Review: THE SECOND WIFE, Ali Lowe

• 
  this edition published 2026 by Hodder & Stoughton
  
• ISBN 978-1-399-74218-4
• 364 PAGES

Synopsis (Publisher)

The Fairchild family have it all. At least that's what anyone watching the family of billionaires board the opulent Titan Pacifica would think.

But as Sydney Harbour Bridge starts to disappear in the rear-view window of the luxury liner, so too does any pretence that this is a happy family.

Unbeknownst to his children, CEO and patriarch Irving had planned to use the cruise to reveal his long-awaited succession plans. As glasses clink and elaborate dinners are served to the most notorious of Sydney's elite, it will soon become all too clear that family loyalty can only take you so far.

And although six embark on the journey of a lifetime, not all of the group will make it back to dry land again . . .

My Take

Tightly plotted with at least 3 shock revelations.

You wouldn't want to meet these people on any cruise you embarked on.  

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

4.5, THE TRIVIA NIGHT

4.8, THE SCHOOL RUN

4.6, THE RUNNING CLUB  

Review: MURDER MOST ROYAL, S .J. Bennett

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library 
  
• ISBN: 9780063051218
• Series: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #3
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release: 26 September 2023 
• author website  

 Synopsis (author website)

December 2016 - A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen's estate at Sandringham. 

Elizabeth has become quite accustomed to solving even the most complex of murders. And though she quickly identifies the 70-year-old victim, Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring, the search for his killer is not so straightforward.

St Cyr led an unconventional, often controversial life, making many enemies along the way in the quiet, rural world of North Norfolk, where everyone knows each other's business.

But when a second man is found dead, and a prominent local woman is nearly killed in a hit-and-run, the mystery takes an even darker turn.

With the Christmas break coming to an end, the Queen and her trusted assistant Rozie must race to discover how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Or the next victim may be found even closer to home.

A Waterstones Best Crime & Thriller Book of 2022

My Take

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Her Majesty takes a bigger role in the sleuthing than she did in the earlier novel that I read, despite it being Christmas, and the fact that she has a heavy cold.  Recommended if you enjoy a cozy.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.4, A THREE DOG PROBLEM - #2  

Review: THE WIDOW'S HUSBAND'S SECRET LIE, Freida McFadden

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (AmazonAU) 
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9FT5G85
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hollywood Upstairs Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 12 August 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 152 pages   

 Synopsis (AmazonAU)

My husband is dead.

I attended his funeral. I watched his casket be lowered six feet into the ground. (Actually, it may have been only five feet, but that still seems like more than enough.) And then we ate an array of finger sandwiches and deviled eggs and miniature beef wellingtons that cost more than my first car.

My point is, Grant is gone. And so are all his many, many deep, dark secrets which I never really ever bothered to ask him about. He is never coming back.

So why do I still see his face everywhere I go?

My Take

The author begins this book with an Author's Note: This book is a satire

 This is Freida McFadden poking fun at herself, including in the novella a number of the tropes we often see in crime fiction novels. And the solution to why she keeps seeing her dead husband: obvious, but also odd.

As promised a quick read.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB 

4.5, WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

4.7, DEAR DEBBIE 

4.6, THE HOUSEMAID 

4.6, NEVER LIE 

4.6, THE BOYFRIEND 

 

Review: THE COUPLES RETREAT, Mercedes Mercier

• 
  this edition published by Penguin Random House Australia 2026
• ISBN 978-1-76135-669-8
  
• 329 pages 

Synopis (publisher)

Six friends. Three Nights. One deadly secret - a twisty, compulsive destination thriller where no one is as perfect as they seem.

There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who remembers who you used to be.

At a secluded beachfront mansion on Kangaroo Island, three wealthy couples gather for a weekend of partying and luxury indulgence. But beneath the glitter and excess, deep rivalries and explosive secrets fester between the old friends.

When they wake to a shocking murder scene, they are gripped first by fear, then by suspicion. With ferry services suspended due to a storm, the survivors and the killer remain trapped on the island together.

Thrust into the biggest case of her fledgling career, rookie police officer Emily Quinn quickly discovers that the locals are mistrustful of outsiders. When her dangerous ex-boyfriend tracks her down, Quinn’s past and present collide in spectacular fashion, threatening not only her new life, but the investigation of the most gruesome crime in the island’s history.

Set in one of Australia’s most beautiful locations, The Couples Retreat is a twisty, compulsive thriller that proves privilege cannot protect you from everything, and no one is as perfect as they seem. 

My Take

Set on an island off the South Coast of South Australia where I live. I have visited several times over the decade and can envisage the fictional location of this thriller. 

Emily Quinn is new to the island, taking a position as a probationary constable in the main town Kingscote to escape her manipulative and controlling boyfriend. She is later horrified to find that he has followed her there.

Quinn notices the group of 6 people who came across to the island on the ferry with her: opinionated, flamboyant, and wealthy. She reports to the police station on arrival and is put to work almost immediately by the morose Senior Sergeant Skinner.

Before long she and Skinner visit the holiday home where these new arrivals have made their mark with loud noise and a complaint from a neighbour.

The whole world changes when some of the residents of the holiday house are murdered.

Well structured and engrossing. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.6, BLACK LIES

4.6, WHITE NOISE  

Review: THE MODEL MURDER, Amanda Hampson

• 
  this edition published by Penguin Books 2026
  
• ISBN 978-1-76135-034-4
• 324 pages  

Synopsis (publisher)

Never underestimate a tea lady.

Sydney, 1968. When a popular local man is murdered, police are quick to pin the blame on his glamorous model fiancée, who has since disappeared. But Hazel suspects a criminal cover-up and rallies the tea ladies to investigate; a quest that brings danger right to her door.

Meanwhile, Merl’s long-buried family secret threatens to unravel her carefully constructed life. When she stumbles on evidence that her detective son-in-law is corrupt, she’s forced to swallow her pride and reunite with the other tea ladies, enlisting their help to expose him.

Betty becomes immersed in a local theatre group where there is more drama offstage than on it, further complicated by her infatuation with the enigmatic leading man.
Irene aspires to a new career as a debt collector but her first case has more frustrations and obstacles than she bargained for, even with the help of a new weapon. 

My Take

Although a cozy, I found the plot had too many strands, and I seemed constantly to be getting the main characters muddled up.

My rating: 4.3 

I've also read

4.4, THE TEA LADIES

4.4, THE CRYPTIC CLUE 

Review: ONE LESS SNAKE, Rhys Dylan

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DT4RG4D4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 22 April 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185426
• Book 16 of 21 ‏ : ‎ DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller

Synopsis (AmazonAU) 

Even sleepy, picturesque coastal towns have their secrets.

Welcome to Solva, where a burned-out car, a corpse, and a hauntingly precise execution greets a morning walker.

DCI Evan Warlow faces a case steeped in fear and the worst of modern crimes.

As clues lead him down twisting trails, Warlow must confront not only the killer’s identity but also the lingering echoes of a community’s darkest sins and the intersection of power, revenge, and justice.

My Take

Matt Gittings was one of those politicians who really only thought of what he could get out of his position. That he would come to a nasty end was probably inevitable. But his death in a burning vehicle provides DCI Evan Warlow and his team with a real puzzle.

These stories continue to be entertaining, well planned and thought-provoking, although in this one the "dad" jokes are a bit overwhelming. 

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5 

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7 

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, LINES OF INQUIRY - #9 

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10 

4.6, THE LIGHT REMAINS - #11

4.6, A MATTER OF EVIDENCE - #12

4.5, THE LAST THROW - #13 

4.6, DRAGON'S BREATH - #14

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15 

4.5, DRUID'S MOOR - #18

Review: NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE, Paul Gitsham

• 
  this version an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• Publisher, HarperCollins Publishers, 21 July 2018
• ISBN 9780008389154 
• #2 in series DCI Warren Jones

Synopsis (Overdrive)

DCI Warren Jones has a bad feeling when the body of a young woman turns up in Beaconsfield Woods. She's been raped and strangled but the murderer has been careful to leave no DNA evidence. 

There are, of course, suspects – boyfriend, father – to check out but, worryingly, it looks more and more like a stranger murder. 

Warren's worst fears are confirmed when another young woman is killed in the same way. The MO fits that of Richard Cameron who served twelve years for rape. But Cameron never killed his victims and he has a cast-iron alibi. 

Then personal tragedy intervenes and Warren is off the case. But the pressure is mounting and another woman goes missing. Warren is back but will the break he desperately needs come before there's another victim?

My Take

I enjoyed reading this novel although I "solved" the mystery about half way through. However there were a number of quite distracting red herrings. Sadly my library does not have any more of this series either in print or e-book. I guess that is to be expected as they are not recently published. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, THE LAST STRAW - #1