Book Review – Page 18 – Best Crime Books and More

My Lemon Grove Summer by Jo Thomas

Synopsis: When life hands you lemons … is it ever too late for a second chance?

Zelda’s impulsive nature has got her precisely nowhere up until now. A fresh start in a beautiful hilltop town in Sicily looking for new residents, together with her best friend Lennie, could be just what she needs. And who better to settle down with than the person who knows her best?

But the sun-filled skies and sparkling seas can’t hide the shadow hanging over Citta d’Ora, which means not everyone is pleased to see their arrival. The dreams Zelda and her fellow new residents had of setting up a new life might be slipping away. But a friendship with restauranteur Luca could be about to unlock the possibilities that lie in the local lemon groves. And there’s a wedding on the horizon that might be just what the town needs to turn it around…

Could a summer in Sicily help Zelda learn to trust her instinct and follow her heart?

My Rating: 4/5

Deceit by Kerry Barnes

Synopsis: Living in a beautiful home on the edge of a council estate, Kara Bannon can’t imagine what it’s like to have nothing.

An eerie phone call plays on her mind and within three days she loses everything – her job, her home and Justin, the only person she thought she could trust.

Alone and terrified, she makes a decision that will change her life forever.

Suddenly she has to enter a new world – Prison.

Revenge is not always so sweet…

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Deceit by Kerry Barnes”

The Innocent Ones by Neil White

51+5dZjEMkL Synopsis: Three lives cut short. Two decades of silence. One evil secret.

By day, the park rings with the sound of children’s excited laughter. But in the early hours of the morning, the isolated playground is cloaked in shadows – the perfect hiding place to conceal a brutal murder.

When London journalist, Mark Roberts, is found battered to death, the police quickly arrest petty thief, Nick Connor. Criminal defence lawyer, Dan Grant, along with investigator Jayne Brett, are called to represent him – but with bloody footprints and a stolen wallet linking him to the scene, this is one case they’re unlikely to win. Continue reading “The Innocent Ones by Neil White”

BLOG TOUR: What She Did by Alex Kane

Synopsis: Beth
Beth is a woman running from her demons. Moving to Glasgow to escape the tragedy that ended with the death of her ex-boyfriend, she’s trying to build a new life, to tentatively find new love. But her past is following her, and try as she might, she can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching her every move.

Victoria
Victoria is unhappily married to Greg. On their wedding day he told her he would love her until they grew old, but now he’s becoming secretive, staying out for ‘business meetings’ and growing distant from his wife. After finding incriminating texts on his phone, Victoria contacts an old friend for support, the one person in her life that has never let her down yet.

Lydia
Lydia knows she is the only one that can help Victoria. Jumping straight back into their friendship, despite the four-year absence from Victoria’s life, she vows to stop at nothing to help her get revenge. Good friends will do anything for each other, right?

But Lydia has made a new friend in Beth, and now, none of them are safe…

My rating: 4/5

My review: I absolutely LOVED this book. Based around three women Beth, Lydia and Victoria all of whom have their own pasts and all of them trying to move on with their life. I didn’t favour one character over another and at first they are all very separate as you learn about each of their lives.

Before long their stories intertwine and slowly things begin to emerge. As the book progresses I found myself more and more drawn into the story and I ended up reading the last three quarters of the book in one sitting. There was a particular part of the story I totally didn’t see coming which threw me. This also had a quite dark side to it and made it seem quite sinister but I truth it just made the book even more engaging. A truly fantastic read and one of highly recommend

The Woman Next Door by Sue Watson

Synopsis: Lucy has a kind and adoring husband, a job she loves as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue with floaty curtains and the softest bed linen. After her troubled childhood, she knows life will never be perfect, but it’s pretty close.

She’s also got Amber, right next door. They never run out of things to talk about. Even if Amber’s life – with her high-profile job and handsome, wealthy boyfriend – is more glamorous than Lucy’s.

But then Amber starts to hint that her life isn’t all it seems, and when she comes to Lucy, terrified, saying that she’s getting threatening messages, Lucy promises to protect her. Continue reading “The Woman Next Door by Sue Watson”

Death Rope by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #11)

Synopsis: Mark Abbott is dead. His sister refuses to believe it was suicide, but only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel will listen.

When other members of Mark’s family disappear, Geraldine’s suspicions are confirmed.

Taking a risk, Geraldine finds herself confronted by an adversary deadlier than any she has faced before… Her boss Ian is close, but will he arrive in time to save her, or is this the end for Geraldine Steel?

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Death Rope by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #11)”

Hard Hit by J B Turner (Jon Reznick 6)

Hard Hit Synopsis: He’s fighting for justice while she fights for her life.

With his daughter lying in the hospital, struck down in a reckless hit-and-run, the only thing Jon Reznick can do is wait—and plot his revenge. Not satisfied with the slow-moving police investigation, he starts his own manhunt.

He discovers that the car belongs to a high-ranking diplomat whose interests are closely tied to those of the United States government, and this man may not be what he appears. The FBI wants Reznick to back down, but the more information Jon digs up, the more questions he finds. Was it a simple accident, or is there more to it? How many young women’s lives has this man ruined? Lauren’s life hangs in the balance, and Jon must get answers, no matter the cost—to him or the government.

With the help of a dedicated NYPD detective who has suspicions of her own, as well as FBI Assistant Director Martha Meyerstein, Jon Reznick will have to fight for his daughter while she fights for her life.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Hard Hit by J B Turner (Jon Reznick 6)”

The Summer Hideaway by Jenny Hale

The Summer Hideaway: An uplifting feel good summer romance by [Hale, Jenny]

Synopsis: Alice Emerson and best friend Sasha Miller have made a pact. They’ve decided to swap city living for the beautiful white beaches of the Outer Banks and pour everything they have into launching an ice cream shop in the little house by the sea where Alice spent blissful childhood holidays with her grandfather. As Alice and Sasha add color to the walls of the beach house and tempt the locals with their delicious recipes, their fresh new life begins to take shape.

Swept away by her plans, love is the last thing on Alice’s mind. But she keeps running into mysterious doctor Jack Murphy, and finds herself falling for his golden charm and warm smile. As they laugh through sunshine-filled days and long romantic evenings, Alice tries hard not to think he could be the one for her – Jack is only here for the season, and Alice has had her fair share of heartbreak.Just when Alice’s summer couldn’t be more perfect, she discovers an old letter tucked away in the beach house. It contains a family secret that turns Alice’s world upside down and threatens the future of the ice cream shop. And then Jack reveals a secret of his own…Will Alice have her dreams shattered and her heart broken, or can she find true happiness this summer?

My Rating: 4/5

Continue reading “The Summer Hideaway by Jenny Hale”

The Deep Abiding by Sean Black (Ty Johnson Series)

Synopsis: The winner of the 2018 International Thriller Writers Award returns with what readers are calling his ‘best book yet.’
Retired US Marine Ty Johnson is hired as the bodyguard for a young reporter investigating the brutal, decades-old murder of a young African American woman in the Florida Everglades.

The town where the murder took place is idyllic, and the people welcoming, but something sinister lies beneath the surface. It’s not long before the facade begins to crack and Ty finds himself plunged into a living nightmare that will test the very limits of his endurance as he battles to protect the idealistic young journalist

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I am a HUGE Lock fan and must admit when I saw that this instalment was more about Ty, I was a little unsure. However, Mr Black has shown his skill by producing an amazing story which frankly is one of his best books in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong Mr Lock didn’t feature in it nearly enough for my liking but frankly Ty shone all on his own.

Ty is looking after journalist Cressida King while she journeys down to the town of Darling to investigate a cold case murder from the seventies. Almost from the first page the characters gel amazingly well as Ty tries to keep his focus on his keeping her safe while Cress seems hell bent on involving herself in the heart of the rumours in the town.

From the get go it’s clear the town is stuck in their ways and in their eyes there is no place in their town for people of colour. This enrages Cress to the point that she is prepared to take chances. Unfortunately for her, also being with Ty who is an African American standing at well over 6 feet tall they don’t go in-noticed. The trouble starts almost instantly for both of them and it produces a real page turner of a book.

A few chapters in and I didn’t care that Ryan Lock didn’t feature and when he briefly appears in the story I almost wanted him to not get involved because this was Ty’s story to solve and fix the problems. I admit I was surprised just how much I loved this book, it was a fresh take on an old school problem done with class and finesse and showing how a page turner of a book is done! An outstanding book in this series and although this worked I thing Ty and Ryan work best together and produce magic so am looking forward to the next book hugely!

The Paramedics Daughter by Tara Lyons

Synopsis: Paramedic Abi Quinn is hailed as a hero by the patients she saves with the London Ambulance Service; but a secret she’s kept since she was a teenager now threatens to shatter that perfect illusion.
When her daughter Rose goes missing while studying at Brighton university, and ghosts from her past return to haunt her, Abi’s caught in a race against time to untangle the web of lies she set in motion over twenty years ago.

Everyone has something to lose.
Everyone is trying to protect themselves.
Everyone is broken.
But what lengths will they go to in order to stop the truth from being exposed?

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: Woahh okay I kind of didn’t expect this book to be what it was…so let me explain. So Tara is somebody I met a few years ago and we talked about her book she had released etc. However we also became firm friends and I can tell you now for a fact I have at various points on reading a book of hers actually picked up my phone and messaged her to say I hated something. She knows I will never write a fake review and will always be completely honest about it so I am going to try and do both. What happened was, I began to read her series of books featuring DI Hamilton, I started out liking them (not loving them) but her latest release with Denis Hamilton was awesome and a smashing 5 star read. When I picked this up I assumed it was another in the series. I was wrong, but a few chapters in realised I actually didn’t want to stop reading. However, there were things I didn’t like about the book but I still had that overwhelming urge to continue.

I read quite a few chapters the first time around and then the next time I picked it up, well… I finished it in one sitting. On one hand this was a TRUE psychological thriller and on the other there were things I just couldn’t gel with. Even after having negatives about this book I absolutely refuse to give it anything other than the full 5 out of 5. I didn’t want to put the thing down and was totally and utterly absorbed in the story line. My main gripe was the lead character Abi, I just didn’t like her. She felt a bit too much like a neurotic Mother for my liking. However, even though I didn’t like her it was pretty clear there were quite a few sinister things going on from the very early stages of the book.

Her daughter Rose appears to have gone missing and it becomes apparent that Abi’s own secrets may well have played a part in her disappearance. The first quarter of the book was a little slow as it felt a little bit like listening to a Mother harping on about her child constantly, but the last three quarters literally took my breath away. Just when I thought the story couldn’t get any better I reached the last chapter….and all I can say is I was a little in shock! An absolute belter of a book that is a must read for psychological thriller fans!