Back to Mandie who has a blogtour review of Miranda by Stewart Giles. Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy for review and to Jill Burkinshaw at Booksnall for inviting us to join the tour. Here is what the book is all about:
The Bookish Bits
Miranda: A stand-alone psychological thriller by Stewart Giles
‘My name is Miranda. I’ll be twenty-eight-years old soon, and I’m a serial murderer.’
‘I might just kill again!’
From #1 bestseller Stewart Giles comes a completely stand-alone psychological thriller that you don’t want to miss.
Miranda is a unique read, the best book yet by Stewart Giles. Sentenced to life in a secure hospital for the murder of 12 people Miranda tells her story.In the meantime, the reader is transported back to the time of the murders as we follow DI Keene and her team along the many twists, turns and dead ends as they try to find the murderer of several unrelated victims.
This is an edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline pumping read that will have you turning the pages all the way to the totally unexpected ending.
Buckle up this is a bumpy ride
Mandie’s Thoughts
Having read one of Stewart’s books before I was really looking forward to reading Miranda. This is a stand-alone book so you don’t have to have read any of his previous work to enjoy it but after you read Miranda I am betting you will want to go and check out the other books he has written.
When a body is found floating in the river just before Christmas DI Keene is tasked with trying to find out what happened. As more seemingly unconnected murders happen in a short space of time she is stretched to the max. The only thing that seems to connect them is an apparent witness to several of the incidents.
At the start of the book Miranda is locked up in a high security facility after being found incapable of being sent for trial for 12 murders. The facility is run by some very dubious characters none more so the therapist Dr French who seems to take great pleasure in having a group of sometimes highly medicated women under his control.
I am not usually a big fan of books that flit between the past and the present as they can often get confusing. Somehow this one just seems to work. All the parts in the present focus on Miranda and her time in the facility, seen from her perspective so you are left wondering at times if what she is saying is the truth or the version of the truth that is playing out in her mind. The visits to the past focus on the police investigations. You also get to see into the life of the DI as these complex investigations threaten to take over her life and make her question her marriage. As each event occurs you are taken along for the ride trying to work out the connections between them, as on the surface the police have credible alternative suspects for each crime.
Stewart Giles has produced a book that certainly has a lot of twists that keeps the reader guessing as to which parts are fact and which are fiction (if any are) and I will admit that I didn’t expect the ending at all. The main characters certainly don’t disappoint with the killer appearing to have no redeeming characteristics including no motive other than they seem to enjoy the thrill of the kill.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable read and would heartily recommend it to anyone who is a fan of psychological thrillers.
About the Author
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live. After Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor Cornwall series. The Beekeeper hit the shelves and hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well. The third in the series, The Backpacker I have self-published and there are plenty more to come.
Unworthy, the ninth Smith instalment was followed by a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers. Entitled The Enigma, it brings together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor. Miranda is something totally different. A stand-alone psychological thriller, it is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before. A new Smith/Harriet book is in the pipeline as is the 10th Smith instalment.
Author Links: Twitter
Follow the tour:
Jen Med's Book Reviews 