Crime, Thriller, Mystery – Page 31 – Best Crime Books and More

Time to Play by K A Richardson (The Forensic Files #2)

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Synopsis: DI Alistair McKay is still reeling from the ‘one that got away’ but when he is called to deal with a potential murder at the water side, he must put his personal worries aside.

As police diver, Marlo Buchanan, starts pulling bodies out of the water, it becomes clear that something isn’t right. Someone is torturing young girls and dumping them in the local reservoir.

Then the body of a man is discovered and Mackay and Buchanan are pulled into the seedy underworld of human trafficking. As the team race against the clock tensions start to run high. Can they overcome their personal demons to work together? And will they find the killer before he strikes again?

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: I haven’t read the other 2 books in the North East Police series but that made no difference to this book. However, having completed this book it’s just made me disappointed that I didn’t read them as this one was a great read. Marlo Buchanan is a Police diver and to be honest this career path is one I haven’t seen in a fiction book I’ve read so it made a refreshing change. Her and the team are called out regularly and at first there seems to be no link to the other part of the story.

Elvie is another main character we get to know as we witness human trafficking first hand as the young fifteen year old is brought to England to await her fate. The opening chapters are certainly an eye opener and I feel like there are no holds barred in the descriptive horror that awaits these girls. In addition to Elvie, we meet Marlo’s colleague Connor who is struggling not only with his own secrets, but the fact that his Mum is suffering with Alzheimer’s. I did love the character of Marlo and her colleagues and other team members that form part of the RIB, also subsequently form part of the ongoing story lines which start to thread together as the book progresses.We meet Ali who is another copper whose path ends up crossing that of the Dive Team and Marlo as he investigates his own cases. I liked the back story with Ali and he is an extremely likeable guy.

Due to the fact there are multiple threads going on, at first it seems there is too much much in all honesty it was done exceptionally well and each element to the story piqued my interest. As time progresses it becomes clear that there is a lot more linking all the characters than it appeared at first. The writing was easy to get into BUT I did have one major gripe. I understand that sometimes the use of accents means the author changes wording so it seems more realistic such as using slang etc. But in this book the word ‘gunna’ instead of going to appeared more times than it seemed I’ve had hot dinners. I know that seems like I am being super picky but it grated on me as I didn’t think it fitted with the characters. Also both Marlo and Ali towards the last quarter of the book start calling everybody ‘love’? It came from nowhere and again just wasn’t in keeping with the characters. This was the main reason for me not giving it 5 stars, otherwise it was a cracking read.

I shall certainly be reading her future work as the book was fantastic, I will just cross my fingers in the hope she is ‘gunna’ change the characters wording in future to slightly fit their mould more.

Girl In Danger by Leigh Russell (Lucy Hall #2)

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Synopsis: Chasing a story, reporter Lucy Hall plunges into a desperate fight to save her own life.

Lucy Hall’s first summer in Paris promises to be idyllic. She’s fallen in love with the city and enjoys her new job as an investigative reporter. When her friend Nina comes to stay, the girls look forward to a wonderful summer. But Paris is a city of contrasts and Lucy is about to experience its dangerous side.

When an anonymous source promises her a scoop, Lucy can’t resist the chance to make her name. The deeply unsettling meeting with her informant indicates that there may be more at stake than she’d suspected. Returning home with questions instead of answers, Lucy finds her apartment ransacked and Nina gone.

Lucy knows her friend is in danger, but the police are unwilling to help. When her informant is found dead, she realises she may be next. Lucy has something the killer wants and he’ll do anything to get it back…

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

Kat’s Review: I read the first in the Lucy Hall series and enjoyed it, however they are certainly not the same as Leigh Russell’s series of books featuring Geraldine Steel. These are more mystery type of books and seem to be somewhat a slower pace. The first book in the Series Journey to Death I enjoyed and I thought it was a good introduction to Lucy. However, when we meet her in the second book she has moved to Paris to start a career as an Investigative Journalist. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that she is very new to it all and she takes every tip seriously in her quest to break into reporting. Her friend Nina visits her, however following an anonymous tip, when she returns home she finds her flat ransacked and her friend missing.

The story moves along and she meets a man who seems willing to help her but Lucy can’t help but be wary as she isn’t sure who she can trust. We also see the story from Nina’s point of view, along with the main man who runs the criminal world in Paris. The reason I felt so indifferent with book 2 is that there were times it all felt a little repetitive. Although Lucy is a newbie, things fitted a little too neatly for her to ‘bag the story of her career’ and the subsequent chain of events lay just the wrong side of believable for me.

Although I liked Lucy as a character I didn’t feel as connected to her in this book as much as I did the last one. Things seemed too well planned and this made me feel more indifferently about her than I did previously. The story was enjoyable enough and I think is probably a good alternative to those who don’t want hard hitting, gory or violent crime novels. For me I just couldn’t connect and as such didn’t feel it was one of Leigh’s stronger books.

Strangers by Paul Finch (Lucy Clayburn #1)

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Synopsis: Unknown, alone, and fearing for your life.

As PC Lucy Clayburn is about to find out, going undercover is the most dangerous work there is.

But, on the trail of a prolific female serial killer, there’s no other option – and these murders are as brutal as they come.

Lucy must step into the line of fire – a stranger in a criminal underworld that butchers anyone who crosses the line.

And, unknown to Lucy, she’s already treading it…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: My name is Kat and I am a ‘Heck’ a-Holic’…with that in mind I was a little anxious starting a book by Paul Finch which didn’t feature my beloved Mark Heckenburg. However, I am now ‘fan girling’ over a new character so I can rejoice that I can stave off my Heck fix for a while with the new girl of the hour PC Lucy Clayburn.

PC Lucy Clayburn is introduced to us in a somewhat disastrous view of an assignment, and following on from that I wondered what on earth she would be doing. Well, it turns out that being a PC and making some hard earned collars on the streets meant she was a waling candidate for a new task force put together to catch what seemed to be a prolific female serial killer.

That in itself is quite an unusual scenario, as is the state of the bodies by the time this maniac woman has finished with them.

Enter Detective Superintendent Priya Newal who wants Lucy on the team. Priya makes for another strong lead female character and I like the fact that she is a firm but fair influence over Lucy. With Priya’s backing Lucy forms part of the team and goes undercover. Because of her previous assignment it seems she is even more determined to make an impression which means ultimately putting herself in danger.

From start to finish the book packs a punch, filled to the brim with dangerous individuals, strong lead and secondary characters and a pacy and thrilling story line. You can’t really ask for too much more can you? Paul Finch seems to have quite the knack of creating lead characters that stay with the reader. I know that Heck is my favourite as the series is a few books in and although Lucy is in second place, if he continues to write like this…who knows! I was so thrilled to have read and loved this book as much as I did, and I can certainly recommend it to people. All I need to do now is cross my fingers and hope I don’t have too long a wait to see Lucy again.

Painted Skins by Matt Hilton (Grey and Po #2)

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Synopsis: PI Tess Grey and her partner Nicolas Po Villere have been hired by Margaret Norris to find her granddaughter, Jasmine Reed, who has been missing for sixteen days. But if Tess is to have any chance of finding Jazz, she needs to know the truth about the young woman s troubled past. What is it that Margaret Norris isn’t telling her?

Tess and Po aren’t the only ones looking for Jazz. With shady local businessman Daryl Bruin and his henchman John Trojak also on her trail, as well as a mysterious and violent stranger, Tess prays, for Jasmine s sake, that she and Po find her first. But it s only when Tess uncovers a link to several other missing girls that she begins to make headway in the investigation and finds herself in a desperate race against time to track down Jazz before it’s too late

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I’m thrilled that I bumped this book up my to read list as it was much better than I expected. I LOVE it when a book surprises me like this. I read the first in this new series and although I enjoyed it, I thought it was a little slow and I struggled to connect with the lead character Tess Grey. Following on with this book, clearly I was walking through sludge with the last book as with this book I fell in love with Tess and her ex-con Partner Po.

In book one (Blood Tracks) I can now see that this was meant as an extremely good base for getting to know these characters. With this book there is no need for that as the readers have already seen Tess reasons for making her way as a Private Investigator instead of a cop. Although book one is an excellent base, I guess this book can be read as a standalone, but I always feel like its best to start a series at the beginning. In this latest instalment, Tess and Po have been hired to find the granddaughter of Margaret Norris. Jazz has been missing just over 2 weeks so Tess and Po get started on trying to trace her.

It becomes apparent pretty quickly that Jazz is also being searched for by Daryl Bruin and his henchman John Trojak, Tess and Po want to know why and the story really starts to pick up pace. It becomes clear pretty quickly that there is a lot more to Jazz being missing than a simple runaway scenario. The book has a great hold over the reader and with each chapter it seems to gain momentum, tension and pace. When their old friend Pinky appeared I rejoiced as he was such a brilliant character in the first book I was hoping he would make an appearance in the second.

This book was everything a great thriller should be and I thoroughly enjoyed every single page. I can imagine this would make a GREAT film, although quite who would play these characters who knows. What I will say is that although the Joe Hunter series of books by Matt Hilton is hugely popular, this new series seems to have fallen short and I cannot work out why. This is an absolutely amazing book and a series that I will continue to read. Hugely enjoyable and massively under rated, if you haven’t tried Matt Hilton before then these books are a great place to start!

BLOG TOUR: Matching The Evidence by Graham Smith

Synopsis: Carlisle United are playing Millwall and the Major Crimes Team are assigned to crowd control as punishment for their renegade ways. Typically, DI Harry Evans has other ideas and tries to thwart the local firm’s plans to teach Millwall’s notorious Bushwhackers an unforgettable lesson. Meanwhile an undercover cop is travelling north with some of the Millwall contingent. His mission is to identify the ringleaders and gather evidence against them. Three illegal immigrants have been transported to Carlisle and are about to meet their new employers. Nothing is as it seems for Evans and his Major Crimes Team as they battle to avoid a bloodbath while also uncovering a far more heinous crime.

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: This novella picks up where Snatched From Home ended as we catch up with DI Harry Evans. I’m not that much of a fan of shorter books but this one delivered enough to whet my appetite and make me want to read the next one. DI Harry Evans and his team are made to cover crowd control at a football match between Carlisle United and Millwall as punishment for not obeying the rules in their last case. At first glance it seems a simple request and one that shouldn’t cause too much drama. However, Evans soon realises that a simple football fight may well be cover for something else going on.

The first chapter in and the pace is fast and frenzied and stays that way for the duration. In the middle of Evans and his team chasing down football thugs an undercover copper is travelling with some of the Millwall boys to try and gather evidence against them. While all this is going on it soon becomes apparent that Harry’s prediction is right and there are much bigger crime figures at play. This book was a short read but a great one, and is certainly a good read for somebody wanting to get a feel for the sort of books Graham Smith writes. This was a great read and I can’t wait to read the next book!

Blog Tour: All Fall Down by Tom Bale

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Synopsis: It should have been an idyllic day for the Turner family – until a dying man, beaten beyond all recognition, arrives at their home, uttering the words, HELP ME.

Rob and Wendy Turner and their children try to explain away the horrific scene as being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but in the days that follow their lives are threatened in ways they could never imagine.

The family is unaware that they are being watched by someone with their own terrifying agenda, who will stop at nothing to fulfil their own twisted desires.

But when hidden secrets come rushing to the surface, it’s clear not everything is as it seems in this happy family. Are the Turners a victim of circumstance – or does the key to their fate lie closer to home?

Forced to fight for everything they hold dear, can they save themselves before time runs out – or will their act of compassion see them paying the ultimate price…?

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Tom Bales last book and was looking forward to this one after reading the synopsis. It took me a few chapters to get into the story but thankfully the pace notched from 0 to 100 in a matter of pages and pretty much stayed there the whole time. A normal family having a BBQ, and all it took was for a man to stumble through their back gate, beaten and dying and that was the beginning of the end for the Turner family.

Rob and Wendy along with their three children become the targets in a bizarre and terrifying twist of fate, or is it? There’s something intricately clever with Bale’s writing and he managed to pack in plenty of heart in mouth moments. The story races along and gains even more momentum as the family starts to crumble under the pressure of their situation. The family know they are being watched, and little by little their own secrets are revealed.

Just when I wondered why the story was slowing, I realised it was just a reprieve before the author plunges you into new depths of horror for this relatively normal family. The second half of the book is pretty heart pounding and the terror jumps up another notch for the Turner family. I think I managed to read the second half of the book in one sitting and my heart was definitely pounding.

I think Tom Bale has a definite strength with turning the ordinary into somebody’s worst nightmare. This latest instalment had everything the last book had and certainly kept me turning the pages. Why the 4 stars and not the 5 then? Well in all honesty the only thing that didn’t sit right with me was the ending. Somehow, it didn’t fit as well as what I had expected it to and I felt like I didn’t get the closure you normally get with the end of these sorts of books. Maybe that was his intention, but it put a bit of a dampener on it for me. Aside from that I can see Tom Bale rising in popularity and gaining a whole new army of fans with this latest release, He is certainly a ‘go-to’ author for me now and I can’t wait to see what he produces next.

Hide and Seek by M J Arlidge (Helen Grace #6)

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Synopsis: AFTER Little Boy Blue FIND OUT WHAT AWAITS DI HELEN GRACE IN THE SIXTH THRILLER BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR M. J. ARLIDGE

Kat’s Rating: 6/5…oh no I can’t do that so 5/5 will have to suffice!

**NOTE – Do NOT read this review if you are planning on reading the series in order (which you really should) or are not up to date as this will inevitably contain spoilers!!!***

Kat’s Review: Oh my goodness, I literally do NOT know where to start. I think the first thing I need to point out is that although some people will say this can be read as a stand alone I COMPLETELY DISAGREE! You really do need the previous book and in my opinion the whole series to really feel the impact of this latest release. We rejoin Helen Grace, except this time she is behind bars and awaiting her trial in Holloway Prison for murders that she didn’t commit. That’s the first thing that set my teeth on edge, it almost gave me a bad taste in my mouth…but in a good way if you know what I mean.

I was just gobsmacked, here she is the leading character and formidable DI Helen Grace and she is living alongside some of those she has put behind bars herself. The whole setting is enough to make you squirm with the feeling of hopelessness at Helen’s situation. However nothing is as easy or straightforward as that where Helen is concerned and being in prison only highlights that. Helen’s stay is far from easy and we see her battle to just stay alive as there are plenty of people who would like to finish her once and for all.

Thankfully there is one person left batting for Helen and that’s her colleague Charlie Brooks. While Helen is trying to stay alive Charlie is desperately trying to find the proof that Helen is innocent. Meanwhile a grisly murder happens within Holloway and it’s definitely on the inside. With so much going on there is no time for the reader to do anything (such as work or other important things) other than turn the pages. This was so well written I could almost feel myself getting claustrophobic from the time inside those prison walls. The ante is upped as more and more story threads are pulled at and there is no let up in this until the very last page.

Relentless in pace and a real nail biter, M J Arlidge has outdone himself with this terrifying and gripping book. I certainly didn’t want to put it down and think fans will be delighted with this latest instalment. My only question now is…”what next for Helen Grace?”. Whatever comes next whether it be more of Helen or a new character I will be itching to read it as M J Arlidge has just shot to the top of my ‘Must Read’ authors. An outstanding book, and an amazing series that I really think if you haven’t already you should read!

Out of Bounds by Val McDermid

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Synopsis: ‘There were a lot of things that ran in families, but murder wasn’t one of them . . .’

When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car, a routine DNA test could be the key to unlocking the mystery of a twenty-year-old murder inquiry. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is an expert at solving the unsolvable. With each cold case closed, justice is served. So, finding the answer should be straightforward, but it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.

Meanwhile, Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another case, one that she has no business investigating. And as she pieces together decades-old evidence, Karen discovers the most dangerous kind of secrets. Secrets that someone is willing to kill for . . .

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

*If you plan to read this series from book 1, please do not read the review as it will inevitably contain spoilers*

Kat’s Review: I realised late that this was part of the Karen Pirie series which I have only read one book of (book 3) but for people starting off at this point it makes no difference as there is enough background history with Karen that you don’t miss anything major. The first thing that struck me is how immediately I connected with Karen Pirie, certainly more than I did in book 3. She is working as part of the Historical Crimes Unit alongside her colleague Jason. When a joyriding teenager crashes his car, a routine DNA test shows something linked to a twenty year old case, so Karen and Jason immediately get digging.

In addition to Karen’s current enquiry her sleepless nights are seeing her up and wandering the streets in a bid to make herself tired. She is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband and partner Phil. Her late night walks to battle her insomnia leads us to another thread of the story which is just as absorbing as the first. Some of Karen’s friends are involved in the story line and they all added to the depth of this story. Karen also decides to do her own investigation on another case which is nothing to do with her. This has a two-fold effect of allowing her to sink her teeth into a mysterious case involving the death of 4 people in a suspected air plane bombing, as well as annoying her colleague who she doesn’t get along with Assistant Chief Constable Simon Lees . All of these threads combined seem like too much when read aloud, but in reality they have made for an outstanding book which had me thoroughly surrendered to my every day tasks such as dinner!

Both Karen and Jason plough their all into both cases, which results on Karen putting herself into some precarious positions and although the threads run alongside each other they are easy to distinguish. What is strange about this book is that it’s not terribly fast paced, but it fits the book perfectly. The various threads of the story make for a compelling read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Towards the end when I thought I had it all figured out, turned out I was wrong and when the pieces did fit into place I felt terribly stupid! An outstandingly good read which I would highly recommend.

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

51qMqw4BKtL._SY346_ Synopsis: My goddaughter, Coco Jackson, disappeared from her family’s holiday home in Bournemouth on the night of Sunday/Monday August 29/30th, the bank holiday weekend just gone. Coco is three years old. Then identical twin Coco goes missing during a family celebration, there is a media frenzy. Her parents are rich and influential, as are the friends they were with at their holiday home by the sea. But what really happened to Coco? Over two intense weekends – the first when Coco goes missing and the second twelve years later at the funeral of her father – the darkest of secrets will gradually be revealed…

Kat’s Review: 4/5

Kat’s Review: I was a little torn over this book, but eventually decided it was too good a read to mark as a ‘middle of the road’ 3/5. I am sure people will be wondering why, well essentially this is a dark book, and sometimes too much dark makes me so uncomfortable the reading isn’t as enjoyable. I think overall it’s balancing on that line but stayed just the right side for me. I have read Alex previous books and enjoyed them and the synopsis of this one certainly intrigued me.

This book is based around the events of a tragic weekend in 2004 when 3 year old Coco goes missing, and then twelve years later at the funeral of Coco’s father Sean Jackson. The lead characters in this book are hideous and immensely unlikable. There are numerous characters, and they all seem to have their own selfish agendas and frankly I couldn’t warm to any of them. This is what I mean when I say the book is a little too dark, but a good kind of dark (if you know what I mean).

Continue reading “The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood”

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

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Synopsis: My goddaughter, Coco Jackson, disappeared from her family’s holiday home in Bournemouth on the night of Sunday/Monday August 29/30th, the bank holiday weekend just gone. Coco is three years old.

Then identical twin Coco goes missing during a family celebration, there is a media frenzy. Her parents are rich and influential, as are the friends they were with at their holiday home by the sea.

But what really happened to Coco?

Over two intense weekends – the first when Coco goes missing and the second twelve years later at the funeral of her father – the darkest of secrets will gradually be revealed…

Kat’s Review: 4/5

The plot itself is cleverly constructed and the plot revealed in layers. We learn what happened to Coco in stages over the whole book and by the time most of the pieces are revealed things start to make sense. However, towards the end I had than sneaking suspicion that there would be no tidy and wrapped up neatly ending and I was right. On the one hand this really frustrated me and on the other I thought it was a brilliant way to end it. Overall a book that certainly won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but was hugely enjoyable (if not a little difficult to read in places). I think Alex Marwood writes slightly out of the box and it’s quite refreshing to read something that isn’t the same as everything else. I have always had mixed feelings with all of her books but ultimately enjoy them and will look forward to her next release.