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The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

51HE0OpJ8YL Synopsis: You think you know who to trust? You think you know the difference between good and evil? You’re wrong …

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.

Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.

But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.

And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: I have to be honest and say I am not entirely sure what to think about this book. This book focuses on DS Adrian Miles after his return to work following a suspension. He is teamed with DS Imogen Grey who has been relocated and they have to investigate the death of a headteacher. Of course that is just the beginning in terms of story line but it’s also a book I don’t feel you can say too much about without spoiling.

I struggled at the beginning to get into this and I cannot even work out why or what my issue was but it just felt sluggish and hard going at times. I actually liked the two main characters Miles and Grey, but aside from that…I just don’t know. It’s a very graphic book with very explicit descriptions of pretty gruelling scenes. This certainly doesn’t bother me but may be worth readers being aware of it.

Overall it was just middle of the road for me. I may well go back to this author in the future and hopefully will find the next book a little easier to get into.

Desperately Seeking Summer by Mandy Baggott

Synopsis: A Greek getaway you won’t forget…

Escape to Greece with the perfect feel-good book to read on the beach this summer. If you love Kat French and Sarah Morgan, you’ll love Mandy Baggot’s sizzling summer romantic comedies.

Abby Dolan is having a very bad day… In twenty-four hours, she’s lost her job and her boyfriend. Single and with nothing left to lose, she’s headed for a Corfu escape to spend time with her family while she heals her broken heart.

Only her mum and sister’s estate agency ‘Desperately Seeking’ is just that, desperate! Instead of the relaxing, sunshine holiday she’d hoped for, Abby finds herself spending her break helping get the business back on its feet. Determined to attract new clients and give her family a second chance at success, she finds the perfect property to sell in Villa Pappas complete with gorgeous gardener, Theo.

Perhaps working this summer could be a welcome distraction after all. But Theo has his own secrets and Abby isn’t the only thing he wants to take off the market…

Kat’s Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Desperately Seeking Summer by Mandy Baggott”

When The Water Recedes by Graham Smith

Synopsis: When a car is pulled from raging floodwaters with a dead man in the front and the decapitated body of an evil woman in the boot, Cumbria’s Major Crimes Team are handed the investigation.

The woman is soon recognised, but the man cannot be identified and this leads the team and their former leader, Harry Evans, into areas none of them want to visit.

Before they know it, they’re dealing with protection scams and looking for answers to questions they didn’t know needed to be asked.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Wow! I have read the others in this series and don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed them but this book…I LOVED! For those that have no prior knowledge, Harry Evans is newly retired. He was the DI and has managed to grab himself a ‘consultancy’ role meaning he is still in the thick of it when it comes to the teams latest case.

The book starts out with a gruesome crime scene when a car is dragged out of the water and they find the bodies of a male and a decapitated female. Harry soon realises that although he is still a part of is old team one particular ex-colleague Lauren is acting strangely. Lauren is an odd character but strangely enough she is also one of my favourites. In this latest book she plays a pretty big part and we get to see more of Lauren and what is going on in her life.

In addition to Harry being very much his usual brusque and abrupt self, we also see him going through a change himself. Newly retired, and still going through the grief process after the loss of his wife it feels like we get to see those changes first hand. This book absolutely raced along and although there were a number of threads running through it, the book kept me engaged from literally the very first page to the very last. I think what made this book even better was that I didn’t expect it to be so engaging! That is absolutely not means as a disrespect as I am a Graham Smith fan and have always enjoyed all his books. However, this little beauty had that extra something special. An absolutely cracking book and I loved it. I think to get the full picture, if you haven’t read the other books it would help, not a necessity…but why not?

When The Waters Recede by Graham Smith

The woman is soon recognised, but the man cannot be identified and this leads the team and their former leader, Harry Evans, into areas none of them want to visit.

Before they know it, they’re dealing with protection scams and looking for answers to questions they didn’t know needed to be asked.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “When The Waters Recede by Graham Smith”

BLOG TOUR – Love Lies and Wedding Cake by Sue Watson

Synopsis: Faye Dobson is in crisis. You wouldn’t know it, because of the big fat smile on her face, but inside, she’s one step away from nuclear meltdown. And she shouldn’t be. Dan ?? is the man of her dreams. Her really quite energetic dreams, that frequently come true. Sometimes twice in one night. And he’s just asked her to marry him.

But Faye’s been down the marriage road before and it ended up with her having Ryan Gosling fantasies while her ex-husband obsessed about the plumbing. The actual plumbing. Faye and Dan have been living their lives to the fullest, travelling around the world, having sex under the stars… They haven’t argued about unrolling socks before putting them in the laundry.

Besides, even if she wanted to say yes, how could she move to the other side of the world? Because marrying Dan would mean living in Australia. Beautiful, warm and a gazillion miles from Faye’s daughter, Emma, a single mum with her own crazy little girl who both need Faye every single day. Leaving them – even for someone who makes her laugh as much as Dan – simply isn’t an option.

Dan is offering Faye everything she ever wanted. So why does she feel like she’s about to lose it all? Continue reading “BLOG TOUR – Love Lies and Wedding Cake by Sue Watson”

Dead If You Don’t by Peter James (Roy Grace #14)

Synopsis: Roy Grace, creation of the CWA Diamond Dagger award winning author Peter James, faces his most complex case yet in Dead If You Don’t.

Kipp Brown, successful businessman and compulsive gambler, is having the worst run of luck of his life. He’s beginning to lose, big style. However, taking his teenage son, Mungo, to their club’s Saturday afternoon football match should have given him a welcome respite, if only for a few hours. But it’s at the stadium where his nightmare begins.

Within minutes of arriving at the game, Kipp bumps into a client. He takes his eye off Mungo for a few moments, and in that time, the boy disappears. Then he gets the terrifying message that someone has his child, and to get him back alive, Kipp will have to pay.

Defying instruction not to contact the police, Kipp reluctantly does just that, and Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is brought in to investigate. At first it seems a straightforward case of kidnap. But rapidly Grace finds himself entering a dark, criminal underbelly of the city, where the rules are different and nothing is what it seems .

Kat’s Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Dead If You Don’t by Peter James (Roy Grace #14)”

Need You Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #13)

Synopsis: Lorna Belling, desperate to escape the marriage from hell, falls for the charms of another man who promises her the earth. But, as Lorna finds, life seldom follows the plans you’ve made. A chance photograph on a client’s mobile phone changes everything for her.

When the body of a woman is found in a bath in Brighton, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is called to the scene. At first it looks an open and shut case with a clear prime suspect. Then other scenarios begin to present themselves, each of them tantalizingly plausible, until, in a sudden turn of events, and to his utter disbelief, the case turns more sinister than Grace could ever have imagined.

Kat’s Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Need You Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #13)”

Blood Feud by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey #1)

Synopsis: They came for her family. Now she’s coming for them. This nail-biting thriller introduces Glasgow’s newest gangland mistress, Kerry Casey – a gripping read perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers.

Kerry Casey thought she’d made a life away from the dirty dealings of her gangster family. Her father wanted to make them legit – her brother Mickey had other ideas, and now it’s got him killed. When Mickey’s funeral turns into a bloodbath at the hands of a group of anonymous shooters and Kerry’s mother is killed in the crossfire, Kerry finds herself at the head of the Casey family, and desperate for revenge. Continue reading “Blood Feud by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey #1)”

This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell

Synopsis: On the one hand, if Essie hadn’t written that letter – the one that only her best friend was meant to see – then she’d still be living like an actual proper grown-up, tucked up with Paul in his picture-perfect cottage, maybe even planning their wedding…

On the other hand (if her true feelings hadn’t accidentally taken the internet by storm, that is) she wouldn’t have moved into the attic flat on the square. She would never have met Conor. Or got to know Lucas…

And she wouldn’t have found herself falling in love with someone she really, really shouldn’t fall in love with…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell”

BLOG TOUR – No Comment by Graham Smith (Harry Evans Novella)

Synopsis: When a single mother, Julie Simon, is found in her kitchen with a stab wound to her stomach, Cumbria’s Major Crimes Team are handed the case. Under the supervision of DI Campbell and witîh advice from his former DI, Harry Evans, DC Amir Bhaki fights to discover who assaulted an innocent woman and left her with life-threatening injuries.
Nothing is as it first appears and when the team looks into Julie’s life they uncover a hidden sex-life that may just hold the key to the identity of her attacker.

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: This novella/short story is just under 100 pages, and although these sorts of short books aren’t always my cup of tea, this was a really enjoyable bite sized read.

The Major Crimes Team are handed a case involving the stabbing of a single mother Julia Simon. Even though a short story Smith manages to pack a fair bit into this latest installment. This is almost like a mini catch up to see where the team are and what they are up to.

We see DI John Campbell trying to replace the now retired Harry Evans, however somehow I don’t see it happening. What I did get was a small but jam packed mini investigation with colleagues such as DC Amir Bhaki and DC Lauren Phillips making a welcome return. Thankfully this seems like the perfect time to read this with a full length novel entitled ‘When The Waters Recede’ due in May.