Births, Marriages and Death

Debut novelist Will Templeton has produced a winner here.

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Book description

Edward Maxey, Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for a town in South Yorkshire, is approached by distressed Spanish girl Alicia for help in finding her erstwhile lover, and is so captivated by her childlike naivety and vulnerability that he is moved to assist her. When the man in question is found dead she becomes the prime suspect and Maxey himself is implicated. Convinced of the girl’s innocence Maxey jeopardises his career and his family by shielding Alicia from the attentions of the police, even though one of the detectives on the case is Maxey’s lifelong friend, Detective Sergeant Luke Preston. Wading through a maze of suspects and confusion Preston must juggle this investigation alongside the search for a group of missing children, whose safety is increasingly at risk.

My review -

This is a fantastic debut novel, involving two best mates, one, Preston, a Detective Inspector and the other, Maxey, a Registrar. There’s been a murder and a messy one too. The victim had had an affair with a young girl in Spain when ‘on business’ and she’s been writing to him. He’d given her his friend’s address so she came to visit the wrong person. The friend’s son has been sucked into a gang and involved in criminal activity – and other things. These two groups finally mesh together in a clever bit of plotting. But Maxey finds himself hiding important evidence from his friend. Can their friendship survive? Who thought being a registrar could be so dangerous an occupation? I found this a real page-turner of a book and I look forward to more from Will Templeton.

About the author

Many years ago Will Templeton worked briefly in the tax collectors' office, and, deciding that wasn't for him, he then tried his hand at such varied vocations as hairdresser, bricklayer and mechanic, before finally finding a place at Doncaster Register Office. He stayed there for over thirty years, working his way up from Receptionist to Superintendent Registrar, eventually throwing it all in to become a full-time scriptwriter. Over the years he has also written many plays which have been performed to glowing reviews. This is his first novel.

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Just a thought

You have to remember that it is impossible to commit a crime while reading a book -
― John Waters

Dig Two Graves

First of a series by Keith Nixon and it's off to a cracking start.

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Book description

A cold, broken teenager lies beneath the looming shadow of his apartment building in an apparent suicide.

Detective Gray stares, with tired eyes, at the body of Nick Buckingham, wondering why, at the age of 16, he would see no other choice but to jump from his balcony in such a final act ... but more importantly, wondering why this teenager, who he has never met, has Detective Solomon Gray's phone number stored in his phone ...

Facing his demons, follow Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray as he tries to unravel a murky world of lies and corruption to find the answers he's desperate for.

My review 

This is only my second Keith Nixon book but he tells a great story. There are enough characters (but not enough to confuse you) and plenty going on. The title comes from a saying by Confucius: when you embark on revenge, dig two graves. This tells you that things won’t go straightforwardly for someone. I found it fast paced, engaging and I felt for the main character, Solomon Gray – and others in the story. It’s the first of a series and it certainly makes me want to find out more. Highly recommended.

About the author

Keith Nixon is the best selling author of fourteen novels, including the Margate based Solomon Gray series with 200,000 copies in circulation and reached no.1 on Amazon in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Keith lived near the gritty seaside town of Margate, where all his novels are based, for 17 years before relocating to the edge of the Peak District with his family where he lives today.

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Just a thought

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind 
― James Russell Lowell

Crime Bites Volume 2

A second collection of excellent short stories from Susan Handley. 

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Book description

A pick and mix collection of short stories designed to be devoured in one sitting. Put them on your phone or tablet and never be stuck for something to satisfy your appetite for crime.

With stories ranging from light bites, where crime is served with a dollop of humour, to dark and delicious stories designed to get the pulse racing, there’s something to satisfy every palate.

My review 

In this second ‘menu’ from Susan Handley we again have some unforgettable short stories. Susan’s style is very readable and the tales have a kick at the end. Many of them are quite funny too. If you’re a fan of shorts stories and crime you are sure to enjoy this collection. I didn’t find a poor one in there.

About the author

Susan Handley grew up in the Midlands and despite a love of literature, and crime fiction in particular, she never dreamt of being able to carve out a career as a published writer. But the desire to write never left her and after years of writing by night she has at last been able to share the results of her efforts.

Susan now lives in a small village in rural Kent with her husband and three cats. When she's not indulging in her love of writing crime fiction she loves walking (the hillier the better), bike riding (the flatter the better) and tending her veggie patch. 

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Just a thought

Books fall open, you fall in ― David McCord

The Girl at the Window

Another great book by Rowan Coleman. I love it when the strands come together like this.

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Book description

A house full of history is bound to have secrets...

Ponden Hall is a centuries-old house on the Yorkshire moors, a magical place full of stories. It's also where Trudy Heaton grew up. And where she ran away from...

Now, after the devastating loss of her husband, she is returning home with her young son, Will, who refuses to believe his father is dead.

While Trudy tries to do her best for her son, she must also attempt to build bridges with her eccentric mother. And then there is the Hall itself: fallen into disrepair but generations of lives and loves still echo in its shadows, sometimes even reaching out to the present...

My review 

This is definitely one for you if you love a ghost story. It’s got a historical thread and a present day one, and in between, one concerning Emily Bronte. I enjoy the author’s style and the tension built throughout the book as we realised what had happened in the past and how it impacted on Ponden Hall in the present. There were occasions when I tried to read faster to find out what was happening – always a sign of a good page-turner. I found I cared about the characters which also makes it a good read for me. I don’t believe in ghosts but I do love a ghost story and this is definitely up there with the good ones.

About the author

Rowan Coleman’s first novel Growing Up Twice was a WHS Fresh Talent Winner. Since then, Rowan has written fifteen novels, including The Memory Book which was a Sunday Times bestseller. It was selected for the Richard and Judy Bookclub and awarded Love Reading Novel of the Year, as voted for by readers.

Her latest novel, The Summer of Impossible Things, is a Zoe Ball TV Book Club selection.

Rowan lives with her husband and their five children in a very full house in Hertfordshire, juggling writing novels with raising her family. She really wishes someone would invent time travel.

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Just a thought

An unread book does nobody any good. Stories happen in the mind of a reader, not among symbols printed on a page ― Brandon Mull

Moorings

Moorings is the third in David Blake's Norfolk Broads crime series. I've really enjoyed these and they seem to me to be getting better.

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Book description

A war veteran murdered in his home, a property developer with links to organised crime, and an old family secret that seems unwilling to stay dead.

When Harry Falcon, a wealthy boatyard owner and highly decorated World War Two veteran, is found drowned in his bath, DI John Tanner and DC Jenny Evans start by questioning his two sons, each with a motive for wanting him dead.

But when the elder son is found with his head smashed in under a toppled yacht, and the younger son has been talking to a local property developer, one who’d spent months trying to buy the yard from his father, the investigation soon leads them towards a dark and dangerous secret, one which nobody can quite believe.

Set within the mysterious beauty of the Norfolk Broads, this fast-paced British detective series is a dark cozy murder mystery with a slice of humour and a touch of romance, one that will have you guessing until the very end, when the last shocking twist is finally revealed.

My review 

Tanner and Jenny have a new boat and a new mooring and someone’s building a block of flats right opposite. They’ve paid up a year’s rent too. Then the body of a 93 year-old turns up in his home nearby, discovered by his son. This is a great suspense story and it involves Tanner personally. There are various possible suspects and I honestly didn’t see the truth coming even though there was a clue earlier on. The climax of the book is particularly exciting. I am sure this series will go from strength to strength.

About the author

David is a full-time author living in North London. To date he has written sixteen books along with a collection of short stories. He's currently working on his seventeenth, Three Rivers, which is the next in his series of crime fiction thrillers, after Broadland, St. Benet's, and Moorings.

When not writing, David likes to spend his time mucking about in boats, often in the Norfolk Broads, where his crime fiction books are based.

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Just a thought - 

Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier ― Kathleen Thompson Norris

Bad to the Bone

First in a series and it's obviously from this strong start that it's going to be a good one.

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Book description 

A skeletal body is unearthed in a wooded area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. DI James Bliss, together with DC Penny Chandler, investigate the case and discover that the young, female victim had been relocated from its original burial site.

A witness is convinced that a young female was struck by a vehicle back in the summer of 1990, and that police attended the scene. However, no record exists of either the accident or the reported victim. As the case develops, two retired police officers are murdered. The two are linked with others who were on duty at the time a road accident was reported.

As Bliss and Chandler delve deeper into the investigation, they start to question whether senior officers may have been involved in the murder of the young women who was buried in the woods.

As each link in the chain is put under duress, so is Bliss who clashes with superiors and the media.

When his team receives targeted warnings, Bliss will need to decide whether to drop the case or to pursue those responsible.

Will Bliss walk away in order to keep his career intact or will he fight no matter what the cost? 

And is it possible the killer is much closer than they imagined?

My review - 

I thought it was about time I read some Tony Forder and I’m very glad I did. Interestingly, I read it on my holiday which included at day trip to Peterborough. It’s a delight to see the places you’re reading about on a tourist map! DI Bliss and his sidekick Penny investigate a body which, the pathologists say, has been exhumed and reburied. It’s an old case and therefore harder to solve. This is the first book in a series and I’m glad to say that the main characters in the book fall into place fully formed. Some of their back-stories creep in as we read so it doesn’t have the info-dump boredom. I thought this was very well done. I also loved the growing relationship between Bliss and The Bone Woman, Emily Grant. The ending built very nicely to a result I hadn’t foreseen and I enjoyed it very much.

About the author

Tony J Forder is the author of the critically acclaimed and best-selling crime thriller series featuring detectives Jimmy Bliss and Penny Chandler. The first four books, Bad to the Bone, The Scent of Guilt, If Fear Wins, and The Reach of Shadows, were followed by The Death of Justice on 9 September 2019.

Tony's dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, featuring ex-detective Frank Rogers, was also published by Bloodhound Books. This is a stand-alone novel, and delves into the mind of a serial-killer.

Scream Blue Murder was published in November 2017, and received praise from many, including fellow authors Mason Cross, Matt Hilton and Anita Waller. A sequel, Cold Winter Sun, was released in November 2018.

Tony is now a full-time writer and lives with his wife in Peterborough, UK.

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Just a thought

There never yet have been, nor are there now, too many good books ― Martin Luther

The Lost Man

The third book I've read by Jane Harper and for me, the best yet.

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Book description

Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland, in this stunning new standalone novel from New York Times bestseller Jane Harper

They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…

My review -

This is an excellent story that emphasises the heat and loneliness of outback living. Nathan, oldest of three brothers and divorced, finds his middle brother, Cameron, has died by an old grave, known as the stockman’s grave. His car is found some distance away, full of bottles of water and supplies. Did he walk to his own death? It’s just before Christmas and the family say he was troubled. Nathan, with troubles of his own, tries to find out what prompted his brother to walk into the outback apparently to commit a painful suicide.

The main protagonists in this story are members of one family and the dynamic amongst them is uneasy, troubled. Not just because they’ve lost a member. The reader feels the deep currents below the surface as bit by painful bit, the truth comes out. I found this very gripping and for my money it’s Jane Harper’s best book yet.

About the author

Jane Harper is the author of The Dry, winner of various awards including the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, the 2017 Indie Award Book of the Year, the 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year Award and the CWA Gold Dagger Award for the best crime novel of 2017. Rights have been sold in 27 territories worldwide, and film rights optioned to Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and lives in Melbourne.

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Just a thought

Books, the children of the brain ― Jonathan Swift,