FBI – Grab This Book

Blood Summer – Steven Dunne

Two detectives from opposite sides of the planet join forces to hunt a ruthless killer in the South of France.

Commandant Serge Benoit is haunted by the terror attack in Nice, a crime scene he can see from his seafront apartment. Dispatched to a remote village, an hour’s drive from his home city, Benoit finds two brutally dismembered bodies. Who are the victims? Where did they come from? And who killed them? Benoit’s only clue is a cell phone with a single number in the memory…

Former FBI Agent, Michael Trent, is a wanted man in his homeland. Unable to return to America, he travels the world as an escapologist-for-hire, helping people in trouble to disappear. In Singapore, he is engaged by multi-millionaire Harry Renfrew who needs to relocate after receiving death threats from the Russian mafia.

After hiding Renfrew and his wife in a rustic French village, Trent assumes Renfrew’s identity to lay down a false trail to confound pursuers. After weeks of incident free globetrotting, Trent arrives in Barcelona for the final leg of his journey. But before he can congratulate himself on a job well done, he receives a shattering phone call…

Normally when I post a review I share the blurb then, in this space, I mention I am reviewing as part of a blog tour or I may thank a publisher for proving a review copy. Today I am reviewing Blood Summer, a book from my TBR pile which I had pre-ordered and received on release as I think Steven Dunne is a brilliant author and I absolutely had to read this book as soon as I could. Well done to past-life me, that was a great decicion you made a few weeks ago.

Blood Summer is in the world and if you like a dark, intelligent and pacy crime thriller then this is very much a book you should be reading.

The action takes place in rural France where two bodies have been found in a luxury villa on the edge of a small village near the South coast. Both victims appear to have suffered prior to death and their bodies were dismembered leaving investigators with little to go on. Commandant Benoit and his colleagues will take short term residence in the village while they conduct their investigations but this is not a small town crime.

Before the murders take place and the police become involved, the reader knows the victims. We have read about their flight from the East into Europe, how they travelled using fake passports and we understand why it was essential nobody knew who they were. For the couple we were rooting for and the former FBI Agent (Michael Trent) who had been employed to ensure their safety, this is a double blow for a reader.

Where did everything go wrong for Trent? Well, perhaps the incident which led to his departure from the FBI may have influenced his subsequent career choices but the memories of an operation which went wrong will never leave him. Now a second operational failure hangs over him and he must rely upon the support of the French police if he his to understand what happened. The problem for Trent is that he is very much a Person of Interest to the police and he must convince them of his innocence.

Despite the dark nature of the murders (and some of the other plotlines) there is humour and heart in this book too. Steven Dunne knows how to pack his stories with punch and I enjoyed every aspect of Blood Summer. Highly recommended.

Blood Summer is available in paperback and digital format and can be ordered here:

Category: 5* Reviews, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

May 2

The Family Tree – Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry

The DNA results are back. And there’s a serial killer in her family tree…

Liz Catalano is shocked when an ancestry kit reveals she’s adopted. But she could never have imagined connecting with her unknown family would plunge her into an FBI investigation of a notorious serial killer…

The Tri-State Killer has been abducting pairs of women for forty years, leaving no clues behind – only bodies.

Can Liz figure out who the killer in her new family is? And can she save his newest victims before it’s too late?

I received a review copy of the book from the publisher through Netgalley.

Last year I read a book which had DNA testing as a central theme. A few months later I had been recounting the plot to my wife and we had a conversation about the increase of DNA testing and how the process was now accessible to so many people these days. Many commercial operations have the ability let people know more about their roots than has ever been possible in the past. This can lead to unexpected discoveries, people have been learning the people they believed to be their parents or their siblings are actually an adoptive family and not their natural birth family.

I had never considered the implications of this, however, through her work my wife had become aware of charities who provide support or counselling for people who find out accidentally that their families adopted them. It was literally the next day I began reading The Family Tree and met Liz Catalano – she and her cousin had completed an ancestry test only for Liz to discover she did not share any relatives in common with her cousin. Liz was understandably traumatized by this discovery and my conversations with my wife gave me deeper appreciation around how Liz’s world had been turned upside down.

Liz wants answers, she needs to understand where her roots lie and it puts a real strain upon the relationship she has with the people she believed to be her parents. This part of the story is beautifully represented by Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry as the reader cannot help but feel empathy for the situation Liz finds herself experiencing and the horror and anguish of her parents who lost the ability to share this information with their daughter in the manner of their choosing. The fact they waited and never told Liz of her background is addressed and it’s easy to understand why families put off such a big conversation. Liz and her parents are a family and although Liz does understand this, there is a feeling of betrayal and curiosity of the unknown which will drive her actions through the story in The Family Tree.

Liz uploads her DNA to a national database in a bid to find more familial links and hoping to trace her natural parents. This act of sharing her DNA triggers a whole new problem for Liz. Her DNA is a close match for DNA which the police have been monitoring as it looks like Liz may be related to a killer – the notorious Tri-State Killer who has evaded authorities for over 20 years. The authorities will be knocking on Liz’s door, they want to know more about her but the information they need (Liz’s family history) is something she herself does not know.

The Tri-State Killer has been active for many years and is a notorious and dangerous predator. He abducts two women in one event every couple of years. The women remain missing for many months before, ulitmately, their bodies are discovered dumped and scrubbed clean.

I loved how the authors addressed the Tri-State Killer in the story. We take a jump back into the past to read about the first two women abducted, readers see how their killer managed to gain entrance to their apartment and how he was able to subdue them both. The story then returned to Liz and her endeavours to trace her family – it is progressing and she believes she may have found her grandparents. Then back to the Tri-State Killer and we pick up the narrative on what happens to the abducted girls after the killer has them at this mercy. But this time it isn’t the first two girls who were abducted but the third and fourth! A delightful twist which brought home the impact of the killer’s actions and a pattern which repeats through the book. Each time we return to the story of the killer it is viewed through the eyes of the women he has abducted, a different pair of women each time. The fifth and sixth women, then the seventh and eighth and so on. Each time we return to Liz and her discussions with the family she never knew only to return to two new abductees. We know their fate and we know more women will be abducted – it’s compelling and it’s grim but it makes for great reading.

I flew through The Family Tree in super quick time. The switching narrative between past and present made me want to keep reading. Liz may be related to a killer but she and the investigators cannot know who that killer may be. She continues to meet with members of her new family (despite warnings to be careful) and she puts herself at risk each time. But Liz wants to know the truth about her natural parents and she also wants to help identify a killer – but what if she destroys her new family in the process?

I never tire of finding wonderful gems like The Family Tree to read. I really enjoyed this one and it’s due for release in just a few weeks – highly recommend getting this ordered. It spins an emotive drama around a dark serial killer story and the writing just flows to keep those pages turning.

The Family Tree is published by Avon on 10 June 2021 and will be available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08R6QPT3F/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: 5* Reviews, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

June 1

Fair Warning – Michael Connelly

HOW DO YOU FIND A KILLER WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU?

Jack McEvoy is a reporter with a track record in finding killers. But he’s never been accused of being one himself.

Jack went on one date with Tina Portrero. The next thing he knows, the police are at his house telling Jack he’s a suspect in her murder.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t like being accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Or maybe it’s because the method of her murder is so chilling that he can’t get it out of his head.

But as he uses his journalistic skills to open doors closed to the police, Jack walks a thin line between suspect and detective – between investigation and obsession – on the trail of a killer who knows his victims better than they know themselves…

My thanks to Alex at Orion for the opportunity to join the Fair Warning Audiobook Blog Tour. I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher.

Michael Connelly brings back one of my favourite characters: reporter Jack McEvoy. His previous outings both saw him cross paths with killers and Fair Warning is no different.

McEvoy is working for consumer protection website Fair Warning. A close knit team who feed important stories to big newspapers but Fair Warning is in constant need of funding so they can’t be complacent. Stories need to be written.

McEvoy is about to publish a story about a school for training con men when the police arrive at his house. They have linked McEvoy to a murder victim, Tina Portrero. The police think McEvoy is a likely suspect and the chief investigator and McEvoy immediately clash. Jack knows the suspicions around his conduct are ludicrous but suspects the police have little to go on so are blustering.

Tina’s murder unsettled Jack, he remembers enjoying her company on a one night stand over a year ago but she didn’t want to see him again. Jack discovered there were unusual circumstances surrounding Tina’s death and after doing some digging determined there were other women who had died in a similar manner in different states.

Further digging determined that all the deceased women had submitted a DNA sample to a firm that helped them trace their lineage. But if the process was anonymous how was the killer able to identify a single type of potential victim?

McEvoy begins an investigation into the science and regulation of DNA labs and discovers there are no enforced checks or controls. Someone is using confidential information to target vulnerable women – McEvoy knows there is a story and a public safety issue he needs to investigate. Unfortunately he is a prime suspect in Tina’s murder and his boss does not believe Fair Warning can get involved. Jack has many challenges to face and now a killer knows Jack is on his tail.

I had the pleasure of listening to the Fair Warning audiobook. Audio narration sits almost entirely with Peter Giles who takes us through Fair Warning as Mcevoy. The only exceptions are the chapters where the narrative is with The Shrike and for these short sections Zach Villa takes the microphone. Both deliver very good performances. Giles sounds like I had imagined McEvoy would sound – an older, smokey or gravelled voice but also strong, confident and articulate. A seasoned reporter who is good at what he does but has been doing it for years.

Zach Villa sadly has very little air time as the killer isn’t given the opportunity to be subjected to any real scrutiny by the reader/listener. The Shrike casts his shadow over the whole book yet he is very much out of sight for most of the story.

The difference between the sound of Giles and Villas voice is quite noticeable and that worked well in audio. Using Villa rather than Giles for the killer allowed his character to remain apart from the investigation.

So to bring both elements together. The story was terrific, everything a good thriller should be and I can say with certainty it is one of the best books I have read for some time. The audio was really well delivered the casting is strong and with such fabulous material to deliver it makes the Fair Warning audiobook an essential addition to your audio library.

Fair Warning is available as an audiobook and in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fair-Warning/dp/B082975V1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Connelly&qid=1590990022&s=books&sr=1-2https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fair-Warning/dp/B082975V1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Connelly&qid=1590990022&s=books&sr=1-2

Category: Audiobook, Blog Tours | Comments Off

April 13

Rules For Perfect Murders – Peter Swanson

If you want to get away with murder, play by the rules

A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels.

The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to mystery bookshop Old Devils. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted online an article titled ‘My Eight Favourite Murders,’ and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list – which includes Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.

Can the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted?

I received a review copy from the publishers via Netgalley.

On a quiet day in his second hand bookstore Malcolm “Mal” Kershaw is visited by an FBI Agent. Agent Gwen Mulvey is investigating a series of murders and wants to discuss her theory with Mal. Seeking outside help is not normal FBI practice but Gwen’s theory is not one which has been accepted by her colleagues so she has come to Mal to discuss her idea with the man responsible for creating a list of perfect murders.

Several years prior to events in the story, Mal was preparing a blog post which detailed eight “perfect” murders. These were eight deaths from crime fiction which Mal felt should have been unsolvable. He hardly remembers writing the list and seems to quite enjoy being reminded of the selection. However, FBI agents don’t travel miles to sleepy second hand bookshops to discuss crime novels and Mal realises that the FBI must have linked his blog post to an active investigation. Is he a suspect? Has he given a “playbook” to a murderer? Is Mal possibly in danger too?

The great thing about a Peter Swanson book is that nothing can be taken at face value. He writes wonderfully twisty stories which will have readers second-guessing and even third-guessing everything they believe they understand about the characters and their motives or objectives.

In a market where publishers proclaim a book has a “twist you won’t see coming” Faber and Faber do not need to go there with Swanson. Perhaps “nothing is as it seems” should promote his writing. As such this makes each of his books a joy to spend time with – Rules For Perfect Murders being a great addition to the library.

Some great nods to classic murder tales and lots of unexpected surprises makes this a highly recommended read.

Rules For Perfect Murders is published by Faber & Faber and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0821VC3P1/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

February 11

Gallery of the Dead – Chris Carter

‘Thirty-seven years in the force, and if I was allowed to choose just one thing to erase from my mind, what’s inside that room would be it.’

That’s what a LAPD Lieutenant tells Detectives Hunter and Garcia of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit as they arrive at one of the most shocking crime scenes they have ever attended.

In a completely unexpected turn of events, the detectives find themselves joining forces with the FBI to track down a serial killer whose hunting ground sees no borders; a psychopath who loves what he does because to him murder is much more than just killing – it’s an art form.

Welcome to The Gallery of the Dead.

My thanks to Rhiannon at Simon & Schuster for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

I can only say good things about Gallery of the Dead as I absolutely loved it. It’s a dark but totally gripping read in which Robert Hunter finds himself attending a murder scene and believing that the killer has been too efficient for this to have been his first kill.

From the opening chapter I was hooked – a woman arrives home, she potters through the rooms whilst chatting to her cat. It seemed all too normal, too domesticated and so I expected something nasty was about to happen. Reading on my mind was whirring with possibilities over what Chris Carter could have in store…would she find something horrible? Is there someone in her house? Will she receive a terrifying phone call? From the very first paragraphs you are drawn in and you want to keep reading as you are sure something bad (really bad) is about to happen.

And it does.

Boom – he got me. And for the next few hundred pages Chris Carter was not letting me go – Gallery of the Dead is one of those rare gems where you don’t want to stop reading and the action and twists and shocks just keep coming. “One more chapter?” Hell no…I can give it another hour – at least.

Hunter is back in top form too (this is book 9 in the series). Gallery of the Dead can be read entirely on its own, wholly self contained and easy to enjoy without knowing the back story. His analytical mind and sharp eye quickly identifies “marks” left on the body of the victim (no spoilers here) and using the police database to search for similar occurrences he alerts the FBI to the murder he is investigating.

The FBI have already been aware of the killer (this is not his first murder) and they propose a liaison with the police. The agent heading up the FBI taskforce is aware of Hunter’s skills and is keen to have him on board – but if you get Hunter you get his partner too and with that comes a wisecracking cop who will rub up the FBI agents in the wrong way. I loved the friction and rivalry between police and FBI and it was only made better by Hunter’s reaction to the sniping around him!

If you like a serial killer story, one which will not hold back on the grim detail and the sadistic nature of a murderous mind then you need to seek out Chris Carter’s books. Gallery of the Dead is a brilliant read – entertainment to the max.

Gallery of the Dead is published by Simon & Schuster and is available now in hardback, audiobook and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gallery-Dead-Robert-Hunter-9/dp/1471156346/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1518307286&sr=8-1

Category: 5* Reviews, Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

June 2

Bitter Moon – Alexandra Sokoloff

The Huntress/FBI Thrillers: Book 4

FBI agent Matthew Roarke has been on leave, and in seclusion, since the capture of mass killer Cara Lindstrom—the victim turned avenger who preys on predators. Torn between devotion to the law and a powerful attraction to Cara and her lethal brand of justice, Roarke has retreated from both to search his soul. But Cara’s escape from custody and a police detective’s cryptic challenge soon draw him out of exile—into the California desert and deep into Cara’s past—to probe an unsolved murder that could be the key to her long and deadly career.

Following young Cara’s trail, Roarke uncovers a horrifying attack on a schoolgirl, the shocking suicide of another, and a human monster stalking Cara’s old high school. Separated by sixteen years, crossing paths in the present and past, Roarke and fourteen-year-old Cara must race to find and stop the sadistic sexual predator before more young women are brutalized.

I received a review copy through Netgalley

Cara Lindstrom is a killer. Matthew Roarke is an FBI agent (though in Bitter Moon he is on leave). Their paths have crossed and it has had a profound impact upon Roarke’s life and his career. Bitter Moon is the 4th book in Alexandra Sokoloff’s Huntress/FBI Thrillers series and reading the first three books in the series (Huntress Moon, Blood Moon and Cold Moon) will ensure you get the best reading experience for Bitter Moon.

So the book…it’s a corker.

Roarke is on leave of absence from the FBI but a call from an angry law enforcement officer wanting to know why Roarke doesn’t want to catch Cara Lindstrom, sees him hitting the road and heading to Riverside County, California. On meeting the angry cop face-to-face, Roarke is puzzled why the officer is so irate over Cara being on the run. Roarke knows that Lindstrom spent time in Riverside County shortly after the “incident” (spoilers) which determined the path her life would take. He elects to stick around and do a big of digging into the background of the town.

What I loved about the direction Bitter Moon takes is that we follow Roarke trying to piece together what Cara may have been doing in Riverside County, the places she visited and the people she crossed paths with. But between the sections of the narrative which follow Roarke we get a Cara narrative. A Cara narrative from when she was a schoolgirl, trying to fit into her new school, her new social care house and trying to contend with the monsters she has faced and must continue to battle. The shifting timeframe of the book is wonderfully worked and makes Bitter Moon stand out in the series as the tone feels so different.

What really makes these stories resonate with me is the fact Roarke is still torn over the crimes Cara commits. She kills sexual predators, killers, men who prey upon young vulnerable girls. Cara is looking to protect those innocent victims by killing the host of the EVIL within the predators. Roarke as a law enforcement officer knows she is a killer yet also knows that her victims are committing crimes which bring Cara’s judgement upon themselves. In Bitter Moon he almost seems bewildered that Cara could be killing at such a young age (and with such ruthless efficiency). The reader gets to see Cara identifying the threat and we watch how she deals with it. Alexandra Sokoloff paints an unflinching picture of all the crimes and the series is all the more powerful for the anger and energy which drive the stories.

Bitter Moon can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone novel but this series is so damn good I really would recommend picking up Huntress Moon and working your way through the 4 books in order. Bitter Moon is a 5 star read for me. I loved it and I cannot wait to see where the Cara/Roarke story goes next.

Bitter Moon is published by Thomas & Mercer and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook formats. You can order a copy through this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Moon-Huntress-Thrillers-Book-ebook/dp/B01F8PWUY0/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Category: 5* Reviews, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

March 3

False Prophet/Never Forget (Saul Marshall) – Richard Davis

So what do you do when you read the *wrong* title for a blog tour? Well you spend half an hour coming up with imaginative names to call yourself. Then 5 minutes checking you definitely have mixed up which book was the focus of the tour (I had). And then you stay up reading until 3am to post a blog tour “double-header” of the Saul Marshall books by Richard Davis.

There was quite a lot of coffee involved in bringing you these reviews, but good books and lots of coffee is how I like it!

FALSE PROPHET

A psychotic terrorist has his son. He will do anything to save him

When a rogue cult turns deadly, the FBI call on former conman Agent Saul Marshall. FALSE PROPHET introduces a gripping new series from thriller writer Richard Davis

Marshall is soon drawn into a cat and mouse chase with the leader of the cult, Ivan Drexler. As the scale of Drexler’s terrorist ambition becomes ever clearer, news arrives that he has taken Marshall’s son hostage. Removed from the line of duty, he must work alone, off-grid.

As the attacks intensify, Saul will stop at nothing to defeat Drexler.

But the FBI are questioning Saul’s own part in the carnage. He must work fast to save both his country and his life. Can Saul stop the carnage before it’s too late? And can he save his son?

As wave after wave of attacks break, the clock is ticking for Saul.

First up in this double-header is False Prophet. We are introduced to Saul Marshall – he is a guy with a fascinating past, an FBI agent who was once one of the best conmen in the game. He is resourceful, connected and a bit of a loose cannon (basically he is a hugely entertaining lead character).

Marshall is on a visit to England. A prisoner with a history of mental health issues has a warning for Saul – he knows of a former prisoner by name of Ivan Drexler who has crossed paths with Saul in the past and he blames Saul for his incarceration. The warning is that Drexler (who is without conscience or compassion) may be planning to unleash a string of attacks on American citizens.

Saul cannot ignore the warning but there seems to be no real substance to the suspicions. However, events are soon flipped on their head. Draxler is heading up a cult and has kidnapped Saul’s son to ensure Saul places himself into the path of Draxler and his minions. Can Saul keep up with Draxler and stop him unleashing his terror attacks?

False Prophet is a fast paced action thriller. Draxler as the “big bad” is a particularly evil character who inflicts some quite gruesome (and imaginative) harm onto several characters throughout the story. It makes for quite compelling reading and the speed at which the story unfolds is the perfect way to reflect the urgency/race against time which faces Marshall.

As a fan of action thrillers I have to say that False Prophet ticked all the right boxes for this reader. The chapters are short and punchy which kept the feeling of a high tempo going. Draxler’s cult were suitably disturbing and the author did a good job of positioning their foundation and their threat risk. Marshall, as I have indicated, is a fun character to follow and I loved having Never Forget to dive straight into on finishing False Prophet – I was happy to keep Marshall’s story going a bit longer.

False Prophet is published by Canelo and you can order a copy here.

NEVER FORGET

Saul Marshall is on the run.

As a wave of seemingly random assassinations engulfs California, Marshall finds himself drawn into a situation spiralling out of control.

He soon discovers some of the webs’ most secure protocols have been compromised by a rogue team of former Chinese agents. When Marshall realises what they plan, the stakes are raised…

And that’s before the Secretary of State gets involved. Can Marshall unravel the deceit and tricks before it’s too late? Can he stop the carnage, or will he become part of it? One thing is for certain: either way his enemies will never forget.

Never Forget – Saul Marshall returns (though thanks to my scheduling faux pas he has been my constant companion for a few days). Happy days though as I have been enjoying the frenetic adventures.

The Saul Marshall books are most definitely recommended for fans of the action thriller. If you have read your way through the Scott Mariani (Ben Hope) books or enjoyed Matthew Reilly then I urge you to seek out Never Forget and False Prophet, these are guaranteed thrill-fests.

In Never Forget I felt there was much greater emphasis placed upon Saul’s “unconventional” background. Before becoming an FBI agent he had been a successful conman and these skills are exploited here to great effect. The break from a more traditional FBI approach and mixing up the investigative element with the alternative skills that Saul brings to the party make him an unpredictable and engaging lead.

As was the case with False Prophet the central themes are extremely well positioned. Never Forget is tech focussed – reading about cybercrime/hacking and technology manipulation gave me a distinctly uneasy feeling as I start to question how much of the fiction in the novel could actually be possible (or even happening in some form). There is political intrigue too and it all meshes well to keep the reader hooked.

Never Forget will stand well without the need to have read the first book. Everything you need to know is nicely explained but once the story gets started you just get drawn in and go along with what’s unfolding on the pages in front of you.

A very welcome change in pace for this reader, there is always a place in my book collection for an exhilarating thriller and Never Forget fits the bill very nicely.

Never Forget is published by Canelo and can be ordered here.

My thanks to Faye Rogers for my review copies and the opportunity to join the tour.

Category: Blog Tours | Comments Off

December 15

Lone Wolf – Sara Driscoll

Meg and Hawk are part of the FBI s elite K-9 unit. Hawk can sniff out bodies anywhere living or dead whether it s tracking a criminal or finding a missing person. When a bomb rips apart a government building on the National Mall in Washington D.C., it takes all of the team s extensive search-and-rescue training to locate and save the workers and visitors buried beneath the rubble.
But even as the duo are hailed as heroes, a mad bomber remains at large, striking terror across the Eastern seaboard in a ruthless pursuit of retribution. As more bombs are detonated and the body count escalates, Meg and Hawk are brought in to a task force dedicated to stopping the unseen killer. But when the attacks spiral wide and any number of locations could be the next target, it will come down to a battle of wits and survival skills between Meg, Hawk, and the bomber they re tracking to rescue a nation from the brink of chaos.

My thanks Kensington Books for my review copy which I received through Netgalley.

A serial bomber is a terrifying notion and Sara Driscoll paints a terrifying picture of how simple it could be to place a bomb in our midst. In Lone Wolf Government buildings are being targeted by a killer who is holding a long standing grudge.

When a bomb explodes in a busy Government building the FBI K-9 team are called into action – they are to enter the ruins of the building and search for survivors. It is a harrowing scene and it really highlighted the importance of the work that a K-9 unit undertakes. Sara Driscoll does a fantastic job of describing the chaos and the carnage of the working conditions that the dog and its handler have to operate, the relationship between the two and the ability of the dogs to obey every command. I was totally engrossed.

Away from the bomb sites we see how Meg and her dog, Hawk, are an inseparable unit. We learn a little of Meg’s background in law enforcement, how quit her job when an arrest went wrong and what finally brought her to the FBI. The relationship and the bond between Hawk and Meg is something rather special and their partnership one of the strongest I have read for a long time. I loved discovering their story and really hope that Lone Wolf will be the first of many FBI K-9 stories.

Sara Driscoll has brought us a chilling thriller with wonderful lead characters and a bad guy that we will all want to see brought to justice. The story flows at a fast and exciting pace and has that important “just one more chapter” feel about it as you read.

Dog lovers will adore it. Thriller fans should grab it. Lone Wolf is highly recommended.

Lone Wolf was published on 29 November by Kensington Books. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lone-Wolf-F-B-I-K-9-Novel/dp/149670441X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480371068&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=loan+wolf+sara+driscoll

Category: 5* Reviews, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

October 29

Depraved Heart – Patricia Cornwell

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts when an emergency alert sounds on her phone with a surveillance film of her genius niece Lucy taken almost twenty years ago. The film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her not knowing where to turn – not to her FBI husband Benton Wesley or her investigative partner Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.

Scarpetta is now launched into intensely psychological odyssey that includes the mysterious death of a Hollywood mogul’s daughter, aircraft wreckage on the bottom of the sea in the Bermuda Triangle, a grisly gift left in the back of a crime scene truck, and videos from the past that threaten to destroy Scarpetta’s entire world and everyone she loves.

My thanks to Hayley and the Harper Fiction team for my review copy and the chance to join the tour.

Depraved Heart is the 23rd Kay Scarpetta novel. I was there back in 1990 when the first book (Postmortem) was released and the first ever publishers ARC I received was for book 6 (From Potter’s Field). Doctor Scarpetta was one of my annual essential reads and I always made a point of picking up the latest release as soon as the hardback hit the shop shelves. But time moved on and for a period of time it became more important that I bought baby food and nappies rather than the books I wanted. My favourite reads suffered and as a result I fell behind on the lives of Dr Scarpetta, Lucas Davenport (from the wonderful John Sandford Prey series) and whichever oddity Mr Stephen King would serve up for our entertainment.

The bodies that consumed the baby food and then filled the nappies have grown somewhat and I am now able to pick up the books I have missed over the last few years and I am catching up on my favourite characters. It seems that while I have been distracted Doctor Scarpetta has been busy!

Author photograph - Patrick Ecclesine 2015 — Author photograph – Patrick Ecclesine 2015

To Depraved Heart: it is to be expected that by book 23 in a series there will be a requirement to know something of the backstory. Depraved Heart is very much a story which draws upon previous events. The author does bring through sufficient information to allow readers to understand something of what has passed before but this is not a book I would consider an easy jumping on point. There is a vast backstory for Kay Scarpetta and the joy for the reader is in reading through these events in the earlier books, not to try to piece together what has gone before through some of the salient facts in the latest title.

The good news for returning readers is that some significant elements from Kay’s past are returning to haunt her and a fascinating game of cat and mouse is about to unfold. The book opens with Scarpetta at a murder scene but she becomes distracted by call she receives from her niece’s emergency phone. However, it is not her niece, Lucy, that has contacted Kay – instead Kay watches a video clip of Lucy which was recorded some 20 years earlier. Lucy was clearly unaware the video was being recorded but Kay is sufficiently worried about her niece that she leaves the crime scene and drives directly to Lucy’s home to check on her safety.

On arriving at Lucy’s home Kay is shocked to learn that the FBI are searching the property and it seems that Lucy may be a person of interest to them. Kay has her suspicions regarding the person responsible for sending the video and believes that they may also be engineering a ploy to implicate Lucy in a criminal activity. But with no evidence to support her theory and facing an apparent attempt to discredit her own recollections of recent events (which that endangered her own life) Kay finds she is fighting a battle on more than one front.

Depraved Heart is a rewarding read for fans of the series. Scarpetta, Benton and Moreno are in fine form, their interchanges and point-scoring discussions are a joy to read – particularly as this is a conversation heavy story which much supposition and discussion between the characters.

The mystery and unpredictability of the unseen opponent in Depraved Heart made for interesting twists along the way. As I was reading I felt the story dropped pace a little in the middle but then rushed into an explosive ending which seemed to be over all too quickly, the final set piece was quite nasty though so perhaps drawing it out would have been unpleasant for some?

In summary – if you have read the 22 books leading into Depraved Heart you will love this. For those on catch up (as I was) pay attention and stick with it as all becomes clear but there are spoilers for earlier books.

Track the Depraved Heart blog tour at the sites listed below:

Fans of Patricia Cornwell may be keen to know that there will be two opportunities to meet her during November – links below will provide more details on the events which are being held in London and Manchester.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/lifestyle/gh-events-and-whats-on/patricia-cornwell – event in LONDON

https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-patricia-cornwell/manchester-deansgate -event in MANCHESTER

Depraved Heart is available now in Hardback and Digital format.

Patricia Cornwell is on Twitter: @1pcornwell

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

April 21

Huntress Moon – Alexandra Sokoloff

The Huntress/FBI Thrillers Book 1

FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can’t believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of “accidents” and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.

Roarke’s hunt for her takes him across three states…while in a small coastal town, a young father and his five-year old son, both wounded from a recent divorce, encounter a lost and compelling young woman on the beach and strike up an unlikely friendship without realizing how deadly she may be.

As Roarke uncovers the shocking truth of her background, he realizes she is on a mission of her own, and must race to capture her before more blood is shed.

My thanks to Alexandra Sokoloff for giving me the chance to read Huntress Moon.

I think I will need a thesaurus for this review. I would open it to the word ‘Brilliant’ and then apply a number of superlatives to Huntress Moon. It was that good!

FBI Special Agent Roarke is witness to a colleague’s sudden and unexpected death. The deceased agent had been working undercover and was due to rendezvous with Roarke but was killed by a speeding vehicle. Just before the incident Roarke spotted a woman standing beside his colleague she vanished when Roarke’s line of sight was broken but her presence unsettled him.

The reader then gets to join the woman. She is on the run, not that she fears capture – she is escaping a crime scene and has a code to follow. She has clearly done this many times in the past. At a truck stop the woman is confronted by a trucker, it ends badly for him but the woman leaves an unavoidable mess.

We now have a fabulous set up. We follow Roarke and his investigations into the mystery woman. We follow the killer as she tries to blend in and establish a cover story. As the story develops we learn more about our mysterious killer and see how she constantly lives on the fine edge between fight and flight. The FBI investigations also progress and it becomes clear that the mystery woman will not be able to remain a mystery for long.

I found Huntress Moon to be a compelling read. I enjoy reading FBI ‘manhunt’ novels and the added bonus of seeing how the hunt unfolded from the point of view of the killer was a nice twist. By the time the story was entering the Endgame I was genuinely torn as to how I wanted events to unfold.

There are moral implications to consider in Huntress Moon. If a killer is targeting victims who they perceive as immoral, or if the victim was engaging in criminal activities, can their death be justified? One for the reader to consider and one of the reasons I was torn over how I wanted the book to end. I don’t have an answer to that question.

Huntress Moon is a stand out book for me. I liked Roarke and his FBI colleagues (who were all well developed and made to feel real). I found the killer to be fascinating, her motives are clear to her but what triggered her obsession was disturbing.

Huntress Moon is the best crime thriller I have read for many months and it easily scoops a review score of 5/5. I am now lining up the next book: Blood Moon

Huntress Moon is just £1 on Kindle through April 2015.

Alexandra Sokoloff recently visited the blog to discuss Serial Killers. The interview can be found here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=696

Visit the author’s website at AlexandraSokoloff.com

Follow Alexandra on Twitter at @alexsokoloff

Huntress Moon: http://amzn.to/1wEwxZo

Category: 5* Reviews, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off