Well another week has whizzed past and here I am again with my whistle-stop tour of my week. In short it consisted of work & more work and a celebratory meal with friends. Oh and the glasses arrived so fingers crossed I will now be blogging without squinting.
This Week on the Blog
The week started with my review of Michael Robotham’s foray into psychological thriller land with his novel The Secrets She Keeps.
My excerpt post came from Nina Bawden’s The Solitary Child which as well as being on my list for reading soon sparked a bit of nostalgia for her children’s books.
This Week in Books saw me feature the authors Caz Frear, Camilla Läckberg and G.J. Minett.
I also posted my review of Are You Watching Me? by Sinéad Crowley, a police procedural set in Dublin complemented by an unlikely media star and a stalker.
I finished off the week with my review of the ninth in the Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck series set in Sweden, The Ice Child by Camilla Läckberg
This Time Last Year…
I was reading Blood Lines by Angela Marsons, an author who I love yet shockingly still haven’t got around to reading Dead Souls which is the next in the series and published earlier this year… worse still book 7 is due out on 3 November 2017. Note to self ‘get a move on!’
Anyway back to Blood Lines where the author takes us back to one of the nastiest female characters I’ve ever had the absolute delight to meet in crime fiction, looping back to the second book in the series and allowing this grim woman to wreak havoc again but the author’s real pull of Angela Marsons’ writing is her characterisation. No one is too insignificant for her treatment with each crime scene is a chance not only to learn about the victim and ultimately those who were close to them, but the officers attending.
You can read my full review here or click on the book cover
Blurb
How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace?
A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn’t add up.
When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.
Desperate to catch the twisted individual, Kim’s focus on the case is threatened when she receives a chilling letter from Dr Alex Thorne, the sociopath who Kim put behind bars. And this time, Alex is determined to hit where it hurts most, bringing Kim face-to-face with the woman responsible for the death of Kim’s little brother – her own mother.
As the body count increases, Kim and her team unravel a web of dark secrets, bringing them closer to the killer. But one of their own could be in mortal danger. Only this time, Kim might not be strong enough to save them… Amazon
Stacking the Shelves
Once again a busy week has kept the TBR happy on the incoming book front although I haven’t done as well with the reading so I guess it’s horses for courses.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana which will be published on 28 December 2018.
Blurb
When Anna Flores’ adored older sister goes missing as a teenager, Anna copes by disappearing too, just as soon as she can: running as far away from her family as possible, and eventually building a life for herself abroad.
Thirty years later, the death of her mother finally forces Anna to return home. Tasked with sorting through her mother’s possessions, she begins to confront not just her mother’s death, but also the huge hole Gabriella’s disappearance left in her life – and finds herself asking a question she’s not allowed herself to ask for years: what really happened to her sister?
With that question comes the revelation that her biggest fear isn’t discovering the worst; it’s never knowing the answer. But is it too late for Anna to uncover the truth about Gabriella’s disappearance? Amazon
I also received a copy of Time to Win by Harry Brett which was sent to me by the publishers Corsair. This book was published in hardback and eCopy back in April but the paperback is out in April 2018.
Blurb
When local crime boss Richard Goodwin is pulled from the river by his office it looks like suicide. But as his widow Tatiana feared, Rich collected enemies like poker chips, and half of Great Yarmouth’s criminal fraternity would have had reason to kill him.
Realising how little she knows about the man she married, Tatty seeks to uncover the truth about Rich’s death and take over the reins of the family business, overseeing a waterfront casino deal Rich hoped would put Yarmouth on the map.
Out of the shadows at last, it is Tatty’s time now, and she isn’t going to let Rich’s brother, or anyone else, stand in her way. But an American has been in town asking the right people the wrong questions, more bodies turn up, along with a brutal new gang. The stakes have never been higher.
With her family to protect, and a business to run, Tatty soon learns that power comes with a price . . . Amazon
Lastly I have received a copy of The CWA Short Story Anthology: Mystery Tour edited by the trusty Martin Edwards which will be published on 15 November 2017. As you can see this is book has contributions from many authors who have featured on my blog.
Blurb
Crime spreads across the globe in this new collection of short stories from the Crime Writer’s Association, as a conspiracy of prominent crime authors take you on a world mystery tour. Highlights of the trip include a treacherous cruise to French Polynesia, a horrifying trek in South Africa, a murderous train-ride across Ukraine and a vengeful killing in Mumbai. But back home in the UK, life isn’t so easy either. Dead bodies turn up on the backstreets of Glasgow, crime writers turn words into deeds at literary events, and Lady Luck seems to guide the fate of a Twickenham hood. Showcasing the range, breadth and vitality of the contemporary crime-fiction genre, these twenty-eight chilling and unputdownable stories will take you on a trip you’ll never forget.
Contributions from:
Ann Cleeves, C.L. Taylor, Susi Holliday, Martin Edwards, Anna Mazzola, Carol Anne Davis, Cath Staincliffe, Chris Simms, Christine Poulson, Ed James, Gordon Brown, J.M. Hewitt, Judith Cutler, Julia Crouch, Kate Ellis, Kate Rhodes, Martine Bailey, Michael Stanley, Maxim Jakubowski, Paul Charles, Paul Gitsham, Peter Lovesey, Ragnar Jónasson, Sarah Rayne, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Vaseem Khan, William Ryan and William Burton McCormick
What have you found to read this week? Any of these take your fancy?
Since my last post I’ve read just 2 books but on rationalising my bookshelf 2 have been passed onto a more appreciative audience
My TBR now has a total of 174
Physical Books – 95
Kindle Books – 58
NetGalley Books – 21
Cleopatra Loves Books 