Book Review: Love on a Lease by Falon Ballard.

My book loving friend Irena asked me to buddy read this book with her. As always, our buddy reads are enjoyable and we have great chats about the book, the plot, the characters and plenty of non book related chats too. I am very glad we buddy read this book together as the book itself was sadly a disappointment.

Description:

Beach Read meets The Flatshare in this warmly funny and delightfully sharp debut rom-com about a down-on-her-luck young woman who turns an innocent mix-up between a dating app and a roommate app into a new chance at love.

After getting passed over for an overdue—and much needed—promotion, Sadie Green is in desperate need of three things: a stiff drink, a new place to live, and a one-night-stand. When one drink turns into one too many, Sadie mixes up a long-ignored dating app for a roommate-finding app and finds herself on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Too bad she’s more attracted to his impressive real estate than she is to the man himself.

Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

Published February 1st 2022 by GP Putnam

My Thoughts:

I buddy read this book with Irena, and I’m so glad that I did because that was by far the best part of this reading experience.
I went into this book, not expecting it to be completely realistic as it is a rom com, chick lit book. I think this served me well, as the plot and characters of this book were more fairy tale like than rom com.

The female lead character accidentally mixes up her dating app with her apartment share app and ends up meeting Jack who she agrees to be his new room mate. So as the two share Jack’s house, we see their relationship progress and I would have expected to see their characters develop.
Nope, Jack is the fairy tale guy that I think is intended to come across to the reader as ‘perfect’. In actual fact, I found his personality to be dull, and far to concerned with doing everything for Sadie.

Sadie (in my opinion) is selfish, inconsiderate and unlikable. Sadie is described, as having suffered emotional abuse from her father as a child and is therefore described to be under confident and hard on herself all the time. However the way she came across in the book to me was not this way at all. She constantly spoke of herself being “so hot” and she took big life risks. I found the description and the way the character spoke to be completely contradictory, so much so that while reading it Irena and I both commented that this could be triggering or dismissive of people who have been emotionally abused.

On the plus side to this book, the cover is lovely. The writing and chapters are very easy to read and they flow well. The book was a good length, didn’t seem to short or to long. Sadie has great friends and their characters seem a bit more developed and real to me. One is a teacher who doesn’t much like her job and so when she is not at work, she swears constantly. (Because she cannot do it at work). It came across to me as frustration at her lack of contentedness.

This wasn’t a memorable read for me, but saying that there have been some good reviews. If you like easy to read chick lit books with a ‘Prince Charming‘ that will completely dedicate everything he has to the girl, then you may enjoy it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a book that I will remember for any good reason.

Links:

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End of Year Reviews. #BookBlogger. #BookClubReads

I have read a lot of books this year, and I didn’t get a chance to review all of them. So here is a round up of some of the books I read and my brief thoughts on them. They will probably come in multiple posts as there are a lot of unreviewed books this year!

Some I read by myself and some I read as part of my book club. Thanks to Irena for introducing me to lots of new books and genres. Irena’s links below.

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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Published June 30th 2020 by Del Rey

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This book was a bookclub read and not really my top choice, but I was ready to try new genres. I would describe this as historical, horror fiction.

Our main character Noemi gets a letter from her cousin asking for her help. So Noemi goes to see her cousin and stays in a very old gothic building in attempt to help her cousin who seems to be quite sick and scared. The descriptions within these pages are my favourite part as you can really imagine the dampness, the creepiness and the eerie atmosphere that Noemi’s cousin lives in.

I have to say, I was hoping for more Mexican influence, but the family were English so despite being based in Mexico there wasn’t much Mexican influence in it.

I knew I was going in for a horror read, we read this as part of our October Halloween bookclub read. But the supernatural element just didn’t work for me. I was hoping there would be believable (to me) reasons for what was happening, but I just didn’t believe it.

As you can see for yourself, the cover of this book is gorgeous and that was one of the things that attracted me to the book. Sadly, this book wasn’t for me.

Cackle By Rachel Harrison.

Published October 5th 2021 by Berkley Books

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This was our second Halloween read, and I liked this one so much better than Mexican Gothic. It was marketed as a horror / thriller by some reviewers. I want to be very clear on my and my co reader’s thoughts here. This is definitely not a thriller or a horror. We decided that at best it can be describe as a cosy women’s fiction with paranormal / witchy elements. It was the Halloween book that I wanted.

Annie leaves Manhattan to try to start again after her boyfriend dumped her. She is feeling low in confidence and hopes her new job, house and location will bring her more happiness. Apart from a spider infestation, her house and area seems lovely. Then Annie meets Sophie, who is super confident, super hot and super nice to Annie. One odd thing though, the other locals seem a bit scared of Sophie!

This was such a cosy, easy read. We see the character development of Annie and Sophie throughout the book. Particularly with Annie there are many pro feminism aspects as her character grows.

I love the cover of this book, despite there being a spider on it. The Author may think this book will lessen readers fear of spiders! For me it did not. I would be totally freaked out in Annie and Sophie’s houses. But whats a Halloween book without a friendly spider or 5!

I really liked this book as just an easy read with a hint of paranormal, that even me as a total non believer could enjoy. Highly recommended.

Well, thats it for today. More mini reviews to come soon as I look over all the books I’ve read this year. As I look at what I’ve read, I will consider my favourites of the year? Let me know your favourite book(s) of 2021 and perhaps I will add them to my tbr list for 2022. Happy Reading Folks.

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Book review: Spooky Halloween Reads.

I read some great Halloween reads over the last month. The first I will tell you about is a horror book, which is entirely out of my usual comfort reading zone. But I was buddy reading it with Irena, which would make it enjoyable whatever I thought of the book. Luckily for me, I rated the book 4 out of 5 stars.

Description :

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland.

My Thoughts:

I think this is my first proper horror book that I have read in quite a few years. I used to enjoy Stephen King books when I was a lot younger. But since then, my genre preferences stayed between thriller and womens fiction. Branching out to a horror book at Halloween seemed the perfect time to give it a go. Even better, I got to buddy read it with Irena.

So, onto House of Hollow. This book starts with three sisters who are as close as sisters can be. They have arranged to meet up as only Iris now lives at home. Vivi and Grey are out living their own lives. Grey as a famous model, and Vivi in a band. The three sisters share a bond like no other as they disappeared as children for 1 month, and when they were found unharmed except for a scar on the throats, they remembered nothing.

The mysterious things start to happen pretty much straight away in this book. Grey doesn’t turn up for their meeting so Iris and Vivi start to look for her. This leads them on a journey neither of them were expecting, and gives them answers and many more questions about their lives along the way.

The writing in House of Hollow is so descriptively amazing and really painted a picture in my mind. It was good to discuss these parts with Irena, as some parts of it really made me cringe, but Irena had different views. When I first saw the cover, I thought it was lovely, as I read on and discovered these were flowers of death, it seemed more creepy than nice. It wasn’t the traditional horror story with blood and gore, or ghosts and ghouls. This horror had mythical dark fairytale vibes, the type that is super creepy to me. While I didn’t know much about faeries at the time (I knew only that fairies were good and faeries were not so good). Irena knew quite a lot about them, so I also learnt about faeries and myths while reading the book.

The concluding chapters to House of Hollow are gripping, fast paced, earie and answered all the questions that I had built up over the read. The ending was both sad, happy, weird and so imaginative. There was an epilogue which was not really necassary and may or may not have been written with a book 2 in mind?? I’m not sure. Personally, I think House of Hollow ended and should remain ended in this way. But saying that I really did love this Author’s writing style and creative imagination. I would read Krystal Sutherland’s books again. I didn’t think I would say that before I started this book, but again my buddy reads have pulled me out of my comfort zone and found something exciting. I highly recommend House of Hollow. Thanks to Irena for suggesting the book and buddy reading it with me.

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See this amazing trailer, if my review didn’t convince you to read, then this will.

 

Blog Tour, The Genesis Inquiry, by Olly Jarvis. @hobeckbooks.

Welcome to my spot on the blog tour for the amazing new book just published by the very talented Olly Jarvis. I am very happy to be sharing my spot with Louise https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/. We will be telling you our thoughts on the brilliant new book The Genesis Inquiry. Thanks to publishers and blog tour organisers Hobeck Books for my copy of the book and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

I have been a big fan of Olly Jarvis since his first published book . In fact I have read and reviewed all his books, which you can read on my blog by searching Olly Jarvis.

But today I will tell you my thoughts in his new book The Genesis Inquiry. Please check out all the other bloggers on this tour and see their lovely posts too.

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Description.

Is there one last undiscovered, great truth?

A moment zero, a place in time that links all cultures and creeds.

A revelation that will unite us all and change the way we see history forever.

Brilliant but burnt-out barrister Ella Blake accepts an apparently simple brief: investigate the mysterious disappearance of an African American polymath from his rooms at Cambridge University. The Inquiry quickly becomes the greatest challenge of her life – solving the mystery of Genesis.

Facing danger at every turn, can Ella find the answers to the riddles and clues left by the missing genius?Reunited with her estranged daughter, the Inquiry sends them on a quest across the world and through ancient texts.

What is the secret that binds us all?Who is behind the dark forces that will stop at nothing to prevent the world from knowing the truth

Published October 12th 2021

My Thoughts.

The Genesis Inquiry is a little different from Olly Jarvis’ previous books. The Author still uses his own experience of legal knowledge but in an alternative and very interesting way than his previous books. The Genesis Inquiry is a book that entertained and taught me a lot of factual information. It is obvious that a lot of research has gone into this book.

The main character Ella Blake is a barrister who was well known in her area but has been on an extended break for a while. Ella is offered a job which seems a lot simpler in the beginning than how it actually turns out to be. Ella does know that it will bring her closer in distance to her daughter and that has to be a good thing. As the pages turn, we follow Ella, her daughter and a few other interesting characters as they search for a missing polymath from Cambridge and try to find out what was so important about his work before other not so savoury people find it. The book leads us across many locations as Ella cracks the clues she finds along the way.

Legal thrillers are my favourite kind of book. But this one is a little different as the legal work does not happen in court. Ella uses her legal knowledge to try to solve the mystery of a missing man and what he was working on at the time. The Genesis Inquiry made me consider many worldly issues and made me think about both history and the future of the planet and humanity. It’s a book that I got totally engrossed in as I wanted to really understand the theories that the missing polymath was studying and the clues that led Ella to find out what it was. I would say it’s a book that needed concentration and is not a light read. But it is highly entertaining, clever and extremely well written. I love Jarvis’ writing style and he is absolutely my go to author that I wouldn’t need to read the blurb on any of his books before I bought one. I know i will enjoy whatever he writes.

There is an eclectic bunch of characters in the story. My favourite was a young computer hacker called Jay. Young, a little down on his luck but full of optimism and compassion, he and Ella help each other along the way. Like Ella did, I also grew to have a soft spot for this young man.

The Genesis Inquiry is packed with intrigue, mystery, thrills, intensity and spectacular knowledge. I’m already wondering if Jarvis will write a sequel? I for sure would love to see Ella Blake again.

Follow this blog tour for the rest of this week. There are sure to be so many great things said about this book. Also check out Hobeck books for many more titles.

Links.

Blog Tour, The Genesis Inquiry, by Olly Jarvis. @hobeckbooks.

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Book Review: Survive The Night, by Riley Sager.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Dutton Books for my copy of this book. I had heard very good things about this Author, and having not read any books by Sager yet, I wanted to give this book a go.

Description:

It’s November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana’s in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.

Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father. Or so he says. Like the Hitchcock heroine she’s named after, Charlie has her doubts. There’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t seem to want Charlie to see inside the car’s trunk. As they travel an empty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly worried Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s suspicion merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?

What follows is a game of cat-and-mouse played out on night-shrouded roads and in neon-lit parking lots, during an age when the only call for help can be made on a pay phone and in a place where there’s nowhere to run. In order to win, Charlie must do one thing–survive the night.

Published June 29th 2021 by Dutton Books.

My Thoughts:

Well this book takes place over one night, as could be guessed from the title. From receiving my copy to beginning to read it, I didn’t read too many reviews or re read the blurb. So I went in a little blind. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was set in 1991, which meant no mobile phones or internet. It was nice to revisit this time, and I have to say it makes thrillers seem more dangerous as you can’t just call for help on your phone.

The plot begins with the main character Charlie, we learn that her best friend has been murdered on a night out. Charlie feels guilty and wants to leave campus and get home. As she isn’t able to drive herself home she looks for a travel buddy to car share with. Here enters Josh. The majority of the story is between these two characters and told from their points of view.

Because the chapters are written from the two main characters point of view, I got a good sense of who they both are. Personally I didn’t like Charlie and after the first few chapters, any sympathy that I had for her was gone. I found her to be one of the most stupid characters I have ever read about. She made terrible decisions concerning her own safety and I don’t think this was due to lack of common sense I think she just decided to do stupid things. Charlie was a very frustrating character to me. The only positive part of her that I liked was that she used a lot of movie references. These were entertaining and helped to get a better idea of who she was and why she was as she is.

Josh on the other hand was a bit more interesting. I had a few theories about who he was while I read the chapters. I won’t say too much about that because it would lead to spoilers. The writing was easy to read and flowed well.

As we were reading this as part of a book club we ended up reading it much faster than we initially planned.

Overall I have to say that sadly I was a bit disappointed with this book. All the chapters lasted the one night, but then at the very end goes years to the future and tells us what happened there. Again I found Charlie to be continuing to make bad decisions.

I wouldn’t be against reading another book by this author as the writing style and the idea of the plot was good. I just felt to strongly that the decisions made were a little ridiculous. There was also a part of Charlie’s character where she had what she called ” movies in her mind” . It was left unclear whether this was a mental health condition or just part of Charlie’s coping mechanism. ( perhaps it’s the same thing?) I would have liked the epilogue to make this a bit clearer as I felt it was quite a big part of the story that wasn’t explored and explained to the reader enough.

Links:

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Book Review: The Dating Game by Sandy Barker. #LoveIsland

Thank you to publishers One More Chapter, Author Sandy Barker and Netgalley for my advanced reader copy of this book.

Description

The must-read romantic comedy for fans of Laura Jane Williams, Sophie Ranald and Sophie Kinsella.

‘Hilarious and highly original’
Julie Houston, bestselling author of A Village Affair

Once upon a time, twelve women joined the hottest reality TV show looking for love. Except one had a secret identity . . .

Abby Jones is a serious writer. Or at least she will be, one day. Right now, she spends her time writing recaps of reality television under a secret identity.

When a recap for The Stag – the must-watch dating show – goes viral, her editor thinks she should be on set, writing the drama as it happens. The good news: the next season will be filmed in Sydney. Sun, sea and a glamorous trip abroad, this could be Abby’s big break.

The bad news: the producers don’t just want Abby to write the recaps, they want her to be on the show. Abby can’t think of anything worse than being undercover and followed around by cameras. But her career depends on it, and when she meets gorgeous producer Jack, Abby begins to wonder if this job might not be so bad after all 

Expected publication: September 10th 2021 by One More Chapter

My Thoughts:

I read The Dating Game while Love Island UK was on, and I admit that Love Island is my shameful, guilty pleasure. While watching and also reading through the chapters of The Dating Game, I wondered about the insides of these types of reality shows. If you’re like me in that you don’t really take these shows at face value and often wonder at the inner workings of the shows, then this is the book for you!

The Dating Game is a book where our lovable main character Abigail is a writer for a magazine. She has a pseudo name, which is quite clever – Anatasia Flabbergaster. Abby wants to be a serious writer, but for now she has to just write recaps of reality tv shows. That is until she has the “opportunity” to be on one of these shows as an undercover writer.

As the pages turn we see Abby as one of the twelve “Does” on a show where Daniel the “Stag” has to date each one and find his “true love”. So many ” ” ” ” “, but all necessary. I think the idea of the show is similar to The Batchelor, but I haven’t watched this show, so I cant be sure.

Anyway, The Dating Game was light hearted, amusing, showed us a wide array of characters and was just an all round good read. One of my favourite parts of the book was the relationships between the twelve girls who were staying in Stag Manor. It did really remind me of the reality shows I see on tv, where the girls become good friends but all the while supposed to be competing against each other. We meet some nice girls and some not so nice. So the fun and games kept up throughout between all the varying personalities.

I started this review by saying Love Island is a shameful, guilty pleasure of mine. I can say openly that The Dating Game was neither shameful, nor guilty. It was pure pleasurable reading.

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Here’s my Calling Card. Book Review: The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup.

The Chestnut Man book has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while. I always knew it was going to be a good read as it was given to me by my fellow book loving, book blogging friend Irena, and she knows my taste. The reason I hadn’t read it until recently was that I was daunted by the length of the book being over 500 pages. Many of the reviews I have read of this book say, don’t be put off by thickness! But I was! Now what better time to enjoy an excellent book than during lockdown.

Translation by Caroline Waight.

Description:

The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing.

If you find one, he’s already found you.

A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.

His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.

Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.

A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?

To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.

Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.

And no one is safe.

My Thoughts:

I had never heard of Chestnut dolls before, but I do know I love a book whereby the murderer has a calling sign. This caller sign is Chestnut dolls. Chestnuts and match sticks made into little people. But what is the significance? The significance becomes even more strange ( intriguing for the reader) when the fingerprint of a girl that went missing a year ago is found on the chestnut!

The plot focuses on two main detectives who are on the case. Neither of them particularly happy about having to work with the other and both with other places they would like to be. Not a good match for a serious hunt for a serial killer with an agenda you might think? Perhaps not, but it was a nice change to read about detectives having to be a partnership and not wanting to be there.

This Scandi Noir books deserves all the praise and rave reviews it’s got. The short chapters enabled me to read ” just one more chapter” more times than I could have imagined. The finger prints on the chestnut were what got me turning the pages. How are there finger prints of a girl who has been missing presumed dead for a whole year. The missing girl is the daughter of a government minister, so should this case be re opened? Most think ‘No’, but a good detective leaves nothing uncovered.

Are the murders anything to do with the missing girl? What’s the link between Chestnut Men and the victims? Are the victims patterned? Who is next? All questions that whizzed through my head leading to the ” just one more chapter” feeling.

The plot was long, but gripping. The characters were individual but forced to come together. The murderer, well I can describe this damaged soul as gory, blood thirsty, clever and original. If that sounds like a serial killer you’d like to meet on these pages, get reading The Chestnut Man.

I had no idea of who the killer was. I had no idea how the book would end, but when it did end after investing all that time into reading it, I was pleased, satisfied and so glad that I took the plunge into this big book.

My lockdown experience definetly included Chestnut Men. 😊

Links:

Amazon.co.uk

 

To live or to Die…. Book Review: The Doctor by Lisa Stone.

I had seen this book talked about on Twitter pre release. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy via Avon publishers, so thank you very much. After the reading the blurb at the back, I was hopeful this would be an addictive thriller, and I was right. The Doctor is a fantastic read!

Description:

How much do you know about the couple next door?

When Emily and Ben move in next door to Dr Burman and his wife Alisha, they are keen to get to know their new neighbours. Outgoing and sociable, Emily tries to befriend the doctor’s wife, but Alisha is strangely subdued, barely leaving the house, and terrified of answering the phone.

When Emily goes missing a few weeks later, Ben is plunged into a panic. His wife has left him a note, but can she really have abandoned him for another man? Or has Emily’s curiosity about the couple next door led her straight into danger?

My Thoughts:

The Doctor had me gripped from the first chapter. We meet anaesthetist Dr Burman and his wife Alisha. Immediately I got the sense that something wasn’t right with this couple. We also meet their neighbours Emily and Ben, happily married with a young son. As the story goes forward we get more of a sense of the characters and their relationships. Emily and Ben, seemingly a happy “normal” couple. And Dr Burman- a bit strange and very studious about learning what he considers to be his trade and how he can become a “credit to medical science”!! 🤤. Then Alisha Burman who is ill and doesn’t leave the house. Does her husband love and protect her so much that he does everything for her…… or not????

As each chapter got ingested into my bookish brain, I became more and more anxious for the females in this plot. Dr Burman may be considered a Dr Death or Dr Life…… depending on whose point of view you see it from.

This is the first book I have read by this Author, Lisa Stone. For a first book, it has made me want to read many more of her words of thrilling fiction.

I read this book fast and later at night than I should of. It was most definitely a case of ‘ just one more chapter’.

It was fantastic to read a thriller with a unique plot which totally had me engrossed from the first to the last page. I don’t know how true the medical facts are in the book, but for me involving cryonics in the plot was something different, exciting and thrilling.

As five star read for me and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a thriller with a difference.

 

Links:

www.lisastonebooks.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

 

Book Review: Where the Dead Fall by M J Lee.

I was sent an advanced copy of Where the Dead Fall by M J Lee. With thanks to Author M J Lee and publishers Canelo . This is book 2 in the detective Ridpath series, but it did not matter at all that I had not read book 1. Crime thrillers are my thing, so I was looking forward to getting stuck in to this book.

Description:

One chance encounter, one street side murder, will change everything… The extraordinary new Ridpath crime thriller
Manchester has been at peace for twenty years. Not any more.

DI Ridpath is in the process of getting his life back together when everything goes wrong.

Driving to meet his daughter, he his caught in a horrific motorway accident, in which a near-naked man is rundown by a lorry, while fleeing from a lone gunman. As Ridpath closes Manchester’s road network in search of the assailant, one question remains: why did nobody else see him?

Ridpath’s investigations, which at first seem to follow protocol, soon unearth a number of inconsistencies, which pulls the police force itself into question, and hint at something sinister to come…

For Manchester is on the brink of a fresh surge of violence unlike anything it has seen in decades. As Ridpath battles this unprecedented conflict, he must battle his own demons. One thing is for sure. There will be blood on the streets…

The nail-biting sequel to Where the Truth Lies, M J Lee’s Where the Dead Fall is an absolute must read, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Faith Martin and Peter James

My Thoughts:

This is the second book in the DI Ridpath series. I haven’t read the first one and it didn’t matter. In this book, Ridpath is recovering after cancer treatment and so is on lighter duties and has been asked to work at the coroners office instead, much to his dismay. However, the determined detective that he is, can’t stay away from the Major Incident Team. Plus when he is the only witness to see a man with a gun, he is involved automatically.

This book is current and I love that it was based in Manchester and talked about daily conversational things, like the football league talk and Theresa May. Although I enjoy the murders, detective work and the twists and guessing work of thriller novels. In order to bring a book to life, in my opinion the characters need to seem real, and for me that includes life talk, like who will win the football game that the two detectives support. Of course, this also brings major hassles to DI Ridpath, as his decisions involve holding up a traffic jam for 3 hours prior to a major football match! This is also the time when he sees what no one else sees, and brings him slap bang into the middle of a murder….. the problem is, he is the only one that thinks its murder!

DI Ridpath is likeable and a very good detective, but also so infuriating to, as he puts his work before everything which includes his family and his own health. Of course that makes him a great detective but also one full of personal problems.

As the book is based in Manchester, it talks a lot about the gang wars that occured there in the past. The police are majorly concerned that these murders are going to re start what was dubbed as ‘Gunchester’. The detectives talk about finding out the Who, Where and Why of the murders in order to solve the case. I liked that we were totally involved in the way the police worked and attempted to solve and bring to justice the criminals. However what was interesting in the book was the politics and sometimes division between the different branches and levels of police. I think the Author M J Lee has done real and thorough research in order to make this book as realistic but obviously fictional as possible. A talented, clever and imaginative Author. I recommend Where the Dead Fall to all fans of crime thrillers, and especially those who prefer British crime books.

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Links:

www.writermjlee.com

Twitter/WriterMJLee

Amazon.co.uk

 

Book Review: The Teacher DS Imogen Grey #1, by Katerina Diamond.

This is the first book in the series of Detective Imogen Grey. I have had The Teacher on my shelf for quite a while. It was the title and the cover that drew my attention to the book.

Will I be continuing the series? Keep reading to find out!

Description:

You think you know who to trust? You think you know the difference between good and evil? You’re wrong…

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.
Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.
As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.
But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.
And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?
SMART. GRIPPING. GRUESOME.
This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.
WARNING: Most definitely not for the faint-hearted!

Published March 10th 2016 by Avon

My Thoughts:

The Teacher follows new partners Detective Imogen Grey and Detective Adrian Miles. They find themselves paired together after both suffering from problems in their previous posts.

The two detectives are about to stumble upon some horrendous murders and are on a race against time as more murders, each as gruesome or even more gruesome than the last are committed.

The first few chapters of the book bring up many seemingly completely different and unrelated characters. It took concentration to remember who was who, as none of the characters seemed to be linked at first.

The descriptions in this book of the murders were the most gory and gruesome that I have ever read. I have read a lot of murder books!!! At times, it seemed I was only reading about killings and I wanted the plot to hurry up a bit, instead of so many people getting killed and me not knowing why or how they were linked. When I discovered the link and it all made sense who and why all the characters were linked it all seemed to click into place.

I like Detective Grey and it is for her that I will continue with this series. If book 2 is as filled with the gore, I may not continue to book 3. The murder scenes were so graphic that if this were a film, I would not watch it. This Author has a very dark imagination! Perfect for crime fiction!

The Teacher had a very high standard to follow after the recent crime books I had read. As a serial crime fiction reader, books need to be better and better to impress me. I liked The Teacher, but it won’t feature on my top ten of the year.

Have you read any Detective Grey books? Is book 2 just as gory? Let me know your thoughts.

Links:

Goodreads

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com