Can you believe it? April already. Good news it that the long awaited ‘more interesting’ pictures are now available. Well … I think they’re more interesting anyway. Mandie and I finally managed to get our long awaited trip to Edinburgh in after stupid storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin delayed our departure from February. As it turns out, they may have done us a favour as, aside from being a little chilly, weather was glorious. Beautiful blue skies, we managed a walk out to Portobello beach, another around Holyrood Park and a lovely (if a little ewwww) side trip to The Surgeon’s Hall Museums too. Not one for the squeamish but totally fascinating. Add in a nice walk down the canal when back home and it’s been rather a good week, all in all.
It’s been a quiet week #bookpost wise. I received one book – an unexpected copy of The Silent Child by J.G. Kelly courtesy of Hodder & Stoughton. I treated myself to a finish copy of Vanished by Lynda La Plante (part of the Jack Warr series) and a signed copy of One For Sorrow by Helen Fields whilst at Portobello Bookshop, because, why not, right?
Two new Netgalley titles – The Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre, which is out in July, and The Siege by John Sutherland, out in June. Quite quiet by my standards really don’t you think?
I will admit, I may have placed a few preorders. Ordered special edition copies of Outside by Ragnar Jonasson from Goldsboro books for me and Mandie (couldn’t resist), plus preorders of The Night Whispers by Caroline Mitchell; The Guilty Couple by CL Taylor; Whisper of the Seals by Roxanne Bouchard; The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson and Red As Blood by Lilja Sigurdardottir.
March was not really a very busy month for me reading wise, in spite of a very full blog. I was really busy at work and feeling the pain of having a full on, high pressure job again so slowed down to an average but still creditable 13 books read in the month. It took me to 45 ytd (now 47) so I’ll take it. More than halfway through my reading goal of 85 books anyway.
Outside by Ragnar Jonasson
Murder At The Gardens by Lisa Cutts
Dark Flood by Deon Meyer
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride
The Fake Up by Justin Myers
Little Sister by Gytha Lodge
Little Drummer by Kjell Ola Dahl
Keep Her Sweet by Helen Fitzgerald
The Fields by Erin Young
Little Liar by Lisa Ballantyne
Everyday Kindness – Short Story Anthology
Bamburgh by LJ Ross
Books I have read
Little Liar by Lisa Ballantyne
The accused
While Nick Dean is enjoying an evening at home with his family, he is blissfully unaware that one of his pupils has just placed an allegation of abuse against him – and that Nick’s imminent arrest will see the start of everything he knows and loves disintegrating around him.
Because, mud sticks, right? No matter if you’re innocent or guilty.
The accuser
When Angela Furness decides that enough is enough – she hates her parents, hates her friends and, most of all, despises what has recently happened at school – she does the only thing she knows will get her attention: calls the police. But Angela is unaware that the shocking story she is about to tell will see her life begin to topple.
Because, once you’ve said what you’ve said, there’s no way back, right? No matter if you’re innocent or guilty.
Richard and Judy and international bestselling author of The Guilty One returns with a nail-biting ride of ‘he said/she said’ between a teacher and his pupil. A gripping tale of two families torn apart by one catastrophic betrayal, illustrating the fine line between guilt and innocence.
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY…
When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn’t think much of it—except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body. Then another body turns up amongst the sand dunes at the base of the mighty castle fortress, and he decides it can’t be a coincidence…
Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates’ quest to avenge her death is becoming an obsession—much to the concern of those around her. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely. But as Melanie delves deeper into the secrets of the past to uncover the truth, she soon realises it lies much closer to home…
Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit, set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.
An English Garden Murder by Katie Gayle
Julia Bird’s picturesque Cotswolds cottage has everything she could want. Rustic charm, cosy fireplaces and, it turns out, a dead body in the garden…
Recently divorced and reluctantly retired, Julia Bird has fled London to enjoy idyllic rural life in the Cotswolds. Determined to have the perfect English garden, her first job is to tear down the old shed, where she unearths much more than she’d bargained for… A body, apparently buried for decades. But who could it be, and who killed them? The police draw a blank, and even the gossip-fest that is the local bookclub can’t remember anyone going missing in the village.
Unable to get on with her garden until the mystery is resolved, Julia decides to conduct her own clandestine investigations. So, together with her wayward chocolate Labrador puppy Jake, Julia begins a whirlwind tour of the local residents. And everyone, it seems, has something to hide in this village. As she gets closer to the truth, Julia uncovers something even more shocking… Another body, this time of someone she actually knows.
Determined to unmask the killer and find out what connects the two dead bodies, Julia – newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper – ups the stakes and hones in on the most likely suspect. But if she hasn’t deduced correctly, then there is someone else in the village who has killed twice already. Will they be prepared to make it third time lucky to keep their secret safe?
This totally addictive page-turning cozy mystery is perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands.
They already know who killed the men. What they don’t know is why.
When three young students are brutally murdered in a Nigerian university town, their killings – and their killers – are caught on social media. The world knows who murdered them; what no one knows is why.
As the legal trial begins, investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo is contacted by the father of one of the boys, desperate for some answers to his son’s murder. But Philip is an expert in crowd behaviour and violence, not a detective, and after travelling to the sleepy university town that bore witness to the killings, he soon realises that someone really doesn’t want him there and will do anything to prevent him learning the truth.
Will he uncover what really happened to the Okiri Three?
Four full books finished in the week. I’m very happy with that given that not a lot of reading happened while we were in Edinburgh! Full week of reviews on the blog which you can recap below:
#Review – Vanished – Lynda La Plante
#Review – The Unwilling – John Hart
#Review – Winter Counts – David Heska Wanbli Weiden
#Review – Nowhere to Run – James Oswald
#Review – Insomnia – Sarah Pinborough
The week ahead is full of reviews. Just the one tour – Mandie takes a look at The Pilot’s Girl by Catherine Hokin tomorrow – but if you call by later today I do have a rather exciting cover reveal to share with you all, for a book I’m super excited about.
All that remains is for me to wish you all a very happy and restful week. No more exciting trips planned for me until May now (boo hiss) but that’s not to say I won’t be making the most of a few more days off before then. Weather permitting, of course. Failing that I will use the time wisely and catch back up on all my reviews (again).
Happy reading folks.
Jen x
Jen Med's Book Reviews 