Review: Close to Home by Cara Hunter

A brilliantly plotted psychological crime novel about a missing child and the scandal that erupts in the aftermath with a shocking twist They know who did it. Perhaps not consciously. Perhaps not yet. But they know. When eight-year-old Daisy Mason vanishes from her family’s Oxford home during a costume party, Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows that nine times out of ten, the offender is someone close to home. And Daisy’s family is certainly strange—her mother is obsessed with keeping up appearances, while her father is cold and defensive under questioning. And then there’s Daisy’s little brother, so withdrawn and uncommunicative . . . DI Fawley works against the clock to find any trace of the little girl, but it’s as if she disappeared into thin air—no one saw anything; no one knows anything. But everyone has an opinion, and everyone, it seems, has a secret to conceal. With a story that feels all too real, Close to Home is the best kind of suspense—the kind that sends chills down your spine and keeps you up late at night, thrilled and terrified. Review: Totally did not see that ending coming! Brilliant detective story with plenty of twists and turns which left me guessing along the way. Very well thought out and plotted. I had the advantage of listening to the Audible book so didn’t have to guess whose perspective we were reading which I understand confused some readers of the conventional book. Audible has several people narrating. First in a series which is great news! 

Review: The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

The brand new psychological thriller from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Lying Game.

When Harriet Westaway receives an unexpected letter telling her she’s inherited a substantial bequest from her Cornish grandmother, it seems like the answer to her prayers. She owes money to a loan shark and the threats are getting increasingly aggressive: she needs to get her hands on some cash fast. There's just one problem - Hal's real grandparents died more than twenty years ago. The letter has been sent to the wrong person. But Hal knows that the cold-reading techniques she’s honed as a seaside fortune teller could help her con her way to getting the money. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a stranger's funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her. Hal makes a choice that will change her life for ever. But once she embarks on her deception, there is no going back. She must keep going or risk losing everything, even her life… The brand new psychological thriller from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10. Review: Another ripping yarn from Ruth Ware. I devoured this book in a couple of days and LOVED it. It had an almost gothic feel to it with the story of the orphaned girl coming to stay with long lost relatives in a crumbling mansion. Twists and turns aplenty with a final reveal which, although I had seen coming, was skillfully written and executed. The tarot comparisons took me back to when I dabbled in my teens. By far my favourite of her books. 

Review: The Storm by Amanda McKinney

The snow is dropping in Berry Springs... and so are the bodies. On a pitch-black wintry night, Detective Dean Walker finds a man in the middle of an icy road, with a bullet between his eyes—a murder that is eerily similar to his father’s, which was never solved. Coincidence? No, Dean doesn’t believe in coincidences. He also doesn’t believe in love at first sight, until he meets the victim’s wife. Psychologist Heidi Novak is hardly settling into her new mansion in the small, country town of Berry Springs when she receives a late-night visit by the handsome Dean Walker. Seconds after learning that her husband has been murdered, gunshots explode around her and it becomes apparent that she is the next target. With a massive winter storm looming, Dean races to find the killer and keep Heidi safe, while facing a long a list of suspects, including Heidi’s arrogant sister-in-law and a local, crusty cowboy. As the evidence mounts, Dean becomes more convinced than ever that his father’s murder is connected to the death of Heidi’s husband. And he can’t help but think . . . will Heidi be the second love he loses to the ice-cold killer? Review: This has got to be one of my favourite Berry Springs books. Amanda McKinney knows how to spin a yarn full of intrigue and mystery with that all important dash of romance mixed in. This is a perfect example and totally unputdownable!