Review: FOUL PLAY, Fiona McIntosh

• 
  This edition available on Amazon in Kindle 
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CB1YNVX7
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin eBooks (January 9, 2024)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 403 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

Superstar footballer Luca Bruni is being blackmailed for a night of lust he swears he didn’t participate in...except the ransom photo denies that. A media darling on and off the field, he has powerful charisma, a perfect home life he’ll do anything to protect, and more money than he knows what to do with. He’s determined to defy the extortion racket.

When Detective Superintendent Jack Hawksworth learns that the cunning mastermind behind this crime has already swindled a dozen of the world’s most highly prized male athletes, he is instructed to keep the situation from escalating and prevent a media frenzy.

Intrigued by the creativity of the crime and the shockwaves it is creating through the global sporting fraternity, Jack begins a journey into a case that has tentacles far more wide-reaching that he ever imagined – and far more deadly. 

My Take

This is the 5th in this series.

I read the first in 2008, BYE BYE BABY, when the author had decided to use pseudonym Lauren Crow for her crime fiction titles. It was republished under the name Fiona McIntosh in 2013.

Since then there have been a further 3 in the series which I have not read.

Since all 5 titles have the same central characters, there is considerable back story which I am not familiar with. There are some references (and details) in this novel to what has gone before, and probably enough to allow you to read FOUL PLAY as a stand-alone.

Jack Hawksworth has been warned by his commanding officer more than once about mixing his private and professional lives and once again he ignores this warning to the detriment of someone he is using and whom he has promised to protect. Although both Hawksworth and his offsider Kate are supposed to be at the top of their game, they are in many ways unlovely personalities and their actions did affect the way I eventually felt about the book.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read 

4.2, BYE BYE BABY (as Lauren Crow)

From Fantastic Fiction

DCI Jack Hawksworth
   1. Bye Bye Baby (2007)
   2. Beautiful Death (2009)
   3. Mirror Man (2021)
   4. Dead Tide (2023)
   5. Foul Play (2024)

The author has written another 30+ books, mainly fantasy. 

About the author

Originally from Brighton, Fiona McIntosh moved to Australia in her teens and forged a successful career in travel - running a business with her husband - before becoming a writer. She continues her work and on top of this not only writes at least two books a year, but also spearheads the Fab Fantasy Bookclub - Australia's premier fantasy bookclub. She lives in southern Australia with her husband, her two lovely sons, two mad dogs and two insane birds.

Review: THE NARRATOR, K.L. Slater

• 
   This edition from Amazon on Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BLCN1CF4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (January 6, 2023Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages

Synopsis (Amazon) 

What if the chance of a perfect life… put your daughter in grave danger?

Being a single mother is tough, but I’d do anything for my little girl Scarlet. I’d given up on my career as a voice actor when the call came, but suddenly I was the new narrator for a secret book from bestselling author Philippa Roberts, who has been missing for eight months. It was a lifeline for me and my daughter.

I hated that it meant leaving Scarlet with my ex in his perfect new home with his perfect new girlfriend. But I knew it was the right thing to do.

But as I start reading Philippa’s new novel, I start to wonder if it’s no coincidence that I’ve been chosen to narrate it. There’s something hidden in the pages of this book, I’m sure of it. Some clue to Philippa’s disappearance. And I don’t feel safe. I think I’m being watched. My room has been searched.

And then my ex’s girlfriend calls in tears and everything starts to click together. If I don’t find answers fast, I’ll lose more than my second chance. I’ll lose my daughter. 

My Take

Eve has been the narrator for all nine of Philippa Roberts' popular crime fiction D.I. Tower series but then Philippa disappeared, Eve's father died, and her marriage collapsed. Now Philippa's tenth novel has turned up and Eve is offered the job of narrator again.

But, as she reads, Eve feels there is something wrong with this novel. It doesn't feel quite right. So she starts asking questions about the disappearance of the novelist, and Eve starts to get threatening messages.

This plot has some good strands and some interesting characters - sure to keep you reading to find out the final answer.

My rating: 4.6

• 4.4, THE APARTMENT  
• 4.6, THE MISTAKE
• 4.8, THE GIRLFRIEND

Review: HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER? Nicci French

• 
   this edition from Amazon on Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C8JWHT8S
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster UK (February 29, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 541 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 006329835X

Synopsis (Amazon)

She’s loved by all who meet her. But someone wants her gone . . .

Then

When beautiful and vivacious Charlotte Salter fails to turn up to her husband Alec’s 50th birthday party, her kids are worried, but Alec is not. As the days pass and there’s still no word from Charlie, her daughter, Etty, and her sons, Niall, Paul and Ollie, all struggle to come to terms with her disappearance.
How can anyone just vanish without a trace?
Left with no answers and in limbo, the Salter children try and go on with their lives, all the while thinking that their mother’s killer is potentially very close to home.

Now

After years away, Etty returns home to the small East Anglian village where she grew up to help move her father into a care home. Now in his eighties, Alec has dementia and often mistakes his daughter for her mother.
Etty is a changed woman from the trouble-free girl she was when Charlie was still around - all the Salter children have spent decades running and hiding from their mother’s disappearance.
But when their childhood friends, Greg and Morgen Ackerley, decide to do a podcast about Charlotte’s disappearance, it seems like the town’s buried secrets – and the Salters’ – might finally come to light.

After all this time, will they finally find out what really happened to Charlotte Salter?

My Take

An absolutely gripping read. 

The story opens with Alec Salter's 50th birthday party, the one that his wife Charlie never appeared at, even though she was expected. The party finished early but Charlie never came home.

A police investigation was held but Charlie was never found. 

And now, 30 years later, Alec has dementia and his children have made the decision to move him into a care home, and to sell the house. A podcast revisits the events of 30 years ago, opens old wounds, and asks locals and family to remember what happened.

Another death results in another police investigation.

There is plenty of opportunity for readers to pit their little grey cells against the evidence and to come up with their own theories of what happened to Charlotte Salter.

My rating: 5.0 

I've also read

• 4.3, BLUE MONDAY
• 4.5, TUESDAY'S GONE
• 4.7, WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY
• 4.7, FRIDAY ON MY MIND
• 4.7, THE LYING ROOM
• 4.5, DAY OF THE DEAD
• 4.7, SECRET SMILE
  
• 4.6, THE UNHEARD 
• 4.8, THE FAVOUR

Review: DARLING GIRLS, Sally Hepworth

• 
  Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Australia (26 September 2023)
  
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1761262165
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761262166

Synopsis (publisher)

SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER... Sally Hepworth's new novel has it all.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn't the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects? 

My Take

As always, this novel by Sally Hepworth has an unusual plot with unusual twists, and, as always, gives the reader something to sink their teeth into.

Jessica, Alicia and Norah came to Miss Fairchild as young girls in need of compassion. But there was another side to Miss Fairchild and the girls were very lucky to survive. 

I loved the construction of this novel and there is mystery to work on right from the beginning.

My rating: 4.8 

I've also read

• 4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 
• 4.7, THE SOULMATE, 

 

Review: THE NIGHT SHE FELL, Eileen Merriman

• 
   this edition is available on Amazon for Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CP6X5ZFJ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin eBooks (NZ Adult) (March 5, 2024)
• author website
  

Synopsis (Amazon)

‘When I last saw Ashleigh, she was lying in a pool of blood . . . Her eyes were open, staring sightlessly into the sky. I’d like to think she saw the stars before she died; that in her last moments she flew, soaring on serotonin, dreamy with dopamine. I’d like to think she didn’t suffer . . .’

A beautiful young law student dies on the concrete below her third-storey window in chilly Dunedin.

It’s clear enough how she died. What isn’t is why — or who’s involved.

Plenty of people had a reason to hate Ashleigh, with her straight As and perfect looks. She’s fallen out with her flatmates, and her boyfriend Xander is having second thoughts about their future together. And then there are the weird messages.

The Night She Fell is a gripping psychological thriller from one of New Zealand's most multi-talented contemporary novelists. 

My Take

This appears to be the author's first adult crime fiction novel.

Set in Dunedin where Ashleigh and Xander are university students living in different flats. Xander is a medical student and Ashleigh a law student. They have been together for seven years but Ashleigh is dominating while her parents have been financially generous to Xander and his family. Xander's eye has been recently caught by Ronnie, a psychology student with a room in Ashleigh's house.

And then one night Ashleigh dies, jumping from a third floor window. It is just a week since she and Xander broke up.

The structure of book centres around Ashleigh's death. The main voices are Xander and Ronnie and the chapters are Before and After.  The puzzle is what caused Ashleigh to jump. Is anyone or anything to blame?

Very engrossing.

My rating: 4.7 

About the author

Several of Eileen Merriman’s young adult novels have been finalists in the NZ Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards, and also Storylines Notable Books. Her first adult novel, Moonlight Sonata, was released in 2019, and was longlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. Her fourth YA novel, A Trio of Sophies, was released in Australia, New Zealand  and Germany in  2020 and was a finalist in the Ngaio Marsh Crime Awards. Her fourth adult novel, The Night She Fell, is due for release in March 2024. Three of her young adult novels have been optioned for TV or film, including Catch Me When You Fall, for which the prequel, Catch A Falling Star, was released in 2023.

Review: NOW YOU SEE THEM, Elly Griffiths

• 
  this edition published by Quercus 2019
  
• #5 in the Brighton Mysteries
• ISBN 978-1-78648-735-3
• 351 pages
• author website
  

Synopsis (author website)

Three girls have left. None have come back.

Brighton, 1963. Edgar Stephens has been promoted to Superintendent and is married to his former sergeant, Emma Holmes. Edgar’s wartime partner in arms, magician Max Mephisto, is a movie star in Hollywood, while his daughter Ruby has her own TV show.

The funeral of an old friend highlights just how much the gang’s lives have changed in the last nine years. Edgar is struggling with fresh responsibilities and the new swinging Brighton of rioting mods and rockers; Emma is chafing against the restrictions of life as a housewife.

Bob Willis, meanwhile, is tackling his biggest case since his promotion to DI: a schoolgirl missing from high-class boarding school Roedean. It looks like she’s run away; but there are disturbing similarities to the disappearances of a young local nurse and a tearaway Modette, neither of whom have been seen or heard from since…

A new world is dawning in Brighton, but the city’s dark side is as dangerous as ever.

My take

The disappearance of 3 young women who have left similar goodbye notes sparks an investigation. And then the body of one of them is discovered and is followed by the disappearance of Ruby Magic, Max Mephisto's daughter. Ruby has also left a note telling people not to worry. But Ruby has missed work, an left her cat locked up in her flat.

Meanwhile Edgar Stephens' wife Emma is very much feeling underused and left out. She was one of the first female detective sergeants  in the country, but she resigned on her marriage. Emma feels she could still make a useful contribution. In the long run it is Emma who eventually works out what has happened to the girls.

Set in the 1960s, the plot definitely shows how things are changing. Max has been asked to accept a role in a film with a film star of some prominence.

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read

• 4.6, THE CROSSING PLACES - Ruth Galloway #1
  
• 4.6, THE JANUS STONE - Ruth Galloway #2
• 4.6, THE HOUSE AT SEA'S END - Ruth Galloway #3
• 4.5, A ROOM FULL OF BONES - Ruth Galloway #4
• 4.8, DYING FALL- audio book - Ruth Galloway #5
• 4.5, THE GHOST FIELDS, Elly Griffiths - audio book - Ruth Galloway #7
• 4.7, THE OUTCAST DEAD, Elly Griffiths - audio book - Ruth Galloway #6
• 4.7, THE WOMAN IN BLUE - Ruth Galloway #8
• 4.7, THE CHALK PIT - Ruth Galloway #9
• 4.6, THE STRANGER DIARIES - Harbinder Kaur #1
  
• 4.4, THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS - Harbinder Kaur #2
  
• 4.7, THE LANTERN MEN - Ruth Galloway #12
• 5.0, THE STONE CIRCLE - Ruth Galloway #11 
• 4.8, THE DARK ANGEL - Ruth Galloway #10
• 4.7, THE NIGHT HAWKS - Ruth Galloway #13
  
• 5.0, THE LOCKED ROOM - Ruth Galloway #14
• 4.6, BLEEDING HEART YARD - Harbinder Kaur #3
• 5.0, THE LAST REMAINS - Ruth Galloway #15
• 4.8, THE ZIG ZAG GIRL - Brighton Mysteries #1
• 4.5, SMOKE AND MIRRORS - Brighton Mysteries #2
  
• 4.4, THE VANISHING BOX - Brighton Mysteries #4
  
• 4.5, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR- Brighton Mysteries #6

Review: DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER, Craig Sisterson (edit)

• 
  This edition is available on Kindle
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B6CQCCJD
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clan Destine Press (July 1, 2022)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 349 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

A vibrant southern constellation of crime writers.

Dark Deeds Down Under features the very best of modern Australian and New Zealand crime and mystery writing.

Spend time with some of your favourite Aussie and Kiwi cops, sleuths and accidental heroes, and meet some edgy new investigators.

A crew of beloved series characters - Corinna Chapman, Hirsch, Sam Shephard, Rowly Sinclair, Nick Chester, Murray Whelan - will lead you down dark alleys to meet our newer heroes - the Nancys, Penny Yee and Matiu, Alex Clayton, Kate Miles - and the stars of some cracking standalone tales.

Travel the criminal trails of two countries. From the dusty Outback to South Island glaciers, from ocean-carved coastlines and craggy mountains to sultry rainforests or Middle Earth valleys, and via sleepy towns to the seething underbellies of our cosmopolitan cities.

The 19 dark deeds herein are perpetrated by:

Alan Carter - Nikki Crutchley - Aoife Clifford - Garry Disher - Helen Vivienne Fletcher - Lisa Fuller - Sulari Gentill - Kerry Greenwood - Narrelle M. Harris - Katherine Kovacic - Shane Maloney - R.W.R. McDonald - Dinuka McKenzie - Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray - Renee - Stephen Ross - Fiona Sussman - Vanda Symon - David Whish-Wilson

My Take

I love short stories but short story collections are always difficult to to review. I try not to say which I've enjoyed most. Ranking them is always too hard. But here is a collection you can pop on your Kindle for the occasional dabble. They are all good representatives of the genre, some of them grittier than others.

So I've decided to list below the authors that I have 'met' before and to list the books that I have read.

The collection has also pointed out to me some authors I should really look for, particularly those  "across the ditch". In reality I've only met the work of  9 of the 19 before, so Craig has done me a service.

But, I've got to say it... the one that will stick with me for a while is Mr Pig by NZ author Stephen Ross.

My rating: 4.6 

I have 'met' the following authors through their books recorded in this blog

Carter, Alan:

• 4.7, PRIME CUT - Cato Kwong #1
• 4.7, GETTING WARMER - Cato Kwong #2
• 4.6, MARLBOROUGH MAN
• 4.5, DOOM CREEK 
• 4.6, CROCODILE TEARS - Cato Kwong #5 

Disher, Garry:

• 4.7, WYATT
• 4.8, WHISPERING DEATH
• 4.7, BLOOD MOON
• 4.2, THE HEAT
• 4.5, SIGNAL LOSS
• 4.7, HER
• 4.9, UNDER THE COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS
• 4.7, KILL SHOT
• 5.0, BITTER WASH ROAD - Hirsch #1 - aka HELL TO PAY
• 5.0, PEACE- Hirsch #2
• 5.0, CONSOLATION - Hirsch #3
• 4.7, DAY'S END, Garry Disher- Hirsch #4
• 4.8, THE WAY IT IS NOW

Gentill, Sulari:

• 5.0, A FEW RIGHT THINKING MEN
• 4.8, A DECLINE IN PROPHETS
• 4.8, MILES OFF COURSE
• 4.7, PAVING THE NEW ROAD
• 4.5, THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY

Greenwood, Kerry:

• MURDER ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT - #17
• TRICK OR TREAT
• FORBIDDEN FRUIT
• 4.3, DEAD MAN'S CHEST -#18
• 4.4, COOKING THE BOOKS
• 4.3, TAMAM SHUD
• 4.8, UNNATURAL HABITS - #19
• 4.3, MURDER AND MENDELSSOHN - #20
• 4.5, MURDER IN WILLIAMSTOWN - #22  
• 4.5, A QUESTION OF DEATH - anthology of short stories set in 1928

Kovacic, Katherine:

• 4.5, THE PORTRAIT OF MOLLY DEAN - #1
• 4.6, PAINTING IN THE SHADOWS - 2 
• 4.5, THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE - #3   

Maloney, Shane: SUCKED IN

McDonald, R.W.R

• 4.2, THE NANCYS

Symon, Vanda:

• OVERKILL
• THE RINGMASTER
• CONTAINMENT
• 4.8, BOUND

and lastly, but by far not least
Sisterson, Craig: 5.0, SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME