Thursday 20 April 2017

Old Cross Cottage (Psychic Surveys #4) by Shani Struthers

Synopsis:

In a quiet Dorset Village, Old Cross Cottage has stood for centuries, overlooking the place where four roads meet. Marred by tragedy, it’s had a series of residents, none of whom have stayed for long. Pink and pretty, with a thatched roof, it should be an ideal retreat, but as new owners Rachel and Mark Bell discover, it’s anything but. 

Ruby Davis hasn’t quite told her partner the truth. She’s promised Cash a holiday in the country but she’s also promised the Bells that she’ll investigate the unrest that haunts this ancient dwelling. Hoping to combine work and pleasure, she soon realises this is a far more complex case than she had ever imagined.

As events take a sinister turn, lives are in jeopardy. If the terrible secrets of Old Cross Cottage are ever to be unearthed, an entire village must dig up its past.

My review:

I am so happy to be able to review another one of Shani’s books and on its publication days too. This is a fourth book the in Psychic Surveys series, but a first one for me and it read well as a standalone novel.

As always I was not disappointed. Although this book hasn’t spooked me as much as the others, the story went along well and kept you guessing till the end. The village and the cottage itself were described so well I could really picture it in my head (plus I love the cover!).

When Ruby told her boyfriend Cash that she found a lovely Dorset cottage for week’s holiday, she holds back on the fact that the cottage is riddled with unsettled spirits and she was actually contacted by the owners to see if she could move them on.

Things start going wrong right from the start and it’s not long before both Ruby and Cash feel the presence of more than one spirit. As they start to unravel the history of the cottage they soon realise that this case might not be as easy to solve and that the whole village is somehow involved.

Fabulous spooky book from Shani Struthers and I can’t wait to read the others. I have book one and three and my kindle and will now read them as soon as I can. For anyone who likes to be kept on the edge of their seat with the unknown at the grasp of their fingers, these books are perfect.

Thank you to the author for spooking me once again and #TBConFB for access to this book in return for this honest review.

My rating: 5/5

Author’s website: www.shanistruthers.com

Available to purchase from:

Wednesday 12 April 2017

As You Lay Sleeping by Katlyn Duncan

Synopsis:

I did it all for you…

Cara’s boyfriend is dead. When fingers start pointing at her, she knows she’s in more trouble than she originally thought. Because Cara can see that something isn’t right.

As her carefully constructed life begins to crumble, Cara isn’t sure who she is anymore.

But maybe that’s exactly what someone wants her to think…

My review:

When seventeen year old Cara finally answers the phone to her unwanted boyfriend she is relieved to hear that he wants to end their relationship. All she has to do is to go and see him for the last time. Unfortunately things don’t go to plan and Cara finds Joe dead.

When a detective starts digging into Joe’s death and an old friend Ryan turns up in town, Cara finds herself in the middle of her own investigation into the strange circumstances surrounding that awful night.

This is a YA crime novel and I found it written in a really good style that kept me interested throughout the book. Cara was a typical teenager trying to better herself, mixing with the high society. Ryan is a down to earth kid that somehow reminds Cara of who she really is and what is important in life.

The only thing slightly disappointing about this book is that I found the last few chapters quite rushed. I felt they were missing the attention to details that was so great in the rest of the novel.

Overall this is a great book, proper page turner and hugely recommended to all who like a bit of mystery and crime. It has some good elements of the upper classes and their abuse of power, money and drugs and on the other side the working class family, doing their best by their children.

Thank you to the author and #TBConFB for access to this book in return for this honest review.

My rating: 4/5

Author’s website: www.katlynduncan.com

Available to purchase from:

Friday 7 April 2017

After Anna by Alex Lake

Synopsis:

A bone-chilling psychological thriller that will suit fans of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Daughter by Jane Shemilt, and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. 

A girl is missing. Five years old, taken from outside her school. She has vanished, traceless. The police are at a loss; her parents are beyond grief. Their daughter is lost forever, perhaps dead, perhaps enslaved. But the biggest mystery is yet to come: one week after she was abducted, their daughter is returned. She has no memory of where she has been. And this, for her mother, is just the beginning of the nightmare.

My review:

Once in a while I still like to get to my printed books. I have over three hundred at home and there are some real crackers amongst them. This was most certainly one of them. I bought this book because I liked the cover - impulse buy, some might call it, but I also read the blurb and thought it sounded good. My son is five so it felt quite close to home.

It’s fabulous. It reminds me of Little House by Philippa Gregory - the overbearing mother-in-law, the mummy’s boy husband, the strange goings on.

The novel is written in two ways with some short chapters written in first person that is kind of supporting the perpetrator and eggs him on. The rest is written in third person and it seems to work very well as you get know a lot about the main characters Julia and her husband Bryan and of course the strained dynamic of their relationship, but you are also somehow allowed a first seat row in the mind of the kidnapper.

It’s clever, with good little twists. I kind of guessed what was going on about third of the way through, however I still enjoyed the book till its last page. And I had to finish the last 100 pages in one sitting meaning much less sleep last night. But it was worth it.

If you like clever psychological thrillers than this is for you. I can highly recommend this book and it will be one to stay with me.

My rating: 5/5

Author’s Twitter: @Alexlakeauthor

Available to purchase from:

Monday 3 April 2017

My Daddy The Serial Killer by Cindy Kovacik

Synopsis:

Katelyn Deason was young, naive, and innocent at six years old.

That is, until she made the mistake of descending those cellar steps and viewing the first of many horrors down below.

You see, her father wasn't who she thought he was. He wasn't the loving and "normal" daddy that all the other kids had. He was very different.

She soon realizes how different as the years pass and unspeakable things begin to happen.

Will Katelyn be able to cling to her sanity after witnessing all of Daddy's horrors?


My review:

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this novel and I must admit I wasn’t expecting it to be so evolved. It follows Katelyn from six years old when she first sees a woman tied to a chair ready for to be tortured by Katelyn’s father.

From then on the book follows Katelyn’s live and her adaption to the life her daddy serves up never having any friends until she’s a full grown teenager; then quickly following a life of drugs, sex and self-distraction.

What is intriguing is the complicated psychology of the relationship between a damaged child and her murderous father. They continue to play a game of cat and mouse throughout the book with Katelyn losing at nearly every corner.

This is certainly a book that will stay on my mind. It is very cleverly written with a real insight into a child’s mind.

A massive thanks you goes to the author for giving me access to this.

My rating: 4/5

Available to purchase from: