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.
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?
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