October 22

The Snow Killer -Ross Greenwood

‘Fear the north wind. Because no one will hear you scream…’

A family is gunned down in the snow but one of the children survives. Three years on, that child takes revenge and the Snow Killer is born. But then, nothing – no further crimes are committed, and the case goes cold.

Fifty years later, has the urge to kill been reawakened? As murder follows murder, the detective team tasked with solving the crimes struggle with the lack of leads. It’s a race against time and the weather – each time it snows another person dies.

As an exhausted and grizzled DI Barton and his team scrabble to put the pieces of the puzzle together, the killer is hiding in plain sight. Meanwhile, the murders continue…

 

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

 

The blurb announces that The Snow Killer is the first in a new series – a welcome confirmation as the lead detective, DI Barton, comes across very well and I would absolutely seek out the next titles as they release.

First things first…The Snow Killer. A police procedural but one where the reader gets to see the murderer from the outset.  We know what motivates the killer, what he is thinking and why he has chosen the path he has. We also get to see the police trying to make sense of the murders as they occur (and there are plenty of them).

The Snow Killer is targeting local drug dealers. Not just the street pushers but the two sisters who run Peterborough’s drug network.  Police have not been able to get close to a conviction on the two young women who took over their father’s empire but they know full well who controls the flow of illicit substances in the city. The Snow Killer does too and is on a mission to resolve matters to his own satisfaction.

Protecting potential victims becomes part of the investigative process and Barton and his team will be stretched. The tension and frustration comes through and this feeds well into the urgency Barton feels to identify their killer.

Very importantly for any police procedural is not just the lead character but the supporting cast in the squad room.  This is where I was sold on the The Snow Killer – I loved the good guys. They have character, depth and are fun to read about.  I was happy to leave the murders and the investigations to hear about their private lives too – relatable and engaging characters make for a better reading experience.

A couple of minor niggles around dialogue becoming a bit too formal and forced mid conversation. It just took a little pace out of some scenes. Also I got the impression the author is a big fan of Peterborough, lots of positives about the town were peppered through the story which was a wee bit unexpected.  Minor issues as this was a damned good read and it caught me with the good surprises which were set up very well.

 

The Snow Killer is published on 12 November 2019 and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XLFWZ7D/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 6

Many Rivers to Cross – Peter Robinson

Monday 7 October is the First Monday of the month and readers who can easily get to London will have the chance to hear Peter Robinson join a fabulous panel of authors at

Peter will (I assume) be discussing his latest DCI Banks novel: Many Rivers to Cross

You can see Peter along with Nicci French (both of them) and the terrific Marnie Riches (there’s only one Marnie Riches) if you follow this link: https://www.firstmondaycrime.com/

Want to know a little more about Many Rivers to Cross?  Read on…

Many Rivers to Cross

A skinny young boy is found dead – his body carelessly stuffed into wheelie bin.

Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called to investigate. Who is the boy, and where did he come from? Was he discarded as rubbish, or left as a warning to someone? He looks Middle Eastern, but no one on the East Side Estate has seen him before.

As the local press seize upon an illegal immigrant angle, and the national media the story of another stabbing, the police are called to investigate a less newsworthy death: a middle-aged heroin addict found dead of an overdose in another estate, scheduled for redevelopment.

Banks finds the threads of each case seem to be connected to the other, and to the dark side of organised crime in Eastvale. Does another thread link to his friend Zelda, who is facing her own dark side?

The truth may be more complex – or much simpler – than it seems . . .

 

My thanks to the publishers for my review copy.

 

Many Rivers To Cross is the 26th volume in the hugely successful DCI Banks series.  26th!!! I have been reading this series for more years than I can keep track of and it is always a treat to return to characters I feel I know well.

In this outing Banks and his colleagues are investigating the murder of a young boy who has been found stuffed into a bin.  The callous dumping of this child’s body adds further frustration for Banks and team who are struggling to identify their victim.  He appears to be of Middle Eastern origin and, as is pointed out in the story, should be more likely to be noticed in Yorkshire.  Yet despite this the police will struggle to trace him to a family.

Running alongside this investigation is a story about Banks’s friend Zelda.  She is helping authorities identify criminals from old CCTV footage as she has the rare ability (or curse) of never forgetting a face.  Zelda has previously been forced to work as a prostitute and knows more than she would ever want about the abuse of vulnerable children and women by gangs of traffickers and organised criminals.

Zelda arrives at her workplace and is shocked to be met by the police who are investigating the sudden death of her boss in what appears to be an unfortunate household accident. Zelda is not convinced and starts to ask questions – a dangerous path to take as she will potentially put herself into harms way in order to uncover the truth.

In a novel which reflects ongoing social issues and real-life issues it is inevitable that the UK’s political turmoil will also get a few mentions.  The author makes a few pointed comments about the current political travails which are sure to upset readers who take an opposing viewpoint.  I agreed with the comments made and am encouraged that authors are not shirking away and ignoring an issue which has dominated discussion in this country for the last 3 years (and more).

Fans of the series will enjoy this latest Banks adventure. Peter Robinson can tell a good story and keep the readers guessing.  Many Rivers To Cross was slightly slower paced than some of my recent reads but perhaps that reflects my own reading choices.  More Banks will be very welcome, I do love these characters.

 

Many Rivers To Cross is published by Hodder and Stoughton and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Many-Rivers-Cross-Peter-Robinson/dp/1444787047/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=peter+robinson&qid=1570312301&sr=8-2

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September 11

The Quiet Ones – Theresa Talbot

If only someone had listened…

When the supposed suicide of famous Scottish football coach Harry Nugent hits the headlines, the tabloids are filled with tributes to a charitable pillar of the community that gave so much back to sport and to those less fortunate. But something isn’t right. Normally celebrities are queuing up to claim to have had a very special relationship with the deceased, but investigative journalist, Oonagh O’Neil is getting the distinct impression that people are trying to distance themselves from Harry.

Oonagh’s investigation leads her to uncover a heartbreakingly haunting coverup that chills her to the core…and place her in mortal danger from those willing to protect their sadistic and dark secrets at any cost….

 

I received a review copy from the publishers.

 

A new Oonagh O’Neil book is very much a cause for celebration.  After a debut appearance in The Lost Children (which I review here as Penance) and a return in Keep Her Silent (reviewed here) I was dying to see what Theresa Talbot had in store for investigative journalist Oonagh.

The appeal of these books is that Theresa Talbot puts a real (and distressing) story at the heart of Oonagh’s fictional adventures. The story is fictional but that core of reality and the way the author conveys the hurt the characters experienced makes the books utterly compelling.

In The Quiet Ones Oonagh is confronted with the possibility that a murdered sporting hero may have been killed because of a dark secret from his past.  Can Oonagh find a way to get vulnerable strangers to open up and discuss their past horrors? Even if she can, will there be evidence she can pass to the police to ensure justice can be done?

The Quiet Ones opens with a murder. It has the appearance of a professional hit and the police are baffled. The victim is a prominent figure in Scottish football circles, he supports a number of charities and good causes and his death is a headline writer’s goldmine. Particularly when it is obvious the police have no leads, suspects or can even work out a motive.

Oonagh gets suspicious when “friends” of the deceased seem keen to distance themselves from him. She follows her instincts knowing there is a story to uncover. Her boss is not keen to give her time to chase a story which he doesn’t believe is there to be found so Oonagh is forced to play politics in the office to cut herself the leeway she needs to uncover the truth.

There are very sensitive subjects incorporated into The Quiet Ones and the author handles these superbly. In the acknowledgements Ms Talbot thanks David Gordon who “shared his story with such quiet dignity” that reflects perfectly how the more upsetting elements of The Quiet Ones are addressed within the book. It is a deeply emotive and moving read.

Despite being the third book in the series The Quiet Ones can easily be read as a stand alone thriller. It is highly recommended and once you have finished it I am sure you will seek out the first two as well. Top stuff.

 

The Quiet Ones will be published on 12 September 2019 by Aria and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1788545346/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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September 5

Sleep – M K Boers

A marriage made in heaven, a murder made in hell.

Why kill the man you love?

Lizzy was struggling, everyone knew that.

He shouldn’t have done those things.

He shouldn’t have pushed her so hard.

And now, her children, her marriage, her hope – gone.

It was all her fault, she knew that, but was there a chance of redemption?

Lizzy Dyson’s on trial for her life. She knows she must pay for what she did, even if it wasn’t planned, but will the jury believe her?

 

Sleep is a domestic thriller but through the story there are many courtroom scenes giving it a nice cross genre feel.  While I am not normally a huge fan of domestic noir (where a story follows a troubled relationship) Sleep takes a more unusual approach in telling Lizzy’s story which really caught my attention.

Lizzy, returning home from work early one afternoon, finds her husband in her bed with his lover.  She kills them both. The book opens at the point between the crime and the subsequent discovery by the authorities…the opening chapter is deliciously dark in that regard.

Once the reader becomes aware of Lizzy’s crime they are then taken through how she came to this point in her life and M K Boers slowly unpicks layers of trouble and upset which Lizzy has endured prior to that fateful day. I found myself constantly reviewing my opinion of Lizzy with each new “layer” we uncover – while you can’t condone the action she took, the reasons behind her decision become clearer.

In the courtroom scenes Lizzy is confronted with figures from her life who are initially introduced by the prosecution to build the case against her.  As she hears a distortion of past events she starts to find an inner strength to push back and get the correct version of events into the open.

M K Boers spins this story brilliantly and the balance between human drama and courtroom interrogations hit the spot for me.

 

 

Sleep is published in both paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleep-M-K-Boers-ebook/dp/B07TRGHHQ2/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1567631231&refinements=p_27%3AM+K+Boers&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=M+K+Boers

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August 15

The Darkest Lullaby – Jonathan Janz

The old house waited. For years there had been rumors that the owner, Lilith Martin, had been part of an unholy cult. People spoke of blasphemous rituals, black rites filled with blood, sex…and sacrifices. Then Lilith died and the house sat empty. Until now.

Lilith’s nephew, Chris, and his wife, Ellie, are moving in. Ellie isn’t happy about living in such a dark, foreboding place, but she wants to get pregnant and this house has a lot more room to raise a baby than their apartment. Unfortunately, she and Chris will soon learn that Lilith has other plans.

 

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things for the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I think there must come a point in every horror book or film where the viewer/reader asks “why don’t they just leave this place?”  In The Darkest Lullaby I think I reached this point around the time my Kindle told me I had read 40% of the story.

Clearly Jonathan Janz also appreciated his characters should have been getting the Hell out of Dodge as he worked in a couple of nice twists to ensure Chris and Ellie (our couple in peril) have to remain in their creepy house in the woods. No escape for Ellie from her husband’s odd and threatening behaviour. No escape for Chris from the strange woman he is compelled to follow into the woods. No escape from the strange things in the old run down house.  Uh oh.

I have read a few of Jonathan Janz’s books and he is great at building up the tension, has no qualms about bumping off characters in grizzly and disturbing ways and you cannot be sure if the good guys will survive (or if they even are the good guys).  For fans of a good-old horror tale you can’t go far wrong with Janz’s books.

In The Darkest Lullaby we have an entity who wants to use her nephew to find a way to return from the grave…if she even made it to her grave! Chris and Ellie move into Chris’s aunt’s old home in the hope of finding peace and a nice place to start a family.  However soon after they arrive Chris starts to behave oddly and Ellie becomes increasingly alarmed by strange goings on in the house.

As the story unfolds we learn that Lillith, Chris’s aunt, had an unhealthy obsession with her nephew and a really strong dislike of Ellie. That really can’t be a good combination!

The Darkest Lullaby is one for the horror fans. Bloody, unsettling and with strong adult themes. A late night page turner which kept me reading…mainly so I could find out which characters survived!

 

The Darkest Lullaby is published by Flame Tree Press and is available in digital and paperback format here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkest-Lullaby-Fiction-Without-Frontiers/dp/178758271X/ref=sr_1_16?keywords=jonathan+janz&qid=1565820624&s=gateway&sr=8-16

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June 4

The Suffering of Strangers – Caro Ramsay

DI Costello faces a disturbing child abduction case; a six-week-old has been stolen and replaced with another baby. The swap took cold and meticulous planning, so Costello treads the seedy, Glaswegian backstreets for answers. She’s convinced that more than one young life is at stake.

Promoted into the Cold Case Unit, Colin Anderson reviews the unsolved rape of a young mother, whose attacker is still out there. Each case pulls Anderson and Costello in the same direction and, as their paths keep crossing, they begin to suspect their separate cases are dangerously entwined.

 

My thanks to Amber at Black Thorn for the chance to join the blog tour for The Suffering of Strangers.

 

An Anderson and Costello thriller from Caro Ramsay always brings the promise of a gripping story and unsettling themes.  This is the 9th book in the series, it can be read and enjoyed without reading the earlier titles (though returning readers will likely get more satisfaction/reward from the character developments).

The Suffering of Strangers has two main investigations for the reader to follow. Colin Anderson is investigating cold case crimes and turns his attention to an unsolved rape case.  Anderson knows the victim and also knows the long-lasting consequences of the attack.

DI Costello also has a harrowing case to contend with.  A baby has been taken. Left unattended in his mother’s car for just a few short minutes, baby Shoto is gone – in his place is another baby. A swap. An exchange. A nightmare for Shoto’s parents. Costello will need to work with child services to try to track down new mothers who may now be caring for a child that is not their own.

Two extremely emotive crimes and Caro Ramsay tackles them brilliantly to ensure the horror and consequence of each is forefront in the narrative.  This is a well crafted police procedural where the investigations are diligently pursued by the lead characters and the reader gets the real feeling of being included in their quest for the truth.

On a personal note, I love reading books where the location can play a key role in the development of the plot.  Glasgow shines in The Suffering of Strangers and while no spoilers are permitted in my reviews, the city and its history has a fascinating contribution to make and this delivered a very unexpected twist in proceedings.

Both investigations will bring surprises and by the end of the book there will be significant changes to the lives of Costello and Anderson.  This story will shape things to come.

Hugely enjoyable reading.  If Caro’s books are not on your radar yet then I urge you to grab a copy of The Suffering of Strangers and start catching up on this terrific series.

 

 

The Suffering of Strangers is published by Black Thorn and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L6GKVYH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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May 24

The Never Game – Jeffery Deaver

Escape or die trying…

No.1 international bestseller Jeffery Deaver returns with a stunning new thriller – the first in an exciting series featuring enigmatic investigator Colter Shaw.

A student kidnapped from the park.
Nineteen-year-old Sophie disappears one summer afternoon. She wakes up to find herself locked inside a derelict warehouse, surrounded by five objects. If she uses them wisely, she will escape her prison. Otherwise she will die.

An investigator running out of time.
Sophie’s distraught father calls in the one man who can help find his daughter: unique investigator Colter Shaw. Raised in the wilderness by survivalist parents, he is an expert tracker with a forensic mind trained to solve the most challenging cases. But this will be a test even for him.

A killer playing a dangerous game.
Soon a blogger called Henry is abducted – left to die in the dark heart of a remote forest – and the whole case gets turned on its head. Because this killer isn’t following the rules; he’s changing them. One murder at a time…

 

My thanks to Rebecca at Harper Collins for my review copy and for inviting me to host a leg of the blog tour.

 

An action packed thriller from Jeffery Deaver and a plot closely lined to videogames and puzzle solving.  This book is just a coffee and a danish away from filling my “favourite things” bingo card.

Readers are pitched straight into the action “Level 3: The Sinking Ship”

Wait…what?  Where is the prologue?  What’s happening?  *reads a few pages* Gosh this is exciting.

Level 1: The Abandoned Factory.  Oh two days earlier.  Cool how did we get to the sinking ship?  Will Colter Shaw manage to rescue….oh wait, there can be no SPOILERS.

The Never Game starts at 100mph and then takes the reader back to introduce the hero of the piece (Colter Shaw) and bring us back to a point where he is not diving into the water to try to save a life.  We know Shaw is one of the good guys from the very first page but as we learn more about him we also discover he is a bit of a loner, doesn’t smile much, is one of the best in the business at tracking (wilderness tracking) and he earns money by collecting rewards.  Not a cop, not an investigator, not a PI but a man who uses his skills to claim rewards. In the first instance he his working to find a young woman who has gone missing, her father has offered $10,000 if someone can find her.

Shaw is an engaging character, his reasoning and logical deductions are shared with the reader so we can keep up with his thought process and understand how he ticks.  Early in the story Shaw will have a run in with the police who don’t warm to his solo endeavours. If justice is to be found then Shaw and the police need to establish a working relationship so the bad guys can be brought down.

Action in The Never Game takes place in Silicone Valley.  Computing firms and videogame manufacturers are very much involved in the story.  Shaw is not comfortable in the world of gaming but fortunately he finds an expert to help him out in the form of the mysterious and secretive Maddie Poole. The relationship and interactions between Shaw and Poole are slick and entertaining. Each is trying to outsmart the other and there is a clear attraction between them but the author makes sure you never quite know Maddie’s motivations and cannot fully trust what she is saying.  That really hooked me in.

The Never Game was an enjoyable read.  Deaver knows how to deliver the thrills and the twists and as it appears Colter Shaw may well return in future I was pleased to get to the end of the book and find I wanted to read more about him. I had a couple of niggles about the gaming side of things which I blame on 30+ years of playing computer games. Non gaming readers will not spot the niggle points and need not worry about the book being too geeky (it is most certainly not).

There is a reason Jeffery Deaver is a household name – he writes great stories which readers love.  The Never Game delivers the thrills his readers are seeking.

 

The Never Game is published by Harper Collins and is available in Hardback, Digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Game-Jeffery-Deaver/dp/000830372X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1558642377&sr=1-1

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May 6

Hunting Evil – Chris Carter

‘Every story one day comes to an end.’
As roommates, they met for the first time in college. Two of the brightest minds ever to graduate from Stamford Psychology University.
As adversaries, they met again in Quantico, Virginia. Robert Hunter had become the head of the LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crimes Unit. Lucien Folter had become the most prolific and dangerous serial killer the FBI had ever encountered.

Now, after spending three and a half years locked in solitary confinement, Lucien has finally managed to break free. And he’s angry.

For the past three and a half years, Lucien has thought of nothing else but vengeance.
The person responsible for locking him away has to pay, he has to suffer.
That person … is Robert Hunter.
And now it is finally time to execute the plan.

 

 

The Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter has become a firm favourite of mine over the last year or two.  I was typically late to discover this series so have been enjoying catching up on the earlier novels (whilst picking up the newer titles when they release).  All the books have stood up well as stand-alone thrillers but Hunting Evil is a sequel to an earlier title and even Chris Carter himself (in the intro) advocated reading An Evil Mind before picking up Hunting Evil.

Just for the record – I had not read An Evil Mind before I read Hunting Evil and while there are clearly spoilers for the earlier title I still had a blast with Hunting Evil so it can be enjoyed on its own.

For the new reader to this series – Robert Hunter is introduced and described in detail early in the book.  He is a Detective with LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crimes Unit and he deals with some of the most horrific murders I have read about during my blogging years.  These stories are not for the faint of heart!

Hunting Evil begins with a prison breakout.  Lucian Folter has managed to escape from a high security prison and is on the run.  His first priority is to get to safety, his next is to get Robert Hunter.  A dangerous game of cat and mouse is about to commence as Folter will stop at nothing to destroy Hunter and harm the people around him. A

Both Folter and Hunter have known each other for a long time and Hunting Evil sees each trying to outsmart/out-think the other. Folter leaves clues and messages for Hunter to decipher.  If Hunter can unravel the puzzle Folter leaves for him then he will save innocent lives.  If he fails then the price will be high and Hunter’s conscience may not cope the burden of responsibility.  It makes for hugely engaging reading.

The whole story has a high octane, fast paced feel.  The reader is caught up in the chase to bring Folter down.  Hunter cannot take on the challenge alone and along with LAPD, other agencies will get involved – a large taskforce but with Hunter at the helm steering the investigations towards the clues he is left by his old friend.

Throughout the book it seems inevitable there will be a coming together of the two forces. Hunter vs Folter.  With Folter holding all the aces it is hard to see how this can end well for the good guys.

This is a weighty tome – over 100 chapters and approaching the 500 page mark, yet I flew through the story as it was incredibly readable.  These are the types of book I enjoy the most.  A strong lead, great supporting characters, a deadly enemy and some extremely dark twists. The Robert Hunter books represent a high point in the release schedules, Hunting Evil delivered on every level.

 

 

Hunting Evil is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in Hardback, audio and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunting-Evil-Chris-Carter/dp/1471179524/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RJF60C1BULIG&keywords=chris+carter&qid=1557077419&s=books&sprefix=c%2Cinstant-video%2C261&sr=1-1

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April 29

The Innocent Ones – Neil White

Three lives cut short. Two decades of silence. One evil secret.

By day, the park rings with the sound of children’s excited laughter. But in the early hours of the morning, the isolated playground is cloaked in shadows – the perfect hiding place to conceal a brutal murder.

When London journalist, Mark Roberts, is found battered to death, the police quickly arrest petty thief, Nick Connor. Criminal defence lawyer, Dan Grant, along with investigator Jayne Brett, are called to represent him – but with bloody footprints and a stolen wallet linking him to the scene, this is one case they’re unlikely to win.

Until help comes from an unlikely source…when the murder victim’s mother says that Connor is innocent, begging Dan and Jayne to find the real perpetrator.

Unravelling the complex case means finding the connection between Mark’s death and a series of child murders in Yorkshire over twenty years ago. Father of two, Rodney Walker, has spent years in prison after being convicted of killing of 6-year-old William and 7-year-old Ruby back in 1997.

But when Mark Roberts gets on the trail of the story, convinced that Walker is innocent, he exposed secrets that have long been buried. Secrets so dark, someone will kill to keep them hidden.

Dan and Jayne are in a race against time to uncover the truth – before a killer silences them forever.

 

Started and finished in a single day – The Innocent Ones completely drew me in and kept me reading.  Stories like this (the ones you just get absorbed in) are the reason I keep reading and are the books I want to shout loudest about.

Dan is due to go to court to defend a man accused of murder. Before the trial starts the victim’s mother approaches Dan and suggests his client is innocent. For a grieving mother to make such a significant intervention is a real eye opener and Dan starts to do some digging.

He enlists his former colleague, Jayne Brett, to do his investigative work. Dan and Jayne have appeared together in two previous novels and The Innocent Ones is the last part in a trilogy. Confession time – I have not read the first two books so I can honestly say this book stands well on its own. At no time did I feel I was playing catch-up on the backstory.

Back to The Innocent Ones…Dan and Jayne are asking questions and soon draw attention to themselves. However someone doesn’t like their questions and our heroes will find themselves in real danger. The last person who asked the questions they are seeking to answer was the victim at Dan’s court case. If the pair continue to seek the truth there may be a high price to pay.

Events in The Innocent Ones link back to the deaths of two young children in the late 1990’s. A little flashback action and we have some characters who will live to tell the tale and bring the reader a compelling murder tale.  Lives were broken and long shadows cast onto current events. Neil White does a brilliant job of showing the effects of horror and how people cope (or not) with unspeakable trauma.

This story flowed so smoothly, I just kept reading and became caught up in events. I had to find out why Dan and Jayne were being targeted. Who was keeping secrets? Who had most to lose? Who needed long forgotten deaths to be left forgotten?

I read a lot of crime fiction and I know what I like. I like The Inncocent Ones. A murder story, a thriller and some courtroom scenes – ideal.

 

 

The Innocent Ones is published by Hera Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Innocent-Ones-absolutely-gripping-thriller-ebook/dp/B07NCBH5HP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=neil+white&qid=1556483769&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

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April 14

Death at the Plague Museum – Lesley Kelly

The pandemic is spreading.

On Friday, three civil servants leading Virus policy hold a secret meeting at the Museum of Plagues and Pandemics. By Monday, two are dead and one is missing.

It’s up to Mona and Bernard of the Health Enforcement Team to find the missing official before panic hits the streets.

 

 

 

I received a review copy of Death at the Plague Museum from the publishers who also invited me to join the blog tour.

 

I got permission from the publishers to use enthusiastic sweary words to describe how much I enjoyed Death at the Plague Museum. I could use them, mainly as adjectives, but I will keep it clean. Just know that I am a huge fan of these books (The Health of Strangers series) and I would like lots more people to spread the booklove and chat with me about them.

Plague Museum is the third novel in the series. Reading the earlier  books is  not essential but will give a better understanding of the characters.  In brief, our focus is on the staff of the HET. The books are set in Edinburgh but after a virus has swept through the city and very careful steps are now being taken to monitor the populous to restrict further infection. We follow the HET employees who enforce the health checks and ensure the city residents try to restrict infections spreading.

A prominent advocate of the health screenings has vanished just as her routine check up is due. The negative publicity of her missing the health check she so stringently advocates has to be kept in check and the missing woman found as a matter of urgency. It falls to Mona, Bernard and their colleagues to track her down.

Matters are complicated by the unexpected death of another prominent figure in the anti-virus reforms – a known associate of the missing woman.

With a death to be explained and a missing woman to be found there is a great mystery story at the heart of Death at the Plague Museum. Where these stories really shine is the focus on the lives of the cast – they are so much more than their  respective jobs and Lesley Kelly gives them a chance to shine.  I want to read about them because they are so much fun to watch.

Written with wonderfully dark humour and the wry observational opinions I always expect from Scottish characters I get so much enjoyment from this series.

It is time you became acquainted with the Health of Strangers. Bloody marvellous.

 

 

Death at the Plague Museum is published by Sandstone Books and is available to order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plague-Museum-Health-Strangers-Thriller/dp/1912240521/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?crid=2USWGM0E3BKZ&keywords=death+at+the+plague+museum&qid=1555238088&s=gateway&sprefix=death+at+the+pla%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

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