Review: THE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T DIE, Marnie Riches

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1124 KB
• Print Length: 314 pages
• Publisher: Avon (April 2, 2015)
• Publication Date: April 2, 2015
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00U1K18VY

Synopsis (Amazon)

HE’S WATCHING HER. SHE DOESN’T KNOW IT…YET

When a bomb explodes at the University of Amsterdam, aspiring criminologist Georgina McKenzie is asked by the police to help flush out the killer.

But the bomb is part of a much bigger, more sinister plot that will have the entire city quaking in fear.

And the killer has a very special part for George to play…

A thrilling race against time with a heroine you’ll be rooting for, this book will keep you up all night!

WINNER OF THE 2015 DEAD GOOD READER AWARD FOR MOST EXOTIC LOCATION

My Take

I'm afraid this book didn't grab me in quite the way the blurb promised. I found the plot overly complex and black. It would probably appeal to a much younger reader.

George McKenzie presents as a Cambridge student studying sociology in Amsterdam where girls are going missing. When a bomb explodes in an old library of the University of Amsterdam, and other students go missing, it is George who works out that there must be some connection with the faculty she belongs to. That's when the reader finds out that George is not quite who she seems.

Not quite my cup of tea.

My rating: 3.5

About the author
Marnie Riches is an award-winning, best-selling British author of crime-fiction, making her debut in the US with "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" - the first novel in her gritty, gripping George McKenzie series. The series of five books has sold approaching two hundred thousand copies in the UK and continues to garner critical acclaim from her peers and in the press, as well as a loyal readership.

Marnie grew up in a tough neighborhood in Manchester, England, infamous for its violent crime but loved for its world-class music and friendly people. Exchanging the spires of nearby Strangeways prison for those of Cambridge University, she gained a post-grad degree in German & Dutch. She has been a punk, a trainee rock star, a pretend artist and professional fundraiser. When she's not writing, Marnie likes to run, refurbish old houses and drink gin.

Her George McKenzie crime thrillers, tackling the subject of trans-national trafficking, were inspired by her time spent in The Netherlands. "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" and subsequent four books are must-reads for all fans of Scandinavian and British mystery, suspense and thrillers, who love a kickass heroine who will happily flout the rules if it means catching a killer. George's partnership with troubled Inspector Paul van den Bergen of the Dutch police and her complex family relationships back in London have readers returning, book after book, to see how George's life unfolds...

Marnie is also the author of "Born Bad" and "The Cover-Up" - the critically acclaimed UK hit series about Manchester's notorious gangland.

Review: THE VIRGIN IN THE ICE, Ellis Peters - audio book

• audio book from Audible
•  Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
• Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 6
• Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 01-24-12
• first published 1983

Synopsis ( Audible)

The winter of 1139 will disrupt Brother Cadfael's tranquil life in Shrewsbury with the most disturbing events. Raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two orphans from a noble family, a boy of thirteen and an 18-year-old girl of great beauty, and their companion, a young Benedictine nun. But the trio, never reaching Shrewsbury, have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside.

Cadfael feels afraid these three lost lambs, but another call for help sends him to the Church of Saint Mary. A wounded monk, found naked and bleeding by the roadside, will surely die without Cadfael's healing arts. Why this holy man has been attacked and what his fevered ravings reveal soon give Brother Cadfael a clue to the fate of the missing travelers. Now Cadfael sets out on a dangerous quest to find them. The road will lead him to a chill and terrible murder and a tale of passion gone awry. And at journey's end awaits a vision of what is best, and worst, in humankind...in Ellis Peters's most stunning depiction yet of love and war.

My Take

If you've not yet embarked on these historical mysteries, take my advice and read them as far as possible in publication order. That way you will be aware of political developments on the larger canvas of the Maude/Stephen civil war, and also of character development within the novels themselves.

A group of three has disappeared on the way from Worcester to Shrewsbury and there is an alert out for them. To make matters worse the weather is getting cold and the snows are coming. Bands of brigands are roaming the countryside, and travellers are not safe.

My rating: 4.4

I've also reviewed
THE PILGRIM OF HATE
4.3, A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES
4.6, A CORPSE TOO MANY 
4.6, MONK'S-HOOD 
4.4, THE LEPER OF SAINT GILES 

Review: THE SHADOW SISTER, Lucinda Riley

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 3048 KB
• Print Length: 608 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; Air Iri OME edition (October 25, 2016)
• Publication Date: October 25, 2016
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B01KLO2Z4S
• The Seven Sisters #3

Synopsis (Amazon)

Following on from the bestselling The Seven Sisters and The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister is the third book in Lucinda Riley's spellbinding series, loosely based on the mythology of the Seven Sisters star cluster.

Star D'Aplièse is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father – the elusive billionaire, named Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted by him from the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to their true heritage, but Star – the most enigmatic of the sisters – is hesitant to step out of the safety of the close relationship she shares with her sister CeCe. In desperation, she decides to follow the first clue she has been left, which leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a whole new world . . .

A hundred years earlier, headstrong and independent Flora MacNichol vows she will never marry. She is happy and secure in her home in the Lake District, living close to her idol, Beatrix Potter, when machinations outside of her control lead her to London, and the home of one of Edwardian society's most notorious players, Alice Keppel. Flora is pulled between passionate love and duty to her family, but finds herself a pawn in a game – the rules of which are only known to others, until a meeting with a mysterious gentleman unveils the answers that Flora has been searching for her whole life . . .

As Star learns more of Flora's incredible journey, she too goes on a voyage of discovery, finally stepping out of the shadow of her sister and opening herself up to the possibility of love.

My Take

The plot pattern of this book is very similar to the earlier two in the series: a work of fiction set in a historical background, embedded in an enormous amount of research. The reader time travels from Star's current life to the past. Once Star decides to follow the clues that Pa Salt has left her about where she was born and her familial history, then her life is changed forever.

Other people in my reading group who have been progressing through this series seem to have been able to move on from one book to another almost straight away. But, as at the end of the previous two, I now feel that I need a little bit of a rest. THE SHADOW SISTER is a long book and demanded concentration so that I got all of the plot elements in place. One of the disadvantages of not going on to the next book in the series will be, as I have found with the earlier two, that some of the finer details will drop out of my memory.

Having said that, I found this a compulsive read. I read it on my Kindle, which helpfully told me how much further to the end of the chapter, and I found myself reluctant to put the book aside with a chapter unfinished.

If you are contemplating beginning, then you must read the series in order!
You will note also that I have labelled it "not crime fiction."
There is an interesting blend of historical detail in the story, but not really political history.

My rating: 4.5


I've also read
4.5, THE SEVEN SISTERS #1
4.5, THE STORM SISTER  #2

Review: MURDER AT THE FITZWILLIAM, Jim Eldridge

• this edition published by Allison & Busby 2018
• ISBN 978-0-7490-2366-9
• 316 pages
• #1 in the Museum series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

1894. After rising to prominence for his role investigating the case of Jack the Ripper alongside the formidable Inspector Abberline, Daniel Wilson has retired from the force and now works as a private enquiry agent. Having built a reputation for intelligence and integrity, Wilson is the natural choice for the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, which finds itself in need of urgent assistance.

The remains of an ancient princess and her entourage are to be unveiled as the centerpiece of the museum's new Egyptian collection, but strange occurrences have followed their arrival in Britain: a dead body is discovered in a previously empty sarcophagus, one of the mummified bodyguards seemingly goes 'walkabout' and another man is found strangled to death with three-thousand-year-old bandages. Aided by the talented resident archaeologist Abigail Fenton but hindered by the dismissive local police force, can Wilson unravel the mystery and preserve the reputation of the museum ahead of its public launch?

My Take


There is a comfortable almost old-fashioned feel about this book set in Cambridge at the end of the nineteenth century. A body has been found, recently murdered, in a sarcophagus in the Egyptian room at the famous Fitzwilliam museum.

The manager of the Museum decides to use a private enquiry agent, Daniel Wilson, a young man who became famous as part of Scotland Yard's Abberline team who solved the Ripper case. (There is some back story here as the principal members of that team have now left Scotland yard and are all working as private detectives). The investigation into the murder brings Daniel into contact with Abigail Fenton who discovers the body.

The story proceeds at a good pace, another two murders occur, but I found it a relatively unchallenging read. Perhaps attractive to those who look with nostalgia at the Golden Age who-dunnits.

My rating: 4.3

About the author

Jim Eldridge has had ninety-five books published, which have sold over three million copies. He is also a radio, TV and movie scriptwriter who has had 250 TV scripts broadcast in the UK and internationally. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Author's Website: www.jimeldridge.com

Jim Eldridge has had a long writing career but this appears to be the beginning of a new detection series, with two more titles promised in 2019. 

Review: THE GIRL IN THE ICE, Robert Bryndza

• this edition published by bookoutre 2016
• ISBN 978-1-910751-77-0
• 391 pages
• #1 in the Erika Foster series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice...She is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound, and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong...resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she's faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

A pause-resisting thriller packed with suspense. If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, and Karin Slaughter, discover Rob Bryndza's new series today.

My Take

This is the debut novel in what is quite a long series (see below). I read DARK WATER first and that made me determined to follow this author, and indeed I plan to read all the series.

This debut novel begins with Detective Erika Foster returning to work, so there is quite a bit of back story to catch up on.

In some ways it is typical police procedural with plenty of noir thrown in. At one stage Erika crosses her boss who is having strings pulled by some influential people, and she is taken off the case.  Erika feels an obligation to the victims she has discovered and continues her investigation unofficially, putting herself in great danger.

My rating: 4.8

I've also reviewed
4.6, DARK WATER

Detective Erika Foster
1. The Girl in the Ice (2016)
2. The Night Stalker (2016)
3. Dark Water (2016)
4. Last Breath (2017)
5. Cold Blood (2017)
6. Deadly Secrets (2018)

About the author
Robert Bryndza was born in the UK and lived in America and Canada before settling in Slovakia with his Slovak husband Ján. His debut novel The Not So Secret Emails of Coco Pinchard became an Amazon bestseller.

When he's not writing Rob is learning Slovak, trying to train two crazy dogs, or watching Grand Designs all in the hope that he'll be able to understand his mother-in-law, build his dream house, and get the dogs to listen.

Review: THE LEPER OF SAINT GILES, Ellis Peters - audio book

• source: audio book from Audible
• Narrated by: Joanna Ward
• Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 5
• Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 06-21-01 (originally published 1981)
• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc. 

Synopsis (Audible)

Setting out for the Saint Giles leper colony outside Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has more pressing matters on his mind than the grand wedding coming to his abbey. Yet as fate would have it, Cadfael arrives at Saint Giles just as the nuptial party passes the colony's gates. He sees the fragile bride looking like a prisoner between her two stern guardians and the bridegroom, an arrogant, fleshy aristocrat old enough to be her grandfather. And he quickly discerns this union may be more damned than blessed.

Indeed, a savage murder will interrupt the May-December marriage and leave Brother Cadfael with a dark, terrible mystery to solve. For the key to the killing - and a secret - are hid among the lepers of Saint Giles.

Now Brother Cadfael's skills must ferret out a sickness, not of the body, but of a twisted soul - in the fifth Brother Cadfael Chronicle, a work that displays Ellis Peters' special genius at her best.

My take

The war between Maude and Stephen fades into the background and other social elements absorb our attention: the presence of leprosy in England, the legacy of the Crusades, and the convention of marrying young women to elderly men.

The plot was a bit predictable although when the murder occurred the identity of the murderer was not obvious. Cadfael uses both his skills of deduction and a little intuition to solve the case.

The narration was a good solid effort but at times the voice was a bit soporific.


My rating: 4.4

I've also reviewed
THE PILGRIM OF HATE
4.3, A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES
4.6, A CORPSE TOO MANY 
4.6, MONK'S-HOOD 

review: THE MURDER WALL, Mari Hannah

• this large print edition published by AudioGo through PanMacmillan 2012
• ISBN 978-1-4458-9299-3
• 415 pages
• source: my local library
• #1 in the Kate Daniels series

Synopsis

Eleven months after discovering a brutal double murder in a sleepy Northumbrian town, Detective Chief Inspector Kate Daniels is still haunted by her failure to solve the case.

Then the brutal killing of a man on Newcastle's Quayside gives Daniels another chance to get it right, and her first case as Senior Investigating Officer.

When Daniels recognises the corpse, but fails to disclose the fact, her personal life swerves dangerously into her professional life.
 But much worse, she is now being watched.

As Daniels steps closer to finding a killer, a killer is only a breath away from claiming his next victim...

My Take

Being appointed as SIO on this murder case gives DCI Kate Daniels an opportunity to give her reputation a boost after her failure to solve a double murder case from 11 months earlier. But her boss seems very reluctant to let her loose, besides which he has problems of his own.

In addition Kate recognises the victim and should report that it, but she is afraid that will take her off the case. As time goes on more murders occur and it seems there must be a connection and the team desperately searches for it.

The reader is made privy to the mind of the murderer so we work desperately too to discover his identity.

A police procedural with a few twists.

My rating: 4.4

About the author
Mari Hannah, author of the Kate Daniels series and the Matthew Ryan series, has won the CWA 2017 Dagger in the Library.

Mari was declared the winner at a reception at the British Library on Saturday 17 June by Martin Edwards, Chair of the CWA. Martin said:
At a time when the CWA is expanding its support for public and independent libraries, I am delighted to congratulate Mari. Her DCI Kate Daniels books, set in the North East, are tremendously popular and we know they’re eagerly devoured by library goers and book groups. 

Series
DCI Kate Daniels
1. The Murder Wall (2012)
2. Settled Blood (2012)
3. Deadly Deceit (2013)
4. Monument to Murder (2013)
     aka Fatal Games
5. Killing For Keeps (2014)
6. Gallows Drop (2016)

Matthew Ryan
1. The Silent Room (2015)
2. The Death Messenger (2017)

Stone and Oliver
1. The Lost (2018)
2. The Insider (2018)
3. The Scandal (2019)

Review: MONK'S-HOOD, Ellis Peters - audio book

• source: audible.com
•  Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
• Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 3
• Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-01-11
• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio UK
• Book originally published 1980

Synopsis (audible.com)

Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises.

In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows. And Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by a dose of deadly monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's herbarium. The Sheriff is convinced that the murderer is Richildis' son Edwin, who had reasons aplenty to hate his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his tender concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her son's innocence. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder.... 

My Take

Another excellent narration by Stephen Thorne who brings Cadfael to life. Unfortunately it appears that he has only narrated three of the Cadfael series, so this is the last.

A little more of Cadfael's past is revealed and there is a lovely assessment of the impact of the civil war on the Abbey as Father Heribert goes off to find out whether he will keep his position or whether Prior Robert will take over.

Cadfael discovers who was responsible for the poisoning of Gervase Bonel and eventually administers his own form of justice.

What an excellent writer Ellis Peters was, bringing this periods of English history to life.

My rating: 4.6

I've also reviewed
THE PILGRIM OF HATE
4.3, A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES
4.6, A CORPSE TOO MANY

Review: THE DEATH OF MRS WESTAWAY, Ruth Ware

• this edition published by Thorndike Press, 2018
• ISBN 978-1-4328-5127-9
• 593 pages
• source: my local library
• author's website

Synopsis (author's website)

Dear Miss Westaway,

Your grandmother, Hester Mary Westaway of Trepassen House, St Piran, passed away on 22nd November, at her home. I appreciate that this news may well come as a shock to you; please accept my sincere condolences on your loss.

In accordance with the wishes of your late grandmother, I am instructed to inform beneficiaries of the details of her funeral. As local accommodation is very limited, family members are invited to stay at Trepassen House where a wake will also be held.

Yours truly,

Robert Treswick
Treswick, Nantes and Dean, Penzance

When Harriet Westaway – better known as Hal – receives a letter from the blue informing her of a substantial inheritance, it seems like the answer to her prayers. The loan shark she borrowed from is becoming increasingly aggressive, and there is no way that her job as a seaside fortune-teller can clear her debts.

There is just one problem: Hester Westaway is not Hal’s grandmother. The letter has been sent to the wrong person.

But Hal is a cold reader, practised in mining her clients for secrets about their lives. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a strange woman’s funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her.

With only one way out of her problems, Hal boards a train for Cornwall, and prepares for the con of her life. But something is very, very wrong at Trepassen House.  Hal is not the only person with a secret, and it seems that someone may be prepared to do almost anything to keep theirs hidden…

My Take

This was an engrossing read with an almost Gothic feel to it.

The Westaway family are not very welcoming to Harriet at the funeral, and even less so later when they learn that she has inherited a considerable part of the estate. They had not even been aware of her existence. But then Harriet sees photographs which make her question where she fits into this family after all. She had only hoped for a small legacy.

The dead Mrs Westaway looms over this family - her will has unleashed issues that have to be resolved.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read
4.8, IN A DARK, DARK WOOD
4.4, THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10

Review: ONE CORPSE TOO MANY, Ellis Peters - audio book

• available from audible.com
•  Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
• Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 2
• Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 11-04-11
• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio UK
• book originally published in 1979

Synopsis (publisher)

In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden to the bloody battlefield. Not far from the safety of the Abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its 94 defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discovery: 95 bodies lie in a row, and the extra corpse tells Cadfael that the killer is both clever and ruthless.

But one death among so many seems unimportant to all but the good Benedictine. He vows to find the truth behind disparate clues: a girl in boys' clothing, a missing treasure, and a single broken flower - the tiny bit of evidence that Cadfael believes can most easily expose a murderer's black heart....

My Take

Stephen Thorne does such an excellent job of the narration of this story.
It is the first book in which we meet Hugh Berengar and Brother Cadfael's character is fleshed out.

We also meet King Stephen in the flesh as he takes Shrewsbury Castle and prepares to move further into England. Ellis Peters feeds just enough historical detail into the story to bring the period to life.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read
THE PILGRIM OF HATE
4.3, A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES

Review: A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES, Ellis Peter - audio book

• source: audible.com
• Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
• Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 1
• Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 10-06-11
• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Synopsis (audible.com)

In 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales, where they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics.

Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow. Brother Cadfael knows that a carnal hand did the killings, but he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice, where the wages of sin may be scandal - or his own ruin.

My Take

I chose this book because it is the first of the series. My fellow listener and I are already familiar with the Brother Cadfael character, having watched the TV series with Derek Jacobi playing the leading role, decades ago. We have also been to Shrewsbury on one of our trips to the UK.

These novels are a lovely reminder of a historical period which was a turbulent time at the end of the Middle Ages. Brother Cadfael lives in Shrewsbury, returned from the Crusades, and now a monk and a herbalist. In some senses his mysteries are very ordinary investigations, but they are imbued with a strong sense of history, and sometimes with a touch of romance.

In this story Brother Cadfael is part of an expedition to his native Wales to "liberate" St Winifred's bones which apparently have been neglected by the people who live in the village near where she is buried. The locals are understandably upset at the incoming Englishmen who have come to steal the bones and take them back to England.

The first in quite a long series of books, there is a lot of introductory material about Cadfael, his background, and those who live with him in the Shrewsbury monastery. 

At just over 7 hours this is a good title to be listened to over a couple of travelling weeks.

My rating: 4.3

The only other Brother Cadfael title that I have reviewed since beginning this blog is THE PILGRIM OF HATE
The title was #10 in the series, I listened to it back in 2010, with the same narrator.

See more about Ellis Peters titles that I had read before beginning this blog.

Review: GALLOWS COURT, Martin Edwards

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1094 KB
• Publisher: Head of Zeus (September 6, 2018)
• Publication Date: September 6, 2018
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B079GXJPC8

Synopsis (publisher)

LONDON, 1930.

Sooty, sulphurous, and malign: no woman should be out on a night like this . A spate of violent deaths – the details too foul to print – has horrified the capital and the smog-bound streets are deserted. But Rachel Savernake – the enigmatic daughter of a notorious hanging judge – is no ordinary woman. To Scotland Yard's embarrassment, she solved the Chorus Girl Murder, and now she's on the trail of another killer.

Jacob Flint, a young newspaperman temporarily manning The Clarion's crime desk, is looking for the scoop that will make his name. He's certain there is more to the Miss Savernake's amateur sleuthing than meets the eye. He's not the only one. His predecessor on the crime desk was of a similar mind – not that Mr Betts is ever expected to regain consciousness after that unfortunate accident...

Flint's pursuit of Rachel Savernake will draw him ever- deeper into a labyrinth of deception and corruption. Murder-by-murder, he'll be swept ever-closer to its dark heart – to that ancient place of execution, where it all began and where it will finally end: Gallows Court.

My take

At the centre of this novel are two characters: Jacob Flint, a young newspaperman working for The Clarion, a sensationalist daily; and Rachel Savernake, an incredibly wealthy amateur sleuth, the daughter of a judge renowned for his severe punishment and reputed to be mad at the end.

We know there is some sort of mystery surrounding Rachel Savernake right from the beginning. We are told so in a journal entry written in 1919 by a Juliet Brentano recording the death of her parents. Subsequent diary entries crop up in the novel and we attempt to reconcile the Rachel Savernake she writes about with the one we meet through Jacob Flint.

Jacob has come to head the Clarion's crime desk rather earlier than expected because his boss has been run down by a car and is not expected to live. Jacob is convinced that what happened was no accident and he attempts to work out what Mr Betts was investigating. Everything seems to lead to Rachel Savernake.

This was a challenging read, and even at the end when I thought I had worked everything out, how wrong I was!

Fantastic Fiction suggests this novel is the first in a series centred on Jacob Flint.

My rating: 4.5

A review from Cross Examining Crime

I've also read
MYSTERIOUS PLEASURES
THE ARSENIC LABYRINTH
THE SERPENT POOL
WATERLOO SUNSET
DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN
4.8, THE HANGING WOOD
4.6, THE FROZEN SHROUD
4.5, M.O. CRIMES OF PRACTICE (edit)
4.3, TAKE MY BREATH AWAY
4.3, SERPENTS IN EDEN (edit)
4.5, MOTIVES FOR MURDER(edit) 

About the author

Martin Edwards is an Edgar award-winning crime writer whose seventh and most recent Lake District Mystery is The Dungeon House. Earlier books in the series are The Coffin Trail (short-listed for the Theakston's prize for best British crime novel of 2006), The Cipher Garden, The Arsenic Labyrinth (short-listed for the Lakeland Book of the Year award in 2008), The Serpent Pool, and The Hanging Wood.

Martin is a well-known crime fiction critic, and series consultant to the British Library's Crime Classics. His ground-breaking study of the genre between the wars, The Golden Age of Murder, has been warmly reviewed around the world. it has won the Edgar, Agatha and H.R.F. Keating awards, and is currently shortlisted for Anthony, Macavity, and CWA Dagger awards.

Martin has written eight novels about lawyer Harry Devlin, the first of which, All the Lonely People, was short-listed for the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger for the best first crime novel of the year, The early Devlin books are now enjoying a fresh life as ebooks, with new introductions by leading authors such as Val McDermid and Frances Fyfield, as well as other new material.

In addition Martin has written a stand-alone novel of psychological suspense, Take My Breath Away, and a much acclaimed novel featuring Dr Crippen, Dancing for the Hangman. The latest Devlin novel, Waterloo Sunset, appeared in 2008. He completed Bill Knox's last book, The Lazarus Widow. He has published many short stories, including the ebooks The New Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes and Acknowledgments and other stories. 'Test Drive' was short-listed for the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2006, while 'The Bookbinder's Apprentice' won the same Dagger in 2008.

A well-known commentator on crime fiction, he has edited 28 anthologies and published diverse non-fiction books, including a study of homicide investigation, Urge to Kill.An expert on crime fiction history, he is archivist of both the Crime Writers' Association and the Detection Club. He was elected eighth President of the Detection Club in 2015, and posts regularly to his blog, 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?

Review: FINAL CUT (Cherringham 17), Matthew Costello, Neil Richards - audio book

• from Audible
• Narrated by: Neil Dudgeon
• Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-22-17
• Language: English
• Publisher: Lübbe Audio

Synopsis ( Audible)

When a big movie production comes to Cherringham, complete with lords, ladies, and flashing swords, the whole village is abuzz with excitement. But when a series of dangerous accidents threatens the life of the young lead, Zoe Harding, Sarah and Jack get involved. Are these really accidents? Or could they be something more sinister - even deadly? Who is trying to destroy the career of the beautiful young star - and why?

Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new mystery thriller released each month. Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack. Thrilling and deadly - but with a spot of tea - it's like Rosamunde Pilcher meets Inspector Barnaby. Each of the self-contained episodes is a quick listen for the morning commute, while waiting for the doctor, or when curling up with a hot cuppa.

My Take

Judging by my fellow listener's reaction to the ending of this episode in the Cherringham series, I might have "done my dash" here for a while. While the plot was fine, the motives behind the series of accidents threatening Zoe Harding were a bit far-fetched, and in the long run, the ending was a disappointing and a bit lame.

The stories are beginning to remind me too much of Midsomer coincidences.

My rating: 3.8

I've also listened to
4.1, Cherringham 1-3
4.3, THE LAST PUZZLE, Cherringham 16
4.2, SECRET SANTA, Cherringham 25 

Review: THE FRENCH GIRL, Lexie Elliott

• this edition published by Corvus 2018
• ISBN 9-781786-495549
• 296 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Everyone has a secret...

They were six university students from Oxford - friends and sometimes more than friends - spending an idyllic week together in a French farmhouse. It was supposed to be the perfect summer getaway...until they met Severine, the girl next door.

But after a huge altercation on the last night of the holiday, Kate Channing knew nothing would ever be the same. There are some things you can't forgive. And there are some people you can't forget...like Severine, who was never seen again.

A decade later, the case is reopened when Severine's body is found behind the farmhouse. Questioned along with her friends, Kate stands to lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve as suspicion mounts all around her. Desperate to resolve her unreliable memories and fearful she will be forever bound to the memory of the woman who still haunts her, Kate finds herself entangled within layers of deception with no one to set her free...

My Take

Who can remember exactly what happened ten years ago?

After Kate and her friends returned to England and new careers after their holiday in France, Severine, the girl next door to where they stayed, was declared missing. They were all interviewed at the time to establish a timeline of when Severine was last seen, but she was never found.

Now her bones have been found down a well on the property they were staying in. One of their group has died in the war in Afghanistan and the rest have been apart establishing their careers. A policeman has come from France to interview them again, and Kate is made to feel that she is under suspicion. The policeman advises that she should "get a lawyer".

Events occurred that night that fractured their group forever and the real significance of some events has never been explored.

There is a paranormal element to this story that plays a significant role, but I didn't much like it.

My Rating: 4.4

About the author

LEXIE ELLIOTT grew up in Scotland, at the foot of the Highlands. She graduated from Oxford University, where she obtained a doctorate in Theoretical Physics. A keen sportswoman, she works in fund management in London, where she lives with her husband and two sons. The rest of her time is spent writing, or thinking about writing, and juggling family life and sport.

Review: A QUIVER FULL OF ARROWS, Jeffrey Archer

• this edition published Pan Books 2013
• ISBN 978-1-5098-0729-1
• 266 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Quiver Full of Arrows is a collection of twelve exciting short stories from bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer.

Two friends fall under the spell of a New York beauty – with an unexpected outcome. A casual remark is taken seriously by a Chinese sculptor, and the British Ambassador becomes the owner of a priceless work of art . An insurance claims adviser has a most surprising encounter on the train home to Sevenoaks.

This marvellous collection of twelve stories ends with a hauntingly written, atmospheric account of two undergraduates at Oxford in the 1930s, a tale of bitter rivalry that ends in a memorable love story.

My Take

Stories in this collection

• The Chinese Statue
• The Luncheon
• The Coup
• The First Miracle
• The Perfect Gentleman
• One-Night Stand
• The Century
• Broken Routine
• Henry's Hiccup
• A Matter of Principle
• The Hungarian Professor
• Old Love

Followers of my blog will have noticed a penchant for Jeffrey Archer short stories just recently.
That is simply because they are so good. Sometimes mystery, sometimes just simply quirky, all with marvellously drawn characters.

In this collection Archer says that 11 of the stories are based on known incidents and only one is totally the result of his own imagination. Each of them is 20-30 pages long. Just right for a bit of night time distraction.

My calculation now is that I have read at least 60 short stories by Archer and he really is the master.

My rating: 4.5

The other collections I've read
A TWIST IN THE TALE
4.7, TELL TALE
4.6, CAT O'NINE TALES
4.5, TWELVE RED HERRINGS 

Review: TWELVE RED HERRINGS, Jeffrey Archer - audio book

• audio book from Audible.com
• Narrated by: Alec McCowen
• Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
• Abridged Audiobook
  Release date: 06-01-07
  Collection printed 1994
• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Synopsis (Audible.com)

An imprisoned man is certain that his supposed murder victim is very much alive; a female driver is pursued relentlessly by a menacing figure in another vehicle; a young artist gets the biggest break of her career; a restless beauty manages the perfect birthday celebration; an escaped Iraqi on Saddam Hussein's death list pays an involuntary visit to his homeland. How will they react? How would you?

Twelve Red Herrings is the third collection of irresistible short stories from a master storyteller. Cleverly styled, with richly drawn characters and ingeniously plotted story lines, each of the 12 tales ends with a delightfully unexpected turn of events.

From Wikipedia
The book contains 12 stories.

• "Trial and Error"
• "Cheap at Half The Price"*
• "Dougie Mortimer's Right Arm"*
• "Do Not Pass Go"*
• "Chunnel Vision"*
• "Shoeshine Boy"*
• "You'll Never Live to Regret It"*
• "Never Stop on the Motorway"*
• "Not for Sale"
• "Timeo Danaos"*
• "An Eye for an Eye"*
• "One Man's Meat..."

In the preface the author notes that the stories indicated with an asterisk are "based on known incidents (some of them embellished with considerable licence)."


My Take

Once again a batch of short stories, involving some mysteries, but most are on the edge of crime fiction.
This audio production makes good listening particularly as the narration by Alec McCowen is so well done. Each of the stories has an unexpected twist in the final moments.

My rating:4.5

I've also reviewed
A TWIST IN THE TALE
4.7, TELL TALE
4.6, CAT O'NINE TALES 
They are all collections of short stories.

Review: DARK WATER, Robert Bryndza

• this edition published by Sphere in 2016
• ISBN 978-0-7515-7148-6
• 352 pages
• #3 in the Erika Foster series
• author website

Synopsis (author website)

Beneath the water the body sank rapidly.  She would lie still and undisturbed for many years but above her on dry land, the nightmare was just beginning.

When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child.

The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins.  The missing girl who made headline news when she vanished twenty-six years ago.

As Erika tries to piece together new evidence with the old, she discovers a family harbouring secrets, a detective plagued by her failure to find Jessica, and the mysterious death of a man living by the quarry.

Is the suspect someone close to home? Someone doesn’t want this case solved. And they’ll do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.

My Take

Twenty six years after she disappeared on her way to a friend's birthday party only a few houses away from home Jessica Collins' skeleton is discovered in a flooded quarry only a mile from her home. The quarry had been searched without success during the search for Jessica. Eventually the police charged a paedophile living nearby but he had an alibi and successfully sued the police for damages. The case remained unsolved and the detective in charge had a breakdown and took early retirement.

Detective Erika Foster determines that she will solve this case once the skeleton is identified, but is advised by her seniors that this is a poisoned chalice. It is a cold case that could really end up going nowhere. She is determined to investigate every possible avenue, going right back to the beginning.

Once she interviews what remains of Jessica's family, someone else begins to watch Erika and to make sure her investigation fails.

Some very interesting characters. Most readable.

I think I'll be looking for another in this series.

My rating: 4.6

About the author
My books have sold over 2.5 million copies, and have been translated into 28 languages. In addition to writing crime fiction, I have published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels. I am British and live in Slovakia.

Review: ODD CHILD OUT, Gilly Macmillan

• this edition published by littlebrown.co.uk 2017
• ISBN 978-0-349-41294-8
• 382 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (publisher)

Two best friends. One terrible event.

Abdi Mahal and Noah Sadler have been inseparable since they met. They've stuck together, even when their peers have excluded them. But when a horrifying incident leaves Noah in a coma and fighting for his life, Abdi is too traumatised to say anything about what happened.

DI Jim Clemo, freshly returned to work after an enforced leave of absence, is tasked to investigate. And against a backdrop of a city where racial tensions are running high, he must determine what really happened to drive two teenage boys into a situation so desperate.

Everything rests on one of the boys talking.

But one can't talk.

And one won't.

My take

This is the second novel featuring DI Jim Clemo but the first I've read.

It is set in the author's home city of Bristol.

The action of the novel takes place over the period of a week and the story is told from several points of view with often only the content or tone to indicate who the narrator is.

Abdi and Noah are 15 year olds who have been inseparable since they began secondary school. Noah has health issues and has spent a lot of time in hospital. His father is a photographer who spends a lot of time away. Abdi is Somali, his father is a taxi driver, his mother does not speak English, and his sister is at tertiary college. Noah's mother is not convinced his friendship with Abdi is the best he can do, but Noah is very dependent on him.

On the night when the story starts Noah's father has a photographic exhibition which both boys attend. Some of the photographs are of Somalian refugee camps and Abdi finds them upsetting.  After they get back to Noah's place the boys go out, at Noah's instigation, unknown to his parents, and this sets off a train of events with dreadful consequences.

This novel has a number of thought provoking themes: relationships in the work place, journalists who use events to enhance their own careers, the effects of ill health on families and those who are afflicted, the search by teenagers for identity and rites of passage.

My rating: 4.5

About the author

Gilly Macmillan grew up in Wiltshire, and was pleasantly surprised when her family moved to California when she was a teenager. She studied History of Art at Bristol University before doing an MA in Modern British Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art.  Her career path has included working at the Burlington Magazine, the Hayward Gallery and teaching photography at a sixth-form college in Swindon. Her favourite job was working in a café opposite Keplers bookshop in Menlo Park, CA. She currently lives in Bristol with her husband Julian and their three children.

Review: BRING ME BACK, B. A. Paris

• this edition published in 2018 by HQ, Harper Collins Publishers
• ISBN 978-0-008-26894-7
• 338 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (publisher)

Finn and Layla: young and in love, their whole lives ahead of them. Driving back from a holiday in France one night, Finn pulls in to a service station, leaving Layla alone in the car. When he returns, minutes later, Layla has vanished, never to be seen again. That’s the story Finn tells the police. It’s the truth but not the whole truth.

Twelve years later, Finn has built a new life with Ellen, Layla’s sister, when he receives a phone call. Someone has seen Layla. But is it her or someone pretending to be her? If it is her, what does she want? And what does she know about the night she disappeared?

My Take

An intriguing plot with plenty of mystery for the reader to work on.

Twelve years ago Layla disappeared after an argument with Finn on the way back from a holiday in France. But what Finn told the police about what happened that night was not the entire truth. The story then jumps from the night of the argument in 2006 to the current time in 2018.

In the chapters in Part One, Finn is the narrator, and the chapters switch rhythmically between "Now" and "Before". Now it appears that Layla may have returned, confirmed by a sighting, a trail of Russian dolls, and text messages on Finn's phone. At first Finn is not sure who is sending the text messages and begins to think they must be from Layla. We always know whose voice it is, but just to make sure we don't get lost, each chapter heading shows the narrator's name.

Part Two introduces Layla's voice in alternate chapters, with Finn's thoughts in the other chapters.

It is an interesting structure but towards 250 pages I began to get impatient for the plot to conclude.
My brain was working overtime to rationalise the plot strands, to come up with a scenario that fitted all strands. When I finally got to the end, I discovered I was partly right and partly not. I guess that is the sign of a good story.

The other thing that the reader has to take into account is the significance of the title, something we often neglect. This was a title with acute meaning.

My rating: 4.5

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, B. A. Paris, grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked in finance and as a teacher. She has recently moved back to England.

Review: THE BURNING CHAMBERS, Kate Mosse

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 4829 KB
• Print Length: 608 pages
• Publisher: Mantle (May 8, 2018)
• Publication Date: May 8, 2018
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0774FM62G 

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Bringing 16th century Languedoc vividly to life, Kate Mosse's The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love and betrayal, mysteries and secrets; of war and adventure, conspiracies and divided loyalties....

Carcassonne, 1562: 19-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father's bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: "She Knows That You Live". But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou's help if he is to get out of La Cite alive.

Toulouse: As the religious divide deepens in the Midi, and old friends become enemies, Minou and Piet both find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as sectarian tensions ignite across the city, the battle lines are drawn in blood and the conspiracy darkens further. Meanwhile, as a long-hidden document threatens to resurface, the mistress of Puivert is obsessed with uncovering its secret and strengthening her power....

My Take

Once again I am on the outskirts of crime fiction. This is more a historical novel, but there is plenty of mystery.
I have seen several times that it is also the beginning of a series of 4 books "with the next three due out in 2020, 2022 and 2024".

Set in France in 1562 at the start of the Wars of Religion, it begins with a Prologue set in Franschhoek South Africa in 1862, 300 years after the main action of the book. Thus setting up a mystery for the scope of the remainder of the series.

Within the major canvas of the wars which involved Catholics vs Huguenots is this story of the struggles within one Toulouse family, surely one mirrored all over France as Church and State struggled for power.

Central to the story is the true identity of one of the characters.

Very readable.

My rating: 4.4


 I have also read
4.4, THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER

About the author
Kate Mosse is an international bestselling author with sales of more than five million copies in 38 languages. Her fiction includes the novels Labyrinth (2005), Sepulchre (2007), The Winter Ghosts (2009), Citadel (2012), The Taxidermist's Daughter (2014), and The Burning Chambers (2018), as well as an acclaimed collection of short stories, The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales (2013). Kate is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of the Women's Prize for Fiction and in June 2013, was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to literature. She lives in Sussex.