Annabeth Hope has been left by her husband to look after his three teenage children from his first marriage and their young daughter in a ramshackle fAnnabeth Hope has been left by her husband to look after his three teenage children from his first marriage and their young daughter in a ramshackle farmhouse in the New Forest, with no job and no child support she has been quietly selling off shares left to her by her parents to pay the mortgage and keep them fed, along with the menagerie of animals her family have gathered. However, her stepchildren are hostile, she doesn't really have any friends in the village, and life is getting on top of her.
Rick Mahon is an over-worked and harassed London GP. A walk-in patient to whom Rick prescribed medication mixed it with recreational drugs and is in a coma, he is a semi-famous Tik-Tok gamer with a high social media profile. There is no evidence that Rick warned the patient not to take any other drugs with his medication and the patient's mother is all over social media declaiming Rick. She is threatening to sue which could ruin Rick and destroy his career. Counselled by his partners to leave London and let the furore die down (paparazzi are trying to force their way into the surgery), Rick decides to decamp to the property his uncle left him in the New Forest.
Rick first meets Beth when he gets lost in the New Forest and comes across her trying to change a flat tyre. Later they discover that they are neighbours. Despite the immediate attraction neither of them has the bandwidth for a relationship, yet they keep getting thrust into each other's paths.
I loved this, but yet again I felt the ending was too abrupt and if I'm being really picky everything miraculously resolved itself a little too easily, but it was a fun read, reminiscent of Katie Fforde.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Felicity comes to London to stay with her mother (Felicity is Alexandra from A Wedding in Provence's step-daughter) in Cheyne WThree and a half stars.
Felicity comes to London to stay with her mother (Felicity is Alexandra from A Wedding in Provence's step-daughter) in Cheyne Walk (a very expensive part of London). She intends to be an artist and study in Paris but has agreed to spend a year in London getting to know her mother, improving her English, and attending secretarial school.
The woman who lives in a flat in the attic of Felicity's mother's house has persuaded her niece Violet to come to London and arranged a job for her at a nearby bookshop. Violet's father has suddenly (and unexpectedly) come into a title and money which has led to him being inundated with women hoping he'll 'put a ring on it', one woman has even gone so far as to persuade him to let her move into a wing of the house and Violet very much dreads that she could be her new stepmother.
Despite their age differences, Violet is in her thirties while Felicity is barely twenty, the two of them strike up a friendship, partly because Felicity's mother is one of those wealthy society divorcees with a lot of rules about what Felicity can and cannot do, and partly because they are both country mouses in the big city.
Whilst out walking one day Felicity bumps into a young man, Oliver, and they strike up a friendship, under Violet's watchful eye. Oliver is the black sheep of his family who are all military men. Oliver wants to make jewellery but his father refuses to hear of it and so instead Oliver scrapes a living with a multitude of low-paying jobs in bars and restaurants whilst also doing a bit of mudlarking (looking for treasure along the banks of the Thames when the tide is out).
But the course of true love never did run smooth and there's an added complication wheen Felicity's mother and Oliver's father become involved.
This is classic Katie Fforde and classic me. I moan about her signature motifs and then not only buy/request them every time but also devour them eagerly. There's insta-lurve, aristos, people who can live in London with practically no money, cranky old ladies with a heart of gold, etc. I loved it, sure I wish both Felicity and Violet knew their respective love interests for more than thirty seconds before they fell in love but hey-ho they did things differently in the 1960s ;)
You know I'll be back for the next one - they're like catnip.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley....more
After escaping a controlling relationship, former book editor Kate returns to the small town where her mother grew up to open a bookshop in the buildiAfter escaping a controlling relationship, former book editor Kate returns to the small town where her mother grew up to open a bookshop in the building she inherited, apparently her great grandmother ran a tea shop in the building. She and her single mother led a peripatetic life during her childhood but bookshops always represented comfort and an escape. Kate's bookshop embraces genres, manga, romance, sci-fi, cosy mysteries - you name it. The only fly in the ointment is Sebastian who owns the highbrow bookshop directly opposite Kate's. She's tried to be friendly, but he refuses to even speak to her, he's even petty enough to rearrange his window displays deliberately to outdo Kate's.
Sebastian keeps himself to himself, his family has had the bookshop for several generations but his father and his grandfather's addictions have left the family bookshop deep in debt, and Kate opening a rival bookshop opposite him has only exacerbated the problem. Sebastian's family is unlucky in love, both his great-grandmother and grandmother left their husbands, and his own mother died when he was still young, which is why Sebastian knows he is destined to be alone. Sebastian is trying to revive the town's literary festival to (hopefully) bring some much-needed revenue to his shop. But when disaster strikes and his keynote author pulls out a week before the festival only Kate can help him save the day.
Kate is on good terms with a popular author from her editing days, a woman whose bestseller appealed to both populist and highbrow readers, if they can find a lure to encourage her to attend their small festival it will make it a winner and Sebastian has just the thing, a bunch of love letters between his great grandfather and an unknown woman.
I really enjoyed this romance because well books! However, I felt the mystery was a bit obvious to the reader, and the ending felt a bit rushed (like I'm 95% through the book and they haven't made up yet), which is odd because I've complained about the last few books by Lucy Score where the couple seem to get together about 35% into the book and then there's a lot of filler until the inevitable 'misunderstanding'.
Other than that, I will definitely look out for more books By Jackie Ashenden.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Emma is Gia's middle sister and now runs the Pierce brothers' bar and restaurant. Having been burned by a player when younger she now has a plan: onlyEmma is Gia's middle sister and now runs the Pierce brothers' bar and restaurant. Having been burned by a player when younger she now has a plan: only sensible, reliable men who have the same goals, love is fleeting but a 401K is forever. After her mother abandoned her husband and children when Emma was a child she has had a fear of abandonment.
Nikolai is a famous fashion photographer who could grace a magazine cover himself (Summer Pierce's BFF from New York), but he's lost his mojo and has decamped to Blue Moon. When Nikolai runs into Emma at the restaurant she clocks him as a player and makes it clear that she wants none of what he's selling. Intrigued, and stimulated by Emma's quick wit and failure to fall at his feet, NIkolai suggests he proves his intentions are good - by being her friend, no strings attached. Guess how long that lasts ...
As with the previous books in this series, I was enjoying it until about halfway but then the pursuit ended, there was a whole lot of smexy filler, then a rather overblown 'conflict'. Nevertheless, I continue reading because this is catnip for me LOL/
Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription - I would post a review on Amazon but my reviewing rights have been suspended for 'repeatedly posting content that violates our Community Guidelines ... or Conditions of Use', although helpfully Amazon won't actually tell me what guideline(s) have been breached or in what review(s). LOL. I'm trying to decide if I'm petty and delusional enough to stop buying things from Amazon until they left the ban....more
The Beautification Committee turns its eye to Beckett Pierce, town mayor and lawyer.
Gia is a yoga teacher, she has recently moved to Blue Moon to be The Beautification Committee turns its eye to Beckett Pierce, town mayor and lawyer.
Gia is a yoga teacher, she has recently moved to Blue Moon to be closer to her father (who happens to be dating Beckett's mother) after divorcing her charming but feckless husband. She brings with her her stepson Evan and her daughter Aurora.
Beckett and Gia have a bit of a meet-cute where he doesn't realise she is his new tenant for the summerhouse at the end of his garden and he insists on walking her home.
Although they both try to resist their attraction, because children and landlord (that's two separate reasons), they can't resist for long.
I liked this opposites attract small-town romance, but I didn't love it. I had to skim too many smexy scenes (just bored) and the inevitable misunderstanding felt too manufactured. I'm not going to read Jax and Joey's story but I've already started the fourth book which features Gia's sister Emma and Summer's BFF the photographer Nikolai.
Summer Lentz is a workaholic aspiring editor for a New York glamour magazine (fashion, make-upp, etc) and she has come to the small town of Blue Moon Summer Lentz is a workaholic aspiring editor for a New York glamour magazine (fashion, make-upp, etc) and she has come to the small town of Blue Moon Bend in upstate New York to write an article about Carter Pierce and his family who have created an organic farm, for a series she has been developing about healthy eating and living for REASONS.
Blue Moon Bend is one of those fictional small towns where all the residents are young and gorgeous/have successful off the wall businesses/are mad as a box of frogs. So in this case Carter's middle brother is also an attorney and the local mayor, and his youngest brother is a film screenwriter. There's a juice bar, a yoga studio, a great pizza place, etc, etc.
There's a fair amount of big city girl getting scared by farm animals but also impressing Carter with her determination to do what is asked of her without complaining eg harvesting lettuces. Soon the smouldering glances turn more carnal but Summer thinks Carter wouldn't want her if he knew the truth about her (which, now I know the truth is just silly) and Carter feels he is broken because he had PTSD after he came back from Afghanistan and still has nightmares sometimes. Oh and they also live miles apart and couldn't easily move to be with each other.
I enjoyed this, I don't think Summer's REASONS were a big surprise, I thought the catalyst for the change was a bit left field because there were no warning flags previously, but it didn't spoilt the story.
Overall, I was looking for something light and fun to read (my TBR pile of ARCs is bringing me down) and this fit the bill. I am already part way through the second book which features Carter's middle brother Beckett.
Bristol is a divorced mother of one. After the tragic death of her younger sister Hope a year ago, the entire family and town have been in mourning. BBristol is a divorced mother of one. After the tragic death of her younger sister Hope a year ago, the entire family and town have been in mourning. Bristol's daughter has taken an interest in paying ice hockey for the local team (they are very bad) and Bristol feels she has to support her so when their hockey coach has a heart attack Bristol volunteers herself as replacement coach since all the other parents are somehow far too busy.
Beau has come to the small town of Hope Falls to check out Bristol for REASONS (I must admit I got the reason wrong but only slightly) and he happens to be a former professional ice hockey player so, while keeping his former profession and his actual name a secret, he starts to help Bristol and the team.
Sparks are flying, Beau wants to keep things platonic until he can tell Bristol the truth but Bristol wont take no for an answer.
This is a short sweet novella. I think the blurb could be misleading, most of the novella is about their developing relationship and resisting each other whereas I read the blurb to mean the novella pretty much started with Bristol waking up alone after they slept together.
Eden Kane is an immigration lawyer, the daughter of a very wealthy and powerful man who is trying to manoeuvre her into getting back togethDNF at 30%.
Eden Kane is an immigration lawyer, the daughter of a very wealthy and powerful man who is trying to manoeuvre her into getting back together with her ex because he comes from the right family etc, no matter that he cheated on her repeatedly. Her ex is also trying to get back with her for his own reasons. I gather that Eden and her ex were in a physical relationship but Eden found god and has decided to save herself for marriage, this is conveyed in a mildly slut-shaming way (if one can do that mildly). Her father wants Eden to stop working as an immigration lawyer and join his firm, they make a ridiculous bargain where she has to repay him for her entire education (several million dollars)within in three months or bow to his wishes. He has also pulled lots of strings so she can't access her trust fund or borrow the money. Eden is described as exotic with men fetishising about sleeping with her, I think she has albinism but I could have misunderstood.
Daniel Keshi is Nigerian, a genius day trader, PhD student and he's writing a book, although he is looking for funding which makes me think if he's so good at trading why does he need funding? He is also having visa issues and could be facing deportation. Again, if he is making so much money day trading why can't he afford to pay a top-notch immigration lawyer to help him?
Eden and Daniel both attend the same fellowship hall (which again makes no sense, why wouldn't a billionaire's daughter attend services close to where she lives?). He is drawn to her looks but feels she could be trouble so has actively avoided her for over a year, even though they have several friends in common. Apparently, all their friends agree that the two of them love each other - now I ask you how on earth can you be in love with someone you never speak to/with? It makes no sense unless they just fell in love with each other's appearance.
So apparently (because it hasn't happened by the point I gave up), Eden will offer to make all of Daniel's visa problems go away if he can increase her investment in time to beat her dad at his own game. However, Daniel's strategy didn't seem to be very revolutionary from what I understood.
I read that the authors (a husband and wife team) like to bring part of their own lives into each story and I feel that maybe they did a bit too much? There is a LOT of christian messaging in the book, multiple references to praying to god etc which I found off-putting, I would not have requested it if I had known this.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Persis Wadia is Bombay's first female police detective, albeit stationed at the Malabar House station (equivalent to Slough House in Mick Herron's excPersis Wadia is Bombay's first female police detective, albeit stationed at the Malabar House station (equivalent to Slough House in Mick Herron's excellent Slow Horses series). This is the fifth book in the series, I hadn't read the others but it was fairly easy to read as a standalone.
Its 1951, only a few short years since India was partitioned and the new state of Pakistan was formed. The bloodshed and the religious unrest is still very fresh. Persis and Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch are patrolling a political rally held by the defence minister Azad who is advocating the taking back of Pakistan, against the wishes of Prime Minister Nehru. Persis spots a young man in the crowd who doesn't seem to be as enthused as the other people around him, she loses track of him for a moment and then spot shim again, just as he attempts to assassinate Azad, with only split seconds to react, Persis kills the young man, but not before he shoots Archie in the head. As the boy lies dying he presses an amulet into Persis' hand and whispers City of Destruction.
Unsure of whether the young man was working alone, was from Pakistan, was a fifth columnist etc, the Delhi Investigation Board call in MI6 for assistance. Persis is hauled off the case, which is given to two incompetent (male) detectives while she is given the body of a man found on a beach, assumed to have immolated himself.
Despite being taken off the case, Persis cannot leave it alone, she hopes that the amulet and the dying man's words will give her some clues as to his identity and his motivation.
I enjoyed this, I have read a few books set in India, including some which give some detail of the horrific violence that surrounded Partition, but this book gave some additional colour and flavour as the backdrop to the investigations. I was also interested in how much of the plot (as opposed to the history of partition) was based on historical facts.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Lord Zane Zimmer, new leader of the Arrows since Kyrion went off with Vespa, hides his keen mind and strong sense of duty behind a ready smile and a cLord Zane Zimmer, new leader of the Arrows since Kyrion went off with Vespa, hides his keen mind and strong sense of duty behind a ready smile and a charming personality (think The Scarlet Pimpernel), the gossipcasts think he's as deep as a puddle. His grandmother Beatrice is head of House Zimmer and she is plotting to marry Zane off to Lady Asterin in order to secure her family's mineral wealth for their manufacturing processes, over both of their objections.
Since Zane learned that Vesper is actually his half-sister he has been struggling between his duty as an Arrow to capture and return her and Kyrion to a life of being psionic batteries for the Emperor (because they have a true bond), and his desire to meet and know his sister. Oh, and he's none to happy that neither his grandmother nor his father has yet mustered the courage to tell him Vesper is his sister ... so much for family first!
Forced to attend the Summer Solstice party by his grandmother, who is keen to cement the almost engagement with Lady Asterin by Zane presenting her with a beautiful necklace, Zane is being hounded by the Emperor to find out where Vesper and Kyrin fled, whilst also worrying about where the Techwave will strike next.
I was really enjoying this, think Bridgerton meets The Tomorrow People, meets every werewolf PNR you've ever read. Fancy clothes, aristocratic soirees, high-tech equipment, mental powers, and a true mate bond. And then it ended with no conclusion and lots of questions. I see the next book in the series reverts to focussing on Vesper and Kyrion so what happens? This should have been titled 'Only Questions' ....more
The ninth outing for former Scotland Yard detective Dan Armstrong and his trusty labrador Oscar.
Dan's girlfriend Anna's daughteThree and a half stars.
The ninth outing for former Scotland Yard detective Dan Armstrong and his trusty labrador Oscar.
Dan's girlfriend Anna's daughter has gifted them tickets to the opera in Verona. It's something Anna loves but Dan doesn't know much about it and fears he may loathe it.
Whilst getting a light refreshment with Oscar in the village, Dan is introduced to one of his neighbours, an elderly lady called Violetta Argento who drives a vintage Bugatti with reckless abandon through the village. Violetta is intrigued when she discovers Dan is a private detective, her son Rudolfo, a famous opera singer died recently in a car crash. The police have concluded it was an accident or (whispers) suicide, but Violetta is convinced that it was murder and suspects his wife who she loathes.
The Argento family are extremely wealthy, and the family business is jointly owned by Rudolpho and his two cousins - could his death have been motivated by greed? Rudolpho was also notorious for his womanising - could his wife or maybe a spurned lover have tried to kill him? Was he upset in anyway to substantiate the allegation of suicide?
Dan, Anna, and Oscar travel to Verona to the Argento Opera Academy, close to the family business headquarters, which was generously founded and endowed by Rudolpho to interview Rudolpho's widow and his cousins. Dan's investigations reveal that Rudolpho was a man of contradictions, generous and friendly, but he left a trail of broken hearts behind him. Some women hint that he may have been pressing unwanted attentions on women. Did his womanising end when he married? Why does his mother hate her daughter-in-law?
This was yet another cosy mystery set in the wonderful Italian countryside. My only complaint is that I am on a diet and all the descriptions of the luscious Italian food was very distracting.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Morgan Boyle is a non-drinking hockey player which has earned him the nickname of the fun police with his teammates. His family Four and a half stars.
Morgan Boyle is a non-drinking hockey player which has earned him the nickname of the fun police with his teammates. His family background isn't good, broken home, addictions, violence, and so he struggles to understand how to socialise. He'd really rather just hang out with his dog. Morgan is also in denial about his sexuality, whilst supporting gay rights, his homophobic upbringing has led him to vehemently deny being anything other than heterosexual.
At the start of the novel, Morgan is sent to the train with the Olympics team where he meets Noah Andersson, son of hockey royalty, who is his complete opposite, loud, friendly, touchy-feely. Somehow, Noah and Morgan end up sharing a brief kiss, which Morgan self-explains as satisfying a curiosity.
As the season(s) progress, Noah and Morgan inevitably meet when their teams play against each other Noah makes it clear he is interested in Morgan but Morgan is still in denial.
Can Noah and Morgan overcome their geographical separation, as well as Morgan's deep-seated issue with his own sexuality?
This was such a lovely slow burn romance. I understand that some in the LGBTQIA+ community might find the suddenly gay trope an issue, but I think Catherine Cloud does a good job of explaining that Morgan has been brought up by people who have demonised and vilified homosexuality and so he has supressed his feelings from a very young age.
It's New Years' Eve 2022 and Wendy Wood is 'enjoying' a karaoke night at the local British Legion Hall. A stroke two years ago Three and a half stars.
It's New Years' Eve 2022 and Wendy Wood is 'enjoying' a karaoke night at the local British Legion Hall. A stroke two years ago has left her confined to a mobility scooter and she's regretting all the mistakes she made with her life. Then a stranger approaches Wendy with the opportunity of a lifetime. She has been selected to go back forty years to 1982 with the chance to put her life back on the right track with the help of a magical bracelet which will warn her if she is making bad choices.
Back in 1982 Wendy was the lead singer with a band called Velvet Temptation. They could have made it big, but egos, infidelity, bad luck, and artistic differences coincided to scupper their chances and Wendy has spent the last forty years working for minimal wage at local supermarkets.
Returned to 1982 Wendy must steer the band through shark-infested waters and change her future.
I enjoyed this, but I felt it was too straightforward, I understand that this is part of a series in which each book is set in a different year of the 1980s. For those of us who were young in the 1980s this is a trip down memory lane touching on the music, the TV, the celebrities, the news stories. However, I do wonder whether a younger reader would have the same enjoyment. I also worry how different the other books will be if they follow a similar premise.
Matthias Brandl is a German playing NHL hockey as the second goalie. After a game in Vegas he and his team mates go drinking, they meet up with some oMatthias Brandl is a German playing NHL hockey as the second goalie. After a game in Vegas he and his team mates go drinking, they meet up with some of the Vegas players and Mattias ends up hooking up with the Vegas leading goalie Casey Wallace, which wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, they both agreed it was a one-time thing. But then Matthias gets traded to Vegas and he's Casey's back-up. Whilst the Vegas guys agree that Casey can be a bit grumpy they think he's a good guy - but he seems to hate Matthias.
Matthias' new teammates seem good people, especially his neighbour and friend Oliver who looks after him and tries to avoid getting involved in the drama.
I first heard about this in a Dear Author review https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o... and put it on my Kindle Wish List but an upcoming holiday and an Amazon gift card bumped it to the top of the list - I was not disappointed....more
Nick Russo is a big brawny Italian American writer for the New York Chronicle, he's also gay which is a problem in 1950s America. To try to live as auNick Russo is a big brawny Italian American writer for the New York Chronicle, he's also gay which is a problem in 1950s America. To try to live as authentic a life as possible he has moved to The Village area, away from his family so that he doesn't have to pretend. However, his only 'romantic' encounters are of the one-night stand variety and cloaked in fear and secrecy.
Andy Fleming is the boss' son. Nick's polar opposite, he's charming and slightly helpless, forever losing his glasses or his keys, getting lost on the subway etc. As part of his grooming to take over the newspaper from his father Andy is rotated to work with Nick in the newsroom.
Nick finds himself attracted to Andy, even though he knows Andy isn't gay, in fact he's dating one of Nick's closest friends. Over the months they work together Nick spends his time finding Andy's keys, rescuing him, etc and they become best friends. So who else would Andy turn to when his fiance suddenly dumps him?
Andy has always wanted a family, marriage, children, maybe a dog, that's just how he's made, maybe in reaction to his parents' divorce and his mother's globe-trotting career as an investigative reporter. And for his entire life that vision included a woman. But sharing Nick's apartment suddenly opens Andy's eyes to a hitherto unacknowledged attraction.
Goodness, this was just sooooo good. I loved it. I loved Andy and Nick, I loved their family lives, I loved the way in which they could quarrel/speak at cross-purposes and then both come back with an apology. I loved the 1950s vibe and the reminder that while we haven't overcome homophobia yet we are still a long way past the repression and hatred of those times....more
Camilla Deschamps is at the end of her nine months' maternity leave and about to go back to work as a literary agent. However, when she wakes up her hCamilla Deschamps is at the end of her nine months' maternity leave and about to go back to work as a literary agent. However, when she wakes up her husband Luke is nowhere to be seen, apparently he (a ghostwriter for celebrity memoirs) has gone into to his shared workspace early. Cam feels slightly aggrieved by this, she's the introvert and catastrophiser and he's the extrovert happy-go-lucky one -on a day like today she really needs him to talk her off the ledge about putting their daughter Polly in nursery. He's not even answering his phone or reading her messages.
Later that morning at work, Cam is astonished to see that the man holding three people hostage in a London warehouse is none other than Luke. Although instinctively she can't think of any reason why this charming, sunny-natured man would do such a thing, as the police question her she recalls a few instances where he snapped at her, or behaved out of character.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be vague. Seven years later Luke has disappeared without a trace, Cam seesaws between thinking it has all been a big mistake and hating him for what he put them through. Although the police are monitoring Cam's internet searches and phone calls their investigation is very low key, except for Niall, the hostage negotiator that day, whose personal and professional lives fell apart on that day. he can't get over what happened and is looking for some kind of closure.
Can Cam or Niall piece together the clues and find out what really happened that day?
First off, let me say this was a really good book, loved the story. However, having read a couple of Gillian McAllister's books before I was already looking for the surprise twist - didn't always get it right, mind - and therefore in some respects this was a little too predictable. I also felt at one point that there were going to be too many similarities with (what I consider to be her best book) Wrong Place Wrong Time, although that turned out to be incorrect.
Overall, if you are new to Gillian McAllister's work I think you'll love the twisty-turny plot, but if you read and loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time I suspect you will find it fell slightly flat. Still better than most of the contemporary mystery/thrillers out there.
I received an ARC from the publisher Penguin Random House via NetGalley....more
The second outing for the Blitz detective. After a night of bombing an ARP clean-up crew find a woman's body amongst the wreckage, the only trouble waThe second outing for the Blitz detective. After a night of bombing an ARP clean-up crew find a woman's body amongst the wreckage, the only trouble was ... the body wasn't there when they cleared the site earlier that evening.
Detective Inspector John Jago and Detective Constable Cradock are called in to investigate. The woman is Mary Watkins, an HR administrator for a local factory which, among other things, is manufacturing transistors for secret government work.
Jago's investigation encompasses Fifth Columnists, black marketeering, blackmail, bigamy, and just plain greed.
This series is growing on me nicely, some personal development between Jago and the American journalist and good historical detail.
Apologies for the brief review, I've returned from holiday with half a dozen books to review!
Its 1940 and the Blitz has begun. For Detective Inspector John Jago it brings back unpleasant associations from his time in the trenches in WW1, beingIts 1940 and the Blitz has begun. For Detective Inspector John Jago it brings back unpleasant associations from his time in the trenches in WW1, being bombarded day and night. During the height of the bombing of East London an ARP Warden finds a man dead, slumped over the steering wheel of a van, it appears he has committed suicide, but on closer inspection he has also been stabbed in the heart.
The victim, Charles Villiers is a local Justice of the Peace and owns a printing factory nearby. However, before DI Jago and his new assistant Detective Constable Peter Cradock can get a police photographer and coroner to view the body the van is hit by German bombs and explodes!
When Jago starts to investigate Villiers it appears he wasn't a very nice man. His wife was clearly put upon, his son feels relief that his father is dead, his brother barely speaks to him, he's known to chase his female employees (and worse) and a lot of the people Jago speaks to suspect that he may have been involved in something 'dodgy'.
I did have trouble keeping the various characters straight in my head at times, especially when the story just leaps into a discussion between (say) Albert and Gus and you can't for the life of you remember who either of them are. Also because the man was such a pill there are clearly a lot of people with motive.
On reflection, perhaps the motive was a little far-fetched, and the final discovery overly dramatic, but it all hung together.
This is a bit of a curiosity, having read several of Mt Taylor's other series I bought this book because it was only 99p, but was (frankly) put off byThis is a bit of a curiosity, having read several of Mt Taylor's other series I bought this book because it was only 99p, but was (frankly) put off by the title - don't be. It's not clear when this is supposed to be set, I initially thought the 1950s but I suspect it was contemporary when it was written in the 1980s - doesn't' that make me feel old!
William Douglas is a mature(ish) student who chose the rather obscure Caroline Miniscule medieval script for his post-graduate studies (mainly because of its obscurity which would make any research easier to pass off as new). He is lackadaisically preparing to provide a translation of a piece of said Caroline Miniscule from a photo provided by his tutor when he finds the tutor's body garotted in his study. Rather than call the Police, William basically runs away.
Later William is accosted by a man called James Hansard, who he suspects is his tutor's murderer, apparently his tutor was to have translated the text in the photograph for this man and he offers William an eye-wateringly large sum of money to translate the script instead.
But then William reads that James has been killed and later receives a letter and a parcel from James' bank. The letter explains that James was searching for a cache of diamonds, hidden by a client, but the client has shared clues with James and another man, James suspects this man will kill him and has asked William, if that happens, to find the diamonds in his place.
The ensuing search involves a road trip from London to East Anglia and the fens. There's murder, double-crosses, and more.
Loved it, loved the ambiguous ending and I've already bought the second book in the series....more
Although billed as a stand-alone this is set in the world of Regents Park and features some characters readers will recognise from the Slow Horses serAlthough billed as a stand-alone this is set in the world of Regents Park and features some characters readers will recognise from the Slow Horses series. Mick Herron is a master of keeping the reader in suspense, dropping little nuggets so you think to yourself could it be …?
A man living deep undercover in Devon is woken in the middle of the night by someone breaking in.
Two years ago, the former PM’s puppet master (a thinly disguised Dominic Cummings) instigates an investigation into coverups by the Secret Service, which MI5’s First Desk immediately scuppers by telling the inquiry they can’t access Regents Park directly but must request each classified folder by its correct reference number - an impossible task. Then one of the minor civil servants is surreptitiously provided with a classified file relating to an operation in Berlin in 1994 ‘Otis’ and the investigation suddenly becomes real.
Meanwhile, government’s drive to cut costs the so-called ‘Green Shoots’ initiative has turned its eye to the vetting of individuals, including the security services.
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