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ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder in Books
Apr 11, 2018
After the first chapter, I didn't think I'd like this AT ALL. It's a grower though! Once you fall in to the rhythm of Jasper's life and the way that he sees the world, it's all rather beautiful. He has synaesthesia - he sees sounds and voices as colours. Numbers and words have colours too. To add to his interesting world, he also has prosopagnosia (face blindness) and autism. He paints pictures of the sounds he experiences, and they sound as though they'll be beautiful.
I really felt for his father: it can't be easy parenting a child with Jaspers complex needs. However, I feel he comes across as being a very capable, loving man. He struggles to understand his son sometimes, but I think he appears to work very hard to help Jasper. And honestly, it must be hard to be Jasper as well.
As someone who works in education, I found it difficult to see how Jasper has slipped through the net of support for his conditions - but it does say in the novel that they have moved around a lot. So this might be the reason (and I'll allow for poetic licence!).
The descriptive language in this novel surrounding Jaspers synaesthesia really is beautiful, and well worth a read purely for that. Then you can stay for the murder mystery event!
I really felt for his father: it can't be easy parenting a child with Jaspers complex needs. However, I feel he comes across as being a very capable, loving man. He struggles to understand his son sometimes, but I think he appears to work very hard to help Jasper. And honestly, it must be hard to be Jasper as well.
As someone who works in education, I found it difficult to see how Jasper has slipped through the net of support for his conditions - but it does say in the novel that they have moved around a lot. So this might be the reason (and I'll allow for poetic licence!).
The descriptive language in this novel surrounding Jaspers synaesthesia really is beautiful, and well worth a read purely for that. Then you can stay for the murder mystery event!
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Cold Granite (Logan McRae #1) in Books
Dec 5, 2019
Well, what can I say? What a book this is ... there aren't enough superlatives to say how much I enjoyed it ... just brilliant and a must-read for any fans of crime novels. This is the first in the Logan McRae series but I have read subsequent stories before this one and can confirm that it made no difference to my enjoyment of this book.
Now, I must warn you that this book deals with the disturbing and upsetting subject of child murders with the additional sub-plot of the murder of a gangster and there are graphic descriptions of the crime scenes so if you are of a nervous disposition or easily offended, I would probably steer clear of this particular one.
The characters are strong, well developed, interesting and believable with authentic dialogue throughout and despite the dark subject matter, there are many moments of humour which made me chuckle on several occasions which helped to lighten things a little. The setting of Aberdeen in the winter is perfect and creates further atmosphere. The pace is non-stop with twists, turns and red-herrings throughout which certainly kept me on my toes and guessing until near the end.
Don't let this series pass you by ... highly recommended.
I have to thank HarperCollins UK via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Now, I must warn you that this book deals with the disturbing and upsetting subject of child murders with the additional sub-plot of the murder of a gangster and there are graphic descriptions of the crime scenes so if you are of a nervous disposition or easily offended, I would probably steer clear of this particular one.
The characters are strong, well developed, interesting and believable with authentic dialogue throughout and despite the dark subject matter, there are many moments of humour which made me chuckle on several occasions which helped to lighten things a little. The setting of Aberdeen in the winter is perfect and creates further atmosphere. The pace is non-stop with twists, turns and red-herrings throughout which certainly kept me on my toes and guessing until near the end.
Don't let this series pass you by ... highly recommended.
I have to thank HarperCollins UK via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Seams Like Murder in Books
Oct 4, 2022 (Updated Oct 4, 2022)
Can Abbey Sew Up a Murder?
When her life in Los Angeles falls apart, Abbey Chandler heads up the California coast to the town of Hideaway Grove where she spent many happy summers as a child visiting her aunt. Abbey’s hardly arrived before she catches a glimpse of a hit and run behind her aunt’s bakery. Now, instead of trying to figure out what to do with her life, Abbey is trying to figure out who killed the town’s new librarian. Everyone seemed to love the victim. Who wanted her dead?
This book gets out to a quick start, but then the pacing becomes uneven. There is lots of set up for future books in the series here. I enjoyed seeing Abbey reconnect with old friends and making new ones as well as discovering a love of sewing, but it did slow things down. Don’t misunderstand, there is a good mystery here, and I like how things came together at the end. I also really liked most of the characters, although the sheriff was shockingly clueless. There are many scenes in the aunt’s bakery that will have you drooling, but this is a crafting cozy series, so our extra is a guide to creating pillowcase dresses. If you are looking for a promising new series, this is one to check out.
This book gets out to a quick start, but then the pacing becomes uneven. There is lots of set up for future books in the series here. I enjoyed seeing Abbey reconnect with old friends and making new ones as well as discovering a love of sewing, but it did slow things down. Don’t misunderstand, there is a good mystery here, and I like how things came together at the end. I also really liked most of the characters, although the sheriff was shockingly clueless. There are many scenes in the aunt’s bakery that will have you drooling, but this is a crafting cozy series, so our extra is a guide to creating pillowcase dresses. If you are looking for a promising new series, this is one to check out.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Murder by Natural Causes [Audibook] in Books
Jul 9, 2023
![Murder by Natural Causes [Audibook]](/uploads/profile_image/126/7eddbcdb-3834-424b-8ac7-f199c5d3a126.jpg?m=1688908353)
Overall, a pretty successful audiobook which was, for me anyway, mostly down to the narrator who was excellent and really brought the characters to life.
The book is told entirely from Cilla's point of view and tells the story of how she got to be who she is and the now. I wouldn't say it is full of action or thrills and spills which, from the synopsis anyway, I did assume would be the case but rather a detailed look into how a child with certain traits can be shaped and moulded to become a successful killer and the cunning and skills she used when plying her trade and which she is now using to try and change her life.
As I said, it's not full of action and whilst there is some suspense, this mainly comes towards the end and this was, for me, a little disappointing - it's a little too slow and lacking in oomph! I did however like getting to know Cilla and whilst at first I found her hard to 'like', she did grow on me in the end.
Overall, a little underwhelming and although I did finish it, I was left with a sense of "was that it?". My thanks go to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of Murder by Natural Causes.
The book is told entirely from Cilla's point of view and tells the story of how she got to be who she is and the now. I wouldn't say it is full of action or thrills and spills which, from the synopsis anyway, I did assume would be the case but rather a detailed look into how a child with certain traits can be shaped and moulded to become a successful killer and the cunning and skills she used when plying her trade and which she is now using to try and change her life.
As I said, it's not full of action and whilst there is some suspense, this mainly comes towards the end and this was, for me, a little disappointing - it's a little too slow and lacking in oomph! I did however like getting to know Cilla and whilst at first I found her hard to 'like', she did grow on me in the end.
Overall, a little underwhelming and although I did finish it, I was left with a sense of "was that it?". My thanks go to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of Murder by Natural Causes.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Surrogate (Brennan & Esposito #1) in Books
Jan 14, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
4 of 250
Book
The Surrogate ( Brennan & Esposito book1)
By Tania Carver
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
A shocking double-murder scene greets Detective Inspector Philip Brennan when he is called to a flat in Colchester. Two women are viciously cut open and laying spreadeagled, one tied to the bed, one on the floor. The woman on the bed has had her stomach cut into and her unborn child is missing. But this is the third time Phil and his team have seen such an atrocity. Two other pregnant women have been killed in this way and their babies taken from them. No-one can imagine what sort of person would want to commit such evil acts. When psychologist Marina Esposito is brought in, Phil has to put aside his feelings about their shared past and get on with the job. But can they find the killer before another woman is targeted?
This is definitely a strange one for me! How I got through it I will never know I had to keep putting it down and regather my thoughts. Several times I asked myself do I want to keep going! This is not me taking anything away from the authors as the book was very well written, fast paced with short but well packed chapters. This was difficult for so many reasons dealing with delicate issues. Murder of both women and babies, mutilation , sexual and physical abuse, mental illness on so many levels as well as a few more I missed. The book had this draw to it you didn’t want to go on but you needed to go on! For the first book I. A series it kicks you in the gut straight away! A few times I thought I would physically throw up. So many emotions packed into 438 pages! I needed that last chapter I needed to see him get his woman I think after everything you go through you need that ending!!
Would I recommend this book? Without a doubt but it needs a trigger warning and it’s definitely NOT for the faint hearted!!
Book
The Surrogate ( Brennan & Esposito book1)
By Tania Carver
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
A shocking double-murder scene greets Detective Inspector Philip Brennan when he is called to a flat in Colchester. Two women are viciously cut open and laying spreadeagled, one tied to the bed, one on the floor. The woman on the bed has had her stomach cut into and her unborn child is missing. But this is the third time Phil and his team have seen such an atrocity. Two other pregnant women have been killed in this way and their babies taken from them. No-one can imagine what sort of person would want to commit such evil acts. When psychologist Marina Esposito is brought in, Phil has to put aside his feelings about their shared past and get on with the job. But can they find the killer before another woman is targeted?
This is definitely a strange one for me! How I got through it I will never know I had to keep putting it down and regather my thoughts. Several times I asked myself do I want to keep going! This is not me taking anything away from the authors as the book was very well written, fast paced with short but well packed chapters. This was difficult for so many reasons dealing with delicate issues. Murder of both women and babies, mutilation , sexual and physical abuse, mental illness on so many levels as well as a few more I missed. The book had this draw to it you didn’t want to go on but you needed to go on! For the first book I. A series it kicks you in the gut straight away! A few times I thought I would physically throw up. So many emotions packed into 438 pages! I needed that last chapter I needed to see him get his woman I think after everything you go through you need that ending!!
Would I recommend this book? Without a doubt but it needs a trigger warning and it’s definitely NOT for the faint hearted!!
mostlyinpyjamas (13 KP) rated The Roanoke Girls in Books
Nov 29, 2017
A well written book with a dark theme.
This book is one of those that's not going to be for everyone. The subject matter is heavy, and for some may well be triggering.
It features child abuse, incest, suicide and murder. It's deeply unsettling and at times made me feel really uncomfortable. I don't think there's a character in this book who isn't very messed up.
However it is very well written, I'm not sure if enjoyed is the right word to use but I was completely drawn in, I had to stick with it. I liked the way the author interweaves the flashbacks with the current story. Often, I don't enjoy flashbacks in books, they can make a story feel too disjointed for me, but it worked in The Roanoke girls.
I don't feel like it sensationalises the subjects it deals with, it sets them out as the stomach churning matters that they are.
It's definitely a story that will get you thinking.
I don't usually read the reading group questions at the end of a book, but I did with this book because I was curious, and I feel that there's definitely plenty for discussion, so perhaps it would be a good book club book.
An example of the reading group questions.
"Do you think gran is right when she says mothers are judged more harshly than fathers? Why do you think that might be? Is it a fair standard?"
Overall I enjoyed this book.
It features child abuse, incest, suicide and murder. It's deeply unsettling and at times made me feel really uncomfortable. I don't think there's a character in this book who isn't very messed up.
However it is very well written, I'm not sure if enjoyed is the right word to use but I was completely drawn in, I had to stick with it. I liked the way the author interweaves the flashbacks with the current story. Often, I don't enjoy flashbacks in books, they can make a story feel too disjointed for me, but it worked in The Roanoke girls.
I don't feel like it sensationalises the subjects it deals with, it sets them out as the stomach churning matters that they are.
It's definitely a story that will get you thinking.
I don't usually read the reading group questions at the end of a book, but I did with this book because I was curious, and I feel that there's definitely plenty for discussion, so perhaps it would be a good book club book.
An example of the reading group questions.
"Do you think gran is right when she says mothers are judged more harshly than fathers? Why do you think that might be? Is it a fair standard?"
Overall I enjoyed this book.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated The Hidden Child (Patrik Hedström, #5) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
Had I realized when I picked it up that this was the 4th book in a series, I would have looked for the first book to start at the beginning. I didnt feel like I was missing anything starting at this point in the story, however. The relationships between characters were either evident or explained well enough that you can easily read or listen to this book without having read the previous books, and not feel lost.
A lot of Swedish crime fiction has a particular melancholy feel to it, and The Hidden Child is no exception. The author did injected occasional brief moments of humor into the story that helped lighten the mood, however, and they kept it from feeling too dark.
The story is told in both in the present, and through flashbacks, in the time around WW2. It follows the police investigation into the murder of a local historian, as well as the family drama unfolding as Erica Faulk digs into her mothers past. The two series of events turn out to be more intertwined than anyone could have imagined, and even though I could see where it was going, the story didnt give everything away at once and I didnt really know what had happened until the end.
If you are a fan of police procedural and / or historical mysteries, give this one a try!
A lot of Swedish crime fiction has a particular melancholy feel to it, and The Hidden Child is no exception. The author did injected occasional brief moments of humor into the story that helped lighten the mood, however, and they kept it from feeling too dark.
The story is told in both in the present, and through flashbacks, in the time around WW2. It follows the police investigation into the murder of a local historian, as well as the family drama unfolding as Erica Faulk digs into her mothers past. The two series of events turn out to be more intertwined than anyone could have imagined, and even though I could see where it was going, the story didnt give everything away at once and I didnt really know what had happened until the end.
If you are a fan of police procedural and / or historical mysteries, give this one a try!