Fire in The Thatch: A Devon Mystery by E.C.R. Lorac ~ British Library #CrimeClassics #PoliceProcedural #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, British Library Crime Classics, Crime, Historical, Mystery, Police Procedural by Cathy

Author: E.C.R. Lorac

Published: February 2018 by The British Library Publishing Division

Category: Classic Crime, Police Procedural, Historical, Book Review

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The Second World War is drawing to a close. Nicholas Vaughan, released from the army after an accident, takes refuge in Devon renting a thatched cottage in the beautiful countryside at Mallory Fitzjohn. Vaughan sets to work farming the land, rearing geese and renovating the cottage. Hard work and rural peace seem to make this a happy bachelor life.

The first few chapters build characterisations, mostly through dialogue, giving a good indication of people’s personalities and viewpoints. This approach means the main point of the story is reached with fairly well fleshed out characters, which worked well.

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2Dec2019

Love Potions and Other Calamities by Charlie Laidlaw ~ A Comic Tale of #Love, #Mystery & Mayhem @claidlawauthor #BookReview

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary, Drama, Mystery, Romance by Cathy

Author: Charlie Laidlaw

Published: November 2019 by Headline Accent

Category: Mystery, Humour, Romance, Herbalism, Drama, Book Review

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Rosie McLeod, pub proprietor and a gifted herbalist of local renown, is thirty-nine and holding, but only just. The talons of her fortieth birthday are in her back and her bloody, bloody husband hasn’t laid a lustful hand on her for months.

Readers can always expect something out of the ordinary with Charlie Laidlaw’s books. Love Potions and Other Calamities is no exception. Each chapter begins with a snippet from The Book of Secrets by Albertus Magnus, 13th century scientist, theologian and philosopher, which relates to the story.

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29Nov2019

The Light in the Hallway by @MrsAmandaProwse ~ A moving story of starting over #ContemporaryFiction #FridayReads #BookReview

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance by Cathy

Author: Amanda Prowse

Published: November 2019 by Lake Union Publishing

Category: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Book Review

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When Nick’s wife Kerry falls ill and dies, he realises for the first time how fragile his happiness has always been, and how much he’s been taking his good life and wonderful family for granted. Now, he suddenly finds himself navigating parenthood alone, unsure how to deal with his own grief, let alone that of his teenage son, Olly.

The Light in the Hallway begins by giving the reader a glimpse of ten year old Nick and his two best friends, Alex and Eric, before returning to the present where Nick’s wife, Kerry, is terminally ill. He is trying to persuade their son, Oliver, to go to the hospice with him for what would be the last time.

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28Nov2019

☃️❄️Christmas at Frozen Falls ❄️☃️ by Kiley Dunbar ~ A cosy, heart-warming #romcom to curl up with @KileyDunbar

Posted in Book Review, Christmas, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Romantic Comedy by Cathy

Author: Kiley Dunbar

Published: September 2019 by Hera

Category: Festive, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Book Review

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Sylvie Magnusson is going to be lonely this Christmas. Instead of jetting off for her honeymoon, she’s freezing at home in Cheshire. Guess that’s what happens when your fiancé dumps you a week before your wedding…

I reckon Sylvie had a lucky escape when Cole dumped her a week before their wedding. I’m not sure how she stuck with him during their ten year engagement, to be honest, especially given his behaviour and with what would have been the mother-in-law from hell. But still, Sylvie didn’t relish the prospect of a miserable Christmas alone instead of honeymooning in newly wedded bliss on Mauritius.

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26Nov2019

#BookReview ~ Shadow Moon: Book VI of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers by @AlexSokoloff #Crime #Thriller #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Crime/Thriller/Suspense, Suspense, Thriller by Cathy

Author: Alexandra Sokoloff

Performed by RC Bray, Rinelle Harkin, Casey Turner, Meghan Kelly.

Released on Audible: October 2019

Category: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook, Book Review

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Mass killer Cara Lindstrom is in the wind, after a deadly encounter which leaves FBI Special Agent Antara Singh questioning her own sanity and fitness to serve. ASAC Matthew Roarke exiles Singh to Portland to work as an assistant to his old mentor, retiring profiler Chuck Snyder—but a series of mysterious break-ins alerts Singh and Snyder to an active threat revolving around an old case: a series of brutal murders of homeless teenagers on the streets of Portland and Seattle.

The story begins in the present, following on immediately from Hunger Moon, with FBI Special Agent Antara Singh bound, drugged and blindfolded…alone in the deserted and derelict hotel except for the carnage left behind…to hide the fact she was complicit in what happened.

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25Nov2019

Trouble at Clenchers Mill by @DianaJFebry ~ Somebody wants Richard Fielding dead #Contemporary #CozyMystery #RBRT

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Cosy Mystery by Cathy

Author: Diana J Febry

Kindle Edition

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Book Review

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Somebody wants Richard Fielding dead.

Richard was looking forward to making a fresh start with his new wife, Alicia when they moved into Clenchers Mill. Then the attacks started.

Simon Morris had befriended Kate Chapman when Kate was going through a bad patch following the death of her husband, and has offered her the use of the granny flat at his farmhouse for as long as she likes.

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21Nov2019

Christmas Cupcakes & A Caper (Death By Cupcakes #4) by @denaehaggerty #BookReview for #RBRT A Culinary #CozyMystery

Posted in Book Review, Cozy Mystery by Cathy

Author: D.E. Haggerty

Kindle Edition

Category: Cozy Mystery, Book Review

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It’s all candy cane cupcakes and peppermint coffee until you find a dead elf on your doorstep.

Only the elf wasn’t a real elf, because elves don’t actually exist – not even at Christmas time. A college student dressed like an elf decided taking a nap on the stoop of Callie’s Cakes in sub-zero winter temps was a good idea. It wasn’t.

Christmas Cupcakes & a Caper is another humorous adventure in the cozy mystery series starring Callie, Anna and Kristie from Callie’s Cakes.

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19Nov2019

The Nine: The Judas Files #1 A Gritty #UrbanFantasy by C.G. Harris ~ Gabe is dead…and lives in Hell @MacLeodAndrews #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Action, Adventure, Audiobook, Book Review, Urban Fantasy by Cathy

Author: C.G. Harris

Performed by MacLeod Andrews

Category: Urban Fantasy, Audiobook, Book Review

Released on Audible: September 2019

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Gabe is recruited to join the most dangerous organization the world has never heard about. As a double agent he has to fight within their ranks to stop them, all with no training, no experience and no support. If he’s caught, they will tear him apart. But that’s not the real twist.

Gabe is dead, he lives in Hell and Judas Iscariot just became his new boss.

For his sins Gabriel Gantry is condemned to life in The Nine, the lowest level of Hell which contains the worst humanity has to offer.

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17Nov2019

Magic Under The Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman #BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway @rararesources @LucyColemanAuth

Posted in Blog Tour, Book Review, Christmas, Contemporary Fiction by Cathy

It’s a pleasure to be joining the blog tour for Lucy Coleman’s Magic Under The Mistletoe, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources.

My Thoughts

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15Nov2019

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie ~ Hastings & Poirot Holiday in Cornwall #HerculePoirot #Classic Crime #FridayReads

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Classic Crime, Murder, Mystery by Cathy

Author: Agatha Christie

Performed by Hugh Fraser

Published by HarperCollins and released on Audible in August 2006

Category: Classic Crime, Murder, Mystery, Audiobook, Book Review

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Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckly. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.

Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck.