It's Always the Husband by C.L. Taylor

Description from Goodreads:

"The school gates have never been so dangerous…

When newly divorced Jude arrives in the small town of Lowbridge, she is soon drawn to the enigmatic Will, father to her young daughter's best friend.

But Will's devastating past holds questions that nobody knows the answer to – and after two tragedies tore his life apart in just a few short years, gossip and rumours abound about what really happened to the women he loved.

Because whilst one dead wife is tragic, two starts to look like murder…"

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I have read a number of C.L. Taylor's books and have enjoyed 99.9% of them and this is one to add to that number.

I quickly became invested in the lives of the school-run parents and the mystery of various events surrounding them including blackmail, infidelity and possible murder.  It's a complex but riveting story told at a steady pace using short chapters told from multiple points of view and whilst this could be confusing, I didn't find it to be so and was able to follow things with ease.

With great characters and an intriguing plot, I enjoyed this one and many thanks to the author, Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts.

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Chasing Shadows (Detective Erica Foster #9) by Robert Bryndza

Description from Goodreads:

" In a deadly game of cat and mouse, Detective Erika Foster confronts her greatest nemesis—where the lines of justice blur and secrets unravel.

A collapsed ceiling. A dead body. What starts as a routine 999 call takes an unexpected twist when Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster arrives on the scene and discovers the body of a woman in an empty flat, with all DNA evidence scrubbed away. When forensics find cocaine residue coating every surface of the ceiling, Erika calls in the drug dogs, who lead her to a mysterious parcel locker on the outside wall of the property. Chasing down the locker’s owner leads Erika back where she never expected to be – staring into the eyes of Jerome Goodman, the drug dealer who murdered her husband, Mark, ten years ago.

She arrests him on the spot, but there’s just one problem. His passport and his solicitor say his name is Kieron Bagshaw, and his record is squeaky clean.

With top brass demanding she take leave to deal with her PTSD and even her closest colleagues questioning her sanity, Erika decides to use the time off to do some digging of her own. Trawling for clues through old newspapers, encrypted messages, and secret underground passageways, Erika makes a series of shocking discoveries that move Mark’s murder from cold case to active investigation, all while flying under the Met’s radar.

The revelations will push Erika to the brink, forcing her to confront the trauma of her past and the truth about what happened the day Mark died – and who among her friends was involved from the shadows."

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Yet again, Robert Bryndza has created a peach of a book to go with what is a fantastic series.

This might be the ninth in this series but don't let that put you off; it reads well as a standalone and whilst you have missed some of the character development, Mr Bryndza's writing is so good that it's not really an issue.

Ten years ago, Erica was injured, her husband and colleagues murdered during a police raid with the culprit never being caught.  Erica is now investigating a suspicious death when she comes face to face with the man she believes is responsible for their murders but his name is different however, she's convinced it's him even when told that he's dead.  Erica is put on stress leave but that doesn't stop her investigating with the help of her trusted colleagues and partner but at what cost?

The characters are really strong, the plot riveting and the pace perfect from the very start.  This is a gripping and tense read for fans of police procedurals and crime thrillers and one that I can highly recommend along with the rest of Robert Bryndza's work.

Many thanks to the author, Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, the latest in the excellent Erica Foster series.

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The Countdown Killer (Major Crimes #4) by Sam Holland

Description from Goodreads:

"A MAN MURDERED, LIVE ON CAMERA

When a DVD is delivered in the dead of night, DCI Cara Elliott hits play on a horrifying showreel of violence… This is death, on demand.

A KILLER COUNTING DOWN

Avid viewers are paying for the killings, with twisted specifications. A request, an abduction, a murder. And always in a forty-eight-hour pattern.

A MISSING DETECTIVE

But when the killer finds out they’re being investigated, they reveal their next target. In forty-eight hours, a police officer will be the one in front of the camera. The hunters have become the hunted, and the clock is ticking…"

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A sure-fire 5 star read for me and another excellent addition to this brilliant series.

This is the fourth in the Major Crimes Series and the fourth I have read and I have found that they have just got better and better.  I really do feel you need to have read some of the others in the story -at least the first in the series, The Echo Man, to keep up with it however, it's not essential and, I think I would have enjoyed this even if it was my first and it would have made me go back and read the others.

It has everything you would want from a dark and gritty serial killer story; it's full of excellent characters, it's non-stop pace with plenty of action, tension, suspense, thrills, twists and a sick serial killer.  This is definitely not for those who don't like reading graphic scenes of death - there were definitely bits that made me shiver and wince and it takes a lot to do that so be warned!!

Highly, highly recommended and I must thank the author, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this riveting book.

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The Ruins in Which We Bleed by Steve N Lee

Available on 12-June-2025

Description from the author:

"A story of courage and a fight for survival like none you have ever read. Guaranteed!

Inspired by a previously untold true story.

Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, 13-year-old Helena is imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto, a squalid hellhole rife with disease and starvation. Yet, although the Nazis have destroyed her home, her life, and her future, they haven't destroyed the only thing that truly matters — her family. Helena might be just a child, but she's a fighter, and she'll do whatever it takes to help her loved ones.

Making sacrifices no child should ever have to make, seeing horrors no child should ever have to see, Helena bravely battles on as her world crumbles amid random killings, slave labor, and deportations. And through it all, her compassion helps to protect her family. But then the Nazis unleash new horrors.

With the ghetto a raging sea of flames, explosions, and gunfire, Helena runs for her life only to hurtle straight into an unimaginable hell from which there seems no escape. And the Nazis are closing in. Can her love for her family give her the strength to survive?

Inspired by a heartbreaking true story of unbelievable courage, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit, The Ruins in Which We Bleed reveals that, even in the darkest of times, one person can make a difference through the greatest power of all — love.

If you didn't know this was inspired by a true story, you would never believe it possible. Read The Ruins in Which We Bleed now."

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Just WOW ... what a story that is inspired by real events and people but with elements that have been fictionalised which, in this case, is because the information doesn't exist anymore.

I have read a couple of Steve's books before, To Dream of Shadows and A Song of Silence, and was blown away by them both and this was no different.

It invoked so many emotions for me that not many books have done from fear, dread, horror but also love, loyalty bravery and hope. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure.  Helena is a remarkable teenager and one I'm sure her family would have been proud of.  Her tenacity, bravery and spirit were beyond her years.

Brilliant story, excellently written, this is one story that should be made into a film as, in my humble opinion, Helena's story rivals that of Anne Frank's and if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would.

Many thanks must go to the author, Steve N Lee, for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this remarkable book.

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The Devil's Smile (The Yorkshire Killings #2) by Daniel Sellers

Due to be published 21-August-2025
 

Description from Goodreads:

"October, 1995. Adrian Brown's second year at Leeds University is a blur of throbbing bass line and neon-lit nights out. However, a violent encounter with a man he met in a basement club has the power to sober him up.

Sheila Hargreaves, who has grown fond of Adrian following their brush with the infamous Lollipop Man, has written a book about the murders and is busy with a new TV show, Yorkshire Crimetime. And then her erratic co-presenter Tony Tranter goes missing, and his body turns up riddled with stab wounds. Could his death be linked to several violent attacks on men?

Moving from dark city corners to the glare of the TV studio lights, Sheila and Adrian find themselves on the trail of another killer."

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I dived right into this as soon as I finished reading the first in this series, The Lollipop Man.  I was curious as to where Adrian and Sheila were in their lives and how they had developed and I wasn't disappointed.  This is the second in the series and I do think you need to have read the first to understand the back story of Adrian in particular but you might just get away with it as the author does provide some history.

The book takes place in Yorkshire in the 1990's and has a real eclectic set of characters which works really well.  There a two story lines, each of which were equally as intriguing as each other and kept me guessing as to whether they were related or not.  It is well paced and kept me reading to the end.

A good psychological thriller that I would recommend and thanks to the author, Allison and Busby and NetGalley for enabling me to read this, the second in a developing series.

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The Lollipop Man (The Yorkshire Killings #1) by Daniel Sellers

Description from Goodreads:

"When a young girl is snatched from a West Yorkshire town there are eerie similarities with a cold case from many years earlier. It can't be the same killer, can it?

Yorkshire, 1994. Eighteen-year-old Adrian spends his days working at the local newspaper, and his evenings in his local pub. But under this ordinary surface lies a haunting story. Aged ten, Adrian was kidnapped by a shadowy figure known as The Lollipop Man, who had abducted three children before. Adrian was the only one to escape.

The Lollipop Man might well have returned when another missing child whips up a media frenzy. Journalist Sheila Hargreaves, troubled with memories of her own involvement in the reporting of the previous abductions, is determined to dig deeper, atone for what she did nearly a decade ago and bring the Lollipop Man to justice."

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I haven't read anything by Daniel Sellers before but, once again, I have discovered another great British author.  This is the first in a new series and one I am very much looking forward to getting my teeth into if subsequent books are as enjoyable as this one.

After a bit of a slow start, this book gradually drew me in and by the end, had me hooked.  There are a lot of characters to get your head round so you need to keep your wits about you but I loved Adrian and Gav's friendship; it was a breath of fresh air to read about a male friendship rather than the usual female one.  The story is intriguing with plenty of twists, some of which I saw coming but others caught me unaware, together with tension and atmosphere.

Overall, a pretty successful start to a new series and I must thank the author, Allison & Busby and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, the first in a new series.

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