From The Ashes (DI Eve Hunter #3) by Deborah Masson

 

💥💥💥Due to be published 18-Aug-2022💥💥💥

Description from Goodreads:

"As the house burns, the hunt for a killer begins...

In the dead of night someone starts a fire in a home for underprivileged children in Aberdeen. The flames spread quickly, and one person doesn't make it out alive.

But the victim wasn't found in their bedroom; they were discovered locked inside a secret basement underground. As DI Eve Hunter and her team search the blackened ruins, the case takes them into even darker territory.

Soon Eve unearths a horrific discovery at the heart of the property - one that turns the whole investigation on its head. Everyone in this home has something to hide, but who has a secret worth killing for?"

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I have read the first two books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed them so was itching to get my sticky little fingers on this the latest instalment and I wasn't disappointed.  Please be reassured that you don't have to have read the others in the series , as this can be read as a standalone quite well although I would recommend you do so.

Once again, we are treated to an excellent and gripping story which although deals with a difficult subject, does so without being over-the-top.  An arson attack on a children's home results in the death of a young boy and DI Hunter and her team are quickly mired in the investigation.  What was he doing there and are there further dark secrets to be unearthed?

Meanwhile, whilst on his way to work, DI Hunter's colleague, DC Scott Ferguson, witnesses a car accident where a young man is seriously injured.  Scott promises the young man he will be there for him but this takes him away from the arson investigation and creates tension within the team.  What is it about the young man that has affected him so much?

I raced through this book; I was totally hooked from the start.  I really enjoyed the gradual unveiling of secrets which had me wondering what was going to happen next and definitely kept me guessing as to who the arsonist was.  The chemistry and loyalty DI Hunter and her team have with each other felt believable and natural; the characters are strong and credible and the pace was just right for me.

All in all, a really good book and a great addition to the series and I have to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for enabling me to read From The Ashes and sharing my thoughts.

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Other books by Deborah Masson I have read and reviewed:

Hold Your Tongue (DI Eve Hunter #1)

Out For Blood (DI Eve Hunter #2)

Raven (Raven Series #1) [Audiobook] by Heather Atkinson

 

Narrated by Annie Cartwright

Description from Goodreads:

"Raven, loner and assassin-for-hire, finds her reputation tarnished when a rival steals her contracts out from under her. She goes on the hunt, attempting to track him down before he destroys her good name completely. The vultures of the criminal underworld are circling, waiting until she is at her weakest before finishing her off.

On top of that, she's being pursued not only by a gang of neo-Nazi meth dealers but a psychotic torturer, who is intent on claiming her magnificent raven feather tattoos as his prize.

Most troubling of all, Aidan, her adored husband, has been missing for almost a year. She has no idea whether he is alive or dead.

Uncertain who she can trust as the net closes in, Raven ends up in a desperate bid for survival and long-buried secrets threaten to blow her world apart."

💥💥Contains strong language and scenes of violence and sex.💥💥

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As soon as I started to listen to this book, I was hooked.  I am a sucker for an assassin story and even more so when that assassin is a female and this didn't disappoint.

Raven is a strong woman who can more than hold her own against the male of the species but she is tested to the limit when someone is stealing her jobs and ruining her reputation.  Raven finds herself struggling to trust anyone and when her rival is revealed, the situation becomes increasingly personal and more complicated.

This is a long 'listen' and I had to take an enforced break for a couple of weeks when I was half way through but I was able to get back into the story seamlessly and I was soon engrossed again.

The narrator did an excellent job and despite there being a lot of characters, she was able to use her voice to distinguish between them all. 

With strong characters, a great story, loads of action and violence but with some humorous moments, this is a series that I am looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into and I must thank W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to Raven and share my thoughts.

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The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson

 

Description from Goodreads:

"Detective Anjelica Henley confronts a series of ritualistic murders in this heart-pounding thriller about race, power and the corrupt institutions that threaten us, for fans of S.A. Cosby and Tami Hoag.

When Detective Anjelica Henley is called to investigate the murder of a popular preacher in his own church, she discovers a second victim, tortured and tied to a bed in an upstairs room. He is alive, but barely, and his body shows signs of a dark religious ritual.

With a revolving list of suspects and the media spotlight firmly on her, Henley is left with more questions than answers as she attempts to untangle both crimes. But when another body appears, the case takes on a new urgency. Unless she can apprehend the killer, the next victim may just be Henley herself."

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After having read and thoroughly enjoyed the first in this series, The Jigsaw Man, I was itching to get my grubby little eyes on this and I wasn't disappointed.

This can be read as a standalone but you will get more out of this book if you've read The Jigsaw Man but I wouldn't say it was essential.

Once again we are treated to a great story, fantastic characters, twists and tension all told at a great pace.  Warning!  There are some pretty grim scenes and gruesome descriptions so if that's not your thing, I would probably give this a miss.

This is quite a long book and I can usually lose a bit of interest part way through but not with this; I was totally invested from start to finish and I would happily recommend this to others who enjoy dark police procedurals.

I am looking forward to the next instalment to find out what other twisted thoughts Ms Matheson can come up with to intrigue and shock and I must give thanks to HQ and NetGalley for enabling me to read The Binding Room and to share my thoughts.

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Others books by Nadine Matheson I have read and reviewed:

The Jigsaw Man

Fatal Witness (Detective Erika Foster #7) by Robert Bryndza

 

Description from Goodreads:

"How do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?

Detective Erika Foster is on a late-night walk near her new house in Blackheath when she stumbles upon the brutal murder of Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster.

Erika is assigned to the case and discovers that Vicky had been working on a new podcast episode about a sexual predator who preys on young female students around South London, staking out his victims in their halls of residence before breaking in at the dead of night. When Erika discovers that Vicky's notes and sound recordings were stolen from her flat at the time of her murder, it leads her to believe that Vicky was close to unmasking the attacker, and she was killed to guarantee her silence.

The case takes on a disturbing twist when the body of a young Bulgarian student doctor is discovered in the same building, and this makes Erika question everything she thought she knew about Vicky. With very little evidence, the clock is ticking to find the killer before he strikes again."

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An absolute cracker of a book!!!

I haven't read any of the Erika Foster series before so I was a little worried that I would struggle coming in this late but having read the author's Kate Marshall series, I should have known this wouldn't be an issue.  I definitely feel this can be read as a standalone even though I know I will have missed the character development and back story but it really wasn't an issue for me.

With excellent characters, a really good plot and written at a great pace, this is a riveting read and one which I thoroughly enjoyed and couldn't put down.  

Thank you Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read Fatal Witness and share my thoughts.

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Other books by Robert Bryndza I have read and reviewed:

Nine Elms (Kate Marshall #1)

Shadow Sands (Kate Marshall #2)

Darkness Falls (Kate Marshall #3)

The 13th Girl by Sarah Goodwin

 

Description from Goodreads:

"A little girl in a white nightdress stands out in the snow, watching the large brick house burn before her eyes…

My name is Lucy Townsend.

I was born on Friday the thirteenth, and I was the thirteenth girl living in the big house. Unlucky for some.

But I was the fortunate one. I escaped. The only one who made it out alive.

And now, twenty years after that fateful night, the secrets of the past and what happened in that house are pulling me back.

I might not be so lucky this time…"

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Lucy thought she had escaped her past but little did she know that it was just waiting for her all along ready to come back and bite her with venom.  

Lucy escaped a cult when she was just seven years old.  Many years later and having made a new life for herself, the skeletons start to emerge and Lucy's life is turned upside down.  Having escaped one kind of controlling environment, Lucy swaps it for another - her husband and his parents are, in my opinion, vile creatures who continue to brow beat Lucy and blame her for what happened to her as a child and what her mother and cult did ... what the heck!!!  Who blames a 7 year old???  Like I said, vile creatures.

Anyway, what follows is the story of Lucy trying to remember her time in the cult through flashbacks, memories and dreams/nightmares but what is real and how reliable is she?  And who is doing this to her?  Lucy returns to the place of her nightmares to try and remember just what happened but she is soon in an even more terrifying nightmare which is all to real and how is she going to get out of it.

This is a book that pulls on all your emotions at once and I admit that I  wanted to physically get inside it and give Lucy's husband and parents-in-law a slap and Lucy a shake; oh my word, I was so annoyed at times that I nearly didn't finish the book it irritated me that much however, I persevered and, actually, am glad I did as the reasons she was like she was, became clear and, in the end, I was rooting for her and desperate for there to be a happy ending.  I won't give it away but I will say that it was quite satisfying albeit a little unbelievable in parts.

Overall, a good read with an interesting plot and some unexpected twists but with characters I struggled with and with a pace that started well, got a bit slow in the middle and ramped up again towards the end.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read The 13th Girl and share my thoughts.

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