Book reviews

I love reading books and discovering new authors. I only post a review on books I finish. As I abandon any book that doesn’t grab me or suit my tastes, my reviews focus on those I enjoy, though there are occasional exceptions.

I hope my reviews will help you discover new authors and novels to enjoy.

Stolen Children by Michael Wood

16th October 2020. In DCI Matilda Darke’s sixth outing, she faces yet another intense, emotional investigation when a young girl goes missing. It brings back memories of Carl Meagan, a ...
Read More

Smoke and Mirrors by Cheryl Bradshaw

11th October 2020. 5 stars. In her eighth adventure private eye Sloane Monroe finds herself in Australia, working for a senator whose sister has been murdered, as has her partner ...
Read More

Murder at the University by Faith Martin

10th October 2020. 4 stars. The second DI Hilary Greene novel starts with the mysterious death of a French university student in Oxford. It takes a while to uncover the ...
Read More

Dark Crimes by Michael Hambling

6th October 2020. 4 stars. I love it when a book surprises me. In this case it was the character of DCI Sophie Allen, who was fresh, original, charismatic and ...
Read More

Murder Plot by Kevin McCarthy

24th September 2020. 3.5 stars. I found this entertaining cosy mystery buried among the books on my Kindle. The story's set in 1975. GP, Lance Elliott, becomes involved in a ...
Read More

The Keeper of Secrets by ML Rose

21st September 2020. 4 stars. Someone is playing mind games with DCI Arla Baker, breaking into her flat, sending her items that suggest they know her secrets. Worst of all, ...
Read More

The Scent of Guilt by Tony J Forder

20th September 2020. 5 stars. Having read and enjoyed Bad to the Bone, the first book in the series, I was keen to see what DI Bliss would face in ...
Read More

Dead Inside by Noelle Holten

16th September 2020. 3 stars. The subject of domestic abuse can’t be an easy one to tackle, so full marks to the author for depicting the suffering women can endure ...
Read More

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

15th September 2020. 5 stars. This is the first novel to feature Miss Marple. In her first appearance, she’s described as a bit of a busybody, who’s always right in ...
Read More

The Third Rule by Andrew Barrett

9th August 2020. 4 stars. Let me first say how much I enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure this would be the case when I opened it on my Kindle ...
Read More

The Gilded Shroud by Elizabeth Bailey

30th August 2020. 4 stars. It’s no secret that I prefer private detectives and sleuths to police procedural crime fiction. It’s much more challenging for a sleuth to solve a ...
Read More

Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran

18th August 2020. 5 stars. This is an excellent introduction and guide to independent publishing that’s perfect for a novice or seasoned indie author. It’s filled with practical tips and ...
Read More

No Obvious Cause by Valerie Keogh

18th August 2020. 4 stars. This is the second book in the series, building on the characters and relationships in the first, No Simple Death, which I reviewed here. When ...
Read More

The Soul Killer by Ross Greenwood

13th August 2020. 4 stars. I enjoyed my second outing with DI Barton and his team as they pursued a serial killer who managed to stay several steps ahead until ...
Read More

Find Them Dead by Peter James

9th August 2020. 5 stars. Roy Grace takes something of a back seat as the story focuses on the trial of a ruthless drugs baron who will do anything to ...
Read More

I Could Be You by Sheila Bugler

4th August 2020. 4 stars. A dead woman lies at the side of the road and her child is missing. Former journalist, Dee Doran, who has problems of her own, ...
Read More

Dancing with the Octopus by Debora Harding

25th July 2020. 5 stars How do you review a story that’s so intensely personal and traumatic, where the author opens her heart and soul to you? Simple – you ...
Read More

Bad to the Bone by Tony J Forder

16th July 2020. 4 stars. The skeletal remains of a woman are found in a shallow grave in a wood in this first book featuring DI Bliss and DS ...
Read More