Reviews
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Underneath the Arches by Barry Faulkner
9th March 2023. In the latest Serial Murder Squad novel, Detective Chief Superintendent Palmer faces his most curious case to date. Locks of hair are being sent to a homeless hostel. DNA analysis shows the hair comes from dead people. But who’s taking the hair and why are they sending it in the post? Who does the hair come from? The squad are soon on the case, identifying one of the victims from the missing persons register. Taking advantage of Gheeta’s IT skills and Claire’s ability to ferret out information, coupled with Palmer’s instincts, it isn’t long before they’re on the trail of a killer with an unusual motivation. As…
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Murder in a Welsh Town by Pippa McCaithie
5th March 2023. In the fourth book of this excellent series, Fabia Harvard and Matt Lambert have a murder on their doorstep when Ivor Gladwin, one of the actors in the town pantomime, is found dead. He took satisfaction in winding people up, which means plenty of suspects for his murder. And some of those suspects have problems of their own, which come to a head for one couple when a second person is murdered. It’s a complex case that overlaps with an undercover operation Lambert has not been informed about. With tensions running high, and one of the undercover officers in an affair with a suspect for Ivor Gladwin’s…
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Desperate Play by Barbara Freethy
4th March 2023. The third book in the FBI series carries on the high standards set in the first two. This time it’s Wyatt Turner, who’s undercover at a company about to launch a defence satellite into orbit. But someone’s leaking secrets to a foreign power. When an employee is found stabbed to death at a funfair by her best friend Avery, Wyatt’s challenges increase. Not only must he find out who committed murder, he must protect Avery, who’s a key player at the company. The attraction between the two leads builds as they go on the run, hotly pursued by the bad guys. As the launch of the satellite…
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E is for Evidence by Sue Grafton
28th February 2023. In her fifth outing in the series, private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds herself caught in an elaborate fraud. It starts with a mystery deposit of $5000 into her bank account, closely followed by her report into an insurance claim for a warehouse fire being replaced by a false account. The insurance company suspends her, leaving her angry and helpless. But not for long. With a little help from an employee at the insurance company and her usual dogged approach, she’s soon on the trail. Even the reappearance of her ex-husband doesn’t shift her focus as she strives to clear her name. And then someone from the family…
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A Whisper of Sorrows by JD Kirk
24th February 2023. Child killer, Mr Whisper is back and after Jack Logan’s blood in the sixth novel of the series. Having escaped from a high security hospital, Whisper wastes no time in killing those who helped him escape. He starts taunting Logan straight away, his desire for revenge clear. Nothing but Logan’s death will do. Logan’s return to home turf in the Highlands brings no respite. Whisper kidnaps the young brother of one of his colleagues. It’s not long before Logan’s every move seems to be known to the killer. Someone is helping the killer, but who? And more importantly, why? When Logan’s daughter is kidnapped, the stakes couldn’t…
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Murder on the Farm by Jane Adams
21st February 2023. We’re back in Frantham for the seventh novel in the series. Rina, fresh from filming a new series for TV, returns home feeling weary but satisfied. She’s soon drawn into the murder of Ellen Tailor, a popular single mother who’s shot in her kitchen. Mac and his small team investigate, trying to make sense of the killing, struggling to find a motive. The secondary plot involving a former 2nd World War airfield, and events during the conflict, bring a retired historian into the investigation. Missing archives, his abrupt nature and his friendship to Ellen place him firmly under suspicion. The family of Ellen’s former husband, who never…
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Little Girl Lost by Cheryl Bradshaw
16th February 2023. As a fan of Cheryl Bradshaw’s books I looked forward to reading this first in a series novel, featuring Georgiana Germaine. She’s an intense and focused police officer, who’s walked away from her job after an incident that scarred her. She’s alone and enjoying her own company away from her former life when she learns her brother-in-law has been murdered. Worse still, her niece has been kidnapped. Georgiana returns home, determined to find her niece and the killer. Her aggressive, no-nonsense approach ruffles feathers within the community and her own family. But you have to shake the tree to get the fruit to fall, and she’s soon…
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A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
10th February 2023. The fourth novel in the Dr Ruth Galloway series starts with her at a local history museum for the opening of a coffin containing a medieval bishop. But instead of a ceremonial opening, she finds the museum’s curator dead on the floor. For Ruth, already doubting whether she’s a good mum for daughter Kate, it’s the start of a curious story concerning two deaths, drug smuggling and the return of historical artefacts to their country of origin. A new neighbour of Aboriginal descent adds a further mystical element to the story. When the museum’s owner also dies, DCI Harry Nelson suspects murder, though both victims seem to…
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Lord Edgeware Dies by Agatha Christie
6th February 2023. Poirot is called upon to unravel another complex murder, where the prime suspect has publicly talked of killing her husband. Yet she was in a different place when he was murdered. As Poirot and Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard investigate the murder, all is not as it seems. With contradicting evidence, questions that Poirot struggles to answer, and a long list of suspects, this is a story that continues to confound until the detective finally makes sense of all the disparate clues. Narrated by Captain Hastings, who is once again patronised and made fun of by his Belgian friend, it’s a cleverly plotted story with several twists…
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Murder by the River Usk by Pippa McCathie
3rd February 2023 The third novel in the series is another absorbing and entertaining murder mystery featuring Fabia Harvard and Matt Lambert. Flooding and landslip expose the remains of a body. It’s soon clear that this is the body of Caleb Morgan, who went missing ten years ago. Fabia, who was in charge of the original investigation, is keen to help her lover, Matt, investigate when the cold case reveals a murder. Friends, family and prominent figures come under suspicion as the detectives and Fabia dig into the past to find the motives and circumstances that will lead them to the killer. The private lives of Matt and Fabia come…
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The Hangman’s Song by James Oswald
31st January 2023. It’s difficult to know where to start as there’s so much going on in this third book in the Inspector McLean series. While it works as a standalone, there are references to the previous book, which make it easier to appreciate what happens in this. There’s McLean’s transfer to the Sexual Crimes Unit, where he has to deal with prostitution and human trafficking, alongside conflict with other members of the team. There’s his old unit, which is faced with a number of suicides that are suspiciously identical, despite no evidence of murder. Then there are a number of personal problems facing McLean, leading to restless nights, sleep…
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The Wife List by J A Schneider
28th January 2023. Crime writer Beth Kemp is an unhappy wife in New York, where the streets are rife with crime and violence after the pandemic. When her agent and best friend is murdered in her car on her way home, Beth’s distraught. When her husband suggests they escape to the country, she’s not convinced it’s a good idea – until she gets there. But all is not well when they move into their new home. Her neighbours seem to have a violent marriage. One night she sees something that leads her to believe the wife was murdered. Then the estate agent who sold them the house has a bruise…