Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 24/02/19

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This might be a quick post from me this week. I say might because, on one hand, nothing has happened and I have done nothing of note but, on the other, this is me and I talk/write a lot so … Who knows? Either way, figured it didn’t hurt to kick off with kitty pics as they are too cute and hopefully will deflect attention away from the lack of substance in this post.

As I write this, I am mentally doing a packing list in my head as tomorrow I am off to Edinburgh to attend the event at Edinburgh Books with Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange, Ian Rankin, author of the Rebus series of books (as if you didn’t already know that!!) and James Oswald, author of one of my absolute fave series, The Inspector McLean books and farmer extraordinaire. I’ve checked and there is still no restraining order from Mr Oswald despite me being his self confessed (not) stalker, so all is good. Books will be purchased … I also get to meet fellow blogger, Kaisha, a.k.a. The Writing Garnet while I’m there and I’m so looking forward to it.

Pretty quiet week on the book post front although I did start the week well with a lovely package from LJ Ross in the shape of the book of The Infirmary. It looks lovely with it’s brethren and I do seem to have a nice collection of pens (and chocolate) now too. I also received the signed copy of The Taking of Annie Thorne by CJ Tudor that I ordered from Waterstones so that was nice. That was also it 🙂

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Purchase wise I picked up a kindle copy of Blood Orange as I won’t read my signed copy. I also purchased the audio book version of Call Me Star Girl by Louise Beech. And a Hippo. Four books from Netgalley though, some for tours … The Island by Ragnar Jonasson; A Beautiful Corpse by Christi Daugherty; You Die Next by Stephanie Marland; and Dead Man’s Daughter by Roz Watkins.

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Do you like my Hippo?

Books I have read

Where No Shadows Fall – Peter Ritchie

Expose the truth or let the dead lie still?

Grace Macallan’s life is on an even keel – at last. But a 9-to-5 career away from the frontline isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

So when she’s sent to investigate a suicide at Glasgow’s notorious Barlinnie prison, Grace gladly escapes her desk. The dead inmate is Tommy McMartin, heir to a ferocious criminal family. His murder conviction saw Tommy’s fall from power; cast out not for violence but because the victim was his gay lover.

The investigation drags Grace into contact with her McMartin adversaries of old. But the gangland dynasty is under threat and, as it topples, secrets once dead and buried are unearthed.

As she unravels Tommy McMartin’s fate, Grace senses someone watching her from the shadows, someone who aches for revenge. An awful dilemma faces her: to expose the truth or let the dead lie still.

I’ve only read the last few books in this series but I really do like the character of Grace Macallan. I’ll be honest, with her domestic life settled it was hard to imagine what could possibly come next for our heroine, but this is a very fitting storyline even if Grace plays second fiddle to the many gangland figures who darken Scotland’s City streets. Full of threat, intrigue, dark plot lines and humour, this held my attention right to the end. I’ll be reviewing this week but you can bag a copy here.

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The Follow – Paul Grzegorzek

A fast-paced and riveting crime novel and the first in a new Brighton-set police procedural series featuring PC Gareth Bell. Perfect for fans of Peter James.

Danger is never far behind…

He knows the man is guilty. And he will do anything to prove it…

PC Gareth Bell watches the psychopath who stabbed Bell’s partner stroll out of court a free man. Somebody on the inside tampered with the evidence, and now one of Brighton’s most dangerous criminals is back on the streets again.

Bell’s personal mission for revenge takes him onto the other side of the law and into the dark, violent underworld of the glamourous seaside city. Soon he faces a horrifying choice: risk everything he holds dear, or let the man who tried to kill his partner walk free…

Proof, if it were needed, that I’m actually a divvy, I read this book a month earlier than I intended to, but I’m glad I did. Fun, fast paced and with a great hero in PC Gareth Bell, I tore through this in no time. You’ll have to wait until March for my full thoughts but in the meantime why not pick up an e-copy here.

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The Beauty Killer – Ann Girdharry

A string of beautiful women go missing.
And when an undercover policewoman disappears, Kal and Marty take the case.

Women will go missing. And none will return. 
A collector who lures women
And then keeps them

Kal and Marty track a killer who lures women, captures them and keeps them.

But it soon becomes clear the case is even more sinister than they imagined. 

A high-level detective is linked to a cover-up and Kal and Marty are caught in a complex, evil conspiracy.

The clock is ticking to find the missing women and it seems the perpetrator has more than one accomplice…

Book three in the Kal Medi series, this is a set of books I’ve enjoyed since the beginning. Kal is not your typical investigator, trained in psychology with a fierce understanding of the human condition thanks to her unorthodox upbringing. This book is full of menace with a very dark story at its heart, but none of the more abhorrent acts ever carried out on the page. I’ll be reviewing very soon but if you’d like to see what it’s all about you can buy a copy here.

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Thunder Bay – Douglas Skelton

When reporter Rebecca Connolly is told of Roddie Drummond’s return to the island of Stoirm she senses a story. Fifteen years before he was charged with the murder of his lover, Mhairi. When he was found Not Proven, Roddie left the island and no one, apart from his sister, knew where he was or what he was doing. Now he has returned for his mother’s funeral – and it will spark an explosion of hatred, bitterness and violence.

Defying her editor’s wishes, Rebecca joins forces with local photographer Chazz Wymark to dig into the secrets surrounding Mhairi’s death, and her mysterious last words of Thunder Bay, the secluded spot on the west coast of the island where, according to local lore, the souls of the dead set off into the after life. When another murder takes place, and the severe weather that gives the island its name hits, she is ideally placed to uncover the truth about what happened that night fifteen years before.

This is where I get shot or chastised by a few of my wee Scottish blogging pals, but I’ve never read anything by Douglas Skelton before! If this is an example of what I’m in for, I’ll be hunting down those other books pretty dang quickly I can tell you. Atmospheric and beautifully written, this is the story of an island steeped in history, not all of it pleasant, and secrets which are bound to be kept no matter what the cost. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be thinking long and hard about how to frame my review for next week. In the meantime, why not grab a copy here.

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That was it. Four books. Given my performance over the past few weeks though, and considering that three our of the four were actual book books with pages that I had to hold, turn and read with the light on, I’ll take that as a result. A few great books featured on the blog this week – recap below.

A Version of the Truth – BP Walter (Extract)

Death Comes to Call – Clare Chase

The Four of Us – Aine Toner

Dead Memories – Angela Marsons

Inborn – Thomas Enger

The Secretary – Renee Knight (Extract)

Two red hot reads badges awarded this week – Dead Memories and Inborn but both richly deserved. There isn’t as much going on for the week ahead, but I do have a few tours on for Where No Shadows Fall by Peter Ritchie; Bitter Edge by Rachel Lynch and The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath.

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Hope you all have a fabulous week. I’m intending to have a blast today (Monday) and tomorrow and then I’m on countdown to a very busy (and hopefully productive) week next week, but more about that later. Whatever you are up to, remember to keep smiling. Focus on the fact that this is a world filled with books, cats and Polar Bears in tutus. It can’t be all bad …

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Jen