MYSTERIES in PARADISE

Review: THE NEW NEIGHBOURS, Claire Douglas

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 07:41:00 +0000

this edition a trade paperback from my local library
published Penguin Random House 2025
ISBN 978-1-405-95764-9
391 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Lena overhears a conversation she shouldn’t have.

She’s sure her new neighbours – the Morgans – are planning a crime.

Her family say she’s mistaken.
They are a lovely, friendly couple.
She should forget it.

Yet Lena can’t.

And the more she investigates,
the worse her suspicions.

But Lena hasn’t counted on one thing.

A secret from her own past. One the Morgans seem connected to.

And which puts Lena in terrible danger . . .

My Take

I've found that I have always enjoyed stories by Claire Douglas, and this one did not disappoint, even if slightly more complex than I had expected to be. Still, a satisfying read.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.6, THE COUPLE AT NO. 9

4.6, JUST LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS

4.7, LAST SEEN ALIVE

4.5, THEN SHE VANISHES

Review: UNIFORM JUSTICE, Donna Leon

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 07:20:00 +0000

This edition a book from my local library
Published by Penguin Books 2004
ISBN 978-0-09-953665-9
326 pages
#12/33 in the Brunetti series

Synopsis (publisher)

When a young cadet is found hanged at a military academy, Commissario Brunetti's investigation entangles him in the strange and stormy politics of Venice's powerful elite

Neither Commissario Brunetti nor his wife Paola have ever had much sympathy for the Italian armed forces, so when a young cadet is found hanged, at Venice's elite military academy, Brunetti's emotions are complex: pity and sorrow at the death of a boy close in age to his own son, and contempt and irritation for the arrogance and high-handedness of the boy's teachers and fellow students.

The young man is the son of an ex-politician, a man of an impeccable integrity all too rare in Italian politics. But as Brunetti - and the indispensable Signorina Elettra - investigate further, no one seems willing to talk. Is this the natural reluctance of Italians to involve themselves with the authorities, or is Brunetti facing a conspiracy of silence?

My Take

This case sits very badly with Guido Brunetti. He can't accept that a 17 year old with his life before him would commit suicide, and he doesn't like the way his fellow students are so non-commital about the boy. Brunetti also thinks there is something very wrong with the reaction of the boy's father to his son's death.

A very thought provoking read which tells you a lot about Brunetti's principles and the way the system works.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

ABOUT FACE

THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY

4.4, A QUESTION OF BELIEF

4.5, BEASTLY THINGS

4.4, QUIETLY IN THEIR SLEEP

3.9, THE JEWELS OF PARADISE

4.8, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

4.5, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, Donna Leon - abridged audio version

4.6, DEATH IN A STRANGE COUNTRY

4.7, BY ITS COVER

4.5, THE GOLDEN GOOSE

4.8, THE WATERS OF ETERNAL YOUTH

4.5, FALLING IN LOVE

4.8, EARTHLY REMAINS

4.6, TRANSIENT DESIRES - #30

4.7, SO SHALL YOU REAP - #32

4.6, GIVE UNTO OTHERS - #31

4.6, A REFINER'S FIRE - #33

Review: NOT QUITE DEAD YET, Holly Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 06:52:00 +0000

This edition a trade paperback supplied by my local library
Published by Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK, 2025
ISBN 978-0-241-75369-9
430 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Twenty-seven years old, she’s back living with her parents, waiting for her life to begin. She’ll do it later, she always says. Her parents have their doubts. Until, on the night of Halloween, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic brain injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, she’ll suffer a deadly aneurysm.

Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her ex-best friend turned sister-in-law, her former boyfriend. She may only have seven days – if she even makes it that long – but Jet is absolutely determined to finally prove her doubters wrong.
Jet is going to solve her own murder.

My Take

Effectively Jet Mason is dead, or she will be about 7 days after an assailant struck her on the head in her own home. And Holly is determined to find out who "killed" her. Time is short, and the search is not something that Jet can put off which is what she usually does.

So we the readers are along with Jet for the ride, piecing the evidence together, willing her to live long enough to solve the mystery. An unusual scenario.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Holly Jackson (born 6 December 1992) is a British author of mystery novels. She is best known for her A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series.

Review: THE BIG FOUR, Agatha Christie

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:47:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
Originally published 1927
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FZLLJ87M, Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zenith Velvet Ink Publishing, 3 November 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-1070126516
Book 5 of 38 ‏ : ‎ Hercule Poirot

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Four ruthless masterminds. One brilliant detective. A conspiracy that spans the world.
When a mysterious visitor collapses at Hercule Poirot's doorstep, the great detective is drawn into a web of international intrigue unlike anything he has faced before.

Behind a series of murders, kidnappings, and coded messages lies the sinister organization known only as The Big Four — a secret alliance plotting to dominate the world through power, fear, and manipulation.
With Captain Hastings by his side, Poirot must match wits against the most formidable enemies of his career — including a criminal genius whose intelligence rivals his own.

The Big Four combines Christie's razor-sharp plotting with the tension of an international thriller, delivering relentless twists, deadly traps, and a mystery that tests the limits of Poirot's legendary "little grey cells."

My Take

I was surprised how much I enjoyed re-reading this novel for at least the fourth time. This time I have read it for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie reading group.

It is set after the First World War which has not ended in the sort of peace that the "winners" have envisaged, and in particular world politics seem to be destined to dominated by forces of evil. In particular an international intrigue of four people, three of whom Poirot has identified, but the identity of Number 4 is a puzzle, a chameleon whose physical characteristics appear to be different each time he makes an appearance.

To me the Poirot who features in this story is a stronger, almost younger, character than the man who appears in later novels. He is also held in high regard by those who "matter" in international governments, and certainly the Big Four regard him as important opponent, someone who needs to be dealt with.

The novel apparently began life as a series of short stories featuring Poirot with a connecting theme, although in same cases the connections are tenuous. It was then turned into a full length book and published after Christie's disappearance and re-appearance in 1926, and the resultant publicity seems to have ensured that it was a sales hit.

I found the Wikipedia article useful.

My previous reviews are here and here

My rating: 4.4

All my Agatha Christie reviews.

Review: THE DARKNESS, Ragnar Jonasson

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 04:04:00 +0000

This book read as an e-book on Libby from my local library
The Darkness (2018)
(The first book in the Hulda series)
Translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Spanning the icy streets of Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is an atmospheric thriller from Ragnar Jónasson, one of the most exciting names in Nordic Noir.

The body of a young Russian woman washes up on an Icelandic shore. After a cursory investigation, the death is declared a suicide and the case is quietly closed.

Over a year later Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is forced into early retirement at 64. She dreads the loneliness, and the memories of her dark past that threaten to come back to haunt her. But before she leaves she is given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. She knows which one: the Russian woman whose hope for asylum ended on the dark, cold shore of an unfamiliar country. Soon Hulda discovers that another young woman vanished at the same time, and that no one is telling her the whole story. Even her colleagues in the police seem determined to put the brakes on her investigation. Meanwhile the clock is ticking.

Hulda will find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger.

My Take

Another title that I'm reading for discussion with my U3A Crime Fiction Group.

Although it is the first in the Hulda series, chronologically it is the last in her story. I recently read THE MIST and I think I have read them in the correct chronological order. I am wondering if this "out of order" feature is actually based on the discovery of the books by the English publisher.

Hulda is not ready for retirement but her boss has already discovered a younger person to replace her. Hulda has a reputation of being hard to work with, although over the years she has achieved incredible results, but she is not a team player.

My Rating: 4.7

I've also read

Hulda Series
1. The Darkness (2018)
2. The Island (2019)
3. The Mist (2020)

Review: RUPTURE, Ragnar Jonasson

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 03:34:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Libby, provided by my local library
published in English originally 2016, in Icelandic 2012
translated by Quentin Bates
The fourth book in the Dark Iceland series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

1955.Two young couples move to the uninhabited, isolated fjord of Hedinsfjörður. Their stay ends abruptly when one of the women meets her death in mysterious circumstances. The case is never solved. Fifty years later an old photograph comes to light, and it becomes clear that the couples may not have been alone on the fjord after all…

In nearby Siglufjörður, young policeman Ari Thór tries to piece together what really happened that fateful night, in a town where no one wants to know, where secrets are a way of life. He's assisted by Ísrún, a news reporter in Reykjavik, who is investigating an increasingly chilling case of her own. Things take a sinister turn when a child goes missing in broad daylight. With a stalker on the loose, and the town of Siglufjörður in quarantine, the past might just come back to haunt them.

Haunting, frightening and complex, Rupture is a dark and atmospheric thriller from one of Iceland's foremost crime writers.

My Take

I seem to be reading books by this Icelandic author all out of order. This title I am reading for discussion with my U3A Crime Reading Group.

However, a saving grace, you do seem to be able to read them as stand-alones, and they do make compelling reads.

This story in RUPTURE does not originally seem to involve a crime, until detective Ari Thor, time on his hands because the town is in lockdown, doing a favour for a friend, works out that there is a mystery in the old photo from 50 years before. A great puzzle.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

Dark Iceland series in English
1. Snowblind (2015)
2. Nightblind (2015)
3. Blackout (2016)
4. Rupture (2016)
5. Whiteout (2017)
6. Winterkill (2020)

Hulda
1. The Darkness (2018)
2. The Island (2019)
3. The Mist (2020)

Review: THE SNACK THIEF, Andrea Camilleri

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 02:50:00 +0000

This edition read on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
Translated by Stephen Sartarelli
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006NV9C4K
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 October 2005
Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1743291474
Book 3 of 28 ‏ : ‎ Inspector Montalbano Mysteries

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

The third novel in Camilleri's savagely witty and hauntingly atmospheric Sicilian mystery series featuring Inspector Montalbano.

Never has Inspector Montalbano's character - a unique blend of humor, cynicism, compassion, earthiness, and love of good food - been more compelling than in Andrea Camilleri's third Montalbano novel, The Snack Thief.

When an elderly man is stabbed to death in an elevator and a crewman on an Italian fishing trawler is machine-gunned by a Tunisian patrol boat off Sicily's coast, only Inspector Montalbano suspects a link between the two incidents. His investigation leads to the beautiful Karima, an impoverished house cleaner and sometime prostitute, whose young son steals other school children's mid-morning snacks. But Karima disappears, and the young snack thief's life - as well as Montalbano's - is endangered when the inspector exposes a viper's nest of government corruption and international intrigue.

My Take

I have only read a couple of novels by this highly rated Italian author. This one I am reading for discussion with my U3A Crime Fiction Reading Group.

Inspector Montalbano is a fascinating and vivid character, an unusual detective, a man with a rough exterior and a tender interior. The plot combines the discovery of a local murder with the death of a trawlerman off the coast of Sicily in international waters.

The human side of Montalbano gets an outing too as he and his girl friend become involved in creating an instant family.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, AUGUST HEAT - #10
4.2, ROUNDING THE MARK - #7

Review: CUT SHORT, Leigh Russell

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 05:03:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (AmazonAU)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00796E1IA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Exit Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 23 May 2012
Print length ‏ : ‎ 435 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1842435830
Book 1 of 24 ‏ : ‎ DI Geraldine Steel

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

When D.I. Geraldine Steel relocates to the quiet rural town of Woolsmarsh, she expects to find her new home to be somewhere where nothing much ever happens; a place where she can battle her demons in private.

But when she finds herself pitted against a twisted killer preying on local young women she quickly discovers how wrong she is...

My Take

We know who the murderer is from about half way through this story, but we spend a lot of time learning about Geraldine Steel, as is appropriate for the beginning of a series, and also about the team she is working in.

Geraldine is a very thorough detective, willing to go over the evidence countless times. There are clues within the story about the nature of the killer, and the reason why he is attacking young women.

A series with promise.

My rating: 4.4

About the author

Leigh Russell has sold over a million crime fiction novels. Her Geraldine Steel titles published by No Exit Press have appeared on many bestseller lists, and reached #1 on kindle. Leigh's work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library, and her books have been optioned by major television production company Avalon Television. She chairs the CWA Debut Dagger Award judges and is a Consultant Royal Literary Fellow.

Leigh has also written stand alone thrillers, a dystopian novel, and a historical novel for Bloodhound Books, and the Lucy Hall international mystery series published by Thomas and Mercer.

Find out more about Leigh on her website http://www.leighrussell.co.uk where news, reviews and interviews are posted, with a schedule of Leigh's appearances. You can contact Leigh via her website, where you can subscribe to her newsletter and follow her on Twitter and FaceBook.

Review: THE MIST, Ragnar Jonasson

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:37:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Libby, supplied by my local library
Published: 16 February 2021
ISBN: 9781405934886
Pages: 352

Synopsis (publisher)

The final nail-biting instalment in the critically acclaimed Hidden Iceland series

1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland.

The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't.

The couple should never have let him in. But they did.

An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir will be haunted forever.

My Take

As you do sometimes, I was half way through this book when I realised that the story was familiar, but as I couldn't remember how it finished, I continued.

The fact that it was the third in a series meant nothing to me, and it works well as a standalone.

Two days before Christmas, in a blinding snow storm, a knock comes at the door of an isolated farm house in East Iceland. Only two people live there, but they are expecting their daughter to come for Christmas.They can't turn the stranger away and invite him to stay the night in the hope that the storm will have abated in the morning and he can be on his way.. The phone landline dies and the power goes out, and Erla, the wife, doesn't believe the tale the stranger asks them to believe. Her husband is more trusting.

And so murder is committed.

By the time the investigation begins Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir from Reyjkavik has just returned to work and she probably shouldn't have been there, but she feels it is better to be occupied, rather than be at home mourning her loss.

As Hulda unpacks what has happened at the farm house, she make connections, some of which the reader has probably suspected, but some that come as a complete surprise.

Be sure to ask yourself the meaning of the title.

My rating: 4.6

I have also read

Review: DO NOT DISTURB, Freida McFadden

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:22:00 +0000

This edition read as a large print book
Published 2021, large print 2025, Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-4205-2785-8
363 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Quinn Alexander has committed an unthinkable crime.

To avoid spending her life in prison, Quinn makes a run for it. She leaves behind her home, her job, and her family. She grabs her passport and heads for the northern border before the police can discover what she’s done.

But when an unexpected snowstorm forces her off the road, Quinn must take refuge at the broken-down, isolated Baxter Motel. The handsome and kindly owner, Nick Baxter, is only too happy to offer her a cheap room for the night.

Unfortunately, the Baxter Motel isn’t the quiet, safe haven it seemed to be. The motel has a dark and disturbing past. And in the dilapidated house across the way, the silhouette of Nick's ailing wife is always at the window. Always watching.

In the morning, Quinn must leave the motel. She'll pack up her belongings and get back on the road to freedom.

But first, she must survive the night.

DO NOT DISTURB is a Hitchcock-style psychological thriller that will keep you tearing through the pages until you reach the shocking conclusion!

My Take

This novel is fast paced, with deceptive characters and plot twists that activate without much warning, including an unexpected twist at the end. A quick read for most.

I know that this is an author that I will look for in the future. She already has 20 stand-alone novels and 8 others.

This edition has a set of Reader's Group questions at the end to consider.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

Review: LAST ONE OUT, Jane Harper

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 02:26:00 +0000

Read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon_au)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FDQ5LNDS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Australia, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 14 October 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 372 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761774676

Synopsis (Amazon_au)

He had been here, that was clear from the marks in the dust. And he had been alone.

In a dying town, Ro Crowley waits for her son on the evening of his 21st birthday.

But Sam never comes home. His footprints in the dust of three abandoned houses offer the only clue to his final movements. One set in. One set out.

Five long years later, Ro returns to Carralon Ridge for the annual memorial of Sam's disappearance. The skeletal community is now an echo of itself, having fractured under the pressure of the coal mine operating on its outskirts.

But Ro still wants answers. Only a few people remain. If the truth is to be found in that town, does it lie among them?

My Take

A very different story from an accomplished author. A slower read than previous novels but the puzzles are there to be solved. The description of the dying town is well done.

Sam Crowley disappeared on his 21st birthday in the dying rural town of Carralon Ridge, with no clues about what happened to him. His disappearance closely followed an unexpected suicide but were the two connected?

The resolution is a surprise.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

Review: HUNTED, Abir Mukherjee

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 01:57:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon.com.au)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CCKTMN5G
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Digital, 2204
Print length ‏ : ‎ 468 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529926514
** WINNER OF THE CRIME & THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2025 **
* WINNER OF THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIAR CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025**
A TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR

Synopsis

The clock is ticking. Who will find them first?

The epic and thrilling story of two parents thrown together to stop their children from committing an unthinkable crime.

A missing daughter. Suspected of plotting a terror attack in the US.

A father arrested. Police storm Heathrow Airport to bring him in for questioning about his daughter.

A terrifying connection. In Florida, a mother discovers a link between her son and the missing girl, fearing they have been radicalised.

Hunted. On the run from the authorities, the two parents are thrown together to find their children before the FBI does and more lives are lost.

My Take

The author's first stand alone novel, a political thriller with global themes where young people take revenge, carry bombs into public places, are seduced into taking violent action.

Two parents travel the world to try to rescue their children.

Breathtaking.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

Review: WINTER DEAD, Lynne McEwan

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 06:50:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Libby, provided by my local library
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canelo Crime, Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2025
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1835980699
Book 6 of 6 ‏ : ‎ Detective Shona Oliver

Synopsis (publisher)

How do you solve a murder when you don't have the body?

A blood-soaked hammer is discovered in a lorryload of wood delivered to a local pub. DI Shona Oliver appears to have a murder weapon, but where is the victim?

Then a call comes in that local forest ranger and ex-soldier John MacFarlane isn't answering his phone. There's no sign of MacFarlane at his cottage, and the only clue the team have to go on is a bloody trail in the snow which ends abruptly and leads to nowhere. A manhunt begins.

It seems something from MacFarlance's past may have caught up with him. But what exactly is unclear. And Shona has her own past to contend with when someone from long ago makes an unexpected reappearance. Can she keep her head in the game?

My Take

I've gone against my usual principles and have plucked this novel from the end of a series. The plot is provoking. A blood stained hammer seems to indicate there may be a body somewhere. A missing ranger is identified. And then a popular poet goes missing and Shona needs to organise a search for him too.

Resources are stretched with the arrival of a huge coastal storm, a hang glider crashes against a cliff, and the personal problems intervene. Well constructed and involving.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Glasgow-born Lynne McEwan is a former newspaper photographer turned crime author. She’s covered stories including the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the first Gulf War in addition to many high profile murder cases. Her DI Shona Oliver series is set on the beautiful Solway Firth which forms the border between Scotland and England, and where Shona is also a lifeboat volunteer. Lynne is an alumni of the University of East Anglia's Creative Writing programme with an MA (Crime Fiction). She splits her time between Lincoln and Scotland.

Review: DRUID'S MOOR, Rhys Dylan

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 03:32:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FGCQQHCK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 4, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185525
Book 18 of 20 ‏ : ‎ DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller

Synopsis (Amazon)

On the moor, not all the beasts walk on four legs.

On a windswept moor, a child emerges from the mist with a story no one wants to believe. The farmer who finds her assumes she’s simply lost. But when she utters a chilling phrase—“We went to see the old ones”—he realises something is terribly wrong.

As Detective Evan Warlow battles his own demons, he and the team are pulled into a case of ritualistic secrets, long-buried crimes, and the whispers of something darker lurking in the mist.

In the empty heart of Wales, legends are harmless. It’s the people you need to fear.

My Take

This book brings to a close a number of themes and stories that have been bubbling along for a swathe of titles in this series. In addition Evan Warlow is reminded very strongly of his own humanity.

A very satisfying read but you really need to have been reading the series to appreciate the structure.

Having said that, I have realised, looking at the list of what I've read, that I have missed a couple.

Book 16: One Less Snake
Book 17: A Word With The Dead:

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, LINES OF INQUIRY - #9

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10

4.6, THE LIGHT REMAINS - #11

4.6, A MATTER OF EVIDENCE - #12

4.5, THE LAST THROW - #13

4.6, DRAGON'S BREATH - #14

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15

Review: LAST SEEN WEARING, Colin Dexter

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 03:56:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FG3X5NH8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pan, Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 21, 2009
Originally published 1976
Print length ‏ : ‎ 309 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330468527
Book 2 of 13 ‏ : ‎ Inspector Morse

Synopsis (Amazon)

Last Seen Wearing is the second Inspector Morse novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series.

Why now? Why Friday 12th September – two years, three months and two days after Valerie Taylor had left home to return to afternoon school?
He frowned. ‘Something’s turned up, I suppose.’
Strange nodded. ‘Yes.’

After leaving her home in Oxford to return to school in London, seventeen-year-old Valerie Taylor completely vanished. Despite the efforts of the police and Chief Inspector Ainley, the trail went cold and she was never found.

Two years on, Ainley is dead, and Inspector Morse is handed the case. But now, someone has decided to supply some surprising new evidence . . .

My Take

This title, the second in the Morse series, was first published 50 years ago. I have read it before, and have read it again for my U3A Crime Reading Group.

Morse is given the case of the disappearance of Valerie Taylor after the death in a road accident of the original investigator. After over 2 years since Valerie left home Morse is convinced she is dead. Lewis is less convinced. They haven't worked together very often so they are still learning about each other.

Morse comes up with a number of theories about what has happened and then Lewis goes down with the flu.

An intriguing investigation

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, LAST BUS TO WOODSTOCK - #1
4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection
4.5, THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE - #7
4.6, THE WENCH IS DEAD -#8
4.3, SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD - #4
4.4, LAST SEEN WEARING - #2
4.6, THE RIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILE - #6
4.6, THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS - #9
4.8. THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS - #10
4.7, THE DAUGHTERS OF CAIN - #11,
4.7, DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR - #12
5.0, THE REMORSEFUL DAY, Colin Dexter - #13

Review: BLOOD PACT, Fiona McIntosh

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:44:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Libby provided by my local library
Published: 2 December 2025, Penguin Australia
ISBN: 9781761343612
Pages: 384
#6 Jack Hawkesworth series

Synopsis (Publisher)
Detective Superintendent Jack Hawksworth is seconded by counter-terrorism to investigate a spate of domestic events. First it was needles in strawberries, then tampering with lipstick samplers and baby formula. But when toxic mushrooms enter the market system and a death occurs, a wave of terror is set to sweep the country. Breaking news of a possible serial killer only heightens the alarm.

There are no leads, no DNA, no witnesses, no CCTV footage. Jack and his team must work on instinct to figure out why someone would want to harm innocent victims, each of them curiously linked to a single blood transfusion.

When a hospital bomb threat erupts, it is up to the team to prevent the inevitable bloodshed. The clock is ticking, and no one is safe from the possibility of a tragedy on a catastrophic scale.

My Take

A quality offering from a local (Adelaide) author which moves at a fast pace and is filled with believable scenarios and well drawn characters. I regret that I haven't read all in this series and should remedy that some time.

There are plenty of red herrings as Jack's team attempts to identify the person behind the domestic terrorist events, and then a real surprise as the perpetrator is identified and we move into the culmination.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

Review: THE HOUSE IN THE WATER, Victoria Darke (aka Victoria Scott)

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 02:46:00 +0000

this edition, large print, supplied by my local library
published by Boldwood Books 2024
ISBN 978-1-83561-692-5
498 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

A secluded house. A lost notebook. A wartime secret.

1942: Young Irish nurse Ellen arrives at May Day House, tasked with helping the men there rehabilitate. But there’s something strange about the house, surrounded by water, on its own island in the Thames. And then there are the men: traumatised by their experiences of war, and subject to troubling methods in a desperate race to get them back to duty. As Ellen gets drawn into the world of May Day House, she starts to realise this will be no place to hide away from her own troubles…

2013: Philip and Meredith are the proud new owners of May Day House. Following a string of tragedies, the couple have moved to the area in search of a new start. But all is not what it seems in the riverside community. As their plans for the rundown house meet resistance from the neighbours, Meredith finds herself slowly unravelling: she hears voices on the water, sees figures where there can be no one there. When she finds an old notebook from the war, she seeks solace in the stories about the former patients of the island.

But will shadows from the past threaten her future happiness – and even her life?

My Take

The publisher refers to this story as a "Gothic timeslip novel", the first time I have seen that term used. It is set in two time frames, 70 years apart, around a house on a small island on the Thames, used as a hospital during World War II for soldiers suffering from the trauma they experienced in the war.

The new owners of May Day House are hoping to renovate it and bring new life to it but local residents are very much opposed to their plans. There are overtones of memories of the past reaching out into the present. This aspect of the story is very well done.

Meredith is certain that there are things that her husband Phillip is not telling her, and his absences as an airline pilot put additional stress on her already fragile mind.

Recommended.

My rating: 4.5

About the Author

Victoria Scott has been a journalist for many media outlets including the BBC and The Telegraph. She is the author of three novels published by Head of Zeus. Her first book for Boldwood is a Gothic timeslip novel, The House in the Water.

Review: A DEADLY AFFAIR IN THE DALES, Maria Malone

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:19:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DWT1MG35
Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Exit Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 14, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 303 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1835012291
(Wren & Wilson 1) Kindle Edition
alternative title: Death in the Countryside

Synopsis (Amazon)

A delightful Yorkshire cosy mystery with a detective sergeant, her loyal spaniel and a town full of secrets.
Meet Sergeant Ali Wren and her trusty companion Officer Police Dog Wilson, a springer spaniel with a nose for trouble. Together they serve the small Yorkshire town of Heft, where everyone knows everyone else's business. And if they don't, that's a cause for concern…

Ali, who has just returned home to Heft, needs all her diplomatic skills, not to mention a huge sense of humour, to navigate the requirements of her job. Drama lurks around every corner, from rogue parking in the disabled bays to a feud between the long-established Hooley bakery and a fancy new 'cakery-bakery'. When Brian Bright reports his wife Melody missing, at first Ali thinks it's just another routine case. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Melody has simply left, tired of playing a supporting role to Brian's obsession with classic cars and his first (dead) wife.

But something niggles. When Ali and Wilson doggedly continue their investigation, they find there was more to Melody than anyone realised – and more to her disappearance too…

My Take

I have thoroughly enjoyed this new cozy, and look forward to another when it comes.

The author has created strong characters and believable scenarios. The plot features a number of spin-offs and reminded me a little in structure of local writer Garry Disher's Hirsch series which is not as cozy but also describes the role played by a local policeman.

5.0, BITTER WASH ROAD - Hirsch #1 - aka HELL TO PAY

5.0, PEACE- Hirsch #2

5.0, CONSOLATION - Hirsch #3

4.7, DAY'S END- Hirsch #4

4.7, MISCHANCE CREEK - Hirsch #5

My rating: 4.5

About the author
Maria Malone's first crime novel, A Deadly Affair in the Dales (published as Death in the Countryside in the US) is set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Heft, and features Sergeant Ali Wren and her trusty police dog, Officer Wilson, a spaniel with a nose for trouble.

Maria worked in print journalism and television before ghostwriting for many years, working with extraordinary people on their autobiographies. A former Yorkshire Press Awards Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year, she lives in the North-East of England.

Review: DAUGHTERS OF BATAVIA, Stefanie Koens

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 02:15:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Libby supplied by my local library
ISBN: 9781460766163
ISBN-10: 1460766164
Published: Harper Collins Publishers, AU, 29th July 2025
Number of Pages: 384
winner Banjo Prize for fiction
Longlisted for Best Debut Fiction in the Indie Book Awards 2026

Synopsis (publisher)

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them - and much more - in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck. The powerfully moving historical debut from the winner of the Banjo Prize for Fiction.

Two women. One shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, a hard-working English teacher who never does anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia's remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers - both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies - only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship's reluctant under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia and Aris - their lives linked by secrets that span generations - carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love.

My Take

The story of the wreck of the Batavia on Houtman's Abrolhos was told to me when I was quite young. I thoroughly enjoyed this re-telling with its dual time frames. We slipped easily between the present and 400 years ago. The characters in both were well presented and the stories were credible.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Stefanie Koens grew up in Perth, reading, writing and dreaming of stories. As a teenager she won prizes in the Mary Durack Young Writers Award, then studied English, History and Education at Notre Dame University. She loves bringing local history to life and capturing family stories.

Review: THE CAT, Georges Simenon

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 04:01:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F1R19JDK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin, Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2025
Originally published 1967
Print length ‏ : ‎ 154 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1802068962
translated by Ros Schwartz

Synopsis (Amazon)

An acerbic tale of marital warfare and emotional estrangement, in a brilliant new translation

In the oppressive silence of the sitting room, the woman finally smoothed out the paper and, without putting on her glasses, read the two words her husband had written:

The cat.

Amidst the din of their Parisian neighbourhood, Émile and Marguerite live in total silence. After a hasty marriage in their sixties, their uneasy peace was shattered when Émile’s beloved cat mysteriously disappeared and was later found dead. Branding his wife the culprit, Émile’s retaliation against Marguerite’s cherished parrot sparked a silent battle of wills. Now they live parallel lives, communicating only through spiteful notes, mocking glances and mute accusations. As their suspicion and resentment mount, this bitter game of psychological warfare becomes a twisted necessity, binding them together in a relentless cycle of torment from which there can only be one escape.

First published in 1967, The Cat is a masterful exploration of marital discord, loneliness and the absurdity of human relationships, painting a vivid portrait of two souls trapped in quiet desperation.

My Take

A novella or a long short story rather than a full length novel, this explores loneliness and incompatibility within a marriage that both partners have come to too late. The marriage appears to come to grief over the poisoning of Émile’s beloved cat but in fact it was doomed long before that. Simenon makes the reader feel how loveless the marriage is. There are just too many other obstacles.

I've read this as Simenon is one of the authors our U3A Crime Fiction Reading group is exploring in 2026.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

Review: THE CUT THROAT TRIAL, S.J. Fleet

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:04:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F74L6DHV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador, Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 29, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 440 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761773204
THE FIRST LEGAL THRILLER FROM THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING SECRET BARRISTER WRITING AS S. J. FLEET

Synopsis (Amazon)

It is one of the biggest trials of the year. Three seventeen-year-old boys are accused of the brutal murder of an elderly teacher on New Year's Eve.

Each boy denies it.
Each points the finger at the other two.
But they can’t all be innocent.

The three defence barristers have only one job: to persuade the jury that their client is not guilty. But they’re up against a prosecutor who needs to win the case, no matter the cost.

Because when the game is murder, the competition is deadly.

Launching a brilliant new voice in crime fiction, a criminal barrister with an incomparable insider’s knowledge, The Cut Throat Trial is the most gripping thriller of the year.

My Take

I have thought very hard about the implications of starting this year's reviews with book with a rating of 5.0, but have decided that I really can't give it less.

The story involves a British murder trial where a jury is required to give a verdict of guilty or not guilty against each of 3 teenagers accused of murdering an elderly retired teacher. The narrative is very detailed and is told from multiple points of view: of the judge, the prosecutor and the defence lawyers, as well as the accused. It is virtually a "warts and all" narrative, considering what has influenced each of the boys, what is disclosed to the jury, what the verdicts were and why, and then what really happened. It successfully puts the reader in the position of a member of the jury, trying to come to the right decision.

This book reminded me very strongly of DICE by Claire Baylis in which a jury in New Zealand is required to give the verdict on several charges in a rape case involving four teenagers. That novel focussed on the points of view of the jury.

My rating: 5.0

About the author

S.J. Fleet is the pen name of The Secret Barrister, a bestselling author and junior barrister specialising in criminal law.

They write for many publications and are the author of the award-winning blog 'The Secret Barrister'. They regularly appear in national print and broadcast media, and in 2020 Channel 4 News produced a four-part documentary series, The Secret Barrister: Disordered Justice.

Their debut book, The Secret Barrister: Stories of The Law and How It's Broken, was a Sunday Times number one bestseller and spent more than a year in the top-ten bestseller charts. It won the Books Are My Bag Non-Fiction Book of the Year award and was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and the Specsavers Non-Fiction Book of the Year.

Happy New Year 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Click on the image to see a Jacquie Lawson card

Review: THE SEA HOUSE, Louise Douglas

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 03:27:00 +0000

This edition a large print version from my local library
First published in Great Britain in 2024 by Boldwood Books
ISBN 978-1-83751-649-0
472 pages

Synopsis (Publisher)

A mysterious bequest and the legacy of a tragic love – only one person can unravel the hidden secrets of the past before it’s too late…

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is…

Elisabeth’s family turn to Touissants detective agency for help but, when Mila Shepherd and Carter Jackson try to track Astrid down, their frustration soon mounts. Their only clue is a photo of two young women holding the hands of a tiny child. The women are smiling but Mila is haunted by the sadness in their eyes. Is this Astrid and Elisabeth and if so, who is the child? And why are there signs everywhere in Elisabeth’s home that the old woman was frightened despite her living a quiet life with no known enemies?

As Elisabeth and Astrid’s story slowly unfolds, Mila feels the walls of her home The Sea House closing in. And as the secrets finally begin to reveal themselves, she is ever more determined to carry out Elisabeth’s final wishes. Because what is inside that unprepossessing parcel might just save a life…

Louise Douglas is back in the Brittany seaside town of Morranez with a heart-stopping, heart-breaking, brilliantly written and utterly compelling mystery!

My Take

In many ways a romantic thriller. I struggled at first to get my head around the background to this story. Mila Shepherd has come to Brittany to look after her niece Ani whose parents died mysteriously at sea two years earlier. Mila's sister's body was found soon after the disaster but her brother in law's body has turned up recently in a local cave. The evidence found in the cave raises questions about how he died.

Mila is working for her stepmother at the Touissants detective agency which specialises in tracking people down.

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is…

The search for Astrid Oake takes Mila to England where Astrid's family was killed in a tragedy nearly 20 years earlier.

The plot gets better as it goes on, and eventually I really became invested in working everything out.

My rating: 4.4

About the author
Louise was born in Sheffield but has lived in North Somerset for the past 20 years. She has three beautiful sons, and lives with her partner, who works in construction.

Review: THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS, Agatha Christie

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 01:10:00 +0000

this edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08XB5JYLR
Publisher ‏ : ‎ AC Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 16, 2025
Originally published 1925
Print length ‏ : ‎ 605 pages - this rather inflated, more like 400 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9895623426
Book 1 of 4: Superintendent Battle

Synopsis (Amazon)

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger.

As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret...

My Take (heavily reliant on an earlier review)

I don't appear to have read this novel as often as many other Christie novels. There are elements that I feel are rather weak, lots of red herrings, and a huge number of characters.

I have re-read it this time for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading Group in 2026.

I note also that at the time of reading this novel has been published for 100 years. The plot and its themes are perhaps a little dated, certainly some of the "romantic" dialogue seemed to be. On the other hand I am struggling to think of other authors who published over 100 years ago, that we are still reading.

CHIMNEYS begins in Bulawayo, Africa, when Jimmy McGrath runs across his old friend Anthony Cade. Jimmy has in his possession a manuscript that needs to be delivered to a publisher in London by a particular date. He also has a bundle of incriminating love letters that he wants returned to the person who wrote them. He can't take them himself as he on the hunt for some gold.
Cade agrees to take on both tasks, and travels to London by steamer in the guise of James McGrath.

One of elements of this story is political intrigue related to the kingdom of Herzoslovakia in the Balkins. Its last king was assassinated seven years earlier and the kingdom has been a republic ever since. However the heir to the throne is attempting to claim it back. The Herzoslovakian links in the story become important because the manuscript is the memoir of a former Prime Minister.

The action moves to London and then on to Lord Caterham's country house Chimneys, where a murder takes place. Christie's search for a suitable protagonist continues. THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS marks the appearance of yet another, this time a Scotland Yard detective, Superintendent Battle. He is assigned to this case because of the importance of Chimneys, which is apparently often used as a pleasant meeting place for affairs of state. We are told Battle is a man of "ripe experience", and there certainly seems an attempt to give him a modicum of intelligence, and to allow him at times to be a step or two ahead of others in his understanding and intuition. On the other hand he is often poker-faced and expressionless.

Other people who will appear in later novels are Caterham's daughter Eileen Brent (Bundle) and Bill Eversham, a young clerk from the foreign office. Colonel Melrose makes a cameo appearance as the Chief Constable although in later stories and novels he will be the Coroner.

The novel is possibly set I think in "real time". There is a reference to European nations rebuilding for the past 7 years, which seems to indicate a passage of time since a cataclysm, possibly the Great War. There is however no other reference to those events. There is also a reference to the previous, assassinated, queen of Herzoslovakia having claimed Romanov connections.
Perhaps I am mistaken and the setting is actually in the period just before World War I when the Balkans was in great turmoil. Another point in favour of this earlier period is the reference to Bertillon measurements as a means of identifying a person. These were measurements taken of various parts of the body: a system in common use in France in the late 19th century.

This is a novel in which many characters are not who they seem to be, beginning with Anthony Cade who poses as Jimmy McGrath. There are many who are leading a double life, and it becomes difficult for the reader to decide who is on whose side.

There are elements in THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS that really don't work all that well. The idea of an arch criminal which first appeared in THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT makes an
appearance, as does the idea of conspiracy and secret societies, in this case the Society of the Red Hand. The Koh-i-noor diamond, part of the British Crown Jewels since 1858, makes a puzzling appearance.

This is also a novel in which Christie shows that she doesn't really care if the reader has all the information, that we should expect that she will keep cards up her sleeve to be revealed in the final denouement. The novel is full of red herrings, and at the end we ask ourselves if we had enough information to solve the mystery. A pattern that is becoming a trademark in her novels even by this, the 5th one, is that in the final pages the cast of characters will be gathered and all will be revealed.

I wouldn't rate this as one of her best novels, although at the time of publication it was well received. It feels rather over-populated with characters, heavily reliant on ideas of conspiracy, intrigue and political upheaval, with some romantic elements.

On the other hand, I had worked out the answer to the central mystery about half way through, but failed dismally on the identity of King Victor.

My rating: 4.0

My Agatha Christie reviews

Review: I AM PILGRIM, Terry Hayes

noreply@blogger.com (Kerrie) — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 05:41:00 +0000

This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00D3NSDVO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transworld Digital, originally published 2013
Print length ‏ : ‎ 705 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1448170609
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2014
a bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club pick

Synopsis (Amazon)

The astonishing story of one man's breakneck race against time to save America from oblivion.

A FATHER PUBLICLY BEHEADED. Killed in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square.

A YOUNG WOMAN DISCOVERED. All of her identifying characteristics dissolved by acid.

A SYRIAN BIOTECH EXPERT FOUND EYELESS. Dumped in a Damascus junkyard.

SMOULDERING HUMAN REMAINS. Abandoned on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan.

PILGRIM. The codename for a man who doesn't exist. A man who must return from obscurity. The only man who can uncover a flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity.

My Take

I seem to be reading long books lately. Here is another one.

I would classify it as a thriller rather than my usual crime fiction. But despite its length, there wasn't a moment when I considered stopping. Those who have called it a page turner are right.

It brings together a number of seemingly disconnected stories against a background of events that we are very familiar with and that have shaped our world in the last thirty or so years.

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Terry Hayes is a highly reputed English-born author from the United States, who likes to write mystery and thriller novels. He is also a noteworthy screenwriter and producer, best known for his collaborations with the production house of Kennedy Miller.
Author Terry was born on October 8, 1951, in England. Before getting worldwide recognition as a writer of mystery novels, author Terry used to originally work as a journalist in New York. He was involved in this profession for a considerable amount of time. On one occasion he got the chance to meet the popular Hollywood director named George Miller while he was doing the novelization of the plot of the 1979 famous movie Mad Max. After a few more unexpected meetings, the two began going along well. When they became acquainted with each other very well, author Terry was hired by George Miller to help him in developing the script for the sequel of Mad Max, called Mad Max 2.
Author Terry also wrote an unused screenplay of the popular Hollywood film called Planet of Apes in the year 1994. The script was titled as ‘Return of the Apes’.

As an author, Terry made his debut in the year 2013 with the release of his novel titled as ‘I Am Pilgrim’. This book was published by the Transworld publication. Just after one month of the release of the book, its film rights were acquired by the production company of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The production also hired author Terry for adapting the plot of the novel into the screenplay of the film.