Category: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

FATAL WITNESS BY ROBERT BRYNDZA (ERIKA FOSTER 7)

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Synopsis: How do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?

Detective Erika Foster is on a late-night walk near her new house in Blackheath when she stumbles upon the brutal murder of Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster.

Erika is assigned to the case and discovers that Vicky had been working on a new podcast episode about a sexual predator who preys on young female students around South London, staking out his victims in their halls of residence before breaking in at the dead of night.

When Erika discovers that Vicky’s notes and sound recordings were stolen from her flat at the time of her murder, it leads her to believe that Vicky was close to unmasking the attacker, and she was killed to guarantee her silence.

The case takes on a disturbing twist when the body of a young Bulgarian student doctor is discovered in the same building, and this makes Erika question everything she thought she knew about Vicky. With very little evidence, the clock is ticking to find the killer before he strikes again.

My Rating : 4/5

Review: Erika has moved into her new home in Blackheath and as she takes a stroll one evening she hears a bloodcurdling scream. When she arrives at where the sound is coming from she is confronted with a horrific murder scene and instantly calls in her team. Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster has been murdered and found by her sister. It turns out that Vicky has been investigating a series of historical sexual crimes and Erika suspects she may have got too close.

The story unfolds in a number of ways and there area number of threads running through the story which keep it very interesting. It’s also very well paced meaning I managed to read the book in pretty much three straight sittings. The one thing I loved about this latest book is the foray into Erika’s personal life and it’s great to see some developments there. I can only hope we continue to see that going forward in future books. Another great read in this series.

DEADLY SECRETS BY ROBERT BRYNDZA (ERIKA FOSTER 6)

Deadly Secrets

Synopsis: Synopsis: On an icy morning, a mother wakes to find her daughter’s blood-soaked body frozen to the road. Who would carry out such a killing on the victim’s doorstep?

Straight off her last harrowing case, Detective Erika Foster is feeling fragile but determined to lead the investigation. As she sets to work, she finds reports of assaults in the same quiet South London suburb where the woman was killed. One chilling detail links them to the murder victim – they were all attacked by a figure in black wearing a gas mask.

Erika is on the hunt for a killer with a terrifying calling card. The case gets more complicated when she uncovers a tangled web of secrets surrounding the death of the beautiful young woman.

Yet just as Erika begins to piece the clues together, she is forced to confront painful memories of her past. Erika must dig deep, stay focused and find the killer. Only this time, one of her own is in terrible danger…

My Rating : 4/5

Review: It’s been a LONG time since I last read this series and decided it was high time I got back to it. As soon as I started and was a mere two chapters in it was like I had never been away. Erika is her same bristly self and we start by seeing her attending a scene instead of attending a Christmas Dinner. On the icy December morning a woman’s blood-soaked body is found frozen just steps from her own front door. The victim Marissa is found by her mother Mandy and the scene is not a pleasant one.

Marissa was only in her twenties and was a burlesque dancer, but one with what soon shows is many secrets. In addition to the murder there have been reports in the area of people getting attacked by a person dressed in black wearing a gas mask. Erika and her team have their work cut out for them as they try to unravel some of Marissa’s secrets and try to work out who the killer is.

Although we are now into book 6 in the series it still feels like a solid series with lots of life in it. I am glad I have revisited this series after so long away and will eagerly move onto book 7

DEADLY FATE BY ANGELA MARSONS (KIM STONE 18)

Deadly FateThe woman’s bright blonde hair floats in the breeze. She almost looks like she could be resting on the soft green grass. But her brown eyes stare unblinking up at the sky, and the final cut across her mouth is dark with blood. Her words silenced forever…

Late one evening, as the final church bell rings out, Sandra Deakin’s cold and lifeless body is found in the overgrown graveyard with multiple stab wounds. When Detective Kim Stone rushes to the scene, the violence of the attack convinces her that this murder was deeply personal. What could have caused such hate?

As the team dig into Sandra’s life, they discover she believed she could communicate with the dead. Was that why she was targeted? The last people to see her alive were a group of women who had a session with her the night before she was killed, and as Kim and her team pay them a visit, they soon learn each of the women is lying about why they wanted Sandra’s help…

Kim realises she must dig deep and open her mind to every avenue if she’s going to stand a chance at solving this case. And when she learns that Sandra was banned from the church grounds and had been receiving death threats too, she’s ever more certain that Sandra’s gifts are at the heart of everything.

But just when she thinks she’s found a lead, the broken body of a nineteen-year-old boy is found outside a call centre – a single slash across his mouth just like Sandra’s. Kim knows they are now racing against time to understand what triggered these attacks, and to stop a twisted killer.

But they might be too late. Just as Kim sits down at a local psychic show she discovers something that makes her blood run cold. Both Sandra and the call centre were named in an article about frauds. And this show stars the next name on the list. She looks around the audience with a feeling of utter dread, certain the killer is among them…SYNOPSIS: When a nineteen-year-old boy, Jamie Mills, is found hanging from a tree in a local park, his death is ruled a suicide. Detective Kim Stone’s instincts tell her something isn’t right. Why, when his mother is told, does she not break down in tears? And how could Jamie have climbed the tree with a recent injury?

Kim should be easing back into work gently after a harrowing case left her body and mind broken, but quickly taking charge of her team, Kim is shocked to learn that Jamie’s parents had sent him to a clinic to ‘cure’ him of his sexuality.

The clues to smashing open this disturbing case lie behind the old Victorian walls of the clinic, run by the Gardner family. They claim that patients come of their own accord and are free to leave at any time. But why are those who attended the clinic so afraid to speak of what happens there? And where did the faded restraint marks on Jamie’s wrists come from?

Kim makes a further chilling discovery – the head of the clinic, Celia Gardner, was sent there for conversion therapy when she was sixteen.

Then the body of a young woman is found dead by suffocation, her death also staged to look like a suicide.

Scarred from a previous case that nearly took her life, can Kim unearth the dark secrets within the Gardner family and is she strong enough to stop a terrifying killer silencing the clinic’s previous patients one by one?

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

My Review: Back with the team that Kim Stone runs is like going back home for a visit. Bryant her ever solid right hand man, Penn and Stacey and a murder case takes us right back into the heart of their lives. Sandra Deakin is found dead in a horrific manner and the team learn that she was a reasonably well known psychic. They need to work out if her job played apart in her death, and who would commit such a horrendous attack.

The fact that the murder victim was a psychic plays a key part in this book and it unravels a lot of personal feelings among the team as they each try to determine their personal views on psychics. In addition to the first murder, Kim also wants to learn more about the death of the homeless John Doe. Stacey ends up running a lot of background for the Sandy murder and in turn ends up crossing paths with somebody that I think her life difficult!

The team work tirelessly and as usual they end up with a result, and not one I entirely saw coming. As usual these books are so well plotted, packed full of threads and characters that you love. I am thrilled that this series shows no signs of slowing down even after book 18! I particularly liked the ending of this book and cannot wait to see how things pan out in the next one.

IN COLD BLOOD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL (DI AMY WINTER 5)

In Cold BloodSynopsis: DI Amy Winter faces her toughest case yet as a serial killer couple kidnap and hunt their prey. After capture, the victims are released from an unknown location each day. But freedom does not come easily as the victim’s injuries become more severe, and if they haven’t escaped by day four, they won’t live to see the fifth.

At five months pregnant, Amy is feeling backed into a corner as the father of her child, DCI Donovan, urges her to share the news. But Amy doesn’t want to be treated differently by her team, much less lose their respect when they discover she’s in a relationship with her DCI. When a call comes in from the killer asking to meet Amy, Donovan intercepts and sends a decoy in her place. But while officers are concentrating on the decoy, Amy is kidnapped from outside her home. She is the next victim, and the countdown begins.

After being bundled into the back of a van and driven to a desolate woodland, Amy’s heart sinks in her chest as she realises the killers have no intention of playing fair.

DCI Donovan is distraught as he discovers Amy is missing. When his team receives a taunting video, he is left in no doubt of the danger Amy and his unborn child are in. He must pull himself together to hunt the killer down. But with no clues and no location, there is only one person with intimate knowledge of how a killer’s mind works. Lillian Grimes – Amy’s serial killer mother. But can he persuade her to help him in time? As the days progress, Amy’s injuries grow more severe, and her team are locked in a desperate race against time.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

My Review: DI Amy Winter faces her toughest case yet as a serial killer couple kidnap and hunt their prey. After capture, the victims are released from an unknown location each day. But freedom does not come easily as the victim’s injuries become more severe, and if they haven’t escaped by day four, they won’t live to see the fifth.

At five months pregnant, Amy is feeling backed into a corner as the father of her child, DCI Donovan, urges her to share the news. But Amy doesn’t want to be treated differently by her team, much less lose their respect when they discover she’s in a relationship with her DCI. When a call comes in from the killer asking to meet Amy, Donovan intercepts and sends a decoy in her place. But while officers are concentrating on the decoy, Amy is kidnapped from outside her home. She is the next victim, and the countdown begins.

After being bundled into the back of a van and driven to a desolate woodland, Amy’s heart sinks in her chest as she realises the killers have no intention of playing fair.

DCI Donovan is distraught as he discovers Amy is missing. When his team receives a taunting video, he is left in no doubt of the danger Amy and his unborn child are in. He must pull himself together to hunt the killer down. But with no clues and no location, there is only one person with intimate knowledge of how a killer’s mind works. Lillian Grimes – Amy’s serial killer mother. But can he persuade her to help him in time? As the days progress, Amy’s injuries grow more severe, and her team are locked in a desperate race against time.

FLESH AND BLOOD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL (DI AMY WINTER 4)

Flesh & BloodSynopsis:

A string of suicides. A community in terror. And a chilling conspiracy only DI Amy Winter can crack.

A wave of apparent suicides hits a string of seaside resorts, but when a police officer is named as the latest to die, DI Amy Winter suspects there may be more than mere coincidence to these tragic deaths. But what dark motive could cause someone to throw themselves into the cold depths of the North Sea?

Someone in the community knows more than they are letting on, but Amy’s questions are met with resistance. A group of mysterious teenagers might hold the key, but why are they so afraid to talk? Meanwhile, after the release from prison of her serial killer mother, Amy is fighting her own demons.

In her toughest investigation yet, Amy must confront her dark past if she is to put an end to the carnage. What secret is so terrible that it’s worth killing a police officer for? Amy needs to find the answer, before the sea washes up any more bodies.

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

My Review: I was pleased to be back with Amy and her team in this book which is number 4 in the series. DI Donovan is still in charge and when a string of suicides goes on at a seaside resort the team don’t have the first clue they were even happening. That is until DI Donovans old colleague Carla becomes another suspected suicide. The whole team relocate down to the coast in the hope they can help DI Donovan’s old team to get to the bottom of what happened to DC Burke.

There are a few threads running through the storyline one of which is a group of teenagers that seemed to be linked to graffiti found at each scene of the supposed suicide. Amy and DI Donovan know that these supposed suicides are way more than they seem and it becomes clear that the more they dig, the more they find. It was great to see a little more of Amy’s team such as Molly Baxter and to get a little more of her backstory.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book and will happily move onto book 5 of the series named In Cold Blood

LEFT FOR DEAD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL (DI AMY WINTER 3)

Left For Dead Synopsis: A victim on display. A detective on the rails.

Shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter is admiring a Valentine’s Day window display of a perfect bride encrusted in diamonds and resplendent in lace—until she notices blood oozing from the mannequin’s mouth.

This is no stunt. A post-mortem reveals the victim was left to die on her macabre throne for all to see. When a second victim is found, it emerges that both women were ‘Sugar Babes’ arranging dates with older men online—and Amy finds herself hunting an accomplished psychopath.

As she tracks down the killer, Amy’s instincts go into overdrive when the charismatic head of the agency behind the display makes no attempt to hide his fascination with her serial-killer parents. What exactly does he want from Amy? With her own world in freefall as her biological mother, Lillian Grimes, appeals her conviction, Amy pushes the boundaries of police procedure when a third ‘Sugar Babe’ disappears…Is she as much at risk as the killer’s victims?

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I started this series and have read books 1 and 2 back to back going straight onto book 3. This book was just as good as the last and I read this in a day and a half it was that good. Every opportunity was spent sneaking a few pages in until such time as I could actually sit and read a big chunk. While Amy is spending some time shopping with her sister she comes across a macabre window display and as she looks closer and realises that the ‘model’ is in fact a murder victim. All hell breaks loose and before you know it Amy and the team are working on this newest case.

The difference with this book is that we know who the killer is early on but that makes not one bit of difference to the story. If anything it amps up the drama and intrigue. We see Amy continue down a strange path with her mother the serial killer Lillian Grimes, as well as coming to terms with new working arrangements. DI Donovan is now her Boss and with her foot in both professional and personal camps where he is concerned she struggles to adapt.

This latest instalment flowed very well with lots packed into a book that flew by. This series is absolutely brilliant so far and I hope I continue enjoying the books as much as I have so far!

THE SECRET CHILD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL (DI AMY WINTER 2)

THE SECRET CHILDSynopsis:

DI Amy Winter knows evil. She’s lived through it.

Four-year-old Ellen is snatched by a stranger in the dead of night. Her devastated mother, Nicole, receives four identical phials and a threatening note in a familiar scrawl that chills her to the bone. But she always knew this would happen. She’s been expecting it for years . . .

According to the note, one of the phials is poisoned. Nicole is given a deadly challenge: if she drinks one, the sadistic kidnapper will notify the police of Ellen’s location. The sender claims to be Luka Volkov but Luka is supposed to be dead, killed long ago in a fire that haunts all those involved.

DI Amy Winter is still reeling from the discovery that she is the daughter of a serial killer, and her childhood trauma only makes her more determined to bring Ellen home. When another child is taken, Amy finds herself in a race against time. To rescue the children, must she seek help from the one person she wants to forget?

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I am always pleased when I finally catch up with an author I like to find they have an amazing new series and Caroline Mitchell is one such author! Thsi new series featuring Amy Winter I thoroughly loved the first book and was pleased to be able to move straight onto book 2. This latest installment features a missing 4 year old Ellen. What I love about this series is Amy Winter’s background is far from ordinary. She realised in book 1 that she was the daughter of an infamous serial killer couple and has had to deal with the trauma surrounding her childhood.

Thankfully it seems that she uses this to her advantage and has a knack of spotting people that are slightly ‘dark’. There are plenty of people playing various roles within this dark and shady storyline and it takes some time to work out who has played what part but as each element is revealed it becomes clearer for the reader to see where this story could go. I found myself totally absorbed in the storyline and love the fact that we still get to see elements of Amy’s relationship with her deranged biological Mother.

This series is turning out to be pretty amazing and I am pleased that I still have a few books left in the series to become caught up. Definitely a great series to read and I would definitely reccomend!

TRUTH & LIES BY CAROLINE MITCHELL (DI AMY WINTER 1)

Truth & LiesSynopsis:  Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.

DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart.

Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game.

While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies.

But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder?

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: Ohhhh I just LOVE getting stuck into a new series and this one is right up my alley! DI Amy Winter is a copper just like her highly respected Dad who was also a serving officer. However, we meet Amy at a crucial time in her life as she buries her Father and is coming to terms with never seeing him again. Not only is she going through the tragedy and grief over losing a parent she has to deal with an even bigger bombshell.

Lillian Grimes is one half of a serial killer pair along with her husband and is currently in jail serving time for the deaths of many young women. She is the absolute definition of a psychopath however she also happens to be Amy’s biological Mother. She decides that it’s time to reveal the location of three of the victims but only on her terms and those terms heavily include Amy. Alongside all this a young girl is taken from her doorstep and Amy’s team are racing against the clock to try and find her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and getting to know Amy, her colleague Paddy and her Mother Flora as it’s given me such good history each character. The storyline has plenty going on, and I didn’t want to put it down. Thank goodness I am at the beginning of the journey and can now go straight onto book 2 to find out what is going to happen next.

PIECES OF HER BY KARIN SLAUGHTER

Pieces of HerSynopsis:

She’s the person you think you know best…

But what if you don’t actually know her at all?

Andy Oliver thinks she knows everything about her mother Laura.

Until, in a moment of terrible danger, Laura steps forward into the line of fire.

Now, Andy must embark on a desperate race against time to uncover the secrets of her mother’s past.

Before they both run out of time…

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

Kat’s Review: I must say I am a huge fan of Karin Slaughter, whether it’s a part of her series of books or a standalone I am normally thoroughly absorbed with her books…until now! For some reason this book just rubbed me up the wrong way! The synopsis kind of gives you the idea as follows:-

“What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura”

Well all I can say is that by the end of the third chapter I wanted to slap the hell out of the character Andrea. She made me feel like she was a slightly spoiled and at times slow on the uptake woman. The idea behind the story was good and as the story unfolds flipping between the current time with Andrea and the past with her Mum I could see that the idea was a great one…for me it just wasn’t executed not because of the writing, but because I just didn’t particularly like any of the characters, To be fair the last quarter of the book was more well paced and things unfolded in a way that made you want to read more.

Sadly for me the dislike of the main characters was the first hurdle and I just couldn’t gel quite as well with the story and writing as well as I usually would with this author. Overall an okay book, but not one I would return to unless I literally had nothing left to read!

SAY GOODBYE BY KAREN ROSE (SACRAMENTO 3)

Say GoodbyeSynopsis: FBI Agent Tom Hunter has been chasing down leads to find the brutal cult that damaged some of his closest friends. They managed to escape to tell their stories, but Eden’s location has always remained a mystery.

Liza Barkley is struggling with her feelings for Tom and wonders if their friendship can survive the secrets they’ve kept from one another. But they may be forced to confront the truth when a chance to help the investigation puts Liza directly in the line of fire.

When the perpetrator of an attempted sniper attack on Liza and her friends is discovered to be one of the cult’s leaders, DJ Belmont, it becomes clear that he is out to get revenge on the victims who escaped Eden’s clutches.
But there is one person who has always had control over DJ, and who no one outside of Eden has ever glimpsed: cult leader Pastor. When a serious injury forces Pastor to seek help outside the confines of the Eden, Tom and his team finally have a chance to bring the cult down.

But DJ Belmont has his own plan, and is not going to stop until he gets what he wants…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Say Goodbye is the third and final instalment in The Sacramento series and this book sees more about ex basketball player Tom Hunter who now works for the FBI along with his lifelong friend Liza. Liza was an army medic so is no shrinking violet when it comes to dealing with difficult situations and this book certainly sees her in plenty of those! For those that have read the first two books they will know they are centered around a cult named Eden and its leader who is known only as Pastor.

In addition we meet pregnant teenager Hayley and her younger brother Graham who are being held within the Eden compound. We also see the return of Gideon, Mercy, Rafe and the rest of the Solokov clan. I absolutely loved reading more about Tom as he featured in Books 1 and 2 and to get the backstory with him and Liza was also compelling reading. I powered through this book and it kept me hooked all the way through. I was sad to get to the end as the trilogy has been absolutely amazing but this set of books is highly recommended!