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Book reviews ... Author interviews ... and anything else I think might be of interest to writers and readers.

Monday 23 May 2016

Murrain's Truth by Alex Walters

Murrain's Truth

by Alex Walters

Ahead of the June release of Late Checkout my husband has released this trio of short stories introducing DCI Kenny Murrain. The e-book also contains a taster chapter of Late Checkout so it's definitely worth a look!

You can download Murrain's Truth for a mere 99p here. And you can pre-order Late Checkout here.

For further news and updates you can follow Alex Walters on Facebook here and on Twitter as @MikeWalters60.

Thursday 19 May 2016

Murder Ring by Leigh Russell



Murder Ring


This is another great outing for the compelling DI Geraldine Steel. When a dead body is discovered in a dark side street, Geraldine finds herself caught up in another murder investigation. When this is followed by another mysterious murder, the investigation becomes ever more complicated.

As with all the Geraldine Steel books we get a good mix of insights into Geraldine’s working life and interaction with her colleagues, the often messy lives of the perpetrators and victims of crime, and a glimpse into Geraldine’s personal life.

In this book, the working team is shaken up by a new arrival in the shape of DCI Adam Eastwood. Good looking and determined to get results, he certainly changes the dynamics of Geraldine’s working life.

We also have the familiar Sam – Geraldine’s sergeant and sometimes confidante. But this time there is an edge between the two women as they disagree about gun crime, and Geraldine finds her own personal problems too much to deal with.

One of the things that I think makes the Geraldine Steel crime series so successful is that as time has gone on Leigh Russell has made enough changes to Geraldine's circumstances and the people around her to keep it fresh and different, whilst keeping enough factors the same to give a sense of continuity and familiarity to the series.

This book sees some huge events in Geraldine’s private life, I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give anything away, but a storyline that has been running through the whole series has some major developments. These glimpses into Geraldine’s family life are one of the things that make this series special, in my view, and make Geraldine a very rounded and human character.

The plot is satisfying, with plenty going on, and the ‘murder ring’ at the centre gives it a sense of intrigue as we follow its progress.

To get the full Geraldine Steel experience I recommend you read all the books. You can find my reviews of earlier books in the series (and the accompanying Ian Peterson series) here and here.

But this is a great murder mystery in its own right and highly recommended if you want an introduction to Leigh Russell’s work.

 Overall, a very enjoyable and well written story.

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.


This post is part of a blog tour for Murder Ring, and you can find the other stops on the tour here.


Monday 2 May 2016

The Missing by CL Taylor


The Missing


‘The Missing’ takes the reader into scary territory from the start. A teenager, Billy, has gone missing and his mother is living every parent’s nightmare.

Claire has no idea what has happened to her son or whether she will ever find him alive. And then to make things worse her mind starts playing tricks on her and she is diagnosed as having experienced fugue states.

As the story goes on, we find out more about Claire and her family and discover that everyone is hiding something. If Claire can work out what is going on, will she be able to find Billy before it is too late?

Claire was a great character, and I found myself empathising with her more and more as the book went on, particularly as some of the things she finds out about the people around her – who are all deeply flawed - are so distressing. The claustrophobic feeling of sharing a house with people who are all distressed and suffering is also very well done.

CL Taylor has made some brave decisions in the writing of this book. I can’t say too much more than that without spoilers, but it is the way the story veers away from what you might expect that gives it an edge and makes it stand out.

I found this a real page-turner. There are so many questions that the reader wants to know the answer to that the story sucks you in and takes you along with it.

A recommended read for those who enjoy intrigue, suspense and mystery.

Don’t miss your chance to read this one!

You can find out more here.