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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Force of Hate (DS Jo Howe #2) in Books

Apr 3, 2023

Wow ... what an exciting and thrilling read that was and is the best book I have read this year so far!

I haven't read anything by this author before but if this anything to go by, I won't be making that mistake again! Even though this is the second in the series, I don't think it mattered that much and certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of this thrilling book.

Force of Hate has everything you would want in a gritty, police procedural ... excellent characters, perfect setting, brilliant writing, exciting, thrilling and gripping plot covering realistic and disturbing topics resulting in a tension filled read from the start.

Highly recommended and I very much look forward to reading the next in the series and I must thank Allison & Busby and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Force of Hate.

Kudos

ClareR (6037 KP) rated Local Gone Missing in Books

Aug 24, 2022

Local Gone Missing

Fiona Barton | 2022 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Local Gone Missing is an engaging police procedural with a bit of a difference. The main character, Detective Elise King, is on sick leave, recovering from breast cancer treatment. But when one of the villagers in her village goes missing, she finds herself back at work in a more informal way.

I liked this a lot. For such a small village there’s a lot going on: drugs, tensions between new and old villagers, fires - and a disappearing neighbour. Honestly, it made me vow to never move to a village!

The main characters are great. Dee, who knows everyone’s secrets and flies under everyone’s radar; Ronnie, the typical nosey neighbour who wants to be Elise’s sidekick; and Elise, who is worried about going back to the job she clearly loves.

I didn’t guess who did it, as is usual.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this and expanding my reading horizons!

Kudos

A Test of Wills (Inspector Ian Rutledge, #1)

Charles Todd

6.5 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The first novel to feature war-damaged Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge, A Test of Wills is the...

Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Sweet Little Lies in Books

Aug 26, 2018

Sweet Little Lies

Caz Frear | 2017 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry

8.3

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Sweet Little Lies was billed as a thriller in Book of the Month's description, but it's more of a police procedural. I hadn't read one before, though I watch plenty of them on Netflix - they're a bit of a guilty pleasure! It was interesting having one in book form. It's not my typical fare, but I did enjoy it, far more than I probably would have enjoyed a true thriller. It's got all your typical parts of a police procedural - older family man cop, ball-busting female chief who isn't as bitchy as she first appears, troubled main character who snapped on a case, police psychiatrist, puzzling case, lying witnesses. All we're really missing is a partner who isn't actually a cop but somehow worms his way into cases anyway.

I'm conflicted about Cat herself. I like her - but I disagree with some of her decisions. I think she should have come clean about her connection to the case immediately. She doesn't because she's trying to protect her dad, but why? She spends most of the book talking about how much she dislikes him! Her entire family dynamic is pretty weird. They have issues.

I really enjoyed the writing of this book. The pacing was excellent - slow enough to absorb each new reveal properly, but fast-paced enough that the action rolls along. Goodreads says the book is "Cat Kinsella #1" implying it's the start of a series. I'll have to keep an eye out for them. For a debut novel, I am impressed at the level of writing, pacing, plot, and characterization. There's a lot of threads in this book that get gathered together at the end and tied up nicely, with only one escaping. That worried me until I discovered it's the beginning of a series; the one loose thread makes sense in that context.

While I didn't like this one quite as much as Goodbye, Paris, it's still another great pick from Book of the Month.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com

Kudos

Pediatric Echocardiography

Medical and Education

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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Echocardiography has become an essential technology and is utilized by the majority of pediatric...

Weather Gods

Weather and Utilities

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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Meet the Gods: Fire, Ice, Water, Air & Moon delivering you the Weather as you have never experienced...

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Chosen Ones in Books

Oct 20, 2018

The Chosen Ones

Howard Linskey | 2018 | Crime, Thriller

8.0

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I have never read anything by Howard Linskey before but if this book is anything to go by, I won't be making that mistake again ... what a great read and even though this is book number 4 in the series, I don't think it's totally necessary to have read the previous ones. Yes you may miss out on some of the back story and relationship building that has gone on before but I think there is enough provided to give you a good idea but not so much that it becomes tedious.

The writing flows well making it easy to read and with great characters, creepy and disturbing storyline and a great ending, I have no hesitation in recommending this to those who enjoy a good police procedural with a psychologically thrilling edge.

Thanks go to the publisher, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review and for introducing me to another fantastic British author.