The Lies Within by Jane Isaac #BlogTour @Legend_Press

Today I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for one of my favourite authors, Jane Isaac. The Lies Within is the latest instalment in her DI Will Jackman series.

About this book…

THE THIRD DI WILL JACKMAN CRIME THRILLER

Be under no illusions by her kind face and eloquent manner… This woman is guilty of murder.

Grace Daniels is distraught after her daughter’s body is found in a Leicestershire country lane. With her family falling apart and the investigation going nowhere, Grace’s only solace is the re-emergence of Faye, an old friend who seems to understand her loss.

DI Will Jackman delves into the case, until a family tragedy and a figure from his past threaten to derail him.

When the police discover another victim, the spotlight falls on Grace. Can Jackman find the killer, before she is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit?

My review…

Wow! I love this series featuring Will Jackman and The Lies Within has got to be my favourite so far! Part police procedural, part psychological thriller and part courtroom drama, I was glued to this book from the moment I picked it up! Grace was such a carefully crafted character that I found myself questioning every move she made, asking myself if the woman in the prologue is the same grief stricken mother we meet after her daughter Jo is discovered murdered.

I found the chapters following the family after Jo’s murder to be incredibly difficult to read. Jane Isaac totally conveyed the feelings of grief and helplessness felt by them as they tried to come to terms with what had happened to their family. Their everyday lives became a chore as if they were trying to walk through quicksand. So when an old friend turns up, Grace is gradually brought back to life and Faye becomes an integral part of her emotional recovery. But what on earth has happened for Grace to end up in court on a murder charge? The author built up the tension between the characters carefully until it became impossible to put this book down. I was fascinated by Grace, could the loss of her daughter have turned her into a murderer? Thankfully, Will Jackman thinks not and the race is on to prove Grace is innocent.

Once again Will Jackmans personal life proves as complex and intriguing as the case he is in charge of solving. He really is in a “no man’s land” when it comes to his love life and my heart went out to him as I watched him struggle to do the right thing. I just want that man to be happy!!!! He’s too lovely to be on his own!!!

I loved every minute of this book, it had me utterly engrossed in the storyline from the very first page with characters that I came to care about and a moral dilemma that gave me cause for thought. This is a perfectly plotted and intricately woven tale that you will leave you breathless with amazement as you finish the final few chapters. Highly recommended by me!

Many thanks to Lucy Chamberlain at Legend Press for my advanced review copy of The Lies Within: Shocking. Page-Turning. Crime Thriller with DI Will Jackman (The DI Will Jackman series) which is available to purchase now.

Meet the author ..

Jane Isaac lives with her husband, daughter and dog, Bollo, in rural Northamptonshire, UK. Her debut novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, introduces DCI Helen Lavery and was nominated as best mystery in the ‘eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook awards 2013.’

The Truth Will Out, the second in the DCI Helen Lavery series, was nominated as ‘Thriller of the Month – April 2014’ by E-thriller.com and winner of ‘Noveltunity book club selection – May 2014’.

In 2015 Jane embarked on a new series, featuring DI Will Jackman and set in Stratford upon Avon, with Before It’s Too Late. The second in the series, Beneath The Ashes, will be published by Legend Press on 1st November 2016 with the 3rd, The Lies Within, to follow on 2nd May 2017.

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Angel by L.J. Ross #BookReview

About this book…

He’ll make you his angel, but first you have to die…

After a turbulent time, DCI Ryan’s life is finally beginning to return to normal and he’s looking forward to spending an uneventful Easter bank holiday weekend with his fiancée.

Then, on Good Friday morning he is called out to a crime scene at one of the largest cemeteries in Newcastle. The body of a redheaded woman has been found buried in a shallow grave and the killer has given her wings, like an angel.

Soon, another woman is found at a different cemetery, followed quickly by another. Panic spreads like wildfire as a new serial killer is born, and Ryan’s band of detectives must work around the clock to unmask him before he can strike again.

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.

My review…

This is a series that really packed a punch right from the first book, Holy Island, and sometimes it can be difficult to keep up the momentum as a series progresses. But LJ Ross has such a captivating writing style that her books just seem to be getting better with each one! I will also say that each one is pretty self-contained so they can be read as standalone novels although the personal threads running through are so interesting that you will surely want to read them all anyway so I recommend you read them in the order they were written.

There’s such an intriguing case here for DCI Ryan to solve. When bodies start turning up, buried in graveyards and all looking similar, the police force realise that they have a serial killer on their hands. Even worse, it looks like red headed Mackenzie also fits the description of the murdered women so the race is on to discover the identity of The Graveyard Killer before he kills again. There’s barely time to take breath once the team start their investigations and there’s definitely not much time for personal relationships so they are put on the back burner for most of Angel. Is this the work of a religious zealot or is there a much deeper motive for the killing spree?

The first chapter really set the tone and pace for the rest of the book and once it grabbed me, it wasn’t letting go. I loved the camaraderie between the characters and the easy way they all came together, like a perfectly oiled machine! As usual the beautiful setting of Northumberland acts as a picturesque contrast to the dark and disturbing crimes committed here. In particular, at its heart, is the spectacular attraction The Angel of the North, a stunning visual landmark welcoming vistors to that part of the country. The comparison with the way the bodies were displayed was hard to miss and just added to my enjoyment of this gripping crime thriller. And now I just can’t wait to read the next one!  Highly recommended by me.

Angel: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 4) is available to purchase from Amazon UK now.

Meet the author…

L.J. Ross is the author of the international #1 bestselling series of DCI Ryan mystery novels. Her debut, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and reached number one in the Amazon Kindle UK bestsellers chart. Its sequels, Sycamore Gap, Heavenfield and Angel are also #1 bestsellers. The fifth book in the series, High Force, is scheduled for release towards the end of 2016 or early 2017. The novels are all available to purchase in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats on the Amazon store. Holy Island is also available in German translation.

Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and studied abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a regulatory lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write.

Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Bath. She enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

If you would like to connect with LJ Ross, she would be very happy to hear from you:

https://www.facebook.com/LJRossAuthor
https://twitter.com/ljross_author
http://www.ljrossauthor.com
http://www.lovesuspense.com
lj_ross@outlook.com

The Girls Next Door by Mel Sherratt #HelpMe #BlogTour @Bookouture

Today I am absolutely thrilled to be the last stop on the blog tour for The Girls Next Door by Mel Sherratt, her first book for publisher Bookouture! And I’m sharing my date with the fabulous Emma Welton so check out her review over at damppebbles

About this book…

One warm spring evening, five teenagers meet in a local park. Only four will come out alive.

Six months after the stabbing of fifteen-year-old Deanna Miller, someone is coming after the teenagers of Stockleigh, as a spate of vicious assaults rocks this small community. Revenge for Deanna? Or something more?

Detective Eden Berrisford is locked into a race against time to catch the twisted individual behind the attacks – but when her own niece, Jess Mount, goes missing, the case gets personal.

With the kidnapper threatening Jess’ life, can Eden bring back her niece to safety? Or will the people of Stockleigh be forced to mourn another daughter…?

 

My review…

I’ve been a big fan of this author for a good few years now especially her DS Allie Shenton series so I was very keen to see what she would do with a new publisher and a new feature character. And I have to say that she has got this new series off to a great start and I LOVE DS Eden Berrisford!

There is a real sense of family loyalty here as we meet not only Eden and her daughter but her sister Laura and Laura’s two girls Sarah and Jess. I must say though that I did feel poor Laura had the short straw with her ordinary name compared to the exotically named Eden! But I probably felt more empathy with Laura, struggling to bring up her daughters as a single working mum and having one of them going through those awkward teenage years. Jess was a brilliantly realistic character creation, a teenager who’s friends and boyfriend are more important to her than her own family even if they are a bad influence on her. And then there is her best friend Katie, who has found out the hard way that being in with the wrong crowd can have serious and long lasting consequences.

As usual Mel has set her story up in a community that has echoes of the places she knows and loves. And this is what I love, as it could be any of our friends or neighbours suffering in this way. When Jess is taken and her friends attacked, suspicion falls on the local troublemakers but Eden is determined not to jump to any conclusions. The whole community is in a state of shock due to the recent murder and she needs to keep control of the situation to prevent anyone handing out their own form of justice. I found it very easy to imagine this crime being reported on Signal One, our local radio station for the Stoke area-it felt that realistic!

Once I picked this up it was pretty impossible to put it down-it was that addictive! And I didn’t work out where it was going with it’s surprising plot twists, which is always a huge positive for a crime fan like me. This is a great start to the new series and I’m really looking forward to seeing what develops next for DS Eden Berrisford. She’s my kind of girl!

Thanks to the publisher Bookouture for my review copy of The Girls Next Door.

The Girls Next Door: A gripping, edge-of-your-seat crime thriller (Detective Eden Berrisford crime thriller series Book 1) is published by Bookouture on 27th October and available to buy here at Amazon UK

 

About the author by the author…

I write gritty crime dramas, psychological suspense and fiction with a punch – or grit-lit, as I call it. Shortlisted for the prestigious CWA (Crime Writer’s Association) Dagger in Library Award 2014, my inspiration comes from authors such as Martina Cole, Lynda la Plante, Mandasue Heller and Elizabeth Haynes. Since 2012, all eight of my crime novels have been bestsellers, each one climbing into the kindle UK top 20 and I’ve had several number ones. I’ve also had numerous Kindle All-star awards, for best read author and best titles.

I also write contemporary fiction under the name of Marcie Steele – Stirred with Love was published in September 2015, The Little Market Stall of Hope and Heartbreak in December 2015 and The Second Chance Shoe Shop in April 2016.

I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with my husband and terrier, Dexter (named after the TV serial killer) and make liberal use of my hometown as a backdrop for some of my books. You can find out more at my website http://www.melsherratt.co.uk or I’m on Twitter at @writermels

Dark Water by Robert Bryndza #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

About the book…

Beneath the water the body sank rapidly. Above her on dry land, the nightmare was just beginning.

When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip-off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child.

The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins. The missing girl who made headline news twenty-six years ago.

As Erika tries to piece together new evidence with the old, she must dig deeper and find out more about the fractured Collins family and the original detective, Amanda Baker. A woman plagued by her failure to find Jessica. Erika soon realises this is going to be one of the most complex and demanding cases she has ever taken on.

Is the suspect someone close to home? Someone is keeping secrets. Someone who doesn’t want this case solved. And they’ll do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.

My review…

Well, I didn’t think it could happen but Robert Bryndza has done it again! This series just gets better with every instalment and the third book is the best one so far in my opinion. DCI Erika Foster is an incredibly complex but fascinating character who is a joy to follow. The cases she becomes involved in seem to bring out more of the real Erika each time and by the end of every book I just want MORE! If you haven’t read any others in the series this can easily be read as a standalone but to get the most out of the intriguing and enigmatic Erika please do start with The Girl in the Ice and I’m convinced you will then join the ever-increasing fan base of this talented author.

DCI Erika Foster is now working in Kent where she has just recovered a huge stash of drugs from a local quarry. But whilst beneath the water, the police diver discovers another bundle…the skeleton of a small child. Erika is unable to think of anything else afterwards and persuades her superiors to let her take on the case. So with the help of her old dream team of Moss and Peterson and police pathologist Isaac, she throws herself into solving the case. I found the scenes describing the discovery absolutely heartbreaking especially when it becomes clear the body was that of a seven year old little girl who had disappeared 26 years ago.

What I find fascinating about Erika is her determination to always bring someone to justice and how it takes over her life. There are lots of strong, memorable female police officers around at the moment but Erika Foster is by far my favourite. She has a strength of character that belies her traumatic past but there is also a softness and a vulnerability about her that keeps her from being unlikable when she becomes the driven and compulsive Erika we have come to know and love. We also get more of an insight into her Slovakian family this time which I have been looking forward since The Night Stalker.

I read this in one sitting as it was totally addictive and had me gripped from the very first page so there was no way I was putting it down! And this is one series you can rely upon for a twisty plot that will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. I just adore Erika and can’t wait to see what Robert Bryndza has in store for her next. A fabulous five stars from beginning to end!

Dark Water: A totally gripping thriller with a killer twist (Detective Erika Foster Book 3) is published by Bookouture on 20th October and is available to purchase here at Amazon UK

About the author…

Robert Bryndza is the author of the international #1 bestseller The Girl in the Ice. The Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller is the first in the new Detective Erika Foster series.

The second book in the series, The Night Stalker, is a Wall Street Journal no.1 bestseller, and the third book, Dark Water, is available to pre-order and will be released October 20th 2016.

Robert’s books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into 18 languages.

In addition to writing Crime Fiction, Robert has published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels. He is British and lives in Slovakia with his Slovak husband Ján.

You can find out more about the author at http://www.robertbryndza.com and on Twitter @RobertBryndza

Sign up to Robert Bryndza‘s New Release Mailing List here: http://eepurl.com/UITxz

I Know Your Secret by Graham Smith #BlogTour @caffeinenights @GrahamSmith1972

About this book…

“What would you do if your most intimate secrets got into the wrong hands?”

Set in modern day Cumbria, I Know Your Secret is a police thriller in which a priest is found crucified to the stone floor of his church. Fearing more attacks on the clergy, DI John Campbell and his team of misfits race to find the killer before he strikes again.

Meanwhile, DI Harry Evans, spends his days attending the trial of his wife’s rapist and his nights interfering in the investigation.

Can they catch the killer before he strikes again?

My review…

After the recent novella Matching the Evidence Major Crimes Team Vol 2 I was thrilled to know that there wasn’t too much time to waiting for the next Harry Evans book, a follow up to Snatched From Home. And I have to say that this is Graham Smith’s best to date! I Know Your Secret grabs the reader from the very first page and then keeps hold of you until that absolutely brilliantly plotted ending.

This team has its fair share of very full-on characters, some I love, some I tolerate but most I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of! DI Campbell has a lot of reputation to build back up and he’s hoping the case of a murdered priest will be solved quickly and efficiently. After all he’s missing the first few important days of baby Alan’s life to make his case. Harry is facing his wife’s rapist in court and hoping that justice will be done but he can’t help but get involved in the team’s ongoing cases during his evenings. And Lauren? If I say I didn’t like her will I be accused of jealousy?! She knows how to do her job but I wouldn’t want to work with her! The case of the murdered priest runs alongside a blackmailer who is emailing people with their secrets and asking for weekly “donations” to make sure those indiscretions stay secret! I think the twisty plot details were just brilliant, I was engaged with the team the whole way through and the ending…..well, let’s just say that I didn’t see THAT coming! And those last few pages made me look at Harry Evans very differently indeed!

If you’re looking for a gritty and realistic British police thriller then Graham Smith’s latest has to be top of your wishlist. It can be read as a standalone but make sure you do check out the other books featuring The Major Crimes Team. You can find one of my reviews below.

Thanks to Caffeine Nights and the author for my review copy and to Noelle the CrimeBookJunkie for her fabulously smooth organising of the blog tour.

My review for Matching the Evidence by Graham Smith **Blog Tour** Publication Day Guest Post! can be found here.

I Know Your Secret: What would you do if your most intimate secrets got into the wrong hands? (DI Harry Evans Book 2) is published by Caffeine Nights on 17th October and is available to buy at Amazon UK here.

 

About the author…

Graham Smith is married with a young son. A time served joiner he has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since Christmas 2000 he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.

An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer and interviewer for the well-respected website Crimesquad.com since 2009

He is the author of four books featuring DI harry Evans and the Cumbrian Major Crimes Team.

Matching the Evidence
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matching-Evidence-Major-Crimes-Team-ebook/dp/B01JJ5D1AC

Snatched from Home
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snatched-Home-Would-Children-Harry-ebook/dp/B00U0GRQCY

Lines of Enquiry
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Major-Crimes-Team-Lines-Enquiry-ebook/dp/B00U0N3FG8

I Know Your Secret – Out October 2016
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Know-Your-Secret-intimate-secrets-ebook/dp/B01LSVRL5G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474197065&sr=8-1&keywords=I+Know+Your+Secret

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972
Websitewww.grahamsmithauthor.com

 

Candles and Roses by Alex Walters #BlogTour #BookReview @MikeWalters60 @Bloodhoundbook @baatyabtbooks

About this book…

Who will live and who will die? 

DI Alec McKay is a man haunted by the loss of his daughter.  As he obsesses over a missing person case that is going nowhere, McKay’s investigation is interrupted when bodies start appearing on the Scottish Black Isle. Soon McKay and his team start to identify a disturbing pattern behind the killings.

Why are candles and roses placed around the bodies?

What is this twisted murderer trying to achieve?

While the police follow their own leads, a young woman who discovered the first victim begins an investigation of her own.

As the case unfolds McKay will be forced to face his own demons.

To catch the killer McKay must discover the true motive and untangle the web of truth and lies.

Candles and Roses is the first book in the explosive new DI McKay Series.

My review…

I haven’t read any of this authors books before so really didn’t have any expectations at all when I picked it up to read. So it was a very pleasant surprise to find a crime novel set in a lovely part of Scotland that I know quite well and with a detective that I found very likeable and convincing.

DI Alec McKay was very easy to visualize from the authors description and I was surprised how easily I took to him. There’s a good balance here between his work life, where he is out to catch a possible serial killer and his home life where problems are hinted at very early on. The other characters I liked were Ginny Horton whom I would love to have more of the action in future books, and Kelly, who bravely decided she wanted to take part in a little investigating of her own. After taking a little while to work out who they and the rest of the characters were and how they fitted in with the plot, I couldn’t put this book down. The descriptions of how each girl goes missing were really disturbing with a creepy atmosphere and sense of foreboding leading back to the wonderfully dark and gloomy setting of the Black Isle.

I did work out where the plot was going but found the end to be conducted without too much sentimentality and with a few ends left dangling for good measure! I really enjoyed this new crime series and will definitely be looking to read the next book when it comes along.

Many thanks to Helen at Bloodhound books for my review copy.

Candles and Roses: a serial killer thriller is published by Bloodhound books on 27th September and is available to buy here at Amazon UK

About the author…

Alex has worked in the oil industry, broadcasting and banking and now runs a consultancy working mainly in the criminal justice sector including police, prisons and probation.
As Michael Walters, he has published three crime thrillers set in modern-day Mongolia. As Alex Walters he has written two thrillers set in and around Manchester and featuring the undercover officer, Marie Donovan, Trust No-One and Nowhere to Hide. His new book, Late Checkout is the first in a series of crime thrillers featuring, alongside Marie Donovan, the rather distinctive DCI Kenny Murrain. The second book in the series, Dark Corners, is scheduled for publication in Autumn 2016. Candles and Roses, the first in a new crime series set in Scotland’s Black Isle, is due out in September 2016.
Alex lives in Manchester with his wife, occasional sons and too many cats.

He can be contacted at: mike@whitmuir.com
Twitter: @mikewalters60
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alexwaltersauthor/

 

 

 

 

Clever Deception by Mel Comley and Linda Prather

About this book…

“Have you ever watched the light fade from someone’s eyes, Foxy? The pigment slowly, ever so slowly disappear?”

The press call him the Escape Artist, and he is certainly living up to his name.

Sergeant Alexandra Fox has never come up against such a devious mind in her entire career. Ten young women, seven of them wives of fellow officers, have been found tortured and murdered. Every tiny lead fizzles out, and he revels in taunting them by phone, torturing them mentally as he forces them to listen to the screams of his victims.

Alexandra, is determined to catch him before he kills again, unaware that she’s become the object of his obsession until he issues one last threat: “I thought I would give you one warning. A chance to back away and leave the investigation. Don’t make me punish you.”

My review…

OMG! What a blooming brilliant novella! I took it with me to read whilst at the play barn this morning (school hols plus rain equals desperate measures!) and I absolutely loved every second of it. Mel Comley and Linda Prather are great on their own as writers but together they are amazing. Its like my love of peanut butter and my love of chocolate-on their own they are pretty good but put them together and I am in heaven!!!

Alex Fox is just a wonderful new character creation and I felt every single emotion that she was going through here. Hunting a vile and devious serial killer known as the Escape Artist, Fox has to put everything she has into solving the clues he maliciously sends her to try to prevent more abductions and work out who he is and what motive keeps on driving him.

This is a novella so didn’t take much longer than an hour for me to read but now I just can’t wait for the first book in the new Deception series. Be aware there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end here and hope you don’t start screaming “NO!!!!! I want more now!!” like I did! This is a really great start to this new series that will, I’m sure, be a huge hit with fans of both writers and adding some new ones as well!

Many thanks to the authors for my advanced review copy in return for my unbiased review.

Clever Deception: A Deception novella prequel to Tragic Deception is published on 14th September 2016 and will be available to buy from Amazon UK here.

Loose Cannon by Jack Steele

About this book…

A psychopath is loose in London. Detective Joe Stone must hunt the serial killer before a gangland civil war breaks out.

 

My review…

Wow! This debut crime thriller raises your heart rate right from the first page and doesn’t let up the tension until the very last sentence, the one that will have you screaming “WHAT??? I need the sequel and I need it NOW!!”

This is a very self assured debut by Jack Steele and a great introduction to Joe Stone (a reference to his appearance being a little like Ryan Phillipe helps the imagination!). It’s a sharp and snappy way of storytelling with short chapters some ending with mini cliffhangers, which mean you fly through the book unable to stop at the end of the previous chapter. It felt very fresh and flowed with a heart racing speed through the hunt for the “loose cannon” with twists and turns at every junction you come to.

Although in essence a police procedural, I actually loved the gangland element of this thriller. From the opening chapter, with its nightmare feel as Marcia realises there is someone in her bedroom, the pace never lets up as two crime families are brought together in a forced war. And it was a touch of genius to have the backstory of Stone’s girlfriend Gemma having being abducted a year before. It gave him a vulnerability that made him easier to relate to.

I actually got up extra early (foregoing my school holiday lie in!) so I could sit in peace and quiet to finish this off this morning. But I had to have a nice calming chamomile tea after instead of my morning coffee as I’m not sure my heart needed that extra shot of caffeine after the rush of the final few pages! In fact this reminded me of those early Simon Kernick novels for that adrenaline fuelled rush you get whilst reading!

I’m now looking forward to reading more by Jack Steele and hope the sequel can live up to the promise of this first enjoyable instalment.

I received my review copy from the author.

Loose Cannon was self published on 26th January 2016 and is available to buy from Amazon.

Prima Facie by Netta Newbound **Blog tour**

Today I am thrilled to be on the blog tour for the new Adam Stanley book by Netta Newbound which is called Prima Facie.

About this book…

In this fast-moving suspense novel, Detective Adam Stanley searches for Miles Muldoon, a hardworking, career-minded businessman, and Pinevale’s latest serial killer.

Evidence puts Muldoon at each scene giving the police a prima facie case against him.

But as the body count rises, and their suspect begins taunting them, this seemingly simple case develops into something far more personal when Muldoon turns his attention to Adam and his family.

My review…

This is the fourth book in the Adam Stanley series and I will start by saying that you can absolutely read this as a stand-alone thriller as there is plenty of background given here into Adams past life. But you will probably want to seek them out anyway after reading Prima Facie as you will be fascinated by what has gone before! This one does touch on the distressing cases that have gone previous to this but it is all in relation to Adam and his family unit, so is quite integral to the plot.

There  a serial killer on the loose who seems to be targeting his ex girlfriends but Adam and Frances are on the case. Theirs was a great police partnership and worked really well, as a team they bounce ideas off each other but I also found it a rather affectionate relationship as there’s a mutual trust and support there. Adams relationship with Amanda was also well written and I just loved their little family unit, with the quips from the children making it a realistic domestic scene. These are definitely characters that you will want to meet again!

The opening few pages are told from the point of view of the murderer and this continues throughout as we get flashes of what is driving them towards their bloodthirsty attacks and their motives. I did work out quite a lot of what was going on but for me the “whodunit and why” was definitely only part of the enjoyment of this police procedural. I hadn’t actually heard the term Prima Facie before either so was interested enough to research that further before I started the book.

What I love about these books is that they grab you right from the start with their interesting and unusual plotlines. Netta takes normal family situations and twists them around to create moral dilemmas. And in Prima Facie, she isn’t afraid to make us feel slightly queasy either by using bodily functions throughout as an unexpected way of obtaining evidence!

I actually think this whole series is seriously underrated and wish more people knew about it! I came to it after reading and loving An Impossible Dilemma which really grabbed me with its shocking and rather graphic scenes that were impossible to tear myself away from! Nothing is ever gratuitous though in her books, everything is absolutely essential to the plot. So I definitely recommend you try this series if you want a hard hitting and compelling page turner.

Prima Facie: A Psychological Serial Killer Thriller (The Adam Stanley Series Book 4) is published on 8th July 2016 and is available here at Amazon UK

About Netta Newbound…

Netta Newbound, originally from Manchester, England, now lives in New Zealand with her husband Paul and their boxer dog Alfie. She has three grown-up children and two delicious grandchildren.

As a child, Netta was plagued by a wild imagination, often getting in trouble for making up weird and wonderful stories. Yet she didn’t turn her attention to writing until after her children had grown and left home.

Although she mostly writes psychological thriller novels, all of which consistently rank highly in the best seller categories, she has also written several non-fiction books with a close friend and fellow author under the names of Sandra Rose & Jeanette Simone.

Outside Looking In by Michael Wood **Blog Tour**

I am very, very, VERY happy to be the next stop on the blog tour for Outside Looking In (A DCI Matilda Darke novel) by Michael Wood. 

About this book…

When elderly George Rainsford goes to investigate a suspicious noise one night, the last thing he expects to find is a bloodbath. A man has been killed and a woman brutally beaten, left for dead.

The victims are Lois Craven and Kevin Hardaker – both married, but not to each other. Their spouses swear they knew nothing of the affair and, besides, they both have alibis for the attack. With nothing else to link the victims, the investigation hits a dead end.

The pressure is on for investigating officer, DCI Matilda Darke: there’s a violent killer on the loose, and it looks like her team members are the new targets. With no leads and no suspects, it’s going to take all Matilda’s wits to catch him, before he strikes again.

My review…

I have been desperate to get my hands on this book to read and review ever since I finished For Reasons Unknown back in January. I recommended that book to everyone I know and they all loved it too! So I made sure that Outside Looking In was preordered ready to magically appear on my Kindle on publication day. But would it live up to my expectations after loving the first book in the series so much? Well I am happy to say that not only did it live up to those expectations, it exceeded them!

I will start by saying please do read For Reasons Unknown first. This one could possibly be read as a standalone but I strongly recommend it isn’t! This sequel contains spoilers to that first book and you will get so much more from this one if you have more background information about Matilda and her previous cases. The opening chapter here really is a bit of a shocker and sets the pace for a fabulously suspenseful police investigation. A couple getting ready for bed hear a car horn being bleeped constantly, eventually working out that it is signalling an SOS. The husband goes to investigate further and discovers a disturbing crime scene with one man dead and a woman shot and badly beaten. DCI Matilda Drake is brought in with her MIT team to find their attacker and begins to uncover the secrets hidden by the couple, who were married but not to each other.

What I love about these books is that Matilda is a woman that we shouldn’t really like, she’s a mess emotionally and her career is hanging by a thread still. But there is a vulnerability about her and a rawness to her grief that just pulls you in. She constantly breaks the rules putting others safety above her own. I love her relationship with Adele still but I also found all the characters to be well written and realistic. Once again Sian was there with her snack drawer (no Tunnocks teacakes this time though disappointingly!) to keep them all going and its little touches like this that make me feel so at home in Michael Woods books and in their dark and gritty Sheffield setting.

I really can’t recommend this book highly enough. The series just keeps getting better and I am eagerly awaiting the  next instalment now! But when will we be discovering more about THAT kidnapping case? I have a feeling that there is so much more to come there. I just want to finish by observing that throughout this book Michael Wood gives a nod towards some of my very favourite crime writers but he can certainly add himself to that list now as well!

Outside Looking In: A darkly compelling crime novel with a shocking twist (DCI Matilda Darke, Book 2) is available to buy now from Amazon UK