August 13

I Know A Secret – Tess Gerritsen

I have a secret.
And someone wants to make sure I never tell . . .

In a house decorated with horror movie posters, a young woman’s body is found. She lies on her bed, two bloodied objects clutched in her palm. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles are called to the murder scene, but even faced with this gruesome sight they are unable to identify the immediate cause of death.

Their investigation leads them to a high-profile murder case that was seemingly solved years before. But when another body is found in horrific circumstances, the link between the two victims is clear. Was the wrong person sent to prison? Is the real killer out there right now, picking off new targets?

One woman knows the killer is coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Rizzoli and Isles catch him.

But she has a secret that she has to keep . . .

 

My thanks to Alison at Transworld for the chance to join the tour – and to Anne who made it happen

 

By the time a bestselling series reaches Book 12 you can be assured that the previous 11 books have found their way into many, many homes and that readers everywhere will be keenly awaiting the next instalment. The good news for fans of Rizzoli and Isles is that their latest adventure – I Know A Secret – is in shops know and it is a cracking read…you will think the wait was worthwhile.

I appreciate that not every reader can keep up with all the books by all the authors so can I Know a Secret be enjoyed by someone picking up a Tess Gerritsen novel for the first time? I believe it can. There are references to events, characters and relationships which clearly occurred in earlier titles (you can’t write 12 books in a series whilst pretending each new novel begins with a blank slate on all previous events) but I did not feel there was any disadvantage to come to this book as a new reader. Everything is clear or self explanatory but the main focus is firmly kept of the latest investigation.

Rizzoli and Isles are called to a murder scene – the victim had been involved in making horror films and her death could almost be said to mirror her genre of choice. A gruesome spectacle meets the investigators but despite the unsettling scene they are not immediately able to identify a cause of death.

An investigation is ongoing and, pleasingly, we get to follow Jane Rizzoli as she interviews suspects and chases down potential leads – I do very much enjoy when you feel you are also uncovering the facts as you read. It is not long before a second body turns up. The nature of the attack on each victim is very different but a connection is found and an apparent symbolism throws new light onto the case.

I zipped through I Know A Secret – one of those great books which will keep you hooked. Tess Gerritsen has spun a slick story, the narrative moves along at a good pace so you don’t feel that there are any lags or drops in the action.

Fans of Tess Gerritsen will love I Know A Secret. New readers should seek it out, it is a great story and does not fall into the trap of being too concentrated upon the lives of Rizzoli and Isles at the price of neglecting the murder investigation. You are in the hands of a great storyteller and there I got nothing but pure enjoyment from I Know a Secret.

 

I Know A Secret is available in Hardback and Digital format – you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Know-Secret-Rizzoli-Isles-12-ebook/dp/B01MTK7M7O/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

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March 20

After The Storm – Jane Lythell

After The StormSome secrets destroy you.

Rob and Anna have only just met Owen and Kim. Now they’ve boarded their handsome old boat to travel to a far off island in the Caribbean.

With only the four of them on board, it should be paradise: lazy afternoons spent snorkelling; long nights enjoying the silence and solitude of the sea.

But why does Owen never sleep? Why is he so secretive about his past? And why does Kim keep a knife zipped into her money-belt? Anna can usually get people to talk… but this time, does she want to?

 

Many thanks to Head of Zeus for my review copy.

 

Two couples on a boat in the Caribbean. They all have their emotional baggage, they do not all get on and at least two of the four characters do not want to be on the boat. Clearly there are going to be conflicts and clashes in After The Storm.

Having read the book over the last couple of days I think that this one may split the crowd. There are a lot of positive elements, however, I am not sure it will float everyone’s boat (sorry, sorry – terrible pun).

From the outset of the story Jane Lythell is building up the tension between her four key characters (Owen, Kim, Rob and Anna). For the majority of the book she places the two couples in the close confines of a dilapidated boat which is sailing around Caribbean Islands. Living in each other’s pockets for several days at sea places a strain on these four relative strangers and it is interesting to see how the author changed the group dynamics as the story progresses.

But as I read I kept waiting for something to happen. More tension was built up but still no trigger events. The boat docks on an island and the couples part for a while only to reunite when the tension level between them has simmered back down.   Repeat the slow build towards an inevitable explosion.

As the reader reaches the end of the novel we get the payoff. All the doubts and suspicions come to the fore, unexpected external factors suddenly play a significant role and everything kicks off. There are revelations which will shock and there are others which were clearly signposted from early in the book. It will either grab you and keep you flicking the pages to find what happens to our couples – or you will plod to the end just to see where the payoff was coming from.

I am afraid that I was not wowed by After The Storm and I only kept going as I was interested to see what would finally trigger the finale. In contrast (and I HAVE to mention this) I spoke with a friend who has also read the book and she thought it was magnificent – loved the characters, was distressed by some developments and was devastated when the book ended. As I said – a crowd splitter.

Not for me but I loved the Caribbean setting and I thought the author captured the setting and majesty of the islands brilliantly.

 

Twitter: @janelythell
Facebook: Jane Lythell Author
Jane’s blog: http://chroniclesofchloegreene.blogspot.co.uk/

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