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Hidden Rooms
Hidden Rooms
Kate Michaelson | 2024 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4 very VERY good stars
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian via BookSirens, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is the author's debut novel, and I reckon she nailed it!

Riley's sister-in-law to be, Beth, is murdered, and her brother Ethan, is the prime suspect. Riley knows he's innocent, and sets about to prove it.

What I particularly liked about this, was being kept on my toes! Until it all came out, I didn't know whether Ethan did it or not!

Beth is keeping secrets, and those secrets cost her, but again, it takes time for things to come out.

Everything does take a time to come out, and I suggest, if like me, you weren't liking the slow pace, KEEP AT IT! It does speed up and move at pace. I am glad I kept with it.

Riley tells a great tale, even with this illness that rocks her through much of the book. I enjoyed her, especially as she is the only voice in the book. I liked the way the illness was dealt with, or not for much of the time!

I think I might not have enjoyed this so much had someone else had a say, which is contrary to my usual "I wanted to hear from everyone" thing, I know, but I really did like Riley.

It's well written, and well delivered. There is just enough suspense, once it kicks off, to keep you fully engaged and invested with this group of people.

As an ARC reader of many years, my primary genre is romance. Once in a while something different will come through and my interest is piqued. I am certainly glad I took this one on, and will absolutely read more by this author as and when.

4 very VERY good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
The House in the Woods (Atticus Priest #1)
The House in the Woods (Atticus Priest #1)
Mark Dawson | 2023 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A very good start to a new series and one I am very much looking forward to getting my teeth into.

A gruesome murder has occurred in an isolated farmhouse and DCI Mackenzie 'Mack' Jones and her team are sent in to investigate. Their initial thought is that it's a tragic murder-suicide however, fingers soon point to the person who discovered the bodies of his family, Ralph Mallender and he is quickly arrested, charged and brought to court.

Ralph's wife is convinced of her husband's innocence and employs the services of disgraced ex-police officer and now private detective, Atticus Priest to try and find any evidence missed by the police which will help her husband's case.

Not being tied by the constraints of the police, i.e., the law! Atticus sets about the task at hand and quickly discovers things are not quite what they seem much to the annoyance of 'Mack' who just happens to be his former boss and with whom he has had a previous relationship.

The book is told from both Mack and Atticus' points of view and takes place during the court case which mixes police procedural, Atticus' unconventional methods of investigation and court room thriller. The pace is initially a slow burner as there is a wealth of detail that, at times, seems a little unnecessary but once you get past that, it soon ramps up into a thrilling read with plenty of twists and turns.

Overall, a really enjoyable start to a new series and one I am very much looking forward to following and I must give a thank you to Welbeck Publishing Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The House in the Woods.
  
A Child for the Reich
A Child for the Reich
Andie Newton | 2022 | History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Inspired by a true story, this book is absolutely gripping and full of tension, heartbreak and the story of one woman's quest to find and rescue her daughter from the Nazi's Lebensborn programme.

Anna Dankova and her family live in Nazi-occupied Prague. Her husband and brother-in-law have joined the Czech Resistance leaving them to try and raise their children with the ever present danger of the Nazi soldiers, the Gestapo and the much feared Brown Sisters; female nurses who were dedicated to the Nazi cause. They worked for the Nazi Welfare Organization and searched through villages and towns for Aryan-looking children.

Anna and her sister's children are blonde-haired and blue-eyed and their fears are only too real but they are powerless against the might of the Nazi regime and one day, Anna's daughter, Ema is literally ripped from her arms in broad daylight leaving Anna, understandably, distraught and determined to get her back whatever the risks before she is lost forever.

Anna uses all her skills, courage and guile to find her daughter, infiltrate the children's home where she has been placed to be indoctrinated into the German way and to figure out a way to get her out of there whilst under the ever present threat of exposure and certain death.

This is a story full of tension and heartbreak and one mother's determination to find her daughter no matter what and it was absolutely gripping and I have no hesitation recommending it to those of you who 'enjoy' reading historical fiction based on true stories and events.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of A Child for the Reich.