Wow, what a couple of months it has been. Bang in the middle of June and July, my lovely hubby and I took a dream trip to Scotland for a second honeymoon to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary – and what a magical trip it was! There have also been some curveballs to contend with, including the loss of a dear friend, but a constant in my life is crime novels. Here are my good reads for the past two months.
Disclaimer:
Being a crime fiction addict and lover of series books, expect lots of my reading to fall into these categories. You can also expect to only hear about the books I have enjoyed – but as I have honed my selections to my tastes over the years, I am rarely disappointed, and I get that reading enjoyment is subjective anyway. I love to jump over to Goodreads and share the books I’ve enjoyed with the reading community, and this led me to posting my standouts in a “Good Reads” column each month.
Gentlemen & Players (standalone) Joanne Harris – 3.5-4.0 stars
Gentleman & Players plays out the world of St Oswald’s Grammar School for Boys. A world of privilege and tradition. Infighting and loyalty. Lofty, self-importance. Secrets and coverups. Unbeknownst to the St Oz stalwarts, one person has harboured a deep, perverse desire to be part of its institution. And for almost as long, has harboured grudges for events in the past they lay firmly at the steps of the place, and at the feet of its students and faculty. And that person has infiltrated their ranks and step-by-step is working towards their goal of destroying St Oz. Author Harris captures the sense of people and place well in this story, but it took a while for me to warm to it, and I found the rather slow pace and long length of the novel, degree of obsession of the mole and lengths they go to, and remoteness of the characters (barring the old Classics master) diminished any sense of surprise as certain pieces of the puzzle were revealed. Well-written and quite enjoyable at 3.5-4.0 stars.
Mice (standalone) Gordon Reece – 4 stars
Mice is an intriguing psychological thriller featuring teenager Shelley and her mother. In Shelley’s worldview, they were both born victims. Submissive, scurrying from conflict and through life. They are mice. When her parents’ marriage disintegrates and the bullying at school escalates to an incident that nearly kills Shelley, she and her mum retreat to an isolated country cottage for a cosy, secure existence of gardening, books, music and home-schooling, and they start to imagine a rosy future ahead. But an intruder shatters their security and suddenly the mice are faced with events that will make them or break them. With moments of dark comedy and page-turning suspense, I enjoyed this intriguing read and would be interested in more by this author.
An Unwatched Minute (standalone) JM Peace – 4 stars
A fan of JM Peace since her debut police thriller A Time To Run and its follow-up The Twisted Knot, I was excited when An Unwatched Minute recently released. This one is a standalone police procedural and a compelling story with the air of being told by someone “in the know” as the author is a police officer currently serving in Queensland. An Unwatched Minute follows Constable Krista Danaher’s transfer to the picturesque rural town of Tannin Bay, her shaky approach to the post and her hopes to grow into a good copper. Under the wing of Senior Constable Malachi “Mort” Morten, things are looking promising. But within days, a man dies in the watch house whilst in her care, triggering an intensive police investigation leaving Krista, her colleagues, the deceased’s family and town grappling with really happened in that unwatched minute? Tensions rise as the family wants someone to be held accountable, culminating in the truth and its tragic consequences. An Unwatched Minute is a gripping and realistic read. Hoping for more by the author!
Nothing Bad Happens Here (standalone) Nikki Crutchley – 4.5 stars
Having enjoyed Crutchley’s No One Can Hear You, I was keen to read her debut crime novel Nothing Bad Happens Here…and wasn’t disappointed. On assignment in a small Coromandel town in New Zealand where “nothing bad happens”, Miller Hatcher is one in a mass of journalists covering the murder of tourist Bethany Haliwell. Struggling with her own issues and striving for promotion, Miller gains the trust of local cop Kahu Parata and some of the locals, while she remains distanced from her news-hound colleagues and unsure of several other players. When old secrets are dredged up, another woman disappears and the townsfolk divide, the seaside town shifts from idyllic retreat to something more menacing, and as Miller draws closer to the truth, she is in the thick of danger. Nothing Bad Happens Here is a highly enjoyable thriller with strong plot and characterisation. Having seen the jump Crutchley makes in spit and polish from her debut to her second novel, I am looking forward to more by the author.
The Stranger (standalone) Melanie Raabe – 4 stars
The Stranger is my second read of German author Melanie Raabe (translated by Imogen Taylor) in her forte of domestic noir. Seven years after the disappearance of her husband Phillip, Sarah receives the unbelievable news that he is still alive. But the man she meets at the airport is a stranger, cold and menacing, his intentions unclear, though the danger is obvious. He wants her to admit to the worst thing she’s done. He knows everything about her, but she knows nothing about him. Scared, but unable to expose him without risking her young son and the calm life she’s built for them since her husband disappeared on a business trip to South America, Sarah is pushed to breaking point. She discovers what she is capable of doing that is worse than what she’s already done and the truth about the stranger. Having now read The Trap (which I loved) and this second quite compelling domestic noir novel by Raabe, I am interested in more by the author.
The Birthday (Detective Natalie Ward #1) Carol Wyer – 4 stars
4 stars for this UK police procedural – good reading over a few days between worry for a dear friend on top of being bowled over by a nasty bug. What I liked most about this read was the characters. This book sets up an interesting, diverse police crew and their boss and the flawed central character, detective Natalie Ward, nicely for a series. Hints at a past case with the most heartbreaking outcome dropped into current events add a stronger drive to the story, the greater need for a different result in this case. However, it is still a story about the serial killing of young girls—not an easy subject to enjoy—and I’ll be keen to read on in the series and see what other story lines the author develops. The premise for The Birthday is that “One hot summer’s afternoon, five-year-old Ava Sawyer went to a party. She never came home…” And then two years later Ava’s body is discovered, not far from where she went missing. Then another girl who’d been at the same birthday party goes missing. Her body is quickly discovered. Is it the same killer? What is their motive to kill again now? How can Natalie and her crew stop them before more lives are lost? With all the dead-ends, roundabouts, distress and exhausted frustration you’d expect in a case like this, The Birthday delivered a good read.
Cold Deception (Dark Mountain #1) DB Tait – 4.5 stars
Cold Deception ticked the boxes for what I wanted from this read: an atmospheric romantic suspense novel set in the Blue Mountains with strong Australian flavour. Julia Taylor served 10 years in prison for murdering a man who deserved it. Now, she’s out and wants to get on with her new life. To rebuild relationships with her family, establish a new career. But the past is catching up with her. Some people question what really happened a decade ago. Others will do anything to keep secrets buried. A hotpot is coming to the boil. Local cop Dylan Andrews is there to help, but the price is he also wants her help, which will put those she loves at risk, and the complication is the attraction they both try to fight. What happens when the truth is uncovered? This was my first read of DB Tait and I highly enjoyed it and will look forward to the second instalment in this series soon.
Last Lullaby (Detective Natalie Ward #2) – Carol Wyer
This is the second Natalie Ward thriller and a good solid instalment in this UK thriller series. In Last Lullaby, Natalie and her team are again on the hunt of a killer, but this time the victims are young mothers whose children are left physically unhurt at the scene. The killer is leaving messages written on the wall in the victim’s blood. The first is “Why?” The next is “Who?” Does that mean there are at least three more planned victims to match up with the 5Ws? Juggling work life and family life, often unsuccessfully, Natalie and her team must sift through secrets, lies, false alibis and work fast to stop more lives being lost. The stakes raise when one of her own team is endangered. Enjoyed the read, gave it 4 stars and have added the next instalment of the Natalie Ward series to my to-read list.
Looking forward to devouring more great crime reads in August and sharing them with you next month. Meanwhile, happy reading!
