From The Bookshelf – Page 7

Fancy A Quickie (twice)? It’s My Bedtime Reading

This latest round of reviews is brought to you under the heading “Fancy A Quickie.” I am not reviewing erotica I am grabbing an opportune moment to get down and dirty and rip back the covers to expose two books and tell you about the time we spent together in bed.

Yup, these are books I read in bed during nights I struggled to find sleep. Part of the reason I struggled to sleep was down to the fact I was enjoying these stories. But when I finish a book in bed I don’t review it there and then and all too often the review remains unwritten. Until now. Two quick reviews follow.

First up the second book in M.W. Craven’s excellent Washington Poe series: Black Summer.

After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming …

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath … He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time? And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

Black Summer brings back the most readable duo in crime fiction: Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. The pair met in The Puppet Show and I was very keen to see what may lie in store for them next – particularly as The Puppet Show was a dark, gritty page turner.

The good news is that Black Summer is another absolute gem. Poe finds himself not just facing a perplexing mystery which links to a former case he was involved in but also a mystery which drags him very much into the firing line in the present day. But when Poe is in trouble he has an advantage over his opponents which will always give him the edge to endure…Tilly Bradshaw.

Jared Keaton is the villain of the piece and he very much enjoys the limelight which he gets within the story and is a dominating figure that Craven uses to great effect. There is a palpable power-struggle in Black Summer which has Poe and Bradshaw on one side with Keaton using all the resources of the law to undermine the postition of the police officer he is trying to bring down.

Although this is the second book in the series it was the third I had read. After each book I have the same mantra – you need to be reading this series. Terrific fun.

Get your copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/black-summer/m-w-craven/9781472127495

Next up is Neil Spring’s The Haunted Shore

When Lizzy moves to a desolate shore to escape her past, she hopes to find sanctuary. But a mysterious stranger is waiting for her, her father’s carer, and when darkness falls, something roams this wild stretch of beach, urging Lizzy to investigate its past. The longer she stays, the more the shore’s secrets begin to stir. Secrets of a sea that burned, of bodies washed ashore — and a family’s buried past reaching into the present.

And when Lizzy begins to suspect that her father’s carer is a dangerous imposter with sinister motives, a new darkness rises. What happens next is everyone’s living nightmare . . .

Neil Spring always tells unsettling stories and The Haunted Shore was no exception. Though one element I found particularly unsettling was not from a supernatural thread (which is what I had anticipated) but from Lizzy’s self-destruction at the start of the story.

I won’t share what forces Lizzy to leave the city and move out to the wilds where she will be with her father but suffice to say it was a dilemma which the author depicted well and made me anxious and frustrated for Lizzy. I was annoyed with her character, then I was sympathetic and then I was rooting for her to overcome the situation. So before things really begin to kick-off I was already invested in this story.

Lizzy is alarmed to discover her father is in ailing health. He relies heavily upon a carer and the pair have a relationship which Lizzy is struggling to accept and to fit around. The more time Lizzy spends in the company of this stranger who is keeping her family functioning the greater her suspicion and distrust grows. The tension grows chapter by chapter.

As Lizzy adjusts to life in the remote countryside and to get away from the toxic atmosphere in the house she spends time walking the deserted shorelines. It is there she meets a neighbour who has warnings for her, caution is advised but clearly all is not as it may seem. The first inklings of troubles to come are seeded.

Neil Spring always delivers the chills and The Haunted Shore builds up nicely to the point things start to become disconcerting. It kept me guessing where the story was heading and with a chiller that’s always a totally open ended range of possibilites. I’ve read all of Neil Spring’s books and they never fail to deliver.

You can get a copy of The Haunted Shore here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-haunted-shore/neil-spring/9781787470101

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November 27

Let That Be A Lesson – Ryan Wilson

The malodorous horrors of Sports Day.
Bracing yourself for Parents’ Evening.
Refereeing teenage relationship dramas.

This is not what you see in the adverts.

From the age of eight, Ryan Wilson dreamt of being a teacher. This is the inside story of his time at the chalkface, from fresh-faced trainee with grand ideals to exhausted assistant head battling ever-changing government demands. It is a tribute to the colleagues who befriended him and to the chaotic, brilliant, maddening students who inspired and enraged him. From Sean, the wannabe gangster with a soft heart, to David, the king of innuendo, and terrifyingly clever Amelia. And, above all, it’s about the lessons they taught him: how to be patient and resilient, how to live authentically and how to value every day.

I received a review copy from the publishers via Netgalley

As Christmas approaches I like to look beyond the crime/thriller and horror books I normally read and I enjoy some new voices, different subject matter and I like to share my thoughts on books which I feel would make great gifts.

Let That Be A Lesson by Ryan Wilson is a fun look at what a new teacher goes through as they first venture into schools and find themselves face to face with a room full of hormomal teenagers who just do not care what you have to say to them. Ryan was that teacher and this is his telling of how he found his place in the classrooms, the teachers he would lean upon for guidance and, of course, the kids under his care.

Having been in Ryan’s position (a trainee teacher hoping to get his students to engage) I was fascinated to see if Ryan’s experiences were anything like my own. Hat’s off to him – Ryan is clearly a far better teacher than I ever was and I really enjoyed watching his confidence grow through the book.

Let That Be A Lesson would be a great read for someone considering taking on teaching in the future as there will be more covered in this book than you could possibly hope to learn in any teacher training classroom. Trust me when I say every lesson discussed there goes smoothly! But Ryan Wilson will help readers understand that nothing ever goes quite to plan as kids are unpredictable and even more so when in a crowd.

But there are lessons to plan, meetings to attend, trips to supervise and colleagues to bond with. The staffroom doors are thrown open in this book and it does make for interesting reading. The book is written in an easy companiable style and mixes up some of Ryan’s own life with those of his school and colleagues. It wasn’t the compilation of funny anecdotes in the style of “Kids Do The Funniest Things” which had been sort of what I had originally been expecting. However, the depth of issues which are touched upon makes for a more interesting narrative than a collection of funnies.’

Let That Be A Lesson is published by Vintage and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/let-that-be-a-lesson/ryan-wilson/9781784744014

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November 22

No Way To Die – Tony Kent

A deadly threat. A ghost from the past. And time is running out…

When traces of a radioactive material are found alongside a body in Key West, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the crime scene. This is not just an isolated murder: a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees.

The threat hits close to home for Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the terrorists’ bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past.

Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction across the country.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the blog tour for No Way To Die.

I am loathe to start a review with a seasonal reference, however, if you’re looking for an action thriller to gift a booklover this Christmas/Holiday season then stop reading now and just buy them a copy of No Way To Die.

Still here? Okay you can still buy it once you’ve finished reading my review. This one is an absolute corker.

All the “initialed” agencies in the US are on high alert when a tip off lands them at a quiet jetty in Key West. An incident at the waterside leaves the dead body of a security guard and lots of traces of chemicals. When the agents on scene watch video footage and see their killer they recognise him as a significant threat to national security who now has means to make a chemical device which, if exploded, could kill and critically injure thousands of innocent people.

The chase is on and returning hero Joe Dempsey is pulled from his planned trip home to assist. Don’t worry if you haven’t met Dempsey before as the author includes details of any key elements you may need to know from the previous books. In fact there are teasers there which will likely make you want to go back to catch up on those earlier books.

Dempsey and his colleagues on the hastily assembled task force will track their chief suspects across country as he flees in a van with his chemical contraband. This task is made easier as he is leaving a series of dead bodies in his wake.

For the reader we don’t just get Dempsey’s view of events we also travel with the terrorists and spending time with this right wing fanatic gives an insight into a side of American attitudes, personally, found discomforting. It’s very well written though.

We also get taken inside a high security prison where the worst of societies criminals are held. What links these captives, the ones who pose a danger to countries rather than individuals, to events unfolding in Key West? To find out I had to keep reading, long into the night as I felt I just had to keep going…the “one more chapter” mantra was strong here.

In short, this is a hugely enjoyable action thriller. Emphasis is firmly on entertainment from Tony Kent and the short, punchy chapters and snappy (often humerous) interchanges between characters keeps events zipping along. You are reading a high stakes, brutal and enthralling adventure story which has the feel of a blockbuster movie.

Make time to read No Way To Die.

No Way To Die is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/no-way-to-die/tony-kent/9781783966059

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November 21

The Guide – Peter Heller

The best-selling author of The River returns with a heart-racing thriller about a young man escaping his own grief and an elite fishing lodge in Colorado hiding a plot of shocking menace

Kingfisher Lodge: a boutique resort surrounded by a mile and a half of the most pristine river water on the planet.

Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher offers a respite for wealthy clients – and a return to normality for fishing guide Jack, battling the demons of a recent, devastating loss.

But when a human scream pierces the night, Jack soon realises that the idyllic retreat may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation.

My thanks to Ellen Turner at Orion for my review copy and also for the opportunity to join the blog tour for The Guide.

Jack is starting a new job an an exclusive retreat in Colorado. He is to act as a guide to the elite clientele who pay tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to spend a week in the beautiful scenic mountains and fish in the rivers. Jack is to help them fish, teaching them techniques or finding the best spots on the river where their chances of success will be greatest.

It’s clear Jack isn’t taking this new post simply because he wants a new job. As we read The Guide we learn more about Jack and the issues in his past which he appears to be trying to escape, this role is to get away from something or to give him space to clear his head. However, when we first meet him he does appear an amiable character but one who does not warm to the chief Guide who is showing him the ropes. Something appears slightly “off” about this luxury resort and he isn’t accepting it is because the clients want peace and undisturbed quiet.

Maybe it is the neighbouring estates which are making Jack uneasy? As he is being shown the river and the boundaries of the retreat Jack is warned not to go too far upstream as that neighbour is a crazy old fellah who will take pot-shots at anyone who crosses past the warning signs he has posted by the river banks. Seemingly he took a shot at a guest earlier that season and only narrowly missed them. DO NOT GO UPSTREAM is the clear message. Likewise downstream past the end of the estate is also a no go area – that neighbour has dogs that will attack anyone who may stray into their territory. There is plenty of space in the area of his employers estate and copious fish to pursue, no need to stray.

The accommodation is of the highest luxury, though not so much for a staff member, and as well as a bar and restaurant for all guests to relax in and enjoy there are also spa treatment spaces to allow guests to unwind.

There is an unspecified virus loose in the world so precautions are taken on site and daily screening undertaken to keep guests safe. Masks are worn and safe spaces are mentioned. It’s a set of rules we are all familiar with now and one the characters are comfortable to accept but at the retreat it is all about escaping from the world outside.

Jack gets an afternoon to familiarise himself with his new surroundings and to fish – something he clearly loves and an opportunity to lose himself in the activity. I’m no fisher but Peter Heller makes this sound the most relaxing and enjoyable way to pass an afternoon in the sun and great outdoors. For Jack there is an intrusion into his peaceful escape when he spots a security camera watching spots on the river, a safety feature but one which he feels takes away from his solitude.

By the time Jack is introduced to the guest he will be accompanying for the duration of her visit he is comfortable with the river and keen to avoid mingling too much with the elite guests and other staff. Fortunately his guest is also happy with Jack’s company and the two form an easy friendship.

It will turn out Jack’s suspicsions are correct. Something is very wrong at this idylic resort and the more mysterious things Jack sees which he can’t understand the more he will dig for answers. Digging for answers will, in turn, attract unwanted attention towards Jack. When you’re miles from safety and hopelessly outnumbered by powerful, rich people who want their secrets to remain secret your chances of surviving are not high.

The Guide was a deeply satisfying story which layered its secrets cleverly and didn’t show its hand too soon. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Guide is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and is available in Hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-guide/peter-heller/9781474623889

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November 12

The Dark Hours – Michael Connelly

AS NIGHT FALLS, A KILLER COMES TO LIGHT…

On New Year’s Eve at the end of one of the hardest years in history, hundreds of revellers shoot their guns into the air in time-honoured LA tradition. But as the rain of lead comes down, a man is shot dead in the middle of a crowded street party.

Detective Renée Ballard soon connects the bullet to an unsolved cold case last worked by legendary ex-LAPD detective Harry Bosch. As they investigate where the old and new cases connect, a new crime shatters the night shift.

The Midnight Men are a pair of violent predators who stalk the city during the dark hours, and will kill to keep their identities secret.

In a police department shaken to the core by pandemic and protests, both cases have the power to save Ballard’s belief in the job – or take everything from her…

I received a review copy from Orion and was invited to join the blog tour by Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers.

A Ballard and Bosch thriller but The Dark Hours is very much the book in which Renée Ballard gets to shine. I can’t immediately think of a scene in the book where Ballard doesn’t feature and she is a formidable force throughout. Bosch fans need not worry as Harry does get plenty of involvement but this is all about Ballard.

Proceedings open on New Years Eve when all the cops are on the streets for a “time-honoured” tradition of LA residents shooting their guns into the air (and I thought we Scot’s were hardcore revellers on Hogmanay). A call comes through for Ballard – a death to attend after the rain of bullets had fallen on the city.

Although Ballard is not working homicide cases and has been seconded to Sex to assist with a case the police are calling The Midnight Men she attends the scene and has suspicions this death may actually be a murder. Although Ballard should be handing over the case to the detectives that work homicides they are too busy with an “all hands onboard” case which has potential to be high profile and damaging for the reputation of LAPD. Ballard starts to investigate her suspected murder and opens a can of worms.

The murder weapon appears to link to an unsolved murder several years ago, the investigating detective was Harry Bosch. The pair are reunited and Ballard drafts in Bosch to assist so she can try to track a killer before she is told to hand over the case to the homicide detectives. As she starts asking questions she draws attention to herself, there have been other murders down the years and Ballard’s victim is just the latest person who fell foul of a ruthless collective. But with the department seemingly reluctant to lift the lid on historic murders which may make LAPD look bad she is fighting a losing battle to progress her enquiries.

Ballard’s frustration with the politics of policing is very clear in The Dark Hours. Michael Connelly has made his latest novel very relevant to today’s circumstances. He is one of the few authors making lockdown and Covid very much part of the ongoing narrative. There are mentions of George Floyd and the January 6th issues in the Americal capital. Ballard has seen the public perception towards the police shifting and it doesn’t help her doing her job. This brings a fascinating new dynamic to a police story which the author exploits to magnificent effect.

I referenced The Midnight Men – a dual team of predators who have been conducting violent sexual assults on women. Ballard is officially working this case but is saddled with a colleague who Ballard feels has lost her drive and empathy. These scenes in the story will be disturbing and Ballard’s determination to see justice served will drive her to making some questionable decisions to see the perpreatrators caught. Is the result more important than following procedure? Ballard thinks so but she will still need to answer for her actions.

The Dark Hours is easily one of my favourite reads this year. The story feels frantic and unrelenting. Ballard is spinning plates and burning the candle both ends and the reader is caught up with her determination to make good and help the victims in all the crimes she has to investigte. But hunting the worst people makes her a target and Ballard will need to be very careful as not all threats are physical, political pressures may also stop her achieving her goals.

I don’t know how Michael Connelly can consistently deliver such compelling stories but I am in awe that the does.

The Dark Hours is published by Orion and is available in Hardback, digital and audiobook copy. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08WPWZ57C/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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November 9

Have You Seen Me – Alexandra Weis

SOME SECRETS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE … FOREVER.

Lindsey Gillett is missing.

And she’s not the first girl at Waverly Prep to vanish without a trace.

To help cope with the tragedy, new history teacher Aubrey LeRoux organizes a small student investigation team. But when the members start turning up dead across campus, Aubrey suspects there’s more going on than anyone is willing to admit.

The murdered students all had something in common with Lindsey. They shared a secret. And what they uncovered could threaten the future of the historic school.

At Waverly Prep, someone wants to keep the past buried—along with anyone who gets in their way.

I received a review copy through Netgalley and the book was brought to my attention by Jamie-Lee at Black Crow PR

When you grow up reading books set in schools and featuring school kids you don’t realise schools feature less and less in your chosen reads as you move away from MG, YA and into (in my case) crime and thriller fiction. So when I started Have You Seen Me – a crime thriller set in a residential school I was transported back to a period of my life where schools were the staple location for the books I read.

Have You Seen Me is a YA thriller which is aimed at readers aged 12 to 17 and I would absoultely have been here for this book at that time of my life. It has a group of school friends who have concerns the adults responsible for their care are not listening to their worries that something has happened to a girl in their class.

At Waverly Prep missing girls seem to be something of a recurring issue. The staff at the school believe the missing girls simply ran away, they were disruptive troublemakers and they didn’t seem to want to be at this illustrious institution. Aubrey Leroux was a student at Waverly Prep and girls in her year went missing. She suspected foul play at the time but she didn’t know she had been a suspect too.

Aubrey had been a scholarship student and there would have been no way that her family could have afforded to send her to Waverly Prep were it not for her academic prowess winning her a place. Naturally this singled Aubrey out amongst her peers at the time, the fact she was dark skinned in a school with mainly white rich kids was also a situation she endured. Now Aubrey returns to her old school to take up a teaching post. Her new boss, her old headteacher, remembers she brought attitude and problems with her so Aubrey is already striving to make a good impression in her new role.

It’s not the best start for her though – as when she was a student – a girl has gone missing from Waverly Prep and Aubrey feels there have been too many instances of missing kids for it to be a coincidence. She believes there is a danger in the school and she wants to investigate. But the local police don’t support Aubrey’s suspicions so it falls to Aubrey and a group of her students to conduct their own enquries.

The missing girl is Lindsey Gillett. Her classmates hail her as a popular student but this isn’t mirrored by the staff opinion of her. Aubrey starts to look further into Lindsey’s time at the school and with her student investigators they start to ask tricky questions. The old groundskeeper remembers Aubrey from her time as a student but he warns her off looking too much into the background of the school and the large grounds it sits in, particularly the old battlefield and graveyard.

Of course the more the students and Aubrey snoop the more likely they are to draw unwanted attention and soon a missing girl is the least of their worries as one of their number meets a nasty end. There’s a murderer hanging around the school and it doesn’t look like he is going to settle for just a single victim.

As this is a YA novel the more brutal detail of the murder scenes are not shared with the reader – that’s all down to your imagination. But the manner of the deaths and the set-up to a catastrophe is still rather disconcerting at times. I liked the imagination Alexandra Weis brought to the second half of the story when the danger is ramped up to the max. But it was a bit of a slow burn initially and I found the students and their manipulation of their teacher to be irksome rather than engaging – I am putting that down to my age though!

All in I enjoyed Have You Seen Me. It was darker than I had expected but not in a graphic way. A couple of twists were a little too easy to spot but the exectuion of the story was still well handled. Stick with it through the build up for a full on last third where virtually anything goes.

Have you Seen Me is published by Vesuvian Books and is available in Hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Z5XJ74Y/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

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November 2

Good Cop Bad Cop – Simon Kernick

BRAVE HERO OR CRIMINAL MASTERMIND?

TONIGHT WE FIND OUT.

Undercover cop Chris Sketty became a hero when he almost died trying to stop the most brutal terror attack in UK history. With the suspects either dead or missing, the real motive remains a mystery.

But someone is convinced Sketty is a liar.
A criminal mastermind.
A murderer.

Blackmailed into revealing the truth, Sketty will share a twisting tale of betrayal, deception and murder…with a revelation so shocking that nothing will be the same again.

My thanks to the publisher for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Good Cop Bad Cop blog tour.

I’ve always enjoyed the Simon Kernick books I have read in the past, his name on a book is an early guarantee of a cracking read. I finished Good Cop Bad Cop last night and it has immediately become my favourite of all the Simon Kernick novels. What a rush this book was!

Chris Sketty is a cop. When his story begins in Good Cop Bad Cop he is recently single after splitting with his wife following the death of their young daughter. Sketty has his work and not much more so he throws himself into his job. But Sketty is young and headstrong and he also struggles to control his temper and exercise caution when the red mist descends.

This lack of control is evidenced when he uses excessive force to bring down and subdue a suspect in a domestic abuse incident. Sketty’s prospects look bleak as the investigation into his use of force looks likely to rule he over-reacted which would mean expulsion from the force.

Then comes a chance at salvation. Sketty is invited to go undercover as there is suspicion an officer in another division is part of a secretive criminal gang with wide ranging influence and a remorseless, ruthless destruction agenda. Sketty is to try and get close to the suspect and bring down the network. To Sketty it seems the perfect opportunity to redeem himself but it turns out to be one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Or does it?

Good Cop Bad Cop sees Sketty recounting where his life went wrong. This discussion takes place years after he was asked to go undercover and he is speaking with the widower of a murdered woman who died during a terror incident during which Sketty was himself injured but emerged as a hero for killing some of the instigators.

There is a suspicion Sketty is not the hero he is made out to be and that he got too deep in his undercover role and turned criminal – responsible for countless deaths and horrific violence. Truth will out but who can you trust?

I inhaled Good Cop Bad Cop. Simon Kernick does a magnificent job of blurring the lines around Sketty’s actions and I struggled to convince myself if Sketty was an evil operator or just desperately unlucky and cursed with making poor choices.

This is a book laden with excitement, thrills and tension. By the end you have lived Sketty’s life with him and you will have decided if he is indeed a Good Cop or perhaps a Bad Cop. But I don’t think we will all reach the same conclusion.

This is a must read book for any thriller fan.

Good Cop Bad Cop will be published by Headline on 11 November and will be available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08P6VVFTZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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October 19

The Rabbit Factor – Antti Tuomainen

Just one spreadsheet away from chaos…

What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.

And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri’s relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to take part in the blog tour for The Rabbit Factor.

The exciting news about The Rabbit Factor (which I am sure you know already) is that Steve Carell loves the book and will play Henri in a movie adaptation for Amazon Studios. I don’t believe it is possible to know this and NOT picture Carell as Henri – I felt I knew the character from the outset.

But maybe that is because I had a bit of a head start? Henri is an actuary and works in Financial Services. Although I am not smart enough to be an actuary I have certainly worked with a fair few actuaries down the years and could easily identify with Henri and the dilemmas he faced. You see, Henri craves order, precision and mathematics. He knows where he stands with mathematical accuracy – it is CORRECT. It can be qualtified. It does not entertain frivolity or feelings.

So when his employers stop putting their focus behind the calcuations and start synergizing and working in teams to consider how best to drive their corporate missions forward he feels decidedly out of his comfort zone. Things come to a head when his boss lays it out to Henri – embrace the softer, team focused ethos or take a hike. Henri walks, confident he will be snapped up by another firm. But Henri has misjudged the modern workplace – it’s all buzzwords and corporate bullshit these days and he doesn’t find a place as easily as he had expected.

Fate is to intervene though. Henri’s brother, the last of his family has sadly passed away. Henri inherits everything. But everything is a children’s Adventure Park and a whole lot of debt – debt which Henri isn’t used to dealing with as it did not come from the bank but from some unsavoury characters who don’t accept “no” for an answer.

Soon Henri is trying to deal with frustrated artists, ticket collectors with aims to become General Manager, broken machinery, absent staff and planning how best to avoid being killed by a frustrated loanshark. It’s an absolute riot but in Antti Tuomainen’s skilled hands it is also a delight to read.

The Adventure Park (never Amusement Park) becomes Henri’s focus. He can make it work, he can make it profitable and more importantly…he thinks he can use it to keep the moneylenders off his back. However Henri had not considered the possibility someone may just decide that they want him dead – can he survive long enough to outfox the criminals?

The Rabbit Factor delivers fun by the bucketload. Henri and the other Adventure Park staff are hugely engaging and the whole story is quirky and charming – well as quirky and charming as you can get with hitmen, dead bodies and hostile lapdancers.

Don’t sleep on this one.

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October 17

Last Girl Ghosted – Lisa Unger

You trusted him with your secret…and then he vanished.

When Wren Greenwood meets a good-looking stranger from a dating app, she expects a casual fling – but they connect immediately. Adam Harper is her perfect match.

She falls for him.

She confides in him.

And then he disappears… his profiles deleted, his phone disconnected, his Manhattan apartment emptied.

First, Wren blames herself. Then she hears about the other girls – girls who fell in love with Adam, and are now missing.

Wren needs answers, but as she follows the breadcrumb trail Adam left behind, it leads back to her own dark past. Suddenly, she’s no longer sure if she’s predator or prey.

She only knows one thing: whatever it takes, she’ll be the last girl he ever ghosts…

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

Wren Greenwood has met the perfect man through the Torch dating app. She hadn’t been looking for love but the connection she makes with Adam Harper is immediate and deep. The two begin an intense relationship and Wren starts to open up to Adam but one day he leaves. He isn’t answering his phone, he isn’t on social media and his house is empty. But he HAS sent Wren a brief message to apologise for what he has done.

Wren is in turmoil. It sounds like a problem she would take to Dear Birdie – a podcast which helps people deal with difficult life events and offering advice on how to get their life back on track. Unfortunately for Wren she doesn’t have that option available as Wren IS Dear Birdie – a secret identity she has kept under wraps and that only her closest friend (her co-host) and a small, trusted production team know about. The podcast has been very good to Wren and she is financially more than comfortable but this wasn’t something Adam knew about.

While still struggling to come to terms with the fact she was ghosted by Adam, Wren has another shock to contend with. A private investigator wants to speak with her, he knows about Adam and Adam has history of using Torch to match with single women who are both vulnerable and financially well off. Wren is very much the type Adam would target and the fact this investigator knows about Wren’s wealth and her vulnerability suggests her secrets are not as well kept as she had believed.

Wren initially resists the urge to help the investigator but Adam is still out there and despite her determination to move on there is one question she cannot ignore: Has Adam finished with Wren? She receives messages from an unknown number, the instruction is clear – get rid of the PI and we can be together.

Can Wren trust a man that ghosted her? Is the investigator correct when he says Adam is not the man she knows and that he has been responsible for three other women vanishing? Does Adam know about Dear Birdie? Who to trust?

Lisa Unger has penned a great thriller with Wren’s dilemma at the heart of the story. At times Wren’s reluctance to just ditch the idea of Adam coming back to her infuriated the hell out of me. But Wren’s feelings for Adam just can’t be brushed off easily and she is confident the investigator is mistaken in his accusations. Lisa Unger balances Wren’s indecisions really well and you can’t help but sympathise with her position at times. Then more information slips out and you begin to question everything about Wren’s history and how she came to be where she is.

Domestic drama and a love that’s meant to be? Or creepy weirdo meets girl with too much to lose? You’ll want to keep reading to find out!

Last Girl Ghosted is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085M4F4J7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 15

Spook Street – Mick Herron

Never outlive your ability to survive a fight.

Twenty years retired, David Cartwright can still spot when the stoats are on his trail. Jackson Lamb worked with Cartwright back in the day. He knows better than most that this is no vulnerable old man.

‘Nasty old spook with blood on his hands’ would be a more accurate description.’The old bastard’ has raised his grandson with a head full of guts and glory. But far from joining the myths and legends of Spook Street, Cartwright is consigned to Lamb’s team of pen-pushing no-hopers at Slough House.

So it’s Lamb they call to identify the body when Cartwright’s panic button raises the alarm at Service HQ.

And Lamb who will do whatever he thinks necessary, to protect an agent in peril…

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

If you’re not reading Mick Herron then you are missing out on some of the finest storytelling currently being published. These are the spy stories for modern days, the cold war is long behind us and only the dinosaurs in the service remember what it was like when the spooks knew their craft, when missions took them overseas and their lives were in constant peril.

Despite being long retired David Cartwright still keeps his secrets close to his chest but his memory isn’t what it was and he gets so easily confused. His grandson River is also in the service but he blotted his copy book and now resides at Slough House – the dumping ground for agents no longer trusted to work in the field. They are under the supervision of Jackson Lamb – a dinosaur in more ways than one – and Lamb (if you haven’t met him yet) is a dangerous enemy and a terrible human being. He is also hilarous to read about.

David Cartwright is in danger, he is a loose end and someone is tidying house. A killer is sent to end Cartwright’s life but once a spook, always a spook and the dottery old man manages to get one up on his would be assassin. Now River has to find somewhere safe for his grandfather and try to work out what the Old Bastard did in his past which may put his future in peril.

Lamb will protect his team – not through any kind of affection for them – because Lamb would hate the idea of someone other than him making life miserable for any of his Slow Horses. When Lamb is in action nobody will be safe and it isn’t long before some familiar faces find him knocking on their door.

The Slough House books (Spook Street being book 4) will make you reconsider how a spy story should be told. Everyone is playing everyone else and everyone is only looking out for their own interests – except River who is worried about his grandfather. But River is about to discover that his grandfather has been keeping secrets from him too and when old secrets are unearthed it never ends well.

Chase scenes, gun battles, killers and politics – there’s a lot going on in Spook Street and Lamb’s team are right in the thick of it. I had this book waiting on me for quite some time, I am pacing myself with this series as I just don’t want to catch up with the latest releases and find there are no more books to look forward to. The anticipation is great but the enjoyment of reading a new Slough House book is unbeatable.

Spook Street is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KXPVEJW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6

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