Category: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

The Deep Lonely by Sean Black (Ty Johnson Novella)

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Synopsis: Ty Johnson has made the transition from the US Marine Corp to a succesful career as a private security specialist. But not all of his former comrades have been so lucky.

When the news of an armed siege at a nearby emergency room flashes on screen, Ty recognizes Pete Green, one of his old Marine buddies. Ty knows that he has to move fast if he’s to save his friend’s life.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Okay people, if you haven’t read the Ryan Lock and Ty Johnson series by Sean Black then there is seriously something wrong…this is one of the best series of books written and is hugely under-rated. I am not necessarily a lover of the short novella type books (in this case a 17,000 word short book) but for these guys…I make an exception.

Not a lot to say about this particular little nugget of a book except that it’s brilliant and will give you an insight into the sort of guy Ty Johnson is. I already know what sort of guy he is along with his partner Ryan Lock and this seems more like something to whet the appetite until the next full length novel comes out (which I think is October). I would highly recommend people read not only this novella but the whole series as it’s awesome! One thing I will say is that Ryan Lock gets more airtime and it’s great seeing Ty get all of the attention. I would always read a book about either character but their strength is when they work together!

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter (Will Trent #8)

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Synopsis: With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn’t belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Something VERY strange happened when I started reading this book. So I picked it up, read a couple of chapters and put it down. This happened on three occasions and with many months in between picking it up again. For some reason I just couldn’t seem to engage, and then finally I just forced myself to continue reading. By the time I had got past those first few strangely non-engaging chapters (for me anyway) I was away as per normal. It was incredibly strange as I am a huge fan of this author, maybe I wasn’t in the correct mindset the first few times. However, I am so glad I pushed on through my initial reluctance as this ended up being another cracking book in this brilliant series.

Will Trent is a very likable character, as is his current girlfriend Sara. However his wife Angie is a different kettle of fish. I actually love reading about her but despise her as a character. However this time around she seems to be front and centre with this latest  story line. A dead cop’s body is found and when Sara, Will and his partner Faith and their boss Amanda are at the scene it becomes apparent that all the blood there is not from just the victim.

I absolutely love this series and it wasn’t until the story starts to unfold that I was reminded of just why I love it so much. Sara and Will are a good match but I love the fact that Will has SO many issues one of which is his evil and manipulative wife Angie. In addition I’m a huge fan of Amanda and it was so great to catch up with all of them. The story (once past the first few chapters) was full of pace and grit and its usual dark and disturbing content all of which made me totally an utterly engrossed. This was another cracking book in the series and I am looking forward to reading another Karin Slaughter book.

Come and Find Me by Sarah Hilary (Marnie Rome #5)

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Synopsis: On the surface, Lara Chorley and Ruth Hull have nothing in common, other than their infatuation with Michael Vokey. Each is writing to a sadistic inmate, sharing her secrets, whispering her worst fears, craving his attention.

DI Marnie Rome understands obsession. She’s finding it hard to give up her own addiction to a dangerous man: her foster brother, Stephen Keele. She wasn’t able to save her parents from Stephen. She lives with that guilt every day.

As the hunt for Vokey gathers pace, Marnie fears one of the women may have found him – and is about to pay the ultimate price.

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

My Review: Well I am a little bit surprised by how I feel having finished this book. I am a huge Sarah Hilary fan and have loved the previous 4 books, however…yes you guessed it, I wasn’t overly keen on this one. Sometimes no matter how much a fan you are, some storylines you just can’t get into and this book was one such case.

For a start I picked up and started this book 3 times which is unusual for me, but every time I got the first couple of chapters in I found I didn’t want to read on. So on my third attempt I ploughed on and as with most books before you know it you are halfway through. The premise involves a riot at Cloverton Prison and a prisoner escapes, which leaves all sorts of problems in its wake and some of these problems involve Marnie Rome’s foster brother, Stephen Keele. Marnie’s sidekick Noah (who I love by the way) is back again and he and Marnie must find the escapee Michael Vokey before he does more damage.

I’m not going to delve any more into the storyline because the synopsis tells you that but in one way I almost felt like I had read this on its own without knowing who had written it Sarah Hilary would have been the last person I chose. I feel like her writing style is somewhat different to previous books and it almost felt like it could be read as a standalone book, even though there are some things that involve past events. I just can’t put my finger on what exactly it was but when you are part way into a series and have loved all 4 books, you have a certain expectation for book 5. I almost feel like having read this, somebody got it wrong and this isn’t the correct book by the right author…does that make sense.

If I look at it as a standalone book, yes it’s certainly not a bad book and I am sure thousands of people will love this. However, for me I really couldn’t move away from a middle of the road rating because it is just too far removed from the others in the series. Having seen many other reviews, I feel like maybe I am in the minority and maybe (sometimes this happens) my head wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I think my conclusion would be certainly not a bad book, just not what I was expecting. I think I may we revisit this in a few months just before Book 6 being released and see if I feel differently about it.

The Chosen Ones by Howard Linskey (DI Bradshaw #5)

51nB1qhyJXL._SY346_Synopsis: Eva Dunbar wakes in a large metal box. She has no idea who has taken her. She has no way out . . 

Eva isn’t the first young woman to disappear. Detective Ian Bradshaw, leading the search, has no leads – and precious little time.

When at last a body is found, the police hope the tragic discovery might at least provide a clue that will help them finally find the kidnapper.

But then they identify the body – and realise the case is more twisted than they ever imagined . . .

Kat’s Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “The Chosen Ones by Howard Linskey (DI Bradshaw #5)”

The Stranger Within by Tara Lyons (DI Hamilton #4)

51+tZ4nXAIL._SY346_ Synopsis: Torn away from his family life, DI Denis Hamilton is urgently called into a briefing in the early hours of his weekend off. He must unravel an investigation he thought had long closed.

Putting his personal worries to one side, Hamilton and his Murder Investigation Team come up against a patient with a mental disorder hell-bent on revenge.

Comparing the present day with memories of his tragic past, can Hamilton open his mind to the difficulties of mental illness in order to catch a murderer?

And when a colleague’s life is threatened, can Hamilton unlock the truth of the stranger within before it’s too late?

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “The Stranger Within by Tara Lyons (DI Hamilton #4)”

Blood Secrets by Dreda Say Mitchell (Flesh and Blood #4)

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Synopsis: The past comes back to haunt her. Will it destroy her family?

Only two people know what’s happened to the gold stolen in an underworld bullion heist. That’s East End gangster’s widow Babs Miller and her best friend Pearl. So when the gold vanishes from its hiding place that means there can only be two suspects. 

Neither can believe they’ve been betrayed by the other. Neither wants a war. But honour, pride and tit for tat revenge drag them and their families towards a cliff edge of brutal gangland violence. 

And as they try and stay alive, what other dirty secrets are going to be dug up while these two women duel to the death?

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Blood Secrets by Dreda Say Mitchell (Flesh and Blood #4)”

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.

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?

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)”