Morning all. I am ignoring all the madness of today and marvelling at the beautiful weather we’ve had this past few days. A touch too warm for my kitties but, and apparently for my sleep patterns, but we’ve survived it all, and with only two days in work this week, I’m looking forward to enjoying some of the sun too. Been a funny old week, full of work, full of books and full of fun. Lovely morning sunshine has meant that I’ve been able to get out for a pre work walk pretty much every day. This has kept the wildlife very happy as they have been treated to breakfast every single day. They now come and greet me as soon as I arrive which is nice. And scary. Tippi Hedren eat your heart out … 🦆🦢😳.
As much as I love my little bird family, it’s not been all about them this week. Don’t tell the swans, but I cheated on them with the animals at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay this past weekend. It’s only a wee zoo, but it’s still beautiful and the views out to the bay are stunning. Animals were most(ly) obliging when it came to photo opportunities and I could happily has just stood and watched the penguins all day. Well, aside from the fact I would have burnt to a crisp anyway …
So. Back to books. That’s why you are here. Possibly. I had one arc in the week, a copy of Terms of Restitution by Denzil Meyrick gifted by Polygon. It’s out in September and I can’t wait to tuck in. Two new physical books arrived on Saturday while I was at the zoo – my Bert’s Books, Orenda Books subscription box containing The Beresford by Will Carver and Girls Who Live by Eva Björg Ægisdottir. I’m quoted on the inside cover of both books which left me with a big smile on my face.
One new Netgalley book – Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena on audio as I’m reviewing for the blog tour next month. Book buys wise I purchased a kindle copy of One Last Dram Before Midnight by Denzil Meyrick (already own the audiobook), the audiobook of The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz and preorders for Camp Death by Jim Ody and Ouija, the YA horror novella and debut book from my little ‘book Sis’ Zoe Lee O’Farrell. Can’t wait to read it. I’ve also added a couple of last minute preorders to my pile – Simon Kernick’s upcoming new thriller Good Cop, Bad Cop, and having seen a tonne of buzz about the book’s cover and marketing campaign over on Twitter over the weekend, I’ve preordered The Lost by Simon Beckett. Who doesn’t love a nice swing pic on a cover?
And I think that’s about it. Not a bad week really.
Books I have read
The Relentless Tide by Denzil Meyrick
When Professor Francombe and her team of archaeologists find the remains of three women on a remote Kintyre hillside – a site rumoured to have been the base of Viking warlord Somerled – their delight soon turns to horror when they realise the women tragically met their end little more than two decades ago. It soon becomes clear that these are the three missing victims of the ‘Midweek Murderer’, a serial killer who was at work in Glasgow in the early 1990s.
DCI Jim Daley now has the chance to put things right – to confront a nightmare from his past and solve a crime he failed to as a young detective. However, when Police Scotland’s Cold Case Unit arrive, they bring yet more ghosts to Kinloch.
A tale of death, betrayal, Viking treasure and revenge set in the thin places where past, present and future collide.
A Darker Place by Rachel Amphlett
The frozen body of a man is discovered in a used car yard on the hottest day of the year, his face contorted by fear and pain.
Detective Kay Hunter and her team are assigned the case, but when they find out who their victim is, their worst fears are realised.
There is another man missing – but is he a victim, or a killer?
With time running out and witnesses afraid to talk, Kay is thrust into one of the most challenging investigations of her career to date.
A Darker Place is the tenth book in the Detective Kay Hunter series by USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett, and perfect for readers who love fast-paced crime thrillers.
One Last Dram Before Midnight by Denzil Meyrick
Bringing together six short stories – two of which are previously unpublished – One Last Dram Before Midnight is the perfect Christmas gift for fans of Denzil Meyrick. These tales take us from DCI Jim Daley’s early days pounding the beat in Glasgow as a young constable to a light-hearted whisky smuggling romp involving Hamish and some ghostly pipers.
Includes four previously eBook exclusive stories: Single End, Two One Three, Dalintober Moon and Empty Nets and Promises
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar
The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Gwendy’s Button Box brings his signature ‘thrilling, page-turning’ (Michael Koryta, author of How It Happened) prose to this story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara.
In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman-and he’s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer’s reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.
A clever, terrifying, and heartrending work of metafiction, ‘Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion’ (Stephen King). Chizmar’s ‘brilliant . . . absolutely fascinating, totally compelling, and immediately poignant’ (C.J. Tudor, New York Times bestselling author) writing is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.
A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz
‘I couldn’t see the sea from my bedroom but I could hear the waves breaking in the distance. They reminded me that I was on a tiny island. And I was trapped.’
There has never been a murder on Alderney.
It’s a tiny island, just three miles long and a mile and a half wide. The perfect location for a brand-new literary festival. Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne has been invited to talk about his new book. The writer, Anthony Horowitz, travels with him.
Very soon they discover that all is not as it should be. Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour.
The visiting authors – including a blind medium, a French performance poet and a celebrity chef – seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets.
When the festival’s wealthy sponsor is found brutally killed, Alderney goes into lockdown and Hawthorne knows that he doesn’t have to look too far for suspects.
There’s no escape. The killer is still on the island. And there’s about to be a second death…
4.5 books in the week. I’ll take that. I say 4.5 as I’d already half listened to The Relentless Tide last week so was just the latter part of it I listened to this week. Busy old week on the blog too with 6 blog tour posts – recap below.
#Review – The Night She Disappeared – Lisa Jewell
#Review – The Beresford – Will Carver
#Review – The C Word – Charity Short Story Collection (Jen)
#Review – I Know What I Saw – Imran Mahmood
#Review – The C Word – Charity Short Story Collection (Mandie)
#Review – Little Rebel – Jérôme Leroy
And there you have it. My past week in a very big nutshell. The week ahead is full – two less blog tour posts but just as many posts (well technically one more but that’s a surprise) and lots of bookish goodness to be shared. We start with a blog tour review of Mimic by Daniel Cole today, and Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdottir on Tuesday. Wednesday sees Mandie share her thoughts on A Light In The Window by Marion Kummerow and on Friday I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Dead Secret by Noelle Holten, the fourth book in the Maggie Jamieson series. Phew … Busy, busy.
Hope you all have a lovely week. I will be powering through my two days at work so I can enjoy a nice long weekend of nothingness. I think I’ve earned it 😉
Happy reading all and stay safe.
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 