A Kiss In The Dark by Shelby Morgen

July 16, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Kiss In The Dark by Shelby Morgen
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Stranded. Nothing to warm her but the heat of his body. A stranger, holding her in the dark.

She wanted things she had no right to even imagine. Ever since she’d taken The Purity Test online the questions have been nagging her.

Have you ever:

* Had sex on the first date?
* Had sex with someone whose name you did not know?
* Had sex with someone whose face you never saw?
* Had sex with someone where there was an age difference of more than 20 years?

No. Not her. She hadn’t done anything. Ever. Until the storm of the century dropped her in the arms of a stranger. Now she can’t get him out of her mind…

Ever since a good friend showed her The Purity Test, Jen has struggled to get it – and her abnormally high score – out of her mind. So when a freak storm has her briefly stranded in the dark with a very warm stranger, Jen throws caution to the wind. Can a kiss in the dark between two strangers change everything for the both of them?

I really enjoyed this short story. While it began along a well-worn line I was pleased there were a few differences that set this story apart from many of its similar tales. The fact that neither of the main characters were young was an added bonus for me, and I found myself quickly and eagerly reading along to see how the rest of the tale would unfold.

While the Purity Test has been around for a very long time, I found this hint of nostalgia refreshing and quite an enjoyable vehicle to move the plot along. Readers looking for a comfortable but still sexy and fun quick read should find this absolutely fits the bill. I found the attraction between Jen and Tom believable – even with the speed with which they connected – and while it did feel a little like insta-lust to me I thought the author handled the plot very well and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

A quick and steamy story, this is a fun and lighthearted read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Black Summer by M.W. Craven

July 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Black Summer by M.W. Craven
Publisher: Constable
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time?

And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

A number of years ago, DS Washington Poe was instrumental in getting Jared Keaton – renown celebrity chef – put away for life for murdering his daughter, Elizabeth. So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station and all the blood work confirms that she’s the six years missing Elizabeth, no one is under more scrutiny than Poe. Racing against time before he’s railroaded with internal investigations, Poe and Tilly have to find answers for some critical questions.

This is the second book in the Washington Poe series, and I found it just as well plotted and well-paced as the first. Tilly is still hands down my favourite character – I don’t know how the author manages to get her to be so relatable and enjoyable while being so very different, but I find Tilly refreshing, delightful and just a joy to read. Obviously, I quite enjoy Poe as well, but I have to admit the first few chapters were very Poe-centric and while I found them good reading and I was happily sucked into the story, I noticed a real shift and heightening of my enthusiasm of the book when Tilly came more onto the stage.

I really felt this book had some solid twists and turns in the plot. While I could foresee a few of them, quite a few of the twists took me by surprise and this absolutely delighted me. I’ve read a huge number of mysteries and so I often don’t expect to be really taken by surprise by a plot twist. There were a few I didn’t catch in this book and that was lovely and refreshing to me.

While I did find this book slightly grittier than the more usual British police procedural style of mystery, I definitely didn’t find the pace to be action riddled. I thought this was certainly more of a step-by-step investigation – and those are the style of books I usually prefer – but the subject and the general air of Poe and his working methods were a little on the edgier and grittier side than many British books that I read, so I do feel that’s something readers should be conscious of before setting out in this series.

I thought this book stood very well by itself – as the second in the series there isn’t an enormous history or past to these characters and the mystery plot absolutely is well encased in this book alone and doesn’t have any lurking connections to other books. Readers should feel quite comfortable picking this up by itself and enjoying it in full. A solid mystery and I’m eager for the next in the series.

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Lazybones by Mark Billingham

July 10, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Lazybones by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

The first corpse was found hooded, bound, and naked, kneeling on a bare mattress in a seedy hotel room. This was no ordinary murder but rather the work of a killer driven by something special, something spectacular. The fact that the dead man was a convicted rapist recently released from prison only increases the bizarre nature of the gruesome crime … and the police’s reluctance to apprehend the perpetrator. It’s the body count that troubles Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, as brutal slaying follows brutal slaying, each victim more deserving than the last. Though he has no sympathy for the dead, Thorne knows he must put an end to a cruelly calculating vigilante’s bloody justice before time runs out — and a horrifically efficient serial killer targets a life worth fighting for.

DI Tom Thorne and his team are pulled into a new investigation when a recently released convicted rapist is brutally murdered. While plenty of his colleagues feel this was simply justice being meted out, Thorne knows they still have a job to do. And when a second recently released rapist is killing in a nearly identical manner, Thorne knows things will only get more difficult from here on in.

I’ve been enjoying this slightly darker, gritty British police procedural series. I’m pleased that the main character isn’t some perfect hero – he’s a fairly regular guy and has his share of flaws. I also am enjoying getting to know Holland, Thorne’s colleague, and delve a little more into the complications of his personal life as Holland and Thorne become more friendly with each other.

I could understand if this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea. British crime novels often have a slightly different tone, and this series is no exception. A little grittier, a little harder in some respects I personally find this sort of story well worth the effort of reading. I admit that I guessed a few aspects to this mystery about halfway through the book, though I was wrong about a few of the other points that I missed so there was still plenty in this book that did keep me in the dark. I thoroughly enjoyed the complications and twists in the plot and ended up very happy with the final few chapters and everything untangling itself.

Readers looking for a different style of murder mystery book and who don’t mind the different British style of writing should give this series a try.

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Murder In The Village by Faith Martin

July 8, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Murder In The Village by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A would-be politician is found battered to death in the kitchen of his expensive home in a lovely Oxfordshire village. His wife’s alibi is full of holes and there’s another woman in the background. And what about his seemingly mild-mannered political rival?

DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this perplexing murder. She certainly doesn’t think the prime suspect is as guilty as everyone thinks.

Just as she’s about to make a breakthrough, everything is turned upside down by a fatal development in another case she is working on . . .

Can Hillary find the murderer and will she survive a brush with one of Oxford’s most dangerous criminals?

DI Hillary Greene and her team is called in to investigate when a would-be politician is found battered to death in his own home. The complications arise almost immediately and Hillary is determined to get to the bottom of everything. But just as she gets traction in this case her world is upturned when events surrounding a different case take a deadly turn and soon Hillary has far more than one murder on her plate.

I have been really enjoying this series, and I felt this book was an excellent addition. Hillary is a character I really love – forty-something, logical and tenacious – I feel there’s plenty for many readers to enjoy. With a strong cast of interesting secondary characters lending Hillary support and a few intriguing across-the-series plotlines slowly gathering steam I am beginning to buy the subsequent books in this series more quickly as I eagerly read my way through.

I was particularly pleased that a few of the longer-running story arcs not only made headway, but a few even got some resolution which was very satisfying to read. I do admit there seemed to be two main plotlines to this story – Hillary’s murdered politician, but also a secondary investigation Hillary is drawn into. Between these two plots the book has a decent pace and a bit more action than I’m used to reading in a British police procedural style of book, but I found it exciting and well written so am eager to jump into the next book in the series.

Readers looking for an interesting and well plotted murder mystery series should enjoy this book, though I do recommend readers going back to book 1 and starting this series fresh.

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Neon Prey by John Sandford

July 2, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Neon Prey by John Sandford
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Clayton Deese looks like a small-time criminal, muscle for hire when his loan shark boss needs to teach someone a lesson. Now, seven months after a job that went south and landed him in jail, Deese has skipped out on bail, and the U.S. Marshals come looking for him. They don’t much care about a low-level guy–it’s his boss they want–but Deese might be their best chance to bring down the whole operation.

Then, they step onto a dirt trail behind Deese’s rural Louisiana cabin and find a jungle full of graves.

Now Lucas Davenport is on the trail of a serial killer who has been operating for years without notice. His quarry is ruthless, and–as Davenport will come to find–full of surprises . . .

US Marshall Davenport is called in when what’s thought to be a small time criminal jumping his bail bond turns out to have a graveyard’s worth of buried – and some partially eaten – bodies in his back yard. Davenport and a few of his colleagues begin one of their stranger investigations into their very first cannibal and things only get stickier from there.

I’ve been a huge fan of this series for a number of years, and I found this to be an excellent addition to the series. While I feel it can be read by itself, I definitely think readers will get far more enjoyment out of it if they’ve read at least a few of the earlier books and have a decent understanding of the characters and how everyone links together. That said, I equally feel readers can catch up quite easily just with this book and this wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

I believe that readers looking for a fast paced, action orientated mystery should find this fits the bill. There are a few slightly icky parts to this book – though I felt nothing was overtly gory or too graphic – there would be a few warnings to this story (rape, murder and cannibalism). While each of these is mentioned nothing is given too much detail – though it’s not just glossed over either. I feel this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea but it’s quite simple to skip a few paragraphs if you’d like to, and still thoroughly enjoy the rest of the story.

I particularly enjoyed how the plot grew quite complicated as the manhunt continued. In some respects, I really felt this book was more complicated than many I’ve read recently and while towards the end I did begin to feel it was being drawn out a little too long – I have to admit this was not some simple, one-dimensional murder mystery but quite a multi-layered and complex plot. I really enjoyed that.

Readers who are fans of this series or have read other books by John Sandford should have a fairly solid understanding of what to expect and I admit I enjoyed the faster pace and more convoluted storyline. I found this an enjoyable story and am always up for another featuring Davenport again.

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Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham

June 24, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

It was a vicious, calculated murder. The killer selected his victim at London’s Euston station, followed her home on the tube, strangled her to death in front of her child. At the same time, killed in the same way, a second body is discovered at the back of King’s Cross station. It is a grisly coincidence that eerily echoes the murders of two other women, stabbed to death months before on the same day.

DI Tom Thorne sees the link and comes to a horrifying conclusion. This is not a serial killer that the police are up against—this is two of them. Finding the body used to be the worst part of the job, but not any more. Now each time a body is found, Thorne knows that somewhere out there is a second victim waiting to be discovered. But while the killers’ methods might be the same, their manner is strikingly different. Thorne comes to realize that he is hunting very different people—one ruthless and in control, the other submissive, compliant, terrified.

Thorne must catch a man whose need to manipulate is as great as his need to kill. A man who will threaten those closest to Thorne himself and show him that the ability to inspire terror is the deadliest weapon of all . . .

DI Tom Thorne is part of a small team in London as part of the Serious Crimes unit. When the strangling murder of a young mother – in front of her three year old son – is brought to their attention they quickly link it with an almost identical strangling murder of another young woman carried out on the same day. But when a similar pattern is shown – in the stabbing murder of another two women some month’s previously, DI Thorne discovers it would not have been physically possible for the one killer to perform both these stabbing murders. As Thorne and his team conclude there must be two murderers acting together they soon realise this case it not going to be as straightforward as they first assumed.

This is the second book in the DI Tom Thorne series and I greatly enjoyed it. In many respects Thorne’s inner musings are somber and while I felt this definitely helped give the story a grittier edge, it’s not necessarily good or fun reading. That said, I have to commend the author on his excellent weaving together of the plot.

In the first half of the book it jumps back and forth from the two murderer’s childhood antics together and then forward into the present day and the murder cases. Often I find this gives a book a jarring or disjointed effect but I was really impressed with how well the author meshed this all together here. I personally felt the story was given a lot more depth with this background information and it helped me understand far more clearly why the second murderer in particular was so entangled in everything and ended up down this path at all. It really helped flesh out the story and made it a hundred times more believable to me so I was very impressed.

I also was really happy when in the later half of the book the pace increased markedly as the actual hunt began in earnest. Without all the detail, history and build up in the first half I don’t feel the rest of the book would have packed anywhere near the punch it did. Once this ball got rolling the story was a massive steamroller and I admit I lost quite a few hours sleep – unable to put it down once the pace really got cracking.

I found this to be an exceptionally written, if slightly uncomfortable, British police procedural murder mystery book. While not perfect, I felt the characters were relatable and realistic, and the plot was well woven and utterly believable. An excellent book that, towards the end, became unputdownable. This was a great read, and I can’t wait to start the next in the series.

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Hangman Island by Kate Rhodes

June 19, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Hangman Island by Kate Rhodes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

ON A REMOTE ISLAND

When Jez Cardew’s boat is found drifting empty on the Atlantic Ocean, DI Ben Kitto and his fellow lifeboat crew members immediately fear the worst. After an extensive search yields no results, the team are forced to retreat to dry land as darkness sets in.

THE OCEAN IS MERCILESS

But Kitto can’t let it go. Why would Jez – an experienced sailor – get into difficulty when the sea has been calm for weeks? Unless his disappearance was no accident.

BUT SO ARE THE PEOPLE . . .

The gruesome discovery of a hand washed ashore on the beach confirms his hunch. Because a medal is attached to the index finger, and it can only have been placed there by the killer.

This strange clue is the only lead to an agenda as cold as the ocean itself. Kitto must work fast, before the small, isolated community closes ranks. And it’s only a matter of time before the murderer among them strikes again . . .

DI Ben Kitto is days away from his wedding, but he needs to leave preparations behind when the smashed boat of a local lifeboat rescue volunteer’s turns up. The owner – a seasoned though young seaman – is nowhere to be found and everyone is stumped since the sea has been calm for weeks and Jez was far too seasoned and careful for a simple accident to have caused this. Then the gruesome discovery of a hand has everyone fearing the worst. Can Kitto uncover what’s really going on?

I have been enjoying this series, and this latest installment is just as good as the others. I particularly enjoyed how there were snippets at the beginning of most chapters showing the perspective of another character – a close friend of the first victim and a potential suspect for the killer – as I felt this helped deepen the perspective of the reader but also broaden the viewing of the story.

I was pleased with the cast of characters, a number of them now beginning to recur in the series but still retaining that small coastal town feeling that I think will appeal to many of the readers. I definitely found this to be a solid, British police procedural style of mystery and one that I think can easily be read by itself even though it’s quite well into the series by now. While there is some history and back story – particularly around Kitto and his growing family life – this is quite a small community, and I feel the mystery aspect can easily be captured just with this story alone.

I found this to be an interesting and well written mystery, and a good addition to the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Hunting Grounds by LT Ryan

June 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Hunting Grounds by LT Ryan
Publisher: Liquid Mind Media
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A killer has returned and his reign of terror has only just begun.

An unstoppable killer stalks the city, leaving a mounting body count in his wake. As panic and fear grip Pittsburgh, the FBI is brought in to assist the local police with the manhunt, hoping to prevent further bloodshed.

Retired Pittsburgh K9 Handler Maddie Castle is pulled into the manhunt. She has experienced the killer’s deadly handiwork firsthand. He left her crippled in body and spirit.

Caught between her thirst for revenge and her desire to save lives, Castle knows that tracking the killer down and bringing him to justice will give her peace of mind.

But this madman is shrewd and evasive, eluding capture at every turn. As Maddie and her K9 partner stay hot on his heels, she realizes that he might be one step ahead of her…

He’s already put her on his hit list.

In the Hunting Grounds, death is the only escape. And if Maddie wants to survive the ultimate showdown with evil, she’ll have to stay alive long enough to outwit him once and for all.

Retired K9 handler Maddie Castle’s whole life changed when she came face to face with a serial killer. They both left with deep wounds and scars that would never heal – and apparently neither of their lives would ever be the same. Now Maddie has finally grasped back a new life and her old nemesis returns and this time the body count rises high from the very start. Can Maddie bring him down before he reaches her and removes her from his hit list?

I have been enjoying this series and especially enjoy Maddie’s relationship with her K9 companion. There is a strong cast of secondary characters and while I do feel the plot of this story can be easily understood as a standalone novel, there’s quite a bit of history between many of the primary characters and I do feel the story has more emotional depth for having read the previous books in order and not starting with this one.

Readers looking for a high-octane action-packed story might not find this one lands a solid punch. I thought the plot was very well paced and deliciously complicated, but there were certainly quite a few points in the story and investigation where a lot of history was explained and told. To be fair I felt this absolutely fleshed out the characters and made the emotional connection I had with them deeper and more meaningful, but for readers purely wanting an adrenaline-fueled action story I must admit this did make the action side to the plot lag and slow down a little.

Readers looking for a thrilling and emotional mystery story should absolutely find this book ticks all the boxes. I particularly enjoy how Maddie isn’t a superhero or perfect – she has vulnerabilities and makes mistakes just like we all do. I found this to be a well plotted, interesting character driven story and I expect I’ll pick up the next in the series.

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The Brutal Tide by Kate Rhodes

June 16, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Brutal Tide by Kate Rhodes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

REVENGE
DI Ben Kitto made many enemies in his time working as an undercover officer for the Met police, none more ruthless and calculating than gang leader Craig Travis.

IS WORTH
Travis has longed to make Kitto pay for his role in getting him convicted – and that day has finally arrived. Now, a dark and twisted killer is heading for the Scilly Isles, one who has waited a long time for revenge.

WAITING FOR . . .
With Kitto busy investigating the discovery of a body on the islands and distracted by the imminent arrival of his first child, his defences are down. He has so much to lose.

And Travis will stop at nothing to take it all from him.

In his previous work in London, DI Ben Kitto had made many enemies, but none more so than his final case – putting a vicious gang leader behind bars after an extended undercover operation. Now dying, the police are alerted when key people involved in that final arrest begin to die from what looks like an organized hit. But DI Kitto doesn’t have time to worry about that with his partner due to give birth to their first child any day and the bones of a young man unearthed at a local work site. Can Ben juggle everything as his life takes such a drastic turn?

I really enjoyed this book. While I can understand if this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed the snippets every chapter or so where we could see the progress of the killer interspersed between Ben and his own case. I felt this was a different and highly interesting way to keep the tension high and not to make the plotline too farfetched. Since any new arrivals on the small islands stand out markedly, I thought having us see the killer progress through the other people on their list was an excellent way to fuel the tension but still have a strong murder-mystery plot with Ben and his own case load going.

I was also pleased the very climactic birth of Nina and Ben’s child wasn’t too cliched. While it was a little easy to guess – the traditional “racing from the final fight scene to not miss the baby’s birth” was quite the cliché, but there were a few little twists that made it a solid read, nevertheless. I thought the main plotline was quite well woven and while I guessed a few parts of the plot there were still other bits that I didn’t guess and came as a delightful surprise.

I’m enjoying this series and can recommend it for mystery readers who enjoy small town and/or British police procedural style mysteries. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

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Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham

June 13, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Sphere Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

His first three victims ended up dead. His fourth was not so fortunate . . .

Alison Willetts is unlucky to be alive. She has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by a skillful manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear, and feel and is aware of everything going on around her, but is completely unable to move or communicate. Her condition is called locked-in syndrome. In leaving Alison Willetts alive, the police believe the killer made his first mistake.

Then DI Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth; it isn’t Alison who is the mistake, it’s the three women already dead. The killer is getting his kicks out of toying with Thorne as much as he is pursuing his sick fantasy, and as the detective zeroes in on a suspect, he finds himself pushed to his personal and professional limits . . .

When three young women appear to die suddenly from a stroke with no other signs of damage to their bodies and no real prior indicators they were at risk the medical community thinks there might be something else occurring. Only a sharp pathologist notices sedatives in a recent case’s blood and damage to the ligaments on the young woman’s neck. When DI Tom Thorne begins to investigate, he soon is told that the most recent case – where the woman survived but has locked in syndrome – is not the “mistake” but indeed the crowning glory and exactly what the killer has been trying to achieve, Thorne realizes that what appeared to be a fairly standard case is anything but.

I greatly enjoy British Police procedural style of murder mysteries but this first book in a new to me series is slightly different. I admit it took me a while to get used to the slight jumping around in the perspectives – usually an author stays fairly close to one style of telling the story, but this book has quite a few different voices going on. While I admit it definitely added to the story this did take me a little to get used to and grasp what all the different perspectives were on about. I’m not sure this will appeal to all readers, but I would strongly recommend the reader stick with it as the story definitely is worth getting a handle on the narrative style.

I was also pleased that Tom wasn’t all-powerful and made mistakes. A few times I really did wonder if the author had maybe given a bit too much perception to Tom, but I was pleased he got some things wrong and other things right. This seemed fairly realistic to me and helped me connect a bit better with Tom’s character which I admit I struggled with in a few places.

On the one hand the plot is quite straight forward – find the killer who is murdering young women but causing them to stroke out and die. Yet really this book is quite a bit more complicated than that. Tom has a very layered and complex relationship with his colleagues and managers in the police force, and I enjoyed watching him sort some of that out with a few key colleagues throughout the story. Tom also has some unresolved baggage from a life-changing case over a decade ago and while this history doesn’t overshadow the current case and issues – it’s there filtering and shadowing Tom, nevertheless.

I also enjoyed that Tom might need a few home truths really hammered in to him – but when this did occur in the book he finally sat up and took notice. In all I found this book to be well written, intensely plotted and quite addictive to read. I’m certain I’ll pick up the next in the series because I’m deeply curious how Tom will pull up after the events in this case.

A different and somewhat complicated story I felt this was an excellent first book. I can believe the writing style (and characters) might not suit everyone but for readers who like a slightly gritter British police procedural style of story and their stories told in layers and not necessarily in a linear function this is probably a good book to try out.

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