Hazel Howorth

Having read and enjoyed Lesley's previous two books, The Rumour and Who Did You Tell?, I jumped at the chance to read this, her latest outing and, once again, I wasn't disappointed. The Dare is an enthralling read where you can literally feel the tension building as the story unfolds. I was absolutely immersed from start to finish in the story of Lizzie and her best friend, Alice from both the "then" and "now" perspectives - this may sound confusing but, believe me, it's not. After the accident that killed her best friend 12 years ago, Lizzie is trying to rebuild her life; she is engaged to be married to a GP, her epilepsy is under control and she is thinking of going to university however, things start to happen that quickly threaten that happiness. The Dare is a slow-burner, that builds in tension, intrigue and suspense. I found it riveting and hard to stop reading and I would certainly recommend to people who enjoy an excellent psychological thriller with an enthralling plot and great twists. Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

I realise that starting to read a series on book 3 is probably not the best idea but having previously read and enjoyed some of Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series, I thought what the heck and I certainly wasn't disappointed in the slightest and would definitely say this works as a standalone. What we have here are 2 investigations that are equally disturbing and upsetting - a serial killer who has gone undetected for decades and a child killer who is refining his modus operandi with each innocent life he takes. Ash, in his role as consultant, is involved in both. The characters are great - Ash, Alice, Mother, Shifty, DS Franklin and even Henry - all of them in fact, some may be a tad OTT or stereotypical but all had their place and their own little quirks which made them believable. The various settings were really well written with the scenes being so well written that they invoked sounds and smells that put me right there. The book is written mainly from Ash's point of view. He can be a cynical and grumpy so-and-so and definitely doesn't do things by the books and does have questionable decision-making skills at times, but he definitely grew on me; I think it was his dark sense of humour that did it but also his aversion to authority who have been so far removed from the job that they haven't got a clue helped a bit ... oh and the fact that he certainly gets put through the wringer by Mr MacBride during his investigation and from what has obviously gone on in the previous books in the series, which might have had something to do with it too! With the story lines being as dark as they are, you might think this is a dark and depressing read but fear not, this is not the case at all. Yes, as you can imagine, it's not a laugh a minute and there is quite a lot of violence throughout but there are plenty of lighter moments that will have you laughing out loud. You do have to suspend reality for some parts of the book as there are bits that are a little unbelievable but if you can't do this in a work of fiction, when can you? and it certainly didn't spoil my reading experience. All in all, a really great book and one I would highly recommend to those of you who love their crime thrillers dark both in the plot and the humour. Thanks to HarperCollins / HarperFiction and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

This is a book I have had on my "to-be-read" pile since August 2020 and given I had a few days off work over the festive season, I decided to try and catch up a bit ... one down and loads more to go! I have read and enjoyed a couple of Candice Fox's books before so was looking forward to reading this new story set in America and although I wasn't blown away, I did enjoy the ride. Set in Los Angeles, the story centres around two main characters and from whose perspective the book is written - Blair and Jessica. Blair, as the blurb says, is restarting her life after being released from prison for murdering her neighbour. Jessica is a Police Officer who put her there and who has just inherited a very expensive and exclusive property. The blurb makes the plot sound simple however, it is far from it. Throw in Blair's ex cell-mate's daughter going missing, a gang leader, very disgruntled colleagues of Jessica, the legend of missing millions and then a gopher and what you have is a very complex story which is a bit OTT and unbelievable in parts with one too many coincidences but it keeps you hooked as you just need to find out how all these threads fit together and they do very satisfyingly and at a good pace. I did find there were one or two chapters that just seemed to be thrown in for the sake of it rather than them adding to the story and it was a bit wordy in parts but overall, it kept my interest. The ending leaves the door open for other stories to follow and I for one would like to see where Blair and Jessica go in both their personal lives and their potential partnership. Thank you to Random House UK / Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

If there is one thing I really don't like, it's not finishing a book. Luckily, it doesn't happen very often but, unfortunately, I was unable to finish The Spiral. Why? Well, I read to escape; I have enough complication in my work life so I tend not to read anything that takes too many brain cells as there aren't that many left after a day at work but this book just had me totally bemused almost from the very beginning and I just didn't have the stamina to continue. I struggled to get into the story, develop any feelings for the characters either way and I just ended up being completed baffled by the whole thing so much so that I just had to give up in order to remain sane! As I said, I don't like not finishing a book and I really try to keep going but I just couldn't with this and I therefore have to apologise to the author. I am acutely aware that this book will definitely appeal to lots of people but it just wasn't for me. I would like to thank Zaffre Books / Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review. The Spiral is due to be published on 31st December 2020 and I wish it good luck.

I have never been disappointed by anything written by Mel Sherrratt so had no hesitation in reading this, the fourth in the series, and, once again, it was as good as I was expecting and, as an added bonus, you don't have to have read the others in the series, as this works well as a standalone so don't worry! What we have in "Good Girl" is a pretty dark and hard-hitting police procedural which follows the investigation of DS Grace Allendale and her team into the apparent mugging and murder of a young 16 year old but as Grace delves deeper, all is not what it seems. With believable characters, an authentic and frighteningly realistic story line written at a great pace and with sensitivity, given the subject matter which is difficult to read at times, this is another excellent book. Thank you to Avon Books UK, a division of HarperCollins, and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.