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Harm Reduction

Todd L. Grande

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A secret binds them together, the truth will unravel them. Jenny Ocean’s life is already on...

thriller bookbuzz

Running From Darkness (Dark River Stone Collective #3)

JP Sayle

8.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Conall is on the run. Kyle wants someone who will want him for who he is. Can they find what they...

Contemporary MM Romance

Miranda Writes by Gail Ward Olmsted

Gail Ward Olmsted

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A disgraced attorney seeking redemption. A single mother desperate to regain custody of her son. Two...

Contemporary Women's Fiction

ClareR (5681 KP) rated Mad Honey in Books

Jan 30, 2023

Mad Honey

Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Thriller

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I read this on The Pigeonhole (my online bookclub!) and eagerly awaited each stave release - they always manage to leave it on a cliffhanger! And there are a lot of secrets in this novel.

Olivia has returned to her childhood home, escaping from an abusive marriage, to take over her family’s beekeeping business. Everything is going really well for her, until the day that her son Asher is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Lily. Olivia is wracked with feelings of guilt and fear: could he be like his father? Olivia can’t be sure if he’s done this, whether or not he’s violent like his father, or whether someone else has murdered her.

I usually avoid books written by two people - and I couldn’t tell you why! Picoult writes Olivia’s parts, Finney Boylan writes Lily’s. And honestly, I couldn’t see any wildly different writing styles between the two authors. Both of them just seem to nail the characters. Perfectly.

Olivia and Lily are both imperfect characters - as are we all - and they were both so realistically written. They were both living and breathing characters. I was completely invested in them both, even though I knew Lily’s story could only go one way.

This is a great book, and one that I’ve often thought about since reading it. If you read it, you’ll see why.

Recommended.

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Cat Who Caught a Killer in Books

Oct 30, 2022

I love cats and I love reading about murder (strange I know!) so even though this book is quite different to what I normally read, I thought I'd give it a go and, overall, it was pretty good.

This is definitely what is called a 'cosy mystery'; it is not offensive or violent. Emily's mother in law dies suddenly and unexpectedly and whilst her death is put down to natural causes, Emily, an ex Police Officer, is not convinced and so sets off to get to the truth along with a talking cat that has adopted her.

I thought I would struggle with the talking cat angle but whilst it was a little absurd at the beginning, it worked really well and, I think, it symbolised Emily's inner voice.

With great characters and a good story line, this is an easy to read mystery. There are twists and turns but, unfortunately, they weren't too much of a surprise so this let it down a little and although the pace was steady, there was a little bit too much description at times which slowed the story down somewhat.

Overall though, I would recommend to those who enjoy a simple, easy to read and inoffensive mystery and my thanks must go to PanMacmillan, Macmillan and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Cat Who Caught a Killer.