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The Restless Dead
Book
'Composed of over sixty per cent water itself, a human body isn't naturally buoyant. It will float...
Framing the Rape Victim: Gender and Agency Reconsidered
Book
In recent years, members of legal, law enforcement, media and academic circles have portrayed rape...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Before The Storm (DCI Lorimer #18) in Books
Mar 28, 2021
Where have I been living and why have I never read anything by Alex Gray before? This is book 18 for heaven's sake!!! I must have been living under a rock and walking around with my eyes closed to have missed this series because if the previous 17 are anything close to being as good as this, I really have been missing out on a treat. I was a little concerned that coming into an already well established series wasn't a good idea but I needn't have worried as this worked really well as a standalone.
This is an excellent police procedural with a very up-to-date and relevant story line. It is not a white-knuckle, action packed story and it's not full of swearing, violence or gory details but it is written at a steady pace with a growing sense of tension and urgency which makes it a compulsive and riveting read.
The characters are so good and so well developed that I really felt I knew them. I read a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals and I have to say that it is refreshing for the main character not to be full of his own troubles or issues or who is in conflict with either his colleagues or his bosses. Daniel was an excellent addition and his relationship with his neighbour, Netta, was a joy to read ... I do hope that these 2 make an appearance in subsequent books.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and would very much recommend this to everyone and I must thank The Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.
Alex Gray is definitely on my watchlist now!
This is an excellent police procedural with a very up-to-date and relevant story line. It is not a white-knuckle, action packed story and it's not full of swearing, violence or gory details but it is written at a steady pace with a growing sense of tension and urgency which makes it a compulsive and riveting read.
The characters are so good and so well developed that I really felt I knew them. I read a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals and I have to say that it is refreshing for the main character not to be full of his own troubles or issues or who is in conflict with either his colleagues or his bosses. Daniel was an excellent addition and his relationship with his neighbour, Netta, was a joy to read ... I do hope that these 2 make an appearance in subsequent books.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and would very much recommend this to everyone and I must thank The Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.
Alex Gray is definitely on my watchlist now!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain's Top Forensic Pathologist in Books
Oct 17, 2020
Fascinating
I don’t often choose to read non-fiction books, I’m not entirely sure why except for the fact that I prefer escaping the real world. However there are some real life topics that really grab me, and forensic pathology is definitely one of those areas.
This book is truly a fascinating read. It’s an interesting mixture detailing Richard Shepherd’s personal life and the many cases he’s had involvement in over the years. It balances these two aspects very well, and I found I was as interested in his personal life as I was in the cases. It is the cases though that take precedence in this book and Shepherd really has left no stone unturned. There is an immense amount of detail in this about the deaths, bodies, medical terms and outcomes of the cases, and by the end of the book you feel completely satisfied that nothing has been missed.
Shepherd has had a truly impressive career, spanning a number of decades and quite a lot of high profile cases and inquests; Stephen Lawrence, Princess Diana, 9/11, 7/7, Derrick Bird, Harold Shipman. His involvement in all of these cases is impressive and with some, I’ve learnt a fair amount that I’d never known previously (i.e. Diana’s cause of death and the pathology side of 9/11). Shepherd is obviously a very knowledgeable and respected pathologist and it shows from his experience and his writing.
I may be biased as forensics, crime and pathology have always been an interest of mine (I did my dissertation at university on alternatives to traditional post-mortems), but this book is engaging, intriguing and beyond fascinating. I’d liken it to This is Going to Hurt by Adam McKay, obviously this is a lot more serious without the funny anecdotes but if you enjoyed the medical side then you’d probably enjoy this too.
This book is truly a fascinating read. It’s an interesting mixture detailing Richard Shepherd’s personal life and the many cases he’s had involvement in over the years. It balances these two aspects very well, and I found I was as interested in his personal life as I was in the cases. It is the cases though that take precedence in this book and Shepherd really has left no stone unturned. There is an immense amount of detail in this about the deaths, bodies, medical terms and outcomes of the cases, and by the end of the book you feel completely satisfied that nothing has been missed.
Shepherd has had a truly impressive career, spanning a number of decades and quite a lot of high profile cases and inquests; Stephen Lawrence, Princess Diana, 9/11, 7/7, Derrick Bird, Harold Shipman. His involvement in all of these cases is impressive and with some, I’ve learnt a fair amount that I’d never known previously (i.e. Diana’s cause of death and the pathology side of 9/11). Shepherd is obviously a very knowledgeable and respected pathologist and it shows from his experience and his writing.
I may be biased as forensics, crime and pathology have always been an interest of mine (I did my dissertation at university on alternatives to traditional post-mortems), but this book is engaging, intriguing and beyond fascinating. I’d liken it to This is Going to Hurt by Adam McKay, obviously this is a lot more serious without the funny anecdotes but if you enjoyed the medical side then you’d probably enjoy this too.
ClareR (5991 KP) rated The Fool’s Folly in Books
Jun 9, 2020
The Fool’s Folly is set in 1485 in Yorkshire, England, when King Richard III has been on the throne for two years. It must have been a very unsettling time to live in: not knowing whether your King has murdered his nephews, not knowing how much longer the King will actually keep the throne (Henry Tudor was a very real threat at this time), and not knowing what your fate will be if you chose the wrong side!
This story is set at Sandal Castle, the seat of John de la Pole, King Richard’s heir (and now it becomes clear why Henry VIII wanted to get rid of the de la Pole family!). De la Pole’s jester is murdered, and the newly appointed judge, Sir Giles Beaton, is asked to get to the bottom of the mystery. What starts out as a seemingly open and shut case, ends up being the start of a killing spree. Giles has to wonder if the deaths are connected, and whether this has something to do with a plot against the King and his heir.
It’s a bit gruesome at points - I liked this, I will admit. Medieval postmortems wouldn’t have been for the more sensitive observer (or reader!), I’m sure. I do have a bit of a thing for historical fiction, and a newly developed respect for crime and mysteries. I appreciate the attention to detail, and the research that must have occurred in writing this book, it feels very authentic.
I haven’t read the first book in this series, but it didn’t affect my reading enjoyment at all. In fact it has made me want to read the first in the series as well!
Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review!
This story is set at Sandal Castle, the seat of John de la Pole, King Richard’s heir (and now it becomes clear why Henry VIII wanted to get rid of the de la Pole family!). De la Pole’s jester is murdered, and the newly appointed judge, Sir Giles Beaton, is asked to get to the bottom of the mystery. What starts out as a seemingly open and shut case, ends up being the start of a killing spree. Giles has to wonder if the deaths are connected, and whether this has something to do with a plot against the King and his heir.
It’s a bit gruesome at points - I liked this, I will admit. Medieval postmortems wouldn’t have been for the more sensitive observer (or reader!), I’m sure. I do have a bit of a thing for historical fiction, and a newly developed respect for crime and mysteries. I appreciate the attention to detail, and the research that must have occurred in writing this book, it feels very authentic.
I haven’t read the first book in this series, but it didn’t affect my reading enjoyment at all. In fact it has made me want to read the first in the series as well!
Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review!
Chicken Scratch (The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series Book 1)
7.0
Rate It
Book
When Madison Reynolds finds herself widowed and penniless before forty, she does the only thing she...
mystery cozy mystery murder crime fiction adult
The Night Gate
Book
In a sleepy French village, the body of a man shot through the head is disinterred by the roots of...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Dinner Lady Detectives in Books
Oct 24, 2021
This is, in my humble opinion, a very successful debut and definitely a series that I am looking forward to keeping up with. It is described as "a delightful, quintessentially British cosy mystery" and that's exactly what you get.
Margery and Clementine are dinner ladies, or to give them their official title 'Education Centre Nourishment Consultants' (really? is that what they're called now?!?!?!), and they are an absolute blast. Their relationship absolutely shines through from start to finish, it's beautiful and very authentic feeling.
Margery and Clementine smell a rat when one of their colleagues is found dead in the walk-in freezer of the school kitchen and so begins their unorthodox investigation into her death which results in all manner of escapades. There are some very funny moments (the suspended school ceiling being a particular highlight for me 🤣🤣) amongst a great and engaging plot with excellent characters throughout.
I raced through this book desperate to find out what happened and how it was all going to come together and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest and I am pleased to read on the publisher website that they have acquired the rights to a three-book deal. I think someone needs to snap this up and make a television series - I can so see Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as Margery and Clem, in fact, that's who I was seeing in my head as I was reading it!
Highly recommended for those of you who want a break from all the doom, gloom and violence in many crime fiction books and who don't mind a bit of dark humour.
Thank you so much Canelo and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Margery and Clementine are dinner ladies, or to give them their official title 'Education Centre Nourishment Consultants' (really? is that what they're called now?!?!?!), and they are an absolute blast. Their relationship absolutely shines through from start to finish, it's beautiful and very authentic feeling.
Margery and Clementine smell a rat when one of their colleagues is found dead in the walk-in freezer of the school kitchen and so begins their unorthodox investigation into her death which results in all manner of escapades. There are some very funny moments (the suspended school ceiling being a particular highlight for me 🤣🤣) amongst a great and engaging plot with excellent characters throughout.
I raced through this book desperate to find out what happened and how it was all going to come together and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest and I am pleased to read on the publisher website that they have acquired the rights to a three-book deal. I think someone needs to snap this up and make a television series - I can so see Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as Margery and Clem, in fact, that's who I was seeing in my head as I was reading it!
Highly recommended for those of you who want a break from all the doom, gloom and violence in many crime fiction books and who don't mind a bit of dark humour.
Thank you so much Canelo and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
ClareR (5991 KP) rated Lying Beside You in Books
Oct 2, 2022
Lying Beside You is the third book in the Cyrus Haven series - and I’ll admit now that I haven’t read the first two. It didn’t affect my enjoyment though. There are enough hints at the background that I could understand what was going on and who was who.
Cyrus is a busy forensic psychologist and criminal profiler, and to add more to his load, he has a lodger with a distressing background (which is only hinted at, but that’s all you’ll need), and his brother is due to be released from a secure institution. His brother has lived and been treated there since he murdered the rest of his and Cyrus’ family.
I found it fascinating how Cyrus seemed to be able to forgive his brother for his actions - particularly as he’d learnt from his job how his brother wasn’t in control of himself at the time. On the other hand, he seemed hesitant to have him back out in society and in his house. But he’s designed to it. I liked how it showed how complex his feelings towards his brother were.
And what a nice person Cyrus is generally. His lodger has had a very bad experience (which we don’t find out about in this book). He’s patient and tries to help her, and understands that she needs time and space. He’s a great character actually.
You might get from this that I specifically like the characters in books, and that I just see plot as a nice aside. Well, you wouldn’t be wrong. But this has enough exciting plot to keep the crime fiction fans very happy. It all gets quite frenetic towards the end, and I had no idea who the perpetrator was up to the big reveal.
It’s a great book - many thanks to the Pigeonhole and Michael Robotham.
Cyrus is a busy forensic psychologist and criminal profiler, and to add more to his load, he has a lodger with a distressing background (which is only hinted at, but that’s all you’ll need), and his brother is due to be released from a secure institution. His brother has lived and been treated there since he murdered the rest of his and Cyrus’ family.
I found it fascinating how Cyrus seemed to be able to forgive his brother for his actions - particularly as he’d learnt from his job how his brother wasn’t in control of himself at the time. On the other hand, he seemed hesitant to have him back out in society and in his house. But he’s designed to it. I liked how it showed how complex his feelings towards his brother were.
And what a nice person Cyrus is generally. His lodger has had a very bad experience (which we don’t find out about in this book). He’s patient and tries to help her, and understands that she needs time and space. He’s a great character actually.
You might get from this that I specifically like the characters in books, and that I just see plot as a nice aside. Well, you wouldn’t be wrong. But this has enough exciting plot to keep the crime fiction fans very happy. It all gets quite frenetic towards the end, and I had no idea who the perpetrator was up to the big reveal.
It’s a great book - many thanks to the Pigeonhole and Michael Robotham.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Quarry's Climax (Quarry #14) in Books
Aug 21, 2018
My full review can be found on this link as well: https://www.diaryofdifference.com/2018/05/15/quarrys-climax-max-allan-collins-book-review/
Quarry’s Climax is the 14th book of the Quarry series, and even though I only had the chance to read this one, the rest of the books are certainly something that I have put on my TBR list!
<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498930963i/34014841._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg"/>;
The plot is simple – until, of course, it gets complicated:
Quarry is a Hitman – he kills people for pleasure, I mean, money! He works for this guy ‘’the Broker’’ and his new mission is to protect a chairman of an underrated Porn magazine and strip club – The Climax. When this task might seem easy, suddenly everyone hides something and everyone has secrets. And then our man Quarry – who usually goes on the spot and just kills whoever he needs to, now has to play the role of a detective, find out what the hell is going on in this rat hole, and eliminate any danger.
Now - first things first - I am not usually a person that reads these types of books - Pulp fiction, hardboiled fiction, entangled harsh noir stories, but this book pleasantly surprised me with its light reading experience and admirable description of the characters.
Quarry – now that’s one interesting character! Quarry is what happens when you mix a Cowboy personality, with a bit of witty humour, no respect for ladies and egotistical appearance. I happened to actually kind of like this guy!
Though the part I didn’t like it how he treats women and talks about them as they are a piece of meat with no brain whatsoever. I am not a feminist, but I mean – you couldn’t have tried harder, I guess. He would just go to a scene, let us know how irrelevant and thick this lady is, he would sleep with her, never call her again, and then continue with his life as nothing happened. Wonderful, isn’t it?
This is one of a kind book for me, and even though I wouldn’t put it on my favourites pile, it has a special place in my heart. I greatly enjoyed it, and it made me smirk at times. I will definitely explore this genre in the future, and I am sure that Quarry’s Climax was a great beginning for me on that.
I received this book by winning a Goodreads Giveaway from Max Allan Collins and Hard Case Crime.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="http://innahcrazy.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>; |
Quarry’s Climax is the 14th book of the Quarry series, and even though I only had the chance to read this one, the rest of the books are certainly something that I have put on my TBR list!
<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498930963i/34014841._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg"/>;
The plot is simple – until, of course, it gets complicated:
Quarry is a Hitman – he kills people for pleasure, I mean, money! He works for this guy ‘’the Broker’’ and his new mission is to protect a chairman of an underrated Porn magazine and strip club – The Climax. When this task might seem easy, suddenly everyone hides something and everyone has secrets. And then our man Quarry – who usually goes on the spot and just kills whoever he needs to, now has to play the role of a detective, find out what the hell is going on in this rat hole, and eliminate any danger.
Now - first things first - I am not usually a person that reads these types of books - Pulp fiction, hardboiled fiction, entangled harsh noir stories, but this book pleasantly surprised me with its light reading experience and admirable description of the characters.
Quarry – now that’s one interesting character! Quarry is what happens when you mix a Cowboy personality, with a bit of witty humour, no respect for ladies and egotistical appearance. I happened to actually kind of like this guy!
Though the part I didn’t like it how he treats women and talks about them as they are a piece of meat with no brain whatsoever. I am not a feminist, but I mean – you couldn’t have tried harder, I guess. He would just go to a scene, let us know how irrelevant and thick this lady is, he would sleep with her, never call her again, and then continue with his life as nothing happened. Wonderful, isn’t it?
This is one of a kind book for me, and even though I wouldn’t put it on my favourites pile, it has a special place in my heart. I greatly enjoyed it, and it made me smirk at times. I will definitely explore this genre in the future, and I am sure that Quarry’s Climax was a great beginning for me on that.
I received this book by winning a Goodreads Giveaway from Max Allan Collins and Hard Case Crime.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="http://innahcrazy.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>; |