Search
Murder by Munchhausen Trilogy Set
7.5
Rate It
Book
A Cyber Crime Thriller Series: Notorious serial killers digitally resurrected to live & hunt again...
Science Fiction sci-fi scifi sci fi thriller police procedural
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Nail's Crossing (Bill Maytubby & Hannah Bond Mystery #1) in Books
May 16, 2018
As seen on <a href="http://theghastlygrimoire.com/"; target="_new">The Ghastly Grimoire</a>
Nail’s Crossing is a fast-paced police procedural from debut author Kris Lackey. Set in Southeastern Oklahoma, the novel dips into Arkansas (my stomping grounds) and Louisiana. Some scenes take place in Oklahoma City, in neighborhoods I know well and the locales depicted in this book are precisely why when I received an email regarding it, I absolutely had to read it.
This book is in the first in a series centered around Bill Maytubby, a reservation police officer, and Hannah Bond, a sturdy, no-bullshit female officers from the county. In these two and the many side characters, Lackey proves adept at making his cast realistic and relateable – which is something I find wanting in other books far too often.
The plot of Nail’s Crossing deals with the aftermath of a young woman’s murder and a varied group of individuals that are responsible for her death. By focusing on the apprehension of the criminals, rather than the psychology behind why they killed the woman make this title a refreshing read, especially after all the books I’ve read lately that try and compare themselves to Gone Girl.
I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently, so the fact I devoured Lackey’s book in only a couple sittings speaks volumes to his ability to maintain a constant flow of action. Unlike many books I’ve read where the author refers to stereotypes to depict certain demographics, Lackey’s portrayal of poverty-stricken southerners is accurate. Considering I live in one of Arkansas’s poorest counties, this meant a lot to me. Lackey has given those without voices one within the pages of his novel that, if you’re looking for it, remind readers that we’re our own culture as well (and not by clinging to Confederate rhetoric like the ones of today seem to).
I look forward to more books in this series, that’s for sure. I’d like to thank Blackstone Audiobooks for providing me with a free copy of this book at no charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Nail’s Crossing is a fast-paced police procedural from debut author Kris Lackey. Set in Southeastern Oklahoma, the novel dips into Arkansas (my stomping grounds) and Louisiana. Some scenes take place in Oklahoma City, in neighborhoods I know well and the locales depicted in this book are precisely why when I received an email regarding it, I absolutely had to read it.
This book is in the first in a series centered around Bill Maytubby, a reservation police officer, and Hannah Bond, a sturdy, no-bullshit female officers from the county. In these two and the many side characters, Lackey proves adept at making his cast realistic and relateable – which is something I find wanting in other books far too often.
The plot of Nail’s Crossing deals with the aftermath of a young woman’s murder and a varied group of individuals that are responsible for her death. By focusing on the apprehension of the criminals, rather than the psychology behind why they killed the woman make this title a refreshing read, especially after all the books I’ve read lately that try and compare themselves to Gone Girl.
I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently, so the fact I devoured Lackey’s book in only a couple sittings speaks volumes to his ability to maintain a constant flow of action. Unlike many books I’ve read where the author refers to stereotypes to depict certain demographics, Lackey’s portrayal of poverty-stricken southerners is accurate. Considering I live in one of Arkansas’s poorest counties, this meant a lot to me. Lackey has given those without voices one within the pages of his novel that, if you’re looking for it, remind readers that we’re our own culture as well (and not by clinging to Confederate rhetoric like the ones of today seem to).
I look forward to more books in this series, that’s for sure. I’d like to thank Blackstone Audiobooks for providing me with a free copy of this book at no charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Hold Your Tongue in Books
Dec 13, 2019
A creditable debut
This is what I call a slow burner and a very creditable debut from this new British author. It did take me a while to get into it and to get used to the writing style but once I did, I was hooked.
DI Eve Hunter is returning to work under a cloud after being injured in the line of duty which saw her colleague paralysed. She walks into the gruesome murder of a young woman and so begins the hunt for a brutal killer by her and her team and so begins this dark, gruesome and gritty police procedural set in the Scottish city of Aberdeen.
Mainly written from Eve's perspective interspersed with sections from members of her team and those of the killer, this gave insight from all the important characters in this book. The characters are well developed and believable with the relationships between Eve and the wider team excellently portrayed however, and this is my main criticism of this book, it took an awfully long time to get to the bottom of what happened with Eve and her colleague; you get snippets of the story here and there but, for me, this ended up annoying me slightly as I just wanted to know! In my humble opinion, this should have been explained close to the beginning of the book (maybe in a prologue?) so that the actions and reactions of Eve and her fellow officers would have been better understood.
I must applaud the author for keeping the identity of the killer well hidden amongst several red herrings; I changed my mind about who the person was a couple of times and was still caught out when the reveal happened ... excellent twist.
Overall, although I did find the first half of the book a little slow, the second made up for it and I am very much looking forward to what I hope are more outings for DI Hunter and her team.
My thanks go to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers via NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
DI Eve Hunter is returning to work under a cloud after being injured in the line of duty which saw her colleague paralysed. She walks into the gruesome murder of a young woman and so begins the hunt for a brutal killer by her and her team and so begins this dark, gruesome and gritty police procedural set in the Scottish city of Aberdeen.
Mainly written from Eve's perspective interspersed with sections from members of her team and those of the killer, this gave insight from all the important characters in this book. The characters are well developed and believable with the relationships between Eve and the wider team excellently portrayed however, and this is my main criticism of this book, it took an awfully long time to get to the bottom of what happened with Eve and her colleague; you get snippets of the story here and there but, for me, this ended up annoying me slightly as I just wanted to know! In my humble opinion, this should have been explained close to the beginning of the book (maybe in a prologue?) so that the actions and reactions of Eve and her fellow officers would have been better understood.
I must applaud the author for keeping the identity of the killer well hidden amongst several red herrings; I changed my mind about who the person was a couple of times and was still caught out when the reveal happened ... excellent twist.
Overall, although I did find the first half of the book a little slow, the second made up for it and I am very much looking forward to what I hope are more outings for DI Hunter and her team.
My thanks go to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers via NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Managing the Psychological Impact of Medical Trauma: A Guide for Mental Health and Health Care Professionals
Michelle Flaum Hall and Scott E. Hall
Book
What to do when treatment becomes trauma Of increasing concern to all health professionals is the...
CL
Criminal Litigation 2016-2017
Martin Hannibal and Lisa Mountford
10.0
Rate It
Book
Criminal Litigation offers a comprehensive and practical guide to the areas of criminal litigation...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Stolen Child (Hanlon Series #1) in Books
Jan 21, 2021
Well, crikey, that was a tough but exciting read that I wasn't able to put down despite the content.
I haven't read anything by this author before and missed this first time round when it was published under a different name but I'm so glad I didn't let it pass me by this time because what a treat it is, although it should come with a warning as there are some very unsavoury sections regarding child abuse that will upset people so be warned.
What we have here is a hard-hitting, gritty and dark story that starts at a fairly gentle pace whilst introducing the main characters but then, wow, it ramps up and doesn't stop until the end. The characters are exceptional and so well described that I could clearly see them in my mind.
The main character, DI Hanlon, is driven by her own form of justice and won't shy away from any situation even if it goes against the letter of the law - she will do what it takes to bring those responsible for despicable crimes to justice and she doesn't hold back. She is one tough cookie and I doubt any miscreant out there would want to be on her bad side!
The sense of tension Mr Coombs developed was palpable and the emotions this book evoked were so strong that I actually felt my heart-rate climbing and experiencing real anger and hatred towards some of the characters - not many books do that which, to me, shows the ability of the author to really draw you in and develop people and situations that get under your skin.
Due to the subject matter and the level of violence contained, this won't appeal to everyone however I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy a less than flowery police procedural that is likely to be more realistic than most other books in the genre.
Many thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review and for introducing me to yet another excellent British author.
I'm off to read the second in the series now - The Innocent Girl.
I haven't read anything by this author before and missed this first time round when it was published under a different name but I'm so glad I didn't let it pass me by this time because what a treat it is, although it should come with a warning as there are some very unsavoury sections regarding child abuse that will upset people so be warned.
What we have here is a hard-hitting, gritty and dark story that starts at a fairly gentle pace whilst introducing the main characters but then, wow, it ramps up and doesn't stop until the end. The characters are exceptional and so well described that I could clearly see them in my mind.
The main character, DI Hanlon, is driven by her own form of justice and won't shy away from any situation even if it goes against the letter of the law - she will do what it takes to bring those responsible for despicable crimes to justice and she doesn't hold back. She is one tough cookie and I doubt any miscreant out there would want to be on her bad side!
The sense of tension Mr Coombs developed was palpable and the emotions this book evoked were so strong that I actually felt my heart-rate climbing and experiencing real anger and hatred towards some of the characters - not many books do that which, to me, shows the ability of the author to really draw you in and develop people and situations that get under your skin.
Due to the subject matter and the level of violence contained, this won't appeal to everyone however I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy a less than flowery police procedural that is likely to be more realistic than most other books in the genre.
Many thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review and for introducing me to yet another excellent British author.
I'm off to read the second in the series now - The Innocent Girl.
Party Hard Go
Games and Entertainment
App
"You’ll easily find yourself losing hours at a time to the intriguing puzzling rhythms of the...
American Fire:Love, Arson, And Life In A Vanishing Land
8.0
Rate It
Book
A breathtaking feat of reportage, American Fire combines procedural with love story, redefining...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Whole Truth (DI Adam Fawley #5) in Books
Aug 14, 2022
I have had this book on my 'to-be-read' pile for ages only realising (because my pile is so big!) when book 6 came along. I am so disappointed with myself that I didn't read it earlier because this is yet another cracker from Cara Hunter and a great addition to the series. I don't think you have to read the others in the series to enjoy this as it works pretty well as a standalone.
Once again, we are treated to an up to date story line of alleged abuse by a female in a powerful position against a male student and an old case that is coming back to haunt DI Fawley, his team and his wife. Ms Hunter uses different types of media, including podcasts and transcripts from interviews, to enhance the story and make it feel current and relevant and definitely enhances the reading experience.
The Whole Truth, and in fact the whole series so far, is full of excellent characters that are well developed but what I particularly like is that at the very beginning, there is a brief summary of the main characters in the series which gets you up to speed and jogs your memory which, for people who read a lot of books/series or for those, like me, who have memory lapses from time to time, is really useful. I would certainly recommend this to other authors who write series.
I have one small quibble in what is a really good book and that is the reproduction of Alex's written notes and some of the excepts from text conversations and social media didn't reproduce very well on the Kindle in that they were too small even when the font was set to maximum; I realise in a physical book this is likely not to be an issue but it might be worth thinking about this for future books.
Like I said, this is a cracker and one I would recommend to those of you who enjoy a really good police procedural with some great twists, turns and suspense.
Many thanks to Penguin Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my views of The Whole Truth.
Once again, we are treated to an up to date story line of alleged abuse by a female in a powerful position against a male student and an old case that is coming back to haunt DI Fawley, his team and his wife. Ms Hunter uses different types of media, including podcasts and transcripts from interviews, to enhance the story and make it feel current and relevant and definitely enhances the reading experience.
The Whole Truth, and in fact the whole series so far, is full of excellent characters that are well developed but what I particularly like is that at the very beginning, there is a brief summary of the main characters in the series which gets you up to speed and jogs your memory which, for people who read a lot of books/series or for those, like me, who have memory lapses from time to time, is really useful. I would certainly recommend this to other authors who write series.
I have one small quibble in what is a really good book and that is the reproduction of Alex's written notes and some of the excepts from text conversations and social media didn't reproduce very well on the Kindle in that they were too small even when the font was set to maximum; I realise in a physical book this is likely not to be an issue but it might be worth thinking about this for future books.
Like I said, this is a cracker and one I would recommend to those of you who enjoy a really good police procedural with some great twists, turns and suspense.
Many thanks to Penguin Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my views of The Whole Truth.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Bells On Her Toes in Books
Nov 8, 2019
When a body is discovered in a burnt-out barn, DCI Peter Hatherall and DI Fiona Williams are assigned to investigate. The barn is owned by a racehorse trainer and the two detectives struggle to penetrate the closed and secretive world of horse racing to uncover who the body is and why they were murdered. As the body count rises Hatharall's personal life starts to impact on his professional judgement putting not only the investigation but lives at risk.
The police procedural has a long and distinguished history and Febry does an excellent job in following the formula and adding enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Everything is told from a personal point of view (mostly Williams') and the author does a great job in conveying personality through how events are described. One of the key suspects also provides some of their thoughts between chapters and this very effectively cranks the tension up.
The cast of characters is very convincing. The detective with personal problems has very much become a cliche but Hatherall is drawn in a very realistic and human light and is clearly struggling. Williams has her own relationship issues and their interaction has a ring of authenticity. The cast of suspects is wide and a number of them could easily be guily. What is certain is that it will take time for all the secrets to be uncovered.
The plot has many twists and plenty of red herrings for both the reader and the detectives to fall foul of. The stakes are constantly raised until the final confrontation.
When reading this book I was reminded of one of my favourite detective thriller novelists, Reginald Hill. The characterisation, the plot twists and some of the way Febry plays with the reader's expectations reminded so much of a Dalziel and Pascoe novel. I think that's a very fair comparison and although Peter Hathersall is not at all like Andy Dalziel he is still a detective who works with both facts and instinct
This books is part of a series (and indeed one of the other books in the series is mentioned in passing) and if this novel is anything to go by the series is one to read as soon as possible. Anyone who likes a good detective novel with interesting characters and plenty of twists will like this. A lot.
The police procedural has a long and distinguished history and Febry does an excellent job in following the formula and adding enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Everything is told from a personal point of view (mostly Williams') and the author does a great job in conveying personality through how events are described. One of the key suspects also provides some of their thoughts between chapters and this very effectively cranks the tension up.
The cast of characters is very convincing. The detective with personal problems has very much become a cliche but Hatherall is drawn in a very realistic and human light and is clearly struggling. Williams has her own relationship issues and their interaction has a ring of authenticity. The cast of suspects is wide and a number of them could easily be guily. What is certain is that it will take time for all the secrets to be uncovered.
The plot has many twists and plenty of red herrings for both the reader and the detectives to fall foul of. The stakes are constantly raised until the final confrontation.
When reading this book I was reminded of one of my favourite detective thriller novelists, Reginald Hill. The characterisation, the plot twists and some of the way Febry plays with the reader's expectations reminded so much of a Dalziel and Pascoe novel. I think that's a very fair comparison and although Peter Hathersall is not at all like Andy Dalziel he is still a detective who works with both facts and instinct
This books is part of a series (and indeed one of the other books in the series is mentioned in passing) and if this novel is anything to go by the series is one to read as soon as possible. Anyone who likes a good detective novel with interesting characters and plenty of twists will like this. A lot.