Anna Smith – Best Crime Books and More

Until I Find You by Anna Smith (Billie Carson 1)

Synopsis: WHEN YOU’VE LOST EVERYTHING, YOU’LL STOP AT NOTHING

Billie Carlson left the police force under a cloud. Once a promising young officer she now works as a private investigator, rooting out insurance scams and spying on cheating spouses.

One morning a distraught young woman comes into her office saying that her baby has been stolen. Her story seems unbelievable, yet something about her makes Billie want to help – Billie knows what it’s like to lose someone too.

To get to the bottom of the case Billie must rattle some dangerous cages and rely on old police friends for inside help. Soon she discovers a network of crime deeper and far more twisted than she ever could have imagined. But is she in way over her head?

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: I was devastated when Anna Smith’s series featuring Rosie Gilmour finished, that was until she released her Kerry Casey books, and now I am thrilled to add another amazing character and series to my list of ‘must read’ books. This new series features Billie Carlson. Billie used to be a copper until her boy disappeared and her life changed. Now she is a private investigator and when a woman comes into her office saying her baby has been stolen it’s a story that’s too close to home to let go.

There is plenty of action in this book from the outset pretty much through until the end. There is plenty to the plot including drugs, people trafficking and murder to name a few. The only downside to a new series is that it takes me a while to catch onto the additional characters that will feature as the series progresses. I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in close to two sittings. I am even more thrilled to realise that the next installment is due out in under a year. Another belter of a book from Anna Smith and an author that I would highly recommend you try!

Trapped by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey 4)

516C3cpWCuL Synopsis: Kerry Casey is still reeling from the bombshell that her lover, undercover cop Vinny Burns, has gone missing in Spain. She’s pregnant with his baby and will do anything to find him.

One night, driving along a country road, Kerry and her Uncle Danny are ambushed by gunmen. In the confusion that follows, shots are fired and two men are murdered. Kerry and Danny can only look on as the bodies are dragged from their assailant’s car and placed in their own.

The police arrive in minutes. With cocaine, dead bodies and guns in the car, it looks like an open-and-shut case.

Kerry’s been framed. She is forced to wait out her fate inside a women’s prison, still not knowing what has happened to Vinnie. On the outside the Casey gang are hunting down the men who did this to her and they will stop at nothing to find them.

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I have been desperate to read this book which is thelast of the 4 featuring Kerry Casey. If you haven’t read the other three books this review may contain spoilers. At the end of book 3 we as readers knew that Kerry was questioning where her lover and undercover copper Vinny was. With that huge worry she also has to try and keep herself safe and well as she is pregnant. When her and her uncle Danny are travelling one night they are well and truly stitched up and watch as two men are murdered. Before they know it, the police arrive and they are both arrested and before long the only thing that looks certain is a prison sentance.

I was literally on the edge of my seat with this final installment and it delivered by the bucketload. By the time I got to the last quarter of the book I was beside myself needing to fnd out what happens. The last quarter of the book was amazing and I am SO glad that the book wrapped up the way it did. I absolutely loved the Rosie Gilmour series and was devastated when it ended. Then I fell in love with Kerry Casey and her crew. However, this time I didn’t feel AS devastated because I just know that Anna Smiths next book will no doubt be just as amazing. Anna Smith is an amazing author and one that I HIGHLY reccomend. If you haven’t read her books before, start off at the beginning with her Rosie Gilmour Series, you wont regret it.

Check out Anna Smith’s books in order of publication here

End Game by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey 3)

D79498AC-3A72-44EA-86BC-E3E52899ED18 Synopsis; Physically and emotionally battered after the shocking events of Fight Back, Glasgow gang leader Kerry Casey must pick herself up and get straight back into the fray.

When London gangsters William ‘Wolfie’ Wolfe and his tough-talking daughter Hannah approach her with millions of pounds worth of stolen diamonds and offer her an alliance in return for helping to sell them, she jumps at the chance to have someone on her side for a change.

But there were more than diamonds in the loot Wolfie stole, and its former owners will stop at nothing to get it back. Kerry and Hannah must stay one step ahead of their new enemies – while Kerry spots the opportunity to settle an old score of her own…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “End Game by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey 3)”

Fight Back by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey #2)

51+mqnipr3l Synopsis: Kerry Casey is now a fully-fledged gangland boss. With her business partner Sharon and her wily lawyer Marty at her side, she is busy ridding her organisation of the drug-dealing, people-trafficking scum her dead brother Mickey got them involved with. But her great dream is still to take the Caseys straight.

Her plan to turn her organisation around hinges on building a property empire in Spain. But Kerry has some deadly rivals – in Glasgow, on the Costa del Sol, and even further afield. They will never believe she has what it takes to defend her turf, and they won’t rest until the Caseys are destroyed.

When her enemies strike at the heart of the Casey family, Kerry must prepare for the fight of her life – for her business, her friends and her own survival.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Fight Back by Anna Smith (Kerry Casey #2)”

Publication List – Anna Smith

The Dead Won’t Sleep (2011) Rosie Gilmour #1
To Tell The Truth (2012) Rosie Gilmour #2
Screams in The Dark (2013) Rosie Gilmour #3
Betrayed (2014) Rosie Gilmour #4
A Cold Killing (2015) Rosie Gilmour #5
Rough Cut (2016) Rosie Gilmour #6
Kill Me Twice (2016) Rosie Gilmour #7
Death Trap (2017) Rosie Gilmour #8
The Hit (2017) Rosie Gilmour #9
Blood Feud (2018) Kerry Casey #1
Fight Back (2019) Kerry Casey #2
End Game (Due for release Feb 2020) Kerry Casey #3

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)”

The Hit by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #9)

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Synopsis: Rosie Gilmour is hot on the trail of a ring of baby-sellers and people-traffickers. The problem is, her main suspect is a dead man. Or is he?

A money-laundering accountant disappears in Romania. The hitman hired to disappear him is found dead in a Glasgow flat. And the owner of the flat, the accountant’s widow, claims she knows nothing about it.

Crime reporter Rosie Gilmour isn’t convinced by Helen Lewis’s innocent facade – she is convinced Helen was the one who ordered the hit on her husband, and she’s going to prove it. But when she discovers that Helen’s husband worked for a ring of gangsters selling babies from Romanian orphanages, her focus shifts. Now she has two sets of criminals to bring to justice – she’d better pray they don’t catch up with her first.

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: I am a huge fan of Anna Smith and love the Rosie Gilmour series. I was pleased to get stuck into book 9 although wan’t entirely sure what to expect. This book felt like it had 2 clear parts and elements to the story even though they are intertwined. Rosie ends up making her usual hair raising type of trip this time to Romania on the hunt for the people responsible for stealing babies from Orphanages and then selling them on to unsuspecting buyers.

The other layer of the book deals with Helen Lewis who is on the run. As usual Rosie is in the thick of all of it. Not content with just ‘getting the story’ she manages to become part of it. For some reason the first half of the book was slower than Anna Smith’s usual offerings but once the second half started it picked up the pace and was back on top form. There is plenty of action, chills and thrills and for some this may be seen as the end of an era for Rosie. I on the other hand think the ending was absolutely perfect.

I for one am thrilled at the ending solely because of Rosie’s personal life and maybe things will work out and we may see Rosie in the future, just not quite in the same light. This was a cracking read, not my favourite of the series but another solid read. Anna Smith is a fantastic wriiter and I am thrilled she has a new ‘Gangland style’ thriller book out in March next year. This series has been one of my favourites and has cemented Smith as one of my favourite Authors. Fingers crossed I love her next book as much as I’ve loved this series. If you haven’t read these books do yourself a favour and settle in with book 1, I promise you won’t regret it!

Death Trap by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #8)

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Synopsis: A SADISTIC KILLER IS ON THE LOOSE IN GLASGOW. Thomas Boag escaped from his first court appearance facing charges on a brutal murder. He’s suspected in the disappearances of two other people. Now he’s out for revenge.

Rosie Gilmour, crime reporter, helped put Boag behind bars. It was her investigation that provided enough evidence to arrest him. Now she’s watching her back.

Rosie tries to distract herself with a new story: refugees trafficked into Glasgow and used as modern-day slaves – or worse. But this investigation soon leads her into dangerous territory as it takes her up against some of Glasgow’s nastiest characters, and all the while, somewhere out there, Boag is laying his trap…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Continue reading “Death Trap by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #8)”

Kill Me Twice by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #7)

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Synopsis: A beautiful model’s death uncovers an ugly conspiracy stretching all the way to Westminster in Rosie Gilmour’s darkest case to date. When rags-to-riches Scots supermodel Bella Mason plunges to her death from the roof of a glitzy Madrid hotel, everyone assumes it was suicide. Except that one person saw exactly what happened to Bella that night, and she definitely didn’t jump. But Millie Chambers has no one she can tell – alcoholic, depressed herself and now sectioned by her bullying politician husband, who would believe her? And that’s not all Millie knows. Being close to the heart of Westminster power can lead to discovering some awful secrets…

Back in Glasgow, Rosie’s research into Bella’s life leads to her brother, separated from her in care years before. Dan is now a homeless heroin addict and rent boy, but what he reveals about Bella’s early life is electrifying: organised sexual abuse in care homes across Glasgow. Bella had tracked him down so that they could tell the world their story. And now she’s dead.

As Rosie’s drive to expose the truth leads her closer to Millie and the shameful secrets she has kept for so many years, it becomes clear that what she’s about to discover could prove fatal: a web of sexual abuse linking powerful figures across the nation, and the rot at the very heart of the British Establishment…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Continue reading “Kill Me Twice by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #7)”

Rough Cut by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #6)

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Synopsis: When a young Pakistani bride falls to her death from a window, Rosie has to navigate the story with care, trying not to upset the girl’s devastated family or the local Pakistani community. After talking to the family, however, Rosie becomes convinced that there is more to the story than a tragic accident, and that something is being kept from her and the police. Meanwhile, on the other side of Glasgow, Nikki and Julie, two prostitutes, find themselves in trouble when a client dies during an assignment and it looks like one of them is to blame. Their problems become far worse though, when a briefcase they steal from the dead man turns out to contain some very valuable rough diamonds and several fake passports. It’s clear it belonged to some serious criminals, and now they have much more to worry about than a dead body. Investigating the Pakistani girl’s death, Rosie has been talking to Laila, another young girl from the community, who has voiced her fears of being forced into marrying a much older man in Pakistan. When Laila disappears, Rosie is sure her fears have been realised. Then Nikki contacts her asking for help, and Rosie senses a parallel with her current case. Sure enough, as Rosie flies to Pakistan to try and rescue Laila, it becomes clear that the ‘accidental’ death, Laila’s disappearance and the briefcase are all linked – and once back in Glasgow, she, Julie and Nikki discover just how much danger they are in…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Rough Cut by Anna Smith (Rosie Gilmour #6)”