Hunted by the Past by Jami Gray

Description from Amazon:

She’s a reluctant psychic. He’s the man who walked away. Can they see beyond their painful past to survive a sadistic killer’s lethal game of revenge?

No matter how far she runs, she can’t escape…

Changing the past is an impossibility ex-Marine, Cynthia “Cyn” Arden, understands all too well. Struggling in the aftermath of a botched mission, which cost her two teammates, her military career, and a fledging relationship, her world’s upended once more by a panicked phone call. The psychic killer behind her nightmares has escaped military custody and is hunting down her remaining teammates, one by one. Up next on his murderous list—Cyn.

Unless she can trust the one who walked away…

The killer’s game brings her face to face with the one person guaranteed to throw her off kilter—the unsettling and distracting man she left behind, Kayden Shaw. Once she believed he’d stand by her side, then he chose his job and secrets over her, leaving her heart scarred by their tumultuous past.

Can Cyn overcome her past to trust the man she loves and master the psychic ability she spent years denying before it’s too late?

Granted, it took me a while to finish this book as I was reading physical copies of others and doing book reviews, etc. so I had to come back a couple of times and reread things. The idea was great: a military unit with psychics and other supernatural-type abilities – sounds intriguing, right?

 

In the beginning there is quite the dramatic episode and you get to witness what Cyn can do. An interesting ability indeed. And you hear of her backstory and what happened to her leg and how she just wants to stay away from it all. But then the past comes back and people she never wanted to speak to again are once more in her life as a madman is after them and taking them down one by one. It seems the villain is in her head and she is struggling to differentiate reality from the past.

So the action is pretty uptempo and the fights are pretty believable (especially the physical damage afterward) but then the intimacy after the physical damage sounds, well… anyway…

Besides the dreadful punctuation and grammar mistakes, was Cyn’s constant anguish. Her being on the verge of tears and curling into a ball on someone’s lap to be held with his head on her head and his arms around her just became repetitive. I never felt a synergy between the team, and in fact, never felt close to any of the characters. They came and went and even the villain was one-dimensional.

The ending was over in a flash and it was, unfortunately, just not a book I would have sat down and been so engrossed in I could read from start to finish. I was hoping for more, considering the plot, but it was not the spectacular psychic thriller I expected.

 

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

Description from Amazon

Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.

The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.

EMMA
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.

JANE
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.

 

Again… too many people singing this book’s praises and yet it’s flawed in so many ways.

So it starts off with a very intriguing premise and the idea that the very same things are happening to another person makes it feel as though there is something about the house that catches our attention and makes us want to know more. The story does pull you in in the beginning, but it becomes a bit confusing to jump between the two women as you go between chapters. Sometimes when you think you are in the same character’s POV, you have to go back to the start to find out which person it is as so many settings and scenes involve the same people or places.

I understand that the women were so happy to have this upscale, minimalistic place at the incredibly low price, but the 200-plus rules they had to follow about no curtains, no mess, no books, no carpets, etc. was just bizarre. And that they had to fill in surveys about how they feel in order to have the amenities in the house continue working (read water or electricity here) was mind-boggling.

As the story moves on and you, as the reader, realise what Edward (the architect) wanted from the women (and what they gave him), especially after finding out what happened to his family, you start moving away from the credibility of the story more and more (and take that with a pinch of salt). He buys them the same dresses and necklaces, then takes them to the same restaurants (and the description of the living fish they eat pieces of as it’s dying… just no) indicates just how messed up he is. So when Jane starts putting these pieces together (and by the way, the two women look almost identical) she just has to know what happened to Emma.

It’s really odd how Emma’s character changed and the lies emerged and how Edward chose her, yet when she changed 180 degrees, he wanted her even more. And the “Yes, Daddy. Yes.” (insert facepalm here).

By the end of it, with the really rushed ending (that ended with a sliver of reality holding it together), I felt nothing but contempt for all the characters. A psychological thriller that strung you along and had you gasping at the end? NO… It tried too hard to be like a mix of books before it and fell short in so many ways.

The Milk Tart Murders: A Tannie Maria Mystery by Sally Andrew

Description from Amazon:

Who knew a Marilyn Monroe movie could kill you? When Oom Frik of Oom Frik’s Fantastiques dies during a vintage movie screening in Ladismith, Tannie Maria and her policeman boyfriend Henk are on the scene.

Ja, the old thrift-shop owner had a heart condition, but was there more to his demise? It’s rumoured that among Frik’s junk are valuable treasures, and the grumpy, paranoid old guy frequently altered his will.

When a second body turns up, there’s a clue: a letter addressed to Tannie Maria asking for advice – and a milk tart recipe. Fifty-plus agony aunt Maria and feisty young journalist Jessie conduct their own treasure hunt and murder investigation. The police are looking for the perpetrator too, but the amateur detectives have unique skills, and Tannie Maria’s food is a powerful incentive to get people to talk.

Maria and Jessie step into deep danger, but all is not doom and gloom. Spring has arrived in the Karoo, and Henk and Maria discuss moving in together, even though his home is full of his late wife’s stuff. Maria knows food has a way of filling the dark spaces, for better or for worse. Perhaps, once the Klein Karoo crime-buster’s work is done, she might follow her own advice and try a healing recipe.

 

And with that, the series ends. My oh my, but Ladismith certainly is a town filled with mystery and crime! For such a quiet Karoo dorpie, there is a lot of action there.

Maria and Henk’s relationship definitely took a battering in this one, with each believing the other had eyes for someone else. This takes a toll on Maria’s ability to give sage advice to those who write in to her column. After all, when love is being questioned and the past interferes, how are you supposed to help others? And when Maria felt her love of food was becoming for more than pleasure, she had to take a serious look at herself and what she felt was important in life. When she looked into Overeaters Anonymous, this gem was in the book:

Overeaters Anonymous came from far away, probably America. They wouldn’t understand about rusks. If you live in South Africa, you know that rusks are not stuffing your face – they are a way of life. It’s just bad manners not to have one with your coffee.

I shall miss Hattie with her perfect hair, excellent Excel system, and lack of ability to make a cup of coffee, and Jessie, with her gecko tattoo, red scooter, and enthusiasm to help everyone.

The story itself was as outlandish as ever, with murders, mystery, sneaking around, wills, treasure, a pink lacy bra, and Karoo Zoo biscuits. And the recipes look as good as before – I’ll be trying Zaba’s Harissa paste for sure.

A great end to a fun series – what a pity it’s over!

Death on the Limpopo: A Tannie Maria Mystery by Sally Andrew

Description from Amazon:

Tannie Maria might be the Karoo’s favourite agony aunt, but when it comes to matters of her own heart, she doesn’t have all the answers. Why is she having trouble telling her beau – the dashing Detective Henk Kannemeyer with the chestnut moustache – that she loves him?

There are other, more pressing problems too. A tall, dark stranger zooms in on her Ducati motorbike: she is Zabanguni Kani, a journalist renowned for her political exposés, who, after receiving threats, moves in with Tannie Maria for safety.

And who could tell that a trip to the country’s northern parts was on the cards? The journey plunges Maria and her friends into pools of danger, amid water maidens, murders, and Harley Davidsons.

Ladismith’s famous crime fighter is back – with a tin of buttermilk rusks in hand – to restore peace from the Klein Karoo to the great Limpopo River.

 

Well I got my paws on the third and fourth book so am currently working my way through them. The third was not what I expected at all, as it leans quite heavily into politics and the ramifications of apartheid and not the murder mystery we had come to expect.

 

Initially I did not like Zaba as she seemed to arrive already having decided that things would go her own way. But as a murder happens close to them and Zaba is desperate to keep some letters that point to a killer safe, Maria realises there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.

 

Maria has some childhood memories of her father, but mostly that she didn’t get to see him a lot as he was murdered up North when she was young. However, he did introduce her to the concept of the “great grey-green greasy Limpopo” from the famous Kipling book Just so Stories. And when Zaba asks Maria to accompany her to the Limpopo, Maria’s newly awoken wanderlust comes into play (and a long trip in a bakkie that size is going to play hell with your butt).

 

The two head off to solve a mystery that somehow ties them together, but on the way are stalked and nearly killed a number of times. Henk wants Maria back ASAP, but this is her time – she needs closure on something she didn’t even know was coming. And she needs a bit of time away from Henk, who has professed his love for her. Something she can’t quite say back yet.

 

The story ends with a bit of an improbable scenario but who am I to argue with what a baobab can do? And who would kill to save their reputation? The family tie-in makes for an interesting connection and shows just how deep love is and has no boundaries.

 

As usual there is food involved – a lot of it. And the recipes at the back of the book sound fabulous yet again. Bring on the last book!

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Description from Amazon:

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.

 

With 19 “warnings” on Amazon and many before you even start the book of twists on twists, well… you can see where this is going. As soon as people start saying there are twists you don’t see coming, you start looking for them, and then pretty soon it’s easy to spot where the twist starts.

 

Granted… it was a good idea, but similar to ones I have read before. The first part has you looking for clues and keeps you captivated, but as the layers start unfolding, it becomes very drawn out with subplots that don’t feel necessary. So you have Nellie, who is engaged to Richard, who feels as though his ex-wife Vanessa (now struggling with alcohol and life itself) is trying to ruin the upcoming wedding.

 

Red flags are everywhere and should keep you questioning past and present decisions by the characters. This is one of those books that is difficult to explain where it goes wrong without giving it all away, but suffice it to say, I’m really not feeling the “let’s blame bad actions on our childhoods” or “oh gosh, my plan to ruin another’s life was all for the greater good”.

 

You’ll either love this book or hate it, and since part of it actually made me want to read more, I’m in the middle. Would I read it again to go back and see the trail of clues sprinkled to explain the ending? No.

A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern

Description from Amazon:

Ever wondered where lost things go?

 

Ever since the day her classmate vanished, Sandy Shortt has been haunted by what happens when something – or someone – disappears. Finding has become her goal.

 

Jack Ruttle is desperate to find his younger brother who vanished into thin air a year ago. He spots an ad for Sandy’s missing persons agency and is certain that she will answer his prayers and find his brother.

 

But then Sandy disappears too, stumbling upon a place that is a world away from the only one she has ever known. Now all she wants, more than anything, is to find her way home.

 

Having never read a Cecelia Ahern book before, I was intrigued first by the cover, and then by the description. Yes – the elusive socks and Tupperware bases or lids are all too familiar.

 

It is a lovely story indeed. Some might say twee but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Sandy Shortt (who is anything but) comes across initially as an obsessive, self-absorbed, unlikable person, but once you understand her desire to help and how far she is willing to go to find people who have vanished, you realise what a heart of gold she has.

 

Jake was also an interesting character as his obsession in trying to find his brother showed his attitude in not wanting to give up but also that it became destructive as he was willing to let go of relationships to find answers.

 

The Here was a fascinating place, and the way missing people had come together to create communities was quite something. Their attitudes about staying put were quite strange, though. Sandy’s role in the Here and her desperation to get back made for some fun reading.

 

At the end of it all, you came to the realisation that missing can mean many things – it’s not just something physical. And at the end of the story, I longed for a place to exist where missing things do indeed go to.

I’ve looked at more of her books and while the rest might not be what I’d continue to read, this one was light-hearted fun.

 

The Doll's House by Evelyn Anthony

Description from Amazon:

A female Intelligence agent is dispatched to spy on a group of retired spooks engaging in international terrorism in this post–Cold War thriller

 

After three decades serving king and country, fifty-one-year-old Harry Oakham is put out to pasture with a miserly pension. But the former civil servant has his own ideas for his so-called retirement. He settles into a luxury hotel in the English countryside and rounds up a disgruntled crew of the world’s most brilliant ex-spooks, including a German expert in counter-espionage and interrogation, a KGB tactician, a former Mossad terrorist, and a lethal blond killer. Hiring themselves out to the highest bidder, their first job is the assassination of a Saudi prince.

 

Meanwhile, still smarting from a recent divorce, undercover diplomat-turned-agent Rosa Bennet has been dispatched to the Doll’s House to spy on Oakham and make sure the retired agent is adapting to civilian life. The last thing the Intelligence agent expects is to fall in love with her target. And when Oakham’s recruits get wind of his affair with Rosa—and her true identity—they will devise a plan to eliminate the traitor in their midst.

 

This was a DNF for me. I was in the library about to check out another book when it didn’t want to go through the system so I grabbed the next book under “A” and just took it because of the title. It didn’t even have a dust jacket so I had no idea what it was about.

 

I can’t believe it was only written ten years ago as the writing feels very old. It’s set post-Cold War, so I see where the interactions are supposed to fit in with the time period but the dialogue is just odd. Straight away it starts off with enemies about to work together against the countries that no longer had use for them, couples unhappy in marriages and either having affairs or about to divorce, and women being resented for wanting to pursue careers. Lots of characters and situations to keep up with from the get-go.

 

I hate not finishing books as the author has taken the time to write them and it’s usually a labour of love but in this instance I’d rather read something I know I’ll enjoy to the end and not regret having spent “wasted time”. This might be fabulous for others but just not for me…

Madame Burova by Ruth Hogan

Description from Amazon

Madame Burova – Tarot Reader, Palmist and Clairvoyant is retiring and leaving her booth on the Brighton seafront after fifty years.

 

Imelda Burova has spent a lifetime keeping other people's secrets and her silence has come at a price. She has seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Her cards had unmasked them all and her cards never lied. But Madame Burova is weary of other people's lives, their ghosts from the past and other people's secrets, she needs rest and a little piece of life for herself. Before that, however, she has to fulfill a promise made a long time ago. She holds two brown envelopes in her hand, and she has to deliver them.

 

In London, it is time for another woman to make a fresh start. Billie has lost her university job, her marriage, and her place in the world when she discovers something that leaves her very identity in question. Determined to find answers, she must follow a trail which might just lead right to Madame Burova's door.

 

In a story spanning over fifty years, Ruth Hogan conjures a magical world of 1970s holiday camps and seaside entertainers, eccentrics, heroes and villains, the lost and the found. Young people, with their lives before them, make choices which echo down the years. And a wall of death rider is part of a love story which will last through time.

 

What a magical tale! I absolutely loved it! The easy-to-read writing conjured up visions of the holiday camp at Larkins and the fabulous people who worked there. From a gin-drinking contortionist, to the enchanting mermaids, to the smoky-voiced singer, to the people who run it all behind the scenes. Each character had their place and they all fitted in perfectly.

 

The main story is around Imelda and Billie and the quest to find answers and the way that people are brought back into the picture from so many years ago who somehow still fit together is delightful. The main theme has so many side themes including bullying, sexual harassment, reaching for your dreams, and simply love, that makes the time jumps between chapters feel like you are living it all with them.

 

It was a light holiday read, which meant that sometimes things were not gone into as deeply as I would have liked, but it was still fun to read, nonetheless. A happy ending? I'm not sure... but the journey was good.

The Satanic Mechanic (Tannie Maria Mysteries #2)

Description from Amazon: (Yes I know I’m getting lazy doing my own descriptions – just been super busy!)

Tannie Maria, our crime-fighting, food-loving heroine, returns to solve another delicious caper: the mystery of her own romantic future.

Tannie Maria—recipe writer turned crime fighter—barely has time to return to her cooking and advice column for the local Gazette when she finds herself embroiled in another whodunnit—Slimkat the Bushman’s life is being threatened, and Tannie Maria is determined to find out who wants to kill him. The nature reserve beside the Kuruman River has been awarded as ancestral land to the Bushmen, also known as the San people, and a host of greedy parties, like diamond miners and cattle companies, are willing to do whatever it takes to keep them from claiming it.

Add to the mix that Tannie Maria is also trying to overcome her own hangups in love with her boyfriend, the rugged detective Lieutenant Henk Kannymeyer, and—for the first time in her life—to go on a diet, there is no shortage of conundrums personal and professional for an amateur sleuth to confront in this delightful, warm-hearted sequel. 

 

I watched the series Recipes for Love and Murder not realizing it was based on a book, and when I found the sequel (plus another two) in the library, I was so happy! It was odd reading it, though, seeing as the characters were different from how they were portrayed on tv and the main character was from Ireland and not South Africa!

I could picture the Karoo sunsets with some moerkoffie and a beskuit (I am rather partial to rusks, myself) and hear the sound of the birds in the background. Okay and the chickens too. The scenes around the fire where they were doing the healing and Maria’s visions were very well described.

I liked the relationship between Henk and Maria and the ups and downs it went through in him trying to protect her and her trying to face her past and protect herself. In fact, the relationships between all of the characters and how their pasts fitted into the present was quite the little puzzle. So many external factors played a part like mental health, nature conservation, ancestral land, and responsible journalism.

I still love the way Maria links a recipe to each of her “Agony Aunt” letters and how the contents of the letters might not be what they initially seem. That the recipes are included after is great, but some of the ingredients (while yes, they can be picked up at Spar,) are rather expensive to be using them as she uses them, plus sometimes eating them in one go would definitely put strain on a reporter’s salary! I like her advocating for the use of a Wonderbag™ in place of a hotbox.

The basis of the story about ancestral land and rights is an important underlying story and the “South Africanisms” used are just so lekker local! A glossary might help some people – and, as always, the inevitable explanation of now/now-now/just-now.

I can’t wait for the next two!

Sleep by MK Boers

Description from Amazon:

A marriage made in heaven, a murder made in hell.

Why kill the man you love?

A whydunnit rather than a whodunnit, Sleep follows a woman on trial for killing her husband and his lover. Was it premeditated, a crime of passion, or a moment of madness? Told through a series of flashbacks and testimony, the struggles that Lizzy Dyson faced are revealed.

A suspense-filled psychological thriller, domestic noir, and courtroom drama. Sleep is a story about heartbreak and betrayal, and reveals what can drive a woman to murder.

 

Plenty to love in this and plenty to be iffy about too. I thought the story was very well done and going into the understanding of why Lizzy did what she did made you really wonder what kind of place she was in to feel like that. How far a person had to be pushed to do what she did. Don’t get me wrong – she still committed murder and did some dodgy actions herself, but it is interesting to see exactly where the breaking point was. It makes you question what you would do if everyone around you was laughing at you knowing your husband was sleeping around and telling you to “get over” five miscarriages.

 

The things that were iffy were, first, the grammar and punctuation mistakes. Gosh, but they were off-putting. Nothing like interrupting the flow of reading when things jump out at you. Then, as other reviewers mentioned, a lot of conversations were repeated and you ended up skipping over sections. The court proceedings could have used a bit of an overhaul too.

 

But overall I enjoyed the story as it was a different take on a woman who knows she is guilty and how she got there. I guess the title had to do with her being asleep her whole life and only waking up when she is finally ready to face the truth.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Description from Amazon:

Frances Adams always said she’d be murdered. She was right.

In 1965, Frances Adams is at an English country fair where a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. It is a prediction that sparks her life’s work—trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet.

Nearly sixty years later, Annie Adams is summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is found murdered, just like she always said she would be. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder.

Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer? As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

 

So this started off as a rollicking good detective mystery, and I loved the time changes where we got to see Frances’s diary and the events of 1966 as well as the shift to present times. The fact that some of the characters were still around and how their personalities had stayed the same or changed made for a good competition to solve the murder.

 

But then the characters and their places in the story started feeling weird. Like they had been written into spots just for their name to appear so that you, as the reader, think to link them to that section. Some were downright silly and some tried to appear all-knowing yet contributed nothing. So here you have Annie, a wannabe writer, who is somehow able to contribute more to the case than the cops themselves. And, amazingly enough, is able to find the murder weapon the cops missed and removes it from the crime scene to hand it in even though it could do the same to her?

 

The story behind the story alongside the story just became too much. Like someone had taken different puzzles and forced them into each other trying to make it fit as a pretty picture. When I got to the end, I went back to see if pages had been torn out. All of that for that ending? It was a big buildup about what Annie was going to do and then in two pages it was done. With holes in things that were huge and tangents flying wildly in the breeze. So much that was forced together just to say it was done. I almost feel cheated as I really expected something that could rival Knives Out or one of the Murder Club Mysteries… but no… (Edited to add that I wish the author had punctuated direct speech properly, too! Commas before the person being addressed is a must and the missing ones made me cringe every single time!)

Take it Back by Kia Abdullah

Description taken from Amazon:

IT’S TIME TO TAKE YOUR PLACE ON THE JURY.

The victim: A sixteen-year-old girl with facial deformities, neglected by an alcoholic mother. Who accuses the boys of something unthinkable.

The defendants: Four handsome teenage boys from hardworking immigrant families. All with corroborating stories.

WHOSE SIDE WOULD YOU TAKE?

 

I love a good legal thriller, and this one definitely hit a lot of areas, ranging from alcoholism, gender inequality, rape, religion, the media, and the judicial system.

Zara Kaleel makes for a good main character in that she has a very deep sense of justice and is focused on doing what is right, no matter how others perceive her. Her journey, both in the legal and familial sense, shows her desire to help and the lengths she will go to do this. When she is approached by Jodie, a white girl with facial deformities, who admits to her that she was raped after a party by four Muslim boys in her school, she wants justice for Jodie, not knowing the twists and turns she will be facing on her path.

Thereafter starts a she said/he said journey where Zara’s desire to prove Jodie’s story lands her in a world of hate from her own community while Jodie suffers the hostility of a hate campaign from both her mother and best friend. This moves out in waves through broader communities where religion and race take centre stage. As a reader you move back and forth between believing Jodie or not as each piece of evidence comes forward, and you find yourself disgusted by the lies and manipulation.

The depth of the hatred was vivid and made for a harrowing read. So when the end arrives, you aren’t quite sure what to expect. And even after that… well, you’ll have to read it!

Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Description taken from amazon blurb:

Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, Tempe is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and when Tempe delves into the property’s history, she becomes suspicious about the ownership.

The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and, sensing a good story, Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the 1930s and ’40s the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. While interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attack? So many questions.

As Tempe and Ivy dig deeper, an arrest is finally made. Then another fire claims one more victim, and slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious. But her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated—and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat.

 

This was my first Kathy Reichs novel and I saw a lot of reviews saying this was not her best. Based on what I read, I don’t think I’d deliberately go out to look for another. I’d probably only read one if I had nothing else to read (and who has that?). There was nothing inherently wrong with it. In fact, the way she finishes off chapters definitely makes you want to read one more and then one more. I guess it was the explanation of every acronym/abbreviation or technical term (even though it’s woven into thoughts or speech) and maybe just too much info. I didn’t connect with the story and never felt invested in finding out who actually did it. When it started and the girl was on the phone with 911, I felt there was going to be something great behind this, but as it went on and the history was looked at over and over, it just felt like it went on for too long. I started jumping sections and I didn’t even really read the epilogue.

 

I never connected with any of the characters, either. Not sure if it’s because I came in late in the series, or if they didn’t make a mark on me. From the detectives to the boyfriend to the telejournalist or to the MC. As for the twins – really?

 

I was looking forward to the forensic parts of the book but even those felt forced. The solution to the whole thing was odd. And the twist? Well, you could see that coming a mile away. Nope, very sad to say this was not for me.

The Grave Artist by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

Grief is what drives him. Grief felt by the relatives and friends of the victims. So Homeland Security Investigations agent Carmen Sanchez and her partner, security expert Jake Heron, find out when the suspect dubbed the Honeymoon Killer strikes again. Not killing for the sake of it, but to feed off those left behind after a bride or groom is killed on the wedding day.

 

Their search takes them between continents, but as more sides to this seemingly clearcut puzzle appear, it seems they might be the ones taken down next. Add in office politics and family members who have their own agenda based on a suicide that may just be murder, well… it’s going to be a ride.

 

I did not read the first book in the series (darn timing was just out!) but it wasn’t 100% necessary in order to understand the backstory here. It would have helped with the familial connections and understanding the Intrusions Investigations as well as a previous nefarious tech character, but otherwise it’s a pretty solid thriller.

 

Lots of twists and turns, the pacing was smooth, and the romantic connection moved the story forward. The things that I didn’t like were the fact that every character had to have some story in the bigger picture – it seemed no one was just a side character – and the fact that sometimes there were too many bows that tied things up. You got fed an idea that something bad would happen or someone would die. But… The fact that you got to know the killer upfront and the reasons behind some behaviour was a good lead in, and the teaser about the blades was intriguing. Then the killer’s romantic connection and the killer going after the killer… too many storylines. The Italian side felt a little added in without being fleshed out and sometimes I got too many Rhyme vibes off this.

 

But in the end, a good thriller, well written, with a bit for everyone, I suppose!

The Way (Book#1) by Mary E. Twomey

The world is divided into three continents and people into blood types where A-class are the workers in The Way. A place where labour is what counts and where you are eliminated once life expectancy has been reached. On the opposite side are the B-bloods – the Vemreaux - who are granted extra life years after being dipped in the Fountain but then need O-blood to keep them going. The B-bloods are being killed by something called the Predator, but there is a prophecy that someone called “The Light” will be the one to bring it down.

 

Blue Anders and her brothers, Baird and Griffin, work in The Way and Blue has a secret. She has a destiny to fulfil and Baird is going to make sure she succeeds no matter what. No matter how much brutal physical training he puts her through. No matter how much mental anguish he heaps on her. No matter how much love he withholds from her. When Baird and Blue are bought and manage to leave The Way, they come across some influential people who may be able to help them in their quest. But since this might mean a profound death, will it solve the problem?

 

This idea was something I’d not come across before and the way Baird treated Blue in a place I couldn’t quite get my head around drew me in to try to understand why. This then led to wanting to know more about the prophecy, so I soldiered on. The POV jumps didn’t really bother me, and yes, this is definitely YA because some of the characters were so stereotypical it was laughable. Yet when I really looked at how Liam, for example, spoke and viewed the world, it was through the lens of royalty and showed how out of touch he really was.

 

The book is longish and many places feel drawn out and rather a setup for later things. I kept looking at the pages left and thinking that there would be some sort of climax even if it did lead into the next one but when the end came all too quickly, it was as though the whole first book just got Blue ready to head off. While that in itself is not a bad thing, it leaves me feeling like the idea was unfilled and something needed to be “finished” in this book.

 

Many of the characters I “got”. I understood their motivations and frustrations. Apart from Grettel. And don’t say she came into herself when Stephanie allowed her to see the possibilities. Nope. Just a crier who I was getting so annoyed at reading when the tears rolled down her cheeks or sat on her eyelashes or whatever. As for Blue being able to get around and waitress with “a curtain of hair covering her face as she looked down subserviently at her feet”. Hmm.

 

The book had some proofing issues but nothing that was too jarring. The biggest thing was probably questions left open. Not necessarily about the lead into the next book, but the bits of info missing like other blood types, or more about WW3. And I want to know what goes into Baird’s drinks to make them so successful.

 

It’s a good book with an intriguing premise and the cover on Amazon is beautiful. I’d recommend it just because of Blue’s journey and the fact that she is able to be a badass while still embracing her vulnerability. I do want to find out what happens to her!

Death of a Ghostwriter by Gaynor Torrance

Death of a Ghostwriter is a cosy mystery set in the fictional village of Monksworthy.

 

Sylvie is a happy wife and loves her job running the local tea room surrounded by the most scrumptious pastries day after day. When her husband, Albert, leaves on one of his working weeks, she kisses him goodbye and wishes him a safe trip. But Albert doesn’t make it to his destination. Not long after he leaves, he is involved in a fatal car accident. And when Sylvie arrives at the mortuary to identify the body, her world is thrown into turmoil when she finds out that two other women are claiming Albert as their husband. Then the police reveal that it looks as though Albert’s brakes were tampered with. The plot thickens!

 

The premise sounded great and the idea of the wives all finding out about each other and the possibility of murder made for a story I wanted to dive into. The subtle clues about the ending are only hinted at in the beginning, which is good. The story starts off quickly and straight away you want to find out why it happened and who these other women are. But the pace slacks off and you find yourself having to read for the sake of reading to get to the next book.

 

The style is very light but tended towards being too much in places. And by that I mean it felt forced and as though the scene was pushed at you rather than you being in the scene. Some conversations felt unnecessary and for sixty-something year olds they tended to speak a lot younger and a lot more energetically (if you can imagine a bunch of girls squealing and gushing over something). There was a lot of eating and drinking involved in this too for some reason.

 

Now, while I understand that a cosy mystery has the characters investigating, it seemed the police did very little in this and that the ladies were able to find out far too much by themselves. That they could get in touch with “all” the people of a certain money class seemed a stretch too. And since the title had ghostwriter in it, there was actually very little to do with this. It felt like a missed opportunity for a subplot. And then the ending. All of that and it was over so quickly? I don’t mind a build-up but to just have action, action, action and then “cut”? Left me wanting more.

 

It’s a good book but not enough that I’d read it again. If you need a rainy day afternoon read then this is for you.

 

Thanks to NetGalley, Joffe Books, and the author for the opportunity to review the book.