Review of 11th Hour by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club #11)

My Rating: 4/5
First off I need to say that if you haven’t read previous books in this series and you intend to read them in order please don’t continue reading the review as some of the storyline will inevitably contain spoilers.

In my ongoing love/hate relationship with James Patterson; I once again pre-ordered this book (even after convincing myself I shouldn’t) and set about catching up with the ladies from the Women’s Murder Club. I have read each book in this series and probably like many others feel like you have a history with these women. Lindsay Boxer, a detective, Claire who is a medical examiner, Cindy the reporter and Yuki a District Attorney have been friends for a long time and their tight knit circle will never change. In the 9th book in the series I thought I would give up as some of the characters seemed to have lost their edge; however the tenth book gained some ground as the ladies seemed back to their present form. This current book also showed the ladies back to form and it was a pleasure to see them in their usual roles.

The major difference now is that Lindsay Boxer is pregnant but she certainly doesn’t allow this to stop her working at her usual pace. When she and her partner Rich Conklin get called to the first murder scene they find millionaire Chaz Smith gunned down in a school. As usual, this case turns out to be one that has many elements, especially as the murder weapon was stolen from the department’s evidence locker.

Shortly after both Lindsay and Rich are called to another murder scene where two heads are discovered. Being pregnant and trying to run two murder cases see Lindsay at her most vulnerable, and for a change it really suited her. The story is the typical Patterson style with short and sharp chapters keeping your interest as the story picks up pace as the two investigations take on their own leads.

This book features Lindsay as the main lady and we see a little more of her personal life creeping into her work life as she tries to manage pending motherhood, along with maintaining her marriage to ex-FBI agent Joe. We also see a lot of Cindy as she does her usual trick of trying to get the lead on a story, whilst also battling her own issues surrounding her relationship with Lindsay’s partner Rich. We see less of Yuki and Claire although they still feature in the story as the ladies try to close both cases. We see Warren Jacobi, Lindsay’s boss feature in the story which for me was a welcome return.

The book was written well as usual and the story itself held my interest but after finishing it, I felt like there was no real progress with the ladies. I think maybe I was expecting something major to happen with one of them to keep this series from going stale. Having said that; I still think that Patterson will keep his fans happy with this latest release.

I enjoyed the book and would certainly say it’s a good one for the series. I am actually really looking forward to the next one, as I think with Lindsay having a baby and Yuki dating Lindsay’s boss things may heat up for the next book. It would also be nice to see the return of Jacobi more frequently as I always thought he spiced things up. Like I say, a winning formula but would like to see something to shock in the next one.

The Patchwork Marriage by Jane Green

My Rating: 4/5

It has been a year and a half since Jane’s last book and I was really looking forward to this one. As soon as I received it I got stuck in and it took me less than a few pages to be completely absorbed in the lives of the characters. Andi and Ethan are married and Ethan’s two children Emily and Sophia live with them. Her whole life Andi has waited to fall in love with a man like Ethan and to receive a readymade family is the icing on the cake. What she didn’t prepare herself for was the difficulty in becoming a stepmother to these two children.

The main focus of the story is Emily, Ethan’s eldest child who is nothing short of difficult. She is making life for Ethan and Andi very difficult and straight away I did not like this spoilt child. I was hoping that underneath it all was a likeable but troubled young girl! Like her last book, this one features the realities of life and stepchildren is a commonplace issue now for many people (myself included). It was refreshing to read about the not so nice side of this story and how trying to do the right thing by Stepchildren is not as easy as it sounds.

After years of trying to resolve the situation Andi finally gets to breaking point and decides she has no other option than to leave. That is before Emily turns up with a major bombshell that changes everything. It is difficult to discuss major points of the story without spoiling it, but all I will say is that life is made even more complicated for all of those concerned.

The story is not the flowers and roses kind of fairy-tale but one that shows how real life can be and the curveballs you can be thrown. I thought that this book and especially the way it was written was great and made for a compelling read. It kept my interest especially as the story is set over a few years. Jane Green’s books have a very different feel to them in comparison to her earlier books such as Babyville but they are still great books to read.

Although I am limited in what I can say for fear of spoilers, I will tell you that this book was certainly a great read and one that I would recommend.

A Walk In The Park by Jill Mansell

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My Rating: 5/5

Another year has passed since I read one of Jill’s books and I was so looking forward to her new one. I got mine in the post and realised that it was in usual Mansell style a reasonable sized book with over 400 pages and a gorgeous cover inviting me to start reading! Within the first four chapters I realised that my plans for the evening were finished. There would be no cooking or cleaning done, all that would happen is that traipse back and forth to the kettle whilst still reading the book.

Lara Carson starts the story off with a bang. She left her town at 16 and following events that unfolded has now decided to move back and start over. At the same time, her old friend Evie is getting ready to marry her man Joel. However, within the first quarter of the book, both women are up to their eyes in drama.

It is quite hard to review a book without giving away a lot of the story but all I will say about the storyline is that it certainly won’t disappoint. It had a lot going on and kept me on tenterhooks all the way through. As for the characters, this is what Jill Mansell does best. Lara and Evie were lovely women and you warm to both of them right away. In addition to them there is an eclectic and interesting bunch of people that all feature heavily in the story.

Gigi was an adorable character and actually reminded me of somebody I know. We meet Lara’s aunt Nettie, Don who owns jewellery shop in Bath and superstar rapper Enjay Seven. Like I said before the storyline I can’t mention but what I can say is that the scenes between Enjay and Harry had me laughing out loud. My favourite character (and a pretty central one too) was Flynn. He sounds like a truly wonderful bloke and I kept my fingers crossed that things worked out how I wanted the whole way through the book.

Overall this book is one of the best Jill Mansell has written and I loved every bit of it. Having read it in under a day I can only say that I suggest you get yourself a copy and settle yourself in for the night with a hot cuppa and a duvet. What better way to spend an evening? This book is a true testament to why Jill Mansell has been a successful author for twenty years. As for myself, I will settle back and wait another long year for the next one.

Blood Guilty by Ben Cheetham

download Synopsis: After the death of his son in a freak accident, DI Harlan Miller’s life is spiralling out of control. He’s drinking too much. His marriage and career are on the rocks. But things are about to get even worse. A booze-soaked night out and a single wild punch leave a man dead and Harlan facing a manslaughter charge.

Fast-forward four years. Harlan’s prison term is up, but life on the outside holds little promise. Divorced, alone, consumed with guilt, he thinks of nothing beyond atoning for the death he caused. But how do you make up for depriving a wife of her husband and two young boys of their father? Then something happens, something terrible, yet something that holds out a twisted kind of hope for Harlan – the dead man’s youngest son is abducted.

From that moment Harlan’s life has only one purpose – finding the boy. So begins a frantic race against time that leads him to a place darker than anything he experienced as a policeman and a stark moral choice that compels him to question the law he once enforced. Continue reading “Blood Guilty by Ben Cheetham”

THE DARKER SIDE OF LOVE BY JESSICA RUSTON

My Rating: 4/5

This story introduces us to four women who are firm friends. Caroline, Stella, Izzy and Harriet and their partners/husbands are the focus of this story starting in the nineties. Initially, it can seem a little overwhelming with the amount of characters that appear very early on. However, when you begin to understand each of their lives it becomes easier to distinguish between these very different characters.

 Jessica Ruston introduces each character and their partner or husband and how they fit into each others lives become apparent very early on. The first thing that struck me about this book was how different it was to the previous book of hers I had read. She fell firmly into the Bonkbuster genre with her debut novel, but this story is slightly different. It’s clear from the outset that this is, as the tile suggests, the darker side of romance. Call it reality if you will and we see each person face their own issues or demons.

The story itself kept me interested as you see each woman face challenges and we get to see the vast differences in the women as they try to tackle their own problems. This book certainly has the element of reality in it and I think many people will be able to empathise with something in the book. Jessica Ruston certainly had her work cut out to cover all the different elements that were found in the book.

The synopsis shows the reader that eventually a crime will take place but you have no idea with which character, and to be frank, as I read further into the book it could have been any of them! We see adultery, drug use, domestic abuse and the general hard work it takes to make life work. I found myself more and more embroiled in the story and eventually read the last quarter of it in one sitting.

This book was certainly a departure from the normal but I still finished the book having enjoyed it thoroughly.

Summer Daydreams by Carole Matthews

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My Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: First off I need to admit I am a big Carole Matthews fans and a huge fan of the Chocolate Lovers series of books that she wrote. Having said that, I’m certainly not biased and if I don’t enjoy one of her books I will say. Her last release Wrapped Up In You I enjoyed but it wasn’t my favourite.

Moving onto this latest Release Summer Daydreams, we are in a whole new ball park! Within the first two chapters I had fallen in love with the fabulous people. Nell McNamara works in the chip shop and lives locally with her boyfriend Olly and her young daughter Petal. What starts as a makeover for the chippy, pushes Nell into a new line of work designing her own handbags.

What caught my attention from the beginning are the people. Nell’s boss Phil, her two work colleagues Constance and Jenny and Nell’s partner Olly. They are all so readable and lovely. They all have their place in the story and before the first few chapters I couldn’t get enough of them all.

Nell was likeable but frustrating as you see her try to juggle her home life with work and making something for herself and her family’s future. As Nell realises that she may well have talent, you see her facing all the trials and tribulations that I imagine many people starting up on their own face. She has to work out how it all works, against the constant pressure of rising debt to fund her business.

While she is doing all this things start to go wrong, and once they start down that route they only seem to get worse! Towards the middle I realised that I had been reading it straight and had only picked it up that morning. I also realised that these were the first set of characters I had read since the Chocolate Lovers girls that I wanted to see more of (although they still remain my absolute favourites).

Having worked my normal day job I excitedly finished the rest of the book literally not being able to put it down, as I so desperately wanted things to work out well. I finished this in one day and must say it is one of Carole’s best books I have read in a long time. I devoured this and would love nothing more than to see these characters again in the future. Whether we will or not remains to be seen, all I know is that her Carole’s latest release is a true testament to why she is a very successful author. Highly recommended!

Catch Me by Lisa Gardner (DD Warren #6)

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My Rating: 4/5

 Lisa Gardner has been on my must read list for some time now and I have particularly loved the Quincy/Rainie series. However, in more recent books the DD Warren series has been predominant which I have taken my time to grow to like as much as the Quincy books. Having said that; after Lisa’s last book in this DD Warren series I can honestly say I was hooked. DD Warren is a typical no-nonsense Detective, and she has her work cut out for her in this latest book.

Charlie Grant is the main focus of the story and from the very beginning we are shown her sheer terror. Charlie is convinced that on 21st January she will be murdered. Whilst dealing with another crime scene, Charlie confronts DD and asks her to make sure she investigates her imminent death properly.

The nicest thing about this book is we see the slight change in DD’s character and she comes across as a much softer woman following the birth of her son. DD and her team are also working on the killing of people involved in sex crimes. This storyline interlinks with the main one regarding Charlie nicely. From the very beginning the plot is very fast paced and there is a sense of frenzy as we read about Charlie trying to out-run the person coming to kill her.

The story picks up considerable pace around the halfway mark and the two stories run alongside each other nicely. The best part about this book for me was seeing much more of DD’s personal life and the ways in which she has changed. The story kept me turning the pages quickly and the story kept me guessing until the very end. We do see glimpses of characters from previous books such as retired FBI profiler Pierce Quincy, as well as fleeting glances of J.T Dillon and Sergeant Roan. Although I have grown to love DD Warren, I would still love to see another book released featuring Quincy!

Overall, this was one of the best in the DD Warren series and although part of a series could certainly be read as a stand alone book. I think Lisa Gardner fans will be thrilled with the new, softer DD Warren and new readers will be pleased to read such an engaging book. A definite page turner and I would definitely recommend it.

Horse Play by Jo Carnegie

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My Rating: 5/5

Jo Carnegie has written a fantastic series of books set in Churchminster. I have enjoyed them all but her last book Dirty Tricks was an absolute corker. I was looking forward to the release of Horse Play. At a meaty 608 pages I certainly had something to get my teeth in to.

As usual with the Churchminster books you see the familiar faces that have appeared in the other books. Although that is the case, you certainly don’t have top read the others and this could be read as a stand alone book. Although that may be the case, I just love the fact that with each book comes another part of Churchminster’s life and we see members of the village and what is going on in their lives.

This books main star of the show was a new face in the form of Kizzy. She works for Angie and Fred (who feature in other books) and is trying to crack her burning ambition of becoming a successful female jockey. Angie and Fred have a horse called Nobby that Kizzy rides along with Edward who comes onto the scene a little later on.

In addition to Kizzy some of my favourite characters all make an appearance along with Caro and Benedict who have another part of the storyline along with Caro’s despicable ex-husband Sebastian. There is also the appearance of other villagers such as Camilla and Jed and Granny Clem. Along with those my absolutely favourite character of all is Calypso, sisters to Caro and Camilla. She has the best attitude ever and some of her sayings are absolutely hilarious. She takes up a slice of the pie as she tries to work out whether or not to go back to London to try and make her events business even more successful.

The story starts with quite a few hairy moments in the beginning and after a couple of chapters I realised that Jo Carnegie had set me up for another bumper read. After a little while we see the sexy Javier, a former Olympic dressage rider, come into the story. The story itself is heart warming, funny and at times as steamy as hell. It had me gripped from start to finish and I truly didn’t want it to end. One particular moment feasturing Caro and a trip to see her son’s teacher had me laughing out loud and cringeing at the same time!

The characters draw you in until you love them or loathe them and the village life certainly hasn’t got any quieter in the case of Churchminster. Two other characters that made this book for me are Caro and Benedict’s new neighbours Baz and Cheryl. They were fantastic and had me giggling at every appearance. The story has lots going on and I would love to live in a place like this where there is drama at every corner!

I was truly sad to finish the book and thought it may well be the best yet in the series. I can only hope that the next book comes along sooner than expected as I don’t know if I can wait another year to catch up with what I now consider old friends!

Siege by Simon Kernick (Scope #1)

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My Rating: 5/5

I am a huge Kernick fan and love his style of writing. I can only compare reading his books to driving a Ferrari at full speed and no brake pedal in sight! This book was no different for each of the 368 pages. The awful thing about this book is that the world we live in today presents many situations like this one. This situation is where people are held hostage fearing for their lives; while others fight their own war.

From the very beginning of the story we are plunged into the horrific situation that many will find themselves in. You are quickly introduced to quite a lot of characters and in the beginning I wondered why there were so many. However, pretty soon you realise that all these people are going to collide in the most horrific of circumstances.

The short sharp chapters kept me turning the pages until I realised it was past my bedtime and I had demolished over half the book in one sitting! The characters in the book seem to grab at your emotions for one reason or another and there are so many different stories about why people are there you become intrigued to the point of distraction. One character named Scope really caught my eye and I would just love to see him feature in other books, but who knows what My Kernick will bring us next.

There are plot twists and surprises by the bucket load, so you won’t be disappointed in that sense. The only un-nerving thing for me is that this is all too much of a reality. Working in any major city on the world you will feel all too easily the reality bursting through the seams of the pages. Simon Kernick has once again released a book that will have you on the edge of your seat and as ever I end up disappointed that I have to wait so long for the next one!

The Drop by Howard Linskey (David Blake #1)

My Rating: 5/5

 This book was recommended to me by a fellow reader, and I am extremely glad that I took their advice! Howard Linskey released this, his debit novel in April 2011 and his follow up book is due for release in April 2012.

It takes less than two chapters for me to be utterly engrossed in this book. David Blake is a gangster, except he isn’t your ordinary violent and ruthless man. He is somebody that has worked his was on to Bobby Mahoney’s firm by giving his sound judgement on things and proving his loyalty. When David returns from his holiday, he gets news that Bobby is not a happy man. David, who is head of Bobby’s security, has managed to leave an important drop to another man in the firm who, it seems, has disappeared off the face of the planet. Pretty soon David realises that he has to find the money and the person responsible.

I really liked David Blake from the off and as he races to find the people who have Bobby’s money I found myself liking him even more. This was not your typical gangster that roughs everybody up; he merely asks politely and leaves the roughing up to his colleague Finney. The story has a relentless kind of pace as David uncovers more and more things that aren’t quite right.

Although David is the main character, we meet a hell of a lot more along the way, all who make the story that little bit more interesting. Bobby, David’s boss features heavily as does Bobby’s young daughter Sarah. We also see some of the other people who are either on the firm or were once part of it. The characters and storyline kept me turning pages late into the night.

There is actually an underlying humour to this book too which I loved. The setting up in Newcastle was done perfectly, with no overkill on either the accent or the place. I loved the ending, and the fact that this is the perfect opener for the second book. An absolutely cracking debut novel and the follow up is already pre-ordered. If you haven’t heard of Howard Linskey, take note, this man is already a well remembered name in my never ending list of great authors.