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Tag: crime novel

Book Review: the LOST HOURS by Susan Lewis

Thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for a copy of this novel for review

Synopsis

A perfect marriage…

Golden couple Annie and David Crayce have it all. A loving marriage, three beautiful children and a thriving family business. Life couldn’t be better. Until the unthinkable happens…

A perfect crime?

A piece of damning DNA evidence has arisen, placing David as the prime suspect of a murder committed twenty years ago. Annie is sure David is innocent.

As the police investigate the cold case, so does Annie. Trawling through her old diaries, she begins to desperately looking for answers. But it all comes down to a few lost hours she can’t solve.

And Annie begins to doubt the one person she thought she knew best…

Her husband.

What I thought 💭 💭💭

I was into it from the beginning. It starts with a scene from 20 years ago. Then we’re in 2019 living the perfect life with Annie and David Crayce.

Imagine having the perfect life. The perfect husband. Three adorable children. Extended family that’s always there through thick and thin. Then one day your whole life comes to a halt and you’re questioning everything everyone does. This is what Annie had to go through.

We are pulled back and forth between the now and the crime that happened twenty years ago. There are quite a few secondary characters which puts you in a position of questioning all of them.

I loved Annie. She’s strong, vulnerable and determined to find the truth. David is a man who has changed his life from the wild past to the now perfect husband.

DS Rundle I was drawn too as well but I often felt that she was using her own past experience and comparing it to David Crayce. She was determined to prove him guilty.

This book is probably one of my favourite books from Susan Lewis. I became a fast fan of hers in a short time and am always looking forward to her books. She’s got a way with speaking to the reader. Getting us involved in the investigation and feeling what the characters feel.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I enjoyed it. I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

If you want to solve a cold case. This is a book which will help you play detective.

Can’t wait for the next Susan Lewis novel to be released.

Thank you again to Jonathan Ball Publishers for this copy for review.

Book Review: THE BONE CODE by Kathy Reichs

Synopsis

When a hurricane hits the Carolinas it uncovers two bodies sharing uncanny similarities with a cold case that has haunted Temperance Brennan for fifteen years.

The bodies that washed ashore in Charleston were put in a container, wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire, looking almost identical to those from fifteen years ago. With a growing sense of foreboding, Temperance flies to Montreal to convince her boss to reopen the case.

Meanwhile, a rare bacterium that can eat human flesh is discovered. Panic erupts as people rush to test themselves for a genetic mutation that leaves them vulnerable.

With support from her long-time partner Andrew Ryan, in a search that soon proves dangerous, Temperance discovers the startling connection between the murder cases – and that both the murders and the disease outbreak have a common cause…

Review:

Gets your attention from chapter one. But…

Temperance Brennan is a strong female character, but she’s arrogant and cold. I did not connect with her very well. I found her clinical towards other people. The only time she really seemed more “normal” was when she was working with her bones.

I enjoyed the book, but got a bit bored in the middle and I think it’s because I did not connect to the lead character.

This was my first read from this author and the title caught me. I enjoyed the first few chapters and was eager to see where things went, but I had to put it down because I had to get Temperance out of my head for a while.

I gave this book 3 stars.

Book Review: LEGACY by Nora Roberts

Synopsis

Thoughts of her lived in that angry and patient brain. But there was time, so much time yet. And there were others. Many others who would come before.

Adrian Rizzo is a beautiful young woman with a successful business, and a wonderful family and friends. She’s worked hard to build a happy life for herself. When she receives a death threat in the post, she puts it down to jealousy and tries to forget about it. But Adrian doesn’t realise that it’s more than just spite. Someone is very unhappy about her happy life and will stop at nothing to bring it all crashing down.

My Thoughts:

Well one thing is for sure. Nora Roberts never disappoints.

I loved this book. It took me a while to read because… life; but I didn’t want it to stop. It was page turning from the first chapter.

Another thrilling book with a strong female lead and just as strong secondary characters. Women may the target but they’re are certainly not weak and useless.

This is a story of family, friends, community. The book has three parts namely: Ambitions; Changes; Legacies.

A story of building yourself up. Taking control of your life. Doing what is best for you and your family. A story of grief and loss and pushing through the hard times.

Murder. Love. It has it all. A little doggie love story too. and some seriously smart attentive kids.

I rated this a thrilling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting me a copy for review.

Book Review: GOLDEN IN DEATH by JD Robb

I was gifted this book by Jonathan Ball Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

Kent Abner began the day of his death comfortable and content…

When Kent Abner – baby doctor, model husband and father, good neighbour – is found dead in his town house in the West Village, Detective Eve Dallas and her team have a real mystery on their hands. They know how, where and when he was killed – but why would someone want such a good man dead?

Then a second victim is discovered and as spring arrives in New York City, Eve finds herself in a race against time to track down a serial killer with a motive she can’t fathom and a weapon of choice which could wipe out half of Manhattan.

Review:

Eve Dallas is a bad ass and if anything ever happens to me, I would like Eve, Roarke and the team to be summoned to solve the case.

This book had me hooked from the very first page. JD Robb knows how to keep her readers captivated and she did just that with this book.

This is book 50 in the “IN DEATH” series. I admit I only started reading this series with book 49 but I can recommend this series to anyone who loves crime thrillers.

It has everything in it. Drama, romance, crime chasing, psychological thinking. It’s just an all round book.

Book Review: THE GOOD KILLER by Harry Dolan

I was gifted a copy of this book by Jonathan Ball Publishers (@jonathanballpub) for an honest review.

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Synopsis:

Sean Tennant is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen, scorned by a woman he’s been dating, pulls out a gun and begins shooting everyone in sight.  A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots – becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news.

But his newfound notoriety soon exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past.  One blames Sean for his brother’s death.  The other wants to recover a treasure that Sean and his partner Molly stole.  Both are deadly and relentless enemies, and Sean and Molly will need to draw on their strength and devotion to each other if they hope to elude them.

Thus begins a cross-country chase that leads from Texas to Montana, from Tennessee to New York to Michigan, as the hunters and their prey grow ever closer.

My Review:

I quite enjoyed this book.  It’s the first Harry Dolan book I’ve read and I won’t mind reading his other books.

I loved the characters, I love how they all interconnect with each other.  The story behind all of them and why they did what they did.  Who doesn’t love a good car chase across the country.

From stealing to killing. You get to understand what goes on in the minds of the hunter and it’s prey.

Sean is a hero on the run.  It’s great to see how communities react to him when he lands in their town.  Are they on his side?  Are they willing to give him up? You’re kept wondering.

My rating:

3.5stars-1seo2h7

 

Book Review: Vendetta In Death by JD Robb

I received this book from Jonathan Ball Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis

When a family man is tortured, killed and dumped in front of his home for all the world to see, Eve Dallas knows she is on the hunt for a particularly dangerous killer. But death uncovers secrets and the killer leaves a note revealing the victim to be far from the family man he appears.

As Eve works to link victim and killer, another body is found. Another man with a dark and murky past.

The race is on before the killer strikes again but Eve must wrestle with her demons and her conscience as she decides whether she really wants to protect men who may just deserve everything they get…

Review

Men! Beware! Lady Justice is out looking for revenge!

This was the feeling of this book. It’s my first “In Death” book and I must say I quite enjoyed it. Took me a while to read because life but read it I did. It’s great reading about two strong female lead characters. They’re strong, work together as a team and lift each other up.

JD Robb did a great job of this story. I always enjoy a good crime novel but very seldom find one with a good female presence. Women are usually the victim but, not in this story. Here you’re bound to find women as victim, cop, perpetrator.

If you enjoy a good crime novel, this is a good one to read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: The Pact by Amy Heydenrych

I received this book by Jonathan Ball Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

What if a prank leads to murder?

When Freya arrives at her dream job with the city’s hottest start-up, she can’t wait to begin a new and exciting life, including dating her new colleague Jay. However, Nicole, Jay’s ex and fellow employee, seems intent on making her life a misery.

After a big deadline, where Nicole continually picks on her, Freya snaps and tells Jay about the bullying and together they concoct a revenge prank. The next morning, Nicole is found dead in her apartment . . .

Is this just a prank gone wrong? Or does Freya know someone who is capable of murder – and could she be next?

Review:

Who is it? Is it Jay? Julian? Kate? Freya? Who did it? The question I kept asking while reading this book.

The story goes back and forth into the lives of Freya and Isla. We learn about what brought them here to this point in their lives. What makes them survivors of sexual abuse.

It’s a story of bullying in the workplace. A story of sexual harassment. A story of how easy predators get away with this type of abuse because they have money and power. Or so they think.

I loved the plot twist at the end!

This book was well written and I’m sure touched something in readers who have experienced this type of abuse in their lives some way or another.

A great read. And I understand why the hype was about. Well done to Amy Heydenrych

Book Review: The Dirty Dozen by Lynda La Plante

Synopsis

The fifth book in the Tennison series following Jane Tennison in the early years of her policing career.

The fifth book in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison series.

April 1980 and Jane is the first female detective to be posted to the Met’s renowned Flying Squad, commonly known as the ‘Sweeney’. Based at Rigg Approach in East London, they investigate armed robberies on banks, cash in transit and other business premises. 

Jane thinks her transfer is on merit and is surprised to discover she is actually part of a short term internal experiment, intended to have a calming influence on a team that likes to dub themselves as the ‘Dirty Dozen’. 

The men on the squad don’t think a woman is up to the dangers they face when dealing with some of London’s most ruthless armed criminals, who think the only ‘good cop’ is a dead cop. Determined to prove she’s as good as the men, Jane discovers from a reliable witness that a gang is going to carry out a massive robbery involving millions of pounds. 

But she doesn’t know who they are, or where and when they will strike . . .

My Review:

It’s been a while since I picked up a Lynda La Plante book and I was not disappointed. It was a bit odd in the beginning reading a book that’s taking place in the 80’s and it’s 2019 hahaha. I forgot that little bit of information while reading. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I couldn’t put it down.

Jane Tennison is a strong determined woman that does her very best to prove she belongs on the team of the Flying Squad. She’s belittled, setup for failure and just an experiment. With this knowledge, she shows them boys that a woman can work on the Flying Squad and does everything to give her best to the job, outshining whenever she’s uncovered more information.

Lynda La Plante really is the Queen of crime thrillers. I enjoyed this book, I was rooting for Jane throughout and wanted her to prove those boys club wrong and she did.

My Rating: 4/5 stars