The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe

October 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.

After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.

Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.

As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.

They’ll both get what they want, no matter who they take down in the process.

I have to admit, I’m not much for histoicals these days, but when I saw this book, I had to pick it up. I’ve not read other Joanna Shupe books, but I have to admit was captivated by the story. It reads like a gilded era Anastasia.

The writing is crisp and kept me entertained. I wanted to know what would happen next and liked the spice in the story. I liked the connection between Josie and Leo.

But there were a few quibbles with the story. It’s remarkably close to the Anastasia story. I get it, there are only so many tropes, but it read very close to the movie plot. The other thing that was a bit jarring to me was that Josie is upset that her family abandoned her, but she’s very self-righteous and didn’t seem to embody the opulence of the Gilded Age. Many people, especially those of wealth, flaunted their wealth and felt above the rest of the people. She didn’t really do that, which is good. It made me like her more, but it also felt out of place for the era.

That said, the connection between her and Leo is wonderful and I did root for them to get together. I enjoyed this book and suggest it for someone wanting a fall read. Definitely try this one out.

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

The Last Throw by Rhys Dylan

October 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


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

This time, it’s more than personal.

Within the tranquil confines of a west Wales village, peace gives way to pandemonium as a trivial theft transforms into a devastating tragedy.

DCI Evan Warlow confronts what initially appears to be a straightforward case, only to find himself ensnared in a web of deceit. And when a routine press assignment also exposes a team member to a malevolent scheme, chaos begins to spiral.

From idyllic coastlines to rugged peaks, Warlow races across diverse landscapes in pursuit of answers and to foil a deadly adversary. In an electrifying narrative of suspense and sacrifice, he must forge unconventional alliances to tilt the scales in his favour before it’s too late.

DCI Warlow and his team are called in when a robbery at a remote convenience store appears to end in the car park in a murder. Before the team can really grapple with the conflicting evidence one of their own falls into mortal peril and the team need to divide their time between their fresh murder case – and a situation that is anything but routine.

I have been greatly enjoying this series and the more personal case in this story has been brewing for the last few books. In that sense it was a relief to finally have both some momentum on this case but many of the threads for this have now been tied up. This author has a tendency to frequently leave some items of various plotlines weave through multiple books so I was really happy to see a few of these finally resolved, though do admit there are clearly a few items still remaining for the next few books.

I also really loved how Rhys finally got to really spear-head his own case here. As one of the junior members of the team I was impressed and quite happy to see how far he’s grown and come in this series and while there was of course still some oversight from the senior members I had a lot of pride and emotional investment in Rhys and his flourishing in his career so that was wonderful to read.

While I do think this book can be read independently there is still a fair bit of cross over now between previous books. I feel the plots and team members can be enjoyed just with this story – but for a richer and more emotional connection I do feel at least some of the previous books should be read for a deeper understanding. This is a series worth the investment.

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Murder In The Family by Faith Martin

September 25, 2025 By Leave a Comment


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

15–year-old Billy Davies is found dead in his father’s shed. A pair of gardening shears thrust brutally into his chest.

DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this baffling crime.

How had Billy come into contact with such a vicious killer? Who wanted him dead and why? The investigation reveals that the teenager was not such an innocent young man.

Meanwhile, Hillary’s having a tough time at work. She’s been passed over for promotion, and her reliable constable Tommy Lynch is to be transferred out. But Hillary won’t let distractions get in the way of solving crimes.

To catch this killer, Hillary will need to dig deep into the dark secrets of a small community.

DI Hillary Greene and her team are called onto the murder of a 15 year old teenage boy. Found stabbed in his father’s shed, there doesn’t appear to be an easy explanation as to who – or why – anyone would want his young man dead. As Hillary and her team investigate, they only really turn up more questions and no real motive for such a vicious killing. Can they work out what happened before anything else happens?

I’ve been really enjoying this series with a strong, single and forty-something female lead character. While in many ways a standard British Police Procedural story I find the characters – and Hillary’s in particular – refreshing and different enough to really capture and retain my attention. I also enjoyed the fact that this wasn’t an easy plotline and while the victim had been up to a number of shenanigans nothing initially seemed to warrant murder and in particular it took a bit of digging for the characters to really get a feel for what might have been going on in the background.

With a number of solid secondary characters – and the definite wind of change appearing to come through the series on a personal note for a number of these supporting team members – this story felt fresh, and the overall arc of the series seemed like there was no chance of things getting stale. Finally, I did enjoy that it appears Hillary might also be getting a bit of a personal sub-plot in the coming few books with a few interesting character twists as well.

I found this to be a well-rounded series with interesting characters, a well written and paced plotline and a good dollop of British police procedural murder-mystery. Readers who enjoy this genre should give this book a try – or even go back to the start of the series and enjoy them all. It’s worth the trip.

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Good As Dead by Mark Billingham

September 23, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Good As Dead by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The Crime

The customers in a London convenience store are taken captive. Among them is young mother, Detective Helen Weeks. She is told her life depends on the co-operation of one of her colleagues – detective Tom Thorne.

The Demand

Akhtar is desperate to know what really happened to his beloved son, who died a year before in prison. He is convinced the death was not an accident and forces the one man who knows more about the case than any other, Thorne, to re-investigate.

The Twist

What Thorne discovers will upend everything he thought he knew about the fate of those he’s put away…but will it be enough to fulfill the wishes of a grieving and potentially violent father?

Single mother and police officer Helen Weeks stops off in her local newsagents on her daily morning stop on the way to work. Waiting at the till it’s the last place she expects to come across any violence – and in the blink of the eye she finds herself being held hostage. The Indian owner has finally been pushed over the edge and his only demand is that DI Tom Thorne re-investigate the sudden death of the newagent’s son a year earlier in youth custody. Thorne immediately springs into action and is quickly astonished to find that the death really is suspicious and well worth looking into again.

I have found this to be an excellent British police procedural style mystery series – gritty and at times bleak. These last few books have been a little less harsh and while I still find these books gripping Thorne is definitely growing as a character and has a few – tenuous – connections and relationships. The fact a civilian and police officer are being held hostage absolutely gives this book a push into making crazy fast decisions and Thorne definitely crosses a few lines to keep the momentum of the case moving forward. Readers looking for a gentle or softer style of police mystery might not find what they’re after here – but readers who have some experience of this series should absolutely know what a ride they’re in for.

I was pleased this book resolved everything within the confines of the book – occasionally the author can leave threads hanging or leave small items unresolved and I was glad that didn’t occur here. Indeed we’re given a brief glimpse of Thorne sorting through the consequences of his actions and I really enjoyed this resolution to the story and his actions. I was very happy with the ending of this book and am eager to begin the next in the series.

Readers looking for a gritty, fast paced British mystery should find this an enjoyable book. While it’s definitely not required to read anything previous to this to thoroughly enjoy the story, characters and plotline I will admit having at least a few of the previous DI Tom Thorne books under you belt will help the reader understand the style and set up of the series and might make this a richer and deeper experience. That said, it would be just fine to pick this book up by itself and begin enjoying this series immediately.

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

The Haunting of Modesto O’Brien by Brit Griffin

September 22, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Haunting of Modesto O’Brien by Brit Griffin
Publisher: Latitude 46
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A gothic tale from deep within the boreal forest…

Violence and greed have intruded into a wild and remote land. It’s 1907, and silver fever has drawn thousands of men into a fledgling mining camp in the heart of the wilderness. Modesto O’Brien, fortune-teller and detective, is there too – but he isn’t looking for riches. He’s seeking revenge.

O’Brien soon finds himself entangled with the mysterious Nail sisters, Lucy and Lily. On the run from their past and headed for trouble, Lily turns to O’Brien when Lucy goes missing. But what should have been a straightforward case of kidnapping pulls O’Brien into a world of ancient myths, magic, and male violence.

As he searches for Lucy, O’Brien fears that dark forces are emerging from the ravaged landscape. Mesmerized by a nightmarish creature stalking the wilderness, and haunted by his past, O’Brien struggles to maintain his grip on reality as he faces hard choices about loyalty, sacrifice, and revenge.

Sometimes a kernel of truth is more than enough to get things started.

One of my favorite horror tropes is the existence of ominous woods, and the nearly-endless forests described in this tale were definitely filled with danger. I’ll leave it up to other readers to decide for themselves where the supernatural explanations ended and the realistic one began for the many ways a person could be injured or die out there, but what I can say is that the ambiguity of that in certain scenes only made me more interested in parsing out all of the possibilities.

The large cast of characters meant that I didn’t get to know most of the characters as well as I would have liked to and I sometimes mixed their names up. It would have been helpful to have more time to figure out who was who, perhaps with more vivid descriptions of their personalities, interests, and physical features so that I could more easily imagine what it would be like to meet them. As much as I wanted to give this tale a higher rating, my confusion in this area prevented me from doing so.

This was a good example of how to keep an audience guessing with exactly the right number of clues about what was really going on. The mystery storyline was my favourite one, and I kept changing my mind about what might happen next. There is definitely something to be said for keeping an audience on their toes. Reading this made me hope that the author releases another book soon as I’d sure like to have the opportunity to review it.

The Haunting of Modesto O’Brien was deliciously scary.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

From The Dead by Mark Billingham

September 19, 2025 By Leave a Comment


From The Dead by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Thorne investigates a troubling case of conspiracy—a wife who arranges to have her husband murdered. He turns up alive… and other people begin to turn up dead.

A decade ago, Alan Langford’s charred remains were discovered in his burnt-out car. His wife Donna was found guilty of conspiracy to murder her husband and sentenced to ten years in prison. But before she is released, Donna receives a nasty shock: an anonymous letter containing a photo of her husband. The man she hates with every fibre of her being—the man she paid to have murdered—seems very much alive and well. But how is it possible that her husband is still alive? Where is he? Who sent the photo, and why?

It’s been over a decade since Donna Langford was imprisoned for hiring a man to murder her husband. Having admitted to the crime and pled guilty – even with the evidence of her husband’s abuse and criminal dealings she still was sentenced for a lengthy time in jail. Just before her release, she’s sent photos. Of her husband. Tanned. Enjoying himself. Living free and happy to indulge in all his desires. Against his better judgement, DI Tom Thorne finds himself drawn into this case where nothing and no one appear to be what they are.

This British police procedural has a gritty knack for turning plotlines on their head and writing uncomfortable things in such a manner you just have to keep turning the pages. I found this book to be no exception to that rule. Thorne finds himself with quite a bit on his plate, two or three cases weaving around each other as well as his ongoing relationship with Louise. I found myself nervous at a few points and while everything absolutely resolved none of it was quite how I was expecting and some parts were a little messier than I originally thought they’d be.

Readers should also be aware that for some of the plotlines there wasn’t a “usual” type of ending and one in particular finished on a bit of a cliffhanger/unresolved note for me. I definitely feel the reader is left to fill in the blanks and it could have gone a few different ways to my mind so readers who don’t enjoy vague endings might not find this as satisfying as many of the other book conclusions in this series.

That said, I’ve noticed a number of times previously that this book series is a lot grittier and harsher than many other British police procedurals and so while leaving threads hanging is not my favourite thing – the overall style and plotting is just so good and so different to most other series out there I can’t help myself I know I’ll keep reading the next book along. I also expect there will be an answer hopefully early on in the next book – this series does tend to (eventually) tie off all the loose threads so hopefully this won’t be any different.

Readers looking for a different, gritty and at times dark/lonely type of series should absolutely find this a great book. They can be read and enjoyed out of order – but personally I prefer reading things systematically so it’s well worth going back to the start and reading these in sequence.

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

Blood Line by Mark Billingham

September 17, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Blood Line by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Detective Tom Thorne specializes in solving the London Police Department’s most difficult murder cases. When he’s called into what seems like an ordinary domestic crime scene, he thinks he’s caught a break. A woman has been murdered by someone she knows. Thorne plans to question the husband, arrest him, and get back to his own deteriorating personal life. But something doesn’t fit . . .

A sliver of X-ray was found in the victim’s fist. When bits of the same X-Ray are found at other crime scenes around the city, Thorne realizes he has a grisly puzzle to solve. As the pieces begin to form a picture, a terrifying truth is revealed: the murderer is following in the footsteps of infamous serial killer Raymond Garvey—hunting the children of Raymond’s victims.

Now, as Thorne attempts to protect those still alive, he gets dangerously close to one of the most twisted killers he has ever hunted.

What appears to be a standard domestic murder quickly turns out to be connected to another case when a sliver of an x-ray is found clenched in the dead young woman’s fist. DI Thorne and his team soon find a far larger series of connections linking all the way back to a notorious serial murderer – who died in prison a number of years ago. Can Thorne and his team capture this twisted killer before all hell breaks loose?

I have been greatly enjoying this series – a British police procedural but quite gritty and even noir at times. I was very pleased this book shows a bit of the main character starting to thaw a very little bit with some of the connections he’s been building both within his police team and with a few select people on the periphery of his work. While this is still a gritty and complicated mystery book I was thrilled it didn’t feel quite as harsh to me as many of the others – even though there is quite a bit going on in this mystery.

Readers who enjoy a complicated plot should find this an excellent book. There was quite a twist toward the end that I loved. The plot had been clearly leading somewhere, and I knew there would be a twist, but there was quite a lot in the big reveal that I hadn’t guessed and the last quarter or so of the book was absolutely at a break-neck speed and I really enjoyed it. With plenty of layers I found this to be an engrossing read and there was just enough personal stiff – especially in the first quarter or so of the book – for me to feel like we’re getting to know DI Thorne a little better and have the murder and mystery elements balanced just a bit out by character growth and deepening knowledge of the main protagonist.

A well written and delightfully plotted complicated mystery, this is a series I am enjoying and a book I enjoyed. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

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

The Llano County Mermaid Club by Kathleen M. Rodgers

September 16, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Llano County Mermaid Club by Kathleen M. Rodgers
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Growing up in the desert town of Sandhill, New Mexico, Marigold Hubbard and her friends wanted only one thing: to see the ocean. The community pool and the nearby Santa Rosa Blue Hole are the closest they can get, and they dream of mermaids while swimming these rare waters. When Marigold learns of the affair between her father and the mother of her best friend, Melody Calloway, the betrayal tears the girls apart. Unmoored from both friends and family, Melody meets a tragic and mysterious end on the shores of the Blue Hole, leaving Marigold no chance to ever reconcile the friendship.

Forty years later, Marigold returns to Sandhill to care for her elderly father, but an envelope of old letters and a cryptic message in an abandoned church leads her on a quest to find answers about what really happened to Melody. Threading between past and present, Marigold must piece together the tragic chain of events that led to Melody’s death, pursuing questions that may have no easy answers.

It’s difficult to keep a secret forever.

The character development was excellent. All of the main characters were well-rounded individuals whose flaws made a genuine difference in how not only their own lives but also the plot turned out. They felt like real people to me, especially later on once their personalities and past mistakes began to have an ever bigger influence on what was happening. I loved them in many scenes but was also exasperated with them in others. This is exactly the sort of fiction that makes it impossible for me to stop reading!

I would have liked to see more time developing the mystery elements of the storyline. There were some aspects of Melody’s death that never quite made sense to me, especially given how her personality had been described in the years leading up to that day. Some of the clues we were given felt out of place, and the explanations for them weren’t quite satisfying enough for me to choose a full five-star rating. With that being said, I still deeply enjoyed reading this book and getting to know all of the characters.

The 1960s and 1970s were not always easy eras for women and girls to live in. It was interesting to explore how the female characters reacted to the sexism and racism in their community and how they found ways around those prejudices in order to achieve as many of their dreams as possible. This was not a sugar-coated version of the past by any means, but it also left plenty of space for the characters to find joy in little things like visiting the library or swimming together. I appreciated the fact that the narrator balanced it all out and made this reader feel as thought I truly had stepped into a time machine to see what life was like sixty years ago.

The Llano County Mermaid Club was a heartwarming saga.

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Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond

September 12, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond
Publisher: Dafina
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

What if nobody ever freed the slaves…because they freed themselves – 150 years before the Civil War?

In the Province of Carolina, 1710, freedom seems unattainable for Willie, for his beloved Gertie, and for their unborn child. They live, suffer, and toil under their brutal master, James “Big Jim” Barrow, whose grand plantation was built by the blood, sweat, and tears of the enslaved. To flee this hell on earth is be hunted and killed. Until one strange night Willie is offered a dark hope by Rafazi, an enigmatic slave with an irresistible and blood-chilling path to liberation.

Hailing from the Kingdom of Ghana, Rafazi is the lone survivor of the Ramanga, an African vampire tribe rendered nearly extinct by plague. Rafazi has roamed the world for centuries with an undying desire to replenish the power that once defined his heritage. In Willie, Rafazi has found his first biddable subject to be turned and to help in a hungry revolt. And Willie desires nothing more than to free his people from malicious bondage. Whatever it takes.

One by one, as an army of blood slaves thirsting for revenge is gathered, the headstrong Gertie fears that no good can come from the vampiric legacy that courses through Rafazi’s veins. Willie knows that only evil can fight evil. And when the woman he loves stands between the reemergence of the Ramanga and the justified slaughter of the oppressors, Willie must make an irreversible decision. Only one thing is certain: on the Barrow plantation, and beyond, blood will spill.

Part historical drama, part supernatural horror, and part alternate history, Blood Slaves is an ingenuous and defiant new creation myth of the vampire, one rooted in both justice and the sometimes-violent means necessary to achieve it.

If given the chance to fight for freedom from slavery, what would you be willing to sacrifice to achieve it?

Markus Redmond’s exceptional storytelling seamlessly blends American history with supernatural horror in a deeply satisfying fight for freedom. I kept telling everyone they had to get a copy of this book the moment it released. I am convinced this would be incredible as either a movie or a TV series. It has everything: love, betrayal, plenty of action, and a classic good-versus-evil theme.

Blood Slaves is a tough read at times, but a necessary one. It’s much more than just a book about vampires and slaves; it’s thought-provoking and opens up vital discussions. I appreciated the way Redmond explores the differing opinions among slave owners and the complex arguments among the enslaved. Even though Robert Callowhill, James Barrow’s (Big Jim) house guest, owned slaves, he didn’t share Big Jim’s particularly vicious justifications for slavery. The novel delves into the difficult question of violence versus non-violence, and the multifaceted nature of freedom and its cost. Gertie’s verbal stance, weighing enslavement by white men against enslavement to blood, and questioning if being undead equates to true freedom, is particularly compelling. If you had the opportunity to fight for freedom from slavery, would you do so, and to what extent?

I also appreciated Redmond’s portrayal of Rafazi, who admitted his fear and acknowledged that, while not a natural leader himself, he recognizes and respects Willie/Kwadzo’s leadership. I like Redmond’s inclusion of how the enslaved people honored and shared the land with the Indigenous people. I felt that the violence and revenge in this story were not portrayed as the actions of heartless killers, but of a need to survive and change the narrative of the mistreatment of humans for the color of their skin.

Redmond also raises important points about the significance of identity and heritage, and how profoundly the loss of one’s birth name, as experienced by Willie and the other enslaved, can impact a person.

Redmond successfully built the Barrow Plantation, vividly depicting the plantation, the lives of the slaves, and the characters. I found it interesting how little Big Jim valued his chief overseer, Monroe Washington, almost less than his slaves, and how that dynamic fueled Monroe’s hatred for Willie. Redmond also provides a rich history of the Ramanga Tribe, and through Rafazi, we learn about the nature of their blood and how humans respond to it.

From every angle, the story maintains a compelling and intriguing pace, building towards the action and rebellion. Readers seeking a traditional vampire story may not find this book to their taste. But those who enjoy historical fiction with an alternative blend of supernatural horror will find Blood Slaves full of depth, entertainment, and characters that readers will both love and hate.

This novel receives my highest recommendation for readers willing to engage with challenging themes presented without sugar-coating. Potential readers should be aware that the story is set in 1710 in the province of Carolina. It contains triggers and content warnings, including violence, blood/gore, murder, abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, racism, hate speech, racial slurs, and systemic racism.

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

Death Message by Mark Billingham

September 9, 2025 By Leave a Comment


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

Delivering the “death message.” That’s what cops call those harrowing moments when they must tell someone that a loved one has been killed. Now Detective Investigator Tom Thorne is receiving messages of his own: photographs of murder victims sent to his cell phone.

Who are the victims? Who is sending the photographs? And why is he sending them to Tom Thorne? The answer lies in the detective investigator’s past, with a man he had once sent to prison for life. But even behind bars, the most dangerous psychopath Thorne has ever faced is still a master at manipulating others to do his dirty work for him. And Thorne must act fast because the photos keep on coming, and the killer’s next target is someone the detective investigator knows very well . . .

When a convicted murderer is given the death message that his wife and young son have been killed in a hit and run “accident” a few weeks before his release from prison – the police didn’t give it too much thought. But then bikers and other “associates” are found killed and it’s DI Tom Thorne who is being sent photos directly of these murders. Thorne and his team quickly find the connections, but all too soon the case becomes murky, and Thorne begins to struggle to find which side is right and which side he’s meant to be acting on behalf of.

I have been really enjoying this British police procedural series and found this to be yet another strong book. With a number of excellent supporting characters – now becoming quite familiar this far into the series – and with a number more well written supporting characters I feel this is a strong book that should appeal to many readers.

While the plot is delightfully complicated readers should absolutely be aware of the fact the usual lines between black and white, good and bad are far more shaded in this series and far less clear cut than in many other British mystery series that I’ve read. And while I absolutely feel a number of the previous books could be quite gritty, harsh and even bleak, this book is not quite as stark as I’ve found the others to be. I feel this could be partly because the strong cast of secondary characters are playing more of a role now and so Tom’s world feels a bit more “peopled” and less harsh, but also the plots – which still are heavily complicated – are more intertwined with other cases and feel less isolated and more layered in reality and regular lives.

I still definitely feel this is a strongly written murder mystery – but while we know the “who” fairly early on, the “why” is deeply complex and has quite a few interesting twists and layers to it which is really what make this an excellent mystery book. I also feel the fact Thorne is flawed – and knows it yet continues to do his best – also helps make this an addictive read.

Like many of the previous books in the series this is not an easy read, but I did not find it an uncomfortable read either – which I definitely struggled with in some of the previous works. I found this book gripping reading and much like Thorne at times I deeply empathized with the “bad” guy and found some of the “good” guys quite questionable. So, this might not be everyone’s cup of tea – but I look forward to the next book in the series.

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