Book Review: The People Watcher by Sam Lloyd

“I watch them because I think they need help.”

Set to be published on 8th May, The People Watcher by Sam Lloyd follows Mercy Lake who likes to fix things. To fix people. Trapped inside during daylight hours, hostage to her phobias, she uses the cover of night to watch the people in her town. And if someone needs her help, she steps in – secretly and with compassion.

When Mercy meets Louis, her lonely, unusual life is suddenly filled with excitement. Because Louis likes intervening in other people’s lives too, only he prefers a more direct – even violent – approach. As they grow closer, Mercy is enchanted but frightened by his actions. How many lines is he willing to cross? And how much is he prepared to risk?

Book Review: None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

“Her lies could kill you.”

Set to be released on 20th July, None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell follows podcaster Alix Summers who, while celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They are, in fact birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for Alix’s series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Alix agrees to a trial interview. Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep digging. Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life – and into her home.

Soon she begins to wonder – Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

Book Review: The Interpreter by Brooke Robinson

“THE MOST DANGEROUS PERSON IN THE COURTROOM ISN’T THE KILLER…”

Set to be published on 1st June in eBook format on 8th June in hardback, The Interpreter by Brooke Robinson follows single mother Revelle Lee, an interpreter who spends her days translating for victims, witnesses and the accused across London. Only she knows what they’re saying. Only she knows the truth.

When she believes a grave injustice is about to happen, and a guilty man is going to be labelled innocent, she has the power to twist an alibi to get the verdict she wants. She’s willing to risk it all to do what’s right. But when someone discovers she lied, Revelle finds the cost might be too high… and she could lose everything, including her son.

BLOG TOUR: The Spider (Joona Linna #9) by Lars Kepler

“Maybe this serial killer is unstoppable.
Maybe they’re already caught in the web…”

Set to be published on 25th May, The Spider by Lars Kepler is the ninth book in the Joona Linna series follows security inspector Saga Bauer who, three years ago, received a postcard with a threatening text about a gun with nine white bullets – one of which is waiting for Detective Joona Linna. But time passed and the threat faded. Until now.

A sack with a decomposed body is found tied to a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing is found at the murder scene. And soon the police are sent complicated riddles from the killer – a chance to stop further murders. Joona Linna and Saga Bauer must fight side by side to solve the puzzle and save each victim before it’s too late. But the violent hunt becomes increasingly desperate.

Book Review: The Fall by Gilly Macmillan

“Be careful what you wish for…”

Set to be published on 25th May, The Fall by Gilly Macmillan follows Nicole and Tom and whose lives are changed overnight by a ten-million-pound lottery win. Before they know it, they’ve moved into a state-of-the-art Glass Barn conversion in the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. But their dream quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool, with a wound on his head. Someone close to home must be responsible. But other than the young couple who live in the Manor, and their housekeeper in the Coach House next door, there’s no one around for miles. Who among them is capable of murder?

BLOG TOUR: The Hike by Lucy Clarke

“THE PERFECT DAY FOR A HIKE
THE PERFECT PLACE TO DISAPPEAR”

Published in April 2023, The Hike by Lucy Clarke follows four friends who, leaving behind their everyday lives, hike out into the beautiful Norwegian wild – nothing between them and the mountain peak but forest, sea and sharp blue sky. But there’s a darker side to the wilderness. A woman went missing here one year ago, scarring the mountain with suspicion and unanswered questions. Now, the friends are hiking into the heart of the mystery. And waiting on the trail is someone who’d do anything to keep their secrets buried – and to stop the group walking away alive . . .

Book Review: The Last Word by Taylor Adams

“If you give this book a one-star review, you might end up dead.”

Set to be published on 18th May, The Last Word by Taylor Adams follows house-sitter Emma and her golden retriever Laika in an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbour, Deek, and the house’s owner, Jules.

One day, Emma reads a poorly written — but gruesome — horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?

As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?

Book Review: Don’t Look Back by Jo Spain

“Your dream island. The love of your life. A secret that changes everything…”

Published on 11th May, Don’t Look Back by Jo Spain follows Luke and Rose Miller on their surprise belated honeymoon in a Caribbean paradise. It’s more than Luke ever thought he’d deserve. But as they pack their bags, Rose breaks down, confessing that on the day they left London, a violent man from her past tracked her down and broke into their home. He wasn’t expecting her to fight back. And, in her terror, Rose killed him. Now, there’s a dead body in Luke’s apartment, and only one person he can think to turn to.

Mickey Sheils never expected to hear from Luke again, not after he disappeared the first time. Luke knows Mickey can’t deny a woman who needs help, so she promises she’ll deal with things – she’ll make sure Rose doesn’t have to keep running.

But it turns out, some lies are too big to run from.

Book Review: No One Saw A Thing by Andrea Mara

“No one saw it happen.
Everyone is lying.
Someone is to blame.”

Set to be published on 11th May, No One Saw A Thing by Andrea Mara follows Sive, standing on a crowded tube platform in London. Her two little girls jump on the train ahead of her. But as she tries to join them, the doors slide shut and the train moves away.

By the time Sive gets to the next stop, she’s convinced herself that everything will be fine. But she soon starts to panic, because there aren’t two children waiting for her on the platform. There’s only one.

BLOG TOUR: The Last Passenger by Will Dean

“A luxury cruise liner, abandoned with no crew, steaming into the mid-Atlantic. And you are the only passenger left on board.”

Set to be published on 11th May, The Last Passenger by Will Dean follows cafe owner Caz Ripley from a small, ordinary town, who boards the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete and a thousand fellow passengers destined for New York. The next morning, she wakes to discover that everyone else on board has disappeared. And that’s just the beginning. Caz must prepare for a crossing that will be anything but plain sailing…

Audiobook Review: Good Samaritans (Detective Sergeant Pace #1) by Will Carver

“One crossed wire
Three dead bodies
Six bottles of bleach”

Published in 2018 and the first book in the Detective Sergeant Pace series, Good Samaritans by Will Carver follows Seth Beauman who can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.

But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker when Seth brings Hadley home…

Book Review: The Fall by Louise Jensen

“She promised she wouldn’t tell. They made sure she couldn’t…”

Released today, The Fall by Louise Jensen follows Kate Granger who, at her surprise 40th birthday party, feels like the luckiest woman in the world. But just hours later, her fifteen-year-old daughter, Caily, is found unconscious underneath a bridge when she should have been at school.

Now, Caily lies comatose in her hospital bed, and the police don’t believe it was an accident. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear that not everyone in the family was where they claimed to be at the time of her fall. Caily should be safe in hospital but not everyone wants her to wake up. Someone is desperate to protect the truth and it isn’t just Caily’s life that is in danger. Because some secrets are worth killing for…

Book Review: Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

Set to be published on 20th April, Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward is set in a windswept cottage overlooking the sea, where Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood companions and the killer that stalked their small New England town. Of the body they found, the horror of that discovery echoed down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.

This book will be Wilder’s revenge on Sky, a man who betrayed his trust and died without ever telling him why. But as he writes, Wilder begins to find notes written in Sky’s signature green ink and events in his manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. Is Sky haunting him? Did Wilder have more to do with Sky’s death than he admits? And who is the woman drowning in the cove, whom no one else can see?

BLOG TOUR: Go As A River by Shelley Read

Published on 13th April, Go As A River by Shelley Read begins on on a cool autumn day in 1948, where Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family’s farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a dishevelled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives.

So begins the mesmerising story of split-second choices and courageous acts that propel Victoria away from the only home she has ever known and towards a reckoning with loss, hope and her own untapped strength.

Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary existence, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life for ever.

BLOG TOUR: Death Under A Little Sky by Stig Abell

“A detective ready for a new life…
A rural idyll the stuff of dreams…
A death that disrupts everything…”

Set to be published on 13th April and the first book in the Jake Jackson series, Death Under A Little Sky by Stig Abell follows recently-retired detective Jake Jackson who is looking for an escape from his London life. Then one day, he receives a letter from his reclusive uncle – he has left Jake his property in the middle of the countryside. For Jake, it is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.

At first, life in the middle of nowhere is everything Jake could wish for. His new home is beautiful, his surroundings are stunning, and he enjoys getting back to nature. But then, what starts as a fun village treasure hunt turns deadly, when a young woman’s bones are discovered. And Jake is thrust once again into the role of detective, as he tries to unearth a dangerous killer in this most unlikely of settings.

Book Review: The Half Burnt House by Alex North

Published on 16th March, The Half Burnt House by Alex North follows Katie who has always looked after her beloved younger brother Chris – until she left him alone for one selfish afternoon, and their picture-perfect family fell apart. Although Chris survived the attack, the scars ran deeper than the ones left across his face. Now they’re adults, and they haven’t spoken in years. Then she gets a call, from Detective Laurence Page.

Page is facing an unusually disturbing crime scene. Alan Hobbes, a distinguished and wealthy philosophy professor, has been brutally murdered. Hobbes was living in a sprawling mansion – but one that remains half-ruined by a decades-old fire, wind and rain howling through the gaping, creaking roof.

Page only has one suspect: Chris, caught on CCTV at the house. But he has plenty of questions. What could cause a man as wealthy as Hobbes not to repair his home? Why did he seem to know his death was coming, yet do nothing to stop it? And why was he obsessed with a legendary local serial killer?

But Katie only has one thing on her mind. She knows this is her last, best chance to finally save her brother, and make up for her negligence all those years ago.

But she can’t possibly imagine just how much danger he’s in…

BLOG TOUR: The Snow Graves (Agent Tori Hunter #5) by Roger Stelljes

The fifth book in Roger Stelljes‘ Agent Tori Hunter series, sees a young couple found lying still on the snow-covered sidewalk, their gloved hands tightly linked as though they could save each other. But flashing blue lights illuminate the quiet street, and drops of blood scatter the pure white ground…

Agent Tori Hunter is heartbroken at the murders of Cam and Gracie, two college students dating for just a few months, shot dead outside his aunt’s home. With witnesses in this once-peaceful neighborhood saying they saw a black car speed away, Tori races to a lonely cabin deep in the pine forest when she gets an anonymous call from a female voice that makes her blood run cold. Is Tori speaking to the killer, or is putting her trust in this mysterious woman her one hope of catching the true perpetrator?

As more phone calls come, it’s clear the voice knows all about a cold case from Tori’s past—and that Tori must confront this twisted mind, and her own darkest demons before more innocent lives are lost.

Book Review: The Institution by Helen Fields

“They’re locked up for your safety.
Now, you’re locked in with them.”

Set to be published on 2nd March, The Institution by Helen Fields follows forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine who has five days to catch a killer. On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night. The next morning, a nurse’s body is found and her daughter has been taken. A ransom must be paid, and the clock is ticking. Connie is renowned for her ability to get inside the mind of a murderer. Now, she must go deep undercover among the most deranged and dangerous men on earth and use her unique skills to find the girl – before it’s too late. But as the walls close in around her, can Connie get the killer before The Institution gets her?

Book Review: The Close (Maeve Kerrigan #10) by Jane Casey

“The neighbours are always watching…”

Set to be published on 2nd March, The Close, the tenth book in the Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey, is set on Jellicoe Close which, at first glance, seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together. But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.

It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before. And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.

Book Review: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Set to be published on 2nd March, Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent follows Sally Diamond who cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don’t always mean what they say.

But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally’s life will be thrown into chaos once again . . .