I'm 47, married to Steve (50), Mum to two (24 & 23) and a Shih Tzu called Bella (13). I'm our Church Treasurer (on a voluntary basis) since July 2014. I started my Book Blog in October 2015. I created Bowen's Book Publicity in June 2020. I love to #sharethebooklove 💕
I finished Good Girl, Bad Blood a little while ago now but this is the first chance I’ve had to write a review. I read this as a part of a buddy read with some of my Instagram friends. I was so looking forward to it as I loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, and I was not disappointed! I’m not sure if I loved it quite as much as AGGGTM, but it comes a very close second.
I love Pip and Ravi and I love how their relationship develops throughout this book.
I love how dedicated Pip is when it comes to helping her friends, even when it gets her in trouble with her parents. She’s such a brilliant character! In this book she is investigating a missing person rather than a murder, but her dedication to the case is equal to that of the first book.
As with book one, GGBB is full of twists and turns. It’s fast paced, suspenseful, and compelling. It has shocking moments, moving moments, and often funny moments. I highly recommend it to all! (But please read book one first if you haven’t already.)
I’m looking forward to reading book three, As Good As Dead.
If you’re looking to get your teeth in to a new crime thriller series, full of action, and clever plot lines, then look no further!
Mission Black is the first in a new series by Mick Williams and it is quite simply awesome!
I love Fr. Black. He’s a fabulous character and one I can’t wait to catch up with again in book 2. He’s ex-military turned priest which I find an interesting change of career for a start. He’s a charismatic character and obviously still has a certain appeal with the ladies. Maybe more so because he’s off limits, but he sounds quite easy on the eye too.
This book has two kickass female characters, Lyndsey, and Emmy.
Lyndsey is also ex-military but now devotes her time to Fr. Black’s church as his treasurer, amongst other things. As a church treasurer myself I could relate to her from a church finance perspective but that’s pretty much where our similarities end. Lol! I certainly wouldn’t argue with her. I love the professional relationship and friendship that they obviously share.
Emmy is a truly inspiring character. When Fr. Black finds himself working alongside Emmy it’s easy to see how she might test his faith. He’s true to his vows, but they do grow to be quite fond of each other within a short timeframe. They are thrown into a volatile and dangerous situation together but make a great team. I’d want them on my team. The banter between them is hilarious at times too. I hope to see more of Emmy in book 2.
The humour throughout this book is typical of Mick Williams’ writing and I love it!
I’m so excited that this is the first of a brand-new series. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Malcolm Havard is re-launching Contrail (Book 1 of the Harry Jones series) on 31st March 2024!
Book 2 will be available in the very near future so make sure you catch up with Harry Jones in Contrail in the meantime….
It’s Spring 1951. Harry Jones is on the run. Again. He’s upset so many people in the past; his family, the Communists who go him out of the mines, the RAF who gave him the chance to be a hero and British Intelligence who wanted him to work for them. Now he’s in Italy and he’s upset the mafia. But a chance meeting reunites him with an old friend and introduces him to a woman who could be his future. And plunges him into a deadly plot that involves Britain’s latest wonder plane; the DH Comet airliner.
Father Black has a mission to complete – and it has nothing to do with God’s work.
When an assignment goes wrong and a member of a Royal Family is killed, Marine Connor Black puts America in the crosshairs of a bloody war. With his career seemingly over, a secret organization covers up the death with one condition – Connor owes them.
Ten years later, it comes calling.
Tasked with killing a psychotic drug lord, Connor’s conscience is torn since, on leaving the Marine Corps, he tries to atone for his sins by taking his vows as a priest.
To refuse the demand would follow his holy vows, but send his country into another war. Is it better to call on old skills to take one life or risk the loss of thousands?
Mission Black is the first book in the action-packed Father Black series.
Fiona Alderton is fast approaching her fortieth birthday. Her life is chugging along a track she carefully laid twenty years ago. Successful husband, beautiful Highgate home, vast walk-in-wardrobe, and two delightful sons. But the sky is not all brilliant azure, there are clouds: a diminishing sex life, a teaching job she loathes, and an increasing dependence on alcohol. Still, her decision, twenty years earlier, to cut adrift a life of libertine excess to hitch herself to sensitive, geeky David Alderton, her Safe Bet, looks like the right one.
Until, two days before her birthday, Fiona and David are rushing around preparing for the school run, and their mobiles get muddled. Fiona sees a text meant for her husband, and her Safe Bet suddenly resembles a ruinous roll of the dice. How will she react?
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5 out of 5 stars
“This is Elliott’s second book and it’s a real page turner! Enjoy, and I hope he has plans for another soon.” – Amazon reviewer
5 out of 5 stars
“Well-written, witty, narrative that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page!
Elliott Fassbinder’s depth of observation, compassion and character development added immensely to a refreshing way to tell the story of marriage, regret, apathy, and the struggle of the human condition, which all make this a very well-written, poetically witty, relatable narrative that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.
Is there really such a thing as a Safe Bet?” – Amazon reviewer
The Rabbit Girls has been waiting patiently in my kindle library for some time and it’s quite a coincidence that I came to read it at the same time as listening to The Tattooist of Auschwitz on Audible.
The Rabbit Girls is set in Berlin, in 1989, as the wall came down. The story centres around Miriam who is a troubled character. I really felt for her. She is dealing with an abusive husband at the same time as caring for her dying father. As if that isn’t enough to deal with, she discovers an Auschwitz tattoo on her father, under the strap of his watch, that he’d always kept hidden. This leaves her with so many questions about her father’s life. When he starts to call out another woman’s name, Frieda, (not her mother’s name) she becomes determined to find out who this woman is. When she finds letters written by Frieda, she begins to piece things together revealing secrets of her father’s past. All she wants is to find out what happened to Frieda in the hope of helping her father pass in peace. What she discovers is unbelievably shocking and heart-breaking.
This book is so beautifully written. It’s full of intrigue and is incredibly heart-wrenching. Such a captivating read. I highly recommend it to all.
** According to Amazon I purchased this book on the 1st of August 2019. My ‘spin-the-wheel’ app chose it at random on the 25th of February 2024 **
How To Solve a Murder is an easy to read (for the most part), fascinating insight into the lives of forensic scientists as told by now husband and wife team, Derek, and Pauline Tremain. Both experts in their field they each tell stories from when their careers began and how they developed over the years. With often gruesome detail we learn about certain specimens they have collected and stored over the years. They share the techniques they have used as well as those they have developed themselves, making it easier for police to convict the guilty of their heinous crimes.
We also learn a little about them both personally and how their relationship developed from purely professional to eventual marriage.
There is no doubt they have had and continue to have a successful career, one they both seem to thrive on and excel in.
My only criticism would be that throughout the whole book it was difficult to distinguish which one of them was ‘talking’ at any one time, unless they mentioned the other at some point. This did make it confusing at times.
Still, an interesting read for anyone even remotely interested in forensic science.
** Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley **
FRACTURED SKULLS. GAS MASKS. BRAIN BUCKETS. VATS OF ACID. PICKLED BODY PARTS.
Not the usual tools of trade, but for Chief Forensic Medical Scientist Derek and Forensic Secretary Pauline they were just part of a normal day in the office inside the world-famous Department of Forensic Medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London.
Derek has played a pivotal role in investigating some of the UK’s most high-profile mass disasters and murder cases. Derek’s innovative work on murder cases, in particular, has seen him credited as a pioneer of forensic medical science, after developing ground-breaking techniques that make it easier to secure a conviction and also identify a serial killer.
We Begin at the End grabbed my attention from the very beginning. I wish I could have read it cover to cover in one sitting. It’s one of those books I thought about often when I wasn’t reading it. It’s a heart-breaking story really. Duchess is a fascinating character. She has a foul mouth, is disrespectful of authority, and pretty much seems to hate the world and everyone in it, but she has dealt with a lot in her 13 years already so it’s kind of understandable and I couldn’t help but like her. She does her best to look after her younger brother Robin, as their mother has her struggles. She doesn’t always make the wisest decisions though and she very much ends up paying a high price for her mistakes. My heart truly went out to her towards to the end.
Local police officer, Walk, does his best to look out for the family. I really liked him. I liked his loyalty to Vincent even when the rest of the town was against him.
Vincent is an intriguing character. I didn’t know what to make of him at first. We don’t hear much from him really considering he is a central character, so it was hard to form an opinion of him.
I loved the children’s Granddad. I love how he seemed to just get Duchess and give her the space she needed despite her rudeness and apparent lack of appreciation considering she had never known the full story behind his relationship with their mother. I love how their relationship slowly developed and was devastated by what happened and what was to follow.
I had no idea which direction this story would go in, and I couldn’t wait to find out.
By the end I had experienced all the emotions.
It’s so brilliantly written. I highly recommend it to all.
We Begin at the End is the first book I’ve read by Chris Whitaker. I sincerely hope it won’t be my last. (I have added all his other titles to my wishlist.)
** According to Amazon I purchased this book on the 5th of November 2021 **
Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer.
Now, he’s been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend, and sister of the girl he killed.
Duchess Radley, Star’s thirteen-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin – and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town.
Murder, revenge, retribution.
How far can we run from the past, when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?
Storyhouse, Volume 1: A Blanket of Embers by Andy Kind is a brilliant collection of short stories! I enjoyed them all in one afternoon.
Each one is as unique, and entertaining, as the last.
Now, I’m never quite sure how to properly review a short story collection so, as I read each one, I made a note of my immediate thoughts.
Here are the ones that stood out the most for me….
Early Stages gave me goosebumps.
The Real Martha Morris is hilarious, at first, but has a shocking conclusion.
A Swift ‘Arf is very clever!
The Boy Who Could Be Anything had me laughing out loud although it probably shouldn’t have.
And I Still Do is thought provoking.
Footprints is another one that gave me goosebumps.
Strawberry Picking – Woah! This one gave me chills!!
I found Kuebiko quite poetic.
The Perplexity of the House on Malleus Road is so creepy!
On A Dream is yet another one that gave me goosebumps.
The Hardest Thing to See is another thought-provoking tale.
That Sunday I Went to Church is both hilarious and heart-warming.
Harry’s Pigeons melted my heart.
Aroma is particularly poignant. It costs nothing to be kind!
A Night in Hebden Bridge is both horrifying and hilarious.
The Sharpshooter is a powerful story to end on. Just wow!
Such clever writing! I can’t recommend this collection highly enough. I read it cover to cover in one sitting, but you could easily dip in and out as each one is short enough to be enjoyed on your tea/coffee break or whenever you fancy. I would happily buy this book for friends and family. I think it deserves to fly off the shelves!
I already own Andy Kind’s other books. I think I really need to bump them up my TBR list!
** Many thanks to Andy Kind for my ARC of this excellent short story collection. I’m honoured to have been the first person to have read it in full! **
Andy Kind presents a collection of short stories as a remedy for the time-strapped modern reader. Storyhouse Volume 1 offers a diverse array of tales through Dusk, into Night, and on to the Dawn – each representing different emotional landscapes. The tales are ‘pandemic babies,’ conceived through the intersection of lockdown monotony and persistent hopefulness.
A Blanket of Embers offers readers an escape into diverse minds and experiences, exploring the three R’s: redemption, resurrection, and reconciliation – while acknowledging the harsh realities of life where death, pride, and brokenness often prevail. The collection promises moments of pleasure, inviting readers to step into the world of compelling ‘What if?’ scenarios and poignant reflections on the human condition, while at times straying into the fantastical, the liminal, and the horrific.
In this, his first collection of short prose, Andy Kind displays both his depth of emotional nuance and his eye for the details hidden in the human psyche.
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