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Whatever It Takes by Mick Williams 

Whatever It Takes 

by Mick Williams 

Whatever It Takes had been on my TBR list for far too long so Mick Williams re-editing and re-releasing it was the kick up the bum I needed to bump it up my reading list!

Apologies to Mick for the late review. The Christmas chaos took over!

What a brilliant read! Not that I’m surprised as I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Mick Williams.

Cory Keller is a fabulous character. Finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time leads to him being the target of some extremely undesirable people (to put it mildly). It takes him a little while to convince the local Sheriff of what he witnessed but it isn’t long before circumstances leave him in no doubt at all of what they’re up against. Luckily for Keller, he knows how to handle himself, but there isn’t only his own life at risk.

Talk about fast-paced and full of action! A compelling plot, brilliant characters, suspense, humour, and a bit of romance. I loved it! There are also many excellently choreographed fight scenes throughout this book which would look fantastic on the big screen.

Another easy five stars for me!

** Many thanks to Mick Williams for my epub review copy **

Watkins Forge is a typical small town. But when widower Cory Keller climbs into a deer stand one autumn morning, he sees something no outsider was meant to witness: a man executed in cold blood.

The sheriff calls him crazy. And when the assassin returns to silence him, Keller realizes he isn’t just a witness—he’s now a target.

Cornered in a place he can’t escape, Keller does the one thing he knows: he fights back.

Hunted across backroads and deep woods, he turns the predator into prey. But every move reveals a deeper truth—the killer isn’t working alone.

Watkins Forge has been compromised.

His only ally is Ashley, a street-smart, feisty waitress who believes him when no one else will. But standing with Keller puts her in the crosshairs.

Outnumbered and outgunned, he’ll have to use every ounce of cunning and grit to survive.

Because in the town he’s grown to love, surrender isn’t an option.

NOTE: This is a new version of a previously released story.

Treat yourself….

Happy reading &

Happy New Year!

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Whiteout (Dark Iceland Book 4) by Ragnar Jónasson (Author), Quentin Bates (Translator) 

Whiteout (Dark Iceland Book 4) 

by Ragnar Jónasson (Author), Quentin Bates (Translator) 

Whiteout is book four in the brilliant Dark Iceland series. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the books in this series so far and I’ve already started book five!

In this book Ari Thor & Tomas find themselves investigating the suspicious death of a young woman, right before Christmas. It’s assumed she has committed suicide, but Ari Thor isn’t convinced and is determined to find out the truth despite likely having to sacrifice a proper Christmas with his very pregnant fiancé. Something isn’t quite adding up and the more he delves in to this case the more he becomes convinced she didn’t jump.

Another fast-paced crime thriller set in a dark, oppressive corner of Iceland. More fascinating characters and a plot that had me suspecting everyone and second guessing everything. As usual I was completely wrong and the story took a sharp turn in a direction I wasn’t expecting. Brilliant!

Looking forward to getting properly stuck in to book five now all the Christmas socialising is over….

Two days before Christmas, a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted village of Kálfshamarvík.

Did she jump, or did something more sinister take place beneath the lighthouse and the abandoned old house on the remote rocky outcrop?
With winter closing in and the snow falling relentlessly, Ari Thór Arason discovers that the victim’s mother and young sister also lost their lives in this same spot, twenty-five years earlier.

As the dark history and its secrets of the village are unveiled, and the death toll begins to rise, the Siglufjordur detectives must race against the clock to find the killer, before another tragedy takes place.

Dark, chilling and complex, Whiteout is a haunting, atmospheric and stunningly plotted thriller from one of Iceland’s bestselling crime writers.

I.C.Y.M.I

Snowblind (Dark Iceland Book 1) by Ragnar Jónasson (Author) Quentin Bates (Translator) @ragnarjo @OrendaBooks
Blackout (Dark Iceland Book 2) by Ragnar Jónasson (Author), Quentin Bates (Translator)
Rupture (Dark Iceland Book 3) by Ragnar Jónasson (Author) @ragnarjo Quentin Bates (Translator) @OrendaBooks

Happy reading!

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Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles 

Murder Before Evensong

by Reverend Richard Coles

Murder Before Evensong has been on my TBR for a while so I was chuffed when it was chosen as our Buddy Read Book Club read for December.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s a slow burn, cosy crime story with quite a sad conclusion. I really enjoyed it overall. At the beginning there isn’t much drama other than if, and when, they will finally install a toilet in the church. As a church goer, and a church treasurer for over eleven years, I found some of these characters very amusing and totally relatable. Some people really do think that they have their own pew and God forbid anyone else sits there or tries to change absolutely anything!

The story ramps up a bit when a regular parishioner is found dead in the church by the Rector. This I definitely can’t relate to, thankfully! From here on in the story becomes much more suspenseful and I was intrigued to find out who, in this quiet little place, might be a murderer.

There are some interesting characters throughout this story. Daniel’s mother amused me. His brother couldn’t be any more different to him. I did wonder where his story might lead.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series at some point.

Good choice, Lucie 😊

Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton, where he lives alongside his widowed mother – opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey – and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda.

When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village.

And then Anthony Bowness – cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton – is found dead at the back of the church. As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his community together . . . and catch a killer.

Happy reading!

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Behind Her Smile by Caroline England @CazEngland

Behind Her Smile

by Caroline England 

Behind Her Smile is an incredibly tense read. I could just feel that there was more than meets the eye to this story and that it was going to take a disturbing turn at some point. I couldn’t wait to find out how!

It’s a difficult book to review as I don’t want to give anything away, but I was absolutely gripped, as I expected to be with another one of Caroline’s books.

If you love a psychological crime thriller with intriguing characters, complicated relationships, both family and romantic, an extremely clever, twisty plot full of suspense, deceit, love, loss, heart-breaking sadness, and jaw dropping shocks then you will love this book!

I can’t recommend it highly enough.

An easy five stars for me!

**Many thanks to Caroline for my epub review copy**

Buried secrets are dangerous.
Unearthing them might be deadly …

Laurie Dunn has returned to her childhood attic bedroom and her old nightmares have come rushing back. Terrorised by a client-related mugging, her job as a criminal solicitor causes more problems than solutions.

Finn Ballentine yearns for a fresh start, but even the glossy façade of his new law firm can’t protect him from the past he’s running from.

After a disturbing remark by her confused father, Laurie joins forces with Finn to uncover dark truths. But the long-buried secrets they unearth are laced with danger for them both.

Happy reading!

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#FlashbackFriday December 2025

Hi, and welcome to my Flashback Friday feature!

On the first Friday of each month I like to look back at the books I was reading the previous year during the same month.

Please do join in if you have the time, I’d love to see your posts 🙂

A big thank you to those who already join in regularly! x

Here are my reviews from December 2024 + a link to previous December FBFs….

The Berlin Agent (John Cook, Book 2) by Stephen Ronson @Stephen_Ronson #NetGalley

Fight Back (Kerry Casey, Book 2) by Anna Smith

Destiny Revealed: Wizard Twins (The Destiny Trilogy Series Book 1) by Cris Pasqueralle 

The Christmas Book Hunt: A Short Story by Jenny Colgan 
#FlashbackFriday December 2024

Merry Christmas & Happy reading!

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The Blitz Secret (John Cook, book 3) by Stephen Ronson @Stephen_Ronson #NetGalley

The Blitz Secret (John Cook, book 3) 

by Stephen Ronson 

I was very much looking forward to reading The Blitz Secret having really enjoyed books one and two in this series.

John Cook is a brilliant, no-nonsense character. A bloke I would definitely want on my side. He reminds me of Reacher. I picture Alan Ritchson when I read these books.

In this book we see Cook spending most of his time in London. Now, I didn’t live through the blitz, but I feel like I did after reading this book. I’m glad I really didn’t. It must have been terrifying. I was particularly disturbed by the cutting of corners where building air raid shelters was concerned. I would not be at all surprised if that actually happened!

I was mortified by the behaviours of some of the characters in this book. People who should have been safe to trust. It just goes to show, you never know what might go on behind closed doors. What Ruby goes through is nothing short of horrific!

I’m impressed by Cook’s determination to succeed in everything he does. He’s like a dog with a bone who won’t let go. I admire this so much, as so many other people would take the easy way out and just give up at the first hurdle. He will not rest until he gets satisfactory results. A man on a mission!

Lady Margaret is brave. I couldn’t do what she does. I’d be useless!

There is so much tension throughout this book, I don’t think I relaxed once. Fast paced and full of suspense it kept me on the edge of my seat and the ending left me well and truly intrigued for book four!

**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**

I.C.Y.M.I

The Last Line by Stephen Ronson @Stephen_Ronson
The Berlin Agent (John Cook, Book 2) by Stephen Ronson @Stephen_Ronson #NetGalley

Happy reading!

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Past Mistakes (Detective Allie Shenton Gritty Crime Thrillers Book 8) by Mel Sherratt @writermels

Past Mistakes (Detective Allie Shenton Gritty Crime Thrillers Book 8)

by Mel Sherratt 

Allie Shenton is back!! I absolutely love this series so I was very excited to learn there would be a book eight. I only wish I had read it sooner.

I had so many mixed feelings about this story. Imagine being sixteen years old and jailed for something you didn’t do. I can’t even imagine how that might affect someone’s mental health and general outlook on life. My heart went out to teenage Jamie, especially when he realises he is going to lose his Mum too. However, as much as I understand his anger and rage, his revenge plans are brutal. It would have been lovely to have seen him turn his life around after his release and live his best life. Show his so-called friends from back then that he wasn’t going to let them ruin his life any further. I realise this is so easy for me to say though and it also wouldn’t make as dramatic a storyline. Lol!

A woman is attacked in her home. A man is murdered in his own home, and another man is stabbed. Detective Allie Shenton and her team soon work out what is happening and have their work cut out to find the culprit before he gets to anyone else. I was rooting for them the whole time and although I had little sympathy for those who lied in the past no-one deserves to be murdered in their own home.

This is such a fast-paced crime thriller featuring a perpetrator who knows exactly what he’s doing as he’s had a long time to plan things. I could barely keep up! I thought I had it sussed though, and I did to a certain extent, but there are moments throughout that I absolutely did not see coming! My heart was in my mouth on more than one occasion and just when I thought it was over, BAM, another jaw-dropping shock. One that really had me panicking!

Just brilliant! I loved it! I can’t wait for book nine!

** Many thanks to Mel Sherratt for my digital review copy **

#TeamSherratt

They left him to rot, but now he’s back for revenge.Jamie Sanderson walked out of prison with a score to settle. Fifteen years later, he’s back in his hometown and it isn’t long before the bodies start piling up. A man stabbed in an alley. Another found dead in his own home. A woman barely clinging to life. Someone is working through a bloody list, and nothing will stand in their way.

Detective Allie Shenton and her team know who they’re hunting but finding him is another matter. With every day that passes, the danger grows for the people he will come after. And then the worst happens.

As the investigation stretches the team to their limits, Allie faces a brutal reminder that the past never really lets go. Because someone comes for her, and survival is no longer guaranteed.

Past Mistakes is the eighth novel in the bestselling Allie Shenton series from the multi-million selling crime writer, Mel Sherratt, the author of The Estate Series and Grace Allendale books.

Treat yourself!

Happy reading!

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The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen (Author), David Hackston (Translator) 

The Winter Job

by Antti Tuomainen (Author), David Hackston (Translator) 

I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I started reading The Winter Job, but I really enjoyed it!

Antii Tuomainen is a new-to-me author, and I like his writing style.

Ilmari Nieminen takes on a one-off job to deliver a sofa to earn enough money to buy his daughter the piano he has promised her for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong!?

Ilmari is a likable character, and his journey turns out to be far more eventful than he could have possibly imagined. He doesn’t expect to bump into an old friend who ends up tagging along and he certainly doesn’t expect to find himself being followed. Turns out there’s more to this sofa than meets the eye and there are others who want it too. He is determined to deliver it to the destination he has been given though otherwise he won’t get paid and his daughter won’t get her piano. He’s a recently divorced father who wants to fulfil his promise to his daughter. Woe betide anyone who tries to get in his way.

Set in Finland in 1982 this is a brilliant story, full of suspense, and peppered with dark humour. I was rooting for Ilamari the whole way through. The ending really made me smile.

** Many thanks to Orenda Books for my digital review copy **

Sofas, secrets and a snowbound road to trouble…

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he’s desperate.

A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland.

With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada.

That’s when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special.

And that’s when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble…

A darkly funny and unexpectedly moving thriller about friendship, love and death – The Winter Job tears through the frozen landscape of northern Finland in a beat-up van with bad steering, worse timing, and everything to lose…

Treat yourself

Happy reading!

Posted on by Chat About Books · 1 Comment

#FlashbackFriday November 2025

Hi, and welcome to my Flashback Friday feature!

On the first Friday of each month I like to look back at the books I was reading the previous year during the same month.

Please do join in if you have the time, I’d love to see your posts 🙂

A big thank you to those who already join in regularly! x

Here are my reviews from November 2024 + a link to previous November FBFs….

Fatal Infatuation (Almost Human – The First Trilogy Book 1) by Melanie Nowak 

Blood Feud (Kerry Casey Book 1) by Anna Smith 
#FlashbackFriday November 2024

Happy reading!

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Filthy Rich Temptation (Filthy Rich Billionaires Book 1) by Rachael Stewart @rach_b52 @BoldwoodBooks

Filthy Rich Temptation (Filthy Rich Billionaires Book 1)

by Rachael Stewart 

WOW! What a story this is!

It’s probably a good job my husband doesn’t read my book reviews because I think I love Theo. I fell in love with him in chapter one. He’s just the most delicious character. I defy anyone to resist his charms!

Theo is a self-made billionaire, but this is far from the focus of this story. It’s barely mentioned really, although there are obvious nods to it such as him living in a London penthouse apartment overlooking the Thames, and owning a beach house in Pembrokeshire with a live-in housekeeper. He’s a modest character though, and he’s trying his best to support his best friend by helping her younger sister and her three-year-old daughter after fleeing an abusive relationship. The problem is, he has been attracted to Sadie for longer than he cares to admit. How is he supposed to live in such close proximity to her and keep his feelings under control!?

Sadie has always carried a torch for Theo and eventually makes her feelings quite clear, making her so much more difficult for Theo to resist….

The way Theo is with Sadie reminds me very much of how my husband is with me, which is why I think I am completely besotted with him. The chemistry between these two is off the charts! I hope they’re still the same 26 years later as we are.

With scorching scenes (hot is an understatement!) as well as heart-meltingly romantic ones I absolutely loved Theo’s and Sadie’s story. They have their stumbling blocks along the way, of course, but they get there in the end and that’s the most important thing. Who doesn’t love a happy ending!?

I adored this book and will have no problem recommending to anyone and everyone.

** I won a paperback copy of Filthy Rich Temptation in a recent giveaway. Thank you to Rachael Stewart and Boldwood Books **

Theo

Making my first billion? Easy. Surviving Sadie — and her three-year-old — moving in? Pure torture. She’s my best friend’s little sister, the one girl I should never touch. Especially after that reckless kiss seven years ago…the kiss that ruined everything.

Now she’s here, under my roof, in every corner of my thoughts. Vulnerable. Off-limits. And so beautiful it hurts. I promised myself I’d protect her, keep my distance. But every laugh, every accidental touch, makes it harder to remember why I ever said no.

Sadie

I ran to Theo for safety, but the moment I walked through his door, I knew I wasn’t just in danger from my ex—I was in danger of falling again. He thinks he’s protecting me, keeping his distance. But every smouldering look says otherwise.

And every night, I wonder: what if I kissed him again? He thinks he’s just helping. But he doesn’t see how he’s rewiring my heart—how my daughter already adores him. I’m supposed to be surviving, not falling. But I know what I want…him. His hands. His mouth. His body. Even if it’s the one thing he swore I couldn’t have…

Treat yourself

Happy reading!