Smoke and Mirrors by Pelaam

February 7, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Smoke and Mirrors by Pelaam
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Two may be company, but four is pure magic.

Leo thinks he’s scored the scoop of a journalist’s lifetime when he secures an all-expenses paid trip to write in-depth articles on the magic act Three of Wands.

However, American billionaire and recluse, Paul, who commissioned the articles, isn’t all he seems, and soon Leo is plunged into a situation where things are not what they appear to be.

Leo falls in love with all three men of Three of Wands—Lucien, Xanto and Ahad—and they are equally keen to take him as their fourth.

When evil strikes Leo and Xanto, will even the combined powers of Lucien, Ahad and their familiar, Salem, be enough to save them?

When Leo sets out to interview the renown magic group Three of Wands, he thinks it’s going to be his big journalistic break. After all, who’d fly him all the way from New Zealand to the US if they didn’t think he could handle the job? However, he’s about to discover that the Three of Wands have more than his career in mind – like possibly the rest of his life? But when danger strikes, it’ll take all four of them working together to make it out alive.

Of all four, Leo was by far my favorite character. His attachment to his grandmother was sweet, and I enjoyed how he approached everything he was faced with. Even when he was nervous or afraid, he put himself out there, ready to face it head on. The way the Three of Wands took to him was fun as well, each welcoming him almost immediately into their group. Each magician is different from the other and their wildly varying personalities make their little group a joy. Leo fits right in, too.

However, there were a lot of things going on for such a short novella. At times, it made it hard for me to follow and keep track of who was doing what. There was also the issue of the tentacles. Which simply isn’t my thing, even if it did add an air of exoticness to the story.

Overall, Smoke and Mirrors was fast paced and exciting. The moments between the boys were smoking hot as well, making you eager for the next time they have a minute to be alone. Also, the addition of the mythological aspects was intriguing. I’d love to read more about where the four of them are now and what they’re doing with the magic show and, of course, each other.

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

In Plain Sight by Marion Todd

February 6, 2024 By Leave a Comment


In Plain Sight by Marion Todd
Publisher: Canelo Crime
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A child’s life is at stake. Which of the residents of St Andrews is hiding something – and why?
When a baby girl is snatched from the crowd of spectators at a fun run, the local police have a major investigation on their hands. DI Clare Mackay and her team are in a race against the clock when they learn that the child has a potentially fatal medical condition.

As Clare investigates she realises this victim wasn’t selected at random. Someone knows who took the baby girl, and why. But will they reveal their secrets before it’s too late?

DI Clare Mackay has just returned from a short holiday in France. While still technically on leave, she attends a local fun run with a number of her police team members only to be present when an infant girl is stolen from her parents. Knowing how critical the first few hours are, Clare and her team immediately begin investigating, only for them to raise more and more questions the longer they look at the parents and the events leading to the baby’s abduction. Can Clare and her team work out what’s happening before disaster strikes?

This is the second DI Mackay book and I’m beginning to really enjoy the series. I feel this book can certainly picked up by itself – as the second Clare is still a newcomer to both the unit and the area and so there isn’t a huge amount of history or past links between the team members and the main characters, so that would make picking this story up alone a lot easier.

I found it a very well written police procedural style of story. The pace was a little slow in areas I felt, but overall, the plot was well written and complicated enough it had me guessing quite a fair way into the book. Readers looking for a heavily action-orientated story or something a bit more movie-ish with a fast action plot might not find this suits what they’re after, but readers wanting some good characters, a strong female lead, and a decent plot should find this certainly fits the bill well.

While the baby’s abduction is central to the plot, I was pleased this wasn’t a grim or darkly plotted book. There was no titillation nor any graphic violence so readers who are wary of those things should feel free to give this book a go. The plot is quite police procedural based – and not darker as a plot like this could have moved into that area if written in a different style.

A solidly plotted mystery with well balanced and strong characters, I found this to be a good read.

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

Hard as a Rock by Sara Jay

February 6, 2024 By 1 Comment


Hard as a Rock by Sara Jay
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Canna, a flirty, impish fairy, loves to service just about any client who enters The Pleasure Club, a futuristic sex club. But although the clientele is satisfied, Canna aches for the impossible — a sexy, larger-than-life gargoyle statue that happens to be a simple décor item… or is it?

Basalt has spent centuries wanting Canna all to himself. Though her nightly visits train her to be his perfect lover, will she still want him when she finds out who he really is?

The impish fairy Canna loves to service almost anyone who enters The Pleasure Club – a futuristic sex club. But even though her clients are satisfied, Canna years for the impossible – a sexy, enormous gargoyle statue that’s part of the Club’s décor. But is this statue really made of rock?

This very quick read was a lovely and fun short story – perfect for when you haven’t got a lot of time or just want something super-fast to make you smile. I enjoyed the fact that as a fairy Canna could make herself invisible – I really felt this was an excellent addition to the plotline of her flitting around the sex club and added a hint of impish mischievousness to the whole story.

While there was plenty of sexy shenanigans throughout the story, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a lot of sentient sex between Canna and her gargoyle. I didn’t feel this impacted the overall steaminess of the story at all, but the romantic in me would have enjoyed a scene or two between the main pair. That said, this is indeed a very short story so I can understand if the low word count hampered this effect.

Readers looking for a cheeky and fun short story with plenty of steam should find this an interesting and strong read.

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

Iced by Felix Francis

January 29, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Iced by Felix Francis
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour.

Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. Against his better judgement, he decides to assist, but things aren’t as innocent as they seemed.

When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him—and they’ll go to any length to do it.

Miles Prussett is a former steeplechase jockey but now gets his adrenaline rushing shooting head first on a toboggan down a Swiss ice chute reaching speeds in excess of eighty miles per hour. While he swore seven years ago never to return to horse racing, he finds himself inexplicably helping out with the White Turf, a high-class racing event that takes place once a year on a frozen lake. Miles uncovers suspicious activity around the horse racing, and against his better instincts he starts to look into it. It’s only too late when he realizes his questions might have consequences and someone is determined to stop him no matter the cost.

I was really pleased to find I enjoyed this book right from the beginning. I am a little hit and miss with Felix Francis so it was a pleasure to find I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was a little surprised that most of the book delves back and forth in time, the story both explaining how Miles comes to be assisting in the horse race out on the ice, but also how he rose – and then left – the horse racing community from his younger teenage years. I found the author did an excellent job balancing the two timelines, weaving them together to both culminate on the ice in the Championships under the freezing conditions and to where Miles presently was. I feel this back and forth from the past to the present could have gone very badly and Francis did some exceptional writing to make it both well paced and retain my interest throughout.

About a third of the way into the book the mystery aspect to the story really picked up and I feel most readers should thoroughly enjoy both the different setting to the story as well as the more usual mystery aspects to the plot. I felt this was quite a different outlook both on a more regular Dick Francis/Felix Francis horse-racing based mystery book and I really enjoyed the fresher perspective to the story as a whole.

Readers who enjoy any of the Francis previous books should find they can appreciate this story to an equal degree, and readers who simply enjoy a well plotted and paced mystery should find this story really suits them.

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

The End by Kayleigh Dobbs

January 24, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The End by Kayleigh Dobbs
Publisher: Black Shuck Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary, Horror
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A series of micro-collections featuring a selection of peculiar tales from the best in horror and speculative fiction.

Why choose between horror and humor if you can have both at once?

Four witches who used directions as pseudonyms were interrupted by East’s younger sister while trying to summon a demon in “Just Like Baking.” I loved the playful tone of this story and how the sibling relationship affected such a serious and dangerous spell. The horror elements were a nice touch, too, given the powerful forces these characters were dealing with and how cautious they needed to be in order to get what they wanted from their demon.

As much as I enjoyed reading this, there was one thing holding me back from giving it a higher rating. It involved the way mental illness was discussed in this book and how characters who struggled with it were written about. For example, there were times when I was uncomfortable with how Jen’s mood swings were described in “Catch Fire” or how Billy’s paranoia in “The Claim They Stake” was used to drive him and other characters to do all sorts of awful things they never would have otherwise done. I know so many people who have either previously dealt with mental illness or are currently struggling with it that I’d be hesitant to mention this book to them without including caveats about the way this topic was handled and how negative stereotypes about people who have mental illnesses were sometimes reinforced. With that being said, I still thought Ms. Dobbs was a great storyteller and would like to read more from her in the future if she’s willing to accept this feedback in the warm and friendly tone in which I hope she will receive it.

“Dead” showed what happened when a stubborn woman named Emily decided to remodel her basement but kept running into frustrating and confusing obstacles as she pulled up more and more of the floor. I adored the plot twists in this tale, especially once the main character suffered a life-threatening wound while working. Emily wasn’t always an easy character to like due to her refusal to listen to others, but she sure was an entertaining one as the consequences of her choices began to change her life forever. I know this is a little vague, but the details of her terrible injury and what happened afterwards are best left up to other readers to explore for themselves.

The End was a memorable mixture of horror and humor.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Bamburgh by LJ Ross

January 23, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Bamburgh by LJ Ross
Publisher: Dark Skies Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY…

When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn’t think much of it—except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body. Then another body turns up amongst the sand dunes at the base of the mighty castle fortress, and he decides it can’t be a coincidence…

Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates’ quest to avenge her death is becoming an obsession—much to the concern of those around her. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely. But as Melanie delves deeper into the secrets of the past to uncover the truth, she soon realises it lies much closer to home…

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit, set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.

For the first time in fifteen years since the murder of her twin sister, DC Melanie Yates has concrete evidence the monster she has searched for is not only still active, but remains nearby. Determined to eke out her revenge, Melanie is not deterred when she is sidelined from the investigation. Meanwhile DCI Ryan and his team are kept busy not just with the hunt for this murderer, but also discover an old woman dead in her home near the sleepy township of Bamburgh. They wouldn’t have thought much of it, except they had all met the lady shortly before her death at a masquerade ball at the castle, and DCI Ryan’s wife was the one to discover her body. Can the team work these two cases in tandem and find justice before it’s too late?

I found this to be a well balanced and interesting story. While the series is quite long, I feel readers should certainly be able to pick this book up with very little history and still enjoy the two murder mysteries contained inside. Though I do admit I found it far more emotional and deeper for having known the complexities tying all the main characters together and their histories.

I have to be honest and I was quite disappointed with a number of Melanie’s decisions in this book. Despite multiple conversations with her team-mates and her partner, Melanie consciously decided to chose a path not just of revenge but also of taking actions where the future ramifications were quite dire. I can fully sympathise with Melanie’s character, and I can even comprehend how in the moment she wasn’t thinking about the future or where her actions were going to lead. But I really struggled to feel empathy when a number of her choices were entirely selfish and destructive to her loved ones and Melanie recognized this – but chose to keep going anyway. I really disliked how Melanie put her personal need for revenge above the safety and emotional wellbeing of her supposed life-partner and the love and friendship of her nearest and dearest. I’m not sure I can forgive her character for acting like this.

To be fair, this absolutely made the plot more interesting, and made the danger lurking much stronger and a more conflicted and interesting read. Indeed, this overshadowed pretty much everything else in the book for me, personally – this massive metaphorical bomb going off in the character’s lives and relationships overshadowed most of the rest of the book for me. It made gripping reading and was very well written. I also have to admit that much of this plot – and its seriousness – would have sailed right past me had I not known and understood the histories between all the characters. I do feel the book and its main plots would have still been quite enjoyable as a read had I picked this up with no prior history, but for sure the depth would not have been there without that prior knowledge.

An enjoyable read – and quite explosive for fans, I expect – this is a well written police procedural with a good murder mystery, a small but delightfully layered cast of characters and a series I plan to continue to enjoy more of.

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

Roulette by Thomas Locke and Jyoti Guptara

January 19, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Roulette by Thomas Locke and Jyoti Guptara
Publisher: Down & Out Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

Don’t trip. It could cost your life…

They call it Roulette because there’s no way of knowing what kind of ecstasy awaits. A rollercoaster ride through any one of seven heavens—or straight to hell.

A new and dangerous substance has suddenly appeared at the rave scene of Gainesville, Florida. When former special agent Eric Bannon comes to investigate, the local sheriff doesn’t know whether to be relieved someone is finally taking the rave issue seriously, or disturbed about who has answered the call. The inquiry must be kept quiet. But why are senior government officials turning a blind eye to such a dangerous drug?

As the county hospital’s senior ER nurse, Carol Steen has seen her share of small-town trouble. Her greatest concern is the snobbish new doctor. Stacie Swann is everything Carol detests: fresh out of med school, too many years her junior, drop-dead gorgeous—and with a bad attitude. Why did Stacie, an upcoming surgical star, leave her prestigious residency at the University of Florida medical center and take up station in their remote clinic?

To Stacie, the nosey nurse is only a bitter reminder of what the medical establishment took from her, landing her in Middle of Nowhere, Florida. But when the night’s emergencies are rushed in, the two ladies begin to bond over a common challenge.

What appears to be a simple case of overdose turns into an ER nightmare. Patients seem to be suffering symptoms from multiple drugs. None are detectable.

Eric arrives at the clinic in time to witness the victims’ transformation from near-coma to bestial strength and ferocity. Eric and the ladies track the drug’s origin to clandestine operations based within the university student body. These young people both finance the production and facilitate the human trials of the world’s most exciting new high.

Roulette makes you feel like your best self, times ten. Because it’s no longer the old you.

Carol and Stacie’s patients belong to the 1% of consumers exposed to Roulette’s true purpose, a purpose so heinous it will rewrite not just history, but the human genome.

As opposition mounts from within his own government, Eric must face off with experimental science and the question: In the battle to control the future of humanity, do they really want to fight fire with fire?

What are the chances of winning when the payout is a negative expected return? Playing roulette is a game of chance; when you compare the outcome to playing with an experimental drug what can possibly happen?

The book started off during a normal shift at the Alachua County Medical Center. Readers are introduced to senior ER nurse Carol Steen, who knows and does her job very well. But as the shift progresses Carol and medical resident doctor Stacie Swann find that their patients have been introduced to something more than the normal prescription drug party.

Carol’s husband, local sheriff Dewey Steen, is aware of the effects of this new drug, as are other law enforcement officers, such as former special agent Eric Bannon who is assigned to Gainesville, Florida to investigate this new and dangerous drug.

This book is an easy read, has a very interesting storyline and I enjoyed the characters, however I wanted more to happen or more detail to what happened to the wolf-like people. Is the book paranormal, romance or a thriller? I felt that it touched on a lot of genres, but it is missing some of the substance that would make this an edge of your seat, cannot put the book down thriller. The book seemed to be more character driven since a higher percentage of the novel focused on the main characters and their lives versus the details surrounding the fallout from the drug. While there are brief mentions on how and why the drug was created, I am thinking some of the “slowness” could have something to do with the narration or point of view being told that leaves the gaps and missing details. There are heightened moments of suspense and excitement, but it felt like this story has been told before. I don’t want to give spoilers, but the reason the drug was invented was something that we’ve seen many times before.

I was able to put the book down for a few days with no rush to see how it ended. Not saying that as a bad thing it just did not draw me in as much as I’d hoped. There was action that heightened the reading experience and I did have some anticipation on how the story would play out. The book kept my attention well enough, and I was able to finish reading it. The writing style is easy to read and follow, it has very short chapters which I prefer and the plot flows with a good pace. Car chases, kidnapping, being on the verge of realistic and supernatural, this is a thought provoking read that made me think what if there was such a drug introduced to society.

This 280-page book has a wide cast of characters with an abrupt ending that leads me to believe there will be a sequel.

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

Blood Runs Cold by JM Dalgliesh

January 19, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Blood Runs Cold by JM Dalgliesh
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Believe in nothing… and kill for something…

When a man’s dismembered body is discovered at an abandoned quarry on the north Norfolk coast, DI Tom Janssen and his team must wade through his secretive life to figure out how he met his end.

The victim was a quiet man, well respected by those who knew him, and someone often willing to help local charities with his free time. Presenting an image of himself to the world of a simple, inoffensive individual, he never allowed anyone close enough to look behind the mask. As his associations become clearer, the team realise that there are others with secrets of their own… but are they willing to kill to keep them that way?

With a community reeling from such a gruesome and seemingly macabre act of violence the pressure is on to get a result. When the investigation crosses paths with another operated by the Major Crimes Unit, Tom begins to question who the real victim is and why, to some, the murder is such a low priority?

Kids messing around with fireworks in a local abandoned quarry manage to unearth a dismembered body. DI Tom Janssen and his team try hard to uncover who the mutilated corpse might belong to. With no official means of IDing the body they finally settle on a secretive – but generally well liked – man who they feel might be the victim, only to discover the more they search the harder it is to work out what really happened. With pressures from both outside and within the local team, can Tom and his team find some justice?

I have been greatly enjoying this series and feel this book is an excellent addition to it. While the members of the team have been working well together now for a number of years, I don’t feel like a reader should shy away from picking up this book if they haven’t read any of the previous ones. There is history between the team, yes, but it’s all fairly clear how they work well together and there’s not many in-secrets or group dynamics that can’t easily be picked up on. Readers shouldn’t worry about reading this or the other books out of order.

I thoroughly enjoyed how through most of the book the identity of the victim remained in doubt. While yes, the team had a good idea of who the body was and tried to piece together what had occurred, this in itself was what most of the mystery of the story was and I enjoyed this as a different style of plot. I admit the pace of this book might read a little slow to some readers – instead of rushing around and chasing many clues with an over-arching feeling of dread or rush, this was very much a slow and methodical working together of secrets and puzzle pieces. I admit this was a different tone of book, but I enjoyed it.

Readers looking for an interesting, layered plotline with a British police procedural flavour should find this is an excellent book to enjoy. I found the characters varied and the book retained my attention throughout. I am eager to try more – both in this series and others – by this author.

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

Twist Of Fate by John Carson

January 17, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Twist Of Fate by John Carson
Publisher: Vellum
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Not everybody deserves a second chance.

After a young man’s body is discovered by a newlywed couple inside an abandoned caravan, the police initially speculate whether his death was accidental. However, the investigation takes a dramatic turn when they uncover the victim’s true identity.

The deceased has a deadly past, and barely paid the price for the heinous crime he committed.

DCI Harry McNeil is assigned the task of identifying the victim’s killer, but the case soon becomes shrouded in secrecy. The man’s past is far more complex than anyone had anticipated.

Despite the obstacles, the search for the victim’s original accomplice begins, but the individual seems to have vanished without a trace. However, the investigation takes a gruesome turn when the police in Glasgow discover a shocking crime scene.

It appears that the killer is seeking revenge for the victim’s past actions, which had provoked public outrage years earlier. With the public no longer on their side, Harry and his team must navigate bureaucratic obstacles and catch a ruthless killer who believes he is unstoppable – and is willing to demonstrate it.

DCI Harry McNeil and his team are assigned to find the killer of a young man found murdered inside a caravan. While initially they think it was an accident, soon they are piecing together a complicated puzzle around the young man’s past and they are quickly uncovering more questions and puzzles than finding solutions. Can Harry and his team catch the ruthless killer before more blood is shed?

I have been enjoying the Harry McNeil series for a number of years now and found this to be quite a good addition to the series. While any longer-running series has its ups and downs, I was really pleased to find myself greatly enjoying this book. Readers who are new to this series – or find themselves curious about this book having no prior experience with the author should still find this an enjoyable read. I must admit there is quite a large cast in this series with a lot of cross over from other books. While I do feel a reader can easily pick up on the histories and relationships (both personal and professional) with this book by itself, I must stress there is quite a large cast to keep straight in your head while reading.

That said, I have found that I personally greatly enjoy there are plenty of characters all interacting and floating around with these books. I do feel the author should be commended because with such a wide cast I have not yet ever felt any of the characters are shapeless or “yet another detective” – Carson does an impressive job keeping the characters identifiable and memorable which I feel he should be commended for.

Aside from the characters the other reason I enjoyed this book was because I found the plot well written and complicated enough it really captured my attention. Sometimes with such a large cast the antics and personal lives can completely over-shadow any investigative/procedural side to the plot and in this book, I was glad the plot definitely took front stage here and the various personal aspects were more of a back seat this time around. While balance is a great thing, I found myself really interested and enjoying the murder and the plot surrounding this and for a change I was less interested in what was happening personally for the characters. While with any of Carson’s books a small suspension of disbelief is needed, with an intriguing plot, a bunch of rambunctious characters and a really good line I’m more than happy to fall into the story and ignore any small niggles.

While this book doesn’t end on a cliff hanger there was a particular twist/development right at the end – related to one of the strong secondary characters and their personal life – which I desperately hope will be front and center for the next book. Readers who like every thread tied up properly might not be satisfied with this ending – but since many of Carson’s books end on far greater “cliff hanger” end points I’ve learned from previous experience to keep one or two books behind for exactly this reason.

A book with tons of lively and unique characters and a well woven plot this is a very good story and a series I am continuing to enjoy almost twenty books in.

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

The Shining Skull by Kate Ellis

January 16, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Shining Skull by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Little Marcus Fallbrook was kidnapped in 1976 and, when he never returned home, by his grieving family assumed the worst. Now, thirty years later, teenager Leah Wakefield has disappeared and DI Wesley Peterson has reason to suspect that the same kidnapper is responsible.

As Wesley delves into the case, his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, discovers a mystery of his own when he exhumes the dead from a local churchyard. A coffin is found containing one corpse too many and Neil believes it may be linked to a strange religious sect.

Wesley is still searching for the key to the abductions when, in a shocking twist, Marcus Fallbrook returns. DNA evidence confirms Marcus’s identity but his recollection of his past kidnapping is hazy. Wesley hopes that, as Marcus begins to recover memories, it will lead them to a sinister criminal. But he is about to discover that the past can be a very dangerous place indeed.

DI Wesley Peterson and his team are thrown into an unusual situation when a man returns home, claiming to be son of a local family – one kidnapped back in 1976. While they have their hands full with that, a local famous teenager is kidnapped and the two cases bear some striking similarities. Can they sort out what’s really going on?

Overall I have been enjoying this series though I must admit I do feel some of the characters have some ups and downs. The plots though – and the skillful way Ms Ellis weaves together the current mystery with a historical one – is always a pleasure. Admittedly I felt this time Wesley’s good friend Neil takes a bit of a back seat. I feel this was very well handled – and the reason for Neil keeping his distance completely understandable – and while I feel one of Neil and Wesley’s last interactions shows a strong glimmer of hope I have to say I’m glad things seem to be getting back onto a more even keel.

I also felt there was a fairly major “aha” moment for one of Wesley’s team-members, though the low key drama surrounding Rachel and her messy love life usually is one of the things I like least about this series. I am hoping the strong development/understanding that occurred in this book will also start putting all that tension to rest as well.

In amongst all these personal interactions and developments I felt the historical and current mysteries were given a good amount of weight and were written very well. While I admit I did guess a few of the revelations there were still a few interesting twists and I must admit the interwoven plots kept my attention riveted throughout the book.

Readers who enjoy a solid British police procedural style of book but also enjoy a bit of historical mystery and a few different layers to their plots should find this an agreeable read and a series worth investing in.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »