Into The Dark By Karen Rose

I received Into The Dark by Karen Rose to review as part of the Random Things Blog Tours. The Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose is back with the gripping fifth instalment of the Cincinnati Series.

Into The Dark By Karen Rose https://amzn.to/33mI73R

Into The Dark

When Michael Rowland saves his younger brother Joshua from the clutches of his stepfather, he runs for his life with his brother in his arms. From his hiding place he sees the man who has made their lives a misery taken away in the trunk of a stranger’s car, never to be seen again.

Doctor Dani Novak has been keeping soccer coach Diesel Kennedy at arm’s length to protect him from her dark secrets. When they are brought together by the two young brothers who desperately need their help, it seems they might finally be able to leave their damaged pasts behind them.

But as the only witness to the man who kidnapped and murdered his sterpfather, Micheal is in danger. As Diesel and Dani do all that they can to protect him, their own investigation into the murder uncovers a much darker web of secrets than they could have imagined.

As more bodies start to appear it’s clear that his killer wants vengeance. And will wipe out anything that gets in his way…

Karen Rose

Karen Rose Author Picture

Karen Rose was introduce to suspense and horror at the tender age of eight when she accidentally read Poe’s The Pit and The Pendulum and was afraid to go to sleep for years. She now enjoys writing books that make other people afraid to go to sleep.

Karen lives in Florida with her family, their cat Bella, and two dogs, Loki and Freya. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, and her new hobby – knitting.

My Thoughts

Having read some of Karen Rose’s – The Chicago Series, I was really looking forward to Into The Dark. It definitely didn’t disappoint! Right from the start you find yourself hooked as Michael runs for his life with Joshua in his arms.

I found myself walking around tidying up with the book still in my hand thinking I’ll just read to the end of this chapter. Into The Dark is full of suspense and so many twists and turns. As each dark and dirty secret unfolds it makes you wonder what they will discover next. Dani and Diesel’s complicated relationship with Dani’s own dark secrets keep you just as hooked right until the end.

Having utterly enjoyed Into The Dark, I think I’ll be reading some of the other series I have missed!

Have you read anything by Karen Rose? Does this sound like a book for you?

The Birthday House By Jill Treseder

I received The Birthday House by Jill Treseder as part of the Random Things Blog Tours. This murder mystery is a fantastic read, set in 1955, based on a disturbing real-life crime.

The Birthday House By Jill Treseder

The Birthday House

A Friendship. A Murder. A life that will never be the same.

The year is 1955, the location picturesque Devon. In a house by the River Dart, schoolgirl Josephine Kennedy posts invitations to her twelfth birthday party a party that never takes place. Horrific violence is committed that night in the family home, leaving all of its occupants dead.

Based on a disturbing real-life crime, this compelling story explores Josephine’s fate through the prism of friends and family – the victims and survivors who unwittingly influenced the events that led up to the tragedy.

Josephine’s best friend, Susan, is haunted by the secrets of the birthday house. Can she ever find a way of making peace with her past?

Jill Treseder

Jill Treseder - Author of The Birthday House

Taken from www.jilltresederwriter.com:


I started writing in a red shiny exercise book when I was seven years old. But in that time and place it was an ‘invalid’ activity, was overlooked, but never went away. It was many years before I felt able to call myself ‘writer’.
But there came a day when the phrase ‘I am a writer’ no longer sounded pretentious, but legitimate, and even necessary. Was it because I had a writing room instead of the corner of a landing? Or because I spent more time writing? Or because I’d got better at it? Or because I get miserable and bad-tempered if I don’t write? Probably a combination of all of the above.


Writing is my third career. The first was as a social worker with children and families, a job I loved, but left because I could no longer cope with the system.


This led to a freelance career as an independent management consultant, helping people to handle emotions in the work context. I worked in the IT industry, in companies large and small, as well as public organisations. Later I became involved in research projects concerned with the multi-disciplinary approach to social problems such as child abuse. So, in a sense, I had come full-circle.


All these experiences feed into the process of writing fiction, while my non-fiction book ‘The Wise Woman Within’ resulted indirectly from the consultancy work and my subsequent PhD thesis,‘Bridging Incommensurable Paradigms’, which is available from the School of Management at the University of Bath.


I live in Devon and visit Cornwall frequently and these land and seascapes are powerful influences which demand a presence in my writing.
Writers’ groups and workshops are a further invaluable source of inspiration and support and I attend various groups locally and sign up for creative courses in stunning locations whenever I can. I try doing writing practice at home but there is no substitute for the focus and discipline achieved among others in a group.


I have written some short stories and recently signed up for a short story writing course to explore this genre in more depth.
I live with my husband in South Devon and enjoy being involved in a lively local community.

My Thoughts

I couldn’t wait to read Jill Treseder’s The Birthday House, I love crime novels and being based on a real-life crime made this even more enticing. Beginning with Mrs Harrison, the house keeper discovering the bodies to Josephine’s best friend Susan as she hears the news and later on in life discovers there is more to the story.

I really enjoyed reading from everyone’s perspective, it gives you a clearer picture of how these crimes affect everyone from housekeepers, best friends. It also gives you am understanding of the murders thought process and a good look at the emotions and grief felt by everyone both in the lead up to the murders and after.

I read The Birthday House in one sitting as it was such a compelling and convincing read. Whilst this is only a fiction based on a real-life crime, you get the feeling Jill is very close to the mark. I would definitely recommend this novella to crime fans.

The Scent Of Death By Simon Beckett

I received The Scent of Death by Simon Beckett to review by Damp Pebbles Blog Tours. This is the 6th book in the David Hunter, crime thriller series.

The Scent of Death By Simon Beckett

The Scent of Death

What began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare…

Once a busy hospital, St Jude’s now stands derelict awaiting demolition. When a partially mummified corpse is found in the buildings cavernous loft, forensics expert Dr David Hunter is called in to take a look. He can’t say how long the body’s been there, but he is certain it’s that of a young woman. And that she was pregnant.

Then part of the attic floor collapses, revealing another of the hospital’s secrets: a bricked-up chamber with beds inside. And some of them are still occupied.

And it soon becomes clear that St Jude’s hasn’t claimed it’s last victim…

Simon Beckett - Author of The Scent of Death/

Simon Beckett

Simon Beckett is the No.1 international bestselling author of the David Hunter series. These include:

  • The Chemistry of Death
  • Written in Bone
  • Whispers of the Dead
  • The Calling of the Gave
  • The Restless Dead
  • The Scent of Death

His books have been translated into 29 languages, appeared in the Sunday Times top 10 bestseller lists and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. A former freelance journalist, he has written for The Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent on Sunday and Observer. The inspiration for the first David Hunter noel came after a visit to the world-renowned Body Farm in Tennessee introduced him to the work of forensic anthropologists.

Join-winner (with Arne Dahl) of Europe’s largest crime fiction prize – The Ripper Award 2018/19 – he has also won the Raymond Chandler Society’s Marlowe Award and been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger, CWA Dagger in the Library and Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year awards. He is also the author of several stand-alone novels including Stone Bruises and Where There’s Smoke. Simon Beckett Lives in Sheffield.

My Thoughts

I was instantly hooked with The Scent of Death, it reminds me of Patricia Cornwall’s Kay Scarpetta novels which I love. You just know St Jude’s is going to open up a can of worms and it does just that! The detail when it comes to David Hunter doing the autopsies is incredibly impressive and had me totally sucked in. Beckett covers police procedures perfectly making this a fully believable piece of fiction. I genuinely need to read the other 5 books in this series asap, Simon Beckett is an amazing writer filling the story with macabre details and twists and turns everywhere, interesting characters, and dark secrets, keeping you hanging on to every word.

American Dreams By Kenneth Bromberg – Blog Tour

I received American Dreams by Kenneth Bromberg to review, a crime novel published by Flame Tree Press. From Czarist Russia to America where dreams are made, we follow Max and his father through a world of crime.

American Dreams Bookcover

American Dreams

In 1904 Czarist Russia, Max, a four-year-old Jewish boy, witnesses his mother’s rape and murder by Russian soldiers. After the boy’s father extracts terrible revenge, father and son escape to New York and settle on the Lower East Side, a teeming melting pot of recent immigrants.

Max meets a young Polish girl, Sophie, and the two children become inseparable playmates. By the time they are teenagers, Max excels at both school and sports, Sophie has become a stunningly beautiful young woman, and friendship has grown into love. Their plans are shattered when Sophie is forced to marry a local crime boss and once again, Max must simply watch as the most important person in his life is taken from him. In response, he begins a ruthless and violent climb to the top of the New York underworld

Kenneth Bromberg

Kennerth Bromberg Author photo

Kenneth Bromberg grew up in the beach cities of Southern California. He has a passion for tennis, American history, and literature. Having attended the University of California, Los Angeles, he then worked for several years as a bartender. He eventually returned to UCLA to pursue an MBA and become a certified public accountant.

After retiring from accounting, Kenneth fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. His first work, American Dreams, is based upon stories told by his grandmother who immigrated to New York from a small Jewish village near Kiev in the first years of the 20th century. If you like Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, you will love this debut novel.

My Thoughts

I knew from the first chapter I would enjoy American Dreams as a crime fan and wasn’t disappointed. After a traumatic start for Max, we meet several other characters with some interesting backstories too, all leading them to America. Here they all work towards their own dreams. Forwarding to World War II where two of the sons of main characters serve, yet have their own dreams for the future too. American Dreams is rather violent throughout, mixing crime, love and a little history across several generations really well.

Do you enjoy violent crime novels too?

The Closer I Get By Paul Burston – Blog Tour

I received The Closer I Get by Paul Burston to read and review. This psychological thriller based around online relationships is deliciously creepy and twisted.

The Closer I Get By Paul Burston

The Closer I Get

Successful author Tom has writer’s block for the first time in his life. An online admirer, Evie is his main distraction, she simply won’t leave him alone. Eva is a smart, well-read and unstable woman living with her sick father. Social media is not only her escape but her everything and she takes social media friendships too far. When she’s hit with as restraining order, her world collapses, whilst Tom is free to live his life again and continue concentrating on his writing.

Things aren’t adding up though, Tom is also addicted to his online relationships, and they take a darker, more menacing turn, he’s powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he’s letting on!

Paul Burston

The author of five novels and the editor of two short story collections. Paul Burstons most recent novel The Black Path was a WHSmith bestseller. His first novel Shameless, was shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. His third novel, Lovers & Losers was shortlisted for a Stonewall Award. The Gay Divorcee, his fourth novel was also optioned for television. Paul is the founding editor of Attitude magazine. He has also written for many publications including Guardian, Independent, Time Out, The Times and Sunday Times.

My Thoughts

The Closer I Get is so creepy because it is plausible. Social media stalkers are all too real and Paul Burston captures both the victim and the stalkers perspectives perfectly with some added twists throughout. I would absolutely recommend this if you enjoy thrillers full of twists surrounding authors.

Have you read any of Paul Burston other novels?

The Fragility Of Bodies By Sergio Olguín – Blog Tour

I received The Fragility of Bodies By Sergio Olguín to review, a crime/thriller/mystery set in Buenos Aires. Journalist Veronica Rosenthal thinks she knows Buenos Aire until her latest investigation. Revealing a city where life is cheap and the games boys play are to the death.

The Fragility of Bodies

The Fragility Of Bodies

This is the first in a series of novels by Sergio Olguin starring journalist Veronica Rosenthal. Set in Buenos Aires, The Fragility of Bodies is also a TV series currently showing in Argentina. This sensual and terse novel is fiercely critical of a system which tolerates the lives of young boys being put at risk by the powerful and wealthy of Buenos Aires for sheer entertainment.

Veronica, a successful, young journalist is beautiful and unmarried with a healthy appetite for bourbon and men. Driven by a sense of justice, lust and ambition, Veronicas is a fascinatingly complicated heroine. Hearing a local train driver has committed suicide, jumping from the roof of a block of flats, she decides to investigate. Drawn in by the suicide note left, confessing to four mortal ‘accidents’ on the train tracks.

As far as the police are concerned the case is closed, suicide is suicide. Veronica just can’t let it go though. Continuing her investigations takes her on a journey through an unfamiliar world of grinding poverty and junkie infested neighbourhoods. Not to mention train drivers on commuter lines haunted by the memory of bodies hit at speed by their locomotives at night.

With the assistance of a train driver informant, a recovering junkie and two street kids who will risk their lives for a can of Coke, Veronica uncovers a dark secret. Discovering a group of men betting on working-class youngsters, convincing them to play Russian roulette by standing in front of fast-coming trains to see who endures the longest.

With bodies of children crushed under tons of steel, those of adults yielding to relentless desire, the resolution of the investigation reveals the deep bonds which unite desire and death.

Sergio Olguín

Sergio Olguín

Born in Buenos Aires in 1967, Sergio Olguin was a journalist before turning to fiction. Awarded numerous awards including Premio Tusquets 2009 for Oscura monótona sangre (“Dark Monotonous Blood“). His books have been translated into German, French and Italian. The Fragility of Bodies is the first novel to be translated into English by Miranda France.

Translated by Miranda France

Miranda France is the author of two acclaimed volumes of travel writing: Don Quixote’s Delusions and Bad Times in Buenos Aires. She has also written the novels Hill Farm and The Day Before the Fire. She has translated much Latin American fiction, including Claudia Piñeiro’s novels for Bitter Lemon Press.

My Thoughts

The Fragility of Bodies was a fantastic read! I love darker novels like this that delve into the dirty secrets of the wealthy and powerful. Veronica refuses to give up no matter how tough things get or who she is up against. She is determined to get her story and uncover these dark secrets that lead to young boys being killed and train drivers having terrifying nightmares of bodies crunching under steel but can she stop it?

Do you enjoy darker novels?

One Way Out By A.A. Dhand -Blog Tour

I received One Way Out by A.A. Dhand to review as part of the blog tour. A Harry Virdee crime thriller set in Bradford that I simply couldn’t recommend more! Available from 27th June in Hardback from Bantam Press for £16.99.

One Way Out

A bomb detonates in Bradford City Park. When the alert sounds, DC I Harry Virdee has just enough time to get his son and mother to safety before the bomb blows. But this is merely a stunt.. the worst is yet to come.

One Way Out Front Cover

A new and aggressive nationalist group, the Patriots, hide a second device under one of the city’s one hundred and five mosques. In exchange for the safe release of those at Friday Prayers, the Patriots want custody of the leaders of radical Islamist group Almukhtareen – the chosen ones. The government does not negotiate with terrorists. Even when thousands of lives are at risk.

There is only one way out. But Harry’s wife is in one of those mosques. Left with no choice, Harry must find the Almukhtareen, to offer the Patriots his own deal.

Unputdownable

A.A, Dhand is not an author I had heard of before reviewing this book but as a fan of crime thrillers, I couldn’t wait to give it a go. From the first few pages I was instantly hooked. Dhand delves into the dark side of Bradford, a city divided by racial tensions and where he grew up.

A.A. Dhand

Harry Virdee isn’t your typical cop and has many layers we discover throughout the book, keeping you hooked to learn more. I thoroughly enjoyed One Way Out and will definitely be looking out for more books by A.A Dhand, especially Harry Virdee novels!

A.A. Dhand

Raised in Bradford, A.A. Dhand spent his youth observing the city from the counter of a mall convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired his Harry Virdee novels.

Do you enjoy crime thrillers? Have you read any other A.A. Dhand novels?

You Never Forget A Good Book

It’s true that once you read a good book you never forget it. I’ve been a keen reader since I was quite young and people used to joke about the fact I would prefer to sit and read the Evening Echo (Our local paper at the time) at the age of 5 over a childrens book. I remember my mother had quite a few books on shelves around the house which is where I discovered a few of my favourite authors. I haven’t picked up a book in a while which I intend to do more of over the coming months so I thought I’d share with you some of my all time favourites!

You never forget a good book
The Misery front cover I read and the books currently on my shelf!

Stephen King’s Misery is a book I definitely read far too young but as I loved to scare myself silly with physchological horrors like this it’s a book I read several times growing up and is still my absolute favourite book of all time. I love the way Stephen King writes and how twisted & clever the storyline is. Whenever I fancy something a bit darker I go for a Stephen King books and I’ve read quite a few. I currently have a few on my bookshelf at the moment that I need to read, what’s your favourite?

As you can see my copy is quite worn!

This is a set of books rather than just one but I think most people will agree that C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia is an amazing set for children and adults. I still have the original box-set I had as a child, unfortunately they are quite sun-faded but I cant wait to start reading them to the girls! I always got so lost in these books that I would spend most of a school holiday re-reading the whole set just because.

 

On my bookshelf

Another one that is probably on most peoples lists is J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the rings Trilogy. I read this when I was about 11 and I remember being superglued to my bed for 5 days reading the entire book & then went on to read The Hobbit. I was gutted when I finally watched the films as they had just missed out far too much as usually happens when books are turned into films. I still have the same copy of Lord of the rings but lost The Hobbit years ago.

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret garden us another classic I absolutely loved reading over and over again. I loved the idea of escaping to such beautiful gardens.

The only image of the front cover I remember reading as a child!

One book I fell in love with as a child has bugged me for years as I hadn’t been able to find it ANYWHERE! Seriously, I have searched & searched the internet & libraries and only just discovered I was right all along! It is called Wild Child  and I am pleased to share I finally know the Author’s name – Monica Furlong! (Thanks to Goodreads!) I remember being completely enchanted by this book and re-reading it several times.

In a remote Scottish village, nine-year-old Wise Child is taken in by Juniper, a healer and sorceress. Then Wise Child’s mother, Maeve, a black witch, reappears. In choosing between Maeve and Juniper, Wise Child discovers the extent of her supernatural powers—and her true loyalties.

Patricia cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series was another favourite throughout my teens, I began at the start with Post-mortem and read every book up to The Book of the dead which is still sat on my bookshelf waiting to be read!
I’m definitely going to start working through my book shelf again and then go on a hunt for some new ones, so help me out! Who’s your favourite author? What book’s would you recommend reading? What books are laying unread on your bookshelf?