled out, there doesn't appear to be a correlation between the crashes, except that in three of the four air disasters a child survivor is found in the wreckage.

Dubbed 'The Three' by the international press, the children all exhibit disturbing behavioural problems, presumably caused by the horror they lived through and the unrelenting press attention. This attention becomes more than just intrusive when a rapture cult led by a charismatic evangelical minister insists that the survivors are three of the four harbingers of the apocalypse. The Three are forced to go into hiding, but as the children's behaviour becomes increasingly disturbing, even their guardians begin to question their miraculous survival . . .

I picked this book up due to the very positive reviews in the leisure books catalogue. It was not the horror or suspenseful book I was expecting but still enjoyed it.

Four simultaneous plane crashes which should leave no survivors do in fact leave three children alive and a voice mail message from a fourth person before passing. This leads to all sorts of theories as to why the planes crashed and how the children survived. With a possible fourth child alive the world goes into overdrive to put the links together.

The story is told via news articles and interviews which makes it a little difficult to pick up the story if you were reading something else at the same time. It does however work for being able to cover so much information. While not a horror it does show how the world can get caught up in fanaticism and blindly following the "loudest person" when believing the world is about to end.

A bit anti climactic but still makes you question a lot of the world around you and definitely makes you think about choices you would make. Not a book that made me go wow but still very thought provoking.

Face Last Seen by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

Description from Amazon:

When a dangerous AI weapon disappears, all hell breaks loose in a high-stakes thriller by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado.

A high-stakes theft draws federal agent Carmen Sanchez and brilliant hacker Jake Heron into the hunt to recover the stolen Epsilon Core, a revolutionary autonomous weapon engineered to operate beyond human control.

An enemy in the shadows is assembling the final components to unleash it, causing unimaginable casualties. To stop the unthinkable, Carmen and Jake—experts in exposing intrusion and threats—must track down a mastermind who hides in plain sight behind a perfectly chilling disguise.

Racing against mercenaries, arms dealers, cult conspiracies and a nemesis from Jake’s past, the unlikely partners must navigate a complex and increasingly personal relationship—one put to the test when Jake himself falls under suspicion.

As the clock runs out, and the Epsilon Core’s devastation looms, Carmen must decide if she can trust her partner, a man she may not even recognize anymore.

 

This is book three in the series, and while some might say it can be read as a standalone, I don’t think enough of the intrusion aspect is explained in this one, so new readers might not completely understand what Heron does and how I-Squared came about.

There are two threads running through this story. One has the team chasing up on the missing Epsilon Core, and the other is the cult that Heron’s parents bought into.

The storyline around the Core and the AI behind it can become bogged down in tech speak at times, but when you start learning more about it and the ramifications of self-choice by AI, it starts looking a little scary. Heron is still only just off the naughty chair, and shouldn’t really be as involved as he is, but what with Reynolds, I-Squared’s overseer, seeming to be more interested in positive publicity and putting himself front and centre, it’s up to the team to sort out the real issue. This is one of those books where you can’t trust what you see, and the consequences for real life are frightening.

The cult section, with the reader learning more about the behind-the-scenes punishments for not toeing the line, is horrific, and the meaning behind the jewellery welded onto them and the brainwashing behind it brings home how different life is out there for others.

But as with good thrillers, things don’t always go to plan, and here we find villains behind villains, which made the threads move in some interesting misdirections. The writing is slow in places and speeds up elsewhere so there is a good mix of both. But I’m not sure it’s a standout for me.

As always, just when you think Heron and Sanchez have their issues sorted and things have worked out the best way possible, there is a curveball thrown in that sets a thread up well for the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book.

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

Description from Amazon:

We had no warning that she would come back...


Welcome to Hollow’s Edge - a picture-perfect neighbourhood where everyone has each other’s backs. At least, that’s how it used to be, until the night Brandon and Fiona Truett were found dead...

Two years ago, branded a grifter, thief and sociopath by her friends and neighbours, Ruby Fletcher was convicted of murdering the Truetts. Now, freed by mistrial, Ruby has returned to Hollow’s Edge. But why would she come back? No one wants her there, least of all her old housemate, Harper Nash.

As Ruby’s return sends shockwaves through the community, terrified residents turn on each other, and it soon becomes clear that not everyone was honest about the night the Truetts died. When Harper begins to receive threatening, anonymous notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else gets hurt... Someone like her.

 

Honestly, with a description like that, who wouldn’t want to read the book? Turns out the hype was not worth it at all... And I don’t like being mean to authors as I know how much work goes into writing a book. The problem is you need to grab your audience and keep them there!

So here Ruby has been convicted of a double murder but let out because of a mistrial and has just pitched up at Harper’s house, where she used to live. As we move through Harper’s POV, we see how she sees Ruby as manipulative, and the rest of the neighbourhood don’t want her there at all, as they believe she is the murderer.

This could have played out very cleverly but there were strikes against it from the beginning. First, none of the characters were written in a way I could connect with them. I felt nothing for any of them, so whatever happened to one or all of them made no difference to me. I need to feel something for at least one character to make me believe the story. Here was a wishy washy version of all of them.

Second: it was very drawn out with far too many arbitrary things happening in the story. If this is meant to be filled with suspense or a thriller, then keep me on my toes throughout and don’t let me want to put it down in case I miss something. With this book, I questioned picking it up again.

Third: there are smart whodunnits and plots put together so cleverly you never see them coming. Here it was not a shock and actually a little silly. I got to the end and wondered if I was really supposed to believe this was the ending.

I’m all for a slow burn but there was never really fire happening here. A bunch of paranoid people, scared of anything happening (but patrolling the neighbourhood in the dark on their own at night?), keeping watch on cameras, and NOT TALKING TO EACH OTHER! If someone had just said something, it would all have come out!

I’ve heard her other books are better but based on this one, I won’t be reading any more of hers. A pity...

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

Description from Amazon:

Accompanying celebrated academic, Katherine Solomon, to a lecture she’s been invited to give in Prague, Robert Langdon’s world spirals out of control when she disappears without trace from their hotel room. Far from home and out of his comfort zone, Langdon must pit his wits against forces unknown to recover the woman he loves.

But Prague is an old and dangerous place, steeped in folklore and mystery. Little can Langdon know that he is being stalked by a spectre from that dark past. He must use all of his arcane knowledge to navigate a shadow city hiding in plain sight, a city which has successfully kept its secrets for centuries and will not readily give them up...

 

I had stopped reading Dan Brown novels for a while. The first couple were really clever but then they started being “samey” so when I saw this doorstop of a book, I figured why not. Okay the title is rather daft. I know it gets explained in the book but it’s still really silly.

The content is heavy. Truly cerebral stuff. And you have to concentrate super hard on what they are saying most of the time just to understand the sentence, let alone the contents.

So Katherine was about to publish a book that could have put a lot of people in danger / brought scientific discoveries to light that should not have been let out. And we all know there are people on levels above other people who pull strings and keep things quiet. So the powers that be swoop in in an elaborate scheme to protect their experiments while eliminating threats. And these have been years in the making.

The addition of The Golem and the ether experienced along with the stories behind Prague made for some good historical reading. All the descriptions were lovely and vivid and truly transported you to other times and places.  

But the book itself. Yikes. Too many clues trying to be cryptic. Too many side plots on side plots. Too much information on the subject matter itself (and repeated over and over) that it was beginning to feel like a journal article. Sometimes it felt like I was a child and being spoonfed the information in case I didn't understand it. For example someone would say something in dialogue and then Langdon would have a thought explaining it all so that there was exposition for the reader. As if he'd be thinking like that! I hate it when reading a book becomes slogging through it, but I pushed ahead as the chapters were not too long and he cut them in places where you did really want to find out what would happen. But with ludicrous parts like Langdon seeing and smelling something that was described in a dream and running back to his hotel, then setting off the fire alarm, and jumping out of the hotel window into an icy river, well then, you know ludicrous it shall be the whole way through.

That’s it for Dan Brown for me! You join my pile of “no more”...

Fearless by MW Craven

Description from Amazon:

Five million reasons why Ben Koenig had to disappear. Only one to bring him back . . .

Ben Koenig is a ghost. He doesn’t exist any more.

Six years ago it was Koenig who headed up the US Marshal's elite Special Ops group. They were the elite unit who hunted the bad guys – the really bad guys. They did this so no one else had to.

Until the day Koenig disappeared. He told no one why and he left no forwarding address. For six years he became a grey man. Invisible. He drifted from town to town, state to state. He was untraceable. It was as if he had never been.

But now Koenig’s face is on every television screen in the country. Someone from his past is trying to find him and they don't care how they do it. In the burning heat of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a town called Gauntlet, and there are people in there who have a secret they'll do anything to protect. They've killed before and they will kill again.

Only this time they’ve made a mistake. They’ve dismissed Koenig as just another drifter – but they’re wrong. Because Koenig has a condition, a unique disorder that makes it impossible for him to experience fear. And now they’re about to find out what a truly fearless man is capable of. Because Koenig’s coming for them. And hell’s coming with him . . .

 

I’m honestly not sure about this one. It’s a stark contrast to his Poe books and we have to take that into consideration so as not to compare them. But having read the cerebral workings of the Poe books and how the evidence was put together, this book relied on brute force. Do not read if squeamish, as Koening (since he can feel no fear), has no issue inflicting all sorts of violence on people.

The plot was rather far-fetched (The solar panels? And the convenient fall? Really?) and while I enjoyed the reasons he remained hidden and how he hid, it was like doing a Reacher series with a bigger and badder hero. I might read the second one just to see where this is going but this one was long, filled with a lot of technical stuff that made it difficult to keep of, and while there was a lot of violence (I wasn’t too fussed with it), was it all really necessary?

It was an average book and aimed generically.

Dead Ground by MW Craven

Description from Amazon:

Detective Sergeant Washington Poe is in court, fighting eviction from his beloved and isolated croft, when he is summoned to a backstreet brothel in Carlisle where a man has been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Poe is confused - he hunts serial killers and this appears to be a straightforward murder-by-pimp - but his attendance was requested personally, by the kind of people who prefer to remain in the shadows.

As Poe and the socially awkward programmer Tilly Bradshaw delve deeper into the case, they are faced with seemingly unanswerable questions: despite being heavily vetted for a high-profile job, why does nothing in the victim’s background check out? Why was a small ornament left at the murder scene - and why did someone on the investigation team steal it? And what is the connection to a flawlessly executed bank heist three years earlier, a heist where nothing was taken . . .

 

Initially I was taken aback as I had just finished The Impossible Fortune, where they were arguing over who the best James Bond was and this book opens with a bank robbery where they are using James Bond masks!

This wasn’t my favourite one in the series and I hate saying that because all the elements are there but it seems that some of the literary stretches we might accept are now being pushed even further and are a bit harder to fathom.

Poe is still fighting to keep his croft with Tilly representing him (can she do this?) when he is called out on a case he really has no business being at. Other people introduced to the investigation clash with Poe and the way he does things (surprise) but have an integral part in the outcome of the story.

When the victim is found to be involved in something that happened years ago in Afghanistan, where a team may have been part of something off the books, the evidence leads to an astonishing theft. Now, without giving spoilers, you find yourself at this point in the book going what? All of them? And how on earth was this navigated from the mental and physical position the person was in? I guess you will have to read it to find out what I mean!

What annoyed me was the book being over and then an extra bit coming in to explain even more about the theft that seemed an add on. And too many of our usual characters had such small roles to play in this book! And Tilly – since when has she learnt the art of subtle nuance and is able to use it in eyebrow-raising contexts? This was also, unfortunately, the worst one in the series where it comes to the reader not being able to figure out how or who but having to wait until the author decided to reveal it all.

I really hope that the next one in the series goes back to the formula that works for these characters and has us concentrating on the intricacies of the plot and not trying to figure out what is going on. I have another by him in a different series so let’s give Fearless a go and see what that is about so long.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

Description from Amazon:

Who’s got time to think about murder when there’s a wedding to plan?

 

It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal.

But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for her help, she finds the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang’s next stop. It seems the duo have something valuable—something worth killing for.

Joyce’s daughter, Joanna, jumps into the fray to help the gang as they seek answers: Has someone kidnapped Nick? And what’s this uncrackable code they keep hearing about? Plunged back into action once more, can the four friends solve the puzzle and a murder in time?

 

I read the previous four a while back but didn’t do reviews on them – naughty me. And then I found this in the library! Two more Craven books and then I must go back to indie publishing as those are where the reviews are needed!

Honestly, these books just let you turn your brain off and enjoy a rollicking good read. I did watch the movie about the first book too and thought it was relatively close to the book. Bogdan was way off though and Pierce Brosnan as Ron? Nope. I’ve seen Mobland but he still can’t pull off what Ron was. Actually, neither can Tom Ellis as Jason – sorry, guys!

However, when Ron gets asked who his favourite James Bond is and he says Pierce Brosnan, I will say I had a good giggle.

Two gripes about the book: I felt a bit let down by the explanation behind the Bitcoin code and what happened to it. It fitted the book but I guess I was looking for something else. And the other was the focus on Joanna but leaving Suzi without a bigger voice. I completely understand it was about Nick and Holly and the fortune in the bunker and it’s a comedy mystery, but when Suzi disappeared because of Danny’s domestic violence and the threat against her, it would have been good to see something from her POV.

But getting to know Kendrick, Suzi’s son, was a blast. What an entertaining nine-year-old! Far too smart for his own good, but a kid with good prospects.

I liked how Osman continued the story with Elizabeth still trying to get over Stephen dying, how Joyce just want to be involved with everything and is keen to be more in Joanna’s life, how Ibrahim is just the solid rock for everyone (and him trying to help Connie mentor someone was so funny), and Ron learning that even he is getting old but can still protect his family but in his own way.

The writing just makes you keep wanting to turn just one more page and it’s like a warm hug when the last page is done. Next book, please!

The Curator by MW Craven

Description from Amazon:

Nothing says Christmas like severed fingers

 

It’s December and a serial killer is leaving body parts all over Cumbria.

Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency’s Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense. Why were the victims killed in such different ways? Why is their only suspect denying what they can irrefutably prove but admitting to things they weren’t even aware of? And what could the cryptic message left at each scene - #BSC6 - possibly mean?

When a disgraced FBI agent gets in touch things take an even darker turn. Because she doesn’t think Poe is dealing with a serial killer at all; she thinks he’s dealing with someone far, far worse - a man who calls himself the Curator.

And if you think you know what’s happening, you’re exactly where he wants you to be...

 

Two things: yes, I’m still on the Craven train and have two more waiting to be read on my side table, and the second thing... what is going on with all these generic AI reviews at the moment? I’m seeing so many reviews about books I’ve read where nothing specific is actually said about the plot and things that should be mentioned are not. Or something like nail-biting suspense when it’s a romance. Or the favourite start: this book offers... it’s compelling... add layers of depth... and other such nonsense. You can tell it’s fancy but says nothing. Okay... rant over.

So... the curator. Bit of a nasty person this one. Again my gripe about this book is that you wouldn’t have figured it out as a reader, as Poe is privy to a secret conversation and things are added that are not clues for us. But it’s still a really good book. And the fact that it has a real-life connection is actually quite scary.

Once again we have Poe, Tilly, and a heavily pregnant Stephanie investigating a case of severed fingers and the clue of #BSC6. But it seems the person behind this may not have the motive they all assume. When a discredited former FBI agent tries to warn Poe, they realise that there is a possibility that someone is being hired to punish enemies. But the way it’s being done is bizarre as it seems to go in stages of violence. Cue a tiered worldwide challenge that goes from so-called harmless pranks to full-on murder where collateral damage is the norm.

This is definitely one where the ending is not expected, and Tilly, yet again, is genius with her deductions (she doesn’t play as big a role in this one but her offering about the car is a doozy). The element that Poe might either lose his house or have to spend money to restore it to a historical setting is also looming, so there are plenty of side plots to the story.

Another fabulous offering from the author and I am thoroughly enjoying Poe and Tilly’s ride.

Black Summer by MW Craven

Description from Amazon:

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time?

And then Elizabeth goes missing again - and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

 

Okay, you’ll have to indulge me with this author. After all, I have only just discovered him, and since the first book was so good, I have to read as many as I can get my hands on!

The book opens with an appalling food scene. And by appalling I mean I really hope it’s made up and not some awful practice somewhere. You have Jared Keaton – supposed food magician but also crazy-as-a-loon chef. He is meant to have murdered his daughter, Elizabeth, and Poe managed to put him behind bars. Elizabeth has resurfaced to prove she is alive, but then goes missing again. So now Keaton could be freed and Poe entirely discredited. But Poe is still convinced Keaton is a psychopath.

So begins a tale of a twist on a turn on a twist. I love how the author takes you on a ride you never expected, and there are so many clues leading to each other or bouncing off each other that sometimes it’s quite something to keep track of it all. I think that might be the only thing about these books that doesn’t sit well. The fact that normally with a thriller the reader is given the clues, albeit scattered, and then we all go “Oh I didn’t see that coming.” But with these books, Poe (and my awesome supersleuth, Tilly) connects something and only later do we as readers get told what the connection was. It all makes sense in the end but we aren’t allowed to piece the puzzle together ourselves. It doesn’t stop me enjoying the books though!

I liked the introduction of Estelle (whoops, I might have gotten her name wrong but I’ll get it right in the next review) in the mortuary, and the way she is described and the processes she uses are highly entertaining. She’d probably kick my butt with her heels for that.

The investigation Poe undertakes to try to refute the blood draw proving Elizabeth is who she says she is makes every stumbling block he encounters ingenious. And creating Keaton’s timeline and linking it back to his cooking had me exhausted. I love how all the characters work so well off each other and that by now Poe and Bradshaw’s relationship is cemented in that easy to predict what you need kind of way. And bringing Poe’s dog, Edgar, into it? Yes, please!

Great story, great writing, great idea, great investigation and reworking what needed to be reworked, great reading. Next one, please!