Tag: Crime Fiction Lover

The Alter Girls. Patricia Gibney

I can’t believe we’re already at book 13 in this series.

Don’t worry if you haven’t read the others because this can be read as a standalone and is still a fantastic read.

The ongoing stories involving Detective Lottie Park, her team, and her family add to the series massively, but the main story in each book is the real star.

In this book two young girls go missing on a snowy day. The only problem is nobody really notices they’re missing for a good few hours.

Both girls are connected to the church through the choir and serve as alter girls, both are very young, still in primary school.

When the first girl turns up dead in the Cathedral grounds people naturally start suspect the involvement of somebody in the clergy. A bias that has riddled the church for years.

When the second girl is found in similar circumstances the Catholic Fathers come under even more suspicion.

Lottie can’t afford any type of bias as her team start the investigation.

The families of both girls also have their secrets, but the main person Lottie would suspect, one of the girls fathers, is in prison

Nobody writes crime fiction better than Patricia Gibney.

She relates the frustrations of the investigation team with unerring realism.

When instinct is telling you there is something wrong, but there is no evidence. When old biases rear their head, but you daren’t act on them because people will think you’re going for the obvious, easy hit.

Gibney never shies away from putting her characters through the mill. She never avoids a difficult subject. In the Alter Girls she addresses some of the concerns people have around the clergy. She looks at the secrets kept behind closed doors in, what should be the sanctuary, of the family home.

And all the way through she shows the minefield that is building hypothesis during an investigation. It is absolutely compelling.

The book is just over 500 pages long but every word is used well and is relevant to the current story, or the ongoing stories of the main characters.

As close as it could be this was a “pick it up and read from start to finish” for me. In fact if I hadn’t have to go to work, it would have been.

Pages 504. Publisher: Bookouture. Audiobook 13 h 35m. Narrator Michele Moran

The Running Grave. Robert Galbraith

Strike and Robin are back for their latest instalment and the story is really good.

The latest client wants his son brought to safety from a Cult run from a farm in Norfolk.

The clan have long been accused of abusive and coercive behaviour, but hide behind a wall of of litigation against those that make the accusation they appear almost bomb proof.

The only way to shut them down, and release their clients son, is to gather evidence from inside.

Somebody needs to go undercover. Join the “religion” and live at the farm.

Whoever that is is going to need a strong mind to withstand the torturous regime inside that attacks both body and mind.

It fall to Robin to enter the building but both Strike, her family, and her new Police Officer boyfriend are against it..

Nevertheless she insists she has to be the one and worms her way in.

What follows is a dark tale of a manipulation of the mind and a weakening of the body.

Can she stay strong enough to stay true to herself, to gather evidence, and to get out unharmed and mentally undamaged.

Meanwhile on the outside Strike and his team carry on that investigation whilst covering the usual distractions of day to day detective agency work.

Bullet points. I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved the little side stories that detract from the main plot and give a bit of humour, and yes there’s a but coming.

“But” it’s long and I’m pretty sure the story wouldn’t have lost any of its impact if some of the more erroneous text was left out. As much as I like descriptive narratives at times it can go too far.

On numerous occasions I found myself skipping pages which described the decor of a pub, or room within the compound.

I like long books, but only where the text is relevant. Unfortunately, and really unusually for me, I stopped reading this book twice and went to read other books before going back.

After reading 900 plus pages the end seemed a little rushed. Which surprised me.

But the last few paragraphs, of the last chapter , made reading every word worth it.

Pages 961. Audio book length 34 hours 13 minutes. Narrator Robert Glenister

The Scorned. Alex Khan

A good Police Procedural novel with strong characters.

At times this book is a tough read and contains triggers for anybody who has suffered domestic abuse.

A tough Asian Lady who has run away from her own “arranged” , and abusive marriage is now a Detective Sergeant working on serious crimes. Moomy Ali is a great character.

When two women, with no apparently link are brutally murdered, within hours of each other Moomy and her team are tasked to investigate.

Why have the Home Office sent an observer in to watch over the team, even before the first victim is identified.

The teams fears that they are being used as some form of political pawn doesn’t stop them carrying out an investigation that uncovers a disturbing scenario.

There appears to be a group of people being manipulated to kill, born on their hatred of women.

During the investigation they uncover bigoted hate in various forms, which are unfortunately very realistic and believable.

But which group, and which leader are responsible for the killings.

As much as this book is a great story it’s also a sad reflection on elements of today’s society.

Frighteningly realistic, and at times hard to read, it’s a great book.

Pages 377. Publisher: Hera Release Date: 5th October 2023

Anna O. Matthew Blake

I’ve read a few books with really original plots recently but I think this one stand out.

Anna O is an infamous young lady who was found lying between two people who had stabbed to death. She was asleep, and four years later she still is.

The judiciary wants to put her on trial, but first they need to get her into a fit enough condition to stand trial.

They have her moved to the Abbey sleep clinic on Harley Street and place her under the treatment of Dr Benedict Prince, who has recently published a paper on Resignation Syndrome. (That had me reaching for Google and spending a good hour reading about the syndrome)

From there the plot splits between several characters.

Benedict himself.

His ex wife, who was the first Police Officer on the scene of the murder.

Anna O’s Mom, an ex Shadow Minister, now Vicar , who was, and is, more interested in saving her own reputation than that of her daughter.

Anna’s Dad, a Banker who has little in common with his wife or daughter.

Lola, a blogger and armchair detective that is linked to Anna, and possibly the murders. Her online persona is @Suspect8. Insinuating she was at the scene.

The plot is brilliantly woven from the outlook of each of these characters.

It’s a battle for the truth. Is Anna O a murderer, or a convenient scapegoat.

Can Benedict rouse her from her sleep and have her sufficiently compos mantis enough to tell her story.

The Publishers Gumph


What if your nightmares weren’t really nightmares at all?

We spend an average of 33 years of our lives asleep. But what really happens, and what are we capable of, when we sleep?

Anna Ogilvy was a budding twenty-five-year-old writer with a bright future. Then, one night, she stabbed two people to death with no apparent motive–and hasn’t woken up since. Dubbed “Sleeping Beauty” by the tabloids, Anna’s condition is a rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as “resignation syndrome.”

Dr. Benedict Prince is a forensic psychologist and an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides. His methods are the last hope of solving the infamous “Anna O'”case and waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But he must be careful treating such a high-profile suspect–he’s got career secrets and a complicated personal life of his own.

As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes.

Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict knows how to discover it. And they’re both in danger from what they find out.

What I thought

It’s a real page turner of a book. I’d never heard of Resignation Syndrome before, and I’ve found out that it’s a relatively newly diagnosed condition, but I can see many more authors using it as the spine of a plot.

The plot itself is really good and with one exception I didn’t second guess where the story was going.

At 448 pages it’s a bit long but not a page is wasted.

I can’t wait to see what Matthew Blake writes next.

Saving Myles. Carl Vonderau

Every parents nightmare, and that’s just the beginning.

As a father I would do anything to ensure my daughters safety, and that’s where things start to go wrong for Banker Wade.

His son Myles is really troubled, failing school, heavily into drugs, slowly ruining his own life.

Wade arranges an intervention. He has Myles forcibly taken from his home and placed into rehab, for a year.

When Myles comes home he runs off to Mexico with his “Girlfriend” and is kidnapped by the cartel.

To raise the ransom Wade agrees to work for another Bank, but what he is actually doing is working for the Cartel.

This is a story of love and sacrifice that leads to a parents downward spiral.

Moralistically I emphasised with Wade, and wanted to slap Myles.

But ultimately I wanted to shout at Wade to wake up and see what he was getting himself into.

And all of this is only the begining

Publishers Gumph ⬇️⬇️⬇️

When the FBI can’t help, an unassuming banker takes matters into his own hands to bring his son home

Wade, a respected banker in La Jolla, CA, and his estranged wife, Fiona, make the unbearable decision to send their teenage son, Myles, away to an expensive treatment center after a streak of harmful behavior. After a year of treatment, Myles comes home, seemingly rehabilitated. But soon, he sneaks off to Tijuana to buy drugs—and is kidnapped.

When the ransom call comes, Fiona is frantic and accepts help from Andre, the Quebecois whose charity Fiona runs. Wade is wary of Andre’s reputation and the bank he owns, but seeing no other way to secure a kidnap negotiator or the ransom, he swallows his doubts to get his son home.

In order to get the ransom money, Wade makes a deal with Andre—he’ll work for Andre’s bank in exchange for the cash. But as Wade races to rescue Myles before his kidnappers lose their patience, he realizes he’s wrapped up in more crime than just a kidnapping—he’s now indebted to a cartel.

Vengeance. J.K Flynn

I recently read and reviewed The Art Merchant by J.K Flynn and raved about it. I said then I couldn’t wait for the next instalment and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy this week.

It didn’t disappoint.

Flynn has taken DS. Esther Penman to the next level.

Now a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for over fifty days things are going well.

But her reputation is still there like a dark shadow. Everybody knows she’s the best Detective on the force, but her past erratic behaviour, and tendency to wake up in strange bedrooms, is tarnishing her, and her DCI is making her life difficult.

Thankfully her DI, Jared Wilcox, is on her side but how much can he protect her.

When they start to investigate a murder Esther uncovers a link to a missing person that the Met are dealing with.

From there spurious links start to surface to other crimes and strange occurrences.

Jared is a good DI but he knows Esther is the brains of the team, and is happy to run with her instincts, even when she has a bit of a wobble.

The title of the book gives away the motive of the crimes but the way the plot develops kept me totally enthralled.

Esther Penman has established herself of one of my favourite characters in the Crime Thriller World.

What the publishers say

A MURDERED EXECUTIVE. 

A MISSING STOCKBROKER.

A DRUG WORTH BILLIONS. 

When a body turns up in a Belfield alleyway, Detective Sergeant Esther Penman quickly realises there’s more to it than simple homicide. With links to a missing London stockbroker, and the dead man’s firm on the brink of launching a new medicine worth billions, there’s plenty of motive for murder. 

Meanwhile, Esther has trouble of her own to deal with. Having recently made an enemy of one of the city’s most ruthless criminals, she knows she has to watch her back. But as she begins to unravel the web of intrigue surrounding the alleyway murder, she can’t shake the unsettling sense that she herself is becoming a target… 

Can Esther stay one step ahead of her enemies in her hunt for the killer? 

Find out in Vengeance, the thrilling sequel to The Art Merchant.

What I think.

A no brainier recommendation. A cracking book.

Brilliant characters, especially Esther.

A realistic crime set against a realistic background.

And best of all, it was every bit as good as the first in the series, if not better.

Age of Vice. Deepti Kapoor

A story of greed, corruption and abuse.

Based in India this book follows a group of people.

A boy from an impoverished village that is sold into servitude.

A rich spoilt brat, the son of gangster whose raping villagers of their land and children.

A journalist who wants to get to the bottom of everything that is happening in the villages, only to find herself in a world of alcohol and drugs that sends her life spiralling out of control

There lives are thrown together, over years, the good becoming bad and the bad becoming worse.

At the core of the story is greed, corruption and the Caste System.

One thing that this cooking pot of characters, greed, and corruption is sure to bring is an explosive end.

What it delivers is a slow building pressure cooker of a story that had me hooked from the very beginning.

My allegiances changed as I moved through the book. My liking for some characters changed to hate, my hate for others ……just got worse, but it added to the magnetism of the story.

Brilliant.

If you are a person that only reads one book a year, and are looking for that poolside read.

This is it.

Pages: 589. Publisher: Fleet. Available now

The Body In Nightingale Park. Nick Louth

Billed as the final instalment of the DCI Craig Gillard series I read this book with some trepidation. I’ve really enjoyed this series and didn’t really want it to end but Nick Louth has dealt with the ending brilliantly.

The frustrations of being a Police Officer and maintaining a personal life is depicted really well

As the SIO of some very high profile investigations Gillard has always put his family slightly behind his job whilst always being a loving and caring husband.

Now it’s different. Sam, Gillard’s wife is heavily pregnant, and even though he has been given reassurances that he can have leave to support her through the birth Gillard is called in again, and again.

The end of the series? I’m still not 100% sure we’ve heard the end of Gillard and his team. There is scope to have some of the characters move forward in their own series. But by the end of the book I was thinking how Gillard should really be left alone to enjoy faintly time as best as he can.

Publishers Gumpth

The final instalment of the DCI Gillard Crime Thrillers,

Another impossible case for DCI Gillard, but this time the answers are very close to home…

With a baby on the way, a pregnant wife to take care of and a new home to settle into, DCI Craig Gillard seems to have found a life of domestic bliss.

But when retired police sergeant Ken Stapleford is found stabbed to death in front of his own TV while watching Saturday afternoon football, Gillard’s peace is once again disturbed.

Only a day later, just a short walk from his new home, Gillard is himself witness to the killing of a jogger in Nightingale Park. A strange forensic connection emerges between the two killings, something that seems impossible. As he digs into the evidence, Gillard uncovers two more attacks, and any chance of taking time off for the birth of his child disappears.

And all the time the killer is circling closer and closer…

Perfect for fans of Stuart Macbride, Mark Billingham and Robert Bryndza.

What I thought

As always Nick Louth has written a brilliant Police Procedural Crime Thriller.

The crimes in this series have all been original, well conceived, and realistic, and this one is no exception.

Effectively Gillard is investigations two unrelated crimes, a series of rapes carried out in a park near his house, and a prominent influencer killed in the same park.

But the connections between these crimes soon become obvious, as does a more tenuous thread to the murder of a retired Police Officer being investigated by one of Gillard’s colleagues.

As more crimes get linked it looks almost impossible for one person to have carried out the attacks, over such a vast area, in such a relatively short time.

Gillard’s thinking, and the logic in which he applies his thoughts are really well written and just like the rest of the series I was hooked before the end of the first chapter.

As I said earlier I can see spin offs from this series.

Whatever Nick Louth decides, I’ll be at the front of the queue for his next book.

Pages: 323. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Publishing date: 17 August 2023

Salt Island. Lisa Towles

The way of writing that involves just one persons perspective, a story told from one persons point of view, through their eyes, through their thoughts and emotions, is one of the most effective ways of telling a story, and Lisa Towles is a master at it.

Billed as Ellwyn and Abernathy book 2, the story is purely told via Mari Ellwyn’s point of view, and this work’s fantastically.

Ellwyn starts the story in the British Virgin Islands on a personal quest but is quickly called back to California when her mother is taken ill.

Whilst there she is contacted by an old friend to look into things which are happening around a young entrepreneur that specialises in financing agricultural start ups and companies.

Somebody is trying to discredit Jack Darcy, but is anything they are doing illegal? The drip of intimidation is skating the edge of legality. Rumours that his high profile wife has been abducted only add to the intrigue, but no missing persons report has been filed.

Meanwhile Abernathy is off investigating the death of two brothers in an agricultural accident in a small farming town and keeps going “off-radar”.

Ellwyn employs some of the side characters from the series to help her with her investigations and to keep an eye on her Mom, who’s erratic behaviour in hospital can’t all be the result of her suffering a stroke.

When Ellwyn starts to receive warnings, it’s not about her case, it’s about her partners, but why do the people who are sending her the message also appear to be involved in her case.

A great story that has some complex plots weaving through it.

The frustrations felt by Ellwyn are passed to the reader because of the way the story is written. She, and the reader, do not know what is happening to her partner, until it’s revealed by her discoveries and observations.

The distraction of her Moms illness and behaviour diverts her from her investigations.

You would think that this style of writing is simplistic, but it’s not, it’s realistic.

We only know what we know. So why should that be any different in a book. I’ve fully brought into this series and I can’t wait for the next book

Pages: 297 Publisher: Indies United Publishing House. Available now

The Lies You Wrote. Brianna Labuskes

Of all the crime fiction books I’ve read, and that stretches into many hundreds, this is the first one I’ve read that has a Forensic Linguistic expert as it’s main character.

It’s an original approach and it really works. I can’t remember how many times I disappeared down a Google Rabbit Hole researching some of the terms and phrases used in this book, and it’s fascinating.

FBI linguistics specialist Raisa Susanto is called in to assist in a case which appears to be a copy cat murder.

A famous murder suicide some years before has been the point of speculation for the usual crime conspiracy theorists for years.

A young man murdered his mother and father before killing himself and leaving his three younger sisters without a family.

He left a suicide note and the local police decided it was a slam-dunk, open-and-shut case.

For years people have theorised that the investigation was too short. There were rumours in the small community that Alex Parker was a youth with issues, accusations of assaults by him on young girls were brushed over because his Mom and Dad were almost town “royalty”.

But there were rumours about them as well, was it a really a perfect marriage?

The suicide note has long been an item of speculation. Susanto uses it herself in lectures, hypothesising on its credibility and authenticity.

When a couple are found murdered, posed in the same way that the Parkers had been found, the FBI launch an investigation with Susanto, and Forensic Psychologist Callum Kilkenny making up part of the team.

The usual scepticism is thrown Susanto’s way. How can she be of any help.

But she can. Word patterns, phrases, unusual use of terms, inconsistencies in tenses, are just a small way she looks at the words written by different people involved in the investigation

And, because of her familiarity with the original crime, through her studies and lectures, she is uniquely placed to start spotting links.

So is this really a copycat, or is it more sinister.

As much as Alex Parker was a hateful figure, and easy to identify as the killer of his parents, did he really commit suicide or was he another victim.

This is a cracker of a story. I loved its originality.

Years ago I was involved in a murder investigation where Forensic Linguistics played a huge part in getting a man convicted of murdering his wife.

I’ve since seen that linguistic expert lecture to college and university students, and hold them captivated by the way he and his team have aided in criminal investigations.

So I’m not surprised that somebody has used a linguistic expert as their main character.

Thinking about it I’m more surprised by the fact that this is the first, that I’ve read, where it’s happened.

Billed as book one in the Raisa Susanto series I can only hope it’s the first of many, because if this book is anything to go by, it’s going to be a fantastic series. 🔲

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer. Publishing date: 28th November 2023 available on preorder