One for Sorrow by Helen Fields {DI Luc Callenach series, book 7}

 

I have found a new crime thriller series to follow - Helen Fields' series DI Luc Callenach. The description of One for Sorrow attracted me as did the setting in Scotland. What I didn't pay attention to was the fact that this is book 7 in the series. Arrgh!  I do this all the time, start with the wrong book.

The good news is I am completely captivated by the characters DI Luc Callenach and DCI Ava Turner and plan to purchase all six previous books. The writing style is spot on, grabbed my attention and I read every time I had a chance to open my Kindle.

The plot involves a bomber in Edinburgh leaving a trail of bodies with every crime.  Revenge drives the bomber and you'll slowly see the pattern and worry about favorite characters with every threat. Ms. Fields' doesn't play it safe with the elimination of a few favored cops so you won't be able to guess who may suffer with the next target. The crimes are brilliantly described.

There is side story about a young woman named Quinn MacTavish which slowly blends into the plot line.  All of her chapters are titled Before.  Love the police procedural genre and there is a thriller element here, mental illness is certainly a factor in the plot as well.  Did I guess the identity of the bomber?  No, I did not. The ending leaves you ready for the next book but I will satisfy myself with catching up through books 1 -6 for now.

Publication date is February 17, 2022 by Avon Books U.K.  Genre: General Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine. Loved the book.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British isles Friday.

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

 I am going to shamelessly copy and paste what Shelleyrae posted on her blog about the 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.  This is a challenge I enjoyed last year and learned new things as well.  I was going to sign up for the Nonfiction Nibbler category but I see a new category called Grazer. Personally I know I won't read economics and not sure about social history so....Grazer it is.

Want to join in?  Check out the information below and see signup details at the end of my post.

Nonfiction Nipper: Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories

Nonfiction Nibbler: Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories

Nonfiction Nosher: Read & review 12 books, one for each category

OR

Nonfiction Grazer: Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal

Categories:

1. Social History

2. Popular Science

3. Language

4. Medical Memoir

5. Climate/Weather

6. Celebrity

7. Reference

8. Geography

9. Linked to a podcast

10. Wild Animals

11. Economics

12. Published in 2022

* You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish. Use your best good faith judgement as to whether a book fits the category or not.

The 2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Info and signup link is HERE. Check it out!

The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster

 

The Blood Tide is a wonderful followup to Dead Man's Grave where we are introduced to DS Max Craigie. After reading the first book I hoped our author would continue to add to this arresting series (pun intended).

Characters from the first book appear again here so it's recommended to start with Dead Man's Grave for character development.  I'm loving the team and Max's partner Janie Calder.  There is tension, police corruption, drug deals, organzied crime and murder packed into this novel. 

Author Neil Lancaster worked with the Metropolitan Police so the plot and scenarios are very believable about how investigations work. Write about what you know, right? There is also humor in some of the banter between officers which comes across as very believable.

If you enjoy police procedurals and good mystery with thrills, this will be a series you'll enjoy.  Additonally, fans of books set in Scotland will enjoy the beauty and isolation described in the plot.

Publication date is February 23, 2022 by HQ Digital.  Genre: General Fiction, Mystery and Thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

 

Jane is new to the Birmingham Alabama area and is trying to start a new life.  She has a secret about her past life, one she is running from, and this keeps you guessing about her past.  She is employed as a dog walker in this ultra rich community where women casually discard their diamond earrings in a bowl as they enter their mansions.  The neighborhood is basically full of millionaires who haven;t experienced hardship.

One day Jane is staring at one elegant home while walking a dog and Eddie Rochester careens out of his driveway, almost running Jane down.  Eddie is newly widowed, very handsome and fit. Her invites Jane inside for coffee and apologizes for almost killing her.  This is the start of the Eddie and Jane storyline.

The very title called The Wife Upstairs is a bit of a spoiler and that crazy scenario is revealed early in the book.  

I was interested in this book because a Jane Eyre comparison was mentioned.  It's not a ripoff story but you'll see a nod to the names and some of the relationships.  Jane, Rochester, Bertha plus the poor character of Jane who had a horrid upbringing.

This story has mystery, two big twists in the narrative (be patient and wait for it!) and a warning to those who are offended by the F-bomb.  It's not used as much as in The Big Lebowski but you've been forewarned :-) Doesn't bother me and was, in my opinion, approprite for the scenarios.

Castles of Britain and Ireland

This week I am thumbing through a very old book about Castles of Britain and Ireland. I'm doing a bit of armchair traveling and reminising about some of the castles and ruins we have visited on past vacations.

This book by Plantagenet Somerset Fry lists castles in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.  It's extremely detailed with locations, history and many photos.

This one of King John's Castle in Limerick Ireland  is where our family spent some time. I wish I could find the photo of my son on the bridge with the town in the background, a great trip for us all.

It's nice to flip though and find places you have visited and remember good times. I keep this handy where I can grab it when I want to "visit" the British Isles.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

 

I admit the cover grabbed my attention straight away.  Isn't that what we notice in the bookstore displays?  A cover that appeals?  Well, that and an author we love.

The beginning of this book is a letter to Helen.  It's from one of our main characters and that character is writing from prison.  You don't know if it's a man or woman but they contact Helen to share a secret which I assumed would devastate her. For what it's worth, I guessed wrong on the author's identity, I mean completely as I didn't even have the correct gender of the writer!

The house itself is always part of the story. It’s an old house registered with English heritage. It has a lovely doorway, huge old Georgian windows surrounded by ivy. Just look at the cover so you get a mental image. It looks like a place I'd love to live.

 Our main characters are Helen, Daniel, Serena, Rory and Rachel. With the exception of Rachel they all attended Cambridge University. Helen and Daniel are married and Helen's brother Rory is married to Serena. Both ladies are very pregnant and while you'd think the sister-in-laws would be bonding it's a bit awkward at times.

Helen is a rather nosy character and goes through Serena's cabinets and drawers. One day she finds a note and she can’t figure out who it’s from (as if it's any of her business.)

Darling RRH

Wear it  to show me

Evermore

W

She knows it isn’t Serena’s handwriting and wonders if her brother Rory is having an affair. The initial W doesn’t mean anything to her but it is revealed who W is at the end of the book.  That part was quite clever, however Helen not knowing the hand writing raised suspicion with me as it is someone she knows very well. But that's much later in the book.....

Rachel is a wild, smoking and drinking young woman who attends the same birthing class as Helen.  She slowly insinuates herself into Helen's life even though Helen has zero in common with her.  From the beginnning I was wondering why Helen didn't avoid Rachel but you will see her end game as you read on.

I know so many books are compared to Gone Girl but this one has the over-the-waterfall revelations and I enjoyed every surprise.

Brilliant writing and plot, I couldn't put this one down.  With all the mysteries I read there are the occasional books which I can leave for days and then I get back to them.  Not this one.  I have been fortunate to have a great run of luck with the mysteries I've gotten from Netgalley and the library lately. 4 & 1/2 Stars.

Publication date is January 25,  2022 by Gallery Books.  Genre: Mystery and Thriller. Look out for this one and I hope Ms. Faulkner continues with future engaging plots.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Katherine Faulkner is a journalist and lives in London and Greenwich Park is her first novel. 

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

His and Hers by Alice Feeney

 

When a woman is murdered in the small British village of Blackdown newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case.  Anna is originally from Blackdown and has bad memories from her school days and early marriage. She is currently in London and aspires to be the main newsreader on televsion.

Local detective Jack Harper is called to the murder scene and there are involvements on his side as well as Anna's with the murder victim. Jack becomes a suspect in this investigation but he knows Anna has secrets about the case as well. It's a Russian nest doll of revelations as each layer is revealed.  The connections will keep you guessing about motive and who is the main suspect as the bodies pile up.

The title His and Hers refers to the perspective which the story is told.  You will go back and forth between Jack and Anna's point of view.  

This was quite a page turner.  Guaranteed you'll be surprised by the end and the murderer's identity.  I enjoyed this book so much that I put every novel by Alice Feeney on hold at the library. 

More about British author Alice Feeney HERE

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

The Midwife's Secret by Emily Gunnis

 

The description and cover attracted me to this book but the begining development of the plot was confusing to me.  There are several time lines and two families which connect from 1919, 1969 and to present day. There is a priest hole in an old house and a young child is hidden away which you can imagine never ends well.

A young girl named Alice disappears in 1969 and she is never found (Not a spoiler as it's in the description of the book).

The hidden room in an old house called Yew Tree Manor reminded me of Kate Morton's book The Clockmaker's Daughter. For this scenario you may conjour images from Sarah's Key by Tatianna de Rosnay.  Not at all the exact same circumstances but if you've read those you'll get what I mean.

I liked the cover and I liked the old house as a "character" in this book.  Old houses and mysteries grab me every time.  I would not seek out more by this author based on this book but I see she has several books in publication so, maybe those would keep my interest more than this one.  This one just didn't grab me.

Publication date October 28, 2021 by Mobius Books.  Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Ficion Challenge.

Buried Lies by Jenny O'Brien

 

Hannah is a nurse who is engaged to Ian and has a son named Hunter.  Her friend/coworker Milly invites her to go away to a posh hotel and enjoy the spa treatment when Milly's boyfriend up and leaves her.  The weekend is paid for so Hannah agrees to take the trip.

This is her first time away from Hunter but thought a weekend away would give Ian and Hunter time to bond and give Ian a chance to see what being a stepfather is all about. When Hannah returns home she finds Ian dead and her son is missing. What a nightmare.

When Gaby's team arrives to investigate they recognize Ian as one of the new police officers hired.  It appears he commited suicide but anyone who has read a police procedural will know this could be one of the red herrings inserted in the plot. Hannah is obviously bereaved and frantic but is also a suspect in the case.  She has a past which revealed a patient death under suspicious circumstances. 

The Welsh names of cities come up which is a part I like.  Love traveling to Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, Y Mwyar Duon in Ruthin, Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea in Wales through virtual travel.

Buried Lies is the fifth book in the Detective Gaby Darin series and I blew through this novel in a day.  I enjoyed the first four books and was delighted to be approved for an advanced readers copy of this series.  As the characters develop I find I'm quite attached to them, watching them grow in their personal and professional lives.

Here is a list of the Detective Gaby Darin series:

Missing in Wales (book 1, titled Silent Cry in the UK editions)

Darkest Night (book 2)

Fallen Angel (book 3)

Lost Souls (book 4)

Publication date November 17, 2021 by St. Martin's Press.  Genre: General Fiction, Mystery and Thriller. you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

The Last Flight and A Double Life{books by Julie Clark and Flynn Berry}

Two of my library books came in at the same time. Naturally. Both have red covers and both have a main character named Claire. 

How weird is that? 

Starting with The Last Flight by Julie Clark

Claire Cook is the beautiful wife of politican Rory Cook.  He is handsome and dynamic, the son of a former senator whose shadow I suspect he lives in and never finds himself overcoming his mother's mystique.

Rory Cook is also an abusive and controlling husband. After enduring physical and mental abuse in her marriage as well as being in the public eye just about every moment of the day, Claire has the perfect plan to get away for good.

Her every movement is watched, her calender is public so she needs the perfect scenario to slip away and disappear.  With a new identity and stashed cash Claire is on her way to disappearing and becoming someone else. Months of planning are destroyed when Rory swaps the agenda and goes on the trip to Detroit where Claire's documents are waiting.  

An opportunity presents itself when a young woman offers to switch tickets with Claire at the airport.  Instead of boarding a flight for San Juan she heads to Oakland California. Eva has Claire's ticket and they both hope to start a new life elsewhere.  Lots of intrigue and you will reread the prologue when you finish the story, learning the identity of the person narrating in the beginning.

A Double Life by Flynn Berry

The story begins with Claire, a medical doctor living in London. Claire isn’t her true name as it’s been changed for her protection. About 25 years ago her father Colin attempted to murder her mother Faye.

Twenty plus years ago upper crust English gentleman Colin meets working class woman  Faye whilst on dates with other people. They leave the restaurant together and seem to hit it off. Faye finds Colin  is just a regular fellow and has no idea of his wealth or upbringing.

One evening Colin takes Faye to a friend's house for a dinner party. This is the first time she meets James and Rose. From her description it’s like arriving on a masterpiece theater or national trust property. In spite of the fact his friends are from a different social and class level than she has ever been involved in, they seem to except her and she has a good time.

Eventually Colin grows tired of Faye and leaves their home and their two children. One night, allegedly, he returns to their home armed with a pipe and beats the nanny to death then tries to murder Faye. Colin flat out disappears afterwards.  His car with blood covered searts is found abandoned near a cliff but no one can find him.

Afterwards Faye takes Claire and her infant son Robbie to Scotland to start a new life. There are hundreds of domestic violence cases and murders reported annually in the U.K. but as Colin was a Lord and policically connected, this particular murder and assault case stays in the news.  People blog about the details and wonder where Faye and her children went.  Did he do it or was it a burglar?  Naturally the family needed to disappear and start over.

So that was the backstory woven in but the focus is on how Claire and her brother Robbie handle their lives with so much tragedy in their backgrounds.  It seems to obsess Claire especially as she is contacted by police every few years with a "sighting of her father" and it dredges everything up again. The settings are London, Scotland and Coatia.

This is loosely based on a true story about Lord Lucan who disappeared in 1979 after a murder.  Same situation with an abandoned bloodied car and wrapped pipe. Hmmmm...

I loved Flynn Berry's novel Northern Spy so I thought I'd try another of her books.  I liked it better but I am now going to read her first novel Under the Harrow next.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

A Little Bird by Wendy James

 

Josephine "Jo" Sharpe is our main narrator in this Australian novel.  She returns home to the backwater town Arthurville with a bit of reluctance because of her family's past and also to help her father as he is in poor health. 

Mick doesn't blink an eye when Jo arrives at the unkempt home desite the fact that they haven't spoken for over two years. They rarely commmunicate and yet they coexist and skirt the big issue about her mother and baby sister disappearing over 20 years ago.

Jo was a journalist in a large city and her new job at The Chronicle has her writing fluff material such as the grandparent's day gathering and who won first prize for their crafting assignments. In the dilapidated newspaper office she comes across old newspaper clippings with a gossip column called The Little Bird.  Eventually Jo discovers her mother had a hand in this anonymous column which shared salacious community information such as who may be having an affair or who may have dented the fences in front of the drug store, all without naming names of course.  

There are multiple narrators in this story and you will be taken back to the 1990's when Jo's mother Merry up and leaves with the baby Amy. Merry was from a weathy family and was destined for university in Sydney until she ran into Mick one day.  Mick is/was a working class man who would never have crossed paths with Merry in any social setting.  As it worked out, Merry became pregnant and all the big plans went up in smoke. Her family was....displeased.

You will go back and forth between the two time lines, mysteries are revealed and finally by the end of the book you'll discover what happened to baby Amy and Jo's young mother.

Overall it was a decent read but a bit slow here and there.  I was wanting more atmospheric details about the Australian setting but there is little of that.  There is the occasional mention of the extreme heat and dusty roads but that's it.

Publication date November 30, 2021 by Lake Union Publishing.  Genre: General Fiction and Women's Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine. 

A Note From the Publisher:

Wendy James is Australia’s queen of the domestic thriller. She is the author of nine novels, including An Accusation, The Golden Child―short-listed for the 2017 Ned Kelly Award―and the bestselling The Mistake. Her debut novel, Out of the Silence, won the 2006 Ned Kelly Award for first crime novel and was short-listed for the Nita May Dobbie Award for women’s writing. Wendy has a PhD from the University of New England, and she works as an editor, teacher, and researcher. She writes some of the sharpest, most topical domestic noir in the country.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction Challenge.