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Sunday, 29 May 2022

The Dark (Lacey Flint #5) by Sharon Bolton

 


Description from the Publisher:

"When a baby is snatched from its pram and cast into the river Thames, off-duty police officer Lacey Flint is there to prevent disaster. But who would want to hurt a child?

DCI Mark Joesbury has been expecting this. Monitoring a complex network of dark web sites, Joesbury and his team have spotted a new terrorist threat from the extremist, women-hating, group known as ‘incels’ or ‘involuntary celibates.’ Joesbury’s team are trying to infiltrate the ring of power at its core, but the dark web is built for anonymity, and the incel army is vast.

Pressure builds when the team learn the snatched child was just the first in a series of violent attacks designed to terrorise women. Worse, the leaders of the movement seem to have singled out Lacey as the embodiment of everything they hate, placing her in terrible danger…"

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Lacey Flint is back for another gripping story but don't worry if you haven't read any of the series before, it doesn't matter too much as Sharon Bolton does a great job of getting you up to speed with the characters without you getting bogged down in the back story.

Lacey is a complex character with secrets some of which are highlighted in the prologue.  She is strong yet vulnerable, fearless and yet fearful as the opening chapter shows when a baby is snatched and set adrift on the River Thames and a pram is thrown off a bridge.  What?  Why? Who would do such a despicable thing?

The dark web is buzzing with the story and threatening of more to come; the incels (involuntary celibates) have had enough and want to make sure that every woman, no matter their age, knows it.  The pressure to catch those behind the terrorist movement ramps up as the attacks become ever more commonplace and when it becomes clear that Lacey herself is a target, the tension becomes palpable but who are the people behind this and how can they be stopped when every man is a potential threat?

An absolutely gripping read with a scary concept that is all too frighteningly plausible that had me swiping my screen desperate to see what happened next but not wanting it to end ... and that ending ... I hope Sharon Bolton doesn't leave it as long for the next instalment is all I can say!

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read The Dark and to share my thoughts.

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Sunday, 22 May 2022

The Game by Scott Kershaw

 


Description from the Publisher:

"To save their life, you have to play.

Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.

THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.

To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.

IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.

But what is The Game – and why have they been chosen?

There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING."

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I have to say kudos to the designer of the cover ... how good and striking is that?!?  If that doesn't grab your attention, then the blurb certainly will ... well, it did me but then I am a bit of a sucker for these types of stories every now and again 😎

The story - 5 people in 3 countries suddenly find themselves in The Game but it's not your run-of-the-mill game of Monopoly; no, it's something far more sinister.  If they refuse to play, the one they love dies; if they tell anyone, their loved one dies ... they have no choice but to participate but there can only be one winner.

The pacing of the book is fast and flowing with the story being told from the perspective of all the characters and occasionally some of their loved ones.  The plot is intriguing - you don't know until near the end why the participants have been chosen or who the 'puppet-master' is which made trying to work out the 'why' difficult but all is revealed in an ending that is as surprising as it is violent.

Now, I'm not going to say that all is perfect with this book, there are a number of times where you have to suspend belief a little and it does deal with themes and uses language that some may find unpalatable, e.g. homophobia, racism, abuse, rape, suicide, and there are numerous scenes of violence, so if you find these are triggers for you, I would give it a miss.

Overall, I think this is a very creditable debut and I will be looking out for more of Mr Kershaw's work in the future and I must thank HQ and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Game and sharing my thoughts.

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Sunday, 15 May 2022

The Island by Adrian McKinty

 



💥💥💥 Publication date: 17-May-2022 💥💥💥

Description from Goodreads:

"It was just supposed to be a family vacation.

A terrible accident changed everything.

You don't know what you're capable of until they come for your family.

After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom.

When they discover remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram.

But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong. Then a shocking accident propels the Baxters from an unsettling situation into an absolute nightmare.
When Heather and the kids are separated from Tom, they are forced to escape alone, seconds ahead of their pursuers.

Now it’s up to Heather to save herself and the kids, even though they don’t trust her, the harsh bushland is filled with danger, and the locals want her dead.

Heather has been underestimated her entire life, but she knows that only she can bring her family home again and become the mother the children desperately need, even if it means doing the unthinkable to keep them all alive."

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The choices you make have consequences ... some of them deadly!

Whilst on a working holiday in Australia, the Baxters decide to do some sightseeing and find their way onto the isolated and private Dutch Island. They are hoping to see and photograph some of the native wildlife but end up being involved in a tragic accident which brings them to the attention of the O'Neil clan who call the island their home and they are not happy!!!

The Baxters quickly get into a fight for their lives and so begins the non-stop action that is The Island.  There is lots of tension, violence and scenes of peril with a few twists but, overall, it's the story of survival ... but who will make it off The Island?

This book has a vibe akin to the film The Deliverance with a bit of Rambo thrown in for good measure so if you like that sort of action, I would definitely recommend this ... you won't be disappointed.

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Island and share my thoughts.

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Other books by Adrian McKinty that I have read and reviewed:




Hell Train: A Horror Novel (The Cursed Manuscripts #3) by Iain Rob Wright

 


Description:

"On December 21, 2012, according to the Mayan Calendar, the world was supposed to end. It didn't. But on that day, 113 mysterious manuscripts were discovered around the world, each one written in blood by an unknown author. After several dozen unexplained deaths befell the finders of said manuscripts, a decision was made to lock them up for good in a secret vault beneath the Vatican. It is said that anyone who reads the stories will die, and as such they are now referred to as 'The Cursed Manuscripts.'

In December 2020, new manuscripts started turning up around the world. 'Hell Train' was one of them.

MANUSCRIPT ID: 12/20-03 (ZOMBIE).
Details below.

Manuscript 12.20-03, discovered May 2021 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by teenager, Tom Dutton, who fished it from a stream. Tom Dutton drowned in a flooded basement just one day later. The following text was found left as a voice message shortly before his death.

Clip and Xavi are youngsters in love, with their whole lives ahead of them. Clip, a psychology student, and Xavi, a med student are catching the train into the university for an afternoon lecture. But today, they aren't going to make their destination.

Shortly upon entering a short tunnel, the world stops making sense, and the future suddenly seems short. There are dangers on the train, least of all the other passengers, and for some reason the lights keep going out. Strangest of all, the train should have left the short tunnel several minutes ago. It's almost like the tunnel goes on forever. And ever. And ever."

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I think I can safely say that I am a fan of Mr Wright's work; rarely have I been disappointed with anything he has written and Hell Train is no exception.

At the beginning of the book, Mr Wright tells us that his inspiration is Stephen King's The Langoliers and whilst I can definitely see this (and understand because I love The Langoliers), Hell Train is very much an original story.

Mr Wright has a great knack of making the normal develop into something that is totally abnormal and here he does it again.  A simple train journey in the middle of the day becomes something entirely different when the train enters a tunnel.  

With characters that you love and some you love to hate, a plot that is intriguing and different, a pace that is relentless with no words wasted, with twists that will shock and scenes that might leave you feeling a tad queasy, Hell Train is a quick and enjoyable read and one that I would recommend to lovers of horror.

My thanks must go to Iain for accepting me into his "street team" and for allowing me to read Hell Train and to share my thoughts.

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Website where you can get 6, yes 6, books for free!!

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The Housemaid [Audiobook] by Freida McFadden

 


Narrated by Lauryn Allman

Description from Goodreads:

"“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…"

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Well, that was definitely a ride on the crazy train!

Millie is not in a good place when she applies for the position as a housekeeper/maid at the beautiful home of the affluent Andrew and Nina Winchester and their daughter Cecilia.  Against the odds, she gets the position and, as is usually the case, things are too good to be true and all is not what it seems.

I can't really say much without giving the game away but I will say that I found it riveting and intriguing and I didn't really know who or what to believe or how everything was going to play out.  It was great and exceeded my expectations and whilst I found it a little unbelievable, it was extremely entertaining and I was hooked nevertheless.

I listened to the audiobook and although I think it would have worked better with 2 distinct voices for Millie and Nina, I think the narrator did a fantastic job.

I haven't read or listened to any of Freida's books before but this definitely won't be my last and she will be an author I will look out for in the future and I must thank Bookouture and NetGalley for introducing me to her books, for allowing me to listen to this one and share my thoughts.

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After Dark by Jayne Cowie

 


Description from Goodreads:

"WELCOME TO A WORLD WHERE WOMEN HOLD THE POWER.

They dominate workplaces, public spaces and government.

They are no longer afraid to cross a dark car park, catch the last train, or walk home alone.

With the Curfew law in place, all men are electronically tagged and must stay at home after 7pm.

It changed things for the better. Until now.

A woman is murdered late at night and evidence suggests she knew her attacker.

It couldn't have been a man because a Curfew tag is a solid alibi... Isn't it?"

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What an interesting and different read that was!

In a country that has decided that enough is enough when it comes to violence against women, a radical solution is put in place - men are electronically tagged and are not allowed outside between the hours of 7pm and 7am.  Women are no longer afraid to go out at night and it appears to be 'working' when, one morning, the badly beaten body of a woman is found in a park.  It couldn't have been a man ... could it?

The premise of the story is an interesting one but, for me, it didn't really deliver how I thought it would; I was hoping there would be a balanced view but it felt to me like is was very anti-male and the overwhelming thought is that all men are evil.  We know that is not the case but there wasn't one male character in this book that provided another viewpoint and this was disappointing for me.  I do, however, recognise that I have never been subject to male violence and therefore may have come at this from a different frame of reference and because of this, I can certainly see why some may think the future world described in this book would be utopia but, for me, I don't like tarring everyone with the same brush.

Told from different points of view and in two timelines, this book moves along at a good pace.  The characters, both male and female, are not particularly likeable with the teenage daughter being the most irritating and, annoyingly, stereotypical and this caused me to not care about any of them particularly so the mystery around who was murdered wasn't that intriguing but I did like how we didn't find out until towards the end.

Overall though it was an interesting and thought-provoking read but not as good as I think it could have been but I must thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and share my thoughts.

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Sunday, 8 May 2022

Every Little Secret [Audiobook] by Sarah Clarke

 


Narrated by Katy Federman

Description from Goodreads:

"From the outside, it seems Grace has it all. Only she knows about the cracks in her picture-perfect life… and the huge secret behind them. After all, who can she trust?

Her brother Josh is thousands of miles away, and he and Grace have never been close – he was always their parents’ favourite.

Her best friend Coco walked away from her years ago, their friendship irreparably fractured by the choices they’ve made.

And her husband Marcus seems like a different man lately. Grace can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something.

But when her seven-year-old daughter makes a troubling accusation, Grace must choose between protecting her child and protecting her secret… before she loses everything."

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"Three things cannot long stay hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth." 
Buddha

From the outside, Grace, Marcus and their daughter Kaia appear to be a happy family who have it all but, below the surface, secrets lie which threaten to tear their lives apart.

This was a good book to listen to; it started strong, had a few chapters that dragged on a bit but then finished strong.  The story is told from 3 timelines and from multiple points of view but whilst I did get lost a few times, this was probably because I was dipping in and out of the audiobook rather than listening to it in big chunks but I soon got back on track.

The characters are strong and well developed and whilst they might not be the most likeable people in the world, I didn't think it mattered too much to me in this particular instance.

The story and plot were interesting and it was a real puzzle trying to work out who was telling the truth and how it was all going to end which I really enjoyed.  There are a number of twists and the ending was great.

Overall, a good domestic, family thriller which the narrator did a good job of distinguishing between the characters and keeping you engaged.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book and share my thoughts.

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No Quarter Given by Neil Broadfoot

 


Description from Goodreads:

"She was lying in the road when he found her, crumpled and broken, the car that hit her screaming away from the scene in haze of tyre smoke and exhaust fumes...

Jennifer MacKenzie being hit by a car was a tragic accident. Or so it seemed. Until Connor is summoned to a meeting his girlfriend's dad, Duncan McKenzie. MacKenzie claims that Jen's accident was actually a message intended for him - and a way to force him to kill his trusted lieutenant Paulie King, who has now mysteriously disappeared.

His request to Connor is simple. Find Paulie and the men who hurt his daughter. Do whatever it takes.

As an all-out gang war threatens to explode across Central Scotland, Connor begins a journey that forces him to confront some uncomfortable truths about his girlfriend and the family he is connected to through her. But Connor is also driven by a vow - to find Paulie. And when he does, no quarter will be given."

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"This is not murder.  This is justice."

This is the latest in this series starring Connor Fraser and what a series it is!

No Quarter Given is a dark and gritty read that is not for the feint-hearted.  It has some scenes that some may find distressing as they relate to child abuse so be warned, if this is a trigger for you, I would think before picking this up.

Having given that warning, this is intense, well written and fast paced with excellent characters but amongst the violence and tension, there is dark humour and moments of vulnerability for the main character.

This is an excellent addition to the series and thank you to Little, Brown Book Group via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity of reading and sharing my thoughts.

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Other books by Neil Broadfoot I have read and reviewed:




Sunday, 1 May 2022

No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride

 


Description from Goodreads:

"'We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.'

It's been seventeen months since the Bloodsmith butchered his first victim and Operation Maypole is still no nearer to catching him. The media is whipping up a storm, the top brass are demanding results, but the investigation is sinking fast.

Now isn't the time to get distracted with other cases, but Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh doesn't have much choice. When Benedict Strachan was just eleven, he hunted down and killed a homeless man. No one's ever figured out why Benedict did it, but now, after sixteen years, he's back on the streets again - battered, frightened, convinced a shadowy 'They' are out to get him, and begging Lucy for help.

It sounds like paranoia, but what if he's right? What if he really is caught up in something bigger and darker than Lucy's ever dealt with before? What if the Bloodsmith isn't the only monster out there? And what's going to happen when Lucy goes after them?"

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I have read and enjoyed a few books by Mr MacBride but this one has me in a quandary as whilst it had me on the edge of my seat at times, there were also times when it didn't.

For the majority of the book it appears to be your 'usual' hunt for a killer story with excellent characters, intriguing plot and twists but then it develops into something else which, I can only say, had me reading with my mouth hanging open and wondering if I had stumbled into an alternative universe.  I can't go into detail here as it will give the game away but what I will say is be prepared!!

This is a dark and gritty read that you definitely need to keep your wits about you and your mind open and I must thank Random House UK / Transworld Publishers via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in order to share my thoughts.

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Other books by Stuart MacBride I have read and reviewed: