Book Reviews

Jodee and Chazz meet during a reality television show and capture the hearts of the nation. Months afterwards, still appearing on the front covers of popular magazines as couple of the moment, their tiny baby is found dead, and they discover that the media can quickly turn against them when it suits. Meanwhile police family liaison officer, Mark Lombardi, discovers that he also has to worry about a murder closer to home.

An interesting murder mystery.

The year 1471 marks a crucial turning point in the Wars of the Roses as Edward 1V wins the throne. But amongst England’s turmoil two young sisters, Jane and Isabel Lambert, are more concerned with finding good and loving husbands.

Their father, a silk trader, believes that a good marriage must establish advantageous business links and so thoughts of love must be put aside. The girls will be bound by marriage to the court of Edward 1V and their father’s trade will flourish.

But when Jane sets eyes on Edward so begins a notorious liaison between king and commoner. Her sister, Isabel becomes privy to the court’s most intimate – and most scandalous secrets - told in girlish whispers in the dark of night…

The key to this 15th century tale is the power struggles between the aristocracy and the rising merchant class. 

A highly recommended read for those who enjoy historical fiction.

Ex-military cop Jack Reacher is riding the New York subway at night. A fellow passenger attracts his attention - in fact she ticks all the suicide bullet points on his list. From this explosive start we’re up and running into a world where nothing is as it seems. 

Fast-paced and inventive thriller.

Talking its title from the name of the road down which Donegal criminals were once led, this novel follows Inspector Devlin as he investigates a series of gruesome murders in and around the borderlands. When a young woman is found beaten to death on a building site, in what appears to be a sexually motivated killing, Devlin’s enquiries soon point to a local body builder and steroid addict. 

Then, days later, born again ex-con James Keri is found nailed to a tree-crucified - having been released from prison and returned to his hometown to spread the word of God. 

Torn between his young family and his job Devlin is determined to apprehend those responsible for the murders before they strike again, even as the carnage begins to jeopardise those he cares about most.

The plot is well written with lots of threads and relationships.

The story was unpredictable and I certainly never guessed the primary killer!

Did Ismay’s sister Heather murder their stepfather years ago, when she was just thirteen years old? Should Ismay warn Heather’s fiancé that she may be capable of such an act?

This is a gripping thriller, with the usual complex characters and plot that we have come to expect from Ruth Rendell novels. If anything, her plots are getting darker over time – in this case there is certainly no trite happy ending.

Mackensie, Parker, Laurel and Emmaline are childhood friends who have turned their favourite game into a successful wedding planning business. Ironically none of the women have been lucky in love. This quartet follows their developing lives and romances.

Photographer Mackensie suffered a tough childhood and has a bad relationship with her mother, which makes her wary of commitment. But when she meets Carter Maguire, she can’t help but fall for him, which means meeting her demons head on.

Nora has used this interlocking format before, separate strands combining into one, with interesting results. Looking forward to the other stories.

Part of the Bride Quartet.

Carly thinks all her dreams have come true when she marries the charming and very attractive Oliver. It is only after the wedding however that Oliver’s true side appears showing him to be jealous, controlling and above all a calculated liar, even to the point of fooling Carly’s own family. 

A different genre to her many previous titles, this story will make you think twice before judging a person at face value.

Discredited journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by the head of the Vanger family to solve a 40 year old family mystery involving the disappearance of a young girl. During his investigations Blomkvist starts to suspect that a serial killer has been operating across Sweden for years.

A very violent and complex thriller, with lots of twists and turns. This is the first of a trilogy published posthumously, and has won several awards. 

Marianne Shearer, a successful barrister, commits suicide just after a successful court case. When her colleagues start to look into her private life they discover that they didn’t know her at all – and many of her personal possessions and papers have apparently disappeared. Meanwhile, a former client of hers is trying to track down these papers, as he thinks they may incriminate him. 

An excellent thriller.

Dr Alfred Jones is slightly dissatisfied with life, but can’t quite work out why. He has just celebrated his twentieth wedding anniversary and his job as a fisheries scientist still interests him.

When he is forced to work on a project to create a salmon river in Yemen, he is initially disgruntled, but then starts to appreciate the challenge and the resulting changes to his life.

A surprisingly enjoyable read.