Another week passes by in the blink of an eye, and what a week it has been. Had quote a productive week book wise, a few little bits of books post, a few orders and some lovely walks. And I got a Snorkmaiden lamp. I’m very happy.
So, how was your week? I’ll admit that nothing terribly exciting happened in mine. Got a new door fitted, if that counts, but otherwise pretty much a walk, work, read, sleep kind of week. Managed to catch up on a few reviews, plenty more to write though. Not helped by the fact I managed to read 5 books this week. Five! Two audio and three book-books. Some benefits to working from home and taking early morning walks. I also received some very lovely books this week. Three orders, two #bookpost.
My ordered books were The Source by Sarah Sultoon and Facets of Death by Michael Stanley, part of my month Berts Books Orenda Books subscription, and Her Last Holiday by C.L.Taylor. Book post this week came in the form of Don’t Let Him In by Howard Linskey, #gifted by Penguin UK and Save Her by Abigail Osborne, a lovely gift from Abbie herself.
Two orders this week, one pre-order and one series catch up. Broken Girls by Joy Kluver, book two in the Bernie Noel series, and Stolen by Paul Finch, book three in the Lucy Clayburn series. One new Netgalley title – Private Rogue by Adam Hamdy and James Patterson.
Books I have read
As a female cop walking the mean streets of Manchester, life can be tough for PC Lucy Clayburn. But when one of the North West’s toughest gangsters is your father, things can be particularly difficult.
When Lucy’s patch is gripped by a spate of murder-robberies, the police are quick to action. Yet when it transpires that the targets are Manchester’s criminal underworld, attitudes change.
Lucy is soon faced with one of the toughest cases of her life – and one which will prove once and for all whether blood really is thicker than water…
The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson
‘TEACHER WANTED ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD . . .’
Una knows she is struggling to deal with her father’s sudden, tragic suicide. She spends her nights drinking alone in Reykjavik, stricken with thoughts that she might one day follow in his footsteps.
So when she sees an advert seeking a teacher for two girls in the tiny village of Skálar – population of ten – on the storm-battered north coast of the island, she sees it as a chance to escape.
But once she arrives, Una quickly realises nothing in city life has prepared her for this. The villagers are unfriendly. The weather is bleak. And, from the creaky attic bedroom of the old house where she’s living, she’s convinced she hears the ghostly sound of singing.
Una worries that she’s losing her mind.
And then, just before midwinter, a young girl from the village is found dead. Now there are only nine villagers left – and Una fears that one of them has blood on their hands . . .
Rush of Blood by Mark Billingham
Perfect strangers.
A perfect holiday.
The perfect murder…
Three couples meet around the pool on their Florida holiday and become fast friends. But on their last night, their perfect holiday takes a tragic twist: the teenage daughter of another holidaymaker goes missing, and her body is later found floating in the mangroves.
When the shocked couples return home, they remain in contact, and over the course of three increasingly fraught dinner parties they come to know one another better. But they don’t always like what they find: buried beneath these apparently normal exteriors are some dark secrets, hidden kinks, ugly vices…
Then, a second girl goes missing.
Could it be that one of these six has a secret far darker than anybody can imagine?
A brilliantly plotted, utterly gripping thriller about the danger of making friends on holiday, Rush of Blood is Mark Billingham’s most ambitious and accomplished work to date.
I Know What I Saw by Imran Mahmood
I saw it. He smothered her, pressing his hands on her face. The police don’t believe me, they say it’s impossible – but I know what I saw.
Xander Shute – once a wealthy banker, now living on the streets – shelters for the night in an empty Mayfair flat. When he hears the occupants returning home, he scrambles to hide. Trapped in his hiding place, he hears the couple argue, and he soon finds himself witnessing a vicious murder.
But who was the dead woman, who the police later tell him can’t have been there? And why is the man Xander saw her with evading justice?
As Xander searches for answers, his memory of the crime comes under scrutiny, forcing him to confront his long-buried past and the stories he’s told about himself.
How much he is willing to risk to understand the brutal truth?
The Great Silence by Doug Johnstone
The discovery of a human foot in an Edinburgh park, the inexplicable circumstances of a dying woman, and the missing daughter of Jenny’s violent ex-husband present the Skelf women with their most challenging – and deadly – cases yet…
_______________
Keeping on top of the family funeral directors’ and private-investigation businesses is no easy task for the Skelf women, and when matriarch Dorothy discovers a human foot while walking the dog, a perplexing case presents itself … with potentially deadly results.
Daughter Jenny and grand-daughter Hannah have their hands full too: The mysterious circumstances of a dying woman lead them into an unexpec
ted family drama, Hannah’s new astrophysicist colleague claims he’s receiving messages from outer space, and the Skelfs’ teenaged lodger has yet another devastating experience.
Nothing is clear as the women are immersed ever deeper in their most challenging cases yet. But when the daughter of Jenny’s violent and fugitive ex-husband goes missing without trace and a wild animal is spotted roaming Edinburgh’s parks, real danger presents itself, and all three Skelfs are in peril.
Taut, dark, warmly funny and unafraid to ask big questions – of us all – The Great Silence is the much-anticipated third instalment in the addictive, unforgettable Skelfs series, and the stakes are higher than ever.
Five rather excellent books this week. I am very happy. It means I managed to finish a full 16 books last month. Can’t complain at that.
Full enough week on the blog too. Recap is below in case you missed anything.
#Review – Cuban Heel – Leopold Borstinski
#Review – Her Last Holiday – CL Taylor
#Review – In The Blood – Margaret Kirk
#Review – The Waiting Rooms – Eve Smith
#Review – Don’t Turn Around – Jessica Barry
#Review – Accra Noir – Short Story Collection – Various
#Review – Because of You – Dawn French
A week full of reviews ahead, with two blog tours. Today sees me review No Going Back by Casey Kelleher and later in the week I share my thoughts on Silenced by Solveig Palsdottir.
Well, I’m off back to the books and the reviewing. I am to be completely up to date on the reviews by the end of today so wish me luck. Just a few to go …
Have a fab reading week.
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 
I’ll be SO happy when Doug Johnstone’s “The Great Silence” is available in Canada.
Have a fabulous week Jen. ♥
(Don’t forget to pat the kitties)
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It is so definitely worth it. Exceptional Story as always
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