RATED 4/5 – Page 8 – Best Crime Books and More

Torment by Mark Tilbury

Synopsis: Beth couldn’t be happier. She is eight weeks pregnant and married to the man of her dreams. But after returning home from a celebratory meal, she finds a wreath from her sister’s grave hanging above the bed and a kitchen knife embedded in her pillow. There are no signs of a forced entry. Nothing is stolen. And no one other than the cleaner has a key to the house.

Then a campaign of terror begins. Beth becomes increasingly paranoid as it becomes clear that someone close to the family is behind these disturbing events. But who would want Beth dead? Does the past hold the clue? And can Beth find the answer before it’s too late?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: Beth is the main character and is currently pregnant again following past miscarriages. Along with her husband David they are looking forward to the pregnancy and life seems good for them. That is until they arrive home one day to find a wreath from her sisters grave hanging above their bed. This is the start of a very different life to what they planned.

The ensuing story is a very detailed and disturbing tale and highlights just how much havoc things like that have on a person and how their life is truly affected. In this case Beth becomes almost a different person. As the story progresses the tension seems to up a notch with every single day that passes and another event happens. Before too long I think I had suspected every character in this book of being the culprit but that’s the beauty of this book, is that you (and Beth) are never quite sure.

I have never read Mark Tilbury before but this was certainly a page turner for me and I will most definitely be looking out for books of his in the future.

A Very Distant Shore by Jenny Colgan (Mure #2 Short Story)

51FnMi6vXdL Synopsis: Lorna lives on the tiny Scottish island of Mure, a peaceful place where everyone helps their neighbour. But the local GP is retiring, and nobody wants his job. Mure is too small and too remote.

Far away, in a crowded camp, Saif is treating a little boy with a badly-cut hand. Saif is a refugee, but he’s also a doctor: exactly what Mure needs.

Saif is welcome in Mure, but can he forget his past? Over one summer, Saif will find a place to call home, and Lorna’s life will change forever.

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: At 160 pages this is a short read, but having just finished the first book in this series I was thrilled to be able to take a closer look at Lorna and Saif. Book one introduces you to the tiny island of Mure and we met Flora who was the star of the show. However, her friend Lorna also featured and like everybody else was an interesting character. All we really knew about her from book 1 was that she ran the local school on the island and she had developed a crush on the Island Doctor Saif.

Although I am not a fan of short stories, this was enough of a bite to give a bit more detail into both Lorna and Saif in the lead up tp the follow up book. It was a quick, easy and thoroughly enjoyable read and enabled me to get ready for the next book.

The Innocent Ones by Neil White

51+5dZjEMkL Synopsis: Three lives cut short. Two decades of silence. One evil secret.

By day, the park rings with the sound of children’s excited laughter. But in the early hours of the morning, the isolated playground is cloaked in shadows – the perfect hiding place to conceal a brutal murder.

When London journalist, Mark Roberts, is found battered to death, the police quickly arrest petty thief, Nick Connor. Criminal defence lawyer, Dan Grant, along with investigator Jayne Brett, are called to represent him – but with bloody footprints and a stolen wallet linking him to the scene, this is one case they’re unlikely to win. Continue reading “The Innocent Ones by Neil White”

The Darkness Around Her by Neil White (Dan Grant Trilogy #2)

See no evil . . .

When Lizzie Barnsley is murdered along a canal after escaping her abusive boyfriend, Dan Grant is called in to represent her alleged killer, Peter Box. The evidence is strong, but did he actually do it? He didn’t know Lizzie, so why would he kill her?

Hear no evil . . .

As Dan and his investigator, Jayne Brett, begin their case, they discover a number of murders and disappearances along the canals, including the brutal killing of fourteen-year-old Rosie Smith ten years earlier. Rosie’s stepfather Sean had been accused of her murder, but then Dan finds out that Peter tried to confess to that crime as well and was ignored.

Speak no evil . . .

With a client who won’t tell anyone what really happened, Dan and Jayne have their work cut out, but when it becomes clear that Peter Box can’t have been involved in every murder and disappearance, they realise that they may have stumbled on to something far more sinister.

But the clock is ticking and time is running out for the next victim . . . Continue reading “The Darkness Around Her by Neil White (Dan Grant Trilogy #2)”

The Woman Next Door by Sue Watson

Synopsis: Lucy has a kind and adoring husband, a job she loves as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue with floaty curtains and the softest bed linen. After her troubled childhood, she knows life will never be perfect, but it’s pretty close.

She’s also got Amber, right next door. They never run out of things to talk about. Even if Amber’s life – with her high-profile job and handsome, wealthy boyfriend – is more glamorous than Lucy’s.

But then Amber starts to hint that her life isn’t all it seems, and when she comes to Lucy, terrified, saying that she’s getting threatening messages, Lucy promises to protect her. Continue reading “The Woman Next Door by Sue Watson”

Death Rope by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #11)

Synopsis: Mark Abbott is dead. His sister refuses to believe it was suicide, but only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel will listen.

When other members of Mark’s family disappear, Geraldine’s suspicions are confirmed.

Taking a risk, Geraldine finds herself confronted by an adversary deadlier than any she has faced before… Her boss Ian is close, but will he arrive in time to save her, or is this the end for Geraldine Steel?

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Death Rope by Leigh Russell (Geraldine Steel #11)”

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”

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)”

Stay Dead by Jessie Keane (Annie Carter #6)

Synopsis: Annie Carter finally believes that life is good.

She and Max are back together and she has a new and uncomplicated life sunning herself in Barbados. It’s what she’s always dreamed of.

Then she gets the news that her old friend Dolly Farrell is dead, and suddenly she finds herself back in London and hunting down a murderer with only one thing on her mind . . . revenge.

But the hunter can so quickly become the hunted, and Annie has been keeping too many secrets. She’s crossed and bettered a lot of people over the years, but this time the enemy is a lot closer to home and she may just have met her match . .

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: Mmmmm, I had kind of mixed feelings about this book but ultimately it was still a cracking read. It’s been (covers head in shame) 5 years (yes you read that correctly) since I last read a Jessie Keane and I was a little concerned at how relevant it would feel in my mind. However, that little worry was unfounded as the minute I started reading it all came rushing back. What I would say is that to really enjoy this book you are better reading the series in order to allow you a little bit more background knowledge.

We join Annie in Barbados where she feels like her life is finally returning to some normalcy. However she then receives a call that changes everything and her whole world looks like it’s about to end. Her long time friend Dolly has been found dead and it looks like murder. Annie jumps straight back on a plane to London with a view to finding who is responsible and making them pay. What Annie didn’t account for was her own people turning on her and she is surprised to find out that she isn’t sure why.

There were elements of this story that I loved but there were also elements that just didn’t sit right with me. Seeing how certain people treated Annie, it felt like a stretch but maybe that’s because I have had such a long gap between books. That aside, it was great to see some closure on one particular element of the story. The writing was excellent as it always is, but I think maybe now her other series is more in the front of my mind and maybe Annie Carter and Co could take a back seat for a while.

Cross Justice by James Patterson (Alex Cross #23)

Synopsis: When his cousin stands accused of a terrible murder, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in thirty years.

As he strives to prove his cousin’s innocence amid small-town corruption and prejudice, Cross unearths a family secret that makes him question everything he thought he knew.

Chasing the ghosts of the past, Cross is pulled into a case baffling local police: a grisly string of murders, all of socialites. Hot on the trail of a brutal killer as well as his own past, Cross knows the answers he finds might be fatal…

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Cross Justice by James Patterson (Alex Cross #23)”