The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy

 

🌟🌟 Planned publication date - 18-November-2021 🌟🌟

Description from Goodreads:

"Margery and Clementine are enjoying a peaceful middle-age together in the small, idyllic town of Dewstow, and eagerly awaiting retirement from their work on the front line serving meals to the students at Summerview secondary school.

Their calm life is shattered when their kitchen manager is found dead in the school’s walk-in freezer. The police are adamant that it’s an open-and-shut case of accidental death. Margery and Clementine are convinced there’s something far more nefarious going on, and they take it upon themselves to investigate.

As they inch closer to the truth, it becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to keep the pair quiet. Will the perpetrator get their just-desserts before their time runs out?"

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This is, in my humble opinion, a very successful debut and definitely a series that I am looking forward to keeping up with.  It is described as "a delightful, quintessentially British cosy mystery" and that's exactly what you get.

Margery and Clementine are dinner ladies, or to give them their official title 'Education Centre Nourishment Consultants' (really? is that what they're called now?!?!?!), and they are an absolute blast.  Their relationship absolutely shines through from start to finish, it's beautiful and very authentic feeling.  

Margery and Clementine smell a rat when one of their colleagues is found dead in the walk-in freezer of the school kitchen and so begins their unorthodox investigation into her death which results in all manner of escapades.  There are some very funny moments (the suspended school ceiling being a particular highlight for me 🤣🤣) amongst a great and engaging plot with excellent characters throughout.

I raced through this book desperate to find out what happened and how it was all going to come together and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest and I am pleased to read on the publisher website that they have acquired the rights to a three-book deal.  I think someone needs to snap this up and make a television series - I can so see Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as Margery and Clem, in fact, that's who I was seeing in my head as I was reading it!  

Highly recommended for those of you who want a break from all the doom, gloom and violence in many crime fiction books and who don't mind a bit of dark humour.

Thank you so much Canelo and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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Nowhere To Run (DC Constance Fairchild #3) by James Oswald

 

🌟🌟 Planned publication date:  11-November-2021 🌟🌟

Description from the publisher:

"On compassionate leave following the death of her mother, Detective Constable Constance Fairchild thought renting a cottage near Aberystwyth, Wales would get her far enough from London to finally relax. But trouble always seems to find Con, and it’s not long before she is cooling off in a police station cell after defending herself from two would-be rapists.

In custody she meets a young Ukrainian woman, Lila, who confides in Con that she’s been forced by her manipulative boyfriend into prostitution and running drugs. Fearing for her life, she has run away from him, only to end up in the cells.

Con offers to help, but when her cottage is ransacked, and Lila subsequently disappears, she realises she’s stumbled into very dangerous company.  International drug smugglers and ruthless people traffickers – those who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets. Out here at the end of the line, will Con find that there’s nowhere left to run?"

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This is the third instalment in the Constance Fairchild series and yet another that doesn't disappoint.  You don't have to have read any of the other 2 books but I would suggest you do because it gives insight into Constance's story and you won't regret it.  Nowhere to Run provides some of the back story and history but it can only touch upon it otherwise it would be a tome!

I think I can safely say that I'm a fan of James Oswald's work and I particularly like his character DC Constance Fairchild, otherwise known as Con.  She is one tough cookie and this is shown in all its glory here.

It starts off pretty sedately with Con recuperating in an isolated cottage in Wales but, as is the case with Con, trouble seems to find her regardless of whether she is in the centre of London or in the middle of nowhere!  Here she is getting embroiled in a smuggling operation on the Welsh coastline - you just know from the very beginning that things aren't going to go well for Con but little do we know just how bad.

Once again, Mr Oswald creates fantastic characters even ones of the four legged variety; I absolutely loved Gelert the deerhound who embodies the phrase "[wo]man's best friend" and I guarantee you will want a Gelert in your life albeit without the flatulence!

With action from the start, numerous scenes of peril and suspense all wrapped up perfectly in a plot which mixes contemporary themes with Welsh folklore and a touch of the unexplained, this is a book that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you 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:

No Time To Cry (DC Constance Fairchild #1)

Nothing to Hide (DC Constance Fairchild #2)

Cold as the Grave (Inspector McLean #9)

Bury Them Deep (Inspector McLean #10)

What Will Burn (Inspector McLean #11)

The Silent Suspect (Paige Northwood #3) by Nell Pattison

 

Description from Goodreads:

"A FIRE. A MURDER. A SILENT SUSPECT…

On a quiet street, one house is burning to the ground…

By the time sign language interpreter Paige Northwood arrives, flames have engulfed her client’s home. Though Lukas is safe, his wife is still inside. But she was dead before the fire started…

Lukas signs to Paige that he knows who killed his wife. But then he goes silent – even when the police charge him with murder.

Is he guilty, or afraid? Only Paige can help him now…"

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I have read the two previous books in this series and whilst they were good, I wasn't able to be overly enthusiastic.  Unfortunately, this is the same.

The story starts well but quickly becomes tedious and I found myself skimming large sections which is never a good sign.  The characters are not particularly likeable and I found Paige became increasingly annoying and don't even get me started on the so-called Social Worker who I found to be unprofessional and not like any Social Worker I have ever met.

I couldn't connect with the characters or the story at all, I didn't feel any tension or thrills and the final reveal was disappointing and, for me, predictable.  The only saving grace is the insight into the deaf community and the difficulties and barriers they face every day.

This book wasn't for me and I'm really sorry to say that I won't be reading more in this series but plenty of others have enjoyed it so give it a go if it sounds like your type of book.

I would like to thank Avon Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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Other books by this author I have read and reviewed:

The Silent House (Paige Northwood #1)

Silent Night (Paige Northwood #2)

Kill Again (Claire Waters #2) by Neal Baer; Jonathan Greene

 

Description from Goodreads:

"Haunted by a brutal childhood, Dr. Claire Waters finds solace in helping other survivors of abuse. Her favorite patient, Rosa Sanchez, is finally getting her life together after being victimized for years. So it's a shock when Rosa is handcuffed and led away by a man Claire assumes is law enforcement. But as she soon realizes, Rosa has been abducted.

Stunned, Claire turns to her friend Nick Lawler, a homicide detective in the NYPD. Relegated to desk work because of his failing eyesight, Nick will have to risk his career to find Rosa—and track down a deranged criminal who reduces his victims to nothing but bones. A brilliant gamesman obsessed with order and perfection, scrawling words and phrases across the walls of his basement apartment, the killer has been preparing for this moment all of his life—when every letter is in place, every piece is in play—and the object of his obsession, Dr. Claire Waters, is in the game. Win, lose, or die..."

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I have had this book on my to-be-read pile for years and I don't know why I waited so long to read it because I was gripped from the start.  I haven't read the first in the series but this didn't cause a problem at all and certainly didn't detract from my reading experience.

I love the two main characters, Claire and Nick.  They are interesting, flawed and totally believable.  The pace is great and it's one of those books where you say "just one more chapter!" and before you know it, it's way past your bed time.  The plot was gripping and I didn't guess who the killer was until the end when everything came together and finished satisfactorily for me.

It's a shame there haven't been any more books in this series - well none that I can find - because I would definitely read them however, I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good serial killer thriller and my thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review. 

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The Captive by Deborah O'Connor

 

Description from Goodreads:

"Hannah knows the cage intimately. Small, the size of a shopping mall parking space. A bed, a basin, a table and chair. A hatch and metal drawer through which to exchange food and other items.

Then there's him. Always there on the edges of her vision, no matter how hard she tries to block him out.

Every day, the same thoughts run through Hannah's mind:

What if he speaks to me?

What if he hurts me?

What if he gets out?"

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With its unique and interesting plot, this is a book that I really enjoyed.

I haven't read anything by this author before but the blurb reeled me in.  I can't even imagine the horror of having to look after a person who has been convicted of a crime against you.  You have to look after that person in your own home - would I be able to do that?  This book certainly makes you think about it but this is the reality for the main character in this book, Hannah.

Her husband was murdered and Jem has been found guilty; he is now housed in a cell in her kitchen and Hannah is having to face this man every day whilst trying to come to terms with her loss and grief.  Hannah is desperate to keep the memories of her husband alive but as she discovers more, he doesn't appear to be the man she knew and loved and when Jem professes his innocence - well he would wouldn't he - more doubts creep in and Hannah finds herself in a very difficult position.

Written from the perspectives of Hannah and Jem, this is a story that just keeps giving.  There are some great twists and you never really know what's going to happen until the end.

This is an author I will definitely look out for in the future and my thanks go to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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The Killer in the Snow (DI James Walker #2) by Alex Pine

Description from Goodreads:

"The first fall of snow can be fatal…

A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season.

But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter.

Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier…

 

James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold…"

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Although the second in the series, you don't have to have read the first to enjoy this - I haven't and although some back-story has been missed, I didn't think it detracted from the overall story at all.

A triple murder has occurred in an isolated farm on the outskirts of the fictional village of Kirkby Abbey in Cumbria.  Initially, it looks like a clear case of murder-suicide however, on further inspection, things just don't add up.  In addition, there are similarities to a murder-suicide at the same house some 20 years earlier.

Are the two connected?

This is a well written murder mystery with a great plot and excellent characters.  Alex Pine really captures the location and puts you in the heart of the Cumbrian countryside - I should know, it's in my neck of the woods!  I love reading books that are set in and around my home/work area; it really adds a sense of realism and authenticity as I can actually vividly put myself in the scenery, on the roads and in the houses.

The pace is steady and whilst I anticipated the twist, it didn't take away from the journey to get there.

Once again, another series to look out for in the future and thank you must go to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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One Good Lie by Jane Isaac

 

Description from Goodreads:

"One little lie will be her downfall.

Ruby has always been the strong, older sister. Sophie has been the delicate one.

Ruby can’t help but worry for Sophie, who is wracked with guilt for introducing their mother to the man who would eventually murder her. And then the unthinkable happens. On the night of their mother’s wake, another woman is killed, a woman whose name they haven't heard in a long time.

Ruby doesn’t want to suspect Sophie’s boyfriend, Ewan, of foul play. But she knows that Ewan was in the area the woman was killed around the time of her death – a fact that he desperately wants to hide. Ruby can’t help but wonder what else Ewan is hiding. But the more she digs, the more she wonders just how much danger her sister might be in…"

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Full of tension and mystery, this is another great book from Jane Isaac.

Ruby and Sophie have had what can only be described as an horrific year but things are not about to get much better any time soon when on the evening of their mother's wake, a woman is murdered but not just any woman, one that is connected to the man convicted and imprisoned for their mother's murder. 

Then we have creepy boyfriend, Ewan, who just happened to be out jogging on the night of the murder, isn't forthcoming about his past and appears to be alienating Sophie from her friends and family.  The more Ruby discovers about him, the more she fears for her sister.  Sophie, however, is not convinced and gradually, the sisters' relationship starts to deteriorate.

Are the two connected or is it just a coincidence?

Jane Isaac appears to be able to create tension with ease and this has it in abundance.  She is also able to create interesting and believable characters with each one having a purpose and adding something to the story.  The pacing of the book is good; a little slow in parts but the last third makes up for it with the ending being quite satisfying.   

Overall, I think this is a great start to Jane Isaac's foray into psychological thrillers rather than her usual crime thrillers and I, for one, look forward to going on the journey with her as, I hope, she writes more in this genre.

Many thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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Books by Jane Isaac I have read and reviewed previously:

Before It's Too Late
Beneath The Ashes
A Deathly Silence

The Midnight Man by Caroline Mitchell

 

Description from Goodreads:

"If you open your door to the Midnight Man, hide with a candle wherever you can. Try not to scream as he draws near, because one of you won't be leaving here...

On Halloween night in Slayton, five girls go to Blackhall Manor to play the Midnight Game. They write their names on a piece of paper and prick their fingers to soak it in blood. At exactly midnight they knock on the door twenty-two times - they have invited the Midnight Man in.

It was supposed to be a game, but only four girls come home.

Detective Sarah Noble has just returned to the force, and no one knows more about Blackhall Manor than her. It's a case that will take Sarah back to everything she's been running from, and shake her to the core.

Will she be ready to meet the Midnight Man?"

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Deliciously creepy and full of tension.

I haven't read anything by Caroline Mitchell before but I was initially drawn by the cover and then intrigued by the blurb which sounded like something I would enjoy and, overall, I wasn't disappointed.

There are some great characters and a fabulous plot which combines urban legend, creepy house, serial killer, murder mystery, police procedural and the paranormal.  The pace is pretty good and the twists and turns provided suspense from the start.

This is a good spooky read and certainly made a nice change to the usual crime thrillers and I have to give a thank you to Embla Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

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The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

 

Description from Goodreads:

"A SECRET BEACH.

A HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME.

WISH YOU WERE HERE?

THINK AGAIN…

It should be like any other holiday.

Beautiful beaches.

Golden sunsets.

Nothing for miles.

You’ll never want to leave.

Until you can’t…"

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An intriguing and enjoyable mystery about one sister's quest for survival and the other's hunt for answers.

Lori and Erin are close having lost their parents at an early age.  Things are not going too well for either of them but Lori in particular, so she books a holiday of a lifetime for them both to a Fijian island.  Unfortunately, things don't go to plan and Lori finds herself on the plane without her sister.  Disaster then ensues when the plan goes missing.  Two years later, the pilot turns up - he has been working under an alias in Fiji.

What the heck happened?  Why wasn't Erin on the plane? Where are the rest of the passengers?  Did anyone else survive and why did the pilot go into hiding?  So many questions!

Written in two distinct voices and time lines - Lori in the then and Erin in the now - the story follows Erin's search for the truth about what happened to her sister and the rest of the passengers and Lori's experience from the moment she realised something was going terribly wrong with the plane.

Lucy Clarke's writing is captivating and puts you right at the heart of the story; the two main characters are really well developed and you absolutely get a sense of the strong bond between the two sisters.  The pacing is pretty good - the beginning is riveting, it dips a bit in the middle but then ramps up again towards the end.  The plot is expertly weaved throughout with twists jumping from nowhere, just when you think you've worked it out, and with an ending that is quite satisfactory.

Overall, I enjoyed this book from an author I've never read anything from before and I would recommend to those who enjoy a bit of escapism albeit one with a few twists and hair-raising moments.

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

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