Reviews
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Mystery at the Abbey Hotel by Clare Chase
24th May 2023. In this hugely enjoyable outing for obituary writer turned sleuth, Eve Mallow, she’s won a stay at the classy Abbey Hotel. She immediately takes to the owner, Debra Moran, who has a very clear vision for the future. Unfortunately, someone kills her in the woods that night, bringing the police to the hotel to investigate. As Eve collects details for an obituary and her own investigation, a second murder shocks the peaceful Suffolk countryside. With a large number of suspects and motives, it’s slow progress. Gardener and former police officer Robin is on hand to pass information both ways as the investigation deepens, bringing Eve closer and…
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G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton
16th May 2023. In the seventh book in the series, PI Kinsey Millhone has an eventful birthday. She moves into her new apartment, gets a straightforward job to track down a missing mother, and discovers a criminal’s hired an assassin to kill her. Being feisty, determined and independent, Kinsey’s certain she can deal with the death threat until she’s attacked and then run off the road while trying to track down the missing mother. When she learns a judge, who is also on the hit list, has been killed, it’s time to call in Dietz to protect her. Dietz is a bit of a handful, invading Kinsey’s space, but he…
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Frozen Minds by Cheryl Rees-Pryce
15th May 2023. The second DI Winter Meadows story in the series begins with a body in a freezer at a residential home for adults with learning difficulties. From the outset, it’s clear that all is not well at the home. But equally, it’s going to be a challenging investigation due to the nature of the residents and the mental health issues they have. All is not plain sailing within the investigation team either, as Meadows was brought into the department from outside, even though he grew up in the area. But with the pressure on, the team must pull together to chase up the irregularities they uncover. But as…
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Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie
13th May 2023. This is another masterful lesson in deduction, red herrings and false trails as Poirot investigates the baffling murder of Giselle, a French money lender, on a flight to England. She was killed by a poisoned dart, delivered from a blowpipe. But how was the murder committed in the confines of an aircraft without anyone seeing it happen? Poirot assists both the French police and Scotland Yard to solve the murder. The investigation soon reveals motives for some of the people on board, but the deeper Poirot digs, the more difficult it becomes to work out how the killer carried out the murder. But Poirot never gives up,…
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The Portsmouth Murders by Pauline Rowson
9th May 2023. This is a gritty, intense and complex story about DI Andy Horton, a man who has lost almost everything, following allegations of misconduct that remain unresolved. When he returns to duty, there’s no escaping the suspicion and rumours among his colleagues. At home, he’s lost his wife and daughter, with little prospect of winning them back. You’d think finding a body on the beach at Portsmouth on the day of his return to duty is the last thing he needs. His colleagues aren’t sure he’s the person to investigate, especially when he uncovers links to a local businessman, who may be involved in events that led to…
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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…