The Curator (Washington Poe #3) by M.W. Craven

🌟🌟🌟  OUT ON 4 JUNE 2020  🌟🌟🌟

Blurb from Goodreads:

"It's Christmas and a serial killer is leaving displayed body parts all over Cumbria. A strange message is left at each scene: #BSC6. Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense. Why were some victims anaesthetized, while others died in appalling agony? Why is their only suspect denying what they can irrefutably prove but admitting to things they weren't even aware of? And why did the victims all take the same two weeks off work three years earlier?

And when a disgraced FBI agent gets in touch things take an even darker turn. Because she doesn't think Poe is dealing with a serial killer at all; she thinks he's dealing with someone far, far worse - a man who calls himself the Curator.

And nothing will ever be the same again..."

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Wow ... just wow!!

Why have I not read any of this series before?  Where have I been living to have missed them?  I must have been walking around with my eyes closed given this is the 3rd instalment!!  I have probably missed the development of the main characters and their backstories but it certainly didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of this book so can safely say it can be read as a standalone.

I won't go into the plot as it's all in the blurb but what I will say is that despite it being complex, the writing is such that it isn't a hard read and although it's a dark and gritty story, the sarcasm and wit lightens it somewhat especially as it feels natural and not forced. The pace is perfect and the setting is spot on  ... not that I'm biased or anything given that I live in Cumbria.

The characters are believable and just brilliant.  Washington is a breath of fresh air, he is a bit grumpy but likeable nonetheless and someone you definitely want to be on your side.  I absolutely adore Tilly - I need her in my life and would love her to spend just one day in my office - oh the carnage!  I will never eat a bar nut again!!

Well you've probably already guessed that I enjoyed this book but just in case I haven't been clear ... it is absolutely brilliant and is one of those books that you tell people to read because it's that good.

My thanks must go to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.  I am so grateful I was one of the chosen ones and I await the next instalment with impatience.

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Nine Elms (Kate Marshall #1) by Robert Bryndza

Description from Goodreads:

"Sixteen years ago, Kate Marshall was a rising star in the London Metropolitan police force. Young, ambitious and driven, with a talent for getting into the minds of criminals, she solved several high-profile murder cases.

But when Kate was tasked with tracking down a vicious serial killer, even her instinct and ability to immerse herself in violent worlds couldn't help her find him - until he found her.

Now, years after her narrow escape, Kate lives a quiet life on the English coast, though her years with the police are still with her. And when one day she receives a letter from someone in her past, she is pulled back into the twisted mind of a murderer she knows only too well - and into a case only she can solve."

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Oh my goodness ... you have GOT to read this book!!

It is amongst one of my all time top reads!!

Just brilliant from start to finish!!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book from the very first to the very last page.  I loved everything about it; the characters (all of them ... which is unusual for me), the plot, the story, the tension, the pace, the writing style ... everything and I absolutely devoured it and can't wait for the next instalment in this series.

Read it ... you won't be disappointed.

Thank you to the Secret Readers Project for giving me the opportunity to read this book and for introducing me to a new author that I will definitely read more of.

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Secret Readers

"Secret Readers is backed by Hachette UK, one of the UK’s biggest book publishers. We want to understand more about how our readers read, and what they think of the ebooks we’re about to publish.

As a Secret Reader, we’ll make a range of ebooks available to you on a rotating basis throughout the year from different genres. You can browse the available ebooks, and then access them for FREE via our specially designed website or app – so you can read the ebook on a PC, laptop, tablet or phone.

Once we make new ebooks available, you’ll have 7 days to take a look and pick one you like, and then 2 months to read it. The website and app will let us know how you’re getting on with the ebook, and we’ll also ask you to take a short survey about the ebook you selected.

We will consider that you have chosen your ebook to read once you have read 10% of an ebook from the selection.

To become a Secret Reader, you have to be aged 18+ and based in the UK."

Click on the picture 🠟🠟 to learn more and join for free

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The Devil You Know by Emma Kavanagh

🌟🌟🌟 Out 28th May 2020 🌟🌟🌟

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Up until yesterday I knew who I was.
Up until yesterday my life wasn't a lie.

Rosa Fisher is the smart girl, the good girl. At twenty-five and mid-way through a PhD in the psychology of fraud, she thinks she has herself all figured out. Until that night, when the house is dark and she is all alone, and she hears an intruder on the stairs.

But the intruder isn't looking for Rosa Fisher. He's after someone else. And everything Rosa has ever known about her world is about to be turned upside down.

Determined to find out who she really is, Rosa traces her origins back to a small Canadian town, to a fire in a barn and a devastating family tragedy. Which forces her to question - if she can lie with such ease, was she ever really the good girl after all?"

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I have read a couple of books by Emma Kavanagh - Hidden and The Missing Hours - that I have enjoyed but, unfortunately, not this one quite as much.

Having said that, I found the plot was different and interesting, the twists and turns were great and kept me guessing, wrongly most of the time, and the sense of tension was good. The characters were ok but no one really stood out for me and I felt they were a little unforgettable and I found the descriptive writing style became a tad tedious and I admit to skim-reading some parts. This is what let it down for me in the end - I got a little bored but persevered and so pleased I did because the ending was great.

I may not have enjoyed this book quite as much as I would have liked but it certainly will not put me off reading Emma's books in the future.

Thank you Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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About the author:

Emma Kavanagh was born in Wales in 1978 and currently lives in South Wales with her husband and two young sons. She trained as a psychologist and, after leaving university, started her own business as a psychology consultant, specialising in human performance in extreme situations. For seven years she provided training and consultation for police forces and NATO and military personnel throughout the UK and Europe.

For more information, tweet Emma here

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Other books by Emma Kavanagh I have read and reviewed:

Cold Christmas (Antonia Hawkins #4) by Alastair Gunn

Description from Goodreads:

"In the small village of Cold Christmas there's a church that faces the wrong way . . . What has it to do with the three dead men found in a London flat?

DCI Antonia Hawkins has a killer to catch. Only she can't predict what is waiting for her at the end of the chase.

Nobody remembers the young men entering the abandoned London flat a few weeks ago. Nobody cares if they left.

Until the unbearable smell of decay.

DCI Antonia Hawkins is called in to view the dead men; three, lying neat in a row. There's no damage to the bodies, no obvious cause of death. Is this a suicide pact? Or is that just how it's meant to look?

If there is a link between the three very different men then Hawkins needs to find it, and fast. Because unless she does, more are going to die. And they might not all be strangers."

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This is yet another book off my now decreasing "to-be-read" pile and another book that I am left asking myself, why did I leave it so long to read it?

Cold Christmas is the fourth in the Antonia Hawkins series but only the second I have had the pleasure of reading.  I read the first in the series, The Advent Killer, and found that to be very satisfying and it has been nice to catch up with DCI Hawkins and her team and although I think this works well as a standalone, in order to appreciate the main characters, I do think reading at least one of the previous books would be a good idea because although you get some of the backstory, you don't truly appreciate or understand DCI Hawkins motivations without previous insight.

From the cover and the title, you might think this would be a Christmas story but you would be wrong ... what we have here is a dark thriller written at good pace with intrigue abound and excellent characters.  The method used by the killer to murder his victims is ingenious and not one I have come across before which made a nice change and with a good mix of investigation into this complex case and into the equally complex personal life of DCI Hawkins, this is, once again, a satisfying read ... well, that is until the end ... oh Mr Gunn you are mean!

Despite this, I will be reading more from this author and I want to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

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Plague of the Manitou (Manitou #6) by Graham Masterton

Description from Goodreads:

"Virus expert Anna Grey is disturbed when a dying patient is wheeled past her lab vomiting fountains of blood and screaming like a banshee. To make matters worse, when she examines the man s corpse, she could swear she hears him whisper: Get it out of me. John Patrick Bridges is dead. He s definitely dead. But if he s dead how is he talking?

Anna wonders if she s going mad. But then a second man haemorrhages and dies; yet Anna hears him whisper, Please help me.

There is no such thing as demons, Anna tells herself. But cynical fortune-teller Harry Erskine knows otherwise and a series of extremely disturbing events are forcing him from his Miami home towards the bereaved Anna, who as yet has little idea of the evil she is facing . . ."

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I have been a fan of Mr Masterton for many, many years and I remember reading the first Manitou novel and absolutely loving it ... alas, it appears this is the 6th outing and although I haven't read the intervening 5 books, get the feeling that it's becoming a little tired as this one wasn't the read I was hoping for.

The main two characters - Harry and Anna - are interesting and well developed, the story is ok but it just didn't do it for me.  I found it tedious and didn't particularly flow.  I felt things happened in the book that just weren't explained very well and maybe that's my fault for not having read all of the previous books but there wasn't really much backstory to give you even a hint.

I am really quite sad that I didn't enjoy this outing but recognise that many have so it might just be me!  Despite this, I am and will remain a Graham Masterton fan and this certainly won't put me off reading more of his in the future.

Many thanks to Severn House Publishers and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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2389: A Space Horror Novel by Iain Rob Wright

Description from Author Website:

"Getting there is the easy part...

The happiest place in the galaxy just sent out a distress call…

Grand Galaxies is the most expensive amusement park ever created, built on the surface of the moon. For decades, rich families and honeymooning couples have gone there to have the time of their lives and no one has ever returned disappointed…

But communication with the moon has been lost.

Someone needs to go up there and see what’s wrong."

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Another book off my to-be-read pile and this was a fun, quick read ... what's not to like ... space, theme park, zombies?

I admit to being a fan of Iain's books and he is one of my go to authors if I want a bit of blood, gore and mindless violence and I am never disappointed.

Here we have a romp into space when contact with a theme park on the moon is lost.  Enter a group of cosmonauts (not sure why astronauts wasn't used?) sent to investigate but, pretty quickly, things go awry and it soon turns into a fight for survival ... how many will get out intact!

This is one of those books that you read just for entertainment purposes and not for anything heavy or too deep so if you're looking for something with a hidden message or meaning, then this probably isn't for you.

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Connect with the author:

Website where you can get 5 free books just for subscribing to Iain's mailing list and I can confirm that he has never bombarded me with emails.

FREE BOOKS INCLUDE:

Final Winter, Ravage, The Gates, Legion, and D is for Degenerate.

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