Cold Christmas (DCI Antonia Hawkins #4) by Alastair Gunn

Synopsis:

In the small village of Cold Christmas there's a church that faces the wrong way . . . What has it to do with the three dead men found in a London flat? DCI Antonia Hawkins has a killer to catch. Only she can't predict what is waiting for her at the end of the chase.

Nobody remembers the young men entering the abandoned London flat a few weeks ago. Nobody cares if they left. Until the unbearable smell of decay.

DCI Antonia Hawkins is called in to view the dead men; three, lying neat in a row. There's no damage to the bodies, no obvious cause of death. Is this a suicide pact? Or is that just how it's meant to look?

If there is a link between the three very different men then Hawkins needs to find it, and fast. Because unless she does, more are going to die. And they might not all be strangers.

My review:

When I got this book I haven’t realised that it’s part of a series. This is the forth book in Detective Inspector Antonia Hawkins series and although it did read fine as a standalone book I would have preferred to read them in order as there were hints throughout the book at previous cases and her personal life, which has now put me off reading the previous book – I feel I already know too much.

Three decaying bodies with no obvious signs of how they died left arranged on the floor of an abandoned flat. DCI Hawkins and her team are stuck on finding a motive, let alone the killer. But as they start to dig deeper into the victims’ history and as they retrace their footsteps, the team uncover a much deeper meaning to the deaths of the young men.

This is a great, fast paced crime novel. I really enjoyed learning about Toni’s live as well as the work she does and how the whole team work together. Her personal life with fiancé Mike seems to be woven well into the story and keeps the novel on a more human, believable level.

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

My rating: 4/5

Website: www.alastairgunn.com

Available to purchase from:

Amazon UK (published 16 November 2017)

Amazon US (published 01 February 2018)

Scavenger Girl: Season of Atchem by Jennifer Arntson (Scavenger Girl #1)

Firstly I would like to say a very Happy Birthday to Jennifer and happy publication day. And thank you very much for letting me be part of your author journey.

Jennifer Arntson

Author, dreamer, and sworn enemy of Caillou

Jennifer Arntson has a long history of crafting tales that people find unbelievable, but often true. As an observer of human and social development through the ages, a curiosity of faith, and dedication to the underprivileged of the developing world, Jennifer finds her creative outlet in stories and fables. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children, and a mini-farm of otherwise useless animals where the family eagerly caters to their every need.

Synopsis:

Stripped of their birthright and shunned by the people of Ashlund, Una and her family are forced to live on the fringe of society as Scavengers. When the family experiences a sudden change of circumstance, Una takes new freedoms, free from the Authority, her family and possibly her fate. Pulled between the life she's always known and a world where status and rituals are everything, Una struggles to understand a culture that has rejected her family and celebrates death. Time is running out and she can't stop thinking about what she fears the most: the coming of her womanhood and her subsequent price when she's taken to the Sellers Stage. As the Festival of the Three Moons draws near and she learns who she really is, will Una find the courage to do what it takes to ensure her family's survival, or will she find the faith to follow her heart?

My review:

I love a bit of fantasy and this book fits right into that genre. The synopsis I was sent didn’t give too much away which is how I kind of prefer to receive books. I can then really make up my own mind.

Right from page one you are thrown into the harsh world of Ashlund, where Citizens live by strict rules under the power of the priests and the threat of being excluded from the high society. On the other side of the coin you have the Scavengers (or Reclaimers). They live on what they can grow and find and make themselves. They also live in constant fear of being hunted, tortured and murdered by the Authority, who makes this their sport of choice.

Una is a teenage girl on the brink of womanhood, who has only ever known living as a Scavenger with her parents and two brothers. But things are starting to change. With the upcoming Atchem festival where girls are pretty much sold based on whether they are fertile or not, strange things start happening around her. She has dreams that too real; a horse they reclaim seems to understand every word she says.

And then there is Blue. The Citizen that pays Una the attention a lover pays to his sweetheart. And behind Una’s back a plan is being hatched between Una’s parents and Blue’s grandfather that would change her life forever.

But revelations within her own family threaten everything Una knows and she sets of on a dangerous path decisions that will shape everyone’s future. The bonds within her family are threatened and only her own instinct and understanding can stop a disaster.

I don’t want to give any more away. I loved the book and can’t wait for the next installment. A massive thanks to the author for sending me the book – I was very happy to share my review.

My rating: 5/5

Website: www.scavengergirl.com

Available to purchase from: free e-book on publication day 21/10/2017

Amazon UK

Amazon US

The Eleventh Floor (This Haunted World #2) by Shani Struthers

Synopsis:

A snowstorm, a highway, a lonely hotel…

Devastated by the deaths of her parents and disillusioned with life, Caroline Daynes is in America trying to connect with their memory. Travelling to her mother’s hometown of Williamsfield in Pennsylvania, she is caught in a snowstorm and forced to stop at The Egress hotel – somewhere she’d planned to visit as her parents honeymooned there.

From the moment she sets foot inside the lobby and meets the surly receptionist, she realises this is a hotel like no other. Charming and unique, it seems lost in time with a whole cast of compelling characters sheltering behind closed doors.

As the storm deepens, so does the mystery of The Egress. Who are these people she’s stranded with and what secrets do they hide? In a situation that’s becoming increasingly nightmarish, is it possible to find solace?

My review:

This is another cracker from the fabulous Shani Struthers. I love a good ghost story and Shani has got this brilliant talent in creating a believable world that you get lost in so easily.

The story follows Caroline, travelling through the states following the foot path of her parents. She gets caught in a snow storms and ends up having to stay at the old-fashioned hotel that she heard so much about from her mother. The Egress hotel has its charms but Caroline senses something strange within it walls.

Caroline meets various characters at the hotel and they each seem to have secrets and troubles of their own. There is also something sinister residing within the hotel’s corridors and following some terrible nightmares Caroline start fearing the strangeness of the place and how it is changing her, however the hotel has also given her the charming David for a company and she tries to focus on that as the happy part of her stay.

But this story is not just about fear and ghosts, it’s about a person’s journey, it’s about love and hate and history that can change someone’s path. I think this is so far my favourite book by Shani (well maybe on the same level as The Venetian). I suspected what was going on about half way through the book, but it still got a couple of tears out of me when it was done.

As I said this is a fabulous book for those long autumnal evenings, with the wind howling behind the windows and in the chimneys.

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

My rating: 5/5

Website: www.shanistruthers.com

Available to purchase from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

The Break by Marian Keyes

Synopsis:

Amy's husband Hugh isn't really leaving her.

At least, that's what he promises. He is just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. For six-months Hugh will lose himself in south-east Asia, and there is nothing Amy can say or do about it.

Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet . . .

It's been a long time since Amy held a briefcase in one hand and a baby in the other. She never believed she'd have to go it alone again. She just has to hold the family together until Hugh comes back.

But a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns, if he returns, will he be the same man she married? And will Amy be the same woman?

Because falling in love is easy. The hard part - the painful, joyous, maddening, beautiful part - is staying in love.

My review:

Fabulous book and Marian Keyes is back to her best. I still enjoyed her previous novel but I feel that The Break is the Marian Keyes we all know and love. Her humour is there, her brilliant insight into people’s relationships is there and well, the book has it all.

I loved Amy and Hugh. Well….I hated Hugh for a while, but with Marian’s magical descriptions of the turmoil of emotions people go through in a lifetime of one relationship, I had to grow to love Hugh too.

Hugh and Amy were far from perfect, but they had it all. Until they didn’t. This book shows perfectly how easy is to jump on the bandwagon and throw blame at the obvious person, the one that has left everyone else behind. But life is never that easy and both Hugh and Amy are brilliant examples of how self-growth is important for people to be able to invest their true self in the relationships they have with all people around them.

I loved the book. It brought me to tears quite a few times as I think most people will be able to identify themselves with some parts of the story. Is shows quite clearly that things are never what they seem and that we have to put to correct effort and work into our lives to feel fulfilled.

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

My rating: 5/5

Website: www.mariankeyes.com

Available to purchase from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US (24 October 2017)