Difference between revisions of "Newest Thrillers Reviews"

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[[Category:Thrillers|*]]
 
[[Category:Thrillers|*]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|Thrillers]]__NOTOC__<!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->
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[[Category:New Reviews|Thrillers]]__NOTOC__
 
{{Frontpage
 
{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0692853545
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|isbn=0241678412
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|title=The Things We Do
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|title=The Proof of My Innocence
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|author=Kay Pfaltz
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|author=Jonathan Coe
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Thrillers
 
|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=It's 2015 and Dr Eleanor Hartley is a prison psychologist at the state penitentiary and she knows that her next patient is not going to be easy. 'Jane Doe' has been convicted of the murder of two men - one a police officer.  She pleaded guilty and since then has been silent: even her identity is in doubt.  She was carrying identification as Jane Dunlap when she was arrested, but it's been proved to be false.  There seem to be no family or friends who are missing her. Eleanor's task is to get Jane talking, to find out why a seemingly normal young woman would murder two men.
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|summary=Life after university hasn't worked out quite the way that Phyl anticipated.  She's back home, living with her parents and on a zero-hours contract serving sushi to tourists at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport.  All those ideas of becoming a writer seem to have come to nothing.  The situation improves when 'Uncle' Chris comes to stay and introduces Phyl to his adopted daughter, Rashida.  Christopher Swann (described by some as a lefty blogger) is investigating a think tank which originated at Cambridge University in the 1980s.  It plans to push the government in a more extreme direction and is ready to act.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0008385068
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|title=The Midnight Feast
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|author=Lucy Foley
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|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The Manor.  It's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised.  It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows.  The Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famous.  Her husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the site.  The heat is oppressive and amongst the guests are enemies as well as friends.  Old scores are going to be settled and it won't be long before a body is found.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Saima Mir
 +
|title=Vengeance
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary= I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this novel – an organised crime syndicate in the north of England run by a Muslim woman. The fact that it was the second in a series I hadn't read didn't stop me – I've jumped midway into a few series before (on page and screen) and it needn't be a hindrance if it's good enough. And that wasn't a problem here. Vengeance swiftly brings you up to speed, and I never felt lost.
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|isbn=0861541561
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=David Chadwick
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|title=Headload of Napalm
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary= It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until....
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|isbn= B0D321VJ76
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1399613073
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|title=Moral Injuries
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|author=Christie Watson
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.  Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.  Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor.  Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP.  When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy.  We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences.  Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends.  This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Sunny Singh
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|title=Hotel Arcadia
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=The Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist group.  Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through, killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager.  As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through her photography.  Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists.
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|isbn=086154742X
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Cody Goodfellow
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|title=Vertical
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary= There's something about tall buildings that just captures my imagination. Who doesn't love a good view from up high, after all? Even the drabbest office building is somewhere I'm intrigued to get inside if it's 40 stories tall. So when I picked up this book – about people who scale tall buildings for fun – I was instantly intrigued.
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|isbn= 1803363991
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Frontpage
 
{{Frontpage
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|isbn=147117316X
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|isbn=1804183210
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|title=Guilty Not Guilty
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|title=No Reserve
 
|author=Felix Francis
 
|author=Felix Francis
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|rating=4
 +
|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Thirty-four-year-old Theo Jennings shouldn't have been on the rostrum when the colt - as yet unnamed - came up for auction, but Peter Radway, the chairman, hadn't arrived, so he continued his session.  To say that he was shocked when the bidding reached three million pounds would be an understatement. A lovely animal - but three million pounds?  Two men had been bidding against each other.  Brian Kitman and Elliot 'Mitch' Mitchell were well-known and respected in the racing industry.  Jennings was in one of the cubicles in the toilets when the two men came in and their conversation revealed that the horse had been deliberately bid up to that figure.  Both were happy that they had insurance in place.  The following morning, the horse was dead in its stall.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1405951680
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|title=The Safe House
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|author=Cameron Ward
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|rating=4
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Jess Walker accepted an offer (OK, actually she was gently nudged into it by her friend, Rupert) to caretake a luxury property in the Australian outback for a couple of months.  After the problems she'd had at work, it seemed like just the break she needed.  She was no longer a data analyst for the Metropolitan police in London: she was Jess who was returning to the country of her birth and in need of the space to get over the traumatic end of her relationship with Charles.  A few weeks in the Otway Ranges in Victoria sounded like just the ticket.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1448309743
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|title=The Devil Stone (DCI Christine Caplan)
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|author=Caro Ramsay
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|rating=4
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|genre=Crime
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|summary=In the village of Cronchie on the West coast of Scotland, five members of a wealthy family are found murdered.  The only item missing from the home is the Devil Stone: myth says that if the stone is removed from Otterburn House, death will follow.  The only suspects are known Satanists but in many ways, that's an easy conclusion given that two of them 'discovered' the body.  The Senior Investigating Office is DCI Bob Oswald but when he disappears, DCI Christine Caplan is pulled in to 'shadow' him.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=B0CCCPJJ5B
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|title=The Last Person in the World
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|author=Matthew Tree
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|rating=4
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Our narrator was a scholarship day boy at the London-based public school where he met Ralph Finns.  It was an unusual relationship as Ralph was a boarder and had money to throw around on a  Rolex watch, vintage wines and a state-of-the-art sound system.  Both were probably quite surprised when they became almost friends and certainly more than acquaintances.  Finns had no intention of going on to University, unlike our storyteller who had a place at Wolverton College in Wellingford, the UK's third most prestigious university. Before going up, he took up a loose invitation to visit Ralph at his home, Clouds Manor in West Dorset.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Dean Koontz
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|title=The House at the End of the World
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|rating=4
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=When you experience overwhelming tragedy and feel that there is no one on your side, you can either suck it up, saddle up and ride on or you can retreat to your own private fortress on an island that sits snugly in a small chain of tiny dots on the map and live out your days in peace and solitude.  That's what Katie thought she was doing when she shut down her old life to start afresh on Jacob's Ladder; and all would have been the aforementioned peace and solitude were it not for the pesky US Government occupying Ringrock, the neighbouring island and perpetrating all manner of mischief in the name of science and quite possibly bringing about the end of all mankind.
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|isbn=1662453159
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1787636607
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|title=The Trap
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|author=Catherine Ryan Howard
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|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Crime
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|summary=It's a scene replicated all too often in the early hours of the morning.  Drunken revellers spilling out of clubs and looking for a way to get home.  Some are lucky and manage to get one of the few taxis available.  Others squash onto the night bus that will only go as far as one of the outlying villages.  The woman all regret the 'taxi problem', particularly in the light of 'the missing women'.  For one young woman, the final stop on the bus leaves her a long way short of her home.  She had intended to ring someone to come and collect her - but her phone's dead. The bus had driven off before she had the chance to beg the bus driver to let her use his.  There's no option but to start walking - unsuitably clothed and in high-heeled shoes.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529195977
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|title=None of this is True
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|author=Lisa Jewell
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Thrillers
 +
|summary=On her 45th birthday, Alix Summer celebrated with a crowd of friends in the Landsdown pub on Salisbury Road when she encountered Josie Fair.  She, too, was out celebrating her 45th birthday, only she was just with her husband, Walter.  It turns out that not only are Alix and Josie birthday twins, they were both born in St Mary's hospital.  That's where the similarities end, though: Alix, with her husband, Nathan, are in the midst of a joyful, monied group of friends and whilst they're not ''exactly'' rowdy, they're enjoying themselves.  Josie, on the other hand, holds her handbag close to her tummy and you get the sense that Walter's not too happy.  He's not used to spending this much money on a meal - but it is Josie's birthday after all.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1803136383
 +
|title=Tin Soldiers
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|author=David Chadwick
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Thrillers
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|summary= Wat Tyler has returned from fighting in Vietnam under something of a cloud. What actually happened out there is gossiped about and nobody is sure exactly what took place, but an act of heroism leading to a rare battlefield commission followed by rank cowardice and disgrace seems to be the consensus. Wat himself is keeping his cards close to his chest, as he always does.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=B0C7J9D21B
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|title=A Captive in Algiers (Muhammed Amalfi Mysteries)
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|author=A J Lewis
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Historical Fiction
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|summary=When we first meet our hero, his name is Ettore and he lives at The House of Beautiful Swallows.  Idyllic as this might sound, it's a bordello and Ettore's mother died when he was born.  He's not been short of mothers, though - but for someone of his background in late-eighteenth-century Amalfi, it's difficult to obtain decent employment. The stint working with the preparation of anchovies didn't work out and bastards are considered bad luck on fishing boats.  Ettore was nothing if not resourceful - and determined - and it was not long before he had a successful business as a guide for visitors.  He was even saving some money.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0241996104
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|title=Coming to Find You
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|author=Jane Corry
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|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Nancy's mother and step-father were brutally stabbed at their Sussex farmhouse and her step-brother, Martin, has been convicted of their murder.  We first meet Nancy outside the court, after Martin receives a life sentence.  The barrister tells her that she's received a 'silent sentence' - she's not been found guilty of anything but will have to live with what happened for the rest of her life.  Of course, it's made worse because Nancy's rich - she inherited five million pounds from her mother - and the papers are making the most of it.  ''Farmhouse slaughter daughter'' is one favourite epithet and ''rich bitch'' might not be printed but is undoubtedly spoken.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529135389
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|title=The Fall
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|author=Gilly Macmillan
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Crime
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|summary=Nicole Booth had spent the morning at the county fair before she returned home.  There was no sign of her husband but opera was playing on the state-of-the-art music system installed in The Glass Barn.  They'd not been in the architect-designed house on Lancaut Peninsula for long and were still getting used to all the high-tech systems Tom had insisted upon.  Some of them fought with each other and didn't work as reliably as they should.  It had all come about through a ten-million-pound lottery win and they were still getting used to having that sort of money, too.  Eventually, Nicole found Tom dead in the swimming pool with a wound to his head.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Alan Parks
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|title=To Die in June
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|rating=4
 +
|genre=Crime
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|summary=What first seems like the unfortunate, accidental death of a homeless man on the streets, suddenly starts to feel like something more sinister as another body is discovered, and then another.  This is worrying enough for detective Harry McCoy, but all the more so because his own father is a down and out alcoholic, with no fixed abode, and he has been for years.  At the same time as facing these possible murders, Harry is also dealing with a move to a different police station, and the arrival there of a woman who claims her little boy has gone missing, only no record of the boy having existed can be found.  Something feels wrong - not just with the woman’s story but also with the other officers where he has been stationed, but can Harry uncover just what is going on?
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|isbn=1805300784
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529382823
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|title=The Last Passenger
 +
|author=Will Dean
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Thrillers
 
|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=The Honourable William Herbert Millgate Gordon-Russell (Bill Russell to those who knew him well) was acting as a volunteer steward at Warwick Racecourse when he was told of the violent death of his much-loved wife.  It would get worse though: the successful insurance actuary would be accused of killing her and hounded by the media.  Then  he would lose his job and his home.  His best friends would turn against him, as they came to believe him guilty of the murder.  Yet there was no really compelling evidence that he was guilty.
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|summary=Caroline Riley (she prefers 'Caz') is middle-aged and has found herself somewhat surprisingly in love with Pete.  They're off on a cruise to New York on ''Atlantica''.  Caz's sister, Gemma, reckons that Pete is going to propose but Caz hasn't spotted a ring-shaped bulge in his suit pocket and she doesn't know whether she's relieved or disappointed.  They've not been a couple for that long and the trip will be an excellent opportunity to get to know him a bit better.  Meanwhile, Gemma is looking after Caz's cafe as well as their mother who has dementia.  It's going to be good, isn't it?
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Mark Edwards
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|title=Keep Her Secret
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary= Matthew and Helena are in Iceland, rekindling their university romance some twenty-odd years after they first met.  The alien-landscape of the lava fields and black beaches is breath-taking and Helena seems intent on getting the perfect photograph to encapsulate the joy she is feeling in this moment, even if it kills her… which it nearly does when the edge of a ravine gives way and Helena finds herself clinging to the rockface with just the snagged strap of her rucksack between her and a 500 foot drop to certain death below.  Convinced she is going to die, Helena must purge herself of the shocking secret she has been keeping and makes a panicked, cryptic declaration to Matthew.  Just moments later their heroic, and frankly very well prepared, Icelandic tour guide swoops in and hauls Helena to safety and Matthew is left wondering what he just learned about Helena.
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|isbn=166250893X
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Jenny Lund Madsen and Megan E Turney (translator)
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|title=Thirty Days of Darkness
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Hannah presents as an unlikeable, bitter woman, an author of failing if well-regarded literary short novels.  Sorry to leave her bottles of red wine behind her for an afternoon at a book fair, she flukes her way into a public argument with the latest hot shot in the world of crime fiction, saying he's populist trash and only writing what anyone could write.  Cue the bet that she cannot live up to that accusation.  Her publisher duly books her flights from Denmark to Iceland, where she is put up for a wintry month away from it all.  Just on the point of despairing – about her writing, about the people and the lack of stimulus for her plot, more or less about everything – word comes that the landlady's nephew has been found dead…
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|isbn=1914585615
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0861544056
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|title=Twin Truths
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|author=Jacqueline Sutherland
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|rating=5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=Belle and David's twin daughters are just coming to the end of their first term at university.  Kit's been at Bristol and Jess's in Exeter.  It's not only the first time they've been away from their parents for any length of time - but they've also been apart from each other.  Belle can't wait to have them all to herself for a while.  Then Kit rings up - can she bring her boyfriend home with her?  Belle would prefer that he didn't come but doesn't want to upset Kit. Ivo's apparently 'older': he's twenty-four to Kit's eighteen but Belle figures that she can cope with that.  And they'll be sharing a bedroom.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Robert Dugoni
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|title=Her Deadly Game
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|rating=5
 +
|genre=Crime
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|summary= Patrick Duggan & Associates has been the life's work of Patsy Duggan – rather charmingly nicknamed 'The Irish Brawler' due to his reputation for no holds barred courtroom performances in defence of his clients.  Along with an indisputable talent for the law, Patsy also has a gift for drinking himself to oblivion and inevitably the latter was beginning to overshadow the former.  Enter Keera Duggan, former competitive chess prodigy and proven Seattle Prosecutor who finds herself in the hideous position of asking her father for a job at the family firm because a romantic entanglement with a senior colleague, Miller Ambrose, had gone, rather spectacularly, south.
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|isbn=1662500181
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Vanda Symon
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|title=Expectant (Detective Sam Shephard)
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Crime
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|summary=Detective Sam Shepherd is approaching the start of her maternity leave when there is a brutal, shocking murder of an expectant woman in Dunedin.  Suddenly she finds herself embroiled in the hunt for a killer targeting pregnant women, with all the extra pressure that entails being pregnant herself.  Finding herself put on desk duties, which she rails against, she just can't let the case go and she starts to follow every thread to uncover what's actually happening, and the increasingly disturbing worry of just what might happen next.
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|isbn=1914585577
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1787301036
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|title=What July Knew
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|author=Emily Koch
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|rating=5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=When we first meet July Hooper on 20 July 1995 she's just ten years old.  She's a careful, meticulous child.  The care has been taught by her father, Mick Hooper, who is not prepared to discuss the death of his wife, July's mother, and any hint that the conversation is heading that way will lead to the necessity of a Lesson.  Other infractions of his requirements also lead to these Lessons and he's not even careful about whether or not the injuries are visible.  July's teacher is concerned and brings up the possibility of abuse with the head but her worries are dismissed: Mick has been good to the school, has he not?  The playground wouldn't have been resurfaced but for him.
 
}}
 
}}
  
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{{Frontpage
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<!-- Adele Parks -->
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|isbn=0008454493
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|-
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|title=All the Dangerous Things
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|author=Stacy Willingham
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[[image:0008284660.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008284660/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Crime
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|summary=Isabelle Drake hasn't really slept for a year - well, apart from the odd occasion when she lost track of time or drifted off for a moment. It's now a year since her son, Mason, was stolen from his bed in the middle of the night and Izzy is consumed with guilt that she heard nothing and particularly about her relief in the morning when she thought he was sleeping in. In that year she's done everything she could to raise awareness about the case. She does interviews and when we meet her, she's just been to TrueCrimeCon where she gave a keynote  presentation.  On the plane back, she's approached by a podcaster, Waylon Spencer, who points out that she could do a podcast and get to so many more people than she could by giving speeches to a few hundred people at conferences.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1848458436
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|title=Just the Nicest Couple
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|author=Mary Kubica
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|rating=4
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=''The whole thing has spiralled out of control, turning into someone I'm not.''
  
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''Just the Nicest Couple'' is the story of two couples: Christian and Lily Scott, and Nina and Jake Hayes.  The connection between the two is that Lily and Nina teach in the same school: Nina teaches English and Lily covers high school algebra.  The couples have mixed as a foursome but it's not a regular thing.  Christian is a market research analyst and Jake is a neurosurgeon: they don't have much in common except their wives.  Lily hasn't said anything yet, but she's pregnant.  She has a lengthy history of miscarriages so she doesn't want to tempt fate by making the knowledge public.
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}}
  
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Move on to [[Newest Travel Reviews]]
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===[[Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks]]===
 
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[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]]
 
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Simon Barnes had his first taste of beer in 1976 when he was just six years old.  Over the years it would become a habit and then a need.  By 2016 and with a wife and child of his own he was a functioning alcoholic - a fact known by everybody except Simon.  He's concentrating on wanting another child to complete his family.  His wife, Daisy, isn't worried.  They took a long time to conceive Millie, who's perfect in every way, so why tempt fate?  Simon's not inclined to let matters rest though and it's at a fertility clinic that he receives the news that will change all their lives: he's sterile. [[Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks|Full Review]]
 
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===[[The Lying Room by Nicci French]]===
 
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[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]]
 
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When we meet Neve Connolly it's pretty obvious that she has something to hide.  She crept into the house after midnight, carefully putting her clothes into the washing machine and she can't wait to get husband Fletcher and children Mabel, Connor and Rory off on their various ways the next morning when she gets a text telling her to come to the flat.  He has a few hours to spare and can't wait to see her.  Only, when she gets to the flat she finds Saul Stevenson, her boss and lover, dead on the floor.  The hammer that's been used on his brain is at his side. [[The Lying Room by Nicci French|Full Review]]
 
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===[[In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson]]===
 
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[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]]
 
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Ava lives a charmed life, but those things sometimes rub other people up the wrong way. One evening she returns from a night out with a friend, and before she can finish her bedtime routine, her home, and her life, are under attack: masked men have broken in and are demanding money from her husband, while her young daughter cowers beside him. In the scuffle than ensues, Ava is hurt, badly. When she wakes up in hospital she can barely remember what happened, but she knows it was life-changing. With her daughter still fighting for her life in a room down the corridor, Ava has a lot to contend with as she tries to recover, wills her daughter to recover, and attempts to piece together what happened and why. [[In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson|Full Review]]
 
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===[[A Dance of Cranes by Steve Burrows]]===
 
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DCI Domenic Jejeune is no longer with Lindy Hey, the estrangement being of his making, not hers.  He hasn't explained to her that he is doing this - and leaving for his native Canada - because he thinks that this will keep her safe from his nemesis, Ray Hayes.  Lauren Salter has been promoted to sergeant and now has her first murder case.  It looks as though there's an obvious suspect, but Salter isn't so certain.  Sgt Danny Maik is (unofficially) keeping an eye on Lindy Hey, whilst Jejeune embarks on a treacherous journey to rescue his brother, Damian, who has gone missing in one of Canada's largest national parks. [[A Dance of Cranes by Steve Burrows|Full Review]]
 
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===[[The Triumph of the Spider Monkey by Joyce Carol Oates]]===
 
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Bobby is an angry, damaged man - damage that came from being abandoned as a baby in a bus station locker, and then being thrown from one foster home or detention centre to another, never far from violence or abuse. Eager to succeed as a musician, he arrives in Hollywood to find his dream - but it soon becomes clear that his paranoid delusions and seething rage will enable a capacity for acts of extreme violence. Unpublished for 40 years, this edition of ''The Triumph of the Spider Monkey'' comes combined with a connected novella – ''Love, Careless Love''. [[The Triumph of the Spider Monkey by Joyce Carol Oates|Full Review]]
 
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I've never been but understand that travelling is all about meeting new people and forming instantaneous bonds with people in often chance situations. Well that's exactly what happens when the two main/only characters meet in a travel agency in Beijing - Carrie is unsuccessfully trying to get a refund on an extra ticket for the Trans-Siberian train and Violet is trying to unsuccessfully buy a ticket for the same sold-out journey. As the two team up, travelling through Mongolia, Serbia and into Russia, it could've been the start of a beautiful friendship but this a thriller after all so it quickly becomes a tale of obsession, manipulation and toxic friendships. [[Violet by S J I Holliday|Full Review]]
 
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Tess Gilroy works for Innocence UK, a charity investigating the cases of prisoners who can convince them that they've been wrongly convicted and they're just moving on to their next case.  She's somewhat surprised when Clive, the head of the charity, announces that she'll have someone shadowing her.  Avril's in her mid twenties and rather gauche as well as prone to putting her foot in it.  One of the reasons they're now going to look at the case of Carrie Kamara is that she's female and Innocence have never yet taken up the case of a woman: such impressions matter. [[Clear My Name by Paula Daly|Full Review]]
 
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===[[A Nearly Normal Family by M T Edvardsson and Rachel Wilson-Boyles (translator)]]===
 
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We're going to hear this story through the viewpoints of three different people: Adam Sandell, his wife, Ulrika and his daughter Stella. Adam's a pastor in the Church of Sweden and Ulrika is a lawyer. Stella is, well, just difficult. You sense that she's always been difficult and there have even been occasions when Ulrika has let slip that she wishes that Stella was more like her best friend, Amina Bešic - and no one has ever said that if they don't think that the other person is better. We first meet the family on Stella's 18th birthday and we get a sense of Adam's controlling nature. Permission has to be given for a glass of wine for Stella at the celebration meal. [[A Nearly Normal Family by M T Edvardsson and Rachel Wilson-Boyles (translator)|Full Review]]
 
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I'd like to say that all the old crew are in Slough House but the rate of natural (or unnatural) wastage is such as to have Health and Safety worried.  Roderick Ho's there though, narcissistic as ever, and so's Louisa Guy.  She's getting over the death of Min Harper to the extent that she's not ''too'' concerned when she gets a phone call from Clare Harper, Min's wife.  River Cartwright has got death on his mind too, but in his case it's the impending demise of his beloved grandfather and former spook, the OB.  Diana Taverner has taken over from Claude Whelan as First Desk at Regent Park and she's going to make changes: one of the first is a shock.  An argument with Emma Flyte sees the head dog departing the service.  Meanwhile at Slough House, Catherine Standish is buying booze again, Jackson Lamb is offensive as ever and Shirley Dander and J K Coe do their best to remain unnoticed, the latter by saying nothing. [[Joe Country (Jackson Lamb 6) by Mick Herron|Full Review]]
 
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The Yoo family originated in Seoul.  Yoo Young and her daughter Meh-hee came on ahead of the father of the family, Yoo Pak, as a couple in Baltimore offered to provide accommodation for Young and Meh-hee in exchange for assistance in their grocery store.  What Young had not appreciated was that she was to work from 6 a.m. until midnight, seven days a week.  For years she hardly saw her daughter except when the Kangs brought Meh-hee to see her at the store.  Meh-hee became Mary and struggled at school: her fellow pupils were no exceptions to the rule that children can be cruel and Mary was an easy target. [[Miracle Creek by Angie Kim|Full Review]]
 
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Can you imagine what it would be like to win a billion pounds? The UK's biggest ever lottery winners were a couple from Ayrshire, who won a £161 million EuroMillions jackpot a few years ago. That's so much money that it landed them on the Sunday Times Rich List of the UK's thousand most wealthy people. So a billion pounds. That's a lot, right? Can you imagine it?  What would you do? Would you try to remain anonymous? And, if you did, how would this affect your relationships with your nearest and dearest? What it would be like? How could you keep your friends and family from knowing that you were now one of the richest people in the country? [[The Billion Pound Lie by Bill Dare|Full Review]]
 
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As the title suggests, this book is all about a girl, Teagan Frost, who has psychokinesis. Forced to secretly work for the government along with a few unique (and shady) individuals, Teagan has to use her power for unimaginable tasks. All of this whilst under the pretence of working for a moving-company. After her latest job goes wrong and her and the team escape by the skin of their teeth, Teagan finds herself as a murder suspect when the victim is found in such a way that only she could have committed the crime. The rest of the story unfolds in a fast-paced race against time to clear Teagan's name and find out exactly what has happened. Is it possible that someone with a gift like Teagan's has managed to fly under the radar? [[The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford|Full Review]]
 
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It's strange how the worst of days can start in such an ordinary, mundane way.  And so it was for Anna McDonald as she sorted out gym kit and packed lunches for her two daughters.  It didn't begin to go wrong until she opened the door to her best friend, Estelle and realised that her husband was at the top of the stairs, dressed as though for a holiday rather than the work clothes she'd been expecting - and he was carrying a suitcase.  He and Estelle were leaving together - and they were taking Anna's two daughters with them.  There was another problem which neither Hamish nor Estelle knew about.  Anna wasn't actually Anna McDonald.  She was Sophie Bukaran, the woman who had been involved in the rape case against four footballers. [[Conviction by Denise Mina|Full Review]]
 
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Long after the police have given up on cold missing persons cases, David Raker picks them up and tracks them down. He's called to a particularly disturbing case where a small village of nine people all vanished overnight two years ago. Raker and his associate must delve in to the lives of these people to work out how and why nine people have gone missing. They are being threatened to stop but something about the mystery keeps drawing Raker further in, putting him in personal peril. [[No One Home by Tim Weaver|Full Review]]
 
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We know that something wrong is happening: a body is being dumped in deep water.  The rower pulls away and rows back to the boat house and then she walks back to Lake Hall.  As you begin reading you suspect that you know who has been killed and who dumped the body, but be patient: all will be revealed before too long. [[The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan|Full Review]]
 
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In Latvia the conspirators meet in a rather unpleasant location, but it's their plans which matter to them.  In Moscow two men delight in all the uncertainty in the Baltic.  In Washington the Undersecretary is a woman, but the personal pressures on her are the same as the men in Moscow are obliged to suffer.  In Stockholm three members of SÄPO, the Swedish Secret Service, know that the time has come for them to make a move.  They'd talk more, but their wives would get difficult and there's a rather pleasing tart which mustn't be missed. [[Mayhem in the Archipelago by Nick Griffiths|Full Review]]
 
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Despite Dorothy Koomson regularly being suggested as an author I might like, ie people who like this author also like Dorothy Koomson, I have never read her before. Having done so I can totally see why she's the bestselling author of fifteen books. [[Tell Me Your Secret by Dorothy Koomson|Full Review]]
 
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Latest revision as of 10:34, 20 November 2024

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Review of

The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe

4star.jpg Thrillers

Life after university hasn't worked out quite the way that Phyl anticipated. She's back home, living with her parents and on a zero-hours contract serving sushi to tourists at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. All those ideas of becoming a writer seem to have come to nothing. The situation improves when 'Uncle' Chris comes to stay and introduces Phyl to his adopted daughter, Rashida. Christopher Swann (described by some as a lefty blogger) is investigating a think tank which originated at Cambridge University in the 1980s. It plans to push the government in a more extreme direction and is ready to act. Full Review

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Review of

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The Manor. It's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows. The Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famous. Her husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the site. The heat is oppressive and amongst the guests are enemies as well as friends. Old scores are going to be settled and it won't be long before a body is found. Full Review

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Review of

Vengeance by Saima Mir

3.5star.jpg Thrillers

I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this novel – an organised crime syndicate in the north of England run by a Muslim woman. The fact that it was the second in a series I hadn't read didn't stop me – I've jumped midway into a few series before (on page and screen) and it needn't be a hindrance if it's good enough. And that wasn't a problem here. Vengeance swiftly brings you up to speed, and I never felt lost. Full Review

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Review of

Headload of Napalm by David Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until.... Full Review

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Review of

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor. Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved. Full Review

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Review of

Hotel Arcadia by Sunny Singh

3.5star.jpg Thrillers

The Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist group. Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through, killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager. As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through her photography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists. Full Review

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Review of

Vertical by Cody Goodfellow

3.5star.jpg Thrillers

There's something about tall buildings that just captures my imagination. Who doesn't love a good view from up high, after all? Even the drabbest office building is somewhere I'm intrigued to get inside if it's 40 stories tall. So when I picked up this book – about people who scale tall buildings for fun – I was instantly intrigued. Full Review

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Review of

No Reserve by Felix Francis

4star.jpg Thrillers

Thirty-four-year-old Theo Jennings shouldn't have been on the rostrum when the colt - as yet unnamed - came up for auction, but Peter Radway, the chairman, hadn't arrived, so he continued his session. To say that he was shocked when the bidding reached three million pounds would be an understatement. A lovely animal - but three million pounds? Two men had been bidding against each other. Brian Kitman and Elliot 'Mitch' Mitchell were well-known and respected in the racing industry. Jennings was in one of the cubicles in the toilets when the two men came in and their conversation revealed that the horse had been deliberately bid up to that figure. Both were happy that they had insurance in place. The following morning, the horse was dead in its stall. Full Review

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Review of

The Safe House by Cameron Ward

4star.jpg Thrillers

Jess Walker accepted an offer (OK, actually she was gently nudged into it by her friend, Rupert) to caretake a luxury property in the Australian outback for a couple of months. After the problems she'd had at work, it seemed like just the break she needed. She was no longer a data analyst for the Metropolitan police in London: she was Jess who was returning to the country of her birth and in need of the space to get over the traumatic end of her relationship with Charles. A few weeks in the Otway Ranges in Victoria sounded like just the ticket. Full Review

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Review of

The Devil Stone (DCI Christine Caplan) by Caro Ramsay

4star.jpg Crime

In the village of Cronchie on the West coast of Scotland, five members of a wealthy family are found murdered. The only item missing from the home is the Devil Stone: myth says that if the stone is removed from Otterburn House, death will follow. The only suspects are known Satanists but in many ways, that's an easy conclusion given that two of them 'discovered' the body. The Senior Investigating Office is DCI Bob Oswald but when he disappears, DCI Christine Caplan is pulled in to 'shadow' him. Full Review

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Review of

The Last Person in the World by Matthew Tree

4star.jpg Thrillers

Our narrator was a scholarship day boy at the London-based public school where he met Ralph Finns. It was an unusual relationship as Ralph was a boarder and had money to throw around on a Rolex watch, vintage wines and a state-of-the-art sound system. Both were probably quite surprised when they became almost friends and certainly more than acquaintances. Finns had no intention of going on to University, unlike our storyteller who had a place at Wolverton College in Wellingford, the UK's third most prestigious university. Before going up, he took up a loose invitation to visit Ralph at his home, Clouds Manor in West Dorset. Full Review

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Review of

The House at the End of the World by Dean Koontz

4star.jpg Thrillers

When you experience overwhelming tragedy and feel that there is no one on your side, you can either suck it up, saddle up and ride on or you can retreat to your own private fortress on an island that sits snugly in a small chain of tiny dots on the map and live out your days in peace and solitude. That's what Katie thought she was doing when she shut down her old life to start afresh on Jacob's Ladder; and all would have been the aforementioned peace and solitude were it not for the pesky US Government occupying Ringrock, the neighbouring island and perpetrating all manner of mischief in the name of science and quite possibly bringing about the end of all mankind. Full Review

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Review of

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

4.5star.jpg Crime

It's a scene replicated all too often in the early hours of the morning. Drunken revellers spilling out of clubs and looking for a way to get home. Some are lucky and manage to get one of the few taxis available. Others squash onto the night bus that will only go as far as one of the outlying villages. The woman all regret the 'taxi problem', particularly in the light of 'the missing women'. For one young woman, the final stop on the bus leaves her a long way short of her home. She had intended to ring someone to come and collect her - but her phone's dead. The bus had driven off before she had the chance to beg the bus driver to let her use his. There's no option but to start walking - unsuitably clothed and in high-heeled shoes. Full Review

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Review of

None of this is True by Lisa Jewell

5star.jpg Thrillers

On her 45th birthday, Alix Summer celebrated with a crowd of friends in the Landsdown pub on Salisbury Road when she encountered Josie Fair. She, too, was out celebrating her 45th birthday, only she was just with her husband, Walter. It turns out that not only are Alix and Josie birthday twins, they were both born in St Mary's hospital. That's where the similarities end, though: Alix, with her husband, Nathan, are in the midst of a joyful, monied group of friends and whilst they're not exactly rowdy, they're enjoying themselves. Josie, on the other hand, holds her handbag close to her tummy and you get the sense that Walter's not too happy. He's not used to spending this much money on a meal - but it is Josie's birthday after all. Full Review

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Review of

Tin Soldiers by David Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

Wat Tyler has returned from fighting in Vietnam under something of a cloud. What actually happened out there is gossiped about and nobody is sure exactly what took place, but an act of heroism leading to a rare battlefield commission followed by rank cowardice and disgrace seems to be the consensus. Wat himself is keeping his cards close to his chest, as he always does. Full Review

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Review of

A Captive in Algiers (Muhammed Amalfi Mysteries) by A J Lewis

4.5star.jpg Historical Fiction

When we first meet our hero, his name is Ettore and he lives at The House of Beautiful Swallows. Idyllic as this might sound, it's a bordello and Ettore's mother died when he was born. He's not been short of mothers, though - but for someone of his background in late-eighteenth-century Amalfi, it's difficult to obtain decent employment. The stint working with the preparation of anchovies didn't work out and bastards are considered bad luck on fishing boats. Ettore was nothing if not resourceful - and determined - and it was not long before he had a successful business as a guide for visitors. He was even saving some money. Full Review

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Review of

Coming to Find You by Jane Corry

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

Nancy's mother and step-father were brutally stabbed at their Sussex farmhouse and her step-brother, Martin, has been convicted of their murder. We first meet Nancy outside the court, after Martin receives a life sentence. The barrister tells her that she's received a 'silent sentence' - she's not been found guilty of anything but will have to live with what happened for the rest of her life. Of course, it's made worse because Nancy's rich - she inherited five million pounds from her mother - and the papers are making the most of it. Farmhouse slaughter daughter is one favourite epithet and rich bitch might not be printed but is undoubtedly spoken. Full Review

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Review of

The Fall by Gilly Macmillan

4.5star.jpg Crime

Nicole Booth had spent the morning at the county fair before she returned home. There was no sign of her husband but opera was playing on the state-of-the-art music system installed in The Glass Barn. They'd not been in the architect-designed house on Lancaut Peninsula for long and were still getting used to all the high-tech systems Tom had insisted upon. Some of them fought with each other and didn't work as reliably as they should. It had all come about through a ten-million-pound lottery win and they were still getting used to having that sort of money, too. Eventually, Nicole found Tom dead in the swimming pool with a wound to his head. Full Review

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Review of

To Die in June by Alan Parks

4star.jpg Crime

What first seems like the unfortunate, accidental death of a homeless man on the streets, suddenly starts to feel like something more sinister as another body is discovered, and then another. This is worrying enough for detective Harry McCoy, but all the more so because his own father is a down and out alcoholic, with no fixed abode, and he has been for years. At the same time as facing these possible murders, Harry is also dealing with a move to a different police station, and the arrival there of a woman who claims her little boy has gone missing, only no record of the boy having existed can be found. Something feels wrong - not just with the woman’s story but also with the other officers where he has been stationed, but can Harry uncover just what is going on? Full Review

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Review of

The Last Passenger by Will Dean

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

Caroline Riley (she prefers 'Caz') is middle-aged and has found herself somewhat surprisingly in love with Pete. They're off on a cruise to New York on Atlantica. Caz's sister, Gemma, reckons that Pete is going to propose but Caz hasn't spotted a ring-shaped bulge in his suit pocket and she doesn't know whether she's relieved or disappointed. They've not been a couple for that long and the trip will be an excellent opportunity to get to know him a bit better. Meanwhile, Gemma is looking after Caz's cafe as well as their mother who has dementia. It's going to be good, isn't it? Full Review

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Review of

Keep Her Secret by Mark Edwards

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Matthew and Helena are in Iceland, rekindling their university romance some twenty-odd years after they first met. The alien-landscape of the lava fields and black beaches is breath-taking and Helena seems intent on getting the perfect photograph to encapsulate the joy she is feeling in this moment, even if it kills her… which it nearly does when the edge of a ravine gives way and Helena finds herself clinging to the rockface with just the snagged strap of her rucksack between her and a 500 foot drop to certain death below. Convinced she is going to die, Helena must purge herself of the shocking secret she has been keeping and makes a panicked, cryptic declaration to Matthew. Just moments later their heroic, and frankly very well prepared, Icelandic tour guide swoops in and hauls Helena to safety and Matthew is left wondering what he just learned about Helena. Full Review

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Review of

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen and Megan E Turney (translator)

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Hannah presents as an unlikeable, bitter woman, an author of failing if well-regarded literary short novels. Sorry to leave her bottles of red wine behind her for an afternoon at a book fair, she flukes her way into a public argument with the latest hot shot in the world of crime fiction, saying he's populist trash and only writing what anyone could write. Cue the bet that she cannot live up to that accusation. Her publisher duly books her flights from Denmark to Iceland, where she is put up for a wintry month away from it all. Just on the point of despairing – about her writing, about the people and the lack of stimulus for her plot, more or less about everything – word comes that the landlady's nephew has been found dead… Full Review

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Review of

Twin Truths by Jacqueline Sutherland

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Belle and David's twin daughters are just coming to the end of their first term at university. Kit's been at Bristol and Jess's in Exeter. It's not only the first time they've been away from their parents for any length of time - but they've also been apart from each other. Belle can't wait to have them all to herself for a while. Then Kit rings up - can she bring her boyfriend home with her? Belle would prefer that he didn't come but doesn't want to upset Kit. Ivo's apparently 'older': he's twenty-four to Kit's eighteen but Belle figures that she can cope with that. And they'll be sharing a bedroom. Full Review

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Review of

Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

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Patrick Duggan & Associates has been the life's work of Patsy Duggan – rather charmingly nicknamed 'The Irish Brawler' due to his reputation for no holds barred courtroom performances in defence of his clients. Along with an indisputable talent for the law, Patsy also has a gift for drinking himself to oblivion and inevitably the latter was beginning to overshadow the former. Enter Keera Duggan, former competitive chess prodigy and proven Seattle Prosecutor who finds herself in the hideous position of asking her father for a job at the family firm because a romantic entanglement with a senior colleague, Miller Ambrose, had gone, rather spectacularly, south. Full Review

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Review of

Expectant (Detective Sam Shephard) by Vanda Symon

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Detective Sam Shepherd is approaching the start of her maternity leave when there is a brutal, shocking murder of an expectant woman in Dunedin. Suddenly she finds herself embroiled in the hunt for a killer targeting pregnant women, with all the extra pressure that entails being pregnant herself. Finding herself put on desk duties, which she rails against, she just can't let the case go and she starts to follow every thread to uncover what's actually happening, and the increasingly disturbing worry of just what might happen next. Full Review

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Review of

What July Knew by Emily Koch

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When we first meet July Hooper on 20 July 1995 she's just ten years old. She's a careful, meticulous child. The care has been taught by her father, Mick Hooper, who is not prepared to discuss the death of his wife, July's mother, and any hint that the conversation is heading that way will lead to the necessity of a Lesson. Other infractions of his requirements also lead to these Lessons and he's not even careful about whether or not the injuries are visible. July's teacher is concerned and brings up the possibility of abuse with the head but her worries are dismissed: Mick has been good to the school, has he not? The playground wouldn't have been resurfaced but for him. Full Review

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Review of

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

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Isabelle Drake hasn't really slept for a year - well, apart from the odd occasion when she lost track of time or drifted off for a moment. It's now a year since her son, Mason, was stolen from his bed in the middle of the night and Izzy is consumed with guilt that she heard nothing and particularly about her relief in the morning when she thought he was sleeping in. In that year she's done everything she could to raise awareness about the case. She does interviews and when we meet her, she's just been to TrueCrimeCon where she gave a keynote presentation. On the plane back, she's approached by a podcaster, Waylon Spencer, who points out that she could do a podcast and get to so many more people than she could by giving speeches to a few hundred people at conferences. Full Review

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Review of

Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica

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The whole thing has spiralled out of control, turning into someone I'm not.

Just the Nicest Couple is the story of two couples: Christian and Lily Scott, and Nina and Jake Hayes. The connection between the two is that Lily and Nina teach in the same school: Nina teaches English and Lily covers high school algebra. The couples have mixed as a foursome but it's not a regular thing. Christian is a market research analyst and Jake is a neurosurgeon: they don't have much in common except their wives. Lily hasn't said anything yet, but she's pregnant. She has a lengthy history of miscarriages so she doesn't want to tempt fate by making the knowledge public. Full Review

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