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…
-
Book Review – Gone By Midnight – Candice Fox
Gone By Midnight – Candice Fox Genre: Crime Thriller/ Suspense/ Mystery Published: January 19, Penguin Random House UK Swathi’s Rating: 4.5/5 Hey everyone! Today I am reviewing a very interesting crime thriller that released earlier this month and available for you guys to buy a copy. Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox is the third book in her Queensland based series featuring ex-police detective Ted Conkaffey in the lead. Ted is an ex-police man who was arrested wrongfully for the alleged rape and kidnap of a teenager, which spoiled his reputation to such an extent that he can no longer go out in public without being noticed as a paedophile.…
-
A Conversation with Jessica Barry – Author of ‘Freefall’
Jessica Barry is a pseudonym for an American author who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and was raised on a steady diet of library books and PBS. She attended Boston University, where she majored in English and Art History, before moving to London in 2004 to pursue an MA from University College London. She works in publishing. For more about Jessica Barry, please visit her on Twitter: @jessbarryauthor and on Instagram: @JessicaBarry9.
-
Book Review – She Was The Quiet One – Michele Campbell
When twin sisters Rose and Bel Enright enroll in The Odell School, a prestigious New England boarding school, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. But the sisters could not be more different. The school brings out a rivalry between them that few ever knew existed. And the school itself has a dark underbelly: of privileged kids running unchecked and uninhibited; of rituals and traditions that are more sinister than they seem; of wealth and entitlement that can only lead to disaster. For Sarah Donovan, wife of an ambitious teacher who is determined to rise through the ranks, Odell also seems like the best thing that could happen to…
-
Author Talk with Michele Campbell – Author of She Was The Quiet One
Michele Campbell is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor in New York City who specialized in international narcotics and gang cases. A while back, she said goodbye to her big-city legal career and moved with her husband and two children to an idyllic New England college town a lot like Belle River in IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND. Since then, she has spent her time teaching criminal and constitutional law and writing novels. She has had many close female friends, a few frenemies, and only one husband, who – to the best of her knowledge – has never tried to kill her.
-
Book Review – No Exit – Taylor Adams
A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do? On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside, are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers. Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked…
-
Spotlight Book – The Lost Man – Jane Harper
Two brothers meet at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback. In an isolated belt of Queensland, they are each other’s nearest neighbor, their homes a four hours’ drive apart. The third brother lies dead at their feet. Something caused Cam, the middle child, who had been in charge of the family homestead, to die alone in the middle of nowhere. So the eldest brother returns with his younger sibling to the family property and those left behind. But the fragile balance of the ranch is threatened. Amid the grief, suspicion starts to take hold, and the eldest brother begins to wonder if more than…
-
Book Review – The Consultant – Tj O’Connor
Pursuing his brother’s killer, Hunter stumbles into a nest of horrifying terrorist activity by Middle Eastern refugees, which sparks a backlash across America. In the shadows, Hunter’s mentor, the omnipotent Oscar LaRue, is playing a dangerous game with Russian Intelligence. Neither Hunter nor LaRue realizes that a new threat―the Iranian threat―has entered the game. Stakes rise as two shadowy players are one step ahead of Hunter and LaRue―Khalifah, a terrorist mastermind, and Caine, a nomadic assassin who dances with the highest bidder.