Before the Storm (DCI Lorimer #18) by Alex Gray

 

Description from Goodreads:

"Your favourite Scottish detective is back with a brand new case, one that threatens to destroy everything.

Inspector Daniel Kohi of the Zimbabwean police force returns home one night to find his worst nightmare has been realised. His family dead, his house destroyed, and in fear for his life, he is forced to flee the country he loves.

Far away in Glasgow, DSI William Lorimer has his hands full. Christmas is approaching, the city is bustling, and whilst the homicide rate has been relatively low, something much darker is brewing. Counter-Terrorism have got wind of a plot, here in Lorimer’s native city, to carry out an unspeakable atrocity on Christmas Eve. They need someone with local knowledge to help them root it out and who better than the head of the Scottish Major Incidents Team.

But the investigation is complicated by a spate of local murders, and by the rumours that someone is passing information to criminal organisations from inside the police force. Soon Lorimer finds himself in desperate need of assistance. Then he meets an extraordinary man – a refugee from Zimbabwe whose investigative skills are a match for Lorimer’s own . . ."

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Where have I been living and why have I never read anything by Alex Gray before?  This is book 18 for heaven's sake!!!  I must have been living under a rock and walking around with my eyes closed to have missed this series because if the previous 17 are anything close to being as good as this, I really have been missing out on a treat.  I was a little concerned that coming into an already well established series wasn't a good idea but I needn't have worried as this worked really well as a standalone.

This is an excellent police procedural with a very up-to-date and relevant story line.  It is not a white-knuckle, action packed story and it's not full of swearing, violence or gory details but it is written at a steady pace with a growing sense of tension and urgency which makes it a compulsive and riveting read.

The characters are so good and so well developed that I really felt I knew them.  I read a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals and I have to say that it is refreshing for the main character not to be full of his own troubles or issues or who is in conflict with either his colleagues or his bosses.  Daniel was an excellent addition and his relationship with his neighbour, Netta, was a joy to read ... I do hope that these 2 make an appearance in subsequent books.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and would very much recommend this to everyone and I must thank The Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.

Alex Gray is definitely on my watchlist now!

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Hunted by Alex Knight

 

Description from Goodreads:

"You're woken early by banging on the door. It's a young girl, the daughter of the love of your life. She's scared, covered in blood, she says her mother is hurt.

You let her in, try to calm her down, tell her you're going to get help. You reach for your phone, but it lights up with a notification before you touch it.

It's an Amber alert, sent simultaneously to four million phones in the Bay Area. A child has been abducted by a dangerous suspect.

The child is the girl standing in front of you.

The suspect? You."

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Wow ... that was a fast-paced, non-stop, action-packed read from page 1 and I absolutely devoured it.

The pace is relentless, the characters are strong and likeable and whilst the twists didn't surprise me that much, they didn't take away any of the enjoyment for me.

This is what I would call a traditional cat-and-mouse story, however, it felt up to date and modern with the addition of podcasts which, I think, worked extremely well and introduced a different element and perspective to the story.

Alex Knight is definitely an author I will seek out in the future.

Thanks must go to The Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

 

Description from Goodreads:

"This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...

You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. That's where you're wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it's not what you think..."

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I am, once again, in the minority here because I just didn't get into this at all.

I was confused about the timeline, who was who, what was what and I spent most of my time with a frown on my face and scratching my head wondering what the heck was going on.

I think I just lost the plot completely but there are loads of others who have read this and given it 5 stars so it must be me!!  

If you enjoy something of a challenge and dark, gothic stories, this is probably for you but not so much for me unfortunately.

Thank you to Serpent's Tail, Viper Books and Profile Books  via NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in return for an unbiased and unedited review and I'm sorry I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

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Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker

 

THIS MOTHER'S DAY YOU WILL CALL HER MUMMY

Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want. Except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim - heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop - she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But foul-mouthed little Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for.

As Tonya fiercely resists Mummy's attempts to make her into the perfect child, Kim is demonised by the media as a 'scummy mummy', who deserves to have her other children taken too. Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media's rules, Kim begins to spiral, turning on those who love her.

Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle...

CALL ME MUMMY. IT'LL BE BETTER IF YOU DO.

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For a debut this is pretty successful and certainly had me reading way too late into the night.

This is a dark, disturbing and harrowing read but totally addictive.  With fantastic characters and an all-too-real story line, this is a book that gets you hooked pretty quickly and doesn't let you go until the last full stop at the end.

Told from the perspectives of the kidnapper, the mother and the child, this provides insight from all aspects of the story which makes it all the more gripping.  There are also snippets of social media posts which add a further dimension.

This book is about so much more than child abduction and, as a consequence, does contain swearing and abuse so if you are upset by these, I would probably give this a miss but if you "enjoy" (and I say that loosely) reading something on the darker side, then Call Me Mummy is the book for you.

Thank you to Serpent's Tail / Profile Books / Viper via NetGalley - I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

Another author to look out for in the future.

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What Will Burn (Inspector McLean #11) by James Oswald

 

Description from Goodreads:

"The charred remains of an elderly woman are discovered in a burned-out game-keepers cottage, hidden away in woodland to the west of Edinburgh. Clearly no accidental fire, Detective Inspector Tony McLean suspects that neither is this simply a grim arson attack. There is far more to the victim than her humble surroundings might suggest, and something ritualistic to her horrific murder.

Nor will it be the only case of death by fire that Tony and his team will be faced with. This is only the beginning, and with such evil clouding the air, Tony begins to wonder what else will burn..."

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This is the 11th outing for Inspector McLean and although it's not completely necessary to have read any of the previous books in the series, it does help a little but I definitely think it works well as a stand-alone. 

Mr Oswald manages to continue to write ever interesting and intriguing stories featuring DI Tony McLean, his excellent team and eclectic mix of friends, which are all superbly written, within a story which cleverly mixes the past and the present with a smattering of the  unexplained; it all blends together seamlessly to give an engaging and totally engrossing read.  

I would highly recommend reading any of the books in the series especially if you enjoy something a bit different than the usual police procedurals.

Thank you to Headline and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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Other books by James Oswald I have read and reviewed:

Cold As The Grave (Inspector McLean #9)

Bury Them Deep (Inspector McLean #10)

No Time To Cry (DC Constance Fairchild #1)

Nothing To Hide (DC Constance Fairchild #2)