Tag: Thriller

Posted in Publisher Proof

The Burial Place by Stig Abell

Posted on by thelotusreaders

I was so lucky to be sent a copy of this new book in the Jake Jackson series, based on a conversation about my love of Martha – an abrupt but super intelligent analyst and crime writer. I love a no nonsense woman and Martha is one of the best bits of this series. After Jake and his ‘team’ tangled with an international criminal gang in the last book, this is more of a home grown mystery but just as dangerous. There has been an archaeological dig close to Little Sky and a recent hoard of treasure found close by. The ownership of this treasure is in dispute because it’s unclear who owns the land it was found in. Meanwhile, work carries on for the archaeologists, academics and local enthusiasts who have been working on the site, but when a body is found it must shut down. It’s hard for new DCI McAllister to understand the motive and being new to the area he enlists Jake’s help, both for his investigative skills and his local knowledge. The community are aware that several nuisance letters have been sent to the dig office and various people who’ve worked on the site. They’re a strange mix of threats, Bible verses and ancient prophecies signed off by Wulfnoth – an ancient Briton purportedly from the area. The writer promises a terrible end for the dig and whoever benefits from the treasure found. Can Jake find the killer before anyone else is hurt? 

Again it’s mainly the brilliant characters that attract me in this novel. Although it’s also interesting to see Jake working with his team, I noticed that Livia is fully committed this time and has definitely earned a chair at the table with Jake, Martha and Aletheia. They are definitely growing closer, since the finale of the last case ended with Livia driving through the wall of her own front room to save their lives. She and her daughter have relocated to Little Sky while the house is being repaired. I must admit I didn’t fully take on board all the dig characters, but the dig itself and the history behind it was really interesting. I’ve often wondered how digs are run and they’re every bit as complex as I thought, with a real mix of motivations and different pressures. Some people have their jobs and reputations on the line, while others seem to have more personal reasons for taking part. What’s difficult for Jake to understand is the gap between letters written when the first dig started and those that came when the second dig site and treasure were discovered. It’s as if Wulfnoth comes out of retirement for some reason, possibly the treasure or could it be more complex than that?

One of the other interesting aspects of the story is the importance of belonging and the sacredness of land. The fact that the burial place of the title holds both ancient and recent burials shows an interesting continuation of the land’s purpose. Jake hears one of the academics talking about different layers or strata of soil, but it all looks like mud to him. The same can be said of the ancient remains, having newly buried bodies on top, as if years of history is mimicking the layers of soil. We live upon years and years of history, something I think about regularly having never moved far away from the River Trent. I have ancestors who are Dutch and arrived in the area with engineer Vermuyden in the 14th Century, designing and creating a system of drainage that would create much of Lincolnshire’s farmland. The fact that my father has spent more than thirty years of his life working as a land drainage engineer, without knowing this history, feels like an echo but also a sense of belonging to that particular land. If I’m ever feeling a bit lost I go the river, take off my shoes and stand barefoot on the bank. Then I know I’m home and on the bank of the same river where I took my first steps. Jake talks about how human spirituality is linked to water, from sacred springs to floating lanterns and wishing wells. Humans have cast their prayers and wishes on water for generations. Livia brings up belonging in one of their case discussions. She doesn’t understand how anyone could feel so connected to ‘patches of ground’. Aletheia points out that Livia has a rare ability to belong, to fit exactly where she is. Her own family roots are in Ghana, but points out that she is now where she is because her ancestors were uprooted. People who are removed or separated from land that belonged to their ancestors for generations can struggle to belong. It’s Livia’s ability to belong, as another woman of colour that she’s really commenting on, because Aletheia does understand that if someone is cheated out of their birthright it can become an obsession. 

Across the book, new relationships are being built and I love that, in what could have been a very lonely place, Jake’s has a healthy support system around him. I did worry a little for Martha though, even though the author writes her with great affection I did feel her ‘aloneness’ in this novel, something I’m describing carefully because there’s a difference between alone and lonely. I feel he writes about her disability with great understanding. Martha lost both her legs in a shoot out when working as a detective and he describes her as suffering constant pain. I’ve suffered chronic pain for many years, particularly nerve pain so I know how strange and maddening it can be. I have had referred pain, very similar to phantom limb pain, where the site of pain bears no relation to the actual problem. Without my medication I have constant burning sensation outside my body – for those of you who are a certain age I often describe this as my ‘Ready Brek’ feeling. The author refers to Martha’ ability to function on drugs that are prescription and those that aren’t. Her skill is a sad one, known to most pain patients, where she copes with a certain level of pain and can still function but there are also days where functioning is impossible. There’s a real sense of sadness that while she can numb the pain it is ever present. I found this portrayal so authentic and possibly researched through lived experience. 

Jake is already an introspective man but he has a lot to think about in this book. He and Livia have decided to start a family together, much to Diana’s disgust. It almost seems like fate when his ex-wife Faye needs to see him. He’s just starting to have concerns about infertility, because he and Faye split up after a traumatic time trying to have a family. He’s worried that it’s taking a while for him and Livia. What if he’s the problem? It’s immediately obvious when they meet that Faye is pregnant and they have a lovely heart to heart in the park. It’s clear that Faye is in a good place and Jake is so happy for her, but nagging doubts are creeping in. If Faye can get pregnant without him, what does it mean for him and Livia’s chances? I still find many male detectives and investigators who don’t have this complex inner life and I love that Jake does. He might seem like a moody loner at times, someone who keeps his feelings hidden even from himself, but he’s just a deep thinker and so empathic. Even when he finds a body, his response is different. He is appalled by the body of one murdered woman who has been left exposed and was potentially murdered during sex. He feels for her dignity and has an urge to cover her up, even though he knows he can’t and must preserve the crime scene as is. It’s as if he takes on the shame this woman might have felt at being left exposed and perhaps taken for a fool by her lover. He has such a strongly developed feminine side and this helps enormously when dealing with Diana. She is clashing with Livia about potentially having a new baby around. Jake is the one who manages to calm her down and show her the positives. I’m so glad Jake has Little Sky and all it offers to balance out these tumultuous feelings. I think his Uncle Arthur knew him very well. 

Posted in Throwback Thursday

Death in a Lonely Place by Stig Abell

Posted on by thelotusreaders

Jake Jackson is becoming settled two years after his Uncle Arthur died and left him his home at Little Sky. It’s also two years since the subsequent murder case that threatened everything he’d built there. Now he splits his time between Little Sky and the cottage shared by his partner Livia and her daughter Diana. His quiet routine is disrupted by the abduction of a little girl and local detective Watson, asks for his help. When they recover her in an isolated empty house, it almost feels too easy. The abduction seems to linked to a shadowy organisation whose calling card says ‘No Taboo’. Their business is providing experiences for bored rich people, where no request is refused. Using his contacts, analyst and retired detective Martha and investigator Aletheia, can Jake uncover the people behind the organisation? Then Livia receives a job offer from a new businessman in the area and she’s excited to view his stables and the horses. His offer seems to come with unusual conditions, including Jake and Livia’s presence at his mansion, Purple Prose, for a weekend of entertainment. Is it possible these two things are linked? Jake has never trusted coincidences and he isn’t going to start now.

This is a hard case for Jake, not just a small step up from his first case at Little Sky, but a whole staircase. He’s gone from local cold case murder to an international conspiracy run by people with seemingly endless means and reach. I wondered how on earth Jake’s small team would crack this one – it’s a real David and Goliath situation. There’s also a sense of something wholesome up against something unremittingly evil; the desire to have extreme experiences is one thing, but this is debauched. No sexual desire, bloodlust or act of cruelty is too much – as long as you can pay for it. Of course that leaves wealthy customers open to blackmail, especially those with responsible jobs or famous faces. I could understand Livia’s concerns about her safety and Diana’s. As Jake’s case starts to warm up, he is warned off. He’s attacked and also has a rather horrifying home delivery at Little Sky. There’s a part of Jake that can’t resist the investigative world, but it does put those he loves in huge danger. I don’t think I would be as patient as Livia. 

I have to say how much I loved Martha. She’s intelligent, shrewd and absolutely no nonsense. She was medically retired from the police after a shoot out left her so badly injured she had to have both legs amputated. I loved her calls with Jake and their crime writer sign offs. She proves herself a strong investigator without leaving her desk. There are great strong women in these novels and she’s definitely my favourite. I do have a soft spot for Sarah at The Nook, the local shop with a downstairs drinking establishment. She’s almost a mother figure to Jake, shaking her head at his more eccentric ways and making sure he has a warm drink and slice of cake. In turn he lifts and stacks her heavy produce. It’s interesting to consider that apart from Rose, Jake surrounds himself with women. Could this possibly be a response to the loss of his mother? We haven’t met Jake’s ex-wife Faye, but it would be interesting to look at their difficulties conceiving and whether never seeing her maternal side contributed to the breakdown of their marriage. He certainly appreciates Livia’s nurturing characteristics with Diana. 

This is much tougher and more brutal case for Jake than the last. I was surprised at his survival instinct, he seems like such a gentle person at home, but can mete out some serious violence where necessary. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this latent side to him, but he really takes some punishment too and suffers one ordeal that genuinely made my breathing a little panicky. I’m no good with small spaces. His judgement is impeccable though and when he’s asked to make a choice that tests the loyalty of those around him, he does make it, sending me tearing back through the pages for the clues. It’s a very tense ending and you will be on the edge of your seat through to the finale. I’m always so pleased that Jake, Livia and Diana have the peace of Little Sky to retire to when it’s all over. 

Stig Abell

Posted in Personal Purchase

Death Under A Little Sky by Stig Abell

Posted on by thelotusreaders

Jake Jackson has retired from his role as a detective and is the new found owner of Little Sky – a renovated farmhouse deep in the countryside and previously home to his Uncle Arthur. Jake left the MET and has recently separated from his wife Faye, so Arthur has gifted this legacy at just the right time. Whether it’s a temporary lull from the world or the hint of a new beginning only time will tell. When local vet Livia invites Jake to a village scavenger hunt where they search for a bag of relics. Yet when they find them, to their horror, these bones are very real and not ancient at all. Jake is enlisted by local police chief Watson to find out who the bones belong to and he stumbles across the death of a young woman called Sabine, a friend of his uncle. Sabine worked at a nearby arm and had gathered many friendships and admirers, but inexplicably fell or jumped from a balcony at the farm. People report a change in her mood and demeanour before her death. What had happened to her in the final weeks of her life? Jake becomes determined to find out whether this was an accident, suicide or murder. Someone wanted Sabine remembered, probably whoever took her bones from the mausoleum at the church and ensured a local would find them. Jake has to decide how involved he wants to be. Will his quiet self-sufficiency at Little Sky be enough, or will his detective’s brain need to be exercised? More worrying is how getting involved could put himself and others in danger, stretching new found and precious friendships to their limit. 

I can honestly say I fell in love with Stig Abell’s writing. This debut is right up there with my favourites in detective fiction – Val McDermid, Anne Cleeves and Elly Griffiths – and there’s a good reason why this sits beautifully with those female crime writers. It has that unique mix of an interesting case, alongside a poetic exploration of nature, personal growth and complicated human emotions including love. I find female crime writers do this mix so well and I don’t like crime fiction that’s all action and surface level relationships. This was perfectly balanced and could have been written specifically for me. Jake is at a really tough crossroads in life. He’s lost his uncle who was his only family, his job and his partner in life. Grief is definitely a factor in this huge life change. Arthur’s death has given him the financial security to put his life on pause. It’s allowing him to get to know his uncle’s life in a completely different way – by living it. He also gains insight from Arthur’s diaries and sketches. Jake builds a routine of his own gradually, but he doesn’t buy a television. Instead he listens to the jazz and classical music of Arthur’s vinyl collection and reads in his custom built crime fiction library. He starts to build new friendships, especially with Livia and her little girl Diana. There’s also local handyman Mack who helps him with new projects like the sauna down by the lake, Sarah at the village shop who allows him to use the phone and feeds him cake and Rose, a local rogue known only by his surname and a faint whiff of weed. There’s also the Doctor who seems to talk in Shakespeare quotes and helps Jake plant his first vegetable garden. I felt that Jake moved through a lot of his issues, time alone with his own thoughts helps that process. He has a daily routine of a run, followed by a swim in the lake and a shower, sometimes a sauna. I felt like he was slowly settling into a kind of peace, but now he’s found that calm will he ever be open to a bit of chaos and uncertainty? Even if the rewards could be amazing.

The setting is absolutely idyllic. Little Sky is this particular introverted bookworm’s dream. With no road to the property, acres of land, no internet or television it gives ‘quiet’ a whole new meaning. Who hasn’t waded through a day of texts, WhatsApp chat groups, news bulletins and wished the internet hadn’t been invented? Jake has a connection with nature that few get to forge. I once had a property with over an acre of land surrounding it and I could set aside whole evenings of chatter and streaming channels to watch my family of foxes playing in the orchard or letting the bats buzz passed me in the twilight. I felt so deeply grounded that I understood Jake’s reticence at letting the world back in. The case is what lures him into using technology, albeit away from Little Sky. He taps into old contacts and searches for details on Sabine’s death. The farm where she worked is run by a family, a mother with her two sons and her nephew. They are incredibly defensive from the start, convincing Jake that there’s something to hide. There are horrors occurring in the countryside, recently a few miles from us a traveller family were found to be keeping immigrants and people with learning disabilities for slave labour, keeping them in abject poverty and squalor, so nothing surprises me about rural crime. Jake is warned off several times, threatening his friendship with Livia. I had some patience with her point of view, she had her little girl to think of as well as Jake’s safety. 

The author has created wonderful characters and it was their absolute ‘human-ness’, if that’s a word, that made the novel for me. It showed that life in the countryside isn’t easy and can be very isolating, especially for a single young woman. Sabine has become the erotic fantasy of every man in a four mile radius, but it didn’t keep her safe from harm. Livia’s existing dynamic with Diana is well established, it’s the two of them against the world, so how could Jake fit into their lives, especially if he can’t promise to stay away from danger? I loved Jake’s getting to know Diana and the complicated feelings he had about having a child in his life. The whole concept of parenthood was explored with so much care and knowledge. I suffered recurrent miscarriage in my twenties and have never been able to have my own children. The author’s care as he delved into the pain and anxious hope of that experience was so deeply appreciated. It was interesting to consider it from the male perspective and it showed very clearly how it’s a journey that can tear couple’s apart. This experience obviously factors into how he feels about having a child in his life. Whether he can embrace the strange mix of chaos and routine that children bring remains to be seen. I loved how he related to Diana though, as a person in her own right, respecting their space as a twosome but also allowing them a stake in Little Sky – a gaggle of chickens named after Disney princesses (I’d call mine after 1970’s sit-com characters, Barbra, Margo, Sybil, Mildred and Mrs Slocombe). The book was leisurely , giving time to get to know the characters, explore Jake’s growth and recovery, and the building of new friendships. Then there are sudden flurries of action or violence that get the heart racing. Like all good crime fiction there are surprising reveals, but these things never take away from the reflective and intelligent feel of the story. I re-read this so I could go on and read the third book in the series and it still stands up so well. If I were ever to own a crime fiction library, Stig Abell would take pole position. 

Meet the Author

Stig Abell believes that discovering a crime fiction series to enjoy is one of the great pleasures in life. His first novel, Death Under A Little Sky, introduced Jake Jackson and his attempt to get away from his former life in the beautiful area around Little Sky, which was followed by his second novel, Death in a Lonely Place. This book is the third in the series, and Stig is absolutely delighted that there are more on the way. Away from books, he co-presents the breakfast show on Times Radio, a station he helped to launch in 2020. Before that he was a regular presenter on Radio 4’s Front Row and was the editor and publisher of the Times Literary Supplement. He lives in London with his wife, three children and two independent-minded cats called Boo and Ninja (his children named them, obviously).

Posted in The Book Folks

Body on the Shore by Diane M. Dickson

Posted on by thelotusreaders

I jumped at the chance to read crime fiction set in my favourite city, Liverpool. I’m half Liverpudlian and half Lincolnshire Yellow Belly. It’s my mum’s home city and now it’s where my step-daughter lives while she’s at university. One of the first things I took my husband and step-daughters to see was Antony Gormley’s Another Place on Crosby Beach. 100 Iron Men stare out to sea, some submerge and reappear as the tide turns and I’ve always found them eerie but moving at the same time. Here they’re the backdrop to a body being found by a dog-walker (it’s always dog walkers bless them). The body is wrapped in a bin bag, caught on one of the sculptures, else they might never have found her. The author has really captured the other-worldly feel of the place and it’s bleakness on a cold day, especially as a place to end up discarded like waste. This is DI Jordan Carr’s new case and he’s joined by a new DC, Terry Venn, who just makes it through his first post-mortem without disgracing himself. To be honest I had to swallow a couple of times as the author described peeling the face down! 

The victim is a young woman by the name of Beatrice Sharp, a secretary for a printing company. She comes from Northumberland and moved to Liverpool quite recently so Jordan and his team need to understand why she’d made such a huge life change and how she’s ended up with such a terrible end, killed by blows from a hammer. The characters are slightly different from a lot of detective fiction where the main character is often old, washed up, and exhausted, with marriage or drink problems on the side. Jordan is stretched and he does work late, but his wife Penny is supportive and understanding about the pressures of his job. They have a baby boy called Harry, who Jordan absolutely dotes on. He stops and watches his son’s bedroom routine on FaceTime if he’s stuck at work and can’t be there. In his working life he comes across as thorough and by the book, keeping the over exuberant and frustrated DC Venn in check when he wants to jump the gun. 

As for the setting, I don’t think you can beat Liverpool because it ranges from the tourist trail and glitzy hotels of the city centre, to the industrial Baltic Quarter and the Wirral just a tunnel away, not to mention the poorer areas – I remember Toxteth in the 1980s. The police station itself is beautifully non-descript, serves absolutely shocking coffee and often gets buried under late night takeaway containers. There are no glass boards and panoramic views here. We concentrate mostly on the case and the author sets the scene by starting with the victim. Her final moments will stay with you as the story unfolds, reminding us that this isn’t just about twists and turns and tension. This is about a young woman’s life being taken away. There’s also a narrative from a character called Ben, cleaning his van and  lamenting over the sheer amount of blood. Having watched forensic programmes he’s aware he might have to torch the van because no matter how vigorously he cleans, will it really be spotless? He’d hoped just to scare her off, but it went too far. He’s also blackmailing someone, considering asking for more money and leaving his victim to stress a while. What is his connection to Beatrice and who is he blackmailing? 

The case is relatively speedy, despite it’s complexity and is very tense in parts with police chases, more victims and one very agitated pregnant woman. It was a really quick read for me, because it was such a great story that shows our past can and often does catch up with us. I really did enjoy Terry Venn on his first case. He’s quite the character and could just have easily turned out to be an absolute scally. Luckily, he’s more ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, slipping into Scouse slang when the conversation demands, great for witnesses who are reluctant to talk. I’d happily read the rest of DI Carr’s cases. I hadn’t realised at first that this is just one of his many adventures, so I’m really going to enjoy seeing his character develop from book one. This reads well as a stand alone novel and I definitely recommend this to other readers who enjoy crime fiction. 

Posted in Netgalley

The Secret Room by Jane Casey

Posted on by thelotusreaders

A closed door. An impossible murder.

2:32 p.m. Wealthy, privileged Ilaria Cavendish checks into a luxury London hotel and orders a bottle of champagne. Within the hour, her lover discovers her submerged in a bath of scalding water, dead.At first glance it looks like an accident. No one went in with her. No one came out. But all the signs point to murder.

For DS Maeve Kerrigan, the case is a welcome distraction. But when shock news hits close to home, affecting her partner, DI Josh Derwent, she faces the toughest challenge of her career. And if she fails her world will never be the same again…

There’s an extra secretive element to this twelfth book in the DS Maeve Kerrigan series. In her afterword Jane begs readers not to reveal aspects of the novel for those who have yet to read it, in fact for those people who have only just discovered this addictive mix of murder investigation and ‘will they – won’t they’ love story. So I’m trying my best to keep it to myself while telling you all what a great read this. The murder at hand is a tricky one and will probably remain in my brain forever after reading that when the victim’s lover tries to pull her from the bath her scalp comes away. She has, rather disturbingly, been boiled like a lobster. However it isn’t the water or the heat that has killed her, Illaria has been strangled with a cord then dragged into the bath. The fact that she was meeting her lover and had the room booked for exactly the same time every Wednesday is an interesting little detail. Sometimes they only use it for a few hours but it is always booked, exactly the same. These are the actions of someone wealthy and it’s no surprise to find she has a rich husband. Angus is incredibly frank when interviewed; he loved his wife and wanted her to be happy and she wanted Sam. They had met at a glitzy dinner and Angus reveals that when he saw them talking together he knew, it was a coup de foudre, when love hits instantly like a bolt of lightning. Ilaria had a great life, filled with travel, events and a little interior design business with her friend that Angus funds too. They seem to be going nowhere when Maeve has a sudden lightbulb moment leading to a discovery. 

Aside from this case and arguably being the most compelling part of the novel is the drama surrounding DI Josh Derwent. Josh has been living with psychotherapist girlfriend Melissa and her son Thomas for a while now, much to Maeve’s sorrow. Melissa is due to pick Thomas up from school, when she gets a phone call from a distressed patient. Knowing she has to see them and needing someone to collect and keep Thomas for a few hours, Josh calls Maeve’s parents. They’ve been like grandparents to the little boy who hasn’t been well of late. Hours later when they return Thomas, Maeve’s father runs into a panicked young girl on the driveway, screaming that Melissa has been hurt. Melissa is at the bottom of the stairs, motionless and covered in bruises as if she’s been beaten badly. As she’s rushed to hospital and the police arrive, so does Josh and quickly finds himself arrested for the attack. When Maeve arrives Josh tells her to stay out of it, walk away and don’t get involved. However, readers of the series know that this is something Maeve simply can’t do. Despite Derwent’s disapproval she has to find a way of clearing his name, because she knows he isn’t capable of this. 

I have to be honest and admit I was so caught up in the Melissa/Derwent storyline that there were points when I forgot about the other case. It was more psychologically complex and of course had the added weight of caring about these characters over eleven previous books. I couldn’t believe the suspicions I had about it and I was desperately hoping Maeve would come to the same conclusion, if she didn’t get herself suspended for meddling first. When the book went back to Ilaria’s murder I found myself going ‘oh yes, where were we’. Having said that it’s a cracking case in it’s own right with a seemingly impossible premise. With the only people seen on CCTV of the corridor being a chambermaid and the man who delivered the room service champagne, but he wasn’t in there long enough to murder anyone. When he’s found dead on a building site, it looks very much like someone is covering their tracks. On the face of it Ilaria’s life seemed perfect, so why was she sneaking around? Was it really love or was something else going on? 

I whipped through the final chapters in an afternoon to find out and to see what would happen with Melissa, who I was beginning to hate! I loved the little vignettes of normal life in between, especially with the men in the book. Derwent’s eldest son Luke and Thomas have a lovely growing relationship and with Maeve’s nurturing and loving parents he had a great stand-in gran and grandad. It was interesting to see how Melissa’s ex-husband and Derwent were with each other too. Through Luke, Maeve was introduced to a decent man called Owen and their dates were going well. It was nice to see her being treated with kindness and consistency. This was an addictive read from an author who knows exactly when to leave the reader hanging and when to deliver heart-stopping action sequences – the suspicious man at the front desk of the police station had my pulse racing. I’m interested in where she takes DS Kerrigan next and I’ll definitely be queueing up for my copy. 

From Hemlock Press 24th April 2025

Meet the Author

 

Jane Casey is a bestselling crime writer who was born and brought up in Dublin. A former editor, she has written twelve crime novels for adults (including ten in the Maeve Kerrigan series) and three for teenagers (the Jess Tennant series). Her books have been international bestsellers, critically acclaimed for their realism and accuracy. The Maeve Kerrigan series has been nominated for many awards: in 2015 Jane won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for The Stranger You Know and Irish Crime Novel of the Year for After the Fire. In 2019, Cruel Acts was chosen as Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. It was a Sunday Times bestseller. Stand-alone novel The Killing Kind was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick in 2021, and is currently being filmed for television. Jane lives in southwest London with her husband, who is a criminal barrister, and their two children.

Posted in Publisher Proof

Marshal of Snowdonia by Simon McCleave 

Posted on by thelotusreaders

Living and working in Snowdonia was always retired detective Frank Marshal’s dream. Until a phone call asking for his help turns it into his worst nightmare.

Retired detective Frank Marshal lives in a remote part of Snowdonia with his wife Rachel who is suffering from dementia. Working as a park ranger, Frank gets a phone call from close friend Annie, a retired judge. Her sister Meg has gone missing from a local caravan park and she needs his help to find her.

As Frank and Annie start to unravel the dark secrets of Meg’s life, it seems at first that her disappearance might be linked to her nephew and a drug deal gone wrong. In a shocking twist, their investigation leads them to a series of murders in North Wales from the 1990s and a possible miscarriage of justice.

Can Frank and Annie uncover the sinister truth so they find her sister in time to save her? Or will a brutal serial killer add Meg to his list of victims?

I love Snowdonia and have visited at least once a year since I was a child, even now staying in or close to the farmhouse we’ve booked since I was 12 years old. I also enjoy crime fiction so I can’t believe I haven’t come across Simon McCleave before. This is the start of a new series so I have the joy of going straight to the beginning of his other novels and devouring them. Frank Marshal is an interesting man, the ex-detective and mountain ranger lives in Snowdonia with wife Rachel who has dementia. For most of the novel their daughter Caitlin lives in the annexe with her son after fleeing an abusive relationship. It was quite a slow start to the novel but I could see what the writer was doing, setting the scene of the awe-inspiring landscape and also sowing seeds for future novels. I could see family issues and heartbreaking choices ahead for Frank, as well as some future rivals in the force and the criminal world. Annie was an interesting character too, an ex-judge and described as a close friend of Frank’s, he definitely shows his commitment and loyalty to that friendship as he puts himself in danger to find her sister Meghan. In a lot of ways Frank reminded me of my own father who has spent his life climbing all over Welsh mountains as a youth worker and climbing instructor. Frank’s desire to protect his family, as well as forgetting his age in the process was very familiar to me. Thank goodness my dad doesn’t have his guns anymore, but he’s not afraid to put his bare knuckle fighting and boxing skills to use when necessary. He’s a real worry. So I could imagine being Frank’s daughter and I recognised his determination when he realises half way through a fight that he’s feeling almost all of his 71 years. 

The story really picks up speed after the first few chapters and as it became more addictive, I admit I stayed up until 1am this morning to finish. I had a hunch and I had to see how it played out. Frank and Annie’s investigation starts as Meghan goes missing and her son Callum turns up in hospital with amnesia. Annie doesn’t want to think that her nephew has anything to do with this, but at first they make a couple of discoveries that seem to point in his direction. However there are other potential avenues. The murky world of a 1990s serial killer, convicted when Frank was still on the force and a drug boss who dresses like a Boden model but is a Scouse gangster underneath. Frank’s police connections get them places most people couldn’t, including visiting a serial killer. They have a couple of nasty skirmishes too and I had to keep reminding myself that this was a couple of OAPs! Annie is equally ballsy and has some connections of her own, including a youth offender who now works in IT so he can care for his elderly mum. I’m fascinated with cold cases, in terms of the science we now use to convict offenders decades later, but also because of the things that are missed and dismissed. There’s a detail that’s so important to finding the truth that was completely dismissed by officers due to the witness being a sex worker. I watched a documentary about the Yorkshire Ripper where the police’s attitude to first killings was almost a shrug of the shoulders because they were sex workers. Yet when he killed a young woman on her way home after a night out both police and press said it was his first ‘innocent’ victim which made my blood boil. Frank and Annie find the witness, who has two very pertinent clues ignored for thirty years that could be the key to the case. 

I’m always complaining about thrillers and crime novels that rely on their twists and turns without any depth to the characters or the story. I couldn’t complain at all here. There are twists, including one I only started to suspect few pages before it was revealed. However, the book was also full of emotion: Frank and his wife sitting in bed and looking at old photos was so poignant since both know she is slowly forgetting it all; the beautiful relationship between Frank and his grandson; Annie’s grief over her sister’s disappearance and her nephew’s accident. All felt like fully realised people, even those only in the novel a short time. I could see Frank locking horns with police chief Dewi in the future. I felt totally creeped out by Meghan’s rather unsettling neighbour at the caravan park. I was even interested in the scouse drug dealers and could imagine them finding their way into future storylines. I loved the setting too, the author has managed to capture it’s beauty and it’s bleakness, plus I look forward to visiting the Barmouth chippy when I go there later this year. This was a cracking mystery that crept up on you slowly then didn’t let you put it down. I’m looking forward to many more adventures with Frank Marshal. 

Out now from Stanford Publishing

Meet the Author

Simon McCleave is a multi million-selling crime novelist who lives in North Wales with his wife and two children.

Before he was an author, Simon worked as a script editor at the BBC and a producer at Channel 4 before working as a story analyst in Los Angeles. He then became a script writer, writing on series such as Silent Witness, The Bill, EastEnders and many more. His Channel 4 film Out of the Game was critically acclaimed and described as ‘an unflinching portrayal of male friendship’ by Time Out.

His first book, ‘The Snowdonia Killings’, was released in January 2020 and soon became an Amazon Bestseller, reaching No 1 in the UK Chart and selling over 400,000 copies. His twenty subsequent novels in the DI Ruth Hunter Snowdonia Series have all been Amazon bestsellers, with most of them hitting the top of the digital charts. He has sold over 3 million books to date. 

‘The Dark Tide’, Simon’s first book in an Anglesey based crime series for publishing giant Harper Collins (Avon), was a major hit in 2022, becoming the highest selling Waterstone’s Welsh Book of the Month ever. 

This year, Simon is releasing the first in a new series of books, ‘Marshal of Snowdonia’ with several more planned for 2025. 

Simon has also written a one-off psychological thriller, Last Night at Villa Lucia, for Storm Publishing, which was a major hit, The Times describing it as ‘…well above the usual seasonal villa thriller…’ with its ‘…empathetic portrayal of lives spent in the shadow of coercion and abuse.’ 

The Snowdonia based DI Ruth Hunter books are now set to be filmed as a major new television series, with shooting to begin in North Wales in 2025.

Posted in Orenda, Random Things Tours

Son by Thomas Enger and Johana Gustawsson

Posted on by thelotusreaders

The blurb on the back of this novel promises an electrifying blockbuster that will be the start of a ‘nerve shattering’ new series. So there’s a lot to live up to, but don’t worry Son definitely delivers. To use a rather impolite phrase, this is a therapist’s wet dream of a novel – hidden characters, unexplained black outs, grief, trauma and an investigator who is dubbed ‘The Human Lie Detector’. I was definitely in my element here. Kari Voss is the centre of this tangled web, a psychologist who specialises in memory and body language making her a perfect consultant to Oslo’s police force. When two girls are brutally killed in a summer house in the village of Son, it’s a crime that’s closer to home than she would want. The girls, Eva and Hedda, were best friends with Kari’s son Vetle when they were younger. In fact it was while on a holiday seven years ago that Vetle disappeared in nearby woods and was never found. The girls are now teenagers and were planning a Halloween party for their friends, but were found tied to dining chairs with their throats cut. They were found by a third friend, Samuel Gregson, when he turned up to start the festivities. However, there was someone else there, someone who left slippery marks in the blood that has poured onto the floor. He’s the first person that police chief Ramona Norum arrests and starts to question. When Kari is asked to consult she knows this will be difficult, not only is she friends with the girl’s families, but their lives are inextricably linked to her missing son. How will she negotiate all the emotions this case will unleash and stay focused enough to find the girl’s killer? 

Often with thrillers, I find they’re full of action, twists and turns that are really addictive, but have no emotional depth. The characters are often one dimensional and it’s hard to care about what happens to them. There’s no danger of that here. This is the perfect combination of twisty and unexpected, but underpinned with huge emotional weight. It’s deeply unsettling, with a questionable suspect and an equally unreliable narrator. Not only is Kari still dealing with the trauma of losing her son, she’s also grieving for the more recent loss of her husband. She can’t sleep and seems to running on empty from the start. Yet, the way she observes people is so detailed and it seems almost effortless. This goes way beyond the basics like crossed arms meaning someone feels defensive. In a lecture she tells students that in the space of an ordinary conversation we give away over eighty-five non – verbal signs about the mood we’re in. She’s not afraid of giving an unpopular opinion either. She absolutely backs the science and her ability to analyse people, whether they’re claiming to be innocent or guilty. I loved the tension created by the authors as they played with her expertise and her emotions. Is she detached enough to make a sound judgement here? As if that isn’t enough, there seem to be instances where Kari loses time. She wakes up in the car on her own driveway with no recollection of the journey home. She seems to have been on autopilot, so caught up in her own thoughts she hasn’t noticed the journey. She had similar blackouts after her husband died, but what has triggered them? When the young man arrested at the scene of the crime also seems to have experienced a black out I wondered whether he knew her history. Could he be deflecting attention from himself because he knows Kari’s secret? Or is Kari more liable to believe a story like that because she’s experienced it herself? It’s this complexity that makes the plot and Kari herself more fascinating. 

No one is what they appear here. As Kari starts to ask questions about Eva and Hedda, it turns out that they aren’t always the polite children or young teenagers they appeared to be to the adults in their lives. Everyone has different layers, choosing what to reveal and to whom they reveal it. The authors are very clever about the amount of introspection they use, creating a hidden layer to the crimes and a breathing space between the character driven chapters and the ones filled with nail-bitingly intense action. Then they throw in another twist, to keep you engaged, leaving me unsure of my own deduction skills. There’s even subterfuge in the title, Son is a place that’s slightly north of Oslo, steeped in Nordic history and full of that unsettling atmosphere that I find Nordic Noir is so good at. Yet it’s also a person, so missed by those who love him and inextricably linked to this landscape, that has potentially become his final resting place. I was compelled to read this to the end, taking it everywhere with me on holiday so I could grab a chapter in a coffee shop or even in the car. This is an engrossing and addictive start to a promised new series and I’m already craving the next instalment.  

Out on 13th March from Orenda Books

Meet the Authors

Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France’s most highly regarded, award-winning crime writers, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de l`Imaginaire Award for her gothic mystery Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and her historical thriller, The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family. A former journalist, Thomas Enger is the number-one bestselling author of the Henning Juul series and, with co-author Jørn Lier Horst, the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series, and one of the biggest proponents of the Nordic Noir genre. He lives in Oslo. Rights to Johana and Thomas’ books have been sold to a combined fifty countries and, for the first time, two crime writers, from two different countries, writing in two different languages, have joined forces to create an original series together.

Posted in Netgalley

The Psychopath Next Door by Mark Edwards

Posted on by thelotusreaders

When I want a thriller that I’ll absolutely devour in one or two sittings, I always reach for Mark Edwards and his latest is very unsettling. Fiona Smith is new on the street and is trying to get to know her neighbours. Ethan and Emma Dove seem like a lovely couple, in fact they’re the ideal family. Their kids Dylan and Rose are targeted by the two tearaways who live across the road who circle the other teenagers on their scrambler bikes, as their German Shepherds circle their terrified cockapoo Lola. Fiona intervenes and when later one of the boys has a terrible accident their parents are convinced someone caused the tyre blowout that resulted in a head injury. It couldn’t have been Fiona could it? The boy’s parents can’t find a trace of Fiona online so no red flags. However, the elderly lady called Iris who lives on the corner, she’s sure she’s seen Fiona before but can’t quite put her finger on where. When Fiona offers to look after Ethan and Emma’s daughter Rosie for the summer she has definitely become a feature in their lives. Their son Dylan is unsure. He definitely doesn’t need a babysitter, but it isn’t just that. Fiona unnerves him. He’s noticed that when no one is looking her expression becomes neutral, like a robot. Rose is enraptured though and they begin to visit Fiona’s favourite places and play chess together when it’s raining. All the time Fiona is monitoring Rose. Has she seen a glimmer of herself in this ordinary seeming teenage girl? As Fiona starts to test out Rose’s limits, Ethan and Emma are oblivious to what’s happening to their daughter. 

The action takes place over one summer, with steadily rising tension. I can promise you that you’ll reach a certain point and won’t want to put this down. Ethan and Emma have a fairly ordinary family life with the usual ups and downs. I felt Ethan was much more fleshed out than Emma, he’s recently taken the risk of opening a vinyl record store and taking the move further out of London. They had a recent crisis in their relationship after Emma became close to a work colleague – something Ethan describes as an ‘emotional affair’. Fiona is very amused by this description and sees it as a potential opportunity to drive a wedge between them. I was surprised that they so readily agreed to leaving Rose with their new neighbour, after all their knowledge of her is vague at best. They haven’t even been inside her house. However, I did understand the financial pressures and needing to be two working parents with teenagers pushing to do different things. Fiona is a godsend, a very rare adult that Rose enjoys being with. They definitely seem to have a bond, but is that down to a shared psychology? Rose could just be doing that teenage girl thing of being fascinated with a woman who isn’t her mum. Fiona allows little slivers of rebellion, like watching a horror film that her mum wouldn’t approve of. This builds a web of secrets between them and lets Rose feel like a grown-up. 

Psychologically, the story is fascinating. The word ‘grooming’ has to be applied here. Fiona is very aware of the protection her gender affords and a further layer is afforded to mothers. No one suspects a mother and her daughter, it’s the same reason that female murderers become so infamous: women are creators not destroyers. There’s also the nature versus nurture debate, is Fiona simply harnessing a tendency already present in Rose or will her grooming bring out behaviour that would have otherwise stayed dormant. There are some heart-stopping moments as the novel comes towards the final showdown and I was absolutely gripped. I love that Mark Edwards doesn’t follow the usual tropes of thrillers, because I kept thinking that once Rose realises her full potential there would be no going back. Psychopathy has some treatment options available, but current thinking is that it’s an inherited or genetic condition where the areas of the brain controlling behaviour and impulse control are underdeveloped. Treatment is a combination of psychotherapy, behavioural training and an emphasis on the importance of connection to family and the wider community. However, it is a disorder that can only be controlled rather than cured. Once someone has been shown that society’s rules can be broken can they ever truly go back to how they were before? One thing that really stood out to me was that Fiona’s house has no books! Always a bad sign I think and as a piece of advice on dating it was invaluable; if you go home with someone and they don’t have books, don’t sleep with them. I won’t ruin the book by saying too much, but I highly recommend it to those who enjoy devouring thrillers. In fact if you’ve never read Mark Edwards before go and take a look at his previous books too. You won’t be disappointed. 

Out now from Thomas and Mercer

Meet the Author

I write books in which scary things happen to ordinary people, the best known of which are Follow You Home, The Magpies, and Here To Stay. My novels have sold over 5 million copies and topped the bestseller lists numerous times. I pride myself on writing fast-paced page-turners with lots of twists and turns, relatable characters and dark humour. My next novel is The Wasp Trap, which will be published in July in the UK/Australia and September in the US/Canada. 

I live in the West Midlands, England, with my wife, our three children, two cats and a golden retriever.

Posted in Squad Pod Collective

Every Move You Make by C.L. Taylor 

Posted on by thelotusreaders

Alexandra, Lucy, Bridget, River and Natalie. Five friends who wish they’d never met. Because the one thing they have in common is the worst thing in their lives: they are all being stalked.

When one of their group is murdered, days after their stalker is released from prison, time stands still for them all. They know their lives could end just as brutally at any moment – all it takes is for the people they fear the most to catch up with them.

When the group receive a threat that one of them will die in ten days’ time, the terror that stalks their daily lives becomes all-consuming. But they know they don’t want to be victims anymore – it’s time to turn the tables and finally get their revenge.

Because the only way to stop a stalker is to become one yourself…

After starting the novel with a tense and terrifying narrative of a woman being stalked, the author jumps forward and shows us how the loss of Natalie has affected those around her so deeply. For a handful of mourners, her loss is a terrible reminder of how they met and increases the fear of their own fate. Natalie’s friends tell their stories through the WhatsApp group they share. Alex, Lucy, Bridget and River are all victims of stalking. They formed their group to support each other and as a way of looking out for each other, using it to check in when outside their homes and when they return. However, when a very clear threat is made against them, they have to protect themselves. What lengths will they go to? The structure takes us between characters giving us a little bit of their story each time. Each of their stories slowly weaves together to create a whole; the phrase ‘one more chapter’ is very apt for this book. Sometimes you get caught up in a particular story, reach a cliffhanger and realise you have to read through three more chapters to find out what happened. It’s a interesting mix of characters, choosing women of different ages and a man shows us that it’s not only young women who are victims of stalking. I could sense that there were secrets to unearth with all of them and I found myself unable to fully trust anyone. They were complex and I thought the author explored their character and the group dynamics really well. I found myself switching between who I mistrusted and why. This suspicion did ramp up the tension not to mention the thrilling action scenes. 

The other aspect of this novel that is brilliantly executed is the description of the psychological impact that the stalking has on each character. We can see each character dealing with their situation differently, based on their personality, past experiences and who is stalking them. Some know exactly who their stalker is, while others are stalked by a complete stranger. The author manages to put across the constant vigilance, that feeling of always looking over your shoulder and the fear of what the stalker might do next. She shows how some stalkers escalate, keeping their victim behind closed doors, terrified to venture into the outside world alone. There’s also an element of victims taking their power back and carrying out acts of retaliation. The remaining four of the group do this by tagging their stalkers so they can monitor their whereabouts at all times. To do this without the stalker realising is incredibly dangerous. As each chapter counts down to the potential murder of one of the victims, the sense of fear really does set in and keeps those pages turning. 

Reading this in the same week that Louise, Hannah and Julie Hunt’s killer was found guilty of their murder really hit home. Misogyny and violence against women seems to be on the rise at the moment. Often violence follows months or even years of abuse, coercive control and stalking. It also seems that women are losing trust in the system that’s designed to protect them, especially since Sarah Everard was killed by a serving police officer. Here the characters are avoiding telling the police and I was left wondering it was disillusionment with the police force or whether some characters had something to hide. For the person who once professed to love you, to exhibit such abusive behaviour, must be terrifying. In fact it is often walking away from the relationship and cutting off communication that leads to escalation, just when the victim is settled and starting to feel safe again. The author’s writing brings the truth of this issue to light, because it shows how important it is to have all the parts of a story. The problem is, stalking is often a case of one person’s word against the other. The book’s structure shows how one person’s account either illuminates or throw suspicion on someone else. Whether they’re guilty or not can depend upon their eloquence and ability to charm others. This is such a timely novel and it was interesting to read how the author’s research and personal experience informed her story. For me it was this personal insight that made her story feel so authentic.

Available now. Published by Avon Books

Meet the Author

C.L. Taylor is an award winning Sunday Times bestselling author of ten gripping psychological thrillers including EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for autumn 2024, THE GUILTY COUPLE, (Richard and Judy Book Club 2023) and SLEEP (Richard and Judy Book Club 2019).

C.L. Taylor’s books have sold over two million copies in the UK alone, hit number one on Amazon Kindle, Audible, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play, and have been translated into over 30 languages and optioned for TV.

Her books are not a series and can be read in any order:

Posted in Random Things Tours

The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French

Posted on by thelotusreaders

I always jump at the chance to read a new Nicci French book. Also they’re so prolific that it’s easy to find earlier novels in charity shops. This novel is set in a Victorian house split into flats and it’s newest residents are Nancy and her boyfriend Felix. Nancy is recovering after a psychiatric episode and a stay in hospital. Thankfully her voices have subsided but she’s fragile and moving to a new part of London has been destabilising. After venturing out for a walk she starts to experience voices again and in her confusion she rushes back to the flat. At the front door she bumps into a young woman wearing very striking green boots with yellow laces. The woman speaks to Nancy but it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t help that she’s trying to distinguish between which voices are real. All she knows is that the woman was distressed and possibly needed help. Only 24 hours later the young woman is found hanging in the basement flat. Her name was Kira Mullan. Everyone seems sad that Kira committed suicide but for Nancy, something feels off. She isn’t sure that Kira did kill herself. How can she convince the others that she’s telling the truth when nobody trusts her?

This novel was absolutely gripping with brilliantly written main characters and a haunting central victim in Kira. I loved the idea of following the story through Nancy who has been struggling with her mental health and a clever, perceptive detective in Maud. The authors have cleverly placed Nancy on shifting sands – not only has she had a period of psychosis but she’s moved house and into an entirely strange area of London. She’s also lost her livelihood as a chef and could be living in a building with a murderer. She’s also without a touchstone in her life. I know exactly who to go to and ask whether I’m the asshole? I have friends who will tell the truth about whether I’m over-reacting or if something is genuinely wrong. This was invaluable when I found myself in an emotionally abusive relationship. I’d hoped that Nancy’s boyfriend Felix would be that person but I’d noticed a few red flags. He’s very attentive and seems to want her wrapped up in cotton wool, but Nancy is doing all the right things. On the day after she’s heard voices she asks to see the psychiatrist who changes the dosage of her medication and goes for counselling. She’s resting and doing her breathing exercises. In fact there’s very little else she can do. The authors leave us constantly wondering about her; is she paranoid or are the other residents out to get her?

Felix claims he only wants people to look out for her but Nancy feels like her space and autonomy are being encroached on. Felix tells the other residents everything about her history, including the psychosis, even the doctor who lives across the hall. He even gives next door neighbour Michelle their door key so she can let herself in, much to Nancy’s shock. His actions have actually left Nancy more vulnerable, leaving her open to abuse from others that they can deny. Who’s going to believe the mad girl? Nancy doesn’t think she’s paranoid but can see that her actions might seems excessive: she goes through Kira’s bin; steals a used condom from the flat and goes to look at the apartment with an estate agent; she also tells the police and Kira’s mother that she doesn’t think it was suicide. Just as she thinks she’s getting close to answers she is sectioned again after Michelle informs Felix that she threatened her. The authors show us how vulnerable mentally unwell women are in the care system and NHS, even though they’re designed to protect them. Not only is her liberty taken away and she’s prey to unscrupulous carers and nurses. In this upside down world, the more she protests her sanity the worse things become. She loses whole days to medication and is told by one male nurse that her life would be easier if she was ‘nice’ to him. So Nancy bites him. She has only one choice here. Be obedient, ignore the barbs and smile sweetly through visits she doesn’t want. It’s the only way she’ll be free. 

I loved the relationship between the detective Maud and Nancy. Maud is so perceptive and their experiences do mirror each other in a way. Maud knows that as a woman in the MET she is in the minority and she’s fully aware of the type of man that can be hiding behind a uniform or a title. In their respective institutions Nancy and Maud are trapped within a system they can’t change. Maud knows that if she becomes emotional or passionate about a particular case she will be seen as an irrational or hormonal woman. If she’s assertive and asks for what’s rightfully hers she’ll be called a bitch. In order to get the cases she wants and stand up for women like Kira and Nancy she has to play the game. It seemed to me that Maud saw the red flags with certain people whether in the flats or the house next door. She never holds Nancy’s illness against her and accepts that although she’s been struggling, she still might have something useful for solving the case. She also has a network of women within the system who will do her favours, such as looking over autopsy results and giving a second opinion. I loved the way she handles herself and her confidence in very dangerous circumstances. This was a gripping and psychologically brilliant read. I’d didn’t work out all of what had happened in Kira’s final days but the end was satisfying and I reached it very quickly because this is quite the page turner. 

Out in hardback from Simon & Schuster on Jan 16th 2025

Meet the Author

Nicci French is the pseudonym of English husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, who write psychological thrillers together.