Book Reviews

Book Review: Liar Liar by Mel Sherratt

Hello to Mel Sherratt and the blog tour for her latest novel, Liar Liar, released on eBook by Avon on 10th February. 

The truth can be a dangerous thing…

When a young boy falls from a balcony in a block of flats, DS Grace Allendale witnesses the shocking aftermath of the tragic event. But strangely, no one will admit to seeing anything – and the parents will only tell the police that it was an accident.
 
Determined to sort the truth from the lies, Grace is thrown into a case that takes her to the darkest corners of the criminal world – and strikes closer to home than she could have ever imagined…

 

Liar Liar is the third novel in the DS Grace Allendale series.

Grace witnesses the aftermath of a tragic event. A young boy has fallen from the balcony at a block of flats.

No one will admit they saw anything. The parents are saying it was an accident. The evidence says different.

Can Grace find the truth as she’s one again thrown into the darkest corners of the criminal underworld?

Welcome back Mel!

It was so good to be back with Grace. She has become one of my favourite fictional detectives. There is something real about her. I get the feeling that there is so much about her we still don’t know. She has many layers and I look forward to discovering more (please let there be more, Mel.)

This is the third book in the series but it can be read as a standalone. I do recommend the first two books though (Hush Hush and Tick Tock.) They are excellent.

This book deals with some heavy themes, including a crime against a child but it does it with compassion.

The tension builds incredibly well as breadcrumbs are left all the way through the plot to the unseen conclusion.

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Book Review: Make or Break at the Lighthouse B&B by Portia MacIntosh

Hello to Portia MacIntosh and the blog tour for her latest novel, Make or Break at the Lighthouse B&B which is due to be released on eBook by HQ Digital on 14th February. 

Thirty-one-year-old matchmaker Lola James had it all – until she broke her leg at a wedding and discovered that her so-called ‘best friend’ was suddenly too busy to call, her flat had far too many steps, and her boyfriend replaced her quicker than you can say ‘crutches’.

And so she’s back at her parents’ B&B, sleeping in the living room (she can’t get upstairs) and having her hair washed by her mum (she can’t get in the shower).

Freshly single and with a lot of time on her hands, Lola is only too pleased to run into gorgeous Dr Will, an old friend who has definitely improved with age… And then there’s Dean, a divorcé who’s convinced he’s better off alone – no matter how lonely he is.
 
Can Will help mend Lola’s broken heart as well as her leg? Can she help Dean find love? As a wise man once said, sometimes the one for you is right under your nose, all along…

Lola James has the perfect life. She’s a matchmaker for celebrities, has the handsome boyfriend and she’s about to be a bridesmaid to her very glamorous friend.

However, when she breaks her leg, her boyfriend suddenly has better things to do, her friend is angry at Lola for supposedly stealing her wedding thunder and her boss tells her that, with a cast, she is not the right image for the job.

Just like that, she finds herself back in Marran Bay, back in her childhood home – The Lighthouse B&B.

As she re-acquaints herself with childhood friends, she is trying to figure out what to do next. Could a new life and love be closer than she thinks?

I immediately warmed to Lola. She wasn’t like the characters around her at the beginning of the book.

I think we’ve all had moments where we are not sure what to do next and Lola is definitely having one of those moments. I could really empathise with that.

I want to go to Marran Bay. It sounds beautiful. I also love the idea of a B&B attached to a lighthouse. It reminded me of the Portland Bay lighthouse I used to visit as a child.

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Audiobook Review: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, you see your husband only one day a week. Thursday. But you don’t care, you love him that much. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself…

And then, one day it all changes.

You thought you were fine with this, with only having a fraction of a husband. But you can’t help yourself, you start to dig. Begin tracking them down, the other days… Who is Monday and why does she have bruises on her arms? Is she being abused? By who? Her husband? Your husband?

What else is he keeping from you?

And who is he, really?

I was delighted to be invited onto the Audio tour for The Wives, the new thriller by Tarryn Fisher.

Thursday only gets to see her husband one day a week. She’s never met her husband’s other wives but she loves her husband. That’s what she’s told herself.

However, Thursday can’t help it. She starts tracking down the other wives. Who is Monday and where did the bruises on her arm come from?

What is her husband keeping from her? Who is he?

Our main character is Thursday, so named because her husband has two other wives and Thursday is the day she gets to see her husband, Seth.

The wives are allowed no communications with each other. That’s the rule.

Curiosity however gets the better of Thursday and her quest to find out more about the other wives sends her down a dark path.

I was lucky enough to be provided with an audio book copy for review and it added an additional aspect to the tension that builds up really well within the novel. Lauren Fortgang narrates this book so well. On the one occasion where I wasn’t able to use the audiobook copy and switched to my kindle, I found myself not reading very far and going back to the audiobook when I could. Lauren and Tarryn’s writing are a great combination.

The atmosphere in this novel is very chilling. I couldn’t figure out where this book was going to go and when I begin, I really couldn’t predict the twists the story was going to take. The plot is unlike any other books I have read in this genre.

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Book Review: All The Rage by Cara Hunter

A girl is taken from the streets of Oxford. But it’s unlike any abduction DI Fawley’s seen before . . .

Faith Appleford was attacked, a plastic bag tied over her head, taken to an isolated location . . . and then, by some miracle, she escaped.

What’s more, when DC Erica Somer interviews Faith, she quickly becomes convinced that Faith knows who her abductor is.

Yet Faith refuses to press charges.

Without more evidence, it’s looking like the police may have to drop the case.

But what happens if Faith’s attacker strikes again?

 

I was very excited to be invited to take part in the blog tour for All The Rage, the latest book from Cara Hunter.

A girl is found in a state, walking along the side of the road. It is obvious she has been attacked.

DI Adam Fawley and his team have little to go on, especially as the victim doesn’t want to press charges.

When a second girl disappears, Adam knows time is short.

This story really played on my fears. I did creep myself out whilst reading, jumping at little noises.

Cara Hunter is becoming one of my favourite authors in this genre.

This story did have a slightly different feel than the others I’ve read but in my opinion, that wasn’t a bad thing.

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Book Review: Little Boy Lost by J.P. Carter

One early October afternoon, ten-year-old Jacob Rossi begins the short walk home from school. But he never makes it.
 
Days later, DCI Anna Tate is called to the scene of a burning building, where an awful discovery has been made. A body has been found, and the label in his school blazer reads: J. Rossi.
 
As Anna starts digging, she soon learns that a lot of people had grudges against the boy’s father. But would any of them go so far as to take his son?

And is the boy’s abductor closer than she thinks?

 

I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for Little Boy Lost, the latest novel by J.P. Carter.

Little Boy Lost begins when the wife of a suspected drug dealer is shot dead in a Police raid. When this event sparks riots all over London, DCI Anna Tate know she’s in for a long few nights.

It doesn’t take long until the riots begin to claim their victims including schoolboy Jacob Rossi.

However, he may have been accidentally killed but his presence in the cellar of a derelict pub is far from an accident and Anna and her team find themselves battling to bring both the abductor and arsonist to justice, before it’s too late.

I knew from the first few sentences that I was going to like this novel. It immediately puts the reader into the heart of the action. It also doesn’t shy away from gritty plot lines, all equally sad and compelling.

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