Mini Reviews – The Beachcomber and The Man Cave by Rachel Amphlett

Today I’m serving up a double header with two reviews of two short stories from Rachel Amphlett – The Beachcomber and The Man Cave.

About the Book

Julie has been searching for a long time.

Staying at a tiny guesthouse in Cornwall after the summer, she spends her days combing the beaches, looking for things to collect while hiding from her past.

Then a storm breaks, and suddenly she’s scared.

Because you never know what might wash up on the beach…

The Beachcomber forms part of the Case Files series of short crime stories from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett.

About the Book

When Darren regains consciousness in a dank basement, escape turns out to be the least of his worries…

The Man Cave forms part of the Case Files series of short crime stories from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett

My Thoughts

I do love these short case files mysteries from Rachel Amphlett. I’ve been a fan of her writing for a while now, and these stories really showcase her talent for building suspense and mystery and keeping the tension high right to the very last word. And believe me, not a word is wasted in either of these stories.

With The Beachcomber we are introduced to Julie, a woman who it is quickly established is nursing secrets and a very difficult past. We can see she is hiding, but from who, or what, we are not quite sure. The tension is high from the off with this one, the tingling sense of being observed and that overwhelming knowledge of unwanted attention just building the conflict and the threat that bubbles along underpinning the narrative. I didn’t expect the turn of events in this story, was caught a little unawares by the ending, but it certainly made me smile. Short but most definitely packed with atmosphere, it’s a great addition to the case files series.

The Man Cave is a little belter of a short story. Very fast, very tense, kind of mystery laden and pulse pounding at the same time. We know the what of the situation, even know that Darren is the guy in the predicament, but we are very, very far from knowing the why. I did guess the who of it pretty early on but the why escaped me. And made me both smile and grimace when I found out. If you’ve ever wondered just what your husband/partner/boyfriend gets up to in the sanctity of his man cave, after reading this you may decide it’s really best not to ask. Or maybe you’ll be even more determined to find out. If you are like mem then the book will definitely keep you entertained, even if only for a short while.

About the Author

Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, because that’s what she grew up reading. When she was 11 years old, her grandad gave her his copy of The Eagle Has Landed, and she’s been an avid fan of the genre ever since.

Her debut thriller, White Gold was released in July 2011 and features British secret agent Dan Taylor. The series established Rachel as an author to watch and spurned three more novels before Rachel turned her attention to a new character, Detective Kay Hunter.

The Kay Hunter crime thrillers are based in Kent and feature a tight-knit team of detectives. Praised by experts for their attention to detail, the books are also much loved by readers for their page-turning plots and devious twists with comparisons to TV shows NCIS and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. More recently, Rachel created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Mark Turpin, an Oxfordshire-based detective. The first book, None the Wiser, received critical acclaim from Adrian McKinty (The Chain) and Jo Spain (With Our Blessing, The Confession), with the follow-up book, Her Final Hour being praised by the creator of the DCI Banks series, Peter Robinson.

In addition to her detective stories, Rachel also writes the English Assassins series featuring female assassin Eva Delacourt, and a number of standalone crime thrillers, psychological thrillers and conspiracy thrillers.A keen traveller, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.