Avon Books – nigeladamsbookworm

Nothing Left Behind. Hannah Brennan

Book two of the DCI Liz Field series.

All emergency services suffer from regular nuisance callers. Most are malicious false alarms, sometimes they are a cry for help, but they are always taken, and responded to. Sometimes that response can be a bit slower than they would expect, the calls being prioritised, and known false callers get put to the bottom of the queue.

But what happens when those callers really need help. The time they are calling wolf because there is actually a wolf there.

Anne was one of those callers. Her regular cry for help was that “he” was going to burn the house down and kill her inside it.

So when one night another call comes in, to her house being on fire, the nearest Police Officer takes his time in responding.

When he does get there he finds the house well alight and goes inside to rescue the old lady most police officers in the area have come to know.

His life is saved when a neighbour pulls his unconscious body out of the house.

And so begins a complex investigation which takes more than a few unexpected, and thoroughly compelling twists.

DCI Liz Field is appointed SIO but her team is reduced to help cover another team who are investigating the murder of a high profile activist who had been shot on her own doorstep.

Fields investigation soon uncovers the real identity of Anne, the victim in the house fire had changed names, and location, following the conviction of her husband who had previously assaulted her.

Could this be the reason for the murder, he had always said he would kill her and her son.

Who is the son, and where is he. The police officers who had grown to know her had no knowledge of her previous life.

This is the basis of a fantastic story.

As with the previous book No Safe Place, the story revolves around Field, and the two or three other key players in the plot.

As the story progresses the slow drip of clues finally builds up and I eventually realised who some of the characters really were. I had a good idea of who might be the murderer, but when it was revealed I was still surprised.

It’s been a long time since I have read books so well plotted. Hannah Brennan hides things in plain sight so that when the reveal is made I couldn’t help thinking to myself “how did I not pick up on that”

It helps that I love DCI Field. She is about as realistic as it comes, and I find empathy with her every time she makes a decision.

What really struck me about this book is how well it is researched. I recently read and reviewed a book in which the main character was a Fire Investigator. I criticised the research for that book as it was factually and procedurally incorrect. And that was with the FIre Investigator as the main character.

In this book the Fire Investigator has a bit part, an important part in the story but still a small part. The realism in the scene setting, and the procedural aspects, in this book are really very good, and there is absolutely no comparison between the two. This one is far better than the other.

For me, as a retired Fire Investigator, that makes a hell of a difference.

I can’t wait for book three to be published in November 2026, in fact I preordered it as soon as I finished this one.

Pages: 446. Publisher: Avon. Audiobook length: 10 hours 13 minutes. Narrator: Rachel Atkins

No Safe Place. Hannah Brennan

Book one in the Detective Chief Inspector Liz Field series, and if this is the standard to come it’s going to be one hell of a series.

What starts out as a single attempted murder quickly escalates.

DCI Field is close to the attack when the call comes in. A man has been stabbed multiple times and left to die in the street.

Her and one of her DS’s are the first on the scene and the description of the chaos they encounter, and the way the next few minutes is described sets the cadence for the story.

The victim is a Mental Health Doctor who published a paper about his observations of 5 teenagers who had undiagnosed OCD. The study took place fifteen years ago and the front page of the paper is found beneath his body when paramedics move him to hospital.

The next day a second victim is savagely stabbed, in a similar manner, but she dies. She was one of the teenagers in the study carried out by the Doctor, and she is found on the steps of another of the cohort included in the study.

The study only contains an identifying letter for each of the teenagers. The police now know the identity of two of them, but they need to identify the other three to either rule them out and protect them, or arrest one of them for murder.

All of the subjects of the study had previously been diagnosed with other mental health issues, but by identifying the underlying issue was severe OCD the Doctor had been able to offer them all help before they were discharged from his care.

Each of them has made a recovery, to differing degrees of success, but some still suffer, and when the investigating team start to identify them it’s only the start of the process. Interviewing people with hidden, or in some cases not so hidden, OCD issues is difficult. But it makes for a great story plot.

The characters are really well written in particular the Police Officer at the head of the story.

DCI Liz Field is the female version of a lot of the fictional Police Officers you find in some established series, but with Brennans writing she is elevated to another level.

As well as dealing with the investigation she is also dealing with two Detective Sergeants on her team.

DS Wilson is a traditional Police Officer. She joined as a uniform Constable and did her time on response, dealing with all the rubbish and violence that that job brings.

DS Riley has a degree in Criminology and joined the force on a Direct-to-Detective scheme. Who Wilson sees as an inexperienced underling.

Wilson an Riley often but heads, most SIOs would do something to stop this but Field almost encourages it, and sees the competition between the pair as a good way of getting the best out of them.

This story moves with pace. For a story with, at most, eight main characters, three of which are Police Officers, it’s amazing how well hidden the perpetrator is hidden.

I did’t have a clue who was carrying out the attacks until the reveal, and thats not a bad thing.

A great start to a new series.

Pages: 414. Publisher: Avon. Audiobook length: 9 hours 34 minutes. Narrator: Rachel Atkins

The Serial Killer Gene. Alice Hunter

I have to admit I had to look it up, and yes there is a “Serial Killer Gene”

Or actually to be more precise, there isn’t a specific Gene by that name, but it is thought that a combination of genes may make a person more susceptible to being violent, extremely violent when external triggers are brought in to play.

Lily Chapel can’t remember her father, or so she thinks. As long as she can remember it has just been her and her mother.

Although shes now living with her boyfriend something is not right. She needs to prove herself to him and his family, and to help with that she takes a DNA Geniality test. It doesn’t give her much information apart from one bonus section which looks like click bait, but she clicks it out of curiosity.

That is when she discovers she has the Serial Killer Gene, and that is when her dreams, and occasional flashbacks start to make sense.

In her troubled state she leaves her boyfriend and moves back in with mom, only to fall in lust with Margo, a slightly assertive, lesbian, Journalist who she begins a lustful relationship with.

The more adventurous and heated their relationship becomes the more Dreams and Flashbacks Lily has, and the more lucid they become.

Did her Dad simply disappear, or was there something more sinister at play.

Who passed the gene down to Lily, was it Mom or Dad.

What do the dreams mean, or are they really just memories which have been deeply buried.

The book examines relationships as much as anything else. Is Mother really the supportive single parent doing her best to raise her only child, or is she protecting her from a truth Lily couldn’t bare.

And Margo. Is he too good to be true. Turning up on her first night out after breaking up with her boyfriend. She is gentlewoman and looks after Lily. The sex with her is great, but Lily can’t shake the feeling there is something else. Is she just Margo’s next story.

The story unfolds quickly with the clever use of Past and Present sections. The back story is cleverly disguised and although I thought I knew what was happening to Lily, I really couldn’t be sure until the last few chapters.

This book is the epitome of a psychological thriller. It had me from page one and provided a rollercoaster of suspense.

Alice Hunter is now another name on my must read list.

Publisher: Avon. Release Date: 7th May 2026

Every Move You Make C.L Taylor

Five people in a self help group, all of them the victim of a stalker.

At the very start of the book the group loses a member when their stalker murders them on their doorstep.

At the funeral the group are delivered a chilling message. In just over a week one of them will die.

The story is told from the remaining four members of the groups point of view.

They hatch a plan to find out who’s stalker delivered the message, who is the target, but can they trust each other.

With the book being written from the point of view of the four potential victims the concerns, and insecurities soon start to manifest themselves in one of them.

As those concerns appeared on the page it led me to change my hypothesis on who was the intended target, and even start to develop thoughts on if one of them was in fact the puppet master using the others fears to manipulate them.

But why would that be. If all of them are victims of stalking why would one of them go from victim to predator.

This is a cracking story.

The pace of the book is perfectly set. It had me hooked from the beginning and kept me enthralled all the way through.

I can’t remember how many times I changed my hypothesis, up until the point it became obvious, and even then I wasn’t completely convinced there wasn’t going to be a twist.

Publisher Avon. Pages 422. Audio book 10 hours 8 minutes

The Prisoners Wife. Ali Blood

I don’t usually read the Gangland type of crime book, but the spiel for this one got me intrigued.

Am I glad I read it? Yes.

Emma is married to a man she thought was the best thing that had ever happened to her, until he put that ring on her finger. Then the true Tommy Driscoll appeared, bullying, coercive, and frightening.

Who she thought was an honest business man, is in fact a Gangland boss. His businesses just a front for all of his illegal activities.

The book starts with Tommy being found guilty of carrying a firearm and being sentenced to five years. Emma’s joy at the thought of freedom from him is short lived.

His brother Liam, and his right hand man Fraser work at Tommy’s behest to ensure she is living a life of incarceration on the outside, just as much as she is on the inside. His threats to her are chilling. Do nothing, live like a nun, wait for him to get out.

But she’s already made a mistake, a one night stand whilst Tommy was on remand.

Now the one night stand is trying to blackmail her, and if her husband finds out……..

But where is the real threat.

Who can she trust.

She can’t turn to her family because Tommy is using threats against them to control her.

The Police? Why should she trust them.

This is a great story with some vicious twists.

The surprises keep coming all the way to the last chapter.

A cracking book. At times this is a tough read but it’s always compelling and I found it hard to put down.

Ali Blood is a new author to me but I’ll be keeping my eyes open for her books in the future

Pages: 400. Publisher: Avon. Publishing Date: 2nd February 2023

The Family Tree. Steph Mullin & Nicole Mabry

A clever concept for a storyline in more than one way.

A woman, Liz, receives an Ancestral DNA testing kit from her cousin, as a present. The results are not what is expected. Not only has she no similarities in DNA markers to who she thought was her family, she finds out her mother was a drug addict who spent time in prison

But that’s not the end of the surprises. When she uploads her data to another site she ticks the box that allows law enforcement agencies access to her test results. What she didn’t expect was to be contacted by two agents from the FBI

Meanwhile the story of a serial killer unravels over alternating chapters, but in a way I’ve never read before.

The killer started their spree 40 years ago with a single victim, and has gone on to kidnap and kill at least 22 other people, in pairs. The story of the killer is told in instalments, with each one progressing their methods. How they are taken, then in the next chapter how they are transported, in following chapters how they are treated in captivity. Each chapter using the next pair of victims.

And yes, there are two being held captive as the story is told.

I’m not giving anything away by saying that the DNA data uploaded by Liz, has similarities to some found at a scene connected to the serial killer, hence the visit by the FBI.

What follows is a story that I rattled through in two sittings. I was enthralled.

Both of the strands would have made a good story on their own, but they have been wonderfully woven together by two authors, and it has produced a great story.

I do wonder about author collaborations, and usually avoid them, but this one tweaked my curiosity.

I wonder if the authors wrote a strand each, and then used the alternative chapter system to weave them together

However they did it, they have combined to write one of the most original crime books I’ve read for a long time.

Pages: 412. Publishers: Avon. Publishing Date 10th June 2021

A Serial Killers Wife. Alice Hunter

Beth has it all, a lovely daughter, Poppy; a loving husband, Tom; and the perfect village life where she runs her own coffee shop.

Then one day Tom’s late from work and by the time he gets home two police officers are waiting to talk to him. Taking him to the station he doesn’t return till late and he tells his wife he’ll explain everything the next day after work. But he doesn’t get the chance because he’s arrested, for the suspected murder of his ex girlfriend 8 years ago.

Life begins to unravel. She knows Tom likes to be a bit dominant in the bedroom but he’s no killer………is he

Dealing with the aftermath of Toms arrest in the village, the gossipy wives, the other kids at Poppy’s school, and the influx of journalists is making her life unbearable.

But not as unbearable as the elements of doubt that start to creep into her thoughts.

Written in the first person, from both Beth and Toms point of view, and occasionally a mystery 3rd person, this book is addictive.

The story isn’t as simple as it sounds, but to go any deeper would mean too many spoilers.

Beth is the kind of character that you can’t help but have empathy and sympathy for. Tom is a character you won’t trust from the start.

And who is the third person

Alice Hunter is great at building tension in the way she writes, even when the story is apparently taking a bit of a breather there is an underlying fizz of electricity.

Don’t get me wrong, this book never really takes its foot of the accelerator, and it goes no where near the brake, it just cruises along at just the right speed all the way through.

I really enjoyed this one.

Pages: 400. Publisher: Avon. Publishing Date: 27th May 2021

The Silent Suspect. Nell Pattison

The opening chapters in this book contained the best narrative of a house fire, from a civilian witness point of view, I have ever read.

Paige Northwood is a hearing British Sign Language interpreter. When she gets a video call from a client, who is frantically signing at her to phone the Fire Service, because his house is on fire and his wife is missing, she calls the brigade and runs around the corner to where the fire is taking place.

Paige works a Deaf Social worker Sasha, and helps her with clients. It’s one of these clients who’s house is on fire

Lucas is nowhere to be seen when Paige arrives, but is soon pulled out of the building by fire crews, he’s alive but as he sits on the back of an ambulance his wife is pulled out dead.

Hours later Lucas is charged with her murder. Sasha and Paige can’t believe he did it and start to carry out their own investigations.

What follows is amateur sleuthing at its best. Showing a real confirmation bias towards proving Lucas innocent they blunder their way along, and in Paige’s case, from one disaster to another, in a desperate attempt to find out who really killed Lucas wife.

As they start to uncover the truth about what Lucas is really like Paige starts to have doubts.

Running alongside the main story are short flashback chapters that cover the last few hours before the fire

The two main threads intertwine, just as the reader is led down one thread by Paige’s investigation, they are diverted by something that happened just hours before the fire.

This is a great story with great characters.

Pattison uses italics when one of the characters is signing, and somehow manages to get real emotion into the conversations.

Unlike many modern fiction books where murder follows murder she has kept it real with the one main crime, but of course there are a lot of less serious crimes orbiting it. People just don’t get murdered for no reason, most of the time.

I’ve said before how I love a book that gets me researching, and this one did just that. How many of us have given any thought to how deaf people use mobile phones, apart from texting and using the internet.

I got the sneaky feeling that this wasn’t the first book in the series when I was reading it, but I waited till the end to check. It’s book 3 in the Paige Northwood series.

I have to say it reads great as a standalone, but I’m definitely going back to read the first two.

I loved this book for the stubborn, yet naive, way Paige got involved. It was almost like going back to my childhood reading when The Hardy Brothers stumbled across some injustice they wanted to right.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a very grown up book that deals with real emotions in a modern world, there’s even a touch of romance, and do you know what, I enjoyed it.

Pages: 400. Publisher: Avon. Publishing date: April 29th 2021

Who Took Eden Mulligan. Sharon Dempsey

Who took Eden Mulligan could easily be Who Is Eden Mulligan.

This is a belter of a crime novel that is so much more than just a murder investigation.

The book starts with a bloodied and injured young woman staggering into a Police Station, in Northern Ireland, and saying that “they’re all dead” and confessing to killing them before she passes out

The “them” she’s talking about are her 4 best friends and the police quickly find them all in a remote house. 3 are dead, stabbed to death and posed on a bed, the other is clinging to life.

Painted on the wall is a message. Who Took Eden Mulligan

That is where this story can take a massive turn that it couldn’t do if it was set anywhere else in the U.K.

Eden Mulligan went missing from her Belfast home during the troubles.

Since the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement most of us have forgotten what the people of the Country went through, but this book looks at the way the troubles still effect the people of Belfast and the small towns around it

Chief Inspector Danny Stowe is working on cold cases, looking at unsolved murders. When the woman staggers into the Police Station Danny is asked to lead the murder investigation, it’s his way back into Major Investigations. On the same day his best friend from University visits him, and he ropes her in to help the investigation

Dr Rose Lainey is only home for her mothers funeral. She works in England as a Criminal Psychologist and at first is loath to help, but she needs answers herself, especially when they find out who Eden Mulligan, was and when she went missing.

Mulligan was a young attractive woman bringing up her 5 children alone in Belfast whilst her husband worked in England.

Lainey was from the same area, The Markets, and her mother brought up her family alone after her husband was killed. Lainey always thought her mother was part of the paramilitaries, sneaking out at night and being secretive. Lainey had run away from home after her last college exam, away from what she saw as an overbearing mother, and had never returned until she had a phone call to say her mother had died.

Mulligans disappearance was never solved, in fact the police never really took it seriously.

This story looks at The Disappeared of Northern Ireland. People that went missing during the troubles. People taken off the streets by paramilitary snatch squads, taken across the border, tortured and killed. People who’s bodies were never found.

It looks at the effects the troubles are still having on families today, as well as the sectarian violence that was taking place till only a few years ago.

This book could not have been set anywhere else in the U.K.

I’m ashamed to say I’m old enough to know more about the troubles than I did before I started reading this book. I disappeared down a Google worm hole for hours reading about “The Disappeared”

The relationships between Lainey and her estranged family, and her friendship with Stowe, is a brilliant sub plot. In fact both the lead characters in this book have a great story to tell and hopefully there will be more to follow.

Pages: 368. Publisher: Avon. Available: August 2021

Ask No Questions. Claire Allan

One of the best books I’ve read this year.

25 years ago an eight year old girl goes missing during a Halloween night out.

3 days later 10 year old twin brothers Niall and Declan Heaney find her face down in a lake.

The families of the small Northern Irish town of Creggan are devastated and scared.

Ingrid Devlin was two years older than the missing girl and lived in the same town, now she’s a journalist who has written a couple of true crime books, so it’s natural that she is asked to do an anniversary piece on the murder, for the local paper.

What starts out as just a look at the victim, her family and the community, and how they have been affected takes a swing when James Harte, the man convicted of the murder, who was released 7 years ago, contacts Ingrid proclaiming his innocence.

The paper publishes the anniversary article, but Ingrid’s Editor refuses to run anything inflammatory from Harte. In fact the editor orders Ingrid to stop looking at the case. She decides that there is good material for a book and continues her investigation.

It’s not long before intimidating tactics start to persuade her to stop. That just makes her dig her heels in and carry on, but she’s scared, very scared, by what’s happening around her.

This book has a fantastic storyline. The tenacity of Ingrid’s investigation is underpinned by the effect it starts to have on her. How, as evidence starts to sway her thoughts away from what she has accepted as the truth since she was 10, she becomes scared.

The dynamics of the families involved in the incident, the girl’s mom and dad, the twins who found her and their parents is brilliantly written.

The tension in the book ramps up all the way until the last few pages, and in all honesty, I didn’t predict the end. Which is just how I like my crime fiction.

It wasn’t a surprise when I researched Claire Allan and found out she graduated with a Masters in Newspaper Journalism before becoming a renowned reporter in Derry. This book couldn’t have been written this well if the person writing it, hadn’t lived the life of a reporter in that area.

Did I save the best till last. This is certainly in the top 3 books I’ve read this year. So yes I think I did.

Publisher: Avon Pages: 336 Publishing date: January 2021