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Bring Them Home by DS Butler
9th May 2023. This is an interesting crime story, featuring the police investigation of two girls, who leave school early one afternoon and disappear into nearby woodland. DI Karen Hart leads the investigation, convinced there’s a link to a previous disappearance. That case was never resolved. The investigation and reactions of the parents and local community are deftly handled, building the tension and suspense as Karen Hart struggles to make progress. Her failures on the previous case haunt her and colour her actions and as the pressure mounts to find the missing girls. The tension keeps you turning the pages as the list of suspects and motives grows with each…
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The One Who Fell by Kerry Wilkinson
9th May 2023. Every now and again, a book comes along to surprise and entertain you like no other. Usually, it’s the characters and the way the story unfolds which grab me. This is exactly what happened with Millie Westlake, a character struggling with past events that the locals won’t let her forget. Immediately, I was on her side, feeling her pain at the unfairness she was enduring. Her release was to volunteer at a residential home for elderly people, keeping them company, talking and listening to their tales. One resident, Ingrid, has seen a young woman pushed from the roof of a nearby property. Did Ingrid imagine this? Or…
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The Thames Path Killer by Biba Pearce
1st May 2023. This was an interesting investigation into a serial killer, who attacked women engaged to be married. It’s DI Rob Miller’s first case as senior investigating officer and he wants to take the chance to show his superiors what he can do. But the long, relentless hours pursuing the killer have a dramatic effect on his own love life, alienating his fiancée, Yvette. It’s a well-written investigation with some strong characters in the police team that investigates. The author shows the pressures and stresses involved with murder enquiries, both at work and at home. The story zipped along, which might explain why I felt Rob Miller’s character lacked…
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Murder of a Gentleman by Pippa McCaithie
DCI Matt Lambert and his partner, Fabia Harvard, are thrust into another murder investigation when a celebrity film writer and director is found dead on the ground below a second floor window. Did he fall or was he pushed? As he was writing a no holds barred autobiography that would upset many people, there’s no shortage of suspects when the evidence and pathology reveal he was murdered. As Fabia was a close friend, she’s involved in the ensuing investigation once again. With tensions high and progress painstaking, it becomes a bit of a slog until Fabia makes a possible breakthrough. Though Matt has his doubts, events soon snowball into a…
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The Things We Keep by Janet Dawson
20th April, 2023. In the latest mystery, private investigator Jeri Howard comes across a footlocker while helping to clear a house, previously occupied by an aunt of a friend. Inside the footlocker, she finds bones, including two human skulls. She has no idea how old the bones are, but the scant evidence available suggests two bodies were dug up and moved. While she passes the matter to the local police, she’s going to find out what happened for herself and her friends. She starts a journey into the past that leads back to the music scene and hippy days of the late sixties as she slowly homes in on people…
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The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
14th April 2023. This is another original and imaginative mystery featuring Hercule Poirot. When Ruth Kettering, the daughter of an American millionaire is murdered on the Blue Train, travelling to Nice in France, Poirot is also on board. He soon offers his assistance to the French police. They soon identify a number of potential suspects. In his usual methodical way, Poirot employs his little grey cells, probing and questioning a number of people on the French Riviera. Ruth’s estranged husband, who has been having an affair with a dancer, is soon questioned and ultimately arrested. Poirot’s not convinced, but struggles to get a lead and evidence to identify the real…
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Murder in the Parish by Faith Martin
13th April 2023. Hillary Greene returns to investigate another cold case murder, involving Rev Keith Coltrane thirty years ago. Popular with his parish and many of the women in the village, there were several key suspects in the original investigation, but a lack of evidence. Hillary sets out with her team to uncover new details that may shed light on the killing and the killer. Progress is slow, people have secrets to hide, and Hillary’s struggling with a chest complaint that’s more than a simple infection. But her determination is legendary, and despite the lack of evidence and the time lag, she starts to piece it all together. Like the…
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Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
12th April 2023. The day before former university student and friend, Dan Golding, is killed in a house fire, he writes to Dr Ruth Galloway, asking for her opinion on some bones. He believes he’s made a big discovery that will have a massive impact on an old legend. Ruth travels north to Blackpool with daughter Kate and her friend Cathbad, unaware of the dangers that face her. DCI Harry Nelson is also holidaying in the resort and catching up with an old police colleague. When he discovers Ruth in the town, it all gets a little complicated. This is another gentle, but compelling novel that slowly builds the tension…
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F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton
7th April 2023. In the sixth novel of the series, Kinsey’s hired to find out who killed Jean Timberlake seventeen years ago in Floral Beach. Bailey Fowler, her boyfriend at the time, was convicted of her murder, but escaped gaol soon after. Now he’s been caught and Bailey’s father wants Kinsey to find the real killer. In a small, tight knit community, convinced of Bailey’s guilt, it’s not going to be easy for Kinsey. From almost the moment she arrives at the Fowler’s hotel, she’s subjected to intimidating phone calls. Naturally, the residents are reluctant to help, more so when Bailey’s friend springs him from the courtroom, getting shot in…
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How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon by Penny Sansevieri
6th April 2023. Jam packed with information, tips and practical advice, this is the best book I’ve come across to date for getting the most out of Amazon. It’s not a long book, but every page is packed with something valuable. With easy to follow, no frills guidance and advice, the author shows you the many different ways you can use the tools Amazon provides to market your book and increase sales. It’s an invaluable handbook that I’m sure I’ll be referring to over and over as I put the tips and advice into practice. Description How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon (2021 edition) teaches you exactly…
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Exit Stage Left.
A writer’s journey Part 3 – another dream bites the dust) You know the score. You start to get the hang of something, maybe excel here and there, and suddenly you’re invincible. Your confidence soars. You say something profound … and silence. Or worse still, laughter. It’s difficult enough, fitting in with children who come from a different background, especially when you want to hide your humble beginnings. It takes a lot of effort, observing and learning, knowing which lies to tell and when to remain silent. But finally you blend in. You make sure you don’t do anything that will draw attention or make you look silly. You grow…
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The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
3rd April 2023. In another original and ingenious mystery from Agatha Christie, an unknown serial killer announces his intended murders by letter to Hercule Poirot. At first, it appears to be a hoax, until a murder is committed in Andover. An ABC guide to railway travel is left with the body. When a second murder is announced and carried out in Bexhill on Sea, Scotland Yard take control, working with Poirot, but with little success. A third murder at Churston attracts the attention of the press, but offers few clues to the killer’s identity. Unable to make any progress, Poirot calls together all the people closely involved with the three…