Best Crime Books and More

Hard Hit by J B Turner (Jon Reznick 6)

Hard Hit Synopsis: He’s fighting for justice while she fights for her life.

With his daughter lying in the hospital, struck down in a reckless hit-and-run, the only thing Jon Reznick can do is wait—and plot his revenge. Not satisfied with the slow-moving police investigation, he starts his own manhunt.

He discovers that the car belongs to a high-ranking diplomat whose interests are closely tied to those of the United States government, and this man may not be what he appears. The FBI wants Reznick to back down, but the more information Jon digs up, the more questions he finds. Was it a simple accident, or is there more to it? How many young women’s lives has this man ruined? Lauren’s life hangs in the balance, and Jon must get answers, no matter the cost—to him or the government.

With the help of a dedicated NYPD detective who has suspicions of her own, as well as FBI Assistant Director Martha Meyerstein, Jon Reznick will have to fight for his daughter while she fights for her life.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Hard Hit by J B Turner (Jon Reznick 6)”

The Summer Hideaway by Jenny Hale

The Summer Hideaway: An uplifting feel good summer romance by [Hale, Jenny]

Synopsis: Alice Emerson and best friend Sasha Miller have made a pact. They’ve decided to swap city living for the beautiful white beaches of the Outer Banks and pour everything they have into launching an ice cream shop in the little house by the sea where Alice spent blissful childhood holidays with her grandfather. As Alice and Sasha add color to the walls of the beach house and tempt the locals with their delicious recipes, their fresh new life begins to take shape.

Swept away by her plans, love is the last thing on Alice’s mind. But she keeps running into mysterious doctor Jack Murphy, and finds herself falling for his golden charm and warm smile. As they laugh through sunshine-filled days and long romantic evenings, Alice tries hard not to think he could be the one for her – Jack is only here for the season, and Alice has had her fair share of heartbreak.Just when Alice’s summer couldn’t be more perfect, she discovers an old letter tucked away in the beach house. It contains a family secret that turns Alice’s world upside down and threatens the future of the ice cream shop. And then Jack reveals a secret of his own…Will Alice have her dreams shattered and her heart broken, or can she find true happiness this summer?

My Rating: 4/5

Continue reading “The Summer Hideaway by Jenny Hale”

The Deep Abiding by Sean Black (Ty Johnson Series)

Synopsis: The winner of the 2018 International Thriller Writers Award returns with what readers are calling his ‘best book yet.’
Retired US Marine Ty Johnson is hired as the bodyguard for a young reporter investigating the brutal, decades-old murder of a young African American woman in the Florida Everglades.

The town where the murder took place is idyllic, and the people welcoming, but something sinister lies beneath the surface. It’s not long before the facade begins to crack and Ty finds himself plunged into a living nightmare that will test the very limits of his endurance as he battles to protect the idealistic young journalist

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I am a HUGE Lock fan and must admit when I saw that this instalment was more about Ty, I was a little unsure. However, Mr Black has shown his skill by producing an amazing story which frankly is one of his best books in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong Mr Lock didn’t feature in it nearly enough for my liking but frankly Ty shone all on his own.

Ty is looking after journalist Cressida King while she journeys down to the town of Darling to investigate a cold case murder from the seventies. Almost from the first page the characters gel amazingly well as Ty tries to keep his focus on his keeping her safe while Cress seems hell bent on involving herself in the heart of the rumours in the town.

From the get go it’s clear the town is stuck in their ways and in their eyes there is no place in their town for people of colour. This enrages Cress to the point that she is prepared to take chances. Unfortunately for her, also being with Ty who is an African American standing at well over 6 feet tall they don’t go in-noticed. The trouble starts almost instantly for both of them and it produces a real page turner of a book.

A few chapters in and I didn’t care that Ryan Lock didn’t feature and when he briefly appears in the story I almost wanted him to not get involved because this was Ty’s story to solve and fix the problems. I admit I was surprised just how much I loved this book, it was a fresh take on an old school problem done with class and finesse and showing how a page turner of a book is done! An outstanding book in this series and although this worked I thing Ty and Ryan work best together and produce magic so am looking forward to the next book hugely!

The Paramedics Daughter by Tara Lyons

Synopsis: Paramedic Abi Quinn is hailed as a hero by the patients she saves with the London Ambulance Service; but a secret she’s kept since she was a teenager now threatens to shatter that perfect illusion.
When her daughter Rose goes missing while studying at Brighton university, and ghosts from her past return to haunt her, Abi’s caught in a race against time to untangle the web of lies she set in motion over twenty years ago.

Everyone has something to lose.
Everyone is trying to protect themselves.
Everyone is broken.
But what lengths will they go to in order to stop the truth from being exposed?

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: Woahh okay I kind of didn’t expect this book to be what it was…so let me explain. So Tara is somebody I met a few years ago and we talked about her book she had released etc. However we also became firm friends and I can tell you now for a fact I have at various points on reading a book of hers actually picked up my phone and messaged her to say I hated something. She knows I will never write a fake review and will always be completely honest about it so I am going to try and do both. What happened was, I began to read her series of books featuring DI Hamilton, I started out liking them (not loving them) but her latest release with Denis Hamilton was awesome and a smashing 5 star read. When I picked this up I assumed it was another in the series. I was wrong, but a few chapters in realised I actually didn’t want to stop reading. However, there were things I didn’t like about the book but I still had that overwhelming urge to continue.

I read quite a few chapters the first time around and then the next time I picked it up, well… I finished it in one sitting. On one hand this was a TRUE psychological thriller and on the other there were things I just couldn’t gel with. Even after having negatives about this book I absolutely refuse to give it anything other than the full 5 out of 5. I didn’t want to put the thing down and was totally and utterly absorbed in the story line. My main gripe was the lead character Abi, I just didn’t like her. She felt a bit too much like a neurotic Mother for my liking. However, even though I didn’t like her it was pretty clear there were quite a few sinister things going on from the very early stages of the book.

Her daughter Rose appears to have gone missing and it becomes apparent that Abi’s own secrets may well have played a part in her disappearance. The first quarter of the book was a little slow as it felt a little bit like listening to a Mother harping on about her child constantly, but the last three quarters literally took my breath away. Just when I thought the story couldn’t get any better I reached the last chapter….and all I can say is I was a little in shock! An absolute belter of a book that is a must read for psychological thriller fans!

The Summer Of Serendipity by Ali McNamara

Synopsis: One summer, property seeker, Serendipity Parker finds herself on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, hunting for a home for a wealthy Irish client. But when she finds the perfect house in the small town of Ballykiltara, there’s a problem; nobody seems to know who owns it.

‘The Welcome House’ is a local legend. Its front door is always open for those in need of shelter, and there’s always a plentiful supply of food in the cupboards for the hungry or poor.

While Ren desperately tries to find the owner to see if she can negotiate a sale, she begins to delve deeper into the history and legends that surround the old house and the town. But for a woman who has always been focussed on her work, she’s remarkably distracted by Finn, the attractive manager of the local hotel. Continue reading “The Summer Of Serendipity by Ali McNamara”

Stolen by Paul Finch (Lucy Clayburn 3)

Paul Finch Stolen

How do you find the missing when there’s no trail to follow?

DC Lucy Clayburn is having a tough time of it. Not only is her estranged father one of the North West’s toughest gangsters, but she is in the midst of one of the biggest police operations of her life.

Members of the public have started to disappear, taken from the streets as they’re going about their every day lives. But no bodies are appearing – it’s almost as if the victims never existed.

Lucy must chase a trail of dead ends and false starts as the disappearances mount up. But when her father gets caught in the crossfire, the investigation suddenly becomes a whole lot more bloody…

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Stolen by Paul Finch (Lucy Clayburn 3)”

BLOG TOUR: Amazing Grace by Kim Nash

Amazing Grace Synopsis: She’s taking her life back, one step at a time…

Grace thought she had it all. Living in the beautiful village of Little Ollington, along with head teacher husband Mark and gorgeous son, Archie, she devoted herself to being the perfect mum and the perfect wife, her little family giving her everything she ever wanted.

Until that fateful day when she walked in on Mark kissing his secretary – and her perfect life fell apart.

Now she’s a single mum to Archie, trying to find her way in life and keep things together for his sake. Saturday nights consist of a Chinese takeaway eaten in front of the TV clad in greying pyjamas, and she can’t remember the last time she had a kiss from anyone aside from her dog, Becks…

Grace’s life needs a shake up – fast. So when gorgeous gardener Vinnie turns up on her doorstep, his twinkling eyes suggesting that he might be interested in more than just her conifers, she might just have found the answer to her prayers. But as Grace falls deeper for Vinnie, ten-year-old Archie fears that his mum finding love means she’ll never reconcile with the dad he loves.

So when ex-husband Mark begs her for another chance, telling her he’s changed from the man that broke her heart, Grace finds herself with an impossible dilemma. Should she take back Mark and reunite the family that Archie loves? Or risk it all for a new chance of happiness?

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “BLOG TOUR: Amazing Grace by Kim Nash”

The Edge by Jessie Keane (Ruby Darke #3)

Synopsis: With a mind sharper than a razor blade it was only a matter of time before Ruby Darke fought her way to the top. From humble beginnings she became the queen of London’s retail, but she didn’t get there by obeying the law.

Now with her son Kit and daughter Daisy finally by her side she’s ready to start a new chapter in her life, but, unknown to all of them, enemies are circling.

There aren’t many who threaten Ruby Darke and live to tell the tale. But this time, she may just have met her match.

If you live on the edge, you may just die on it . . .

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “The Edge by Jessie Keane (Ruby Darke #3)”

The Cottage on Sunshine Beach by Holly Martin (Sandcastle Bay #2)

Synopsis: Melody Rosewood loves her new home in idyllic Sandcastle Bay. The beautiful little cottage on the edge of Sunshine Beach, with its bright yellow door and view of the sea has captured her heart. And she loves being close by to her family and best friend Tori Graham.

Life by the sea is pretty much perfect, there’s just one thing missing…

Gorgeous Jamie Jackson, with his cheeky grin and adorable puppy, works as a sculptor opposite Melody’s jewellery shop. From the moment he and Melody meet sparks fly. But despite their instant attraction, a past heartache is holding Jamie back.

As Melody starts to make a life for herself in the close-knit, quirky seaside community, she realises Jamie could be the one for her. But as the two of them take a chance on romance, it’s one dating disaster after another. Are they destined to always be just good friends?

Or will Melody finally find her happily-ever-after in Sandcastle Bay?

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “The Cottage on Sunshine Beach by Holly Martin (Sandcastle Bay #2)”

Lawless by Jessie Keane (Ruby Darke #2)

Synopsis: Only the lawless will survive . . .

It is 1975 and Ruby Darke is struggling to deal with the brutal murder of her lover, Michael Ward.

As her children, Daisy and Kit, battle their own demons, her retail empire starts to crumble.

Meanwhile, after the revenge killing of Tito Danieri, Kit is the lowest he’s ever been. But soon doubt is thrown over whether Kit killed the right person, and now the Danieris are out for his blood and the blood of the entire Darke family.

As the bodies pile up, the chase is on – can the Darkes resolve their own family conflicts and find Michael Ward’s true killer before the vengeful Danieris kill them? Or will they take the law into their own hands . . .

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Lawless by Jessie Keane (Ruby Darke #2)”