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The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton

‘Somebody’s going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won’t appear to be a murder and so the murderer won’t be caught. Rectify that injustice and I’ll show you the way out.’

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…

My thanks to The First Monday Crime team for my review copy.

My thanks to who??? Well let me explain…First Monday Crime allow us readers the chance to spend the evening in the company of some damn fine crime writers. They meet on the First Monday of each month in a very accessible location in London town and, while I think it would much more fun if they came to Scotland now and then, I guess London is pretty handy for some folk.

If you fancy popping along to April’s meeting to see what all the fuss is about then the deets can be found here: https://www.firstmondaycrime.com/ It is a free event and the April 2018 meeting is on 9th April (which is actually the 2nd Monday in April but I guess it was easier to move the day than to rename the event…damn these religious festivals interfering with our plans).

The April 2018 panel features John Connolly, Rachel Abbott, Stuart Turton, and Leigh Russell and it will be moderated by Barry Forshaw. As Mr Stuart Turton is on the panel I have taken the opportunity to peruse his stormingly good novel The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle ahead of next week’s shenanigans.

To the book:

I had seen a lot of chat about Seven Deaths on the Twitter place before I had the chance to read the book. The most repeated phrase was “Groundhog Day” so I knew that there was a recurring day…forewarned that it was not a “vanilla” story. What I had not expected was that Stuart Turton had given us a belter of a read which I can only describe as “Quantum Leap meets Agatha Christie”.

Fan-Bloody-Tastic.

If you missed the seminal tv show (which ran for 5 seasons between 1989 and 1993) then you will have no idea why I fell so utterly in love with this book. In the show Dr Sam Beckett “leaps” into a different body each week. He looks like the person who’s body he has taken over but he controls their words and deeds and it is down to Sam to save the day each episode to ensure wrongs are righted, history is kept on track or the bully is stopped from causing further misery.

In Seven Deaths we have Aiden. He has no idea what is happening to him but when he wakes at the start of the book he is in the body of a young man who may just have seen a murder. He is bloody and confused but is guided back to a large stately home where preparations are underway for a very unusual party. It soon becomes clear to the reader that something very unusual is happening and it is not long before we learn that Aiden is using the body of the first of 8 different hosts. He will experience the same day inside 8 different people and at the end of 8 days he has to provide proof of the identity of a murderer.

Yup we know who is going to die (clue is in the title) and we know when she dies but Aiden is tasked with working out who the killer is (and proving it). Aiden will have some assistance in his quest – a mysterious figure who appears in a Plague Doctor costume and tasks Aiden with his mission to identify the killer. Also assisting is Anna, a young woman who seems to understand that despite the outward appearance Aiden will be different people she meets over the course of a single day. What further complicates issues is that Aiden is not the only person who is body hopping and trying to find the murderer. Oh and if that was not enough to contend with – someone wants Aiden dead too.

I love a clever book and The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle is a VERY clever book which ticked every single box for me. It even ticked boxes I did not know needed to be ticked – it is an astonishing piece of story telling and the journey from first page to last was a joy.

There is a LOT going on in this book and I have no idea how the author (or his poor editor) kept on top of all the timelines and character placements…I can only assume that more than a normal amount of migraine tablets were consumed in the making of this book. However, their endeavours mean we get to enjoy this beast of a story. I cannot think of a book like it and I wish I could have the chance to read it all over again without knowing the twists that are contained within.

The phrase “five star read” undersells how much I enjoyed The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is published by Raven Books and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audio. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Deaths-Evelyn-Hardcastle/dp/1408889560/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1522877576&sr=1-1

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April 4

Pond Scum – Michael Lilly

My name is Jeremy Thorn, and I’m a serial killer.

Jeremy ‘Remy’ Thorn is a detective from a small town in Oregon. He does his job well and keeps to himself. A past of trauma and abuse, and a compulsive need for balance have shaped him into the person he is today: a decisive, effective killer. His routine is simple but trustworthy. Step one: Find two targets. The first, an abomination of a human being whose only contribution to the world is as fertilizer. The second, a detriment to society, perhaps a sidekick or accessory. Step two: Kill the first. Frame the second. Easy.

After his latest, and most personal kill, all seems to be going well. He makes it home by morning and continues with his plan as normal, with each perfectly timed maneuver all mapped out. But to his horror, he finds that the man he was trying to frame—a hotshot detective from a major nearby city—has been called in to work the case. And what’s worse … he’s privy to the truth.

My thanks to Sarah at Vulpine Press for my review copy

Remy is a serial killer. He selects his victims carefully, identify a bad guy…kill him. Then plan evidence which will implicate a second bad guy – two birds with one stone and this leaves Remy free to repeat the process in future. Being a cop means Remy knows what the investigators will be looking for and it helps him keep one step ahead of trouble.

As we join events in Pond Scum Remy has just killed his latest victim. However, this time it has been a very personal murder as Remy has killed his own father.

The murder appears totally justified as Remy’s father subjected him to years of abuse and his crimes were not restricted to the torment of Remy. Remy’s father shared and distributed child pornography over a long number of years and was instrumental in the prolonged abuse of many innocents.

Remy frames another cop who was aiding his father, however, Remy’s plans are about to come unstuck as the cop he is trying to frame is put in charge of finding who murdered Remy’s father. It is also very apparent to Remy that he knows full well who is responsible for the murder. A high-stakes game is about to begin and neither man can afford to lose.

Pond Scum is gripping reading. Remy should not be a likeable character given his secret hobby, however, readers cannot help but root for the killer on this occasion and Michael Lilly does a brilliant job of balancing the potential ethical dilemma, we want the least bad bad guy to win. Unfortunately Remy is not going to get everything all his own way.

In a tense drama I always enjoy a few lighter scenes to lift the tension. Happily Pond Scum has the perfect sparring partner for Remy – his partner Beth…a cop who takes no nonsense and will keep Remy “honest”as he struggles to keep himself safe from unknown enemies.

Nice twist to the serial killer/cop story and Pond Scum is definitely one to look out for.

Pond Scum is published by Vulpine Press and can be ordered in paperback or digital format here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pond-Scum-Darkthorn-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0784XWXCC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522531696&sr=1-2

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March 20

Crook’s Hollow – Robert Parker

In the quiet village of Crook’s Hollow, almost exactly between Manchester and Liverpool, land and pride are king.

And now someone has just tried to kill Thor Loxley – but Thor has no clue as to why. As the estranged youngest of the omnipresent Loxley farming dynasty, all of whom view him as a traitorous turncoat, in a village where everybody knows everybody else’s business, life is hard enough.

But here, farmers do things the old way. You deal with problems on your own terms. You keep everything in house where possible. You avoid involving the authorities. With nobody to turn to, Thor sets out to uncover who wronged him. But with corrupt land developers circling, the rival Crook family seeking to unsettle the Loxley’s at every turn, his own family despising him, and jealous old acquaintances lurking, the mystery plunges ever deeper – and up floats more greed, betrayal, secrecy and blood than Thor could possibly imagine.

My thanks to Linda MacFadyen for my review copy

I jumped the gun on Crook’s Hollow and read it too early. It was sitting beside me and calling out to be read and I *knew* it was still 2 months until publication date and that I should really wait so I could review it “fresh” from finishing it…but I am weak dear reader, weak. I raced through Crook’s Hollow in two sittings and have had to sit on my hands for a few weeks and not share how much I enjoyed it until publication date loomed large.

Crook’s Hollow releases on 29 March 2018 and I recommend getting it ordered as soon as you can.

I have mentioned more than once that I love a small town story. Usually there are secrets to be uncovered but sometimes there are small town rivalries and feuding families and the town becomes a powder keg with the reader waiting for someone to light the fuse…that’s Crook’s Hollow.

There are secrets too. The biggest secret as far as Thor Loxley is concerned is that someone is trying to kill him and he has no idea who that someone may be. Now…had he given this problem any prior consideration I don’t believe that Thor would have said ANYONE would want to kill him, however, someone tried and now everyone in Crook’s Hollow is a suspect. Finding the responsible party is not going to be easy though. Thor cannot rely upon his family for help as he has alienated himself from their loving embrace. His best friend is a suspect so there is no help available there and as for his girlfriend, well they have to keep their relationship hush-hush…one of those secrets I spoke of earlier.

I really enjoyed following Thor’s story, the book had a claustrophobic feel and thinking back to when I read it I have a memory of dark rooms, shady places and the prevailing feeling of sinister overtones. It felt like I’d been drawn in to a tale spun by a story-teller as the listeners sat around a campfire on a dark night. This may sound a bit odd but Crook’s Hollow drew me in and the fondest memory I have of reading it is of a sinister darkness.

While Crook’s Hollow may not be the longest story you will read this month, there is a lot of story packed into this tale and Thor will face more than a couple of moments of peril to keep readers highly entertained. Robert Parker held my attention from page one and while my TBR pile is threatening to rage out of control it is not easy to command my full attention the way that Crook’s Hollow did.

Crooks Hollow is published by Black Rose Writing on 29 March 2018 and will be available in digital and paperback format – order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crooks-Hollow-Robert-Parker-ebook/dp/B078WDQV4X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518650638&sr=8-1&keywords=crook%27s+hollow

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March 18

Scared to Death – Rachel Amphlett

“If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully.”

When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.

But Detective Kay Hunter isn’t convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.

When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay’s worst fears are realised.

With her career in jeopardy and desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay’s hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.

For the killer, the game has only just begun…

Rachel Amphlett has just released the 5th Kay Hunter book (Call to Arms) and I have already seen some cracking reviews for it already from my fellow bloggers. Expect to see a review here in due course too as this is a series I really enjoy.

But what if you don’t want to jump into a series at book 5? Many readers (myself included) prefer to join a series at the first book and watch the characters develop. So I am jumping back in the Kay Hunter timeline to review Scared to Death, the first book and where the fun begins.

Not that there is much fun to be found for Kay as we start Scared to Death. A kidnapped girl, two distressed parents who have paid the ransom and not told the Police of the family plight and the shadow of an incident at work which Kay is trying to move on from. That’s just her work life – at home there has been a significant incident which Kay cannot just brush off and it is fascinating watching how she reconciles work pressure with home anxieties.

Unfortunately the recovery of the kidnapped girl ends in tragedy – it seems the kidnapper (now a killer) had no intention of letting the girl survive and she was held in a perilous location from which she could not have expected to be saved. The motivation behind this cruel stunt becomes clear as the story unfolds and it made for an intriguing twist for the reader, making it clear that Kay and her colleagues would have their work cut out.

Having read several of Rachel Amphlett’s books I knew that Scared to Death would be a story I enjoyed – I was not disappointed. What lifted the enjoyment was the fact I “read” it as an audiobook – so technically Alison Campbell read Scared to Death and I just got to listen in. The narration was brilliantly done – some audiobooks I will pass on when I don’t enjoy the narrators style – but Alison Campbell nailed this for me and I will now likely join her again for Call to Arms (book 5) rather than read it myself again.

In short, if you have yet to read Rachel’s brilliant Kay Hunter series then you are missing out. Scared to Death is the easy starting point but all the books can be read as stand alone. If you like an audiobook then you can’t go wrong with this offering, great story, terrific reader and more of the same to follow.

Scared to Death is available in digital, paperback and audiobook. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scared-Death-Detective-detective-thriller-ebook/dp/B01N9DS5NG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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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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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

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January 25

Perfect Death – Helen Fields

There’s no easy way to die….

Unknown to DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late.

But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task….

My thanks to Sabah at Avon for my review copy and for the opportunity to launch the Perfect Death blog tour.

By the time I hit “publish” on this review Perfect Death will be in shops and available to download. Buy a copy now…this is a brilliant book.

Luc Callanach and Ava Turner are back for a third outing. Happy Days.

Perfect Death feels much more like an Ava story. Luc is still very much present so panic not! Events early in the story (no spoilers) lead to a shock revelation. Ava wants to investigate and find answers to questions she never imagined she would be asking yet she cannot let anyone else know what she is looking into. This dilemma means Ava will work solo and cannot rely upon Luc’s council or support. What she has to face (alone) is bigger and more dangerous than she could have imagined.

Luc is tasked with investigating the death of a young woman who died as a result of a drug overdose. Her naked body was found on a grassy hillside in the heart of the Edinburgh but her family are adamant she would never have taken drugs.

A second suspicious death gives a suspicion that foul play is involved. However, with virtually no similarities in the cases the connection between the two deaths so tenuous Ava’s boss will not entertain the notion that there is a calculating serial killer working in Edinburgh.

Following events in Perfect Prey Ava is now Luc’s boss and the shift in dynamic of their relationship is fun. Still friends, but with Luc being deferential to Ava’s rank, the pair seem almost seem less assured in each other’s company. I have really enjoyed the “Moonlighting-esk” relationship between the two lead characters and Perfect Death only adds to the intrigue.

Moonlighting…it was a big deal in the 80’s – just go with it.

I cannot say enough good things about the Luc Callanach books. If you love crime fiction and are not reading Helen Fields then you are missing out on one of the best new voices in your favourite genre.

Perfect Death is published by Avon books and is avaialbe in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Death-bestseller-Callanach-Thriller-ebook/dp/B077MNKFTL/ref=la_B006M3SPSS_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516824675&sr=1-3

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January 21

The Confession – Jo Spain

Late one night a man walks into the luxurious home of disgraced banker Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. The man launches an unspeakably brutal attack on Harry as a horror-struck Julie watches, frozen by fear. It looks like Harry’s many sins – corruption, greed, betrayal – have finally caught up with him.

An hour later the intruder, JP Carney, hands himself in, confessing to the assault. The police have a victim, a suspect in custody and an eye-witness account, but Julie remains troubled.

Has Carney’s surrender really been driven by a guilty conscience or is this confession the first calculated move in a deadly game?

My thanks to Quercus Books for my review copy and to Anne Cater for the chance to join the blog tour.

Not many books will get down to the action as quickly as The Confession. A brutal attack on one of Ireland’s most successful bankers is vividly described in the opening chapter of Jo Spain’s superb new novel.

JP Carney walks into the home of Harry and Julie McNamara and beats Harry with a golf club as Julie sits watching, frozen in fear and unable to help her husband. It is graphic, it is shocking and it makes you want to read on – what could possibly have led to this?

Knowing Harry will suffer at the hands of Carney the author takes us into the lives of Julie, JP Carney and investigating police office – Alice Moody. We are taken back in time to when Julie first met Harry and we are given a good look at Carney and the tough upbringing he had to endure and the strong bond he formed with his younger sister. As the story unfolds we get to understand more about Carney but it remains unclear why he may have walked into a strangers home and attacked the homeowner. But is Harry McNamara a stranger to JP Carney?

We also follow Julie’s history. Her chance meeting with Harry and the fairy-tale romance as she is courted by one of the most successful (and rich) bankers in Ireland. Once again, as the story unfolds, we see Julie open up more about her relationship with Harry and the pressures and self doubts as she tries to remain Julie rather than Mrs McNamara.

The real-time investigations are being conducted by Alice Moody, my favourite character in The Confession. She cannot accept Carney’s assertion that he has no knowledge of Harry McNamara and that his house was picked at random. Moody will drive the story as she pushes to get to the bottom of Carney’s seemingly random attack and she believes that the McNamara’s may have somehow brought Carney into their lives – even if they don’t know why.

The reason The Confession worked so well for me was the characters driving the story. It is all about the people and how they faced up to several key moments in their lives – all bringing them to a critical point when a seemingly random act of violence will change everything forever.

Wonderfully written and deeply compelling.

The Confession is published by Quercus on 25 January 2018 and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Confession-most-addictive-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B06XRL3N98/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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January 13

The Cover Up – Marnie Riches

Watch your back. Everyone else will be.

How far would you go to protect your empire?

Manchester’s criminal underworld is reeling from the loss of its leader, Paddy O’Brien. In the wake of her husband’s death, Sheila O’Brien takes charge of the city, and for once, she’s doing things her way.

But she hasn’t reckoned with the fearsome Nigel Bancroft, a threat from Birmingham who is determined to conquer Manchester next.

As a power tussle begins, Sheila is determined to keep control of the empire she has won – even if it means she has to die trying…

My thanks to Sabah at Avon for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour

Marnie Riches takes us back to Manchester as we revisit Sheila O’Brien. Following events in Born Bad Sheila now heads up the criminal empire built up by her late husband. However, keeping control of the drug supply, the prostitutes and the protection money is going to prove challenging – particularly when Birmingham crime lord Nigel Bancroft is looking to expand his territory into Manchester.

The housekeeping…The Cover Up is the second book in the Manchester series – reading the first book (Born Bad) would certainly help introduce the characters and explain their background but it is not essential. I have a total goldfish-memory and I struggle to remember character names and relationships across all the books I read; but Marnie Riches deftly interweaves the backstory you need into the narrative of The Cover Up to ensure new readers will enjoy the latest events.

And what a treat lies ahead! Sheila faces constant challenges to her authority and she will need to show that she has the mettle to take her late-husband’s place. She relies heavily upon his former right-hand-man, Conky, who has also replaced his former boss in Sheila’s bed. While juggling attempts to establish a legitimate business empire and keep her criminal activities ticking over we see Sheila trying to bring friends closer to ensure she can trust those in her closest circle. What I had not been expecting was where some of her new alliances may be formed.

The Cover Up has many strong personalities all pushing for dominance and all seeking to eliminate their competition. There are are traps and dangers, subterfuge is rife and nobody can be trusted. It makes for enthralling reading and the story zips along at a cracking pace.

If you enjoy a dark thriller and like strong characters who will do whatever it takes to survive and protect those closest to them then The Cover Up is perfect reading. I loved this book and flew through it in quick time, once I started reading I did not want to stop. More of these please Marnie!

The Cover Up is published by Avon and is available in paperback, audiobook (narrated by the author) and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cover-Up-Marnie-Riches/dp/0008203962/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515835942&sr=1-1

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