The Survivors by @janeharperautho #ContemporaryFiction set in Tasmania #MurderMystery #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Murder, Mystery by Cathy

Author: Jane Harper

Narrated by Stephen Shanahan

Published: September 2020 by Hachette Audio UK

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Murder, Mystery, Audiobook Review

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Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home. Kieran’s parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea, that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

The Survivors is a story of family, secrets, lies and friendships and takes place in the small, fictional coastal town of Evelyn Bay in Tasmania. Kieran, along with girlfriend Mia and baby daughter Audrey, have returned to their home town from Sydney, in order to help Kieran’s mother pack up and move his father to a nursing home in Hobart.

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28Aug2020

Fame & Fortune: The Victorian Detectives by @carolJhedges #BookReview for #RBRT #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Historical Fiction, Murder/Mystery, Victorian by Cathy

Author: Carol Hedges

Published: August 2020 by Little G Books

Category: Historical Fiction, Murder, Mystery, Book Review

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London, 1867. When the body of a man is discovered hanging from a Thames bridge, Detectives Greig and Cully, two of Scotland Yard’s finest crime-solvers, are called in to investigate the mysterious circumstances of his death. Their inquiry will lead them into a world of extortion, robbery and human trafficking, and at its centre, the Black brothers, Munro and Herbert, London’s most evil and ruthless individuals, who will stop at nothing to keep their position at the top of London’s criminal underworld.

Fame & Fortune is the eighth outing for DS Jack Cully, DI Lachlan Greig and DI Leo Stride, otherwise known as the Victorian Detectives. Carol Hedges immerses us once again in a London peopled with the sad and the bad, the rich and the poor, and the evocatively described back alleys, slums and more fashionable thoroughfares they inhabit.

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11Aug2020

After The Fire (Inspector Tom Reynolds #6) by @SpainJoanne ~ Nobody was supposed to get out alive… #Irish #CrimeFiction #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Crime, Fiction, Murder, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller by Cathy

Author: Jo Spain

Performed by Aoife McMahon

Released: June 2020 by Quercus

Category: Irish Crime Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Audiobook, Review

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On a Dublin city street, packed with afternoon shoppers, a young woman appears, naked, traumatised and bearing burn marks.

Tom Reynolds, now Chief Superintendent, is no longer head of the murder squad. But when it transpires the woman escaped from a house fire started deliberately and that there are more victims, Tom is sucked in. What begins as a straightforward case of arson, soon becomes something much more sinister.

After having a quick catch up with his daughter Maria, a junior doctor, Chief Superintendent Tom Reynolds was about the leave the hospital where Maria worked, when he overheard snippets of a conversation between two porters. A naked and distressed young woman covered with burn marks and signs of smoke inhalation, was seen walking through the city centre and had been brought to the hospital.

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8Jul2020

The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs ~ British Library #CrimeClassics #Murder #Mystery

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

Author: George Bellairs

Published: August 2019 by British Library Publishing

Category: Classic Crime, Murder, Mystery, Book Review

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Jim Teasdale has been drowned in the Dumb River, near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body, clearly dumped in the usually silent (‘dumb’) waterway, has been discovered before the killer intended — disturbed by a torrential flood.

With critical urgency it’s up to Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard to trace the mystery of the unassuming victim’s murder to its source, leaving waves of scandal and sensation in his wake as the hidden, salacious dealings of Jim Teasdale begin to surface.

First published in 1961, The Body in The Dumb River has been reissued by the British Library Crime Classics. I’ve read and enjoyed a few of these classic crime novels, this is the first by George Bellairs. I didn’t realise the Littlejohn books were such a long running series but this book quite easily reads as a stand alone.

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7Jul2020

The Mirror Crack’d From Side To Side by Agatha Christie #ClassicCrime #Mystery #TuesdayBookBlog

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

Author: Agatha Christie

First published in 1962

Category: Classic Crime, Murder, Mystery, Book Review

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One minute, silly Heather Badcock had been gabbling on at her movie idol, the glamorous Marina Gregg. The next, Heather suffered a massive seizure. But for whom was the deadly poison really intended?

Marina’s frozen expression suggested she had witnessed something horrific. But, while others searched for material evidence, Jane Marple conducted a very different investigation – into human nature.

Having veered more towards the books featuring Hercule Poirot, I don’t think I read this one. Although I did see and enjoy the film adaptation with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson the outcome escaped me, and I enjoyed the book more even more.

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20Apr2020

The Art of Dying (Way of All Flesh #2) by Ambrose Parry #HistoricalFiction based on fact #Medical #Mystery @ambroseparry

Posted in Book Review, Crime, Historical Fiction, Medical, Murder, Mystery by Cathy

Author: Ambrose Parry

Published: August 2019 by Canongate Books

Category: Historical, Medical, Mystery, Crime, Book Review

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Edinburgh, 1850. Despite being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson – a whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances.

In this sequel to The Way of All Flesh, which I really enjoyed, we find Will Raven in Europe, studying and learning, becoming a fully qualified doctor.

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7Apr2020

I Am Dust by Louise Beech ~ A Haunted Theatre, A Murdered Actress @LouiseWriter #Murder #Mystery #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Ghost Story, Murder/Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural by Cathy

Author: Louise Beech

Published: February 2020 by Orenda Books

Category: Psychological, Thriller, Murder, Mystery, Supernatural, Book Review

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The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for her killer…

Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after twenty years. But who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in her dressing room?

I Am Dust is a story of two halves which are brought together seamlessly as the story evolves—the events of 2005 and the impact they have on the present day. During that summer three friends and aspiring actors played a dangerous game, experimenting with an Ouija board, while rehearsing for their school production of Macbeth.

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17Mar2020

The Lantern Men (Ruth Galloway Book 12) by @EllyGriffiths ~ Murder/Mystery #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Crime, Murder, Mystery, Police Procedural by Cathy

Author: Elly Griffiths

Published: February 2020 by Quercus

Category: Crime, Murder, Mystery, Police Procedural, Book Review

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Everything has changed for Dr Ruth Galloway.

She has a new job, home and partner, and is no longer North Norfolk police’s resident forensic archaeologist. That is, until convicted murderer Ivor March offers to make DCI Nelson a deal. Nelson was always sure that March killed more women than he was charged with. Now March confirms this, and offers to show Nelson where the other bodies are buried – but only if Ruth will do the digging.

Ruth and Kate are now living in Cambridge with Dr Frank Barker and, although Ruth enjoys her job teaching at St Jude’s college, she still misses Norfolk and her cottage on the edge of the Saltmarsh.

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6Mar2020

Mini #BookReviews ~ The Jackman and Evans Series by #JoyEllis, narrated by #RichardArmitage #CrimeFiction #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Police Procedural, Psychological, Suspense by Cathy

I’ve been binge listening to this series and somehow missed book one but it didn’t really matter with regard to getting to know the characters and their backstories. Detective Inspector Rowan Jackman leads the team. He’s a private person from an affluent background, well respected and liked, and is good at motivating his team. His passion is horses. Detective Sergeant Marie Evans is a widow who lost her husband in a motorbike accident. She’s able to assess situations and people with accuracy and is nicknamed Super Mario by her colleagues. Marie’s passion is motorbikes.

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20Feb2020

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain ~ Death stalked the Vale… #DomesticNoir Murder/Mystery @SpainJoanne @QuercusBooks

Posted in Book Review, Domestic Noir, Murder, Mystery by Cathy

Author: Jo Spain

Published: February 2019 by Quercus

Category: Murder, Mystery, Domestic Noir, Book Review

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Death stalked the Vale.

In every corner, every whisper.

They just didn’t know it yet.

Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead.

In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people’s lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege – the residents have it all. Life is good.