Darren Humphries

Norris was a minor character in a previous book of the author's. I'm glad he gets a whole book to himself here.

Norris Goes West

Amazon.com link

My review - 

Children are disappearing from the streets of Liverpool and Norris goes under cover, ostensibly seeking his father and putting himself in danger of kidnapping. Naturally, it happens, and he and a group of street urchins – and Miss Laura – are taken across the Atlantic to the US. At the same time, Spenser Warwick and the Countess de Loesseps are travelling to the same destination for him to take part in readings of his work.

Norris was by far my favourite character in the first book of this series so I was delighted to read a whole book in which he takes the lead. I also fell for the young street gang and their worldly wisdom. The reason for the kidnappings is explained – and what a reason! A great, humorous and rollicking adventure. 

Alice Castle

The seond in the London Mysteries, The Girl in the Gallery tackles several diffcult themes but in the hands of Alice Castle, they are leavened with her heroine Beth's natural humour.

The Girl in the Gallery

Amazon.com link

My review -

Beth is once again first on the scene when a body is found, this time in her local art gallery. A young girl is draped over a sarcophagus with her arms crossed on her chest, like a classical figure. In a dither, Beth phones an ambulance, as the girl still has a pulse, and her acquaintance from a previous murder enquiry, Inspector Harry York. Suicide or attempted murder? Then another girl from the same class is found deeply unconscious.

Because she’s determined and dogged, Beth can’t let this go and leave it to the professionals. She’s sure there’s something toxic going on with that group of girls. The writing is gently and funny, while not diminishing the anguish of those involved. Beth’s a brilliant character, intelligent and nosy and an excellent foil for the profession, Inspector York. There’s also a spark between them which I hope continues to flare in later stories. A series to sit back and enjoy. Thoroughly good!

L M Krier

This is the first in a rather different detective series and I know I'll read more when time allows.

Baby's Got Blue Eyes

Amazon.com link

My review - 

DI Ted Darling is investigating a murder. Soon there are more bodies and things come very close to home for him. Ted Darling is a refreshingly unusual detective. We’re becoming used, in fiction, to maverick police inspectors sailing very close to the legal wind and getting away with it because they get results. I suspect, even hope, that these exist only in fiction. Ted works by the book (mostly) and unusually, has a happy home life. This, too, is refreshingly different.

I enjoyed this story, though I guessed the villain some time before the end. I found Ted’s relationships both at home and at work very convincing and the story was well paced. The last part was particularly exciting. I shall certainly read more in this series and I recommend it to all crime fiction fans.

Carol Wyer

Another belter in the Robyn Carter series. We're really getting to know Robyn's team now and it adds so much to the stories.

The Silent Children

Amazon.com link

My review -

DC Robyn Carter is, as usual, overworked! She gets drawn into more than one case and has a suspicion there’s a connection. She also has more than a suspicion that her previous partner’s death may have been staged. This is a worry which diverts her from her work so she passes it on to her cousin Ross. The story includes flashbacks to the earlier life of one of the characters – and it’s well done.

I’m getting to know and enjoy these characters as we see a little more deeply into their lives. Robyn is patient and painstaking and this brings her results, but it’s always a matter of teamwork. Red-herrings pull them this way and that and the ending is memorable. a very good read indeed.

David McGowan

Nevada is the third of a science-fiction 'alien invasion' trilogy. You can find all three on Amazon. Here's my review of this grand finale.

Nevada

Amazon.com link

My review -

This final part of the epic three-part saga of an alien visit to earth is an action-packed thriller of a book. The group begin to realise the importance of the small statue the young boy Tucker carries with him, guarded as always by his beloved dog, Samuel. A race against time rounds up the story and there’s some real heart-in-mouth stuff going on here. This is ‘alien invasion’ with a whole different angle and context and I loved being pulled out of my expectations.

The interplay between the characters is strong and believable. These people are alone in their world and if they can’t fulfil their quest, there will be no world. It’s a dire situation and the amount of danger, fear and longing points that up very well. I loved the way that some characters were not as I’d thought them. I’ve always enjoyed David McGowan’s writing and his imagination and this is a stunning conclusion to what’s been a thunderingly good tale.

Andrew Barrett

A new, stand-alone thriller from Andrew Barrett. See, he doesn't just do Eddie Collins!

The End of Lies

Amazon.com link

My review - 

This stand-alone crime story is told by Becky Rose whose husband Chris, working for the police, has a plan to make them rich. Why should the gangsters be untouchable, he asks. It all goes wrong when Chris is found stabbed to death in their living room and a group of thugs ransack their home looking for something. Becky stands up to a vicious gang boss in terror of her life. Nevertheless, she’s not a likable character.

In this book, Andrew Barrett has created a fast and action-packed story which moves about in time with the death of Chris as the balance-point. Before he dies, we hear of their plans. Afterwards, Becky fights to outwit a gang boss and get the money her husband was implicated in trying to steal. The backward and forward chapters fill in details for the reader without that feeling of disorientation it can sometimes create. It’s an exciting story and an unusual take on the police versus gangs model of crime fiction. It’s a roller-coaster of a read and I really enjoyed it!

Jonathan Hill

Best. Maureen. Ever! A short story you can read in your lunch hour. 

A Surprise for Maureen

Amazon.com link

My review -

Christmas with Maureen. We expect a bit of posturing, a lot of sherry and a session or two with her friends, Tim and Louisa. Tim, her young friend, comes around after his grandmother’s death, with a surprise for Maureen. She’s not sure she wants it!

You can read end enjoy this if it’s your first encounter with Maureen. This story, for me, sees her settle down into being a real person. She’s always been a little hysterical and yet here she’s more human and vulnerable. I like her this way. The story is gently funny and Mo, though laced with sherry as is usual at this season, has developed a lovely relationship with Tim. They can cheek one another but there’s genuine fondness there. Watch out for the scene in the pharmacy where you’ll discover she’s not really lost her feistiness! Funny, sweet and very seasonal.

John Marrs

A book which could split opinion because of the motives of the main protagonist. You'd have to judge for yourself but the way the story unfolds is masterful.

The Good Samaritan

Amazon.com link

My review -

Laura is a volunteer at The End Of The Line, a telephone helpline for people who don’t know where to turn next, and feel their lives are a burden. They don’t seek to influence their callers, just to allow them to talk. Laura is popular with her fellow workers, bringing in baking and fundraising for the charity. She is doing a little more than listening to their clients, it appears.

This book is written from more than one view point and allows us to see what is really happening, and what its effects are on the lives of the wider community. Our realisation is gradual and the build-up of tension, and the horror of what’s really going on, is part of the allure of the writing. Nobody, it seems, is what they really appear. Another excellent book from the pen of John Marrs.

Lexie Conyngham

I've always loved Lexie's writing style in the historical mysteries, but she can turn her hand to anything, as this story shows.

Jail Fever

Amazon.com link

My review - 

A mystery illness is striking the prison populations and killing people within hours. Nobody survives – then a little girl, whose father is in jail, comes down with it. She’s unconscious, for several days. There are teams working night and day to try to find a cure. Nearby, an archaeological dig unearths a seven hundred year-old body and post mortem results are striking.

This thriller is set both in modern times (around the year 2000) and in the medieval past. The stories on these timelines are strangely linked and at times the book is very exciting. There’s a sound archaeological background to this story, and it picks up on some of our modern fears of big companies and their tactics. I also love the man in the cloak! You must read it. It’s so unlike anything else I’ve ever read and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Michael J Malone

Another new author to me. I love finding books as good as this.

House of Spines

Amazon.com link

My review -

Ranald McGhie learns he has inherited a huge home, complete with library, from a great uncle he never knew, on his mother’s side of the family. Ranald has mental health issues and when he moves into his new home he stops taking his medication. The atmosphere he meets here, the presence he feels, could be as a result of his missing meds – or they could be real.

This is a brilliantly creepy book, covering mental health, greedy cousins, a strange housekeeper and gardener and the power of books and reading. It really creates an atmosphere in the house, forbidding and unwelcoming even to its new owner. There’s definitely a gothic-ghost-story feel to this book, though it’s set in the present day, which makes it more a credible and a more uncomfortable read. Highly recommended and I enjoyed it a lot.

Conrad Jones

My first Conrad Jones book won't be my last!

Nearly Dead

Amazon.com link

My review - 

Charlie McGee, a drug gang boss, is throwing his weight about at the beginning of this gripping and gruesome novel. He has got where he is by sheer ruthlessness and by threatening a dreadful death to those who defy him – and to their loved ones. He’s not the only kingpin in the city, as he is shortly to discover. DI Alec Ramsey is on the trail after a body is found. His team soon uncover more than a drug ring.

This is my first taste of Conrad Jones’s work and, as this is a prequel, it is leading me on to the first in the Alec Ramsey series. I don’t think I shall be long following the trail! The story is horrific enough for any blood-and-guts reader, with intricate plotting and some horrific detail! It’s an excellent idea to have a prequel like this as it has set up the first in the series very well. Seriously readable stuff.

S E Lynes

A second book from a gifted author. Totally gripping.

Mother

Amazon.com link

My review -

‘How much of what we believe is in fact lies we tell ourselves, and how much is truth?’

Christopher is a slightly socially awkward young man, eager to do well, who discovers at the age of eighteen that he’s adopted. He wants to find his real mother, to find a person who truly loves him, as he has never felt completely connected to the people who brought him up. He builds his birth mother up in his mind into an almost saintly figure, drifting away from his adoptive family. Once he attends Leeds university he finds excuses not to go back to visit them in the holidays.

This book is unusual in that it’s told from Christopher’s point of view through the words of another person. This person attempts to make it true, recreating his life story from what he has said himself. I found it utterly gripping. It went back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, covering the time when the Yorkshire Ripper was at large, and showing clearly the fear of female students at the time. The setting, the social history of the time and, of course, the developing character of Christopher, made this a thoroughly good and rather unusual read which I enjoyed hugely.

I received an advance review copy from Netgalley.

David Haynes

This is a gruesome thriller from a great storyteller, and it's such a page-turner.

Survive

Amazon.com link

My review -

Mark Jones (Jonesy) and his wife Lisa are wintering in a cabin in Alaska. They’ve spent the summer hunting, making a cache of food and a big store of wood and shouldn’t have any trouble surviving till the spring. They had an awful time last winter, we gather, and Jonesy promises it will never happen again. He’s prepared. Then they find a young woman collapsed in their cabin as they return from an expedition. They can’t help but take her in or she’ll die, but that’s a strain on their resources. Then – it gets worse.

This is a very atmospheric and suspenseful tale. Things begin purposefully and as one setback after another strains the couple’s resources and relationship, the tension ratchets up, tighter and tighter. It’s claustrophobic; it happens in the great outdoors of Alaska with nobody else for miles, yet much of the action is cramped up in little sheds and cabins, where people can’t get away from one another. What people will do to survive is astonishing when they are in their full senses. As the mind deteriorates, man can become monster. I have a tendency to say, ‘David Haynes’ latest book is his best’ and I’m going to have to say it again. A stunning story, brilliantly told.

Sean and Daniel Campbell

The sixth in a series but I think any of them could be read alone. I jumped in with a free book part way through - the classic loss-leader!

The Evolution of a Serial Killer

Amazon.com link

My review -

DCI Morton’s been side-lined to a teaching role by a new boss he clashed with years ago. He and his group of trainee detectives are discussing the perfect murder. Then similar murders start to crop up, each at 10:00 p.m. on consecutive Saturday nights. It appears that one of the students is challenging Morton, the detective with, to date, the best clear-up rate in the Met. The last murder could be a deadly incident affecting many people. Time is ticking.

The story builds in tension as time passes and the possibility of a major terrorist-style attack comes closer. Morton’s team’s analysis of the possible suspects is fascinating in its pros and cons. Someone has a grudge and we watch it played out to an exciting conclusion. A very good read.

Jim Webster

Another selection of Jim's blog posts about life as seen from his Cumbrian farm.

And sometimes I just sits?

Amazon.com link

My review -

This is another collection of blog posts from Jim Webster, farmer and philosopher. The first collection, Sometimes I Sits and Thinks, featured a great deal about the animals, particularly the border collies, that Jim has worked with over the years. This seems to me to be a more eclectic selection, a little more wide-ranging and political even, but nevertheless it shows a fascinating slice of rural life.

Sean and Daniel Campbell

Another in the DCI Morton Series. How refreshing to have a happily married DCI without a drink problem!

Missing Persons

Amazon.com link

My review -

DCI Morton and his team are looking into the death of a man who lived on a narrowboat. His girlfriend, Faye, has just come out of prison, and when he goes missing after an evening with friends, and is later found dead, she and the guests are suspects as they were the last to see him alive. Rafferty, new to the team, knows the girl from years ago, which adds to the intrigue.

The arguments for guilt or innocence in each case are compelling and contradictory and it’s a really tangled web. It’s an exciting read, especially the culmination. This is one of a series but I’ve found they each read well as a stand-alone.

Andy Weir

Andy Weir has his new book out today. I loved it. I know many people will feel that with The Martian  as your first book, you can't follow that - but I think he did. 

Artemis

Amazon.com link

My review -

Artemis is the first city on the moon. The inhabitants have left behind much of the legal red-tape associated with earth and its many countries and boundaries, but even in a group of two thousand, there’ll be a few below the level of the law. Jazz Bashara is one such. She’s a smuggler and determined to get rich. Someone presents her with a way but it doesn’t go to plan.

As with Andy Weir’s much acclaimed first novel, The Martian, a great deal of this story involves ingenious problem-solving, which I found enjoyable. I also liked the up-front feistiness of the lead character, though she did keep emphasising her female characteristics, no doubt because she was written by a man who doesn’t have those. We take them for granted! The character interplay interested me and was quite thought-provoking so even though this is largely a science fiction adventure romp, it’s not shallow by any means. I’m sure there will be people who will beat the author about the head with the success of his first novel and say this isn’t as good. It’s different. Artemis was worth the wait!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Angela Marsons

Seventh - and Angie Marsons could go on much longer with all the possibilities these characters offer.

Broken Bones

Amazon.com link

My review

This is the seventh in the DCI Kim Stone series and another cracking read. A baby is left at the police station, a young girl is killed and the team are investigating prostitution, possible illegal immigration and human trafficking. Nothing is ever simple, the answers never cut and dried and Kim and her team struggle to keep their professional distance. Things come close to home sometimes and they have to listen to their gut instincts. ‘What would the boss do?’ they sometimes ask themselves – out of Kim’s hearing!

This team, though from very different backgrounds, work like a family. The sort of family where the members respect one another, share joys and fears, and yet still have that little secret. We learn a few more in this book. Angela Marsons has created some fantastic characters and she puts them in perilous situations. This series goes from strength to strength.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley.

Minette Walters

It's been a while since I read a Minette Walters and this is a new direction for her. I love this period of history (the Black Death) so it's right up my street.

The Last Hours

Amazon.com link

My review -

The story takes place over a few months, after the great plague, the Black Death, comes to Britain. Sir Richard of Develish sets out with his retinue and much of his gold, to visit a neighbour with the intention of sealing a marriage for his daughter, Eleanor. The men fall sick and very few return to Develish, where Richard’s wife, lady Anne, refuses them entry for two weeks, to ensure the sickness doesn’t enter the moated settlement. Richard and all his followers but one, a serf, die of the plague. The hero of the tale is the bastard son of a serf, never acknowledged by his mother’s husband, and visibly different from all around him, being very tall, dark haired and olive skinned.

The richness of this story is in the detail. The corruption of the church, the total hold the lord has over those serfs in his demesne, the arrogance of the Norman French in their dealings with the local people, are very well presented. The surviving serfs, solely responsible for growing and harvesting the vital crops, are in many places starving themselves to death because their lords have gone north to try to escape the sickness, leaving their slaves to await their return in terror of being held to account for missing sheep and crops. The book is very compelling, filled with rich characters and a believable storyline. There’s more to come and I’ll be delighted when it’s ready. I want to pick it up and follow these people and their lives.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher from whom I received an advance copy for review.

Chris Chalmers

He's new to me, but with his very easy, funny style, I'll read Chris Chalmers again.

Dinner at the Happy Skeleton

Amazon.com link

My review -

Dan is pushing forty when he’s made redundant from the advertising company where he works as a copywriter. He uses his redundancy money to do a little travelling, some drinking and a lot of hanging about on a certain internet forum. He is increasingly jaded and would like a deeper relationship than the casual encounters he’s having at the moment. Then, on a weekend trip, he believes he’s caught a glimpse of an old flame – the man he blames for his inability to trust and form deeper relationships.

This is quite a laddish story of a gay man grabbing at relationships for the physical side but really wanting a long-term partner. It’s cleverly written, witty, sometimes slapstick funny, and very perceptive in its observations. I found it an extremely enjoyable read indeed.

I received a review copy of this book.

Lexie Conyngham

This is a novella length sequel to a story which has some supernatural elements. It's jolly good!

A Dark Night at Midsummer

Amazon.com link

My review - 

This is a novella length sequel to The Murray of Letho story, Out of a Dark Reflection. The supernatural happenings in that book continue and Mrs Dean, the housekeeper calls upon the skills of Lizzie Fenwick to try to capture the spirit of Grissel Gardiner, a witch of old. Lizzie’s not taken in by some of Mrs Dean’s logic, but agrees to help rather than have the happy household of Letho continuing under the present dark cloud.

Well conjured! You would need to have read Dark Reflection first, but if you have, you’ll enjoy this, its murky supernatural goings-on and the small community it encapsulates. Fittingly, I finished it at Halloween.

Robert Crouch

No Bodies is the second in the Kent Fisher mysteries - and just as good. Sharp and witty and a cracking read.

No Bodies

Amazon.com link

My review - 

Kent Fisher, is once again on the trail of a murderer. The problem is, there are missing women, but no bodies. Colonel Witherington, a local bigwig, has charged Kent with finding his missing wife Daphne, or bringing her murderer to justice. As the investigation progresses, Kent discovers links between the missing women and sets off to find justice. Meanwhile, he himself, or at least, his animal sanctuary, may be implicated in another tragedy. He gets in deeper, and doesn’t help himself by his attitude to his boss.

This is the second Kent Fisher mystery and follows directly on from the first, No Accident. I think you really need to read the first, as this would be confusing as a stand-alone. A little more explanation of who people are when they first appear in the book would help new readers. Having said that, this is equally refreshing, set as it is around the investigations of an environmental health officer, rather than a police officer. Kent Fisher is a warm, stubborn and occasionally hopeless character whom I couldn’t fail to warm to. The author handles his writing deftly and the story is very funny, witty and full of sharp observations. I really enjoy this series and look forward to more.

Joel Hames

This is a short story which delves deeper into the mind of Sam Williams, the lawyer who gets into deep problems in The Art of Staying Dead. 

Caged

Amazon.com link

My review -

‘Caged’ is a club with an unusual selling point. Instead of scantily clad ladies, it has well-built young men suspended in cages. It’s working within the law but has failed to get its licence renewed. Lawyer Sam Williams is tasked with sorting it out. An unforeseen tragedy follows. Is it Sam’s fault?

This is another short story which gives a snapshot of the life of the main character in one of the author’s full length novels. I enjoy his writing style and the depth and complexity of the characters and I’m pleased to discover that there’ll be another full length Sam Williams novel in 2018. Bring it on!

Sam Kates

I've always enjoyed Sam's writing and this is a delight! (In a nasty sort of way...)

Ghosts of Christmas Past and Other Dark Festive Tales

Amazon.com link

My review -

They called I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue the antidote to panel games. This little collection is an astringent antidote to the sugar-rush we sometimes suffer after reading too many Christmas stories. It’s the season to want feel-good reads and I enjoy a few myself, but just occasionally we want something darker – to refresh the palate, you might say. That’s why ghost stories are popular around the Christmas fireside.

Sam Kates is a very good writer who creates scenes in a reader’s head. Some of these scenes are peculiarly unsettling. Add a bit of spice to your seasonal menu and give this little collection a try. I really enjoyed it.

Ann Girdharry

The second in a series which gets better as it progresses.

London Noir

Amazon.com link

My review -

Kal Medi is still influenced by her father’s activities. She takes a young girl under her wing after almost knocking her down in a rain storm. The girl, Sophie is heading for a place Kal knows to be a brothel, and she’s worried about her. Things, in the event, are worse than Kal expected. Kal becomes involved in a seedy underworld with a girl who has spent much of her life in a psychiatric institution. Her best friend, Marty, just out of hospital, also volunteers to help, and the pace picks up.

I found this a very exciting story, and became involved from the beginning. It’s the second Kal Medi story, and I found it even better than the first. I hope it’s the beginning of a longer series.

I received an advance review copy of this book.

Louise Jensen

Another 'first for me' author who writes a rattling good story.

The Surrogate

Amazon.com link

My review - 

Kat is pushing thirty and desperate for a baby. She and her husband have tried for adoption abroad but each time it’s fallen through at the last minute. Then she meets up with her old school friend, Lisa who offers to be surrogate mother for them. Kat’s suspicious. There’s been something in their past which she has been hiding, and which Lisa’s return into her life may resurrect. Kat becomes increasingly anxious and has fears that her husband is unfaithful, too, and that somebody is stalking her.

The book was very exciting to read. I read it over twenty-four hours just because I was desperate to find out what had happened in the past and what lay in the future. There’s a darkness, a threat, just out of touch for most of the book, and when it comes out, it’s an eye-opener. This story gradually reveals the consequences of wrong decisions taken in times of panic and crisis, and the results of lying to ourselves until we begin to believe the lies are truth. A blisteringly good read.

Cassandra Jane Parkin

My first book by Cassandra Parkin and it's a real corker. 

The Winter's Child

Amazon.com link

My review -

Susannah and John’s son Joel disappeared five years ago, at the age of fifteen. The case has never been solved and Susannah is still occasionally in touch with one of the police team who searched for her son. She becomes obsessive about finding him, going out at all hours to search, and finally, she and her husband part. Though professing to despise mediums and clairvoyants, She still occasionally contacts one, and is told, on the night of Hull Fair (October) that she’ll see her son again by Christmas.

Although, as the story progressed and past scenes unfolded, I felt the inevitability of the ending, I couldn’t work out why. One of the strengths of the author’s writing is that she can tell of deep and turbulent emotions in clear and logical language – you follow it from the character’s point of view, and totally believe it. It’s very well done indeed. A stand-out book, for me.

Rowan Coleman

This is the second book of Rowan's that I've read. I like her style!

The Memory Book

Amazon.com link

My review -

Claire, like her late father, is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease and her counsellor has suggested writing a memory book, something to nail her memories down while she still has them. Her mother, who nursed her father through the disease, comes to stay, to help. Caitlin, her grown up daughter from an earlier relationship, is due to go back for her final year at university and her three year-old daughter from her recent marriage doesn’t understand why Mum can’t read her stories. Greg, her husband, feels her withdrawing from him as her memories fade.

This book could have been a total misery-fest but I found it truly hopeful and occasionally very funny. Rowan Coleman writes an easy book to read which generally means it’s taken a lot of work to write. Her characters are flawed but genuine and I loved this story of a family who have had so much thrown at them. Do read it. It’s got a hopeful wonder at its heart.

Wendy Percival

Another in the lovely Esme Quentin series of genealogical mysteries.

The Malice of Angels

Amazon.com link

My review -

Esme Quentin has moved to Devon to be closer to her friend, and to the area in which she grew up. She makes contact with her late husband’s journalist friend Tim, and though she’s reluctant, she agrees to work with him. Her speciality is genealogy. Her friend is concerned about her mother, the woman Esme has known since childhood, but who is now very reluctant to look into her own memories about her sister, who disappeared after the war. As they delve, things come very close to home for Esme.

I loved the way information unfolded gradually and we realised how complex this web was. We aren’t always happy to face our memories and we don’t like those who try to confront us with things we’re trying to keep in the dusty attic of our minds. This is brought over extremely well. People important to Esme were in danger and she got on with the job, as always. Esme Quentin is becoming one of my heroes!

I received a pre-publication copy of this book.

Lynda Wilcox

Verity Long does it again. Great, funny and well up to the usual standard.

Long Tramp to Murder

Amazon.com link

My review -

Verity, now working cold cases part time, spends the rest of her time as researcher for her old employer, author Kathleen Davenport. She currently finds herself with two murders on her hands. One is the old one she’s been asked to look into, involving the death of an elderly lady ten years ago. The second occurs at a local garden centre when she and her employer are there. KD finds the body – and just about everyone who knew the victim had a reason to want her dead.

Verity, the eternally nosy and feisty investigator, worries away at both cases, officially and unofficially. This story, with its two murders, years apart, contains all the trademark wry, dry and witty humour of the author’s Verity Long series, and, as always, I enjoyed it immensely. I received a review copy of this book.

Oliver Tidy

This is the first book I've read by this author. I doubt it will be the last.

The Fallen Agent

Amazon.com link

My review -

They say there’s honour among thieves but there doesn’t seem to be much in the world of the secret service. Someone high up in Vauxhall Cross is sacrificing agents to save his own job. Add in Al Qaeda, a rich Albanian, unfeasible amounts of money and the threat of a terrorist attack on London and you have the ingredients for an exciting thriller.

The characters are well-drawn, with good points and flaws to make them three-dimensional and believable. There are several high-octane points in the story which keep it bouncing along, making you wonder what can possibly happen next. The author vividly portrays the setting of the book – much of it in Albania. Altogether, this is a top notch spy thriller which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I received a review copy of this book.

Su Bristow

New author, debut novel, and what a corker!

Sealskin

Amazon.com link

My review -

Donald is out in his boat on the skerry and sees a group of seals come ashore. They shrug off their skins and, as naked young women, dance freely in the night. He hides one of the skins and one girl is trapped, unable to go home to the sea. That’s the basic legend that many of us are familiar with. They beauty of this book is that it takes the story onward and tells us how Donald and his seal girl make a life together.

I love a bit of mythology and this gorgeous story fleshes out a legend to give us real characters coping with a hard life. There are choices to be made, and Donald has made a bad one initially – but he wants to make up for it. It’s simply told and so believable. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something different.