A Death in Glasgow by Eva Macrae

🔥🔥🔥 Due to be published 08 January 2026 🔥🔥🔥

Description from the Goodreads:

"When Holly Campbell’s body is found on the train tracks at Glasgow Central, police quickly rule it a suicide.

She’d had a troubled past. She’d tried before.

But Sergeant May Mackay can’t let one detail go. If Holly never wanted to come home, why did she buy a return ticket?

Driven by her own haunting loss and a promise to Holly’s grieving mother, May is determined to solve the mystery.

But the deeper she digs, the more sinister the truth becomes.

Someone is hiding a terrible secret. And they’ll do whatever it takes to keep it buried.

Even if it means silencing May for good…"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I had never read anything by Eva Macrae before so I did not know what to expect with this one. It turned out to be a really atmospheric read and I liked the gritty Glasgow setting.

The story starts with a body on the tracks at Glasgow Central. The authorities are quick to call it suicide but Sergeant May Mackay is not so sure after she finds a return ticket in the victim's pocket. It is a simple detail that could easily have been missed but May is not your 'usual' copper.

May ends up working with an officer from the British Transport Police to get to the truth.   May and Dimple Sharma become even more determined to find out what actually happened to Holly Campbell since their respective bosses want to close the case.

I will admit it was a little slow at times partly, I think, because it's the first in a series and there is always a bit of background and story to provide context to the main characters and May is a strong lead whose personal grief definitely colours her perspective and makes her feel very human.

It is a solid police procedural and I would be happy to read more from her and am patiently waiting for the next instalment.

Many thanks to the author, RandomHouseUK, Cornerstone, Century and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts on this, a gritty start to a promising new Glasgow series.

📚📚📚📚📚📚

Murder for Busy People (Max Wolfe #7) by Tony Parsons

 

Description from Goodreads:

"Emma Moon is out.

She's served nine years hard time for an armed robbery that killed two men and enriched many more.

But Emma’s never talked; she's never revealed who was with her on the day of the robbery or who killed both men. And she's never given up the money.

And now she's free. But everything has her family; her share of the money and her faithless loser of a husband.

So now Emma Moon is in a hurry. Because it's payback time and, after nine years inside, she has friends and she has disciples - people who will do anything for her.

As the bodies of the innocent and the guilty pile up, one detective stands between a career criminal and her quest for revenge.

Max Wolfe, single parent of a teenage daughter, a fiercely independent detective who owes nothing to anyone and who has own very particular form of justice ..."

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I have read and enjoyed quite a number of books written by Tony Parsons both from this series and his standalone ones but I am really unhappy to say that this fell a bit flat for me unfortunately.

I love the character of Max Wolfe, his relationship with his daughter, dog and colleagues and I love the style of Tony's writing but this just didn't seem to have the thrill or tension that I was expecting nor did it have me gripped like his books usually do.

Whilst the main story was intriguing and had me guessing, there were times when I felt it was quite repetitive and, I'm sad to say, boring.  I did however finish it and it certainly won't put me off reading Tony Parson's work in the future or more in the Max Wolfe series as I am rarely disappointed.

I may be in the minority here if other reviews are to go by so don't take my word for it and give it a go and I must thank the author, Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, the latest outing for Max Wolfe.

📚📚📚📚📚📚

Close to Death (Hawthorne & Horowitz #5) by Anthony Horowitz

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong, and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.

It is the perfect idyll, until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, gaggle of shrieking children, and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and quickly offend every last one of the neighbors.

When Charles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator they can call to solve the case.

Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I must admit this didn't grab me quite as much as the others I have read in this series, not quite sure why but maybe because Mr Horowitz took more of a back seat in this one?  I don't know but I still enjoyed it.

Horowitz needs to write another book but, unfortunately, no bodies have turned up so he writes about a previous case Hawthorne was involved in and what a case it is.

It appears to be an open and shut case relating to a murder of a man in a small community by his neighbour however, nothing is quite so simple especially when the alleged murderer is found dead in his locked garage, in his locked car from apparent suicide.  It all seems a bit too simple and it certainly is.

Full of excellent and interesting characters, told at a good pace and with some great twists, this is an intriguing story and one I would recommend reading by people who enjoy this genre and I highly recommend reading the others in the series.

Many thanks to the author, RandomHouse UK, Cornerstone, Century and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this great addition to a brilliant series.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connect with the author:

Website

X

👀👀👀👀👀👀

Other books by Anthony Horowitz I have read and reviewed:

A Line to Kill (Hawthorne & Horowitz #3)

The Twist of a Knife (Hawthorne & Horowitz #4)

 

A Line To Kill (Hawthorne & Horowitz Mystery #3) by Anthony Horowitz

 

Description from Publisher:

"'I couldn't see the sea from my bedroom but I could hear the waves breaking in the distance. They reminded me that I was on a tiny island. And I was trapped.'

There has never been a murder on Alderney.

It's a tiny island, just three miles long and a mile and a half wide. The perfect location for a brand-new literary festival. Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne has been invited to talk about his new book. The writer, Anthony Horowitz, travels with him.

Very soon they discover that all is not as it should be. Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour.

The visiting authors - including a blind medium, a French performance poet and a celebrity chef - seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets.

When the festival's wealthy sponsor is found brutally killed, Alderney goes into lockdown and Hawthorne knows that he doesn't have to look too far for suspects.

There's no escape. The killer is still on the island. And there's about to be a second death..."

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I haven't read anything by Mr Horowitz before and was a little apprehensive about reading this, with it being the third in the series, but I needn't have worried - this is a unique and enjoyable mystery.

I have never read a book where the author puts himself as one of the main characters in a book but here he is joining up with an ex-Detective Inspector Hawthorne and, I must say, it really worked for me.  Mr Horowitz doesn't take himself too seriously and he comes across as a Dr Watson-type character to Hawthorne's Sherlock Holmes - which, let's face it, isn't a bad thing at all.  How much the fictional Horowitz is like the real Horowitz, I don't know but I like him!

Anyway, Horowitz and Hawthorne have been invited to take part in a literary festival on the island of Alderney.  A murder ensues and Hawthorne is asked to assist the local constabulary to investigate with Horowitz in tow.  The relationship between the two is a complex one ... do they really like each other or do they just tolerate each other for the purposes of writing books?  I am still working that one out but I am liking it.

This is a proper old-style mystery with a cast of excellent characters many of whom have their own secrets which creates multiple suspects and I for one must have said "I knew it was them all along" numerous times and was wrong!  There is a lot of humour and tongue-in-cheek moments which make this a fun and enjoyable read with a very satisfying ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was quite nice to read a murder/mystery without a plethora of violence for once and I am very much looking forward to more "adventures" from Hawthorne and Horowitz.

A thank you must go to Penguin Random House UK / Cornerstone via NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connect with the author:

Website

Twitter

Die Alone (The Bone Field #3) by Simon Kernick

*** Published on 28th November 2019 ***

Pre-order it now

Blurb from Goodreads:


"Alastair Sheridan has it all. Wealth, good looks, a beautiful wife and children and, in the chaotic world of British politics, a real chance of becoming Prime Minister.

But Alastair also has a secret. He’s a serial killer with a taste for young women.

Only a handful of people know what kind of monster he is, and disgraced detective Ray Mason is one of them.

Awaiting trial for murder, Ray is unexpectedly broken free by armed men and given an offer: assassinate Alastair Sheridan and begin a new life abroad with a new identity. The men claim to be from MI6. They say that Sheridan is a threat to national security and needs to be neutralised. Ray knows they are not who they say they are, and that their real motives are far darker.

The only person Ray trusts is ex-cop and former lover Tina Boyd, who’s keen to settle her own scores with Sheridan.

With enemies on every side, only one thing is certain.

No one wants them to get out alive."

~~~~~~~~~~

Wow ... just wow!

What a thrill-a-page that was!

This is the third and final instalment of "The Bone Field" series and what a series it's been.  You could read this part as a standalone but I think you would appreciate and have a clearer and better understanding of Ray's motivations if you read the previous books although not essential as Mr Kernick provides adequate snippets so you can easily keep up.

This book is just brilliant; full of action, scenes of peril, violence, tense and tender moments, fast-paced, gripping, well written and easy to read.

DI Ray Mason is a complex and very interesting character and although he may not always follow the rule of law, you find yourself rooting for him and willing him on through his many scrapes, tussles and near misses with the "goodies" and the "baddies".

Tina Boyd is one of my all-time favourite female characters and I loved that she returned for this final outing - more books with Tina as the central character please Mr Kernick 😀

Alastair Sheridan is a fantastic baddie.  Politician, murderer, arrogant, full of his own self-importance and a thoroughly repulsive and obnoxious creature ... yes, I say creature because he's not good enough to be called a man, a human being or even an animal!  The seething hatred I have for this "thing" oozed from my every pore as I read this book and I couldn't read it fast enough to find out what fate had in store for him.

I feel quite sad that this is the final part and although I realise that to eek it out would dilute the impact and stretch the bounds of reality somewhat but I really, really would like to read more books featuring Ray - maybe a series of stories of his life "on the run" in various countries around the world - I would be the first in line ... hint, hint Mr Kernick 😀

I can't thank Cornerstone, Penguin Random House UK via NetGalley enough for my advance copy in return for an honest review; I am very grateful that I was chosen and thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Connect with the author:

Twitter

Facebook

~~~~~~~~~~

The other books in the series reviewed by me:

The Bone Field #1

The Hanged Man (The Bone Field #2)