The Cove by LJ Ross

July 5, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Cove by LJ Ross
Publisher: Dark Skies Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

THE PERFECT ESCAPE…

Gabrielle Adams has it all – brains, beauty, a handsome fiancé, and a dream job in publishing. Until, one day, everything changes.

‘The Tube Killer’ takes his victims when they least expect it: standing on the edge of a busy London Underground platform, as they wait for a train to arrive through the murky underground tunnels of London.

Gabrielle soon learns that being a survivor is harder than being a victim, and she struggles to return to her old life. Desperate to break free from the endless nightmares, she snatches up an opportunity to run a tiny bookshop in a picturesque cove in rural Cornwall.

She thinks she’s found the perfect escape, but has she swapped one nightmare for another?

Suspense and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced thriller, set amidst the spectacular Cornish landscape.

Gabrielle Adams has everything she needs in life, an exciting job in publishing, a wonderful fiancé she loves and she’s living in the middle of London city. Then all in the space of a few moments her perfect world is shattered. Nearly killed by a serial killer, unable to work or cope with her busy city life and with her engagement well and truly over, Gabrielle decides a change of scenery is absolutely needed. So, she moves out to a small Cove and takes a job in a tiny bookstore. Can Gabrielle rebuild her life?

I found this to be a really interesting and well written, slow moving mystery style of book. An excellent standalone novel I found it a good and solid, read. I didn’t mind the slower pace as this book is not linked to others in a series – and so as the reader I needed a bit more detail and time spent explaining Gabrielle, her circumstances and the events unfolding in her life. Had the action been at a breakneck speed I really don’t think I’d have been able to follow along as well.

This book had a definite “summer reads” sort of feel to it – one where you have more time to meander and enjoy the scenery and not need the hectic action-packed thrill ride. I was also pleased that this wasn’t like Ross’ other series, and it wasn’t really a police procedural style of story but more of a regular character driven mystery of “what happens next” with a lower level of “who dun it”. I guessed a few parts of the plot, but was pleasantly surprised by other aspects, which also helped me turning the pages and enjoying as the puzzle pieces fitted together.

At times I felt like some of the characters were a little cliched, but I have to admit there was enough freshness to keep me guessing and at heart I really enjoyed watching everything unfold as Gabrielle found herself and her strength and built a new life. Readers looking for an action packed, or breathtakingly unique story might not find this fits the bill for them – but for a solid and well-paced mystery, with interesting characters and a well-rounded ending I feel this was a really good read.

I’ve enjoyed a number of other titles by this author, and this was another to add to the pile. I’ll be happy to read more books by this author in the future.

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Angel Of Death by JM Dalgliesh

July 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Angel Of Death by JM Dalgliesh
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

An innocent man has everything to fear…

When the partial remains of a young woman are unearthed during a violent storm, it falls to DI Tom Janssen and his team to discover her identity and what brought her there.

A man is released from prison having been the apparent victim of a miscarriage of justice and returns home to rural Norfolk. Questions are being asked, not only of the police and their flawed investigation, but also of the man himself. A loner, strange and disinterested, is he truly innocent? Convicted without a body, if he didn’t commit the murder he was sent to jail for, then where is she? Has a guilty man managed to evade justice and get away with murder or has a killer been hiding within the community all along?

Tensions are running high among the locals, people are split, with some threatening to take justice into their own hands. Old wounds, still to fully heal, are reopened and everyone wants resolution. But will Tom and his team be able to offer it, or will the investigation reveal dark secrets, long harboured, that will tear families apart?

A violent storm uproots a tree and uncovers parts of a dismembered body of a young woman. DI Tom Janssen is immediately drawn into the complicated investigation – a man having been imprisoned for five years, convicted of murdering the young lady, only to be released and now her body seeming to irrevocably prove he was innocent. With the small community up in arms, the local circus travelers back in town and the family of the victim all circling around, outraged tempers are running high, and Tom and his team need to use their every skill to solve this murder.

I’ve been really enjoying this series and this latest book is an excellent addition. I found the mystery plot compelling and well woven. All the main characters are present and work extremely well together as a team and with a bunch of strong secondary characters I feel many mystery readers should find this an excellent book to pick up. While there’s plenty of history between the main characters and the team working together, the plot and most of the book should be very easily read by itself – I don’t really feel it necessary for any of the previous books to have been read before this one. That said there are a few larger character arcs going on – Tom and his imminent marriage, and Eric and his small family in particular – that had some more movement and insights added which should appeal to readers who have been enjoying the series for a while.

While the main plot is a fairly standard police procedural for a small British country town, I do feel the author handled the various tempers and characters quite well. I thought there was a strong semblance of reality and logic without the usual characters or easy prejudices thrown in simply to make some drama. I feel the overall tone of the book was really well handled and I greatly enjoyed both the plot and the flow of the story right from the start.

Readers looking for something heavily action orientated might not find this suits their tastes – but for a well plotted, strongly written British murder mystery I felt this was a good book and a series I am greatly enjoying.

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Blood On Snow by Jo Nesbo

June 29, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Blood On Snow by Jo Nesbo
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Olav is a fixer for a high-profile crime kingpin in 1970s Oslo. He easily takes care of anyone who causes trouble for his boss. But he is more complicated than he seems. Olav’s latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, but it may become his greatest mistake: It turns out that the more you know about your boss’s business, the more your boss might want you fixed yourself—especially if you’re falling for his wife.

Olav lives a solitary life as the “fixer” for one of the two main heroin drug lords in Oslo, Norway. He’s used to fixing the problems of his boss, but suddenly he’s given a problem he can’t bring himself to fix. Olav is hired to kill his boss’s wife. Olav finds his problems quickly spiraling and all too soon his solitary life is quite crammed with people – most of them his enemies.

I really enjoy Scandinavian noir books, and this one was no exception. Jo Nesbo (and Scandi noir in general, in my opinion) is a somewhat acquired taste. I personally feel most of the writing styles of the Scandinavian authors is slightly different to UK and US authors – usually a bit grittier and more bare in style, but also a lot of the themes and cultural aspects are somewhat different too. This all adds up to mean I fully recognize frequently Scandinavian written books – especially noir style stories – are not to everyone’s taste. This book most certainly falls into that category.

Readers looking for a different sort of thriller, or assassin book, or even a gritter style of mystery should definitely find this fits the bill. I thoroughly enjoyed Nesbo’s writing and Olav’s voice, finding it different and more hard boiled than I’m used to, but I also really enjoyed how despite the cleaner style of writing there were ample twists to the plot and quite a few curves I personally didn’t see coming. I found my attention quite riveted to Olav and his story and even as I was trying to guess exactly what was going on I was drawn deeper into the mess he found himself in.

Readers should also be quite aware that this story does not have a traditional ending. I personally found it interesting and thought-provoking, but readers expecting a certain style of conclusion might not find this suits their tastes or needs. That said, I found the whole book really interesting and with enough plot and twists to easily capture my attention. I was happy with this quick read and enjoyed all the differences from the more normal mysteries out there on the market.

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The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis

June 15, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

When archaeologist Neil Watson finds the body of an American veteran of the D-Day landings in the ruins of an old chapel, he turns to his old friend DS Wesley Peterson for help.

Both men are researching an invading force: Wesley, a group of American veterans on a sentimental journey to their wartime base; and Neil, a group of Spaniards killed by outraged locals as they limped from the wreckage of the Armada.

Four hundred years apart, two strangers in a strange land have died violently. Could the same motives of hatred, jealousy and revenge be at work? Wesley is running out of time to find out . . .

DS Wesley Peterson is settling well into Devon. He and his wife are ecstatic to finally be pregnant with their much longed-for new baby and they both are enjoying their work. When Wesley’s old archaeologist friend uncovers a dead body at the site of his next dig – a Veteran’s D Day landing, they begin to uncover a number of secrets possibly better left in the past.

This is the second book in the DS Peterson series, and I found it quite enjoyable. While there isn’t as much of a focus on the archaeology aspect to the plot as I would have liked, this was still a strongly written, well-paced and interesting British police procedural mystery book. I thought the characters were varied enough and well written enough they kept my attention and didn’t get too mixed up.

Readers looking for a strongly historical story might find this doesn’t quite fit the bill for them, but I do think readers looking for a slightly different mystery series – one strongly focused on the police aspect of solving the crime and a slower, more realistic country setting style of pacing – should find this as enjoyable as I did. I did enjoy the way the author handled the World War 2 connections and found them to be both sensitively written but also intriguing enough to maintain my attention. And while the plot wasn’t overly convoluted, it did keep me guessing well into the story.

A strong and interesting mystery novel, this is a good book and a series I plan to continue reading.

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Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

June 9, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Publisher: Gollancz
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When two young girls go missing in rural Herefordshire, police constable and wizard-in-training Peter Grant is sent out of London to check that nothing supernatural is involved.

It’s purely routine—Nightingale, Peter’s superior, thinks he’ll be done in less than a day. But Peter’s never been one to walk away from someone in trouble, so when nothing overtly magical turns up he volunteers his services to the local police, who need all the help they can get.

But because the universe likes a joke as much as the next sadistic megalomaniac, Peter soon comes to realize that dark secrets underlie the picturesque fields and villages of the countryside and there might just be work for Britain’s most junior wizard after all.

Soon Peter’s in a vicious race against time, in a world where the boundaries between reality and fairy have never been less clear….

PC Grant has finally left London – albeit reluctantly – when two eleven-year-old girls go missing in rural Herefordshire. There is no indication anything paranormal is related to the disappearance, but anything related to children really needs to be checked out personally. Once he’s there, Peter realizes that not everything may be as it seems.

This is the fifth book in the Rivers of London series, and I am absolutely, thoroughly enjoying myself with it. Aaronovitch has the uncanny ability to make me both laugh aloud and groan or want to cover my eyes as I continue to devour every word. Peter is still very much a novice at all this wizardry and magical stuff, but this is the first book where I can really get a good feel and sense for the power he is growing and how his dedication to his training is finally beginning to pay off. He’s been able to cast some spells since almost the first book – but I have always to date had a strong sense that Peter as a wizard and practitioner was still forming and learning and finding his feet.

He is absolutely still a novice to my mind here, but there is equally a strong sense of his growing, learning and becoming more powerful. I love how this isn’t happening overnight or in between books with big gaps or lags to “account” for his growing prowess. This does make the timeline feel more dragged out, sure, but it also makes it more realistic and gives me the reader a better feel for just how long-term magical powers in this world have to be earned and learned over a period of time. I really like that.

I also enjoyed how this time while Peter has plenty of support – with regular phone calls back to the Folly and Nightingale and with a slew of supportive and helpful fellow police officers in the local precinct, this is the first time Peter really has performed his duties primarily alone and on his own steam. I have never doubted Peters intelligence or his training as a police officer, but it was rather lovely to see him acting pretty much on his own – just with plenty of support from secondary sources. In many ways Peter seemed in this book to be spreading his wings and testing his boundaries and I felt this was an optimal time and Peter was ready for the task. That was wonderful to read.

The previous book ended with quite a strong twist. I will say that this is clearly something of the larger story arc and so it wasn’t fully resolved in this book, but there was movement, and this plotline was not ignored. I could understand if some readers are really hanging out for this resolution, but as there are a number of plotlines like this related to the much larger arc that are only slightly added to each book (like Nightingale’s background, what really happened during the war, and the whole drama surrounding the Faceless Man) I really don’t think these small additions but no massive movement forward should really be a shock to anyone. Much like these other plots I’ve mentioned – there is movement, and acknowledgement in most of these areas – but these are slower burning plots and I’m learning that patience is needed for them all.

Readers looking for a light and funny as well as paranormal and intriguing mystery novel really should love this book. Personally, I’d start at the start of the series for while this book possibly could be read by itself it’s really quite deeply involved in the longer story arc, and I feel readers really should go to the beginning and start with Rivers of London – the first in the series. It’s well worth the price of admission and this series is quickly becoming one of my all-time favourites. Highly recommended.

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Operation: Norway by William Meikle

June 7, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Operation: Norway by William Meikle
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Horror
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

It’s supposed to be a simple sanitation job, a post war scientific base that needs cleansed of anything that might prove incriminating to British and Norwegian governments.

But when the S-Squad try to complete their mission they are pursued in the mountains and fjords by something out of legend.

They have woken a sleeping beast.

Now it’s angry, ready for a fight. And it’s bringing its friends along.

Captain Banks and his crew have been promised extended leave and their next few missions to be in warmer, easier climates. Only none of that was to be when Banks is called into the office of his Corporal and instead of their leave being approved, he is given a new and urgent mission. Promised it’s a quick in-and-out and just a look-see with potentially an explosive “sanitation” of the site, Banks is hoping for once their mission might be straightforward and relatively easy.

I really enjoy these S-Squad stories by William Meikle. With big beasties, a well-versed group of Army squaddies and a strong hint of paranormal (and very mild horror) these are the best kind of B-grade monster movies in a quick story that I could ever imagine. The stories are usually shortish (about 150 pages) but they are always high action with loads of explosions and shooting and quite a fast pace to them.

Readers looking for something strongly intellectual or high brow won’t find that here. These are fun, fast paced, action shoot ‘em up style of stories with monsters and beasties and a whole load of rambunctious fun.

This time our favourite squaddies are in Norway, and I was really pleased with the atmosphere the author created. With such a short page length I feel Meikle did a brilliant job keeping the tension high and slowly fed the reader enough hints and tips to both what had occurred in the past – and therefore what we could expect our squaddies to unearth – for me to be eager to continue reading. When the action begins it’s all the usual S-Squad fast paced romp and I feel readers who enjoy this series, and this style of writing will be as happy as I was.

Fun, frivolous and a romping good tale – this was a great story and excellent addition to the series. Recommended.

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The Merchant’s House by Kate Ellis

May 31, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Merchant’s House by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

DS Wesley Peterson, newly arrived in the West Country town of Tradmouth, has his hands full when a child goes missing and a young woman is brutally murdered on a lonely cliff path.

Then his old friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, unearths the skeletons of a woman and a newborn baby in the cellar of an ancient merchant’s house nearby.

As they begin to investigate the murders, Wesley starts to suspect that these deaths, centuries apart, may be linked by age-old motives of jealousy and sexual obsession. And the pressure is on if he is going to prevent a further tragedy . . .

DS Wesley Peterson has just arrived with his wife into the West Country, pleased to be out of the hustle and bustle of London. New to the small police force, he is eager to settle in and for he and his wife to make a new home. He bumps into an old university friend from his archaeology days, Neil Watson and the two of them compare their current careers, surprised to find more and more there is some overlap in each of their current projects.

I picked this book up on a whim as it appeared to have a number of similarities to the Dr Ruth Galloway series which I am enjoying immensely. While I didn’t find the characters or plotline as deep or complex as the Galloway series, I did find this an enjoyable police procedural style of mystery novel. The archaeology came out mostly in snippets from a relevant diary at the beginning of each chapter, so readers expecting a strong sense of history or archaeology/digs encompassed in the plot might find this aspect to the story a little lacking.

The mystery and police aspect to the plot is well thought out and while the pace is a little slow, I felt that added more to the countrified air of the story and more authentic than a hurried or more action-orientated city-style of pacing. As the first book in the series, I was pleased there was a decent introduction to the main characters including the members of Wesley’s police team. I would have enjoyed a bit more time spent with Wesley’s wife and be able to understand her a little better. I’m hoping that occurs in the coming few books.

Readers who enjoy British style murder/mystery novels especially with a hint of history/archaeology should find this an easy and entertaining read.

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Golden Prey by John Sandford

May 29, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Golden Prey by John Sandford
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The man was smart and he didn’t mind killing people. Welcome to the big leagues, Davenport.

Thanks to some very influential people whose lives he saved, Lucas is no longer working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but for the U.S. Marshals Service, and with unusual scope. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are, wherever they lead him.

And where they’ve led him this time is into real trouble. A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the “Queen of home-improvement tools” compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly real fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he’s just another large target.

Lucas Davenport has been working for the US Marshal’s for the last few months and is slowly beginning to find his feet. He hasn’t managed yet to find a case – or even really an area – that he can sink his teeth into. Until a random chat with an out of state officer has Davenport slowly unraveling the case of two men responsible for the heist of a drug cartel counting house that resulted in the quick execution of everyone inside – including an innocent six-year-old girl. While Davenport slowly pieces everything together, the cartel is also looking for these two heisters and their money. Davenport quickly realizes if he doesn’t follow the trail, nothing will be left behind.

I’ve been a big fan of this series for many years and while all the books are well worth a read, I was pleased that this is one of Sandford’s best stories yet. Lucas is an excellent investigator and always at his best hunting the more difficult cases and this is no exception. His new job has a few perks over his old in that as a federal agent it now takes him across state lines. Sure, there’s more resistance in some areas, but I really feel it helps expand Sandford’s work and storytelling.

Readers who like a faster moving plot with more action (and a number of shooting scenes as well) should find this story really hits the mark for them. Once Davenport starts following the various leads and threads of the plot the action really begins to move and we see things both him his investigation’s perspective, as well as the pair of cartel employees who are also on a similar trail and looking to recover the cartel’s missing millions. Readers should be aware that while there is a fair bit of action and shoot ‘em up scenes, I didn’t feel any of the story was overly graphic and certainly none of it was written in a titillating manner or dwelled upon unnecessarily.

While this book is a long way into the series, I feel it can easily be picked up and read on it’s own merits. There is a good amount of background details given to the reader, so the characters all make sense and their connections to each other is explained. The plot is also very well contained within this book alone and so readers shouldn’t worry about starting this book if they haven’t read any of Sandford’s previous works.

An exciting and well paced mystery book I really enjoyed this.

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Mercy by David Baldacci

May 25, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Mercy by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

For her entire life, FBI agent Atlee Pine has been searching for her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted at the age of six and never seen again. Mercy’s disappearance left behind a damaged family that later shattered beyond repair when Atlee’s parents inexplicably abandoned her.

Now, after a perilous investigation that nearly proved fatal, Atlee has finally discovered not only the reason behind her parents’ abandonment and Mercy’s kidnapping, but also the most promising breakthrough yet: proof that Mercy survived her abduction and then escaped her captors many years ago.

Though Atlee is tantalizingly close to her family at last, the final leg of her long road to Mercy will be the most treacherous yet. Mercy left at least one dead body behind before fleeing her captors years before. Atlee has no idea if her sister is still alive, and if so, how she has been surviving all this time. When the truth is finally revealed, Atlee Pine will face the greatest danger yet, and it may well cost her everything.

FBI special agent Atlee Pine knows her parents and twin sister are out there somewhere, her family fractured and broken after her twin sister, Mercy, had been kidnapped when the girls were six years old. Now Atlee is at the end of her journey, determined to finish what she had started.

This is the fourth (and I believe, final) book in the Atlee Pine series. While the story has continued from the previous three books, I feel readers should be able to catch up pretty quickly on the backstory and enjoy this book on its own merits. I do believe, though, that a deeper and possibly more emotional connection to Atlee’s character and journey in particular might be achieved with readers who have followed the progress through the series in its entirety.

That said, this is an excellent ending to the series in my opinion. I thought the numerous sub plots were all woven very well together, and I enjoyed the different character’s perspectives. I also found it quite clear to me that the author had organized everything to dovetail neatly together. While I did feel a few aspects to the plot – especially surrounding Atlee and Mercy’s mother – was a little too easy and cliched, overall I thought most of the various moving elements all meshed well together and there wasn’t too much of a need to suspend disbelief.

I was particularly pleased that both Atlee and Mercy had their story arcs rounded out in what I felt to be a satisfactory manner. This book had a well-paced plotline and a number of solid action scenes – but I definitely feel most readers will be largely invested in the closing off of the main series arc between Mercy and Atlee and I was really pleased with how the author wrapped everything up in this respect. I feel readers should be similarly pleased. While the action and mystery sides to the plot were very well handled – it was the character resolution that I feel most people will be seeking and find very suitable here.

A satisfying and enjoyable end to an excellent series, this was a good book.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Shrine by LJ Ross

May 22, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Shrine by LJ Ross
Publisher: Dark Skies Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A murder for the history books…

After a long and eventful winter, DCI Ryan and his team are looking forward to the joys of spring. But, when one of their colleagues is shot dead on her own doorstep and the brass think it’s an inside job, Ryan finds himself drafted in to investigate.

He’s barely scratched the surface when reports flood in of a terror explosion at Durham Cathedral. Chaos descends on the sleepy, historic city and, when the smoke clears, they find a priceless artefact that once belonged to Saint Cuthbert is missing.

With tensions running at an all-time high, unable to trust the local police, can Ryan and his team bring a killer to justice — and restore Cuthbert’s cross to its natural resting place?

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular landscape of County Durham.

Spring has finally arrived in Northumbria but the peace of the warmer days is destroyed when one of DCI Ryan’s colleagues is shot dead on her own doorstep. Mere minutes apart, a terrorist explosion occurs at Durham Cathedral and a priceless artefact is stolen that once belonged to Saint Cuthbert. Far more importantly, one of their own is seriously injured during the attack. Ryan and his team will stop at nothing to uncover what’s really going on.

This is an exciting and well written addition to this long running series. While the plot stands quite well on it’s own there is a lot of background and history between the main characters. I don’t feel each of these stories needs to be read to really enjoy this book – but having some working understanding of the links and history will certainly give the reader a deeper emotional connection with the events that unfold in this book.

Much like some of this author’s previous books this one is clearly linked to the next in the series. While the book has a solid feel of being self-contained there are a number of threads that are left open and considering the next book in the series is called Cuthbert’s Way, I have the strong feeling that the unfinished items will be resolved in the next book. There definitely isn’t a cliffhanger ending but readers who dislike needing to wait for the next installment should definitely purchase this and the next book together, so they won’t have to wait.

I enjoyed the mix of pacing – while some aspects are a slower police procedural style of connecting the dots there are a few good action sequences where the story moves at a much faster pace. I also felt there was quite a bit of character growth for DCI Ryan, both in the relationship with his parents and with him coming to terms with the changes occurring in his private life. Readers who have enjoyed the previous books in this series should definitely feel this is an excellent addition and I feel they should enjoy this book.

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