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The Twist of a Knife (Hawthorne & Horowitz Mystery #4)
The Twist of a Knife (Hawthorne & Horowitz Mystery #4)
Anthony Horowitz | 2022 | Crime, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Getting back into a Hawthorne & Horowitz mystery is like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen for ages but it's as if you saw them yesterday so if you haven't read any of the previous in the series, don't worry, you will fall into the story and the characters quickly.

Once again, Mr Horowitz provides a treat of a murder/mystery staring himself as one of the main characters alongside the enigmatic and mysterious Daniel Hawthorne. Are they friends or do they just tolerate each other? I'm still trying to work that one out but Hawthorne is the one Anthony turns to when he is accused of the murder of a theatre critic who panned his play Mindgame.

With an eclectic and wonderful cast of characters, Hawthorne sets about trying to find the murderer amongst a host of viable suspects (Anthony included) in his own inimitable way whilst the evidence stacks up against Anthony and an arrest by the police appears to be inevitable and imminent.

Written at a great pace, this is full of humour, mystery and is thoroughly enjoyable and I loved it. What I particularly like about this series is the lack of violence which makes a nice change to what I usually read and I am looking forward to (hopefully) the next in the series and that more details are revealed about Hawthorne!

Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for enabling me to read The Twist of a Knife and share my thoughts.
  
The Girl in the Ice (Erika Foster book 1)
The Girl in the Ice (Erika Foster book 1)
Robert Bryndza | 2016 | Crime, Thriller
9
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
26 of 235
Book
The Girl in the Ice ( Detective Erica Foster # 1)
By Robert Bryndza
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice…She is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong… resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she’s faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

I really enjoyed this! I was still guessing right up till the end it was fast paced and a really good read! I think Erica Foster is a character that has to grow on you but she did about half way through! Looking forward to reading more from this author.
  
A Little Murder for Christmas
This year, Anty Boisjoly is planning to spend Christmas with his aunt Azalea, who is a bit of a recluse. He hasn’t visited her in years, in fact. When Anty arrives, Azalea informs him that she’s just discovered the body of her next-door neighbor, a man she’d begun to be friendly with. The victim is a local war hero, and everyone in the village is upset by the news. Unfortunately, the footprints in the snow make it look like Azalea is the only person who could have realistically killed the man. Oh, and there’s also the fact that he was seen by many people in the pub hours after Azalea claims she found the body. Can Anty figure out what really happened and prove his aunt innocent?

The book doesn’t hesitate, jumping into the murder in the first chapter. I found the pacing to be a little uneven, especially early on. The further I got into the book, the more impossibility we saw, and the more I was engaged. By the end, everything made sense. I also found the suspects a little shallow. I loved the first in the series, so maybe my expectations were too high here. The one thing that was definitely the same as the first book was the dry wit. I laughed so much reading this book. We get some nice Christmas cheer over the course of the book as well. Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone looking for a humorous impossible crime mystery.
  
Murder at Marble House
Murder at Marble House
Alyssa Maxwell | 2014 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unfortunate Fortune Teller Murdered
We are once again in August 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island. Emma Cross, society reporter for the local paper, has her morning interrupted when her distance cousin, Consuelo Vanderbilt calls begging for Emma to come over to Marble House. While Emma finds herself caught up in some family drama, the last thing she expects is that her visit will end in murder. But that’s just what happens when the fortune teller that Alva Vanderbilt has hired is found dead behind the estate. When a family member vanishes, Emma starts to investigate. Can she find out what happened?

This book picks up right after the last one ends. While it doesn’t spoil the murder itself, it does give away some ongoing storylines. The story presents an interesting mystery, but the pacing does get off at times. We get some developments in Emma’s personal life, and I’m not sure I’m on her side as much after some of what happened here. If I’m this opinionated, clearly, I’m finding the characters real, and that includes real people and fictional characters. Speaking of which, the author includes a bit about what is true and what she twisted to make her plot work, which I always appreciate. I read this book right after getting to visit Newport, which made it easier to picture some of the locations. I’m already wishing I’d had time to really explore the locations more when I was there. Overall, this is a good second entry, and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
  
House of Names
House of Names
Colm Toibin | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lyrically beautiful, humanist version of Greek mythology
For fans of Greek mythology, this is an absolute dream. Focusing on the stories of the wife of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and children, Electra and Orestes, Colm Toibin brings to life very human characters in which all are victim and perpetrator.

Hearing perspectives of all three following the sacrifice of daughter Iphigenia, then the murder of Agamemnon as well as the banishment of Orestes, we hear how each feel betrayed and in turn seek vengeance or what they deem is justice.

While most of it is faithful to the original story, a few characters have been added to flesh out the main roles including best friend and lover of Orestes, Leander. A great read for mythology fans.
  
1st to Die (Women's Murder Club, #1)
1st to Die (Women's Murder Club, #1)
James Patterson | 2001 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.9 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
I never seem to do things in the right order. This is my third Women's Murderer Club book. I have already read 5 and 6. I gave the book three stars because I didn't like the way it ended.
Four women from four different sides of the law decide to put their collective brains together to solve murder cases. Lindsay the homicide detective, Claire the medical examiner, Jill the assistant district attorney, and Cindy the crime reporter.
When three couples turn up dead after their wedding nights, these ladies work together to find the killer. When they find out that the suspect is someone famous,will Lindsay be able to find enough evidence for an arrest, or will the guilty get away?
  
The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins | 2016 | Mystery, Thriller
7
7.6 (173 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good story line that at the end was quite unexpected. I like how it switches from different characters to give different views on situations and is not in chronological order (0 more)
I felt that the story was a bit slow to get going and did start to wonder why people were raving about it as it seemed very bland (0 more)
Book review
Overall i really enjoyed this book. It throws many curveballs to the plot and I did not expect the ending. It combines murder mystery, crime drama, romance,mystery and much more. Very cleverly written in the way it is not written in chronological order and how the characters dont seem to be united in anyway at the start but slowing the ball unravels.
  
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Hazycoot (15 KP) rated Mysterium in Tabletop Games

Mar 31, 2019 (Updated Apr 26, 2019)  
Mysterium
Mysterium
2015 | Deduction, Murder & Mystery, Party Game
Great game that forces you to try and think like the person playing as the ghost (0 more)
Visions can be extremely difficult to choose (0 more)
Much like clue this is a murder mystery game, though there is a twist, the ghost of the victim gives you clues in the form of visions. The ghost is not allowed to talk to the other players except to tell them whether they are right or not. It is on the longer side and can be quite frustrating depending on the visions the ghost gives out. Each other player follows the path of a specific suspect to find what room they were in and what weapon they had access to, the game encourages cooperation between players but does not require it