Murder In the Garden by Faith Martin

November 26, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Murder In the Garden by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Edward Philpott is found bludgeoned to death with his own spade in his beautiful garden. He lived with his daughter Rachel and his two grandchildren.

Hillary’s only lead is a rival from the village flower show who used to argue with the victim about the size of their vegetables. But what dark secrets from the past and present does this village hold?

Hillary has returned to work after the slaying of her boss and is desperate to track down his murderer. His pregnant widow is even more determined to get revenge, but will she go too far?

Can Hillary cope with two complex investigations full of extreme emotions, one of which is very close to home?

DI Hillary Greene has been off on two months compassion leave after the explosive ending of her last case. She returns to work slightly changed from the person and officer she was on that last fateful day. When her team is called onto a new investigation before she’s even sat down at her desk, Hillary knows she’ll need to be in top form if she really wants to return to her job – and life – after this enormous change.

I was pleased that the ramifications of the previous book are still solidly sounding through this story. While I don’t feel readers need to have read the previous book to understand the importance of what happened in it – I do think a deeper emotional connection and better understanding will be had if readers have at least a few of the previous books under their belt and they know the connections and deep friendships between Hillary and some of the secondary characters.

I was also pleased that while the resolution of this previous case is very strongly represented, it didn’t really detract from the new murder case. I thought the author handled the two powerful plotlines quite well. I was also intrigued by how Hillary’s character is still very much the same – but she’s clearly grieving and not at her best. I’ve never felt Hillary had been written as some omnipotent or untouchable heroine – but seeing her somewhat disjointed and not in top form was very realistic and quite interesting to read. Particularly since she continued to play to her strengths and remained the appealing and gripping character she’s always been.

This book was layered and very interesting. I’m eager to continue the series.

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

Murder In The Meadow by Faith Martin

November 20, 2025 By Leave a Comment


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

Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies’ man.

DI Hillary Greene discovers that many wealthy married women were buying his paintings and taking ‘private’ art lesson from him. It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead.

Hillary also has a new detective sergeant, Gemma Fordham. Seemingly efficient and pleasant, she harbours a secret agenda.

Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder?

When two schoolboys find a dead artist in a nearby meadow DI Hillary Greene and her team are called in to investigate. All too soon they have more suspects than they can handle – cal DI Greene work out what’s really going on?

I’ve been really enjoying this British police procedural series based around Oxford. Greene is a wonderfully different character, a middle-aged woman, secure in her career and with plenty of brains and intuition. I love how she’s smart and competent without being omniscient or unrepeatable. I also enjoy how the author has managed to switch things up a bit by over the last few books having two of Greenes team move on – one through a transfer due to marriage and one through promotion. This realistically and easily opened the doors for two new team members to arrive and become strong secondary characters.

With enough interpersonal intrigue to keep me turning pages, the fact the murder mystery was also well plotted and set at a good pace was just icing on the cake.

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

Murder In The Mansion by Faith Martin

November 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


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

Mattie Jones is found brutally stabbed to death in her palatial home. Hillary Greene is called in to investigate the murder of this wealthy woman. Who wanted her dead and why?

Hillary discovers that Mattie’s snobby attitude had made her many enemies. Mattie was also going through a messy divorce and had a secret lover.

Meanwhile, in a terrifying turn of events, police officers are being gunned down outside their stations. A sniper is on the loose. Who will come under attack next?

Can Hillary cope with the enemies within, a complex case, and the whole force under attack?

This is the next book in the DI Hillary Greene series. I’ve been really enjoying these books – Oxford based British police procedural mysteries. There are two main plot lines through this book – both that of a sniper shooting police officers in their HQ car parks seemingly at random, and Hillary is leading her team investigating the brutal stabbing murder of a woman in her mansion.

I found both plots moved along at a good pace, keeping me interested and eagerly turning the pages. A few of the longer-term story arcs also moved forward which I enjoyed – both with Hillary’s personal life, and the ongoing drama with Gemma, Hillary’s new DS and Barrington, her DC. I enjoyed the movement with her colleagues and am finding this a really enjoyable series.

Readers who hate cliffhanger endings should be aware they will definitely need the next book in the series on hand. While the murder plot is very neatly wrapped up there is an important event that happens right at the very end of this book that will absolutely change the scenery of the rest of the series. I, myself, needed to read the first chapter of the next book immediately upon finishing this one and I strongly expect a number of other readers might feel the same as me in this instance.

Readers who like British police procedural books, or those based in smaller towns should definitely give this a go. While it’s not necessary to have read any of the previous books–I feel this could easily be picked up by itself–I did enjoy the progress with the supporting cast and that came from knowing the history between everyone.

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

The Shadow Child by A. Williams

November 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Shadow Child by A. Williams
The Darkglass Chronicles, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

OBEDIENCE IS SURVIVAL.

BUT SHADOWS REMEMBER.

THE SHADOW CHILD is a bleak, psychological novella about a boy stripped of identity and individuality by an institution that reduces him to drills, pain, and obedience.

Told in haunting fragments, it captures the suffocating atmosphere of erasure and the fragile ember of resilience that still survives within him.

Trust is a dangerous weapon.

The horror and thriller elements of the plot were woven into each other in satisfactory ways. This was one of those cases where fear of what might happen next was often scarier than what actually occurred, and it fit the emotionless characters well while also helping to explain why they weren’t behaving like normal children, or even normal human beings in general, would under the same circumstances. Yes, there were a few brief descriptions of violence along the way, but I appreciated the fact that the lion’s share of the frights here happened in the characters’ minds instead of in their bodies.

Given that this was the beginning of a new series, I wouldn’t expect every question I had as I was reading it to be answered. Still, I did struggle with how little information was revealed about what, exactly, The House was and why they were trying to remove the identities and personalities of children through abuse, neglect, and strict, militaristic training regiments. More details would have been helpful for sure.

With that being said, I did enjoy the process of finding out that my original theory about what might be going on turned out to be possibly true. There were a few hints early on about what the program runners were hoping to accomplish that did pay off even if the majority of my questions were not answered. Knowing that I figured out that piece of the puzzle was rewarding and made me wonder what the unnamed protagonist might do in the future as a young adult.

The Shadow Child made me shudder.

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

Masked Prey by John Sandford

November 13, 2025 By 1 Comment


Masked Prey by John Sandford
Publisher: G.P Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The daughter of a U.S. Senator is monitoring her social media presence when she finds a picture of herself on a strange blog. And there are other pictures . . . of the children of other influential Washington politicians, walking or standing outside their schools, each identified by name. Surrounding the photos are texts of vicious political rants from a motley variety of radical groups.

It’s obviously alarming–is there an unstable extremist tracking the loved ones of powerful politicians with deadly intent? But when the FBI is called in, there isn’t much the feds can do. The anonymous photographer can’t be pinned down to one location or IP address, and more importantly, at least to the paper-processing bureaucrats, no crime has actually been committed. With nowhere else to turn, influential Senators decide to call in someone who can operate outside the FBI’s constraints: Lucas Davenport.

US Marshall Lucas Davenport is called in to Washington DC when deeply hidden website shows snippets of alt-right propaganda and a number of long-range photos of Senator’s children outside their schools. With clear implications and enough data for any number of people to take drastic action, Davenport is told to find those responsible and fast. But nothing is ever simple in DC and soon Davenport finds the case spiraling out into directions he’d never previously considered.

I am a long-time fan of this series and found this to be an interesting and extremely relevant addition. Davenport is certainly middle aged – but I find in many ways his experience is a fascinating and slightly different perspective to the genre is equally gripping to read. There’s a lot to be said for the no holds barred, endless action scenes style of mystery novel, but Davenport has always been equally about brains and solving the crime and not just jumping into the car and zooming somewhere guns blazing. I feel this book has a good balance between both those perspectives and adding in the strongly political element this plotline has again deepens the plot and makes everything delightfully complicated.

I feel this book is strictly a “summer-reading” style of novel. While the plot is complicated, the characters interesting and the setting extremely modern, this is definitely an action orientated type of plotline and not a deep thriller. Readers looking for something knotty or complicated might feel this is a little light – but personally I had a lot of fun reading it and there are certainly enough threads and elements for me to feel the plot was well woven and multi faced enough to keep my interest.

Readers who have enjoyed any of the previous series should easily be able to pick this book up and thoroughly enjoy it. Better still, while there is clearly a huge history behind Davenport and his various connections, I strongly feel this book can absolutely be picked up by a new reader and still found to be highly enjoyable.

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

The Bowman By Rhys Dylan

November 10, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Bowman By Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In the wild heart of Wales, terror stalks the open moor.

In the remote and unforgiving Cambrian Mountains, two bodies are found, sparking fears that a long-buried nightmare has returned. DCI Warlow is plunged into a chilling mystery, hunting a murderer who disappeared without a trace—leaving only blood and silence behind.

As Warlow’s team battles against mounting pressure, they face a haunting question: is this the work of a twisted imitator, or has The Bowman, a ruthless killer thought to be gone forever, resurfaced?

With each dark discovery, they’re pulled deeper into a case where the land itself seems to conspire against them—and the answers may come at a deadly cost.

In remote, rural Wales two people are killed within hours of each other, each struck down by a crossbow bolt. DCI Evan Warlow and his team are called in to investigate, but the details of the case soon remind them of a similar set of killings from decades ago – has the Bowman returned?

I have been really enjoying this slightly gritter series set in Wales. I found this to be a very well written addition to the series. The team has plenty of cases behind them now, and I find they work very well together without seeming stale or repetitive. While this is very much a British police procedural style of book, I strongly enjoy the Welsh atmosphere and aspects to both the plot and characters, it keeps the story feeling fresh and interesting to me.

I thought the plot was very well contained in this book and while there are a number of secondary characters in the larger team – and plenty of both good and bad history there – I do feel that readers new to this author and series should easily be able to pick this story up and thoroughly enjoy it. This had a slightly slower pace that builds to a strong and fast ending. I’m looking forward to the next installment.

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

The Wolf Cub by Alison Bellringer

November 7, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Wolf Cub by Alison Bellringer
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Lewis just loves living with his mother in a small cottage that backs directly onto a vast forest. The shy four-year-old’s favourite spot to relax is in a clearing by a watering hole, where all the woodland creatures come to get their daily measure of drink and forage nearby for food. He always enjoys chatting to the smaller animals (especially the squirrels and rabbits), making new friends nearly every day. And that’s exactly where the boy was when it happened – the hair on the back of Lewis’ neck suddenly stood on end, and the young boy shivered slightly. He was being watched…

Kindness is never wasted.

I adored the friendships between Lewis and the many different types of wild animals he encountered when he wandered into the woods. He was a gentle and kind kid who went out of his way to make sure that every creature he met felt safe and happy around him. While I don’t want to give away too many plot twists about how he managed to do this and what the consequences of those decisions later turned out to be, I thought those scenes were a joy to read and fit the tone of this piece nicely.

There were some plot holes in this story involving certain villager’s reactions to the wolf cub that I would have liked to see resolved. For example, the assumptions they made about what sort of creature he was didn’t quite make sense to me given how rural the setting was and how many different types of animals the average person in that area would interact with over the average year. As much as I wanted to give this tale a higher rating, these questions and ones similar to them kept me from doing so.

It was interesting to see how much freedom children had in this village. Lewis was only four years old when the first chapter began, and yet he was allowed to wander around anywhere he wished to visit while his mother worked. This isn’t something that typically happens in contemporary stories about kids, so I was intrigued by how differently people his age were treated here. It left plenty of space for all of his adventures to occur!

The Wolf Cub made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

I’d Rather Kiss You Goodnight by Christine Columbus

November 5, 2025 By 2 Comments


I’d Rather Kiss You Goodnight by Christine Columbus
Surf, Sand, and Romance #5
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sally has sworn off relationships. At forty-seven, she finds herself stuck in a rut and feels as if she s going nowhere. Until her mother needs help to fix up her house, now Sally spends her weekends driving three hours to plaster and paint walls. Ty is also lending a hand with the repairs, and their attraction simmers just beneath the surface. As the house takes on a new life, so does Sally s heart. By day, they work on the house, but in the evenings, they escape to a local campground, overlooking river sunsets and diving into a summer romance. What does Sally do when summer fades to fall, and Ty prepares to leave?

Summer is the perfect time for some romance.

Sally’s character development was handled well. Sometimes her passivity irritated me a little bit, but I also came to understand why she was so reluctant to make any major changes to her life given her recent relationship trauma. Honestly, I would have done the same thing if I were in her shoes, and I soon found many other parts of her personality I deeply loved such as her creativity and her compassion for others. There is definitely something to be said for creating such a relatable and well-rounded protagonist.

I struggled with the pacing in the beginning and middle of this novel. There wasn’t much conflict to begin with, and every new development in these sections felt slower than I would have preferred to see. While things did eventually pick up in the last fifty pages or so, it was noticeable enough for me to take note of it for my review given how I sometimes had trouble remaining invested in what was happening in the non-romantic subplots.

With that being said, this was a good example of how to slowly build romantic tension between two characters. I appreciated the amount of time the author spent exploring how Sally and Ty felt about each other and why they were so attracted to one another. That’s exactly what I like to find in the romance genre, and it made for a solid read.

I’d Rather Kiss You Goodnight was playful and filled with love.

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

Time Of Death by Mark Billingham

November 3, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Time Of Death by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Tom Thorne is on holiday with his girlfriend, DS Helen Weeks, when two girls are abducted in Helen’s hometown in Warwickshire. When a body is discovered and a man is arrested, Helen recognizes the suspect’s wife as an old school friend, and reluctantly returns home for the first time in twenty-five years to lend her support.

As his partner faces up to a past she has tried desperately to forget and a media storm engulfs the town, Thorne becomes convinced that, despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, the police have got the wrong man. There is still an extremely clever killer on the loose—and a missing girl who Thorne believes might still be alive . . .

While this book is well into the DI Tom Thorne series I was intrigued to find that it’s a little different to many of the previous books in that Thorne and his partner, Helen, have decided to go away for a brief holiday over Valentine’s Day. Despite their intentions for some rest and well-earned alone time together, only a day into their break and Helen abruptly changes plans. A second missing teenage girl in Helen’s hometown has the husband of her childhood best friend being arrested. Wanting to support her old friend – even though it’s been decades since they’ve seen each other – Helen with Thorne in tow enter the fray of both Helen’s past and the small community.

In some respects, this has all the hallmarks of what I’ve come to expect from a DI Thorne story – an uncomfortable plotline and gripping, modern and gritty writing. But this book felt somewhat fresh with the different setting and Thorne trying – as much as he can – to very much remain on the outside. Professional curiosity of course has him taking an interest in the case but unlike virtually every other book I’ve read in this series he’s not trying to horn his way in or step on toes. I found that delightful and refreshing to read and was pleased that in some ways his character is definitely learning from (at least a few) of his past mistakes. Also, it was quite different to read a bit more about Helen’s past. While her character is certainly more open in many respects than Thorne’s is, it quickly becomes clear there are plenty of things in her past she really doesn’t want to share or discuss. I found that interesting, and I thought the way the author wove Helen’s past into the plot was both skillful and believable.

Readers looking for a cozy mystery or an easy read absolutely won’t find that here. Much like the rest of the series this is a gritty, slightly hard book and while it’s an excellent series and one I greatly enjoy I can well understand that it won’t be every reader’s cup of tea. Readers looking for something different or a bit more noir should absolutely check this author and series out. I also feel this book can certainly be read by itself, especially since much of the team and regular characters aren’t present since Thorne isn’t in London on their home turf, so readers wanting a more recent book without starting at the beginning might find this a good place to dip a toe in.

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

Movie Review: A Minecraft Movie

November 3, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Minecraft Movie
Writers: Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, Sebastian Hansen
Publisher: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars (6 Stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by Astilbe

Four misfits are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a quest with an unexpected expert crafter.

Anything can happen in the overworld.

There were so many Easter eggs here for viewers who have played Minecraft. I’d strongly recommend doing a little research on the game first for viewers who haven’t played it yet due to how funny many of them were, although the plot does still make sense without understanding these references. It’s not always easy to strike a balance between drawing in new fans and entertaining the existing ones. This spoke to both audiences in my opinion, though, and it worked on enough levels to appeal to many different types of viewers.

I would have liked to see more time spent showing just how creative the Minecraft universe can be. This was what first encouraged me to play the game, so I was hoping the film version would explore more of the many unique things that can be done with a crafting table and a vivid imagination. If not for the numerous references to various quirks of the game, I would have struggled to remain interested in certain places due to how easy it was to predict what would happen next.

With that being said, this movie had a fantastic sense of humour that, while written mostly for kids, did have moments teens and adults can appreciate as well. There is definitely something to be said for writing something the entire family can enjoy together. I laughed out loud several times and thought this highlighted the playful aspects of this universe well.

A Minecraft Movie was lighthearted and entertaining.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings, Movie Review, Television Show Tagged With: , , ,
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