#BookReview Last Breath by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza @bookouture

#BookReview Last Breath by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza @bookouture Title: Last Breath

Author: Robert Bryndza

Series: Detective Erika Foster #4

Published by: Bookouture on Apr. 12, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 362

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Bookouture, NetGalley

Book Rating: 10/10

He’s your perfect date. You’re his next victim.

When the tortured body of a young woman is found in a dumpster, her eyes swollen shut and her clothes soaked with blood, Detective Erika Foster is one of the first at the crime scene. The trouble is, this time, it’s not her case.

While she fights to secure her place on the investigation team, Erika can’t help but get involved and quickly finds a link to the unsolved murder of a woman four months earlier. Dumped in a similar location, both women have identical wounds – a fatal incision to their femoral artery.

Stalking his victims online, the killer is preying on young pretty women using a fake identity. How will Erika catch a murderer who doesn’t seem to exist?

Then another girl is abducted while waiting for a date. Erika and her team must get to her before she becomes another dead victim, and, come face to face with a terrifyingly sadistic individual.

Gripping, tense and impossible to put down, Last Breath will have you on the edge of your seat, racing to the final dramatic page.


Review:

Mesmerizing, dark and cleverly spine-chilling!

This is a skillfully crafted, perfectly executed thriller that takes us on a hunt for a sadistic serial killer and highlights how susceptible and vulnerable social media can make us.

The writing is seamless, vivid and fluid. The characterization is spot on with all the usual gang back including the tough, stubborn Erika Foster whose greatest struggles involve her inability to conform to authority and her apprehension at the growing intimacy with Peterson. And the plot involves a series of twists, turns, violence, murder and surprises that I guarantee will grab you from the very first page of the prologue.

Overall this book has an incredible pace and exceptional depth in both the storyline and character development. It’s riveting; it’s entertaining; and it’s a clear indicator that Bryndza has definitely hit his stride. If you love well written police procedurals with intriguing characters this is the book/series for you.

If you haven’t read any of the previous novels in the “Detective Erika Foster” series be sure to check out my review for “The Night Stalker” (Erika Foster #2) HERE and my review for “Dark Water” (Erika Foster #3) HERE.

This book is due to be published on April 12, 2017

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

Thank you to Bookouture and Robert Bryndza for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Robert Bryndza

Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over four million copies in the English language.

His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).

Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller.

Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls, has just been published.

Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.

#BookReview Exposure by Aga Lesiewicz @Aga_Lesiewicz @PGCBooks

#BookReview Exposure by Aga Lesiewicz @Aga_Lesiewicz @PGCBooks Title: Exposure

Author: Aga Lesiewicz

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Mar. 24, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 7.5/10

You know that feeling. Your life’s on track and all is going well. And then something monumental occurs that turns everything on its head. It happens to everyone but, for Kristin Ryder, it was much, much worse . . .

When up-and-coming photographer Kristin begins to receive anonymous emails, her life in a trendy loft in London’s Hoxton with Anton, her ultra-cool, street-artist boyfriend, suddenly begins to feel unsafe. The emails come with sinister attachments that suggest the sender has an intimate knowledge of Kristin’s past, and soon her life spirals out of control.

Who can she trust? And will she be able to discover the sender’s identity before it’s too late?

Breathtaking and shocking, Exposure by Aga Lesiewicz will grip you until the last snap of the camera shutter.


Review:

Gripping, edgy and dark!

This is a character-driven psychological thriller that illustrates just how vulnerable our technological dependence makes us and how quickly life can change.

The story is set in London and is told from the perspective of Kristin, a photographer with incredible talent who suddenly finds herself in a lacklustre career with an unfaithful partner and a tenacious stalker who seems to be everywhere.

The writing is crisp. The plot is fast-paced, suspenseful and a relentless thrill ride of multiple suspects and precarious situations, as well as some intriguing glimpses into the world of street art, photography and metropolis sights and sounds. And, generally, the characterization is well done, with an assortment of characters that are troubled, intense and layered.  However, I do have to admit that the poor choices and decisions occasionally made by the main character seemed a little unbelievable even given the circumstances and caused me at times to lose some sympathy and connection with her.

This is Lesiewicz’s second novel and it is definitely an entertaining, riveting read that will keep you guessing for quite some time.

 

The book is available now and available in Canada on March 24, 2017.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoKoboB&NBook Depository

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Aga Lesiewicz

Aga Lesiewicz lives in London, which has been her professional and spiritual home for over thirty years. She has worked as a radio presenter, voice-over artist, interpreter, screenwriter and, most recently, a TV producer and director. A freak knee injury in 2013 led to a change in her career and prompted her to write her first book ‘Rebound’. Her second novel ‘Exposure’ will be out in 2017.

#BookReview Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser @jessicastrawser @StMartinsPress

#BookReview Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser @jessicastrawser @StMartinsPress Title: Almost Missed You

Author: Jessica Strawser

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Mar. 28, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: St. Martin's Press, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8/10

Violet and Finn were “meant to be,” said everyone, always. They ended up together by the hands of fate aligning things just so. Three years into their marriage, they have a wonderful little boy, and as the three of them embark on their first vacation as a family, Violet can’t help thinking that she can’t believe her luck. Life is good.

So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach—just packs up the hotel room and disappears. And takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all.

Caitlin and Finn have been best friends since way back when, but when Finn shows up on Caitlin’s doorstep with the son he’s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn’t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice.

Told through alternating viewpoints of Violet, Finn and Caitlin, Almost Missed You is a powerful story of a mother’s love, a husband’s betrayal, connections that maybe should have been missed, secrets that perhaps shouldn’t have been kept, and spaces between what’s meant to be and what might have been.


Review:

Emotional, captivating and well-paced!

This is a perceptive novel that delves into the complex relationship between a husband and wife and highlights the detrimental effects suppressed guilt can have on the psyche. 

The writing is well done. The characters are flawed, deceptive and selfish. And the plot is an intricate web of secrets, lies, manipulation, desperation, heartache, grief, shame, and destiny.

Overall I think this is a well written, enthralling debut from Strawser that ultimately reminds us life is all about choices and good or bad those choices define us.

 

This book is due to be published on March 28, 2017.

Pick up a copy of this novel from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoKoboBook DepositoryB&N

 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, especially St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jessica Strawser

JESSICA STRAWSER (she/her) is the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month selection), Forget You Know Me, and A Million Reasons Why. She is Editor-at-Large for Writer’s Digest, and her work has appeared in The New York Times' Modern Love, Publishers Weekly, and other fine venues. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati.

Photo by Corrie Schaffeld.

#BookReview The Secrets You Keep by Kate White @katemwhite @HarperCollins

#BookReview The Secrets You Keep by Kate White @katemwhite @HarperCollins Title: The Secrets You Keep

Author: Kate White

Published by: Harper Paperbacks on Mar. 21, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Harper Paperbacks, Edelweiss

Book Rating: 7.5/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Man and Eyes on You comes a harrowing new psychological thriller about a successful self-help author who suddenly finds her life spiraling dangerously out of control.

What would you do if you realized that your new husband, a man you adore, is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences?

Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning. 

In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered.

As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer.


Review:

Engrossing, suspenseful and entertaining!

This is a psychological thriller that emphasizes how many deep and dark secrets people can truly have and questions is there anyone you can really trust.

The main character, Bryn, is confused, scared, and determined; and the supporting characters are suspicious, complex, and secretive.

The story is told in first-person narration and uses a stream of consciousness style to give context and insight into the main character’s thoughts, feelings and motivations.

The writing is well done and the plot is rife with intrigue, red herrings and tension.

Overall, this story is not extremely fast-paced, but is definitely a captivating, mysterious, enjoyable read that will certainly keep you guessing until the very end.

 

This book is due to be published on March 21, 2017.

Pick up a copy of this story from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoKoboB&N

 

 

Thank you to Edelweiss, especially Harper Paperbacks, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate White

Kate White is the New York Times bestselling author of eight standalone psychological thrillers, including Have You Seen Me? (2020) and the upcoming The Fiancée (June 2021), as well as eight Bailey Weggins mysteries, including Such a Perfect Wife, which was nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award. Kate, the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, is also the author of several popular career books for women, including I Shouldn't Be Telling You This: How to Ask for the Money, Snag the Promotion, and Create the Career You Deserve and Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead, as well the editor of the Anthony and Agatha Award-nominated The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. 

#BlogTour #GuestPost Secret Demon 2 by C.L. Ryan

Synopsis:

Once again the Murphy household is in chaos, and on top of that a rogue Demon is on the loose and has taken up residence on the estate, with dire consequences. Tom is still working away, leaving Patsy alone and struggling with day to day living and her own Demon. Megan has a very important cooking exam to pass, but money is short for the ingredients. Bonfire night, which is the biggest night of the year is approaching fast, and Patsy cooks for the whole street, and on top of that the family have the worry of being evicted from their house, as they are being relentlessly bullied by the local police Sargent who now knows the families secret. Will they survive?

And Now C.L. Ryan:

Well here I am at the age of fifty seven, Grandmother of two, totally dyslexic and being asked to do a guest post.  

Question? How did this writing malarkey all start? I was recently asked. Good question I replied, now let me think.

About three years ago, my partner suddenly became afflicted with a terrible eye disease, which needed a lot of very nasty and serious treatment to save his sight. This meant hours of travelling to Bristol Eye Hospital, up and down sometimes as much as twice a week. This actually wasted so much time it was unbelievable, I would be sat in the car outside sometimes for hours on end, waiting for him to stumble out into the brightness after his treatment, only to come back again a couple of days later, and do this all again.

After one particular day, where I was waiting nearly three hours in the car, my brain numb, listening to the radio, and reading at least two daily papers, and I magazine, thinking to myself, I decided to have a clear out of one of the cupboards at home, that I knew held about eight or nine of my old A4 writing notebooks, which I always took with me whenever I went anywhere, especially holidays, but never threw away when I got home.   I thought I might bring them with me, and make some notes on shopping for the week, and what little jobs needed to be done at home ect, just something to scribble on to keep me from going insane, while I was waiting in the car, and of course I could get rid of all those that were full and needed throwing away. Good job I didn’t. When I got home and went to the cupboard and started going through them all, I was flabbergasted reading through them, some dated as long as twenty years ago, when I was learning to dive in the red sea, and there it was again and again and again, the same thing. Although the name of the book has changed now, all these writing books that I have saved revealed to me all my scribblings, notes, thoughts ,traumas, events, oh my goodness, it had been staring at me, right in my face for so long, and here it was again shouting at me very loud!!

The next day we were going to the hospital, my partner spied this pile of notebooks in the back of the car “what in god’s name are you doing with that pile of rubbish?” he asked me, seeing the back seat piled up high. I smiled back at him and replied, “oh just something for me to do while I am waiting for you”. My brain was fizzing on the way to Bristol, some twenty seven miles from Weston Super Mare, which usually took from between one hour, to one hour and twenty minutes depending on the traffic, and I couldn’t wait to get him out of the car, once we had parked, “go on hurry up don’t be late for your appointment” I shouted at him, I was so excited just trembling at the thought of getting my hungry paws onto this pile of books, and start reading what I had already written some time ago. Three hours later, I had written my opening paragraph, not even realizing while I was sat there, a traffic warden had given me a parking ticket for running over the time I had purchased, I was so engrossed in what I was doing, suddenly jumping up as my partner banged on the window to let him in, I was in heaven, away with the fairies and angels in my own little inner space, and that was it, I was off, succumbed into the world of writing, literature and all the ups and downs this business brings, I was suddenly in love, in love with doing something, for the first time in my life for me!! Yes me!!

After three long years of emotional ups and downs, tears, frustrations, and long nights and early mornings at the computer, she was finally born, Secret Demon my little baby girl, my nurtured inner child came out into the big wide world, and I am so very proud that she has.

Would I do this again, yes of course, I wrote so much over the last three years, I now have 3 books and I am just finishing the fourth.

Book two is just about to be published. Excited, you bet!! Just can’t seem to put the pen down, and all this from just being bored and deciding to look back into a pile of old A4 writing books I kept from my travels.

All the time I was bored and needing to be fulfilled, and seemed to be wasting time, the one thing I yearned for all along was right under my nose, I just kept passing it by. So go on! Open up those cupboards, have a clear out, check your junk, you might just find something very precious, just like I did!

About the Author:

After over thirty years working in the hospitality sector Bristol-born C.L Ryan is now living in Somerset with her partner. Also a psychic medium C.L Ryan’s life experiences have influenced and inspired her paranormal series Secret Demons. Her other passions are cooking and diving —and she is a qualified BSAC Diving Instructor, BSAC Open Water Instructor and BSAC Advanced Diver— completing dives around the world from Tobago to Minorca and closer to home in Cornwall. Her first book Secret Demon 1 was published by Mirador December 2015.

It was an honour to have C.L. Ryan guest post today!

This book will be published by Mirador on March 14, 2017.

Pick up a copy of this novel from your favourite retailer.

For more information on C.L. Ryan, visit her website at: angelicalskies.co.uk

#BookReview Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens @ChevyStevens @StMartinsPress

#BookReview Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens @ChevyStevens @StMartinsPress Title: Never Let You Go

Author: Chevy Stevens

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Mar. 14, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 406

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: St. Martin's Press, NetGalley

Book Rating: 9/10

Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash escaped into the night with her young daughter and left an abusive relationship. Her ex-husband was sent to jail and she started over with a new life. Now, Lindsey is older and wiser, with a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When her ex-husband is finally released, Lindsey believes she’s cut all ties. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded, and her daughter is shadowed. Lindsey is convinced it’s her ex-husband, even though he claims he’s a different person. But can he really change? Is the one who wants her dead closer to home than she thought? 

Chevy Stevens targets her readership with a novel that hits all the notes they come to expect from her—and ratchets up the stakes even more in a novel that explores the darkest heart of love and obsession.


Review:

Skillfully constructed, menacing and incredibly gripping!

This is a riveting, suspenseful thriller that reminds us how easy dominance, intimidation, manipulation and obsession can be mistaken for love and how long-lasting the emotional, psychological and physical effects of domestic abuse has on its victims.

The characters are strong, resolute and wounded. The writing is flawless. And the character-driven plot with its past/present style, fast-pace, twists, turns and surprises keeps you engaged, immersed and on the edge of your seat from the very first page.

What more can I say? This truly is a well written mystery about survival, friendship, familial relationship, motivations, secrets, fear and revenge that I highly recommend.

This book is due to be published on March 14, 2017.

Pick up a copy of this story from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoBook DepositoryKoboB&N

 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, especially St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Chevy Stevens

CHEVY STEVENS lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and daughter. When she isn’t working on her next book, she’s hiking with her two dogs on her favorite mountain trails and spending time with her family. Chevy's current obsessions are vintage Airstreams, Hollywood memoirs, all things mid-century modern, and stand-up comedians--not necessarily in that order. Her books, including Still Missing, a New York Times bestseller and winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, have been published in more than thirty countries.

 

Photo by Poppy Photography.

#BlogTour & #BookReview Porcelain: Flesh of Innocents by Lee Cockburn @lee_leecockburn

#BlogTour & #BookReview Porcelain: Flesh of Innocents by Lee Cockburn @lee_leecockburn Title: Porcelain: Flesh of Innocents

Author: Lee Cockburn

Published by: Clink Street Publishing on Feb. 21, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 266

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Authoright

Book Rating: 8/10

Detective Sergeant Taylor Nicks is back and in charge of tracking down a sadistic vigilante, with a penchant for torturing paedophiles, in this unsettling crime thriller by a real-life police sergeant. 

High-powered businessmen are turning up tortured around the city of Edinburgh with one specific thing in common — a sinister double life involving pedophilia. Leaving his ‘victims’ in a disturbing state, the individual responsible calls the police and lays bare the evidence of their targets’ twisted misdemeanours to discover, along with a special memento of their own troubled past — a chilling calling card. Once again heading the investigation team is Detective Sergeant Taylor Nicks, along with her partner Detective Constable Marcus Black, who are tasked not only with tracking the perpetrator down but also dealing with the unusual scenario of having to arrest the victims for their own barbarous crimes. But with the wounded piling up the predator’s thirst for revenge intensifies and soon Nicks discovers that she is no longer chasing down a sinister attacker but a deadly serial killer.

Vivid, dark and deeply unsettling Porcelain: Flesh of Innocents is the perfect next read for serious crime and police thriller fans.


Review:

Spine-chilling, gritty and deeply disturbing!

This is a raw, creepy thriller full of violence, degradation, emotional entanglements, sex and murder.

The main heroine, Taylor, is relentless, determined, strong, confused and damaged. And the supporting characters are complex, intelligent and vulnerable. The writing is well done and exceptionally descriptive. And the plot is a well-crafted police procedural jam-packed with twists, turns, suspense and mayhem.

I have to point out that this story deals with some heartbreaking, horrific issues such as pedophilia and includes some explicit lesbian sex scenes so may not be for everyone. However, saying that, for everyone else this is a gripping, fast-paced murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat and definitely have you questioning the line between criminal and victim, retribution and revenge right from the haunting prologue.

 

This book is available now. 

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKBarnes & Noble

 

 

Thank you to Authoright for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lee Cockburn

Lee Cockburn has worked for Police Scotland for sixteen years including as a police sergeant in Edinburgh for seven years and also as a public order officer. Before joining the force, she played for Scotland Women’s rugby team for fifteen years, earning over eighty caps for the Scottish ladies and British Lionesses teams. She also swam competitively for twelve years, successfully representing Edinburgh at the age of fifteen in the youth Olympics in Denmark in 1984. Lee lives in Edinburgh with her civil partner Emily and their two young sons Jamie and Harry. Her first book Devil’s Demise was published by Clink Street Publishing November 2014.

 

#BookReview The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron @KCambronAuthor @ThomasNelson

#BookReview The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron @KCambronAuthor @ThomasNelson Title: The Illusionist's Apprentice

Author: Kristy Cambron

Published by: Thomas Nelson on Mar. 7, 2017

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Thomas Nelson, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Harry Houdni’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.

Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.

In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.

Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her. 

Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.


Review:

This is a compelling tale about magic, jealousy, love, loss, greed, revenge, secrets and murder.

The story is set in Boston in the mid-to-late 1920s shortly after the death of the renowned Harry Houdini and at a time when variety entertainment, including defy-defying feats, tricks and illusions were all the rage.

There are two main memorable characters in this novel; Jenny “Wren”, a young Houdini protégé, famed in her own right and struggling with a dark past, an abundance of secrets, and a reluctance to trust; and Elliot, a FBI agent with a case to solve that not only involves a victim who momentarily comes back from the dead, but a list of suspects for whom deception is an art and a woman who may even steal his heart.

The writing is vivid and descriptive. The supporting characters are multi-layered, quirky and flawed. And the plot is unique and skillfully constructed with a good use of dialogue, banter and a past/present style that creates suspense and gives understanding and depth to the storyline.

Overall this is an extremely enjoyable, engaging read that does a remarkable job of interweaving historical facts, fiction, and mystery and I highly recommend it.

 

This novel is due to be published on March 7, 2017. 

Pick up a copy of this story from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoBook DepositoryKoboB&N,

 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, especially Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kristy Cambron

KRISTY CAMBRON is an award-winning author of Christian fiction, including her bestselling debut The Butterfly and the Violin, and an author of Bible studies, including the Verse Mapping series. She is a passionate storyteller who travels to speak at ministry events across the country, encouraging women to experience a deeper life in the Word through verse mapping. Her work has been named to Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal Reviews’ Best Books, RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and received 2015 & 2017 INSPY Award nominations.

Kristy holds a degree in Art History/Research Writing, and has 15 years of experience in education and leadership development for a Fortune-100 Corporation, working in partnership with such companies as the Disney Institute, IBM/Kenexa, and Gallup. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three sons, and can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good read.

The most important thing? Jesus is everything— let her tell you about Him sometime.

#BookReview Most Dangerous Place by James Grippando @James_Grippando

#BookReview Most Dangerous Place by James Grippando @James_Grippando Title: Most Dangerous Place

Author: James Grippando

Series: Jack Swyteck #13

Published by: Harper Paperbacks on Feb. 21, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 480

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Harper Paperbacks, Edelweiss

Book Rating: 7/10

Defending a woman accused of murdering the man who sexually assaulted her, Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck must uncover where the truth lies between innocence, vengeance, and justice in this spellbinding tale of suspense—based on shocking true-life events—from the New York Times bestselling author of Gone Again.

According to the FBI, the most dangerous place for a woman between the ages of twenty and thirty is in a relationship with a man. Those statistics become all too personal when Jack Swyteck takes on a new client tied to his past.

It begins at the airport, where Jack is waiting to meet his old high school buddy, Keith Ingraham, a high-powered banker based in Hong Kong, coming to Miami for his young daughter’s surgery. But their long-awaited reunion is abruptly derailed when the police arrest Keith’s wife, Isabelle, in the terminal, accusing her of conspiring to kill the man who raped her in college. Jack quickly agrees to represent Isa, but soon discovers that to see justice done, he must separate truth from lies—an undertaking that proves more complicated than the seasoned attorney expects.

Inspired by an actual case involving a victim of sexual assault sent to prison for the death of her attacker, James Grippando’s twisty thriller brilliantly explores the fine line between victim and perpetrator, innocence and guilt, and cold-blooded revenge and rightful retribution.


Review:

Suspenseful, entertaining and complex!

In this latest novel by Grippando, Jack is back and this time he finds himself in a case rife with lies and deception where lives hang in the balance and relationships are tested to the max.

The writing is crisp. The characters are intelligent, resolute and willful. And the plot is an action-packed legal thriller about family dynamics, dark secrets, abuse and revenge.

Overall, I would have to say that this is definitely an intriguing, easy read that lovers of courtroom drama will certainly enjoy.

 

This book is due to be published on February 21, 2017.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoKoboBook Depository

 

 

Thank you to Edelweiss, especially HarperCollins, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About James Grippando

The first thing you should know about bestselling author James Grippando is that he is no longer clueless—so says his wife, Tiffany, after “A James Grippando Novel” was a clue for #38 Across in the New York Times crossword puzzle. James is the 2017 winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction and a New York Times bestselling author of 26 novels of suspense, including the popular series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. His latest, “A Death in Live Oak," is the fifteenth in the Swyteck series. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in 28 languages. He is now Counsel at one of the nation’s leading law firms, where he specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law, representing clients who have won more than 30 Tony Awards. He lives in south Florida with his wife, three children, two cats and a golden retriever named Max who has no idea he’s a dog.

#BookReview I See You by Clare Mackintosh @claremackint0sh @BerkleyPub

#BookReview I See You by Clare Mackintosh @claremackint0sh @BerkleyPub Title: I See You

Author: Clare Mackintosh

Published by: Berkley Publishing on Feb. 21, 2017

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Berkley Publishing, NetGalley

Book Rating: 9/10

You do the same thing every day.

You know exactly where you’re going.

You’re not alone.

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it’s there. There’s no explanation: just a website, a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it’s just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make . . .

I See You is an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning psychological thriller from one of the most exciting and successful British debut talents of 2015. 


Review:

Well crafted, intense and incredibly riveting!

This is an engrossing hair-raising thriller that touches on just how much people are creatures of habit and how vulnerable that routine behaviour truly makes us. It is a story about jealousy, greed, manipulation, trust, deception, violence, and murder.

The characters are complex, multi-layered, and determined. The writing is well done. And the plot builds nicely and shifts effortlessly as it alternates between the heroine’s point of view and the ongoing investigation, interspersed with the occasional perpetrator’s point of view which continues to elevate the tension and creepiness throughout.

I would have to say this truly is a well written suspenseful mystery that highlights the perverse and nefarious side of human nature and has enough twists, turns and surprises to make it a definite must read in my book.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy of this story from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Amazon UKAmazon USAmazon CanadaIndigoBook DepositoryKoboB&N

 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, especially Berkley Publishing, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Clare Mackintosh

Clare Mackintosh is an award-winning New York Times and international bestselling author. She spent twelve years on the police force in England and has written for Guardian (UK), Good Housekeeping, and other publications. Translated into forty languages, her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide. Clare lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children.

Photo by Astrid di Crollalanza.