Tag: RATED 3/5

Two Nights by Kathy Reichs

Synopsis: Meet Sunday Night, a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct…

Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help.

Is the girl dead? Did someone take her? If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: Everybody knows who Kathy Reichs is, however as an avid reader I have never actually read any of her books. This standalone was on my Kindle and has been for many years so I figured I would give it a go.

Sunday is the main character and has spent years running from her past and has built a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs her help. Is the girl dead? Did someone take her? If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? It’s time for Sunday to face her own demons—because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

The writing flowed well and Sunday and her twin brother Gus are the characters that you quickly get to know. It was mildly interesting reading about her and her history, explaining why she has such issues in the here and now. However, I just didn’t care too much for the character either way and I don’t even know why.

The story itself was well written and very readable, it’s also written in a style where you don’t really want to put it down. However, for some reason I just didn’t find myself caring too much either way. I completed the

Sleeping Dolls by Helen Phifer (Morgan Brookes #6)

Synopsis: The beam shines around the dark room, lighting up the woman in sky-blue pyjamas lying on the couch. But she doesn’t wake under the bright glow, she isn’t sleeping at all…

When a concerned neighbour reports a woman missing, Detective Morgan Brookes squeezes through the stiff front door to find the woman dead. At first, the case appears unsuspicious, but something about the scene unsettles Morgan. Every clock in the house has been stopped, every mirror covered, and the woman seems physically unharmed except for one missing lock of hair.

Shirley Kelly was loved by her friends and hated by her ex-husband and his new wife, but they have an iron-clad alibi, and Morgan is certain that the scene-staging holds a vital clue. She’s devastated to be proved right when another woman is killed, and her home arranged in the same way. The only difference is that the second victim has been stabbed, using a knife from Shirley’s own kitchen…

The team can’t find a connection between the two women, but Morgan is sure that there is a deadly pattern to the killer’s actions. She hunts through each woman’s past until she finds the link: years ago, they both worked for a woman called Evelyn Reynolds, before tragedy struck her young family. But what has made them targets now? Morgan knows this twisted case is far from over, can she find the final clue before the clock stops for the next name on the killer’s list?

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: Mmmmm, with book 6 now under my belt I was a little underwhelmed by this latest book for a few reasons! First of all as it states this is book 6 in the series and I am not sure how I would fare if I had picked this book up without reading the previous ones. I think you need a little history of the story and characters to build up to this part of the series. In addition the personal and relationship side for Morgan seems to have jumped a book or two, and buy that I mean the reader is just made aware of Morgan’s living situation from the offset with no storyline surrounding how that happened…it just did!

The scene that Morgan and her boss Ben attend is odd and it seems that with mirrors covered and clocks stopped there is clearly a meaning behind this woman’s murder. When a second woman is killed the team are finding it almost impossible to link the two people which makes finding the killer that much harder. In addition to the case they are working we see chapters thrown in from a young boy in the 80s living with his grandmother. I liked this element of the story with the chapters being threaded throughout the book.

Although I am still really enjoying this series this latest book felt a little flat for me and with the added irritation of Morgan’s love life being left out for the reader it ended up feeling a little flat. Not to be deterred I am straight on to book 7…

The Brothers by Kimberley Chambers

Synopsis: MEET THE BOND BROTHERS.

You don’t want to be on the wrong side of this family…

Beau Bond hates fiercely and loves hard. He’ll do anything to protect his twin Brett, and his girlfriend Jolene. Brett is a survivor. He’s always followed his brother’s lead, even if it means he’s lived to regret it.

As Beau and Jolene get hitched, their feuding families must put their differences aside. But the brothers have a dark secret that could cause a war between both sides … and what better place to reveal all than at a wedding…

When their past sins resurface to threaten those closest to them, will the brothers still have each other’s backs?

STAR RATING: 4/5

MY REVIEW: The Family Man I have only just read however this actually was the last book KC released I believe three years ago. For me moving on to this book was a great thing but for others I imagine its been a long time coming. The Family Man I enjoyed but in some respects I didn’t care too much for the characters so I was interested to see how this latest book fared.

Brett and Beau Bond the twins in the family are the main focus this time around and we get to see more of Beau and his new wife Jolene. Once again the writing and storyline for me is still just as good and shows why KC can tella good yarn, however my feelings about the characters remained. In all honesty I enjoyed this second book slightly more than the last but still though the whole Bond Family are characters I just don’t care too much for.

The small niggle aside this book has all you could want and expect from a KC book and I think her fans will absolutely love it. A solid read by a great author, here’s hoping I like the next lot of characters more.

The Family Man by Kimberley Chambers

Synopsis: Meet the Bonds

Kenny Bond is finally out of prison after doing a long stretch for killing a copper, and is determined to get back to life on the straight and narrow.

A family like no other

Kenny’s son Donny might lack his father’s edge but his twin grandsons, Beau and Brett – well, they are Bonds through and through. Like him, they won’t let anyone stand in their way.

But they’re about to meet their match

Family comes before everything else for Kenny, but there’s a feud brewing that could cause murder, and a new family on Dark Lane might bring the Bonds to their knees. Kenny’s determined that nothing, and no one, will threaten his family. But can the Bonds stick together when someone’s out to take them down?

The Bond family’s story is just beginning…

RATED: 3/5

My Review: I began reading Kimberley Chamber’s back in 2010 and was blown away. She became a firm favourite of mine and I consistently read and fell in love with all her books. However, it’s been a few years and I decided to make a start with The Family Man. First off her writing skill is still just as good and her chapters and storylines are full of all the wronguns you could possibly think of. However, for some reason I just didn’t like Kenny Boyd our lead character at all. He has NO redeeming features and frankly the more of the Bond Family I read about the less I liked them. Kenny the main man, his wife Sharon, his kids Donny and Sherry….literally all of them. I just didn’t like them at all and this kind of put a bit of a dampner on this book.

I don’t know whether this is because she has done something similar in style before with The Butlers, but I just didn’t gel with any of them. The story itself still pulled me in right enough but there were times I just got irritated. Another thing I noticed which was strange was that on a few chapters KC would end it by stating the obvious and it grated on me, Finishing a chapter by saying something like
What had he got himself into? or little did he know…

It may seem like I am being harsh with this review but in all honesty my standards are pretty high with KC as she has been producing cracking books for a lot of years now. This latest one to me just felt a bit off. I admit, even aside from the things I disliked I still read it in 2 days and went straight onto the next book to find out what happens next. Still a fabulous author and one I will continue to read, but for me this book just hit the mark.

A Gift for Dying by M J Arlidge

Synopsis: Nothing surprises Adam Brandt anymore. As a forensic psychologist, he’s seen and heard everything.
That is, until he meets Kassie.
Because she claims to have a terrible gift – with one look into your eyes, she can see when and how you will die.
Adam doesn’t believe her.
But then a serial killer starts wreaking havoc across the city, and only Kassie seems to know where he’ll strike next.
Against all his intuition, Adam starts to think Kassie might be telling the truth.
He just doesn’t realise how dangerous this trust might be .

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: Mmmm this is a very strange one for me. I am definitely a fan of this author especially the Helen Grace series, however this stand alone has left me wondering where I sit with this standalone book. Our main character Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist and he sees all sorts of patients and feels like nothing much surprises him anymore. That is until he meets Kassie the other lead character in this book. According to Kassie all she has to do is look into somebody’s eyes and she can see how and when they die. That in itself makes me a little bit detached from the storyline as it’s not really my cup of tea. However, you can’t knock it until you try it so I continued.

When a serial killer starts attacking and killing people it seems only Kassie knows where they will strike next. The actual writing and storyline was as good as other books MJA has written but there was something I just couldn’t get along with in this book. I don’t even think it’s the storyline itself, more so the characters. I just didn’t care than much about them and to be honest I didn’t really like any of them? This certainly isn’t a bad book and its written in such a way you need to find out what happens next…but…for me it just didn’t hit the spot so I am giving it a middle of the road rating.

We Can See You by Simon Kernick

.Synopsis: You have it all. Success, a beautiful home, a happy family. Until, in a heartbeat, it’s gone. We’ve kidnapped your daughter, and we know everything about you. Including the dark secrets from your past you thought were forgotten. We tell you not to contact the police – and that we’ll know if you do. Because we can see you. And now you know this is no ordinary abduction. It’s worse. Within hours you’re on the run, with only one thought in your head:That you will stop at nothing to get your daughter back

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: I have to start by saying that I am a big fan of Kernick especially books such as Relentless and The Last Ten Seconds however this….not so much. The synopsis felt like a departure from my expectations of a Kernick novel so I was excited to try something a little different. Brook Conner is on her way home and is excited to see her daughter Paige. When she arrives she just knows something is off as her housekeeper Rosa is not there with Paige but her car is. Confused she calls Rosa to no reply followed shortly thereafter to her husband. It becomes all too clear that her daughter has been kidnapped.

Now right out the gate I admit I did not warm to any of the characters in this book. Brook, her husband, her lawyer, literally everybody! The storyline also bordered on the ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against stretching the realms of reality for a story, but it has to be a good story for me to be on board with it! I managed to trudge my way through this but it felt like a chore. Every now and then you can read a book by an author you love and just not gel with the book and this is one of those times.

Brutal by Mandasue Heller

Brutal Synopsis: A bereaved husband is faced with a devastating choice in Brutal, an engrossing, gritty thriller from the top ten bestselling author Mandasue Heller.

When Frank Peter’s wife Maureen dies, he feels that his once-idyllic life on the Yorkshire Moors is over. And with a daughter emigrating to Australia and a son who has his own marital problems, Frank feels resigned to a life of loneliness. Then one night he finds a frightened young woman hiding at the back of his farmhouse. She explains that her name is Irena and was brought to this country by a man who promised her the world and then forced her into prostitution.

Frank offers her a bed for the night but it’s the middle of winter, and when heavy snowfall prevents her from leaving the next day, he’s forced to extend the invitation. But the longer Irena stays, the easier it gets for the men she’s trying to escape from to find her.

People-trafficking could just be the tip of the iceberg, and Frank has no idea what these people are really capable of . . .

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: It’s been a very long time since I read a Mandasue Heller and chose this one from my very long to be read pile. We meet Frank Peters an ordinary man who lives on a farm in the Yorkshire moors. Following the death of his wife, he is managing okay but with his daughter now moving to Australia and his son who has his own problems he does feel the loneliness start to creep in. One night in the middle of winter he comes across a scared woman in the snow hiding behind his farm. With the snow making it hard to get about he offers her a bed for the night and hopefully some relative safety.

What transpires is a rather unusual plot where Frank become unwittingly caught in the middle of an elaborate scheme involving sex trafficking. To be honest the book was definitely readable but for me the plot was kind of ‘out there’ and it instantly put me off. I loathed Franks son and daughter from the off and the fact that Frank was so naïve just felt a little too contrived for me.

I certainly finished this and it wasn’t a bad book but for me I preferred MH older books with slightly different settings and storylines. For me this was just middle of the road

The Lost Children by Michael Wood (Matilda Darke 9)

The Lost ChildrenSynopsis: APRIL 2020: LOCKDOWN

DI Brady has been tracing victims of systemic abuse at a local children’s home after a high-profile accusation pitched it into the spotlight – a case that couldn’t be more personal.

As Matilda and her team piece together the disturbing picture of the history of the home, it soon becomes clear that this is much bigger than they ever suspected.

But nothing prepares them for what they uncover next…

The Lost Children is an utterly gripping crime thriller weaving a breakneck tale of a vast network of secrets and lies, a relentless detective determined to sabotage it, and a murder that shatters two decades of silence.

My Rating: 3/5

** WARNING** If you plan on reading the series in order and are not yet at this stage in the series please do not read the review as it will inevitably contain spoliers

I have been binge reading and enjoying the Matilda Darke series and although this book was no different, in one respect I feel like the disbelief is just getting worse. This team has been to hell and back and it seems like they are continuing to be the unluckiest people in Sheffield.

The storyline does feature historical sexual abuse of children but I think it was handled as best as it could be. The writing was, as ever, extremely good and the story flowed well. However, for me I just want the team to get their teeth into a juicy case and work the case as they normally do without somebody within the team either being killed off or being the victim of something horrific. Like I said I am really enjoying the books and the series but I feel like it either needs to be wrapped up and ended or continued in the most normal way and let the team work a case without being on the receiving end.

Survivor’s Guilt by Michael Wood (Matilda Darke 8)

Survivor's Guilt Synopsis: A TEAM TORN APART

Nine months ago DCI Matilda Darke survived a bullet to the head. The brutal attack claimed dozens of lives, including those she loved most, and the nightmares still plague her every waking thought.

A MEMORY SHE’D RATHER FORGET

Now, she’s ready to get back on the job. But a new terror awaits. A woman is found murdered and her wounds look eerily similar to several cold cases. Desperate to find a lead, DCI Darke and her team must face a terrifying truth: a serial killer is on the loose in Sheffield.

A THREAT CLOSE TO HOME

Matilda has led countless murder investigations before but the lingering emotional scars from her ordeal and the uneasiness within her once-tight team have left tensions high. As the body count rises, Matilda realises that this might just be where it all ends.

My Rating: 3/5

** WARNING** If you plan on reading the series in order and are not yet at this stage in the series please do not read the review as it will inevitably contain spoliers

My Review: Okay, I am in a quandry here. I am binge reading this series and think the author is extremely talented and has created a series full of characters that I love. I am invested as a reader and of course as an avid reader I am able to put aside those times when storylines go a little outside the realms of belief. However….this time I just can’t put that aside for this latest book.

The last book was a huge shock to the system and with the devastation that happened to the team following the last case I was already reeling. So when we are brought a new storyline with prostitutes being murdered it gives the team (what’s left of them) the chance to get their teeth back onto something. I like the fact that the characters that I love didn’t just fall right back into their normal ways and are all struggling to get back on an even keel. Nearly all the remaining characters have their own battles following the shootings nine months earlier.

The storyline was written well as ever and I enjoyed the book immensley until the killer was revealed. I mean look, I like it when author’s aren’t afraid to do things that aren’t necessarily fan favourites as they normally have good reasoning for it, but this time I think it suspends belief a little too much for my liking. I mean how much bad luck can one team have? That alone was a shocker but this latest storyline just felt too contrived. I am really hoping that the next book takes us back to a new level of normal (at least as far as this particular team and set of characters goes).

The Mother of All Christmases by Milly Johnson

The Mother of All Christmase Synopsis: Eve Glace – co-owner of the theme park Winterworld – is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them …

Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, and are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable.

Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?

Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: It’s been quite some time since I have read a Milly Johnson book and needed a break from the crime so picked this one up and was looking forward to it. I have to be completely honest and say I wasn’t blown away by this particular book which is a shame as I have absolutely loved some of her other books.

This book is based on three women brought together by their membership of the Christmas Pudding Club (a club for women expecting a baby around Christmas). Eve Glace, Annie Pandoro and Palma Collins are the three characters who we get meet and delve into their lives. The first few chpaters for some reason felt a little hard going with the introduction of the people in these womens lives. Once I got to grips with everybody the story certainly flowed but I couldn’t really get into the storyline and I actually don’t know why.

The story overall was okay but for some reason I couldn’t quite gel with it and didn’t much care what happened to the characters. I think I may well have dulled certain senses in my brain by reading too much crime fiction. I will no doubt return to this author at a later date….