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

CORNISH CLOUDS AND SILVER LINING SKIES BY ALI MCNAMARA

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Synopsis: Sky monitors her life like she does the weather, carefully and with a scientific eye. So, when she misses out on her dream job abroad and finds herself with no choice but to take a position on a tidal island off the Cornish harbour town of St Felix instead, she feels completely at sea. Worse still, she has to work alongside TV weatherman Sonny Samuels, who barely knows his storms from his tsunamis.

It doesn’t take long for Sky to become enchanted by the strange weather patterns over St Felix. Sonny is convinced they link to local folklore, but Sky knows her science too well to fall for that. Until she meets Walter, a local weather watcher with no qualifications beyond a lifetime of experience and Sky is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the weather, herself… and Sonny.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I absolutely love Ali McNamara books and was thrilled that I loved this one as much as I have loved most of her other books. Sky is a meteorologist who has been send to work in St Felix on Aurora Island. She gets there and expects to be working with just Talia a trainee but soon realises that the famous TV weatherman Sonny Samuels is also there for the duration. I read this book in literally two sittings and absolutely loved every bit of it. We get to see Sky slowly reveal her reasons for her mysterious symptoms surrounding her health. As Sky takes the journey we also get to see her develop a friendship with Sonny which started out as the complete opposite. I loved being back in St Felix with new characters as well as some older ones making appearances. There is a wonderfully magic way that Ali McNamara incorporates sensitive topics into beautiful storylines and this book is a wonderful read that I would have no hesitation in recommending.

ESCAPE TO THE FRENCH FARMHOUSE BY JO THOMAS

Synopsis: Del and her husband Ollie moved to a beautiful village in Provence for a fresh start after years of infertility struggles. But six weeks after they arrive, they’re packing the removal van once more. As Del watches the van leave for England, she suddenly realises exactly what will make her happier…a new life in France – without Ollie.

Now alone, all Del has is a crumbling farmhouse, a mortgage to pay and a few lavender plants. What on earth is she going to do? After discovering an old recipe book at the market run by the rather attractive Fabian, Del starts to bake. But can her new-found passion really help her let go of the past and lead to true happiness?

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I am a recent fan of Jo Thomas books and was pleased to see another one I had yet to read. Del is our lead character and she has been living in France with her husband Ollie. She has a moment of realisation as she decides that their relationship is over and she wants to make a go of it in France on her own. Once alone she wonders what on earth she has done.

Jo Thomas has an amazing knack of being so descriptive that you are in the place with the character. As we see Del start to tackle her current predicament we also get to meet other people living in her village. Del slowly starts to become a part of the village and creates new and lasting friendships. Stefanie becomes another character that has a huge impact in Del’s life along with Fabien and a number of other characters.

This story is escapism at it’s finest and was a pure joy to read. It transported me to somebody else’s world where village life and the farmhouse along with its lavender became the focal point. I really am a true JT fan now and will look forward to reading another book by this great author.

Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten (Maggie Jamieson 5)

Synopsis: A brutal murder…When a burned body is found with its teeth missing, DC Maggie Jamieson discovers that the victim may be the husband of one of her probation colleagues.

A dark history…As the body count rises, the team becomes increasingly baffled by how the victims could possibly be connected until a clue leads them to a historical case that was never prosecuted.

A terrible secret…In order to catch the killer, Maggie must piece together what happened all those years ago before it’s too late.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I absolutely loved this latest instalment of this series! DC Maggie Jamieson is back along with her colleagues Nathan, Kate and Kat and this time around the case starts with a man being found among the ashes following an office fire. That office belonged to the husband of a character we have seen before, probation officer Sarah Hardy. It’s clear pretty quickly that this is not a straightforward arson that went wrong but more a sadistic killer.

The subject matter is a little sensitive but is skilfully dealt with and incorporated into the storyline extremely well. The killer was probably the most intriguing part of this story for me and gives it an edge in my opinion. As more bodies turn up the tension cranks up another notch and that continues throughout the book. I have a nagging feeling about Maggie’s brother and am wondering where that element of the story will go. It was nice to see family member’s still included in the series and it’s always great to know the personal side of the characters. I also cannot wait to see where the author takes the storyline with the journalist Julie Noble!

This most recent installment certainly kept me turning the pages and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series!

The Friend by Dorothy Koomson

Synopsis: What secrets would you kill to keep?

After her husband’s big promotion, Cece Solarin arrives in Brighton with their three children, ready to start afresh. But their new neighbourhood has a deadly secret.

Three weeks earlier, Yvonne, a very popular parent, was almost murdered in the grounds of the local school – the same school where Cece has unwittingly enrolled her children.

Already anxious about making friends when the parents seem so cliquey, Cece is now also worried about her children’s safety. By chance she meets Maxie, Anaya and Hazel, three very different school mothers who make her feel welcome and reassure her about her new life.

That is until Cece discovers the police believe one of her new friends tried to kill Yvonne. Reluctant to spy on her friends but determined to discover the truth, Cece must uncover the potential murderer before they strike again . . .

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: It’s been a while since I have read a Dorothy Koomson and I am now very glad I decided to pick this one up. The main storyline focuses in the beginning on Cece who has oved to Brighton with her three children following her husbands job opportunity. Cece is so easy to engage with as our main character and she is desperately trying to find her feet and meet new people in the area. She meets some of the school Mums namely Maxie, Anaya and Hazel but she soon realises there is something going on. All she knows is that it involves their other friend Yvonne.

What starts out as Cece just trying to meet new people seems to start a chain reaction that has consequences for everybody involved. I don’t want to say too much more about the storyline for fear of spoiling it for other people. What I will say is that this absolutely gripped me. As the chapters went by there seemed to be only more questions raised and the intensity seemed to rise with each chapter I read.

By the time I finished this I was truly sorry I had read so quickly. This was an all encompassing read that was absolutely brilliant and I would highly recommend

One for Sorrow by Helen Fields (DI Callanach 7)

Synopsis: One for sorrow, two for joy

Edinburgh is gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known: a lone bomber is targeting victims across the city, and no one is safe.

Three for a girl, four for a boy

In their jobs, DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach deal with death every day. But when it becomes clear that every bomb is a trap designed to kill them too, the possibility of facing it themselves starts to feel all too real.

Five for silver, six for gold

With the body count rising daily and the bomber’s methods becoming ever more horrifying, Ava and Luc must race to find out who is behind the attacks – or pay the ultimate price…

Seven for a secret never to be told…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Okay, hands down the best of the series. That’s it. Seriously this book had me (literally) perched on the edge of a seat shouting ‘NOOOOOO’ within the first few pages. Even when I realised what was actually happening I was still shouting ‘NOOOOOO’.

So as my binge on this series continues I am onto book 7. The books opening is in itself an eye opener (that’s all I can say for fear of spoilers) but the upshot is that there is a bomber that is targeting what seems like innocent people. DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach have to work out who is behind these bombs but it’s pretty clear that every bomb is also designed to kill them too.

I’m going to say that Helen Fields has a very dark and macabre way of writing (which I love) but she even outdoes herself with this book. Nothing is off limits and the terror that not only the General Public are feeling but which every member of the MIT team is feeling is blatantly clear. The story is frenetic but awesome. There are major personal links to many characters for this book so it’s hard to expand on the storyline without ruining it for people that maybe haven’t read these books. What I will say is that this book I finished on the same day I started it and think it’s an absolute belter of a book. If you haven’t read this author or series I would recommend binge readint them all like I have in order…..these book s are definitely worth the time!!!

Perfect Kill by Helen Fields (DI Callanach 6)

Synopsis: He had never heard himself scream before. It was terrifying. Alone, trapped in the darkness and with no way out, Bart Campbell knows that his chances of being found alive are slim. Drugged and kidnapped, the realisation soon dawns that he’s been locked inside a shipping container far from his Edinburgh home. But what Bart doesn’t yet know is that he’s now heading for France where his unspeakable fate is already sealed…

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are working on separate cases that soon collide as it becomes clear that the men and women being shipped to France are being traded for women trafficked into Scotland. With so many lives at stake, they face an impossible task – but there’s no option of failure when Bart and so many others will soon be dead…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: The general theme of this latest book is people trafficking. The reader gets to meet Bart during the darkest hours of his life when he is kidnapped and transported in the dark. Luc and Ava are once again tasked with the case, except this time around they are in different countries with Ava leading the team in Scotland and Luc back in France.

It was an interesting take to see Luc back with his old partner from Interpol in France and I love how his history and story is slowly unfolding with each book. There are clearly old wounds between Luc and his old friend Jean-Paul but this book tackles that brilliantly.

The case itself brings plenty of misery, violence and grisly scenes which Fields has down to perfection. Her books are descriptive and at times eye watering but absolutely fabulous from a readers perspective. This type of narrative which is sometimes violent and graphic may not be everybody’s cup of tea but is right up my alley.

In addition to people trafficking and organ-harvesting you also get to see the characters and their lives which are so intertwined. We get to see more of Ava and Luc’s friend Natasha and it certainly makes for another worrying sub plot within this series. I absolutely loved this latest installment as I have with each book before it. I would certainly recommend this author and this series.

Perfect Crime by Helen Fields (DI Callanach 5)

Synopsis: Stephen Berry is about to jump off a bridge until a suicide prevention counsellor stops him. A week later, Stephen is dead. Found at the bottom of a cliff, DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner are drafted in to investigate whether he jumped or whether he was pushed…

As they dig deeper, more would-be suicides roll in: a woman found dead in a bath; a man violently electrocuted. But these are carefully curated deaths – nothing like the impulsive suicide attempts they’ve been made out to be.

Little do Callanach and Turner know how close their perpetrator is as, across Edinburgh, a violent and psychopathic killer gains more confidence with every life he takes…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Perfect Crime is the fifth instalment in this series featuring DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner. This time around s man named Stephen is about to jump off a bridge to take his own life. Luckily he is talked down but a week later is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Now Luc and Ava have to work out whether it was in fact Stephen took his own life or if he was murdered.

There are elements to this story that are ongoing threads concerning Luc and his childhood. You don’t have to have read the books previous to this one…but why wouldn’t you? Besides it makes it so much more intriguing to have seen this story play out.

There is a lot going on in this book but the one thing that I just wish would play out is the whole Luc and Ava relationship. It’s driving me crazy but making this whole series a firm favourite of mine. In truth I have been binge reading these books but am acutely aware I need to slow down as I will be devastated at the seemingly long wait once I reach her latest release. This is a series that I would highly reccomend and I cannot wait to get stuck into book 6.

Perfect Silence by Helen Fields (DI Callanach 4)

Synopsis: When silence falls, who will hear their cries?

The body of a young girl is found dumped on the roadside on the outskirts of Edinburgh. When pathologists examine the remains, they make a gruesome discovery: the outline of a doll carved into the victim’s skin.

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are struggling to find leads in the case, until a doll made of skin is found nestled beside an abandoned baby.

After another young woman is found butchered, Luc and Ava realise the babydoll killer is playing a horrifying game. And it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again. Can they stop another victim from being silenced forever – or is it already too late?

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: This story goes to new depths with it’s macabre descriptive narrative (which doesn’t bother me one iota) however be warned…it’s not for the faint hearted. This latest Callanach installment has two main threads running through the story. The first is young women getting kidnapped, mutilated and then murdered. The second is the attack and slashing of homeless people in the community. Both Luc and Ava have their hands full and the story puts the pedal to the metal from the very beginning.

I have absolutely loved getting into this series and each book I read makes me want to read another (which is always a good sign) and this book was another brilliant read. The relationship between Callanach and Ava is messy and complicated but draws you in, as well as (my personal favourite) seeing more of both DS Lively and Overbeck. The descriptive murder, mutilation and slashing scenes are suitably chilling and combining that with the characters and writing skill these books are the type you don’t want to put down for too long. An absolutely riveting read and a book and series I would highly recommend.

Perfect Death by Helen Fields (DI Callanach 3)

Synopsis: There’s no easy way to die…. Unknown to DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late. But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I have read the last two in the series back to back and HAD to move straight on to book 3 especially after the ending of book 2. If you plan on reading the books in order maybe don’t read on as there will inevitably be some spoilers! In this latest book Ava has been promoted to DCI meaning the relationship between her and DI Luc Callanach is no longer the same. Not only does Ava now have a whole new set of responsibilities but she has to adjust to this new chain of command. What may have once been a potential blossoming friendship or even better a relationship, just got a little further away for both of them.

In addition the latest case appears a bit of a head scratcher. A young girl is found dead and naked with no apparent injuries. This first point is a complete change from some of the grisly murder scenes in previous books. In addition to that murder, Ava and the team have to deal with the suicide of DCI Begbie. This story although not as gruesome as others, is no less thrilling. I absolutely love DS Lively as well as the appearance of Lance Proudfoot again. It’s great seeing the characters grow and become more involved as the series continues. The various plot threads were slow burners, but ones that made you wonder no less. Considering I hadn’t picked up one of these books by this author before a few weeks ago this series is fast becoming an obsession. A truly brilliant series that I am thoroughly involved in.

Perfect Prey by Helen Fields (DI Callanach 2)

Synopsis: Welcome to Edinburgh. Murder capital of Europe. In the middle of a rock festival, a charity worker is sliced across the stomach. He dies minutes later. In a crowd of thousands, no one saw his attacker.

The following week, the body of a primary school teacher is found in a dumpster in an Edinburgh alley, strangled with her own woollen scarf. D.I. Ava Turner and D.I. Luc Callanach have no leads and no motive – until around the city, graffitied on buildings, words appear describing each victim.

It’s only when they realise the words are being written before rather than after the murders, that they understand the killer is announcing his next victim…and the more innocent the better.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I read book one in this series and just knew it would be a back to back catch up session so as soon as book one was done I moved straight on to book 2. This time around the story starts with the murder of a man in broad daylight in the middle of a packed crowd. It is certainly a great opener for the book and we see both DI Luc Callanach and DI Ava Turner return. In addition to murder there is also a cybercrime investigation going on which brings another dimension to this story as well as a couple of characters to throw into the works.

This was an absolute belter of a book and I read it in record time with very little breaks. I felt very invested in both Luc and Ava as well as absolutely loving the character of Lance a journalist who becomes part of the story. Once again the story is told in a way that will have you feelink a little icky with how graphic it can become as well as doing a little peeking out of curtains every time you hear a noise….no? Just me then! The story doesn’t need to be expanded on because I refuse to give readers spoilers. Suffice to say I am moving straight onto book 3 and am ecstatic that I have so many books to catch up on as this series has me seriously hooked!