Well there we go. Another week bites the dust. Really not done much this week to be honest. Had a few morning walks, did a quite pootle to Shrewsbury (no pictures) on Saturday and got caught in a rain shower on Sunday. Other than that it was work, rest and read. Oh and diet. Meh. Lockdown and a restricted lifestyle due to the dang pandemic finally got to me and I am determined to shift those lousy lockdown lbs (many, many pounds). So far so good. I weigh less than this time last week, so that’s going in the right direction, even if there isn’t a magic wand or wish to make it happen as quickly as I’d like.
Mixed book week this week. Received two proof copies, bought a physical book and received one that I’d had on preorder. Proof copies came courtesy of Sphere in the shape of Cold Justice by Ant Middleton (now that book led to some interesting debate on my personal Faceplant feed!), and HQ who sent me a proof copy of The Art of Loving You by Amelia Henley. At the time of writing this, TAOLY was on kindle deal so it may be worth checking out the link if you are interested. The two bought book books were A Rattle of Bones by Douglas Skelton and Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby.
Three new Netgalley titles this week. The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by Craig Robertson (C.R. Robertson); The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman and The Last Time She Died by Zoë Sharp. A few orders placed in the week too. Trial Under Fire by Zoë Sharp; Stolen Ones by Angela Marsons; Cause of Death by Jeffery Deaver; The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie; The Adventures of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie; and The Cottage by Lisa Stone. What a cracking week for books, huh? Three read nows and three pre-orders. Lovely jubbly. The. two Agatha Christie are HC special edition hardbacks by the way, just in case any of you are collectors.
Books I have read
The place had a gruesome past that nobody wanted to talk about…
Camp Deathe is now a great place to spend the summer. Ritchie soon finds a group of outsiders like himself. Teenagers who ignore the organised activities, and bunk off in the old abandoned cabins deep in the woods. The cabins that have a history.
The campfire monster stories were meant to just scare them. Nobody expected them to come true. Then one of the teenagers disappears in the middle of the night.
Something is watching them. It hides in the woods and hunts at night.
Ritchie will have to uncover the secrets of the camp, and understand his own problems in order to survive.
Camp Death is Book 1 in a new series brought to you by Question Mark Horror. For fans of Point Horror, Christopher Pike & Nicholas Pine.
The only thing for certain is the deaths were no accident.
Rayner High School once a prestigious school stands in ruins after such a terrible event.
A year later, a group of friends return to the abandoned school and their nightmare begins.
Something wants to get out and won’t take NO for an answer…
Ouija is Book 2 in a new series brought to you by Question Mark Horror. For fans of Point Horror, Christopher Pike & Nicholas Pine.
For Any Other Truth by Denzil Meyrick
When a light aircraft crash-lands at Machrie airport, DCI Jim Daley and his colleague Brian Scott rush to the scene. But it soon becomes clear that both occupants of the plane were dead before take-off …
Meanwhile in Kinloch, local fisherman Hamish is unwittingly dragged into danger when he witnesses something he shouldn’t, and hotel manager Annie is beginning to suspect her new boss may not be as he first appeared.
And just as Chief Superintendent Carrie Symington thinks she has finally escaped the sins of her past, she finds herself caught in an even deadlier trap.
As the action spills across the sea to County Antrim – all under the scrutiny of the Security Service – the search is on for any other truth.
The shadows hide a deadly story . . .
1979. It is the winter of discontent, and reporter Allie Burns is chasing her first big scoop. There are few women in the newsroom and she needs something explosive for the boys’ club to take her seriously.
Soon Allie and fellow journalist Danny Sullivan are exposing the criminal underbelly of respectable Scotland. They risk making powerful enemies – and Allie won’t stop there.
When she discovers a home-grown terrorist threat, Allie comes up with a plan to infiltrate the group and make her name. But she’s a woman in a man’s world . . . and putting a foot wrong could be fatal.
Cold As Hell by Lilja Sigurdardottir
Icelandic sisters Áróra and Ísafold live in different countries and aren‘t on speaking terms, but when their mother loses contact with Ísafold, Áróra reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her sister. But she soon realizes that her sister isn’t avoiding her … she has disappeared, without trace.
As she confronts Ísafold’s abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend Björn, and begins to probe her sister’s reclusive neighbours – who have their own reasons for staying out of sight – Áróra is led into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation.
Baffled by the conflicting details of her sister’s life, and blinded by the shiveringly bright midnight sun of the Icelandic summer, Áróra enlists the help of police officer Daníel, as she tries to track her sister’s movements, and begins to tail Björn – but she isn’t the only one watching…
Slick, tense, atmospheric and superbly plotted, Cold as Hell marks the start of a riveting, addictive new series from one of Iceland’s bestselling crime writers.
Terms of Restitution by Denzil Meyrick
Gangland boss Zander Finn is so sickened by the brutal murder of his son in a Paisley pub, he decides to change his life. Following the advice of his priest and mentor, he moves clandestinely to London and becomes an ambulance driver. But when his old second-in-command Malky Maloney tracks him down on a London street, Finn knows he must return. Both his real family and his crime family face an existential threat from Albanian mobsters determined to take control of the Scottish underworld.
Under the watchful eye of his charismatic mother, he must try to look after his lovelorn younger daughter and her older sister who is pregnant to his old enemy Joe Mannion’s son. His estranged wife, who has more than just a business relationship with Mannion, and his remaining son, crippled while serving in Afghanistan also require his attention. But most of all, he must take back what is his.
Facing the forces of law and order under Detective Chief Superintendent Amelia Langley, a ruthless gang of Albanians and a beautiful but deadly Italian woman, Zander Finn struggles for survival in a rollercoaster ride of brutality, tenderness, misplaced loyalties and the utterly unexpected. The path to redemption is a perilous one, and it begins to look like Finn should have stayed in London.
Not a bad week, although two of them are novellas so it’s probably equal to five books. Still not a bad effort though. Busy week on the blog with posts every single day – even Sunday. Recap below:
#Review – Shadows – Paul Finch
#Cover Reveal – Fall – West Camel
#Review – The Hunt and the Kill – Holly Watt
#Review – The Devil’s Advocate – Steve Cavanagh
#Review – The Man Who Loved Islands – David F Ross
#Review – Not A Happy Family – Shari Lapena
#Review – A Darker Place – Rachel Amphlett
#Review – The Reckoning – Rachel Amphlett
Just the one blog tour this week. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing all of my thoughts on the third book in the absolutely fabulous Skelfs series by Doug Johnstone, The Great Silence. Beyond that it will be the usual mix of reviews. Can’t wait to share them.
Have a fabulously bookish week all. I’m away to go and chew on a polystyrene block aka rice cake. I hate dieting …
See you next week.
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 