Review: WIN, Harlan Coben

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby from my local library
  
• Published: 3 August 2021
• ISBN: 9781787462991
• Imprint: Arrow
• Pages: 448

Synopsis (publisher)

Over twenty years ago, heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors, and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.

Until now.

On New York's Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead not only on Patricia's kidnapping but also on another FBI cold case - with the suitcase and painting both pointing them towards one man.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III - or Win as his few friends call him - doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up in this dead man's apartment. But he's interested - especially when the FBI tell him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism, and that he may still be at large.

The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades. But Win has three things the FBI does not:: a personal connection to the case, a large fortune, and his own unique brand of justice ...

My Take

Win is a man who has grown up in a world of privelege, and spends his time solving mysteries, usually for others bu this time mysteries are connected to him. How is it that a case and a painting he owns have turned up in the apartment of a murdered man?

The connections are not ones he expected to discover.  

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.4, CAUGHT

4.3, DON'T LET GO

4.3, NO SECOND CHANCE

4.5, RUN AWAY

4.5, THE WOODS 

4.4, I WILL FIND YOU

3.0, THE MATCH 

4.5, FOOL ME ONCE

Review: DEAD END, Leigh Russell

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00796E1W6
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Exit Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 26 May 2011
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 463 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781842433560
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1842434369
• Book 3 of 24 ‏ : ‎ DI Geraldine Steel   

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Headmistress Abigail Kirby is found dead with her tongue cut out.

A potential witness has been murdered.

And for DI Geraldine Steel, the stakes have been raised higher. Abigail's teenage daughter, Lucy, is missing, believed to have run away with a girl she met online.

With a serial killer on the loose and a shocking discovery, Geraldine's own life is in danger, could it be too late to save her?

My Take

Another good read. Headmistress Abigail Kirby was a good administrator, not particularly popular with students, and her daughter Lucy is bullied mercilessly, but who would hate Abigail enough to cut her tongue out.

I had "discovered" the killer by about half way through, but that didn't put me off finishing the book.  

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

• 4.4, CUT SHORT - #1
• 4.6, ROAD CLOSED - #2 
• 4.4, JOURNEY TO DEATH (Lucy Hall #1) 

Review: WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? Freida McFadden

• 
  This edition from my local library 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Poisoned Pen Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 3 March 2026
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1464268525
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1464268526   

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others.

Influencer and baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she'd rather you didn't know.

Like... Where did her son go when he snuck out late at night? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows?

And what's buried in her backyard?

April's secrets are enough to destroy her.

I'll make sure of that.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden peels back the layers of a seemingly flawless life to expose a picture of obsession, deception, and the quiet menace that waits just beyond the frame.

My Take

There are several twists in this plot as well as some narration that leaves you wondering who is reliable and who isn't. Quite a creepy story.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB   

Review: DEAD MAN DEEP, Lynne McEwan

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canelo Crime, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 4 August 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 299 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800324336 
• Book 2 of 6: Detective Shona Oliver  

Synopsis (Publisher) 

Nothing stays buried forever

Lifeboat volunteer DI Shona Oliver receives a Mayday call coming from Kilcatrin Island. Upon the beach is the badly burned body of a man, and a boy lies gravely injured nearby. Strewn around them are scores of Second World War incendiary bombs, presumably washed up by the tide from Beaufort's Dyke, an offshore arms dump deep in the Irish Sea.

The dead man is a local fisherman his son the other victim and it rocks the tight-knit community on the shores of the Solway Firth. As lead detective, Shona has to maintain a professional distance. But she can't ignore the hardship that her neighbours who make a living at sea are experiencing. Anger is directed at the Ministry of Defence when the fallout threatens tourism, and livelihoods including Shona's own family B&B business are at risk.

Suspicious behaviour seems to be found at every turn. It's impossible for Shona to get to the truth unless she can gain the trust of those who know more than they've been willing to reveal. But blind loyalty may mean she's too late to save those still in danger including herself.

The second instalment in an exciting new Scottish crime series featuring a detective with nerves of steel.

My Take

Plenty of things to think about in this story and a very strong central character at the centre of the story in Detective Shona Oliver. I like the mixture of Shona's work, volunteer activities, and her personal life. 

I will be looking for the next. 

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read

4.7, IN DARK WATER 

Review: THE FIRST LAW OF THE BUSH, Geoff Parkes

• 
  This edition from my local library
  
• published Penguin 2026
• ISBN 978-1-76134-931-7
• 346 pages 

Synopsis (Publisher)

Set in the 1990s in New Zealand’s King Country, The First Law of the Bush is the scintillating new rural noir from the author of When The Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.

It’s a beautiful day to be alive, Bill Dickerson thought, seconds before he tumbled from the viaduct onto the jagged rocks below . . .

His awful death made national news. But still, one year on, Bill’s widow Carol has received no explanation about what happened. Was it suicide? An accident? Maybe murder?

So Carol hires lawyer Ryan Bradley in her fight for justice. Ryan has just returned to the remote town of Nashville after ten years away, so he’s in no position to turn down work.

Except the case seems hopeless from the start. Bill’s employer is denying responsibility, Carol’s friends are shunning her, and the only witnesses – co-workers Gav Coates and Wati Reynolds – can shed no light on the tragic fall. Even Senior Sergeant ‘Stinger’ Nettle is too busy turning a blind eye to Wati’s illegal schemes to dig deeper into the death.

But in small towns, nothing is quite what it seems. And for one Nashville resident the wrong question will come at a deadly price . . .

My Take

An engrossing read. The real reason for Bill Dickerson's death comes as a total surprise. The plot is well constructed with a number of sub-plots that are well executed. An author to watch and I will certainly be reading his debut title., When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.

My rating: 4.8

About the author

Born and raised in rural New Zealand, Geoff Parkes now lives in Melbourne. For the last twelve years he’s written a weekly opinion column for The Roar, Australia’s leading on-line sports website. He is the author of two crime novels, When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole and The First Law of the Bush.

Review: ROAD CLOSED, Leigh Russell

• 
  This title read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00796E9IM
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Exit Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 30 May 2010
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 355 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781842434260
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1842434260
• Book 2 of 24 ‏ : ‎ DI Geraldine Steel 

Synopsis (Amazon)

When a man dies in a gas explosion, the police suspect arson. The Murder Investigation Team are called in to investigate.

The case takes on a new and terrible twist when a local villain is viciously attacked.

As the police enquiries lead from the expensive Harchester Hill estate to the local brothel, a witness dies in a hit-and-run.

Was it coincidence - or cold-blooded murder?

My Take

What a good series to have discovered. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this, the second in the series, and look forward to the next. The plots are pleasingly complex, the characters well drawn, and the scenarios believable. 

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read 

4.4, CUT SHORT - #1

4.4, JOURNEY TO DEATH (Lucy Hall #1) 

Review: THE IN CROWD, Charlotte Vassell

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLKZMT6D
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Faber & Faber, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 2 April 2024
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 433 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0571376247
• Book 2 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp
• WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2025  

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Being in is everything.

Calliope Foster is standing, Pimms in hand, under tasteful bunting at a Richmond garden party. She's here to toast her best friend's engagement.

Being out is murder.

Meanwhile, just a stone's throw away, police are pulling a body out of the river Thames. The drowning appears to be a tragic accident - but as Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp is about to discover, the death is connected to this gathering of who's who in a way that could very well spell scandal.

There may be a wedding to plan, but a dead body will unravel even the best-laid plans . . .

My Take

 

Perhaps my enjoyment of this novel was too drastically affected by the fact that it is #2 in in the series, but to be honest I think I was too much turned off by the disclaimer "Agatha Christie meets Made in Chelsea in this witty and addictive whodunnit". Those of you who follow my blog know that I object particularly to the "coat-tails" syndrome, and in this case I saw little in this novel to remind me of, or to pay tribute to, Agatha Christie.

In fact I found this novel tedious reading. Hence my rating.

 

My rating: 3.3

 

About the Author
Charlotte Vassell studied History at the University of Liverpool and completed a Masters in Art History at SOAS, University of London, before training as an actor at Drama Studio London. Other than treading the boards Charlotte has also worked in advertising, executive search, and as a purveyor of silk top hats.