Category: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

Buried Alive by J A Kerley (Carson Ryder #7)

My Rating: 4/5

Jack Kerley has now written 7 of these books in the series featuring Detective Carson Ryder. I have not read the earlier books in the series but did read the last book entitled `Little Girls Lost’.

After Ryder witnesses the escape of the violent psychopath Bobby Crayline from prison, he decides a holiday is in order. He takes a rare break in the mountains with his faithful dog named Mix-Up (GREAT name for a dog by the way!). As usual, Carson’s break is interrupted, as any good fictional Detective should expect! He gets called to a grisly murder scene by an anonymous phone call.

His unexpected presence at the crime scene doesn’t go down well with local Detective Donna Cherry, but before long there are too many bodies to be fighting between themselves. Unwittingly Carson gets dragged into the murders and tries to help Cherry get to the bottom of it.

With the arrival of the FBI, things certainly don’t go smoothly and before long Carson realises there is a lot more at stake that a serial killer, as things and people from his past begin to emerge.

I enjoyed the last Kerley book I read and was looking forward to the next instalment. This didn’t disappoint in terms of Carson and the storyline. When I saw other reviews of the book, a couple of people complained there was a major plot spoiler quite early on that looked like an editorial mistake. Thankfully, I am not that bright and was so engrossed in the book I must have missed it!

Ryder is a great character and again is written well with all his baggage too. It’s nice to see him in an area that is not his local stomping ground and the character Donna Cherry made for a good match up as she is certainly not a pushover. The story itself starts with the escape of convict Bobby Crayline, and before long I forgot all about him while the other murders were taking place. This meant that there were two major plots running through the story which made it quite interesting.

The murder scenes were as usual very grisly and descriptive, but I must point out that Jack Kerley actually made me wince whilst reading one particular section of the book. I actually had to stop reading one scene involving a dead corpse laid out for viewing as it had my stomach turning! Either I have a very active imagination, or he is a great writer. I think it may be a combination of the two, but it makes for great reading.

The introduction of Carson’s brother was very interesting and although I don’t want to introduce a plot spoiler, I am glad the story panned out the way it did giving the story more room to grow in future books. The book was paced very well and towards the end we see it reach its climax and wrap things up nicely. All in all, once again a thoroughly enjoyable read, although not one for the weak stomached!

Deadline by Simon Kernick

222x346

My Rating: 4/5

I am slowly working my way through Simon Kernick’s books ever since picking up the book Relentless. Now I have to point out that after reading Relentless which is a 10 out of 10 book, the expectation was high. I also had the misfortune of not reading the books in order of publication which I dislike doing, even if they are stand alone novels.

In this book we meet Mike Bolt, a member of the SOCA. I get the impression that he may have appeared in previous books but you still get an overall history of him so this book can be read on its own. Mike is dragged into the investigation but has no idea that Andrea Devern is the lady in trouble. This is a major part of the storyline which adds to the tension of the story itself.

Andrea Devern is a woman in distress and as usual Simon Kernick manages to translate the fear onto paper. You can almost imagine yourself standing right next to this woman whose daughter’s life is being threatened. The first few chapters we are thrown in at the deep end with Andrea and see her making split second decision in order to try and save her daughter. There is also an underlying element of suspicion with the woman.

As usual the pace is frighteningly fast and before you know it you are halfway through the book. One of the things I love about Kernick is that when you start reading his books you feel like you are being physically dragged in and you are powerless to stop reading. There are many twists and turns in this book and the suspense level is cranked high. We get to read about Andrea chasing her daughter, Mike chasing the case and surprisingly we also see a glimmer of Andrea’s daughter Emma and the nightmare she has been dragged in to.

We also see Tina Boyd make an appearance on the case, and she can be seen in other Kernick books. I love Simon Kernick’s style of writing and don’t think for that he can be faulted. This isn’t my favourite book of his (as Relentless is just the best), but this is definitely an easy to read, high octane thriller with lots of plot twists. Overall another corker of a read from Kernick, sit down and hold on tight for the ride.

Fighting Dirty by June Hampson (Daisy Lane #6)

51jCs-kMziL._SY346_

My Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: June Hampson started the series of Daisy Lane books with her debut novel Trust Nobody in 2006. The book features Daisy Lane in the early nineteen sixties. June Hampson was born in Gosport and this is the setting for her books. When I first read the debut book I was blown away. It was a refreshing change to read this type of book set in the sixties. I was hooked and have read each and every book since then. This current book is release number 6 in the series.

The series itself has remained pretty strong throughout. My last review of her previous novel wasn’t as good as others. The beauty of this series of books is that we travel through the years following Daisy and her friends and family. In doing this each book is that bit further along and more and more things are happening in her life as she gets older. In her last book Jail Bait, I felt that the story was good but maybe Daisy Lane was slowing down and I really wanted to see more of her elder son Eddie Lane. I couldn’t help but feel that some of the sparkle was missing from some of the characters that had shone through in her earlier books.

With this latest release it seems my wishes came true. Daisy Lane and her good friend Vera are certainly back in the picture and they have their `mojo’ back. They are indeed a major part of the storyline, but so too is Eddie, Daisy’s eldest son who is now a young man. After a stretch in prison good guy Eddie wants to get back to work. The only problem is that people treat him differently because of Roy. Roy is Daisy’s long time partner who also happens to be a top London gangster. Roy is like a father to Eddie and although Eddie has enormous respect for him, he wants to make it on his own.

As Eddie is making his plans, Daisy and Vera notice a young runaway boy with some awful bruises. This along with rumours of a friend’s lad arriving home with bruises makes them both suspicious. Daisy and Vera are determined to find out what is going on with these young lads and their bruised faces, but they don’t realise just how dangerous it could be as well as the fact that the truth may well be more devastating than they could imagine.

Vera, who in the first few books I took to my heart wasn’t that much of herself in the last book. In this book she is back but with her own troubles and worries. It was nice to see her back to form but also with a big dose of reality on her plate too. The story is set around the family and their friends and we get to see each person’s situation in the story which keeps it interesting right the way through. Daisy’s youngest son (as I mentioned in my last review of Jail Bait) is like the devil child and in this book he is no different. He is a despicable creature who is quite frankly a horrible character.

This book held my interest much more than the last as there are newer elements to the story along with characters such as Eddie’s girlfriend Summer, as well as Eddie and Jamie’s younger sister Gyp, whose father is none other than Roy. The young boys storyline was slightly different and maybe reminiscent of the era being the early eighties and it was quite nostalgic with the references to that period of time (makes me feel old!). The book flew by and I couldn’t quite believe that it was finished and I have to wait for the next one.

The story is a lot more fast paced than the last and the characters all seem to have their own brand of magic back. The ending wasn’t maybe what I expected but is certainly another good opener for the next book. The beauty of this sort of series is that the author has made sure that she moves the characters along in time and introduces new elements which I loved. I finished this with a feeling of satisfaction and realised just why I liked June Hampson so much in the first place. June Hampson along with the likes of Mandasue Heller, Kimberley Chambers and Dreda Say Mitchell just show that our British women are first class at producing top notch crime fiction. Highly recommended although I would suggest you start at the beginning.

Love You More by Lisa Gardner (DD Warren #5)

228x346

My Rating: 5/5

 Lisa Gardner’s release prior to this one was entitled `Live To Tell’ and if I am being 100% honest it wasn’t my favourite of her books. There was a certain element of `supernatural’ to that book and it just didn’t sit right with me. Thankfully, she has returned to her former glory of producing a fantastic crime novel featuring DD Warren.

DD Warren is featured in a series of books and this latest book is number 5 in the series. Detective D.D Warren is a very headstrong woman working in a predominantly male environment. She is a tough, no-nonsense woman who seems to fluctuate between doing the right thing the legal way, and doing the right thing the illegal way. In the last book Live to Tell it seemed like DD had become this sex-starved workaholic. There was a certain element of believability about it but it seemed a little harsh for even her to become that bad. In this latest book she seems to have finally settled back to her normal self, with thankfully a man on the horizon. As well as DD being part of a murder case and missing child’s case, she also has her own personal issues to tackle which make for a great thread which can be continued on to the next book.

DD is paired up with her ex-loved Bobby Dodge on a strange murder case. Brian Darby is found dead on his kitchen floor. His wife Tessa Leoni is a state police trooper and is claiming to have shot him in self-defence. It should be a simple self-defence case but Tessa’s six year old daughter Sophie is missing. DD and Bobby soon become aware that this case is a little out of the ordinary. They are also aware that with a 6 year old child missing the clock is ticking.

Tessa has her own secrets and as such you see and hear from her as her story begins with walking into her kitchen that fateful night. Lisa Gardner has produced an outstanding book. Tessa is absolutely brilliant and you understand that this is written with the sheer though of how far you would go for your child.

The story is set into two parts that of DD and Bobby chasing the murder trail and Tessa trying to keep one step ahead the whole time. As usual I started out at a relatively sedate pace but soon couldn’t help but keep reading. The ending came as a shock (which is always nice) and as Lisa Gardner is famous for, her crime scene descriptions and gruesome murders are very descriptive. Set in harsh Boston winter I felt like I was literally running behind them ain the snow, this book was an absolute corker and I was so pleased that the author has also given us the added bonus of a new dimension for the character for the next book.

This is a brilliant book which I loved and I cannot imagine any crime fan not enjoying it. Fast paced, with lots of twists in the plot, it never stands still for a minute. Get out there and grab yourself a copy! 

10TH ANNIVERSARY BY JAMES PATTERSON (WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB #10)

My Rating: 3/5

In the last book 9th Judgement I was not a happy bunny. The lead character Lindsay seemed to have had a personality transplant and had become this wimp overnight. Thankfully she seems to have got some of her backbone back in this latest book. Her and her work partner Rich are a good fit and the case they worked on was the main thread of this book in the beginning. Thankfully the story was somewhat better than some of the others in the series although a long way off as good as they could be.

Yuki is the other character I just cannot get my head around. For a start she is an Assistant District Attorney so the true nature of somebody in that position doesn’t fit with how she is being written. The main thread for her was again not a bad story, but we keep seeing the insistent `pushing’ of her becoming involved with somebody and having to find herself a man. There is something about it that just doesn’t sit right with me.

Cindy is the one character that I think has become stronger and her relationship with Rich played a bigger part this time round. The last book I read their relationship felt like an added extra that was dumped in the book at the last minute but thankfully now it all seems to have taken an upward turn and fits her character and the story a lot better. Cindy was by far the best part of this latest read which isn’t that positive a sign seeing as the book features Lindsay a lot more.

Medical Examiner Claire was the only character that was missing for the largest part of the book. It felt like they had forgotten her or maybe it was the fact that there were a lot less dead bodies in this one for her to autopsy. Either way I think she should have featured more that she did.

Okay, I feel like I do this every time I read a Patterson nowadays. It’s almost like I get a shock if I love the book. The thing with Patterson books is that the writing style is genius. They are short sharp chapters which manage to pique your interest and keep you turning pages. However, the real heart of the stories seems to be somewhat missing. Is this down to Patterson losing his touch or down to the co-authors who some people claim are the real `writers’ to these books? Who knows?

The three stories that ran were okay, but just that, okay! They were interesting enough to keep me reading and in truth the only thing that made me that bit more interested were the characters I have grown to understand and know the more I have read.

The pace was as usual pretty good but there were no great surprises and like I mentioned before the body count was low! If this was the first in the series I think there would be less of a following and I think that people go back to these books time and time again because they are `easy readers’.

If you look at the overall rating of these Murder Club books you may be surprised. Amazon ratings show the majority of the series to be `middle of the road’ and I can understand why. Love him or loathe him, you won’t find many people that haven’t heard of or read a James Patterson.

This time I won’t try to convince myself that I won’t pre-order because (for no obvious reason) I probably will (what a sucker!). I wouldn’t say this was awful, but I wouldn’t say it was his best.

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain (Sheridan & Lowell #4)

224x346

My Rating: 4/5
My Review: I was so looking forward to getting this latest Archie Sheridan instalment. Chelsea Cain’s last book was my first and although I hadn’t read the first two I had enough background to pick up on Archie’s past. This book is the 4th in the Gretchen/Archie series but you actually don’t see Gretchen Lowell in this book but it didn’t make the slightest bit of difference to me.

Once again it doesn’t take long for Archie to get thrown in at the deep end quite literally. Following his absence from work he throws himself back into this new case with renewed vigour. I adore Archie as a character; he is terribly flawed but a great character that is written extremely well. We also see the return of Susan Ward who I also love. She is a reporter who is always doing the opposite of what she is told. In this book she is no different. She trails Archie as he tries to track down this latest killer.

We also at the same time see what Susan has been investigating relating to a sixty year old tragedy. Unknowingly the two cases are interlinked and Chelsea Cain works wonders intertwining the two stories. As usual the body count is pretty high and there are no holds barred for the gritty and grimy crime scene descriptions.

Her writing is as usual well paced and full of suspense with the added bonus of two characters that work well together. The story itself was good and as usual Chelsea Cain has produced a book that is highly enjoyable.

Although this book is said to be part of the Archie/Gretchen series I am sort of glad that Gretchen didn’t appear. No doubt we haven’t sent the last of her but it was nicer still to see a different killer emerge from the shadows. As usual, I finished the book in just under two days, and then found myself disappointed. Why didn’t I take my time and make the book last longer? I suppose like everybody else I will just have to be patient and wait for the next instalment.

Payback by Simon Kernick

225x346

My Rating: 3/5

I am a huge fan of Kernick’s after reading Relentless. I also found previous book The Last Ten Seconds was a corker of a read. With this one I feel like it was a bit flat in comparison. The story itself was okay, and we get to see Tina Boyd and her obsessions once again. I just felt it wasn’t as good in comparison to his last one.

Like I said before Tina Boyd once again makes an appearance and all of her obsessions are highlighted even more in this book. She is a really good character and with the double up along with Dennis Milne they made for great lead characters. Dennis Milne has appeared in previous Kernick books but I have yet to read them. Even if you haven’t read past books of his, this book can still be read as a stand alone.

The story is mainly set in Manila and as usual the story starts out at breakneck speed. This is one of the main things that sets Kernick apart from other authors. He managed to pick you up and chuck you headfirst straight into the thick of it. The pace hardly lets up throughout the whole book and as usual you will be turning the pages quicker than you can read.

The story itself was okay, but just okay. I loved the writing and the characters but just felt there was something missing with this book. I couldn’t even tell you what it was, just that it doesn’t read as well as some of his other books. As usual the crime scenes are gory and gritty and frighteningly realistic. This is definitely a no holds barred author when it comes to the graphic descriptions of how people die. Having said that; it’s done brilliantly and just ends up drawing you further into the story.

Overall I felt a little bit mixed about this book. On the whole it was as usual a great book from Kernick, just not as good as others he has written and was lacking that usual magic sparkle. I would still recommend and look forward to reading his other books still on my to-read pile!

Hit Girls by Dreda Say Mitchell (Gangland Girls #3)

226x346.jpg

My Rating: 5/5

First off I want to explain a couple of things. This book can be read on its own and is by no means part of a series that you have to read in order. Having said that, this book by Dreda Say-Mitchell, features people from past stories. We meet Schoolboy (featured in Running Hot), Daisy Sullivan (Gangster Girl), and the four girls Jackie, Anna, Roxy and Ollie (Geezer Girls). The great thing about this book is that if you have had the pleasure of reading the others you feel like you have already bonded with (and in my case loathe or love) the characters.

In the very short space of 3 or 4 chapters you feel like you have been through the wringer. The tension is so high at such an early stage I wondered how much more my heart could take. Thankfully the book continued in this pace but gave us dips and highs with the tension leaving my heart room to breathe a little easier through certain parts of the book.

There are a number of storylines threaded throughout the book, and I mean throughout from the very beginning to the very end. Although there are numerous storylines they all link together but are easy to follow and they just add to the increasing drama of the book.

The characters are great from all previous books and I love the fact that DSM has kept them true to their previous form (there is nothing worse than characters having a personality change overnight). We see pieces of the puzzle begin to form but none of them are straightforward and as you progress through the book more and more secrets reveal themselves.

This book is exciting, thrilling, full of suspense, gritty, compelling, hell there aren’t enough adjectives to describe it all. If there is one thing I will say about this book, it’s that if you do not buy it, borrow it or at least consider it you are seriously missing out. This book was one that kept me breathless with anticipation, scared of what may or may not happen, and excited at the prospect that people would get what was coming to them. It has been a while since I have read a book that is such a roller coaster and I loved every single second of it.

I have read all bar one of her books and if I’m being 100% honest my least favourite was Running Hot (her first book). Her 3rd and 4th books (Geezer Girls and Gangster Girls) were top notch and I think those of you who have not read her before should start with these and finish with this one her latest book Hit Girls.

I have said in the past that Dreda Say-Mitchell is a new rising star in the Crime World. I have to be honest and say that I was wrong. She isn’t a rising star, she is already there. This is the top of her game and to be honest it makes the likes of Martina Cole and Mandasue Heller pale into comparison. I can only hope as I wait with baited breath for the next one that she continues the work she has started as it doesn’t get much better than this!

Running Hot by Dreda Say Mitchell

190x293

My Rating: 4/5

I only recently discovered Dreda Say Mitchell and was blown away with her two latest books Geezer Girls and Gangster Girls. I decided to buy her other two books and pre-order her newest which is due for release in March 2011. This book Running Hot was her debut novel which was published in 2004.

When the book arrived I was surprised to see it was a little shorter that the other two at just over 300 pages. I liked the sound of the write up on the jacket and was really looking forward to this one.

The book doesn’t take long to get in to but the only thing that is a vast difference to her others is the setting of this one. Set in Hackney in London we meet people from `the street’ and what goes with that is the way they talk. I worked in South East London for over 8 years so had no problem deciphering what the street lingo was but some people may struggle at times. To give you an example the word `ting’ is used for `thing’ so if you struggle with language written the way it is spoken on the street you may not be a fan.

However, this was no issue for me and I found myself being drawn into the world of Schoolboy. In actual fact I think the way the language is written makes it more urban and gritty and takes a lot less time and imagination to really get a feel for what life is like in that part of Hackney for Schoolboy.

When he discovers the phone at the very beginning, we also see excerpts from the people that are hunting the phone, and they are not happy people! The whole story is based on what on earth Schoolboy can do to get rid of the phone that everybody seems to want and at the same time get the case he so desperately needs to start afresh.

The one thing I really liked is the fact that this story and style was completely different to her other books and it makes it all the more interesting. If I was being completely honest I would have to say I prefer her newer stuff but this was still a great book. You get the impression that the descriptions and scenarios that play out sometimes are not that far from the truth of some of London’s more shady areas. We meet other characters along the way, and the most memorable would be `Queen’ who quite frankly would not be somebody I would want to get on the wrong side of. There are other people who pay a part in Schoolboy’s life but to be honest the book focuses solely on his dilemma and the highs and lows of his life.

I liked the ending and finished the book thinking that I had read something a little bit different. Like I said I couldn’t compare it to her newer stuff as they are exceptional but this is still a great read and definitely something fresh and new as far as writing goes.

TICK TOCK BY JAMES PATTERSON (MICHAEL BENNETT #4)

My Rating: 3/5

I have become very jaded with JP’s work recently, especially those that are co-written with the exception of the books following Michael Bennett. In particular his most recent Bennett novel Worst Case was a great read so I had high hopes for this one.

The greatest part of a book is when an author develops characters you like and Michael Bennett is no exception. I did find that in this book he didn’t seem quite the same. I love the fact that he is a hardworking cop that has a huge brood of children that make up his family. I also love his Grandfather Seamus who is a cheeky but lovable part of Michael’s life. I can’t put my finger on why Bennett was so different this time round, maybe it was the fact that we see him enter into dangerous territory with two women and he just doesn’t handle it all that well.

The biggest let down for me was the story itself, it was lacklustre and to be honest a wash-out compared to the last one. The plot was pretty weak and the killer was all too predictable this time round. The addition of Emily Parker to the case didn’t add much to the actual plot with the killer and it lacked being genuine. It felt like the story plodded along and there was no real urgency like there is with many other Patterson novels.

Having said that I haven’t written off the Bennett series altogether yet I just hope that in the next instalment the main plot is a lot stronger than this one. I think that the majority of fans will enjoy this book but it certainly won’t stay in your memory as being a `great’ book.