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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Under the Ice ( DCI Jansen 1) in Books
May 8, 2024
89 of 220
Book
Under the Ice ( DCI Jansen 1)
By Rachael Blok
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It is the week before Christmas and the cathedral city of St Albans is blanketed by snow. But beneath the festive lights, darkness is stirring. The frozen body of a young girl is discovered by the ice-covered lake.
The police scramble for clues. A local woman, Jenny, has had visions of what happened the night of the murder. But Jenny is an exhausted new mother, whose midnight wanderings pull her ever closer to the lake. Can Jenny be trusted? What does she really know?
Then another girl goes missing, and the community unravels. Neighbour turns against neighbour, and Jenny has no idea who to believe. As Christmas Eve approaches, Jenny discovers a secret about her past – and why she could be key to everything...
This was pretty good I didn’t see that killer coming at all! It’s heartbreaking as a parent I couldn’t imagine going through this. Well written the characters are relatable the only one I had issues with was Will he was good at gaslighting his wife.
Really decent read.
Book
Under the Ice ( DCI Jansen 1)
By Rachael Blok
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It is the week before Christmas and the cathedral city of St Albans is blanketed by snow. But beneath the festive lights, darkness is stirring. The frozen body of a young girl is discovered by the ice-covered lake.
The police scramble for clues. A local woman, Jenny, has had visions of what happened the night of the murder. But Jenny is an exhausted new mother, whose midnight wanderings pull her ever closer to the lake. Can Jenny be trusted? What does she really know?
Then another girl goes missing, and the community unravels. Neighbour turns against neighbour, and Jenny has no idea who to believe. As Christmas Eve approaches, Jenny discovers a secret about her past – and why she could be key to everything...
This was pretty good I didn’t see that killer coming at all! It’s heartbreaking as a parent I couldn’t imagine going through this. Well written the characters are relatable the only one I had issues with was Will he was good at gaslighting his wife.
Really decent read.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Gate of Shadows ( Cambridge Gothic 2) in Books
Jul 6, 2024
130 of 220
Kindle
Gate of Shadows ( Cambridge Gothic 2)
By Mark Wells
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A mystic portal lies open. A chilling predator stalks the night. Can an undaunted student stop the darkness from spreading?
Giles Chamberlain returns to a snowbound Cambridge after Christmas spent with his girlfriend. Determined to prove himself to her family, he sets out to discover what became of her missing brother. But when he encounters a sinister figure prowling the college’s rooftops, he suspects last semester’s creature was not the only entity to cross into our world.
After the tight-lipped Professor Gupta refuses his plea for help, Giles enlists his feuding friends to locate the otherworldly passage. As hunters and hunted converge on the portal, the students discover just how far the old academic will go to keep his secret safe.
Faced with forces beyond his imagination, can Giles conjure up the key to save them all?
Second book in the series and I really enjoyed it. Catching up with what’s happened to Alphonso as well as everything back at Cambridge. This is a really interesting read.
Kindle
Gate of Shadows ( Cambridge Gothic 2)
By Mark Wells
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A mystic portal lies open. A chilling predator stalks the night. Can an undaunted student stop the darkness from spreading?
Giles Chamberlain returns to a snowbound Cambridge after Christmas spent with his girlfriend. Determined to prove himself to her family, he sets out to discover what became of her missing brother. But when he encounters a sinister figure prowling the college’s rooftops, he suspects last semester’s creature was not the only entity to cross into our world.
After the tight-lipped Professor Gupta refuses his plea for help, Giles enlists his feuding friends to locate the otherworldly passage. As hunters and hunted converge on the portal, the students discover just how far the old academic will go to keep his secret safe.
Faced with forces beyond his imagination, can Giles conjure up the key to save them all?
Second book in the series and I really enjoyed it. Catching up with what’s happened to Alphonso as well as everything back at Cambridge. This is a really interesting read.
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Merissa (13197 KP) rated The Blue Veil (Seven Deadly Veils #1.5) in Books
Feb 26, 2024
THE BLUE VEIL is a novella that sits between the first and second books in the Seven Deadly Veils series and we meet up with Miranda and Remare once again. One of Valadon's paintings has gone missing and Remare wants to find it before Valadon returns home.
This was a brilliant novella, with everything you could wish for... there are attacks by Rogues, steam enough to fill a sauna, and delving into the underworld of illegal auctions. It was also full of emotion and I devoured every word.
I am looking forward to reading the next book and hope for a HEA for Miranda and Remare! I also want one for Valadon, as he's not a bad guy, just infatuated with Miranda when it's clear he's not the one for her. Definitely recommended but I would suggest you start with Book One first, as it details instances that you will need to know about.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 13, 2024
This was a brilliant novella, with everything you could wish for... there are attacks by Rogues, steam enough to fill a sauna, and delving into the underworld of illegal auctions. It was also full of emotion and I devoured every word.
I am looking forward to reading the next book and hope for a HEA for Miranda and Remare! I also want one for Valadon, as he's not a bad guy, just infatuated with Miranda when it's clear he's not the one for her. Definitely recommended but I would suggest you start with Book One first, as it details instances that you will need to know about.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 13, 2024
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2400 KP) rated Puzzle Me a Murder in Books
Aug 2, 2024
Missing Pieces
Alice Pepper enjoys having her friends over to work on puzzles most nights. Among the group is her childhood best friend Ruby Milliner. When Ruby arrives home from a business trip early, she catches her husband with his mistress. The next morning, Ruby’s husband is dead, and the police are looking at Ruby as their prime suspect. Alice jumps in to find the killer. But does she have all the pieces to solve this puzzle?
Despite the fact that I’m not much of a jigsaw puzzle guy, I thought this sounded like a fun premise for a series. Sadly, I was wrong. I didn’t feel like the characters ever went beyond being types, and it felt like they had too many interests or skills in their background. It felt like the author was checking boxes instead of making well rounded characters. There wasn’t attention to detail, so these things bumped me out of the book. The novel could have lost 60 pages without losing anything, the pacing was that off. And the climax, while logical, seemed abrupt to me. I really did want to like it more, but I won’t give this series another chance.
Despite the fact that I’m not much of a jigsaw puzzle guy, I thought this sounded like a fun premise for a series. Sadly, I was wrong. I didn’t feel like the characters ever went beyond being types, and it felt like they had too many interests or skills in their background. It felt like the author was checking boxes instead of making well rounded characters. There wasn’t attention to detail, so these things bumped me out of the book. The novel could have lost 60 pages without losing anything, the pacing was that off. And the climax, while logical, seemed abrupt to me. I really did want to like it more, but I won’t give this series another chance.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2400 KP) rated Framed for Murder in Books
Feb 5, 2025
Can Mel Clear a Frenemy?
Former police officer Mel O’Rourke is trying to settle into her new life running a B & B in the mountain town of Pine Cove. But then her past walks in. Poppy Phillips is a thief that Mel spent time trying to arrest when she was an officer. Poppy is looking for help since she stumbled over a body, and she is afraid the police will think she did it. The fact that Poppy was there committing a burglary does complicate things. Can Mel clear her? Does she want to?
I picked up this book thinking it was the first in a series. There is a novella that introduces some of the characters, and this book has major spoilers for that story. I also found the language in this book to be much worse than I wanted to read. The mystery was good, although I found some things bumped me, like police jurisdiction. It just didn’t seem logical, although maybe there is something I was missing. On the other hand, I really did like the characters and the relationships they were forming. Overall, this was a mixed bag for me.
I picked up this book thinking it was the first in a series. There is a novella that introduces some of the characters, and this book has major spoilers for that story. I also found the language in this book to be much worse than I wanted to read. The mystery was good, although I found some things bumped me, like police jurisdiction. It just didn’t seem logical, although maybe there is something I was missing. On the other hand, I really did like the characters and the relationships they were forming. Overall, this was a mixed bag for me.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2400 KP) rated The Tell-Tale Homicide in Books
Sep 10, 2025
The Tale of the Poor Sequel
Juniper Blume has moved to Rose Mallow to work from the Calverton Family and their personal library. However, on her second day, she finds a dead man inside clutching a rare early edition of Edgar Allan Poe – one that was missing from the library. Can Juniper figure out what is going on?
I enjoyed the first, but this one was a real let down. The book needed a serious edit. Most obnoxious to me with the multiple blatant timeline issues. They, along with some other things, left me wondering if the suspicious behavior I was observing was poor editing or something I was supposed to pick up on. The pacing was uneven, and a storyline involving the future of the town was wrapped up too easily. There was an element of the climax that was never explained. And some politics of the day pop up, making me roll my eyes. I did still enjoy my time with the returning characters. Well, most of them. (And don’t get me started on how that character behaved.) I see others have really enjoyed this book, so maybe it’s me, but I can’t recommend it.
I enjoyed the first, but this one was a real let down. The book needed a serious edit. Most obnoxious to me with the multiple blatant timeline issues. They, along with some other things, left me wondering if the suspicious behavior I was observing was poor editing or something I was supposed to pick up on. The pacing was uneven, and a storyline involving the future of the town was wrapped up too easily. There was an element of the climax that was never explained. And some politics of the day pop up, making me roll my eyes. I did still enjoy my time with the returning characters. Well, most of them. (And don’t get me started on how that character behaved.) I see others have really enjoyed this book, so maybe it’s me, but I can’t recommend it.