Review: Day of theAccident by Nuala Ellwood

They say you killed...

BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE WRONG?

Sixty seconds after she wakes from a coma, Maggie's world is torn apart. 

The police tell her that her daughter Elspeth is dead. That she drowned when the car Maggie had been driving plunged into the river. Maggie remembers nothing.

When Maggie begs to see her husband Sean, the police tell her that he has disappeared. He was last seen on the day of her daughter's funeral.

What really happened that day at the river?

Where is Maggie's husband?

And why can't she shake the suspicion that somewhere, somehow, her daughter is still alive? 

I loved this book!!! At first I wasn't quite sure what was going on and then as the story unfolded things became clearer... I must admit though that I'd not quite got it all worked out until all was revealed. It really was a gripping read...… and I couldn't put it down. 

I don't want to give any spoilers away but what I will say is that you definitely need to read this book when it's released next year.

I was lucky to be given an advance digital copy via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion, and I can honestly say that it was brilliant!!

Review: No Time To Cry by James Oswald

Undercover ops are always dangerous, but DC Constance Fairchild never expected things to go this wrong.

Returning to their base of operations, an anonymous office in a shabby neighbourhood, she finds the bloodied body of her boss, and friend, DI Pete Copperthwaite. He's been executed - a single shot to the head.

In the aftermath, it seems someone in the Met is determined to make sure that blame for the wrecked operation falls squarely on Con's shoulders. She is cut loose and cast out, angry and alone with her grief... right until the moment someone also tries to put a bullet through her head.

There's no place to hide, and no time to cry.

I don't think that I have read any of James Oswald's other series..... and I'm really wondering why not??

I loved this book. The storyline was great and the plot and ending wasn't obvious from the start. It had me gripped and I couldn't put it down as I needed to know what was going to happen next. Our main character Con is just perfect and I could really picture her thinking what to do next, I do hope that some of the other characters that we have met also make a reappearance in future books too.

I'm very excited that this is a new series and I cannot wait until the next instalment is out for me to read. In the meantime I think that I'll catch up on the other series as I really do love the way that this book is written, it flows so well.

Review: Mother by Hannah Begbie

I was her mother.

I gave her a death sentence.

Those were the facts of it.

A devastating diagnosis. A deadly secret.

At three weeks old, Cath's daughter is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. Their world implodes.

Will Cath's desperate actions save her daughter . . . or destroy her?

An explosive novel about obsession and the lengths we go to save the ones we love.

I enjoyed reading this, the storyline was good and I felt that it covered the topic well. I would imagine that many parents in the same boat find themselves becoming obsessive and researching the condition, finding it hard to speak to loved ones. 

I felt that the book was a mix of reality with story and thought that the author did a great job of combining the two. Quite an emotional read but worth it. 

Macbeth by Jo Nesbo

He’s the best cop they’ve got.

When a drug bust turns into a bloodbath it’s up to Inspector Macbeth and his team to clean up the mess.

He’s also an ex-drug addict with a troubled past.

He’s rewarded for his success. Power. Money. Respect. They’re all within reach.

But a man like him won’t get to the top.

Plagued by hallucinations and paranoia, Macbeth starts to unravel. He’s convinced he won’t get what is rightfully his.

Unless he kills for it. 

Absolutely brilliant...…. I'm a huge Jo Nesbo fan anyway but I just loved this! I couldn't put it down. the storyline was so fast paced I wasn't sure what was going to happen next and there's not many books these days that get me like that as I'm usually pretty good at working out what's going to happen!

I will admit that I've not read Macbeth by Shakespeare so have no idea how close the story is to that but it didn't matter, it literally had me gripped. 

Review: A Little Bird Told Me by Marianne Holmes

Besides, if you were one half evil, wouldn’t you want to know about the other half?

In the scorching summer of 1976, Robyn spends her days swimming at the Lido and tagging after her brother. It’s the perfect holiday – except for the crying women her mum keeps bringing home.

As the heatwave boils on, tensions in the town begin to simmer. Everyone is gossiping about her mum, a strange man is following her around, and worst of all, no one will tell Robyn the truth. But this town isn’t good at keeping secrets…

Twelve years later, Robyn returns home, to a house that has stood empty for years and a town that hasn’t moved on, forced to confront the mystery that haunted her that summer.

And atone for the part she played in it.

A Little Bird Told Me is Marianne Holmes’ debut novel.

I loved this book, I couldn't put it down! I loved the fact that it was written in two parts - the past and the present and the way that the story came together by reading each part. The storyline was well thought out and I was surprised that this was a debut novel as it really was a great read. 

I loved the characters in the book; Robyn (Little Bird) and her brother Kit (Christopher) are our two main ones but there are also some outside characters that we get to meet and know. I loved the ending and I would love it if there could be a sequel to it but I'm not sure if we'd be able to have one that would be as brilliant.

Review: It Ends With You by S.K.Wright

'If I'd told the truth, it would have been fiction.'

Everyone loves Eva. Beautiful, bright, fun, generous - she's perfect.

So when her body is found in a ditch in the local woods the only thing anyone wants to know is: Who could have done this?

It has to be Luke, her boyfriend. He has the motive, the means, the opportunity and he's no stranger to the police.

Even though the picture is incomplete, the pieces fit. But as time passes, stories change.

Who could have done this? You decide.

It Ends With You is clever and compulsive. It challenges preconceptions, makes you second-guess yourself with each chapter, and it holds an uncomfortable mirror up to the way societies and systems treat outsiders.

I enjoyed this book however, it didn't grip me like some books do. I do understand that it is targeted at a YA audience and that could be the reason. The storyline was told over multiple people and utilised the use of social media too which was enjoyable to read.

I did have the killer worked our pretty quickly and was slightly disappointed with the ending as it seemed like things were left dangling...… could it be for a sequel?

Review: You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke

Nothing has felt right since Elle rented out her house . . .

I’M IN YOUR HOUSE

There’s a new coldness. A shift in the atmosphere. The prickling feeling that someone is watching her every move from the shadows.

I’M IN YOUR HEAD

Maybe it’s all in Elle’s mind? She’s a writer – her imagination, after all, is her strength. And yet every threat seems personal. As if someone has discovered the secrets that keep her awake at night.

AND NOW I KNOW YOUR SECRET

As fear and paranoia close in, Elle’s own home becomes a prison. Someone is unlocking her past – and she’s given them the key…

Spine-tingling, chilling, and utterly compulsive, YOU LET ME IN is the stunning new novel from Richard & Judy Book Club author, Lucy Clarke

I loved this book! It was brilliantly written and I genuinely had no clue who it was that was in Elle's house or what her secret was until it was revealed. There was multiple people who it could have been and there was some brilliant twists within the plot that related to Elle's younger years. 

I had to keep on reading as it had me in suspense, and I must admit that I loved the ending. I don't want to give any spoilers away but will say that its definitely worth reading.

A Boy in the Water by Tom Gregory

The poignant, life-affirming story of a determined boy, a visionary coach, and how the dream of a record-breaking Channel swim became reality

Eltham, South London. 1984: the hot fug of the swimming pool and the slow splashing of a boy learning to swim but not yet wanting to take his foot off the bottom. Fast-forward four years. Photographers and family wait on the shingle beach as a boy in a bright orange hat and grease-smeared goggles swims the last few metres from France to England. He has been in the water for twelve agonizing hours, encouraged at each stroke by his coach, John Bullet, who has become a second father.

This is the story of a remarkable friendship between a coach and a boy, and a love letter to the intensity and freedom of childhood.

This book is fabulous, I need to be completely honest and say that I hadn't read the description of the book and as it was an advance kindle copy that I read, I hadn't spotted that the cover said 'a memoir'. So I'm reading the book and just thought it was brilliant... it had me gripped and I finished it in less than a day as I just couldn't put it down!! It was as I got to the end that I thought 'maybe this is a true story' and indeed it was. 

The way in which it was written was really moving, Tom has clearly retained the emotions from that time and they come across perfectly, I will admit that I did cry towards the end. 

It truly is an amazing story.

Review: All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew

This is a fact: Ryan Summers walked into Three Rivers College and killed thirteen women, then himself.

But no one can say why.

The question is one that cries out to be answered - by Ryan's mother, Moira; by Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim; and by DI Helen Birch, put in charge of the case on her first day at her new job. But as the tabloids and the media swarm, as the families' secrets come out, as the world searches for someone to blame... the truth seems to vanish.

A stunningly moving novel from an exciting new voice in crime, ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS will cause you to question your assumptions about the people you love, and reconsider how the world reacts to tragedy.

WOW!! I loved this book, at first  I must admit that I though it was a slow start but it soon picked up pace. I loved the way that it also included media reports/tweets etc within as it helped to give that extra layer. 

I enjoyed meeting our characters especially the newly promoted DI Birch...… I hope that it's not the last we hear from her as there is definitely more stories that can be found from her life and career. 

The way the storyline was brought together was really well thought out, I couldn't wait to see how it ended.