Sarah

I love this book. Well written, informative, filled with some of the worst killers the world has seen.

Benjamin S. Jeffries tells their stories, including their childhood and adolescent years leading up to when they began their horrific crimes and how they were caught and brought to justice.

From Albert Fish to Louis Wagner to Ed Gein and more in between plus small bios of other killers at the end of each persons chapter, it is an enthralling book for all who are interested in the subject.

I will say again that I love this book just because I can!

Huge thanks to Benjamin S. Jeffries, Schiffer Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

The story starts with a video chat with Quinn, a 17 year old exchange student staying in France, she's trying to work out what's happened to her and to the family she was staying with, Emilie, Raphael and Noemie Blavette.

With chapter 2 we meet Molly, a reporter from Boston on holiday in France who helps Quinn figure everything out.

It's told on blog entries and video chats from Quinn's perspective and Molly as she remembers what she does to help her.

What happened to Quinn? What's happened to the Blavettes? Can Molly and Quinn work together to figure everything out? You'll have to read it to see!

A fast paced read that moves you along the story quite well, all the little bits of information gradually build and the pieces start to fit better as you work out what exactly has happened.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend it.

Huge thanks to Kate Horsley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Set in the Appalachian mountains and in the town of Baptist Flats, Tennessee we follow Deputy Dani Savage, or little Deputy as she's called due to her height and frame, she enjoys her job and wishes she would be taken more seriously, when 2 men are killed outside a bar she finds evidence that no-one else had noticed and sets about trying to find who killed these men.

Cut to Step Crawford and Kenny Fable, the Closeout Kings, the 2 men who committed the crime, who work for Boss and they ‘take care' of his problems for him.

When Dani is approached by a woman whose daughter went missing 20+ years ago she begins to nose around and talk to the police department who would've investigated it, the Rock Hollow police, what she finds is much bigger and more disturbing than she ever imagined.

Violent, funny and disturbing, this book was a quick and enjoyable read. The first I've read by this author but I will be keeping my eye out for more!

Huge thanks to C. Hoyt Caldwell, Random House Publishing Group - Alibi and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

When Jaya Jones is contacted by her old professor Lilith Vine, she is unsure whether to go and she her or not but curiosity gets the better of her. Lilith tells her that she believes she's found some missing artwork by Lazzaro Allegri, a protege of Michelangelo who left Italy to go to India where his work fused both cultures. She gives Jaya some notebooks and information for her to go through with the hopes that she will continue her quest for her.

When Lilith is found dead, Jaya, her brother Mahilan aka Fish and his girlfriend Ava journey to Italy in search of the artwork.

Things do not go as planned, secrets, lies and ghosts abound as Jaya tries to uncover clues as to where the artwork could be. Add in her best friend Sanjay and her secret boyfriend Lane, there are sure to be some misunderstandings and fun.

This is the first book I've read by Gigi Pandian but I do have another on my kindle ready to go and after reading this I know I'll enjoy it!

Huge thanks to Gigi Pandian, Henery Press and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

TJ Jensen is a high school PE teacher and, when she's not at work, she helps out in the family business, a selection of cabins, a restaurant and a shop. She's recently become the guardian of 2 young step-sisters after their mother died. If that wasn't enough she also helps around town with parties, social gatherings and events.

When her friend Zachary Collins is found dead the police brush it off as suicide but she finds it suspicious, she'd never noticed him acting suicidal and was quite happy recently.

She takes it upon herself to solve the mystery and find out who wanted Zachary dead.

With a wonderful cast of characters, a beautifully written setting and an intriguing mystery with a little bit of romance sprinkled in this is another series by Kathi Daley that I'm extremely eager to read more of!

Huge thanks to Kathi Daley, Henery Press and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Set in the fall of 1974 in Kansas City, Ellison Russell is part of the elite WASP crowd and, while at an event her mother has organised, she is saved from a marble bust falling on her which is brushed off as an accident, later that night her house is firebombed and she's shot at as she tries to put out the fire. With no idea why she's being targeted, or by who, her father enlists the gorgeous detective Anarchy Jones, who she has complicated feelings for, to stay at her house to protect her while the investigation into who wants her dead continues.

Add in her older sister Marjorie, her aunt Sis, her current beau Hunter Taft and a sprinkling of secrets and you have what is destined to be a crazy and fun time.

This is the first book I've read of this series and by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it, the characters are well written, the setting wonderfully evocative and the mystery well plotted.

I will pick up more by this author in the future.

Huge thanks to Julie Mulhern, Henery Press and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

This tells the story of Robert Coombes who, when he was 13 years old, murdered his mother, he then spent the next week or so seeing cricket, theatre shows and travelling to the seaside with his 12 year old brother Nattie, using all the money in the house.

The tale follows Roberts trial, his incarceration and what happened after his release.

Filled with well researched information plus the incision of how London was in the late 19th - early 20th century, other murders and much, much more with all sources and extra information in the bibliography at the back.

It's an extremely well written book and it's a wonderful read!

Huge thanks to Kate Summerscale, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Sarah, Ruth, Charlotte and Kathy all meet at university, they decide to move in together and we learn about their lives, families and the trials and tribulations of uni life and exam terror.

When their exams are over and they're waiting for their results they decide to go away for a weekend to relax, unwind and be together. 4 arrive but only 3 will leave. What happened?

25 years later the past comes back to haunt them when a man goes to the police to tell his story of the fateful day.

Secrets and lies follow the 3 remaining women, twists and turns are rife and you don't know who to trust as it leads up to its shocking conclusion.

I read Twisted River earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it so when I saw this on NetGalley I immediately requested it. This is a really good read, the 3 women can be a little unlikeable at times but it feeds the story and the unease. I will definitely be on the look out for more by Siobhan, I really enjoy her work.

Huge thanks to Siobhan MacDonald, Canelo and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Set in Newport, Rhode Island in 1896, this cosy mystery is, obviously, a period piece with wonderfully written characters and lovely descriptions of the house and it's surroundings.

We follow the main character Emmaline, a journalist, who is invited to her uncles house to interview the eclectic group of people staying there for a few weeks. We meet an opera singer, a Russian ballet dancer, a cello player, Mrs Edith Wharton and her husband Edward, a stage director, a sculptor and an artist. Quite a group of divas!

Things take a nasty turn when someone is found at the bottom of a cliff, was it suicide or was it murder!?
That's what Emmaline is determined to find out!

Huge thanks to Alyssa Maxwell, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Oh I <3 this book so very much!

I have a very large list of book to read on my kindle, a big selection of physical books on my shelves at home and let's not even talk about all my NetGalley reads!

After reading this, I now have a list of books I need to buy because Sally makes them sound so flippin good!

She talks about books so eloquently and pulls you into the magic of books you have yet to read and invokes the memories of books you've read before but have maybe forgotten.

Such a wonderful, wonderful read and easy to dip into when you need an extra kick of literary love.

Huge thanks to Sally Allen, Griffins Wharf and BetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Jamie and her husband Robert are on the search for the most haunted hotels in America, the hotels featured in this book are;

The Myrtles Plantation
The Queen Mary
The Copper Queen
The Kehoe House
1886 Crescent Hotel
Jerome Grand Hotel
Farnsworth House Inn
Lemp Mansion
The Stanley Hotel (my favourite!)
And
The Palmer House

Filled with history of the hotels and ideas of who the ghosts could be plus information about the nearest airports to the hotels, suggested places to visit and places to eat it's an extremely informative and interesting read.

Jamie wants good experiences with ghosts while Robert isn't expecting anything.

I really enjoyed this, especially about The Stanley Hotel, the place where Stephen King thought up the story for The Shining! I really want to go there!

I will be keeping my eyes open for the book Jamie has written about Asylums, prisons and hospitals because I imagine some scary happenings went on in that!

Huge thanks to Jamie and Robert Whitmer, Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

This starts as it means to go on! Action, blood, gore and violence! Along with a kick ass family who will stop at nothing to see the Jersey Devil gone forever.

The first couple of chapters take place 5 years before the rest of the story begins, we meet Jane who is disposing of her violent husband Henrys body and then Michael and John who are in the midst of delivering/dumping stuff in the woods. Can you guess what happens?

Moving on to present day we meet Sam ‘Boompa' Willet and his family, son Bill, his wife Carol and their children Ben, April and Daryl, they've all been raised to take on the Jersey Devil if, or when, he rears his ugly head again. Add in Norm Cranston, a famous Cryptozoologist, and you have the rag tag bunch who band together to go a hunting.

Furious and fast-paced this is all I wished for in this book but I received so much more! I love, love, love the characters, the action is wonderful, the setting is creepy as is the Jersey Devil, it's a gore filled romp through the woods with plenty of fire power and craziness.

I will, most definitely, be reading more by Hunter Shea and I hope they'll all be as good as this!

Huge thanks to Hunter Shea, Kensington Books, Pinnacle and BetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Cora Chevalier, along with her best friend Jane Starr and her daughter London, have recently purchased Kildare House, with plans to turn it into a craft retreat, they're getting closer to the grand opening when Jane is questioned over the murder of the old school librarian, Sarah Waters. Eager to clear her best friends name, Cora pokes around town to figure out who the real murder is and why they wanted Sarah dead.

Throw in things from Janes past, a wonderful bunch of quirky and fun characters, humour, warmth and crafty goodness and you have a really good cosy read.

I'll be watching for more books in this series to see what other scrapes they manage to get themselves into!

Huge thanks to Mollie Cox Bryan, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

A book about a psychotic mirror you say!? Yes please, I will definitely read that!!

As the story starts we meet one of our main characters, Jonathan Frazer, an antiques dealer from LA, who is drawn to a mirror at an auction, bids on it and wins. We follow him back to LA and meet his wife Celia and daughter Emmanuelle aka Manny along with some of his workers.

After the bizarre death of his friend Tony we are introduced to 2 detectives, Margaret Haaren and Jose Perez, who are investigating and lurking in the shadows is a tall powerfully built man covered in scars, watching and waiting, trying to get his hands on the mirror. Why? Who is he?

The story weaves between present day and 16th century London, the slow build of the history of the mirror begins and the 3 people involved, Kelley, Dr John Dee and a long haired woman whose name we don't learn until the last few chapters of the book.

Things start to go wrong almost immediately, mysterious deaths and vivid erotic dreams sending people crazy, verging on complete madness. The deaths and dreams begin to happen more and more, each one described in detail.


This is a really good book, I enjoyed it even though I was being attacked by an 11 week old puppy at the time! There's a good mix of violence and backstory, it's well written and the tension builds nicely to a cracking conclusion.

Huge thanks to Michael Scott, Melanie Ruth Rose, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Hanover House is now staffed and open for business!

Evelyn has thrown herself fully into her work after the events in the novella and is still struggling with her attraction to Amorak due to the age difference and her warranted mistrust in men.

As it opens she is talking to an inmate named Hugo, as their conversation continues he warns her that she's not safe, that not every killer in Hanover House is locked up, she obviously doesn't believe him until a woman's head is found outside the pub. She believes it's Jasper, coming back to finish what he started and, with Amoraks help, tries to find out who the killer is.

Gruesome in parts and some sexy times in others this book is a good first novel for a series. Slow in parts but it does build nicely and we're introduced to new characters, some towns people and inmates.

Some of the characters are horrible but it works well to tie up loose ends to bring a satisfying conclusion.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series because I love the subject matter and love the serial killer quotes at the beginning of each chapter.

Huge thanks to Brenda Novak, Headline and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Set after the events of Psycho, Norman Bates is now in a sanitarium for the criminally insane, he refuses to talk and has conversations in his head with mother, wresting long with his actions and believing, whole-heartedly, that she did hose horrible things, not him.

We're soon introduced to Dr Reed, the one who's treating Norman and a cast of characters who are well written, nicely developed and a good mix of very nice and incredibly horrible.

The action is slow to pick up, setting the scene and making sure you know the key players in the game, but once the first death happens it continues in wonderfully horrible fashion until the end.

There's secrets, lies, tricksy people and some backstory to the sanitarium.

What's happening to those people? Is a person on the loose, killing all they stumble across or is it the ghosts of former patients?

The setting is creepy and I love it! I do so love books set in asylums!!

Huge thanks to Chet Williamson, Canelo and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

An extremely quick read, almost non-stop from the moment you pick it up until you realise it's finished.

Secrets, lies, violence and a woman trying to work out who she is, it's a little slow in places but picks up nicely, the characters are written well and I loved the last few chapters where things really get going.

I hope, from the ending, that there will be a sequel as I would love to read that!

Huge thanks to J.S. Marciano, Endeavour Press and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this story, it's the first I've read in this series and I will be looking to read the others.

It ended a little too quickly for me though, I wanted to see what happened to Eleanor and Henry for their false information and I can see her being a murderer in another book, she's a horrible person.

The characters are fun and written well, I loved the setting and really want to go there! The mystery was good and I enjoyed the work towards solving it.

Despite a couple of dips it was a good cozy mystery.

Huge thanks to Nancy Coco, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Really, really enjoyable cozy mystery!

I really love the ‘fish out of water' sort of book, especially when its done this well. There's humour, a little violence, well written characters who are fun and likeable, a small town setting which is also a plus for me and an intriguing mystery to solve.

I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Huge thanks to Dana Moss and BetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

First book in a brand new cozy series and it's a good start.

The main characters are fun and quirky, some are annoying and aggravating and some grow on you over the course of the book.

Lots of information about birds and a little about bees but not enough to distract from the story, just to move it on a little.

I enjoyed the mystery, the town is described wonderfully and the characters are well written.

I'll be keeping my eye out for more in this series!

Huge thanks to J.R. Ripley, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy, the first book in a brand new series. It is a little darker than other cozy mysteries and a little slow in parts but the clues and energy build up and there is an abundance of suspects that you have to go through before the mystery is solved.

It's well written, with a smidge of humour, good characters and a fair few sprinkles of action dotted about.

I look forward to reading more in this series and more by this author.

Huge thanks to Sarah Fox, Random House Publishing Group - Alibi and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Book 3 in the Yellowthread Street series and it continues to be funny, violent and crime ridden!

This one is about bombings (hence the title) and the confusion of how people are being picked, gruesome in parts but very funny throughout.

I really am enjoying this series and very much look forward to getting the rest of the books to see what other trouble they all get up to!

Huge thanks to William Marshall, Farago and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Really interesting book, has given me plenty of ideas about organising the stuff I keep around me and I know I'm going to start sorting one thing out a day, be it a drawer, the bathroom shelves or a kitchen cupboard.

There's a lot in here about organising your clothes, shoes and handbags and illustrations and pictures about storage and how things should be folded.

I really enjoyed it and will keep it on hand to refer back to as and when I need to.

Huge thanks to Jane Stoller, BookBaby and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

I really want to visit Revelstoke!

I'm not really a fan of UFO's but love the paranormal stuff, this is an entertaining and informative book that I loved dipping into rather than reading it straight through.

Read when I was curled up in bed before I went to sleep, I love to read creepy before bed.

Huge thanks to Brennan Storr, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review

This is the first time I've read anything by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it! A police procedural set in Scotland and its right up my street!

The story starts with the murder of a young wife, her 2 little boys and their dog, the killer quickly apprehended and sent to prison for life. But did he really do it?

We then flash forward and are introduced to the people now living on the same street in the middle of non-stop rain. When a sink hole appears outside one of the houses it leads to the discovery of foot bones that are soon confirmed as coming from a severed foot.

It builds from there and is filled with secrets, lies, sex and money (usually the case though really). Re-interviewing people from the previous case and talking to people surrounding this one to work out exactly what's going on.

It's filled with twists and turns, little bits of information and clues soon build up as you try to figure out what happened all those years ago and whether it has any connection to what's happening now.

This is the 7th? Book in this series and I really need to read the rest!

Huge thanks to Caro Ramsey, Severn House Publishers and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review