ALICE gets off a bus in the middle of a snowstorm in Delphi, NY. She is fleeing an abusive relationship and desperate to protect... OREN, ten years old, a major Star Wars fan and wise beyond his years. Though Alice is wary, Oren bonds nearly instantly with... MATTIE, a social worker in her fifties who lives in an enormous run-down house in the middle of the woods. Mattie lives alone and is always available, and so she is the person the hotline always calls when they need a late-night pickup. And although according to protocol Mattie should take Alice and Oren to a local shelter, instead she brings them home…
-
-
Book Review – Rocco and the Price of Lies ~ Adrian Magson ~ The Dome Press #BlogTour
Murder by suicide? Three senior government officials - a judge, a politician, and an ex-police chief - are all dead by their own hands.Inspector Lucas Rocco finds himself once more working for the Interior Ministry: undertaking an investigation meant to avoid a government scandal and ignoring unpalatable truths. He's soon convinced that a common denominator must be at play...Rocco uncovers top-level fraud, theft and deception. And when he narrowly survives an attempt on his life, he realises that he has nothing to lose by bringing the truth out in to the open - whatever the risks.
-
Book Review – In Two Minds – Alis Hawkins ~ The Dome Press #BlogTour
Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has begun work as the acting coroner of Teifi Valley with solicitor's clerk John Davies as his assistant.When a faceless body is found on an isolated beach, Harry must lead the inquest. But his dogged pursuit of the truth begins to ruffle feathers. Especially when he decided to work alongside a local doctor with a dubious reputation and experimental theories considered radical and dangerous. Refusing to accept easy answers might not only jeopardise Harry's chance to be elected coroner permanently but could, it seems implicate his own family in a crime.
-
Book Review – The Girl Next Door – Phoebe Morgan
One little lie just became deadly… Perfect mother. Perfect wife. Jane Goodwin has spent years building her picture-perfect life in the quiet village of Ashdon. So when sixteen-year-old Clare Edwards is found murdered in Sorrow's Meadow, Jane knows she must first protect her family. Every marriage has a few white lies and hers is no exception. Jane's worked hard to cover up her dark secret from all those years ago - and she'll do anything to keep it hidden...
-
Book Review – Poetic Justice – RC Bridgestock – The Dome Press
When Detective Jack Dylan heads home to his wife after a residential course, he has no idea that an extraordinary succession of events is about to turn his life upside down. A vicious, unprovoked personal attack is just the start. The discovery of his wife’s death in a road accident also reveals her affair, and his step-daughter is being expelled from university for drug use. Professionally, two teenagers have gone missing and one is soon found dead.An ordinary man might break under the strain, but Dylan is no ordinary man. He knows that his survival depends on him carrying-on regardless, burying himself in his work, relieved by the distraction of…
-
Our Writer’s Toolbox – Guest Post by Authors RC Bridgestock
OUR WRITER’S TOOLBOX “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham Lincoln. I’ve heard it often said, that you’re only as good as your tools. Bob would say: “Detective or writer, I guess that’s the coffee then!” That and his other love (jelly sweets) keep him going… He also uses an old adage to the detective’s bible – The 5 WH (Who, What, Where, When, Why) – to help him write the crime storyline in the books. That, and the tried and tested method of investigating real crime, of course! The first step is to ‘clear…
-
Book Review – The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley
All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire,…
-
Book Review – The Secretary – Renée Knight
From her first day as Personal Assistant to the celebrated Mina Appleton, Christine Butcher understands what is expected of her. Absolute loyalty. Absolute discretion. For twenty years, Christine has been a most devoted servant, a silent witness to everything in Mina’s life. So quiet, you would hardly know she is there.Day after day, year after year, Christine has been there, invisible—watching, listening, absorbing all the secrets floating around her. Keeping them safe.Christine is trusted. But those years of loyalty and discretion come with a high price. And eventually Christina will pay.Yet, it would be a mistake to underestimate such a steadfast woman. Because as everyone is about to discover, there’s…
-
Author Talks with Phoebe Morgan – Author of ‘The Girl Next Door’ and ‘The Doll House’
Phoebe Morgan is an author and editor. She studied English at Leeds University after growing up in the Suffolk countryside.She has previously worked as a journalist and now edits crime and women’s fiction for a publishing house during the day, and writes her own books in the evenings. She lives in London and you can follow her on Twitter @Phoebe_A_Morgan.The Doll House is her debut novel and an instant ebook bestseller. The Girl Next Door is her second psychological thriller.
-
Book Review – Flowers Over The Inferno – Ilaria Tuti
In a quiet village surrounded by centuries-old woods and the imposing Italian Alps, a series of violent assaults take place. Police inspector and profiler Teresa Battaglia is called back from the city when the first body is found in the woods, a naked man whose face has been disfigured and eyes gouged out. Teresa quickly realises that the killer intends to strike again, and soon more victims are found - all having been subjected to horrendous mutilations. When a new-born baby is kidnapped, Teresa's investigation becomes a race against the clock... But Teresa is also fighting a different kind of battle: a battle against her own body, weighed down by…
