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Burnout – Claire MacLeary

My husband is trying to kill me: a new client gets straight to the point. This is a whole new ball game for Maggie Laird, who is trying to rebuild her late husband’s detective agency and clear his name. Her partner, Big Wilma, sees the case as a non-starter, but Maggie is drawn in. With her client s life on the line, Maggie must get to the ugly truth that lies behind Aberdeen s closed doors. But who knows what really goes on between husbands and wives? And will the agency s reputation and Maggie and Wilma s friendship remain intact?

My thanks to Sara at Saraband for my review copy and the opportunity to join the blog tour.

A return to Scotland’s Granite City and the chance to join up with Harcus and Laird, Aberdeen’s newest Private Investigators.

Fresh from events in McIlvanney-prize-listed Cross Purpose we have a distressing new problem for our leading ladies to contend with. Sheena Struthers wants to engage Harcus and Laird to investigate her husband – she is convinced that he is trying to kill her and fears for her life. While Maggie is concerned and keen to help the distressed woman, Wilma is not so sure. Keeping an eye on the time and energies involved in domestic investigations she is keen for Maggie to ditch Mrs Struthers and concentrate on working more reliable and financially rewarding cases. The two disagree but Maggie is not prepared to turn her back on a woman who is calling for help.

In this post-Weinstein era and with #MeToo still very much in the public eye Burnout is an extremely important addition to the voices and stories which is helping lift the lid on unwelcome and unacceptable attitudes. While Sheena Struthers is insisting her husband is harming her there is little proof to support her claims and Burnout highlights the problems which victims (and prospective prosecutors) face.

As we read further into the book we read of a couple where the woman is unhappy and subjected to unwelcome attentions of her husband. His demands and desires totally at odds with her own but she sees no escape from his control. We don’t get to know who the couple are but reading their encounters was an uncomfortable and somewhat distressing experience. Yet Claire MacLeary is not done there, other relationships are subjected to scrutiny and she lifts the lid on the “secret” lives of a few characters. Readers are taken into the home of a young couple with a small child where the husband is oblivious to the exhaustion and unhappiness of his wife. Maggie’s daughter appears with a new beau in tow and Maggie is very unimpressed with the attitude of the boy towards her daughter. Even Big Wilma is going to have a few bumps in her relationship with her husband. We get to see some stark realities over attitudes, expectations and the desperation that can come from a lack of respect. It is all handled really well by the author who does not sugarcoat any of the issues she is addressing.

This is powerful storytelling but the focus is never lost on the investigations which are ongoing. The dry humour we expect is also very much in attendance and the larger than life Big Wilma never fails to disappoint – she even treats herself to a trip to a strip club for Ladies Night.

Harcus and Laird are quite unlike any other characters I am reading – they have self-doubt, worry about paying the bills, feel the world is almost on the brink of slipping away from them yet they have a will and determination to succeed and it makes them joyful to read.

Burnout is published by Contraband and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burnout-Claire-MacLeary/dp/1912235110/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521071707&sr=8-1&keywords=burnout+claire+macleary

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March 14

Closer Than You Know – Brad Parks

Disaster, Melanie Barrick was once told, is always closer than you know.

It was a lesson she learned the hard way growing up in the constant upheaval of foster care. But now that she’s survived into adulthood – with a loving husband, a steady job, and a beautiful baby boy – she thought that turmoil was behind her.

Until the evening she goes to pick up her son from childcare, only to discover he’s been removed by Social Services. And no one will say why.

A terrifying scenario for any parent, it’s doubly so for Melanie, all too aware of the unintended horrors of ‘the system’. When she arrives home, her nightmare gets worse – it has been raided by Sheriff’s deputies, who have found enough cocaine to send her to prison for years. If Melanie can’t prove her innocence, she’ll lose her son forever. Her case is assigned to Amy Kaye, a no-nonsense assistant Commonwealth’s attorney. Amy’s boss wants to make an example out of Melanie, who the local media quickly christens ‘Coke Mom’.

But Amy’s attention continues to be diverted by a cold case no one wants her to pursue: a serial rapist who has avoided detection by wearing a mask and whispering his commands. Over the years, he has victimized dozens of women in the area – including Melanie. Now it’s this mystery man who could be the key to her salvation. or her ultimate undoing.

My thanks to Lauren at Faber for my review copy and the chance to join the tour

Melanie Barrick is having a bad day but she does not know how bad things are going to get! She is running late to collect her son from his childminder. Knowing the pursed lips of her so-strict childminder and the associated financial penalties for a late pick-up are waiting for her she arrives to collect her baby to find the door bolted shut. She hammers on the door, convinced she is being “punished” for her tardiness only to be told that her son has already been collected by Child Services.

As the nightmare unfolds Melanie returns home to discover the house has been sealed off as a crime scene. The police have raided her home following “Intelligence Received” and found a significant drug stash, things are not looking good for Melanie – the media quickly dub her Coke Mom and the local prosecutor is keen to boost his political ambitions and secure a fast conviction for Coke Mom.

Melanie has no idea where to turn. She does not have much money behind her, her husband is still pursuing his studies so cash is tight. She has lost her son, her freedom and she has no idea why – Melanie is totally innocent of all charges which have been raised against her.

Away from Melanie’s troubles the readers are also following a second story. Amy Kay is the assistant Commonwealth’s attorney and she has been chasing leads on an unwelcome investigation into a serial rapist. Amy recognizes “Coke Mom” Melanie as she was one of the victims of the rapist. It is clear the two stories are destined to cross but Brad Parks will expertly spin out the story to ensure you keep reading long into the night to see how that happens.

Closer Than You Know was a brilliantly entertaining read. Last year I read Say Nothing by Brad Parks and at the end of the year I included it in my best of the year list of recommendations. Having read Closer Than You Know I think it is safe to say that Mr Parks writes books which I love to read.

A five star page-turner…which is exactly what I want a book to be.

Closer than you know is published by Faber & Faber and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Closer-Than-Know-Brad-Parks-ebook/dp/B078HM3NMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521020706&sr=8-1&keywords=closer+than+you+know

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March 13

The Darkness (Hidden Iceland) – Ragnar Jonasson

A young woman is found dead on a remote Icelandic beach.

She came looking for safety, but instead she found a watery grave.

A hasty police investigation determines her death as suicide . . .

When Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavik police is forced into early retirement, she is told she can investigate one last cold case of her choice – and she knows which one.

What she discovers is far darker than suicide . . . And no one is telling Hulda the whole story.

When her own colleagues try to put the brakes on her investigation, Hulda has just days to discover the truth. A truth she will risk her own life to find.

My thanks to Laura at Michael Joseph for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour

Hulda Hermannsdóttir is an experienced and respected investigator working for Reykjavik police. When we first meet Hulda she has identified a hit and run driver and coaxed a confession from the woman. The victim of the hit and run was a known pedophile and during the confession the driver admits that she knew the man she hit had targeted her son. Hulda returns to the her boss, ready to confirm the case can be closed only to find that her boss has recruited a replacement investigator who will be taking over Hulda’s job…her retirement has been brought forward and she is expected to leave within the next couple of weeks.

Hulda had known retirement was looming but it had always been on her own terms and she was looking at completing a few more months of work before accepting the inevitable fate and the lonely prospect of retirement. Hulda’s husband had died some years previous to events in the story (a massive heart attack) and with no other family and few friends Hulda almost seemed afraid of the prospect of retirement. So when she is given just a few days to wrap up her work she wrangles an assurance from her boss that she can work a cold case (of her choosing) to keep herself occupied during the last days of her employment.

Hulda begins to look into the drowning of a Russian immigrant who had been seeking approval to come to live in Iceland. It soon becomes apparent to Hulda that the original investigation has been very poorly handled and she starts to dig a little deeper into the last known activities of the dead girl. There is speculation that the girl may have been working as a prostitute and that the stress of waiting for approval (or not) to come and live in Iceland, may have been too much for her to cope with.

Hulda’s investigations soon ruffle the wrong feathers and unwittingly, while following up on a lead, she accidentally alerts a suspect in a different investigation to the fact the police may have him on their radar. Needless to say Hulda is not flavour of the month with her employers. They want to put a stop to Hulda’s interfering and time will be called on her career – retirement looms large. So begins a race against time for Hulda – can she find out what happened to the Russian girl before her boss calls time on her career?

As with previous Ragnar Jonasson novels which I have enjoyed, the investigation undertaken by the police is thorough and well plotted out. What differs in this outing is the time pressure placed upon Hulda and the lack of support she seems to receive from her colleagues. I should also point out the importance of the title: The Darkness. This is a dark novel and there is a bleakness for the characters too. Hulda is facing the prospect of a lonely retirement. In flashback scenes which pepper the story we read of a mother struggling to provide a level of care for her daughter. Hulda meets asylum seekers who are anxious to escape drama in their home countries and find a better life in Iceland – their plight and hope for a free life is both compelling and tragic. There are other equally dark moments which I cannot touch upon in a review but they really had an impact upon me as I read – some twists which were truly shocking and unexpected.

Seriously good storytelling from Ragnar Jonasson. Bring The Darkness into your day…much more enjoyable than it sounds!

The Darkness releases on 15 March and you can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkness-Hidden-Iceland-Book-One/dp/0718187245/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520900061&sr=1-1

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March 12

Clean Sweep – Michael J Clark

A reformed smuggler finds himself embroiled in a mind-bending criminal conspiracy in this page-turning debut

Pastor Tommy Bosco runs a Winnipeg skid row mission that caters to ex-criminals and ex-addicts trying to make a better life. Sometimes that better life means leaving the city — and the good and bad guys — completely behind. A former smuggler, Bosco can make anyone disappear, faking deaths and extracting people across the Canada-U.S. border. But then his ex shows up, fresh from the murder of a biker-gang boss. She’s got plenty of baggage, including the biker’s cryptic ledger that everyone in Winnipeg’s underworld wants to get their hands on. Bosco finds himself a fugitive at the center of a conspiracy that has him staying far away from the cops, the hired hitmen, and even his dear old dad. Navigating through a harsh Prairie winter, Bosco must help his ex escape without having to make an escape himself.

Ahead of the publication of Clean Sweep this week I am delighted to be able to share this extract from the novel:

Noonan’s Buick was way past warranty. The woodgrain panelling concealed most of the rust. The Buick had been hiding Noonan for the last six nights, thanks to a toasty in-car warmer, a $300 sleeping bag, and plenty of empty plug-in parking spots at local retirement homes, where half the cars were Buicks. His compact frame of five feet six inches was easy to curl beneath the station wagon’s retractable cargo cover. The Buick had been in storage, under a dead friend’s name, for the express purpose of bugging out. He had left his ivory Escalade in front of his duplex on Rothesay Street. The house and the Cadillac had surely been searched by now by representatives of the Heaven’s Rejects Motorcycle Club, a name that was usually shortened to the HRs in casual conversation, or newspaper headlines. Noonan had freelanced for most of the biker gangs in Winnipeg over the last thirty years, watching their power ebb and flow from one group to the next. Whether it was the Los Bravos, the Spartans, or the current HRs, they all had one thing in common: crossing them meant death. The HRs had a slogan in the local underworld: First, we kill you. Then we go to work on you.

The latest assignment for Noonan had gone more sideways than an Electra Glide on black ice. It had all started ten days earlier, when he took a basic gig from the HRs to guard a stash house on Mountain Avenue near the Safeway, with four kilos of cocaine, two kilos of hashish, and six Ziploc freezer bags full of ecstasy. Noonan had been dozing on and off, a rumbling space heater next to the duct-taped Barcalounger he occupied, in front of a vintage black-and-white portable TV. Either appliance could have been responsible for the fire, the one that Noonan woke up to in full force. He knew it would have been wiser to succumb to the smoke, instead of escaping with just his life. The stash went up in flames, with not even enough evidence left in the debris to present a press conference for the Winnipeg Police Service. The HRs weren’t happy. Even if he had received third-degree burns all over his face, Noonan knew he would still get some breaks, as in fingers, maybe a tibia or two. Without a scratch on him, it didn’t take long for the HRs to ask the question; did the stash actually burn?

Noonan’s phone started vibrating in his coat pocket. He reached in to check the message, already knowing the request. “Please come home, Paulie. I miss you.” It wasn’t a lover, and it certainly wasn’t his ex-wife. Home was the Heaven’s Rejects clubhouse, located in a former bakery on St. John’s Avenue. I miss you — translation: or we’ll find you, and make it really, really painful. Not that anyone would ever find him. Winnipeg was full of missing bikers; you just had to know where to dig.

Noonan pulled down his visor for a peek at his current state. One of the vanity-mirror bulbs was burnt out, though there was just enough illumination to reveal a most frightened man of forty-seven years. His stubble was bordering on unkempt beard. His cheeks were sunken, a combination of only 145 pounds on his frame and the slim thought of eating in his current predicament. In the back seat there was a case of oversized green apple Gatorade bottles that could double as road-going urinals. The entire car stank of nervous sweat.

Noonan was waiting for the bus, a magic bus, especially if it could be the ticket out of Winnipeg, out of Manitoba, out of The Life. He continued to scan his side and rear-view mirrors for its arrival. The tap on the passenger side glass prompted him to hit the horn long enough to annoy. Noonan waited for a fat second until he turned his head to see Tommy Bosco looking through the glass. He breathed for what seemed like the first time in days as he hit the power lock.

Clean Sweep is published on 13 March 2018 and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clean-Sweep-Michael-J-Clark-ebook/dp/B077K7X97J/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1520846657&sr=1-1

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March 10

Anaconda Vice – James Stansfield

When Lucas Winter, a retired professional wrestler, runs out of gas on a dark and desolate road, his only thoughts are on getting to the lights of the small town up ahead, getting some gas, and getting out of there…only things aren’t quite what they seem in the tiny town of Anaconda.

Before he has a chance to solve his transport problem, Lucas finds himself in trouble with the law after a local man picks a fight with him…and then ends up dead. Innocent, Lucas fights to clear his name, tangling with the local law enforcement and the family of the dead man, who seem set on taking their revenge. Can Lucas get out alive? And just what is it that the residents of Anaconda are hiding….

My thanks to Liz at Manatee Books for my review copy

I’m going to start with my wrap-up then roll backwards into the story overview.

I loved Anaconda Vice. It was extremely readable, great fun, had a lead character that I got totally behind (probably the safest place when he is around) and the story was suitably twisty so it kept me guessing. Just what a bookworm wants.

Anaconda is small-town USA and it is not ready for retired wrestler Lucas Winter. Winter’s car grinds to a halt just outside Anaconda, he manages to get to the town and starts looking for assistance but it is nighttime and there are not many folk looking to help a weary traveler. After a long night Lucas manages to get the local mechanic to agree to recover his car – it takes a couple of attempts as the mechanic is not the sharpest tool in the box and Lucas seems to suffer from “smart-mouth” and doesn’t always know when it may be best not to speak. This smart mouth causes a number of problems throughout Anaconda Vice (but it makes for fun reading).

While the car is being rescued Lucas is guided to a local diner for breakfast. His peace is shattered by a local trying to score cheap points at Lucas’s expense. Not one to back down from a challenge Lucas soon finds himself pitted against the local and fists soon fly. The diner suffers damage and Lucas is invited to leave…pronto. Seeking refuge in the local hotel Lucas plans to catch up on some shut-eye. But his peace is not to last as 4 cops burst into his room, guns out, and Lucas allows himself to be arrested.

Accused of a crime he did not commit Lucas has to convince the local police of his innocence. The only problem he will face is that the sheriff appears to defer to the local big businessman. The guy who runs the successful large factory in Anaconda and who holds the most sway over the residents. The businessman is extremely unhappy with Lucas as it transpires Lucas was arrested for murdering the businessman’s son – he wants Lucas dead and expects the police to hand him over so that “justice” can be served.

While the “stranger vs small town bullies” is not a new phenomenon there is a reason why these tales are told – we root for the outsider/the underdog and we want to see the bullies get put in their place. Anaconda Vice ticked all the right boxes for me – James Stansfield tells a great story and the pacing and excitement are pitched to perfection. Oh and one scene really upset me. Generally I like when a book shocks me but this one was brutal *shakes an angry fist*

And we are back at the point in the review where we first came in…Anaconda Vice. Damned good story. Buy it.

Anaconda Vice is published by Manatee Books and is available to order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anaconda-Vice-smart-paced-thriller-ebook/dp/B079P4TDX3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520546598&sr=8-1&keywords=anaconda+vice

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March 9

A Known Evil – Aidan Conway

A serial killer stalks the streets of Rome…

A gripping debut crime novel and the first in a groundbreaking series, from a new star in British crime fiction. Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin.

A city on lockdown.
In the depths of a freakish winter, Rome is being torn apart by a serial killer dubbed The Carpenter intent on spreading fear and violence. Soon another woman is murdered – hammered to death and left with a cryptic message nailed to her chest.

A detective in danger.
Maverick Detective Inspectors Rossi and Carrara are assigned to the investigation. But when Rossi’s girlfriend is attacked – left in a coma in hospital – he becomes the killer’s new obsession and his own past hurtles back to haunt him.

A killer out of control.
As the body count rises, with one perfect murder on the heels of another, the case begins to spiral out of control. In a city wracked by corruption and paranoia, the question is: how much is Rossi willing to sacrifice to get to the truth?

My thanks to Sahina and the Killer Reads team for my review copy and the chance to close out the blog tour.

A Known Evil takes readers to Rome and drops us straight into the action. A killer is at loose in the Eternal City and detectives Rossi and Cararra are leading the investigation, we shall follow their progress as they hunt for The Carpenter.

With an early murder in the story to catch my attention it was not long before the stakes were raised higher – the killer strikes again and leaves another damaged body for the police to find. A cryptic note left on the bodies (written in English) gives the Italian police something to ponder and it seems the murderer may even be taunting them.

But everything is going to become much more personal for Rossi when his girlfriend is attacked and left in a coma. The couple’s relationship had seemed rocky in the lead-up to the incident and the long hours Rossi was working had been creating issues. However, when his involvement with a victim means Rossi will be sidelined from the investigation the story starts to evolve and move on from “just” a serial killer tale to a much bigger and more commanding drama.

Another murder victim is identified as the daughter of a prominent member of the justice system. The father of the victim mourns her death but Rossi suspects there may be more to the murder than initially meets the eye and he is not convinced the grieving father is sharing all his suspicions with the police. Twists and turns will follow and the investigation will become extremely political and some sinister players will emerge onto the scene.

A Known Evil is very cleverly crafted – starting out on relatively familiar territory and letting the reader enjoy a murder investigation but scaling up the scope of the story as the book unfolds. There are some tension filled moments, car chases through the tight city streets and the story rocks along very nicely (aided by short and snappy chapters which make ‘one more chapter’ so much easier to accept).

Crime fans who enjoy a political wrangle in their stories, conspiracy lovers and anyone that enjoys an engaging and clever drama – here is your next read.

A Known Evil is published by Killer Reads. The digital version is available now and the paperback shall be available in April. You can order copies here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Known-Evil-gripping-thriller-Detective/dp/0008281173/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520552269&sr=1-1

Follow the blog tour

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March 9

White Midnight – Daniel Culver

Elizabeth Nowicki, a British woman and self-confessed stoic, settles down in the seemingly idyllic American town of Midnight, with her new husband and his two children. Six months on, life as a step mom is harder than she thought, and the shine of the American Dream has already worn off.

Bored and lonely, Elizabeth is drawn into a nightmare when someone in a duck mask murders two local cops…and the investigation reaches her new neighbourhood. When this is followed by strange happenings across the street, leading to another death, Elizabeth starts to conduct her own investigation….but can she find the killer before the killer finds her?

My thanks to Liz at Manatee Books for my review copy

Small towns hold dark secrets and I love books which throw readers into the midst of those close communities and let you stumble around with the lead character uncovering some of those secrets. Midnight is a small town. Not St. Mary Mead small, but with under 30,00o inhabitants there is plenty of scope for intrigue and mystery.

Elizabeth Nowicki has recently moved to Midnight. Originally from the UK she has married Luca and settled down in this small US settlement and is adapting to her new life. When an unexpected shooting in the town rocks Elizabeth’s tranquility she begins to look a bit more closely at the activities around her. Then when her closest friend is killed she decides to take a more proactive approach to finding out what secrets Midnight may hold.

And there are secrets a-plenty. As we get drawn deeper into the tale the secrets will give way to mystery, to doubt and to the urge to keep reading to find out exactly what is going on. This is a book which will reward its readers as they get pulled along with the story – you want the answers to Daniel Culver will tease them out.

The writing is distinctly quirky at times. I expect the opening chapter to draw numerous comments in many reviews (look it just happened here too). But I cannot give you too much information about White Midnight as this is one of those books which you really need to discover for yourself.

So click the link below, order your copy and discover the secrets of Midnight for yourself.

White Midnight releases on 15 March and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Midnight-Daniel-Culver-ebook/dp/B079XRBGKT/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520549502&sr=1-1&keywords=white+midnight

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March 6

Hellbent – Gregg Hurwitz

To some he is Orphan X. Others know him as the Nowhere Man. But to veteran spymaster Jack Johns he will always be a boy named Evan Smoak.

Taken from an orphanage, Evan was raised inside a top secret programme designed to turn him into a deadly weapon. Jack became his instructor, mentor, teacher and guardian. Because for all the dangerous skills he instilled in his young charge, he also cared for Evan like a son. And now Jack needs Evan’s help.

The Orphan programme hid dark secrets. Now those with blood on their hands want every trace of it gone. And they will stop at nothing to make sure that Jack and Evan go with it.

With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his last assignment: to find and protect the programme’s last recruit. And to stay alive long enough to uncover the shocking truth …

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy which I received through Netgalley

Last year I was tearing through audiobooks and I happened upon a brilliant action adventure thriller called The Nowhere Man. It was the second book by Gregg Hurwitz which featured Evan Smoak – a former Government operative codenamed Orphan X.

Smoak had been taken into Government service as a child. Recruited from an orphanage and raised by a mentor who turned the child into a deadly assassin who could live and work deep under cover and (most importantly) was totally expendable to the US Government who could deny the existence of Orphan X should he fail in his mission.

There were other Orphan’s recruited other than Smoak and through the three books in the series (Orphan X, The Nowhere Man and now Hellbent) Evan will cross paths with some deadly former colleagues. This is not a good thing for Evan – Orphan Y now heads up the Orphan programme and his primary focus is to end Evan’s life. With almost unlimited resources at his disposal Orphan Y is gunning for Evan Smoak and in Hellbent he shall gain new leverage…a showdown may be inevitable.

Hellbent sees Evan going directly up against the Orphan programme but his mentor, Jack Johns, asks Evan to protect the last Orphan who had been recruited. She is a young girl, alone and unsure where to turn – she has had training which makes her dangerous but lacks the survival skills of more experienced agents. Nor has she the benefit of a healthy bank account which the Orphans accrue through successful completion of missions.

Seeing Evan trying to keep one step ahead of his foes, whilst juggling the care of a teenager and trying to maintain a semblance of a “normal” life was hugely entertaining. Gregg Hurwitz writes gripping thrillers and I have thoroughly enjoyed all the books in the Orphan X series. There is a wonderful balance of action, tension, humour and adventure in Hellbent. Evan Smoak is a dangerous character but he is a wonderful creation and if you have not yet discovered the Orphan X books you are missing out on some brilliant reads.

Hellbent is published by Michael Joseph and is available now in Hardback, audiobook and Digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hellbent-Orphan-Thriller-Gregg-Hurwitz/dp/0718185463/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520374051&sr=8-1

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March 6

Horoscope: The Astrology Murders – Georgia Frontiere

Dr. Kelly Elizabeth York has spent her life helping people solve their problems. A celebrity astrologer and psychologist with a devoted following, she now finds herself in the unlikely and terrifying position of helping the police and the FBI determine the identity of a serial killer—who just may be targeting her. No matter how careful she is, Kelly knows that she will have to confront darkness, an energy so black it could challenge everything she believes in.

Until now, Kelly has lived a comfortable, fulfilling life in her Upper West Side brownstone, with her housekeeper, Emma, and her loyal Siberian husky, King, by her side. Yet when four beautiful young women are found murdered, astrological signs carved into their thighs, she is drawn into a mystery whose clues may lead back to an astrological reading gone terribly awry.

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

Sometimes I have the opportunity to read a book and it takes me a lot longer to get to it than I originally envisaged. This is just one contributing factor to the phenomenon we bloggers refer to as “Blogger Guilt”…too many books and too little time. Horoscope: The Astrology Murders has been in my TBR queue for far too long and had slipped so far down my list of Kindle titles it had unfortunately gone off my radar. A recent trawl for something “different” to read brought Horoscope to the top of the reading list and I can finally share a review.

Kelly York is an astrologer who has built a strong reputation in her chosen field. She will perform astrological readings to guide people making important life choices and enjoys the supportive role she offers. Kelly accepts that not everyone believes in her work but her patience and methodical reasoning means she will defend her career against the doubters and show why there is merit in the service she performs.

It should be noted that there were several quite detailed examples of astrological interpretations and readings interspersed through the book. I cannot comment upon the accuracy of the information, but the detail and authority with which it was conveyed leads me to believe the author knows her stuff.

Kelly is housebound in Horoscope, she suffers agoraphobia and is terrified at the prospect of leaving her property. She has a housekeeper who helps (but is unaware of Kelly’s condition) and her faithful K9 companion keeps her company too. However, Kelly will soon have her peaceful sanctuary shattered – she starts receiving threatening phone calls. Someone who seems to know her every move and wants Kelly to experience fear as incidents around her home make her wonder if the danger is much closer than she thinks.

Outside of Kelly’s beautiful home there is a killer targeting vulnerable lonely women. He breaks into their homes under cover of night before raping and strangling each of his victims. Each of the dead women has a sign of the zodiac carved into their leg. The FBI are investigating but the killer is not leaving them any meaningful leads.

Kelly calls in the police over the threatening calls and the connection between the rapist and the threatening calls is made. We face the prospect of a murderer closing in on Kelly and she remains confined to her house.

An entertaining serial killer thriller. The murderer is a chilling figure and you root for Kelly from the outset – she is struggling to keep her agoraphobia a secret from her family and friends and the last thing she needs is the additional terror at the thought of being someone’s target.

Horoscope is published by Violet Mountain Press and is available for order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horoscope-Astrology-Murders-Georgia-Frontiere-ebook/dp/B00NZ96EBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520290141&sr=8-1&keywords=Georgia+Frontiere

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March 3

Silent Victim – Caroline Mitchell

Emma’s darkest secrets are buried in the past. But the truth can’t stay hidden for long.

Emma is a loving wife, a devoted mother…and an involuntary killer. For years she’s been hiding the dead body of the teacher who seduced her as a teen.

It’s a secret that might have stayed buried if only her life had been less perfect. A promotion for Emma’s husband, Alex, means they can finally move to a bigger home with their young son. But with a buyer lined up for their old house, Emma can’t leave without destroying every last trace of her final revenge…

Returning to the shallow grave in the garden, she finds it empty. The body is gone.

Panicked, Emma confesses to her husband. But this is only the beginning. Soon, Alex will discover things about her he’ll wish he’d learned sooner. And others he’ll long to forget.

My thanks to Charlotte at Midas PR for the chance to join this blog tour.

Caroline Mitchell’s books are always delightfully chilling and oozing with hidden menace so I was delighted to have the chance to read Silent Victim,

On these dark wintry evenings I had a hankering to read something that may chill me. Silent Victim did just that – unsettling through its subject matter and it twisted my perceptions as I could not be sure which characters were presenting the truth of past events.

The past events are crucial to understanding where guilt may lie. We first meet our lead character (Emma) burying a body in her garden – that’s how you grab my attention from the first page! Then we bounce forward a few years to rejoin Emma…it seems she has managed to keep her dark secret hidden from everyone. However, things are about to get complicated for Emma, her husband has a new job and proposes moving Emma and their baby North to Leeds – if she moves house then how can Emma be sure that nobody shall one day uncover the grizzly evidence of her crime?

Silent Victim is a story of consequences. What could have led Emma to strike out and take someone’s life? The reader gets to see Emma as a schoolgirl when her problems first began to manifest themselves. We also see her as a young wife and mother having to deal with the possiblity of her greatest secret becoming public knowledge. How she chooses to cope with the uncertainty will define her fate and future.

We also get to see Emma’s story from the point of view of the murder victim – her teacher. That was unsettling as we see how he targeted Emma for his attentions and courted her affections…given that she was a vulnerable schoolgirl it was not easy reading at times. Huge plaudits here to Caroline Mitchell for getting the tone of this spot on.

Having read Silent Victim and followed Emma’s story it was easy to see how she had been the victim of a predatory teacher. His death at her hands an unfortunate accident. Or was it? As I said, we get to see the story from the victim’s viewpoint too. While I cannot give too much away about the sequence of events which will bring Emma’s life into turmoil I can share that Emma may not be the most trustworthy of narrators and that makes things *very* interesting.

I soaked up Silent Victim in just two sittings. I lost track of time while I was reading and was twisted every which way as I tried to unpick what I could take as fact from the story Emma was living out. Cracking reading.

Silent Victim is published by Thomas and Mercer and is available in hardback, audiobook and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Victim-Caroline-Mitchell-ebook/dp/B071G5W8HC/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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