My Review (4 stars out of 5) The murder of ruthless divorce attorney Laurence Fife landed his beautiful young wife, Nikki, in jail. But now she’s out on parole and determined to track down the real killer. When PI Kinsey Millhone is hired to dig into the past, it looks like there may be nothing…
Category: Characters
‘Killing the Invisible’ by Keith Dixon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Detective Inspector Walter Watts tries not to let emotions get in the way of his job, but the murder of a young girl lands him with some difficult decisions. Moved to a temporary post with the Porthaven Council, Watts finds himself facing off against some obstinate characters, including…
‘The Way of All Flesh’ by Ambrose Parry
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Edinburgh, 1847. Medical student Will Raven begins an apprenticeship to the renowned Dr Simpson where he meets housemaid Sarah Fisher – who also has an interest in medicine. Though the two initially don’t hit it off, they share a concern about a series of gruesome deaths in the…
‘Divided Empire’ by Brian Kitchen
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Britain, 391 AD. While the powers-that-be in Rome vie for control of the empire, Flavius Vitulasius and his pal, Siward, are engaged on a confidential mission – an important document, the ‘Pagan Concord’, could rip Britain apart leading to civil war between the Christians and Pagans. Teaming up…
‘The Summer House’ by Keri Beevis
My Review (3 stars out of 5) Following their grandmother’s sudden death, twins Lana and Ollie are back at the old woman’s house. But the place brings back bad memories. The murder of the siblings’ older sister Camille occurred in the summer house. While Lana identified the killer, it was her brother who discovered the…
Heroes and Collectives
How many central characters should a novel have? One or two? Three? Or… Most novels have a hero or heroine, or in some cases, a pair of heroes or heroines. In creating what I hoped would be a new thriller series, I realised I’d gone a bit overboard in character-creation mode and for a while,…
‘The Lonely Lake Killings’ by Wes Markin
My Review (3 out of 5 stars) This is book 2 in the Yorkshire Murders series, and is the first I’ve read by this author. The story centres on the murder of a barmaid who is found dead by a lake. The proximity of the body to the home of a local recluse seems to…
‘King of Kings’ by MJ Porter
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Following his father’s death, King Athelstan rules over the English, unifying the territories of Wessex, Mercia and York. But uniting the Scots and Welsh to ensure peace and protect against invasion from the Norse Vikings, isn’t so easy. Set against him, is his own stepbrother, Edwin, who believes…
‘The Blue Bar’ by Damyanti Biswas
My Review (3 stars out of 5) A Mumbai police officer striving to solve a spate of murders, finds himself hindered at every turn. It seems someone is keen to stop him tracking down a serial killer. Troubled by his own past, Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput can’t escape the memory of his former lover, Tara,…
‘In Ice’ by Dave Sivers
My Review (5 stars out of 5) DI Nathan Quarrel and his team uncover a horrific scene in an apparently empty house in a Hertfordshire village. Finding three chest freezers in the basement, they discover the bodies of five naked women. As the investigation gets under way, the team realise they have a serial killer…