Category: Book Review

Deadly Revenge by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #14)

Deadly Revenge

Synopsis: When a hysterical mother reports her baby’s sudden disappearance, suspicion immediately falls on the absent husband. But Detective Geraldine Steel’s gut instinct tells her this case is not as simple as her colleagues think…

Complications in the mother’s life begin to surface, including her relationship with her controlling father, a controversial political figure. As the police investigate, their urgent attempt to find the missing infant grows ever more perplexing.

Steel is forced to suspect everyone associated with the family and when a body is discovered, matters take a deadly turn.

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: It’s been way too long since I have read about Geraldine and figured it was high time I caught up. Geraldine and the team are working a case of a baby’s disappearance. It’s a strange case as the baby’s father Jason is apparently away for the weekend, except nobody who knows Jason knows anything about this so-called stag weekend he is meant to be on. Jason’s wife Jessica is hysterical, and it seems obvious from the early days that she is very controlled, but the question is by whom?

Before long the standard search procedures are interrupted by another murder linked directly to the case. The story hits the pace perfectly and you feel like you are back with old friends when Geraldine and Ian are working a case. It seems that Geraldine and Ian are still working things out on the personal front, but this makes for such an interesting thread that has run throughout the series and gives you a real glimpse into their personal lives.

This book was the perfect mix for me and was a real ‘who dunnit’ kind of book. I am also additionally pleased as I am binge reading a few series of books now and I know that I have book 15 in this series to read. Another cracking read and a series I would recommend.

Collision Course by Matt Hilton (Grey and Po Book 7)

Collission Course Synopsis: Private investigator Tess Grey feels duty bound to help when the missing girl she has been asked to find becomes involved a high-stakes case of extortion.

Private investigator Tess Grey’s latest case involves tracking down Hayley Cameron, a young girl who has fled after discovering that she was adopted. Tess, aided by her fianc� Po Villere, traces Hayley to the apartment of Madison Toner – one of Hayley’s college friends – in Bangor, Maine.

Despite Tess’s pleas, Hayley refuses to return to her adoptive mother. Both Tess and Po believe there’s more to her running away than it seems, especially when they see Madison’s father bloodied and beaten. Concerned for Hayley’s well-being, they conduct a stake-out.

When thugs turn up to extort Madison and Hayley, Tess and Po feel duty bound to get involved. But what are the girls embroiled in? Who are after them and to what lengths will they go? Tess and Po don’t know it yet, but events are about to grow deadly.

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: After the belter of a book being the last in this series I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed in this latest book. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a bad read, it just wasn’t as great as the last one I read. This latest case for Tess involves Hayley Cameron and tracking her down as she has run away from her adoptive mother. It is soon uncovered that the girl is caught up in her friend Maddison’s scam which is putting them in the middle of a dangerous situation.

Maddison and her Father become rather central characters in this story but I couldn’t help feeling this was just a bit too run of the mill for my liking. The story was okay just I found it not that exciting. Although we see PO and Pink make their appearances there just seemed to be some of the normal magic from the characters missing in this book. Still a fantastic series but this book didn’t hit the high of the last one. Hopefully book 8 will bring the magic back!

Rough Justice by Matt Hilton (Grey and Po Book 6)

Rough Justice Synopsis: Tess Grey is tasked with investigating a plane crash in the Great North Woods after rumors surface of a survivor… but she and her partner Po aren’t the only ones heading there.

Three field biologists are distracted from their studies when a plane crashes in the Great North Woods. They find two pilots dead only to be confronted by a female survivor. Once they call the authorities, they claim they found only the pilots.

Private Investigator Tess Grey is hired by an insurance firm to investigate rumors another person was aboard the downed plane. She sets off into the woods with her partner Po Villere and friend Jerome ‘Pinky’ Leclerc in order to search the crash site and interview the biologists.

But they aren’t the only ones heading into the woods. There are also teams of mercenaries investigating the crash and killers hunting Pinky to claim a bounty that has been placed on his head. Can Tess get to the bottom of what happened at the crash site while they’re also being hunted?

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I am straight onto this book having just finished book 5. This time there is a plane crash in the Maine forest and it’s a team of biologists who are researching in the area that get to the crash site first. The rumours start about how there was a woman at the scene, but it seems nobody, the researchers included, have anything to say about it. Tess is asked by the insurers to check out the plane crash so she decides to take along her fella Po as well as their long time friend Pinky.

Aside from the issue of them all checking out the crash site, Pinky has a slight worry going on as now he has given up the criminal world of illegal gun trading there is now a bounty on his head. This book I absolutely LOVED. It had so much going on and you were always wondering what was coming next. There is a lot of action, especially towards the end and I was thoroughly engaged from start to finish. Thankfully as I know there are still books ahead of me to read in this series, I luckily didn’t feel too heartbroken that I had finished another of these books.

I absolutely love all the characters that make up these books as they are a fry cry from your bog-standard hero’s, and I have grown very attached to all of them. I can highly recommend this series and can’t wait to move onto book 7!

False Move by Matt Hilton (Grey and Po Book 5)

False Move

Synopsis: When an ex-cop goes on the run from his employers, his daughter seeks help from an old friend . . . Tess Grey.

Ex-cop Aaron Lacey is on the run from Elite Custodian Services, a protection service of ex-military and police – and his current employers – and they will stop at nothing to track him down. His disappearance results in his daughter reaching out to her old schoolfriend, Tess Grey. But when Tess’s mother urges her to turn down helping her friend, Tess begins to question why.

Is her mother simply being overprotective, or is there more to her past with Lacey than Tess realises? Why has Lacey gone underground and why are the Elite so determined to catch him?

As Tess and her partner Nicolas Villere get involved, they need to figure out who can be trusted and what secrets they are hiding.

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I have not had much free time so when I decide to binge read I decided it was high time I caught up with Tess and Po in this series I have come to love. This latest instalment sees an old school friend of Tess named Stella reach out to her with a request. Her father Aaron Lacey who is an ex-cop has gone missing. Aaron was working for a company called Elite Services and it looks at first glance like he has done a runner, the question is why?

Tess and Po decide to help her out and as usual butt heads with people from the get go. Of course no book would be complete without their loveable friend Pinky. I liked this story and as per usual the characters are totally what makes these books so engaging. There is a lot of action and it is reasonably fast paced. It took me only two sittings to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot wait to move onto the next book in the series.

Don’t Let Him In by Howard Linskey

51fMv6dwuVL._SY346_ Synopsis: Eriston is a small town.  Where everyone knows your name – and your secrets. Rebecca hasn’t been back in years, but she grew up in the shadow of a dark local legend: the countless unexplained deaths.

Her father Sean had always warned her of the dangers. And when Rebecca returns, she discovers that her father wasn’t willing to let the legend lie.

He was on the verge of uncovering the town’s darkest truth. He thought he was on the trail of a killer. Sean knew too much. Now he’s dead.

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I am a huge fan of Howard Linskey and was looking forward to getting my teeth into a new book by him. This latest release features Rebecca as our main character. She has returned to her hometown of Eriston where she hasnt been in years following the death of her father. As Rebecca returns to her home town no sooner has she set foot in the first place as the reader you just know this town has something going on.  It has an element of creepiness about it that I just couldn’t put my finger on. As Rebecca starts to arrange things such as her Dads funeral she is dragged into something she had no idea was going on. Not only are women beingmurdered in the town but Rebecca is now questioning her own Fathers death.

She meets up with her ex-boyfriend Alan as well as meeting the local policeman who seems to be investigating the murders in his own time. Although this took a little time to gather momentuim it was a really enjoyable book to read and I will as always look forwardto the next release.

No Going Back by Casey Kelleher (Lucy Murphy 3)

No Going Back Synopsis: A child has been taken. A family is out for revenge.

Riley Cooke is just one day old when he is stolen from the hospital. His young mother, Shelby, is beside herself. DC Lucy Murphy and her team face a race against time to find the vulnerable baby and bring him home – before the child’s grandfather, fearsome gangster Pete Baker, takes matters into his own hands.

Pete is sure he knows who’s behind baby Riley’s abduction, and he thinks they ought to pray Lucy finds them before he does. Because someone is going to pay dearly for causing this much pain to his family.

They say never stand between a gangster and his target. But that’s exactly what Lucy must do – because if Pete is wrong, innocent blood could flow.

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: Casey Kelleher NEVER fails to impress me with her books and this one is no different. I have really taken to Lucy Murphy as a lead character and her backstory is so interesting and makes reading about her that little bit more intriguing. This time around Lucy and the team have to deal with a missing child. However, it’s not quite that simple as there has been a recent case involving the murder of a pregnant woman nearby. Ashley Cooke and his girlfriend Shelby are the people on the harrowing end of their child being taken. What doesn’t help matters is that Shelby’s father Pete is a known gangster and Ashley has also got himself into hot water in other ways, so are either of those factors cause for somebody to steal their baby?

This storyline had me gripped from the beginning to the end and although I did finally work out the kidnapper it was pretty late in the game! You could probably read this as a standalone but reading the first two books first of all are brilliant and are worth reading, but they also give you some real background on Lucy and the other supporting characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and CK remains one of my favourite authors!

Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan (Mure 4)

41MfLOxFySL Synopsis: When she is given the opportunity to move to a remote tidal island off the Cornish Coast, Marisa Rossi decides some peace and quiet might be just what she needs.

Since the death of her beloved grandfather back in Italy, she’s been struggling to find a way out of her grief. Perhaps this will be the perfect place for her to recuperate.

But Mount Polbearne is a far cry from the sleepy little place she was imagining. Between her noisy piano-teaching Russian neighbour and the hustle and bustle of a busy community, Marisa finds solitude is not so easy to come by. Especially when she finds herself somehow involved with a tiny local bakery desperately in need of some new zest to save it . . .

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: Oh how I have missed Mount Polbearne! I was SO excited that this latest book was set in one of my favourite fictional places. We get to see characters from other books such as Polly (but don’t worry if you haven’t read previous books as this won’t affect reading this as a standalone). Marisa Rossi sadly loses her Grandfather and spirals into a place where she cannot function and her solution to this issue is to move to Mount Polbearne which should give her the peace and space she needs to grieve. She didn’t count on a noisy piano teacher Alexei from Russia as her new neighbour.

Polly and her husband Huckle are having financial problems with their bakery and we get to catch up on their lives. When disaster strikes Marisa manages to become involved in the solution to fixing Polly’s problems. As such Polly unwittingly manages to help Marisa deal with her grief and build her confidence once again. These Plobearne books are pure escapism and are books that I think I could read over and over again and still enjoy just as much. Another brilliant book that delivers pure escapism at its finest.

The Last Bodyguard by Sean Black

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Synopsis: In the latest action-packed thriller from the award-winning novelist who writes with ‘the pace of Lee Child, and the heart of Harlan Coben,’ ex-military bodyguard Ryan Lock plunges into the nightmare world of sex trafficking.

When fourteen-year-old Kristin Miller goes missing from her quiet home in the San Fernando Valley, her desperate family turn to ex-military bodyguard, Ryan Lock. Along with his partner, Marine Corps veteran Ty Johnson, Lock sets out on a journey that takes him deep into a dark, disturbing and violent world, where young women are selected, groomed and then exploited by ruthless predators.

With law enforcement’s hands tied, Lock dispenses his own brand of street justice as he tracks down Kristin, taking revenge on anyone who stands in his way. Can he get to her before it’s too late?

My Rating: 5/5

I am a HUGE Sean Black fan, and even though this book is a slight departure from the normal format of these books its still a fantastic read. When I say it is different, I mean it is a slightly different (and at times sensitive) topic relating to sex trafficking, but also feels slightly more sedate in terms of Ryan and Ty as characters. This isn’t a simple open and shut case of catching and when necessary killing the bad guys. It’s more of them delving into a new world that they haven’t had to deal with in the past.

Ryan has a seemingly simple task of tracking down a missing 14 year old girl. However, it leads to the murky world of sex trafficking and both he and Ty are dragged into something they just cannot turn their back on. It is still packed with action and the writing and storyline are just as brilliant as all of his other books. However, we see a slightly less than perfect version of them this time around, whether thats age or just taking their eye off the ball I don’t know. What I do know is that as a team they are not a pair you should mess with. Another cracking read that I absolutely loved and I cannot recommend this series highly enough!

Publication List – Veronica Henry

Honeycote (2002) aka A Country Christmas
Making Hay (2003) aka A Country Life
Wild Oats (2004)
An Eligible Bachelor (2005)
Love on the Rocks (2006)
Just a Family Affair (2008) aka A Country Wedding
Marriage And Other Games (2009)
The Birthday Party (2010)
The Beach Hut (2010) Beach Hut 1
The Beach Hut Next Door (2014) Beach Hut 2
High Tide (2015)
How to Find Love in a Bookshop (2016)
The Forever House (2017)
Christmas at the Beach Hut (2018) Beach Hut 3
A Family Recipe (2018)
A Home From Home (2019)
A Wedding at the Beach Hut (2020) Beach Hut 4
A Day at the Beach Hut (2021) Beach Hut 5
The Impulse Purchase (2022)
Thirty Days in Paris (2023)
 
 
 
  
  
   
   
   

Dead Secret by Noelle Holten (Maggie Jamieson 4)

51t3-f23kjL Synopsis: Psychopaths can take root in the unlikeliest soil…

DC Maggie Jamieson crosses paths once again with Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood when a domestic violence survivor stumbles into her new refuge, unable to speak, desperate for help.

Then another case hits Maggie’s desk. A young man has been murdered, and a curious constellation of black dots has been inked onto his cheek.

That’s when DCI Hastings goes missing and Maggie uncovers a shocking connection that turns the case on its head.

Every family may hide secrets, but not every family buries them…

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I have to say this was my favourite book by Noelle so far….by a mile! Maggie Jamieson is maybe not a conventional character in some ways but is very enjoyable to read about. The storyline involves the murder of a man  clearly murdred but with strange markings on his face.If that wasn’t enough Maggies very own colleague and superior DI Hastings then goes missing and that takes the story up by quite a few notches. Then a woman turns up at a refuge run by Maggies friend Lucy. A lot of the characters you read about have all featured in previous books so as each book passes as the reader you certainly feel more invested in allof the characters.

There is a lot of intrigue and action in this latest book and it took me only a couple of days to plough through it in its entirety. This series seems to be going from strength to strength and even though you can read this as a standalone it always flows better when you have the history of all the characters. I absolutely loved this book and would defintely recommend it and I am really looking forward to the next installment.