A corruption of blood

Thanks to Canongate for a review copy.

A Corruption of Blood is the third chapter in this wonderful historical medical mystery series set in Victorian Edinburgh. Although each book is a complete story, the larger and ongoing character arc of Raven and Fisher builds up with each book. I think they should be read in order for the characters and their behaviours to make sense. This was one of the darker ones of the three. Many real historical characters appear on the pages along with Raven and Fisher.

The story picks up a few months after the end of the previous book, Sarah is in Paris to meet Elizabeth Blackwell, famous as the first woman to get a medical degree, in the hope of studying further herself, while Raven is still working as assosiate assistant to Professor Simpson’s and living in his house. Sarah returns home disappointed and then learns that Raven is engaged to Eugenie, daughter of an eminent doctor. We see Raven and Sarah get into different complicated situations which require further investigation. Sarah needs to hide her feelings when they are thrown together in apparently two different investigations – the poisoning of a wealthy person apparently by his son and the discovery of a dead baby wrapped up in a parcel by the Water of Leith. What follows is an investigation through Victorian Edinburgh with its sights and smells. We learn about the dark side of life for women in the Victorian era and the choices or lack thereof forced on them.

While the mysteries are solid, the other compelling reason to read these books is the developing relationship between Will and Sarah. Their character arc builds throughout the three books and it will be interesting to see how their relationship moves forward from this point onwards.

Book Review: The Word is Murder

Source: Review copy from Netgalley
Release Date: Available now from Random House (Century)

Synopsis:
A wealthy woman strangled six hours after she’s arranged her own funeral.

A very private detective uncovering secrets but hiding his own.

A reluctant author drawn into a story he can’t control.

What do they have in common?

Unexpected death, an unsolved mystery and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz’s page-turning new thriller. 

SPREAD THE WORD. THE WORD IS MURDER.

I am so thrilled to have discovered this book. This is a very different murder mystery where the author of the book becomes the narrator of the story. It was odd at first where the author turned narrator and the detective discuss writing a book about the murder that has taken place. I was drawn into it and quite liked it.

Now on to the story. A woman walks into a funeral home to plan her own funeral and 6 hours later, she is dead. Horrowitz mentions many times in the book that Agatha Christie is his hero and you can see it in his writing in the book. The multiple characters with story lines of their own, a second murder, chatty characters, well hidden clues with all ends tied up at the end. At the same time, Horrowitz is the Watson to Hawthrone’s Sherlock.

This is a very interesting and entertaining read. Highly recommended.

Book Review: The Fourth Monkey

Source: Review copy from Netgalley
Release Date: Available now from HQ

See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil… Do No Evil

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorised the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realise he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

As the lead investigator Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.

With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.

Review:

Detective Sam Porter has hunted for this killer for five years. The Four Monkey Killer or 4MK has sent box after box of grisly trinkets carved from the victim’s body to detective Sam Porter. Now, Porter has learnt the killer’s twisted past and has to race against time to save the 4MK’s latest victim before it is too late.

This is a brilliantly twisted book. I read it in a couple if sittings. This is an exquisitely clever thriller which keeps your guessing. The characters have depth and insight. Sam Porter, the detective has his own past and his story unfolds during the course of the book and makes for an absorbing read.

The psychology of the killer is very immersive. The killer’s diary entries are some of the most interesting parts of the book. And what an ending!

The book is graphic and violent and not for the nervous. Those scenes add up to the psychology of the killer. This is one of those books where you want the killer to be punished yet secretly wish for him to get away with it.

Highly recommended!

Book Review: Leopard at the door

Title: Leopard at the door
Author: Jennifer McVeigh
ISBN: 978-0241247617
Publisher: Penguin 
Source: Review copy
Release Date: Available now from Penguin
Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: 

Stepping off the boat in Mombasa, eighteen-year-old Rachel Fullsmith stands on Kenyan soil for the first time in six years. She has come home.

But when Rachel reaches the family farm at the end of the dusty Rift Valley Road, she finds so much has changed. Her beloved father has moved his new partner and her son into the family home. She hears menacing rumours of Mau Mau violence, and witnesses cruel reprisals by British soldiers. Even Michael, the handsome Kikuyu boy from her childhood, has started to look at her differently.

Isolated and conflicted, Rachel fears for her future. But when home is no longer a place of safety and belonging, where do you go, and who do you turn to?

Review:

This is a beautifully written novel set in the atmospheric background of 1950s Kenya. This is Rachel’s story; an 18 year old British girl who returns to Kenya after staying in England for sis years. We follow her story as she tries to adapt her life to rural Kenya. But Kenya is not the same as it was when she left.

I didn’t know much about the history of Kenya and this made for a fascinating read. The occasional violence is very hard hitting and unsettling.

Jennifer McVeigh’s descriptive style makes it a compelling read. He vivid descriptions of the landscape, the people and their lifestyle draw you into the book.

 

Recommended.

 

Follow Jennifer on Twitter

 

 

Blog Tour – Book Review: Behind Closed Doors – B. A. Paris

Very happy to take part in this blog tour today! Thank you Netgalley and Mirabooks UK for sharing this review copy with me.

Blurb: 

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace.
He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.You’d like to get to know Grace better.But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of their bedroom windows.
Sometimes the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.

Review:

I finished this book in one sitting. Grace and Jack are the perfect couple. Jack is handsome and wealthy, Grace is elegant and charming and the perfect hostess. They have a friend circle who might just envy them for their perfection together. They have a beautiful secluded house, they are so in love and Jack never leaves Grace’s side. They have a perfect marriage, perfect house, a perfect love story. But when the laughter is over, the friends gone home, it is a different story.

Grace’s narration gripped me from the start and I could feel her helplessness and wished a miracle should save her. Grace’s story alternates between past and present. We learn how she met Jack and fell in love with him instantly when Jack showed kindness and empathy towards Grace’s sister who has Down’s syndrome.

Jack has charm and good looks and it is only natural for Grace to fall in love him. It is quite scary to see his true colours as soon as they are married. He is a truly evil character and exceptionally clever to manipulate and control Grace. You begin to wonder if Grace will ever break free from his trap.

Behind Closed Doors is a tense and claustrophobic psychological thriller An interesting take on the subject of domestic violence, Behind Closed Doors is highly addictive and engrossing.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Author info:
B A Paris is from a Franco/Irish background. She was brought up in England and moved to France where she spent some years working as a trader in an international bank before re-training as a teacher and setting up a language school with her husband. They still live in France and have five daughters. Behind Closed Doors is her first novel.

 

Follow BA on Twitter @BAParisAuthor

 

 

To purchase “Behind Closed Doors” click HERE

More information and reviews if you follow the tour:

Book Review: Beside Myself

Title: Beside Myself
Author: Ann Morgan
ISBN: 9781408870297
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Advance copy via NetGalley
Release Date: January 14, 2016
Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: 

Helen and Ellie are identical twins – like two peas in a pod, everyone says.

The girls know this isn’t true, though: Helen is the leader and Ellie the follower.

Until they decide to swap places: just for fun, and just for one day.

But Ellie refuses to swap back…

And so begins a nightmare from which Helen cannot wake up. Her toys, her clothes, her friends, her glowing record at school, the favour of her mother and the future she had dreamed of are all gone to a sister who blossoms in the approval that used to belong to Helen. And as the years pass, she loses not only her memory of that day but also herself – until eventually only ‘Smudge’ is left.

Twenty-five years later, Smudge receives a call from out of the blue. It threatens to pull her back into her sister’s dangerous orbit, but if this is her only chance to face the past, how can she resist?

Review:

Beside Myself is the story of twins and how a childish game gone horribly wrong affects the entire life of one of the twins. One day, Helen and Ellie decide to swap places to tease their mother and other people in their neighbourhood. After fooling everyone, including their mother, Helen wants to swap back. But Ellie refuses. You see, Helen has always been the leader between them and Ellie has lived in Helen’s shadow. Ellie has always been poorly and mentally slow due to a complication at birth. But now, she has the opportunity to live the life Helen has enjoyed. Helen ends up being locked in as Ellie and try as much, she cannot switch back. As frustration and helplessness set in, she starts to develop psychological problems.

Helen (now Ellie) is clearly mentally ill, hearing voices, living in a horrible apartment – which reflects the chaos and confusion in her mind. She is also paranoid and suspicious and sometimes has a hard time differentiating between reality and nightmares.

This dark psychological thriller is very well written and atmospheric and shows what it is like to experience mental illness brought on by dysfunctional family dynamics, social pressure and deception. The creepy premise of this book grabbed me. Reading about twins is always fascinating as they share a bond unlike any other. To be true, I didn’t like these twins but still the it held my interest till the end. Does Helen ever get her life back?

Book Review: Arsenic for Tea (Wells and Wong #2)

Title: Arsenic for Tea (Wells and Wong #2)
Author: Robin Stevens
ISBN: 9780552570732
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK Children’s
Source: Advance copy via NetGalley
Release Date: January 29, 2015
Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: 

Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy’s home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy’s glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy’s birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn’t really about Daisy at all. Naturally, Daisy is furious.

Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill – and everything points to poison.

With wild storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. Not a single person present is what they seem – and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences.

Review:

Arsenic for Tea was one of the books I had been excited to read. I thoroughly enjoyed Steven’s first book in the series, Murder Most Unladylike so I was delighted to find Arsenic for Tea on Netgalley.

This is a cute book with a cosy murder. It is the second in the Wells and Wong series, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong – schoolgirl detectives. They are at Daisy’s house for the school holiday. For Daisy’s birthday, the entire family, a few friends and relatives are invited for a splendid birthday tea party. At the party, someone falls ills mysteriously.

A closed house mystery, motley of people – all with reasons for doing the bad deed, stuck in the house due to bad weather (another Christie style mystery – could it get any better!). Everybody seems to have secrets and it’s upon the Detective Society to solve their second case before something very bad happens.

Daisy and Hazel are delightful characters – witty and quirky. Daisy’s father, mother, uncle and Miss Alston provide further layers to the plot.

The second book in the series is always compared to the first one will the plot be as good, will the characters grow mature or appear pale? Arsenic for Tea is deeper and stronger. Daisy and Hazel are settling well into their role of detectives, the setting of the murder is charming and cosy and the mystery is very interesting indeed.

I am now a fan of this series.

Book Review: The Deep End

Title: The Deep End
The Country Club Murders #1
Author: Julie Mulhern
ISBN: 9781941962268
Publisher: Henery Press
Source: Advance copy via NetGalley
Release Date: February 17, 2015
Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis: 

Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.

It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.

As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?

Review:

The Deep end is the debut mystery novel by Julie Mulhern. One early morning in 1974, Ellison Russel, an artist, heads to her country club for her routine morning swim. She didn’t expect to find the body of her husband’s mistress floating in the pool. Now life is not only complicated for Ellison and her daughter Grace, but also messy and confusing. Then Henry, Ellison’s husband disappears and two more mistresses show up.

The Deep End is a classic mystery with red herrings and clues sprinkled throughout. It has an Agatha Christie feel to it. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Ellison is such a lovable character, you feel bad for her but she holds it together with her dry humour and sarcastic comments/dialogues in her head! All the people in her world are fully-fleshed out and add so much detail to her story.

I highly recommend the The Deep End.

The cover shows that The Deep End is book one of The Country Club Murders. I’m eager to read the next book in the series.

Book Review: The Girl on the Train

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
ISBN: 9780857522313
Publisher: Random House UK, Transworld Publishers
Source: Advance copy via NetGalley
Release Date: January 15, 2015
Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.

Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.

Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

Review:

Rachel is a real mess. Gone is the strong, confident working woman – she is now just a shadow of her former self. Her husband has left her for another woman – they now have a baby, a baby Rachel wanted more than anything. Unable to accept the situation, she has now turned to drinking, has become a bad drunk in fact and often has blackouts. to make matters worse she has lost her job and gained weight.

However, she still takes the same train at the same time (as she did when she had a job) still keeping up the illusion of going to work and not letting anyone else find out that she was fired. While on the train, she looks out at the row of houses (one of which had been her own house once) and dreams and spins stories about the people she sees. She looks out for one house in particular and has named its residents Jason and Jess. Watching the husband and wife everyday, she feels their life is perfect. Until one morning she sees something different, something unexpected and she is shocked. Through her drunken, unreliable narration, we find out more…

Rachel is such a flawed character – to the point of being weak. She is drunk most of the time, has lost her job, has an obsessive compulsion to stalk and call her ex-husband and yet you feel sympathetic towards her. She is on the edge of losing herself. As the plot progresses, we learn more about the residents on the track and more about Rachel.

This is an incredible psychological thriller with a lot of suspense and tension. An unlikable protagonist with her unreliable narrative, layered characters and intriguing plot. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great thriller.

Book Review: True Love

Title: True Love
Author: Jude Deveraux
ISBN: 9780345541796
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
Source: Advance copy via NetGalley
Release Date: July 9th, 2013
Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

Just as Alix Madsen is finishing up architectural school, Adelaide Kingsley dies and wills her, for one year, the use of a charming nineteenth-century Nantucket house. The elderly woman’s relationship to the Madsen family is a mystery to the spirited Alix—fresh from a romantic breakup—but for reasons of her own Alix accepts the quirky bequest, in part because it gives her time to plan her best friend’s storybook wedding.

But unseen forces move behind the scenes, creaking Kingsley House’s ancient floorboards. It seems that Adelaide Kingsley had a rather specific task for Alix: to solve the strange disappearance of one of the Kingsley women, Valentina, more than two hundred years ago. If that wasn’t troubling enough, Alix must deal with the arrogant (and extremely good-looking) architect Jared Montgomery, who is living in the property’s guesthouse.

Unbeknown to Alix, Jared has been charged with looking after her while she lives on the island—an easy task for him, considering the undeniable chemistry between the two. But Jared harbors secrets of his own, which, if revealed, may drive a wedge between the pair.

Review:

This was my first Jude Deveraux book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I then went on to read the other books in series. I loved the characters, the story, setting and even the ghost. The story is emotionally realistic. Nantucket Island is a beautiful setting and forms a great background for the story. Both Alix and Jared are likable characters and I loved their slow developing relationship.

The story of the past relatives is sometimes confusing but overall the plot was very appealing. The secondary characters and their stories add to make the plot engaging and pleasureable. It is a well written romantic novel with a small town mystery!